Dawsons in Ventura

Balloon Kids

2011-08-12T16:57:00.001-07:00

So, I saw THIS today, and had to make one for the kids. Required moving my dining room table and chairs out of the way, and making a trip to the store for supplies, but was totally worth it.

All About Crazy Hair

2011-04-18T15:47:00.001-07:00

My child, she is a good sport. I won’t say she takes her mother’s word as gold, but I will say she trusts that she won’t get made fun of when following her mother’s crazy ideas.

Crazy Hair Day. The preschool does a “Week of the Young Child” each year. They do a day of pajamas, a day of Crazy hair, usually a day of pizza at school or something similar. We go for crazy when it comes to the hair.. Last year she asked for noodles and hair color… and I followed through, with washable markers and a Penne Pasta Teepee. This year, she requested the use of glitter and for her hair to stand straight up… ok…OH, and a flower. She would need a flower. Right.

So, with the help of some more pasta (spaghetti noodle hidden inside) and lots of hair glue, I think we succeeded in getting some seriously crazy hair.

Only problem was once she tried to get in the car… it was apparent her hair was too tall. That is one tall spike!

I take advantage of this age. I know, at some point she is going to realize I am plum crazy, and have no interest in participating in my obnoxious decorating.

(By the way, the lack of any sort of excited look on her face is strictly due to her being engrossed in Jake and the Neverland Pirates on TV, as I was taking pictures… she wasn’t even paying attention to the camera)

Clown House

2011-04-12T14:24:00.001-07:00

As I had mentioned before, my sister and her family (3 kids and soon-to-be hubby) spent their spring break at our house…. a whole week of sharing 1200 square feet of space with a total of 9 people. I won’t lie. I was stressed before they came. I am not one for large crowds, and appreciate my moments of down time, without the chaos. Adding three more kids, none of which nap anymore, to the mix… seemed rather a rather suicidal endeavor.

We spent the prior weekend decluttering as much as possible, trying make more space. We took down Jasper’s bed, put it in the garage, and moved his mattress to Sharla’s room. This provided a space for a guest room, since in our 1200 square feet of living space, there is no guest room.

I worried about how 4 out of 5 of the kids would sleep in the same room, all with the same bedtime. I remember as a kid being yelled at for at least an our after our bedtime to shut up and go to sleep. This concerned me with such young kids, and again such a small house. Kids up all hours of the night mean super grumpy kids the next day.

Panic set in when I realized that Brandon didn’t even have Friday off the week that they were here. How would I manage so many days with so many people all by myself? Especially since, it wasn’t spring break for us, Sharla would have to go to school and Tball while they were here. And church? They don’t regularly attend church. How was that going to work?

Food. How do you feed so many people all at the same time? Two of which need to be strapped down to a booster, in order be encouraged to eat on occasion, and the other three… picky eaters by nature of being kids.

Oh the stress of it all!!

In the end, the week came. We did tball, church, and school. We did Underwood Family Farms and the Santa Barbara Zoo, We zip-lined at the Marina park, and went Avocado picking. Because the kids begged, we did Toys R Us and Chuck E Cheese. Did I mention that it rained 5 out of the 6 days they were here? Not just sprinkled, we are talking flood watch rain! This, while a disappointing fact considering we told these lovely people to come down to Sunny California to escape the snow, provided us with forced slow down moments for the kids to play happily in the bedroom, and the parents to recoup, ready for the next day.

To my great surprise, everything went amazingly smooth. Was it chaotic? OF COURSE! Stressful, no. The kids slept fine, dinner happened without too many hitches, and there was no fighting between exhausted, claustrophobic adults with nowhere to go.

I have a ton of pictures from the week, I will share them, next time.

Our Warrior

2011-04-06T17:09:00.001-07:00

For the last 3 months Brandon has been training for a 5k race called Warrior Dash. Its not any 5k, though. Intermingled throughout the 5k are 12 very strenuous obstacles, including climbing a tower of hay bales, crawling in through mud, jumping over fiery coals, etc.

The big event was held on Saturday in Lake Elsinore. We drove down on Friday evening, stayed in a hotel that night, and got up Saturday, ready for the big day. It was hot outside, and there was a ridiculous amount of warriors dressed in even more ridiculous costumes. We met up with some friends that were also competing. Here they are getting ready, looking like warriors.

Brandon and Jamie walking to the starting line…

Sharla and Jasper keeping entertained, waiting… waiting for Daddy to cross the finish line.

And there he is! With a time of 36 minutes 47 seconds…

Walking back, having been awarded his participant medal, and a banana to refuel with.

Brandon and Jamie, muddy and exhausted.

The man of the hour… (nice picture of him!).

After the race, the participants are allowed to jump in the lake to rinse off.

There he is, clean… er, cleaner, and refreshed!

Mr. Dawson finished in the top 13 percent of the 5400 runners in attendance with a time of 36.47. That is 36 minutes to run just over 3 miles and do 12 obstacles. We are very proud!

Way to go baby!!

Sad Adventures in Gardening

2011-04-04T21:11:00.001-07:00

We have two beautiful above ground planters growing veggies on our back patio, for a total of 30 square feet of gardening space. Its wonderful… or it was. Last week, I went out to water, only to discover that my 16 cute little beet plants, raised from seed, were missing. Seriously, missing… mowed down all the way to the dirt. It was strange. Nothing else was touched.

Until the next night… when two spinach plants both turned up missing. Seriously? Again, all the way to the ground. I knew it wasn’t snails, as we use Sluggo to deter those creatures. And besides, this is some hefty work for a snail. We looked all around our fence… seemed unlikely a rabbit could fit through the slats. Completely mystifying. And frustrating.

Then, two out of three of our pepper plants lost all of their leaves. All that was left was the main stump. Sad little plants they became. Covered in little pepper buds, lacking any way to get sun. Still, no sign of earwigs, or any other creature. Someone even suggested our children were attacking our plants. But since they would have to sneak into our bedroom, climb over our headboard, and open the sliding glass door just to get to the patio… that seemed darned well impossible.

Tonight, I went to water the garden that is starting to look rather pathetic. Only to see half of my sweet pea plants are gone or their tops gnawed off. Then, it happened. This fury little creature skittered right over the top of the planter and hid by the fence, out of reach, almost out of sight. Upon further inspection… my garden thief is a field mouse, or two… or maybe a hundred. The little boogers have eaten so much of the garden, its hard to imagine less than ten little tummies being fed.

So, now I have to figure out how to keep my garden safe. Hubs is heading to the store for traps tonight. A friend suggested an outdoor cat or a boa… both seem a bit unlikely. But… I might get desperate enough.

April Fools!

2011-04-01T10:51:00.001-07:00

I sent Sharla to school with a snack to share with her class today… Mini Cheeseburgers…

Also known as nilla crackers, grasshopper cookies, cake icing, and colored shaved coconut. I also sent her with cups of juice (jello with straws) which will really excite the kids (then disappoint) since her class only drinks water for snack, and never juice!

And… Its Summer!

2011-03-30T22:01:00.001-07:00

A week in rain, and today it was if spring got skipped and it was already summer. A trip to the store for a new pool was necessary! Its in the pictures, people, those kids are having a blast!

Disneyland

2011-03-16T15:20:00.001-07:00

After adamantly refusing to take our kids to Disneyland until both were at an age to adequately enjoy the experience in comparison to the price of admission, our friends managed to drag us kicking and screaming (not really) to the Happiest Place on Earth. Their ploy? They were taking their family for a 5 year old birthday event and wanted to invite Miss Sharla as his guest. Which meant, we were only responsible to pay for two passes (Jasper is under 3, and therefore free). No other time in the future could we possibly take our family to Disneyland for the price of two admissions! And… with that… we were sold.

The Good: A ridiculously huge amusement park with a ridiculous amount of rides to choose from. Many options for the little kids. The weather was not too hot. The atmosphere was pretty neat. Friends who take pictures for you! A fabulous hotel that we managed to inherit due to a scheduling snafu. Jasper met the two most important Characters of his young life: Handy Manny, and Mickey Mouse. California Adventure 3D shows were very entertaining for the whole family.

The Bad: There were way too many frickin’ people there (on a Sunday). Very few character sightings, and no Princesses except for Princess Tiana’s performance. My camera died at some point during the day, after taking no pictures (great Job Mom). Hour long waits for the best rides. The California Adventure family photographer didn’t know how to use the Flash on his camera.

Conclusion: Will we go again? Sure, but not until the kids are older, and probably never on a weekend. We will enjoy our season passes to Magic Mountain this year, who knows what we do next year. It was a great experience, and I know the kids enjoyed themselves. But, I still stand my opinion that its too expensive, for what can be accomplished in one day’s time. We will wait till family passes are feasible in our budget and the kids are both old enough to not need a nap (and a parent to babysit said child), and can go on the good rides so we can all enjoy the trip.

Pictures: Graciously provided by our friends, The Padgett family.

Psycho Bed

2011-02-25T09:42:00.001-08:00

The air circulation in our house is rather nonexistent. In order to cool the house down or get rid of cooking smells we have to open the sliding glass door way back in our bedroom. This would be fine, except it gets forgotten about and when we head to bed at close to midnight on most nights, its not unheard of to be close to 60 degrees in our room. BRRrrrrrr. In comes the heated mattress pad.

We have had ours for close to 2 years and it is AMAZING. We turn ours on Preheat as soon as we come in the room at night. By the time our bedtime routine (ie.- brushing teeth, etc.) we can climb into a warm welcoming bed. Its at this point we differ. I usually turn my side off, while Brandon keeps his side on low or at 2 (it can go up to 9). All has been wonderful… until about 2 months ago.

For some strange reason, I have been waking up in the middle of the night feeling like my side of the bed was hot. I would stick my feet off the side of the bed to cool off. On some nights, I would open the window in our room, even though it was a torrential rain storm outside. I was so uncomfortable, and confused. Multiple times a night I would wake up, just to look down at my mattress pad controls, and confirm, that yes, mine was off. But, why was I so overheated???

In comes crazy ideas of night sweats and heat flashes… what the heck is wrong with me, and why does it only happen at night??? Is there something wrong with me hormonally? That is a road I didn’t want to go down. Then, last night it happened again.

It was 70 degrees in our room, and I opted to not turn my side on. Brandon decided that, since he had just come in from outside, he wanted his heat on. I climbed in, he climbed in. He kept complaining about being cold, and I kept tell him its all in his head, I was comfortable.

He scooted over to my side of the bed, to discover it warm…. and not just where I was laying. That is when it hit us, and the light went on. Not just the figurative one. All those nights when I was overheated and opening windows? Brandon was freezing, and kept jacking up his heat.

So… rewind about 2 months ago. We rearranged our bedroom and added a newly made headboard to our bed. Somehow, our controls had gotten switched. Which means, every time I woke up overheated and opened a window, Brandon turned up MY side of the bed because he was cold, making me hotter. And every time I went to bed without turning my controls on, I was dooming him to a cold night, not me.

We got a great laugh about it last night, a HUGE a-ha moment for us. I am glad that is over because seriously, I was starting to think the bed was possessed and had a mind of its own.

Oye, really?

2011-02-20T20:16:00.001-08:00

Today we spent most of the day outside, enjoying the sunshine and planting some new flowers. This meant lots of digging in the dirt, finding worms, potato bugs, and snails for the kids. Or… should I say, for Sharla? Because Jasper is just not that into it. The dirt, yeah, not really. And the bugs? Nope. He is scared of worms… and snails. Seriously. He kept requesting to “keel’m” (kill them) because that would make him less scared. Sheesh.

I overheard this conversation between Mr. Jasper and his Daddy.

Brandon: "Jasper, just look at the worm, its not scary”.

Jasper: “No, Daddy, I scared”.

Brandon: “Jasper, you are a boy! You aren’t supposed to be scared of worms. Seriously, if you are afraid of worms, just hand over your Man-card… come on, hand it over”.

Jasper: flipping over his hands to show them empty, “I no have man-card!”

Oye, Jasper. There is only so much a dad can take. And, when the little man keeps twirling in his sister’s skirts, and announces in bewilderment that he doesn’t actually have a man-card… I am thinking he is making Daddy rather concerned. I am pretty sure Brandon looks forward to when Jasper starts playing football and doing other boy stuff.

A Beautiful Sight

2011-02-16T09:58:00.001-08:00

This last Saturday the sun was shining, and it was warm. (Unlike today, and the rest of the week. In which we have rain, and lots of it.) Daddy spent the morning at the T-ball fields prepping the grounds for the new season, which starts on March 5th. It was a long 3 hours for him. Three hours of blisters, a sunburn, and not nearly enough volunteer help. But, that is all another story.

The real story is the weather and the kiddos. It was Warm. By 9:30am they were outside riding bikes, and when sweat and boredom set in, the pool was filled and bathing suits were donned. By lunchtime our children were exhausted. The heat alone can do that. All of this is to premise this sight…

A rare moment, Sharla sleeping in broad daylight. She is usually so stubborn when it comes to taking a nap. It is so rarely asked of her… on those days when she is uncharacteristically grumpy. Even on those days she is likely to come out of her room 15 times, complaining that she is bored, not tired, hungry, thirsty… you get the idea. But, on this beautiful day… she slept. She actually slept. Pure bliss for mom, and for the blistered, sunburnt, exhausted dad.

Completely Disturbed

2011-02-12T11:23:00.000-08:00

As parents it our job to teach our children how to exist in this world… without us. Create self sufficient human beings. I am constantly wondering how I am doing in that department. For example, I can’t remember how old I was when I no longer had supervision in the shower, and was expected to be proficient in shampoo, conditioner, and soap. Was I 5? Should this be something that Sharla can do by herself yet? As it stands, she can’t. The soap, she can handle, except for her face. If it wasn’t for her face, she could accomplish the shampoo. But, for complete fear of getting water or soap in her face or eyes or ears, it’s a complete no-go. She wants to do it by herself. But, upon careful inspection, I notice only the back of her head gets wet, shampooed and rinsed. That is just not going to work for me.

Another one. Kids brushing their teeth. Sharla and Jasper can usually do pretty well here. I do a teeth check when they are done, and Jasper usually has mom or dad do a quick brush before his is considered clean. So, the brushing isn’t ever an issue. BUT, what is an issue is the toothpaste. Seriously, I am constantly cleaning toothpaste off the counter, rinsing the sink, mopping the dropped then stepped in paste off the floor. I even notice that sometimes the bathroom mirror gets brushed. Its ridiculous.

Now, I would like to think I have taught even my two year old about germs enough to know we don’t play in the toilet. But, upon my discovery today, I am thinking there is a major disconnect in this area. While cleaning the bathroom this morning, I lifted the toilet seat to scrub said toilet. There, on the underside of the toilet seat, in bright blue kid toothpaste, is obvious toothbrush smears… YUCK!!! YUCK! and more YUCK!!! So… he brushed the underside of the seat and THEN his teeth…. definitely back to the drawing board on that one.

Major fail as a parent. Clearly, that one is not ready to be unsupervised while brushing his teeth. I just can’t get over the mental image of him scrubbing the seat and then his teeth… its too much. Blech!!

Because he has an older sister…

2011-02-11T11:05:00.001-08:00

This little man is pretty much doomed to be dressed up, kissed on, and taught how to twirl.

And those cute little pink shorts he has on… doll pants. So proud, so loving attention from his sister.

Excuses…

2011-02-08T09:46:00.001-08:00

So our computer has been on its last leg… completely freezing up and making it unusable. While this hasn’t really prevented me from playing on Facebook, it has sure discouraged me from blogging, or doing anything else productive on the computer. Anyway… we just purchased new parts, and Windows 7. Our computer works! Stay tuned for some great blog posts.

On a side note, I treated myself to three new bras yesterday… maybe they can help my general lack of motivation? Not likely, but at least I feel brand new!

Grandma’s Visit

2011-01-19T17:38:00.001-08:00

Last week, we were privileged enough to have my mom come stay with us. This was definitely the longest amount of time spent together, since… we lived in the same house, high school, maybe. My kids have very little exposure to her, as our Oregon visits get split up amongst our various relatives and commitments.

For me, last week was more than just pleasant. My mom and I share similar ideas in childrearing, television, foods… her visit was comfortable. Other than the mad dash to clean my house before she arrived (I did not get her cleaning genetics), she blended rather well in our family.

And, for the first time in 6 years, and 4 states, she got to see our home. Which is to say, we love Ventura, and was excited to share it with her. I know, when she packed her bags and boarded the southbound plane (her first flight in 25 years), she had no idea she would be borrowing a swimsuit, sunbathing in 80 degree weather.

Pretty sure she didn’t expect to look up inside a bees’ nest or dig for ancient artifacts, though I am confident she enjoyed herself while at the Noah’s Ark Exhibit at the Skirball Center.

Never in her wildest imagination, did she plan on getting to know some snails while in SoCal, but she did just that.

Nor did she know she would be laughing hysterically over whoopee cushions…

Thank you, Mom, for spending your vacation with us. I hope we didn’t wear you out too terribly. And know, you are always welcome to visit us again.

A Little Video

2011-01-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

I am sharing this for a few reasons. One, I am constantly amazed at how differently Jasper is developing compared to how Sharla developed the same skills a few years ago. And two, because my kids have two very different personalities, and as seen through this video… even if the spotlight is supposed to be on Jasper, Sharla makes sure to be noticed.

Translation: “Up above…. sky… I wonder… Quiet Sharla… Twinkle twinkle star… I night-night. Abye baby, a baby, a baby…(I think the record broke here!)… Diego! Diego!..”

And seriously Sharla, we see you… can you ever hold still?? No. No you can’t.

And, one more…

“Translation: “Happy birthday to me… to you (blow) candles! candles Mom! Santa Claus coming Coming coming down, coming down (points) a coming down. I AM IRON MAN! (some guitar riffs…) Iron Man! (them more guitar…)

It amazes me that he is even willing to sing. It took Sharla till she was almost 4 till she would do any singing, and now she will belt anything as loud as possible. As a baby, she was all about dancing to the beat… to drum sounds. Jasper prefers the voice.

Our Christmas

2011-01-02T20:22:00.001-08:00

No traveling, no huge meals, no entertaining… pure bliss. This year we stuck to our guns and chose to stay home. Every year we travel to Oregon for the holidays to be with Family. After doing that drive 3 times in the last 12 months, we didn’t want to do it for Christmas.

So, like a normal family on Christmas Eve, for the first time ever, we got the privilege of last minute wrapping and assembling of gifts, and stockings. We took our bundled-up, pajama-wearing kids to see Santa’s sleigh (aka a helicopter pulling a sleigh light display) flyover our neighborhood in super cold weather (50 degrees). We baked cookies and left a plate out for Santa and his reindeer. We opened presents in our pajamas, and even cooked a holiday dinner… also a first. It was laid back, and wonderful.

Don’t get me wrong, we missed the big family hoopla, but it was a nice change of pace.

As for the presents. Miss Sharla has been Begging for a pillow pet for a good six months. Thankfully, Santa came through with that darned Ladybug Pillow Pet for her, and a plush football pillow for Jasper.

Sharla also received a Leapfrog Leapster Explorer (not from Santa, the expensive stuff always comes from Mom and Dad), which she has been completely glued to since opening it. Jasper got the Little People Wheelies Rampway, which he enjoys, and thinks is cool that it is the same as the one at his friend, Liam’s house.

Our holiday is over, Brandon goes back to work tomorrow. I have been mourning the end of his vacation since this last Wednesday, which is pathetic, but we really enjoy him getting to spend so much time at home. Time just chilling around, instead of driving, being on someone else’s schedule, with all the post-travel exhaustion.

Our Christmas Card

2010-12-20T12:12:00.001-08:00

Ok, somehow I dropped the ball this year, and although I made a Christmas Card, it never made it to be printed. Envelopes didn’t get addressed, and stamps were never purchased. So, Here it is. :

A Day of Firsts

2010-12-20T08:04:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we were invited to a birthday party at the skating rink. Our kids have NEVER been to a skating rink. For a good reason, really. They both are perfectly capable of tripping and face planting on flat ground… barefoot. These children, unfortunately, gained my lack of balance and grace, and it shows.

So the birthday party. Upon tightening the wheels on their skates to almost not move at all (which by the way, in all the years I skated as a kid, I never knew they could do), both kids had a really good time. First up, Sharla, who finally managed to venture out, by herself, really liked being out with all the big kids whizzing by.

And let us not forget that you can’t go skating without the icee, which I think she liked even more than skating itself!

Ok, I don’t normally post such blurry pictures, but there is a reason for this one. I had to snap this one so fast as I was panicked he would fall. There is Jasper, at two years old, on the skating rink going all by himself. And let me tell you… he was ecstatic. Only real issue for this one? Trying to figure out how to skate and dance at the same time, because that music… he just could not help himself!

And by the way, the smallest size skate that they carry at the rink is a 9… two whole sizes larger than his feet. So, he feet have two socks each and those boots are on tight!

We will definitely be going again. Its dang good exercise for the kids. Maybe I should dust off my skates have been sitting in the garage for… oh… maybe 4 years?

(Yes, we went on a Sunday… the Cowboys were playing, hence the football garb!)

A Family Holiday

2010-12-17T16:50:00.000-08:00

It has been 6½ years since Brandon and I packed up the moving van and left Oregon and both our families behind; looking forward to bigger and better things. After a 3 week teaser in Montana, 5 month stint in MiddleOfNoWhere, Kansas, and 15 months in Virginia, we finally settled here in Sunny Southern California. It was inevitable, as this is the industry location for our breadwinner. We both knew it, yet, both resisted it. At this point… I can’t imagine living anywhere else. This is our home.

That said, holidays can be hard. Family is 12 driving hours away. Either we brave the drive, or we spend this time of year as our primary family unit; without the holiday food, crazy family chaos, and plain joy of togetherness.

That is, until we found a family willing to adopt ours as part of theirs. Again this year, we were privileged to spend Thanksgiving with the Padgetts. The food was nice. The company, even nicer. I am grateful to have found a family away from family.

I am not sure why it has taken so long to write this post… I started it right after thanksgiving, but somehow found myself at a loss for words. Maybe because I wasn’t sure how I would finish, or what exactly the point of the post was. But really, its just to say, how much I appreciate our friends. That is it.

SNOW in Southern California…

2010-12-16T18:06:00.001-08:00

just melts!

I made a batch of these babies for Sharla’s Christmas party at school tomorrow. So cute. Tutorial found over at Smashed Peas and Carrots.

Christmas Tree Farm

2010-12-15T15:49:00.000-08:00

The Big Five Year Old!

2010-12-13T15:41:00.001-08:00

Sharla just turned five! Its amazing how fast the time has gone by. This last year we have begun to see hints of interest in academics, something that has been dragging along. She can actually write her name without trouble, and tie her own shoes. We have also saw hints of the teenaged years, something I can definitely wait on.

Her party was complete with a Tinkerbell cake, a huge cardboard maze on the patio, a scavenger hunt throughout the house, and lots of friends to share the fun.

And this cardboard maze, is courtesy of a wonderful website, Mr. McGroovy’’s. They sell little box rivets and plans so that you end up with something that lasts as long as cardboard can… but does a better job than tape.

She also, finally, got the bike she has been so desperately wishing for. Especially since little brother got his balance bike a month ago. To which she replied, upon seeing his, “wait, so, Jasper got a bike before me?”. Yup. Now, she is a proud owner of a fancy pink and purple bike, decked out with basket, tassels, and spoke beads by her friend, Ben. ‘

Happy Birthday Girly! I hope it was everything you wanted it to be!

Had to share!

2010-12-08T16:26:00.001-08:00

Oh, To Be a Kid Again!

2010-12-06T15:21:00.001-08:00

And get so excited about finding a stick in a forest, a fancy rock on the ground, or a dead tree, for that matter!

Two!

2010-11-30T18:00:00.001-08:00

Totally late, but here ya go…

Our little man turned two early this month. It has been super exciting for us as it stands as the official statement of “I’m a big kid now!”. He is in a big boy bed, and wears big boy undies, and now… he is officially 2!

We had a joint birthday party with his fellow partner in crime, Mr. Liam. Cupcakes, balloons, and new big boy bikes for both. Fun day!

Snot

2010-11-10T16:09:00.001-08:00

Some nasty sickness is going around, and while we have been much luckier than others, we do still have one little sick man at home right now. He has a fever, a constant flow of boogers, and a bit of a croupy cough.

Our little man, having just turned 2, is learning things every day. This illness, having infiltrated our friend’s home as well, has been a topic of conversation with him. Jasper now understands that having lots of boogers means someone is sick. I know… baby steps. He goes through his list of important people, asking me if they have boogers…

Jasper: Liam have boogers?

Me: Yes, Jasper. Liam has boogers.

J: Sharla have boogers?

M: No, not right now, no boogers for Sharla.

… and so on.

So, today when we picked up our friend, Ben, for youth group, Jasper had to ask.

Jasper: Ben have boogers?

Ben: NO! (very offended)

Me: Actually, Ben, everyone HAS boogers. Jasper just wanted to know if you are sick.

Ben: I don’t have boogers… (wait for it)… I pick them!

Sharla: Me TOO!

Its not the booger picking that gets me… all moms know because we are constantly reminding our kids to go the restroom, and grab some tissue… all our kids pick their boogers, and usually in public. That is an unfortunate fact of life.

What gets me is it was like Sharla and Ben just bonded over boogers. Oh, to be part of the “in crowd”… all those popular four-year-olds who pick their noses!

Success!

2010-11-04T14:45:00.001-07:00

Sure, she is 4 (ok, almost 5), but she can be brutally honest. So, I wonder… is it weird that I seek approval and validation from her? No… not in general, just in my crafty endeavors. I still strive to be a good mom, and don’t ever plan to be her friend. BUT, when it comes to my sewing, if Sharla doesn’t approve, I am disappointed. If I sewed for a living, that would be different. Usually, I sew for my kids. I figure, they are the only ones to judge. Besides, let’s be honest here. Four year olds are much more honest than husbands.

Really. If I spend 20 hours working on something, walk out proud and look for an impression from hubs… if he knows what’s good for him, he will express nothing but amazement and ah. But, the same product presented to a four year old, and I will receive genuine impression. Good. or. Bad.

So, making something that she loves; PRICELESS!

This monkey shirt had been thrown in the “too small” box only because it was too dang short to be worn anymore. She loved the shirt, and kept asking to wear it. So, I followed the tutorial I found, HERE. Super easy, super cute. I love how it looks like she is wearing a tucked in shirt with a high-waist skirt.

Musical Hats

2010-10-28T13:38:00.001-07:00

Being in a crafty mood yesterday, I set out to sew a few fall hats for the kiddos. After some internet research (which always sends me onto long tangents of craft blog hopping) I settled on two different types of hat.

The first, featured on So You Think You’re Crafty, was created by Cheri on I am Momma Here Me Roar. She has two boys, and I wanted to make this hat in girly pinks and purples for Sharla. It was super quick to sew, and when finished, I plopped it on her head, just for her to saw, “Mom, what am I supposed to do with these flappy things? It needs a buckle or something”. Great, she doesn’t like it.

Before finishing Sharla’s hat, I considered making a matching boy version for Jasper. But… with that kind of reaction, I went with my original plan. I saw an awesome little boy hat a while back on IndieTutes and fell in love. So, made this one in a hurry, and plopped it on Jasper’s head. He promptly pulled it off, threw it on the floor, and ran outside to play. How is that for a gigantic waist of time… times 2?

A few minutes later, I went outside to find this.

Totally not what I had in mind, but whatever works. Sharla was in love with Jasper’s hat because it had fancy ears, and Jasper liked the ease of putting on Sharla’s. Who knew? Although, next time, I think I will make them both gender neutral colors so that the little man doesn’t end up with a pink and purple hat to show off to Dad. He always loves that.

Newspaper Construction

2010-10-26T10:05:00.001-07:00

Boredom has set in and its only the second day of fall break. To combat this, I enlisted the kiddo’s help in building a geodesic dome in our living room. Following the instructions listed on Family Fun, it took us two LA Times Sunday newspapers, lots of staples, naptime and half this morning to construct.

Are they entertained? Yes. For how long? I am sure… not nearly as long as it took to put this sucker together. As is usually the case.

Pumpkins!

2010-10-23T10:47:00.001-07:00

Our trip to the pumpkin patch. The place where you are guaranteed some great photo worthy moments. Beautiful scenery, delighted and entertained children… its a good thing the photos can’t pick up the smell of the farm animals.

Facing the Truth

2010-10-14T10:07:00.001-07:00

After coming home from a friend’s house last week, my daughter informed me that she was sad we hadn’t decorated for Halloween. See, our friend has banners, pumpkins, skeletons… the works. I am thinking she felt I was laying down on the job. Ouch. I have Halloween decorations in the garage, but don’t ever feel the motivation to pull them out. Why? Its work to put them up, and more work to take them down. Lazy, I know. But, its the truth.

It pretty much stinks to have this truth pointed out by a four year old. So, I found the box sitting in the garage, and put up our decorations. Spider webs, spiders, pumpkins, garland, and all. So, as proof of this momentous occasion, I have taken pictures.

First up, Plate ‘o Pumpkins on our table. We spend an afternoon walking around the neighborhood looking for just the right sticks (it mattered to one particular little girl) that we could cut up and use as pumpkin stems. With one fresh batch of bright orange play dough the kids went to town making as many pumpkins as they could.

Mr. and Miss Scarecrow… I would prefer them to sit one on each side of the television. But, Miss Sharla sees these straw figures as representatives of her friend Ben, and herself. She insists on them standing next to each other. And Jasper… swears the girl scarecrow is a “printhess”. Yeah, he is easy to please.

The pumpkins. One is covered with random buttons from my stash using a glue gun; the best craft tool known to man. The blue pumpkin is real… lots of spray paint, packing tape stencils, and some latex paint.

Cotton spider webs galore. Cheap, easy… enough said.

Ok, the kitchen chandelier.. more webs, but at this point, unfinished. I really want one of THESE hanging from the center.

Basic dollar stuff to greet us from outside…

And… our newest addition, inspired by Erin over at Crafts and Sutch! This thing spans our whole television wall… its huge.

She is trying to look scared… doing a good job? So there, all decorated for Halloween. How is your decorating going?

The Budding Artist

2010-09-23T15:20:00.001-07:00

We do very little painting with both kids… at the same time. Why? Well, I would rather the kids spend more time entertaining each other. Something so messy requires more parent involvement. And when that parent chooses to walk away for a split second… the sky falls. I don’t know what it is, but both kids can follow the rules better when they are by themselves. The mess and unruliness multiplies when they get together.

So, Sharla paints when Jasper sleeps, and Jasper paints when Sharla is in school. Works great, one parent, one kid, less stress. Today, while setting up the paint for Sharla, I am reminding her that she can’t mess around. (She likes to get really involved in her art, and gets upset when hurricane Jasper wakes). This conversation ensued:

Sharla- “Don’t worry Mom, I paint super-fast”!

Mom- “Sharla, I would really rather you draw me something specific, instead of scribbling all over just to see how fast you can paint”.

Sharla- “I know, Mom”.

Mom- (Still not thinking she gets it) “Hey, why don’t you take your time and paint me a tree”.

Sharla- “Fine, but I can still do that fast”.

And, then, in 2 seconds flat, she presents her work.

I concede, she can paint a tree super-fast. Complete with an artist’s signature (that is her “S” on the bottom left), and a red and brown squirrel on the right.

On a side note: She continues to grow… Most days she is the big sister, the one with more responsibilities, to treat her sibling with care, to get herself ready for school, etc. Then, I take a picture of her, and all I see… those chubby little hands. Reminds me of how small she still is, and how tiny she used to be.

Vintage Sheet Love Affair

2010-09-08T15:19:00.001-07:00

A while back I started swapping quarter yard pieces of vintage sheets with others on the internet. I was drawn to the bright colors and beautiful flower patterns that were so common in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. What I didn’t expect was the incredible quality of these sheets! I became instantly in love with the soft fabric, and the frugality of it. Did you know that one can purchase a full set of vintage queen sheets at a thrift store for $4 max?

With all that fabric, I have swapped for other patterns, made quilts, and dream of making dresses, and skirts for Sharla. I have a drawer overflowing with fat-quarter-sized pieces begging to be made into something wonderful. So, with so much, I have stopped buying.

Until, I found this…

This set is for a full sized bed, which we don’t have in our house, otherwise, I would have considered keeping it whole and using as, well.. sheets. When I saw it in the thrift store, I knew it was meant to live out its life as a dress. One of those that can’t go in the mud; on that gets to sit on the side of her closet with all the rest of her Sunday-best dresses.

As is obvious from the pictures, Sharla approves. If the dress can twirl, she is one happy kid. It has a two layer skirt, which makes it rather substantial. Sharla has nicknamed it her heavy dress. My favorite part is the lace the bottom (which, by the way, creates an awesome shadow!) I love being able to make her dresses that both her and I can be proud of!

A New Perspective

2010-09-01T14:06:00.001-07:00

Often we forget that children see the world differently than us. They take notice to little things that we no longer spend an ounce of time thinking about. They are shorter, thus closer to the ground. Their eyes are better. All around, their view is just, interesting to witness. Here is what Sharla felt was important to photograph.

Training a Cowboy

2010-08-26T13:37:00.001-07:00

The Dallas Cowboys were back in Oxnard for training camp. Its been 3 years since we have been able to watch them practice; way too long as far as Brandon is concerned. Last time we went, Sharla was Jasper’s age, and really, didn’t care. This year, Jasper was enamored. I think Sharla cared more this year, only because she understood it was meant to be exciting. That, and her daddy… was excited.

This little boy, wakes us up at 6am asking to watch football on television. Even though I never doubted how differently boys and girls are naturally wired, its weird to see it in action. We try to not set them up to fit specific gender stereotypes, even purchasing tonka trucks for each child’s first birthday. But still. Did Sharla care about the garbage truck coming around every Tuesday? No. Did she care about football on television? No. Did Sharla, at Jasper’s age, ever get super excited when she heard a train go by? No. Jasper comes into this world, acting like he knows everything what a boy is supposed to like. Its just so fascinating.

(On a bit of disclosure, though. I can’t leave Jasper as being such a Man’s boy, without also describing how excited he is to have his sister dress him in a tutu. The look of pride on his face as he twirls around… priceless!)

And, as far as the Cowboy’s Training Camp was concerned… you can’t beat $2 per child for an all day pass to play in their blow-up bounce houses and activity stations.

A Reunion in the Age of Facebook

2010-08-23T13:24:00.001-07:00

So, earlier this month, Brandon and I went to your 10 year High School reunion. We graduated with a class of over 200, and the reunion attendees… were less than 30. For the formal night, less than 15 graduates showed up.

The lack of attendance can be blamed on many things. Some don’t do reunions. That is fair. The communication for the event was severely lacking. Some didn’t even know it was happening. Bad, I know. Many of the graduates still live in our small town, and see each other on a regular basis, so, why bother? I do believe there was greater force to blame here.

Before the internet, and particularly Facebook, High School reunions were rather entertaining and full of surprises. Many people show up just to see who has the most kids, who got fat, and who is the most successful. The once attractive athletes showed up with beer guts and receding hairlines. The ugly ducklings… now swans. Some make a ton of money, and some… well… don’t. What about the valedictorian who went on to do… nothing? Or the guy in high school who adamantly denied being gay even though many kind of suspected, showing up, proudly introducing his partner? Or the goody-two-shoes girl who runs an adult store? That 10 year reunion is supposed to be fun.

But, alas, Facebook. Ruins the surprise. We all know, already. It was nice to see people again, those that bothered to show. But, no surprises.

I will say, though, there was a clear divide between those who started families early, and those who are career people and have yet to make babies. It made me feel good that amongst all those who’ve globe trotted and/or done some serious career advancement, I am still proud to be where I am in my life.

Shake Your Peanut

2010-07-25T20:20:00.001-07:00

It all started when Jasper was born. Sharla was almost 3, and while she could talk just fine, there were a few sounds that she still struggled with. Her little brother had this thing inside his diaper that she did not have. It rather intrigued her. However, she couldn’t pronounce that thing for the life of her. It came out more like, “peanut”. So, Peanut, it became.

Fast forward 20 months. Jasper is talking, and potty training. He now knows that the interesting thing inside his diaper is called a peanut. He talks about his peanut all the time, and we regularly find him with his hand in his diaper looking for his peanut. He proudly points out the peanut in the bathtub. He is acutely aware it is called a peanut. I have even been known to say, “Jasper, stop stabbing your peanut with that fork!”

Everyone has their nicknames, which is fine. Whatever. Until the other day. The kids were watching television… (a quick YouTube search yielded the video)…

Yup, the three male characters on the show, singing, “Shake, shake, shake your peanut”, all the while shaking their hips in dance. Nice. My son, standing in front of the television, wearing nothing but a shirt, is totally into the song. While the characters are shaking an Actual peanut to convince a baby elephant to come out of a tree, my son is shaking his peanut… Just… wow.

Seriously, how to the animators not see the connection? Check out those hip movements! I am soooo blaming Disney if he becomes a wand-waver.

Crazy Eights

2010-07-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

Kati tagged me in a game... over at My Life in a Nutshell.

Here's what you do:
Go to the 8th folder in which you store photos
Select the 8th photo
Post it and tell the story behind it
'Tag' 8 other people.

Ok, this picture was taken last summer, during our first camping trip with the mom’s group. There is a water park within walking distance from the campgrounds. Brandon and Sharla were going on the super slow, super shallow kiddie waterslide. You wouldn’t know it by the expression on his face, but its so slow you almost have to scoot your butt down to get to the bottom. But, as exhibited again HERE, he has a knack for getting super excited in the attempt to get our kids interested.

I am not tagging anyone, simply because 8 people is a lot, and don’t feel like double tagging a bunch of people who have already been tagged.

America’s Pastime

2010-07-20T15:02:00.001-07:00

We took our kids to their first baseball game a couple weeks ago. We had great seats, but gave them up for something a bit farther back, just to get some shade. Amazing how that humidity can make all the difference between comfortable hot to miserable.

The tickets were a gift from Brandon’s employer, which offset the price of having to purchase the obligatory hotdogs at your kids first baseball game. At $6 a piece, I was hoping they would take my breath away; they didn’t.

Sharla made it through the first inning before begging to go home. She was bored. I mistakenly told her that we had good enough seats that me might get the opportunity to catch a foul ball. She made sure to bring her t-ball mitt from the car, just in case. When she realized that no one was going to intentionally throw the ball to her, the whole reason why she had willingly sat through the heat for the last 30 minutes had been nullified. She was ready to leave.

Jasper didn’t like having to stay put. Understandable. He can’t sit through a 90 minute movie, why had we thought he might get through a 3 hour game?

Brandon and I took turns running kids to the restroom, taking them for walks, standing in an incredibly slow hotdog line, all to hopefully catch a moment of baseball. We left in the middle of the 7th, because Sharla was beyond done, I was done listening to the incessant whining about her doneness, and Brandon was done carrying around Jasper, who had fallen asleep looking out at the game while peering from the top-most balcony.

So, while the pictures show us all smiles, we were all pretty much a mess. Makes me wonder how many of the pictures of us growing up, where everyone is so cheery… is all for show?

Our 4th

2010-07-12T17:50:00.001-07:00

Its rather difficult to keep our kids awake till 9, even at the promise of fireworks. Then, both complained at the loudness of the booms. Sheesh, complain, complain. (We’ve been hearing that rather frequently, lately). Anyway, for the holiday, our family spent the day at Church, which happens to sit right behind where the fireworks are let off in town. But, parking at church meant, we didn’t have to pay a fee, which was nice.

Brandon volunteered to judge the chili cook-off, which he rather enjoyed. What man wouldn’t like 11 bowls of chili sitting in front of him, without his wife nagging that he probably shouldn’t eat that much in one sitting?

When it came time for the fireworks, Sharla had to be woke up, and even then, really, didn’t care. Jasper, on the other hand, was rather entranced.

Summer Camping

2010-06-30T13:11:00.001-07:00

This last weekend, we went on our annual camping trip with the moms group: right outside of Bakersfield, in June. Yup. It was HOT! We were tent camping in 103 degree weather, with nothing but the lake to cool us off. It was so hot, that on Sunday night when we left to come home, the thermostat read 97 degrees at 8pm.

It was the first time we got to use our new-to-us tent, a huge 3 room tent plus screen room that I purchased at a garage sale last year for $25. What a find. This thing is a beast, and we felt lucky to give each kid their own room, plus have a separate entry for the “master bedroom” so that we could sneak in at night without having to walk past the children’s beds.

Sharla lived in the water as much as we would allow, asking for her floaty as soon as she finished her breakfast, and begging to stay in longer when it was time for dinner. Another first for her… being pulled in a tube behind a boat at “high speed”. The look on her face as she and her friend, Joe, were whipping around and bouncing on the bumps… it was pure kiddy-gasm. I don’t think she has ever had that much fun before. Clearly, the adventure-seeker.

Jasper, on the other hand, only went in the water when brought in by one of us. He whined and complained about it. You see, the only type of swimming Jasper likes to do… involves a hot tub. Instantly, he will relax and just chill. But, in a swimming pool or lake, the water temperature is less than optimal, and therefore, he would rather not be involved. Although he did not go tubing (his parents aren’t quiet ready for that one), he did get to ride in the boat. Which he enjoyed until he thought we were leaving his big sister behind in the tube. Pure hysterics ensued. At least we thought he was hysterical. I learned what REAL hysterics was a few moments later when Daddy got his turn in the tube. I swear, Jasper was panicked, screaming to the point of making his nose run. Ridiculous!

The first night, our kids took a shower just to cool down and rinse off a days worth of sweat… outside.

Roasting marshmallows over a lit fire isn’t nearly as much fun when its so hot outside, either. Almost like a chore. The kids didn’t seem to notice, as their goals were more to play with fire and light up the marshmallows.

Overall, we had a great time. I think, if we go back to this campground, as the lake and site are worthy of a revisit, we will do it at the end of summer. Just as Bakersfield cools down, and the lake is still nice and warm.

As Worlds Collide

2010-06-23T11:28:00.001-07:00

So, Sharla started her two week session of Vacation Bible School this last Monday. This week is at our church, her preschool, and next week will be at our friend’s church.

Sharla has friends from Preschool, friends from the moms group, and friends from Sunday school… none really intersect into the other parts of her life. This allows her to be sweet on two different boys, and things to work swimmingly. She has this little boy in her preschool class, we will call him Mr. J. They greet each other in very exciting ways, and are rather connected on the playground. She talks about him constantly. Then there is Mr. B., of whom she met through the moms group. We are good friends with his parents. They recently moved down the street from us, and the kids spend quite a bit of time together. One moment they play well together, and the next they are fighting.

We invited Mr. B. to join Sharla at her Vacation Bible School this week. As we are waiting for everything to start, on the first day, Sharla is telling Mr. B. all about the church and the people here. This is where she goes to school. This is her stomping grounds. Then… in walks Mr. J. Sharla lights up… runs over to him and they exchange an Eskimo kiss, seriously. She grabs him by the hand, walks him over to Mr. B. and introduces the two boys. (All the while, I am thinking, “Oh, girl, if you were an adult, you would SOOO not introduce your two boyfriends,” Danger, Danger!).

She sits back down next to Mr. B., and the mother of Mr. J. sits on the other side of Sharla, leaving Mr. J. without a place on this bench. I watch. Mr. J., squishes himself in-between his mom and Sharla, so that he can sit next to her. Sharla, seeing that Mr. J. was lacking space, offers to let the boys sit on the bench, while she stands. (Mental Note: Must teach daughter that boys are supposed to give up seats to girls, not the other way around.) The two boys look at each other, and refuse to scoot over. Like they are repelled by each other.

I explain, “Sharla, I think both boys want to sit next to you. You will need to sit between them”. Mr. J.’s Mother and I exchange amused glances, as Mr. B. is clearly feeling a bit anxious about this Vacation Bible School thing with Sharla.

Daddy Spot

2010-06-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

So, I messed up. First day of teeball, and I never wrote about it, my bad. Good news, now I can talk about two days of teeball.

First things first though, the kids officially named their team. The Red Fire Dragons. I like it, especially since I was on the Green Dragons when I was in teeball as a kid. The kids are practicing on Thursdays, during the day, which means that I get left out of practice, very lame. So, on that note, I can still blog about the games:

Game 1:
Its hard watching your kid struggle, it really is. I've gotten so use to being able to help her through the years, so being a parent in the stands, watching your kid struggle is very difficult for me. I want to walk up to her, show her what she is doing right, what she is doing wrong, and explain to her why she is struggling. As a parent, not the coach, I am expected to be the moral supporter, not the teacher... Sharla's first time at bat, left me with allot of these feelings, I could see the kid was trying so hard, but for the life of her she could not hit that ball. She could smack the T around like a pro, but the ball, not so much. It took her a good 10 swings, oh how I wanted to help her. Finally, bam, the kid hit it, and I was sooooo happy for her, I knew she was grinning from ear to ear. She did it without me... that's hard too. Next time at bat, she hit that ball on the first string. Proud of that kid. McDonalds Ice Cream after the game.

Game 2:
Jennifer had informed me that practice had been a bit of an issue with Miss Sharla. Apparently, she doesn't chase after the ball, or really participate in any sort of fielding. In fact, the only thing she does on the field is flirt with boys. Oh how I can't wait until she's 16.... .... yeah. At the game, she wasn't even flirting with boys, she wasn't doing anything. I watcher her for a while, and she just seemed bored. That's it, its Daddy time.

"Sharla, what's up kid, why aren't you chasing the balls?"
"Because its boring"
... I feel like we've been through this before.
"Sharla, what is boring."
"I want to hit the ball, and I never get the ball fast enough."
"I've never seen you try to get the ball, so how do you know your not fast enough"
"I don't know"
"How about this, I want you to try. If you try to get the ball, I'll let you stay up late with mommy and me"
"ok"

Well, I thought that would work, but no. No chasing after balls, but a whole lot of spinning circles and sitting. I'm starting to think she really doesn't want to play teeball. Well, its a good thing this kid has a mom too. Much like it was Daddy Time earlier. It was Momma Time now. She went and spoke with Sharla, not clue what she said, but that kid ran after every ball after that. I'll never understand females, I'm just glad I don't have to. She had allot of fun after that, and had one of the best hits of the day, over everyone's head.... that's my girl.

The End of a School Year

2010-06-17T08:49:00.001-07:00

Sharla’s end of the year picnic was yesterday. No longer is she a Butterfly (the name they give the 3’s class). She is very excited about going back as a Rainbow. Next year will bring more learning, and more growth.

Sharla HAS grown this year.

She selects her own friends, which so far, I approve of. I know this won’t always be the case, so I am enjoying it, while it lasts.

She has learned how to write her own name, a huge feat.

She has grown taller, by 3 inches! This means she can board the bigger, more exciting rides at Knott’s Berry Farm. The preschool took a picture in August, when she started, and then again at the end of May. How neat!

She has her very own Pen Pal! Currently, she dictates, I write. It will be an exciting day when she writes her own letter.

She is getting so big, so girly. For the most part, her baby fat is gone, and is lengthening. No matter how old, and beautiful she gets, I will always remember this one, when she was all rolls and no hair…

In Our Spare Time

2010-06-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

I think its a good thing we have lots of activities for our kids to spend their time doing. Otherwise... they would spend more time doing this...

In the background, you can hear Jasper telling Sharla, "Ow, Sharla". Even he thinks this is a bad idea.

Age Makes Trouble

2010-06-07T11:15:00.000-07:00

There are things that I let Jasper do when Sharla is in school that… I just wouldn’t consider letting Sharla do by herself, let alone with her brother. Playing in the bathroom sink is one of those things. See, with Jasper by himself, he is completely happy to feel the water on his hands, fill a bowl and dump it out a hundred times, wash beads, drink the water, and turn it off and on. This I can handle. This makes a mess that is worth the 45 minutes of pure bliss for the little man.

Unfortunately, when Sharla gets involved, this activity would spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E! She is not contented with this simple form of entertainment. Water play for her means soaking towels, getting buckets, traveling the water to other rooms of the house, washing babies then dripping them down the hall. It means bigger fun, bigger mess. When you are four, it is not interesting to turn the water off and on a zillion times. But, to fill the sink and make soup with every toy in sight… that sounds more like it! So… as far as Sharla knows, water play is an outside activity.

While she is in school, Jasper can have his fun.

And the clapping hands… means, a job well done!

Daddy Spot

2010-06-03T22:48:00.001-07:00

The wife has asked me to have a weekly segment on her blog, detailing Sharla's adventures in Tee-ball. Technically, Sharla won't start Tee-ball for a few days, but I figured I would start our Tee-ball adventure with Sharla's first time playing catch with Daddy. Sharla, her friend, his dad and I went to a park this past weekend, hoping to get the children acclimated to this "American Pastime." I'm not quite sure what I expected to be honest. Sharla had shown interest in the sport, when watching me play on a team a few months ago, and really enjoyed cheerleading for us. She is not really a girly girly (sometimes), so I thought she would get a kick out of the whole thing.

We firmly strapped her glove on, and had her take a few steps back. I slowly tossed the ball to her, fully expecting her to jump out of the way and miss the ball. She did. She throws the ball back, we repeat the process. This happens about five times, and finally, instead of throwing the ball back to me, Sharla takes her glove off, gets really close, throws the glove, and the ball on the ground, and tells me, "Daddy, this is boring".... Ah crap.

Think Think Think.
"Sharla, what's boring?"
"Catching the ball."
"..., do you like throwing the ball?"
"... yeah"
"ok... I have and idea. I'm going to throw the ball as hard as I can, and then we are going to chase after it. Then, you can throw it back as hard as you can."

Well, she did it. It took her a bunch of throws, but that kid was totally into it, and got it all the way back. In the process, I snuck in a few pointers about throwing, left foot forward, overhand throw. Kids got an arm!

I can only hope the Tee-ball coach is better at this then me.

Bath Time

2010-05-27T10:11:00.001-07:00

Success

2010-05-24T08:38:00.001-07:00

The scene: We just sat down for dinner. On the menu is New York Strip steak, bbq’ed corn on the cob, and stir fried bok choy, celery, and sweet onions (the latter three picked from the farm by the kiddos). Sharla has already thumbed her nose at the green and white stuff that she calls lettuce. See… she doesn’t eat anything that resembles leaves, bell peppers or onions.

Sharla: “I am NOT eating that stuff. I don’t like onions and lettuce”. She points to big white chunk of bok choy, and says, “that is an onion!”.

Me: “Nope, that is bok choy. If you don’t want to eat it, that is fine. I do however expect you to eat one piece of this white stuff over here”, pointing at the onion.

Sharla: “What is it?”

Me: “Just part of the stir fry, hon. You will like it, trust me”.

Sharla: “Ok, but just one piece”, as she proceeds to eat not only that one piece, but also digs through the rest of her stir fry looking for all of those little white strips of sweetness. Then, she even eats some off my plate. At which point, she announces, “Ok, I am done. But I am NOT eating these onions”, again pointing at the bok choy whites.

Me: “Baby, that is bok choy, and you haven’t even tasted it yet. Besides, since you just finished eating all the onions in sight… you can now eat the bok choy in confidence”.

My Designer, My Model

2010-05-10T11:24:00.001-07:00

When Jasper is sleeping, Sharla knows its our time. Sometimes this means lots of glue, markers, and glitter. Sometimes this means she plays outside in the dirt, while I fetch whatever bowl/spoon/strainer/stick she requires. Other times, it means we create something from fabric… at the sewing machine. Usually a dress, or skirt, Sharla has much say in the process.

On this particular occasion, she picked out the fabrics, and explained where she wanted each one. She wanted a dress, one with “long pieces that tie on my neck”. It was specifically requested that the dress not have sleeves, or back. Nice.

The results of our collaboration. Here is Sharla, doing her best, intentional modeling poses…

Facing my Mortality

2010-05-06T16:25:00.001-07:00

After graduating high school, we all went our separate ways, and grew apart. With Facebook, though, I feel like I have been able to keep up with some people that would otherwise be completely lost to me. With our 10 year reunion coming up in August, I am excited, not nervous or scared. We know what everyone looks like. We know who has gotten fat, who has 10 kids, and who has been divorced. With Facebook, there are few secrets.

Today, I found out one of those friends from high school… her husband died suddenly this morning. They had been together since junior high. He moved away (2000 miles away) for high school. They grew apart, but kept in contact. Then, as soon as high school was over, they met in Reno: him by plane, her by car. They drove to a chapel and got married. To live happily ever after… or so everyone thought. They were that couple that had defied youthful decisions and long distance. I knew they would grow old together. They were destined.

But instead, I sit at the computer, numb, entranced by her Facebook page, as her whole world comes tumbling down around her. Gone without warning. It is my greatest fear, having this very thing happen to me. Loosing my best friend, the only man I have ever loved, the model husband, the greatest father I could have ever given my kids… it terrifies me.

The thought is never far from my mind. As a child, I lived it. A month after I turned 5, my dad died in a motorcycle accident, leaving behind 4 children barely 5 and under, and a 24 year old wife… lost. It devastated her. It changed our lives forever. I am terrified of being that lost woman. I pray I could move forward in a more focused, mature manner than the path my mom chose, but I fear, I would be lost. I can’t judge her, because I haven’t been there. I prefer to never know.

I often think about writing letters to my children, and my husband… to be found in the event of my sudden death. Hide them in drawers… to be discovered when someone is cleaning out my stuff. Maybe give them to friends for them to be delivered later? I don’t know. Death is so final, I just don’t even know what I would write.

I am reminded today, to not take life for granted. My friend’s loss, it has hit me hard. I am shaken, and I haven’t spoken to them in 10 years. I have never been that person; a mess when someone dies. I am rational, I know death is a part of life.

Today, I am that person.

The Reveal

2010-05-03T16:32:00.001-07:00

I like to sew. I need deadlines. I love babies.

My favorite crafty item to make are baby quilts for special new arrivals. This usually means, when a family member announces the sex of their baby, I get to work on choosing fabric and design for a new quilt. The deadline: Have blanket delivered right before, or right after birth. I get about 20 weeks to complete my project, and seem to always be scrambling to finish.

Miss Cailin is not family by chance, but rather by choice. Its the first time I have made a baby quilt for a friend, and chose to do so because I knew her mama would appreciate the time and care that goes into such a project.

I am excited to be able to show off this quilt. It was requested that it be made without lace and not primarily pink. I have great selection of vintage sheets, and was excited to be able to incorporate them into the quilt, both front and back.

Here it is, in all its glory.

I am proud of it. And… as some can attest, I was hand-sewing the border the day before Miss Cailin was born. I am that much of a procrastinator.

A Few Facts…

2010-04-23T17:33:00.001-07:00

I was tagged by Miyo, at the bretons to give a little information about me in 3’s.

So here it goes...

3 names I go by:
1. Jennifer

2. Jen

3. Mama

3 jobs I have had:

1. CSR at Pizza Hut

2. Stock at Linens N Things

3. Mama

3 places I have lived:

1. Nebraska

2. Oregon

3. Virginia

3 fave drinks:
1. White Chocolate Mocha

2. Coffee at night

3. Diet Root Beer

3 tv shows I watch:
1. Chuck

2. Private Practice

3. Smallville

3 places I have been:

1. Mexico

2. Montana

3. Kansas

3 places I would like to visit:
1. Italy

2. Australia

3. France

3 fave retro TV shows:
1. Mad about You

2. Saved by the Bell

3. Facts of Life

3 fave dishes:

1. Crispy Chicken Sandwich at Red Robin

2. Pepperoni Pizza

3. Heavily buttered popcorn

3 things I am looking forward to:
1. Coffee in the morning with a friend

2. My husband coming home from work

3. When we no longer have to pay student loans

3 people I am tagging:

1. Stasia

2. Jen

3. Kati

Visit From Grandpa

2010-04-21T14:16:00.001-07:00

We live nowhere near any family member. Most live around 700 miles north of us, which means one heck of a drive. Something we did just recently due to a death in the family. This means, our kids get to see extended family about twice a year. One person we don’t get to see by traveling north is Brandon’s dad. He lives outside of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Last time he came, Jasper was an infant (hence the visit), I was tired, Sharla was needy, and Brandon had already gone back to work.

This time around, we made sure to show him this place we call home. In one weekend, we managed to squeeze in the beach, a trip to the Santa Barbara Zoo, the park, shopping at the College Marketplace, and some bubble blowing. Our kids really like Grandpa. I know they haven’t analyzed why… but its obvious to me. He is… just like Daddy; energetic and up for whatever fun thing they want to do. He is just another boy hiding in an older body, just like Daddy.

We took many pictures while he was here, just a few…

Really? That Makes Sense?

2010-04-16T19:08:00.001-07:00

With the goal of getting the kids out of our hair for just a few minutes… Brandon sent both into the bedroom to play. His words, “Here are the legos, go make a mess”. Sharla and Jasper don’t actually build stuff with legos. They dump them out, and fill containers with them. Legos aren’t building blocks, they are objects to fill and make a mess.

But… Daddy just gave her permission to make a mess. A few minutes after the task was given, Sharla comes marching out of the room, oozing with the look of pride. She announces, “Ok, Daddy, I made a mess!”. She so took him literally. She dumped most of the containers of toys out. This is what he walked in on.

Clearly, this is NOT what Daddy meant. He kept saying, “I meant the Legos. The Legos!” Unfortunately, cleanup time was not met with the same enthusiasm.

The Art of Styling Hair

2010-04-14T13:25:00.001-07:00

Today was Crazy Hair Day at Sharla’s preschool. Its part of a series of silly days called “Week of the Young Child”. Last year, we did a ridiculous amount of hair bands, beads, and lots of ratting. This year, Sharla asked that her “baby hair” (also known as everything south of the ears) not get any bands, and she wanted color. Ok… because I keep temporary hair color just laying around. This is what we agreed upon.

Yup… that is correct. Sharla has a Crayola Washable Marker accented Penne Pasta Teepee on the top of her head! All she talked about on the way home from school… getting home, having me take out the pasta, so she could eat it! Brother!

Its Getting Close

2010-04-07T17:41:00.001-07:00

I am excited! I am very close to being done with all the awesome gifts I have been sewing up for a certain someone’s arrival. Here is another sneak peak.

He is Risen, Indeed!

2010-04-04T13:21:00.001-07:00

Easter. A day filled with eggs, chocolate, stuffed animals, and bellies too filled with sugar.

Because we think its important to teach our children the real reason for Easter, we have been talking in great deal about the importance of this great day. We made Resurrection Rolls, in an attempt to explain the whole death and disappearance of Jesus’ body. These are made with marshmallows (Jesus’ body) dunked in butter and cinnamon and sugar (oils and spices that Jesus was anointed with) and wrapped in a croissant bread (linens he was wrapped in, or the tomb), then baked. When the rolls are removed from the oven…

The tomb will be empty! Our ever practical daughter was not fooled. She quickly pointed out that marshmallows melt, and this specific marshmallow was melted all over the inside of the roll.

These little treats were better than cinnamon rolls and 10 times easier to make! A lesson and a fabulous breakfast. This, of course, came after each child had already eaten too much chocolate that the Easter Bunny left them. One step at a time.

By the way, there are many different ways to make resurrection rolls scattered throughout the internet. We followed the directions that Pratrizzia gave on her blog, ICreate.

Happy Easter everyone.

Because She Asked

2010-04-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

“Mama, get the camera. I want you to take a picture of me”!

Plate filled with flowers in hand, chalk-covered washcloth on head, topped with a big rock… A very delighted little girl?

Great American Bird Rescue

2010-03-30T14:05:00.001-07:00

Recently, while walking out our front door, we were greeted by a VERY friendly bird, just chilling on the ground, by our steps. I ran in the house, and grabbed the camera to take the obligatory, “honey, you won’t believe what happened today” pictures. Sharla sat on the ground next to the bird, and he started walking up to her… really. This freaked her out. Seriously, birds don’t walk up to you. I got my pictures, we said goodbye to the bird, and we went on our merry way.

She isn’t looking at the camera, because to say the least, the bird is making her nervous, and its taking everything in her to not panic.

The next day, the same bird is, again, sitting outside, and greets us… by trying to walk through our front door… like he belonged there. I quickly shut the door, not wanting to provide THAT kind of lunch for the three kitties on the other side. I am now concerned. He doesn’t look hurt, and after Jasper spooked him by running at the poor thing at full speed, it was clear he could fly.

Upon closer inspection (and the help of an internet search), we discovered this little guy was a Ringneck Dove. A type of bird that has been domesticated for thousands of years. We ended up having to catch the bird, box him up and deliver him to a volunteer bird rescue person who took him to Carpentaria, where he will live out his life in an aviary filled with a bunch of other Ringneck doves that have either escaped or been discarded by their owners. Sharla is already talking about going to visit OUR bird.

St. Baldrick’s Event

2010-03-25T16:06:00.001-07:00

The St. Baldrick’s Foudation is the world’s largest volunteer-driven fundraising event for childhood cancer research. Our local event was this last Saturday at the Harbor. Because we had friends that have spend the last few months fundraising for this foundation, we showed up to support them, as all their hard work was culminated into this last event. Both man and wife shaved their heads. It was a sight to see.

The Foundation had many draws for children. They gave away free stuffed animals, had a crafts table, a face painting person, a balloon guy (the best I have ever seen, by the way), and a surprise visit from Cinderella herself. She not only took pictures with all the excited little girls, but also stayed around to play Duck-duck-Goose, and Ring Around the Rosy!

And, of course, the two men in my life… who looked on from the Cinderella scene…

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

2010-03-17T18:13:00.001-07:00

Sewing Sneak Peak

2010-03-17T13:19:00.001-07:00

I am super excited about the sewing project that I am currently working on, and would like to share a peak. All the colors I get to work with… reminds me of spring.

Hunger

2010-03-15T16:28:00.001-07:00

This is the conversation that took place at our dinner table last night.

Sharla: “Mama, I am still hungry.”

Me: “Sharla, you have already had extra chicken, extra corn, and extra breadsticks. What makes you think you need MORE food?”

Sharla: “Well, my belly doesn’t hurt.”

Me: laughing “Honey, you aren’t supposed to eat till your tummy hurts. When it hurts after eating, it means you ate too much.” still laughing

Sharla: looking confused, “But, that is what Daddy does!”

What can I say… my husband likes my cooking, and my daughter has no concept of a satisfied tummy. Great.

Knotts Berry Farm

2010-03-12T10:46:00.001-08:00

Thanks to a generous Christmas gift, our family was able to purchase a year long pass to Knotts Berry Farm. At the end of February, we got to use those passes for the first time.

Lots of pictures here…

We did the little train a few times, as Jasper enjoyed it and we could go as a family.

Here’s Sharla on the Egg Beaters all by herself. She caught on to me taking pictures, and started making faces, much to the other parent’s enjoyment.

Brandon took Sharla on the Log ride, which she really enjoyed. I tried to take a picture as they came down… but Sharla is too short to see her.

The best part… Sharla learning to Line Dance.

Check out those moves!

The Beginning of the End…

2010-03-03T17:34:00.001-08:00

We are given so much parenting “advice” these days that not only conflicts with how we were raised as children, but also with common sense. Without going into a lengthy discussion on so many topics (because I could…) I will just discuss my children. I don’t believe they are smarter/more capable than the average children, but I do believe I hold them to their potential, rather than assume their lack of capability.

This is all to say… the experts agree that the average boy is not ready to be potty trained till he is close to 3, even though most of our husbands were pooping and peeing in the toilet at a much younger age. I am confident that our little boys are just as capable as their daddies. And, seriously, a three year old’s poop is no longer baby poop. I REFUSE to change poopy diapers from a three year old.

I know moms that have waited till the mandated 3 years old. I know moms that have two year old little boys sporting undies to bed. I am determined to be one of the latter.

Proudly, I would like to announce, Jasper peed in the toilet today. I asked him if he wanted to, he ran to the bathroom, removed his diaper, was helped on the toilet, and proceeded to pee in the toilet. This is the beginning of the end of diapers for this Dawson Family.

I am convinced that my son is no miracle child, but rather has a mom that sees what he is capable of. His sister was wearing panties at 18 months. Sure, she had lots of wet accidents, but was completely “poop trained”.

For those who are currently shaking your heads… go ahead. My little man has your experts’ “signs of readiness”, so go judge someone else.

Beware of the Bully

2010-02-26T17:55:00.000-08:00

When Sharla was young, I remember being terrified to take her places where other children would be. She was assertive; Very assertive. I know all kids go though some form of hitting, as they know no other way to convey disapproval or desire. Eventually, like all kids, she grew out of it.

Jasper, on the other hand, is a whole different story. Its not that he is assertive. He is just a bully. I do believe he has made it his mission in life to get his sister to scream as many times as possible EACH and EVERY day. I know this is the job of little brothers, but come on. Sometimes its just with his hand, others its with whatever weapon he can get his little hands on. Sharla has been hit with full water cups, shoes, forks… seriously, whatever.

We have tried to explain to her that he does it to bug her, and if she ignores him and does NOT scream he won’t do it. But, she has become the victim. (I hate that, by the way). She screams. Jasper laughs. There are a lot of camps of thought on the subject of sibling behavior, and as the older sibling, myself, I understand Sharla’s pain. I am not really sure how to handle it, but I don’t like it.

This is all complicated by the fact that Sharla can be mean when no one is looking. The difference is, she can lie and say Jasper fell down. Jasper doesn’t care who is looking when he gets his entertainment. Sharla is the sly little fox who waits till Mom is not looking then strikes.

I have always stood firm in believing that we don’t spank our kids because it teaches them to hit in frustration or anger. Well, we don’t spank and my kids are hitting, anyway. Now what?

A Confession

2010-02-15T09:32:00.000-08:00

Daddy doesn’t come home till 6:30 on most nights (used to be 7:30), which means a late dinner for the kiddos. I do give them a good snack around 5, to hold them off, but that witching hour before he comes home… well, it can be rough.

The other night, I was trying to make empanadas with dough recipe from Brazil. It promised to be super light, flaky crust, and I was determined. The dough, however, was very finicky, and kept breaking, and tearing. It was taking me forever, much longer that the Little Man was willing to let me have to myself in the kitchen.

I stuffed the empanada dough with, basically sloppy joe mix and peas. There were intentions of mozzarella cheese, but when it came down to it, there was just no room for cheese in these little pockets. A good friend has this super easy recipe for sloppy joe sauce that consists of Worcestershire Sauce, ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar.

I was stressed about getting the dough to work, and getting frustrated that Little Man was attached to my leg, or digging in the trash, or throwing pans out of the cupboard. I was desperate. The brown sugar was within my reach. I grabbed a spoon, and dispersed said brown sugar squarely in the mouth of said child. Oh, yes, I did.

He walked away with a smile on his face…

…and came back with a bowl and a spoon from his little kitchen.

Progress

2010-02-12T10:03:00.001-08:00

Over the years, I have watched other people’s children excel in learning their numbers and letters. My daughter has never had much interest. Sure, we sing the alphabet, and there are a few words that she recognizes, like milk, Shrek, Sharla… but, no real interest in actually learning them. On a good day, she can count to 7, but usually we get stuck at 4.

I have always understood that until they actually want to learn, it just won’t happen. Whether it be with potty training, the alphabet, or any other milestone, for that matter. I know she is only 4, and has lots of years of education ahead of her, but still. This is the kid that walked, talked, and was potty trained before most of her peers. Sometimes, I watch in envy as a child younger than her easily writes his/her name in the sand, or reads numbers on a sign.

Recently, she asked for my help in making some Valentine cards for some special people in her life. We glued and glittered, and then, she asked to write her name on the cards. So, the cards have been sitting for a couple of weeks, while she has been learning how to write each letter of her name. She traced and traced for days. Yesterday, I took off the training wheels, and asked her to do it without tracing my letters. That completely threw her for a loop, and it was a struggle to get her to complete the task. Today, we tried again. Success!

I first wrote her name in marker, then I held her hand and helped her write it. The third line is her writing it by herself! I am excited that she finally has a desire to learn this stuff. The next step is getting her to write her name on those cards and get them sent off.

What I have learned… Its difficult to teach a right handed little girl to write when you are left handed. Also, I am thankful that drivers lessons are years away. I will be spending those years learning to be more patient.

Behind the Typo

2010-02-03T15:38:00.001-08:00

This year for Valentine’s Day, I went all creative and made Sharla’s Valentine’s for her class. I copied, 24-7-365, and made very simple, not-so-time consuming cards for her friends. I really didn’t want to put a lot of time into something, but am a sucker for handmade anything, rather than stuff pulled from a box.

When I picked her up from school today, I came prepared with the camera (for my necessary picture) and a packed lunch (for the kiddo’s while I waited the required hour for my prints at Walmart). Picture. . . check! Walmart. . . not so good.

I was THAT mom today. Both kids crying, me threatening each under my breath. Sharla upset because she is “soooo thirsty”, even though she finished off half a sippy of water on the way to Walmart. Jasper upset because Sharla is hogging the basket space. Now Sharla is mad because Jasper sat on her leg. GRRRRR!!!!

I got my picture upload on their machine, filled out the info as fast as I could, sent the file to the lady on the other side of the machine, and took off into Walmart oblivion for the next hour waiting for my pictures. When the hour was almost up (I doubt I ever actually wait the full hour), I paid without looking at the picture, and got out of that place.

Not until I got home, and unloaded the pictures, did I notice… That it said, “HAPPY VALENTNE’S DAY” on the front of the pictures. I was too busy dealing with my screaming brats to notice I had left out the ‘I’ in her cards. Great. Thanks to Sharpie, I don’t think anyone will notice, but, seriously. Besides, 3 year olds can’t even spell, right?

Anyway, I am still happy with them. On the left is the printed photo (with Sharpie editing), and on the right, you can see the extra goodness!

Bath Foam and Tasty Mermaids

2010-01-26T08:37:00.001-08:00

Getting Real

2010-01-22T10:33:00.001-08:00

A friend pointed out how Mommy Bloggers always post the great stuff in their lives and rarely post the not-so-great stuff. Thus, making them seem perfect and unrealistic. I started this blog as a way to keep distant family in the loop about what we are up to here in SoCal. I feel like I have succeed in this task. What it hasn’t been, however, is a place to post the not so pretty side of life. So, here it is in all its… ahem… glory.

I can’t remember the last time I mopped. Really.

Dusting is not something I care to do, so I rarely do it. When I dust, I do so with my vacuum cleaner.

I would really love to get organized, but where do I start?

My second child enjoys more tv at his young age than his sister did at the same age.

There exists more craft supplies here than, really there is room for. If only I could organize them to better fit the space provided.

If its remotely yucky outside, we stay indoors. Usually means, pajamas stay on till as late as possible, snacks abound.

Reading other peoples blogs makes me feel guilty that we don’t do more learning activities at home. My 4 year old doesn’t recognize her alphabet, at all, and can’t even count to 10. This coming from a mother, who 10 years ago, had plans on having a “flashcard baby”.

When I do housework, I am constantly amazed at how little time it actually took me to do, and how much better it makes me feel about my home. Why can’t I seem to do it more often?

I would love to be able to entertain people. Have dinner parties, couples events, big people birthday parties, and book club meetings. But, entertaining people completely freaks me out. I feel judged and that I have to prove something. Growing up, my family only entertained during major holidays, and it always included days of extreme cleaning. It never included friends, only family. I feel inept and clueless, but for some reason, have that desire.

I have creative ADD, and often start projects that don’t get finished. My project to-do list is huge. Maybe if I organized, I would remember what I haven’t finished…

Speaking of crafts, there are days that I would rather lock myself in my bedroom and create something with the sewing machine than sit down and play with my kids. But, that can only happen when Dad is home, and then I feel guilty that I am not spending time with my family.

I still haven’t figured out how to help out financially while staying home with my kiddos. Another source of guilt.

It totally stresses me out when I haven’t posted on the blog for a week. I am haunted. As if the utter existence of blog land is depending on my contribution. Isn’t that completely ridiculous?

There ya go. While I am at it… I have other goals for this blog in 2010. In addition to posting about my children and being realistic, I want to feel comfortable to post about all the crafty things that are proudly created whilst trying to avoid said children. I would also like to be more witty and interesting in writing my posts, like some bloggers (i.e. here and here). And, finally, I would like to get more people to comment on my blogs, but I guess that goes with being more interesting…

Rainy Day Crafts

2010-01-21T17:24:00.001-08:00

Recently, I discovered a blogging mom that spends an insane amount of time and energy crafting with her kids. She is super creative and dedicated. On this rainy day… we created our own Cardboard Streamer Dress. Sharla enjoyed this activity! She really liked that the final result was something else to do instead of just hanging a finished craft on the refrigerator. She danced and spun around in the Kitchen for a good 20 minutes! Then, she THANKED me for helping her make her very own Cinderella dress. Gotta love it! We built ours out of cut up cereal boxes and lots of staples. For other incredibly inspiring activities, visit her website at Filth Wizardry.

Attempting the Impossible

2010-01-17T08:50:00.000-08:00

In the age of digital photography, the average mom can become her own favorite child photographer. On any given day, I know that if I take enough shots there will be at least one great image that would make anyone proud. Usually. But, I would never be willing to take payment for my pictures.

While in Oregon for the Christmas break, I attempted to take some pictures of Sharla with her cousin. They haven’t seen each other in over two years, and being close in age, my sister and I would like for them to be friends.

Alyssa is doing her best to pose for the picture, while my Precious Little Girl is more interested in making faces for the camera…

Trying so hard to hold still…

Does it not look like Alyssa is totally weirded out Sharla? What about Sharla’s look? It reads, “I don’t like this girl!”. Nice.

Is She picking a wedgie?

Finally, Sharla is smiling! Wait, what? Alyssa looks annoyed. Crap!

Hence the reason why I couldn’t ever bring myself to accept money for my photography. I can just see some poor sap getting all excited about some great shot they have seen me produce, just to receive ones like these. Sheesh!

A Visit From Nana

2010-01-15T19:50:00.001-08:00

In December the Kids’ Nana (my MIL) came to visit. This time, by herself. The last few times that Sharla has seen her Nana, she has been rather busy with her own two small children. Its been a long while since Nana has been able to give undivided attention to her grandbabies. I know Sharla really enjoyed her visit, as did Jasper. All I hear, everyday, is “Mom, I miss Nana. Lets go to her house and ‘prise’ (surprise) her.” But, when offered, she never has a desire to call her Nana on the phone. Go figure.

The New Year

2010-01-04T09:56:00.000-08:00

Wow, seems I have not posted in a while. The holiday season sure turns my normal routine into mush. I have a ton of pictures to share. Brandon's mom came to visit for a few days before Christmas, and then we drove home (Oregon) to surprise the family on Christmas Day. Lots to come.

I leave you with a list of things I have learned over the holiday:

Don't order a gadget from a little no name internet store just because it has the cheapest price. You get what you pay for.
Kids can handle a lot more driving than I previously gave them credit for. We just might have to do that again.
Don't judge those shopping on Christmas Eve. Kids throw curve balls, and well, Santa has to oblige.
I dislike cold weather. Its pretty from inside a cozy car, but sucks once you leave said car.
Sharla's new favorite word, "hate". I am not a fan. I don't know where she picked it up from, but it sounds so harsh coming from a 4 year old's mouth.
The Leapfrog Clickstart should not be played on a 42 inch LCD TV. No one needs to see 6 inch pixelated flounder floating around the screen.
Its not so bad having a 13 inch TV/VCR combo in the kid's room... oh, the possibilities!
Being able to surprise family on Christmas, priceless.
The never ending winter break sniffles being passed around our family, sucks.
So far, my new wii fit (courtesy of us selling the seldom used weight set on Craigslist) is lots of fun. Not that I have done many actual exercises on it, yet.

A "Sorta Sleepover" for Sharla

2009-12-18T13:09:00.000-08:00

For her birthday party, we hosted a sorta sleepover for a few of her friends. The kids came in their jammies, just in time for dinner, and went home ready for bed.

We had breakfast for dinner, so the kids ate sausage and a piece of the Pancake Cake.

They played with slime,

and made their very own sundaes.

And, because I am a firm believer in opening gifts at birthday parties... we did that too. In the first picture, I think Sharla is trying to pretend to care what the card says. The second one, apparently, it was funny?

Sharla had a nice time. I hope her friends did as well.

Four

2009-12-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

Wow, where has the time gone? Today, my little girl is 4 years old. No longer a baby. She has strong opinions of her own (like her Momma), and oozes of personality (like her Daddy).

Four years ago, today, God gave us Sharla Rose Dawson, 8 lbs 11 oz.

At one, she was infatuated with Elmo. She started developing her dramatic girl personality.

At two, Sharla shed her elmo ways and became a lover of all things princess.

At three, her life changed. Our family grew by one, and she was now a big sister. She embraced her new role with such love, it has been amazing to see.

Today, Sharla has grown to be such a sweet, shining girl. She is pleasant to be around, most of the time. The rest... well... lets just say, she reminds me of me.

Learning to tie shoelaces

2009-12-07T12:47:00.001-08:00

No, not Sharla. Its just that, I am always reminded of who tied Sharla's shoes when I pick her up from school. If they are still tied, it was me. If they are untied, dragging on the ground, then Brandon must have done it. He never remembers to double knot the laces!!

Popcorn Turkey

2009-11-28T08:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! We spent ours with friends. It was nice. The only fighting was between the kids. :) Really, though, it was wonderful to spend the day usually reserved for family gatherings, with friends who care. Not living near relatives can make holidays rather uneventful and lonely. I am thankful for the friends we have. On another note...

Sharla's school had a feast before the holiday break, which was rather entertaining to witness. They gathered all the kids around a decorated table, and served a turkey.The pastor of the church got the honor of cutting the turkey, lovingly prepared by the Teddybear class. This turkey... was paper bags filled with popcorn, shaped, and taped together. It was super cute.
The kids waited patiently... ok, not so patiently for most... for their food to arrive. Jasper kept trying to steal seats from the kids that couldn't sit still. He really wanted a place at the table. We were supposed to just observe the preschool feast.
He did find a friend to play drums with, though.

Spaghetti Anyone?

2009-11-17T14:45:00.000-08:00

Surprisingly, our spaghetti fight had very little actual throwing or fighting with pasta of any kind. The kids just wanted to eat and eat and eat. Good thing the pasta was safe to eat!

Fun at the Zoo

2009-11-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

We spent Jasper's birthday at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Turned out to be the best trip to the Zoo we have ever had. It is guaranteed that some animals will be sleeping, and thus not present or at most very unimpressive. But, we got really lucky. The elephants were eating; the Lions roared; a pig snorted at Sharla; an otter squeaked and tried to play with Jasper; the penguins were active; turtles were riding on the backs of caymans... Just a great day to be at the Zoo.

Here, Jasper and Sharla are looking at some red birds. (I can't remember what they are called.)OOh, I love this picture. Its a beautiful shot of the turtle, and you can see Jasper's reflection!
Here is the Cayman with the Turtle sitting on its back. I had to look at it very close to make sure it was real.
Jasper, checking out the penguins...
The otter kept squeaking at Jasper. Little man was just enchanted.

Sharla sliding down the artificial turf hill. Its a zoo attraction, cardboard, and all.
Then Brandon slides down with Jasper. Don't let the look fool you... it slides VERY SLOWLY.

Jasper turns 1!

2009-11-10T08:09:00.000-08:00

I know, candle seems like overkill, but, he knows how to blow when asked to blow on his food when it is hot... so seemed like a good idea...
He was so interested in the bright glow on top of the candle, the concept of blowing was difficult for him to care about. (Unlike his sister, who kept trying to 'help' him) I am having to hold back his hands so he doesn't grab the flame here.
Goes in for a mouthful of flame... (at which time Mom blows candle out)
Comes up with a nose covered with frosting.
A little taste... and he was sold. (Video Below)

Ooey, Gooey goodness between the fingers...
"Hey! Check this out, when I clap, the Ooey Gooey Goodness Flies EVERYWHERE!"
This year has gone by so fast. I look forward to seeing how our little man grows and develops in this coming year. I feel like he is no longer a baby, but just another kid in our house. Crazy.

Happy Halloween - Part 4 (Last one, but good)

2009-11-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

Brandon needed a costume for a Halloween Party we were invited to. He went as a bum last year, and wanted to be a bit more creative. He decided that the brown and cream super hero cape that I made him was good jumping off point. I was kind enough to indulge him, and made him the costume. Lets examine, shall we?

Start with the Super Hero Cape, add a brown eye mask...A holster with Chocolate frosting...
Some brown swirl pads that velcro onto his cape and can be pulled off for throwing...
And a hot cinnamon bun shield... and you have Dessert Man!
What? That cinnamon bun looks like steaming poo? Maybe that is because... IT IS. This is not Dessert Man, folks. My husband went to the party as... wait for it... SHITMAN. Yes. He. Did.

Hot Cinnamon Bun = Steaming Poo
Can of Chocolate Frosting = Poo in a Can
Brown Swirl Pads =Flying Cow Patties
Doesn't he look so proud, standing there in his Shit Suit? Such a dork, I love him, Shit and all.

Happy Halloween - Part 3

2009-11-02T12:40:00.000-08:00

The kids got to dress up quite a few times in their costumes this year. First, Sharla had a party at preschool, of which she dressed as Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. She wanted to wear her actual halloween costume, but it was vetoed, as it has a hoop skirt. I could just see her trying to sit down to eat snack, just to whack the kid next to her with her skirt, showing off her undies in the process.

Then, we had the annual Costume Parade with the moms group. It was super windy, but the kids did not mind. Jasper was Billy Idol, Sharla came as Scarlet O'hara. Her hat would not stay on because of the wind. Although, it was rather entertaining to watch the little boys chase after the runaway hat for her.
On Halloween, we went to the mall for some trick-or-treating. Not a great event. It was sad to see that only a third of the stores participated, and a lot of those handed out random stickers to sports teams. Yay, not. Jasper dressed as a frog, which he enjoyed once he accepted that the hood was not coming off.
Sharla went as Scarlet, again. She just glows in this costume.
Daddy and Jasper after getting their first piece of loot.
Oh yes, he got the wrapper open. That is one determined little boy.
Miss Scarlet turning away from the camera. She kept saying, "But, I don't have a lot of candy". The night was still young. As in, its only 4:30.
After leaving the mall, we went to a church event called, "Trunk or Treat". Church members parked in lot and hosted games for the kiddos out of their trunks. They also gave out lots and lots of candy. Sharla thoroughly enjoyed those games that involved shooting nerf guns.
In all, the kids made it the house before falling asleep, at 7:30. Fun day. Don't think we will do the mall again. I really hope that there is a repeat of Trunk or Treat next year.

Happy Halloween - Part 2

2009-11-01T08:01:00.000-08:00

Halloween day festivities started off with Lunch. We invited friends over to share in the goodness. Sharla enjoyed helping me make all the fun food items on the menu. So much fun.

Happy Halloween - Part 1

2009-10-31T21:29:00.000-07:00

We did the pumpkin patch as part of Sharla's preschool class field trip, this year. Here is Sharla super excited to be at the top of the hay stack. Sorry, no stack in the picture, I zoomed in on all the shots, forgot about the big picture.Sharla and her friend from school are rather connected at the hip. We hear so much about this little girl. They are supposed to be going through a hay maze... but 3 year old have no clue what boundaries are, so when they would get to a place that they did not want to be, up and over the walls they went (Or, on top of the wall, sometimes).
The standard "kid on a pumpkin" shot...
Jasper was rather enamored by all the bright orange balls.
Again, super eager to just touch the pumpkins. He had a great time.
Sharla decided jumping hay walls was not fun enough. Must. Climb. Pumpkins.
Each child got to pick out a pumpkin to bring home. Here, Sharla is showing me the pumpkin she chose. It was a lovely, itty bitty little thing with black icky spots on the back. Perfect!

Sunday Morning Comedy

2009-10-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

A month ago... while in church:

Pastor (during sermon): "Who is the Greatest?"
Sharla: "I am!"
congregation laughs
Pastor: "Amen to good self-esteems".

Today, again, in church:

Pastor (in prayer): "Lord, let us be still" pause
Sharla: lets out a blood curdling scream.
congregation laughs, Daddy promptly removes Sharla from her audience.

When asked later why she screamed, her response was, "to make people laugh". Wonderful.
Of course, it did not help matters, that people remember her response from last time, and commented to her after church today that her behavior was funny. Thanks for the help teaching my child appropriateness. Seriously.

Lesson in Parenting: Learn to embrace embarrassment caused by your child.

Sibling Shots

2009-10-22T15:07:00.000-07:00

Its so nice that we can still have nice weather here, in October. The kids can go outside, explore the innards of toadstools, fight over the ball, pick on each other. You know, the usual.I did get them to be nice to each other for a few minutes. Enough time to get some great sibling shots.

Let's Get Dirty!

2009-10-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

We had a mud party this morning... lots of mud. LOTS of fun.

Kids and Rain

2009-10-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

Playing with our Food

2009-10-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you mix 2 tbs milk with a few drops of food coloring? The perfect bread paint. :)

Sharla and I enjoyed decorating our bread before popping into the toaster, and enjoying our artwork for snack.

Do a search for "painted toast" online lots of examples and plenty of tutorials.

More Mud.

2009-10-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

It always starts by Sharla asking if they can play on the patio. If the kids play on the back patio, they are bound to ask for shovels and buckets. If they have buckets, they will ask to play in the dirt. If you give a kid dirt, she is gonna ask for some water. Dirt and water make mud. Two children and mud, well, it makes for a very good time. It also makes for quite the bathtub ring.

Daddy's Birthday

2009-10-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

For the last week, Sharla and I have been discussing, in private, how we plan to decorate for her Daddy's birthday. Which, when it came down to it... I decorated, while she ordered me around. I think she is taking too many lessons from me. Speaking of which... the whole goal was to make it a surprise party for him. We turned off the lights, lit the 27 candles and waited quietly in the candlelit glow for Daddy to come through the door. Just before he entered... we had this conversation.

S: Mama, can we call Daddy and tell him his cake is on the table?
J: No, if we call him, it won't be a surprise. He is gonna be here in 5 minutes, you can wait.
S: I don't want it to be a surprise.
J: Why not?
S: Its so hard to wait. PLEASE let me call him?

We waited, and she yelled, "Happy Birthday" when he came through the door. He was surprised, and it was great. But, it does tell me, she is too much like me. Brandon rarely gets his gifts on their appropriate day, as I always want him to have them NOW. Seriously, I am that impatient, too.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the decorations. This is quite a disappointment to me, as I was very proud of them, banner, streamers, and balloons. It was festive. :) At least you get to see the cake in of its glowy goodness!

Tent... of sorts

2009-10-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

Two spring rods, a curtain panel, and a hallway... all it takes to keep my kids happy for a good hour.

This is what happens...

2009-09-27T16:31:00.001-07:00

when you drag your family to the Flea Market at the Fairgrounds...

Jasper's First Playground Fight...

2009-09-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

...with the steal platform that leads to the slide. Poor little man, he lost. The first picture was taken on Thursday, a few hours after it happened...

This picture is today, the bruise has settled in nicely to show the black eye he earned from picking a fight with the slide! :)

The joy of Mud

2009-09-15T12:57:00.000-07:00

I am loving the fact that Jasper is now old enough to go outside and play. Mind you, we still have to watch for rocks in the mouth, and eating mud... Sharla is enjoying the idea of having a mud buddy.

The kids played outside for 2 hours yesterday. It allowed me some quite time, and I was able to get dinner ready. By the time they were ready to come in, both had stripped down to their undies/diaper, were completely soaked, muddy, and cold. But, I could tell, they both thought it was worth it.

Beach Babes

2009-09-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

We waited for the heat to break this weekend, before heading to the beach. We set out on Monday, labor day. It was lovely. Worked out great, too, since most everything else was closed.