My Zingz

Check out www.myzingz.com. It's a Fiskars product. I signed up right away when I heard about. Got some free ones in the mail for the kids. And you can see what Evelyn did with hers. Pretty neat-o. She decorated her guitar hero guitar with Zingz.

Taste of America

The 5th graders are learning American History this year. Each student as assigned a state and had to do a state report. Then, for Taste of America, they had to make a dessert recommended by the Governor or know from that state and share it with the entire 5th grade, parents and guests. They had to either dress appropriate for their state or wear formal uniforms. They had to display their dessert, report and travel brochure on their desk and be prepared to answer questions about their state. They were all graded on this.

Lollipops were first made in Connecticut. Evelyn's state. Evelyn wanted to make lollipops for this event. At first it was to be 100, then Evelyn said 120, then it went to 200 and the last buzz was 60. Well, we made 140 on Monday.

Wednesday after school, Evelyn arranged the lollipops in a basket and made signs for the flavors. She also made a Connecticut sign. Connecticut is has many beaches, so Evelyn dressed like she was a tourist headed to the beach. Brought her beach towel, which was draped on her desk, she wore her sunglasses on her head, shorts and a t shirt. She did look cute :)


I really had no idea what to expect at this event. Let me tell you it was exciting, fun, chaotic and crowded. The desks were lined up in rows in the 4 classrooms and the hall. All the desserts, etc... were displayed, kids in costumes, etc... Elvis was even there. After a few desserts, I had had enough. I got a cup and just collected desserts in the cup and it was overflowing. I left it for Evelyn as she also wanted to sample desserts. the kids did have a chance to walk around at the end of the evening.

To view the recipe for the lollipops, click here for my Tasty Reviews site. The lollipops were a hit. We didn't bring many back home.

I'm sick, ugh

Well, the bug finally caught up with me. Yesterday. Sore throat, runny nose, runny eyes. Typical cold. Last night I took some nyquil so I could sleep. Boy did I ever sleep. And It's 12 hours later and I still feel like I'm asleep. I got the kids off to school with Tom and then took a nap for an hour. Still sleepy and loosing my voice. Bear with me.

Dodger update: won!! secured 2nd for the regular season. Way to go Dodgers. TOC starts next week.

Taste of America: fun, hectic, fun. I got great pix. Will post after I re load my camera on the computer.

Updated: noon.....finally, I was able to download my pictures. Thank you camera/computer for working out your differences without me having to unplug it all and start over.
My voice is almost gone. Oh what fun this will be. I think I am waking up now, 14 hours later. Thankfully no activities tonight

Hey, It's already Wednesday

Yippee! It's Wednesday. The week is cruzing on by. Almost the weekend. Again. :)

Tonight is a play off game against the Yankees. This will determine 2nd place. Win or loose, it's ok. Going into the TOC we are in a good position no matter what place we are in. Plus our Dodgers are kickin' some baseball booty. Excellent practice and 5 of us are on fire still from the tournament last weekend.

Tonight is also Taste of America where Evelyn gets to set up her Connecticut report and other stuff and display her lovely display of lollipops. We made 140. Evelyn said she needed 120. Now the buzz is that only 60 are needed. Oh well. I wonder if they will keep unitl Halloween. No, just kidding. I'll stash the blue ones and hand them out after a Dodger game. he he!!

Thursday night nothing going on. One more time, nothing going on. Oh my what are we to do? Well, there is always plenty to do around her. Plus it's nice not to have anything planned. Seems like my life has been so planned out for me since February it's hard to make any other plans or to think too far in the future.

Friday is all star try outs. Greg want's to try out. Fine and dandy. I will take him.

Saturday I am going scrappin at the Red Bee. It's a charity crop but I just needed a day away to scrap. I have get my stuff together but won't take long. I'm looking forward to the day.

I am printing up lollipop recipes for Evelyn to bring tonight. Then I need to work on installing my camera on to the computer so I can download the hundreds of photos I took over the weekend.

Update: Ipod********found
checkbook***still MIA
phone*******still MIA and probably hiding out with the checkbook.

A very memorable Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend was just awesome! And one we will all remember for a long time. Not only do we remember our soldiers who have fought to keep this great country of ours free. We also remember those who are currently fighting to keep our country free.

Our weekend actually started out Friday afternoon. I got the kids from school at 11:15. After some errands, Greg changed into his Sox uniform, got all ready for his game, and played 2K8 on the Wii.

Around 3:00 we headed out for Irvine. It's really not that far, but Greg was antsy to get there. The game was at 5:30. We played a team from Garden Grove. Our guys looked great in their uniforms and were so ready to play ball. Thankfully, the rain had let up and it was great baseball weather.

Most of the teams in this tournament were Pony League teams which has different rules than Little League. For instance, you can lead off the bases for stealing, you can steal home and on the 3rd strike, if the catcher drops the ball, you can run to first.

We were up first and scored a run the first inning. Well, this would be our only point this game and we lost 14 - 1. We were not used to runners leading off, stealing home or running to first on a 3rd strike. But our guys hung in there and played a great game. We were quickly initiated into the Pony League rules.

After the game, we went to dinner, home and went to bed fairly early. The plan was to leave at 8:30 on Saturday morning as we we had a 10:15 game.

We were ready to go and in the car at 8:30. Our neighbor Janet hitched a ride with us. She loves baseball and loves the kids and we love her too. She's great!!

Saturday, we played La Canada. While chatting before the game, we learned the boys were 10 and 11. Our team was mostly 9 with a few 8's and some 10's. But we are tough guys. La Canada was also a Pony team. We were more familiar with the rules and lost 10 - 8. A much better game.

It was back home to get ready for Sunday. Greg had lost one of his batting gloves, so we headed to Sports Chalet. Then to Target for snacks. We also looked at Wii games as I really do want Wii Fitness. Not there, but, is that what I think it is?? Guitar Hero for Wii? And an extra guitar? Oh my, why yes sir EE, it is! Had to snatch that up right away. I have been looking and never see it in stock. Score!! The kids had it opened, set up and were jamming to "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by the time I unloaded the car and made a reservation for a batting cage. I had to drag Greg away to go to the batting cages. We sure are having fun with Guitar Hero. Now you can call me Diva Rock n' Roll Mom :)

Now, Saturday night, I told Greg and Evelyn to sleep in Sunday. Our game was not until 12:30 and Greg wanted to be there to watch the game before his. Well, I guess Greg mis understood what I said. He was up at 6:30 am! Bugger. I finally got up and took my time getting ready to go. The kids and I were out the door headed to the park, via Starbucks, at 9:30 am.

Wouldn't you know it, we got to the park and it was raining! Not hard but raining. We bought all 13 of the professional photos which were taken at the prior days game. The guy said they were up till 3 am developing all the pictures that were taken the prior day. Wow! We managed to get the Easy Up set up and over the bleachers where we happily shared it with some parents for the Irvine team that was playing before us. Very nice parents. :) It was good for Greg to see other Pony teams play.

Game time for our game against the Saddleback Slammers, another little league team from Lake Forest. Now this was our game and we won, 10 - 5!!! Way to go Sox!! Greg pitched one inning, threw 2 strike outs and threw one batter out at 1st. He pitched 11 pitches and did awesome. He also played 1st, 3rd and left field.

But no time to celebrate as we had to jam over to another park for a 3:00 game against Newport Beach. These guys seemed to be a lot older than our team and we lost 10 - 4. It took us a few innings to get into the game.

Off for a team pizza party where we stayed until about 8:00 pm. But it was fun, chatting with parents and getting to know other parents while the boys and the siblings had a great time playing together. This was a great make up of boys and an awesome team. I sure hope we have a chance to play together in another tournament. This team is mostly boys we play against and some in other divisions. There were 4 guys from our team, 3 Greg had played on teams with before and the rest ones he only know from playing against. Our next Dodger game will be fun to watch as 4 of these guys have experienced another style of baseball.

Monday, Evelyn and I blew off the Memorial 5K run and opted to sleep in. Ahhh, 9 am wake up time. Wonderful!! Evelyn and I went out shopping for some much needed shorts for her. We also enjoyed lunch at Cinnamon Productions, where we had breakfast rather than lunch. Back home to start making lollipops for Wednesday nights Taste of America at school. Troy (from Greg's team) came over to play for awhile, while grandma took Evelyn to riding lessons and I spent the afternoon and evening making 140 lollipops. Oh vey, what mess I made too. But they turned out pretty darn good. Evelyn did her share of mixing and wrapping up the pops too.

At the moment, my camera and computer are having communication problems again. But I did manage to download all 139 photos I took at Friday's game. I took most of the pictures from behind the fence in right field, using my super telephoto spy lense. As it started getting dark, some of the pictures are dark as I did not edit any of them yet. Enjoy some highlights.

MV Sox warming up.
Pre game chat time.
Huddled in the dug out getting ready to play.

Greg reaching on first. I can't remember what the play was.
ok, this is the type of lead off we were dealing with. This guy is running to 2nd and the ball has probably just left the pitchers hand. Greg is at first signaling that the runner is running. Maybe the pitcher is throwing to 2nd and Greg is waiting for the ball to be thrown back to him.
Greg at bat. He batted 9th. It's getting dark now so not a super great picture.
Greg in left field running toward the ball.
Throwing in a fowl ball.
Just some random phots. This is Greg's ball bag hanging in the dugout.
Can you guess what's in this picture? It's yellow, plastic and bumpy. It goes on top of a chain link fence. It's the top of the fence I was leaning on and over to get pictures. Probably taken between innings.
This is the fence I was leaning on and over and that the yellow thingy in the picture above sits on so I wouldn't scratch myself on the fence. Well, actually, more likely to protect any ball player who reaches over the fence from getting scratched, stuck or whatever by the fence.
Yep, I guess the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
No butts about it, it was a great weekend. Sorry Greg, I had to put this one in here.

Memorial Weekend

What crazy weather we have here. It started raining yesterday and is raining again today.

Greg is playing is in a tournament this weekend in Irvine. Click here to check it out. He's way too excited. Since the first game is tonight, I told Greg I would get him early from school. Also, that way we are not rushing to get out of here after school.

The team is the MV Sox, made up of other boys from the league where he plays.

If you want to check out the schedule, they are in Mustang Flight 2. But here is the link to go directly there for schedules.

We play Friday at 5:30, Saturday 10:15, Sunday 12:30 and possibly more depending on how we do. Whoo-Hoo! And sounds like we play rain or shine.

I've got a lot of packing up to do: chairs, umbrella, easy up, cooler, drinks, snacks, ball gear........oh my. Good thing I am getting the kids early from school so they can help me out. Also have to get some errands done too. Now, I can't find my check book. Have searched everywhere. But I am going to the bank to see if maybe I left it there or someone turned it in. If you have seen it, please let me know. Maybe it's hiding with my i-pod and that darn phone.

Ok, time is ticking away. I have the mother of all headaches too. Gotta get in the shower and get myself dressed. It's already 8:30. Maybe the shower will help me out. I did take K on an early morning walk. It was so crisp out, I loved it! But didn't help the headache go away. Maybe I need a chai latte. Have not had one all week! Good girl I am. :)

Have a fun and safe Memorial weekend. If you are in the area and want to see some ball games, click on the links for the schedule or give a call.

Yo, weather dude, what are you doing?

So, what's up with this weather? Last Monday, just 8 days ago, it was raining and cold. Thought the ball game would be rained out but it wasn't. Evelyn's riding lessons were cancelled though. Arena to mucky to ride in and horse pads got too wet to sit on.

Then Tuesday, it starts getting warmer. Fast forward to Friday when it's in the 90's. 100's over the weekend. Monday, yesterday, hot, high 80's.

The paper "says" its supposed to start cooling down this week. This morning the paper "said" the temp is supposed to be in the 80's. Well, it's just finally warming up.

I dressed in some of my new summer clothes. New white shorts and pretty plumb shirt. But I had to put a sweatshirt on when I went out on errands at noon as it was chilly. Now I am back home and it's starting to get warm again. Whaz up?

Maybe I'll be able to wear some more of my new summer clothes the rest of the week. Maybe not. Maybe I'll be dragging out the long sleeves and sweaters again. Nope, they are not put away, still in the closet. But I wouldn't mind wearing my new styling sweat pants again.

So, check out my little weather pixie. She's supposed to report what the weather and dress accordingly. I also found out today that I can rearrange the items on the side of my blog. So, they are all in a different order and subject to change when I feel like it.

And if you feel like it, check this out www.ribbonjar.com

Ball game tonight. Kids will be storming through the door in an hour. Almost time to change into my favorite Old Navy jeans and my Dodgers shirt. It's the last regular game of the season. TOC starts 6-7. that's the playoffs for our league.

Memorial Weekend Tournament

Greg is playing in a baseball tournament over Memorial Weekend. The team is the MV Sox and made up of players from North Mission Viejo Little League. Coach Rob and Coach Scott are the Sox coaches. There are players from A, AA, AAA and majors.

This is the first tournament Greg has played in that is not with NMVLL. He's pretty excited.

Check on this link for the tournament website. And this link for the schedule. Only the first 2 games are scheduled. The team in under Mustangs Flight 2.

Let's go Sox!!

Blog has been updated

Blog has been updated with lots of photos. Be sure to check them out.

What's up for this week:
Monday: riding lessons, baseball practice
Tuesday: baseball game
Wednesday: batting cages, shop for tournament weekend
Thursday: Sox practice
Friday: first Sox tournament game 5:00
Saturday: Sox tournament game 3:05
Sunday: tournament, game not scheduled yet
Monday: Memorial Day, tournament, game not scheduled yet, maybe Memorial Day 5K in Laguna Hills

Enjoy your week and keep cool!
P.S. No I am not running a marathon. Julie loaned me this book. It has a good training schedule in it and other good tips for running any race. I do want to run 5K's again and feel I am just about there. Maybe the Memorial Day run in Laguna Hills. Depends on the tournament games.

Walk Through America and Betsy Ross

This year Evelyn is learning American History. I love it too as I love history. And it's also fun because I have been to a lot of the places they are studying about and we have taken the kids to some of those places too.


In 1976, my family took a 2 month vacation across the country. We hooked up our tent trailer to our trusty Chevy station wagon and off we went, from California to Maine and back again. Several years ago, we took a business/ family vacation back east. In November. Cold. We visited Washington DC, Valley Forge, Philadelphia, Gettysburg, Mt. Vernon, Arlington Cemetery (not necessarily in that order and I probably forgot some places too).


So, a few weeks ago, the 5th grade classes experienced a Walk Through America. Each class individually had their own "Walk". Each child was assigned a historical character. Evelyn was Betsy Ross. So cool as we had been to Betsy Ross' house in Philly. In 7th grade history, I made an American flag like Betsy made for extra credit.


The "Walk" was about 2 hours. There is a company that puts it on, and the narrator narrates the story while the students act out different parts.


Evelyn's group were Hessians at the battle of Concord and the soldiers at Valley Forge (we were there). Evelyn also had to stand up and give a short speech about making the first American flag. She used my flag as a prop. When the narrator asked her who made the flag, Evelyn said "my mom" and he quickly added "no, Betsy, you made it" then commented that it was a replica of the first flag and not a current one like most people bring. The kids get points for their part in the walk. Evelyn got the max of 50 for her costume, speech and her prop! The kids were in 3 teams, red, white and blue, earning points for their team.


Here are pictures of the Walk Through America.





The stage area and the puzzle is the 13 colonies. A few kids were asked up to put the puzzle back in place after it was scrambled.
Evelyn, aka Betsy, walking in, followed by George Washington.
Here is Betsy and her white team working on a timed quiz to answer questions of events they just reinacted.
Betsy coming back in after the break
This is the reenactment of the battle of Concord. It is Christmas Eve and the Hessian soldiers are exchanging gifts, unaware of the surprise of the attack lead by George Washington.
It's night time, sleeping with their (fake) guns
Now, fast forward to Valley Forge. The kids are American Soldiers, huddling around a fire in the harsh winter. George Washington is standing.
And of course, the kids had to sing Yankee Doodle
Here is Betsy waiting her turn. The girl at the right played a soldier.
Betsy talking about making the flag. This is the flag I made. Her skirt is one my mom made for me for Christmas when I was about Evelyn's age. It's like a pinafore, and made with antique lace. The bonnet is one my great great grandmother on my mom's side actually wore.
Betsy and the narrator discussing the flag.
Here is the narrator. He was quite the comic and made things fun. He didn't use a script and knew his history very well.
Oops, here is Greg running through America. When we got out, Greg's class was in PE and running the mile. We had to walk through their run and I had to get this photo of Greg. didn't realize it at the time, but I messed up his run. He forgot to get his stick and had to go back to get it. I guess each time they pass the PE coach, they get a stick to remind them how many times they have gone around the course.
Greg making his way through the parents and other kids.

More Sophia pictures

Last Thursday we took dinner to Eric and Chrissy. Picked up Pick up Stix.

Got some more pictures of Sophia. She is one week old.



Shhhh. Sleeping baby. Whe she woke up and was out of this seat, Nathan climbed in.
Snuggling with Grandma Shirley.
She was working so hard to get that finger in her mouth. Finally.

Summing up the weekend

Saturday night Greg and I were just exhausted. After watching Alvin and the Chipmunks, we crashed. Greg wanted me to sleep in his room with him, so I agreed to. The mattress was so comfy and I could barely keep my eyes open to read. I was out shortly after Greg was snoring. Now this was about 9 pm and I didn't wake up until I heard the dog barking at 6:30. I let her in and crawled into my bed where I slept until 7:30. Ahh, so nice to sleep.

Sunday we were out the door at 8:45 for practice. It was already hot. I ran around the lake. Well, had to walk too because it was just so darn hot. But made it around in great time. Then kicked back in the shade to watch the rest of the tournament team practice. BTW, the team is the MV Sox. Pretty cool. We've already got the schedule for the first 2 games of the tournament.

After practice we headed home for showers and then off to church. Tom and Evelyn were already home. boy did they have a fun weekend. Miniature golf, hiking, swimming, games, fun girl time. Evelyn wanted to do the zip line, got up there and got hooked up but then decided against it. From what I hear it was about 90' high and pretty long. But you were hooked up in a harness.

I made it out on a few more errands. Made peanut butter balls with the kids. (oh they are yummy!), played jump rope on the trampoline with the kids, tried on my new clothes and we were all in bed early again. This heat just got to me.

Here are some photos of Saturday's game.

Kyle and Shane lead the pledge with the Angels.
Before the game, the teams always say the Little League Pledge. It's a great way to start the game.
Greg bats second. While Appleseed is warming up, Greg gets on the ball bucket and watches.
Here he is with coach Jim. Talking strategy? Telling jokes? More than likely checking out the pitcher.
Appleseed at bat.
Greg at bat. Gets a walk.
Starting to steal to second. He did.
Greg at 3rd. Waiting for the ball to tag the runner out. Out!!
Another play at 3rd.
Mid game huddle in the dugout.
Oops camera wasn't quite ready. But I got a shot of Greg's legs touching home for a point.
Greg pitching.
Wind up.
Getting ready for the delivery.


Whoo-Hoo. Dodger victory. Go Dodgers!
Kyle's mom brought hot dogs for the snack. Quite the set up! Thank you ;)

Enjoying hot dogs and popsicles after the game.