97!!!

It's the sixth of November, and it is 97 degress outside. How weird is that??? It feels like the middle of summer. Oh well. We'll see where this weather goes!

Trick-or-Treaters

Halloween 2006

Well, here are my little trick-or-treaters. Kevin the Ninja, Kaela as Cinderella, Kyle the Pirate and Kenna the Butterfly Princess. The kids had loads of fun this Halloween. They got a TON of candy. We went with a bunch of the other neighborhood kids. A big pack of twelve kids. Kevin, Kaela and Kyle went, so that meant we comprised 25% of the group. lol Keith and Kenna stayed home to pass out the candy. Anyway it was so cute. Kaela and her best friend Natalie held hands the entire time. Natalie was dressed as Snow White. Kevin and his friend Danny (Natalie's brother) stuck together and Kyle trailed behind the girls, preferring mama to anyone else. While trick-or-treating the group stopped for candy breaks in which they each had a piece before running off to the next house. They had a great time and despite all the candy they ate, went right to bed, off to dream about candy.

Last Year's Pumpkin

This is last year's Halloween pumpkin. I just had to repost this because I thought the picture turned out just great. We carved this year's pumpkin last night. It is always such a fun thing to do. I remember Kevin's first "real" Halloween and how much he enjoyed carving the pumpkin with Keith. One of our most fun Halloweens was the Halloween we spent up in Washington. Maria, Ellie and Colin, as well as my Dad and Ris came up. Mom had a VERY full house! Each kid got a pumpkin, even Kyle who was only 2 weeks old. We sat out under Mom's carport and carved out all the pumpkins. It was nice that day, but it got COLD that night. I love Halloween. It is such a fun day!

How Beauty is Made

This is a short film made through Dove's Self Esteem Fund. I think this video should be seen by all teenage girls and young women, maybe even some of us "older" women. Take a look and pass it on.

Holy Hits Batman!

Wow! Our counter hit over 6,000. This time last year I was posting that we had hit 2,000. That's 4,000 hits in the course of a year. Our website is posted on splitcoastbloggers.blogspot.com. It's a listing of blogs of stampers that frequent splitcoaststampers.com. A great group of stampers I might add. According to my website stats, we get about 10-12 hits from splitcoasters almost daily. Then there is family and friends (not that there are tons of those). We also get the random surfers. Then we get hits from google searches. Some surfed on after searching for "Navajo Sandwich" or "gets her ears pierced" or "Days of Our Lives". Apparently searching on these keys words pulls up our blog. Some might argue that we are too "public". I think we aren't anymore public than others out there. I personally am comfortable with what I post, otherwise I wouldn't post it. So, to our loyal readers, or casual browers, thank you!

New PJs

Brand New PJs

We got a box full of goodies today from Mom. The kids got some new clothes and these PJs. Of course they all wanted to wear them tonight. I lined them up and took this picture before they went to bed. They all love their PJs and they suit them perfectly. Kevin's are Wildcats PJs, Kaela's are Princess, Kyle's are Dinosaurs and Kenna's are pastel green with flowers. I think this picture is hilarious. Kevin and Kaela are all so identical in their poses. Kyle and Kenna are barely standing still. They are all tucked away asleep right now. Nice and comfy.

Kyle's Birthday Party

Kyle's birthday is on the 17th, but we celebrated this weekend. Mom, Dad and Ris came up, and we all had a birthday lunch for Kyle. I love this picture. This is a genuine happy smile. He was so excited about his birthday celebration. Big smiles all around from him especially when we were singing Happy Birthday. He received some very nice presents including clothes from Grandma Tessie and Grandpa Manny, books from Auntie Ris, shoes and a book from Grandma Karen, and a movie and money from Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Mary. The night before his party, we all went out to dinner (we being the immediate family). We ate at Denny's not all that glamorous, but it was fast and family friendly. After that we went to ToysRUs. Kyle picked out an Emergency Vehicle die cast set. He's been playing with it all weekend. Aside from the yummy cake, we had sandwiches and the usual sides to go with it. We are having a nice dinner and more cake for him on his actual birthday. I'll of course post more pictures of that later. Well, this was just a quick update and picture. I am tired and off to bed. Good night!

Kevin

I know you can't see his face here, but yes, this is Kevin. He is doing homework. He is in the first grade, and we work on homework more than one hour everyday. Well, not everyday, Monday through Thursday. His teacher is GREAT. She is so loving, gentle and caring. I volunteered to be one of two room moms. It'll be fun helping her out. Well, I do think that all the homework is paying off. Kevin is doing great in Math and his reading is progressing wonderfully! He couldn't read this summer, but in the short time that school has been in session, he has learned to read a lot. He read me four books tonight as part of his homework. Here's what he does every week for homework. This doesn't include any work that he didn't finish in class. He brings that home too to be returned the following day. Anyway, here's what he does every week. He has a list of spelling words. There are eight every week. On top of those words, he has a list (about 10) of vocabulary words. Then a list of wall words that he has to know by sight. There are about 8 of those. Then he needs to read 20 minutes a day. He has a short four page book that he has to be able to read and then answer comprehensive questions about it. He has one logic/math problem a day. Also in the homework packet is two sheets front and back of math. I don't remember doing homework until the 3rd grade. It's tough to work with him for an hour to and hour and a half every day. Well, other than school, he is now in Cub Scouts. He is enjoying this very much. He is going camping along with Keith with his pack at the end of the month. He is looking forward to that. Kevin brought home a flyer today about the kid's run training program for the Orange County Marathon. He wants to do this. He will train for 10 weeks and in the course of training will run a complete marathon. He will run the last mile during the actual marathon in January. One really cool thing about this is a fundraising event. 100% of all monies he collects will go directly to his school. Every cent! He says he really wants to do this. I told him that this is A LOT of running. He seems to understand that. Well, that's enough to keep him busy!

Michaela

Michaela is having so much fun these days. She's already gone to one birthday party this school year. This is a picture of her in her ballet outfit. I wanted to get her a black leotard or tutu, but she would not have it. She wanted all pink. She is doing really well in the class. I'm pretty happy with it in that of the three classes, she was one of two students in the class. And for most of the class time, she was the only one there. The one lesson in which there were four girls total, her teacher held her hand and danced with her the most. Keith has taken her the last two times and he says she is the best one there. The only one that really listens and dances. The other little girls just do their own thing. She is having a lot of fun at school and is doing so much more socially in class. She also has a lot of fun playing here in the neighborhood. She and her friend Natalie are SO into the girlie stuff. They are always playing house and Princesses. We got Kaela (really me) the digitally remastered Little Mermaid. I am slowing moving my Disney VHS collection to DVD. Since Kaela loves the Princesses so much, it's not hard to buy them! She is constantly talking Pocahontas this, Cinderella that, Little Mermaid this, Sleeping Beauty that. I don't know where she gets all these girlie tendencies. Certainly not from me. lol Anything pink and girlie, that's Kaela.

Kyle

So, this is not the cutest picture of Kyle, but I think this is hilarious! His birthday is next week and although he never saw the movie, he insists on having a "Cars" themed party. We are having a small party for him - us, Grandma and Grandpa and Auntie Ris. I'm not sure what we are doing yet though. Kyle is in the "me do it" phase. He tries, but gets frustrated when he can't do something. We see a lot of him looking like this picture. He communicated very well these days. I've noticed that he's learned how to make himself seem innocent just by his expressions. "I didn't do it!" and those eyes. You know the look, "Really I didn't" big sad pleadingly cute eyes. He is Kenna's protector these days. He is always looking after her and insists that I not leave Kenna behind while we walk. Well, she is slow and if I don't keep walking forward, the short walks will become really long walks. Kyle is in love with Dora and Blue. He likes the Wonder Pets. He loves to sing in the car and is always moving to the music - on the beat even! He is still a smiley as ever and is a comedian in his young age. Everything is funny to him. Even when he is getting scolded. It's hard to yell at him while he is cracking that smile. What else? He hasn't learned to use the potty yet, but he did get a potty ring. He loves that thing. If he would just use it to go potty! He is a big boy. His waist is just a bit smaller than Kevin's. He isn't tall, but he definitely has my build. I can't wait for him to start preschool next year. I know he'll love it. He still loves his Barbie scooter and his Hello Kitty umbrella, but refuses anything else girlie. I tried to buy him a pink shirt and he refused. He is going to be a pirate for Halloween - which he is really excited about. I'll for sure take pictures because when he tried it on, he looked darn cute!

McKenna

What can I say about my baby girl? Well a lot actually! She is officially 18 months old. I can't believe it. Time flies. I know I say that in almost every post, but as you can see, time is flying by so fast, I have about a chance a week to update. Kenny is our little daredevil. She is not scared of jumping off a high ledge. She falls and scrapes her knee and just gets up. Her legs are full of scratches. She wants to do everything the big kids do. She climbs the high ladders at the park and goes down slides that are one and a half times my height. She is fearless. She likes to do things on her own time and likes to dilly dally behind us while walking. If you backtrack to get her, she turns and runs. She laughs the whole time she is running. Let's see physically, she is solid. She is strong. She needs a haircut! She has eight teeth, four tops, four bottoms. No molars yet, but she can eat just about anything. And boy does she eat. She can eat more than any of the big kids. She is opinionated and will scream if she doesn't get what she wants. She is stubborn too. Her way of the highway. And she is only 18 months old. Yikes!

My New Logo

My New Logo

So rather than purchase "vendor approved" business cards, I opted to get my own business cards that were a bit less restrictive. On the "vendor approved" cards, I had to put my title. I plan on kicking up my business a bit this year and one of my goals is to promote two levels. Well, in promoting, I would have to repurchase business cards, or give out cards with the wrong title. So, I created my own logo, to print out my own cards. So there you go. How do you like it?

Happy Sunday

The first half of our weekend has been busy busy. Kaela had her first dance lesson today. She was very cute and picked up on the steps very easily. Her class is not full at all and in fact, for the first 20 minutes, she was the only one there. It was practically a private lesson. Another little girl showed up 20 minutes into the lesson and another about 40 minutes in. It was very cute.

So, of course she is going to continue. We went all over town looking for she little outfit and ballet slippers and tap shoes. I wanted to try to go cheap and get things from Target and Payless Shoes as opposed to the dance shop. The school actually said that expensive stuff wasn't really necessary for kids Kaela's age. Well, first we went to Target, no luck. Nothing. Then we went to Mervyn's We got her leotard, thighs, tutu and ballet slippers there. All on sale. Woohoo! Then we went to Payless for tap shoes. None there in her size. So, we tried another Target. None there. Then we went to another Payless. None there in her size either. Then off to Walmart. None in her size. By this time, we had been out almost three hours. I finally broke down and got her "real" tap shoes from the dance shop.

So, Kaela and I weren't alone in our adventure today. Kevin was with us. We bought his cub scout uniform. We were in and out of the scout shop in 5 minutes. We went there first. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up that that would be an indication of our day. Kaela's stuff was not even remotely easy. Kevin is very excited about his uniform. He looked at his scout guidebook and oh'd and ah'd over everything in it. I think both kids are going to have a great time in their new activities.

Kevin's school is once again doing a gift wrap fundraiser. I am a bit more active in the PTO this year and we had our first meeting of the year. We went over the PTO budget for the school year. I had no idea, but this gift wrap fundraiser is the biggest fundraiser for the school. I won't give you a dollar amount, but let's just say that with the money raised by this fundraiser alone, you could buy yourself a nice new sedan. Not a bare minimum, no features sedan, but a nice sedan with some really nice extras. Yeah. It blew me away. So, does anyone want to buy some gift wrap???

Keith is doing well. He got his raise. A nice one. Over 9%. He also had his interview with the other department. They like him and are interested. They will see what they can do. Keith just needs to figure out if he wants to switch departments.

I started with a new Bible study. Seems like it's going to be very interesting. It last through May. So, I feel like I have been busy busy busy. Carting kids around, doing PTO stuff and this new Bible study, not to mention all the stamping swaps I am in.

Kyle and Kenny. Doing wonderfully. Kenny is probably going to get her very first hair cut. It is falling into her eyes and needs a trim. She needs the back trimmed too. She has long hair that ends in a "V" right between the shoulder blades.

Well, there is so much to think about. I can't wait for the 1st to come round. I have a TON of Halloween stuff that I want to put up. I like decorating for Halloween. We have some fun stuff. Don't even get me started on Christmas. I have SO much more for Christmas. So, we have my mom's birthday along with a big birthday bash, Kyle's birthday, parent teacher conferences, Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Years. Oh my. It is going along much too fast.

Okay, so that's it for now. Not much going on, but so much going on at the same time. You know what I mean. It's just life.

Kyle's Haircut

Kyle's First Professional Cut

He finally did it. He finally agreed to go to the barber. I asked him this morning, and he finally said yes. So, now my baby boy now longer looks like a toddler boy. He looks like a real boy! lol I think he looks like his cousin Colin.

Kaela's Back in School

Kaela's First Day

Wow! Kaela started school last Wednesday, but this is my first chance to post. School has started up again and things are in full swing. I am the co-chair for one of the committees for Kevin's school's PTO. I am shuttling the kids around and trying to keep the everyday household stuff under control. Kevin started Cub Scouts and Keith is going along with him. Kaela starts ballet/tap class next Saturday (she missed the first class that occurred yesterday). I am trying to crank out my Mom's birthday party invitations. We had a birthday party today. I feel so rushed and busy. Ack! Kevin also wants to do karate, so we are looking for a relatively inexpensive place. Not having much luck!

Keith is busy at work and has an interview with another department on Monday (today if you are reading this on Monday). They are very interested in him. Hopefully something will come of it and he will not be so bored at work. He prefers to be busy work while he is at work.

What else is going on? I am starting in a new Bible Study on Wednesday. As far as stamping goes, I am in a ton of swaps and I am hosting a few. So, I am really busy there. Kyle and Kenna are just chugging along. Kyle is now talking in sentences and Kenna is getting more and more headstrong. When she wants something, she wants it. No one can get in her way. We've noticed that Kyle is taking the same approach with Kenna that Kevin took with Kaela. Kenna can hit him, scream at him and yell at him, but Kyle just won't be mean back to her. This is a good thing! lol It would be terrible if he attacked her back.

So, other than life being really busy right now, life is just going on. Nothing extraordinary to report. If there is, I can't remember it, so then it must not be all that extraordinary! I really just wanted to share Kaela's picture. She is already enjoying school so much and she is glad to be back.

Good bye for now.

With a Tear in My Eye, He's Off!

Kevin starts school at 8:40. Michaela starts school at 9:00. Her preschool is clear across town and into the next. To park the car, unstrap all the kids, walk Kevin to his class's line, wait for the bell, watch the kids walk away, go back to the car, strap them all in, drive to Kaela's school, park, unstrap the kids, and walk to Kaela's class would take SO much longer than 20 minutes. As a result, Kevin is now getting dropped off in front of the school, and he walks himself to class. Today was our first day of actually doing this. As I drove away from school, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw my baby trotting to class, getting lost in a sea of much bigger children. I teared up and softly cried.

Kevin's First Day

Kevin's First Day

Well, Kevin went back to school today. First Grade. Wow. That just amazes me how fast time flies. I was a bit worried while I packed his lunch. Kevin is a snacker. He eats all day long. I hope he can hold out until lunch.

He wore a green shirt today. Of course that's what he wanted. He also had his camo green backpack. In the backpack is his green pencil box. So we get to school and look at the class lists. Guess who his teacher is. Yup, Mrs. Green. There was a note next to the first grade class lists saying that first graders may have to be changed around a bit and class assignments won't be finalized until the 8th day of school. I hope Kevin does not get switched out. Before we left for school, we talked about how he might not have his best friends in the same class. Well, he took it in stride and said, "That's okay, I can see them at lunch. I can meet new friends too." As it turns out, none of his play buddies are in his class. He does have some familiar faces in his class though. He pointed out two girls and two other boys that were in his Kindergarten class.

I was looking at all the kids lined up to go into the class. Kevin was one of the tallest ones there. Last year, I noticed he was one of the shorter ones. He is growing so fast. I had to get him all new jeans and shoes. He got a bunch of new shirts too. He likes button down shirts and thinks that that is what he should wear to school. He prefers them over tee shirts. I got some great shirts on sale. You gotta love those sales!

Well, I get to pick him up at 2:30. I hope he fares well.

Today in 1781

On this day in 1781, colonists from Spain founded a settlement in southern California which they named El Pueblo Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula. The name was later shortened to Los Angeles, or better known "LA".

Now, I don't particularly love LA, nor do I particularly like it. And we won't go into the tragic history of it. But, for obvious reasons (well, obvious to those that *personally* know me) I just had to post this.

A New Do

Michaela's New Do

Well, remember in my last post when I said that the kids were in desperate need of haircuts? Well, I gave Kaela a cut yesterday. Notice how long her hair was. It reached down to her bottom. Now it exposes the entire neck. The last time I cut it this short was when we still lived in Washington just before we left. So, it took her two years to grow it as long as it was on the left. I think it makes her look a lot longer than she did. She likes it a lot.

The Kids Today

Today - After Lunch

I know I always say it, but time is flying! This is a picture of the kids from earlier today. Notice that they are all in desperate need of a haircut! So, I've been really bad about keeping this blog up to date. I was doing good up until just after we moved. That was almost six months ago. We still have boxes to unpack. It only goes to show that most of the stuff in the boxes are unneeded and I should just get rid of most of it.

Kevin starts first grade on the 7th. I hope he has some of his good friends in his class. We had one of our picnics in the living room today. I was a but bummed as I realized that this would be one of the last picnics we would have together. Once Kevin is in school, he'll be there a full day and won't be having lunch with us anymore. Oh my baby is growing up!

I went shopping this weekend for jeans for Kevin. I ended up going to Goodwill, just like last year. I got him four pairs of jeans, two Levi's, one Old Navy and one WalMart brand. I think I did a great job. They were only $3 each. They look great, no holes or stains. No one would ever know they came from the Goodwill.

Kaela starts up again on the 11th. She will be going back to the same preschool with the same teacher. She is in the older kid's class and will be bringing home homework! She is already copying letters and I have a feeling that by the end of this school year, she will be reading. She's been having a great time playing princess with one of the other little girls from the neighborhood. They dress up in their Belle and Cinderella costumes complete with toy dress heels. Kaela has all kinds of blisters from them, but she still insists on wearing them. I had to forbid her from wearing them because her feet have so many little scabs on them. They look painful. You know if they were her "regular" shoes, she'd be complaining to high heaven.

Kyle, like I always say, is saying more. But, he really really is. He is much clearer than ever and is using longer sentences. I can almost understand everything he says. Including, when I ask if he wants to start potty training, "No potty, diapers." He has fallen in love with the Hummer vehicles he got from McD's. And he still loves his Blue's Clues. It will be fun hanging out with him when the big kids head back to school.

Kenna is talking more and more too. She clearly says Thank You and Please. What a polite young lady! lol She is playing by herself more and more and will hang out in her crib for about an hour after her nap before I have to get her out. I have listened to her by the door and it sounds as if she is talking and interacting with someone in there. Maybe it's her great grandparents visiting. She and Kevin both always seemed to be talking to someone that just wasn't there.

Keith's truck is back on the road. It was out of commission of about two weeks and we finally got it towed to the shop. It was the starter. At least it was something easy. Keith is busy at work as usual. He is antsy for a vacation. We are thinking about heading to Washington for Thanksgiving, although we are not sure what everyone else has planned.

I am doing good. I am finally feeling back to normal since surgery. All this time, I thought the aches and pains I was feeling was just my body getting old. I feel wonderful compared to what I was feeling. I did lose just over ten pounds before my surgery. I've only gained back three. This is the lightest I've weighed since before we got married. My pants are loose and my shirts aren't as tight. So, that was one good thing of having to be on a no fat diet. I was starving and the food was extremely boring, but I lost ten pounds.

As for everything else, things are going well. Stampin' is going good. Tomorrow will be my one year anniversary with the company. My business goals are looking up and I think overall I am doing well at it. I have a workshop next week - my second since I've started! I hope it goes well.

Okay, that's it for now. Thanks for reading!