Friday, December 26, 2008

OMH YES: MORE SNOW PICS (ugh)

I know. I'm tired of snow pics too, but what else am I to do? It just KEEPS COMING DOWN. So I keep on taking pictures.


Here are the kids sitting on their creation, The Sphinx.


This is some snow from the roof our barn that was sliding but then curled under itself in a ribbon-candy-sort-of-way. Or maybe frosting. It was pretty to be sure. I'm glad Jen told me about it so I could get a pic of it before it came crashing down.


Robee, crashing at the bottom of our hill on his new sled.



Felix taking on the hill in her own style. I don't think she made it either.



Here are the two of us after an afternoon of sledding.




Here we are again but peeking out from behind us is Robee. Always trying to get in the picture.



Now just Robee and I.


It's fun sledding. I will say that. But everything else about this major snowfall bites. I've got garbage piling up in the garage, recycling piling up in the garage, no mail being delivered, and roads that feel like you're riding on the Wild Mouse. Not okay.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

What you do when you're stuck inside

Last year, around Christmas, I bought at the craft store three gingerbread house kits. I buy everything in three's now. :)

I figured we would get around to decorating them for the holidays. As it turned out, we never did. So I carefully stored them with my Christmas stuff, completely forgetting about them - as I'm inclined to do.

I was getting my lights out two weeks ago (before the blizzard) and lo and behold! there they sat, waiting like good soldiers.

Can gingerbread kits be too old to use the next year? I mean, no one eats them; they're for decoration only.

Fast forward to this week. School has been cancelled for Wed, Thu, Fri. My car (of the two, Prius and Land Cruiser, is the only four-wheel drive) has being taken by hubby because he has to drive to Bellingham and I'm left wheel-less. Jen's car is great in the snow but it's snowing like the North Pole so no one is going anywhere anyway. We had already played several times in the snow (and made a really cool sledding hill) but I wasn't ready to get wet and cold again. What to do???

And so, voila!

Felix's home. The overhang of gingerbread finally had to be hot glued. Frosting wasn't going to do it this time.

Robee's home. Great idea unwrapping a Hershey's kiss for over the door!


Owen's home. At this writing, most of the dot candy has been pulled off. Home improvements you know.


The kits came with candy - thank goodness since I was not going to be able to venture out to buy some - but luckily my kids had leftover Halloween candy (yep: not big candy eaters except chocolate and a couple of other things ... which is why they have no cavities - that and they don't drink soda pop) which they put to really good use on their houses (and I'm so glad I didn't toss it like I was going to at Thanksgiving).


Now I just have to figure out what to do for the next two weeks for their official break. Ugh.


And we just received about four more inches of snow last night. Double Ugh.


And I've barely touched my Christmas shopping because I thought I would have all last week to do it and then the great dumping of snow started. Triple Ugh.


And they say there is no Global Warming. 20 inches in the Puget Sound? Sounds wrong to me.



Enough already. Please.

The last ruler reading. Actually, there was more snowfall after I took this and it was over the top but I was too depressed to photog it. :(



Yes. Robee shoveling the snow ............ for about three seconds. Why, when I was his age ... never mind. Man o man -- do I miss my snowblower.

Robee and Porter trying to make their way down to the pond. Porter was leaping in the air trying to break through the snow. I also miss my cross-country skis BIG TIME.


The homestead, buried in snow.

What the homestead is SUPPOSED to look like; warm and green.

Only 3 more months until spring.



Wednesday, December 17, 2008

STILL SNOWING

I swear I'm living in Utah.

JUST LOOK AT THIS STUFF! LOOK!

Here is close-up. Almost 7 inches. 7 folks.

And it doesn't stop. It slows down but never stops. Just keeps snowing and snowing and snowing and snowing and ................

Another SNOW DAY

Better ruler.


Snow on my hummingbird feeder.

Snow on the cedars.


Snow on the pond.

We live in a snow globe. Outside of Arlington, no snow. Nada. Zip.


And of course, no school.


Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Happy Birthday Ben!

Sorry Ben. I'm a little late getting these pics on the blog (not like he ever reads this but I felt I should have some excuse for missing his birthday; I've written about everyone else's).

We went to PF Chang's for his dinner. It was yummy. I haven't been there in years.

Here he is, blowing out the candle.

It was a yummmmmmy cake! Enough forks for everyone to take a stab.

And this is what it looked like AFTER everyone took a stab. And it does look like it's bleeding, eh?


Robee asked me to take this one. It is a great shot of the stone horse statue outside of the restaurant.


And, true to form, Ben had TWO birthday celebration cakes - his favorite of course - yellow cake with chocolate frosting. What birthday would be complete without the yellow cake?

Holy Cats. Is that boy really 27? I remember meeting him when he was 13. He had spiky bleached hair, wore zany socks, never got up for school until it was absolutely necessary (he would sit on his bed until the bus pulled up the street and then make a run for it ... in his multicoloured socks), listened to The Beatles all day long (and I'm totally serious .. all day), would never eat breakfast but would have an Artic Circle combo everyday (we miss those here in Washington ... mmmmmm!), and would sleep until 2 pm every weekend. How time flies.


Happy Birthday Buh. May the next 27 years be a wonderful experience!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Snow Day and Night Lights in December

The kids are THRILLED!! First snow day of the season. I know we live in the Northwest but every once in awhile, we do get a snow fall.


PEEEEETY!!!

That's a shot outside the sliding door. It's such a great view. Unfortunately, you can kind of see the new atrocity that's been built next door. I plan on planting trees this spring to hide it. =)

This place is so weird about snow weather. I do think that they have one snow truck for the entire Northwest. They don't know how to drive in even a skiff of snow. And every school district started two hours late the next day. The NEXT DAY ... after the roads were dry. Seriously. Very wimpy when it comes to inclement weather.


This WAS supposed to be a great pic of a ruler showing you that there is four inches on the railing, but I'm using my phone and the light ain't s'great.

But there is four inches and that's quite a bit for up here.

This is how Jen dresses for the weather! Kidding. Actually she was rescuing Owen from the snow. He wore one of Robee's boots over his foam cast and then his own boot on the other foot. But he was getting cold and really didn't want to walk anymore, to the rescue went mom in shorts.



Last night, we all bundled up and went to Warm Beach "Lights of Christmas." Warm Beach is an area right on the sound, owned by a church and it hosts camps in the summer for kids and conferences and such. There is also a senior community and care facility. It's very beautiful.


Anyway, during December they decorate the entire area with thousands of lights and open it up for tours. They have musical groups, food, all sorts of entertainment; very festive. It's kind of like "Temple Square" without the Temple. (for those of you in Utah)


The Talking Christmas Tree. Felix and Robee talking to the the Talking Tree. I'm not sure, but there is some guy somewhere talking a microphone watching us the whole time and cracking lame jokes ... which is a little spooky when you think about it.


But you can have your pic taken with the tree! The line was almost as long as the line for mini donuts.



Robee inside a tree light.


Getting warm and eating and drinking.

Owen in the stroller. With his foot still healing, he rode most of the time. =( Poor Little Foot.


This was my favorite. This was an entire mountain scene made from little lights. I cannot imagine the time and sweat it took in putting this together. But it's beautiful.


Another one that I loved. I call this one "Falling Lights." There were strings of lights coming off the tree branches and then bundled at the bottom for a firework-effect.



Another fav of mine: Lighthouse of Lights.

Thomas looking at the Lights. He was very taken with the whole thing as you can see.

This is Leah, a friend of Felix's. She came along for the ride and stayed the night. She had the unfortunate luck of sitting next to Felix while we ate and then experienced Felix's hot chocolate being flung all over her during dinner. My child.


We had a GREAT time and I'm so glad Jen suggested we go. I've always wanted to go but never made it in time. I sent the kids to the day camp the first summer we were here and have always love Kayak Point too (the park on the beach near-by). It was even snowing a little which made it even better.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

My funny child

Usually Robee hates going into Claire's. "It's a girls' shop! There is nothing for me to do! Nothing for me to look at! I'll sit outside."

However this day, he found something to look at and something to do:
The clerks were in hysterics. They didn't realize at first that he was a boy.


And this is when he was trying out his new shoes. Most people walk around, move their feet .. you know ... make sure the shoe feels good on their foot. Not Robee. This is how he tests out a potential shoe:

Monday, December 1, 2008

Peaceful Life of a Spider

I was moving pictures around late last night and found this video I took with my phone one day. It is of a spider, spinning it's web.

I came across it when I was walking into the office one day. I was late but I saw it spinning around and around and I had to stop and watch.

Mind you, I'm not a huge fan of spiders. I am not paralyzed with fear as I used to be, but it's not like we're best friends either.

However, when I saw it outside the door, I had to watch and then video it for next five minutes. I was so enraptured watching it do what nature had intended it to do.

I remember talking to a friend of mine and we were discussing our daily schedules of shuttling kids here and there and we're in martial arts so we're at class quite a bit and Thomas is working crazy hours with the economy ..........

And here was this spider, silently, peacefully, instinctively spinning it's web. True, it probably will be destroyed in a day when a fly or some destructive person comes along. And true, the spider has a precarious life span; each day is spent only to survive.

But still, it did seem to me as I watched it go around and around, that maybe G-d didn't mean for us to have such chaotic lives.

You decide.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Day 30!!! Whooo Hoooo!

K. It's here and I'm done.

But what's funny is that now that I've gotten into the habit, I'll probably try to blog more than I used to. I can't promise every day, but more than I did.

On a closing note, some things you probably didn't know (and if you did, then read them again; they're still interesting).

1. Money isn't made out of paper, it's made out of cotton..

2. The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp (marijuana) paper.

3. The dot over the letter 'i' is called a 'tittle'.

4. A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top.

5. Susan Lucci is the daughter of Phyllis Diller.

6. 40% of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.

7. 315 entries in Webster's 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.

8. The 'spot' on 7UP comes from its inventor, who had red eyes. He was albino.

9. On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents, daily.

10. Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine are brother and sister.

11. Chocolate affects a dog's heart and nervous system; a few ounces will kill a small sized dog.

12. Orcas (killer whales) kill sharks by torpedoing up into the shark's stomach from underneath, causing the shark to explode.

13. Most lipstick contains fish scales

14. Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn't wear pants.

15. Ketchup was sold in the 1830's as medicine.

16. Upper and lower case letters are named 'upper' and 'lower' because in the time when all original print had to be set in individual letters, the upper case' letters were stored in the case on top of the case that stored the smaller, 'lower case' letters.

17. Leonardo DaVinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time, hence, multi-tasking was invented.

18. Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.

19. There are no clocks in Nevada gambling casinos.

20. The name Wendy was made up for the book Peter Pan; there was never a recorded Wendy before.

21. There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with: orange, purple, and silver.

22. Leonardo Da Vinci invented scissors. Also, it took him 10 years to paint Mona Lisa's lips.

23. A tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion will make it instantly go mad and sting itself to death.

24. The mask used by Michael Myers in the original 'Halloween' was a Captain Kirk's mask painted white.

25. If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar (good to know.)

26. By lying on your back and raising your legs slowly, you won't sink into quicksand (and you thought this list was completely useless.)

27. The phrase 'rule of thumb' is derived from an old English law, which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

28. The first product Motorola started to develop was a record player for automobiles. At that time, the most known player on the market was the Victrola, so they called themselves Motorola.

29. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

30. The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher. (I'll have to verify that one with my Jewish friends)

31. Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from Public Libraries.

32. Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans before they go into space because passing wind in a space suit damages it. (hmmmm)

33. George Carlin said it about Martha Stewart: 'Boy,I feel a lot safer now that she's behind bars. O. J. Simpson and Kobe Bryant are still walking around; Bin Laden too. But they take the ONE woman in America still willing to cook, clean, and work in the yard, and they haul her fanny off to jail.'



And thus ends the 30th Day of NaBloPoMo.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Only one more day - Day 28 and 29

Okay. I have to admit it; I failed miserably in the "Blog Everyday in November" thang. Couldn't do. I tried. I really did.

So I'm going to try to finish off the month with some pics from our yard.



This is (so far) the biggest toadstool I've ever seen in our yard. I hope the dogs don't smoosh it. I want to see how big it will become.


This is Owen, taking Abbi for a walk. He is leading her around by her collar while he rides his Mini John Deere Gator. She kept looking at me as if to to say "What? Is? Going? On?"


Owen and I were doing some chores around by the pond and all of the sudden, a blackberry branch came winging out and grabbed his knit hat and took it right off his head! Funniest thing ever!
Here it is, hanging off the branch.




We were collecting some old wood from the forest next to the pond and having a little bonfire. This angle (as I look at it here) seems like Owen is a bit too close to the fire. Bad Kiki!

Actually he wasn't that close and I watched him the entire time. We like to make bonfires and burn some of my recycle paper on cool days.


And thus ends the 28 and 29 day.


Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!! - Day 27 of the Blog

I have more pictures of our day but they're on my camera and I'm too darn lazy to go up to my other computer to download them so you'll have to look at the one I took with my phone. :)
We had a good dinner. We had Bob and Kathi (Steve's parents) and the kids. Emilee didn't make it this year but we talked throughout the day.

Ben cooked the turkey in a new format (soaking in a brine all night then stuffing with oranges and spices) and it was terrific. We had our usual rolls, stuffing, veggies, gravy and thousands of desserts! Yikes.

It was a great, albeit long day.

My voice is still gone, but I'm on the mend.

Owen didn't have to spend the day in the hospital with croup like the doctors said he might.

I don't remember if I mentioned his having to go to the hospital at the wee hours of Wednesday morning. He was having difficulty breathing and nothing was helping. So they felt it was best to take him in to ER. Before they got on their way, O threw up all over himself and so they had to hurry and change him before going (she's pregnant and most smells make her gag right now). While they were gone, I hurried and washed his stuffed owl (comfort toy) and his pajamas so that it would be clean when they came home.

Jen's has had the humidifier running non-stop since Wednesday. It's feeling like a rain forest down there but it helps so much to have moisture in the air. The croup didn't come back and he's coughing good healthy coughs.

It's hard when so many people live in the same house and one gets a cold (me) and then passes it around like a hot potato. Especially when they're little.


The other picture from my camera won't send so I'll have to try later. I'm tired but I wanted to blog before the day ended. I only have three more days so I want to make everyday.

Tomorrow is Black Friday but I'm not up to going shopping at 4 friggin AM. Nothing is worth that to me. Nope. I'll still find good deals after tomorrow.


And thus ends the 27th day.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Day 3 of the Cold - Day 26 of the Blog

Stuffy nose: check.

Scratchy throat: no check.

Husky, sexy Lauren Bacall voice: no check.

High, whiny, windy Richard Simmons in a test-tube voice: check.

Lovely.

At least two of the kids are doing better. Robee and Felix are on the mend. Owen however, had to be rushed to the emergency room at 3 am because his lungs were so tight he could not get a breath. He had two breathing treatments and finally the second one did the trick along with a steroid shot.

We're now in the early preparations for Thanksgiving dinner. I shopped til I dropped today to get all the necessary supplies for what is needed.

I started the famous "Aunt Lynn's Jello Dessert" this evening because it has three layers and it has to set between each one.

However, we have discovered that the fridge is not cooling as it's supposed to. The freezer works but the fridge is staying at 52 degrees and I'm not happy about that. It can break down Friday if it wants to since I have always hated this fridge and would like it gone but NOT TOMORROW. NO WAY. NO HOW.


And thus ends the 26 day.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Day Two of the Cold - Day 25

Still have the cold.

Stuffy.

Not so scratchy throat.

Voice fairly raspy, which has it's benefits because now I have a sultry-like Lauren Bacall thang goin' on.

Still poppin' the Echineacha, Goldenseal, Ester-C and Airborne.

And Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (the giant economy size) have been a BIG help too.

I will be better by Thanksgiving.

The kids are feeling better. Could it be because I threatened them with their lives if they even so much as HINTED that they were feeling ill? Nah.

Owen has a stuffy nose, raspy voice, and sneezy nose too. We like everyone to enjoy illness together; as a family.

Going shopping tomorrow for the fixins for Thursday. I'm making only the Oreo Pie. We've got so many d*** pies, that we'll be rolling for a month ---- just in time for Christmas festivities!!

I'm sort of sad that this whole blog-everyday-thing is going to end in five days. It's been rather fun and helped me to write; even if it wasn't the most creative writing I've ever seen. It sure made the month go by fast -- not that it needed any help, mind you. The months have been whizzing by me like a tornado and I'd wish it would stop.


And thus ends the 25th day.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Have the Cold but Not keeping the Cold - Day 24

Have the cold.

Stuffy nose.

Scratchy throat.

Irritable and ornery (is that the cold or just my normal countenance? hmmmm ... I wonder).

No sleep due to no breathing due to stuffy nose.

Kids stayed home again from school with illness. My level of patience decreases as I feel worse and I'm not near as caring as I was on the first day of sickness.

Children are little test tubes of virus, crawling their way into your mucus membranes and infecting you with their sickness ---- each time they cough in your personal space.

Argh.


And thankfully, ends day 24. I want to go to bed right now.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

I'm Getting a cold but I'm not going to get it - Day 23

So Felix comes down sick on Thursday; stomach cramps, headache. Owen also is sick on Thursday. Two down, one to go. I'm hoping Robee can avoid it.

Nope. Robee comes down with the same thing on Friday. Owen is better and so is Felix.

Wait for it......

Now I have a scratchy throat, stuffy nose and pounding headache.

I truly believe in Echinacea and Vitamin C and Goldenseal AND Airborne. I take each one daily (sometimes hourly) to help reduce symptoms and reduce the amount of time of the actual cold. A homemade chocolate chip cookie as a chaser, does wonders too.

I'll keep you updated.


And thus ends the 23 day (rather boring, but hey? It's Sunday - my least favorite day of the week .... now.)

Non-Thankful things (STOP THE MUSHINESS!) - Day 22

I like to be a little different and sometimes think out of the box.

I've been reading other blogs (a.k.a. stalking) and as this time of year nears the last Thursday of November (Thanksgiving), I see how many people are thankful for this or for that. I'm not discounting those things, but I find that I'm un-thankful for things too. Things that disrupt and sometimes ruin the lives of others in my family, friends, and people I come in contact with during the course of the day, week, month or year.

And I know there will be those good types who say "Yes but if it weren't for the un-thankful things, you wouldn't be thankful for the thankful things."

Yeah yeah. I know that already. I've been to church. I've read "Chicken Soup for the Soul" too.

But regardless, I'm going to list the things I'm un-thankful for, just to be ..... me. Devil's Advocate if you will. Behold:

I'm not Thankful for:

1. Alzheimer's Disease - it rapes the mind and takes from us our precious aunts, uncles, grandparents, and parents and robs them of their memories.

2. Cancer - it attacks without prejudice: young, old, male, female. It doesn't care. Not only does it create pain in both the patient and the family, it also creates financial damage due to our outrageous health care system.

3. This economy - I watch (now that I'm working in the office) countless people coming in, through NO fault of their own (despite what others think) are losing their homes and vehicles. It could be because of an emergency medical problem (see above) or a lost job or higher taxes that they have no control over whatsoever. Young families, retired couples - these people have NOT been living beyond their means; they've just been trying to live day to day, take care of their kids and do what everyone else wants to do; be happy.

4. Religion - I realize that this may raise some hackles but the reason I say this is because religion has caused some of the most devastating attacks ever known. People will do anything if it means doing in the name of their G-d or whoever their higher power may be. I didn't say that I'm not thankful for G-d; I just don't like what humans have done to this name. Religion does not come from G-d; it's man-made and man makes mistakes.

5. Poaching - killing animals that are becoming more and more difficult to find on our earth is unbelievable to me. I know that in some countries, poaching is the only way to survive but then there needs to be some way to stop this and find another way to produce money and food.

6. Pollution/Global Warming - regardless of what "I can See Russia from my house" says, there is absolute evidence that humans are the main cause of Global Warming and it's time we took care of this Earth. It is not man's Divine Right to destroy this place.

7. Alcohol/Drugs - it makes people do very stupid things like .... forget that they have responsibilities to kids and other family members; steal from their families and friends for their love of the stuff; think that they are invincible and they'll never get caught; drive when they shouldn't.

8. Fires, Tornadoes, Earthquakes, Hurricanes, etc. - obviously because people lose their homes, their belongings, their lives.


I have more which I will add to before the fated day of Thanksgiving.



And I'm late and the 21st day ended yesterday. I know, I know.

Friday, November 21, 2008

I think my kids should not go onto the dance floor - Day 21

Okay. First of all, I adore my kids. I really do. I may be a bit gruff with them (I think that's the impression from most people) but I always tell them that my bark is worse than my bite.

However, as much as I love them and as perfect as I think that they are and I think that everything they do is absolutely out-of-this-world wonderful ..................... this may not be one of them:



Seriously, I am so thankful for video that I'm able to catch these precious moments. :)

And thus ends the 21st day.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Oreo Cheesecake Recipe! This is yummy and will be part of my menu for Thanksgiving

Oreo Cheesecake Ingredients:

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
6 Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, coarsely chopped (about 3/4 cup), divided

1 Oreo Pie Crust (6 oz.)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Beat vanilla, sugar and cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.
2. Add eggs; mix just until blended. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cookies.
3. Pour mixture into Oreo crust. Sprinkle the remaining chopped cookies on top.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.


A Night at Starbucks - Day 20

Our favorite thing to do after Tae Kwon Do class is to go to Starbucks. We've been doing this for about a year (I do believe we personally pay for the salaries of the workers at this particular Starbucks) and it's become a ritual for us.

The workers all know us and know exactly what we order, since it never changes: two Venti Green Tea Lattes, one soy (Thomas) one non-fat (me), no melon but substitute with one (only one) pump of raspberry syrup at 120 degrees. The kids get Tall Hot chocolates, kid-temperature and a cookie.

Last night, Thomas got caught with too many clients and wasn't able to join us for class or Starbucks { :-( so we hung out and took pictures of each other.

Robee lost his other lateral incisor and now he looks like a rabid rabbit. And acts like one at times.


Felix (as well as Robee) has the stinkiest feet this side of the Cascades. Here is Felix trying to burn off her mother's nose with the scent.


Robee and his mom.



Felix and her mom (funny; looks like the same mom)




Robee after too much sugar.



The three of us. Time to go home and get ready for bed and start the next day.



And thus ends the 20th day.