We kicked my sister out tonight....her boys, D & E are still here.
Update to come.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
It comes but once a year----the holiday stress!!
So school is done with for the quarter...as of two weeks ago.....feels good to be on "vacation" and be able to spend more time with my husband (even if it's while 3 kids are screaming at us!)......I got a B+ and an A in the two modules I completed in the baking program (quick breads & cookies), and got an A on my final project (see photos in previous post)....
The project took forever....especially because everyone in class was split into pairs to complete it, and my partner flaked on the program, so I had to do the entire hacienda by myself! Eek! It was fun, though.....and frustrating as well---the front wall fell off 5 times and broke into 3 pieces.....and the back wall split as I was taking it off the baking sheet (even though it'd been sitting there for two days).....I made all the people, snowmen, snowballs, the and the dog house at home, just to be sure I'd have enough time to finish everything within class time.....the roof is made of mini shredded wheat's, chimney is gingerbread with green peppermints "glued" on, the windows are stained glass (hard candy melted), the trees are upside down sugar cones with royal icing painstakingly applied, the dog house is made of graham crackers and candies for the roof, the fence is peppermint candies and pretzel sticks, the walkway is gingerbread with red hots and royal icing....everything is "glued" together with royal icing.....everything that you can see is edible (although I wouldn't do that....the gingerbread is as hard as a rock when you construct it!)....the snow on the ground is a mixture of coconut, royal icing, and powdered sugar.....all of the figures are made of pastilidge and/or marzipan.....the house's measurements are 12" high, by 10"wide and 6" deep....
All of the finished projects were auctioned off for charity....which is pretty cool! Hubby and L came to school with me on my final day to see it before it was auctioned.....I'm so glad they were able to....L loved it and said "mommy, I touch." To which I responded with "No, you do not touch!" Hehe.
In other areas of life....we've got all our Xmas decorations up---stockings, tree, gate around the tree to keep unruly kids and pets away, lights on the house (we've had them for years and this is the first season we have finally put them up! Yay, go us!), a construction paper countdown, and the garland that D and I made when L and E were sleeping. I'm pretty excited this year for Christmas, more so than I have been in a long time....but also really far behind (WAIT, WHY AM I POSTING AN UPDATE, THEN?!).....we're going to a party with my hubby's side of the family this weekend, then to a couple of parties next weekend with my side of the family......I still need to finish making cards.....maybe they'll turn into Happy New Year's cards.....with an Xmas theme! =) And I need to finish the baked goods that I always make for family......oh and the biggest thing of all is L's play kitchen!!!! Aaaaaaahhhhhh! December has snuck up on me! We've barely started with her kitchen.....I hope we can have it done enough so that she can play with it on Christmas.....jeez!
Okay, now must get off of this computer and start getting my butt in gear for tomorrow.....having family portraits taken by my fab cousin!
The project took forever....especially because everyone in class was split into pairs to complete it, and my partner flaked on the program, so I had to do the entire hacienda by myself! Eek! It was fun, though.....and frustrating as well---the front wall fell off 5 times and broke into 3 pieces.....and the back wall split as I was taking it off the baking sheet (even though it'd been sitting there for two days).....I made all the people, snowmen, snowballs, the and the dog house at home, just to be sure I'd have enough time to finish everything within class time.....the roof is made of mini shredded wheat's, chimney is gingerbread with green peppermints "glued" on, the windows are stained glass (hard candy melted), the trees are upside down sugar cones with royal icing painstakingly applied, the dog house is made of graham crackers and candies for the roof, the fence is peppermint candies and pretzel sticks, the walkway is gingerbread with red hots and royal icing....everything is "glued" together with royal icing.....everything that you can see is edible (although I wouldn't do that....the gingerbread is as hard as a rock when you construct it!)....the snow on the ground is a mixture of coconut, royal icing, and powdered sugar.....all of the figures are made of pastilidge and/or marzipan.....the house's measurements are 12" high, by 10"wide and 6" deep....
All of the finished projects were auctioned off for charity....which is pretty cool! Hubby and L came to school with me on my final day to see it before it was auctioned.....I'm so glad they were able to....L loved it and said "mommy, I touch." To which I responded with "No, you do not touch!" Hehe.
In other areas of life....we've got all our Xmas decorations up---stockings, tree, gate around the tree to keep unruly kids and pets away, lights on the house (we've had them for years and this is the first season we have finally put them up! Yay, go us!), a construction paper countdown, and the garland that D and I made when L and E were sleeping. I'm pretty excited this year for Christmas, more so than I have been in a long time....but also really far behind (WAIT, WHY AM I POSTING AN UPDATE, THEN?!).....we're going to a party with my hubby's side of the family this weekend, then to a couple of parties next weekend with my side of the family......I still need to finish making cards.....maybe they'll turn into Happy New Year's cards.....with an Xmas theme! =) And I need to finish the baked goods that I always make for family......oh and the biggest thing of all is L's play kitchen!!!! Aaaaaaahhhhhh! December has snuck up on me! We've barely started with her kitchen.....I hope we can have it done enough so that she can play with it on Christmas.....jeez!
Okay, now must get off of this computer and start getting my butt in gear for tomorrow.....having family portraits taken by my fab cousin!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Time to play
Hello friends!
Our gluten, soy, dairy, legume, and (mostly) nightshade free Thanksgiving dinner went well! L and I had to have mashed potatoes, so we made some at the very end of all the cooking. =) My parents and youngest sister couldn't make it over, though, so we have a TON of leftovers.....they live about 4 hours away over the Cascades. The passes have been really bad with the winter weather we've been having. It's been real cold, with temps getting as low as 16*F in the area! Brrrrrrr. But it's been nice having some snow for awhile....L, hubby and I built a mini-snowman.
Anyhow, the turkey was delicious, we bought a fresh, free-range bird this year. It was spendy, but the only bird that we could find that everyone in the house could eat. Most of the turkeys we looked at had been buttered or contained soy or wheat, or both. I think next year we are going to buy one directly from a farmer, so we know for sure that nothing has been added to it.
We've decided to build L a play kitchen for Christmas this year! We bought an old solid wood coffee table from the local ReStore, along with a used facet, some drawer pulls to look like stove knobs......a metal mixing bowl for the sink...and a cute butterfly fabric print from the Goodwill that L picked out. We're really excited about giving her a gift that we are making ourselves and that will last! I've found some really cute ones around the web, the first one on this page is my favorite! This one is super cute, too! And here is a page for a Flickr group that is all about making play kitchens!
I think tomorrow we will put up the Xmas tree and decorate the house for the season. L is getting so big that I think this year she will be REALLY excited about the holidays!
Our gluten, soy, dairy, legume, and (mostly) nightshade free Thanksgiving dinner went well! L and I had to have mashed potatoes, so we made some at the very end of all the cooking. =) My parents and youngest sister couldn't make it over, though, so we have a TON of leftovers.....they live about 4 hours away over the Cascades. The passes have been really bad with the winter weather we've been having. It's been real cold, with temps getting as low as 16*F in the area! Brrrrrrr. But it's been nice having some snow for awhile....L, hubby and I built a mini-snowman.
Anyhow, the turkey was delicious, we bought a fresh, free-range bird this year. It was spendy, but the only bird that we could find that everyone in the house could eat. Most of the turkeys we looked at had been buttered or contained soy or wheat, or both. I think next year we are going to buy one directly from a farmer, so we know for sure that nothing has been added to it.
We've decided to build L a play kitchen for Christmas this year! We bought an old solid wood coffee table from the local ReStore, along with a used facet, some drawer pulls to look like stove knobs......a metal mixing bowl for the sink...and a cute butterfly fabric print from the Goodwill that L picked out. We're really excited about giving her a gift that we are making ourselves and that will last! I've found some really cute ones around the web, the first one on this page is my favorite! This one is super cute, too! And here is a page for a Flickr group that is all about making play kitchens!
I think tomorrow we will put up the Xmas tree and decorate the house for the season. L is getting so big that I think this year she will be REALLY excited about the holidays!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
It's the end of the world as we know it!
So.....um....holy crap!! I haven't posted anything since April! I've totally forgotten about blogging.
So many things have changed.......
L is 2 now! She and her b-day twin, R had a duo party. The theme was cops and robbers! It was pretty cute. They had lots of fun. And the weather was great that day, even though it had been raining for a week before the party. We somehow lucked out to have a dry, sunny party at the park.
We moved in July to a bigger rental. It's a duplex, but the only wall that touches is the garage....so it's like we live in our house, we NEVER hear the neighbors! =) The new place is a 3 bd, 1 3/4 ba.....the biggest place we've ever lived (at least on our own). The floors in the living room and hall are hardwood, the bedrooms are carpeted, the kitchen is linoleum.....all of the rooms have large closets (although not walk-in)....our master has its own bathroom (!) with a standing shower, and the hall bathroom is pretty substantial in size with a large linen closet in it. The kitchen is smaller than our last kitchen, but now we have a space for the kitchen table (as opposed to having it set up in the living room at the old place)....we were sooooo spoiled by how big the kitchen at the old place was, we knew we wouldn't find something comparable in our price range. We also have a patio and a backyard with a garden. We live in the woods now! I see deer on a nightly basis, and there are rabbits, squirrels, raccoons (that are afraid of no one! including my dog---yep she's been bit my one!), and several other wildlife in the area. We are now across town from where we were living, and we love this area so much more. Plus! Big bonus I'm only 4 minutes from work! And about 12 minutes from school!
School?.......yep! I went back to school, I'm in a Baking program at the local community college! It's so much fun, and I'm loving it so far. In the last few months hubby and I have found out that we have MORE food allergies than we thought. He now has a horrible reaction to any nightshade (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, egg plant, huckleberries, blueberries, etc), and has cut them from his diet completely. I have cut chocolate and ALL legumes from my diet. Chocolate, my best friend since elementary school, has turned on me!!! =( Woe is me! I don't know how I can be considered a woman anymore! Obviously I'm having a hard time with this one....soy, no biggie, other legumes.....okay, but I'm not happy about it....but chocolate?!?!?!? NOOOOOOOOOOO! So I'm learning to live life without my favorite food, and hubby is learning to eat without most spices.....even though I'm really upset about no chocolate......I still think hubby's allergies/intolerance's are way worse than mine....and I feel bad that he doesn't get to enjoy food like he used to. On a good note......we've both lost weight because of our food allergies! I've lost almost 20 lbs, and he's lost more.....I hope he can maintain his weight now, since he's gotten kinda thin, and if he loses more we may have to start worrying!
Let's see....my sister moved in with us, she and her two boys, D, and E. It's been really rough. I love my nephews, but they've been spoiled most of their lives....when you gotta say no, they don't understand it very well......but things are getting better....they are getting used to our routine and following most of the rules....getting better everyday. D is old enough to understand that he's gotta follow my rules or there are consequences (time out, no video games, no fun outings for him)...he's 4. E is only 1 and is having the hardest time transitioning to a different environment than he was used to. K, my sis, is doing okay.....she's got a lot of stuff on her plate, and I don't envy her place in life right now. I'm trying really hard to be supportive, but it's been really tough lately, especially seeing her make the same mistakes over and over again.
L is so big now.....wearing 3T clothes! And she's such a little diva! She has to wear pretty clothes and have "pretties" on her toenails....she's so the opposite of what I was when I was little......okay, so maybe I was a diva, too, but I was a tomboy....and she's so girly......it's cute.....oh and she's started talking back to me (thanks to my nephew D for teaching her by example), saying things like "MAMA, no nap!" and "MAMA, NO!" all the time....it's cute...but I'm sure it'll get old quickly! She also bosses her cousins around, saying "E, no!, Time Out!" every time E does something he isn't supposed to.....it's so funny, and when he takes a toy she's playing with, she runs after him, yelling "E, I nee nat!" (E, I need that). They all had a ton of fun on Halloween. We took them to a corn maze, and then trick-or-treating in my friend, Mama Z's, neighborhood. At the first house, E tried to just go inside when the lady opened the door....it was pretty funny.
So many things have changed.......
L is 2 now! She and her b-day twin, R had a duo party. The theme was cops and robbers! It was pretty cute. They had lots of fun. And the weather was great that day, even though it had been raining for a week before the party. We somehow lucked out to have a dry, sunny party at the park.
We moved in July to a bigger rental. It's a duplex, but the only wall that touches is the garage....so it's like we live in our house, we NEVER hear the neighbors! =) The new place is a 3 bd, 1 3/4 ba.....the biggest place we've ever lived (at least on our own). The floors in the living room and hall are hardwood, the bedrooms are carpeted, the kitchen is linoleum.....all of the rooms have large closets (although not walk-in)....our master has its own bathroom (!) with a standing shower, and the hall bathroom is pretty substantial in size with a large linen closet in it. The kitchen is smaller than our last kitchen, but now we have a space for the kitchen table (as opposed to having it set up in the living room at the old place)....we were sooooo spoiled by how big the kitchen at the old place was, we knew we wouldn't find something comparable in our price range. We also have a patio and a backyard with a garden. We live in the woods now! I see deer on a nightly basis, and there are rabbits, squirrels, raccoons (that are afraid of no one! including my dog---yep she's been bit my one!), and several other wildlife in the area. We are now across town from where we were living, and we love this area so much more. Plus! Big bonus I'm only 4 minutes from work! And about 12 minutes from school!
School?.......yep! I went back to school, I'm in a Baking program at the local community college! It's so much fun, and I'm loving it so far. In the last few months hubby and I have found out that we have MORE food allergies than we thought. He now has a horrible reaction to any nightshade (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, egg plant, huckleberries, blueberries, etc), and has cut them from his diet completely. I have cut chocolate and ALL legumes from my diet. Chocolate, my best friend since elementary school, has turned on me!!! =( Woe is me! I don't know how I can be considered a woman anymore! Obviously I'm having a hard time with this one....soy, no biggie, other legumes.....okay, but I'm not happy about it....but chocolate?!?!?!? NOOOOOOOOOOO! So I'm learning to live life without my favorite food, and hubby is learning to eat without most spices.....even though I'm really upset about no chocolate......I still think hubby's allergies/intolerance's are way worse than mine....and I feel bad that he doesn't get to enjoy food like he used to. On a good note......we've both lost weight because of our food allergies! I've lost almost 20 lbs, and he's lost more.....I hope he can maintain his weight now, since he's gotten kinda thin, and if he loses more we may have to start worrying!
Let's see....my sister moved in with us, she and her two boys, D, and E. It's been really rough. I love my nephews, but they've been spoiled most of their lives....when you gotta say no, they don't understand it very well......but things are getting better....they are getting used to our routine and following most of the rules....getting better everyday. D is old enough to understand that he's gotta follow my rules or there are consequences (time out, no video games, no fun outings for him)...he's 4. E is only 1 and is having the hardest time transitioning to a different environment than he was used to. K, my sis, is doing okay.....she's got a lot of stuff on her plate, and I don't envy her place in life right now. I'm trying really hard to be supportive, but it's been really tough lately, especially seeing her make the same mistakes over and over again.
L is so big now.....wearing 3T clothes! And she's such a little diva! She has to wear pretty clothes and have "pretties" on her toenails....she's so the opposite of what I was when I was little......okay, so maybe I was a diva, too, but I was a tomboy....and she's so girly......it's cute.....oh and she's started talking back to me (thanks to my nephew D for teaching her by example), saying things like "MAMA, no nap!" and "MAMA, NO!" all the time....it's cute...but I'm sure it'll get old quickly! She also bosses her cousins around, saying "E, no!, Time Out!" every time E does something he isn't supposed to.....it's so funny, and when he takes a toy she's playing with, she runs after him, yelling "E, I nee nat!" (E, I need that). They all had a ton of fun on Halloween. We took them to a corn maze, and then trick-or-treating in my friend, Mama Z's, neighborhood. At the first house, E tried to just go inside when the lady opened the door....it was pretty funny.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Zoo's, Easters, and Laptops---oh my!
Wow.....it has been FOREVER since I've posted......I'm kind of a procrastinator if you hadn't noticed yet!
L, my friend Al, and I went to the zoo on Friday....L had sooo much fun, her favorite animals were the fish. She kept pointing at the tanks and saying, "shish, shish, shish!" It was super cute. She really liked the meerkats in the kiddie area, too. She called them kitties. We even rode on the carousal, which was a little scary for her...but I think she still had fun on it.
We went into the gift shop right before we left and she picked out an elephant toy to take home. So wish hubby had been there to see her, but he was working.
This morning we went to a photographer friend's house and L got her picture taken a few times. The friend is building up her portfolio so she did it for free and we even get a print of our favorite one and have the option to buy more if we'd like. I feel like a horrible mom....she's never had any professional photos taken of her....not even at a department store! =( I need to get her into a mutual friend's studio and have a bunch done of her and our family before she's a teenager!
My nephew turned four this month....he's getting so big and way too smart. He knows his abc's and no one's ever really sat down with him to teach him....we went to visit the fam on his b-day and he kept trying to get L to say them with him....she just said "e" over and over again.....it's so fun to watch her interact with her cousins...it'd be nice if we lived closer.
Easter's coming up and I'm so excited for L to participate in egg hunting this year.....I think she's totally going to love it! We've already signed up for a local egg hunt on the Saturday before. She'll be 19 months on Easter so she will actually be interested in it this year...last year she was only 7 months and wasn't really impressed by the basket my grandma bought for her....but we did visit my great grandmother that day and got some five generation photos with her, my grandpa, my dad, myself, and L. Not too soon either...since she has now passed away....I'm so glad that L will have those photos and I can tell her about her great-great grandmother when she gets older!
We went and looked at laptops after L's photo shoot....I was drooling so much over them! I fiddled around with one that I'm really interested in buying.....it would be awesome to get rid of this dinosaur of a computer from 2003.....can't believe how much 7 years dates a computer! Plus hubby and I are both looking forward to having the ability to take our computer with us somewhere....even if it's just to the other room! =)
L, my friend Al, and I went to the zoo on Friday....L had sooo much fun, her favorite animals were the fish. She kept pointing at the tanks and saying, "shish, shish, shish!" It was super cute. She really liked the meerkats in the kiddie area, too. She called them kitties. We even rode on the carousal, which was a little scary for her...but I think she still had fun on it.
We went into the gift shop right before we left and she picked out an elephant toy to take home. So wish hubby had been there to see her, but he was working.
This morning we went to a photographer friend's house and L got her picture taken a few times. The friend is building up her portfolio so she did it for free and we even get a print of our favorite one and have the option to buy more if we'd like. I feel like a horrible mom....she's never had any professional photos taken of her....not even at a department store! =( I need to get her into a mutual friend's studio and have a bunch done of her and our family before she's a teenager!
My nephew turned four this month....he's getting so big and way too smart. He knows his abc's and no one's ever really sat down with him to teach him....we went to visit the fam on his b-day and he kept trying to get L to say them with him....she just said "e" over and over again.....it's so fun to watch her interact with her cousins...it'd be nice if we lived closer.
Easter's coming up and I'm so excited for L to participate in egg hunting this year.....I think she's totally going to love it! We've already signed up for a local egg hunt on the Saturday before. She'll be 19 months on Easter so she will actually be interested in it this year...last year she was only 7 months and wasn't really impressed by the basket my grandma bought for her....but we did visit my great grandmother that day and got some five generation photos with her, my grandpa, my dad, myself, and L. Not too soon either...since she has now passed away....I'm so glad that L will have those photos and I can tell her about her great-great grandmother when she gets older!
We went and looked at laptops after L's photo shoot....I was drooling so much over them! I fiddled around with one that I'm really interested in buying.....it would be awesome to get rid of this dinosaur of a computer from 2003.....can't believe how much 7 years dates a computer! Plus hubby and I are both looking forward to having the ability to take our computer with us somewhere....even if it's just to the other room! =)
Friday, February 5, 2010
Stuck in Toddlerville
Argh....it's been so long since I've posted....I can't keep up! Life is just too busy for me!
L is doing really well....she's talking so much more in the last few weeks and even strangers are able to understand what she says sometimes.....she's been super cute lately, too. This evening, while I was making dinner, she just kept saying Uh, Oh.....over and over and over again....it was stinkin hilarious---especially cause she says it like "Wha, Oh!" She's getting so tall, too. She can see over tables that she used to not even be able to reach and she thinks it's funny to climb on things (like the coffee table, the couch, any sort of pile), even though she can't get back off of them by herself without falling. She's gotten all four of her first molars in now, and 3 of her canines---both bottom ones and the top left.
I've found lately that I'm really missing the baby she used to be! I can totally see why women have kids that are roughly 2-3 years apart....but we are sooooo NOT ready for another....we're not even sure we'll actually have another! Still I find myself missing how small she was, and how easy we could make her smile, and the time before the "terrible-twos" started....but there are definitely things I don't miss--sleepless nights, bottles (Oh! She's off the bottle! New Year's resolution, CHECK!), reflux---that was really horrible I don't wish a sick child on anyone! And I do love that she's found some independence....I'm sure in a few years I'll eat those words, though. =)
Well, it's way passed my bed time, so goodnight!
L is doing really well....she's talking so much more in the last few weeks and even strangers are able to understand what she says sometimes.....she's been super cute lately, too. This evening, while I was making dinner, she just kept saying Uh, Oh.....over and over and over again....it was stinkin hilarious---especially cause she says it like "Wha, Oh!" She's getting so tall, too. She can see over tables that she used to not even be able to reach and she thinks it's funny to climb on things (like the coffee table, the couch, any sort of pile), even though she can't get back off of them by herself without falling. She's gotten all four of her first molars in now, and 3 of her canines---both bottom ones and the top left.
I've found lately that I'm really missing the baby she used to be! I can totally see why women have kids that are roughly 2-3 years apart....but we are sooooo NOT ready for another....we're not even sure we'll actually have another! Still I find myself missing how small she was, and how easy we could make her smile, and the time before the "terrible-twos" started....but there are definitely things I don't miss--sleepless nights, bottles (Oh! She's off the bottle! New Year's resolution, CHECK!), reflux---that was really horrible I don't wish a sick child on anyone! And I do love that she's found some independence....I'm sure in a few years I'll eat those words, though. =)
Well, it's way passed my bed time, so goodnight!
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