Thanksgiving

I am a little late getting these posted, but here are some photos from our Thanksgiving. We hosted at our house, and had about 30 people here throughout the day. It was hectic, but fun.
We set up tables in the garage and hung plastic over the shelves to give it a little
"homey" atmosphere. Most importantly was that everyone could sit all together.

Rich brougt over 2 turkeys in the morning. One cooked in the oven, the other in a roasting pan in the garage. Now our garage smelled like yummy turkey too! Everyone else pitched in and brought the rest of the dinner items and desserts. I made some appetizers (cheese, crackers and veggies) .

It was a little hectic getting all the dishes heated up after the turkey was out of the oven but we did it. We did buffet style this year rather than passing the food around the table. All the food was set up on the kitchen table and Rich and I made sure the bowls were kept full, turkey platter was piled high and the gravy was hot.

I was the last one to sit down and eat but did not mind. I had a plate of my favorite meal (well one of them). I even got seconds on stuffing! Oh, I could just eat an entire bowl of stuffing, forget everyting else.
Some cleaning fairies cleaned up the kitchen by the time I got back in. Guess it helps to linger longer over my meal and have time to sit and chat. (Thank you !!)

The guys enjoyed the football games while the kids enjoyed the trampolene and just playing together.
We all dove into our turkey cake and yummy pies. I could have just sat and ate pies all night too. Can you tell, I love to eat? Well, more so on holidays.

Enjoy the pictures :) (and please bear with me, I have a hard time spacing out the pictures and captions on blogger)

The day's menu

I had to have my hot Chai tea

Uncle Roger and Aidan having a jumping contest

Roger on the trampolene perfecting his jumping tricks

Evelyn and Victoria jump for turkey

Aidan taking Nicole for a walk

Someone's in the kitchen with ..... Mary, Mallory, Rich, Clara Alice and Matt (hey get away from that turkey! and no more wine for you! Are these potatos ever going to be done?)

The garage all transformed into our "dining room". Sorry, a little dark, but it was well lit when we ate

Firefighter in training cousin Matt with Evelyn and Victoria

Turkey chef ~ Rich

Great eats!!

Time to dine! Greg, Matt, Miles, Marianne, Sam, Michelle, Aidan, David, Ryan, Mallory, Nicole

Al, Evelyn, Roger, Therese, Clara Alice, Clarence, Mary, Michael, Nancy, Vicoria, Valerie (missing: me Tom, Ron. Patty and John just left. Eric, Chrissy, Nathan and Jake have not arrived yet.)

Aidan wondering what is going on but enjoying his place at the head of the table

M~G~M aka Miles, Greg, Matt

When you ............

Can't stay connected to the internet and have so much to do......... rummage through the pantry and find some brownies that are not quite stale and enjoy them with an icey cold diet coke. I am. Give it a try and come an join me.

Been a frustrating day with the internet going in and out and trying so hard to get my work done like the good worker bee that I am. So, I have to rely on the telephone as my emails won't go out and gave my boss the sob story that I am working as hard as I can but can't stay connected in any programs that require an internet hookup very long, which is most of the programs I use for work. Was he sympathetic, who knows. He's 90 miles away and I can't see the expression on his face that good from here.

I can just say I am thankful to be working in my sweats and slippers on a day like this and who really cares that I spilled chai tea all down the front of my shirt and wore it for most of the day. I had no where to go and no one to see but the dog and birds. My work companions.

The kids should storm through the door in about 30 minutes and then my real life starts all over. At least it's friday and no homework, but I do have to hold them hostage at the kitchen table to get some late work completed. This may be the only chance I can get them to do it this weekend and it must be done before Sunday night or the evil 3 eyed mom will have to come out of hiding and I really don't like to see her very much around here.

Better stop rambling on and on and on and on............ My internet is working so will post this right now......click.......see how fast that was...........

TTFN

check out this blog

Like we all need to add another blog to our blog surfing.....Sure we do.

Here are a few sent to me by Julie. Thank you Julie :)

www.typetive.com/candyblog who does not like candy?
Check out this link for some yummy ideas for candy canes.....http://www.typetive.com/candyblog/item/33_candy_canes

And this one for some lovely beaded jewelry. http://charmeddesigns.blogspot.com/

Happy blogging!!

And I am just hooked on www.thepioneerwoman.com who isn't?

It's raining!

Woke up to the wonderful sound of rain today! Let me tell you we do need the rain. The trees and bushes are still covered with this black ash that is everywhere. Dust the house, hours later, it's all back. I know it's not good for the hills that have burned but maybe it will help the new bushes to grow in sooner.
I love the rain (except when it rains out the kids sports games) and am very thankful for the rain today. I sure hope it rains for the rest of the day and will wash everything clean again ~ even my car.
And today, the internet is running very very slow. Very slow.
Evelyn is upset that she may not have riding lessons today. At least they are easy to make up.

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you have a fun and safe weekend too!

In the kitchen with Naomi

Ok, so I am going to try something new here.........In the kitchen with Naomi. I can cook, I love to cook, I just don't have time to really think about cooking lately, so I really don't. It's just easier to heat up a jar of spaghetti sauce, or some pre cooked chicken breasts. But now that the Holidays are here (yikes), I guess it's time to get cooking again. We love to bake tons and tons of Christmas cookies each year. And I love to make soup and chili and also bake. So, here is the first, of hopefully many, cooking adventures in my kitchen.

I saw this great mold for a turkey cake in a Williams Sonoma catalog. On a rare trip to the mall one evening, I drug the kids into Williams Sonoma to look for this cake mold. Wha-lah! and it was even on sale. Rather than make the recipe that comes along with the mold, I opted for my favorite Trader Joe's vanilla cake mix. Oh so good!












The recipe is right on the box, but here is what you need: mix, milk, melted butter, eggs. I used 2 boxes here.







Mix it all together. Thank you Evelyn for being my lovely cooking companion and for your great mixing here too!










Oops, a little staged flour on the face and of course a taste or too, just to make sure it's ok :)

Spray with cooking spray and dust with flour.


















Pour evenly into the 2 molds.















Put it in the oven to bake. Took longer than the directions called for, but I should have used the package directions on the mix box instead. Live and learn.















Oops, it rose and spilled over. that's why it's a good idea to use a cookie sheet underneath. Plus, the mold didn't sit too evenly right on the oven rack.















Take it out and let it cool 15 minutes, or simply forget about it while you do other things and wander back into the kitchen to find a cooled cake on the stove. Cut off the excess (good eats too!) and put back into the mold to make sure it's pretty even.Greg announce that this is the best cake he ever had. Hmmm, does he mean today? But he is not really a cake eater.





Getting late now, so I wrapped it up in press n' seal (love that stuff) and stuck it all in the fridge to sit until phase 2 - putting it all together.















Flash forward to Thanksgiving morning. Bring the cake out of the fridge and let it warm up a bit before removing from the pan
Spread with Apple Butter (this one is from Williams Sanoma). I also snuck in some white frosting to help keep it together. The directions call for home made butter cream frosting but I just didn't feel like whipping up a batch this morning.




















Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for an hour or so. This one waited several hours.














Cook up a glaze mix and brush over the cake. We also sprinkled with powdered sugar.















Set on cake plate (Southern Living) and pray it doesn't fall over or come apart.

















Cut into when it's time for dessert and enjoy. Oh, Yum-O (Rachel Ray) and enjoy!!
And I do say, it was Yum-O. I only got one piece as everyone dug in to our cake, as well as all the pies!. But when you have close to 30 people you need a lot of yummy eats!

Hair today, gone tomorrow

A month or so I met Anne Marie who gave me a great hair cut. I mentioned Evelyn and her long hair that she should donate to Locks of Love or someplace similar.

Flash forward to Friday. We had our appointment at 2 pm, day after Thanksgiving. Evelyn decided many weeks ago that she would do this. Evelyn, Greg and I headed off to Illusions. Greg insisted on coming with us. Evelyn was sporting her typical pony tail and a smile as she was excited about doing this.





















Got the pony tail situated.......














snip, snip, snip............ no turning back now......



















look at this...............



















and the new do! Love it, so does Evelyn. It's shoulder length and oh so cute! Can still go in a pony tail, be pulled back, and so so many possibilities.

But of course, it goes right into the pony tail. Well, Evelyn has her own style. But it's oh so cute when she does wear it down and her hair will even do it's own little flip at the ends where it hits her shoulders.

The ponytail is packaged safely in an envelope and is being mailed off to Children with Hairloss (http://www.childrenwithhairloss.us/)

Black Friday

ok, I am a sucker. I said I was not going shopping on Black Friday, I was going to sleep in. Plus I already have done a lot of shopping.
I did cruise through the ads while waiting for your house to fill up with for Thanksgiving. Saw some things but was not going to stand in line a 4 am with the hopes of trying to get something when there was only 12 or so in the store.
Later in the day I did see an ad for something, and I can't say what at this time as it would ruin it. The store opened at 7. I set my alarm for 6 am and figured if I could get up I would get to the store. Well, I did. I was not up at 6, more like 6:35, put on my sweats and hat and out the door I went.
The parking lot was crowded but I had no problem finding a good spot. And there was already a line and it was not even 7 am, more like 6:55. I lucked out and saw my friend Michele W. in line. She gave me a great tip and a lucky ticket.Also gave me her take on the stores she had already been to, starting at 4:30 am!
It was about 8 am when I entered the store and was able to get what I was there for. The last one! Who-Hoo! They were saving it just for me, me with the last lucky orange ticket!!
While I was waiting in line I also saw Dana who had already hit all the stores in the center and gave me the low down on the sales.
I had no desire to wait in line at any other stores in that center so came on home and plopped on the couch looking at even more ads.

The rest of my black Friday will be spent doing some relaxing. We will finish cleaning up from Thanksgiving, take Evy for her hair cut and see the Bee Movie. Oh, I also think we will drag down the Christmas decorations and start decorating. Kids will begin bugging me very soon here.

Have a fun, relaxing weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving

A blessed Thanksgiving to all our friends and family and those who may stumble onto this blog. May you have a blessed day with family and friends.
Wetreasure each and everyone of you.

A warm thought for you day~~

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.
— G.K. Chesterton

Daily thought

Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.
— James Thurber

Kryptonite

Kryptonite had their last soccer game on Saturday. What a game it was. Although we did not win, it was an awesome game. The final score was 1 - 3. Evelyn played mid field which she loves to play. She had some great passes up to the forwards and so many great stops. That girl has a set of legs on her and sure can run.
At the end of the game, an Region 84 rep was there to pass out medals to both teams. The coach called up each girl individually to pass out the medals. I think everyone was a bit teary eyed. I know I was and was glad to have the camera in front of my face.

This was a great way to end a fantastic soccer season. Kryptonite placed 3rd over all. Only 4 more months until it's time to sign up again.

I know Evelyn was appreciative of everyone who came to her games, especially this last game: Grandma Shirley, Marianne and Rich, Teri, Roger, Miles and Sam. Thanks everyone!!

Let's Say Thanks............

SOMETHING COOL THAT XEROX IS DOING
If you go to this web site, http://www.letssaythanks.com/ (I DID), you can
pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be
sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't
pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed
services. How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send
one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these?
Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over
there need to know we are behind them..

Kryptonite Won!! 4 - 2

Oh my what a game!! We got scored on right away but that seemed to light the fire in the girls and there was no stopping them! Final score was 4 - 2. Awesome game. We had so many fans and everyone was cheering. The girls were so pumped and played an awesome game!
Evelyn was feeling better altough she still complained that her throat hurt. But she played 3 of the 4 quarters and played like she was not even sick.
Next game is Saturday at 1:30 at Curtis Park. Come on out and cheer for Kryptonite.

Naomi's Note to self/To Do/To Remember List

I have to admit, I am a list maker. It really helps me out. I tend to be a scatterbrain and this helps me to stay somewhat focused. I also find it helps the kids to get things done that they need to do.

So, if I could just carry around this note/list/whatevah ya want to call it with me, I think, emphasize think, I would be in pretty good shape.

Here goes, in really no particular order. And yes, I have done some of these things before.

When cooking or just being in the kitchen:

* put water in the pan when steaming broccoli (burned broccoli sure smells)

* turn on oven/stove before cooking, things cook faster this way, and make sure to turn these appliances off

*plug in crock pot so your dinner will cook

*milk does not belong in the cupboard

*do not put frozen meat in the pantry to thaw

*when hard boiling eggs, don't forget about them.....it's really no fun trying to clean exploded egg off the wall, ceiling, floor and stove

*don't forget to get the groceries out of the car, especially the ones that need to be frozen or go in the fridge

*when the buzzer on the oven goes off, it is a sure sign that whatever is in the oven is done and should be removed promptly (not until it is burnt to a crisp)

Getting Dressed:

*when leaving the house without shoes on, make sure you actually have shoes to put on in the car and make sure they are both yours and both the same shoe and one right and one left. Make sure one is not yours and one is your childs, make sure you don't have 2 right footed tennis shoes which are the same kind, you get the picture

*make sure you don't have toothpaste stains on your shirt

*make sure you don't have lipstick on your teeth, or smeared mascara on your face

*zip your pants zipper

*make sure there are no unexpected holes in your clothes

In the car

*take off the emergency brake before driving

*close the garage door

*make sure car doors are closed and locked before leaving your car in a parking lot (that is why I always make sure I hear the "beep" when I lock my car)

*car must be in park if the ignition is still on and you have to get out of the car to get the mail, etc...

Laundry:

*be sure to add clothes before running the wash cycle

*be sure to close the lid after adding clothes

*turn the dryer on - clothes dry faster and don't smell as bad if retrieving them a few days later

*make sure to remove items from pockets before washing and drying, ex: crayons, rocks, dirt, leaves, paper, gum, chapstick, jewelry, and did I mention crayons

*don't pack washing machine so full of towels that it rocks it's way out from the wall and stretches the water supply pipes close to the point of bursting

General:

*close windows when it is raining

*make sure doors are locked when leaving the house or at night

*make sure to leave your cell phone in a place where you can find it and not have to call it every time you need to find your phone

* always make sure the cap, lid, cover is securely on something before you shake it.


And most importantly: Always laugh at yourself, or at least a polite chuckle, I do! It sure helps.


Maybe you can relate to some of these. Would love to hear your own notes to self too :)

Just when you thought it was safe to open your windows again

And then, drat, the winds pick up again. What do they blow all over the place? Black ashes left over from the Santiago fire. It's pretty warm too, like in the 80's, so I have had all the windows open.
Fire update: I read yesterday the fire is still burning, but all contained. There is a crew on watching the fire, hitting hot spots, and extinguishing the flare ups. This is good. Still looks a little smoky over the hills where the fire still is and it's quite far. Thankfully no other structures are in harms way. We still see signs thanking the fire fighters for their hard work. People have written on their car windows, signs posted on the sides of businesses and at neighborhoods that were saved.
Now back to the the ashes. Well, they blow in from the trees, bushes, etc.... where ever they have landed. All over the white shower daily, bathroom floors, furniture. And outside is pretty nasty too. When I hose down the patio or walkway, black dust just rolls away with the water. The carpet by the back door is black from the kids and dogs feet.
As I have been on an organization spree, I have been spot dusting and have stopped trying to stay up with the dust everywhere else. The carpets are being cleaned next Wednesday, so the night before will dust very well and scrub down the patios and walkways.

Organized

I have been on a roll here, getting organized now that I have some more free time on my hands. Going through closets, drawers, etc.... Oh, it's a great feeling!!!

And, back from the doctor. Kids stayed home sick today with red sore throats and congestion, headaches and looking droopy. Strep was going around 5th grade so, to be safe I kept the kids home and took them to the doctor. No strep! Just viral icky stuff. So, lots of rest, fluids, fruit and vitamin C. Evelyn just made her yummy blueberry smoothies. A cold smoothie always relieves a sore throat.

Great quote

There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.-Mahatma Ghandi

Quotes from the back seat

Sometime the kids just come up with the funniest quotes, questions, sayings, pronunciations and well, just stuff. So, here are some I will share with you. I title this "Quotes from the back seat" because I heard a few of these last night to and from the mall, and the kids were sitting - in the back seat. Others are just random.

"Oh, now I know why these are called suckers!" response: "Dah, you have to suck them"

"Wow, I have not been to the mall for so long, it's been like 40 days" (actually more than that, but I'm not counting)

Some from our Florida trip.

"Oh, can we stop at Diary Queen " (aka - Dairy Queen)

"What is a Lick War store?" (liquor)

"Can we go on a rave runner, run waver, rave wunner, whatever, do si do? " (wave runner, sea doo)

"Well, howdy ho!" (spoken with a southern drawl)

"Oh, there is a nerd shark!!" (nurse shark)

Just random quotes:

Q: Who is the Governor of California?
A: Arnold Showen egger ; Schwishen egger ; Shortzen egger; Schnortzen egger
Q: Just call him Arnie
A: OK

Mom: "This is a great school picture"
Greg: "Oh wait, that's not me, that's Evelyn"
Mom "Yes, I know and I was letting your sister know she took a great school picture"
Greg: "Oh"
Mom: "Where is yours? Did you bring your pictures home?"
Greg: "I don't know. Maybe we didn't take pictures."

While observing a memorial along the side of the road one day, presumably where someone was in an auto accident:
"That's where Abraham Lincoln died"
driver (and it was not me) "Are you sure about that?"
G: "No. But it could be, or maybe not. I don't know"
meanwhile, the entire car of boys is laughing hysterically (told to me by the driver)

The Last Saturday...The Many Moms of Me

Previously, I wrote about the last night of football practice. So, now it's time for the last Saturday.......that is the last Saturday football game. I am trying something new here. Let's see how it goes.

Football Mom was tired after a long day of work and cold after sitting out at the football field for 2 1/2 hours of practice. But it was all worth it. The last blog entry was done around 10 pm and it was now time for some relaxation time to clear her head and to unwind. The car was loaded for the next day and things were all ready to go.

ER, CSI and other shows were still on the DVR. The first choice was ER. It was a struggle to stay awake through the show, and she had to change into Soccer mom for a little bit. Soccer mom wanted to get that soccer team picture mounted in the frame before Evelyn came home from the weekend camping trip. It looks good hanging next to Greg's football team photo. Soccer mom was done for the night, but Football mom was not.

ER was done so it was time for some quick Mission Organization shows before bed. Well, that didn't last long as weary football mom woke up on the couch and it was after midnight. Oh, now it's Saturday morning. The alarm will go off at 5 am, that's only 5 hours.

Now the all too familiar sound of the alarm going off. Feels like she hadn't even slept very long. She hit the snooze several times and saw it was 5:25 am. Time to get up!! Football mom crawled out of bed, pulled on her favorite jeans, tennis shoes and for the last time until next August, her favorite white "Football Mom" bling t-shirt. It was cold, so the long sleeve white t shirt looked great under it. She pinned the picture button of her favorite football player onto her shirt, over her heart. This guy sure has won her heart over gazillions of times.

Now that football mom was all dressed and ready to go, it was time to wake up the football player and get him ready for the game ahead of him. Star Greg was quick to wake up as he is always excited about the games and doesn't like to be late.

Football mom ended up burning a pan of oatmeal (helps to read the directions), while her star player was getting dressed. "All your gear is on your chair and your jerseys are in your bag" She always gets out the uniforms the night before to make sure everything is ready. "Mom, have you seen my butt pad? It's not in my girdle?" "Your butt pad? It should be there, it was when I washed it last week." "No, it's not there, see..." "Hmmmm ok, look in your basket" "I did, not there" "In your bag?" "Not there" "Ok, lets get one out of your practice pants. You don't need those anymore."

The butt pad comes out of the practice pants and into the girdle. "It's a little small, but will do. Now do you need help getting on your game pants?" "No, I got them on..... Oh wait..... I think I found my butt pad......Yep, here it is....... It was in the side of my girdle" "Whew. Good thing you found it. Everything else ready?"

Football mom and Star Greg ate a good breakfast of not burned oatmeal. Football mom made sure the dog was fed, the water jug was in the car with the gear bag, her back pack had the camera and water and cell phone and of course that she had a hot travel mug of tea. And they were off to the game, 6:32 am. Not too bad as the plan was to leave at 6:25 am.

Football mom and Star Greg pulled into the parking lot right on time and trudged through the muddy field. While Star Greg was with the team, Football mom, staked out a prime plot of real estate and set up her 2 chairs keeping a good distance in between them to save space for those coming to the game to cheer on her star. She also had time to mingle with the other parents and reminisce about the season. She even braved a trip to the blue AG as the bathrooms were closed and while making a quick escape, bumped her head hard on the door opening. The sacrifices she makes.

Shortly before the game started, Grandma Shirley, Grandma and Grandpa Murphy, Football dad and cousin Matt showed up to join the cheer squad. Aunt Marianne and Uncle Rich showed up shortly after game time.

Football mom's Greg was offense the first half of the game. No TD's in the first half. The 2nd half kick off, her Star Greg caught the return and ran the ball all the way down the field for a TD!!! Greg was playing against 2 boys he knows from school. He said he even tackled one of his friends. The final score was not in our favor, but the Jr. Mighty Might Bears played a great last game together.

The time was now 9:05 am and Football mom had to leave the game as it was almost time to be Scrap mom and head to her day crop. Football mom was sad to leave the game but was glad to have a day to spend with her friends, and make new ones, at one of her scrap events. Scrap mom is one of the planners of a great scrap group called Crops2Remember. (http://www.crops2remember.com/). They had planned this day crop from 10 am to midnight. It was going to be a long day.

Scrap mom had a great day scrapping and chatting with her friends and making new friends. Football dad and sister Eagle Evelyn were at their Adventure Princess camp out at O'Neil Park. Luckily it had survived the Santiago fire untouched! Eagle Evelyn was out having the time of her life with the girls. While Football dad was now Adventure Dad hanging out with other Adventure Dads.

Star Greg was hanging out with Grandma Shirley who took him to cousin Jake and Nathan's house to hang out and play. Adventure Dad got star Greg around 9 pm and brought him home for the night. Adventure dad had to leave early Sunday morning for his flight to Pittsburgh as he had to spend time at his new companies main office and be Work dad.

Football mom will go away now until next August. However, Soccer mom will be around for at least another week. The other moms will be released as needed, but Diva Mom will never be far away (ok, this is something the kids like to call the Mom because of a pair of pj's she loves to wear)

To view the video of the last game, click here: http://web.mac.com/jfpd/iWeb/SVBears/Game10.html
Football mom has not watched the video yet but will do so when Star Greg is home so he can see it too.

Football mom, Football dad, Star Greg and Football Sister Evelyn would like to thank everyone who came out for the games to cheer on Star Greg and the rest of the Bears. It was a long season, a huge commitment, a lot of work on Star Greg's part, but it was all worth it an it was a lot of fun. Star Greg says he loves playing football. Star Greg has a few months of rest until baseball season starts up.

Until next time................. The Mom signs off..........

Bittersweet

Tomorrow is the last football game of the season. I am sad (and a bit relieved). Greg loves playing football, and I have to admit, he is pretty darn good at it too. Yes, it has been very time consuming and I have done some complaining (but not too much). But I do love watching the games. And I also want to show my support for the activities my kids want to do.

So, tomorrow morning I will arise around 5:30 to get myself ready and then Greg for his 8 am game. This means we must be at the field at 6:45. At least the game is in Rancho Santa Margarita, and at that time of the morning, probably a 10 minute drive.

I still get nervous before the games, as does Greg. But he doesn't admit it as much as he used to. But I can still tell by the way he acts. The teams have been switched around again and this time Greg will be offense the first half of the game. He says he likes playing defense first so he is not as nervous when he has to run the ball. I agree with that. So tonight I told him he just has to get out there and show the other defense what he has right away and don't hold back. His last chance to score another TD or 2. He is also playing agains some of his buddies from school.

Tonight we had our last practice. Our last night sitting at the field huddled in blankets and jackets chatting, reading, and watching the guys practice. It was kind of a sad night. The boys had a really good practice and the coaches had nothing but good things to say about the boys, the season and the parents. This is the last time this group of boys will play together. All are moving up, some to Mighty Might and some to Jr. Pee Wee.

It has been a great season and a great experience. Way to go Bears!!

Well, I am tired and it's only getting later. Have a few things to do and want to sit down to watch some of my shows that I recorded earlier this week.

Let's go Bears!! Go Greg #88!!

4 + 1 =

I will get to the math later. But do you know we now have 4, yes 4 Targets all less than 5 miles away from us? Oh my, what's a girl to do? Well, for starters visit 3 of them in search for the bike her daughter really really really wants. The pink Schwinn Roxie beach cruiser type bike.


We saw it at the new Target the other week. No way it was going to fit in the car that was already loaded down with chairs, etc for soccer and football games.


The kids and I were on a bike ride sometime during the summer. We rode and rode and rode and I kept telling the k ids, you know we have to go back too and there are hills. But we kept going. Finally on the way home, the kids had to stop and rest. I am sure we looked so cute sitting on the bus bench with our bikes. Evelyn was riding her old bike, so cute - purple with big white tires - and no gears. She was a trooper although it was clear to see the bike was too small for her.


We start our ride home again and Greg is way in front determined to get home. (We are on El Toro, heading north to Portola) I am behind Evelyn and notice her tire looks a little weird. Uh oh! She has a flat tire! Drat. I tell her to stay put while I race ahead to get Greg and bring him back. Have the kids chill out while I call Tom from my cell (glad I had it with me) so he could take the kids back home. I chose to ride home.


Fast forward months later and the quest is on again to get a new bike for Evelyn. I was not going to pay the prices of the ones in the bike store. Holey Moley. But I do admit they are nice bikes.


After hitting 3 Targets on Sunday with no luck, a very nice employee told us to check on line and also that more would be coming in before Christmas. Bingo! We found one on line at the Target we had not been to yet. Made a promise that Monday after Kumon (tutoring) would head to Target to see if the bike was there.


Luck was on our side as it was there! Did a test ride in the store and Evelyn was seeing pink! We did a little riding when we got home and Evelyn looks so cute on her bike :) I even had to test drive it. Now that football and soccer seasons are just about over, we will hit the bike trails again.

Here Evelyn is dressed for soccer and going for a quick ride before practice.






OK, back to my title: 4 Targets + 1 bike = 1 very happy girl. The "thank you Mom for my bike" and the hug at the check out counter was priceless :)

Adding a few more blog links.........

.....to my daily blog surfing.
Julie passed these onto me: Confessions of a Pioneer Woman at http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ and the Smitten Kitchen at http://www.smittenkitchen.com/

Enjoy and happy Thursday !!

Kryptonite

Evelyn's team, Kryptonite, is going to the playoffs! They ended the season tied for 2nd. They finished their last game 5 - 0. Dominated the entire game too. And Evelyn had 2 great shots on goal but didn't score. But great shots.

No word when the playoff games are. So, we will just hang in limbo in the meantime. Practice as usual and maybe we will hear something tonight.

Way to go Kryptonite!!!!

TGIF!!!

Another Friday is here and the weekend is less than 24 hours away. I thought it would never be here! Things were kinda back to normal this week with the fire close to containment and kids back to school and activities. Football and Soccer are winding down and then I have no idea what we will do with our time. Well, I do know one thing, I will get caught up on stuff around this ole' house of ours and try to get my life back in order. Also been itching to start some projects around the house. But enough of that stuff.

Tonight is yet another night of practice, Greg football and Evelyn will be back to riding lessons. I am excited as I get to take Evy to riding lessons as Grandma is out of town working. Evelyn is really enjoying her lessons. Maybe she can take more during the week when soccer is over.

Soccer game Saturday morning at 10:30 (yippee! we can sleep in !) and football game in Fullerton at 3:00. Greg is going to a birthday party Sunday afternoon and I think I will take Evelyn to get the new bike she has been patiently waiting for. We even found the one she wants at a reasonable price!! I wonder if she would mind if mom got a matching bike?

Oh, and the Bee movie is out this weekend. The kids really want to see it so maybe we will squeeze in the movie.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and hope you are all well :)

Fire update

Yes, the Santiago fire is still burning here. It's 80% to 90% contained. The weather is cooler with more humidity. We can still see the helicopters and on Tuesday actually witnessed a plane dropping fire retardant on Saddleback Mountain.
I ca't get the link on my blog, but go to http://www.ocregister.com/ and click the box with a picture of the fire and a caption that reads Heat, Humanity, Heartbreak. It is a video clip of various still photos with the photographers giving a brief synopsis of their experience. I am sure I have already seen most of these pictures through the duration of the fire, but this is a good summary.
Fire fighters are working to have the entire fire out before the Santa Ana's start this weekend.

A Frightfully Fun Night

Yesterday morning the kids asked if they could trick or treat with their friends The Strauss's. I checked in with Julie and we were good to go. Plan was to meet up at 6 at their house. Our neighborhood is not too great for trick or treating. Gotta walk up and down hills and to get back to our house have to go past all the homes we already got treats for us.


(here is our house all decorated. the kids did most of the decorating this year)



menu board













table all set














mucus (green beans)














knee caps (rolls)














puss(ranch and olive oil)














eyeballs and brains in blood and guts sauce (meatballs, sausage in spaghetti sauce)














severed fingers (carrots)














intestines (noodles)

I served my ghoulish dinner which the kids just loved! While the kids changed I plugged in the pumpkins, set the candy basket on the porch, turned on the ghost andthen we headed out.





Evelyn was a cute black cat while Greg was an Alien. Aidan was Darth Vader, Ella a cute poodle, Erin a cute duck (should of heard her quack) and Joey was this adorable penguin.



We ended up driving to Rancho to go to a haunted house and wanted to get there early. A family we know from school sets up the haunted house every year and turns out we ran into a lot of kids from school in that neighborhood. Jack pot! That's where we will go next year too.

On the way home we saw a group of kids walking through the neighborhood but they didn't get to our house when we were home. Must have already passed us. The candy basket was not empty (bummer!). Greg still wanted to turn on the smoke machine he insisted on getting this year. It is really cool and our front courtyard was in an eerie smoke. The kids were disappointed as no one came by our house when we were home. They love to hand out candy and Greg says he always gives the most to the kid in the costume he likes the best.

Hope everyone had a fun and safe night. No, just what to do with all that candy? Eat it? What's your favorite? Mine are butterfingers, licorice and smarties. Didn't get much of these this year.