Pickin' Punkin's

We tried something new this year and headed out to Cal Poly Pomona for their annual pumpkin patch. Some friends met us out there and braved the crowds for a chance to find the perfect specimen. That was an easy task because there were SOOOO MANY pumpkins! It was funny because the whole experience was over so quickly that we were kind of surprised to find ourselves ready to go shortly after arrival. I guess that's what happens when there are so many great pumpkins to choose from~

In Good Hands

We were originally considering keeping our little darling home this year for home schooling until the school was willing to put her into advanced classes (around 2-4 grade). We reconsidered when we learned a little more about one of the teachers. She is so sweet to the kids, very organized and well, just has her act together. Although I was a little tentative at first about how much time was being wasted in the classroom on non-learning activities, I am so happy that we decided to keep her in school. She is beginning to bring home some advanced homework and all of the "non-learning" activities are the parts that she reports about when I pick her up. It is then that she is learning coping and dealing social skills that I just can't teach her at home. I am glad now, even though I know she is not learning at her highest potential yet, because (like I originally guessed) a big part of what children learn in school has nothing to do with textbooks or worksheets. Her teacher is well equipped to monitor and guide those activities as well. Our little kindergartner is indeed in good hands.

Eeek! Spiders!

Last night I spent several hours putting chocolate covered sunflower seeds on mini nutter butters that I spent an hour covering in chocolate, which were on top of several chocolate mini-cupcakes that I added pumpkin and dried blueberries to so that they'd be under 80 calories and still taste delicious and have the same crunch that you hear/feel when you step on a spider. You see, today was "S" day at the kindergarten that my daughter attends. I thought it would be a cute snack to help reinforce the letter S for the kids. What kind of crazy, lunatic mom spends that much time spider cupcakes that the kids will devour in under a minute? I guess this kind. If I can't deny it I might as well own it.

Wanna make your own spider cupcakes? Here's what you do. Mix a boxed cake mix with 15 oz of pumpkin and 1/3 cup of water. Pour it into cupcake tins that are lined with papers. When they're done (check with toothpick), remove and let cool. Top them with a little orange frosting to make the spiders stick then top the frosting with a chocolate covered nutter butter (I used candyquick - I LOVE that stuff). Then decorate with chocolate covered sunflower seeds to make them resemble spiders. A word to the wise though. At 8 legs and 2 eyes that makes 10 seeds a cupcake. So for a class of 24 plus the teacher that makes 250 sunflower seeds. I made 30 then gave up. This made enough for another 24 undecorated cupcakes that I took to the school's office to hopefully butter them up for the next time my daughter is tardy that they might just rush her along and go on about their day.

My Little Bikers

Some girlfriends and I got the kiddos together for an afternoon of bike riding the other day. It was cute to see them playing so well together on their various levels of bikes, trikes and scooters. There were no casualties and minimal whining which always makes for a better day with friends. I think that applies whether they're 5 or 50.

'Atsa Nice Pizza Pie!

Recently we were invited by some friends to join them for a tour of the local Dominoes pizza parlor. The kids got to walk all over the store, investigating everything it took to produce one of the best pizzas in our area. They were particularly fond of playing in the cold cold refrigerator where they discovered TONS of shredded cheeses and got to poke at some rising pizza dough. From there they moved on to being mesmerized by the magnet that goes on top of the delivery cars. It was stuck to the side of a vending machine and the kids took turns trying to pry it loose from the magnets holding it on. The highlight of the day however, had to be when they all got to make their own pizzas. They stretched the dough, spread the sauce and sprinkled on the toppings. Then they got to place it on the conveyor belt that led it through the oven. When it popped out the other side of the oven it was transported to the cutting table where they got to participate in cutting and boxing their own pizza pies. We thanked the Dominoes employees profusely and headed to the local playground to enjoy our feast. What a great way to teach kids the appreciation of cooking food and how everything happens in a sequence and rewarding them for a little hard work. Great GREAT idea for a playdate. Thanks Lauren!

It's Good to be Mist

I spent the weekend with a few girlfriends doing some scrapbooking at one of their houses. When I got back, my little darling had prepared this note for me. She is SO STINKIN' SWEET.

Woops.

The kiddos got invited to a tea party for one of their little toddler friends a couple weeks back. It was a party open to both girls and boys so we loaded up the kiddos and headed on over. I had packed up some Triscuits and cut cheese slices into little leaves and acorns for a festive fall touch to the dish. Since we were pretty excited about going, we stopped by the local grocery store and picked up some petit fores from their cutesy bakery.

The tea was going smashingly, with the kids playing on the playground and then a few hide and seek games and it was time to eat. Everyone was having a great time, enjoying the treats when the host's daughter began crying and then vomiting. Everyone looked shocked and then panicked about what could possibly be wrong. As it turns out, the little girl has nut allergies...BAD nut allergies. Guess what is in petit fores? Almond paste.

Did I know that before I bought and brought them? No.
Would I go back and NOT bring them if I could? Absolutley.
Is there anything I could do at the time except apologize profusely and offer any help I could give (which was really none)? Nope.

I felt HORRIBLE. The poor thing threw up the whole rest of the party and didn't get to enjoy her pretty tea party that her mommy had thrown for all of us. Who gets mommy of the week award for that week? Not this girl. Woops.

Mental Snapshot

This is what exhausted looks like. Thanks Uncle Eddie and Erika for letting us visit, swim in your pool and giving us a place to crash in Phoenix.

How to Prepare for Bed - by my daughter

Here's the list she prepared for herself the other night at bedtime. There are seven things on the list. Can you read them all?

What to Make

Bacon-wrapped barbequed water chestnuts

Marinate a can of whole water chestnuts in soy sauce for at least an hour. Then wrap them in half a slice of bacon each and hold in place with a toothpick. Bake them at 350 degrees until the bacon is cooked. Remove and cover in barbeque sauce. Cook again for another 5-10 minutes until the barbeque sauce is all nice and bubbly. Remove and allow to cool. Okay fine, don't. Remove, attempt to cut in half so they fit in your mouth and then proceed to the freezer for some ice to soothe the burns on your tongue. I suggest the former method rather than the latter. Either way, they're a great appetizer idea.

Kinder-what?

Yeah, I admit it, I am in denial. There is no way that my precious little girl is old enough for school. What happened to her lying on the floor in the living room, reaching for the toys as I cheered her on, hoping she'd learn to roll over? What happened to her first stumbling steps? and waking up crying at night wanting to be cuddled? and learning to brush her teeth? What do you mean it's all been done already? There doesn't seem like there's been enough time...

Floatilla

We had a blast on the Colorado river last weekend. The floatilla is our annual rafting trip with friends down the river. Well this year it just happened to coincide with the Bullhead City River Regatta, where 9000 other folks are doing essentially the same thing. We were worried at first about how it would all turn out since we hadn't partaken of the festivities in the past. As it turns out, 9000 friends makes for a great party. Here's a shot (above) of our starting group, complete with out camo attire (each year has a theme for us). Oh, and a random asian guy in an orange life jacket, which I hear is good luck (kind of like a rabbit's foot, but less barbaric). Good times.

Funny Business

We ventured north to visit with Bugs Bunny and his funny friends recently. My two little ones had done some reading and earned us some free tickets to the park. He's got a nice pad with some fun rides. The kids, Meg and I had a fun time. Here's some highlights:We started our day with a ride on the log ride. This was a good "not too scary" introduction to the roller coasters for the kiddos.My son's favorite ride was the train ride in the little kids' section of the park. He likes things at a slower pace...for now.Which was in sharp contrast to our LAST ride of the day, Superman, (seen here waiting in line in a kryptonite cave) which the two little ones were too small for but Meggy got to ride THREE TIMES! She was on the last car of the night so they ran them consecutively.
My daughter however DID get to ride Ninja and ride it and ride it...she rode it three times too. Turns out she's quite the little daredevil.I rode it with her too. I have to admit, I had one hand on the handle bars and the other on my little girl, just in case she went flying. I know, I know, overprotective mom...I get that alot. But we all made it out safely, with no ejections from rides or throwing up so it seems we must have done something right :)

Our Loop Through Three States

My niece is visiting us for a month from Oregon so we decided to take her on a little trip to see three of the southwestern states. We started in CA, drove across to Phoenix, AZ to help move family into a new home then headed through AZ to the Grand Canyon and from there on to Laughlin, NV and finally back home. It took less than a week but seemed much longer. Here's a few highlights:How big? SOOOOOO BIG!

The west side of the south rim of the canyon.
It was in excess of 110 degrees so more fun in the water than out of it.
Our hotel in Laughlin.

One More to Go

Before we had kids, at one point, between CPA firms, I worked in an office with a man who was from a mix of Chinese and Hawaiian backgrounds. His name was Alan and he was my boss. So when Alan would stop by my 4x6 cubicle (gee, why do you suppose I quit?), Alan would talk about his family and, since he was my boss, I would sometimes listen.

Alan had three boys and they were the primary topic of conversation. Well, as Alan explained, the first birthday party is HUGE in his culture (not sure if it was Chinese or Hawaiian or both). He explained that it had something to do with getting through the year of highest infant mortality rate, but I came to later guess it had something to do with just surviving a year of the parents' sleep deprivation.

Anyway, they threw very large, extravagant parties for the first birthday of each boy. I liked this idea and for both of our kids I did the same thing. Each of these first birthday parties kind of carried over to their second, third and yes, fourth and fifth birthday parties as well. Whereas many people get a few kids together for cupcakes and PB&J, we have invited as many as 70 people and spent months planning and preparing for them. So it was with a little relief and also much regret that my eldest child (who will be starting school in the fall) and I had a talk about what we would be doing for her next party. My suggestion to her, in the hope that it would be more intimate, and knowing she would be making some new friends this year, was that she pick 5 friends and we will go do something with them. No fireworks, no bells or whistles, just start the tradition of a "normal" child's birthday party. She was receptive to the idea and we agreed that my littlest's 5th party next year will be the last sha-bang. Although I know I may regret it later (I really do look forward to all of our friends in one place together), perhaps it will save me a little bit of sanity in the long run. So mark your calendars folks, next July is the last in a series of ten shin-digs in the Mountains. I hope you all can make it!

My Little Soldier

Recently my youngest child turned four. Oh my goodness...[sigh] FOUR. Well, he has been requesting a soldier birthday for almost a year now so what could I do but oblige his request. We played "search and rescue" to find hidden soldiers, "sergeant says", ran the kids through a basic training obstacle course, painted our faces with camo face paint, wore our camouflage and dog tags, got tattoos, played target shooting on the range with the rubber band gun, ate some ribs and other barbecue, tried to land planes on an aircraft carrier, whacked at an enemy tank with a bat until it turned over all of it's candy and then finished the day off with a huge water balloon fight. There were about 40 people there throughout the day and it was beautiful weather for a barbecue. I was so busy that I didn't get many pictures of the festivities, but here's a shot of my little camo man and me trying to finish up making his tank birthday cake.

Touch a Truck

A big thanks go out to Uncle Chris and Aunt Lyss for letting us stay with them last weekend and for taking us and the kids to Touch a Truck. We all had such a good time. If you have never been then I highly recommend you try to make it next year. My little guy got to ride in a race car, a school bus, a dump truck, a tow truck, a garbage truck and many many more neat vehicles. He also got to dig with a backhoe, lift the back of a tow truck, catch a balloon out of the utility truck's bucket and wait for it - wait for it.....
SHOOT A FIRE HOSE!The event is put on by Conejo Valley Park & Recreation district and they do a stellar job. Great idea Uncle Chris. I think the event is geared toward big AND little boys (you looked PRETTY PUMPED about watching that helicopter land) . We are very grateful for you including us in the fun.

A Whole Lotta Moms

There are few certainties in life. You will owe taxes (whether you pay them or not), you will someday die (the big question being when and how) AND if you are a mom, you will have a very very VERY busy schedule. That is why it was a small miracle when, recently for a good friend's birthday, we got 22 (that's right, almost two dozen) moms together for a night out. I felt very lucky to get to join them since I just went out the weekend before with the girls up in Oregon. We all met for dinner at the local resort where we enjoyed reconnecting with those we hadn't seen in a while and meeting a few friends of friends. We certainly are all lucky ladies to have this network of awesome moms. Thanks ladies, and happy birthday Em~

My Quick Trip

I got the rare treat of flying North last weekend to see my good friend Laura get married on the Sunday before Memorial Day. On Saturday, some of us girlies got together and had a night out. As I sit here trying to explain to you, my unnamed reader, what happened that night, I find it hard to put into words. There were dice games, some hot tubbing, some drinks, smoked salmon, an incident with peanut M&Ms, someone threw up (not me), LOTS of dancing, jello, funny bar jokes, I got all caught up on the town gossip, and I'm not sure, but I think I have a new friend who thinks my name is Andretti. I know it sounds cliche' but all I can say is "You had to be there to understand." I'm not trying to make it an inside joke, it's just a bit of a fuzzy whirlwind. It CAN say that it was all fun and reminds me how much I miss these girls.

Thank You

To all veterans, current servicemen, and those families that sacrifice to let their loved ones defend our freedom, 1/365th of our lives to honor your sacrifice just doesn't seem sufficient. You are appreciated and Thank you for letting us live that life that you have worked so hard to defend.