Let's play catch up!

I thought I'd pop in to say hi to the approximately 1.75 people who read here! :)  The first thing I noticed was blogger has made changes.  Hopefully this will make it easier to use!

Some members of our family had a little drama a few months ago, and I was hesitant to post or make any content public, just in case it tracked here.  All that seems to have blown over & I am feeling better about it.

Princess Leia is still "out west", and has decided to stay for her junior year of high school.  We had the pleasure of some good visits, and she thrilled us with her new learner's permit. I've taken a few days off from work this summer to just play with her and the other two kiddos.  It has been so much fun!

We've celebrated numerous family birthdays, plus a few other occasions.  Cinderella was baptized, and a new baby cousin's impending arrival has been told.  Some health issues have been dealt with, and new career possibilities are still promising.  We have made some changes for the kids, as we will be homeschooling this year. 

All told, we've been busy doing life.  And life is good.

Double-digit Birthday Angry Bird style

We had a 10th birthday party for Jedi boy. I almost chose a Star Wars theme, but at the last minute switched it to Angry Birds. We rarely do the big parties, so these were a special treat.

Angry Bird Cake and Rice Krispy Piggy Treats

Friends were able to join in and fun was had by all!

Beauty and Life

Today is beautiful! The sun is shining, light wind, and a cloudless sky...with temps at 70 degrees. Perfect in my opinion!

I have a few minutes to post about us! At the end of August, we had Hurricane Irene come. Our home is usually quite safe in these storms, and this one was no exception. (We have been working hard to support the many in our communities that were devastated).

But, since the opportunity was there (School delayed, no work for me, etc), the two kids and I left Mr. Snippity here while we went to visit Jedi girl on the other side of the state. It was a good move. We were able to have good weather and a fun time. We got there so quickly, that we had to wait for school to let out! Princess Leia's dad took us over to visit the horses at the clinic.I am not really a "horse person", but I am pretty sure that crocs and flip flops are NOT the ideal riding shoes :)

Then, we waited very very patiently:

And here was our Girl!

The rest of the weekend was kind of a blur. I vaguely recall PetSmart, Old Navy, Krispy Kreme and Ikea in there somewhere :)

Thanks to http://smartbutnotwise.blogspot.com for letting us crash with her for a long weekend! We are getting ready to go visit again soon...and I will be looking for the Hot N Fresh sign! :)

Music at McD's

This morning, I was splurging on a fast food breakfast for the kids(dollar menu!) It was a last minute decision since Jedi boy had some 'assessments' today. We get to McD's (the only fast food breakfast choice in my town). There are about 6 guys in line ahead of us. My kids go sit at a table and are waiting patiently (seriously!) and keeping the childcare baby happy. One of the guys in the line makes a comment to me about how good the kids are...(I know!?!?!? Right?) So we strike up the 'are you from around here' talk. (Since we live in a touristy area, we have this conversation often!) It turns out these guys are a Christian rock band and are filming a video on the sand dunes. I was chatting with their lead vocalist. Since the food service was kind of slow, we had plenty of time to converse. Long story short...he gave us one of his band's cd's. Once we were back in the car, we had time to listen to two songs before we got to the school. I like it!

I came home and looked them up online. It appears that this group is on the road to being a well known group...they've played with some big acts. You can check out the band for yourself...Love Like Gravity. I'm rocking out to their CD right now :)

Out of the mouths and minds of kids...

Yesterday, Jedi boy came to me with a request. I, of course, was doing 3000 hundred things at once, so I wasn't paying him full attention.
Following is the scenario:
JB: Mom, we need to get a shell.
Me: um, what?
JB: We need to buy a magic shell for school.
Me: what?
JB: For school...we need a magic shell.
Me: Ok. Wait, what? A magic shell? I'm thinking*What are you guys doing at that school anyway *
JB: Yes, we need a magic shell, I have a note (shows me the note)...do you know how to get one?
Me: Ohhhh...I get it now! Magic shell ice cream topping for the ice cream party on Friday.

My poor kids, I have never bought them magic shell before...they don't know what it is...what a tragedy. :)

A day at the beach

We ran away to the beach yesterday afternoon...just because.

The weather was nice, so we just went for a walk after my work day was done. We found a washed up jellyfish, some shells, and lots of tire tracks from the lifeguard patrols. Cinderella is still terrified to even walk near the water, just like last year. Princess Leia is ready to get in the water, and saw one of her pals from surf camp last year. She is signed up again this year...maybe she will learn some better technique. I'm thinking she may get a starter surfboard for her birthday this year. She's been asking for one for quite a while...shhhh don't tell her :) Jedi boy enjoyed a jog back to the parking lot.

Then we went home and invited one of the grandmothers over for a simple dinner & board games. It turned out to be a nice time. I'm practicing that hospitality thing.

another week

It seems another week has flown by, and I have no blogging to show for it! Sorry 'bout that!

It is the Monday of getting back into the swing of things. Last week was spring break, so my kids were home all week. We had a few tough days with sickness (I already talked about that). We really didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Just our regular selves happening. We did get to have some friends over for dinner one evening...which was nice. We stayed up too late, of course! We've been playing a game called "Sequence", and it seems we are quite competitive. Not competitive, as in of a high enough quality to be a competitor...but the 'we don't like to lose' kind. So, we stay up past bedtime trying to beat each other. It really has been fun. Throw in a bit of yardwork, and house cleaning, and voila! There's us!

I made a pretty yummy spinach quiche for my lunch. I didn't get to take a picture because the food just disappeared! There are 5 kinds of cheese in my recipe. I might have to make it again soon, since it is so delicious!

Cinderella won an art contest at her school and got a $10 certificate to use at the upcoming book fair. I like that kind of prize!

Leia has spring pictures tomorrow. She better brush her hair!

Jedi boy gets to visit the orthodontist tomorrow due to the suggestion of the regular dentist when they saw his new bottom teeth coming in all crooked. I'm not looking forward to that.

Mr. Snippity has been having car troubles. He's pretty handy with all things mechanical, but is strugging with a problem on his fast car. He'll figure it out soon.

Me, well, I'm just the cruise director for this ship :) School is fine, work is plentiful, and lots of projects formulating! I thought I was having major car troubles, but it turns out it was just the battery. I left my cell phone charging for about 2 days. My mechanic (Mr. Snippity) said not to do that again!

I'm on my way!

If you are reading this around noontime on Friday 3/27...then I am probably just arriving for a stay at the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA. I'm going as a chaperone with some sweet middle school age gals from a church youth group. (one of which is my Princess Leia). Cinderella gets to go sleep over with her Granny, and the Jedi boy is going to have some quality time with Mr. Snippity.

Hopefully these gals don't want to be too pranky, because I might have to show them a thing or two. I've been on quite a few overnight trips with my peer group, and, well, lets just suffice it to say: band camp wasn't THAT long ago :) One highlight of a particular high school trip (not band camp): Someone in the girls room (* blink blink with innocence*) snuck into the boys room and took all their toilet paper. And tissues. They didn't notice until one of them was in dire need. The funny part happened when they had to come ask to borrow ours... Sorry Jeremy ;) school band.

This makes me happy...

I love this kid. This was back in 2004 at a social event that obviously included ice cream.

Jedi boy at age 2. He was sleepy, and from the look of his hair...he had been sweating :)

Photo courtesy of Jodi...thanks!

I just needed to post a little something to make me smile.

stuff

Ok, so last week I lost one day. It seems like now I have lost almost a week! There has been nothing major going on, just the same old stuff. I've been trying to get some household tasks worked on, with minimal success. I get started on something, and then I am needed for something else, and my project gets shoved aside. I know, it's the Mom problem! I love my family very, very much. I do think they need to do a little more for themsleves rather than just rely on Mom to do it all. This isn't a new idea, but you'd think it was killing the fam!

It broke my heart this morning to send the Jedi bo off to school with such a rotten attitude. To him these days, school is "so boring!" Except on PE day. I'm told that he is fine once he gets there. These tough mornings are so hard on his mama's heart.

Snow pictures

This morning:


Later this afternoon...scenes from the neighborhood with much more snow than this morning:

A tree in our yard (see the pitiful snowmen on the left?)

A tree

Mr. Snippity with the Jedi and Cinderella