Zak and Addie

They call each other boyfriend and girlfriend. It's the cutest thing, really. I just adore Addie as one of my own. Zak likes Addie because....well, I'm not exactly sure WHY. He just does. They play well, they argue, then they go back to playing, then one becomes bossy.... it really is a true wonder that they get along as well as they do. They're both the babies in their families....they both have VERY strong personalities.... and we joke that if anything ever really did come of this 20 years from now, we all fear for our lives. I jest, truly, but only just so. :D

I love their high energy, their smiles full of fun and laughter; the fact that there is never a dull moment; the loud speaking (maybe they get that from being the last and have this need to be heard??? Just speculating:); and the pure imagination I have witnessed in it's most rare form- that of childhood imaginings.

Perhaps that's why I love how they are together. It's the energy times two. It reminds me that there is someone else just like Zak. And that is special.

I was folding laundry and this is what I discovered after I put on Elmo's Christmas. Yes, that's right...they were watching Elmo's christmas. Don't ask. It just IS sometimes.









I can only smile as I write this.

Tax Season Blues

I thought about titling this "Ode to Tax Season," but then I realized that I would have to actually write an "ode" and I don't do poetry. In fact, I really really stink at poetry. It's even hard to come up with jingles at girls camp, that's how much I stink at rhyming. Okay, so I can rhyme. It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense:)

You get the picture.

For whatever reason, I need to exclaim to the world the hardships of tax season. I just have this quelling urge to do so.

It's almost 6:00pm, I'm still doing laundry, no hubby in sight (poor guy. Not sure who tax season is the hardest on, me or him), filthy urchin children outside somewhere in the fields, and no dinner in sight.

It's not surprising that there's no dinner in sight. I hate to cook, and tax season is the biggest and best excuse to not make dinner. Fortunately my kids like cereal, so guess what kids? Cereal again!

But when I hear moaning I know that I've taken the "cereal for dinner" too far. It's just so hard being a single parent! Every year I have full and final appreciation for every single parent out there, male or female. It's all got to be the same experience right?

On to the frantic duties of the evening: baths, YW, activity days, an activity days meeting afterward, referree-ing, coercing, and trying not to lose my temper. Baths with the boys in particular I hate because I always inevitably end up wet. They have been banned from my bathtub because it was used as a swimming pool and all the water somehow got jettisoned out of the tub onto the floor, leaving a mass of water on my tile. And I mean A MASS of water. When questioned it was the other's fault.

I need to get away. I need to REALLY get away. "Tahiti, with your tiki torches and your tiki huts, your blue blue water that any tired mama with tired eyes could see all the way down into your ridges, your sandy beaches that beckon my toes to dig deep into the sand to find the cooler depths.... and yes, your guerilla fighters...I would even take my chances with you. :D

I think I just miss my best friend. And then the government extends the date to the 18th.

Just shaking my head.

Stupid government.

If you're one of those that stands in line on the 15th, waiting to mail your taxes, then you are that same person standing in line on the 18th, mailing your taxes. So I ask, What....IS....The....POINT?

I don't get it.

Someone think of the poor spouses. Please? Pretty please?

Ramblings

I love cheap finds. That's all there is to it. I love to find something that fits so perfectly and at a great price. It's just the best high. Okay, so huffing at the gas station is so much better, but this is a close second.

JUST KIDDING. I don't really huff. It just smells good. :)

I'm at Winco the other day for the weekly grocery trip. There are so many reasons I love Winco, and not least of all the price of food, but because once in a while I come across a fantastic find. And they are usually in obscure places that I just happen to happen upon. Like that play on words?

This lovely little glass Snack jar was just waiting for me to pluck it off the shelf. I instantly fell in love with it, cause that's what I do to inanimate objects, and then I looked at the price tag.

ONLY $7.98.

$7.98?!?

Sold!



I settled it all gently in my cart. I don't care about the chips, but I care about my new snack jar! I brought that baby home, loaded it up with apples and oranges, and waited to see if anybody would notice.

They did. The kids thought it was so cool. Well, the younger three did. My oldest doesn't show as much emotion for my new finds as I do. I got a, "Cute snack jar mom." I'll take it:)

So here's what's interesting. My kids have always liked fruit, but it seems that since the snack jar showed up, the fruit has been disappearing faster. It's almost like it's a cookie jar, just with fruit. There must be something about jars with lids. Maybe it's the anticipation of lifting a lid off a jar, reaching in, and grabbing your prize. Whatever.. it works:)

Now I just hope that it won't get knocked off the island by stray balls. I know..I'm taking a risk. Oh, and just a side note, the pitcher next to said snack jar is another Winco find. It's tin, cost me something like $5, and has been knocked off the counter a few times. But since it's tin, it's been a victim but not a casualty. I think because it's so tall and that's why it gets hit by stray objects hurtling through the air. At least that's what I'm telling myself so that I can go on believing that my beloved snack jar will be safe. Time will tell. Maybe I oughta by another one just in case.



On another note, this is what I find as I am climbing the stairs. One minute there was nothing there, the next.... Wa-La! I find this little gem.





And there's really only one culprit for it.

But I won't name names:)

Quest With A Camera

I went treasure hunting with Zak.

Part of me wanted to say no, that I didn't have the time. There were other pressing things to be taken care of... like the piles of laundry that needed to be sorted, deciding on what's for dinner so something could be thawing on the counter, his homework page that still needed to be done...but nothing that wasn't more pressing than playing pirates and going treasure hunting with my son. The pleading look in his eyes was all the convincing I needed.

"Mommy, please come play with me."

He got himself dressed in his pirate costume. We found a box from the recycling in the garage, and he made himself a treasure map.





We consulted said treasure map before we set off into the fields.



Said Pirate Zak, "This is the path we need to follow." And so we did.





"Is this the spot?"



I surely did hope so, because the map was leading us into muckier and muckier terrain. But Pirate Zak assured me that we needed to move on. So I rolled up my pants, thanked my foresight for putting on flip flops, and trudged on.



At last we came across treasure. As Pirate Zak showed me what he found, the mommy instinct of "Put that down! It's got germs!" or "you're going to cut yourself and get all kind of infections!"... I decided in that nanosecond of fleeting thought that it really was okay. How could I squish the sparkle in the eye of a new discovery?





I just told him to hurry and throw it in the box before any other pirates could come and take it. That way the handling was a lot less. Mother of the Year award I would not win, but sometimes it's okay:)

After treasures were stowed away into the "treasure box," I as the lackey, got to lug said treasure box onto new sites. I was happy to hold onto the box of wonders.



Treasure hunting was not on my list of to do items that day. At first I didn't deem it to be all that important until I realized that it was on my son's to do list. Walking through jungles...imagining sharks in the small pools of water in the mud...running away from other pirates who would take our treasure...my imagination found takeoff too. I forgot that I could find joy in playing. I remembered how fun it is to be someone else even for just a little while. I caught a fleeting memory of childhood pretending and it was so amazing.

Thanks Zak for taking me on a treasure hunt. Thank you for reminding me that I need to stop and play and count my blessings.

I was blessed to be able to drop everything and play with my son.

I got Jinxed!

I know it's a natural fact that as we get older, our bodies change. Now before your mind starts to wonder about what possible bodily functions I will be posting about today that you should possibly skip, rest assured that I will not be going into any depth whatsoever about anything of that nature. :)

With that being said however, I AM going to complain about what seems to be a natural phenomenon. Something like when my pediatrician tells me that teething and ear infections slash runny noses are not related. REALLY?!? Then why is it that EVERY TIME my kids were teething, these same symptoms occurred? Tell me that! This phenomenon I am about to mention was brought up to me by my sweet friend Rochelle who I love very dearly. (I bet you never thought you'd make topic on my blog:) It happens when one turns 35. And I just turned 35.

Are you laughing yet Rochelle??

And that is exactly the phenomenon- something happens when you turn 35. You put on a small amount of weight! I can't say I didn't entirely believe her, but since we are practically the same build, and she was even smaller than me when we were younger, the idea held more credibility...but she said that 35 started to be when she recognized that the weight didn't come off all that easy. At least like it used to....without much effort on either of our parts...okay, so we have really good gene pools to draw from. POINT BEING though, is that SHE WAS SO RIGHT!!! Rochelle, you were so right.

I put on 5 to 7 pounds. I can't admit to either of those numbers, can't AND won't, so it's left up to you to guess:) I'm noticing that my pants are tighter, I've got some random skin that is starting to pucker at my waist line, and the already saggy butt has taken on NEW DIMENSIONS.

But what's really sad is that I think I may actually need to start to WORK at keeping myself trim. I think I may have to start watching what I eat. (Not that I was a total piggy but I do like to eat. That's all I'm sayin:) And it's not as if I don't like to exercise, but I usually don't exercise to lose weight. Now nobody say "boo hoo to you," I know I got lucky with the DNA on the double helix.

Suffice it to say, I'm not super thrilled with this new found knowledge.

You will be happy to note though, that I am sparing you the picture of my derrier. I was thinking of asking opinions on the state of said derrier, but thought better of it. Tasha reminded me that I haven't posted anything for my "Quest with a Camera" posts so I was thinking I would kill two birds with one stone, but I don't think a picture of my derriere is worthy of the "Quest with a Camera" posts. And besides, I don't think I truly want to want to know anyone's opinion on my backside anyhow, and you CERTAINLY don't want to see THAT photo. And if I'm being honest, I think I am still in denial about the added poundage. The verdict is still out, and I will still probably have a piece of pizza at Winco whenever I go grocery shopping. I may still have the Urban fries at Jacks..though Tara and I usually split the order so that's really only half the calories right? I will still love IN N OUT burger and want to go by there occasionally after the gym...

OH.

I'm starting to see a pattern.

So maybe it's not turning 35???? Maybe it's what I'm eating? No...probably not. I used to eat worse when I was younger and never gained a pound.

Ah well, denial may be fun until I can't fit into my pants anymore. I need to take a page from Rochelle and get my derrier into the gym more than twice a week. It works for her cause she looks great!

Just so you know, I really WOULD NEVER POST A PICTURE OF MY BACKSIDE.

EVER.

Just so you know:)

Killing me Softly

It's a couple hours before kindergarten starts. Zak and I have just finished a couple pages of his homework, and I know we still need to go through his sight words and his alphabet...AND his numbers to 30. I'm also going through a list in my mind of everything I need from Costco, a Winco trip tomorrow, the whooping cough vaccine that both my girls need to get AGAIN since it's now california law, all the stuff I need to get them to tonight...and yet I'm not feeling super overwhelmed right now. I'm just sitting on the couch. Well, I'm sitting at the computer desk now, but still... I'm having a quiet moment. Zak is playing quietly with his Batman car, which I can assure you is a rare occurrence.

Not the playing with the Batman car, but the quiet.

I look over at him kneeling against the couch, talking his Batman and Robin..shirt off and pajama pants on, and I realize that this is a Moment. And I caught it:)

I drop my gaze further and see his sock clad feet, socks that I just recently bought at the store since his other ones got muddied up. But something makes me smile as I sit looking at his feet. There are big mud stains going through the center of his socks because somehow he'd gone out on the patio this morning.

I sighed a contented sigh, that somehow there are just things that don't change. Zak will forever be my high energy boy with dirty socks. And this morning, that is okay.

*smile*

Quest with a Camera

Inspired by this post by Enjoying the Small Things I decided that I need to have more profound moments in my life, to discover the beauty around me in day to day life. On my way home from dropping Zak off, the idea struck and I realized how perfect it really is.

I am going to find the joys of life through my camera lens.

I have actually thought about this a time or two in the last year, but never did anything about it. And for whatever reason, I have been feeling somewhat reflective of my life the last couple of weeks. Maybe the ensuing birthday tomorrow accompanied by the changing of a digit has prompted these nostalgic feelings. Or maybe it's that I have become more aware at the different seasons in life and how mine has left the young babies one and has turned into something else entirely. I am enjoying this season of my life immensely but I don't want it to pass me by like the last ones have. I want to find deeper meaning in my day to day activities with my husband and my children. Times change, the seasons in our lives change, and we can't get them back. I suppose, if I was to really dig deep and figure out why I feel so nostalgic and this yearning to go back, is that I think I haven't left my mark on life enough. Have I really taken time to reflect? Have I really truly embraced my life as a gift from God? Are my kids going to remember their mother as someone who was a meticulous house cleaner but who never shared "moments" with them?

I want to have MOMENTS!

I realize that this is decidedly late for resolutions for the new year, but like most everything else, it takes me longer than most people to get on board:) So this year I have but one resolution, and that is to be in the Moment, to grab my camera at the slightest whim and photograph what I see and think is beautiful. To really appreciate my surroundings and my life fully. And ultimately realize how much Heavenly Father has blessed me with. So there you have it...

my quest with a Camera.

I was coming home from dropping Zak off at school and for whatever reason, I always seem to exhale when I see the green scenery, or the cows, or the big power line holders thingies. I have no idea what they're called really:) And it always grabs me that I wish I had my camera! So I decided that I was going to run home and document what I see through my camera lens.

I love living out here. It makes me happy to see the cows. It's super quiet and I feel somewhat removed from the hustle and bustle of city life. It reminds me of how blessed I am.


Unfortunately I discovered that I didn't have the lens that I wanted in my haste to document my new found discoveries, so you can't really see the beautiful little brooks that run through the land.



No parking sign, shmarking sign. This was a beautiful view and I didn't give a rip! And besides, it's not likely some meter maid is going to show up.



I love roads. There is just something so soothing about a road. You can't see destinations end, yet somehow you know you'll get there. And really, it's all about the journey on said road.

So I got down, flat on my stomach, on the road, and took this picture. I worried for a minute that a car might be ensuing, but then I decided that being daring is half the fun.





My goal is to post something weekly that I find joy in, to remind myself how amazing and beautiful life is...

to remind myself that I'm not missing it.

Twin Day and Geo Caching

I meant to post these on two different posts since one has nothing to do with the other, but oh well. As long as it gets on here for me to remember:)

For twin day at school for the kindergartners, Andrea had this great idea to put all the boys in their soccer shirts and jeans. Rochelle and I wanted to get pictures after school, but unfortunately we couldn't find Troy. But we got the rest of the boys. It was so VEEERRRY hard to get them to stand still, and as I was going through the pictures I realized that there was always a few people with their eyes closed, or someone was blocking someone else's head. Rochelle, you may have gotten some better shots than me. Here are the few that worked:)


Ian was the only one blinking in this picture so to me it's gold:)



I love how Zak and Bryson are looking at each other, like there's some big joke the rest of us aren't aware of. SOOOO cute!




Gosh I love this one:) Even though you can't see Zak or Bryson, it's just so dang cute! Gotta love the look on Cade's face though:) Though I have to say that when we tried to get them to turn around, it turned into sheer chaos. There was just no getting them to do it. I thought about posing them on the black rail that surrounds the playground, one foot on the rail, one on the ground, with their hands in their pockets. Like a large team picture, but they were not having any more of pictures. The energy level was already hard to control with all these boys together. Whew!


For FHE on Monday we went Geo Caching. The kids loved this! I know it's been around for a while, but we have just gotten started with it. It was so much fun! If you're not familiar with it, it's a program that you download to your phone, a GPS game so to speak. There are people who have stashed things in various locations that you can go find. There are hints along the way if you get stumped. You put in your location and it brings up different "caches" that you can go find. There is a compass that points the way. Once your mileage gets to zero, you stop and then have to look around and find the cache. Some are easy, and others are hard. Doug had already done the ones we took the kids too, so we were able to do a few more than I think we would have.


This was the first one that we found, hanging in a small tube, behind a fence post across the street from the refinery.






Sometimes there's silly little trinkets inside that you can take. If you do take the cache, you have to put something back in it to replace what you took. There is also a signing sheet of people who have found that cache. You sign your name to it as well. There were signatures on some of these dating back a couple of years.




This next one we found off Eagles Nest near Mather.


Some of these you really have to look hard for where it's hidden. In this case, it was under one of the information signs.


Our poor dog went komikaze that night. The mere act of traipsing through weeds and brush was just enough to set him into doggie overload. It was like he'd gone to doggie utopia. So many smells, and sounds, and things that go bump in the night to chase... By the time we got home, he was so wet and dirty. Cause it's not like he's a TALL dog. Poor thing. Everywhere he went he just got wet. Half the grass was taller than he is! :)


Here's everyone opening it. Love Andon's face here.








The boys couldn't get enough. It was like treasure hunting, and what couple possibly appeal more to a young "laddie" than the possibility of treasure?! ARRRGH!


Do you recognize the flags??? Teaghan will probably not be too happy when she sees this picture:)




So the girls obviously were a little quicker on finding the caches, so Doug told the boys that this one was all theirs to find. Of course, they needed a lot of hints as this one was one I don't think they'd be able to find on their own:)


The girls were a bit stumped as well. Doug told them to start lifting things up. Anything and everything they thought might move.
*side note* Notice how wet Zak's pants are. That's because he trudged through a puddle that was actually that deep. But did it ruin the fun? Heavens no! This is treasure hunting after all!


They finally figured out that the bottom of the flag pole lifts. How cool is that to young "laddies?"


And SUCCESS!!


And of course, you have to open it.


This next picture is way out of focus. My poor camera just couldn't hack it when it got this dark.


All in all, Super fun FHE!! Even though it was a bit cold. There were some runny noses and some red hands afterwards. But nothing that good ole ice cream sandwiches couldn't cure! :)

New Find

I've been very much on the fence when it comes to flower hair accessories. You know the ones with the flowers on headbands or alone as clips. My girls look very cute in them, and though we don't have many, (okay, TWO), I am planning on getting more. But for me? I just didn't think it would work. But then I borrowed a friends flower piece for Doug's christmas work party, and decided that yes, I CAN WEAR FLOWERS. Just not obnoxiously large ones I think. I am going to have to be particular about what what types of flowers I will wear. Don't want to look like I'm trying to be 17 again! :)

I love it when I stumble upon new things by accident, without much effort at all on my part. I really don't spend a lot of time on the internet. Is that shocking? Do most people spend inordinate amounts of time on the internet? Anyhooo..... I came across a site called Whippy Cakes. Have you already heard of this site?

What does this drum up in your head? Food? Fluffy frosting? (Gotta love fluffy frosting. I don't like that heavy stuff.) Well guess what? It's not.

It's flower headbands and clips! But they're not your usual flower headbands and clips. They're very retro, like a throwback to the 30's, which is soooo in right now.

As I perused the inventory and read a little about how she got started with her business, I realized that one of my favorite photography sites, Sky Johanssen photography (I'm not looking up the spelling. You can see it at the bottom of my blog under favorite photography sites. Yes, I am that lazy) uses her headbands in her photography of children.

I fell in love with these flower designs, and am now adding the "Crumpet" to my birthday wish list. Sorry Doug, birthday list is getting long! :)

Anyway, check it out if you're looking for something different. Just wanted to share my new find! :)