We're Godparents Again!

Today was a most special day for our beautiful nephew Ethan Smythe.  Not only is he our nephew, but he is now our God Son.  We love him so much and we are honored to be his God Parents!

Gracie with her little brother Ethan

We are blessed to be God Parents again, and so blessed to be the God Parents of these wonderful children.

Ok, so I think this is funny...

Jeff and I were reading the newspaper the other day and while reading the comics he noted that he didn't really find any of them funny.  I also perused through them, and sure enough, I didn't enjoy any of them either.  It's not that Jeff and I lack a sense of humor, or don't enjoy animation, it's just these were, to put it in teenager terms, "kinda lame".  I have boxes and boxes of comic strip books, most of them old, but most of them funny.  I used to love the "Far Side" comics, and Calvin Hobbes.  But I can't seem to find any that I like as much today.  But I did see one not too long ago that I found funny.  A good friend of mine posted it on a blog and I chuckled, so I am re posting it for you.

I just love that Jesus is hiding behind the curtain.  And I love the sandals sticking out.  It suits my quirky sense of humor.  I think laughter is a blessing.  

Hats off to Katie!

I wear many hats in this family.  I'm a wife, a mom, a cook, a laundress, a chauffeur, a tutor, a financial planner,  a housekeeper, and occasionally a referee.  I wear these hats figuratively, of course.  Which is a good thing because I have never been much of a hat person myself.  I can't stand having something on my head, unless it is absolutely necessary for safety reasons.  But one of us in our family has special genes.  Hat genes.  If given the choice she would have a hat on all the time.  I'm talking about Kaitlyn Rose.

My youngest blessing has been a hat lover from the moment she emerged into this world.  She would relax and doze contentedly the instant an infant hat was placed on her head, and the entire house knew immediately when it fell off.  Somewhere around nine months of age, Katie realized that not only were the hats comfy, they were also a fashion statement. " Hat" was one of her first words, and she wore a hat whenever we went out.  Thankfully, we had a few beautiful pink ones, handed down from cousin Gracie.

One day, while cleaning out brothers drawers, we came across a hat knitted for him by Grandma Ida.  It was a beautiful green multicolored hat, but it was now too small.  Katie saw it, let out a squeal, and it was added to her wardrobe.  She started wearing it everywhere and even wore it to bed.  Even as the weather turned warm, and the sun began to burn, she wanted to wear the hat.  Her cheeks would flush and sweat would appear on her forehead, but she didn't want to take it off.  You can imagine the comments that I got at the grocery store.  Here was a little girl in summer shorts, tank top, sandals, and a winter hat.  It was quite the look.

Katie and her favorite green hat.

I just figured that she loved that particular green hat.  But as it turns out, she loves hats in general.  Not a day goes by when she hasn't spent some time with a hat on her head.  It's been great when we go to the beach or to the park, because of that extra level of sun protection.  And to top it off, it's just darn cute.

Sometimes it starts first thing in the morning:

I'll bet you didn't know that breakfast tastes better when you're wearing a hat.  She found this sun hat and it became an instant favorite.

Then one day, we were cleaning in my closet, and she found this crazy pop out gardening hat.  Think of the sunshades that they have for cars, but instead in hat form.  She loved it!  It was big.  It was pink.  It was hers!

There was just one problem.......

The hat was almost bigger that she was!  

But she had determination, and even though she bumped into doors and walls, she still managed to wear the hat for a couple of hours.

Hey, who turned out the lights?

Her enthusiasm for hats was contagious, and big brother decided that if a hat was that much fun, then he needed to wear one too.  But he didn't want to be pink and girly.  He needed one that was dark and manly.

The hat game was short lived for brother, but it's really an everyday occurrence for Kaitlyn Rose.  I would say that she loves to play dress up, but it's not really "dress up" for her.  It's more like a lifestyle choice.  So hats off to Katie.  I think it is a blessing to figure out what you like at an early age, and to roll with it.  And Grandma Ida, if you are reading this, we could really use a new knitted hat.  You can only wash them so many times.........

Blessings to you all, and hats off to you for taking the time to read my blog!

Making Friends

My son is longing for friends.  Boys to be exact.  He is almost four and has finally realized that he would like to play with someone who thinks a little more like himself.  Not that he doesn't like girls mind you, because he thinks girls are great, he's just looking for someone who understands the joy of making car noises while playing with hot wheels, or belting out a good dinosaur ROAR.

Unfortunately, as he was begging to play with Colby, his playmate of choice was busy having surgery.  So we roamed off to the park in search of other kids to play with.  We went to the park by the rec center out at SDCE.  I thought we had hit the jack pot because there were so many little boys at the park that day.

He went up to the first one and said, "HI, MY NAME IS JEFFREY, WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"
The little boy threw sand in his face.

He went up to the second one and said, "Hi, my name is Jeffrey, what's your name?"
The second little boy gave him a shove in the chest and ran away.

Now deflated, he looked back at me.  I must admit, it wasn't going so well.
He went up to the third little boy, and in a meek voice said, "Hi, my name is Jeffrey...."
The little boy just growled at him and went back to what he was doing.

So, I  grabbed him and left.  He had tears in his eyes and said, "Those kids didn't want to play with me."  I told him that it was my fault, that I accidentally took him to the "bad" kid park, but now we were going to the "good" kid park.  I drove out to Dos Picos and he drug his feet as we headed to the playground.  I saw another little boy about his age playing by himself, and a mom with an infant.  I encouraged him to try one more time.

He walked up and said, "Hi, my name is Jeffrey, what is your name?"
The little boy smiled and said, "My name is Justin."
I saw junior let out his breath.  No sand throwing, growling, or grumpiness.

"J is for Jeffrey",  Jr. said.
"J is for Justin", said the little boy.

Jr. was content knowing that this kid could appreciate the letter J, one of his favorite things in the world.
They went on to play nicely, and had some of the funniest conversations.

This is my favorite:

"My daddy builds houses, and schools, and playgrounds, and swimming pools, and...and .....TRASH CANS!" said Jr. proudly.

Justin replied, "My daddy builds robots and rocket ships."

"Does he build dinosaurs?" asked Jr.

"No," said Justin. "He can't build anything that eats."

Jr. nodded his head like that made perfect sense.

Then they both looked back to us, the moms, and I wondered what they were thinking.  Did they realize that their mom had "built" them, a person that eats?  I don't know what was going through each of their minds, but I do believe that in appreciating and bragging about their dads,  maybe they thought for a moment of their moms, too.  After all, I was the one who got him to the park, and I was the one who tried to be there when life threw sand in his face.  We can't fix everything for our kids, but we can show them how to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and try again.

Unfortunately, I didn't even think to ask Justin's mom if she wanted to meet at the park again.  She wasn't terribly talkative, and maybe didn't need a new mommy friend in her life.  But I can tell you, I was really grateful that the universe managed to put us at the park at the same time.  Jr. needed that confirmation that he could make friends.  So, to Justin, where ever you are....Blessings to you little guy.  You made my little boy's day!

Emily's 12th Birthday

So, yesterday was the dozen year mark for my beautiful Emily.  She had a fun day, at least from my point of view.  Her aunt and grandma brought her by some presents in the morning, and she had a chance to share a piece of cake with her cousins.  The rest of the festivities started at 1:00pm when her two best friends came by for a sleep over.  There was the usual giggling and goofing, and of course fake tattoo-ing.  Really, what would a birthday party be without a whole bunch of fake tattoos?  I'm sporting a brand new green and black butterfly, thank you very much.  The girls all declared that these were high quality fake tattoos, as the color stayed really bright.  And that's what's important when you're twelve;  a good, high quality, fake tattoo.

Later on, we made Emily's birthday dinner.  Before I tell you what it was, I must tell you of our family tradition that the birthday celebrant gets to pick his or her dinner.  The rest of us have to abide by the decision.  Emily picked chili cheese tater tots.  Think chili cheese fries, but with tater tots.  Topped with sour cream.  Usually, Jeff and I suck it up and eat what ever the kids choose, but the chili sounded like it would bring too much pain  later on.  And we were out of Zantac, so we opted for a couple of tacos.  The tween and teen crowd loved it, and had gigantic plates full of the stuff, as Jeff and I looked on in horror.  But that's what she picked, and those are the house rules.

Later on we sang happy birthday, as she blew out the candles on her birthday pie.  Yes, pie.  Pumpkin to be exact.  (House rules, remember?)  At least it was an easy enough request this year.  Last year she wanted pumpkin pie, and it was the year of the great pumpkin shortage, and there was not a can of pumpkin to be found anywhere in the world.  Until we looked in Auntie's cupboard.  Thankfully, Auntie's lack of pie making from the thanksgiving before worked to our benefit for Emily's 11th birthday.

Pumpkin Pie, in July!

Two good friends, the birthday girl, and a little brother.

So, another party down.  Next is mine, then Jr's, then cousin Colby's, then Grandma's, then cousin Ethan's, then Katie's, then cousin Gracie's, and then we are done for 2011.  Whew.  That's a lot of birthdays and a lot of birthday cake.  No wonder Emily chose pie.  But a lot of birthdays mean a lot of blessings.  And that's what makes a life a happy one!

Let's Play Dough!

So the other day, the little ones were bored and I was trying to think of something for them to do that would keep them out of their daddy's hair.  He was trying to paint some panels on the car, and they wanted to be outside, but couldn't because of the painting.  So we made play dough.  I don't know about you, but I can always use a little more dough in my life!

It really is a kid friendly activity, although I must admit, usually messier than I would ideally like it to be.  The kids have fun measuring out the dry ingredients, but you really have to take over when its time for the boiling water.

So, here is the World's Best Play-Dough recipe:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 tsp of Cream of Tartar
2 cups boiling water
2 tbsp oil
2 packages of small unsweetend Kool Aid (we like orange, or grape)

First, mix all of the dry ingredients together.  This is the kid part, and if you do it right, both you, your kitchen and your children will be covered in flour.  This is the best part from the kids point of view.

Next, in a big glass bowl, microwave 2 cups of water until boiling.  This, of course, is the non kid part.  Add the oil and the Kool Aid, stiring until dissolved.  Then while the water is hot, add it to the flour mixture, stirring like a wild woman.  Dough will be sticky and hot as all get out.  Add extra flour as needed if the dough is too sticky to handle.  When you can stand to touch the dough, knead it on a floured surface for a few minutes until you have made a large ball of dough that has a good "play" consistency.  Let the dough cool before giving it to the kids to play with.

Jr's Big Grape Ball

I have been using this recipe since Alicia was 3 and a preschool teacher gave it to me.  It is great because it is quick and easy to make.  We have made this for birthday parties, play dates, and sleep overs.  It makes enough for 4-5 kids to play with at a time, and is probably equal to about 5 cans of regular play dough.  I love it because the Kool Aid makes it smell wonderful.  Anyhow, give it a try if you have little ones.  Blessings to you all, and many happy play dough creations.

Hidden Magic Circle

The kids and I had a wonderful outing the other day.  We found out that at Kit Carson Park in Escondido there is the coolest (at least in my opinion) sculpture garden.  It is called Queen Califia's Magic Circle Garden.  It is the only sculpture garden in north america, and was created by artist Niki de Saint Phalle.

Isn't that so cool?  It is covered in tiny tiles and stones.  It is one big gigantic mosaic.  I am in awe at the amount of work that was put into this garden.  This is the center piece of the garden and underneath has a spot that you can sit.  And inside of it is a golden egg that Jr. loved.

It also has these really cool totems.

Anyhow, the kids had fun.  Even though we have been to this park, who knows how many times, we have never come across this sculpture garden.  It is hidden in the back of the park, and is fenced.  We never made it to the back of the park.  We always went to either the girl scout hut, or the playground.  How we missed this for all these years I'll never know.  The sad thing is, that it apparently keeps getting vandalised.  Why someone would want to screw up something so cool is beyond me, but it takes all kinds and not everyone is appreciative of the hard work that went into this.  It made us smile.

Kisses to you all!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today is our 19th Wedding Anniversary!  I am so proud of us that we have made it this far, especially in this day and age.  I love my husband so much.  We had a wonderful anniversary dinner yesterday, just the two of us.

Happy Independence Month!

We had a nice fourth of July weekend.  It was great to have Jeff home for an extra day.  We decided to find our way to the beach, which in retrospect, is not always a good idea on a holiday weekend.  We thought if we went early enough we would try to go to Power Station Park in Del Mar.  It's actually a really cool place for little kids.    For those of you who haven't been, (and maybe it was only me..) there is a nice grassy area and a playground, and a few steps away is the beach.  Bathrooms are clean and close by.

But, that wasn't where we went.  We couldn't park because it was the fourth of July.  Duh.  You have to get up at the crack of dawn to park.  We were late.  It was 7am.  So, we went a little farther down, and low and behold was the cutest little beach spot.  I paid three dollars and hour for parking, and anyone who knows me, knows that I hate to pay for parking.  That being said, it was worth it.  I couldn't understand why more people weren't  there.  I think it was because it was away from all the main tourist areas.  It really seemed as if only local people were there.   It was so unpopulated that I could look around and see all my kids at once.  Gentle waves, nice sand, and really cool sea shells.  Two thumbs up.

Emily and Alicia

Jr. had a great time, but prefers sand to water.

And what would a blog post be without a picture of me waving from the distance?

And messy Katie on the way home....

A good day was had by all.