Summer and I have a love-hate relationship. I hate the Her weather, but LOVE Her freedom.
Being a teacher and having summers off is a gift that is only given to this profession. I think people who work normals hours and have a few weeks on vacation a year really resent the fact that there comes a time where we get a two-three month break and then we head back to our jobs and start all over from scratch. I would hate us too, if I wasn't me. Summer is my favorite time to....
1. Have the nerve to channel surf at 10:30pm, find a movie that I've seen thirty times before, and go ahead to stay up and watch it again.
2. Wear summer dresses every single day.
3. Ignore that the boys are walking around in their tighty-whitey's until someone shows up at the door.
4. Keep my brand new favorite pre-mixed margarita drinky in the refrigerator for...I don't know, an after dinner cocktail???
5. Read as many books as I possibly can. I am up to 13 now and we are on vacation day # 26. Not bad, but it could be worse.
6. Get obsessed with new TV shows like The Voice and want to buy all the songs off iTunes for new music for my car.
7. Enjoy the boys sports because I'm on vacation and the threat of correcting papers or not having clothes washed is non-existent.
8. Get in the car at 8:30pm and go for yogurt with the boys. No bedtimes equal fun snacks.
9. Work on my tan from the neck down.
10. Enjoy waking up and watching the cartoons with the boys in bed because they want rights to my TV first thing in the morning.
11. Having coffee when it is still hot. This is a treat because during work my coffee gets cold every morning during math.
12. Having play dates. The kind with kids and the kind with just adults.
13. Going on mini vacations. I enjoy a weekend getaway.
14. Not wearing make-up 4 out of the 7 days a week.
15. Buying cute summer sandals.
16. Having friends over for dinner and just catching up.
17. Wait patiently for my sister to arrive back in town for a visit.
We have big plans in July for fun trips and visits. I can't wait to go on vacation and have my sister come, but at the same time...it will be here before I know it and then BAM! Back to school. Back to the real world of work. Well, until our fall break of course.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Father's Day Weekend!!!
First of all, I hope everyone had a great Father's Day Weekend!!
Sunday morning I went and got Rich (and, of course myself) a Starbucks. When I got home, it was time to make Rich breakfast in bed. Matthew has lately become a pro at this, so he was so excited to get things going.
Making eggs is his specialty.
He said orange juice is a must.
The proud chef.
The final product...cereal, eggs, oj, and ketchup. Rich was a very good sport and ate everything even though he was not feeling well.
Speaking of not feeling well. Poor Ryan was down for the count for most of Sunday. Rich was not feeling good, Ryan was not feeling good...everyone was just kind of feeling bleh!!!
Here is Matthew taking his nap for the day. All three boys had naps and that left Mommy watching the U.S. Open all by herself. That's okay, we'll make it up to Daddy sometime soon. We owe him a dinner out and fun times.
Some of my favorites to celebrate Father's Day!!!
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!!!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Freak of Nature
Isn't that what horrific, devastating storms are called? Freaks of nature? I think so. I think I may have heard that one or a thousand times. And I didn't hear it in my classroom when my students talk about an entire unit in our science book dedicated to it. And I didn't hear it in my classroom when our reading book dedicated an entire theme to it. No...I've heard it out of my seven year old's mouth...time and time again. He is my Freak of Nature.
Who wants to be a storm chaser? Who wants to willingly get in a car and chase something that can turn on a dime at any moment and kill you? Who wants to risk his life so that the camcorder that strapped to his head captures a tornado in real time? My son, that's who.
Who sits in my room day after day watching the weather channel and periodically comes out and gives us a severe storm weather update every half hour? Who came running in my room yesterday saying that he needed to call his Aunt Noelle because West Virginia was going to have severe storms for most of the day? My son, that's who.
Last month was ridiculous. We had the WEIRDEST weather in the history of weird weather. For a state that normally doesn't get tornadoes...they were popping up everywhere and some were in Sacramento. And this is the worst part....he actually knows how far away Sacramento is so there was no trying to tell him that they weren't close or that it couldn't happen here. The craziest part...he wasn't afraid. He was excited. He was watching the weather channel in hopes of getting a timeline that if we got in the car at a certain time, it would be the best possible time to catch a funnel cloud touching down. HE WANTED TO GO AND CHASE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!
He camped out in my room and for three to four days straight watch the weather channel, tivoing everything that had "tornadoes" in the title. I ALMOST gave in and said...."Okay, you win!!! Go watch iCarly!!!! Go watch all the inappropriate shows for your age that I told you never watch again....go now and watch them!!! Just STOP with the weather channel!!!! It's not normal!!!"
This is the book he wanted to buy at Barnes and Noble the other day. It was $17.99 and it would have been all the money in his wallet and some of mine. We talked him into waiting, maybe seeing if he liked something else. No...never happened. I just ordered it for him off Amazon. He is delighted to get mail soon. What a little freak! :)
Who wants to be a storm chaser? Who wants to willingly get in a car and chase something that can turn on a dime at any moment and kill you? Who wants to risk his life so that the camcorder that strapped to his head captures a tornado in real time? My son, that's who.
Who sits in my room day after day watching the weather channel and periodically comes out and gives us a severe storm weather update every half hour? Who came running in my room yesterday saying that he needed to call his Aunt Noelle because West Virginia was going to have severe storms for most of the day? My son, that's who.
Last month was ridiculous. We had the WEIRDEST weather in the history of weird weather. For a state that normally doesn't get tornadoes...they were popping up everywhere and some were in Sacramento. And this is the worst part....he actually knows how far away Sacramento is so there was no trying to tell him that they weren't close or that it couldn't happen here. The craziest part...he wasn't afraid. He was excited. He was watching the weather channel in hopes of getting a timeline that if we got in the car at a certain time, it would be the best possible time to catch a funnel cloud touching down. HE WANTED TO GO AND CHASE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!
He camped out in my room and for three to four days straight watch the weather channel, tivoing everything that had "tornadoes" in the title. I ALMOST gave in and said...."Okay, you win!!! Go watch iCarly!!!! Go watch all the inappropriate shows for your age that I told you never watch again....go now and watch them!!! Just STOP with the weather channel!!!! It's not normal!!!"
This is the book he wanted to buy at Barnes and Noble the other day. It was $17.99 and it would have been all the money in his wallet and some of mine. We talked him into waiting, maybe seeing if he liked something else. No...never happened. I just ordered it for him off Amazon. He is delighted to get mail soon. What a little freak! :)
Monday, June 6, 2011
Look Who's One Year Old!!!!
Truth be told...I don't know what's more pathetic. A. That we're celebrating his birthday. B. That I took this picture with him wearing a birthday hat. or C. That I dedicated a post to it.
Oh well...I'm not always proud of my actions.
I won't even tell you how many pictures I took trying to get a half way decent one with him wearing his birthday hat. Again, we're sticking with the word PATHETIC!
But...isn't he cute???
Okay...I'm not proud of this next picture...but there was NO WAY I was leaving it out!!! I want to go on the record and say that he was NOT DRUNK or UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ANY MEDICATION.
BEST PICTURE EVER!!!!!!!! It's as if he went out drinking the night before and we took pictures to prove to him the next morning that it's not all fun and games...underage drinking is serious and we do NOT condone it! We are not that kind of family!!!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The first two days
I'm going to pat myself on the back. The first two days of vacation have been very productive and I'm only getting started.
--Seven loads of laundry, folded and put away (worst part).
--Cleaned out my closet, which then made room for future purchases.
--Did the clothes switch in the boys room. Not only did I bag up some stuff, I rearranged drawers so Ryan can reach whatever he needs now.
--Took an undisclosed amount of hefty bags to Goodwill and the women's shelter. I say undisclosed because it is summer and Rich is probably going to want to host a garage sale in the near future and he'll want to know where all the "stuff" is.
--Set ground rules for all fights that take place for the rest of the summer between Boy 1 and Boy 2...those are undisclosed as well.
--Read James Patterson's # 10 in one day. That's right me and Lindsay Boxer had some quiet time on the couch yesterday in between folding clothes and it was fabulous. However, the problem is that when you finish in one day...it takes away the savor of how good it was and how I'll now have to wait months for the next.
--Took Teddy to the groomer. He looks like his breed again. Nuf' said.
To-do list for tomorrow?
--Pantry after Rich leaves for work.
--Office after Rich leaves for work.
--Kitchen table...after Rich leaves for work.
Ciao!
--Seven loads of laundry, folded and put away (worst part).
--Cleaned out my closet, which then made room for future purchases.
--Did the clothes switch in the boys room. Not only did I bag up some stuff, I rearranged drawers so Ryan can reach whatever he needs now.
--Took an undisclosed amount of hefty bags to Goodwill and the women's shelter. I say undisclosed because it is summer and Rich is probably going to want to host a garage sale in the near future and he'll want to know where all the "stuff" is.
--Set ground rules for all fights that take place for the rest of the summer between Boy 1 and Boy 2...those are undisclosed as well.
--Read James Patterson's # 10 in one day. That's right me and Lindsay Boxer had some quiet time on the couch yesterday in between folding clothes and it was fabulous. However, the problem is that when you finish in one day...it takes away the savor of how good it was and how I'll now have to wait months for the next.
--Took Teddy to the groomer. He looks like his breed again. Nuf' said.
To-do list for tomorrow?
--Pantry after Rich leaves for work.
--Office after Rich leaves for work.
--Kitchen table...after Rich leaves for work.
Ciao!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Pet Friendly Family
We were brave. Very brave. We were so brave to even THINK about taking a vacation with Teddy. It was something we had been thinking about for a while because we love Carmel and it is the pet friendliest place on the planet, so it was the ideal place to start. Only the citizens there would understand all of Teddy's shortcomings...because there are many. We love him to death, however we get that other people don't find him as charming as we do. We get it...honest.
The whole process leading up to this weekend was hysterical. Last week...as I was hard at work closing a school year, I started making a Teddy Packing List. This list was at one point equivalent to the first time we took Matthew as a baby somewhere (which I think was Carmel). I remember loading the back of our Jeep with half the nursery and thinking...we can survive the two days...we can survive the two days. And we did, hardly touching half of the stuff we packed. The Teddy Packing List became very similar to the Matthew Packing List of long ago. Because again, the rationale of there being a Babies R Us or Target nearby in case we forgot something was gone. That same rationale of there not being a Petco or any other pet store in the area caused me to pack fifteen different items for a two day stay.
When we got to Carmel, the first place we went was to the beach. Our thought process was that we would take him down and run him around and exhaust him so he would be mild and calm all the other places we took him. This was not the case. First of all, the weather was GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!! It was mid-60's and sunny. Because I knew the weather forecast I only packed long sleeves and pants for the boys...because mid-60's does not say swim in the ocean to me. Within the first five minutes of us being there Ryan was drenched from his neck down and Matthew's jeans were soaking wet. This was not the plan...I only had one change of clothes. Teddy ran right into the water because he is part fish (he LOVES water) and he looked like a drowned rat. So, I was on the beach only four minutes before I was heading right back up the car for towels and clothes for wardrobe changes for everyone.
I managed to snap a couple of pics...
Everybody heading down, still dry and looking like they will casually walk in the sand and not go in the water.
That lasted 30 seconds. The ol' game of "it can't get me" is so tempting and the waves ALWAYS win!!!
You can almost hear the voices inside of Ryan's head saying...GO! GO! GO!
Yep....they just couldn't stand it.
This game is SO MUCH FUN!!!!!
Ted's turn. He was not hesitant at all. He was so ready to go all in...
Do you love that Rich lost his sandal on the way in???
Drowned rat.
It's not cold....I promise. It feels nice... Soaking wet jeans NEVER feel nice!!!
One last trip in.
After the beach we headed to lunch. Lunch was a bit of a turning point for the trip because it was during the forty-five minute wait for lunch that I realized...we need backup. And by backup, I mean a muzzle. GASP!!! Yeah, I said it and yeah, we bought one!!! We really got to the point that we realized that he was scared sh%$less and he was barking at everything and everyone. It made sense that we brought him to this new place with all of these people and while he is walking, they must look like giants and there were so many of them, it was just too much for him. So, we got the muzzle.
We called it the "Silence of the Teddy". So, he looked a little like Hannibal Lecter, so what...at least he was quiet! :) As pathetic as he looked, it was a life saver.
That night we went to a pet friendly restaurant called Bahama Billy's Steakhouse. It was pet friendly and we could eat outside on the patio with Teddy if we wanted, but we decided he could sleep in the car during dinner.
Now...let me just say that this was the BEST place to bring the boys for dinner. It was not really a kid friendly place because it seemed a little nicer than the places we usually take the kids, but this place by far had the best children's menu. Let me vent for a second...we have been to places where prices for kids meals have ranged from $5.00 to $8.00 and we have ordered food that was never touched and just wasted or we have ordered and it was a half of sandwich and two carrots sticks, which was not enough. Matthew can eat everything on his plate, no problem. However, Ryan does not and so often we hesitate getting him anything because it's usually a waste. When I saw that dinner prices at this place were $7.95, I thought about Matthew and Ryan splitting dinner because it would just be cheaper. And then when we saw the layout of their menu, we let them both order. It was as if they put all of their favorites in a bento box just for them. Each meal came with a side of pineapple and carrots and celery with ranch. Then the other two spots they got to choose a meat and then a side. Matt chose chicken strips and mac n' cheese, while Ryan chose bbq ribs and mashed potatoes. They ate every...single...bite!!! And it was a lot of food. I don't care paying for an $8 meal if there is a lot of food, but most of the time it isn't (ESPN Zone---I'm talking about you!).
The next morning we went to the Village Corner, another pet friendly place we had read about. This time we were brave and took Teddy with us. We sat out on the patio with all of the other people who had their dogs. Teddy was a little freaked out at first and then he calmed down. We do have a little confession to make...we don't ever give Teddy table scraps. EVER! Yes, he may get them at both of his Nana's houses, but he knows we don't give them to him so he never really begs. So, you can imagine his surprise when I kept feeding him under the table to keep him calm and happy. He got bread, french fries, chicken, ham, potatoes, eggs, toast....you name it, he probably got a sampling of it at some point during the trip. We felt bad...we were over-compensating for the trauma he was going through of not only being out of his house, but in a place that had thousands of people and most of them had dogs too!!!
Our stroll Sunday morning it was great because he didn't bark at anyone or other dogs. He was finally comfortable with just being out and about walking in stores and such. How do you not love a place where most signs say, "Strollers not welcome, dogs on leashes...come on in!!!" (He was only in the bag for a short time---don't bother calling Peta)
Scenic drive Saturday night. I am dead serious when I say I will retire here. I don't care if we live in a 1000 sq. ft. condo blocks from the beach that we had to pay for with our life savings!!! This is my favorite place on the planet.
He survived his first vacation. We'll definitely be back!
The whole process leading up to this weekend was hysterical. Last week...as I was hard at work closing a school year, I started making a Teddy Packing List. This list was at one point equivalent to the first time we took Matthew as a baby somewhere (which I think was Carmel). I remember loading the back of our Jeep with half the nursery and thinking...we can survive the two days...we can survive the two days. And we did, hardly touching half of the stuff we packed. The Teddy Packing List became very similar to the Matthew Packing List of long ago. Because again, the rationale of there being a Babies R Us or Target nearby in case we forgot something was gone. That same rationale of there not being a Petco or any other pet store in the area caused me to pack fifteen different items for a two day stay.
When we got to Carmel, the first place we went was to the beach. Our thought process was that we would take him down and run him around and exhaust him so he would be mild and calm all the other places we took him. This was not the case. First of all, the weather was GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!! It was mid-60's and sunny. Because I knew the weather forecast I only packed long sleeves and pants for the boys...because mid-60's does not say swim in the ocean to me. Within the first five minutes of us being there Ryan was drenched from his neck down and Matthew's jeans were soaking wet. This was not the plan...I only had one change of clothes. Teddy ran right into the water because he is part fish (he LOVES water) and he looked like a drowned rat. So, I was on the beach only four minutes before I was heading right back up the car for towels and clothes for wardrobe changes for everyone.
I managed to snap a couple of pics...
Everybody heading down, still dry and looking like they will casually walk in the sand and not go in the water.
That lasted 30 seconds. The ol' game of "it can't get me" is so tempting and the waves ALWAYS win!!!
You can almost hear the voices inside of Ryan's head saying...GO! GO! GO!
Yep....they just couldn't stand it.
This game is SO MUCH FUN!!!!!
Ted's turn. He was not hesitant at all. He was so ready to go all in...
Do you love that Rich lost his sandal on the way in???
Drowned rat.
It's not cold....I promise. It feels nice... Soaking wet jeans NEVER feel nice!!!
One last trip in.
After the beach we headed to lunch. Lunch was a bit of a turning point for the trip because it was during the forty-five minute wait for lunch that I realized...we need backup. And by backup, I mean a muzzle. GASP!!! Yeah, I said it and yeah, we bought one!!! We really got to the point that we realized that he was scared sh%$less and he was barking at everything and everyone. It made sense that we brought him to this new place with all of these people and while he is walking, they must look like giants and there were so many of them, it was just too much for him. So, we got the muzzle.
We called it the "Silence of the Teddy". So, he looked a little like Hannibal Lecter, so what...at least he was quiet! :) As pathetic as he looked, it was a life saver.
That night we went to a pet friendly restaurant called Bahama Billy's Steakhouse. It was pet friendly and we could eat outside on the patio with Teddy if we wanted, but we decided he could sleep in the car during dinner.
Now...let me just say that this was the BEST place to bring the boys for dinner. It was not really a kid friendly place because it seemed a little nicer than the places we usually take the kids, but this place by far had the best children's menu. Let me vent for a second...we have been to places where prices for kids meals have ranged from $5.00 to $8.00 and we have ordered food that was never touched and just wasted or we have ordered and it was a half of sandwich and two carrots sticks, which was not enough. Matthew can eat everything on his plate, no problem. However, Ryan does not and so often we hesitate getting him anything because it's usually a waste. When I saw that dinner prices at this place were $7.95, I thought about Matthew and Ryan splitting dinner because it would just be cheaper. And then when we saw the layout of their menu, we let them both order. It was as if they put all of their favorites in a bento box just for them. Each meal came with a side of pineapple and carrots and celery with ranch. Then the other two spots they got to choose a meat and then a side. Matt chose chicken strips and mac n' cheese, while Ryan chose bbq ribs and mashed potatoes. They ate every...single...bite!!! And it was a lot of food. I don't care paying for an $8 meal if there is a lot of food, but most of the time it isn't (ESPN Zone---I'm talking about you!).
The next morning we went to the Village Corner, another pet friendly place we had read about. This time we were brave and took Teddy with us. We sat out on the patio with all of the other people who had their dogs. Teddy was a little freaked out at first and then he calmed down. We do have a little confession to make...we don't ever give Teddy table scraps. EVER! Yes, he may get them at both of his Nana's houses, but he knows we don't give them to him so he never really begs. So, you can imagine his surprise when I kept feeding him under the table to keep him calm and happy. He got bread, french fries, chicken, ham, potatoes, eggs, toast....you name it, he probably got a sampling of it at some point during the trip. We felt bad...we were over-compensating for the trauma he was going through of not only being out of his house, but in a place that had thousands of people and most of them had dogs too!!!
Our stroll Sunday morning it was great because he didn't bark at anyone or other dogs. He was finally comfortable with just being out and about walking in stores and such. How do you not love a place where most signs say, "Strollers not welcome, dogs on leashes...come on in!!!" (He was only in the bag for a short time---don't bother calling Peta)
Scenic drive Saturday night. I am dead serious when I say I will retire here. I don't care if we live in a 1000 sq. ft. condo blocks from the beach that we had to pay for with our life savings!!! This is my favorite place on the planet.
He survived his first vacation. We'll definitely be back!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Awards and Baseball
On Monday Matthew received an award in Language Arts. We're super proud of him and all his hard work this year. He has the best stories about tornadoes...they are incredibly detailed and quite frankly, very accurate. I guess we could expect that because instead of playing games on computers he watches every tornado video on discovery.com that he can get his hands on. In all of his work from open house there is one consistent theme to all of it....tornadoes and storm chasers. I told him that a career in something less life threatening would be appreciated. His response was...."No it's not life threatening. It saves lives." But I'm just a mom, what do I know?
One proud boy!
One last shot taken by Dad on his way back to class.
And...I finally got around to taking some baseball pictures!! He didn't pitch this week, but he played third base and made a great play chasing the runner WAY out of the baseline for a tag out.
One proud boy!
One last shot taken by Dad on his way back to class.
And...I finally got around to taking some baseball pictures!! He didn't pitch this week, but he played third base and made a great play chasing the runner WAY out of the baseline for a tag out.
And this boy....he gets a big fat A+ for being VERY patient at his brother's games. He has made it VERY clear on NUMEROUS occasions that he doesn't want to be there....but he finds ways to make the time go by...
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Coolest Birthday Party!
A couple of weeks ago Matthew got an invitation to Elle's, a friend from basketball and school, birthday party. Matthew and Elle have been friends for several years, but their friendship first start in basketball when he realized that she could actually play. He gravitates towards kids who can play well and Elle plays well, so they hit if off quick. The birthday party was at this place called Pipework in Sacramento. Coolest place ever!!!
There were 12 kids there and they had a blast. It was so much fun watching them and cheering for them. All of the kids were totally into doing it and no one was scared at all.
Getting strapped up.
Matthew and Elle
Look at Elle go! Can you tell she's done this before??? She set the pace and the rest of the kids stepped up!
Starting on the small wall. Yes...it's still a long way up!
Spiderman he may not be...but, he's was slowly getting the hang of it.
This side was only about 30 feet up.
He had to try where Elle went. This one was much harder and he almost quit several times.
He made it finally...but he was tired after! :)
This turned out to be the hit of the party. The girl who works there would raise them up the rope and then drop them and catch them right before the bottom. It was very cool and the looks on their faces were priceless. All of us parents were not only holding our breaths, but we were laughing the hardest too!
I love this picture because this will be fabulous to have when this group is leaving Reese to bring this back out at promotion to share!
And this one too! :)
There were 12 kids there and they had a blast. It was so much fun watching them and cheering for them. All of the kids were totally into doing it and no one was scared at all.
Getting strapped up.
Matthew and Elle
Look at Elle go! Can you tell she's done this before??? She set the pace and the rest of the kids stepped up!
Starting on the small wall. Yes...it's still a long way up!
Spiderman he may not be...but, he's was slowly getting the hang of it.
This side was only about 30 feet up.
He had to try where Elle went. This one was much harder and he almost quit several times.
He made it finally...but he was tired after! :)
This turned out to be the hit of the party. The girl who works there would raise them up the rope and then drop them and catch them right before the bottom. It was very cool and the looks on their faces were priceless. All of us parents were not only holding our breaths, but we were laughing the hardest too!
SO FUN!!!
I love this picture because this will be fabulous to have when this group is leaving Reese to bring this back out at promotion to share!
And this one too! :)
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