California Transplant

Jack's letter to Santa

2011-12-09T13:09:00.001-08:00

Daily Routines

2011-12-06T18:54:00.001-08:00

We've gotten into a routine at dinnertime where we all eat together (because that's extremely important, IMO), and I ask both Arlo & Jack about their days. They each get about 15 minutes.. It's such a routine that, if we don't start off with that right away, Jack will tell me "ask us about our day".

I <3 my boys.

xxxx

happiness

2011-12-05T16:59:00.001-08:00

xxxx

peace

2011-12-04T15:33:00.001-08:00

Happy Sunday! <3
Love one another... it's as simple as a smile.

xxxx

make a difference

2011-12-02T21:03:00.001-08:00

Since I won't be around tomorrow/today (EST!), this is going up now. :)
Make a difference.
Better yet, make a GOOD difference.
At least once, this advent season. More, if you can manage it.
It feels good; I promise.

<3

you and god

2011-12-02T07:40:00.001-08:00

true story.

xxxx

it's not about who's doing what.

2011-12-01T08:31:00.001-08:00

No, seriously, I do.
I have yet to find a large family as close as we are.
And I don't have a single bad thing to say about my siblings OR the people they married.
That's pretty stinking awesome, in my opinion. :)

xxxx

true love.

2011-11-30T05:24:00.001-08:00

There is no greater love than this.

Your neighbor isn't necessarily your home neighbor; it's everyone you meet throughout your day.

EVERYONE, regardless.

Hard to remember, yet so simple.

xxxx

everlasting.

2011-11-29T10:45:00.001-08:00

Perfect Love.

spread the love

2011-11-28T17:25:00.001-08:00

Inspired by this (I highly suggest you read it & then pass it on): http://www.danoah.com/2011/11/powerful-responses-to-im-christian-unless-youre-gay-blog.html

It's not an obsession

2011-11-19T21:58:00.001-08:00

It's a way of life.

Pinterest! ^_^

So, from pinterest.com, I got the idea to do "hair chalking". Basically, you get soft pastels (not oil pastels), and draw on your hair. I read a tutorial on it, and tried it that way, but didn't like how it came out. So, I washed my hair & tried it my way: take pastel in hand, dip half of it in water, draw on hair, repeat. I went with rainbow colors, and just on the bottom layer of my hair. Just because. I let it dry thoroughly (a couple of hours) before I "set" the colors with a curling iron.

I suck at curling my own hair, but it still came out all right. :)

While I let my hair dry:

After I curled it:

Like I said, I suck at curling. But look how pretty!! :))

Life is unfair

2011-11-19T19:32:00.001-08:00

I never did figure out which part of life was fair... I think all of it isn't, and you just learn to deal with it. Or ignore it. Or something. I don't know. I just slap a smile on my face, have happy songs in my head, and try not to worry too much... there's a plan for everything, no matter how screwed up the process is. ^_^

music heals the soul

2011-11-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

When life is throwing me lemons, I play this song over and over... Love it! <3
("Keep Your Head Up", Andy Grammer)

Praying for Nanny

2011-11-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

Count the garden by the flowers, never by the leaves that fall. Count your life with smiles and not the tears that roll. ~Author Unknown

At the pumpkin patch

2011-11-02T06:24:00.001-07:00

We'll never forget what evil looks like

2011-09-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

God bless America

Happy first day of school!

2011-08-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

Arlo's now in 3rd grade!

And Jack's now in 1st grade!

California, Saturday Sunday Monday

2011-07-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

from the air

I had to wake up Jack & tell him we were in California, lol. He slept through New Mexico, Arizona, & Nevada.

Jack's sharing his music with Grandma Ilene..

Guess where we went for dinner..!!

Best food EVER. Even better than Five Guys.

View from the cul-de-sac.. I guess that RV had been there for a week, and no complaints. Hm!

The boys & Kyle.

Playing Pokemon on the Wii.

Gorgeous flowers in the front, at Kyle's. :)

I thought the purple was pretty. In my parents' neighborhood.

USC! ^_^

This morning was gorgeous.

xxxx

2011-07-16T09:40:00.001-07:00

At O'Hare.. first leg of the trip was short & sweet :)

^_^

2011-07-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

^_^

2011-07-14T06:14:00.000-07:00

vacation in Florida, part 2

2011-06-27T07:45:00.000-07:00

Jack's out there somewhere.. Yep. Managed to get the child in the water. Yay! ^^^ (The hard part has been trying to get him OUT now, lol!)

The hotel :) ^^^

View from the hotel.. ^^^

Seashells! ^^^

vacation in Florida, part 1

2011-06-25T14:45:00.000-07:00

The pictures are somewhat out of order. Oh well. :)

the toad I found in the garden

2011-05-28T17:28:00.001-07:00

I think he's waiting for the pond. :)

a rainbow after the storm

2011-05-24T06:27:00.001-07:00

We had an exciting tornado warning last night and spent an hour or so in the basement.

Banana Bread

2011-05-20T10:54:00.001-07:00

mmmmm

Needing to update

2011-05-16T05:41:00.000-07:00

Even though today's not sunny in the least (unlike last week), I will have to go around the garden and take pictures of all the hard work from the past week. We finished a few projects, and started a new one! And now I'm sitting here wondering if I can put the trampoline together myself. I'm pretty sure I can, as it's not terribly difficult... but I'd hate to take a stab at it only to not have it work. Hmm.

The kids only have a couple weeks of school left. Vacation in a month! I'm so excited! Look out Florida! ^_^

xxxx

2011-05-03T05:32:00.001-07:00

Arlo got his Terra Nova test scores back. He scored in the 99th percentile out of the entire US. :)

2011-04-29T08:57:00.001-07:00

Arlo's on the verge of losing one of his top, front teeth. He wouldn't let me pull it this morning. :(

turtles at Cox Arboretum

2011-04-10T13:25:00.001-07:00

Look mommy! no training wheels!

2011-04-07T13:57:00.001-07:00

2011-03-29T05:05:00.000-07:00

My sister Sherry was induced eeeearly this morning! I'm going to have another niece today!! :)

Spending Sunday outside.. sunny but cold!

2011-03-27T12:31:00.001-07:00

we're expanding the garden

2011-03-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

Finally!

2011-03-23T20:59:00.001-07:00

Jack's to do list

2011-03-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

So Jack made a "to do" list in school today. They're working on figuring out all the sounds to a word and writing them down, not necessarily focusing on correct spelling yet.

This is his list:

1. Listen
2. Eat breakfast
3. Do good stuff
4. Play nicely
5. ?
6. Hear really closely
7. Listen to Dan

So cute!! :)

Jack's finishing off the lettuce from dinner

2011-03-20T15:11:00.001-07:00

2011-03-20T13:25:00.001-07:00

Sometimes we forget that the choices we make have an effect on others, for better or for worse.

It's a beautiful, sunny day in the 'burbs

2011-03-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

Awwww!!

2011-03-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

I got a call today from Jack's school. He was in the nurse's office, complaining of an earache. She put a warm compress on it, and that seemed to help, so he went back to class. She was just calling to let me know. (so nice!) About 30 minutes later, she called again to say that Jack was back in complaining that it hurt still, and he was asking if I could come pick him up. Of course!

So I went and got him. When we got home, I gave him some ear drops & Tylenol. When that didn't seem to help, I located the urgent care for our insurance... we went and spent 2 hours there; most of it was just waiting. O_o

It turns out he has an ear infection. I dropped the prescription off at the pharmacy, brought Jack home, and went back to pick it up. I also picked up some children's Ibuprofen as we'd run out.

Here's a picture of Jack, crying in the exam room while we waited.

I just went and checked on him for the night.. his eardrum burst! My poor baby.. :(

xxxx

the boys on the swings

2011-03-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

At Arlo's school.. after the art fair/music performance. :)

Jack asked for celery with his lunch

2011-03-17T10:40:00.001-07:00

I sure lucked out with my boys!

2011-03-17T07:28:00.001-07:00

My lovely sister(in-law), Maricel, is pregnant with twin boys!! Congrats!!

I gave Arlo a haircut

2011-03-16T17:25:00.001-07:00

Jack's shopping list

2011-03-15T09:28:00.001-07:00

it says "apple, watermelon, pizza, peas, extra gum" :)

A close up

2011-03-14T18:57:00.001-07:00

Arlo's medal for today

2011-03-14T18:55:00.001-07:00

Just some jibber jabber

2011-03-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

Ever since I saw them featured in Country Living magazine, I have LOVED Magnolia Pearl. I cut out all the pages from the magazine, and have them glued in one of my many scrapbooks/idea books. They remind me of sprites or faeries... free, flowy, lacy, not a care in the world (which may be an exaggeration, but hey).

This is my shoutout. :)

ALSO, there was a vintage store I absolutely LOVED going to in the first town we lived in when we moved to Ohio... looking back, you might remember me mentioning Thornville? Where's that, you ask? Near Buckeye Lake. If you don't know where Buckeye Lake is, and you're an Ohio native, SHAME ON YOU. Anyway, this store had the most fabulous things.. I could browse for an hour. Literally. I still have a few of their decorations, too... one of which is a vintage string of beads that is now adorning one of my mom's lamps. (Which reminds me, I need to bring the matching one up to my room..)

Without further adieu... Urban Farmhouse. If you're ever in Thornville (don't blink because you might miss it), you should stop in. Seriously. And the owner is so incredibly nice.. she's a wonderful lady, and you can tell she loves her shop. It shows. :)

That's all. ^_^

2011-03-12T19:00:00.001-08:00

No picture today, but Arlo just up & decided he was ready to have his training wheels off. And he was ready indeed! :)

my lamp has 2 uses :)

2011-03-11T20:35:00.001-08:00

omg soo cute!

2011-03-10T08:39:00.001-08:00

I saw these at Michael's.. adorable!

love it!

2011-03-09T18:52:00.001-08:00

My bulbs

2011-03-09T06:55:00.001-08:00

Yay! :)

Just finished his pancake

2011-03-08T14:33:00.001-08:00

Yummmm

Fat Tuesday pic1

2011-03-08T14:31:00.001-08:00

"This is a day I'll never forget."

Fat Tuesday

2011-03-08T12:43:00.001-08:00

I'm not entirely sure what that means, but we'll be going to the local parish church for an amazing pancake dinner. They're even having a pancake-eating contest. Pictures to come later! :)

xxxx

2011-03-07T17:43:00.001-08:00

Arlo's first chess trophy

2011-03-07T13:56:00.001-08:00

Soo just wondering if this works... (text message)

Trying something new

2011-03-07T12:54:00.000-08:00

Lent is quickly approaching, so I thought I'd try something new... instead of the usual "I'll give something up" (because, honestly, I hate deprivation) or "I'll donate x, y, z" (because I have nothing to donate as I have very little as it is), I'm going to honestly try to post one picture a day in this blog. For 40 days. Maybe by then I'll figure out the whole "mobile blogging" thing (as far as pictures go!). Even if I never figure that out, that's okay.

This also means I have to remember to take at least one picture a day... which isn't always easy, but I do have some sort of camera on me at all times (either my regular one or phone), so maybe it won't be so bad.

That is all.

(anyone else having issues with the "enter" bar & posting? It keeps not doing what it's supposed to do! Ugh.)

xxxx

Testing

2011-03-07T11:44:00.001-08:00

Let's see if it works this way...

Edit: So, apparently, I can write updates via email, but I can't post pictures. Yet. On to figure out how to do that! Because, duh, this is supposed to be a PHOTO BLOG.

*grumble*

It's true...

2010-09-25T06:29:00.000-07:00

...my kids can sleep anywhere.

Even in time out. ;)

Labor Day

2010-09-24T17:05:00.000-07:00

Dayton Airshow 2010

2010-07-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

Bastille Day in Montgomery

2010-07-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

it's your birthday, happy birthday!

2010-07-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Virginia Beach

2010-07-04T20:57:00.000-07:00

Best of... D.C. (day 3) & Arlington National Cemetary

2010-07-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

Best of... D.C. (gemstones!)

2010-07-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

Best of... D.C. (day 2)

2010-07-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

Best of... D.C. (day 1)

2010-07-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

I like to make graphics.. see?

2010-06-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

nom nom nom

2010-06-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

Maker's Mark Distillery

2010-05-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

Randomness

2010-03-29T18:58:00.000-07:00

I'll post the pictures from Lakota Fest, probably sometime tomorrow. I need to remember to bring my cord down here to make the file transfer easier. Anywho! Here are some pictures from the aquarium + some random goodness I created in paint. Yes, paint. ;)

RAWR!

ZZZZZZ (the sharks are sleeping. seriously.)

My thoughts (because you know how much I love giving my opinion!) ;)

The woman behind the pictures

2010-03-23T06:39:00.000-07:00

Me, soaking up the wonderful sun that was out last week. :)

I am a sticker fiend

2010-03-23T06:35:00.000-07:00

My sisters collect fabric, & sell it. I collect stickers, but I hoard them. ;)

Sunny Days

2010-03-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures I took last week... enjoy. :)

On Friday, it was Arlo's "Star of the Week" day at school ~ where he presented his poster & read parts of his favorite book. Thursday night, he tells me, "Oh, don't forget that you're supposed to bring in a treat for the class." That's my "oh crap" moment, lol. I went to Michael's Friday morning, picked up these pencils, erasers, & ribbon bags, and put everything together in the hour I had before I had to be at Arlo's class. They turned out cute & it was soo easy!

Jack wanted to wear my apron. Aww!

Arlo and Jack on their Razor scooters.

~xoxoxo~

Superior Kia Grand Opening

2010-03-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

A big THANK YOU goes out to The Rusty Griswolds for providing a very very entertaining show at the Superior Kia Grand Opening in Cincinnati, OH on March 13, 2010.

That's Jack, playing the tambourine. He had a poker face the entire time.

All of the above pictures were taken with my camera phone. Oh, yes, it is that good.

~xoxoxo~

Flabbergasted

2010-03-03T19:50:00.000-08:00

I am just a tad miffed. My laptop battery finally died (it's been on the way out for about a year now), but all my pictures are on there. Hmph. AND none of the computers here have slots for SD cards. What's up with that?? I thought it was now a given that computers would have them....but I digress.

So now, most of the pictures I've been posting have come from what I've taken with my phone. Pretty spiffy, huh? ;)

For as long as I can remember, I've always had a book or magazine with me when I eat a meal. I know I tried to sneak them at the dinner table when I lived at home. Well, seeing as I'm lacking any good reading material, this is what I do when I get bored at the dinner table:

(I've got napkin skills! It's a boat!)

The boy likes cake too!

2010-03-03T06:57:00.000-08:00

Family picture!

2010-03-02T15:37:00.000-08:00

Aren't we so freaking adorable? :)

Ice cream!!

2010-03-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

I miss the sun

2010-03-02T12:02:00.000-08:00

My shoveling skills have improved much. *pats self on back*
Oh, by the way, this picture is almost 2 weeks old. Thought I'd throw that out there. I'll upload some more recent pictures of The Great Meltdown.

It's been a while..

2010-02-10T12:46:00.000-08:00

For personal reasons, I won't be using this blog much anymore. I did leave the pictures up, though, and may consider just making this a photo blog. I haven't decided. I've decided that my writing for the general public sucks, which is why I never persued a writing career. Hm.

In any case, the kids and I are doing well & enjoying the snow.

~xoxoxo~

Thanksgiving! Part 2: Jim's cabin

2009-12-11T07:01:00.001-08:00

That's a glass walk-way, that leads to a glass platform. I couldn't walk across it, at all, but it's perfectly safe.

I liked this shot of the porch. Seriously. And that was before it got all mucky from the sleety storm we had.. :D

LOVE THE WALLS. Serious.

lookit all the cars! ;)

Thanksgiving!

2009-12-11T06:13:00.000-08:00

Cameron & Jack...
Adam & Desi
Jack
Kathryn, being cute. :)
Starbucks! We found one in PA on our way to NY! mmmm Starbucks.... I think it was 5 or 6am, and I'd been driving for about 3 hours at that point. Yummy deliciousness.

My scarf

2009-11-12T16:04:00.000-08:00

Yanno. That one. The one I actually knitted. With my own two hands! ^_^

Booyah!

~xoxoxo~

Fall, kids, halloween, etc etc.

2009-10-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

The kids' costumes ~ be afraid! :)

The stone work on the house ~ our Mennonite workers may take forever, but they sure do a helluva job!

The only way I can describe "fall" out here is ~ it looks like all the tree spontaneously combusted overnight. Every time we drive down the 40 or 13, my breath gets caught in my throat; the scenery is a type of gorgeous wonder that is without words.

~xoxoxo~

You know you're in Christian Country when.......

2009-10-03T05:43:00.001-07:00

I saw this at the local Dollar store and got a kick out of it, heathen that I am. ;)

~xoxoxo~

Remembering Sept 11, 2001

2009-09-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it already been 8 years?
We will never forget. R.I.P.

xoxoxo

A walk down memory lane..

2009-09-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I ever posted these pictures. We'd splurged and gone to Disneyland over Christmas Break because it was about a month before Jack's heart surgery, and we wanted him to go before that...

The boys in front of the castle -- this was the best picture of the 3 I took, haha.

The castle, all lit up...

The castle, with "snow"... very gorgeous..

Mickey Mouse ears!! So cute!

Kittens!

2009-09-04T08:01:00.000-07:00

We have these two stray kittens that I keep fed with kitty food and milk. They keep coming back for more, so I assume they know where to get food, lol. (Although, yesterday, one brought its dinner of Rat Butt to the patio--yuck!) They're freaking adorable, though. We've named them "Black & Decker" because one is entirely black, and the other has a little triangle of white on its chest.

Spider!

2009-09-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

We saw this spider the other day... I *think* it's a Golden Silk Weaver? It was gorgeous, though. It looks very much like the thing was REAL gold and silver. I think the first picture does it the most justice. Including the legs, I'd say it was about an inch to two inches. ICK!

Buckeye Lake

2009-09-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

Visiting Buckeye Lake with the inlaws...

Grandad looks across the way...

The boys on a rock.

Backyard Forest

2009-09-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

The entrance...

The pond...

The landowner keeps the paths mowed...

Leaving the forest the way I came.

2009-09-04T07:47:00.000-07:00

The grass, a week after planting... things grow fast here! Now it's almost all filled in (except in the spots where the straw was a bit thicker), and needs mowing at least twice a week. Wow!

Pictures!

2009-09-04T07:44:00.000-07:00

Joe had put the boys in charge of raking the dirt. That lasted about two minutes.

The boys on the straw...

Dirt-throwing -- the week between getting the giant hole filled (where the ugly pool used to be) and getting the dirt seeded was the dirtiest week here. LOTS of baths!

"Mommy, mommy, mommy, ma, ma..."

2009-09-02T06:02:00.000-07:00

We watched this last night on Family Guy, and started busting up because--seriously now--this is Jack on a day-to-day basis. (And if you are a mom, you'll either cringe or bust a gut; I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets tormented in this way by their child(ren)!)

Potato Soup!

2009-02-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

Last night, for dinner, I cooked up my sister's (Becky) potato soup recipe--I do believe it's an over-simplified version of our mom's recipe.

Anyway, I thought I'd share the recipe, with my input of course! :D

Potato Soup

Boil potatoes (I used 5-6 medium-sized potatoes, which fed 4 of us with a bit leftover).
Drain most of the water, but leave a little in the bottom (it helps with the mashing, since I noticed the potatoes suck up a little bit of the water as they're being squished to smithereens).
Mash.
Add chopped onion & about 2-3 cups of milk (depending on how much soup you want to make--I used 2 cups).
Boil. Simmer until thick.

Season to liking. (I seasoned with a few shakes of garlic powder, a few shakes of parsley, some salt & pepper..)

We basically treated it like a baked potato. So, I had grated cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits as "garnishes". You could also do chives or whatever else. Also, with the potatoes, I used 4 different kinds: regular idaho, 1 sweet potato, gold rush (the medium-size yellow potatoes), and a few white potatoes. Depends on what you like, and what you have on hand. I'm sure it could easily be done with new potatoes or a mix of everything or even just one kind. :)

Hope it turns out good! I think it would be very difficult to do this recipe wrong.

It was fabulous! Including simmering time and boiling potato time (you don't have to hover while they boil, which I love), it took about 45 min to make. Not too bad, if you ask me! Of course, if you take out the 10 min it took me to peel and cut up the potatoes, it was only 35 min of cooking time. ;)

George Santayana

2008-12-17T17:28:00.000-08:00

"The world is not respectable; it is mortal, tormented, confused, deluded forever; but it is shot through with beauty, with love, with glints of courage and laughter; and in these, thr spirit blooms timidly, and struggles to the light amid the thorns."