My Inspiration.

I won't apologize this time for not updating this thing.. there has been good reason. Is it because I have had nothing to say? Not even close. There has simply been too much happening that is too personal to share on an open forum like this one. But a couple days ago something happened and it has been heavy on my mind to write about it. "It" being more or less everything that has been swirling in my mind and in my heart. So here goes..

This may be harder than I thought... I sit here and I know what I want to say but unsure how best to write it coherently. This is about my daughter.

Fast forward a few weeks.. ya I let that top part simmer for that long. Going to attempt to finish.

A few weeks ago we went to Bullwinkle's Family Fun.. cool place I hadn't been there before. While we were there Alissa saw the rope walk and insisted she needed to do it. I took one look and thought to myself, "I couldn't do that and I'm 32." If you haven't seen it before.. you basically do an obstacle course way up high strapped into a harness in case you fall so you don't break your neck. Not my idea of fun but she really wanted to do it. So we checked and she made the height requirement (barely) so we strapped her safety harness on and away she went. As I watched my little girl up there I was a bit nervous.. and then she got 3/4 of the way and was about to hit a new obstacle and she froze. From below I saw the fear in her eyes and she started to cry. She was alone up there and facing two more obstacles before it was over. She looked down at me.. and said, "Momma I can't do it." .. and my reply? "You have to... there is no other way down." And that's when I saw it.. that's when it all became so clear. My frightened little girl took a deep breathe, wiped her eyes, and she took another step.. and then another. And she made it. And I knew beyond a doubt that no matter what life threw her way.. she would take a deep breathe, wipe her eyes.. and always take that step. I have never been more proud or more in awe of my child and her strength. Here I am the teacher.. and she was teaching me..showing me. That she would be okay. And I sat at home with my head in my hands remembering not too long before standing in my mom's kitchen and thinking.."Momma I can't do it." And now, thanks to my incredibly brave, unique, and amazing daughter..I have chosen to follow her example. I am going to put one foot in front of the other. I have to.. there is no other way.

I love you Alissa.

We will do this together baby.. one step at a time.

Critters, Heaven cost $1, Tater Capers, Birthday Dreams

 Couple weeks ago the kids had their Tuesday outdoor school with Daddy..and they came home with two of these beauties. Fire-bellied newts. So we set up a 10-gallon aquarium and made them nice and cozy. The kids enjoyed researching the new critters and feeding them worms caught in the garden. So far they remain nameless..

 Yesterday we went off to the Green Bridge Pumpkin Patch... it was awesome! All pumpkins are $1 - and on our budget that translated into PUMPKIN HEAVEN! The kiddos always like to get giant pumpkins.. and at this place it was no problemo. See the pumpkins in the cart? Ya those bad boys came home with us. Jonathan was the one who picked a tiny pumpkin because that's just how he rolls. We skipped the hay rides and other activities because you had to pay.. but no one was complaining.

 Alissa got in trouble for this - she looks to old. Okokok I didn't really get her in trouble but sheez that girl needs to slow down.

 And my little ham. What else can I say? Love that boy.

 And here my friends is the reason we can have giant insanely heavy pumpkins..Meet "the muscle". I couldn't budge those things.

 After the pumpkin patch we headed to grandma's house to harvest her potatoes! The kids thought that was just the greatest thing ever.

Showing off the loot! Alissa looks a little ragged.. it was a long day! Hahaha... We took these guys inside as well as an assortment of other goodies from grandmas garden. Jonathan scrubbed everything clean and Alissa made garlic mashed potatoes. They were fantastic!

On a completely unrelated but insanely cool topic.. it is finalized - We are going to Disney World in February with the in laws. Disney WORLD! Even cooler? First day there is my birthday. And all this for a girl (me) who has never been very far from the west coast. Excited? Serious understatement. Can I just hibernate until February? ? ?

Oh..and in case you were wondering... Home school? Ya it's the best decision I ever made. More on that another time.

Field trips, flags, co-ops, scouts, muffins.. ETC ETC ETC

 Our first "official" home school field trip was to Oregon Gardens for HOME SCHOOL DAY!

 First thing we did was ride the tour bus and see the whole garden.

 Forgot a coat for Miss Cuteness here.. so bought an adult sweater (kid dress) and she was good to go. Yay for gift shops!

 We went to the field of flags (this was a week before the gardens but I'm too lazy to switch them around hehe). Very powerful.. opened up some deep and interesting conversations with the kids about 9/11 and terrorism..military and flags.. lots and lots. Very special time.

 First home school co-op get together was fun! Art project was fun fun! All about symmetry.
 Girl scouts has begun! Brownies that is. It's going to be an adventure this year!!

And of course my first ever college football game. It. Was. Awesome. Beth and I had a blast. And it helps that the Ducks won.. won being a slight understatement.

SOOO much more has happened.. been so busy trying to find a rhythm with home school and life. Wondering how I ever managed to drop the kids off at school somewhere and miss all that time together. I really enjoy them.. enjoy teaching them and watching them learn. Today Alissa made applesauce muffins. She followed the recipe exactly. And for the first time I just stood back and watched. I kept my mouth shut when she put too little of this or too much of that.. I praised her efforts.. I walked her through how to safely put them in the oven and set her timer.. and then I marveled at the look of accomplishment and pride on her face when it was all done. She did it. All by herself. And I was there to see it. Feeling so thankful right now that we are on this road. Together. I love my kids so much.

Until next time.

Oregon State Fair 2011

 Oregon State Fair 2011

Tents and diapers.

 This is Alissa and Jonathan attempting a "sleep-over" in a tent they created in Jonathan's room. I know.. I said attempting. They actually made it quite awhile before I had to break up the party to have them get into their "real" beds. They had a blast.. giggling and playing in their tent.
Now.. on to my poor wiener. This is Pancake. And yes, she IS wearing a diaper. Apparently we are a tab late  getting her spayed. It's on the agenda!!! In the good news department it was a great learning opportunity for Alissa.. we had a LONG talk about what this means for Pancake..and one day for her. Yay for life lessons! Thanks Pancake.

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

What a day. My baby is five years old. Started the day with Alissa complaining about a sore throat - immediately my radar went up because her grandma has had strep! YIKES! To the doctor we go.. and the results: NEGATIVE! Thank GOODNESS! Alissa was very worried about missing out on the days fun. After the doctor appointment we picked up Jon from his grandma's house. I asked Jon what he would like for his birthday lunch... ANYTHING... and he chose Burger King (big surprise haha) and a frozen coke. I should back up a bit.. for breakfast I told him he could have aaaaanyhting he wanted and he picked..drum roll please...garlic toast. HAHA.. okie dokie. So garlic toast and chai started the day. He also wanted time to play "foresthunter" game. Cutie pie. Okok..back to lunch. After burgers I asked what he would like to do for fun..aaaanything.. and he picked Pietro's Pizza to play games. We played a round of mini-golf followed by a ton of other games. Favorites: Roller Coaster simulator, and their new gun game where you shoot stuff and things happen. Wow.. super descriptive I know. Similar to the one at Enchanted Forest but this one you get randomly squirted in the face with water..fun times. When we went to the ticket counter to get our prizes (junk) there was a very nice (creepy) guy who gave the kids all sorts of extra stuff. He even rigged a game for the kids to spit out a ton of extra tokens. How very sweet (scary) he was. And then, plastic prizes (crap) in hand..we headed home. Jonathan wanted a little more game time and then a "CUDDLE PUDDLE!" with mommy on my bed. Lots of airplane rides, tickle games, and otherwise silly fun. Alissa wasn't feeling so hot still so spent most of this time on Jumpstart.
Around 5:45 we headed to Padingtons for "Daddy Pizza" with the grandparents. Jonathan got to open presents and chow down on his favorite pizza. All in all a wonderful day. Other then a doctor visit for Alissa of course.
So Jonathan.. my boy. How can I ever express how much I love and adore and thoroughly enjoy that kid? He is spontaneous, mischievous, fun and sweet as can be.
Speaking of sweet just have to add a fast story. While at the doctors Ali got a throat swap and the lab tech offered her a sticker.. she dug through the sticker box until she found a super hero sticker and stated she wanted that one for her little brother because it was his birthday. The nice lady then said that was very sweet of her and she could go ahead and grab a sticker for herself too..to which Alissa replied, "No thanks." What a kid... ok back to Jon..
My little man... I will forever cherish his cuddles and love..his giggles and his efforts at getting away with just about anything. He is a giving, loving, amazing person. I am so proud of all that he is and he is only just five. I can't wait to see what kind of man he turns out to be. Love and adore everything about him. Happy birthday Jonathan my little man who loves to shop and battle the bad guys as Catawack Boy!! Hehe.. Five. Unreal.

I chickened out, creative genius, giant bone, and all nighters.

So I was going to make a blog post surrounding a video I took of myself playing guitar to show my progress. I had every intention of posting the video. No really.. I did. But then I chickened out. I might try again.. but until then I wanted to share my little mummies -

 Gotta love two kids and a roll of toilet paper. Creative genius in action.
On a totally different note Alissa bought Pancake this bone yesterday... and today gave it to her. And poor Zena just kept giving me the eye.. the "But..but..I'm older and pitiful and you love me and *I* didn't get a bone" look.

 So... I went out to the freezer and pulled out this monster.

Her puppy eyes just lit up.. and I'm sure her tongue is frozen to the bone at this very moment. But she is a happy old dog.

On a final note got to hang with my mom for an all nighter last night/this morning because we took grandma to the ER and ended up transferred to Portland. What a cluster. Not really sure yet what it was but I know grandma is on her way home now. Yikesoroni. I thought when I woke up that I actually didn't feel to bad for being up until 5am.. now I feel it. Every minute of it. I'm going to go take a nap.

Until next time...

Goodnight.