52:104 The Clockwise Man by Justin Richards

I did it! With just minutes to spare, I completed book number 104 for the year! This was a fun Doctor Who book featuring the 9th Dr and Rose. I thought the writer did a good job with their characters, the story was well written and gripping, with some fun little twists.

And the boys have all decided that I need to make 104 my goal from the start for this year. A bit nervous about doing it again but I'll do my best. They think these goals are fun to make for me. LOL

52:103 The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

Fun book, quick read. The notes from Ablus were a very nice touch.

What holiday season wouldn't be complete without a...

trip to the ER? The last couple of years the boys have been preferring Easter or their real favorite, Valentine's Day but after 5yrs, we got to visit an ER during December thanks to Nico and on the last night of Hanukkah no less. We were at my grandmother's house to celebrate and were getting ready to leave. Nico needed his diaper changed and Mark was trying to catch him when he decided to start going over the couch back and forth to get away. He slipped off the couch and fell backwards and hit the back of his head on the corner of her granite table. Of course, head wound=blood everywhere. We did get ice on it and managed to almost stop the bleeding and it was off to the ER to get it looked at. He was in good spirits and after getting it cleaned up, I was finally able to see it and it was a 1" gaping wound. He did really good letting the Dr. numb it up, handled being wrapped up well, and had no problems with them cleaning it thoroughly but boy was he upset when the first staple went in. I was right there holding him as much as I could while he lay there and as soon as the second staple went in and he was done, I had him in my arms. He really was so good through it all and is sleeping peacefully now. We need to check him every couple of hours through the night to make sure he responds to stimulus tho we don't need to fully wake him.

So yeah, fun night. Now of course, Mark and I are wired and can't sleep. Time to finish watching season 3 of Hell's Kitchen.

52:102 The Cat Who Smelled a Rat by Lilian Jackson Braun

While the formula is still there, she's at least been going a bit more intense with the characters and fleshing out friendships a bit more, adding a little bit more past history in, giving a few little more details. It's gotten a bit more fun and light rather than boring and tedious which is nice as well.

52:101 No Humans Involved

The next book in the Women of the Otherworld series. This time we follow Jamie Vegas, necromancer, during a shoot for a television show but of course, she ends up finding much more than she bargained for and the ghosts just won't leave her alone.

It's been fun watching Jamie grow as a character from the ditz we met back in Industrial Magic through Broken and now to her own novel. The book managed to explore a bit of where she's come and why certain things were important to her but allowed her to grow and figure out who she is and what she really wants from life. Of course, it also introduced the main character of the next book and saw several of favorites from previous books make appearances. Continuing to be a very fun series. I'm starting the last book that is currently out in paperback and am having to chant to myself "I WILL wait for the next one to come in paperback before buying it, I WILL wait for the next one to come in paperback" I might be able to pull it off this one last time but the book after that is going to be about the Men of the Otherworld and I'm really hoping we learn a lot more about Jeremy and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to hold off on that one.

It's that time of the year

To be sick, and apparently stay sick. The cold that lingered has decided to command a repeat performance complete with full sinus mischief (stuffed yet draining with post nasal drip) and has taken up residence in my lungs again. It's lovely. I was so hoping to get a bunch of cleaning done while Mark was home and we didn't have any of the boys usual things going on but that just isn't happening right now. Instead, I've spent the last two days camped out in a comfy chair in the living room while staying in my pjs wrapped in a blanket vegging and watching Gordon Ramsey shows and playing on my laptop. I'm feeling better but not wonderful. Totally stinks. And what's even worse than feeling so lousy??? I didn't even feel well enough to read on Friday! That's just completely unfair in my opinion. I have managed to get some work done on some computer pet projects so the time hasn't been completely wasted but still....

I want to be healthy again!!! This stupid thing has been lingering around for over a month now. :(

Merry Christmas!

I took melatonin around 1a and the kids were up at 2a so I'm guessing Santa came somewhere in the time between. The kids started coming into our room around 4a and made sure we didn't sleep past 6:15a since we all know that sleeping in on Christmas morning is against Nature's Law. Not only had Santa come but in his short time here, he managed to locate Jonathan's DS which has been missing for months. Despite my trying to slow things down, the kids tore through their presents like the Tasmanian Devil with flying wrapping paper filling the air. Since all is now quiet as they are busy with their new toys, I can only assume that they were happy with what they received. Now to find some food for them (we conked before pre-making our breakfast last night) and a bit of clean up before we head off to visit with my dad. Here's hoping the weather improves before we have to leave as it's raining buckets right now.

Merry Christmas to all!

Fudge Verdict

It's mine....all mine!!!! Bwahahahaha










Ok, maybe in the spirit of the season I'll share..... a little bit. Maybe....

The cold that wouldn't leave

It seems like we've been down with this same cold for over a month now but I can only assume we got rid of one but were immediately beset with another one due to a weakened immune system. I think I've maybe had 1-2 days where I wasn't coughing since the week before Thanksgiving. Nico started feeling warm, being clingy and cranky, and sounding awful yesterday and tonight I have a headache, sinus pressure, and chest tightness to go with the neverending cough. It's not been anything bad, it's just been annoying and slowing me down some when I most want to be getting things done. I'm managing to do so but it's definitely been more effort than it should be.

Speaking of which, in the last two days we've basically gotten the boys room decluttered (4 bags to donate and one bag of trash), wrapped all the presents, kept up with all the dishes and laundry, balanced the checkbook (first time since July), paid the bills, made up the budget, did the grocery shopping, and made a HUGE batch of spaghetti sauce (ok, Mark helped with this one). So I'm getting something done even if starting around 8p I have a toddler firmly camped out in my lap and I'm fine with having an excuse not to have to move.

In other news, we tried two new fudge recipes this year: one from Alton Brown and one from Emeril. The conclusion was that the Alton recipe had a better, richer chocolate taste but that the Emeril one had a divine texture but tasted a bit more like caramel than chocolate. So being of sound mind, we are combining the two as a double batch to see if we can't get the best of both worlds since the directions are basically the same. I'll report back tomorrow to let you know how that goes but don't count on getting any. I have a strange feeling it will be disappearing almost as soon as it's made. LOL

52:100 Broken by Kelley Armstrong

In Broken, we return to check in with Elena and the pack. She is now pregnant and since she's the only living female werewolf this makes for an interesting concept. She is bored since neither Jeremy nor Clay want her straining herself at all but now a job has come up to keep her occupied, maybe a little more so than they bargained for.

Another page turner. Fast, fun, well written. I found that the author did a good job of keeping Elena's basic personality while introducing motherhood into it. Not always easy to do. It was nice to see that Clay has maintained his personality as well but has also started learning not to be so smothering. Wish we could learn a bit more about Jeremy as he continues to be enigmatic but that's not such a bad thing. Continuing to really enjoy this series.

Quiet Weekend

I managed to stay home the whole weekend tho that meant that poor Mark had to run the errands. I managed to get all the presents wrapped and under the tree and in the Hanukkah bags and the last few things ordered. Did a lot of reading and a lot of laundry and cleaning in the boys room. Still have quite a bit to declutter in there but we've definitely made a good dent and will continue to do a bit each day. Tomorrow I'm planning on getting the bills finally caught up and decluttering the living room and dining room, mostly focusing on Nico's toys and the art supplies. I also need to bake a cake so I can try the recipe before making it for Christmas dinner. Still haven't decided if the boys are going to KSW or if I'm going to try to go to Curves. I'll probably need to leave at some point tho, just to go do the grocery shopping if nothing else. *sigh* I've really been enjoying not going any where but thankfully a trip to the grocery store isn't a humungous deal, even with 4 boys in tow.

52:99 The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming by Lemony Snicket

A fun little story about a latke's birth, subsequent escape from the frying pan, and his annoyance at trying to explain how he was connected to Hanukkah and didn't go with Christmas at all. Very cute and the boys loved it. Matthew read it to us first but Nico was climbing on me so I couldn't hear it and read it silently afterwards. Nico then took it and read it to all of us "Ahhhhhhh....run way!" is apparently on every page. LOL

I didn't leave the house today!

And I was so happy about it! I got caught up on the laundry, stayed caught up on the dishes, taught lessons (and have very little of those to do over vacation), made a huge batch of chili for dinner and freezing, and finished a book. In all, a good day.

And if all that wasn't enough, I got a bunch of fun new books off of Freecycle and Mike is over and everyone is staying up late and playing Guitar Hero (except Jonathan who conked out on the couch).

Yep, life is good.

52:98 Haunted by Kelley Armstrong

In this Women of the Otherworld book, we get to tag along with the dead Eve as she pursues a demi-demon in this world and the next. Again, I like how the author jumps from main character to main character so we continue to get to know the people but there is a much greater cast to follow and learn about. With 150 pages left in the book, I found myself having a hard time tearing away from it to do those pesky mundane things like teach kids or fold laundry but I got those done and finished it as well. A very well written series and I'm off to start the next one (as soon as I get the dishes done).

Just one more day, just one more day, just one more day

Yes, I've been counting down the days until Winter Break, not just because it means I don't have to teach for 2wks but because it means a lack of all normal activities and since we are staying in town for the holidays, it's only 3 day trips to visit relatives in a 2wk span of time. Seriously, I only have to leave the house 3 times in 2wks plus grocery trips!!! Considering my normal week is some activity/class/therapy thing needing me to drive someone, somewhere at least 6xs/wk, this is a true vacation for me and I'm soooooo ready for it.

To celebrate, today I:

• Got the reservations made for the clubhouse for my dad's birthday in February
• Dropped off a Discovery Toys order
• Took the boys to the SFZoo for Nico's class and ice skating
• Dropped off food with my brother Mike
  
• Drove across SF to go to one of my good chocolate stores to pick up some Christmas gifts
• Drove home through rush hour traffic

Now Nico is asleep and has been for hours. I'm expecting a horrid night ahead, likely spent in the living room since Mark isn't getting in until around 11p tonight. Tomorrow we just have swim class for the youngest three and then I'm not leaving the house for DAYS!!!! Seriously! I need to spend some serious time decluttering, organizing, and cleaning and I plan to do just that. I know it's pathetic that I'm thrilled to death with the thought that I'll actually be able to do that but it just goes to show how pathetic I've become when that is cause for great rejoicing. Of course, the biggest thrill is that Mark will be home from Dec 24 through Jan 4 and his work is SHUT DOWN during that time so he'll actually be able to spend time with US! I know he'll likely be on a plane again Jan 5 but at least we'll have 12 days with him here with us at home. Heaven!

Ok, the older ones are now stuck in front of the TV and in need of dinner plus we have some schoolwork to finish up. Ugh! I guess I should go get on that stuff instead of sitting here in front of the computer, huh?!

This can't be normal

Seriously. I'm not saying I'm any sort of expert on normal, especially not normal child development but still, Nico can't be normal. None of my friends talk about their kids doing what he comes up with so I can only assume that it's not normal. Here's a list of a few things that seem very out of place to me:

• By the age of 2, could find laptop bag, remove laptop, remove cord, plug cord into wall and into laptop correctly, power on, and only needed someone to type in password so he could then use the bookmarks to get onto Nick Jr.
• By 2½ had figured out how to use the browsers history buttons to go onto sites mommy did not deem appropriate for him but that big brothers liked visiting. He now knows that "a" is for addictinggames.com We give the big boys a course in clearing their cache.
• Today, figured out how to make his own popcorn in the microwave. Only problem was leaving the outer plastic bag on but otherwise got the popcorn just right. Was very proud of himself.

I understand that turning on the tv is no big deal, nor is changing channels, picking dvds out, loading the player, etc. He's been doing all that for ages. But he's figured out that if things don't turn on, go look and see if mommy unplugged them and they can be plugged back in. Yeah, seriously. He totally rocks at Guitar Hero and Rock Band now and can even make it through a song on Rock Band playing the drums on easy. Yes, he needs to be rescued twice but he still makes it through. He's getting further and further on songs on guitar too.

The biggest question in my mind is will he become some sort of supervillian evil genius or eventually learn to harness this great intellect for the good of all humanity. Only time will tell.

52:97 Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong

I'm really loving the world she has created and love the fact that we keep following different characters who flow from one book to the next with some connections so you see people moving around in all the books. I think it's a great basis for a series because you aren't just following the same people in their same little world through 16+ books and the only plot line is to watch them grow more powerful. Here we watched the relationship between Paige and Lucas develop and learn more about his world, the world of the Cabals, while also learning more about the way vampires behave in this mythos.

Very nicely put together and I'm very glad I picked up the whole series after I tore through the first one. I would hate to have to wait to hit the bookstore before getting to read the next one.

52:96 The Cat Who Robbed a Bank by Lilian Jackson Braun

A bit better than the last few. We got a little backstory on Qwill and why he doesn't know anything about his family. Other than that, a basic fluff book.

First swim class for Nico

and first in a long time for Jonathan and Matthew. Originally it was just to be Jonathan and Nicholas doing swim since those are the two I'm worried about in the water but Matthew asked if he could do swim lessons too and we did stop him early and there are some things I know would help make him safer (and it's great physical activity for him) so I told him that if they would let him swim with Jonathan or at the same time as Jonathan or Nicholas, it was fine. Turns out they had no problems with him joining Jonathan's class so the two of them swim together (and are the only two in the class so it's nice and small). Today they were both tested by the sub to see what their levels were (regular teacher will be back next week so they'll meet her for the first time then). I thought Jonathan would likely be a blue level and Matthew a red and turns out I was right. It's good because that means they are one level apart so that lets the class work and it shows that Jonathan isn't too far off from being ok in the water but he is a bit on the weak side so the swim lessons now will pay HUGE dividends in the summer with him being strong enough that I don't need to freak every time he gets a few feet away from me.

As for Nico, well, as with all my boys, he's a fish. No surprise. He took to his teacher quickly (and it turns out she lives down the street from us) and had a great time in the class tho by the end of the 1/2 hour, he was obviously slowing down. The concentrated swimming and activity rather than being able to sit a bit when he felt like it definitely challenged him a bit which is good. I'm hoping he sleeps well tonight as a result. LOL He participated in the circle songs (not like he has much choice since I'm the one moving him through the water LOL) and the only thing he didn't like was when we tried to work on his back float. I've not met many kids who do like that as it's a lack of control for them and very disconcerting but we'll do a little bit each week and I know it will get better. The teacher asked me how many ribbons he had and was a bit shocked when I told her none, it was his first class. I went on to explain that I used to teach there and had worked with him at other pools but was wanting something a bit more formal and consistent which is why we are doing swim classes again. She understood and agreed with my private assessment that he was at a green level as was the other girl in the class which made it a very advanced toddler class. Nicholas's one disappoint of the day was that he isn't allowed on the slide until he turns 3 so he has another 2 mos to wait. The weird thing is that means in another 2mos, I'll be phasing out of the pool with him so he's going to have to trade mommy for slide. I don't think it will be a contest, after all, he has me the rest of the time. LOL

Sorry I don't have pictures today. Christopher was doing yearbook stuff at Park Day today with Matthew's camera and the battery in my camera was dead. Definitely next week tho.

Zoo clas, Day 2, and Ice Skating, Day 1 (tons of pics)

Zoo class went incredibly well today. Nico was ready to go right into the building and I had to tell him that it wasn't time yet so let's go see some other animals. He took it well but was quite happy to leave the animals for class time when I said so. No fights, no arguments, no tantrums. We went in and he immediately settled in over at the sand table with a little girl and they played very nicely together filling up some buckets using spoons. The only issue was when it was clean up time and he had a different idea of how to clean up that area than the teacher did. LOL Circle time was still a bunch of clinging to mom but towards the end he was participating a little in between being a cling-on. He ran right over to the tables with the other kids for art time and shared feathers very well with Alex. He cleaned up quickly and nicely. I'm not sure what happened but I walked over to the circle room again and found Nico making silly faces in the mirror and then Alex hitting him in the back. The other parents swore that Nico didn't do anything so I'm just glad he didn't instigate or retaliate. He participated in the animal life activity but still wasn't into the whole music time thing. He was pretty good at snack time but I had to keep poking my head out to deal with the big boys so he would have to come see what I was doign so that was more disruptive than I would have liked. (note to self, pack things other than schoolwork for Jonathan unless he can complete it independently) He started getting a little antsy when it was time for the animal visitor and just wanted to go outside or read a book. I let him look at a book on my lap but the second the turtle actually came to visit, he perked up until after his turn to pet it. Then he went back to his book and when I tried to read it to him and Benjamin who was sitting next to us, he told me no and went and got a book for Ben and then handed a few more out to some of the other kids before I could get him to come back with me. We all went together to go see the penguins today and he was hanging out with the other children watching the birds swim.
After that we were still waiting for Mike to join us so we headed over to the train for a ride and Nico had the biggest grin since we were going on the choo-choo. Mike joined us after our ride and we took a tour through the new Bear Gully since Mike hadn't seen it and then headed for lunch which provided us with an interesting game of defend your food from the vultures seagulls. I've decided we are ALWAYS eating at the Leaping Lemur Cafe from now on since it has the only indoor dining area.Now what the boys had been bugging for since last week, ice skating....

I have to say they all did really well. Christopher used to play ice hockey and still loves to roller blade so that wasn't a huge surprise but it was hard because these were figure skates with the toe pick. I don't understand why they give figure skates when it's easy to transfer from figure to hockey but not so easy to go from hockey to figure. *shrug* Matthew hasn't been on the ice in ages and I think Jonathan was Nico's age last time he went out and of course, Nico's never been. Matthew only fell twice since he was approaching it in a much calmer manner and going for the slow but steady (and not falling down) way of doing things. Jonathan was going full tilt which meant a lot more falling but he was doing really well and skated the length of the rink several times without falling and at a decent speed. Nico was wearing special training skates I bought back when Christopher was his age that are like old-fashioned roller skates that adjust to fit over your shoe but have 4 little blades rather than wheels. They all had a great time and there was much laughing and shouting of "I did it!" from the three younger ones. My greatest accomplishment was not falling at all even when I had kids in either hand who both fell at the same time. It's already been decided we need to go again next week after Nico's class.

Unfortunately the end of our zoo trip did not go as well. Jonathan didn't fully close the tailgate when we got the stroller out so the dome light must have stayed on the whole time we were in the zoo (about 5hrs) so we got back to a dead battery. Apparently no one in SF carries any jumper cables and Mark has our only set in the Escort. I didn't have my AAA card on me so had to call them and ask them to look me up except they have my name misspelled so it's a huge production for them to look me up because they can't look up by address. Ugh! Thankfully once they found me in the system (20min later) it was only a few minutes before the calvary showed up to give us a jump and send us on our way.

Coming home to a house filled with the scent of cooked corned beef soon chased away any crabby moods and I set about getting the carrots and potatoes in to cook with the meat and we all sat down to watch a movie and kick it and that's pretty much what we've done with the rest of our night.

52:95 Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong

Fun book. Not deep (wasn't expecting deep) but a good fun read. I stayed up last night to finish it between coughing fits because I just didn't want to put it down. I'm glad the author didn't go with the total "happily ever after" ending the character was expecting but rather a more realistic approach (well, as realistic as you can get considering the material LOL). I found this book to be more fast-paced with better character development and personal interaction than the last one. I'm thinking the last one may have been an aberration for the author. I hope so as I am enjoying these books and the characters. One person told me that since she weaves the stories of so many women into these books that you sort of get hooked on the first woman you meet and the others don't grip you as well but I have to say I didn't find that to be true. I found Paige just as interesting as Elena and am starting the next book to see what else Paige's life has in store for her.

Just a blah kind of day

Not in terms of weather but just emotionally. Nico came into my room just as my alarm went off again and it took almost an hour to settle him again. I got dressed before grabbing my shower. The other boys didn't want to get up this morning and we had somewhere we needed to be an hour away at 11a. I woke Nico up at 9:35a. We barely made it. The boys are sick of the LHS except for the classes. The traveling exhibit has lots its pull after 5 trips so after our class this morning, we hightailed it out of there. I've never spent so little time there before, ever. Safeway was out of the sale item I was looking for so I had to wait in line for 10min to get the raincheck and then argue with the woman giving it to me that I didn't need them to special order the item since it's soup and I'm going to get a variety of flavors. I did manage to get the Hepa Filter from freecycle so that was good. I wrote a post on the board I admin for last night and got zero replies. It's usual and I came to the decision today that I'm just done there. I'll be a technical admin but that's it because being there but knowing no one cares one whit about me or my family just hurts and it's been like this for years now. I remember back when I started this incarnation of the board a little over two years ago, I replied to every single post, made sure everyone felt welcome, bent over backwards to give people attention and let them know how important they were. But no matter what I did, no one cared if I posted. My kid could cure cancer, drop dead, or kill someone and they wouldn't care. It's one big clique and I've seen so many people leave because the "in crowd" didn't acknowledge their existence. I tried to fight against that and help them see that they were important but one person can't do it all and at this point, I'm done trying. Heck, at this point, they hardly even care when I fix their problems or anything else, most of which takes hours of my time and that benifits them. But geez, I have a bad day and look for support, crickets are noisier than they are. I want to share that Nico is finally talking, they could care less. I think my turning point was last year when I was so worried with all the autism talk and his sleep issues and only one person (who I really am friends with) actually bothered to post in response. I don't think I've ever really gotten over that hurt. I've forgiven them, but the couple of times I've tried posting since then about other things have gotten the same lack of response and I have to realize that for whatever reason, it's just not meant to be. I've made a couple of really good friends there and I will keep in touch with them but as for the rest, they can have their board and I'll stay away which seems to be what they wanted all along.

Sorry this was pretty much a "poor pity me" post but I needed to get this out and move on and I don't really have any other place I can put this. I know they won't see this here because that would mean they actually cared enough to know about this blog and I know the odds of that are astronomical.

Tree pics

Here's a shot from next to the tree we picked out looking over the bridge to the hill of trees that is just a small part of the farm:


The boys standing next to our tree before we started cutting it down. Sorry it's blurry, Nico didn't want to stand still for it. LOL
Dad getting things started:
Christopher giving it a try. Apparently it's a lot harder than it looks. LOLMatthew trying it under the close supervision of Jonathan:


Nico showing us that the trees aren't really as big as we think they are....or maybe he's just not as small as we think he is. LOL

Jonathan trying to figure out how to get under the tree far enough to actually try sawing on it.

Nico was telling daddy to "bak off, I do!"

And of course, how could we be at Santa's Tree Farm without stopping in to see the big guy himself:

Nico hanging an ornament on the tree. He was really getting into the whole ornament thing this year.

And our tree, fully decorated at last:

The holidays are definitely here!

We went out and got our tree today. The boys voted unanimously for the cut-it-yourself place. We haven't had tons of luck there in the past but gave it another go. We drove around looking at the different lots (that place is HUGE) and nothing was hitting me but at one of the farthest lots, things looked better so we got out and had found our tree within a few minutes. All of the boys took turns sawing away at it and it's now home and almost fully decorated. We found some more ornaments for the boys but two were already asleep so they'll get to finish those in the morning and then I'll take pics of the finished tree and post everything at one time. Our indoor wreath is up, our menorah out, the marching penguins out, and Tinkerbell is presiding over all. We ended up hitting Hallmark on the way home to let the boys pick out this years ornaments and while there, Mark snuck this years Scarlett O'Hara ornament into the purchase. It's the one of her in the green picnic outfit which is probably my favorite dress in the whole movie. Just another thing to show how truly blessed I am.

I've managed to do a bit more of the holiday shopping (thank you internet) today. I really need to find the time this week to finish taking care of the bills and cataloging the presents so I know how much I have left to do. At least I know Mark is done, Mona and her family is done as soon as I call Lego to renew subscriptions, BIL's daughters are done, and I have a start on the boys and Mark's parents. I really wish there had been better deals through the year so I could be basically done by now instead of still scrambling. Oh, well. Hopefully next year.

Another day, another activity

Today it was the Farallone View Holiday Bazaar. The universe kept trying to tell me not to go, but as we all know, I have a hard head and don't hear very well. First, Nico got up at 7:30a as I was supposed to be getting dressed and getting the last bits and pieces together. He stayed attached to me like a parasitic leech for the next hour. I was only able to get dressed by listening to him scream and kick the bathroom door. When I finally detached him, I was already 30min behind schedule and Mark's computer had been having issues so my sign for the jewelry fire sale was still not printed. My printer decided it was also on holiday and going to take 20min to print out one page of business cards. I finally had everything ready to go and was thanking my lucky stars that this would be a much easier set-up than previous years since all the display equipment for my jewelry went up in flames 2yrs ago. But the universe was not ready to give up so easily and had one more curve ball to throw my way. I backed my car up, put her into drive, and got about 10' before it completely died on me. I mean completely, totally, I couldn't even unlock the doors with the button nor could I turn on the emergency blinkers, died on me. I ran into the house and got Mark who fixed it (it's a known flaw in the design with the battery connections) but we both forgot that would reset the alarm. My clicker thingy that disables the alarm broke a few months ago so now I'm really late and the alarm is going off and the car won't start with the key until we disable the alarm. Mark started getting his car ready to go while I searched my car for the pieces of the clicker to see if I could piece enough of it back together to get it to shut down the alarm rather than having it go off all day. I finished first and was finally able to get on my way, all the while fearing that the car would decide to die as I pulled onto the highway or something. Thankfully it didn't and I was able to get there and get through the day.

So the good, I got to see several people I haven't seen in a while and catch up a little. I was also right next to my dad and step-mom so I had lots of good conversation. The bad, people were not there to shop for their kids so I didn't sell any Discovery Toys and they don't want to have to paw through containers of jewelry so I sold very little of that even at 50% off. *sigh* I guess I'm going to need to find some cheap way of displaying things for next year in a small area. Maybe do something up high so the Discovery Toys can be on the table. Not sure but something to think about. So I didn't even make my $60 back. I had a few people take brochures for DT but I'm not holding my breath on it actually doing anything.

So now onto playing catch-up after this crazy week and getting things cleaned up and rearranged for getting our tree tomorrow. I also need to get through our trip photos and posting some of those here plus try to get our holiday card done and out. That's not too much to do all in what's left of this weekend, right?!

KSW Potluck Party

It was a fun if a little long on the demonstration as usual. We really need to remember to not bring food or Nico until at least an hour after it starts as the food gets cold and Nico spends the entire time running around like a maniac. Tonight I was treated to running through Safeway after him as he went in one door, circled around the display of Christmas candy and managed to slip by me to get to the other door (please bear in mind that I'm wearing heels during this). I managed to get him just outside the door and before he headed to the parking lot or wherever else he thought would cause even more chaos. Eventually we did get to the end of the demonstration and to the food (yes, it was mostly cold, even the stuff that should have been hot). The kids all had a good time "run way" as Nico would say. The kids did a secret santa exchange and it looks like their presents went over fairly well and they enjoyed what they got (ok, Christopher isn't thrilled with the Jamba Juice GC but yet he always wants me to buy it for him....teenagers!).

Nico fell asleep in the car on the way home so now I need to get things ready for the Holiday Bazaar tomorrow. I'm mostly going to sell Discovery Toys but I'm taking some of my jewelry as well and marking it down just to try and reclaim some space in my house. It's going to be many years before I'm able to pursue that again so I'd like to have some room for other things in the meantime.

52:94 Stolen by Kelley Armstrong

The second book in the Women of the Otherworld series. I loved the first book and this was well written but there was a lot less diving into the characters than the first and I'm pretty sure it's because she was introducing the new characters that the next couple of books will be about. I understand that motivation since this series jumps between characters frequently but at the same time, I was a bit disappointed that this almost seemed to be the sole reason for writing this book. We really learned nothing new about Elena or the pack, it was a very simple kidnap/rescue/revenge plot. Still a fun read and it was nice jumping back into the world since I've been away for a bit and am now reading the whole series but still lacking in the depth department that characterized the first.

Second DT Day

Well, I made a mistake and didn't double check my times. Turns out, they don't come in until around 12:30p on Thursdays. I was there at 9am thinking I was running late. Not like I minded at all. I hung out in my truck, drinking my starbucks and reading my book. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I also got a little bit of Christmas shopping done so all was well. I ended up making a couple of sales today which was a total bonus and I have a few emails to send out tomorrow to follow up on a couple of people who had said they were going to order. With me paying the shipping, my commission this time out will be small but since these are my first gigs, I'd rather a smaller commission this time but return customers rather than less sales now and people not as interested.

Mike did great with the boys, even if Nico's new phrase of the day was "I kill Jonny!" Gotta love video games and of course, they play the ones I don't like when Mike is in charge. *sigh* I should have told him where the guitars where so Nico could practice. LOL

Went to game night afterwards and Mark met us there once his plane landed but we were all tired so took off early (tho Christopher got to stay longer with a friend). Of course, it's not like the kids gave us any break once we got home and it's been over an hour of yelling at them to get them to bathe and do their evening pick-up. *sigh* I really just want to finish my current book and go to sleep.

First Zoo Class

So today was Nico's first class at the zoo. I think he did pretty well over all even tho if you ask him, he tells you he didn't have any fun. LOL He played with the toys to start and then clung to me during circle time. He happily went over to the art station for his animal project and sat with a boy named Sam. They shared the cotton balls nicely with each other and afterwards found a book and were naming the animals in it to each other. Very cute to see. He didn't participate much in music time but did a little. He sat nicely for snack with a little girl, Hailey, and listed to the teacher read a story. After he sat nicely in my lap and pet the bunny just like the teacher instructed. He only got really restless towards the end of petting time since he had pet second and was wanting to go by the time the bunny made it full circle. We didn't end up staying with the class when it went out into the zoo to meet the Polar Bears as the big boys wanted to go to the Insect Zoo which was right there and then to get lunch and of course, the lure of his big brothers outweighs all else. But in all, I think he did really well and I'm hoping that this will be something he can continue to enjoy for a while to come.

52:93 The Cat Who Saw Stars by Lilian Jackson Braun

I think this one was even more boring than the ones before it. Nothing really happened. He went to Mooseville, took part in some charity events, guy fell overboard and died, wife then died during a natural accident. Whatever. You never got to know the characters so you didn't care when they died or about confessions or anything else. Forget formulaic, this was just plain boring.

52:92 I am a Dalek by Gareth Roberts

Labeled as a Quick Reads book and I'll certainly agree. I started yesterday afternoon and was almost done before falling asleep last night. Simple but fun story with the 10th Doctor and Rose. I found that it was very easy to hear his voice in my head the way he was written but Rose was harder. I don't think the author captured her as well. A fun, quick, little read if you have an hour or two of uninterrupted time. I'm going to hand it off to the boys now since Matthew was eyeing it when I brought it home. LOL

52:91 World War Z by Max Brooks

The Oral History of the Zombie War. Max Brooks covers this grim topic with sensitivity and compassion, leaving the words of the survivors to tell the tale of this horrific war. Going from country to country, getting the inside information on how different countries battled the Living Dead and how they eventually turned the tide, and finally how they are dealing with the aftermath.

Seriously, a great read. Max Brooks has definitely put a lot of thought into how things would go down should the dead rise. As for me, if it happens, I'm heading to his house.

Home again

We got in around midnight (thank you stinky LA traffic), got a few things unpacked, a load into the washing machine, checked the mail, tried to get my computer up (it didn't like that thought and took a few hours and multiple reboots this morning to get happy again), and then went to bed. Not sure when Nico fell asleep as he decided to bunk in the boys room. He slept with them the whole trip except for the one middle-of-the-night party so I'm hoping we can just get their room together and he can finally move fully in and we can dismantle the toddler bed from my room. Ahhhh...space!

So now that we are home, there are tons of things to get done for the week ahead since it will be busier than normal now that the holiday month is fully upon us. The parties are already starting plus I have Discovery Toys stuff that needs to get done. In addition to all that, I really need to get all the holiday shopping done. I'm maybe close to 1/2 way done but just haven't gotten lucky on the sales through the year to actually get things wrapped up early. *sigh* I did pick up a few more things at Disneyland for various people but still, lots to do, and I haven't even wrapped any of the stuff that we currently have in the house and I have no idea when I'm going to find time to do that. Hmmmmm....December 23rd anyone? LOL

52:90 Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow

Mark's been telling me to read this one for a while and since he had my captive in the car for several hours during the drive home yesterday and knew I'm getting desperate since there is basically a month left to the year and I still needed to finish 15 books, he offered to read it to me. Gotta love a man who will support these weird things you challenge yourself too (he also finished posting my blog entry last night since the network kept crashing when I was trying to post during dinner). He managed to get all but the last 10 pages read during our trip home. Too bad he didn't start before LA. LOL I finished it up myself this morning.

On to the book. I had no idea what to expect from it except that Disney would somehow be involved. It did involve Disney but man, no way could I have predicted this story line. Set far in the future where death has been cured, everyone is hooked into the net so you have instant information about everyone and everything available at the blink of an eye, people can download things directly to you, and everything is run on a meritocracy. We follow Jules around as he has come back to DisneyWorld to reinvent himself after dying and being brought back from a back-up copy. This time, he ends up staying at DisneyWorld rather than moving on and we see why that is a huge mistake for him. Trapped in webs of lies and deceptions, murdered but brought back into a flawed copy, trying to save the Haunted Mansion. Definitely a must read for SciFi fans and Disneyfiles alike.

From the road

Sitting in a Red Robin in Coalinga posting from the stupid iPhone again. Traffic through LA stunk big time but is thankfully looking better now. Hoping to be home around midnight but wasn't sure if I'd be able to get online and post before the witching hour. I've made of this far and I won't be beaten by some crummy traffic.

I think he's growing again

Today was a pretty lazy day but still, I don't see that as any reason why Nico would yet again fall asleep at 5:30p. He again slept through dinner (this time at a nice oriental buffet), slept through being taken out, put back in, and taken out of the car again and then put into bed. I'm dreading the witching hour of 4:30a when he will likely wake up and want to party for a couple of hours. Considering we are planning on leaving here around lunch tomorrow, that means a long drive home into the wee hours of the morning after a hellacious night being up with Mr. WhoKnowsWhatTheHeckIsGoingOnWithHisSleep.

I just wish he would let Mark take care of him but everything is all about "Mommy" these days. I can be the only one in the house working on a project while Dad and brothers are sitting around watching TV and yet I'm the only person in the world who can get him his snack or juice or whatever it is. I love him dearly and I'm glad he loves me too, but geez kid, it's a cup of milk!

Anyone want to trade places with me? Anyone? Bueller?

Happy GobbleGobble Day

It's been a wonderful day surrounded by family and loved ones for us here. To all my friends and family who weren't with us, I hope you had a fabulous day as well!

The boys had a great time playing Rock Band before and after dinner at Uncle Ken's house. Nico was right in the mix as always and even managed to hold his own on drums a few times. Not bad for a 2.5yr old. After dinner we joined Ken and Karma at Kalub's hockey game to cheer his team, San Diego Gulls, on. They won handily, 4-1.

Now the boys are settling down watching a movie and I'm off to do the same with Mark and just chill. I'm tired but it's a good tired.

Just kicking it

Not much going on here besides the rain. Nico went down last night at 5:30p and woke at 4:30a for 2hrs before going back to sleep for another 2hrs. We went to the new house in Pine Valley for lunch but came back to the house in SD to do laundry and catch up on some stuff while grandpa napped back at PV. Just waiting for the next load to get done so I can do more folding. Cause you all know how exciting that is and I just have to blog about it so you can all be jealous of me doing laundry on vacation. LOL

My new project (yeah, I know, like I needed another) is to create a database with all my classic book lists in it and marked appropriately as to which lists the books are on so I can start with reading the books that are on the most lists and then go on from there. Apparently I need a life as I think this is so cool that I must share my OCD vision with everyone. LOL

Otherwise, things are going well here. The boys are behaving mostly and playing way to many video games. Seriously, we hardly see them but they are mostly quiet. It's going to be a big shock to their system when we get home and I cut them all off again, especially Nico.

We are talking about heading home on Saturday now rather than Sunday. This next week is insane since in addition to all our previously normal stuff we are starting the zoo class for Nico (tho dumping his gymnastics), we have the AYSO board dinner on Tuesday, I'm doing a Discovery Toys open house on Thursday, it's the KSW holiday party on Friday, and I'm doing the Farallone View holiday bazaar on Saturday. Oh yeah, and I think we are getting our Christmas tree on Sunday. Fun, fun, fun. So yeah, having a real day at home so I can get the laundry caught up (see, there's that awesome laundry thing again) and take care of some of the other stuff that I need to do sounds like a really good idea. So everyone, please take note, I'm actually talking about doing something sensible. It's an occasion to mark in my calendar. LOL

Vacation so far

Well, I managed to snag a few minutes with a real computer and not that stupid iPhone thing so I'll try to update on how things have gone so far.

First things first, I FREAKING LOVE DISNEYLAND!!!!! Ok, just had to be said. And I actually really love it with a toddler. I konw that sounds nuts but seriously, it is just amazing to watch them when they are at the right age for the Magic to fully catch them up. Nico still wasn't much into the characters but man, was he into everything else. Watching him soak it all up just brought tears to my eyes as it's done with all my kids. That look of wonder and amazement and joy on their faces....that is truly priceless.

So about our day there. We did get up early and hit the Paradise Pier for the breakfast with Stitch and Lilo. Nico was not a happy camper about having to get up early and pouted most of the way through breakfast but managed to come round towards the end and enjoy a bit of it tho he still wasn't too sure about Stitch coming up and touching him. It was just fine if Stitch wanted to mess with the rest of the family tho. In fact, that usually caused great peals of laughter.

We managed to get into the park around 9:30a and while the kids were trying to tell us there were tons of people, we told them they obviously didn't remember what Disneyland crowded was like. There were very few lines with waits of over 10min except for the new Nemo ride and Buzz Lightyear. We snagged Fast Passes for Buzz on our way to Nemo for our first ride of the day. Nemo was fun more for nostalgia than the ride itself. The ride was honestly, pretty dull with the same theme running through the entire thing and just scenery from the movie. *yawn* Sorry, I'm going to stick with what I said years ago which is that they should redo that ride so you visit all their underwater cities. You have Little Mermaid, Atlantis, Nemo, 20K Leagues, and heck, even Davy Jones' Locker now. For a ride of that length, it makes more sense to give people more to look at than just the same basic thing the entire time. It's cute but I don't think it has staying power. Nico did like it and so did all the boys. Of course, Christopher was the only one who even sort of remembers the original sub ride so it was a totally new experience for them.

From there we did the Buzz ride. Now I have to say at this point that the whole time the big boys were telling Nico about going to Disneyland, he told them "no" when they asked if he wanted to go. When we would ask if he wanted to do a specific ride, we were always told "no". I know it's a very toddler word but still, get with the program kid! Well, things started changing after Buzz. After that ride, I heard "gen!" many times. We told him we couldn't do that one again but we'd find something else. Something else ended up being the Matterhorn. We weren't too sure how he'd take that one but blood wins out and he had a huge smile on his face the whole time and at the end was heard screaming "gen!". We also heard that after Autopia, Peter Pan, and Pinnochio. He liked Mr. Toad's wild ride but didn't scream for more and was actually shaking after Snow White and refused to consider the idea of going back on it. Not sure what creeped him out there but something did.

Somewhere in there we did Small World (the biggest line of the day) and got yet another taste of Christopher's teenage mood. He gave it to us all through breakfast and then stuffed his head in his jacket on SW. *sigh* I'm trying to figure out what weird genetics gave us that since I have always loved Disneyland and Mark's always been pretty up on it too. I sure hope he outgrows this stage soon.

We headed to Critter Country from Fantasyland so we could do the Pooh Ride. The big boys decided we had to do Splash Mountain as well so I headed over with them while Mark stayed with Nico. Apparently Nico wasn't too thrilled with that arrangement and screamed the whole time we were gone, well up until the point where he fell asleep.

After all those rides it was time for dinner and Nico gave us the biggest treat of all and slept through most of it. We got to enjoy our beautiful dinner at Club 33 in peace and quiet. The big boys were all very well behaved with the worst thing being that Christopher was ordering off the adult menu and didn't realize how big the portions would be so ordered WAY too much food. He had soup, crusted rack of lamb, a cheese plate, and blueberry tart for dessert. The only course he finished was the soup. LOL

Nico woke up during dessert and took a few bites of food after he woke up enough but really just wanted to not be there so we took our leave quickly rather than risk his wrath. I stopped to get a few souveneirs out of their exclusive gift collection but they only had one person taking care of that so that was my longest wait for something at 1.5hrs. Mark took the boys to go see Fantasmic and I got down there just in time to join them the end of the fireworks. By that time what crowds there had been were heading out so we spent the last two hours walking onto rides. We did Pirates "gen!" and then Haunted Mansion "gen!". Jonathan wanted to do Indy so I sent Mark and the big boys to that and did Haunted Mansion again with Nico. Then we didi Pirates again....and again. LOL Mark and the boys joined us the 3rd time and then we went to Tomorrowland to collect some packages. The big boys wanted to do Space Mountain one last time so they headed there while I took Nico on Buzz again....and again. (sensing a theme here LOL) By this time it was midnight and we had officially closed the park. It was an exhausting day but oh so much fun. We didn't get back to the hotel until after 1am but everyone had a smile on their face as they collapsed into bed.

Monday saw us packing up and heading out for San Diego. We stopped at Downtown Disney to do some shopping (note to self, do not take children to BABW when you just want to grab a couple of quick items) and take some pictures and got in to SD around 2p. Had a nice relaxing rest of the day just hanging out, doing some swimming, and more hanging out. Today we hit the outlet malls and saw Mark's grandparent's new vacation house about an hour from here. We are going back there tomorrow for a bit and maybe this time the squirrels will actually let us watch them eat.

Tons to tell

but there is no freaking way I'm going to attempt it on this stupid iPhone. So my post for today is to say that I will post lots about our vacation so far tomorrow.

Greetings from the Happiest Place on Earth

Well, we are in Anaheim. Our trip yesterday was uneventful, just the way I like them. The kids did great in the car, even Nico, and we arrived around dinner time. We checked into our hotel room and then headed over to Downtown Disney for dinner. It was a 2hr wait for dinner at the ESPN Zone but so worth it since we got to see our beloved Sharks do the smack down on the Capitals. Ahhhh...what we do to follow our team. Not like the kids minded at all since it meant they spent 2hrs playing video games on the second floor. LOL

Today it's an early start as we are trying to do a breakfast with Lilo and Stitch over at the Paradise Pier Disney hotel before heading to the park. Dinner tonight at Club 33. Lots of rides and fun in between and after. Mark wants to close out the park but we'll see how the kids do since we had them up early this morning but I'm sure we'll have tons of fun until we crash!

And we're off!

Heading down south to hang with my buddy Tigger and all his friends for a bit and then continuing south to visit with Mark's family for the holiday. Here's where NaBloPoMo gets really interesting. Can I manage to find connectivity to keep posting for the rest of the month? Do I end up stealing Mark's new company iphone just to get it done? Do I drop exhausted at night and totally forget a day? Stay tuned! LOL

Davis Boy #1

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Davis Boy #2

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Davis Boy #3

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Roots - Free genealogy

Davis Boy #4

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family tree template - Geneology

No more gymnastics

It's weird because yet again, it's something we've been doing for years but today was the last day for a while. Nico's been the only one going and he just isn't interested any more. I don't know why the child with boundless energy has no interest in getting up and climbing, running, swinging, bouncing on everything but he doesn't. It's gone from not participating in warm-ups but sort of participating in the rest of the class so long as I was present to participating with less hand holding to now he won't participate at all. He just sits there and clings on to me, refusing to let go, refusing to do any of the things he can do. It's been getting steadily worse for a few weeks now and it's now to the point where it's just not worth it. If he participates at all, it's for maybe the last 10min and then he screams because the class is done. Of course it's done! You wouldn't do anything for the past 35min!!!! So we're done. I'm going to look into some other classes for him like swimming and the SFZoo classes for his age. I want him to do something but apparently gymnastics isn't it.

*sigh* I still don't get it tho.

52:89 Holes by Louis Sachar

Wasn't feeling good today and this is a book for Matthew's literature so I took it easy and finished it in a day. I really enjoyed it and think he will too. The way of weaving all the different pieces of the story was interesting and even tho you knew how it would likely turn out, you still wanted to know how they pulled it all off.

A fun read and I'm interested to see how Matthew likes it. Personally, I wish it were summer so I could make some spiced peaches.

52:88 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Really enjoyed this one. I liked S&S okay but felt that it dragged a bit and I had a really hard time relating to the characters. I know they were what they should be for the time but I still couldn't connect. This one, I really felt much more connected to the characters and just generally cared a lot more for them. I wanted things to work out for Jane and I enjoyed seeing Elizabeth's change of heart and that everything worked well in the end.

And with that, I'm taking a break from classics outside of school for a bit. There's no other way I'm going to hit my goal of 104 books this year otherwise.

52: 87 Let the Mountains Talk, Let the Rivers Run: A Call to Those Who Would Save the Earth By David Brower

Christopher is reading this in his environmental science class this year so of course, I had to read it too. Absolutely fabulous book. You can hear his seriousness and passion for CPR of the Earth even through his humor. I've already been working hard to change my ways to take better care of our planet but this has definitely inspired me to do more than just think of ways to help but actively seek more out for me and my children, to do all that we can not only in our own lives but to convince those in power to Conserve, Protect, and Restore, to bring the wild back before it is gone forever.

Running through again

Spent most of the day out of the house again. The boys had another class at the Lawrence Hall of Science today, this one on earthquakes. Then I stopped in the city to pick up Mike since he's doing me the favor of watching them while I do a Discovery Toys open house tomorrow. I stopped in Belmont to try and hook up with my manager from there to get some other supplies and stock, etc, but got a call just after I arrived that she was still at least 30min out which would mean Christopher would miss his acting class so we canceled and headed for his class. Dropped him off and then over to Safeway to do the grocery shopping. I'm still trying to figure out how that trip with my cart less than 1/2 filled was over $100 when almost every item was on sale for 50% or better. At least gas prices are going down cause dang, that was ugly. Popped in over at New Leaf for a few things and then back to pick up Christopher before heading home. Made dinner and we all sat around playing Munchkin Cthulu (with my stuffed Cthulu doll when Nico wasn't running off with it) and then got the kids into bed. I didn't finish writing this until now (a few hours later) because Mike and I stayed up talking for a long while about lots of stuff which was good to reconnect there.

Now tho, it's late and my alarm will be going off all too soon. Thank G-d there is a Starbucks on my way to this thing tomorrow morning.

My first over-easy egg

Yes, I'm going to admit it. I'm 34 years old and I've never made an over-easy egg before. They look cool but figuring the whole thing out was just too much for my poor little head to handle so I always did the cop out of scrambled. And you know what, none of my kids ever complained until daddy started making all sorts of fancy eggs for breakfasts on the weekends, things like over-easy eggs. Now I get small children coming to me in the morning before I've had any tea and looking at me like this...all while begging me to watch them crack the egg and they know all about how to do it and will tell me what to do and when. Mark happened to be home so I made sure to get the experts opinion on the whole procedure and gave it a try. First tip, do not let your 7yr old crack it on the flat part of the counter and then try to pull the egg apart from the ends. Unless he's the one eating it as in this case so it doesn't matter if he gets some extra calcium in his eggs due to the shells (not sure he actually did but it wouldn't surprise me).

Next, do not flip out so much about flipping the egg that you do a full 360 flip on the egg which will not only break the yolk very effectively (not the effect you are going for apparently) but that will also make sure that the now broken yolk will turn the entire egg into glue on the pan so now even with a spatula you can't possibly turn it over and have it look appetizing.
But hey, at least I did it. It was apparently edible since the plate is now clean and judging by the look on the 7yr olds face I'm guessing the cat didn't have anything to do with it this time. Maybe it won't be another 34yrs before I try this again. Maybe...

Fun homeschooling blogpost

Yeah, I know I said I'd put homeschooling stuff on my the other blog but this is someone else's guest post on another blog talking about homeschooling and it was too funny not to share with everyone else:
Homeschooling Revolution

Read and enjoy!

Reorganinizing the house and a Star Trek marathon

Well, we've started a bit of the reorganizing that needs to get done around here. Unfortunately, I would need a month w/ no school and no kids to get it all done and since that isn't going to happen it's going to be slow and piecemeal at best. I really have so much stuff to go through and declutter so I really need to get us on a better schedule so I can find some time to do that. Right now our current schedule is school all day until activity time then eat and to bed and spend all weekend catching up on the basic cleaning stuff. It's leaving very little time for relaxing, family fun, or other projects that need to get done around the house. I'm really hoping with soccer being over and the change over in homeschool programs, things will get better but I know part of that happening is me getting a workable schedule and sticking to it. Since the school thing isn't quite there yet (tho I did just get Jonathan's paperwork faxed over to Ocean Grove as well) it will still take some time but I'm hopeful that we'll start seeing some changes soon.

So while we were getting this work done on the house today, we put on a bunch of Classic Trek in the background and then one of Mark's old co-workers and her 10yr old son came by for dinner and some Classic Trek (guess why we start pulling it out in the first place?). Now we are trying to figure out when we could do a full Marathon and just watch the whole 79 episodes from beginning to end. Gee, if we don't need sleep we could do it in just over 3 days. What's sleep compared to a Trek marathon?!

Star Trek: Of Gods and Men

So in the convoluted world of Facebook, Mark friended Chase Masterson and then had to look something up on her and found out about this project she worked on with Nichelle Nichols, Walter Keonig, Tim Russ, and loads of other Star Trek actors. It's sort of a step up from a fan production but not quite the quality of a fully funded project but I enjoyed the plot (ok, I had problems with the full paradox that it created but other than that LOL) and all in all had a great time watching it. They did a wonderful job of recreating the feel of the old Enterprise and it was so nice to see some of my favorites reprising their old roles. For those geeks who haven't seen it, go find a copy and enjoy. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

On a very personal note for this tho, it helped me to tell my teenager "See, I told you so!". We are having friends over to watch some Classic Trek and he was moaning and groaning about how he hated Trek. The funniest thing was as he was moaning, he was wearing MY "Ahead Warp Zillion" shirt that I fairly stole from my mother. He's been stealing his dad's Bloom County graphic novels and since the shirt didn't really fit Mark or I any more, we let him have it. Upon his pronouncement that Star Trek was stupid and he didn't like it, I made him remove the shirt and give it to Jonathan. He groaned further when we watched an episode earlier today and he hid himself in the other room. We shrugged and figured his loss. Then Mark put this on during dinner which got tons of moaning from him since he couldn't escape it as easily. Within a few minutes, he was commenting on how maybe Star Trek wasn't so bad and he stuck around after dinner to watch the whole thing.

I'd like to hope that he will remember this in the future and take our recommendations to heart but since he admitted this morning that I've never steered him towards a book he didn't like and there are still plenty I've tried to get him to read that he's refused to, I'm guessing nothing will change for a while yet. He's still young and we can't be cool. But you know what, I'm cool with that. He'll learn eventually and in the meantime, I still get to say "I told you so" every once in a while. LOL

Melting and other problems

Ok, so two weeks ago we had to cancel soccer games due to rain. Today, we were all out there dying in the heat. Parents are wearing shorts and we can't get water into the kids fast enough. It's making it impossible to get anything done around the house because I just want to stick my head in the freezer or melt into a puddle. The boys complain about being too hot to work but apparently that does not apply to making the messes nor fighting with each or running through the house like their usual maniac selves.

The other problem I have is bookshelf space. I ran out a few weeks ago so I pulled myself away from the bookstores. Then I found some bookshelves on freecycle which we've picked up but haven't had the time to rearrange the house to put in. I got some new books for my birthday (ThankYou Mom!) and then made the mistake today of checking out a local thrifstore during their half off sale. Yep, you guessed it, more books entered my life. I couldn't help it. I ended up with 10 books for $2.74. Some are in great condition, some are more well-loved, and a few have light writing in them but still....I couldn't help myself. That's what an addict does. Now the problem is finding space to put them. Hmmmm....

In good news tho, today was the last soccer game of the season. I still don't know which U12 boys team got into the regional tournament. I know it makes me a horrible parent but I'm praying it wasn't ours. Matthew would rather it's not ours as well so I guess that helps to alleviate any guilt on my part. And I've told the board in no uncertain terms that I am NOT doing the ref coordinating next year. I HATE that job. If we had enough refs, or even close to enough refs, I wouldn't mind it so much but it's impossible with no refs and I'm tired of spending hours emailing and calling people trying to get refs for all the games. I'm taking over the website from the person who was doing it which will be enough of a job since that also involves doing all the schedules and other word processing but at least if they don't get me what I need, that's their bad. I don't have to go hunting for what we don't have.

Off to go see if I can finish another book while drinking some cold root beer to see if I can cool off enough that some energy will return so I can get something done this evening.

52:86 The Cat Who Sang for the Birds by Lilian Jackson Braun

Simple, quick, light, formulaic. Gee, where have I heard those words before? Oh, yeah, my last review of these books. Great bathroom reading, little other value. The first 5 or so were fun where he was moving each book to a new house, totally different people involved so even tho they were formulaic because you didn't know the cast there was at least a little bit of interesting stuff going on. Now that he's settled in a small town 400 miles north of anywhere where everyone knows everyone, it got old fast. There are always a few new characters so that someone can die and someone can be to blame but really, that gets rid of any real surprise or possible twists and turns in the books.

*yawn*

Nana boken

Yes, I know I'm going on and on about his speech but dang, that kid is finally putting it altogether! We had our first three word sentence last night with the "Eat time Mommy" and today we had even more new words make their appearance. My favorite phrase of the day was "Nana boken, it die". Now what had really happened is he wanted a banana instead of dinner and when he got one, he smooshed the middle a bit and broke the peel open there. He decided that was "broken" and so therefore no longer good "dead" and tried to throw it in the trash. I stopped him and just gave him a new banana and we'll use the other for banana bread or something but I'm just amazed at what he is putting together these days and how he is getting these things across. And soooo many new words are coming out now and so many sentences are starting to come! It's really just amazing to watch the difference from just a few months ago.

What a day!

Yes, it was my birthday but things around here don't stop for little things like that. For the most part it was just a normal day fighting with the boys to get their work done, dealing with Nico's temper tantrums because he got put on time-out for throwing things in the house again, driving kids to activities. However, because it was my birthday there were a few choice highlights that don't occur in a normal day. To start with, Jonathan and Christopher made me a candlelit breakfast to start my day. They were trying to be all sneaky about it which was very cute but I was way onto them but there was no way I was going to let on. Jonathan was especially cute as he was trying to make sure I would stay in my room while they fixed everything up and then he was asking me to get the balloons down. You know, those cute little things they do that make all the crap totally worthwhile. It was also nice that a lot of people I don't get to talk to often came out of the woodwork to give me a call which was so nice. It's so easy to get bogged down in the day to day stuff so getting a chance to reconnect was great. Mark made a lovely dinner of brown sugar glazed salmon with fresh, local artichokes, and Mickey Mouse pesto. Mmmm. We also tried a cake from New Leaf that was just wonderful. It's nice to have a good local bakery that doesn't charge an arm and a leg. I love Sheng Kee as their cakes are beautiful, not too sweet, and affordable but they are sort of out of the way. And lastly, the Sharks game was a thing of beauty. Way to show Calgary how to do it.

And Nico said the funniest thing today. I was on the phone with Kim and Josie when dinner was served and apparently he decided I wasn't getting in there quickly enough so he comes up to me, grabs my hand and tells me "Eat time Mommy!" I asked Mark if he had been prompted to say that and he told me that Nico came up with that all on his own. Then when it was bathtime, he told us "no, betime" (bedtime). All new words and so great to hear! As I'm writing this, he is using my adding machine as a credit card machine sliding any cards he can across it and punching numbers. Not sure what he think is going to happen but it sure is cute to watch. Of course, it would be a lot cuter if it were 10:30am instead of pm. LOL

I had the biggest laugh today. On one of my boards, they started a thread called Law & Disorder where you saw the person who posted above you in a police car and you had to speculate why they were in there. I played and this is what was then posted about me:
I couldn't make out the handwriting on the police blotter, but it said something about a guy held hostage and forced to ref soccer games for 48 hours, held captive by a woman matching Jena's description, wielding a lightsaber.

Hmmmm....I wonder just what the fine on that would be? It might be worth it. Good thing we only have this week left and I have some refs for all the games so I won't need to resort to this and next year it's someone else's problem. Otherwise....

But all in all, it was a really nice birthday and I want to thank everyone for all the birthday wishes. They really mean a lot to me.

Just running by

It's been one of those weeks where I just seem to be always running from one thing to the next. The first two days were pretty normal, if not light, in terms of activities but I was running around the house trying to get a few things caught up. Today has started the days of "What does my house look like again?". Today we left the house at 2p in the hopes of picking up a toaster oven off Craigslist on the way to the DMV so I could renew my license. This is how it went....

Drive the long way round to get over to San Bruno rather than going straight over to San Mateo. Wonder aimlessly around the block for a few minutes because 853 is labeled only over the driveway of the apartment building in dark numbers on dark brick unlike the bright brass numbering on the front of the same building that says 1099 and the one just up the street that says 1101. Finally find numbers, pull in and call the phone number you were given for seller's partner who is supposed to be meeting you. Have phone answered by a woman who has no clue who "Ivan" is and says you must have a wrong number. Beat yourself up for not having an apartment number nor the regular cell phone number of the person you've been dealing with but realize that you are already running really late to get to the DMV in time for your husband to grab the kids and get them home before his phone conference.

Drive like a maniac to the DMV to still get there almost 20min late. Continue fuming about the idiocy of people who give wrong phone numbers and no apartment numbers while berating yourself over the stupidity of not bringing the original phone number since the person had already given the wrong address once before and not realized it.

Apologize again to husband for being late and thank him for getting you a number so you dont' have to stand in one of the DMV line. Head in and leave him to deal with kids.

Get in to see that there is now a F019 up on the board and your number is F018. Wait for 25min to not see another F number at all and it's now 20min past your appointment time. Go see front clerk who tells you he has no idea what the problem is, numbers are called randomly, sit back down and deal.

2 minutes later see F020 get called up. Go see clerk in the front again and get told "you must have missed it when they called your number, here's a new one" which is now F022. Considering it's taken over 30min for one F number to get called, settle down for another hour plus wait and seethe quietly to the people next to you about the fact that you had an appointment which obviously means nothing and the fact that the number could have only been up there for a minute or two in order for you to have missed it which is less time than many people take in the bathroom. Roll eyes repeatedly at the stupidity of the DMV and Drs. offices who love to exemplify this.

Do a little happy dance when F021 is called after only 20min and a huge happy dance when F022 is called immediately afterwards. Go up to the little window and get asked for the letter from the DMV stating you had to come in.

Whoops

Get asked for the form you were supposed to fill out.

Whoops again

Fill out the form while at the little window. Grimace at the "weight" question and consider lying but realize that you won't be that weight for a long time, if ever again. Sigh loudly and move on. Start sweating at the thought that they are going to be handing you a written test and while you haven't had a moving violation in almost 10yrs, you don't necessarily remember the exact number of feet you need to stop behind a bus with flashing yellow lights or other weird nuances, you simply do this by route now.

Realize the woman at the desk is handing you a bunch of paper and telling you it's your temporary license and receipt and that you need to go to Window one for a new picture. Wait! She said nothing about needing to take a test. You start to do another happy dance until you realize that you have to go get another stupid DMV picture taken. You'd think they'd be nice enough to have stylists on hand to keep you from looking like the dorkiest version of yourself. (Note to self, this would be a fabulous business to start, a chain of saloons right next door to DMVs for those last minute touch-ups before getting dorky picture taken)

Get in the car and call husband to find out that he still isn't home and is likely to miss his rescheduled meeting. Apologize again but be thankful he made it to the bank and went inside and you now have the money to pay the ginormous credit card bill he ran up with all his buisness travel.

Stop at the dry cleaners on the way home to pick up his suit for his whiskey thing tonight. Grimace again at the pinstripes on the trousers but remind yourself that a) you aren't wearing it, b) you don't even have to look at it for long, and c) he got a great price on them at the thrift shop so shut up and deal. At least you get to laugh at him for wearing a monkey suit.

Rush home and drop off the suit. Check email, debate calling Craigslist person but decide you still aren't ready to deal with her and the language barrier. See husband out of the house and get boys ready for KSW. Leave oldest home to nap and make dinner once he knows we are on the way. Drop middle two at class and head to New Leaf with youngest in tow. Try letting 2yr old walk through grocery store. Conversation goes like this:

"Nico climb out of the car. No, you can't go through mommy's door, it's already locked, come through your door. Fine, I need to get something out of the back. Why don't you climb back and get out from there?"

"Nico, we aren't going that way, we are going into the grocery store. Mommy wants some nice salmon for her birthday dinner. No, we aren't going that way, let's go this way and see what we can find at New Leaf."

"Nico dear, we only need one basket and mommy has one. You really want that one? Okay, fine we can use that one and I'll put this one back. We can both hold the basket ok? No, Nico, we really don't need to each have a basket, we can share one, let's share this one Nico. Okay, we can share that one. No, Nico, we really only need one basket. Come on Nico, let's go see what they have over here?"

"Nico please don't kick the basket since we are about to put mommy's salmon in there. That's expensive and we don't want to hurt it. Okay, fine, I'll take the bakset. Nico, you need to come back here. Mommy is not going to play this game. I'm counting to three and then we are going to have to get the monkey. 1...2...Thank you Nico. Please stay with me. Do you want to hold on to the basket or mommy's hand?"

"Nico, why did you just put cookies in the basket? Do you really want those? Ok, I guess you can have them. No, you may not put the baby oatmeal in the basket. You didn't even like it when you were a baby. No, we don't need any more cereal. I know you like that one but mommy just went through the cereal yesterday and we have over 20 boxes in the house so let's eat that first."

"No, Nico, we don't need to get any rasberry licorice hearts tonight. You have some at home. Please get your hands out of there. Ugh! Did you just grab one and stick it in your mouth? You can't do that love. Please sit right here while I get some yogurt raisins for your brothers. Please don't eat anything off the floor, that is really nasty."

"Nico can you please put the basket back with the other ones. They don't need it down the aisle. No Nico, you don't need to get anything else, we are done shopping here. Please come back with the basket. Nico, I'm counting three and then I'm going to carry you out of here. 1...2...3 Ok, you made your choice. Now mommy's going to carry you back to the car. I'm sorry dear, no, you can't walk. You chose not to listen to mommy and come back when she asked so now you need to be carried. When you listen and stop when mommy says, then you can walk more. We'll try again over at Safeway."

Get child in car and drive across the freeway over to Safeway. I'd repeat the conversation there but it's not much different than the one from New Leaf except when I told him "This is mommy's angry voice. I'm very unhappy that you aren't listening to me and I need you to sit right here while I find some blueberries." Of course, if I hadn't had to go through 20+ things of blueberries to find 6 that didn't have mold, we might have gotten out before what little patience he has (and his cookie) ran out.

I had the brilliant idea when checking out to have him help me unfold the Chico bags so that kept him busy and out of the candy while we waiting. Then he helped me carry the groceries out to the car which went well. Our walk while waiting for the boys to get out was not very successful. After the 100000000000000th time of running away and not listening and refusing to hold hands, I told him that was enough and made him sit in my lap until the end of class. This resulted in him screaming "Maaaaa....Yon....Maaaaa....Yon....OUT!" at the top of his lungs to his brothers who were doing cartwheels. This continued for the 5min they had remaining of class tho it felt considerably longer.

We finally made it home. I made sure the salmon got into the house and fridge since I have no wish to repeat that disaster. Nico refused to sit for dinner and wanted to go around tearing up bread and putting it into everyone's soup (clam chowder) all while picking his nose. Um, sorry honey, you can only pick your nose and handle the bread you are planning on eating. I'm pretty sure that's a commandment or one of the rights afforded in the Constitution.

Now to get them all to sleep and try to sneak in some time with a good book in peace and quiet. Yeah, I know, I'm not holding my breath after Nico's nap either but hey, hope is what keeps me going somedays so don't throw cold water on it.