The holidays turned him into a wild thing!

My son is into his second week off from school and I'm realizing now what a benefit putting him on a schedule has been. Since he started school in September, his days have been fairly regulated, starting with rising at 6am, school till 2:30pm, home for a while with Grandma & Grandpa until I come home from work, dinner, school work, reading, brushing teeth and off to bed before 8pm. The schedule has been working, he seems to enjoy the routine actually.

With him off school for two weeks though, we've been a little lax on the routine. He's home with my parents while I go to work so he's not waking until around 8am which of course pushes back the bedtime. Last night he couldn't fall asleep until 9:45pm! He's been playing a lot of video games during the day while I'm at work, lounging a lot inside, watching TV, and as my nephew hasn't been coming over (since his mom is off work), my son hasn't even been going outside to play. I think that the excess energy isn't getting burned off during the day because he's been a bit of a WILD THING come bedtime. He's been back to his old habits, getting goofy, not wanting to brush his teeth, asking for another snack, anything to delay getting into bed really. I mean I'm all for relaxing a bit but when I can see that it's affecting the mood and behavior of a child who is so much better behaved with a little structure, I'm anxious to get him back onto his routine and see my sweet and cooperative kid again!

Here he is, celebrating the holidays (by jumping in front of the tree when I was taking pictures!)

huh??

It's been soooo long since I posted on my blog! And do you know WHY? It's not like I neglected to visit, in fact I check my blog every day so that I can go visit my favorite blog sites, so that's not it. And it's not like I haven't had anything to write about either...lots to discuss, including my son starting school, Halloween, his birthday, etc, so that's not it either.

It's a really silly reason....


I forgot my password!!


Seriously! I kept trying to log in and getting rejected. I tried so many different incarnations of my usual password, adding letters and numbers.

Finally today I tried something different...I signed in with my other email address...duh! LOL It worked, so here I am!

And because it's been so long, here I am catching up...

Soaking it all in

Sometimes life just hits you, a surprise slap in the face. Sort of like this waterplay area that my son wandered into completely unaware. It looked like a wide expanse of concrete but then suddenly the water fountain started to spurt and spray out of the ground and caught him by surprise.



And before you know it, you're soaking.



I would not have guessed 5 years ago when my son was born that I would be raising him without help from his father. And 4 years ago when his dad left, I would not have guessed that I would find love, a great love that I have found with the wonderful man that I have in my life now (especially since I found him right next door!). And last year, Kindergarten and that first day of school seemed so far away yet it's currently knocking on our door, a mere two weeks away now. And we are soaking in life, caught unaware but surprised & dripping with His love.

Swimming along

This picture was taken a few weeks ago, when my little guy still insisted that he needed floaties in the swimming pool.



My fiance suggested this weekend that we pick up some pool toys and the kids settled on some dive balls with long tails that stand up in the water. My oldest showed the little one how to dip below the surface of the water. Just a few weeks ago my little guy was very reluctant to even go under the water and get his head wet, but with goggles on tight, floaties off and dive balls to collect, he dipped under the water, kicking his feet to reach the bottom.

And then...suddenly...he was SWIMMING.

He kicked and paddled his way around the shallow end, braving to go across the sides of the pool, even swimming underwater. It was so fun to watch! A few weeks ago he'd been crying because my fiance had taken his floaties off and was attempting to teach him the back float and today here he was, jumping off the edge, swimming under the water and so proud of himself for the giant leap he'd taken with his courage!

In my excitement, I didn't take any pictures :( But I'll be sure to get some soon, probably this weekend. In the meantime, here is my oldest, the very patient teacher.

Taken the Fourth of July

Feeling nostalgic

Last week my littlest hit the half-birthday mark. We didn't celebrate it or anything but it made me nostalgic for when he was a baby. I recalled him learning to walk at the tiny age of 10 months (too small!), his voracious appetite (he still has that!) and his first words.



Even though the pace has slowed, he still has so many new changes coming. He'll be starting school for the first time this fall after only spending his days with Grandma & Grandpa at home for the first five years. He'll be starting Karate classes, something he's been requesting for years! And of course, the change in his face with the anticipation of more lost teeth (see photo below for the first example!).



I'm nervous, worried and terribly excited for all these changes coming in his life. He's taking it all in stride!

May, oh May! Where have you gone?

What have I been doing for the past month? Neglecting my blog, that's for sure!

Here is our month in pictures to catch you back up to speed.

We modeled for lovelandavenue. This amazing set made us jump for joy! (search Ebay soon to find it at auction)



We went fishing and caught a catfish (and threw him back).



We lost our first loose tooth while eating an apple! The Tooth Fairy delivered a dollar with a reminder note to keep brushing.



We went to Disneyland and California Adventure and rode a really fast zipline.



Listed this beautiful Elfi dress (find it on Ebay)



We also got registered for Kindergarten and bought uniforms, had a Dance/Gymnastics Recital, got 2 more "Game Balls" for being a good listener during T-ball games, and went camping but haven't uploaded the photos for that yet!

Splish Splash

What is it with kids and water? They want to be in it, they want to be near it, they want to throw things in it, they really just want to get WET!



We recently went to the science museum in Balboa Park and we could hear the fountain before we could see it. Once we rounded the corner and the kids got a glimpse of the fountain they were off like a shot! They ran up and started jumping around the edge, the mist spraying on them as they danced.

Dolly & Me

Just listed for Wisterialane's mini-launch, Dolly & Me! I have this fun little handmade Mermaid dolly and a coordinating sundress using the popular Aqua Divas fabric and bright sherbet-colored solids. See the EBAY link on the left to find the listings.

Gone fishin'

We took a day trip out to Lake Morena for the afternoon. It's only about 45 minutes away and in a beautiful area so it was a pretty drive. The guys staked out a lonely section of lake and spent the day baiting their hooks, casting out their lines and checking occasionally for a bite. They never did get one but they did catch a lot of fun memories!

Fairy Garden

Looking for a sweet and lightweight sundress for the summertime? This one is comfortable, with an elasticized back bodice and adjustable tie-straps and the fabric is darling. Click on the EBAY link on the left to see the auction.

Spring is busting out all over

A few weeks ago, we took the kids to the city's Easter Egg Hunt, or as we nicknamed it the "See and Grab". There was no hunt about it. The plastic eggs were thrown out on the dirt and at the airhorn blast, the kids just ran out and grabbed every egg they could!



It was a chilly day and just as we decided it was time to leave, the sprinkles started and we walked the looong hike back to the car in drizzle.

My oldest hung out on the playground and went on a few of the big-kid carnival rides.



We went back home and the kids colored eggs. My little guy is asking in this picture a very typical question for him, "Can I drink this?" ICK!

Take a hike

It was a beautiful bright day on Saturday, so we hit the trail about 5 minutes from our house for a brief hike. We'd walked about 2 hours on these trails a few weeks ago but this time we were out for less than an hour as seasonal allergies were in full swing and making us feel a bit loopy!



I was surprised to see that there was still quite a bit of water flowing from the river in this section. We crossed a branch that was laid across (The boys walked across with ease while I, of course, slipped and got a shoe full of water!)



Last time we walked there were thousands of fuzzy black caterpillars squiggling their way down the trail. This time we saw many more butterflies! The flowers were growing all around, from bright yellow daisies to tiny purple flowers spread across the ground like a carpet.

Random Blogging

I've had the hardest time trying to collect up anything good to write. Not that anyone reads this blog anyway, but I do enjoy the writing practice! Random thoughts...My bangs are getting a bit long and could use a trim. My son's t-ball practices are way too long and it doesn't help that the coach gets there late. I'm looking forward to spring break since he doesn't have any games or practices for a week and a half. I'm so glad that my dad's health is holding up; you still can't even tell that he's sick. I want to take a day off work and go to Disneyland. I wish the dry skin on the bottom of my feet would go away, scraping it and lotioning doesn't seem to be working yet. The nightly walks with my neighbor are doing me good. I've lost over 16 lbs and I don't even think about food half as much as I used to (I did have a doughnut before lunch today though. Guess I have to treat myself sometimes?). My new lens should be arriving in the mail today so I'm looking forward to taking some fresh photos!

Guess that about does it for a few days. I'll think of something better to write about soon :)

Hip Hip Hurray for the USA!

I have these two customs listed on Ebay, see link on the left.

Ka-put!

After 4 years, countless failed attempts and thousands of dollars, the day has finally come. Today I am a single, divorced woman. I certainly wouldn't have ever thought this to be in the cards for me, I fully expected my marriage to work. And work at it I did, but unfortunately a successful marriage doesn't happen when it's only ONE person doing all the work!

And so today my divorce is finalized and I'm ready to move forward. Today doesn't really seem any different than yesterday, or even four years ago when he left us. Now the separation is just legal, and that's a good thing :)