Nudist Colony

So I am inside the house, working on balancing the checkbook (um.. actually reading other people's blogs and intending to work on the checkbook) and Gavin is doing homework and Ella is playing so nicely outside by herself. Gavin finishes his work, runs out to play and asks, "Why is Ella naked?" Naked? Did I hear him say NAKED? I think to myself, she could not be completely naked, for goodness sake, it is COLD outside! Like, lower than 60 degrees (cold for here) and it is windy! But, when I went out to investigate, this is what I found running around on my driveway.

Yup, Ella was buck naked and playing "beach" with a sea shell that she found. She is carying the shell around and saying "The beach, the beach, I love the beach!" I asked if she was cold, she said "no" and so, I came back inside. I guess it was bothering Gavin to have her running around naked, so next thing I know they are both wearing bathing suits and now, playing with bubbles. Hmmm... is it bad that I don't care because they are playing nicely and not BOTHERING me?

Testing, 1..2..testing...

Yesterday was blissfully quiet in my house. Andy took the kids to the Discover Center...without me. It was not so that I could stay home and sleep, relax, shave or paint my nails. I did not read a magazine, the newspaper, or a book. I did not pay bills, clean out cupboards or work on projects. I did not do anything fun. I ... took a test. NOT a pregnancy test.... a REAL test, well a practice of the real test. It was a computer generated and scored practice test of the CBEST.

I am going back to school. I haven't really discussed it much (um...at all?) on my blog because I have been unclear as to how it will all unfold and I am not into speculation. Just give me the plan. This year, I will be challenged with the notion of "going with the flow" and letting my life "unfold" as Spirit intends it to. I am going to attend Whittier College and will be completing my Teaching Credential and Masters in Education. I have also applied for a Graduate Teaching Fellowship at Broadoaks which is the demonstration school attached to the college. They have preschool through 6th grade and if I am accepted into the program I will be working there as an intern next school year. The second year of the program, I would most likely be offered a full time teaching position. All the while I will be taking classes at night toward my degree. It will be a year of new challenges and changes in our household as I would be working full time for the first time since having children! I have no idea if I will get the Fellowship, if I don't...I will be really .... well, bummed. But I also know that if I do not get it, there is a reason and a plan and I will accept that (after I eat a big giant hot fudge brownie sundae to drown my sadness).

Anyway... the test. One of the first things that I need to do to be fully admitted is to pass the CBEST. Everyone that I talk to says that this test is really easy...but it is a TEST and it has MATH on it, so ...I was really nervous! On the website for the test, they have a practice test that you can take to see where you stand so that you can figure out what you need to study. Well, Andy and the kids cleared out, so that I could think. I had 4 hours to complete the test and I sat down to the computer after about 1/2 hour of procrastinating with little chores around the house.

The first section was Reading Comprehension...no problem for me, right? Ugh.. I realized that I have not used my brain in that way for a while and I felt the cogs grinding in my rusty brain as I started to read the sections and try to answer the questions. "Ugh", I thought, "if THIS is hard, the math is going to be REALLY bad." I finished the 50 questions in a little less than 45 minutes and when I scored it, I was surprised that I missed 5! One of the questions was a little "iffy", Andy agreed on that. But it is definitely a passing score! On to the math!

The first 20 questions or so were so easy that I was a little bit worried that I was just not understanding it and getting them all wrong. Then they hit... the hard ones, the ones that I did not understand...the ones with ....dumm dumm dumm dumm... FRACTIONS! Not easy fractions, like in cooking... but hard ones... confusing fractions and some of them had letters! Yikes! I muddled my way through the questions and found my own way to figure out the answers. There were times I was confused and wasn't sure of what to do, but kept working at it until finally I was done. I had a full two pages of calculations and computations, tables, diagrams and whatever else I could do to help myself and after 2 hours and another 50 questions, I finished and closed my eyes as I hit "score the test". I peeked open one eye...then the other. I could not BELIEVE what my score said! I missed FIVE! FIVE!!!! That's it! I couldn't believe it...wow, I guess I am not as bad at math as I thought and when I reviewed my answers I discovered that one of the errors was a "mis-click" and the other was the right answer minus a couple of zeros where I just got a little confused! I felt very, very proud of myself!

There is an essay section of the test that I am not worried about in the least and since the computer cannot score an essay, I will work on that tomorrow during Ella's nap and have Andy read it. I think that I could have done better on the Reading section...but my brain felt unaccustomed to thinking that way. If I could take it again with different questions I would score higher, I am sure. So, now ... instead of spending the next two weeks studying my brains out and worrying about my performance on this test, I am going to review the types of problems that I don't understand and then I am going to spend a fun weekend with my family. The test date is February 9th, 8 a.m. and I am looking forward to taking it, passing it and moving on with this new endeavor. Wish me luck!

My Cuties!

We finally got back our Christmas pictures! Remember, I did not get them taken until AFTER Christmas, but they came out really great! Unfortunately, it appears that our scanner is showing it's age and not really doing that great of a job anymore. I'll be sure to add THAT to our "list".

We also did Ella's 3 year picture which was a great session with her showing off for the camera and coming up with her own poses! She was such a ham! I really wanted the blue flower background and a white dress. The only dress I could find that I liked, was $40! For me, that is an awful lot for a WHITE dress for a 3 YEAR old! She has no special events coming up to wear it to, so it would be for church and I am sure that I would be terrified that she would get paint or red punch spilled on it. So, the dress was borrowed (Thank you JC Penny's) We put it on, took the photos and then returned the dress. Ella was heart broken, she was sobbing over her pretty dress. I hope that the pictures don't remind her about it and bring it all up again!

Ella is 3!

We celebrated my baby girl's birthday last week! January 11th was her "real" birthday and we had a special dinner: chicken nuggets and homemade pizza and birthday cake! This past Saturday we had her party. We had a "little kid" party in the morning so that all of the attention could be on them. The theme was crayons and paint and we had lots of fun carrying this out! The invites looked like giant crayons with all of the information on the back, the cake was a box of crayons and the activities were creative and colorful. We did sidewalk chalk, painted with water, had an easel with paper and crayons, did roller painting, colored the table cloth and some color pages and ..... the kids got to walk in paint and then down a big piece of paper in the driveway. It was loads of fun! El gots lots of great presents and later on in the day some of our friends and family came over for dinner. It was a wonderful celebration and you can really tell that Ella is 3! LOTS of tantrums, silly goofy behavior, and another language explosion! She gets really upset if I tell her that she is a big girl, she insists that she is "just a little girl" and I am o.k with that! Ella loves to dress up like a princess and usually strips off the clothes I have put her in for the day and changes into one of her dresses. She loves her dollies and pretending. It is so fun to watch her grow and change. What a joy!

Vision

Every year Andy and I make a "vision board" for our family. We have done this for about 5 years now and have included the kids (when they are willing). It has become a wonderful tradition and a time for us to gain clarity and focus for what we truly desire for our new year. We usually do this on New Year's Day, it is a fun and interesting activity that keeps us busy and focused for a couple of hours.

This year, we delayed it a bit since we were in Arizona on the 1st, but last weekend we sat down to work on it. When we first started, we just used poster board and stuck it up on the wall when we were done, but a few years back we bought a big frame and made sure that it was hung in a place that we would look at it often. It hangs in our hallway near all of the bedrooms. On the day of the project, we gather up the board, glue sticks and some scissors and then we grab a stack of magazines and start tearing our pictures and words and letters that seem to call to us.

Sometimes we already know what we desire for the year, like when we hoped to get pregnant and found pics of babies. Sometimes a photo just catches our eye and we put it on, like the year we found a photo of a beautiful house and blueprints and slapped it on there, not really knowing what it meant. That was the year that we bought our house...we hadn't expected it, we hadn't planned it, it just happened! After that, we have really come to believe in the power of this board and this process. We choose carefully and thoughtfully before placing any thing on the board. Last year, I put a roll of toilet paper to indicate my desire to have Gavin learn to wipe himself and Ella to be potty trained...well, Gavin did and Ella is also handling all of the aspects of pottying all by herself. I am a free woman, no more bums to wipe and all because of a roll of t.p. on my vision board! (Well, I know that it is more than that, it is the intention that has been set and carried through by looking at the board and working towards it!) We also place a photo of our family right in the middle so that we are sure to "claim" these things for our lives.

This year is one of many unknowns for us. Andy has been working under a grant and it is up this year. He does not know if it will be renewed, he does not know where he will be working or in what capacity. He has tenure, so he will have a job and at the same pay, but other than that..big question mark. I am going back to school and applying for a Teaching Fellowship. I don't know if I will be continuing at the church where I currently work, or working as an intern, or...another question. We actually found a big question mark and put it on the board, just to remind ourselves to be o.k. with the not knowing. There are also nuts, to remind me to embrace the nuttiness of family life and enjoy it. Other things on there are the picture of a motorhome that Gavin chose because he wants to go camping, and the Dora the Explorer that Ella pasted on because she want to go on an adventure. We have pictures of flowers, and lots of words and we always put a picture of a key. The key, is to remind us to discover our "key" for the year, what unlocks our joy...the key to our happiness, so to speak.

We love this tradition and know that we will continue with it for years to come. It is not only about tearing out pictures and putting them on a board, but it is a time for our family to connect and to focus and to learn what is important to each of us. Andy and I use it as a time to plan what projects we will take on and where we would like to go on vacation. It really helps us to figure out what our focus is for the year and sometimes we learn something new about each other. No matter what though, we always feel closer and more connected when we are finished. Now THAT is a way to start any year.

Catching Up

It always seems that I am "catching up" and never, ever, on top of ANYTHING! Two steps behind, chronically! We celebrated Ella's birthday and I went MIA with my mom on Saturday! We took Ella to get her pictures taken and then Andy took the kids home while my Mom and I waited for the pics to be ready so that we could spend a small fortune on GREAT and ADORABLE shots of Ella. Next, we shopped in Penny's where my Mom bought some clothes for Ella, on to Jamba Juice and into Target! My mom was in a generous mood and bought a couple of really cute outfits for Ella, a shirt for me and one for Gavin too! I picked up some stuff for the birthday party and by the time we were done, it was almost 2:00 p.m.! I called Andy and he said, "Why stop now, just go to lunch!". I think that he was being a little bit sarcastic, but we took him up on it! Lunch at Mimi's was wonderful and it was great to spend some quality time with my mom! We haven't hung out together in a while and realized that we have really missed it!

When we got back to my house, my mom discovered one of my "dirty little secrets". A rat's nest of projects and papers that I have been accumulating in a low shelf of a cupboard...she asked what it was and I told her it was "stuff" that I needed to "get to" but that had no real priority. She suggested that we tackle it and in about an hour and a half, we had my whole pile gone. All of the papers were filed in their proper folders, recipes back in the box, assorted craft items put away in the craft cupboard, addresses updated in the book and a small project for Gavin's room completed. Wow did that make me feel GREAT!
But I still did not work on Ella's birthday party, or make my menu or my grocery list or any of the things that I was "supposed" to get done on Saturday. Sunday was spent playing catch up on all that HAD to get done over the weekend and I started out the week, behind. Behind on my laundry, behind on my chores, behind on my projects, behind on my blogging (I have a list of possible entries and ideas) and behind on sleep. All of that made me feel like just SITTING on my BEHIND!

I have had a busy day with picking up, organizing, shopping, laundry, cooking and playing referee to my kids. They have watched more t.v. than usual, Andy is working late and Ella is sick. I am trying to clean up the kitchen so that Andy doesn't have to do that when he gets home, but the computer called my name. I should go and finish that project, so that I am not behind on that too. Back to my game of catch up, I guess I shouldn't complain because if it were all done, I would have nothing to do. NOTHING TO DO??? I can't imagine what that would look like, but it might be time to just lie down and die if we got there!

Officially Finished

Well, Christmas is really over! We did the kids' pictures on Friday, they came out really great, I will scan one when they come in! Andy and I went to the movies in the afternoon to see "Golden Compass" and it was really good! Interesting concepts and great graphics, I wouldn't suggest it for a child under 10, however...it was pretty hectic. We went out to breakfast and "un-decorated" all day on Saturday. There was a great deal of cleaning and sorting and re-setting up and it was exhausting! I have sorted through all of the kids toys and set up new storage and play areas for them. I even cleaned out the medicine cabinets, the bulletin board and the fridge have been purged and cleaned and we have gotten rid of a bunch of stuff. The house looks really good, although it is still pretty "dirty" and needs a good cleaning! We are now gearing up to celebrate Ella's birthday and go to Family Camp with the YMCA, we are hoping for snow! Another year, another holiday season finished! Thank goodness we only do all of that ONCE a year, it might kill me if we did it more!

We spent the last day of our "vacation" hanging out with a portion of the Wilkerson family... Chris, Christina, Lucas and Sara came over for games and dinner. We had such a great time hanging out, talking and eating. The kids just ran around like kids do and they had a blast. I wish that we spent time with friends more often and I hope to make that more of a priority this year. We had a great meal of stuffed pork roast, mashed winter root veggies and green bean casserole, followed by home-made chocolate chip cookies! Yummy!

This morning it was back to the routine, with a few new twists... I got up at 6:00 a.m. (without hitting snooze even once...we will see how long that lasts!) I then went and did Yoga, which I have done every morning since returning from Arizona...I love it, it really helps me to stretch and feel awake, alive and ready for my day! We did not have rain today, so we got to walk to school...that was nice! Ella and I did a BIG grocery shopping and used coupons and stocked up for the month. I saved $67 using those coupons! AMAZING! I have been doing laundry all day too and it is all piled up on the couch just waiting for me. I actually like that, because then after the kids are in bed I sit and watch t.v. and fold away, it gives me such a sense of accomplishment! I made photo and doctor appointments for Ella and registerd to take the CBEST in February. I am going to be going back to school very soon and am working hard to get everything lined up for that. I am off to make dinner....and enjoy some cuddle time with my kids before they go off to bed. They are both really tired, so I may get some extra time to myself tonight, but I won't bank on it! Maybe I will even have the energy to do some strength training before I fall down...hmmm....I am pretty exhausted myself... It is hard to get back into the "groove"!

Ella, the Rock Climber

So one of the things that the kids LOVED to do while we were in Arizona was to play outside and go WILD on the play structure! The AZ Huffakers have a really cool one that includes a rock climbing wall. I was amazed at how quickly Ella figured out how to climb up! Here is a clip of her showing me her newest trick. Please try to remember that the camera adds 10 pounds, so when you see me in the back ground you will know how much better I look in real life. Heh, heh, heh! The kids loved that so much that we are thinking of getting a rock wall for our strucure...
maybe a joint birthday present for the two kids!

First Tooth

Gavin lost his very first tooth on our first night in Arizona. It had been VERY wiggly and he worked on it during the drive out. That night I could really see how loose it was and I suggested that he pull it, handing him a tissue. He popped it right out, with hardly a tug! He was shocked and immediately wanted to check out the "hole" and the tooth. His adult tooth is already up and moving in quickly. The teeth to the right AND left of this one are both loose too, so he may be a toothless wonder in no time! The tooth fairy had to manuever carefully through the maze of bodies to get to Gavin's pillow because all of the kids were sleeping together. It is a really good thing that she can fly! One dollar in quarters was his reward, we will see if that amount continues or if that was just a bonus because it was his first tooth! I cannot beleive that my "baby" boy has a hole in his grin...time keeps on tickin', tickin', tickin'...into the future......

On The Road Again

Andy and I met on a trip...in India...and we have been "trippin" ever since!

We sing that song...a lot... sometimes we mean it, sometimes, we don't! You know the part about, "just can't wait to get on the road again"... when you are looking at a 7 hour drive with two kids, ages 7 and 3, sometimes you really want to wait!

**o.k. Ella just sat in her chair and poured her milk in her lap... why?... "BECAUSE!" was her answer, now she is crying because she is wet and her "kii-kii" (blanket) is also soaked. Kids are the real, trip!

Anyway... we decided to hit the road 3 days after Christmas. The first day after Christmas, I spent on the couch. The second day was spent cleaning out toys and reorganizing our limited storage space and I am not finished with that project yet! The third day was all about the 10 loads of laundry and getting packed. We headed out at 5 a.m. on Saturday, ate granola bars on the road and only stopped for a couple of potty breaks. When we made our first stop in the morning, we quickly got the kids changed out of their pj's only to discover that I had not packed any panties for Ella. Luckily she was wearing a pull up and we stopped in Chandler to buy some (I even got a deal on a second pack in the next size up for 1/2 price!). We joined up with the Huffakers at their home around 2:00 their time.

After unloading our van we headed to a local eatery for Sam's soccer pizza party and awards. We spent that evening relaxing over some homemade hot cocoa and cookies. Most of our time was spent just hanging out. We walked to several of the local parks, we ate yummy food, we watched some movies, I played with my blog, we slept, and we played games. The kids got to play a lot of Wii and Game Boy, but they also played outside on the awesome play structure that Matt and Rebecca put up in their backyard!

New Year's Eve was spent eating homemade pizza, having a dance party and ringing in the New Year with noise makers, poppers and glow bracelets at about 9 p.m. I think that everyone was asleep by 10 p.m. and that was just fine with me! On New Year's Day we went out to Casa Grande which is a National Monument and checked out the grounds. We saw a film about the Hohokam people who are now gone from the area and walked around the remains of pit houses and a giant structure that was most likely used for worship or food storage. It was pretty windy, but we managed a picnic and the boys got to do the Jr. Ranger program.

We headed home the next day and had a fairly un-eventful drive. We stopped at Krispy Kreme on the way home and picked up Chinese take out for dinner. We unpacked and collapsed into bed. A fun and wonderful trip, a great visit with family, and more memories to cherish. It is nice to "Get on the road again", but it is always nice to come HOME, too.

My Christmas List

I usually make a list, or rip out pages from ads and catalogs for my husband. I do this, so that he will not wonder whether or not I really want candle wax remover (which I really did, but he didn't beleive me) or new vacuum cleaner bags (which I did not, but they were on sale!). Everyone says that I am really hard to shop for, but I don't think so! There are so many things that I would enjoy having. I get my fair share of soaps, lotions, candles and other trinkets at the holidays (all of which I really do love!) but it seems that the things that I want most, get over looked.

This year... Andy did not get any pages or lists or anything. The best part of that, was that I had no expectations! I got so much good stuff this year, and I think the coolest part of all of it, was that people really got me what they thought that I would like and they were right! There is something so great about knowing that people "get" you!

Our roommate Afton got me the napkin rings that I had been eyeing, but didn't want to spend the money on. She also got me a set of simple white china plates with a gold rim. The GREAT thing about those, is that they allowed me to mix them with the 6 place settings of my good china (that I have never gotten to use) and set a beautiful table for Christmas. It looked SO great! Andy and I refininshed the table during the summer and have been working on the chairs all fall! They got stained and re-apholstered right before Christmas and with all of that done...it was AWESOME. Unfortunately, because I was sick, I did not take a picture of my pretty table. But here is one of the finished chairs!

Andy bought me a new pair of Crocs! They are red and fleece lined, how wickedly cool is that?! I LOVE them (of course) and really would prefer to wear nothing but! Alas, they really don't match my dress slacks! He also sprung for a box of Pepermint Jo-Jo's and a REALLY dark chocolate bar. The Jo-Jo's are like Oreo's (but better...) with a vanilla and peppermint filling. They have them at Trader Joe's, but only at Christmas time! He got me a Yoga mat and some Yoga videos too! I really scored!My brother gave us a new camera (which we needed really badly) , my mom gave me cash which I went out and spent on new and improved "mom clothes". Mostly some "sweat pants" and cozy shirts that look cute...and all of the other gifts for the kids were fabulous too! Lots of games that we can play as a family, which we love!

It was a wonderful holiday season with lots of family celebrations and lots of food and lots of fun. There was a lot of love going around and I feel so blessed by all of the presents, but more blessed by the Presence.

Starting A Happy New Year

So much fun stuff has been going on, I don't know where to start!

We went to San Diego to celebrate with my family and had a wonderful time! We even went on our traditional walk on the beach... just the 4 of us! The kids got to feed the seagulls and we got some peace and time to enjoy nature.

Unfortunately, I got sick...REALLY SICK... and spent Christmas Eve in bed and on the couch. My family came over and Andy handled everything. It was kind of nice not to stress out and just sit back and enjoy the party. AND...it is certainly a way to not gain any weight...not eating, that is. I nibbled at dinner and we opened presents for what seemed like an eternity.

Christmas morning was wonderful and the kids had a great time! Ella kept saying, "Is this from you? I love you guys!". Gavin got a Game Boy from Santa, so his Christmas wishes all came true. I made out well myself, but that is another entry! I took a nap on my mother-in-law's couch and had dinner with Andy's parents.

The day after Christmas I laid on the couch.... ALL DAY...... I only moved to flip over to my other side...it was a combination of getting over my icky-ness and Christmas coma.

We needed to decide whether we were still going to head to Arizona, and finally came to the conclusion, that we should. So, our adventures continue!