Find The Studs, People!

When one attaches things to walls, things meant for supporting other things, I can't stress enough how important studs are.

Because if things aren't secured to these vastly important thingies called 'studs'......well, this can happen

In this instance, the shelf in the closet will not be able to support the storage items on top as well as the clothes hanging on the bar. When all these forces are put together it equals no hanging clothes or boxes on shelves....and a big mess when it comes time to clean up that shattered mirror door.

So find the studs, people, that's all I'm sayin'.

Be Careful, They Repeat What You Say!

Isabel and I had to take Edward (our new cat) to the vet today for a booster shot. Edward doesn't like the cat carrier or being in the truck (or probably the vet for that matter!), and he was being quite vocal in his protests. So Isabel and I were talking about Edward and how he was feeling about his journey, but then Isabel had something else to say....

Isabel - Edward is a booger.

Me - What???

Isabel - Edward is a booger. That's what Dad says 'cause Edward went in Caleb's room.

There you have it folks. Edward is a booger because that is what Isabel heard her Daddy say to Edward when he got into a part of the house that he wasn't suppose to be in.

Their little ears hear what we say and have no regrets about repeating it. So speak your words carefully.

It Spilleth Over

We are now on storm #3 of the week. And they say that this one will be the biggest of the string of storms passing through this week. I'm not sure what the rain totals are, but I can tell you on thing....we are this close to have an infinity edge pool.



Just from looking at the pool now and knowing what the water level was before all this crazy rain, it would be safe to say that we have gotten a good five to six inches of rain since Sunday night. And the worst of today's storm has yet to hit.

There is only about an inch left before the water level in the pool reaches the top. And I think today is the day it will overflow.

At least we won't have to fill the pool anytime soon!

Quotes To Live By

Last night we took the kids to a late-night doctors appointment. I had scheduled the first round of H1N1 vaccines for them.

Unbeknownst to my children.

Really, it's a smart move all around. This way I don't have to hear whines, fusses and crying over impending shots for hours on end. And the kids are also not plauged with thoughts and fears of the forthcoming shots either. See? It's a win-win.

We went out to dinner, then made a quick run to Costco since we had time to spare before the appointment. It wasn't until we were about a minute away from the parking garage that I told them the news. No surprise, there was whining, fussing and crying despite my pleas for bravery.

As I walked with Mae through the parking lot, toward the office of doom, I explained to her that this small pain was worth it so that she wouldn't get really really sick later. Her response?

"I'd rather die."

I couldn't help myself, I laughed! Seriously, it couldn't be held in. Not one bit.

Later, after the shots were dispensed and we were walking back to the truck, Isabel was still crying and quite sad. That's when she said...

"I want to cry forever."

Unfortunately, Ryan told the kids that they'd be back in about 4 weeks for the second round. My thoughts on this slip of information????

"Great. There goes the element of surprise. Now I'll be hearing about it for the next month."

There will be no win-win next time. *sigh* However, they may know its coming.......but that doesn't mean I'll tell them exactly when. *wink wink*

Good Thing My Camera Was Handy!

California is getting some big storms this week. Yesterday our rain got started by mid afternoon. When it storms here, I like to pull the blinds up in the family room so we can see better. I'm glad I did because Mae spotted a HUGE full rainbow in the backyard!!! I didn't think it would turn out, but I grabbed the camera and took a few pictures. THEN, I decided to look out the window that faces the front yard and I saw a very cool sunset....so I took a picture of that too.

Here's the rainbow as seen from our backyard. I was right, the rainbow didn't turn out very well.


But the sunset pictured turned out (at least I think so). I think God was doing a little showing off....and I loved it!!!

Expensive Taste

While we were out on Saturday, just looking around at fun furniture stores, I sat in this....


It's called a Womb Chair. The one I saw was displayed in a retro, funky, orange color. And the chair itself looks a little strange too. But I thought 'why not sit it in?!', and so I did.

And fell in love.

It is a fabulously comfortable chair. They way supports and just holds you just right.....ahhhhh, I could sit in it for hours.

I could read. Or watch a movie. Or put my feet up on the just-the-right-size ottoman and take a nap.

Yep. I could do all that.

If I had about two thousand dollars to spare.

Reunion

When we were in Modesto for Christmas, I was able to meet up with a long-lost friend - Wendy!!! Wendy and I lived across the street from each other when we were young. She was my best friend and we did many childhood things. Things like roller-skating in our neighbors driveways, lived out stories in the almond trees in her backyard, put on trapeze shows on her backyard swing set, built forts in the firewood pile that was in her front yard, and spoke vast amounts of pig latin. Together we had quite the imagination and I can't recall a time that we lacked anything to do. Of course, the fact that Wendy had 6 other sisters helped too. There was always something to do at Wendy's house and always someone to play with.

My childhood would not have been the same without Wendy and her fun sisters. And my blog life would be non-existent if it weren't for her too. After I was married, I had tried off and on for years to find Wendy, and a few years ago I finally did! Turns out she had a blog, and after reading it I discovered that blogs were fun and that I wanted one too. And so began my illustrious blog-writing career.

So, after many a year (20??), I had the opportunity to see Wendy again. It's funny, Wendy is one of those people that doesn't seem to change. She looks just as I remember her.

Only with four kids.

And being nicely tanned from the Hawaiian sun.

It was great to get together with Wendy last month and to meet her children. I enjoyed catching up with our lives since we last saw each other, and to see our kids play together. If only we lived closer, I wonder if our kids would be close friends too??

A Big Day

Caleb had a big day yesterday.

#1 - He got to sit in the front seat of the truck for the first time. The law in California says that any child age 6 or older can sit in the front, but Caleb didn't know that (shhhhh, don't tell! *wink*), and so he finally got his view from the front seat at age 7!

#2 - He was signed up for his first soccer league. Caleb has not played any sport, ever!, and he finally gets the opportunity. The only bummer is that he now has to wait another 4 weeks before his first practice and game.

Can't you tell.....Caleb is super-excited about these major developments in his life!

Say "cheese!", or how about "front seat!", wait, I mean "soccer!". Oh never mind.

A Cone?....Seriously??!?

I got the kitties fixed this past week. I am amazed at how things have changed since I last had cats. For instance, the instructions for caring for Jane, post-op, was to have her wear a cone until her stitches come out. Back when I had kitties (was it really 25 years ago??! sheesh, I feel 'old'!) the vet sent us home with ointment to put on the incision that would make their mouth foam if the kitty licked it, this would teach them from doing that. Now, they must think the ointment as inhumane, for instead, they make the kitty wear a cone for 10 to 14 days. You tell me, which is worse....a little foam but the ability to keep oneself clean and 'normal'? -or- wear a cone and not be able to be and/or keep clean or be able to do anything normally???

Anyway, despite how pathetic and sad it is to see Jane with her 'cone of shame', it's also kind of funny. She walks weird as her head bobs from side to side and she thrusts out her front legs like a supermodel. hee hee.....I have a supermodel kitty!

I'm going to make her an appointment tomorrow so that she can get her stitches out on Friday. At least that is my hope. The next step with these kitties is to introduce them to the out of doors, where they will live the rest of their lives, for the most part. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to do that?? Again, it's been a while since I've introduced a cat to the outside and I don't want them to run away. What a waste it would be to spend all this money and have them run away. So, if you have any tips or advice, I'm open to suggestions!

My Name Is Muerte!

We began thinking of cat names before we even got them. Of course, at first, the plan was to get only one cat, so we were only trying to come with one name. And we wanted the name to be fitting for a rat killer. We tossed names back in forth before landing the perfect one.

There were names like Spike, Axel and Rouge. But as we were discussing names Ryan threw out Death, then we just looked at each other, and at the same time, we said Muerte! If you've seen the movie Undercover Blues then you'll understand why this name is so perfect. (although I hope that our cats are more successful) Here's a few clips from the movie, featuring bits of just Muerte.....

The name would have been great, if we had only one cat. But as you know, we got two. And they came pre-named. Edward and Bella (very Twilight). We kinda liked the name Edward so we kept it, but we couldn't name the girl kitty Muerte, it just didn't seem to fit. So we changed it to Jane, after a kitty we had seen at the Humane Society. But we had to fit Muerte in there somewhere! So we gave the cats a family name - Los Gatos de Muerte (the cats of death)

Here Kitty, Kitty!

Where we live now is in between the main town and farmland. I call it Town and Country. This means that we don't have sidewalks and are not hooked up to city sewer. It also means that we have issues to deal with that we haven't had in the past. Things like rats.

These issues call for long-term problem solving techniques. We like to call this, Cats. Yes, yes, I know....we can use rat bait and traps, but we'd rather not have to deal with those things. It'd be easier to employ a live-in solution.

So last week, after an exhaustive search, we got not one, but two live-in solutions. Please say hello to Edward and Jane.

They are brother and sister and are the nicest cats ever! The lady I got them from told me that they are seven months old and part Siamese and part Calico. Edward, for sure, looks more Siamese with his dark ears and blue eyes. Jane seems less Siamese but her eyes are a pretty light blue. Regardless, I think they are beautiful!

It's been fun to watch the cats and see how the kids interact with them. My kids haven't really had a pet before so this is all new to them. Me, on the other hand, grew up with a couple cats and I find that I have not lost my touch with finding their favored scratching spots around the ears and under the chin. I think Edward likes me best. And to that I say Yes!

This past week has been quite eventful for these kitties. Not only have they been plucked from their home but just yesterday I took them to the vet to get 'fixed'. Poor Jane, she tore a hole in her cardboard cat carrier on the way to the vet. The next thing I hear is Isabel saying "Jane is out". Sure enough, there was Jane all wide-eyed and walking around the truck, looking through all the windows. Now, if you think texting while driving is dangerous, try driving with a cat walking on the dashboard!!!

After all we've put into these kitties (finding them and vet costs!), they'd better stick around when we let them out and keep the rat population down.

In Review, God Is Still Good

Last night we gathered with our home group to do a little after-Christmas celebration. Since it is now closer to New Years than Christmas, we each shared the things we've gone through this past year and what we've learned. It was amazing to recount our stories with each other and how we all seemed to come to the same conclusion - God is Good.

As I listened to my friends share their stories I was reviewing my own in my mind, preparing for my own time to share. It truly is amazing to think back over this past year and see how the Lord was not only with me during each trial and difficult time but also that he is an amazing orchestrator in how he brings those things together with his plan for my life and makes the ugly and hard things into something beautiful.

The first major difficulty of this year really began in the fall of 2008, when Ryan began to have some nasty sleep issues. The problem got worse as he began to take Ambien to help him sleep. As it did help him sleep it also gave him really bad side effects and he began to get severe anxiety to the point of paranoia and panic attacks, among other frightening physical side effects. Even in the midst of all this, when I prayed all I could pray and was at the end of myself in anything I could do to help my husband, the Lord was still with us. When at that scary point of complete dependance upon the Lord, He was there. He knew what was going on even when I didn't, and carried me through.

Somehow, through the Lord's guidance, Ryan did research on Ambien and found that he had become dependent on it, to the point of addiction (even though his doctor disagrees with him to this day). After doing research and much prayer, Ryan found a way to step down off the drug. Even during this time I was still in awe of how even though I was unaware of what is going on and was helpless to do anything about it, the Lord is still with us and guiding me though each day. I have learned, once again, to trust Him with my life and the lives of those I love.

The other major battle I've been through, again, didn't start with 2009. It began back when we moved here three years ago. Since moving into the rental house, I had a mindset of it being temporary, that we'd soon buy a house and move out. What should have been only one year turned into to three plus. Buying a house always seemed to be six months out, just out of reach. Many times I've had to learn to be content with where the Lord had us, and for that three years and three months it was in the rental house.

Again, I am amazed at how the Lord times things to perfection. I could never, in my own way of thinking and planning, ever come to the beautiful end to this story. I continue to learn that my ways are not His ways, and his way is much better than mine could ever be!

This home-owning journey has certainly been a roller coaster for me. One day I am depressed about it because I'm not where I want be. Then the next I'm giving it up and trusting the Lord for his timing and provision. Up and down, I tell ya! Then!, then!.....we finally get to the point of 'yes! we can buy!'. Then the emotional journey of letting go truly begins. How hard it is to see a house and get attached, and all before the offer is submitted. Only to get into a battle of offers with the bank and then to get passed over because, although our offer was 20k OVER asking, it wasn't high enough. In the end, we put offers on a total of four houses. Talk about letting go and trusting God!!!

I could go into more detail on both of these journeys of faith, but in the end the conclusion is the same - God can be trusted in all areas of my life, and He is good no matter the situation. As I look forward to yet another new year, I have no idea what is ahead but I take with me what I've learned and know that each day is an opportunity to trust Him, yet again.

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,

and he delivers them.

Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Fear the LORD, you his saints,

for those who fear him lack nothing.

Psalm 34: 7-9

She Can't Be Trusted

The good thing about having the kids in school is that I can do some shopping without them around. It comes in really handy when getting Christmas or birthday gifts. And in our family we have both, due to Caleb's birthday being two days before Christmas.

This year we let Caleb have a birthday party, so I was super-focused on getting that together and forgot about getting him a gift until just the other day. Good thing I had a few days before we leave town to get him something! Ryan and I talked over a few ideas then I hit Costco to see what they had. Isabel was not in school at the time, so she joined me and I didn't think much of it until I picked up what would be Caleb's gift - a Bakugan set. I knelt down and talked to Isabel about this being Caleb's birthday present and that it was a secret. She assured me that she would keep the secret, though I had my doubts (but what else could I do as she knew what the gift was and understood it was for Caleb??).

Before picking up the MaeLeb, I swung home and stashed Caleb's gift away, then headed for school. After getting the kids, we weren't even in the truck but a few minutes when Isabel says "Caleb, you got Bakugan for your birthday!".

The rat! Little stinker!

Fortunately some things are difficult to understand when Isabel talks. It's not always clear what she is trying to say. In this case I stepped in and tried to save the moment. I said something like "yeah, Caleb got Bakugans at his party!". But Mae knew what Isabel was saying and tried to correct me, but I cut her off before she could spill it all. Caleb, I think, didn't pick up on what was going on. At least that is my hope.

But I think we need to work on our secret-keeping skills. Or go shopping after bedtime.

At Least I Can Stop Working On My Acceptance Speach

Yeah. So the story is that I won't be nominated for Mother Of the Year. And I was sooo close too.

The kids new school has one day a week that has an early release time. It lets out one hour earlier than normal. Thursday (today!) is that day. And me, being the front runner for Mother of the Year, forgot.

I have my new schedule down. I leave the house at 2:15 in order to get to the school in time to to score a good parking spot. But when I pulled into the should-have-been-full parking lot, it wasn't. In fact there were prime spots just sitting vacant. I began to think 'wow, this is weird. It's almost like school has already been released or something, but I'm a few minutes early. Everyone else must be running late (you know, 'those' moms who are not in contention). Yeah, that's me, a little slow in the comprehension of the situation. But then it hit me - 'School already IS out because today is the EARLY day!'.

After briskly walking by Mae and Caleb's classrooms and the playground, I headed to the office. That's where they were, waiting for me. I had told them a few weeks ago that if I was ever not there to pick them up that they should wait for me in the school office. Poor Caleb was crying as we walked to the truck. I don't blame him, I probably would have too. And Mae was quick to forgive her forgetful mother. I wonder if she'll nominate me for an Honorable Mention?

I Just Love It

One of our favorite shows is So You Think You Can Dance. It typically runs over the summer, but we have the treat to watch a rare season this fall. There are all kinds of dance displayed on the show. There's contemporary, ballroom, latin, jazz, and surprisingly, my favorite....hip hop. I don't know why it is, it just is.

The show airs twice a week and on the second night they usually have guest performers. The performers range from singers to different types of dancers/dance groups. Well, last week they featured a new dance company called The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers. And you guessed it, they are hip hop. But they are Ah. May. Zing. (and, yes, extraordinary!) Well, see for yourself....

I love how they move, their use of 'tricks', the use of strength with such fluidity, and how silent they seem to move. And....and....and.....*sigh* I just love it. It doesn't hurt that they were dancing to Coldplay either. Anyway, I hear that the group won't officially begin until next year, which is really only weeks away, but whenever they do start doing shows and touring, I hope they will perform in our area 'cause I'd love to go see them!

Old Age Comes Early

Today I heard that Modesto got snow! I'm not too surprised to hear it, although Modesto rarely sees snow. I was thinking this morning "It's snowed there before. I remember when I lived there when it snowed". It was a very exciting day! The snow didn't stick, but it was still fun to see it falling.

It was also quite a long time ago......

The winter of 1989 I was a freshman in high school and it snowed one afternoon during Christmas break. Wow...I was a freshman and it was 1989......that means it was *gasp!* 20 years ago!!! Holey mach-ah-moley.....20 years??!?!!

I'm starting to feel old.

They Do Exist!!!

Lo and behold.....look what I found at Old Navy!!!



Flip flops in winter!

Too bad they didn't have them in Caleb's size.

New Number

Dear ABC Plumbing,

I am at a loss as to why you are no longer in business. The calls that I am receiving on your behalf should have been enough to keep you afloat (no pun intended). Shall I give incoming calls a forwarding number???

Sincerely,

A Homeowner with a new number that happens to be your old one

Day 30 - whoops!!!

Did anyone realize that I missed a few days of giving thanks?? I had a feeling that would happen since we were traveling for Thanksgiving. It was my intention to do my postings while we were gone, but it just didn't happen. I wasn't about to stress over it, so I just sat back and enjoyed our families instead.

We left early on Thanksgiving morning for Modesto. And by 'early' I truly mean super-duper-pooper-scooper early! As in before-the-sun-was-up early! We were on the road by 4:00. See! Told you it was early. Anyway, since we were up before the sun, the kids got a wee tired while on the road. They don't usually sleep on these trips anymore, however, not only did they doze off, they fell asleep at the same time! It was cute so I had to take a snap to capture the moment.

Well, I didn't complete the 30 day challenge of posting every day, but I did find many things to be thankful for. While we were gone over Thanksgiving I found a few more. Here they are;

* coffee - makes super-early-morning-trips easier

* sleepy kids - makes road trips easier

* Thanksgiving meals with all the fixin's

* a boy named Jacob - my new nephew, and he's so stinkin' cute! ("stinkin'" in a good way) :)

* leftovers

* Mom's pumpkin pie (there's nothing better!)

* Thanksgiving - a fabulous reason to get together with the families I love so much!

* fully charged portable dvd player - again, makes road trips easier (aka quieter)

* being home again - as it was great to get away and spend time with our families, it's always nice to be home again.

There, that should sufficiently make up for my lack of posting over the past few days. Don'tcha think?!

Flip Flops

Living in Southern California has it's advantages. Among them is the fabulous weather! I can pretty much wear the same shoes all year around. It's great! Especially when my daily shoes are a nice pair of comfy sandals. However, this fine weather is hard the kids shoes. They don't last quite as long. But I suppose that's more the kids fault than it is the weather's.

Since this past spring, Caleb has worn out of three pairs of flip flops. My son is a flip flop kind of boy. He was certainly born to live here, that's for sure! The only thing is that you can't always get flip flops whenever you want/need them. For example, Caleb's flip flops broke just the other week and I was at a loss to replace them. Poor guy, he's been wearing his tennis shoes instead!

I looked at Wal-Mart and thought maybe I had scored. But the only flip flops they had were WWF. Sorry, but there is no way I was buying my son World Wrestling Federation flip flops, even though all of that would be covered by his foot when wearing them. Nope, not gonna do it. Sorry kid.

Then a friend told me that they had seen some at Target. So to Target I went. They did have some, but only for girls.

So I had given up and consigned myself to wait for spring.

Until I went to the dollar store to get things for our recent house warming party. I wasn't even looking for flip flops but there they were! They not only had some, they were a nice gender-neutral green. So I snatched them up right quick!

I only wish I had grabbed more than one, for I know that one pair is not going to last the winter! Maybe I'll go back next week. But there's probably some relative law of something or other that will determine that there will be none left. Alas, I will be thankful for this one last pair of flip flops found out of season.