Top Ten Tuesday - All By Myself!

Isabel went to her first day at kindergarten this morning. She was beyond excited! And me? Well, I'm quite excited as well. In fact, here's what I am looking forward to doing today, my first day of all the kids in school!!!

1. have coffee with some girl friends

2. Go to Target. By myself

3. Go to the grocery store. By myself. No little hands touching things they shouldn't, feet running when they should walk, and no voices getting louder than they should!

4. Go to Costco. By myself. I'm especially looking forward to leaving the giant store without a smiley face being drawn onto the back of my receipt.

5. Maybe grabbing a Jamba Juice and not having to share.

6. Fixing only one lunch today. Or better yet, maybe the Jambe Juice will be my lunch.

7. Go to the post office. By myself.

8. Read some chapters in my book. By Myself.

9. Clean something. Maybe, if I feel like. No promises with that one.

10. Take a nap and not feel guilty about the kids fending for themselves or them watching too much tv while I do so.

Oh yes, there is plenty on my list of things to do and enjoy while all the kiddos are away at school today. But if I don't get it all accomplished today, well, I can always pick up where I left on Thursday when Isabel goes back to kindergarten! Yep. This is going to be a great year, I can just tell. :)

It Should Be Mae, But It's Not

The other week, after I returned from my weekend trip to San Francisco, I heard Caleb tell that his favorite drink was Dr. Pepper. This was news to me. Especially since we don't really let our kids drink soda, like hardly ever. If we go out to eat, I usually allow the kids get lemonade or, if I'm an exceptionally nice mother, root beer. But hardly ever ever Coke or another like-soda. But Caleb insists that Dr. Pepper is his favorite soda. Which only brings me to the conclusion that while I was gone, Ryan took them out to eat and let them get real soda.

He did.

And, he did.

Now, if you ask Caleb what his favorite drink is, he'll tell you - Dr. Pepper! (the world is coming to an end....my children have had real soda with CAFFEINE!!!! consider yourself warned.)

Out of all the kids, I would figure it would be Mae that would love it. You see, when I was pregnant with Mae, Ryan was borderline obsessed with my sugar intake. He tried to limit me. However, that Thanksgiving, after having one glass of my choice drink, Dr. Pepper, I wanted another. But I was seated at the table in such a way that I couldn't get up without three other people having to get up out of their seats to let me out, then back in. So I asked Ryan, since he was up and refilling his glass, if he would please refill mine as well. He refused, and offered to get me something else. Well, I didn't want 'something else', I wanted more DP! So my cousin, who also has a love for the drink, got up and refilled my glass. Much to Ryan's chagrin.

So, one would think that my Dr. Pepper desire would travel down to the child within. But I guess it didn't. Or maybe it did, but skipped to the next? Oh well, one less person to share my beloved DP. with. :)

A New Year, Another First Day

My kids went back to school yesterday. I can't believe that summer vacation is over. It feels like it went by quickly, or maybe it just seems that way from this side of it. However, I think we all have been looking forward to school resuming these past couple weeks.

To prepare for going back we got all our school supplies weeks ago (before the rush on supplies really hit, no crowds AND everything was stocked up!). Then over the weekend the kids picked out a new shirt to wear on the first day.

So, come Monday morning, the lunches were made, shirts were donned and backpacks were loaded and ready to go!

Wow. I have a 4th and 2nd grader. Time flies!

Next week will be a whole new beginning for Isabel and me. That's when we will start Isabel's kindergarten homeschooling. But until then, I only have a 2nd and 4th grader, oh, and I pre-schooler. (yes, I live in denial. don't spoil it for me) :)

A Curious Find

I was on the computer looking for a specific group of pictures when I came across a bunch of pictures that Mae had taken a few years ago. There were several shots of her stuffed animals wearing sunglasses and 'reading books', as well as an occasional self-shot. All were very random but not too surprising since Mae was exploring her inner photographer. However, I was a bit baffled when I saw this one....

....until I realized that she had spelled her name in pretzels. Ha! Of course, how genius! It's all clear to me now. I should not have been so baffled, no?

My New Favorite

Mae loves to draw and color. She always has. I don't think she really had a choice seeing how creative her parents are. And Ryan and I have enjoyed seeing the things she's made over the years.

Recently, Mae drew a picture of a bunch of pac-mans (pac-men?) going in a bunch of directions all over the page. I thought it was such a random thing for her to draw, and there was just something about it that I liked. So I took a picture of it, then decided to make it the wallpaper for my phone. Mae loves that I have her picture as my wallpaper. I think it makes her feel proud. She has since had me show several people my phone and newest wallpaper. And to be honest, I don't mind showing it off. I'm kind of proud of her too!

So here it is, my new wallpaper, or, rather, Mae's newest piece of art.

Top Ten Tuesday - SF Weekend

I haven't participated in Top Ten Tuesday in a very loooooong time. Seeing how I just came off a fabulous girl weekend in San Francisco, I feel like I can use the Top Ten as a recap. I'll try to be brief but still share my highlights (with out boring you all to death).

So, a good friend I and I flew into to San Francisco for just a couple days. The best things of our time included, but were not limited to, the following;

1 - Flying with no children and only carrying a backpack (no suitcases, just the clothes on our backs and a few necessities).

2 - Taking BART around the city with ease and not getting lost, turned around or ever going in the wrong direction.

3 - Having brunch at Neiman Marcus on Saturday. We had not eaten much for breakfast so that we would be hungry for our early lunch reservations. I ordered a delicious crab sandwich that looked waaay bigger than it actually ended up being, and it was fabulous!

4 - Seeing Wicked!!!!

5 - Staying at my friend's relative's house in Berkeley. Not only did it keep our travel cost down but I also got to see a part of the bay area that I'd never been to before. I loved the cute bungalows and craftsman houses, made me think of Portland.

6 - Dropping off our backpacks at MOMA on Sunday so we could walk unencumbered before checking into the airport and heading home. (which was totally free, by the way. we followed the don't ask, don't tell philosophy since we weren't actually going into the museum....they didn't ask, so we didn't tell.)

7 - Completing our 'things to do in the city' list by having a chowder bread bowl for lunch on Sunday. There's nothing quite like a San Francisco sourdough bread bowl filled with white clam chowder yumminess!

8 - Having extra bandaids in my backpack. I needed one after walking around the city for two days. My shoes were cute, but rubbed a bit too much.

9 - Having a great time with my friend, and taking silly pictures.

10 - Coming home to my family, whom were all happy to see me. It was the best ending to a fabulous weekend.

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Interested in more Top Ten's for this week? Go to OhAmanda and check out the list!

It's My Thing

I'm not much for cooking. It doesn't excite me. I cook only for nourishment, because it's needed. Now baking, that's something I can get into. That excites me.

At Thanksgiving I make a fabulous crumble top apple pie. And at Christmas I make snickerdoodles. Then there is always pumpkin pie, those are made during both holidays. During the other times of the year I like to make cookies and cakes and ice cream! However, I have not made meringue, and consequently, never a lemon meringue pie.

Until now.

My in-laws were visiting and I had lemons on the tree and I felt the need to make something delicious while they were here. So I decided to try my hand at the infamous lemon meringue pie. After a failed attempt at baking an empty pie crust (which is necessary for this kind of pie, but something I've never done because my previous pies have always been baked at the same time as the filling), I had a decision to make. I could scrap the whole idea of a pie altogether OR buck up and try again.

I bucked up. For I didn't want a baking failure on my record.

And wah-lah, made a super-yummy lemon meringue pie. Which received high praise for it's appearance as well as taste.

I love baking!

Conversations

Tucking Caleb into bed tonight, this is a snippet of our conversation:

Caleb: I have a hard time being nice to my sisters because they're a part of my family.

Me: (trying not to laugh, and not succeeding) What? What about Me and Daddy? Do you have a hard time being nice to us?

Caleb: Yes.

Me: Well, can you pretend that you don't know us? It might be easier for you that way.

Then we both couldn't contain our laughter any longer. That kid! He says the silliest things sometimes.

I'll keep you posted on how this theory plays out, but I have a feeling we'll be back to square one come morning.

Tips For Boogie Boarding

When one goes boogie boarding, there are a couple things that have proven to be helpful.

1). Wear a hat. This will keep the water from getting in the eyes. Now, don't blame me if some water splashes up into your face and therefore getting in your eyes, for it will happen but the hat will certainly keep most of the water at, ahem, bay.

2). An extra pair of sunglasses should be worn instead of the everyday pair. I have prescription eye glasses with transition lenses, but I also have at least one extra pair with the transition lenses and those are the ones I wear when boogieing on my board. :) The glasses not only keep the sun out (and help me see clearly) but they also help keep water out of my eyes also.

3). I love my board shorts. They give me more coverage in modesty as well as make boogie board riding more comfortable. Board shorts are a must.

4). And if you wear board shorts then a good tankini is a good option for the top half (of course!). When I shop for a tankini I am always looking for one that is longer than average because of my long torso. And because I get tankinies that are longer, this also means that I don't get a rash from the board rubbing on my tummy. I love my long tankini top!

5). A water-proof watch. When a mom hits the waves while her kids are at VBS, it's important that she keep track of time so she can be on time to pick them up*.

6). The boogie board. Maybe I should have mentioned this first. It's pretty essential to boogie boarding. But maybe that's just me.

*disclaimer - this doesn't necessarily mean that she will be on time, it's not the watch's fault if she's late, and she may get a talking to from the VBS ladies working the registration tables.

AKA - Boogie Boarding Week

Today is the start of VBS for my kids. Every day they will go at 9:00 and be done at 12:00. Whatever shall I do with myself for 3 hours???

Go boogie boarding with a friend, of course.

It's going to be a great week! And I bet I'll sleep great AND get good exercise. It's a win-win all around!

I love VBS week!