Ah... now, I can relax. WHAT!!! It's Christmas time?

So I got done with all of my work, submitted my final papers (got an A on that big one by the way) and registered for classes for next semester. Good news, only 6 units instead of 9! Hooray.

I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that I was done and I could relax. Then, I fell asleep! The next morning, I realized that I had Christmas to contend with and there was much to be done!

I did the Christmas cookies with my Aunts last weekend and we had a wonderful family dinner together afterwards. We had a great time and got some gorgeous and delicious cookies from our labors. We also decorated the tree during the week and got the rest of the decorations up.

Aunt Marie-licking the bowl!

Aunt Sylvia, showing us how to do the traditional holly and berries.
Just a few of the finished cookies!
Cousin Jeff made ribs and beans...oh, and Uncle Dave changed an outlet and put in a dimmer switch while he was here!
The kids were literally vibrating and had major meltdowns before crashing into bed!

We had a CRAZY fun weekend.. we went to the Whittier Christmas Parade and Gavin marched with our church. Ella and Andy weren't up for it, and I thought that sitting with them sounded nice... so he joined some friends and led the group! In the afternoon, we made our family ornaments. (A tradition since Andy and I first lived together, we make an ornament - or set of ornaments- for our tree) It has been challenging to find things that the kids can do with us, but we have done it. This year were these pretty, beaded snowflakes! Ella did a great job and even made two! Girls really are different! Gavin was more about getting DONE! Saturday evening we were scheduled to stay with GiGi (Andy's Gramma) so that his parents could go out. We had Indian food for dinner, ate a giant chocolate bar and watched "The Year Without a Santa Claus" by the fire.

Sunday morning we went to the L.A. Zoo with my brother Allen and his family. The kids had a great time! By the time we got home, it was getting late and we all got changed into our fancy Christmas clothes to go to the Friends Church Christmas Dinner with my mom, stepdad and Andy's family. We have done this together since that first Christmas together, too. The kids got to see Santa, but Ella did not want to get anywhere near him. He snuck up behind her so that I could get a shot! We came home, sorted through the piles of presents that I have been stashing in my closet for the last 3 months and figured out that we just need one thing for Ella and something little for her stocking and a few things for family members, but we know just what we are getting. We made our list and checked it twice and then, we fell into bed!

Is he thinking about what he wants for Christmas,

or trying to answer the "Naughty/Nice" question?

Posing in her pretty dress... FAR away from Santa.
She is not happy with me.. but, Thank You Santa!

I sent Ella to the babysitter today, just like I have every Monday (so that I could study) and I wrapped up ALL of the gifts. I did all of the laundry and put it all away! (since I have been in school, it gets folded, but not put away...) I caught up on quite a few t.v. shows and I made dinner. Now, I am blogging and next I am going to make some fudge

and then work on my Thank you notes from my birthday party.

Very productive.. but boy, I still have a long way to go!

all...most...there....

So close to done... finished the big papers, have to do a 3 page final and 3 journal entries tomorrow after I put in an hour at the office... THEN I AM DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will be making a big batch of Chicken Enchilladas for dinner and then, I will fall down!

I can't wait to focus on the holiday stuff and put the school stuff aside for a while.

Oh, but wait.. I have a meeting at school next Monday and then a test on the 10th and then, what???? More school stuff!? I thought that I was on a break!

Until I finish...

Wishing I could post more often...

I keep thinking that I will post, but I have SO many things to fill my day! Most of them involve school or trying to play catch up with the house and then chill out with the kids. The other night when Andy and Gavin went to piano, I really wanted to do all of the dishes so that Andy wouldn't have to, but .... Ella asked me to play with her, and so we did some "activities" together. I bought a workbook program for each of the kids when they were toddlers and it introduces shapes, colors and lots of other concepts. It has songs, rhymes, games and sticker pages and set comes with a CD and a craft. Ella has really almost outgrown the program but we haven't gotten through all of the books just yet, so we are still doing them. Now, she is such a big girl and gets the concepts so quickly and has a much longer attention span that we did an ENTIRE book in one sitting! She loved it! Then we made a sock puppet together and had it do silly things! We listened to some music and danced together and before I knew it, the time was up and she was off to bed. Needless to say, I did not get the dishes done, but I had a great time with my girl! Thankfully, Andy realizes what was more important and wasn't the least bit upset. He did the dishes and I conked out on the couch, exhausted.

This weekend I am working on my final paper for my Psych of Ed class...it is going to be tough and I have to do really well (read "A") on it, because I expect it of myself. After Dream Dinners this morning, I came home to an empty house (Andy took the kids to his parent's house for the day) and I read the article and began my note cards for my paper. I don't feel like I got much done, but I am sure that it is more than I think. (It usually is!) I will let thoughts roll around in my brain tonight and get up in the morning and continue with my note cards. This is a technique that I used in college doing my under grad work and it seems to help. I write all of my thoughts, quotes, questions and answers on cards and then organize them into the order that they will fit into my paper. Then I sit at the computer and type up the paper, using my cards as the meat of it so that all I really have to type is the filler and more of my thoughts. I got the intro, the closing and the first section figured out in cards, so I have 3 more sections to get to. I am hoping to have the cards done by tomorrow night! I want to have the paper written by the end of Thanksgiving weekend.... only thing about that is that we are having work done on the family room that weekend!

We decided that our Christmas gift to ourselves will be the lighting in our family room. We have wanted it for a while and now that we have lived here for a few years, I think we really know what we want. We have a great electrician that is a good guy, a hard worker and gives us a low price.. plus he lets Andy work with him which helps Andy learn and gets the work done faster (less money). I am really excited about the project and wanted it done before the holidays, BUT realized that it had to get done before we decorated or everything would be covered in dust! So...it will be done and the next weekend we will have the electrical done in Gavin's room. The closet system is now in, and then Andy will paint the trim...it is moving along, but it is a slow process! I am impatient and I want it all done NOW!!!!

I am nervous about the holidays, I know that they are going to sneak up on me because I cannot devote even so much as a thought towards them right now. School takes all precedent....My last day is December 9th and everything is due then... I have several short journal entries, the last two sections of my TPA (Teaching Performance Assessment) which is a BIG project, a 3 page write up and my big final. That doesn't sound like much, but I also have readings for class next week and the week after.. and on Monday, I present my Math lesson. I feel like I can handle it, but not much else...this season may be on the simple side.. no Christmas cards, not as much decorating, and because of money...there won't be many gifts. I will enjoy the gift of family and time....oh, and sleep!

TAG!

My friend Gina tagged me, oh, about a month ago and it took me forever to get pictures of each of the items on the list, and then it took me another forever to find the time to upload and post. But finally.. here it is... I am not sure why this is so interesting, but... here is a window into my life! My kitchen sink.. this is in the morning.. by afternoon there is a little pile of dishes in it and my hubby cleans it all up after dinner, so that I can start all over the next day!

This is my laundry room that is VERY beige.. yuck, we have paint picked out, but.. we have to patch the wall, and build a cabinet around the water heater, and we might replace the floor, and hmmm... should we get a new back door? So... it will wait.

This is me! With Ella on the day we went up to "Apple Country"... we are enjoying a yummy roll and some fried chicken.. there are very few pics of me ever so I am glad that Andy snapped this one.. I just wish that he would have given me some more warning.

My favorite room is the living room and dining room, they are really just one long room with the entry in between. I think that I love these two rooms most, because they are the most "finished" and pulled together. I would still like to re-do the window treatments and we have plans to have sconces put on the wall on either side of the couch. The toys will soon be moving into the bedrooms and there will be less clutter on the bookshelves (and on the floor, and the coffee table, and...)

This is my closet, Andy's stuff is on the top and to the left and my stuff is on the bottom and to the right...it is not big, but it is mighty. It actually doesn't look like this now, because I just did a big purge and got rid of a bunch of stuff that I should not have owned anymore...like the shirt that I bought in 1987 for my first job interview! HA! It was cute, but getting a little tired! Most of the other clothes were not THAT old, but I ditched the long floral dresses and some stuff that I wore on my honeymoon.

This is my fridge and yes, it always looks neat and "merchandised"... the only thing unusual here is that the fruit drawer looks REALLY empty! Like there is one pear and 2 avacados in there!

And, finally.. this.. is my toilet! I don't know why anyone would want to see that, but it was in the tag! As you can see, it is clean.. but it appears that my trashcan needs to be emptied!

So.. that is the tag.. I am not going to formally "tag" anyone, but if you feel so inclined... please post strange and random pictures from around your home. I guess that the original rules say that you can't clean anything up before you start shooting... I didn't, but I happen to be a total neat freak.. so, clean, don't clean.. take some wacky pics and let us see into your life! The next one I do, might just be on the contents of my purse! Watch out!

Haircut

I got my haircut a few weeks ago and I asked my stylist to pretty much leave it just the way it was, but trim it a LITTLE bit and do something to get rid of the grey! It was getting really noticeable and making my hair look even ashier than usual! I told her that I would come back to have the front re-trimmed after my birthday party, but for now it was mostly perfect.

Well, she highlighted it and that came out great and she trimmed it and then, she worked on someone else, came back to me and started hacking away! It was as if she had completely forgotten what I had said and that she had already trimmed my hair and all I was waiting for was to be styled! She then handed me over to a young gal (that makes ME sound OLD) who blew my hair so straight I felt like a cousin to the Scarecrow! I left upset and hating my hair. After spending the amount of money that I did, I expected to be accosted by someone dying to have me as a hair model!

It was o.k. for the party and now, 2 weeks later, it is fine. Lesson learned... always allow 2 weeks between haircut and event! I also ALWAYS hate the way they style my hair! They blow it out and then put it all in my face. I have straight hair...it does NOT need to be straighter, AND I have a tiny face and when you hide most of it with hair...it makes my nose look big! (silly?) I also think that my my hair being straight makes my head look even smaller, which, in turn, makes my butt look big... but that is probably a whole other show! So, here is my hair! What do you think?

First pic... flat, ugh!

Second pic... after I tried to floof (yes... that is a real world in my book) it up a bit.

Third pic...tonight, 2 weeks later

(I took the first two myself and the angle is all wierd and Andy took the third one, so it is better)

Still Here, Still Hangin On

October was INSANELY busy with parties and soccer and midterms and ?????? I made it through and I am exhausted, but hanging in there! Sadly, we cancelled our trip to Arizona this weekend but we are all wiped out! Ella was begging to stay home in her pajamas and do nothing all day!

I have a list a mile long of posts that I want to do (yes Gina, I still have the tag waiting!) but it is time for us to head to my in-laws house for the yummy dinner that I made! We are having Ham Chowder, Sweet Potato Biscuits, BLT Ceasar Salad and Blackberry Swirl Pie for dessert!

We did some catching up on household chores yesterday and I got ready for the last push of my semester. I have some projects to complete and a lot of reading, but the end is in sight. I go back and forth between relieved and completely freaked out! We have started on Gavin's "new" room now that our roommate has moved out. We decided what the plan is and the first step is having the closet system installed tomorrow. We also found some GREAT stuff for Ella's room at a yard sale! We picked up a headboard, footboard, a dresser and a little cabinet to sit on top of the dresser! I am excited, but I know that it will probably be summer time before we even get to that project! All of the pieces need to be refininshed, but Andy is looking forward to the challenge! I am so thankful for his enthusiasm and dedication to me and to our family. He has really worked hard to make our home a wonderful place and he keeps on working to make our marriage strong and happy. (even when I am a total grump butt)

I am rambling... but there is so much to share! I just didn't want anyone to think that I had dropped off the face of the earth. I am here, and I will post again soon!

SORE

I am sore, and TIRED! I have been working out on a regular basis for the last couple of months and I started in with a trainer 3 weeks ago. She is tough and good for me, although it costs me more than I should spend. I have been vascilating between feeling guilty about the money and reveling in the glorious selfishness of it. I am currently rationalizing it by figuring out : The cost of having a baby by some other means than growing it myself AND without the aid of any infertilization expenses, multiplied by 2. Then I add on the cost of milk, made by me, multiplied by 2. If I then add in the cost of full time child care, provided by..ME for 7 years (Gavin's first 4 and Ell's 3)... well, darn it.... I deserve it! I have spent a LOT of time on and with my family and now that they are able to be on their own a bit more, I am going to spend some more time on and with, myself. It is a really hard thing for me to do, I do feel guilty, but I know that I am working on being the best me that I can be and in that way, I am giving my family a gift. The gift of a mother and a wife who is happy and content and HEALTHY!!

I worked on my arms yesterday and I could barely fix breakfast this morning. It is a good thing that Ella can walk on her own! She wanted me to hold her, but I couldn't pick her up!! We just cuddled together on the couch! I am sore, my body and my soul... neither is used to getting so much attention.

The Carnival

For the second year in a row, Gavin's school held a carnival as the primary fund raiser for the year. For the second year in a row, it was a rousing success! There were lots of game booths, a cake walk, hot dogs, burgers, popcorn, snow cones, nachos and other goodies. In the multi-purpose room the kids could play Rock Band and Guitar Hero and there was an inflatable maze and karaoke. The pie baking contest had 15 pie entries and 4 judges. The tasting went well and we sold all remaining slices for $1 a piece. I learned what will make it better (and easier) for next year and even thought I did not win a ribbon...I must say my pie crust ROCKED. My filling choice could have been better, but "live and learn". I baked a "Fireside Fruit Pie" and the filling was apples, apricots and dates. It was "good" but not "special". The homemade crust came out perfect, so I will keep that and try a new filling next year! I also made a chocolate pie that got high marks, but my pre-made crust lowered my overall score...I worked hard at the booth all day and the kids played hard with Dad, Gramma and Grampa. There were lots of people there and everyone had a blast! Gavin ran around and LOVED his independence. With a pocket full of tickets, he was free to do whatever he liked. He went through the maze and played the drums in Rock Band (quite a few times), he ate a snow cone and got himself a hot dog. He did the cake walk and won a beautiful cake that we all shared at Sunday night dinner. Ella was clingy, but played games, ate popcorn and found out that snow cones are "weally, weally cold!" Andy ate pie, played games and hung out with Ella and at the end of the day, we were all exhausted! After that, I drove out to a friends house to hang out, meet her new foster children (an 8 month old baby girl and a cutie 2 year old boy!) and we did a little (very little) scrapbooking.

The rest of the weekend was spent catching up, cleaning up, and straightening up. After all of that "up", we relaxed and had some "down" time with Andy's parents. Another weekend over, and another week has begun....I hate to say it, but I can't wait until Winter Break! I am TIRED!

Weekend Fun!

Friday night was fun.. my mom and I had a blast at Gymboree and we did have coffee! When we got home, we found that Andy had hung up the Halloween lights and gotten started on decorating the house! We had a great dinner and then just hung out and relaxed.

Saturday was busy! We got up early and started painting the patio table, we decorated for Halloween with the kids, the neighbor kids came over to play, I did homework, we went to Gavin's soccer game and then we went to Andy's parents house to visit with GiGi and to have dinner. Andy and I even had time to watch a movie last night, we watched "The Breakup" and we both thought that it was pretty stupid, oh well.

Today, we headed off to Apple Country! Andy's parents and GiGi came with us! That was REALLY exciting because she has never gone on an outing with us! The weather was cool and crisp, but the sun was warm. After an hour in the car, we were ready to stretch our legs and have some apples! We bought candy, jam, apple butter, cider and LOADS of apples! We had a yummy fried chicken lunch picnic while we listened to "Merle" the yodeling country singer and the kids climbed around on the pumpkins. We brought home 4 different varieties: Pippen, Honeycrisp, Laura Red and Ambrosia! Lots to eat out of hand, some to cook with, some for applesauce and some for pie! We visited our 2 favorite sheds and figured out some other places that we would like to visit next year, since the kids are getting older and can handle a longer day. We got apple doughnuts and picked a few raspberries (Ella was a pro at this!) and then headed home for a wonderful pot roast dinner! A wonderful weekend with my family makes me feel ready for the week to come!

Life n' stuff

Gavin finally lost a top tooth and is working on the other! He looks so cute!

So, this week, I went to counseling AND worked out with a trainer! Talk about trying to get my life on track! School is going well, I have received high marks on papers thus far and have started my field work. I am observing in a 4th grade classroom and I think that it will be a great experience.

I am working on the pie contest for the Fall Carnival and now have about 20 pies and 4 judges lined up, I am working on all of the forms and coupons for the event and have ordered some FANTASTIC ribbons!

I STILL have not finished wrangling all of those photos from summer, but I am going scrapbooking on Saturday night. I only took about 10 pics during September, so I am not getting much more behind.

Halloween is quickly approaching and I am trying to get Gavin to decide what he wants to be, he had decided on a Magic 8 Ball and I was thrilled, but the lure of the pre-made Star Wars costumes has him waffling! We will see if I give in and let him have the store bought costume! Ella is going to be a mouse and although I have not started crafting, I do have all of the materials laid out on my dining room table, ready to go.

I drug El all around town today, she was a trooper! We went to Michael's, the bank, Walmart, Lowe's, Fresh & Easy and Vons! Whew... most were quick stops, but we ran around for 3 1/2 hours! My mom is coming over later and she and I are heading to the mall to hit Gymboree with my $50 in Gymbucks and a 25% off coupon! I am so excited! (I really don't get out much people!) I plan on stopping into Bath & Body works and picking up some pretty stuff for me, and maybe visiting Gloria Jean's for a yummy coffee drink. This was my friend Gina's and my tradition, "back in the day" and it still sticks with me. I haven't been to the mall in ... oh... maybe a year (or more!). After that adventure we will come back home and have a delicious Indian feast!

Tomorrow I am going to get up early and work on some homework before Gavin's soccer game and then we are going to work on the patio! We are going to paint the table and I picked up some new chairs and then MAYBE we will get the conduit painted. Some of the plants didn't survive and we will re-plant those! Then I am off to scrapbook and on Sunday we are headed up to Apple Country! I LOVE it there and I love our annual trip! We are excited that Andy's parents are going to join us and maybe even GiGi (Great Gramma) will come too! She was in the hospital this week, but is feeling great, so we are hoping that our plan is still on!

On another front, Ella has discovered the joy of Strawberry Shortcake. She is inheriting all of my old dolls! I collected them and have quite a few, they have never had their clothing or shoes removed and the have their pets and original combs. I suspect that it won't be long before they are naked and missing pieces, but they are meant to be loved. I was a little old for the dolls when they came out, but I loved them, so I collected them. I would take them out of the box, admire them and give them a good sniff, then back into the box they would go. They have been packed away since the earthquake in 1986, when my doll cabinet fell over and the glass broke. I thought that maybe I would sell them, someday. I looked them up on line and they are selling for $35-$135, but I realized that I just loved them too much to sell them. A few weeks ago, Andy taped Strawberry Shortcake for Ella and she fell in love! They do not currently make dolls, so other than the 2 from McDonalds, she has none. I asked her, if she would like to have mine. She gasped and exclaimed in a high squeal, "Oh, Mommy! I would LOVE them!" Then, she asked, "Why do you have these? Why did you keep them all this time?". I told her that I wasn't sure. Then, with all of the wisdom of a three (and a half) year old, she replied, "You kept them all of this time, for me. Right, Mommy?" Wiping a tear from my eye, I realized that she was right, "Yes, honey. I collected them and saved them, for you. Just for you." Cool.

This is only some of them, the rest are still boxed up in my mom's basement, they are coming and Ella is earning the dolls with good behavior and helping around the house!

I think I'm getting the hang of it...

This is the first week of the "schedule" as it will (mostly) be during the fall semester. I told someone that I think I have been home more this week, than I was all summer long and it really might be true! Scary!
Monday: Ella with babysitter and me studying all day. I also went to the gym. Class that night was canceled.
Tuesday: Ella and Gavin both at school, me at work and in class in the evening.
Wednesday: Ella had tumbling class, we went to the market and I worked on paperwork, I finally caught up on all of it and I did some PTA stuff for the Fall Carnival.
Thursday: Both kids at school. Normally I will do my fieldwork in the morning, but today I went to the gym and I have been home studying. I have finished a great deal of next week's work and hope to not have to study all weekend long.
Friday: Ella and I will spend some time together doing some fun activities and we will make our regular shopping trip and a Costco run. Both kids will get their hair trimmed and Andy and I have a date.

I feel pretty human, very centered and mostly calm. I still have not managed all of those photographs, but now that the other paper work has been handled I think that I can get to that.

I should finish up my homework so that I don't have to do ANY this weekend!! THAT would ROCK!

Overwhelmed

O.K. the first full week is over and I am in shock. Andy is struggling with his new classroom situation and all of the "extras" that have suddenly been piled on. I had class three nights and homework and work two days and went to the dentist. I am "in charge" of the Pie Contest at Macy's Fall Carnival, my Creative Memories order is due and I still have not finished with those photos. For those of you who asked, yes there really were 800 photos. However, I discovered that quite a few were taken by Ella and were pics of the ground, carpet, the dogs nose REALLY close up and her feet. Those have been deleted. There were also lots of duds that I deleted and I think that I have it down to about 500. Now, when you see my scrapbooks and each page is FULL of pics, you will understand. I cannot afford to leave a page not filled!

Ella had school and went to the babysitters one day, and Gavin had school and day care and piano and soccer. He also struggled with his behavior in class and lost 8 of his 12 "coins" for the week and feels very discouraged about that. I had a converstaion with his teacher and with the principal and that is a topic for a whole different post. Needless to say, I am overwhelmed and exhausted.

Andy worked hard in our patio garden this weekend and it is now full of plants and looks soooo great! I did not know that we were going to do this project, it just "happened" and I am so glad that it did! He needed to "zen" out and just focus on something else. I need to do that to, but I don't have time. I really think that I am going to call in "sick" on Tuesday, so that I can finish my reading for class, finish with those photos and finish up with this giant pile of paperwork before it engulfs my entire kitchen bar!!! (I hope that my boss isn't reading this!)

I was tagged for a photo thing.. but I am tired...all I want to do is go to bed, so... I am!

Back to School

We are all back to school (except Ella who starts next Tuesday!). Gavin is in 2nd grade, Andy is teaching 7th grade math, I am back to work and had my first class last night. I am taking 9 units again, which is full time for Masters... it will be a lot, but I know that we can handle it! We enjoyed our vacation and even headed down to San Diego for the holiday weekend and went to Legoland, walked in Torey Pines Preserve and met my Dad's horse! The kids swam and we relaxed and on Sunday we went to the zoo! Monday was spent relaxing by the pool at Jack and Sharon's...one of my favorite summer spots!

Gavin's arm is doing really well, the cast is off and he is getting over the stiffness. The scar is big, but it looks like it is healing well.

Kelsey, my cousin's baby girl has been in the hospital... please pray for her and for the family. You can check them out here: http://sweetpeakurtz.blogspot.com/

I have been knee deep in paper work and photos, just trying to get a handle on all of the things that fell by the way side during my summer craziness. I uploaded 868 photos on Wednesday and have edited about half. Next, I will file them and order prints... I am hoping to finish today.

I will be placing a Creative Memories order soon too, so if you need anything... please visit the website: http://www.creativememories.com/ and be sure to enter my name "Yvonne Huffaker in Whittier" as your consultant. You can have items shipped directly to your door and not pay anything extra!

Hopefully a more interesting post will come next week... this weekend Gavin has his first soccer game, I will be in N. Hollywood for an all day training for Sunday School teachers and Andy will be cleaing up the crazy, overgrown yard. Oh, and I have homework....

Dating is like shopping for jeans

I have a friend that is entering the dating scene after having been with her high school sweetheart for 18 years, marrying him and then deciding that it might not be her "highest good" to spend her life with him. They are still friends and probably will be forever, but she has finally gotten to the place where she is ready to fulfill her dreams and find a man to spend her life with! She is nervous and apprehensive and has a lot of questions.... I wrote her a note and compared dating to shopping for jeans. This might sound silly, but I thought that it was pretty good, so I copied it and have put it here for you to read.

Dating is like trying on jeans...
You get really nervous and apprehensive thinking about buying new jeans because, well, jeans are tricky! They are all so different and you never really know which ones will work for you and it takes forever to figure it out. You prepare, you decide where to shop and you make sure you go when you are not bloated and you definitely do not eat that Mrs. Fields cookie BEFORE you try on. You save that for after....

So, you get to the mall and you walk around the store and find ones that you think look good and might look good on you, then you take a stack of like 20 into the dressing room. While you are in there you hold them up, look at them and some you immediately throw into the discard pile. Other pairs look promising and so you start to try them on. Some won't go over your thighs, discard. Some make your butt look big, discard. Some are a little too tight and maybe if you lost 5 pounds... you set these on the bench as maybees. You keep going through the pile and by the end you walk out with 2 or 3 pair that are good. You take these home. You wear them, you spend time with them and eventually you realize that one fits you really well and that they make you look AND feel REALLY great. Those are the FAVORITE jeans, they are the best and the ones that you will turn to when you need to feel comfortable, or feel sexy, or have to go somewhere that might make you nervous. You realize that you don't really wear the other pairs much, unless maybe your favorites are dirty or you feel like trying out the others again, just to be sure. But, no.. .your favorite jeans are the ones you go to all the time. Those are "It". You will wear them in the summer, cuffed... you will wear them in the winter with a sweater, you will wear them with an old, faded, comfy sweatshirt and you will wear them with a button down blouse and high heels. They go with everything, they go with you. After a while, they are you and if you can't find them or they need a wash, you might panic until you find them and can wear them again.

So it is with men. Go out, spend some time with them, take a few "home", try them in different situations and seasons, let them see you dressed up... and dressed down...and eventually ... you will realize which one is your favorite. I thought that I might have to stop the analogy there, but I have been married almost 10 years and think that I can go on. You know those favorite jeans, well sometimes you wear them so much, they get holes, they get a thin spot in the butt, the styles change... and this too, is the same with men. They change, they wear, their hair thins, they get older...BUT, the best jeans are the ones that you will patch and re-dye and even make into cut offs if necessary...anything to keep them around and keep having the opportunity to wear them. So it is, with husbands...

The favorite jeans, are the ones that even when you can't squeeze your butt into them, stay folded safely on your closet shelf, because you can't imagine life without them and even if they don't fit just right today... they might tomorrow.

Summer wanning

Well, I had about a week and a half off, not worrying about anything.. just relaxing and having fun.....
that seemed to come to a screeching halt today... when I registered for classes for the fall. I realized that I had so much work to do, things that I had fallen behind on during the summer and now, school is going to start. I freaked out a little, figured out the calendar, secured babysitters for next week when Andy and I both have to work, but the kids are not yet back in school, made dinner and then... got calmed down again. I am going to take 9 units, so it is going to be a full load for me...but I figured if I could survive 9 units in 6 weeks, I can surely do it in 14 weeks, right? I'll keep you posted!

Today, Ella and I spent some time together ... we went to Color Me Mine and she painted a little ceramic puppy dog. She was so cute, and I forgot the camera! We then went to the used book store, uptown and read and browsed and bought a few books. She went with me to school to register and just played and was so good (It only took me about a half an hour).

Tonight, Gavin is having his first sleep over with friends (vs. family... which he has done before). He is next door and it helps that I can hear them through the open windows. I don't know if he will actually sleep there, we will see... I really do expect a knock on the door around 11:00 p.m. But he does play over there, all the time and likes it there, so maybe he will be just fine. We are taking advantage of the time alone with Ella to play a board game or two and have some story time together. Later, we might watch some Olympics... or I might read.

I don't really know how I will get done all of the "stuff" that I need to take care of, but I guess I will just have to keep prioritizing and plugging away at it all, one thing at a time. Having this time off from work really makes me wish that I could quit. I am just "over it"... I don't really like it anymore...I feel like I just go to get a paycheck and that isn't my style. But, we need that paycheck...It would make school so much more "do-able" though... hmmmmmmmmm

I am rambling... so, I am signing off for the night.... off to enjoy some more vacation time...
tomorrow we will swim and see dinosaurs and Friday we will board Noah's Ark.... it is almost over and as with any vacation, it was not long enough!

My 100th post!

A Texas Doughnut - "the size of Gavin's head"! - at the Fair earlier in the summer

I was very surprised when I logged on today to discover that I have reached that glorified posting number of 100! I just came on to give a simple update and here I am, at 100...wondering if I should try to make it something more.

Nah.... I will still just give you the low down, but since it is my 100th, if you could please leave a comment so I know who is out there, that would make my day!

Gavin got his cast on, his incision looks good and he was able to get a red, waterproof cast. It is so cool, he can get it totally wet! We are going swimming tomorrow and to a water park next week! The cast is made with a Gortex lining and the regular fiberglass outer part... ah, technology!

We are officially on vacation! We decided way back in the spring that we would not be traveling this year. We were too worried about gas prices and I couldn't bear the thought of planning a big 2 week camping trip after the long 6 weeks in school. So.. we are very "in vogue" and doing a "Stay-cation"... who knew we would be so hip?Last week was fun and relaxing.... we had a night of Hand Shadows, we visited the local Children's Museum, hung out around the house to play with our new Wii (courtesy of my very generous brother!), cleaned out the garage (not a full clean out, just all of Andy's teaching stuff) it does look amazing now! We also had an Arts & Crafts day where we did play-dough, paint, bead work and collage! We took the kids to see "Kung Fu Panda" and had to drive an hour away, because it is not playing anywhere near us anymore! I did some scrapbooking and some napping and Gavin and I finished reading the first "Harry Potter" book and have started on the second. We went to the zoo and spent a morning bowling (we got a great coupon and got to bowl for free!). Ella is pretending to be a baby bird at the children's museum

Next week promises to hold lots of fun as well! We are going to a water park, having a board game day, visiting the Farmer's Market and relaxing by the pool. Andy and Gavin are going to head to the local arcade for some video game fun while Ella and I spend girly time at the local "paint your own pottery" shop. We also got tickets to see "Walking With Dinosaurs" and will be taking Gavin to that show. You can check it out here: http://www.dinosaurlive.com/. The other exciting thing that we are doing is that we got tickets to see the "Noah's Ark" exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center. We have been talking about doing this for some time so we are looking forward to that.

Next weekend is pretty open and we haven't really figured out what we will do, but Water Olympics and a Neighborhood Movie Night are in the works. Monday, the 25th, Gavin will get his cast off and during that week Andy will be setting up his new classroom (he is moving to Jr. High!!) I will have to register for classes and go to work a couple of days, but then we are headed to San Diego for the holiday weekend. We might visit Lego Land, but we will certainly be hanging out by the pool and visiting the beach!

Summer seems to be slipping away, but we are really enjoying it.... Fall will be here soon and we will move into the school year, but for now... I am going to enjoy a fruity drink and some time with my family.

What's the worst that could happen?

Trying to regain my center and find some balance has not been easy around here. After my last post, I did finish my last assignment and went off to school feeling really great. I turned in everything that afternoon, some assignments a day early and some a whole week early! (you learn a few things in your "older" age). Andy and I had a rough weekend, getting on each others nerves and fighting over stupid stuff... I think it was just everything from the last 6 weeks coming to a head. We were both trying to figure out how to re-shift all of the jobs and responsibilities. We had a good talk and settled a lot of things and the rest of the weekend was good. We rested and went to a pool party (torture for Gavin in his splint) and headed to his parent's house for our Sunday dinner visit. I got to cook, which I haven't done in 6 weeks! I even made a pineapple upside down cake for dessert.. yum!

The week started out smoothly enough. I had big plans for my week off.. mani/pedi, dr. appt that I have put off for 8 months (you know the one), scrapbooking, reading by the pool, my list goes on... Gavin begged to go back t Broadoaks for the week and we happily obliged thinking that we might even get some grown up time together while both kids were at day camp! We had a date planned for Wednesday... out to breakfast and a 10 a.m. movie...

Boy.. did I have it all wrong!

Tuesday, Gavin could not go to camp because he had his follow up appointment and xrays. We waited a while and when they did the xray, my stomach dropped into my toes. I am no Dr., but what I saw was horrible. I turned to Andy and mouthed, "He is going to need surgery." Of course, we both thought that I was exaggerating (I do that, ya know) The entire tip of his ulna was shirred off on one side and it was slightly displaced. It really did look bad.

The xray is backwards but you can see, even in this grainy copy how bad the break is!

We saw the Physician's Assistant who told us that this was an uncommon break and that it would more than likely need surgery. Then my heart did a flip because I had HOPED that I WAS just exaggerating... but.... The Pediatric Orthopedic surgeons were not available to see us, one was in surgery and the other was on vacation, so they would re-splint his arm, the Dr's would look at his films, conference and then get back to us later in the day. We left, feeling hopeful that maybe there would be no surgery. We went out to lunch and took Gavin to see Wal-e (is that how they spell it?).

Gavin had soccer practice that day too, and he did drills and had a great time, acting like there was nothing wrong with his REALLY broken arm. The Dr. called during practice and told me that Gavin would need surgery and that it needed to be soon. She asked if we could be at the hospital at 6 a.m. the next day (there went our date). I said of course, started shaking and wrote down everything she said. We went home, made arrangements for Ella and packed up a bag. That night I cuddled Gavin and stayed with him in his bed until he fell asleep.

I woke up at 4:30 the next morning and we left the house by 5 a.m. We dropped off Ella at Jack and Sharon's house (they would take her to and pick her up from school) and headed to Kaiser in Bellflower. Gavin was strangely calm. We got admitted and waited in a little room for an hour and then the action began... a stream of docs, nurses, etc came in and talked to us and that is when Gavin lost it. He asked me to take him to the bathroom and once I closed the door, he started to cry and begged me to just take him home. I calmed him down and we went back in to listen to the Dr. tell us about the procedure. They gave Gavin some drugs to calm him down (thank goodness) and then off he went. Andy and I had our breakfast date on the hospital patio and I caught up on the magazine reading that I had fallen behind on during school.
The calm, before the storm...note his cozy and GIGANTIC Broncos sweatshirt.

About an hour and 45 minutes later, the Dr. came out and told us that all had went smoothly and that she had put in two screws to hold the bone in place. He could come back in a week and she would check the incision and either re-splint or cast him. He would only have to wear the cast for 2 weeks. We asked about options and she decided to have him in earlier, on Monday and that she would put on a WATER PROOF cast! Hooray! I went in to the recovery area and he was so confused and disoriented.. this was the worst. He was crying and asking if I could get him out of there.... finally he settled down and went to sleep. After an hour, we got to go back to our room and Andy could come in.




Screwed back together, resting quietly with Teddy and a
photo op with mom. My sticker says, "Hug Me! I was brave!"

Gavin was fine... he was hungry and wanted to play his Gameboy. We waited a couple of hours, ate a sandwich, watched Gavin sleep and were able to leave the hospital at 3:00 p.m. On the way out, Gavin spotted Del Taco and asked if he could have a burrito. He ate the whole thing!

We got home and it all hit me like a ton of bricks. School, the surgery... all of it... I took a nap and ate dinner and went to bed. Luckily Gavin slept well all night (thank you codeine). The next day he was up and running around like nothing had happened. It was quite an ordeal, but everything has worked out. Gavin is excited to get his cast on Monday and hopes that it comes in "coral", but "teal" would be o.k. with him too.

I didn't get to do most of the things on my list, but I did read, I did have time with Andy and I did get that mani/pedi! I also got to have dinner with friends and go to Dream Dinners to make my meals for August and September. We are now officially on vacation.. it's a "stay-cation" and we are looking forward to some down time, some together time and a fun time. I'll keep you "posted".