Date Night....

Chris and I have a date night once in a blue moon.

But when we do, the kids get just as excited as we do.

Perhaps they get excited because they are parent free for a few hours.

Perhaps it's because they are allowed to watch tv & play video games while we're gone.

But I seriously think it's all about the photo ops!

Ways to promote literacy...

A coin drive to raise money for books.

A Book Fair to buy the books.

Giving the kids a reason to read.

These past few weeks I've been a busy beaver trying to infect the school with my love of reading.  We have a yearly book fair but I wanted to shake things up a bit by adding a coin drive & reading challenge.

The coin drive was a huge success. It was enough that we were able to give teachers extra support to purchase books for their classroom libraries. These purchases just added to the overall book fair totals which meant more cash back for our school's library!

The reading challenge was more complicated then I expected. I gathered the tracking sheets at the end of each day and posted the totals on a banner the next morning. It was slow going at first, but by the end we were oh so close to our goal of 100,000 minutes read. I am still very happy with the results and I know that when we do this again, we will bust through that total!

The funny part of all of this? I've been so busy I haven't been able to read. Thankfully Thanksgiving is right around the corner!

Ghostly pursuits & soccer fun

This past week we saw the end of the Fall Soccer Season.

When asked if she wanted to do this again, Blake said "meh".

For Halloween Blake busted out as Lady Liberty! She ended every trick or treat with "FREEDOM!"

For an overnight party time, Chris constructed this cardboard fort.

But it just ended up being a life-sized game of whack-a-mole. 

And we ended the most amazingly dryish weekend with a walk in the park.

Life is good.

Before Blake started school I told Chris I wanted to volunteer and be active in her school community. He laughed and said "Volunteer once and the PTA will have their claws in you. You'll never be able to get away."

Four years later I am now the PTA president. To say I'm busy is an understatement. And when I feel like slowing down or not caring as much, Blake reminds me why I work so hard with each smile when we talk about events at her school.

Last Friday we held our annual fall dance.

 There was hair painting and spray tattooing....

A few games and lots of dancing....

But best of all there were tons of smiles!

It Works

As crazy as it gets I have to thank my lucky stars to work for such a great company.

Just yesterday I saw this as I was running to a meeting....

And the group from my old position was gracious enough to donate swag for a basket auction at Blake's school!

And since it was a late start for our schools in Portland, I was able to stay home and work from home so I could make sure they made it to class.

As with any job I'm sure I would be singing a different tune depending on the day. But at this moment I am a happy camper.

Kickin' It & Goolish Fun

This weekend I was determined to take this cold and shove it, but it ended up just shoving back harder. I was feeling much better but come Saturday I suddenly felt drained. I spent most of the morning/afternoon feeling worse then ever. It was like the snot trolls saw this opportunity to really hit me where it counts...my weekend! But that didn't stop our family from having fun and doing our thing. 

On Saturday night a few of the designers I know had a showing at Gallery 135. It was part of "Nike Graphic Studio Art Show: Outside the Box" where proceeds went to the Girl Effect, a movement to support adolescent girls worldwide. We were all in awe at the AMAZING art.

Sunday the rains stayed away long enough for our crew to get to work. We spookified the house!

..... carved some pumpkins (that we grew ourselves).....

... and ended the weekend feeling accomplished!

Everything Shine

Blake wanted to sing.

She wanted to either be in a choir or take singing lessons so Chris did some research and found a fabulous choir group here in Portland called Shine Children's Chorus. They have a wonderfully talented director and they happen to sing modern music.

At their first concert of the season they sang Time After Time by the fabulous Cyndi Lauper and Wake Up by Arcade Fire among other wonderful songs. The kids did great! Mom was oh so proud! (can you tell?)

Blake is in the front row, second from the left. Enjoy!

On the need to share.

Looking back on my posts was like looking at amplified snapshots of what my life was like; the silliness and the good. It made me laugh and cry to see how much and our lives have changed in just the past two years. How quickly time flies and it seems to be going faster now that I find my wee little ones becoming tweens.

Years ago I would be looking at the weekends as family time. Looking for events in the summer and craft projects to do with the kids in the winter. The past few months our weekends have been juggling social calendars, choir practice/concerts, soccer games, and everything else.

When I do have some free time, I tend to fold into myself either with a good book or making plans for PTA events. I'll openly admit I haven't knitted anything in weeks and my bathroom could use a good scrub. So I guess that leaves me with the overall question. How long will it take to burn my candle if the wick is lit from both ends? I have a feeling I will know soon enough.

So if you happen to see a women with messy hair and a slight twitch in her eye, please be kind because it might just be me. 

Crazy Kids

What do you get when you take two crazy kids and give them a shoe box?

THIS!

time passes, but nothing ever changes

It's been a while since I've blogged. And for my one fan out there (hey mom!), I give my dearest apologies. Life is...well, you know. So here is an update of what's been going on:

Blake just turned 7 and one of her big presents this year was a drum set! She's in the garage right this second "jamming". She also is loving first grade. Her teacher keeps things fun!

Ranen on the other hand is not loving 5th grade. His studies are getting more intense and the fact that he's growning up is a bit stressful for him! But he still loves drawing, video games and all things WWE related. We took the whole family to Smackdown a couple of weeks ago. This was one happy boy!

Chris is doing well. He's still looking for a job. Times are tough, but at least he found a new hobby! He's been ripping apart the back yard. He wants to build a miniature greenhouse! He's determined to successfully grow peppers. Perhaps next year...

And me? Well, last month I started with a new group at work. I am now working along a couple of designers updating college identities! It's very exciting and everyday brings something new.

The pets are all doing fine and I guess we're all just trying to get the most out of each sunny day before winter sets in. There's a lot coming up: Blake has a field trip to a pumpkin patch, Ranen is having his 5th grade concert and Chris and I may have a date night planned! Until then!

Who done it?

It was an ordinary afternoon in an ordinary driveway when we discovered the decapitated remains of Tiger. The children were in shock. I was in horror. And the culprit came back to the scene of the crime!

Zoo

Last week Chris and I chaperoned Blake's Kindergarten class to the Portland Zoo. Even though it was wet, we had a flippen good time all thanks to Chris. I have to admit that he is the "fun" grownup in our house and it came in handy with the four girls we were in charge of.

We nicknamed the small group the Pink Polar Bears. We had chants, a special hand bump/firework jester and growl. We saw tons of animals and even threw in a game of tag. It was exhausting, but totally worth it.

OMSI

This weekend was beyond disappointing. No sun. No sun at all. What's up with that?

So yesterday, Blake and I went to our go-to Portland blah day place...OMSI. It's been a while since our last visit and we thought we've done/seen everything. But once again OMSI had a few surprises for us.

The first was this huge T-REX skeleton.


The paleontology lab was open so we touched lots of fossils. The holograph room was open as well. They have a hologram of a microscope. If you look in the microscope you see an image. It blew me away.

The Chem lab was open as well so we tried out a few stations. Previously Blake was too antsy to sit through a 6 step process, but she was excited to do an experiment more then one time.


We rocked the safety goggles!

And upstairs, in the 6 and under room, I caught a glimpse of something rare. Something that I may never see again.

It was hard to get visual proof...


It was elusive/invasive and tricky.


But if you look closely, you can see my daughter dressed up in a chipmunk vest.

Rockin'

Last weekend Chris brought home Band Hero.


We were all in awe. This game is flipping addictive. If the kids were to spend the same amount of time playing on real instruments, then we could totally go on tour as a real band!


We already have our favorite rock star poses.



And our youngest has declared that she wants to take real drum lessons. Cool.

Garden

I have to give Chris some big props.

He worked his butt off in March/April taking out the two trees in the front and making the raised bed, garden ready. This meant digging out the layers of dirt, weed blocker, and pebbles and putting in layers of compost. One day I offered to help shovel and after 1/3 of the truck bed was emptied I was achy and done. It's back breaking work so today when Chris geeked out about eating the first veggie from the garden, a radish, I geeked along with him.


They are a still a bit small, but he needed to thin them out a bit. This year is the first for us and radishes and also for broccoli.


It blows my mind when I see how a veggie actually grows! You mean they don't just magically appear on the supermarket floor??

But what I'm really excited for are the strawberries!


So a big thanks to Chris for doing such a great job on my garden!

Happy Mothers Day...to me!

I can't believe this is my first post in 2010. Where on earth have I been and why haven't I been blogging? Well, to put it in a nutshell...work has been kicking my ass and the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was to sit in front of another computer. But the big deadline has come and gone and though things are still crazy, it's not 12 hr day crazy. So I'm back and just in time for summer fun. Here's a quick run down of what's been happening at the homestead.

Me: Work. I hate to admit but that's been the dominating 'theme' since January. Nuf Said.

Chief: He had a vasectomy on Monday and is doing well. I even made him a "sorry about your balls" cake. Ahhh the things you do for love. :-) He's still in a couple of bands and my hero for being in charge of the garden. He plans on starting back on the job hunt once he can walk without waddling!

Thumbs: 4th grade is almost over and both C and I are a little freaked at how fast he's growing up. He is still way into his drawing classes. I find these random drawings all over the house that make my mouth drop. We are just happy that he has a passion other than video games!

Smalls: Well, this one is ready for kindergarten to be over with. She wants to be a first grader! She's in love with wresting (help me) and Zhu Zhu pets. She tries so hard to be independent but there are moments, like today, when she just needs a hug from her mommy!

The dogs: Both are doing well and getting along. There are times when I see Noro licking Hershey's face. It makes me giddy until Noro then tries to hump Hershey. Ahhh brotherly love.

Here are the kids before the St. John's parade.


Mothers...have a most excellent day! You all deserve it!

Refashion Truths.

In preparation for the toys Santa was bound to bring, I asked the kids to go through their rooms and remove the things they no longer wanted or played with. In the middle of the big clean, Blake shyly comes up to me with the cake costume in her hand.

B: "Mom, is it okay if I tell you I don't want this".

V: "Sure honey....But you don't want it for dress up?"

B: "Is it okay if I say that I don't like it?"

V: "Oh my gosh! Did you not like it at Halloween?"

B: "No, I felt silly."

V: "So...you wore it for me?"

B: "I didn't want to hurt your feelings."

[big hugs]

So after I explained to her that it was okay to tell me how she feels about things, we went back to finishing her room. We came across two dresses that she didn't want. Feeling inspired to get my craft on, I decided to do a few refashions...

I took a 4T dress


removed the bodice and added elastic to make a skirt.


I then did the same thing to this dress:


And added some mesh to make it poofy

It didn't take long and when i was done I asked Blake what she thought.

B: "I'm sorry mom but I don't like them."

shoot. Well, at least I've learned my lesson. My daughter has a definite sense of what she likes and what she doesn't. Perhaps the next time I feel inspired, I should just ask what she thinks BEFORE I buy or refashion anything.

Cinnamon Bear

A few nights ago I came home to find Chris and Blake totally enamored with "The Cinnamon Bear". It's a twenty-six chapter holiday radio program originally broadcast in 1937. Blake was amazed that radio was the main entertainment for a family back in the day. She fell in love with Cinnamon Bear and the magical world of Maybeland.

In the days since we've turned on the radio program (thanks internet!), turned off the main lights snuggled on the couch and listened while watching the Christmas tree lights twinkle. It's really been magical and I feel positive this will become part of our holiday family tradition.

So when Chris saw that the Portland Spirit had a "Cinnamon Bear" cruise he had to take Blake! So while I was at work they had a fancy-pants time!

There was, of course Cinnamon Bear:


This picture is dark but we were able to buy a professional shot which seconded as an autograph book.


A few characters were on hand to sign autographs and pose for cute photo ops.


The cost of the ticket included food, drink, and a magic show!


And the view rocked! When all was said and done, Blake said it was the best time ever.

Holiday treats.

It's awesome when kids bring home treats.


Ranen made this at school. So AWESOME!

BTW. Blake's illness only lasted 24 hours. She is doing great and both kids are very excited for Santa's impending visit!

When kids get sick.

Last night we were watching the Phineas and Ferb Christmas special when it happened. Blake refused popcorn. POPCORN. Her favorite thing in the whole wide world. I knew something was up but she had no fever so I took it as her being fickle and we went back to watching the show.

About 10 minutes later, as I was washing dishes, I heard her run to the bathroom. Now as a parent I've been lucky that as a kid Blake has never vomited. It was like she had an iron stomach that could withstand anything.

So it broke my heart to hear her ask, "Mommy? [heave] Am I throwing up? [heave] Am I going to die? [heave]"

Needless to say, she survived the night. She's currenlty napping but as a parent it breaks my heart to see my energetic, spastic kid quiet and so worn out.

Now I'm waiting for the rest of us to join in on the fun! uck.