The Beach

sand art by Tic, Tac, Toe (oops, I mean Ms Smarty Pants)

Spring was in the air so we headed to the beach to hang out with Mrs Epi and her offspring. The tide was way out. The Giant Man Child has been looking for agates on the beach. The Princess was lending her expertise to him in the picture below.

A purple starfish was found by Ms Smarty Pants

How We Spent Our Saturday Night

That is the inside of our dishwasher taken apart. This is how we spent our Saturday night. EWEE! We took apart our dishwasher. GOOD TIMES! The great news it now runs. It is convenient having a handy Giant Man Child.

Art Moment

Check out this beautiful card made of a picture of my Nephew, Sasquatch, artwork. Can you believe he is 13 years old? He will be 14 in a few short weeks. It makes his Auntie feel really old. After sobbing and whining to both my MOTHER and the Polyester Princess, I am now in possession of two of these beauties.

Featured in our local newspaper were some local artists that do Mosaic murals. Check out their website. This is some incredible stuff.

Hey Aunt P, have you checked out the Chihuly Glass Exhibit at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens. The latest addition of Sunset Magazine also had a little article about it. I would so be there if I lived closer. The Queen of Fifty Cents has a really great post about her visit.

#1 Son did this block print. I think it turned out really well

Rainy Day Reading Material

Check out these linky's in case you missed these excellent posts. This is great rainy day reading material. Below is who the Giant Man Child ran into at a work event.

This John Hillstrand, Captain of the Time Bandit featured on Deadliest Catch. The new season starts April 14. Unfortunately due to the nature of the Giant Man Child's Job, I had to cut him out of the picture. For some of you, that may not be a bad thing.

Excellent blurb about the Duggars at Rocks in My Dryer. I know it is my on going fascination with with large families. Also on Monday's night is Table of 12 on TLC.

I haven't shown Chuckles this post about these lego heart pins at Danny Seo but you bet he would be all over it.

I am itching to get started on my garden. There has been a lot of talk on gardening blogs about the Obama's having a organic garden.

What would you do? (WWYD)

Today as Mrs Epi and I were strolling into our favorite spot, Goodwill, we noticed a small child strapped into a car seat in what appeared to be an empty car. When we got closer, we noticed the mother slumped over into the passenger seat. The headlights were on too. Mrs Epi and I both agreed that was strange. We went into Goodwill and we came back 2o minutes later the situation was the same. What would you do? We looked around for security but found none. I called my hubby and he suggested knocking on the window or calling 911. So, despite all my chicken tendencies. (believe me I am a total chicken) I knocked on the window. The lady woke up. Praise the Lord because I had already imagined the worse scenario possible and all those scenarios involved Mrs Epi and I in a crime scene investigation. Seriously, I think we need to lay off the crime TV. Note to Mom's everywhere, it is really not a good idea to take a nap in a crowded parking lot with your lights on because you will give these two Mom's a heart attack.

Report Card

This past week was report card week for my children. If I had to give my week a grade, I would give it a "P". I am not sure if that would be a "P" for passing or "P" for puking. I started my week with picking up a puking child(not my own) and ended it with Upchuck Chuck.

There were certainly "A" moments. I went to #1 Son's conference. It was the very 1st conference I have ever attended that I wasn't greeted by 2-4 specialist along with the teacher. I have been to quite a few that also included the principal. I couldn't help but think during the entire conference, "Wow, this is what it feels like to just meet with the regular teacher." I am so pleased with the progress my son has made. What a difference a program can make along with the right medication. I also got my #1 son to the pediatric dentist. I know that isn't a big deal to most people but it was huge for us. We had put it off due to the cost and the fact that Nonna is a dental hygienist and can clean our teeth. We were able to finally budget it and #1 son was cooperative. He had no cavities either. WAHOO!

There were some "B" moments too. Mrs Respiratory Therapist and I went to the North Bellingham School meeting. North Bellingham school was basically condemned and all the students and staff were moved to the new school behind my house. It was a heated meeting. Due to budget concerns and two bond defeats, the school board has put off a decision to build a new North Bellingham School. Of course, the school board is being wishy-washy on their exact plans and have allowed an alternative school to set up their facility and soon will allow an early childhood facility. You could fill the frustration in the room. I did think the speaker they had that described the bond and levy was very knowledgeable and I walked away knowing why a bond over a levy. I also have decided there is something that happens when you move a Neighborhood School out of the neighborhood. It is hard to establish a community at this new school when people are still attached to their neighborhood school. As long there is a promise to go back to their neighborhood school, there is no incentive for these parents to commit to this school. In fact, one of the parents said to Mrs Respiratory Therapist and I, "Won't you be glad to get back your school. "

Here are the "C" moments. I am a single parent this weekend due to my hubby's work commitments. I am use to this but it never really gets any easier. I know am doing an adequate job parenting but it would be easier and better with the Giant Man Child.

I would be lying if I said that weren't quite a few "D' moments. There was Chuckles conference. That was less than stellar. I think you should feel impending doom when you go to a Kindergarten conference and red flags are raised. Did I mention there was also a lot of puke, too? #1 Son went from a Level 4 to a Level 1, day 1 in his class in two days. Level 4 is the highest level you can be in his class and basically it entitles you to a myriad of privileges. Can anyone say Spring Fever? Lastly the special assignment that the Giant Man Child has been on abruptly ended leaving a lot of confusion among the employees.

Just Ducky

When is it going to be SPRING? We have a pair of ducks visiting our little retention pond. Don't know if they are going to build their nest at this pond or not. It is really hard to read a duck's mind. Many times there is not much water in this pond as it filled with the run off so it is not very attractive to ducks. We are having a lot of rain so it does have quite of bit of water in it currently Mrs Respiratory reminded me that a few (quite a few) years ago that we had a Momma duck and babies that moved her babies from our retention pond to the one on the next street over. The pictures above are of that event.

Honey Pot Troubles

This seems like the type of article this blog should highlight. I sure can relate to Bob Dylan's neighbors problem.

The Adventures of Super Kitty

It's not a bird or a plane but SUPER KITTY. This blog has so gone to the cats. Somehow, Puss managed to get into the handles of this plastic bag and it became a cape. He was so freaked out and kept running. I don't think he could figure out what was following him.

Pot of Gold

What is St Patrick's day without hunting for a little gold? Following the gold debacle of 2008, I made sure I obtained my gold in secret. I wasn't able to link to my March 17th from last year but you can go back through the archives to see our hunt. The Diva recreated part of the hunt from last year for Chuckles. I guess it made quite the impression. I used the already made clues here. Everyone is a reader now so we didn't need to follow a trail. I don't have any pictures of the hunt as those things go rather quickly.
There was a lovely note left for the leprechaun by the Diva. The leprechaun left some answers, too

Deer Leprechaun

What do you eat? Lucky Charms Cereal
What do you drink? Green Milk
Can I see your home? Only if you visit Ireland
Can I see who you are in my back yard after lunch? (that little leprechaun managed to miss this question)

Love

The Diva

Punch Rainbows

Chuckle's Rainbow

We made these rainbows yesterday. I had the colors already cut out. It probably would of made the craft longer if I had the kids punch the colors but I only have one temperamental punch.

The Diva's Rainbow

The Cast of Characters on this Blog

The cast of characters on my blog. It has come to my attention that some of the nicknames need some explanation.

Giant Man Child - This is my 6 foot 3 inch hubby who in many ways is a giant child.

#1 Son - This is my first born son.

Chuckles - This is my 2nd born son. Our neighbor, Mrs Respiratory Therapist, nicknamed him this. He actually answers to this better than his own name. It sums up his personality.

Mrs Respiratory Therapist - This is my neighbor. She is a Respiratory Therapist. She loves some lung butter. LOL

Diva - This is Mrs Respiratory Therapist daughter. She watches me on Monday and Tuesday. She is helping me find my inner girl.

Big E - This is Mrs Respiratory Therapist son.

Polyester Princess - This is my sister. She wears a IHOP outfit at her work that is not in the food industry. She loves poly blend. Just ask her she will tell you all about it. She is Mom to my Nephews Sasquatch and Fast Eddy.


Mrs Epi - She is my partner in crime. She owns the adventure van. She is allergic to many things so she carries an Epi pen and knows how to use it.

Bones- This is Mrs Epi's son. He always finds bones.

The Princess - This is Mrs Epi's youngest daughter. The only preschooler I know who can give the deadly silent treatment, seriously. I am secretly or not so secretly jealous of her shiny shoes.

Tic Tac Toe - formerly Ms Smarty Pants . She is Mrs Epi's oldest daughter. She introduced me to the Twilight series of books She is also who I consult on all homework questions.

Saturday Facts

photo taken March 12, 2009

Ok, this is a shameless steal from someone else's blog but they do Friday facts AND this Saturday so not quite the same, right. :)

Thankful for: I am so glad my hubby is back for a few days and has a long weekend. I am also glad that I played hooky with Mrs Epi on Friday and saw Slum Dog Millionaire. I can see why that film was voted best picture. It was a visually very appealing film and what a story line.

Inspired by: I really love the felt flower bouquet's that Princess Lasertron does. I made a few blooms last night. Mine are no where the quality of hers but it is sure fun.

Looking forward to: We are going to see Lion King in Seattle. Nonna got us tickets. It is so exciting. We got Pappy a Lion King book to read so he would know how the story would go.

Reading: I just finished the 3rd book in the Twlight series by Stephanie Meyer. Book Club is meeting next week to discuss "The Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian." I also finished Accidential Tourist which is our next book club book. We are behind a few discussions.

My Dog is a Celeb

Second Opinion

Buzz

I noticed when I checked the library website that a picture of my dog I had taken is on their home page. It is in the upper left corner. Buzz aka Buzz Lightyear is a celeb. I had entered this photo in a library photo contest. It won 3rd place.

White Chocolate Chip Lemon Cookies

Giant Man Child Cone of Silence

The Giant Man Child came home raving about these cookies he had at a recruiting event. So, I attempted to recreate these cookies for him. I have to say they are very tasty and just the right type of lemon flavor to compliment the white chocolate. This isn't a flavor combination that I have tried before but I really like it. Here is the recipe I used. I think next time I won't use a whole bag of white chocolate chips.

Interesting Reads

Here are some interesting reads

18 Baby Shower Gifts for the Octomom by Abdplot -These were pretty funny. I am with everyone else and their strange fascination with Octomom.

As I was sitting at McDonald's watching my 5th grader scarfing down a full size meal, I realized I was so doomed. We go through the basics at my house at an alarming rate. My grocery bill keeps getting higher and higher despite my couponing, stockpiling, and make ahead efforts. This link to all the frugal food sites seems like something I should be looking at.

Anyone looking for more local Pacific Northwest deals than found on sites such as Money Saving Mom try Thrifty Northwest Mom .

Chuckles Photos

Seeing the Light

Chuckles is really inspired by the Lego a Day Blog. He has been taking 100's of photo's. These are some of the gems.

Self Portrait (love that he is upside down)

Puss the Cat

Dreaded 5th Grade Book Report

Last week was a long week with snow and deadlines. I am so proud of how hard #1 Son has worked on his book report. He did a great job. He did his book report on "The Incredible Journey". The best thing about this project was he complete the project and turned it in on time.

I don't remember much from 5th grade myself. I don't remember doing a book report. That was a LONG time ago according to my sister, The Polyester Princess. I do remember that I had Mrs Williams and I am pretty sure I was afraid of her. God rest her soul. She had a Ziggy sign on her classroom door that said, "Misery Loves Company." I know at the time I didn't get the meaning of that sign. For gosh sakes, she made us take dictation. I pretty sure my son doesn't have to do that. Those were days. I was jealous that my friend, Blondie in Nebraska, was in Mr Heydt's class. Mr Hedyt was 10 times cooler than Mrs Williams.

Sew Expo

On Sunday, Mrs Epi and I ventured to the Sew Expo. I have been talking about this forever but we finally went. Wow! Talk about sewing overload. We were a little disappointed. It seemed to be more geared to the professional sewer not the novices like us. Truly, I think we wanted to be inspired and we walked away not feeling that. But it sure was fun to look. Embroidery Machines and Needle Felting seem to be really big trends.

The quilt pictured above is a variation on a rag quilt. The little squares I thought would shrink up not rag as much but it turned out pretty good. Instead of an an "X" through the square. I made a square.

The back was done in blue and green flannel

7 is Fine

Today is the Diva's Birthday. Happy 7th Birthday to YOU! We had a special breakfast in honor of the Birthday girl. On the menu was Chocolate Milk, Donuts, Bacon, and Strawberries. Yum! I have a feeling all of us are going to be running on a little sugar today.

7 Great Things About the Diva

1. gifted artist

2. super rope skipper

3. FUN!

4. kind

5. Great Kitty Nanny

6. a beat the pants off of you Wii Bowler

7. a good friend