Bejeweled

Thanks Nancy :) I have a horrible addiction.

Blasted Cell Phone

My phone is supposed to have a 4.5 hour talk time and a 9 hour standby time.....but when I woke up this morning it was dead! When my sister called and my phone went straight to voice mail, she knew something was wrong with it.....I never turn my phone off. So I went into US Cellular and traded it in for a new battery. I seriously hope that solves the problem. I'm a complete phonaholic and I can't have a poor battery life!

Today Caitlin waved at a stranger. It actually was the lady helping me with my battery issues and when she waved at Caitlin, Caitlin waved back......it was super cute! She's becoming more outgoing these days and it takes less time for her to warm up to people and be herself. Oh, she has also de-childproofed our internet and phone wires today. We've gotta figure out a better way to childproof them! And Caitlin is amazingly good and finding loose leaf paper!

Caitlin in a Fish Bowl....or coffee table

Today when I uploaded pictures from our camera, I ran across these. It looks like daddy and Caitlin had a little fun while mommy was out with the girls. I just love when he takes pictures of Caitlin and I don't know.....then I get a surprise like this! Caitlin has perfected the art of crawling through the coffee table now. She knows that she has to duck her head a bit to get under it and it is hilarious watching her do it!

Julia and Jay

Today Caitlin and I visited Julia and her new baby boy Jay. He's two weeks old today and very handsome! Caitlin was really fascinated by him and had a funny look on her face every time he cried. She also tried to grab at him in his bouncy chair and got all wiggly and excited when I talked to her about him. She's such a crack up! It was a great visit and I hope to see them soon.....I know Caitlin can't wait either!

Bridal Shower

The girls and I can throw one heck of a bridal shower! We had fabulous food, friends, and the best cosmopolitans I've ever had! As you can see I'm wearing my "sexy mommy" top as Dyani refers to it as. Around 9:30 (after the fun and games) we headed into town to go bar hopping. Our hopping ended at the second bar. Great drinks, loud music, and dancing kept the party there. I had to get back early before I turned into a pumpkin. Luckily, Caitlin waited until I got home before she woke up. It was my first night out without putting her to sleep, but Dennis did a wonderful job (as usual). The wedding is next Saturday and it's sure to be a blast!

I made it through another year.

Finally, this day has arrived.....I can officially begin my summer vacation. Today was the last day of summer school and I think everyone was excited about that. Now, I get to sleep in with Caitlin and just be lazy if we want to. I'm going to try and not think about the next school year until mid August if possible.

I am happy to report that Dennis is on his way to recovery. He's been fever free all day and is acting human again.....even wanting real food! Unfortunately, his throat is still hurting and he doesn't want to talk much because of it. He said he is feeling well enough though to watch Caitlin so I can go to the bridal shower/bachelorette party I've been planning with 2 other bridesmaids. It will be the first time I've been away from Caitlin when she goes to bed. Dennis will do great (as he ALWAYS does) I just hope I'm okay.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Urgent Care....again

Dennis made his second trip to urgent care tonight. He went in early yesterday morning and was diagnosed with strep throat. Last night he spiked a 104.1 fever. I was pretty worried because neither Advil or Tylenol would bring it down. Finally, after a cool shower, it came down with the help of an additional dose of Advil. We thought we were in the clear when he woke up fever free this morning, but his fever came back. Even scarier, was his uvula (the dangley thing in the back of his throat) was swollen to the size of a small cherry making it difficult for him to breath, let alone sleep! I've never seen him this sick!

So, he just called and the doctor said that he may just have a virus, but he needs to keep taking the antibiotics anyway. The doc also is giving him some medicine to reduce the swelling. He should be home soon. I just hate that I am not there with him. But it's better for Caitlin that she's at home and not exposed to hospital air.....let alone urgent care air.

Tomorrow is the second to last day of summer school. We've planned a BBQ at the local park and it looks like it's gonna be cold and damp......just like it has been for the past 4 years. Bummer. I can't wait for summer school to be over. It's gotten much better since my first few days, but I'm ready to have a bit of a vacation.

Good Times

We had a really great weekend visiting with J, K, B, and M. The unfortunate thing was that Dennis caught Caitlin's cold and came down with a fever Friday night just before bed. He's still feeling really crummy and most of the weekend he was resting and didn't participate on our outings. On the bright side, the kids had a blast and Caitlin and Maddie really enjoyed playing together. We took Brady to the ocean twice and he couldn't get enough! We also went to the zoo and the monkeys were so loud! I'd never heard them make that much noise before. It was pretty cool.

While everyone else was napping, Jonathan was nice enough (with a bribe of coffee) to go with me to trade in my new cell phone for a different one. The one I originally got a few weeks ago wasn't working out as well as I had hoped. Now, I have a Razor and it's shiny. While I was getting JT his coffee at Dutch Bros., I couldn't find what I was looking for. I explained to the guy what I wanted and he referred to it as a "Poor Man's Latte." Now I'm curious if I order that at another Dutch Bros. if they will know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, here are a few photos of the weekend.

J, K, B, and M

STARS....mmmmmm. I had a guacamole bacon cheese burger with fries and ranch. I just LOVE that place. They have the best burgers!

I ended up making fish tacos for lunch so we wouldn't waste the fish we bought. They were pretty darn good. Who would have thought that I would ever make, let alone eat, fish tacos! Cra-zy!

J, K, B, and M arrived around 5pm and we've been hanging out and enjoying watching the kids play together. It's gonna be a great weekend!

Kung Pao Kabobs

Cereal. That is what we had for dinner. I ended up picking up Taco Bell for lunch and both Dennis and I weren't very hungry when dinner came around, so cereal became our dinner. Although, I added a white peach to round it all out. Tomorrow is up in the air. Caitlin and I are staying home tomorrow because she's a bit under the weather. J, K, B, and M are/were planning on coming over, but we're kinda waiting it out on Caitlin. We think she's on the mend though. She was fever free practically all day, so that's really good. Her nose is her main complaint. It's SUPER stuffy and the two things she does to calm herself down (suck her thumb or nurse) she can't do because she can't breathe through her nose! Although, she did fall asleep pretty easily tonight and it did sound like some air was getting through her little nose.

Bowling = Fend for yourself night

Well, since Caitlin is still under the weather, Dennis didn't go bowling tonight.....therefore, I needed to whip something up. Good thing we've been off this week for dinners because Dennis was able to swing by the Co-op to pick up some swine for tonight (yes, I did say swine) and fish for tomorrow. So tonight it was BLT's w/ avocado and fries. Yummy. Caitlin had bananas....and then proceeded to throw up in the sink 20 minutes later. That's the bummer about mucus, it's kinda gaggy.

BLT's

I've penciled (or rather dry erased) in BLT's tonight for dinner. However, I haven't had a chance to run to the Co-op to get bacon and Dennis is working late tonight, so I'm making the veggie pasta that we were supposed to have on Sunday, today. Oh darn! I just realized I don't have any bow tie pasta!!!!! I guess I'll just have to settle for the spiral kind.....veggie pasta always tastes better with the bow tie pasta though. I guess I just have to make it work :) When our friends start to get zucchini in their garden, when have veggie pasta A LOT. It's a great way to use a ton of it. I think this recipe stems from a recipe I got from my friend Jenai about 8 years ago.

So Caitlin stayed home sick today with Dennis. Poor thing has had a fever off and on since yesterday. We're not sure if it's an actual cold or she's teething. The last few times she had a fever it was her teeth causing the problem. I'm staying home with her tomorrow just to give her another day of recovery.

Dinner Week

I decided to do something a little different this week on my blog. Every Saturday Dennis and I make a dinner list for the week. Most of the time we stick to it, but sometimes things come up and I have to mix things up or scrap that dinner all together. So, this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to give a run down of our dinners for the week and then see how they actual compare to what I planned. Here it goes:

Sunday - Veggie Pasta
Monday - Fish Tacos
Tuesday - BLT's
Wednesday - Bowling---Fend for yourself night
Thursday - Kung Pao Kababs
Friday - J, K, B, and M visit---EAT OUT
Saturday - J, K, B, and M visit---EAT OUT

This week has already started off chaotic. When we got back from camping on Sunday, we decided to have BBQ beef ribs so we could use our new BBQ sauce we got from the farmer's market last weekend. We also had green beans, grillin' beans, and bread with roasted garlic. Very yummy. Now, I've got to find a spot for the Veggie Pasta!

Tonight is off too. There is a local chili cook off that we just found out about, which is always super fun, so fish tacos are out. Luckily, we hadn't bought the fish yet so we may have to move that dinner to next week.

Damp Camp

This morning we got back from our first family camp out with just the three of us. There is a really great park about an hour and a half away that we've heard rave reviews on. Turns out it is pretty cool and we got an awesome camp spot....very private, but yet we can still see out. We had a great time even though it began raining around 8pm and didn't stop until we left around 8am!

First meal! We grabbed sandwiches from our Co-op before we left so we could be ready to eat lunch when we arrived. Caitlin really wanted our lunch, but settled for plum oatmeal and harvest vegetables. We decided at the last minute to not go into town to get dinner so we ended up eating jerky, string cheese, granola, pirate booty, and Kettle chips....oh so healthy!

Caitlin making her grand entrance into the tent!

Playing with daddy after lunch.

Posing in front of a HUGE redwood stump all while testing out an Ergo baby carrier. Unfortunately, Caitlin did NOT like it at all even though is was super comfortable for me and Dennis.

Okay, this was soooo gross! Yes, as you can see, Caitlin just finished spiting up on me....but the part that you don't see (and the reason for the weird face) is that seconds before she spit up, a bird had just pooped on my head! Totally gross, but thank goodness I was wearing my hood!

Daddy and Caitlin getting started on dinner. I just love her Bumbo! It makes camping (or at least eating while camping) so easy!

Posing for the camera while sitting in front of the fire. After the bird poop incident, it was mandatory hoods for all!

Caitlin being SUPER silly!

Good morning! Dennis and I were exhausted but Caitlin was happy as a clam! It was a very wet morning indeed. Packing up camp in the rain was a bit tricky, but Dennis made it look easy.

I hope every one had a great weekend. And remember, tomorrow is Monday so it is free Mocha Monday and McDonald's! I'm so there! Coffee, coffee, coffee!!!!!

New Cell Phone

Tonight Caitlin, Dennis, and I spent about 2 hours getting a new cell phone plan and phone....and according to Dennis's research since we got home, I picked the phone with the shortest talk time and quite a few complaints. I can deal with some of the complaints, but if you know me and know my talking habits, a short talk time will not fly. Nevertheless, I'm giving it a try. I have 30 days to make my final decision. So far I really like it, but I've only talked on it once.

Caitlin did pretty well and thank goodness I had a jar of baby food in her diaper bag! Although, I can't say much about her overall behavior because while I was inside the store, Dennis was feeding and occupying Caitlin in the car......for an hour and a half!!!!.....at least!!!! When I finally reappeared, everyone was all smiles and Dennis was covered in oatmeal.....which he didn't mind a bit (and I think he actually liked it). So now, Dennis and I both have a phone. I got the new one and he got my old one. Here's hoping my new one works out!

Caitlin's Nook

Caitlin has claimed a nook of our computer desk. Of course, this nook contains all sorts of fun things to play with.....that belong to mommy and daddy. Every chance she gets, Caitlin heads to her nook to pull out as many of mommy and daddy's books as she can. I'm sure we'll have to Caitlin proof this area soon, but for right now it's just so much fun to watch her figure it all out.

13 days and counting....

There are only 13 days of summer school left!!!!! Woo hoo!!!! I do have to say, every day gets a little better. I did that adjective tree with my kids today and they seemed to really enjoy it. Tomorrow we begin work on a name poem. My high school helper didn't show today which was a total bummer, but thankfully I didn't plan any rotating groups!

Well, off to do research on campgrounds, baby carriers, and to feed and water the cats. Happy Tuesday!

Art

Okay, I don't do art. Today I acknowledge that fact. I have never been able to.....ever. I'm just not that creative when it comes to paper and glue or crayons and markers. What is up with that? Today, I saw Nancy making an actual paper tree for her adjective tree and I couldn't believe how awesome or obvious it was to display the adjectives that way! Why on earth couldn't I think of making a "tree" for the adjectives.....or really any other crafty thing to display their work. Here I was going to make them write it all down on boring border paper. So, I borrowed Nancy's idea and did something similar. Well, I ended up making three different prototypes because I didn't like any of the other two. I was so frustrated and then I got even more frustrated because I was frustrated! Arg! I'm having the kids make them tomorrow and I'm sure their's will turn out much better than mine. Thanks again Nancy for inspiring me to come out of my boring box.....and I'm sure it won't be the last time!

Fourth of July

On the Fourth of July Caitlin turned 8 months old! My brother, sister, and her family were here this weekend and we had a blast! They arrived Thursday night and on Friday my brother and brother-in-law went fishing while we went to Target, the mall, and the Discovery Museum for my nephew Hunter. On Saturday, we went to the farmer's markets and TWO street fairs. Hunter and Baylee got these really awesome snow cones. They tasted pretty good, but the texture was the best I've had in a long time. Caitlin had a great time hanging out with the fam and really enjoyed seeing all the people at the market and fairs.

Tomorrow begins the second week of summer school and I really hope it goes much better. I did away with one large piece of my memory project and I think that should help out quite a bit.

Enjoy the pics!

Silly girl!

Hunter was super excited to show off the fish his dad and uncle caught. My sink, however, was not so excited. :)

Uncle Damon and Caitlin

Auntie Brenda and Caitlin

This girl was selling poems on the Plaza. If you gave her a topic and some money, she would write you a poem. It was so neat!

Is my tongue red yet, Aunt Cindy?

At the Plaza with Caitlin people watching in her BOB.

At the other street fair.....I think we were the only people with a camera.....we got a few strange looks but how else are we going to document Caitlin's first Fourth of July?

Baylee, Hunter, and the super awesome snow cones! They were HUGE!!!!

Weekend Plans

So my brother, sister, and her family will be here in about an hour! There is so much going on this weekend in our town because of the 4th, I dont' know where we'll start! I definitely know we'll go tot he farmer's market and Los Bagels. My brother and brother-in-law are going to go fishing EARLY tomorrow morning....hopefully the ocean cooperates.

School was better in some ways but worse in others. My focus today was to get all the kids caught up on assignments and then have a little educational fun. I think the favorite activity was Menu Math. We pretended out class was a restaurant. We had customers, waiters, cashiers, and of course, menus and MONEY!!! The students LOVED it and were begging to play it again right after recess. I'd say it was a total hit.....we're playing it again next Friday.

Well, my sister will be here soon.....better go!

My sister and Hunter trying to make the silliest face they can!

Sane

Today I feel sane enough to blog.....the bag of Circus Animals sitting next to me is helping too. Summer school started Monday and although Monday was mostly okay, but by yesterday afternoon, I was completely stressed out! I planned this HUGE project to work on during the 4 weeks and along with all the math and language arts I'm having the kids do, they aren't finishing their work and I'm not able to get to my lower kids! I'm planning way too much and I need to scale it WAY back. There are so many different ability levels I freaked out I'm not going to meet their needs! Thank goodness I don't have major behavior issues......just some minor annoying ones really. So today I ran groups for the first time and it seemed to go well. However, I'm running out of time to see my remedial groups.......I need to fix this issue ASAP. I've only been able to see one group a day.....so not good enough! But I guess I should just "let it go" as Julia would say because my kids are really working hard the whole time on math, comprehension skills, and writing every day......and honestly, how much can I really do in 16 days?!

Drat! I finished off the rest of the Circus Animals! And let me tell you, there was definitely more than one serving left! Not a single frosted animal is safe with me in the room. I'm so going to regret this in a few hours! That's the other problem with summer vacation....way too much time to snack away the day.

So now, I will leave you with a few more pictures from our camping trip.