Gone Fishin'!

Let me start by apologising to a friend who has requested a picture of my head. Unfortunately I have yet to master self photography with my 'Rebel'. It's a little awkward to hold while trying to aim and get a decent shot of how loud I can be....without opening my mouth. I have however perfected the blurry freckle, an out of place eyebrow hair and lets not forget the left nostril. When my husband reaches for the camera first ;) I'll be sure to post it... which will probably be when I'm on my hands and knees...cleaning tile joints in prep for grouting. :D It's coming though, I promise!

Now off to the topic of the day....fIsHiN'! We went to the same place as we did on our hike in April. Yup, the kids got their first fishing lesson form Daddy. Probably Bear's last one for some time too. He didn't quite grasp the concept of leaving the line in the water not the pole. Kalee was a great whisperer...because you know how fish aren't into holding a conversation about Hannah Montana. Overall, I was expecting to return with only 2 of 4 poles we left with, but we returned with all 4...and Max didn't even get that 200 lb knuckle catch that involved visiting ER like he did when we lived in RI. Good day if you ask me!

These Canadian Night crawlers only understood French...

I think I need another one of these on my hook...

Want one too Sister?

Daddy and his boy fishin'...

Yeah Dad that's gross...I'll wait while you put the worm on the hook.

Daddy telling her to watch her bobbin, I mean bobber, sewing lessons next?

I promise, the fish wasn't that big...in fact the only thing caught that day was a piece of wet salad.

Dad? Will they eat my hook?

Me messing around with my camera.

Was that a jumping fish? How do fish jump Dad? They don't have legs!
Our park escorts...

We paid them Wheat Thins...

I'm listening to the kids watch The Code Word Caper from Leap Frog...
K: Bear be quiet.
B: blah-boh-bo-ah-hah
K: Bear pleeeease be quiet!
B: Hey I see "A" (pointing to the TV) Mama, Mama, look I see "A". AAAaaaAAA (singing the sound)
K: Bear! Quiet! Do you want me to put tape on your mouth?

That's great!!! The only time I remember saying that was to my brother! Siblings, I tell ya! Time to go talk this one out with them...

She's only 5!

I walked out front to see if Max wanted brown rice or baked beans with his chicken dinner steak and lobster dinner infused in fresh garlic. This is what I found! Yes Mom, it was running! Notice the handle down? (sorry 'bout the lopsided picture)

Ok, fine! I got the order mixed up. :) Below is what I found first.

I had to explain to Max that she is only FIVE. Give the girl a break, I was 23 before I called and asked my brother how to start the red thing that cuts grass.

...but I'm still trying to figure out how they got grass on the top of my car... only my husband!

Where is the Sun?

I...me...yes, ME... got the wiggles today. I needed to get air. After Bear woke up from his late nap I packed organic peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrots, and cherries homemade lasagna, fresh garlic bread and a garden salad with fresh veggies plucked from my garden. I gathered towels and my camera while Kalee retrieved the sand toys out of the bathtub, and we headed to the beach. FRESH AIR!!! I have lived within spitting distance of ocean for some time, and today I realized how much I miss it. In Coronado we had the ocean out our front door and the bay out our back. I remember having to adjust to the gross feeling of salt air in my hair...no, not in my head...h a i r people. We had to do things like run a bar of soap on the window tracks and wash the cars every few days to avoid rust damage from the saltwater off spray. Ok, I'll fess up, I don't miss washing the cars...the 3 times I did it. Then living in Japan...the land of the rising sun, opens a whole different barrel of 'missing'. Right before a typhoon was the best time to go for a run. Oftentimes I had to run on the other side of the street by the seawall so I didn't have the nasty bay water splashing up on us. I miss running in the mist and smelling the ocean. Just so I don't loose you Californians, mist is the daily humid drizzle but I enjoyed the rain because I couldn't tell if it was sweat or water dripping between my boobs. Who would have thought living in those areas would bring such great memories? Better yet, how come it didn't click until I was at the beach that the sun didn't set over this horizon? Helloooo! I have recited "rises in the east, sets in the west " over a bazillion times in the 20-something years I have been alive. I was a bit confused when I realized the sun wasn't setting where I wanted it to. So much for trying those 'shooting into the sun' experiments. Yes, this does mean I took pictures. It's after 1am and tomorrow I'm supposed to pick Max up at....ZZZzzzZZZzzz

Moments

The other morning I woke up before the kids, and started reading. Bear awoke and came looking for me.

Bear: "What you doing Mama?" (Yes, he went from "Ah-Mah" all the time to "Mama" sometimes.)

Me: I'm reading.

Bear: "What you reading?"

Me: The Bible. Hey, do you know who's word this is?

Bear: As he walks away, "Des Mama, God's!"

Those are the moments that make my tummy tickle....

...and these are the ones that make my eyes tear.

Look what I found. I paused, stared, and realized I needed to capture this so her Daddy could see. Upon retrieving my camera she rolled to her side so unfortunately I wasn't able to capture the perfect angelic pose I walked in on. My baby is just as precious today as the day she came into the world.

Cut Them Hairs

I woke up one morning with a brilliant idea! What, you might ask? I figured out how to weed-whack cut my sons hair. Yes! Since I clip nails, clean ears, and remove splinters while he sleeps why can't I cut his hair while crashed out? One time while flipping through pictures of when Max was little he made me promise to NEVER cut our son's hair. Yeah-well, I have had um, like 6 months of practise and I believe I have it figured out. Here's what I do: Nurse him to sleep while listening to not so quiet music...lay him down on a towel near a electrical socket.... turn clippers on and make sure he didn't flinch... use clippers on one side of his hair then trim around the ear with scissors...turn his head and repeat on the other side. WOW! I will add that I got a little excited I figured this out all on my own that I went a little shorter then I wanted to on top. Now I can't get his calick to stay down.

I wish I could post a picture, but I think I managed to 'do something' to the computer...at least that's the hint I get when I see error messages. I will say it's not like when I did it this short ...

Those eyes make my heart melt!

Yummy, Violin?!?!

This morning at 9 AM FedEx delivered a box. I read it was from my Dad and Linda and instantly thought...'ohmygosh what is she up to now?' This was in it...The small section came off and I was surprised with this...
But when I opened the whole thing I found something even better wrapped and sealed in a tin...
Mrs. Beasley's Chocolate Decadent Cake...and it was decadent alright. I was good...I didn't dip into it until about 2:00 :P...but that was only because I had to make it to meet the violin instructor.

First time holding a violin. She got sized...

Looks like 1/8 will be best...

Then the teacher showed her how to hold it and where to place

the bow. Look at my baby girl glow! It was almost like seeing a kid walk through the gates of Disney for the first time.

Now she spent a minute echoing her teacher with simple games learning rhythm.

...and Bear wanted to try too but 1/8 was too large. He measured about 1/32...the smallest they make. If he's still interested in a few years we will consider it. I can only picture him using the bow as a drum stick on my curio now. Yeah, don't let that innocent face fool ya....

Birthday Blues or Stinky Ear?

Today would have been better if I enlightened the kids that it was my birthday earlier in the day. As Kalee was getting ready for a bath I told her how Daddy called me for my Birthday and asked me to "Tell my babies I love them." Immediately she told brother to say Happy Birthday. They hugged and kissed me and carried on. "Mom, wheres your cake?" but I wasn't sure if she just wanted cake or if she was really concerned. I explained that I didn't have one. "Mom, do you have the blues?" Huh? Bwahahaha. Bear's medicine syringe somehow ended up in the tub. The first time he managed to get the back of my head, wall, mirror and ceiling all in one squirt my eyes must have shot beams. I turned around in haste and his sweet little innocent face smiled at me and said "Appy Birtay Mama". I teared and realized I was at fault for not telling them earlier. My day might have been more enjoyable.

Kalee has talked about playing a violin since about the time Bear was born. After making Google.com smoke, talking to my Nana who in her Elementary years had a four year scholarship to the Eastman School of Music playing violin, and asking a friends opinion who is a middle school Music Teacher, we have decided to start her now with the Suzuki Method. Go figure it stems back to Japan...huh?!?! I found an instructor who teaches using the Suzuki Method. I'm going to meet her tomorrow and get Kalee sized. I'm thinking about learning it along with her. Imagine that! Max has approved it under the condition he can either sound proof the garage or invest in a dust collection system to drown out the screeching.

I was just informed Kalee has a weird smell behind her ear. "I'm serious Mooom, it stinks!" That kid has got a sniffer like her Mama but how she managed to wrap her nose around to her ear...I dono! (for the record it's her A-topic dermatitis flaring up because I changed her shampoo. I'm trying to find other safe/eco-friendly/natural alternatives. Obviously this one's not working.)

? :D

I can't remember what I was supposed to blog about today. Ah-man! Is this old age settling in? *Sigh* My special day isn't special without the husband home.

On another note...the Marine Corps is returing my brother from deployment today... and I know Liz is beside herself!

One Waffle Coming Up!

Kalee had a sleepover last night. These girls had so much fun. This morning they woke up and wanted me to make them waffles. Don't freak! I mastered the waffle iron years ago. If I could make pumpkin waffles, blueberry waffles, buckwheat waffles, cornbread waffles, whole wheat waffles, or sour cream banana waffles for dinner every night, I'd have it made. Instead, I try to get fancy and it results in a disaster. So the girls had waffles and I pulled out syrup I had a coupon for and poured into Mrs. Butterworths. Kalee asked for "sap". Huh? Then it dawned on me that we did a lesson talking about maple syrup coming from maple tree. She wanted the Organic Maple Syrup in the BPA free container (glass) on her waffles...the one she normally uses. Am I ruining my kids or what? ;D

Here are a few pics from the 4th of July party we had at the end of the cul-d-sac...or if your from here "in the court".
The little fish....





...and the Big Fish that has a medium sized growth.

Simple

Medicine. I hate it! "Son, you may have this peach only if you take your medicine." What kind of Mom bribes with fruit? This crazy one did because it worked. With my kids being water drinkers, juice is a treat... "I'll give you your favorite apple juice after you take this." How many more days do I have to be creative? Aaah! We'll know I'm desperate when I use the vacuum and mop in the bribe.

We have had nasty thunderstorms four nights in a row. As soon as I hear thunder I run to the T.V. looking for any tornado warnings. Usually by then our satellite is out because...um, the rain...water has something to do with...well, I'll leave all that technical talk for Max. I guess if I ever listened I may learn something about how communications and satellite work. All I care is he can read my e-mails when I'm looking for where he strategically placed an item around the house. Since God took care of watering my garden I have not been out to inspect for a few days. When I did go out I noticed my palm sized what I thought were cherry tomatoes are turning red! Yay! I picked one because it looked like a bird may have started pecking at it... and it tasted like a tomato. Wshew. Now we won't mention what is going on with my corn. Maybe it's supposed to look brown on the stalk?!?!

Yesterday I woke up and rampaged through the kids rooms. I got rid of 4 trash sized bags in Kalee's room alone. If I see one more stuffed animal I'm going to puke. I moved toys to the frog (finished room over garage- we use as a office, spare bedroom, craft room, homeschooling room...you get the point) and books to their rooms. It drives me coo-coo when kids just throw toys in any bucket or toy box when it's time to clean up. Yeah it's one of those OCD things....or is it a control issue? Either way I'm controlling my OCD by simplifying life so I can stay sane.

Part Fish?

Yesterday was awful. Bear had unexpected oral surgery. His pediatric dentist has been over booked and I have had difficulty rescheduling his original appointment which happened to be the same day we stood on the pier singing "The boys are back in town". Needless to say they called me at 14:20 and asked if I could make it in time to fill a 15:00 cancellation. I made it, and what was supposed to be a simple filling (a month ago) turned into a baby root canal and cap. He surely has my teeth even brushing 2-3 times a day. Max still has no cavities...butt head! To make it short, I hope we never have to go through that again. He is acting himself and is not interested in his pain med's because they are "do weet (too sweet)". I have to bribe him to take his antibiotics. "If you want this sticker you have to take this medicine." or "We can go to the park after you take this medicine." By the 10th day I'll be insane....

This morning I got up early and headed to the track to get a little over 3 miles in. Yeah! I miss the Movin' Mama's in Japan! I keep thinking someone is bound to PCS this direction eventually (hint-wink). I so miss the lounges up "weather hill". Now how am I going to get my rear and quads toned? Once we decided to part I ran home...I mean drove (yet another reason I miss Japan) to get our bathing suits and head over to our friends house that has a pool. My kiddos played, and scared me too many times to count. I'm not one of those freakish helicopter parents. But after watching something on the news about dry drowning, I feel like I pay more attention to the amount of water they breathe....they are part fish you know... Max is their father. How is it I find myself saying more and more stupid things?!?! Ya want an example? While in the pool and I noticed it started to rain... I said "I feel sprinkles, hey it's raining!" Helloooo- I'm IN the pool. Then I caught on to my stupid words and told Kalee "Get under the water so you don't get wet!" Oh I can't wait for the day when she comes back with stupid words too...

Now I have to Google a safe alternative to Drano so I can clean a drain that my son dumped massage oil down...the sad part is he did it right in front of me. See, I told you he's feeling fine.

Cooking Catastrophe!

Being the good wife I am.... I made London Broil with Horseradish sauce, cheesy-spinach bread and corn for dinner. I followed directions perfectly until I realized that the meat was not cooked after broiling seven minutes on each side as directed. Fully cooked to me means NO PINK, cooked means slight tint of pink. When I pulled it out and pierced the beef, it spewed blood. Um, that told me it was still raw! I lowered the rack and put it back in for what seemed like 20 minutes on each side. Still bloody! I got impatient and SOS'ed Max. He said to cut it and cook it. Well since it was only seared on the outside and completely raw on the inside I thought that was a good plan. Meanwhile Kalee is taking on her big girl tasks and setting the table. She even wrote our names on the napkins so we knew where to sit. At's my girl! I put the food out, Bear blessed it, and we started serving.



Max: What kind of bread is this?

Me: (knowing he hates cooked spinach but trying to be creative) Um, it's....broccoli-cheese bread! Bisquick and eggs....can't screw that up!

Kalee: Mom, what about the spinach bread you said you made?

Me: Err, Kaaaaaaaleeeee! You weren't supposed to tell Dad that. He doesn't like cooked spinach.

Kalee: Mooom, remember you told me that when someone says don't tell mommy or don't tell daddy I'm supposed to tell you guys?!?! (with her as a matter of fact voice)

Max: What is this cream stuff? (with a smirk...probably making sure I'm not sneaking tofu in his diet)

Me: Horseradish Sauce...Your absolutely right Kalee! (bit me in the butt)

Bear: Yummy corn!

Me: glad you like it. It was the only thing that didn't take me 2 hours to make.

Kalee: So did you make two breads?

Max: (as he took a bite of the London broil) Wow wife! You mastered the art of beef jerky. Your Dad would be proud.

I'm not sure if I was laughing or crying but I had tears. Lots of them! Then we ended the night with 'Ice Cream' and popcorn chicken from Sonic.

Stupid Cereal Companies

I'm upset with General Mills this morning! Don't they realize more then one kid eats from the same box of Multi-grain Cheerios? What is wrong with including two or more toys in each box? I must be missing something, but after I was about ten I never remember seeing a toy in cereal...only cracker jacks. I swear they outlawed it! Maybe China discontinued the cheap toys? That must be it. Everything comes back years later...the led toys made a return. I remember being about six or seven and fighting with my brother over who was going to get the toy from the Fruit Loop box. In fact, I remember sitting on the floor and dumping Honey Comb in a bowl just to find the toy that wouldn't last 30 seconds. Then when we returned it, the box was fat and we could never get the cereal to fit right. No wonder Mom knew when the toy was already gone! Now cereal companies got smart...toy's are found between cardboard and the plastic bag. My Mom could tell you as a teen I went through cereal like crazy. Now I look back I realize why...it was cheap, quick, easy and she didn't have to worry about me burning her pans! But I don't remember those cool spoons or nifty gadgets, unless she fished them out for Jessi while Bub and I were in school.

Off to spend the next few minutes researching a way to educate myself for free. Free? Is it possible? I don't know but it's worth looking for anything close to it.