A Birthday Celebration!

Kylie's big "finally a preteen" birthday began on Sunday. Her friends dropped by and gave her a birthday present and we were able to invite them to a skating party on Tuesday night. Kylie's big day being Monday, also coinciding with Labor Day, was spent with just the family.


Here is the group shot from Sunday.

And then the dawn of the big day!
First up is breakfast of champions - Mickey Mouse pancakes!

Kylie helped get these 2 on the griddle.


Then, when Dad got home from work we opened presents. Jeremy and Dad had fun shopping for them earlier in the week and I guess Jeremy just had to share his experiences, so Kylie was able to easily guess her gifts before opening them. But she still loved them!

Jeremy cheesing for the camera.


Kylie loves HSM and the rest of us kind of just hum along when no one is listening!

While we were doing that I had the cake in the oven. Kylie chose Blue and Red Raspberry Jello Cake. She really wanted an ice cream cake, but it just wasn't possible. So here is the cake ready to go into the fridge and chill out for awhile.


While cleaning up and getting ready to go out for lunch, Kylie and Dad had a little chat. Kylie's been wanting to pierce her ears for a while, but hasn't gotten up the nerve just yet. Apparently she's been talking to some friends at church and now she really wants them pierced. So we're off to the mall before we go to lunch.

Here I am, signing this really, really long form and putting my initials all over the place in the hopes that I won't sue them if something goes horribly wrong and my daughter's ears fall off. Ha! It's just a piece of paper.


The big moment. Hold your breath!

It went better than we thought. So then off to lunch. Kylie's choice? SUSHI

Mmmmmmm....it's been so long!


And then for dessert? ICE CREAM! Only at Ghirardelli of course!

Yes, it really was that big!

And then it was time to go home and rest. Because Tuesday was going to be a busy day! I'm thinking Kylie looks pretty happy!

The Birthday Girl


The next day we had several errands plus some warm up school work, a quick bite to eat at the Chinese place across the street and then it was time to party!

A size 8! Can you believe it?!


It was a nice big rink. Really cold!


Kylie and Jesse posing in their hats. Kylie is becoming quite the fashionista. I'm sure the Disney Stars are helping out a bit!


The kids were really tired at the end of the day, but they didn't want to stop! We're definitely planning to add ice skating to our list of activities! It was a good day.

Wednesday, Kylie received some gifts in the mail. And that night we did the whole cake thing. We were outside at the rink trying to light the candles and finally just gave up and figured we'd just do it again with the left over cake. It's all good.





After cake, I took Kylie shopping at Wal Mart so she could spend all her birthday money. And she did. A little over $2 left on one card. She pulled together some really neat stuff. But I don't have a picture yet.

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty memorable birthday! Happy 11th sweetpea!

Another Year Older

My baby girl is turning 11 tomorrow! {crocodile tears and sniffling}

As she says, she's finally a preteen. {shuddering} I just see my baby getting taller and more beautiful every day. I wish I had some baby pictures with us here in FL. I'm resolved that when we head north again to visit, I'm sneaking as many pictures as I can into the luggage!

So tomorrow we'll spend the day catering to her every whim {she thinks} and I'll make a jello cake. That was her second choice, she really wants an ice cream cake.

When dad gets home from work we'll head over to Downtown Disney and have a big scoop of ice cream at Ghiradelli (and grab some free chocolate!) {drooling} So maybe she won't still want that ice cream cake? hmmm....she probably will! :P

Because of scheduling, we'll be going ice skating Tuesday night and taking a couple of her friends along. I haven't had ice skates on my feet since before she was born! eek! I'm a great roller blader, but not so hot on the ice. hehe...

So tomorrow is sure to be full of laughter, smiles....and a few tears.

Great Day

Today has been a great day.

These last couple months in morning service I've been sitting to two of the most wonderful women. Sondra and Darlene have quickly become very special to me. We're not quite friends yet, obviously. You can only get to know someone so much in those few minutes before and after service, chatting and smiling and laughing, and sometimes crying with each other.

Today I spent a little more time talking with Darlene after service. She holds a very special place in my heart. I don't know if it's because she reminds me of family or if it's just one of those instant kinships that God brings together.

While Sondra is happy and bubbly, open and friendly, Darlene has gone another step in getting to know me. We've had some similar experiences, Darlene and I. And I think that draws us to each other.

I think both women are wonderful and I treasure those moments we chat and share our weeks, our joys and challenges. I'm lucky to have found them.

Small groups tend to grow!

We joined a small group from our church last month. They meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, so today was our 3rd meeting.

I find myself getting lost every once in awhile. The room is full of loud, A-type personalities, everyone trying to be the center of the conversation. I tend to stay out on the fringe and watch, occasionaly knodding my head, injecting a thought here and there when there's a lull or someone asks me a direct question.

It's a fun group. We all get along. We all like each other. And the kids love it. There are a ton of kids to play with and run around with. Plus, it doesn't hurt that they have a pool and a trampoline.

I think it's going to be a good group for us. We're all pretty much new, and still getting to know each other. That puts us pretty much on the same level. And so far, I'm the only homeschooling, at-home mom. But, the family that hosts the group, is just now a one-income family and mom want to homeschool eventually. Plus I was talking to another mom who's been thinking about it and wants to give it a try but just isn't sure yet. I'm looking forward to getting to know these ladies much better. And the husbands and kids! Can't forget them!

One month maintenance

The dreadies have been in for one month. Today I did some extensive maintenance.

Every week when I wash them, I have to replace broken bands and tighten up a few braids. But today I had to do all of them! My hair is really growing!

So one by one I undid the braids, combed out the natty hair at the root (amazing how much hair I've shed) and redid the braids.

It took a good couple hours to get them all done. But they feel nice and look nice again. I need to get a better cover to sleep in at night. I think that would make a huge difference.

I changed colors last week. I took out the orange and put in neon green. I'm already thinking about putting in some turqoise along with it. :D Eventually I'll have a rainbow on my head!

Making up for used time

I spent my day today making up for all that time I used for costuming. I had a lot of dirty dishes stacked up, a load of laundry to do, the floors needed some attention, and the trash was a little heaped. Too bad no one thought to help me out a bit. {shaking head}

At some point during the day I did find some time to work on school stuff.

I also managed to fill out some prize thingys for K. She's so into these teen magazines and wants to win all those autographed prizes. So we mailed those out today.

Just as I was getting the laundry going it decided to storm. Not just rain, STORM. The black trailer leaks around the door so I shoved a towel around it. When I checked again later, the leak had moved out from the wall about 6 inches and was splashing all over. So I moved the towel around to catch that too. Then I went and sat in the laundry for 45 minutes waiting for the laundry to dry, not to mention the hems of my jeans from slogging through the lawn up to the laundry door.

I managed to get some personal reading time in. That was nice.

Just as I finished folding the laundry a second wave of thunder came rolling through. I got back to the RV before the deluge. I changed the towel in the black trailer, hauled the laundry in, and put my stuff away. Then I noted the pool of water on the carpet under the plastic runner. Why didn't anyone else notice this?

So I pulled up the runner and soaked up as much water as I could with the kids bath towels. It's supposed to rain all night, so who knows what I'll wake up to!

a day to myself

Normally, my DH takes the kids out on Wednesdays. But this Wed. they convinced me to go out with them. I don't like to do that, I prefer to hide out in the safety and air conditioning of the RV! But they convinced my that they really wanted me to go too.

So Thursday, DH took the kids out without me. They are normally only gone about 4 hours. But this time they were gone all day! They went to the water park, went out to lunch, and then to Disney Quest. (Giant 5 story building full of video and interactive games).

So I spent the day all by myself!

I spent some time cleaning, (best to do this when everyone is out of the RV). Then I went through the library books, sorting them, making a pile of the ones that can go back. And then I spent the rest of my day happily stitching, fitting and patterning, poking myself with pins, and making my back ache. :D

DH and the kids were totally whipped when they got home, so it was a quiet night. :) After dinner, they all zonked. I sat, happily stitching away on my sewing project, listening to the snoring and the light drone of the TV.

Life is good.

Gourmet Chef in the making

I've now made my second gourmet meal this week. I'm 2 for 2!

And while J didn't particularly care for the first dish, the second was a slam dunk.

On Saturday I made Pork Chops with Sweet Potato Gravy from Emeril. Fairly straight forward, though I had no clue what I was doing. It went pretty well. I'm not familiar with spices and how to mix them, so I had to ask the hubby how to make some substitutes. J didn't like the texture of the gravy. But everyone else liked it.

Tonight I made another Emeril recipe. This time I made Jambalaya Penne with Shrimp, Chicken, and Andouille Sausage. The smells coming from this dish while I was cooking were amazing. The RV still smells awesome!

And it was a hit! J dug right in. He can't wait to have some leftovers tomorrow for lunch! That makes me feel good. K wasn't thrilled with the meats, but she ate the pasta and liked the sauce.

So I'm adding both recipes to the family favorites box.

It's been 2 weeks!

Two whole weeks of lovely dreadies!

I still love my hair. I still can't sleep on it very well, but it's getting better.
I love wearing it up in a high ponytail. I don't wear it down at all anymore. Probably because they turned out to be longer than I really wanted.

It has gotten much easier to wash them. I've got that down pat. I don't have to do it every other day anymore, either. Every few days I have to rebraid or tighten, but that's normal. My hair is growing faster, I think.

I'm already considering changing out my orange for some neon green. Pink and green are always fun! And then I'll switch out the pink for some turquoise. It'll be cool.

When I change these for new ones, I'm thinking I will try making shorter, spikier dreads. The only problem I forsee is the neckline. I may have to get an undercut in order for this to work. I don't know about that.

It's been a week...

I've now had these dreads in for one whole week. It's been quite a trip. It's also the longest I've ever kept them in since I started this wild and crazy hobby!

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to sleep on them. They're a little too thick at the back and that pushes my neck up. If I'm on my side they did into my ears. Plus, I have to push extra pillow under my cheek to level out! The dreads tip my head down so my nose is pushed into the pillow. I can't have that!

During the day, they're not so bad. I mostly wear them up in a pony, with a bandana covering the front. Very comfortable. BUT...when I'm on the computer and my head is tipped down a bit, the ends drag across my neck. Very irritating.

Washing them is a bit difficult. I have to keep it up so the bulk of the hair isn't getting sopping wet. And then I dilute some shampoo and work it into the roots and around the hairline. I wish I didn't have such oily hair. I have to wash every other day or my hairline looks all nasty. I was hoping I could go 4 or 5 days at least, but NO. Oh well.

I'm not planning on taking them out anytime soon. I do want to change my accent colors already! Right now I have neon pink and hot orange. I'd really like to go to neon green and turquoise. And then I'd like to add in some violet and yellow. Eventually, I'll have all the colors made up and I can just switch them out as often as I change my outfits!

Yeah, I'm a dork.

apparently I look like "fun"...?

Was I boring looking before? Hmmmm...

I don't think this comment was meant to sound mean. I think it was just a commentary on the new appearance, the new hair.

Going from short, brown hair to a full head of nice long blonde dreads with pink and orange highlights could confuse people a bit.

And yes, dreads are "fun". In fact, of all the times I've tried dreads, this is the only time I've felt like they were really "me". Does that make sense? I don't know. I think it's just because they're not the super poofy ones, they're in a blonde/dirty blonde mix that goes well with my complexion. So maybe that's why they look more natural???

So, I don't think the comment was meant in a bad way. But it did give me pause. What else do people think about me now???

July Photo Challenge

So I challenged myself to take at least one photo every day this month.

It's not working out so well. I did pretty good the first couple weeks, but then I started working on school stuff for the next year and forgot to take some pictures. And then when I did remember I took a few, and then forgot again. It's been 4 days now since I last took a picture.

Bummer. I really wanted a picture for every day. I want to make a layout for the month of all the things we do. Problem is we don't do a whole lot. The first part of the month we had Nancy here so we took her around to different things. Now that she's gone home, we don't do anything. Sad. It's just too hot to get outside, though. And there's really nothing to do inside anywhere that doesn't cost a fortune.

I'm going to try again. I'm going to try to get out and take some photos everyday. And I'm going to try to keep going through the rest of the year. That would be quite the accomplishment! I think I just need a project. A specific something I want to photograph. Like park benches. Or.....objects of a certain color. Something. I'll have to think about it.

Not quite a year later...

I've been so caught up in all the other things that need done, I haven't been here. Oh, I've popped in now and again to see if it's still here, to read through things I've posted. And to read other blogs, of course...

So let's see, since last November:

We bought an RV and moved to Florida
Chad sells timeshare
I have dreadlocks
We have a Dodge Intrepid from Takashi that we still owe money for
We found a nice church
I've started my Tudor costumes - so far I have the farthingale and petticoat done
I've lived on MySpace, Xanga, and just this week added MyHomeschoolingPlace
The kids own Wheelies
We still have Danny Phantom the Beta Fish (over 2yrs now!)
The kids have laptops
Actually, we all have laptops!
We all have trail bikes (currently with rusted chains)
I haven't done a lick of scrapbooking
I did make my "someday" book of all the things I'd like to do
I own a digital Rebel XT camera! I love it!
Chad bought an IPOD
The kids own Guitar Hero (DDR for the fingers!)

I'm sure I could think of a lot more if I sat here long enough, but Top Chef is coming on soon!