We Do Things

HALLOWEEN, IT CAME AND IT WENT

Alien Princess.

 

Alien Princess*  being pushed around by Alice Cullen.

 

*please note, this is actual pretend angst on The Girl's face. I know it is hard to tell the difference, but this time, it is pretend.

All of The Girls

 

The Trick or Treaters

 

Luigi being a pest. And why did I let him? Because I recall this picture taking event all too well.

 

I'm learning to take what I get.

Who says we adults can't learn from these pesky kids?

Again, it was made obvious that The Boy is the last child in this family.

I failed to get a decent picture of him dressed up. As an archer. Who is not Robin Hood.

 

Although, I seriously think he would have raked in a ton more candy if he had been Robin Hood.

 

LOMBARDI RANCH 2009 EDITION

As parents, we are feeling the crunch. Our years at Lombardi, the local pumpkin patch, are numbered.

When we first started our family tradition to Lombardi, The Girl was itty bitty, The Boy wasn't even yet.

Those first yearly visits were stressful, crowded, hot, and worrisome. Trying to keep track of toddlers in a crowded pumpkin patch is not as fun filled as it sounds.

Over the years, like everything else, our trips have become a lot easier. Almost too easy.

Trips that used to take half a day, now take half an hour. Or could, if us parents didn't stretch it out to try and recapture those magical pumpkin patch days of the past.

The Boys now go off on their own and buy their own snow cones. Able to find us parental units in the crowds of strollers and stressed out parents.

 

The ever too honest Boy received the change and promptly told the lady that she had given him too much change. He had only given her a $5 bill. She had given him change for a $20.

Except, he had given her a $20. My $20...

 

We caught occasional glimpses of The Girls, searching out the perfect pumpkins. Now too old for the firetruck, police wagon, and other climbing paraphernalia. 

Boredom, they face is pre-teen.

 

The Boys are still able to find a few minutes fun. Now, instead of us yelling at them to share and take turns, we're yelling at them to watch out for the little ones and to remember that it is really for the little ones.

Are they too big now?

 

Maybe not.

Hopefully not.

I do know they don't fit on top of the giant pumpkin as easily as they used to.

 

At least they're not yet tall enough to simply stand next to the pumpkin. They still have to climb up it.

 

Yes, there might have been yelling and threats involved to get them all up there.

They quickly learned that traditions are traditions and nothing can change that.

 

When they come home from college, we will be cramming them into this pumpkin.

Yes we will.

And onto the haystack pyramid.

 

That, they still fit on.

Happy Fall.

Even if it was 98 degrees outside. It looks a lot cooler, doesn't it?

HIGH GREEN

The Boy tested for his High Green belt.

He is now entering the phase where belts take longer to get to.  He has to actually work hard to move to the next level now. 

It is one of those great parenting experiences to watch him become serious about his sport. As much as he loves baseball, Jeet Kun Do is his sport.

 

Where else do you get to spar with cute little girls?

 

And nobody gives you a lecture about being a gentleman?

Actually, he really dislikes sparring with this particular girl. She's not much of a hard hitter. It is good for him though. Instead of focusing on his power, he has to focus on his control.

Ahh, life lessons in martial arts?

 

He's always happy to get to the 'real' sparring. With the men.

Even during testing, instruction doesn't stop.

A proper elbow.

Then your new belt. High Green.

 

The best part though is spending time with Best Buds.

 

A new belt for TGFFBoy as well, High Yellow.

A WHOLE MONTH? SERIOUSLY?

Can any of you really believe that I've gone a full month without sharing my sarcasm, wit, and beauty?

Yeah, me too.

I'm not sure where to even begin, so I'll get it rolling again with The Girl's Birthday Post.

The Girl turned twelve. And she got grounded. All on the same day. Why we are running for Parents of the Year. How did you know?

The Girl is officially above themed parties. I thought I would miss all the planning and prep that went into my elaborate themes. I didn't. I was thrilled.

She invited a few of her bestest buds over and I took them to see Where The Wild Things Are. Which we all loved.

Then, we all returned back to The House for presents.

Joy

Cake

 

And proof that I can still be cool with the pre-teen crowd.

 

I bought this shirt for her. They all loved it.

I rock.

The End.

Except for the part where the next day, her actual birthday, The Dad and I had to sit her down and ground her because she was a total bitch to her friends at her party and the following day.

We rock.

The End.

RANDOM FUNNIES

The Dad was outside the other morning hosing out the garbage can because it stank like dog poop and other fabulous garbage can-ness.

An old lady walking by yelled across the street, "Do you work the second shift?"

The Dad pulled his head out of the garbage can and asked her to repeat herself.

She repeated the question and he explained to her no, that he worked from home.

She then replied that her husband used to work second shift and he used to do stuff around the house in the mornings as well. She complimented him on doing "housewife" chores.

Obviously, this lady has never walked past this house before. Otherwise, she would know that hosing out the garbage can is not a "housewife" chore. I consider that one on the list of man chores.

I've been using that comment all week to tease The Dad though, so it was good for something.

The Boy has a history of being bullied at school. The entire reason we put him in Jeet Kun Do. In first grade, a wonderful human being choked him on the playground. The wonderful staff at the wonderful school did nothing. We decided that next time some wonderful human being attempts to choke The Boy, he will be able to kick that wonderful human being's ass from one side of the school to the other. Two years of martial arts training has provided not just that ability, but also a ton of self confidence.

This year, The Boy sits right next to Mr. Wonderful Human Being in class. The Dad and I were worried at the beginning but took a wait and see approach. I am SO glad we did. The Boy is handling himself and Mr. Wonderful Human Being like a pro. Besides, we would have missed out on the stories that make us laugh until a little bit of pee comes out.

Yesterday, I was taking The Boy for a haircut and he was telling me about his day. He was put into a group project with Mr. Wonderful Human Being and another Just Awesome Child. The Boy started out the conversation by saying, "Today I saw something I never wanted, in my whole life, to have to see."

Of course, I had to make him tell me what it was! My thoughts were going wild, were the High School kids mooning the Elementary kids at lunch again? (Yes, it happens, way too frequently)

No, better than that! Mr. Wonderful Human Being was wearing a basketball jersey.

I wracked my brain trying to figure out why that was so horrid that it scarred my child for life.

He then explained to me that every time Mr. Wonderful Human Being moved his arms the sight near about blinded and killed The Boy.

Two words...Man Boobs...

Nine year old Man Boobs no less....

The Boy also mentioned how nice it would be if Mr. Wonderful Human Being bathed or showered regularly...

Lovely visual eh?

We don't encourage The Boy to belittle other people. We always encourage him to give people a chance, to look beyond, to turn the other cheek.

This day however? All I could do was laugh. I might have even guffawed.

Mr. Wonderful Human Being is having the tables turned on him. He's always been much larger, taller and otherwise, than his fellow students. He's never quite fit in and instead of trying to fix that, his parents and the school staff made excuses for him. We should all try to understand the bully. Feel sorry for the bully.

Now, everyone is starting to even out size wise, so Mr. Wonderful Human Being is finding his tables turned on him. The other kids aren't scared of him, they aren't bullying him, they're IGNORING him...

I can't blame them for finding a few chuckles at his expense along the way.

F4F: PLAY FOOD FROM SCRATCH

When I first took up knitting, I had visions of projects that my future held. When I first started knitting, just barely a year ago, I felt lucky to finish a scarf. I kicked out a few projects for Christmas last year, but nothing that really thrilled me.

This year, is much different. I spent the past week teaching myself how to knit with double pointed needles and circular needles. I feel that there are very few patterns that I would be unable to work my way through.

I am proud of myself!

I started by using circular needles to knit up some crowns.

I am donating these to The Boy's school for his class basket for Carnival. His theme is dress up.

I just hope Monkey is willing to give them up. He seems to enjoy being King of the Jungle.

Now that The Kids are mostly raised, I have time on my hands. Time to spoil The Other Kids in my life. The Littlest Niece is almost two, it's time for her to enter the world of play food.

Corn on the cob anyone?

 

Or do you prefer junk food? Donut?

Make sure you have some fruit with that.

Maybe a slice of pizza?

 

Or perhaps make yourself a glass of limeade?

 

All of these patterns I found at Ravelry and they are all free! Love that! I can't believe how realistic this food looks. They all took just around one hour each to knit. 

I have some ice cream cones, broccoli, and lots of fruit lined up. The Littlest Niece will be cooking up a storm in the coming year!

I can't wait to taste her yummy concoctions.

THE GIRL'S DAY OFF

Now that The Kids are in two different schools, they are also in two different districts with two different schedules and few of the same days off.

The Girl's Fall Break was this Monday and Tuesday, while The Boy's Fall Break is all of next week. It's okay with The Girl though, because come Christmas time, she gets three weeks off instead of two.

Since The Boy and I so enjoyed our one on one time together, I wanted to do something special with The Girl as well.

Then, she got herself grounded for being a self centered, stinky, pre-teen, bucket of hormones.

The Dad and I discussed it and decided that since she's been working her brains off in school, we would put her in the early release program, out on probation.

This way, I could still take her out for our Girls' Day of Fun.

First stop, pedicures.

If you know me at all, you know this is a gigantic sacrifice on my behalf and that I truly have to be dragged to any "girly" activity. I honestly get my hair cut only twice a year. It works for me.

The Girl however is much more balanced than I am. She's girly and not girly when she needs to be.

I even let them put PINK nail polish on my toes!

The Girl went with the much more fashionable (and expensive) half hot pink, half white with polka dots.

While I headed over for my every two years eyebrow waxing, she had herself a manicure to match.

I'm really not sure why she declined the Mother Daughter waxing experience for a manicure, but whatever floats her boat.

Then, I decided to surprise her with a real hair cut! In a real salon. At a real JC Penney's!

I knew I had been depriving her when The poor Girl didn't even know how to answer the stylist's questions about shampooing much less where to go for the shampoo! I vow here and now to no longer neglect my daughter's beauty upbringing. As you can tell from the photo above, she obviously (joking) needs all the help she can get in the beauty department.

Before the haircut.

After haircuts.

A little hard to tell, but she got lots of layers and now looks way too grown up. She is definitely a Jr. High'er now.

Both the stylist and myself commented on how she'd left her elementary look behind.

The Dad then met us for lunch and he oohe'd and aaah'ed appropriately over us.

We had a lot of fun together. It is really fun and a privilege to walk her through these years. Even if she really scares me sometimes...

THE BOY'S DAY OFF

Last week was conference week at The School. The Boy had no school on Thursday, and we found out that yes indeed, another teacher thinks he's brilliant. (Thanks for asking)

Although, she still didn't answer my question, "What the Heck do WE do with him?" You know because it can't be my fault he's so dang smart.

On that note, I have always been the homework slave driver helper until this year. For some reason, The Dad has taken over homework this year. When I helped with homework, The Boy always received awards for Effort, The Dad takes over and The Boy is receiving an award for Academics.

What is The Dad thinking?? He obviously didn't realize that Effort is the first award that is handed out and Academics is the absolute LAST. We had been enjoying the privilege of not sitting through the entire awards ceremony. Not that I don't absolutely adore watching all those precious children that sprung from someone else's loins get their awards.

Back to the original story now...

The Boy had no school on Thursday, yet, The Girl did. The Boy was bored within ten seconds of awakening. I faced an entire day of him being bored and The Girl not being around to watch entertain him for me.

So, we decided to make Banana Cream Pie! Isn't that what you all would have done? Banana Cream Pie has been The Boy's latest perseveration.  We are a very non-sequitor family. We are known to throw random words into conversation, especially at the dinner table. Elephant anyone?

The Boy had never tasted Banana Cream Pie, but he likes bananas and he likes pudding, so why not right?

We ran off to the grocery store and picked up some vanilla pudding and pie crust. Sure, I could have made both of these with The Boy, but I decided that my sanity was worth the $5 I was putting out.

The Boy made the pudding and neatly sliced the bananas.

The Dog is anxiously awaiting his release into The Wild. We have no time for that! We are serious chefs here.

The bananas must now find their way into the pudding. What better way, than the lesser known sport of The Banana Toss?

All the better if The Mom and The Camera get splattered in pudding right?

He was trying to be sorry, he really was. It was just too dang funny for him once he looked up and saw my shirt.

He is such an artistic little critter.

I was grateful he decided to spoon the filling into the pie crust.

Pretty Banana Cream Pie.

It must have been the Marie Callendar's Pie crusts, but I had to fancy it up some with the store bought whip cream in a can. Gorgeous ain't it?

After a bit in the fridge, just long enough for me to clean The Kitchen and The Boy to build some Lego contraption, the Banana Cream Pie was ready for a taste test...

It was deemed delicious!

It took all of 10 minutes to make, yet it kept him from whining about his interminable boredom for 30 minutes. A win win.

F4F: Early Christmas Gifts

I finally got off my kester and finished off some projects this week. Including my first knitted clothing item. A dress for The Littlest Niece.

I had meant to knit this up for her this summer, but let myself get intimidated. Clothing has to have seams that match up just right. Also, it is my first work with intarsia. I did try to knit very loosely, but it did pucker quite a bit. Instead of a daisy, it resembles more of a butterfly. I figure at almost two, The Littlest Niece won't mind.

It is the Daisy Dress in Zoe Mellor's book Adorable Knits for Tots. It was a very easy knit, if not a bit tedious.

I think it came out cute and TGFFMom agreed, so I know I can give it as a gift without embarrassment. I don't want to be 'that' aunt, if you know what I mean.

Since I was on a roll for The Littlest Niece, I decided to finish off the scary doll. 

It took me a while to realize that not every child born into our family is blonde haired and blue eyed. 

I think she looks much prettier now.

Brown hair and brown eyes to match our brown beauty.

I am much happier with the face now.

Knowing how much The Littlest Niece loves her bunny, I'm thinking this doll that resembles her in her fairy dress will be a hit as well. 

I also have a few more items in my queue for The Littlest Niece's Christmas pile, but I am struggling with the whole double pointed needle thing.

Thanks for checking out my projects and remember to head on over to Lit & Laundry to cheer all those other creative souls on. The quilt she is making for October is amazing!

OPEN HOUSE

Yesterday, the phone rang around 3 a.m.

The first thing you think of when the phone rings that early is "This is not good news".

Fortunately, yesterday it wasn't exactly, bad news either.

The Uncle, The Aunt, The Littlest Nephew, and The Aunt's visiting parents were being evacuated from their home in one of Southern California's current fire areas.

They showed up a little before 4 a.m., tired, worried, and all those other things you feel when you have no clue as to what is going on in the place you left.

The awesome Firefighters from all over kept the fire away from their neighborhood and their house is just as they left it.  We love our Firefighters and all other Emergency Personnel who work year after year to keep us safe. They literally come in from all over the State and from neighboring states as well. Nevada trucks are often seen.

The House was stuffed to the gills with family yesterday which was a nice change of plans, if for a not nice reason. The best part though?

The Littlest Nephew.

He loves The Dog very much. We are thinking of giving him The Dog for his first birthday. No matter what his parents say.

After a sharing a nice dinner, The Aunt and The Uncle re-packed their stuff and headed on out. I tried to keep TLN. For some reason, they took him as well.

You win some, you lose some.

I think yesterday was a win-win.

Thanks again to all the Heroes involved in keeping property and people safe. Thanks also to your families who sacrifice their time with you and have worries of their own the entire time you are gone.

We appreciate it.

Thanks to The Aunt's parents visiting from Philadelphia. They were thrown completely out of their element and rolled with the punches. It couldn't have been easy on them, having never experienced anything of this sort, but they never complained and remained helpful, cheerful, and upbeat. It was nice to get time with them as well.