Like father, like son

This is Julian's spring school picture.  

Spring pictures? 

 I'm pretty sure we didn't have fall and spring pictures taken when I was a kid, 

but it is kind of fun to see how much change happens in just that amount of time.

So here is the story.  The kids wear uniforms to school, so getting dressed is pretty easy...most of the time.  Sometimes there is a little discussion about not wanting to wear pants when it is raining or wanting to wear the same skirt over and over and we only have 2 of them, but for the most part uniforms have made our morning routine a little easier.  

I had a nice dark blue v-neck sweater picked out for Julian for his school picture and I told him he could wear any t-shirt under it and he could even wear shorts.  I told him right after the pictures, he could take his sweater off.  I knew his class was going first so he wouldn't have to wear it for very long.  

That's a good deal, right?

Not so much, I guess.  There was crying and a whole lot of tears, that would not stop.  YIKES!!

I let him pick out his outfit for his fall pictures so I really wanted him to wear the nice v-neck sweater for this picture.  Twenty minutes later after a solid cry fest and not coming out of his room, I stooped pretty low and finally bribed him.  He got a piece of candy and I got him into the car with his v-neck sweater on.  By the time we got to school the tears were dried and he was a happy camper.  

After school, as we were walking to the car, I asked the kids how their pictures went.  Julian told me he  had taken off his sweater. 

 "After your picture, right."

He looked at me and kind of giggled.

"No, before the picture.  My neck got way too itchy for me to keep it on."

Oh my, what a little stinker.  When I told Andy he reminded me that he had done the same thing in Kindergarten.  His mom had picked out a sweater for him to wear and he had taken it off before his picture.  He had his school picture taken in his soccer jersey.  

Why was I so surprised Julian took his off?

This picture will always make me laugh: that cheese smile, the writing on his hand, and the Smurf's - priceless.  A Smurf's shirt??!!!

He couldn't have picked any other t-shirt?  I'm just happy the writing at the bottom of the shirt didn't show.  It says, 'I'M AWESOME!' 

It's a good thing you are a little cutie, Julian.

Progress :: Raised garden boxes

 A lot of progress was made over the weekend. 

Yea!! 

We have three new raised plantar boxes all set and ready to go.  The third one is hiding behind the bushes and is closer to the back of our yard.  The orange stuff on top of the soil is just the leftovers from juicing.  We have been juicing off and on for a while and now I have something useful to do with the leftovers.  I am going to let if dry out a little on the top, then turn it over and mix it in.  We have about another week before our little seedlings are ready to be planted.  We planted our other flat of seedlings this past weekend also.  

I hope we have enough room.  

We made two smaller boxes, one is 4 ft x 3 ft and the other is 4 ft x 5 ft.  Our big one is 7 ft x 3 ft.

Everyone helped.  

Andy pretty much made the boxes and the kids and I attached the weed screen to the bottom.  Any time we let the kids use a hammer they are so excited.  There was some teamwork going on between the kids which makes this mama so happy to see.  

This is how we made our boxes.

We used 2 x 8 pieces of wood for a little more height.  

Andy put the first level of the box together with outdoor screws, then we put 2 layers of weed screen on one side of the box using small roofing nails that we had leftover from another project.  Any small nail with a bigger head or a staple gun can be used.  I really didn't want the grass or weeds coming through, that's why I used two layers of the weed screen.  Then we flipped the box over and put the second level of the box on top.  Andy used a 2 x 2 piece to put into the corners to keep the two levels of the box together.  You can see the corner piece in the picture below.  

 Then it was time to fill them up.  

This was such a satisfying project.  

I can't wait to see how they look mid summer!

Zoo Field Trip

It seems like just the other day I was on this same field trip with Ella's Kindergarten class.  Last week on a cold drizzly day I headed out to the zoo with Julian's class.  I'm not a fan of being cold, but I'm a huge fan of my little mister.  I'm so happy that I'm able to experience these little memories with my kiddos.  I had another mom begging me to take a picture of her son on the field trip because she wasn't going to be able to go.  Ugh, that would break my heart.  I have much to be thankful for.  

Things we learned :

~Julian is not afraid of touching a big snake.  My brave boy!

~I want my own little hedgehog.  How cute are those little guys.

~Zookeepers take their jobs seriously.

~Porcupines don't shoot their quills.  Really?  Who taught us that as kids?

~I love that the zoo has a big hand washing station.  Thank you for that!

I had fun with you Julian!

03/52

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Ella - new helmet and focused on her bike riding skills
Julian - new helmet and being the silly boy that he is

So I'm starting a little late but I love this idea I have seen around on a couple of different blogs.  It's a 52 week project of taking a portrait once a week, every week for a whole year of my kiddos.  I think Jodi started this project.  I take millions of pictures of the kids but purposefully taking a portrait once a week will be fun to look back over at the end of the year.  It is also a project I feel like I will be able to accomplish.

I think I might go back and post a couple of pics from the previous weeks.

Cardboard Village - Cereal box houses

 So this is a little project that we did a while back over Christmas break.  

We made our own little winter village.  

This was a great afternoon project for the kids.  It does take a little time and for the most part I did most of the assembling of the houses and the kids painted and decorated them. 

This is how we made them.  

(I didn't take any picture while we made them but it's pretty easy to figure out by looking at the finished houses.) 

Supplies needed:

cardboard - cereal boxes, any small cardboard box

scissors

tape

and any supplies to decorate

paint, markers, patterned paper, fabric, washi tape...

 We pretty much made all of our houses out of cut up cereal boxes, except for one house which we made out of a powered sugar box.
1. I cut long strips and folded it into a square or rectangular box. I made the inside of the cereal box the outside of the houses so that it was a little more of a clean slate to work with, but any way works. It will open on top and bottom.
2. Tape it on the inside.  I knew we weren't keeping them too long so I didn't get too crazy with the tape.  The kids were helping at this point with the taping.  They LOVE tape.
3. Now cut the roof line.  Two ends should have the peak of the roof and two sides should be cut down for the sides of the house.
4. Tape from the inside.
5. We also added little chimney.  Again make a square and tape.  Cut to fit roof line.
6. Tape.  Done!

You can make them different shapes and sizes.  I was going to add little shutters for the windows and cut open the doors, but the kids wanted to jump into the painting.

Oh and I can't forget Ella's idea about putting a cotton ball in the chimney for smoke.  

I want to do this again and decorate my own.  

Potato Tacos - my pick

 Tacos, yes, I do love tacos!!  

We all love Mexican, but I think I would have to say Andy is the biggest fan.  Any time we are going out to eat, Mexican is his first choice.  Occasionally we can sneak over to get a little sushi, which we all love also, but usually it's Mexican.  I'm not objecting over here.

My go to item has always been the burrito.  I don't know, something about all of the different flavors wrapped up and melted together in a warm soft tortilla just does it for me...but lately things are shifting a little.  

Tacos.  That hard crunchy shell. YUM!! 

 Don't get me wrong, I still love my burritos, but the taco is it right now. 

 I grew up with my mom, grandmas and all of my aunts making tacos with the fried corn tortilla shell that is all crispy and crunchy.  A little greasy, but oh so good!  Those were some good tacos.  

Well, I have never made a taco shell before in my life.  There I said it.  I buy TJ's taco shells.  I don't know why.  I think part of it was because of the mess and they certainly aren't healthy, but I think mainly because burritos are just way easier.  I think I also forgot just how yummy they are. 

  These fish tacos left me craving tacos, so I decided I have lived long enough without making my own taco shells.  The kids were game and wanted to help so we made potato tacos.

This is how we made them.

 Throw diced potatoes and onions into warmed olive oil.

 Season with salt, chili powder, cumin and pepper.
(And if you accidentally add a couple of dashes of ginger because you thought it was cumin, because you were a little distracted with a question about would I want a white cat that is fluffy or a black cat that wasn't fluffy or something to that affect, don't worry, it still turns out great.)

 Get your assembly line ready.  Ella was on the cheese.

 Julian was on the tomatoes and avocado.  No not on his own.  I helped him.

 Remove potatoes when they are done and wipe out any bits because you don't want them to burn.  If you are lazy like myself and want one less dish to wash, use the potato pan to make the taco shells.

Heat some more olive oil and when it's hot start making your tacos.  I was a little skimpy on the oil only because I don't really fry things and I didn't realize just how much you need.  It made way less of a mess then I expected.  I had the kids about 15 ft away because I thought it was going to be popping all over the place.  Not so much.  OK, so this is important, make sure they get nice and crunchy.  I had to test one to make sure I had the right crunch.

Let them sit on a paper towel lined plate to remove excess grease then stuff them with all of your toppings.  I just happened to have some of the our favorite salsa on hand.  My brother and sister-in-law gave me the recipe to a tomatillo and arbol chile recipe and it is the best.  I always make a ton when I make it because I know it won't ever go bad in our house.  I thought I had posted a recipe at some point, but I guess I haven't.  Some day.  

02/52

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Ella- getting into character while reading Big Bushy Mustache

Julian - still the moto man

Mac N Cheese...their pick

One of the things I have been trying to incorporate into our lives is having a night where we can cook together as a family on a regular basis.  I touched on it a little here, but with the holidays we haven't really had a chance to do it very often.  With the start of this new year, my goal is once a week.

While the kids were out of school for the holidays we did have quite a few nights where they were able to cook with me.  They both love it, but Ella is the one who has really taken to it. 

This past week, almost every night she has asked if she could help me cook.  

I LOVE it!!

Last week I told them they could pick what we were going to cook and they picked Mac N' Cheese...ugh.

I did say they could pick.  

We used this recipe...kind of.  We had to change it a little here and there because we didn't have all of the ingredients.

 Yikes, look at those hang nails!

He really loves the grinder.

 They were a good team.

Why doesn't ours look like Pioneer Woman's?!!! 

We never got around to baking it because as soon as we mixed it, the kids were ready to eat it.  We should have made just a little more pasta.  We did have plenty of sauce though!!

I think that means he liked it!

01/52

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Julian - tired eyes after hours of swimming

Ella- baby bangs growing out...finally

I'm pretty sure at some point I posted about when Ella cut her own hair...but if I didn't, here is the story.    We had made some silly putty, OK lots and lots of silly putty.  At some point the kids were playing with it and Ella got some stuck in her hair.  Not just anywhere, it got stuck front and center.  I never saw it stuck in her hair but I'm assuming it was smooshed on her head, based on how short she cut her hair.  I just remember seeing some hair on the bathroom floor and being completely puzzled.  It was early in the morning and I don't think I was quite awake.  It was a really long chunk of hair.  When I saw Ella it seriously took me a minute to realize where the chunk of hair came from.  It was that short.  It looked like she had shaved a little patch of hair right in the front.  So for the past 6-8 months we have been strategically pinning back what we now refer to as her 'baby bangs'.  She has a crazy cowlick front and center so having bangs was not an option.  Whew, so happy they are growing fast.  That first month you could just about imagine what her hair looked like.  It wasn't pretty.  There wasn't much we could do with it.  Luckily she didn't seem to care much. 

I guess cutting your own hair is just a monumental event that happens in most kids lives.  Yes, it has been about 6-8 months so I can now laugh.  I still remember sitting under our dining room table, as a kid, with my brother Gabe and cousin Yvonne as we took turns cutting each others hair. HA!

Sorry mom.

Her thankful song

The other night at work, I cared for this amazing patient who was fighting breast cancer and she was having so many complications.  She had the best attitude and she was so thankful for everything.  I wasn't doing anything extraordinary, just my job, but she made me feel like I was.  She asked if she could sing me her thankful song and she just about brought me to tears. There I stood in a sterile hospital room with this beautiful strong woman going through so much pain and suffering singing to me, and I can't even put into words what an amazing gift she gave me.  

I want to spread that same gift to people around me.  Now I can't sing, but I want to show gratitude for anything and everything someone does for me.

  I want to live a life of gratitude because there really is so much to be grateful for.  I am blessed beyond belief and many days I don't live my life with that in mind...I want to.

So here is my list of what I am thankful for.  My list could be endless so here are just a few.

 My husband - we have been together almost half of my life and I can't imagine my life without him. Well most of the time. We drive each other crazy some days but through it all I think our love has grown stronger as we are challenged.  I am thankful for Andy's dedication to our family and working hard everyday to provide for us.  I love the little ways he shows love to the kids and myself.  

My kiddos - some days I sit back and look at my life and I can't believe that I am a mom to a seven and five year old.  I don't feel old enough, but here I am.  They are constantly challenging me to be a better person.  They have brought so much joy and love into our lives.  Almost everyday one of them will draw me a picture or write an 'I love you' note.  I get so many that sometimes I take it for granted, but I am thankful each and every little picture and note these guys make for me. 

My parents- they have been such a consistently good example to me.  They are so generous with their love, time and pretty much anything.  My parents are have shown unconditional love to each of us kids.  

Our home - it keeps us warm, safe and dry.  There are so many things I would love to change about our house, but I am so thankful that we have one and that it's a place for us to make memories in.  

Our health - I come across plenty of people who have serious health problems and I don't ever want to take it for granted.  I don't always take the best care of my body, but I should.  Just took my fish oil vitamin that I always forget to take, ha!

Ella's glasses - So thankful that we found out that Ella needed glasses and that she now has them.  A little more about that here.  So thankful!!

for her 7th birthday...

every time I would ask her what she wanted for her birthday her only request was a dog.  

a small puppy to be exact.  

she has a new love for pugs.  oh my girl, i'm right there with you.  

after losing Yoshi a couple of months ago there has been a void and a hole in all of our hearts. 

 i didn't want another dog for a long time but just recently i am starting to have that longing.  

pets are good.  i grew up with a minimum of about 3 pets at all times.  

we had a small zoo at times.  

well, Andy is no where close to being ready for another pup,
so her only birthday request was not going to happen.
don't get me wrong every time we go to the store she wants every toy she sees,
 but the last thing these kids need is a bunch of toys that get played with for 5 minutes and then sit around taking up space.

so she got a new vintage bike, a couple of home made goods and 

she got her ears pierced!!

she had been asking off and on for about a year after a few of her friends got their ears pierced.  

i always told her when she turned ten she could, but then the day before her birthday daddy suggested we let her get them pierced.  

well, ok.  if it's ok with daddy, then let's do it.  

i had always thought i would have had to do a little convincing when the time came.

i wrapped up my baby earrings in a little jewelry box 

and put a note inside that said she could get her ears pierced.  

she was shocked, excited and a little nervous!!

she finally settled on her birth stone, the peridot.

i think little brother was a little nervous for sister.  

he stood by her side the whole time.

she sat so still.

so brave!

i wasn't sure how she was going to react once they actually pierced her ears but she was awesome.  

no tears, just one small nervous laugh once they were done.

and just like that, her ears were pierced!

lollipops all around.

i wish that's where the story ended, but it doesn't.  

she had been so good about cleaning and turning the earrings twice a day.  

several times in the morning i had noticed that one earring kept getting pushed into her ear a little but every time she was able to just push from the back a little and is was back to normal.

a couple of weeks after the piercing we had just arrived at school when i noticed that the stone was completely gone.  it hadn't fallen off, it was all the way in her ear.  she tried several times to push it out from the back but she started crying because it hurt too much.  

she wouldn't let me try.  

looking back i should have taken her straight to the doctor's to let them pop it out and it probably wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but i didn't.  we put some vaseline on it and i hoped i would be able to do it when she got home from school.

i iced it and put some numbing gel on it and tried to push it out.  that sucker was stuck.

the next morning i took her to the doctors and she tried the same thing i had.  she numbed it and tried and tried to push it out.  she ended up having to make a small incision to get it out and remove it. 

we decided to remove the other one also so that the same thing wouldn't happen to that ear.

ugh, my poor Ella.  how often does that happen?

i'm hoping in a couple of months she will be brave enough to try it again.