CBS cookies

We attend CBS as a family. As a homeschooling mom, it is my sanity. I get adult conversation, and the kids are in a class learning of God's love for them. This week, the kids program is having a potluck for Thanksgiving. My boys signed up to bring 1 doz. brownies AND 1 doz. cookies. Their teacher told me she tried to get them to double up and both bring brownies so it would be easier for me. They would have none of it. I could have switched with another parent, but if this is what's important to my little ones, then I'll do my best to keep this Bible study their favorite day of the week. It was time to start baking and 9 told me he could handle the brownies. He did a great job. I helped pour the brownies into the 9x13 and I pulled the hot pan out of the oven...He did the rest. Then it was time for the cookies. I decided to make cake mix cookies. This was a first for me. I sat in the living room reading the recipe on my laptop when I heard this....

Then there was a retake...

Cracking the eggs...

And we're ready to start mixing...

Dropping the cookies onto the cookie sheet...

Here's a link to the recipe. I used 1 T. lemon juice instead of the extract.

I'm still alive

but, I'm learning all kinds of new respect for single parents. Friday was quick. M left after lunch. We just enjoyed our afternoon after the crazy rush that was packing for the trip. The kids watched Bolt at bedtime and then were asleep. Saturday we picked up around the house and my mom took 7 to hang out with my brother. I took 5 & 8 to our churches dedication of the new building. When we got home 5 started complaining about an earache. As in screaming because she couldn't bend down to take off her own shoes. I gave her some Tylenol and told her I'd take her in to the DR in the morning. She was sleeping in my bed and cried much of the night. Sunday I took her to the Urgent Care as soon as they opened and we came home with an antibiotic for the ear infection. Sunday evening I had an event to take the kids to, but I needed to leave 5 home since she was running a fever. My mom stayed with her and the boys got to play soccer with some friends. Monday my "teacher" with our charter school came to collect our first set of samples. When she left, I fed the kids lunch and then we took off for the library. I emailed my mom and asked her to come and feed the kids dinner since I was asked to go wedding dress shopping with M's cousin. How could I say no to that?! The bride's mom was running late and we had the dress chosen before she arrived (turns out that was a good thing).

Then I encouraged her to buy the cutest red shoes! They're so fun.

Tuesday morning the boys had their first fencing class. I think we're really going to enjoy this. In the afternoon, 5 had her book club and one of the guys M mentors came over to hang out with the boys. They ate pizza and played Legos.

I took 5 to David's Bridal on the way home from Book Club to check out the flower girl dresses. She was in need of a bath from finger painting at book club and playing with bugs in the yard so we just looked, but I think we'll need to go back and try some on. ;0) She was in heaven in that store.

Tuesday night the kids just did not want to go to bed. I'm pretty tired from the late nights. I'm trying to send emails and do some cleaning up when they're in bed, but when the boys aren't down until 9:30....mom is really tired. Today is ballet/tap for 5 and hopefully an earlier bedtime for all. I had intentions of knitting an entire child size cardi while M was gone and I haven't knit a stitch! Hopefully tonight I knit!

B is for Balboa Beach

We study a letter a week for school. We started this when 8 was in kindergarten and it's been such a fun thing for our family that we keep on going. We do take breaks for holidays or other things, and I only go through the alphabet once for the school year. Two years ago we read through My ABC Bible Verses. Last year we did alphabet Muffin Tin lunches. And this year I'm teaching the kids about a hymn a week to go with our letter. I've got some great books/CD's that talk about the story behind the hymn. The books don't go in alphabet order so I've chosen our arrangement of songs. This week we'll be learning about "Blessed Assurance." And some other fun B's in our week... BBQ Burgers and Baked Beans, Blueberry Bars, Breaded Chicken with Brussel Sprouts and Baked Potatoes, Bean Burritos, and...Balboa Beach! Sunday night we enjoyed a Bonfire with some CSUF Exchange Students. That was a great way to close out the weekend.

8 & 7

7 & 5 (Is it any wonder I've been asked if they're twins?)

My toes in MY beach! This is the beach I lived at the summer of 1995.

And the fog didn't roll in so we were able to enjoy a sunset! Amazing!

First Day of School

8 is starting 3rd grade. He'll be 9 in November. He's grown up so much this year. Yesterday he rolled his eyes when M walked into the Disney store at the mall. It won't be long and I'll have a tween on my hands.

7 is starting 2nd grade. He'll be 7 1/2 at the beginning of September. He's totally a middle child. And right now he's torn between growing up with his brother and staying little with his sister. Maybe this is the best part of being the middle, he gets the best of both worlds.

My princess is 5 and starting Kindergarten today. She's already lost 4 teeth. She's out to breakfast right now with her M. That's our Kindergarten tradition.

If you're squeamish, don't click through here.

Oh. My. Word. It's midnight and I'm having trouble sleeping. I struggle with panic and anxiety. I'm praying for emotional healing there. But, in the mean time, there are certain things that hit my panic buttons. Throw up is one of them. (This was a problem for me in the past, but it got so much worse in 1998 when I was terribly ill in China.) Just the thought that one of my kids might be sick can send me over the edge. Well, today was horrible...and great all at the same time.

7 sat on the living room floor after dinner and complained about a headache. I told him not to shake his head, because his brain didn't need to be bouncing around in there. He cuddled up on the couch next to me while I checked my emails. I kissed the top of his head and he didn't even wipe it away. He went down the hall to play in his room and about 1 minute later, he was standing at the end of the hall (right where I could see him from my vantage point on the couch). He said, "Mom, I know why my head hurt, I just threw up." And as he spoke those words, vomit sprayed from his mouth. I told him to run to the bathroom quick. He did...but threw up many more times on the way. It took me & M forever to clean it all up. He covered his bed, and we had just changed the sheets. There were 2 spots on the bedroom floor. One spot at the end of the hall. And a giant pile by the door to the bathroom (where the vacuum happened to be sitting and the unwound cord was right in the pile). Then the entire bathroom floor was covered. He eventually did throw up in the toilet, but not for another 30 minutes or so.

Now for the good part. I didn't completely freak out. I won't say I enjoyed myself. But, in the past I've come so unglued that I had to walk out into the back yard for fresh air. I would ring my hands and rock back and forth. I would be having an all out panic attack. Today I didn't! I'll claim that as a victory even thought it's after midnight and I'm still not able to go to sleep. I fixed a glass of 7up with a straw for 7. I got M a bucket and paper towels and a spatula for the carpet. (If you've never thought of this before, a spatula picks up big pieces quick. I also have used a spatula when the kids spill yogurt on the kitchen floor. It squeegees the floor and then I can grab a rag and cleaner.) I loaded the washer with the bedding. M scooped up the majority of the mess on the carpet. Then I used the floor cleaner to pre-treat those spots while M moved on to clean the bathroom mess. After about 1 1/2 hours of cleaning, we put 7 in the bath to clean off himself. He was feeling 100% better when he got out of the tub so I'm wondering if he was allergic to the rice in our soup. He's never really liked rice. M continued with the carpet cleaner and I took a bag of trash over to the school dumpster (I didn't want that smell hanging around). Then I used bathroom cleaner on the bucket. I used a bleach solution on the cord to the vacuum. I changed the load in the washer. I put a blanket on 7's bed for him to lay on top of and then a towel over his pillow. I took 5 to brush her teeth and get in her jammies in my bathroom. (8 was with my mom so he missed this event.) Once the kids were settled I went in to clean the toilet and the bathroom floor. When I finished with that M was praying with the kids and telling them good night. Then I moved on to use comet to clean the kitchen sink. I ran the dishwasher with everything from dinner and the strainer I'd used to bleach some toys and the spatula from the carpet. I started another load of laundry and then I mopped the kitchen floor (I was convinced that our feet that were walking on the yucky carpet had tracked germs into the kitchen.) It was after 11 when I finished with the floor. 7 had thrown up around 6:15. I'm too anxious to go to bed, but I'm trying to focus on the victory I had in being able to be the Mom. I am SO THANKFUL that this didn't happen yesterday when we were driving home from Napa. This would have been disastrous in my car. I'm praying that this was some fluke and not a bug that we'll all pass around now.

If anyone has actually read this...you deserve an award. I so wouldn't have read this. It would have made me panic. ;0) I think it's TMI, but I had to post this for myself. If you do happen to read this...pray for our health around here. This was a bad bug and it really hit out of no where. I'm praying that it doesn't hit the rest of us. And, I'm wondering if I need to have 7 allergy tested. Ok...it's almost 1am. I'm going to knit since I'm up...and I think I just heard the dryer buzz.

When Mom Has a Blog...

Today 8 attached a flower from our backyard to my headband. Then he insisted on taking my photo so I could share his creation with you all. Isn't this sweet!

She's grown so much in 5 years!

We discovered that 5's bitty baby fits preemie sized clothes. Here is B-Hero (yes, this girl has brothers - that's what she named the doll) wearing the outfit 5 wore home from the hospital!

My little one wants nothing more than to be a mommy. She says she's going to have 100 babies. Grandma told her that was too many for her unless she was a teacher. She said she wanted babies not kids. I gave her some options, and right now she's thinking she'll be and OB/GYN. She wants to deliver babies! And have a bunch of her own.

Once we discovered that this baby fits preemie clothes, 5's been shopping with Nana and Grandma at Babies R Us. This is one well dressed doll. 5 has even picked out the carseat she wants for my car and the crib she wants for her room. She desperately wants a sister. She even asked if the tooth fairy could bring her sister instead of money for her lost tooth.

Happy 4th of July!

It was a quiet 4th for us. We enjoyed some pancakes with RED strawberry jam, WHITE whipped cream, and BLUE blueberries.

We headed over to Nana's house for bbq burgers and fireworks. The kids enjoyed a ice-cream cone while the sky lit up around us.

Beach Day!

I've been a bad So.Cal mommy. It shouldn't be possible to live 45 minutes from the water and not spend summers at the beach. However, until today I hadn't taken my kids to the beach. Well, we've been to the beach...but I'd find places like Santa Monica where we could walk on the grassy area, enjoy a picnic, and see the waves, but I didn't have to worry about my children drowning. Today we went to Corona Del Mar...one of my all time favorite beach cities. A friend invited us and she chose this little cove that I wouldn't have found without her directions. I'm sure I drove right past it a million times. We arrived at 9:30 and it was cloudy. I wasn't too disappointed because the clouds made the beach less crowded...and we were less likely to go home with sunburns. It was low tide and the tide pools were perfect for viewing. This area of beach is protected, so there were rules on not taking anything from the tide pools and being careful around the living things. Here's 7 looking for crabs and anemones.

I took my knitting...here's proof. M took this less than stellar photo of me, but I'll share it with you anyway. I cut my friend out of the photo for the blog...she looked great. Me...even the kids said, "What's with that funny face you're making mom?" M really should let me know when he's taking photos of me.

I'm making good progress on the shawl. I'm at around 225 sts. I need to be at 366 before starting the lace.

After lunch it started to warm up and the sun came out from behind the clouds. I took my sweats off from over my swim suit. I waded in the water and took a walk on the beach with 7. Then 8 borrowed this boogie board from his friend and fell in LOVE with riding the waves. I got a little wet taking this pic, but it was so worth it!!!

And yes, 5 is missing from the photos. She's vacationing in Napa again. I think I was braver about going to the beach since I was only watching 2 and they can swim.

Lemonade IceCream Sandwiches

As soon as I told 8 there were 3 comments on his Dirt & Worms post, he wanted to run out and video the dessert he'd made for us all tonight. I think I might just have the next Food Network Star in my house! Can you tell I'm one proud mama? Here's his set-up.

Ingredients: Breyers Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream & Girl Scouts Lemonades Cookies.

Here's the finished product. 8 wanted to know why he couldn't eat 2 of these. I just couldn't let him eat 4 cookies. I have to ration out these Lemonades. We can only get them once a year.

Let us know if you make this treat.

Dirt & Worms

8 has had STAR testing this week. That is our state standardized testing. They talked about making "dirt" during one of the breaks. So for our Earth Day celebration, 8 asked if he could make our dessert. We happened to have all the ingredients. I did help pull things out, but then he shoo'd me away so he could make this all himself.

Chocolate pudding. Crushed JoJo's. Sour Worms.

How was your Earth Day? Are you more green this year than last? I try to use my Stainless Steel cup for coffee as often as possible. We use refillable water bottles instead of buying bottled water. I have reusable bags for the grocery store...and sometimes other stores. I recycle everything I can. I try to reuse. I also try to buy local. I'm waiting for M's ok to compost. I'd really like to work with real worms and dirt. I hear it's great for the garden. I'm glad I could use the kids to touch the worms though...they're kind of slimy for me. Any tips on other things that would be easy to incorporate here?

7's Birthday Blanket

I can't believe it took so long for me to blog about this. I'm almost a month late. That's what happens with I take the photos on M's camera. I never think to download those. Here's 7 opening his gift from me on his birthday.

I can already tell I'm not going to get a "normal" shot of this kid...

Awww...here we go. My cuddle bug. Just don't let him hear that I still call him that. I'm so proud of this 7yo. He's got a real tender spot in his wild heart. He lives passionately.

The yarn: Lion Brand Homespun in Barley. Diagonal Baby Blanket. 6 skeins. Just like the one I knit for his brother when he turned 5. When this kid turned 5 he declared a blanket to be not gift worthy. This year, he decided he wanted a blanket just 2 weeks before his birthday. I finished 2 days late...but still, 16 days to knit a blanket is pretty impressive with my schedule. And if anyone wants to know why my wild kid would want a brown blanket. It matches Rex. Here's a picture I took while working on the blanket. My lap, the cat, and the blanket.

Lake Havasu!

A friend invited the boys to Lake Havasu. A free vacation! You can't get better than that. He has a large SUV, a house in AZ with a pool, and a boat. My boys had SO. MUCH. FUN! His son attends the school across the street from our house, so B pulled into our driveway on Friday at 1:30. He left the SUV for us to load and walked over to pick up J. And they were off....

Early Saturday morning, the took the boat out. Early is good...then all the "big kids" in Havasu for Spring Break aren't up yet. These boys don't need to see what those girls wear at the river.

Here's 7 driving!

8 didn't want to drive. His comment to me, "Isn't it illegal for a kid to drive a boat?" Well, technically...

And the pool...the boys had loads of fun in the pool. I'm so glad M took video for me so I (and you) can see the fun they had.

Isn't this an adorable shot?!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Bear with me. I think I broke a personal record for number of photos in one post. Our GreenDay kind of turned into GreenWeek. We celebrated with all things green, gold, and rainbow.

The kids embroidered rainbows. I'm glad the boys still find crafts with mom fun. And wow...4 is really good with a needle and thread. She wants to learn to sew.

4 is in a book club with some other 4 & 5's from our homeschool group. They meet once a month. Since not all of the little ones are reading...the mom's each take a turn bringing a book to read, craft to do, and snack to eat. A. is Irish and loved sharing some of her St. Paddy's traditions with the girls. After the story they hunted through the house for magical leprechaun beans. The leprechaun left the seeds for them to find. On the 17th, the seeds were to be planted and at sunset they would find a treat.

The boys helped 4 with the planting. 7 watered each seed.

8 decided to make plant stakes for each of the seeds.

A's seeds grow lollipops, but we were short on candy here. Our magic seeds grew golden dollar coins.

The kids strung rainbow necklaces with Fruit Loops. This is such a treat as we normally eat Kashi cereal or others with very low sugar. My only stipulation was that they use a pattern while they were stringing. I like how 8 mirrored his pattern.

We had an Irish dinner with G. We'd discovered that 8 no longer has green shirts. He's more into blue these days. His one green shirt was a polo...so they decided dinner needed to be fancy. 4 picked out a dress. I pulled down my chargers...they're gold.

G. prepared a corned beef and baked a loaf of Irish Soda bread (his family recipe).

I steamed carrots, fried cabbage, and M. put the potatoes on the BBQ. We didn't want to heat up the house...it was 92 in So. Cal. Maybe not completely traditional, but it was so Yum! and lots of fun.

For dessert, we enjoyed a pot of gold. Lemon pound cake, Lemon Curd, and fresh whipped cream.