Nothing gets by Davey

So yesterday Davey and I are driving in the car and he's telling me a story. I thought I was responding appropriately to all of his comments and questions till at one point he yells at me, "Mommy! Don't just say Mmm Hmm to me!! When I talk to you don't just say Mmm Hmm!!" He totally caught my distraction and disengagment from our conversation. He cracks me up!
We had a similar incident a few months back, we're in the car again, Davey is talking again, asking me the same questions over and over. At one point I answer him with an annoyed, drawled, "Yesss Davey." and he again yelled at me, "Mommy!! Don't you just say Yes to me! Don't say it like that to me!!" He's so darn cute when he's mad. I can't get away with much with him.
This picture is Davey with the Risinger's princess dog Katie. She's the only dog Jonah's ever been around and NOT had a reaction to. I didn't know such a dog existed!

Sick Day

These are pictures of the boys in happier times. Today they are at home with me with fevers and coughs while Trav and Payton go to church and some meetings. Davey is curled up in my lap as I type. They are so pitiful when they're sick, Davey's really whiny and wants to be held all day. Jonah is more stoic and just bears it, he's been throwing up blue gatorade off and on when he coughs too much and gags and he's much more mature in handling it then I am when I'm sick. We've watched planet earth videos, played speed, drank gatorade (red and purple which make blue when you throw up), and napped. I also dabbled with my Deceptively Delicious cook book again today after putting it on hiatus for several months. Trav didn't like being "deceived" and it was better for all of us to put the book away. I now have the green light to try it again as long as I fully disclose the ingredients of everything I make to Travis. According to Trav small deceptions lead to big ones.
I better go, Davey's "wegs" (legs) are hurting. Thank heaven the Oscar preshow starts in like 15 minutes! The day's looking up.

A Day in my Life

Tuesdays are typically a long day for me. They are long days for Trav too. He leaves about 6:30am for coffee with the guys from community group, works in the office at church and then closes Starbucks at night and gets home about 11pm. So I fly solo on Tuesdays, it's amazing how much can happen in a day, or in 10 minutes even, and I still hold it together and enjoy my kids (most of the time). Here's a snapshot of my day. It will include both the good and not so good b/c that's how it goes every day, there's drama and tired kids, and there are amazing yay moments of love and celebration too. They come together, the ugly and beautiful moments, it's a package, you can't have one without the other. So here it goes.
*Woken up by Jonah sneaking into my bed and farting on me and madly giggling about it.
*Drive Payton to school and walk her across the parking lot in my pajamas, flip flops, and hair uncombed. I wear my sunglasses to make me feel incognito even though it's raining. One day Payton will NOT let me get out of the car looking like this in front of her friends.
*Put Jonah and Davey on several time outs for singing about how the other has a stinky diaper. This drives me bananas. They do it to each other and yet scream like a wounded animal when it's being sung about them.
*Host a successful playdate with Jonah's friend Quinn in the morning
*Have "I'm so hungry!" said to me at least 32X by 2:00pm, this is no joke, I'm hounded all day by my boys.
*My sister Vicki brings over coffee and we chat. It was quite lovely.
*Jonah hears he has a dentist appointment later and promptly screams, jumps up and down, and says "I hate the dentist!" and starts crying.
*Pick up Payton from school with the boys and drive her to piano lessons. I wait in the car with the boys to the tune of so and so "has a stinky diaper". More time outs are promised
*I very nervously bring all three kids to their first dentist appointment at our new dental office.
*They ALL take it like a champ! Jonah marched in the room and did everything he was supposed to, and when I tried to peek in on him, I was told by Jonah to "just go back to the other room". Davey watched sissy's appointment so when it was his turn he also wanted to go by himself without me and did fantastic! I peeked in on him too and he was laying there being examined with sunglasses on b/c the light made his eyes water. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen.
*We celebrated by heading for dinner and shopping with my mom at Costco.
*On the drive down, Jonah, on his own, share his new toy from the dentist with Davey (who will never share anything with anybody). An amazing moment of grace and yes!!!*Get to Coscto, screaming matches over who is riding in who's cart and don't touch me!
*Sit the kids at a table to go order and the cashier waves us over to make our kids stop spinning the table umbrellas out of control. Get the food, get the drinks, Davey's screaming b/c he wants gatorade and loses one of his quarters under the machine. It's retrieved, I sit down take one bite of my hotdog. P & D need to go to the bathroom.
*Davey's mad b/c I go in the stall with him. He tries to open the door on me the whole time I'm trying to do my own business. He then opens someone else's door on them while they're doing their own business.
*Sit back down, Payton spills her water.
*My mom and I have cart races with the kids in them up and down aisles (safely). Jonah's giggle could be heard all over the place. It makes me smile every time.
*We got home with a half hour till bedtime, which is so fantastic when you're by yourself. You know you're in the home stretch and you can almost taste the peace and quiet that's soon to come.
*They're all in bed now, and I finally just strapped the headlight to Payton's head and sent her back to bed to read b/c she kept getting up saying she couldn't sleep b/c she thinks too much. Poor girl, she sounds like me. Did you know she got voted student of the month for kindness in her class? She's amazing, we're so excited for her and proud.
*Every night, I'm like "cool, maybe I'll scrapbook or something!" and every night I can barely get in the shower and climb in bed so I can do this all over again the next day, but have Trav with me for more of it:) I haven't scrapped in months. Good intentions don't get much done in this hobby.
I've probably bored you all to tears, but this was very therapeutic for me. I'm going to go take a shower and get into bed! Peace!

Night with the Risingers

We had the best time with Bill, Patti, and Micah last night! We drove out to see their new house and my kids helped break it in by spilling a couple glasses of juice and water. It's not really a house until you have a few stains and stuff, you know how it is. It is always good to hang with the Risingers and catch up and enjoy Patti's comfort food. She made her chocolate pudding cake which I think actually surpass Pazookies and BJ's, it's right up there with Miguel's burritos, guava, etc, in my favorites. I love the Risingers and I think it's funny that we've hung out more living 45 minutes from each other than when we lived five minutes apart! Crazy how life can work that way.

Josh and Nicolle!

The Solorios came into town for the weekend! It has been one year exactly since we moved from Riverside, so it was a cool marker to have Nicolle and Josh here to see where our life has taken us. We had very full, fun days together and I already miss them now that they're gone. They came to church with us and hung with our youth group. I loved it b/c Josh knows Trav's sense of humore and laughed at all of Trav's jokes while he was teaching and got everybody else laughing too. He brought good energy to our gathering:). Jonah fell in love with Josh and was right where he was the whole weekend. I think all three of our kids are going to be awfully bored with just mom and dad again and no big playmates around anymore!

We went for a hike and threw rocks in the river which is pretty standard for anyone who has visited us. You have to experience the redwoods and our backyard this way! Of course all three of my kids had to be carried at some point. It's so great to have two more young backs to share this with. Oh, my gosh, my cat just walked by my window with a mouse hanging out of it's mouth. I never get used to that kind of thing. They leave the entrails on your doorstep as a gift. Gifts are not my love language!!

We went to the beach and amazingly, Payton didn't "accidentally" fall in the water this time! The surf was huge and it was so cool to watch wild nature. I love God's power displayed in pounding waves or thunder and lightening, it is humbling and exciting at the same time!

This picture was taken from the cliff above. It was amazing! Jonah continued to spread the message by making a peace sign for each year from 2002-2007 all over the beach.

Payton taught Nicolle how to play speed and Nicolle thanked her by never letting Payton win. At least I let the kids win sometimes.

One of my favorite things

I love these plants. Is it a cabbage? Lettuce? I'm not sure, but they were everywhere in flower pots in Sweden when I was there Winter '05 and they were so pretty! This one is planted right by my front door and it makes me happy everytime I see it. It reminds me of my time in Sweden with my sister Sara who still lives there. Love you Sara!

Valentne Preparations

The last few days have found us in a flurry of Valentine fever. We dedicated one night to pounding it all out.

We created homemade Valentines which Payton made almost exclusively herself.

We made heart shape jello jigglers, a necessity for any proper preschool Valentine party. This is Jonah's friend Daniel who carpools with us on MWF. He is the happiest, sweetest kid and brings lots of energy to our house on these mornings.

We made biscotti for all of the teachers (Jonah has five!). What teacher wants more chocolate? Davey got to jump in all three activities. I can't imagine how much more we'll have to do when all three are in school next year!
I got my Valentines present this morning when I went to the laundry mat and had the whole place to myself with Jonah and Davey and the change machine accepted my bills. It doesn't get much better than that! Last week it was a mad scene with tons of people jockeying for machines and the change machine ate my money. I was this close to panhandling. It was a low for me.

Snow Day with the Lances!

We headed up to Redding to check out Dan and Alyssa's new digs for a few nights last week and hit the snow. It's always a party when you get five kids together stuff em in three layers of clothing and throw them into big snow drifts to see what happens. We had perfect weather and the kids were icy and pink after all their snow play. We left with rosy cheeks and fun memories. It's always good to hang with the Lances, good conversation, good food, and good times. We'll have to do it again soon!

Future Couple!

Payton dug a snow tunnel that fit her head perfectly!

Davey prefers no pants to wet pants.

Daddy gettin some love.

What we're listening too these days

We LOVE this soundtrack. My kids want to listen to it all the time. It's so fun too easily agree on music with even my three year old. Trav bought it for us on I-tunes and left out track #7 with the swear words so we're good to go!
I also had him leave off track #8 with Sonic Youth b/c the song reminded me of Jason Bateman's character and he just made me sad and feel sorry for him. The rest of the soundtrack is fun and upbeat. It's our happy music.

Happy Moment Captured

Payton thinks Davey looks like a frog. Love these kids!

Anyone else digging these?

These are amazing, perfection perfectly packaged up in two points (for my weight watcher friends). Where would we be without Trader Joes coming up with these creations? I'm at one a day currently. After the day I had yesterday at the laundromat these were my only answer to the insanity. I think dark chocolate very well could be my favorite food in the whole world. That and Miguel's bean and cheese burritos, and BJ's pazookies, and maybe guava.

Time for new slippers

I've been high stepping all morning so as not to trip on the big flap my slipper's grown. I just wanted to get one last wear in before I give them the toss...

Field Trip Day

Payton had a field trip on Thursday to see a Peter Rabbit play with her class. She was pumped all week for it and carefully chose this outfit so she could be a little dressy yet still enjoy the playground where they were going after for a picnic. This girl never wears a dress, ever, and she'll never wear tights b/c they "make her legs look weird". And yet, she happily chose this ensemble and proceeded to admire herself in the full length mirror in the bathroom while I did her hair. There's something very sweet and innocent about a child openly admiring themself when she is not yet aware of the stigmas of pride. She had her hands on her hips and side stepped with a little kick back and forth commenting on how grown up she looks and how the outfit made her look taller.
She was on cloud nine all morning and I topped it off by packing a full size Mug Rootbeer in her lunch for her picnic. Everything had to be disposable and rootbeer was all I had. I don't thing she's ever had her own full can of soda to herself in all of her seven years. I am mom of the year now.
We blasted "Field Trip" by the Imagination Movers and sang at the top of our lungs on the drive to school. It was a great final moment of send off before her big day. And then she was gone, my big girl, on a class field trip without me b/c I was working at the pre-school. It is great when you can take a step back and really see your child in the moment and appreciate the unique being that they are. That outfit really did make her look tall and grown up.

kodak issues

I'm SO frustrated. For some reason my camera will not download pictures to my computer. I turn it on and the computer "dings" that something just turned on but nothing pops up for me to transfer my pictures. So I tried to "repair" my software with the disk, but in the middle of "repairing" it stops and says it's unable to complete it's task and do I want to go on-line to figure it out myself? No I don't want to figure it out myself! Who do they think I am? I can already see myself sinking into the abyss of my confusion of technical jargon. I'm not equipped nor able to deal with this. So annoyed right now.