Life As I Know It

Catching up...

2009-06-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a while since I have done anything with my blog, sorry mom. This semester at school added to the kids getting out of school for the summer made for quite a busy month and a half.

I am happy to say we all survived it and came out on the flip side ready for a fun filled summer. Not sure what kind of fun we are actually going to have but we will figure it out. I am thrilled to report that the kids grades were great with Lys and I both getting all A's.

Alyssa, Jonny, and Mikey have decided to play soccer in the fall so they are signed up and ready to go with that. Patrick is driving now, he has his permit and is one drive away from passing his drivers training course. Zackery had an exceptional year at school to which I give all the credit to his wonderful aid Kim. She is awesome! Charlie is ever my wild child and keeps us on our toes. He is very sad he cannot attend summer school with the other three so we keep him busy here at home. Dan is working on telemarketing with a new client and is enjoying it and I am gearing up for classes over the summer.

I will be backtracking and adding in pictures from the last couple of months so for those of you who follow my blog, sorry for all of the extra emails. Enjoy the updates, who knows when a new one will arrive. *smile*

New Glasses

2009-04-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

Zackery and Alyssa both got their new glasses today.
They look great!

Meeting Elena

2009-04-26T16:06:00.000-07:00

What a happy day when Melissa and David came to town with their beautiful daughter Elena. She is beautiful and why not with such adorable parents! After we went home, Mikey and Charlie both asked if we could have a new baby. Sorry boys, that is not going to happen, no more siblings.

Jr. Prom

2009-04-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

After initially not wanting to go to the Jr. Prom, Patrick changed his mind and decided to attend. He had a great time with his friends and they all looked great. It sure is hard to get him to dress up at all but he looked great and so did his friends!

Latest Afghans

2009-04-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

Four completed in April

The Ugly Blanket which is a combination of all the scrap yarns from all of my projects the last couple of years.
If I made you something, you can likely find the colors in this scrapghan.

This next one is a Christmas Afghan done in a cluster stitch.

These last two were done for my friend Lori's daughters.
Lani received the purple one.

Becca received the red one.

Even Dad's have birthdays...

2009-04-06T16:11:00.000-07:00

...and today was Dan's. Happy Birthday honey!

The girls go bowling

2009-03-29T15:18:00.000-07:00

The Brownies went bowling and had a great time. This was her first time bowling and Alyssa won one of the games.

A vacation.... finally.... to Utah

2009-03-26T15:02:00.000-07:00

This year my parents decided to fly me out to Utah for a visit. It was my first vacation alone is many years and the first time I have had a chance to visit my parents since they have moved to Utah.

Dad took us on many drives around the area and it was beautiful! There is so much to see where they live and the scenery changes dramatically from mile to mile. I absolutely loved it and cannot wait to go back this summer with the kids.

Alyssa turns 9

2009-03-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

We had the family over for Alyssa's birthday this year including Grandma & Grandpa, Dave, Cleo & the kids, and Van & Carolyn. Alyssa's favorite gift was the latch hook kit that Granny sent.

Vocabulary Parade

2009-03-04T16:08:00.000-08:00

The Vocabulary Parade is a fun event held at the kids school each year. It gives the students a chance to dress up as a word and parade through the school.

This year Jonny's got to lead the parade along with his class. His class chose from compound words. He chose cowboy.

Next was Michael. Their class chose words that were jobs. Michael decided the night before the parade he wanted to change his job from a race car driver to a painter. We finger painted a shirt for him and he was happy.

Alyssa'a class had homophones for their words. A homophone are words that look and sound alike but have different meanings. For her words she carried a weather vane, drew blue veins on her arms, and walked around acting vain.

Thinking Day

2009-02-22T15:59:00.000-08:00

Every year the Girl Scouts many areas promote a Thinking Day for their troops. This year Alyssa was involved with the Brownies. Her troop picked Spain to study and learned many facts about Spain as they researched it online. They made a beautiful poster board that told facts about Spain, learned how to do a Flaminco Dance, and tried a chicken and rice dish.

Here is Alyssa dressed up and ready for the afternoon.

And the rest of the girls.

All of the girls dancing their version of the Flaminco Dance.

Surgery for Michael

2009-02-19T16:09:00.000-08:00

Michael had surgery to fix his eyes. His eyes were not working together the way they are supposed to, a condition called Strabismus. The eye muscle surgery aligned his eyes so that they will work properly together.

The day of the surgery his eyes looked like this, all red. The doctor said that the redness will fade away in about a month.

A week and a half later, his eyes are beginning to clear and he is seeing double less often. He also says that things are not blurry anymore either.

Jessica, Kelly and Rebekah Visit

2009-02-15T21:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend we had a visit from Jessica, Kelly and their friend Rebekah. They stayed for dinner and a movie.

Everyone all piled on the couch.

Kelly and Charlie, he would not look at the camera and smile so Kelly was tickling him.

Rebekah and Michael... he is in love... after I showed them the picture, Rebekah said to him, all of our fingers are my age and one hand of fingers is your age. Mikey says you are 3 hands older than me.

Since Jessica and Jonny share a birthday, they both showed off their gifts.

Jessica and Alyssa.

PTA Project

2009-02-12T16:47:00.000-08:00

This year our PTA made scarves for our wonderful teachers. There was plenty of leftover yarn and I put it to good use making a couple of afghans that the PTA will be able to use to help raise money for our school.

The finished result are a pair of almost matching afghans. The only difference in the two is the beginning and ending colors are different. These afghans are 4'x5', perfect to snuggle under while watching a football game.

Jonny Turns Seven

2009-02-09T21:42:00.000-08:00

Jonny celebrated his birthday this year with the family and Grandpa who came over for dinner. He requested pizza for dinner and chocolate cake with chocolate icing as his cake. He got a couple of games for his DS and was quite happy about it.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-17T11:57:00.000-08:00

From all of us to all of you, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Blue Jean and Flannel Lap Blanket

2008-11-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

My latest creation is a blue jean and flannel lap blanket. This will be a Christmas gift for someone on my list.

My Brother is in town...

2008-11-05T19:34:00.000-08:00

David, Cleo and her kids Cody and Adrienne just moved to town. Though they were completely exhausted from driving overnight, they came over for dinner, cake and ice cream to celebrate Charlie's birthday.

Dave and Cleo and the kids live just 10 minutes away. Even better news... in June I am going to be an Auntie again!

Dave and Cleo

Cody

Adrienne

Charlie's Birthday

2008-11-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

Charlie turned 4 today. Where have the years gone?

Charlie blowing out his candles.

A happy smile and while looking at the camera.

Oh goodie, something to hit my brothers with...

Halloween 2008

2008-10-31T19:03:00.000-07:00

Ocean Afghan Set

2008-10-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

This afghan set is one that I am selling. The afghan is 4'x3' and comes with a matching hat and octopus. I am selling it for $50.

Shades of blue afghan set

2008-10-30T18:43:00.000-07:00

This afghan set is one that I am selling. The afghan is 4'x3' and comes with a matching hat and octopus. I am selling it for $50.

Becky and Carolyn... Homecoming Night

2008-10-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

Aunt Becky and Aunt Carolyn came to visit and it happened to be homecoming night. We all had dinner and then Patrick got ready to go to the dance. Of course we had to take some pictures.

Becky is reading to Michael.

Carolyn is reading to Charlie.

Patrick ready for the dance.

The whole family together.

Homecoming Float

2008-10-24T18:24:00.000-07:00

Patrick and his friends worked on the Homecoming float all week long. Then they rode in the parade. We played the Trojans that night and both Patrick and Kurt were the unlucky Trojans. We also won the game!

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

After visiting the Pumpkin Patch, Michael and I went to the school for the Pumpkin Carving night. He helped me carve his pumpkin with all of his friends. The shirt he is wearing was made over at Ethan's house.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

The Kindergartners and Preschoolers went on their annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch. This year both Michael and Charlie went and at the same time which was very nice for me. I went along and the three of us had fun. The boys got to pick out a pumpkin and go on a hay ride. They also played in the hay pile and with all of the tractors that were around the farm.

Cinnamon Pear Muffins

2008-10-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

This is a wonderful recipe. The muffins are moist and the chunks of pear a delightful surprise! They were a hit with the kids.

CINNAMON PEAR MUFFINS

1 1/2 c. quick oats
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. soft butter
1 1/2 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped peeled pear (1 lg.)
1 c. milk
1/3 c. melted shortening
1 egg

Combine oats, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Remove 2 1/2 cups to large mixing bowl.
Combine soft butter with remaining oatmeal mixture; set aside.
Stir flour, baking powder, and salt into oatmeal mixture in large bowl.
Stir in pear.
Combine milk, shortening, and egg.
Pour into dry ingredients and mix just until moistened.
Spoon into 12 greased or lined muffin cups filling 1/2 full.
Sprinkle reserved oatmeal mixture over tops.
Bake for 12-15 minutes at 400 degrees.
Serves 12.

School Spirit

2008-10-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

With winter coming and high school football in the middle of its season, I thought I would make the younger kids hats and scarves in their school colors. I had to make them all different so no one would fight over them.

Here are the little boys hats.

This set is for Alyssa

And here are the boys, ready for winter.

Yellow and Pastel Afghan Set

2008-10-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

This set will be for my niece Leann and her husband Peter. They are expecting in January.

Play Dough

2008-10-04T16:59:00.000-07:00

This week I had an assignment in my Early Childhood Education class to make playdough and the observe the kids in how they played with it. Michael and i made the playdough and later that afternoon the kids all played with it.

Sock Hop

2008-09-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

The elementary school had a sock hop. Alyssa, Jonathan, Michael and Charlie had a blast dancing the night away. Michael won the best decorated socks for his age group. Alyssa and Jonny both participated in the hula hoop contest but neither won. All of the kids played the Limbo. All in all it was a fun night!

David and Melissa

2008-09-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

They popped in for a surprise visit and we had to take a picture on the couch with all of this kids. This is becoming the thing to do when we have company.

No-Knead Bread

2008-09-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

Over at Southern Spirit Hunters, Sarah has started a bread baking club. Here is the first recipe she posted and my finished product. I did make two loaves out of this recipe rather than just one and I baked mine on very well greased cookie sheets. This bread was served for my kiddos with honey butter and was gone pretty much instantly. They loved it and it is such an easy recipe. Enjoy!

No-Knead Bread

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Veggie Tales

2008-09-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

Grandma bought the kids tickets to see Veggie Tales live. Aunt Joyce, who was visiting from Michigan, along with Aunt Carolyn and I took Katie, Zackery, Alyssa, Jonny, Mikey and Charlie to the show.

Right from the start Michael was entranced. Charlie was scared and snuggled close to me but finally danced after the intermission. I know that we all had a really good time at the show.

Uncle Bob and Aunt Willie Visit

2008-09-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

This week Uncle Bob and Aunt Willie came to visit. We had them over for dinner twice, once with fresh cod that Uncle Bob caught while deep sea fishing. The kids had so much fun getting to know them and so did I. Lots of pictures, lots of laughter!

First day of School

2008-09-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

Zackery is in 8th grade.
Alyssa is in 3rd grade.
Jonny is in 1st grade.
Mikey is in Kindergarten.

Crochet Along

2008-08-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

The Lion Brand Yarn website is hosting a Crochet Along.

I have decided to do my project as a baby afghan in shades of blues.
Not sure yet who will get this project but for now I have started.

First I worked up my test blocks. There are three patterns and while I only have two of the yarns picked out, I worked up all three blocks.
The green will not be included in this project.

There are a total of 30 blocks needed and so far I have done 5 of them. I will try and update my progress weekly.

Michael's Birthday

2008-08-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

Michael had a wonderful 5th birthday. He only asked for a couple of things, anything from The Wiggles and a cowboy hat. Granny sent along the Wiggles shirt which he wore all day long and the cowboy hat came after dinner. I am pretty sure he slept in both.

Water Fun

2008-08-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend the kids and I headed North to visit the family. We stayed a night at Van and Carolyn's place. They took us downtown to walk around and let the kids play in the fountains. We also took the kids to a place where they could make music. It was so much fun!

A New Venture

2008-08-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

I have decided to start selling my craft items. I will be keeping a running slide show going of the items that I have available for sale right here on my blog.

If you see anything that you want, please let me know. And feel free to share my blog with anyone who you think may enjoy a home made item for the newest baby in their lives.

I am hoping that this will take off for me and with any money I make, I can help to put myself through college. More items will be posted just as soon as I finish them and I can also do custom orders.

Hot Pink Afghan Set

2008-08-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

This set was originally made with my niece Melissa in mind. However when the time came to give it to her, she decided to choose the one that was in shades of lighter pinks and browns. This one went instead to her best friend Amanda who is also expecting a daughter within a couple of weeks of Melissa.

Haircut for Alyssa

2008-08-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

Alyssa thought it was time for another haircut, and donated her hair to Locks for Love again. Her hair was not as long when she started out this time so it is a lot shorter than it ever has been. She likes it.

Patrick's Birthday

2008-07-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

FIFTEEN... I have a hard time believing it but he is 15 today. Patrick had a bunch of friends over for what has become and annual event of a water balloon fight. I blew up about 300 water balloons and we all got soaked. Of course we had food and cake but the kids were more interested in Guitar Hero and hanging out with each other.

All of the kids in one place at one time.

2008-07-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

This event does not happen often with our family split between Washington and California but this summer while Kimmy was visiting I had a chance to snap a few pictures with ALL 8 KIDS.

Of course getting them all to look at the camera and SMILE at the same time is virtually impossible.

Here they all are from left to right:
Alyssa, Kimmy, Mikey, Danny, Charlie, Zack, Patrick and Jonny

Baby Season

2008-07-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

It seems to be that time of year again for our family to have babies on the mind. But this time it is not me. The exciting news is that both of my nieces who married last year are pregnant.

Melissa and David are expecting in early December and have found out that they are having a girl. The have named her Elena.

Leann and Peter are expecting at the end of January. No news yet on whether they are expecting a boy or girl.

Needless to say I am eagerly working on projects for the babies to be and cannot wait to become a Great Aunt. Very exciting stuff!

Flowers in Bloom...part 2

2008-07-06T20:55:00.001-07:00

And just a few more.

Maltese Cross Plant

Lychnis Rose Champion

Wave Petunias

Flowers in Bloom

2008-07-06T19:28:00.000-07:00

Since I mentioned them, I wanted to share the blooms in my garden.

Malva Zebrina

Crimson Pirate Daylily

Sweet William

Hens and Chicks

Alyssum, Sanvitalia and Nemesia

Garden Update

2008-07-06T16:15:00.001-07:00

I have been at it again, digging in the gardens. This section I was dreading because it is right underneath the weeping birch and I always end up with spiders and other various bugs crawling through my hair. Yes, I admit, it gives me the creeps to have bugs in my hair. But it is done now and looking great with the mulch laid out and the rocks in place. Gardening has been a nice break from the canning I have been doing all week.

Blooming in the garden today are lychnis, daylillies, cyclamin, sweet william and some pretty red flowers.

Canning has begun

2008-07-05T13:20:00.000-07:00

Well it is that time of year again where I spend hours in the kitchen canning. So far I have started with strawberries, rhubarb and peaches. My completed projects include strawberry jam, strawberry rhubarb jam and strawberry syrup. The peaches have successfully made it to the freezer and when I get the urge they will be made into peach jam, peach rhubarb jam and peach pie filling.

Not counting what I have already given away, I have 13 pints and 1 half pints of strawberry jam; 3 pints and 12 half pints of strawberry rhubarb jam; 3 pints and 2 half pints of strawberry syrup; and 6 freezer bags of peaches that each have 4 cups of prepared peaches.

My cupboard is starting to fill now, faster than I was expecting but that is ok. This year I am determined to not run out of strawberry jam since everyone likes it so much.

I am looking very forward to the blueberries coming into season soon as well as some experimenting with some new recipes to use with strawberries. And thanks to my friends, I have discovered that I love rhubarb and will be doing a lot more with that as well. Dan absolutely loves strawberry rhubarb pie so I made one this week and he told me it was just as good as his Aunt Willie's, a high compliment indeed.

4th of July

2008-07-04T22:02:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun for the 4th this year. First we went over to Patrick's friends house. We finally got to meet Shawnie's parents and had a really nice time. Back home to cook dinner for the family. Mom, Dad and Kimmy came over for more good food and then fireworks. I did not get any pictures until most of the fun was over but we did have a good time!

Here are the four youngest.

And this one is missing Kimmy and Patrick.

Playdate

2008-07-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

We had our 2nd play date with all of the kids from Mikey and Charlie's preschool class. This time I remembered to take my camera with me so I could get some pictures of all the kids having fun!

Summer Daze

2008-07-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

I think my title is appropriate because that is how the summer has felt so far, one day blurring into another creating a dazed state that I seem to perpetually stumble through. For the most part, I think that everyone is having an awesome summer. Lots of time in the pool, out in the sun, going places and doing things but for this tired mommy, it sure seems like summer has already gone on for months and when will it ever end. Don't get me wrong, I am loving all of the time with the kids but I just wish we could slow down a little bit. I think once summer school and yearbook are done, life will settle into that slower summer pace.

My kids look good, all sun-kisses and healthy. Even I have managed to not glow when I walk outside in shorts. Everyone's hair is getting lighter as their skin gets darker which is cool to see. I think that the kids are all lucky to get natural streaks in their hair from simply doing the things that kids do on hot summer days.

We are gearing up for the 4th of July, we have been invited to a friend of Patrick's for a party and then comes Patrick's birthday party. He wants to have a camp-out with his friends, guys and gals. I think it will be a blast and if that does not work out, then we will have a BBQ by the lake and a day of swimming. He is 15 this year and that means a whole new world opening up for him with driving lessons for the next year and then his license. YIKES!

Things are also going great with Danny moving in, a few minor bumps along the road but so far so good. He has been walking every day and has lost 10 pounds since he moved in with us. Such an awesome accomplishment!

My mother-in-law, Sharon found out this past week that she is going to need chemotherapy for her cancer. We are all very saddened by this news but know that everything is going to be ok. She is in good spirits and seems eager to get this going and then over with. We continue to keep her in our prayers.

So I guess that is it for a summer day, the kids call and it is time to really get the day going again.

Mei Tai

2008-06-25T18:21:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, my friend Kirsten asked me if I would be willing to make her a Mei Tai. What is a Mei Tai you may ask? Well it is a baby carrier. I went about making this with a lot of help from several websites and really had a lot of fun working on it even though some parts of it really pushed my sewing limits. It is headed now to Nevada and its new home where I hope that Kirsten will enjoy carrying around her youngest son in comfort.

Thanks for the opportunity to create this Kirsten, I hope you like it and get a ton of use from it as well.

Garden Update

2008-06-21T18:15:00.000-07:00

It has been a lot of hard work digging out the rocks and putting a more permanent and easy to care for edge to my garden but I finally have the first section complete. I am really liking how it looks now, clean lines and very easy to mow around.

The daylily and lychnis in the picture are close to blooming now and will bring a wonderful blast of color to this area. This is also my first official summer picture of the garden

The Moon and the stop sign

2008-06-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

This month's full moon and clear skies gave me an opportunity to use my tripod. Every other time I have tried to get pictures of the moon they come out blurry because I cannot keep my hands steady enough but I managed to get a couple of really good shots this time around and thought I would share them.

The stop sign is pretty clear too.

A Blanket and a "Blanket"

2008-06-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

One of the things that happened on Father's Day was that Mack, my brother-in-law, opened a birthday present from my mother-in-law. It was a beautiful afghan and she stated will be the last one she makes as these large projects are getting difficult for her. Here they are with the gift.

Each of the kids claimed a piece of the wrapping or ribbon that came from the package. The other night, we found Michael sound asleep with his new blanket, birthday gift wrap.

Father's Day

2008-06-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

A good part of the family was able to get together for Father's Day this year. We spent the day and had lot of fun. lots of food, and a really good time!

Fund Raising

2008-06-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

Patrick came home with some exciting news for the last week of school. He was elected Vice President of his class. We are so very proud of him. With his office came the responsibility of raising funds for Homecoming with his class will be sponsoring this year.

I decided to help out with the summer fund raising and for the last couple of weeks the kids have been serving snacks for a local Senior Citizens dance. The kids have actually had a lot of fun with this, gathering the food from their classmates and taking it over, setting up and then cleaning up after.

Here is a picture of Patrick with some of his friends hanging out at the dance.

Kindergarten Celebration

2008-06-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

For Jonathan's last day of school there was a celebration. All of the kindergarten classes sung songs and then at the end of the show were told that now they were first graders. The kids were so excited about this and all of the stood an inch taller and with bigger smiles on their faces than when the day started.

Here he is with most of his classmates.

Tub Time

2008-06-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

A lot of you know that we have a virtual garden of eden in our bathroom. We love the plants in there and it certainly makes for a nice place for me to take a long bath at the end of a busy day.

On occasion we put a fountain in the bathtub and let it run, the plants sure like the extra moisture in the air and it sounds good!

The other day Dan gave Mikey and Charlie a bath and let them play with the fountain as well. They sure had a good time!

Reading Awards and Science Project Update

2008-06-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

Zackery received a reading award for the 4th quarter of school. He read over 800 minutes in the last 3 months. That was great in itself but when they announced that he was one of only ten kids in the entire Junior High to have received a reading award for all 4 quarters, I was really proud of him.

Here he is with two of his classmates at the awards ceremony.

Zackery also did his end of year science project in class. It was a success. He presented his slide show and everyone could understand him. They all got a chuckle out of his last slide that stated, "That is the end of my presentation, thank you for watching". Very typical of Zack. When he did his experiment in class, the balloon got a small hole in it and started to leak all over the desk, but his aide came to the rescue and put her finger on the balloon so it could blow up properly. At the site of that, all of the kids were impressed.

2nd Grade Picnic

2008-06-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

Alyssa's class had their end of year picnic and I took Mikey and Charlie with me to celebrate. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and we had to have lunch inside the classroom but it was nice enough to go outside and run off some energy, not to mention lose a bit of the sugar high that all of the kids had from an excess of cookies and brownies.

We got a picture of the whole class.

And one of Alyssa flying by as they were outside having fun.

It was sure a nice event and I will be missing these kids next year as they get separated to go on to 3rd grade.

Last Day of Preschool

2008-06-05T17:45:00.001-07:00

Today was the last day of a very awesome year of preschool.

This year had Michael out of diapers and potty trained, not to mention out of speech therapy which is awesome as well. Michael has grown by leaps and bounds, so much so that he will be starting Kindergarten next year when we originally thought we would wait another year.

Charlie has also made huge strides this year. He has words now and a language that we are beginning to understand. In addition he is beginning to pick up a little sign language which started out as a game with one of his aides and ended up with him coming home and spelling his name for us. He can also write his name now and sing the ABC's and count to 20.

Here are a few pictures from today.
Michael and one of his friends.

Charlie having a great time.

Michael giving his gift to their teacher.

Charlie giving his gift to their aide.

And finally both of the boys with their teacher.

Garden Stuff

2008-06-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

I spent a little bit of time in the garden this week. Finished clearing around the last Japanese Barberry and moved some yellow and orange daylily into that spot. I am hoping that they will provide weed control since doing any kind of work around the 1 inch thorns of the barberry can be dangerous.

And I got a new color bloom on my iris. This one is called American Classic. I love the ruffled edges. The iris have spread so much that I will need to move some that are on the outer edges of their space to a new place in the fall. It is good cuz that just means more color somewhere else.

Who knows how much time I will have for the garden in the next couple of weeks with so much end of year school stuff happening. With the weather forecast calling for cool temperatures and showers, I am sure it will manage without me until I can get my hands dirty again.

Another new critter

2008-05-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

I am having so much fun with my crochet critters, that I decided to try out yet another new one. This one is a turtle. I really like it but still have a few tweaks to make it a bit easier to put together and have its eyes in a better position. Michael was perfectly happy with this lil guy though and claimed it as his own.

Dakota

2008-05-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

My niece Dakota came down to visit us this weekend. We all had a very good time. I managed to take a few pictures of her though she is not too happy being in front of a camera. Why is beyond me because she is a beautiful young girl.

I got this look when she noticed me taking pictures. It may be a little blurry but you sure get the idea on her mindset when it came to seeing the camera.

I almost got a smile from her when I told her that I wanted to get a picture of her for Granny... here you are mom.

And I had to get one last picture of all the kids together. I have been doing shots like this for as long as I can remember, all of the kids on the couch. This time Piper joined in the fun. Smiles all around.

A new project

2008-05-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

I finished up a new baby set last night and this one included a new project. Now that I have gotten the hang of making an octopus, I thought I would try my hand at my favorite, a bunny.

After a lot of trial and error, looking at several different patterns and adapting to my own, this is what I came up with. Now I just have to hope I can read my own notes and do it again. And I have to find a home for this set as well.

Another one gets a buzz

2008-05-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

This time it is Charlie. I really do not like cutting his hair, he has the most beautiful curls but it was getting just a wee bit long. It is also a difficult process to cut his hair because he acts as though he is being scalped rather than just getting a trim. So I decided this morning that it was time... and as we watched cartoons I talked to him about cutting his hair, running my hands through his hair and making buzzing noises. Trying to get us both in the mindset that it was going to happen and taking a last chance to enjoy his curls before I removed them all.

All in all things went really well. We went slow and I talked him through the whole thing. No tears and no screaming which was a first for him.

And here he is... all adorable even without the curls.

Flowers in Bloom

2008-05-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

My flowers are popping out all over the place. Here are some of them that were spectacular today. In the mix are Verbena, Toad Flax, Calibrachoa, Iris, Wave Petunias and Columbine.

Zoo Field Trip

2008-05-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

Alyssa's class traveled to the Zoo for their annual 2nd Grade Field Trip. Here is Lys trying to melt into the tropical fish exhibit. The girls enjoyed watching all of the fish and most especially the sharks.

Lys and her friends at the Polar Bear exhibit. The polar bear spent the afternoon lounging in the sun but the walruses sure made a show of things, swimming gracefully around and brushing up against the glass enclosure each time they turned around. The girls were mesmerized and watched them swimming for about ten minutes.

A quick break from the animals had the girls going rock climbing. It also gave me a chance to catch my breath because when they were on the move, the only way to go was fast.

After lunch, the kids teacher sat for some pictures of the group who had lunch together. Then it was on to see the penguins. Swimming and diving in the water made for lots of ohhs and ahhs from the girls.

And at the end of the day, all of the kids sat so all of us parents could get some group shots. Overall it was a perfect day for the zoo, clouds overhead and not to hot. We were lucky that it did not rain either.

Science Field Trip

2008-05-21T17:34:00.000-07:00

This year Zack's Science class was able to go to a local creek and release some Coho Salmon that the High School classes have been raising. In addition to releasing the fish, they did some scientific testing. Zackery got to check the temperature of the water.

Then he and his lab partner worked on testing the PH. Other groups were working on the same tests.

The kids science teacher collected samples of the water to take back to school. Under the microscope the kids found all kinds of cool things.

And finally they had fun. Here is Zack on one side of the creek with his aide, on the other. She and I had a lot of fun trying to get across without getting too wet. While she choose to jump, I played it safe and walked across. Got my feet wet but saved my dignity on a possible fall.

Sock Hop

2008-05-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

Last week Zackery went to his 2nd dance of the year. He had so much fun. The theme for the evening was a sock hop... no shoes allowed on the dance floor.

The kids were quite creative in their choices of shoes but the best were the girls who painted on their socks.

Zackery took the camera out for a spin and one of his friends took this shot of him.

And I caught this shot of all the kids as they were posing for pictures.

A new afghan and a couple of octopuses

2008-05-19T23:16:00.000-07:00

Things have been a little hectic here with my Mother-in-law scheduled for breast cancer surgery. My hands have been busy keeping me and my mind occupied. I finished up these projects this week.

A green and pastel baby afghan. No home for this one as of yet.

A pair of octopuses that will be headed to South Carolina for the Granddaughters of a very dear friend of mine.

Today in the Garden

2008-05-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

Today was sunny and hot as heck. The kids spent the day in the pool and I spent the day working on another section of the garden. Got it all cleared out and just a few minutes ago I transplanted some Verbascum Milkshake there.

My strawberries are HUGE this year and in full bloom as well.

And finally today my columbine are beautiful. They are all pointing down though so I had to put the camera under them to get a nice shot of the flowers.

Science Project... Part One

2008-05-15T11:20:00.001-07:00

Zackery is working on his end of the year science project. With help, he decided to prove that yeast is alive and that it grows. For this experiment he is using water bottles, water, yeast, sugar and a balloon. The idea is to prove that the yeast is growing in that it puts out carbon dioxide and in turn blows up the balloon.

First step is gathering his ingredients.
Next he added everything to the bottles. He is using hot tap water for these trials. He is also using 1 cup of water and equal amounts of yeast and sugar. The first bottle has 1 tablespoon of each, the second has 2 tablespoons and the third has 3 tablespoons. This is to show that the more yeast and sugar, the more it grows.

Now had tops each bottle off with a balloon.
10 minutes later he has successfully blown up balloons. The red balloon in the middle exploded at 6 1/2 minutes and the orange balloon filled up with carbon dioxide. Seeing that the blue balloon only blew up a little bit, he proved that more sugar and yeast causes more carbon dioxide to be produced.
A success!

First Jobs

2008-05-14T14:42:00.000-07:00

I spent a good part of today looking through (read tearing apart) my desk looking for a gift card that Patrick has been saving until he has enough money to buy a video game he wants. To that end, in the past few weeks he has acquired two jobs. He will be spending a day a week mowing two of our neighbors yards and even has them set up to pay him monthly. Pretty good gig for a 14 year old. He gets to mow our yard as well and though he does not get paid for that chore in the usual sense, he knows that doing his chores here allows him to get some spending money when he asks for it to go and hang out with his friends.

I am very proud of him and as I was looking for the gift card, which I did find, I was trying to remember what were some of the first things I bought when I had my first job. Back then it was delivering newspapers. I had a foot in the door since Dad worked for the local paper and that job plus baby-sitting saw me through high school.

I am sure it was books or clothes because video games were not a big thing in our house. But I know it felt good and I am looking very forward to taking Patrick out this weekend to spend his first "paycheck" and also to open a savings account. Some of that hard earned cash is going to be put away for a car.

Buzz Cuts

2008-05-13T13:04:00.001-07:00

Zackery has been in need of a haircut for a while now but most weekends Sunday night comes around before I know it and I have run out of time to do his hair. Not this weekend though. I took him, the stool, and the clippers attached to an extension cord outside and zapped all of his hair away.

He is so happy with his new cut. He always spends the day or two after a buzz just feeling his head. I know he loves the prickly kind of feel and it is also one of the few times that I can get away with touching his head without him squirming away. I guess he must think that since he likes how it feels so much, I must as well and he tolerates the touching. A side benefit is that I get to not worry about his hair for a month or two which is always nice.

And then when I was done with him, Jonny asked if I could buzz his hair too. His beautiful and fairly long, just starting to cover his eyes and need a trim hair. I was a little heartbroken because he has such beautiful hair but since he asked for it, off it all came. He is now sporting a matching buzz like his big brother. I have to say, having no hair covering his eyes sure makes those eyes stand out and sparkle now.

I had no other takers, just these two. Mikey said he loved his haircut he has and Charlie ran the other direction when I so much as thought about wrestling him into a place I could cut it all off and besides, I love his curls. Patrick allowed a trim but is not getting anywhere near a buzz. I am also pretty safe with Lys, she likes her hair too much.

Plants are planted...

2008-05-12T23:30:00.000-07:00

...well at least some of them.

A couple of the tomatoes and peppers. This year I have Golden Jubilee and Habanero in the square planter and Roma and Hungarian Wax in the round one.

And the porch planter with Verbena, Toad Flax and Calibrachoa. I choose these ones because they are delicate and trailing flowers.

Things are really starting to come together in the yard. It is supposed to be nice and sunny later this week and I am hoping I can get out there and plant out the last section of the garden. I am also hoping I can get my boxes built so we can attempt some veggies using with them that the kids can tend. Things along the lines of carrots and possibly a smaller variety of watermelon or pumpkin. I also want to grow pickling cukes. We need to get them in soon so they will have time to grow.

Blue Afghan and Pink Octopus

2008-05-12T17:30:00.000-07:00

My latest finished projects. Completed both this afternoon.

This blue and white afghan is a gift for my friends soon to be arriving grandson. I added a scalloped edge to give it a more finished look.

And this pink octopus is going to the daughter of the teacher who received the purple afghan. She fell in love with the purple octopus intended for her sister and I did not want her to feel left out.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T00:19:00.000-07:00

For you Mom, I love you.

Another year and the holiday approaches. A time when children come together to tell their mom's that they love them. To wish them a happy day and to celebrate all that it is that their mother's have done for them throughout the years.

As a child this involved big breakfasts and handmade gifts in brown paper bags carefully wrapped by small hands. Cherished in that moment for the priceless gifts that they were. Clay hand prints, small plants grown in classrooms, lots of kisses and hugs. Clean rooms without complaints and a time just to be together.

It is the same for me as a mom. The kids have been bringing home the cutest things to share with me. We also have a trip planned to the local nursery for plants to adorn my garden. I will get to see their love for the rest of the season and for many to come as well. Lots of smiles for them, lots of tears for me as I see my babies all growing up.

It is a time for me to reflect on the type of parent I am and how I got to be this way.

Our house growing up was always full of love. I was not the easiest kid to raise, and looking back I know that I gave mom many moments of heart stopping fear along with pride in my accomplishments as I grew older. I can remember broken bones, car accidents, and running away from home only to return to unconditional love that showed even through the lectures and punishments. I remember pride filled smiles for soccer goals, good grades, and for all of the good choices I made back then as well as the ones now for the person I am and the parent I have become.

One memory that always makes me smile when I look back is late nights, sitting up watching TV and making a sly suggestion about how good a milk shake would taste. I really wanted the french fries but knew I could get mom to make that late night run if enticed by a McDonald's milk shake. It did not always work, but those short car rides and the conversations we had on them and the happiness shared during that time is something that sticks with me today. Knowing that the answer was not always going to be no and knowing that mom was always there for me is precious to me and has stuck with me. And now I know she can smile when I tell her that Patrick does the same thing and we often walk across the street for late night snacks and just talk about whatever on our trip there and back.

Mom, I am the wife I am now because of you, the mother I am now thanks to you and the person I am now because of the foundation that you gave me growing up. I loved you them, love you now and will love you always for being who you are.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Mother's Day Gifts

2008-05-10T18:51:00.000-07:00

Dan and the kids took me shopping today for my Mother's Day gifts. Lots of plants and things for my garden.

Tomatoes, peppers and a clematis.

And a couple of garden stakes.

We did plant a few things today but will get more in the garden tomorrow and the rest of the week.

First Book

2008-05-07T12:27:00.001-07:00

Jonathan is well on his way to becoming a writer and if not then at least he is having fun with it for now. He enjoys writing words and drawing pictures to go along with them. The fact that letters have become words to him this past year has shown us a huge growth in his confidence in both reading and writing. It sure is exciting to see.

Jonny has always been a story teller, in fact a lot of the time it drives us crazy because often we want to just get to the point rather than hear everything that came up to that point.

This week Jonny came home with a book he wrote at school. Here is how it reads:

STarWors
BY JON

It took me a while to figure out and Jonny had to help a bit. He told me, I messed up a little with the words. I told him that it was a great story and I will keep it forever.

Here is what he said. "Darth Vader is invading the world, Yoda is saving the world."

Of course Jonny made his big brother Patrick proud because he, too, is a Star Wars fan.

Weekend Gardening

2008-05-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

With a sunny and warm weekend at hand, I took advantage and got outside. Between Dan and I and all of the kids, we got a lot done in the yard and garden.

Dan dug out the last of the front sections for me. The kids and I went through the big clumps and pulled out the grass. I still have some sifting to do before all of the good dirt goes back and I can plant things.

I also weeded the strawberry and iris sections and am happy to report lots of flowers on the strawberries and at least a dozen buds on the iris. This will be the first year they bloom for me. I cannot wait to see the colors that I get from the starts that my friend Patty gave to me.

I was talking with friends about all I had done and thought it would be neat to see where I started and where I am now. I originally had quite a blank slate with only the Japanese Barberry bushes and the weeping birch in place.

Two years later, I have this. Of course another comparison will be in order once there is a bunch of color in place of the green.

Purple Baby Afghan

2008-05-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

My latest finished project is a purple and multi toned afghan. It is for one of Zack's former teachers at the kids elementary school who is expecting a girl.

I added in a matching hat and a purple octopus.

Getting Ready for College...

2008-05-01T18:41:00.001-07:00

... ALREADY???

Yes, I should be preparing I am told by Patrick's English teacher. She thinks he has wonderful potential and the sooner we get started on looking for scholarships and getting him ready for them and everything else that comes with sending your child off to college, the easier it will be for all of us once he is there.

I was not quite ready for that though we have talked about going to college. I sure thought I had at least another year before I needed to start thinking about stuff like this but I guess it is that time now.

So where to begin, I have absolutely no idea. The first thing on my list will be an appointment with the counselor at school. A more in depth talk with his English teacher as well as the principal at the school.

On a good note, this is all stuff I am good at. The research, note taking, gathering of information. With any luck it will be a fun project for me and one that will help us to send our son to the college he wants when he graduates.

Charlie's Asthma

2008-04-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

Now that the weather is warm enough for the kids to play outside, the dreaded asthma is back. I feel so bad for Charlie who loves to play outside but always comes in coughing and sometimes short of breath.

We are once again back on the daily regiment of breathing treatments and medication. It helps some but does not make it go away completely.

The good thing about this season is that Charlie is no longer fighting the breathing treatments. He will get the nebulizer himself and likes to squeeze the medication into it and turn on the machine. He will also hold the breathing tube himself for a lot of the treatment and even puts it in his mouth and breathes deeply.

It sure makes the three or more times a day treatments go a lot smoother. I still hope he grows out of this but with Dan using his inhaler just as much as Charlie is using the nebulizer, I doubt it will go away.

The next hurdle is getting him to use the inhaler the right way so he can have it at school in case he needs it. Quite a task since he cries at the sight of it.

Dinnertime

2008-04-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

Feeding this family can be challenging at times.

When you put together a child with Autism who does not care to have his food mixed, a couple of kids who will not drink milk and one who does not care much for meat, one who gags on onions and then throw in a hubby who really enjoys tinkering in the kitchen, sometimes we all end up eating different variations of the same basic meal.

Take tonight for instance. I decide on making one of mine and most of the kids favorites. It is a combination of fried potatoes, hamburger, onions, and pine nuts. Most of us enjoy this. Zack will not eat this mixed up combination and neither will Jonny because you can see the onions. So out comes some of the meat, plain, and added to the menu is some plain white rice. Dan hears this and decides that since this is not his favorite meal, he will mix the hamburger, onion and pine nut part of the mix with rice. We may get a taker to join him in that. Patrick eats anything.

On the side is broccoli with hollandaise sauce on top. That one is pretty easy since those who do not like it can choose not to have the sauce. Dan ended up taking the bottoms of the broccoli and cooked them with mushrooms, blended it all together with some milk and made a delicious soup. He will for sure get takers on that because Lys loves his soups.

So when all is said and done, everyone will have the same things done differently on their plates. Three frying pans, 2 pots, the veggie steamer and rice cooker all dirty and in the end, at least it is the hope, everyone will be happy.

Spring Cleaning

2008-04-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is that time of year again. The time when I get the bug to rearrange rooms. I have to say I blame it all on my mom because I can vividly remember season to season changing rooms around. Lugging furniture from here to there, dusting everything in site, making sure that everything was perfect before putting all of the piles we created back into their place. OK, so the piles were usually in my bedroom and most of it ended up in the garbage, but you get the idea.

It is one of those things that must be passed on in a genetic way because I cannot help but to completely overhaul my house as the seasons change. It kinda drives Dan a little crazy when I start moving things around so I have learned to just get started on it and only ask for help in moving the big furniture once things are so out of whack that he has to help me or he will not have a place to sit or sleep. He has learned it is just a way of life in living with me and usually the changes that I make, he loves.

A couple of weekends ago we redid our bedroom and last weekend the living room. Today was the lil kids room. The bunk bed was moved out from in front of the window and now the window is flanked by bunk beds. They can open up that window now that the weather is nice. Fresh air in there is much needed during the warm months and since it is the coolest room in the house, it helps to keep the rest of the house nice and cool as well. In place of the bunk bed is the TV stand/dresser. This keeps Charlie from climbing in the window which he loves to do.

Now we have a pile of toys that the kids will help me sort through. Some to the trash that cannot possibly be fixed and some to be donated that they have grown out of. We may yet find a carpet that I know exists.

I know mom will read this and laugh knowing she had the same thoughts when I was a child and we found my carpet.

Sun, sun, sun...

2008-04-26T16:40:00.001-07:00

Today was a PERFECT day. Nice and warm and for once sunny. The kids convinced me to drag out the pool and I got to get my hands dirty in the garden, planted some wave petunias to hang by the front door.

My garden is really starting to come to life now. I have flowers on my strawberry plants and buds on the columbine. Things will look so nice once the flowers all start to arrive. Until then, here are a few pictures of the work in progress.

Octopi? Octopods? Octopuses?

2008-04-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

The dictionary says it is octopuses. Still does not sound right to me but here are my creations.

A friend of mine sent me the pattern and I have been working on these four for the last couple of weeks.

Having a lot of fun creating these critters!

And I am back....

2008-04-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

So I talk with my mom and my mom tells me... My friend's daughter-in-law has a great place where she blogs. It is a place where all of her friends and family can see what is going on in their lives. Why don't YOU do this???

I told her I do and then dug this up from last year and sent it to her. Now that she knows I blog, I guess I need to blog and update the kids, the pics, the crafts, and anything else I can think of.

So keep an eye out mom... oh yeah, where is YOUR blog??? *grin*

I will be adding more to the blog now and even doing a bit of backblogging so that things are in order. I suppose I will blog, that I blogged a blog from a while back so no one but me gets confused.

Easter Basket Birthday Cake

2008-03-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

Alyssa turned 8 this year. We had to postpone her party cuz everyone was so sick here. Ended up having it this weekend and since we did, she asked for an Easter theme.

Happy to help, I went out and found a silicone egg mold and baked up a bunch of egg shaped cupcakes. I intended on the girls decorating them but out of the madness I call my mind, I thought, why not make an egg basket for these cupcakes and so I did...

Out to the Movies

2008-03-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

Today was movie day. I had planned on taking Zack to see Horton Hears a Who and was going to ask his pal Sami to go along. Dan also invited Sadie to come to the movies so Zack and his best gal pals got to go. We also took along Alyssa, Jonny and Mikey. So I still managed to take along 6 kids though this time they were not all my own.

We had a blast, the movie was quite cute and all of the kids had so much fun. Zack’s friends were so good with the lil ones and all of them ate more popcorn and candy than any kids should.

Cannot wait to do more with the kids friends.

Feel Good Food

2008-03-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

We all have them, something that just makes us feel good no matter how we have been feeling prior to dinnertime. And I am not just talking chocolate ladies, I am talking a home cooked meal that always makes you feel good.

I have a couple of meals that can change the course of a day for me. One is the meal that won my heart when Dan cooked it for me and the other is dinner tonight. I will have to dig up the recipe that Dan uses, but for now here is mine.

I start with Italian sausage in a skillet and fry that up. Add in some onions, garlic and peppers, hot or mild. To that I add my veggies, tonight is asparagus, zucchini and yellow squash. Some Italian spices, basil. oregano, parsley and a dash or 3 of hot peppers since I used mild bell peppers. Finally a bunch of chopped up tomatoes. Serve this with penne pasta and top it with grated parmesan, add some warm French bread to the side. YUM!

This recipe can be tweaked in many ways but no matter how I cook it up, I feel good about eating it.

In the Land of te Sick...

2008-03-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

We are running into week 2 of illness in the house. It has hit everyone now except Alyssa and it looks like Michael is on his 2nd go round, poor kiddo. So my days, in addition to trying to heal myself are filled with making sure everyone gets their meds and tons more laundry... I will be very happy when this passes.

Blue Jean Quilt

2008-03-03T16:48:00.000-08:00

My latest blue jean quilt. This one I made for Dan.
He wanted it large and colorful.

Winter Break

2008-02-29T20:26:00.000-08:00

We took the kids up to Seattle for the weekend. We had a wonderful time visiting the Space Needle and the Children's Museum. It was a beautiful weekend cool but sunny and something we will do again just as soon as we can.

A lot of the shots in this slide show are from the Children's Museum. Grandma and Grandpa joined us for this part of the trip. They wanted to see the kids enjoy their Christmas present from them. The kids did not disappoint because they all had so much fun and did not want to leave.

Our hotel room had a perfect view of the space needle, seeing it lit up at night was a site we all enjoyed. In addition to getting to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa, we also got to visit with Carolyn and Van for part of the time we were there. Went out to the most fabulous family style Italian restaurant. The food was so good and the portions were HUGE!

I do not know about everyone else, but I want another vacation!

Greens and Multi-Colored Pinks Afghan

2008-02-17T20:19:00.000-08:00

Something About SIX

2008-02-10T08:37:00.000-08:00

There is something special about turning 6, at least in my family. You are in school now and not a baby anymore. Jonny had fun at his party this weekend and is ohhhh so happy to now be six and in the big kids age range. He is just so cute about it too.

This year was his first "invite your friends from school" party and he choose to have his party at the pizza place. So all of the kiddos had pizza and soda and cake... lots of each. They played video games and watched Tom and Jerry on the big screen while us parents all chatted.

Superbowl Sunday!

2008-02-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

Here we are again at the end of the football season and even though my beloved Broncos nor my adopted Seahawks are in the big game this year, we will still be watching. Snacks have been bought, we have all picked our teams. We cannot wait for it to begin.

So the house is divided. Dan will root for the Patriots and Eli Manning cuz he cannot help to root for a Manning. Patrick and I will be rooting for the Giants, got to love the underdog! The younger kids will cheer and groan with whoever is screaming at the time.

The house will be loud and rowdy, just the way we like it here on Sunday's when football is on TV. And when the last second ticks away on the clock we will wonder briefly what to do until next season begins until we remember that Nascar will take the place of the NFL for our Sunday viewing.