Sweatery Boys

I am totally impressed with Harry's attitude yesterday. No complaining, no tears, even though this was by far, the most meager Christmas yet. I am so relieved that it is over!

Hitting the Slopes

Harry had a great time this morning in the fresh powder. Considering we're raising him for veal, he stayed out there quite a long time and loved it. I was a wimp though and took pictures of his first run and then got the hell back in the warm house!

Merry Citrus!

Before we left my in-laws on Sunday, they let me pick as many oranges, lemons and grapefruits as we wanted. I don't know if I was pre-scurvy or what, but I was just enthralled and have eaten at least one every day. Can't get the boys interested in them at all though. More for me!

Santa came early.

The local Fire Station brought Santa and Mrs. Claus right to our house on a fire truck last Sunday. Harry was truly amazed, but of course, George wanted nothing to do with the old guy in the white beard. They both got a stocking full of fun stuff. Moving here gets better and better!

Our Tree

Just for you to see, Savanna. Our Christmas Tree!

Ick!

I'm not a big fan of the yucked up baby photos, but George was just so happy that I let him go to town on his jar of baby food. He was one happy dude!

Day Trip to Sedona

We decided to get out of the house on Saturday and drive to Sedona and Oak Creek. We hiked Through slide rock park and the boys had a great time climbing all over everything they could. George was great for Brian in the sling, just went along for the ride.

This week, we adventure to Phoenix!

Dog Heaven

The clan is just coming off a Nathan's hot dog binge courtesy of our nearest Shell gas station. We are 20 miles from any real fast food, so while were so occupied with the moving and unpacking, we kept running down to the Shell station for their 99 cent hot dogs. it became quite addictive since there were almost never enough for all of us to get one, so we'd have to take turns and depending on the person, we'd either hope that they WERE the jalapeno version or NOT.

Here is George enjoying the last one we got, 4 whole days ago.

I wonder if Shell has noticed a precipitous drop in their hot dog sales?

Monday's View

Why, yes I do realize that it's Wednesday, but between a sick baby and an absent daddy, it's been a few days of hell here.

This was the lovely view from my front window on Monday morning. The little powder was gone by lunchtime, but it was so pretty to wake up to.

She didn't get on the bus...

and I don't think she would have fit even if she tried.

Brian spotted two elk (or maybe mule deer? I'm not sure.)feeding on grass and such when we took Harry to his bus stop this morning. I wonder how many kids get to see that?

Go Vote!

Today is election day; don't forget to vote!

In the Pines

We arrived on Wednesday night. The drive wasn't too bad, both Harry and George were champs for the 13 hours it took. We stopped in Hawthorne, NV for breakfast and then in Tonopah, NV for gas and potty breaks and we had a long break in Vegas for lunch at Chipotle and donuts from Dunkin Donuts. (haven't had those in YEARS!) Our only other stop was at Hoover Dam. Harry hasn't seen it and I thought we should stop, just in case it was harder to get to when the new highway opens.



Our "cabin" in the woods is a whole 'nother story. It is safe and warm and dry; no critters or anything scary. Well, I guess that depends on your point of view....

...to be continued

We are downsizing...

but not quite this much.

We are moving into my in-laws "cabin" near Flagstaff, AZ. We are just tired of struggling to live here in Reno. The cost of living here is ridiculous and there are no tech jobs for Brian. I am sick to death of worrying about how we are going to pay our bills. We are starting over again.

Here's the real deal:



It's on a 5000 sq ft lot in the Coconino National Forest. The kids will be going to Flagstaff schools, which are very nice, highly rated and Brian will be taking a deep breath and figuring out what he wants to do next.

Part of me will miss our big two-story house, but I was getting way to attached to a house that we don't own and by helping someone else pay their mortgage, we were certainly making sure we would never have one of our own. With Savanna and Steven on the brink of adulthood, we were going to have FAR more house than we really needed anyway.

So, on to the next adventure! We'll see how rustic life can be.

5+ years later...

We finally made it to a museum here in Reno. We went to the Nevada Museum of Art yesterday and I will freely admit, we only went because Savanna needed to go for school. One of those things you never get around to, but are really glad someone finally forced you to go.

Harry's favorite exhibit was Dan Goods "The Hidden Light." It was an interactive visual display; very cool.

My favorite was Katie Holten: Atlas of Memory.

I realize that they do it to keep it relevant to the area, but the predictable Southwestern/Western oil paintings wear me out. I guess I need to get away from this region to see anything else. Overall, it was an interesting and cheap expedition for an otherwise uneventful Sunday.

George's First Birthday!

Hard to believe that my littlest sunshine is already one! This past year has gone by so fast.
(click to see it bigger)

In my fantasy world

Here's what we would be wearing for the Holiday picture that I haven't taken yet:



It will probably never happen this way, since stuff usually never does, but it's a fun thought!

My two little "Caricatures"

When we last got to IKEA in May, they were having a Kids Day and there was a very nice Caricature artist there named Susan Johnson (artbysue@sbcglobal.net). Somehow, the line was only one kid long when we walked in, so we wrangled her into doing both boys. George sat pretty well for only 7 months old at the time. Sue asked them what they liked to do, so Harry is building a Lego raft and Georgie is playing with blocks. I don't recall George ever really getting into blocks, but I imagine that's what Harry told her that he liked to do.

Latest Pages

I am way too lazy to worry about cut-off edges and perfect scans, but here they are!

What I wouldn't do for Georgie's Head

Poor George seems to always have a "bruised apple" head. If he doesn't have a fresh one, he's got an old yellowing one. He is constantly pulling out drawers, getting on top of things or under them, or otherwise banging his head.

Consequently, I've had to elevate my drafting table really high to keep him from using it as a target and since it is so high now, my short self has to stand to use it and keep it at an angle to do so, which means that everything slides off because long ago I took off the bottom tray because it was broken.

So.... after this steam roller of events, I got a new trimmer that has grippy feet. Pretty much everything else will stay put for short periods, but my old gigantic guillotine trimmer was just too scary to ever put on there. With discount coupon in hand, I got this little guy at Michael's and it really works great. They have really improved upon the rotary trimmer since I last had one and the price was great.



I don't know if it was the new trimmer or what, but I have been scrapbooking like a maniac this past week. Fun to have my mojo back! Maybe I will even scan some to post!

Goodbye Mrs. Martin

We were so thrilled to find out that Harry LOVED his 2nd grade teacher this year. He was truly excited to go to school everyday and did his homework without any fuss. He was happy and thriving until we found out that due to decreased enrollment, they were going to eliminate one of the 2nd grade classes, and you guessed it, it was Harry's class with Mrs. Martin. She is normally a 1st grade teacher and got bumped back into 1st grade and Harry's class got split up between the other 2nd grade classes. He's back in a team teaching class, which I think is incredibly stupid. One teacher teaches the class while the other grades homework and does paperwork. I'm not impressed with the idea.

This photo was taken on the last day that Harry went to Mrs. Martin's class. What a sad day for him.

Signs of Fall

Harry left this for me on my desk. He thought it was so cute, he knew I would like it, but wanted to make sure I didn't eat it. So like him, the sweetest little boy on earth.

11 Months Old

Hard to believe we're coming upon the big 1st Birthday already. George started the celebration early by rolling right out of my bed at 1am. While he was not very happy ending up on the floor, he spends pretty much his entire day trying to dive off of things. He did NOT get the stuntman gene from me, that's for sure. None of my other kids were so fearless, they learned quickly that they didn't like the end result, but good old George just keeps trying. My little thrill seeker.

Slacker Update

So, it has been two weeks since I've darkened the doors at Gold's Gym. Not really because I want to skip it, but I have not had any opportunity (read: no one likes to babysit for me for free anymore).

I have been doing quite an extensive routine of exercises at home. Almost an hour of crunches, leg work, and very light weight training. No cardio at all though. Not good.

Will I resort to driving a 30 mile, just for gym trip at night to fit it in? When evening is Georgie's MOST clingy time? and when he still nurses himself to sleep. Can't really see it happening, but I don't know what else to do.

The Agony of Defeat

So, I had an appointment for an assessment with a personal trainer this past Wednesday. She evaluated pretty much every single muscle in my body, even though I told her that quite a few of them have never been used before.

She won.

I was thoroughly and completely convinced that I needed some serious help. I couldn't even balance on a damn ball thing because my quads were so much weaker than my glutes. (?) Even my most valiant efforts were obviously not. good. enough.

Problem is, I don't have $2268 to spend on 36 sessions with her. Not even in the realm of possibility right now. I haven't worked in over a year and Brian has taken some big pay cuts. Their payment plan was still WAAAYY out of reach.

So after being rendered practically crippled by the intensity of that 1 1/4 hours, I went to the library and got some books to hopefully incorporate resistance training into my usual workout.

I went back to the gym yesterday and it was hard, I felt embarrassed and like a big loser for wasting her time, but I did it and I'll keep going until it feels like fun again. Right now all I feel is pain and frustration. Wish I could go back to that state of ignorance and bliss, where I thought I was doing alright.

Back in the Day

So, as I am trying to determine what the kids need to go back to school, I remembered how every year at the end of summer, my mom would take us to Kinney Shoes to get a new pair for school. I always had a hard time deciding what I wanted to live with for the entire school year and almost never got them big enough to last anyway.

Gold's Gym Rocks!

At the end of June, Brian and I joined Gold's Gym. The first two weeks were pretty hard, we both stuck to the treadmill. Brian's heart race reached some scary levels and every workout made me really dizzy and nauseous. We hung in there though and we get there at least twice a week, usually 3 times.

We are a little dismayed that of the 7 channels of TV to watch, one of the constants is Fox News. It's hard to look away from that train wreck.

I have graduated from the treadmill to the elliptical, doing 2.25 miles in 30 minutes. No more dizziness for me and Brian's heart rates are in normal range now. Brian has lost weight, but mine hasn't changed significantly. I'm afraid that I might be one of those fit but fat people unless I go on some kind of meal plan. I hope it's too soon to worry about that and since I'm still breastfeeding, there isn't too much I want to do about it at this point.

I'm ready to test out my new fitness level with a bike ride or something. We live in the foothills and have some crazy streets, so it will probably still kick my ass, but I'm still curious to try.

School Days, School Days

Today was registration at Harry's school. After being in a two-teacher, very full class last year, I asked for him to be moved to a traditional classroom. He is not a needy kid, but all that chaos didn't work for him. The whole idea of having two teachers seemed to make sense at first until I found out that in practice, it meant one teacher was teaching ALL 37 kids while the other teacher graded papers.

All spring semester, they insisted that my son could hardly read and then when they gave him a standardized test, he suddenly "could" read above grade level. I wasn't impressed. It told me that he was not going to excel in that environment.

Only 12 days left until we start finding out!

Target gets me every time.

Everytime I go to Target and think, "I just need ____ and ____." they have something new or cheap that I just cannot resist.
I saw it and it was the ONLY one and I HAD to have it.
Today's find:

Here's a linky if you like it too: Mossimo Tote

Lucky mom gets to watch this every day

So last week, just two days before he turned 9 months old, my little sunshine started walking. He's been teasing us for a few weeks, but now he takes off pretty much whenever he wants. Truly amazing.

How's that for a slice of fried gold?

So, for the first time in ages, I woke up before George and was able to do the whole wake up and get your coffee thing in peace. I had a full hour all to myself to check email, start some laundry and get my mind in gear. It was great.

Unfortunately, I did something truly dumb yesterday. Just to entertain George, we went around the house "knocking" on all kinds of different things to hear the sound it made. Guess that wasn't such a great idea because this morning my "knocking" knuckle hurts like hell. People who have arthritis probably shouldn't go around smashing their joints on things. I hope it calms down soon.

Whew!

After three summers, we have finally established a lawn! In my opinion, it is just WAY too much effort and cost here in the high desert, but it was already there.

We have aerated and dethatched, seeded and overseeded, fertilized and watered and it finally looks like a lawn!

Ummmm, that's not fog

According to my Google Weather Gadget:

85°F
Current:Fog
Wind: NW at 2 mph
Humidity: 10%

Pretty much wishing that it WAS fog. This was after the first full day of smoke:

I resemble that remark

So, my daughter and I were leaving Gold's Gym today and when we were waiting for M Night Shyamalan to cross the street (not really, but the guy kinda looked like him), we decided that in no way did I have any kind of resemblance in any way to any celebrity. I thought that was a very good thing since if there was some characteristic that one would recognize in me, it would likely not be a good one. "Hey, she's got a pooch that looks just like Roseanne Barr's!" Catch my drift?

Anyway, I suddenly remembered that the owner of a silk shop in Virginia City a few months ago was so intent on selling me a wrap, that when I was trying it on, he told me, "See! You look just like Angelina Jolie!" I think you will have to agree:

My Little Carnivore is 8 Months Old

Georgie doesn't really eat the meat; he just chews on it for a while-still doesn't have any teeth. Little dude is pulling up and walking all around the furniture and can crawl wherever he wants to go. Some serious babyproofing is going to happen here this weekend. It's been so long since we've had a baby in the house that it feels like a minefield now.
I realize that I sound like a really bad reporter, but George has become so demanding in the last few weeks, I am totally frazzled. He wants constant interaction and attention and it is exhausting. I know that this stage will quickly pass when he is fully walking, but I am drained right now.
I can't believe my little lamb is already 8 months old. It is flying by and as usual, I wish I was less tired and enjoying it more.

One less Son this Summer

My oldest son, Steven is leaving today to stay with his dad for the summer. We get to do this every year, but I never really get used to it. On one hand, it's nice not having to try and entertain an almost-17 year old boy, but it is also a constant nagging worry about where he is and what he is doing. Hopefully, he will take good care of himself AND have a good time.

See my Husband Get Nailed

Here he is in a commercial for AlphaFlex. (yep, he's the guy getting tackled-he had the nasty abrasions to prove it!)

AlphaFlex Commercial

An outlaw for my love...

I don't think I've ever heard another song that quite nailed down the early teen experience like this one. I stumbled across it when I was ripping CD's onto our new computer. I dont' know how I missed it the first time around, but I can't stop playing it now. It has a lovely, swoony melody. I can't find a sample of it since it was from a compliation CD called "Double Take," but here are the lyrics.

Thirteen by Garbage

Won't you let me walk you home from school?
Won't you let me meet you at the pool?
Maybe, Friday I can
Get tickets for the dance
And I'll take you.

Won't you tell your dad, "Get off my back"?
Tell him what we said 'bout "Paint It, Black".
Rock n' roll is here to stay.
Come inside, now; it's okay.
And I'll shake you.

Won't you tell me what you're thinking of?
And would you be an outlaw for my love?
If it's so, then, let me know.
If it's "no", well, I can go.
I won't make you.

Silly Boys in a Box

While Georgie would LOVE to get his little hands on Harry's Legos and tiny cars, we can sometimes find things that amuse them both in a way that nobody gets hurt.

Shakin'

We are having an earthquake "storm" here in Northern Nevada. Last night we had a 4.7 that woke me out of a sound sleep. Going to stock up on water today.

Home-Decor challenged

I will be the first to admit, I have never taken an interest in or made any kind of effort at all to decorate a home I lived in, except for maybe my first apartment, which in all honesty, had a lot more style than any other home I've lived in.

Anyhoo, almost every single thing in our house is a hand-me-down, or bought quickly out of necessity or on impulse. Needless to say, it looks like shit.

Since I am creeping up on 40, it is pretty embarrassing to have anyone come into our house. The theme song from "Sanford and Son" constantly plays in my mind. I am almost to the point where I'd like to chuck everything and live on cushions because at least it would have some kind of flair. The problem with that is, since everything I've collected so far is some kind of weird rustic flavor and that is NOT AT ALL where I'd like to be and I would literally have to toss EVERYTHING. I can't get rid of the quilt my mom made or the brass candlesticks my grandma gave me, but I can't figure out how they could be incorporated into color schemes like this:



The whole idea seems very overwhelming and horribly expensive. I think it might require a few more years of looking and dreaming.

Living in Sin

Just read a post from a midwesterner who is looking to relocate to the west. She wasn't sure about "Navada" because of the gambling. I guess we can't help from bumping into all the hookers walking around either. (the only ones I've ever seen were in ads on top of taxis)

I find it quite hilarious since I grew up in Wisconsin where there is a freaking bar or liquor store on every corner, even in most neighborhoods. I can remember going to church on Sunday and then going to Grandma's house, where the booze was flowing. It's five o' clock somewhere, right?

Then I thought, what the hell am I bitching about? Like I really want some religious nut moving anywhere near me anyway.

Yes, yes, Nevada is chock full o' brothels and casinos and don't forget that we have the highest meth use per capita in the entire world!

WWYD?

I was just wondering; if you put aside all matters related to health, would you rather:

1) be just the right size; not too drastically skinny, but whatever amount is ideal to you without starving yourself or going crazy with the exercising thing (whatever that is).

2) be rich, but have to be chunky, with no reprieve via plastic surgery or whatever. So you could dress well and all that, but you'd have to be a chunk.

I honestly don't know which I would choose.

Little bit scary.

Harry's Award

Here's a video of Harry getting a principal's award at school. His reading level went up a whole grade since January. I kind of knew that he would just suddenly "get" reading since that's exactly how it happened with Steven. Way to go Dude!

Bringing it back

My brother and I were talking about great catchphrases from the 80's. He wants to bring back "Gimme a Break" and I remembered "Where's the Beef?" but I think the coup de grace is this....

Went to Virginia City today

it was pretty fun. elevation 6200 ft. too tired now to write complete sentences or capitalize.

Interesting choice

ya' know, when I'm getting ready to take my son to school, I tend to put on a coat or sweatshirt.

I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't reach for the cotton throw that I drape over my couch, particularly if it had a pattern of pot leaves all over it.

My first grader wouldn't know what they were, but I think that his teachers would.

Just sayin'.

Scots are Funny

I was at Target this morning buying the Easter goodies and a young man named Kristopher was checking me out, chatting about Peeps and I asked him if he was Scottish and he said "yes, but one time...."

He proceeded to tell me a funny story about a woman who was convinced he was from Maine. I wish I had the brain cells to either remember the story or write it down, but I think they are leaking out along with the breast milk.

Anyway, he gave me quite a lovely chuckle, though the lady behind me looked at me like I was daffy.

I think that this entire post quite perfectly describes the aforementioned brain cell leakage.

Carry on.

things to be happy about

I am not very good at the collage thing, but

1) get to spend my days with this cute little guy
2) gave myself a office/scrap space (in progress)
3) the same little guy doesn't mind sleeping
4) we could actually pay all our March bills-whew!
5) totally perfect pancakes-none were thrown away
6) a secret stash of Girl Scout cookies

First Foods

Georgie has been trying solid foods for the last few weeks, but this was by far his favorite.

I Remember when...

even if I didn't get all the grooming I needed on a daily basis, I at least brushed my hair. (hence a serious dearth of photos of George & me.)

I would watch a movie all the way through in one sitting. (didn't know I could make a single DVD last three days. Same goes for books. I've been reading "Atonement" for weeks now.)

I could cook real meals. (attempted this on Friday and it was horrifyingly exhausting.)

my house was clean. (just when it most needs it; it is beyond disgusting.)

I actually cared about any of the above.

The most Beautiful Baby in the World

Now that I've put another sun in my sky, I have to qualify the "most beautiful" with either boy or baby, depending on if Harry is listening or not.

Brotherly Love

Just in time for Valentine's Day

Dreaming of Spring

I am SO done with winter!

1. Had enough of colds and coughs. Poor Harry has a nasty one right now; waiting for a call from the doctor because his ear is infected.

2. I can't stand how dirty the car is; even if we wash it, the next snow & melt cruds it right back up again.

3. Georgie hates being bundled up with a passion. He gets really mad.

4. I want nice, longs days again. they go far too fast right now.

5. The house is downright stinky; we need some fresh air in here!

Seven year old angst

I guess the combination of winter, school, & some jealousy of our baby is getting to Harry:

Translation: "I am sad and miserable. I would like it if you made me happy. Can you play with me?"
Awwww, poor dude!

My Top 25 in iTunes

This post is a total ripoff from Cathy Zielske's blog.



Most of them make sense, but some are puzzlers. Like, I can't remember the last time I listened to Alanis Morissette, yet, there she is. I had to replace my hard drive in 2005, so these are from the last few years. I'd bet it would look pretty different if it was from 2000, when I got this iBook.