3 weeks ago
Friday, November 21, 2008
Twilight
Ok it is 3 a.m. and I just got home from the midnight showing of Twilight. I am not a psycho-crazed fan or anything but I didn't hesitate to join a few friends from church that wanted to brave the snowy conditions to view the movie at the first showing. So weigh in everybody what did you think about the movie? I won't give my opinion in this posting because I don't want to be a spoiler in any way for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. But I am curious what you all thought, especially you other crazy people that stayed awake all night just to see Edward.....
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Pepe Le Pew
I think I have been a pretty good sport about living in the country and all the lifestyle changes it has created but this past week, I confess, I have struggled. I'm not an animal person but the deer I can handle. The raccoons, owls, coyotes, buzzards, and even the bats I tolerate fairly well. But last week I had the unfortunate experience of running over a skunk. I've never hit an animal before! It waddled out into the road, I slowed down and I thought it was going to make it all the way across the street in time but then it just stopped. The outcome was not good for either of us. I could smell it all the way home and into the next day. Then a few days later we can home late at night and I could see an animal rummaging through our trash. Chris thought it was a raccoon but no such luck, you guessed it, it was another skunk. Peee-ewww!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Halloween
I am not sure what I was doing on Halloween but I apparently wasn't taking pictures. We went to a Halloween party for Girl Scouts and I took some pictures there but Taylor and Talia wore different costumes for trick-or-treating. I injured my foot and ankle on Thursday and could hardly walk on Halloween night. I forgot to put on my costume and I forgot to put makeup on the girls, I am amazed I even remembered their costumes. It was a super crazy day. Halloween is so weird out here. Each town has a designated trick-or-treat night with set hours and most towns don't even trick-or-treat on Halloween. Being that we live in the middle of nowhere we had to drive 20 minutes to get to a trick-or-treat location (we could have gone someplace closer but this is where some friends from church were meeting). So here is how it went:
4 pm girls get home from school except Taylor she's at a friend's house, I fed them a quick snack while being bombarded with information about the happenings of the class parties - even though I planned them and I was there
4:30 cousins come over to decorate
5:30 cousins get picked up and I quickly get the three girls dressed
5:50 we leave to pick up Taylor who we find not in her costume and while I frantically try to change her back into Hannah Montana Talia and Christine decide they need to get out of the car to come into the friend's house to use the bathroom
6:35 We finally meet up with our friends at the town fire station where hot cider and donuts were served for half an hour (for those organized enough to show up on time - we didn't make it). Then the fire station siren sounds (the siren used for tornado warnings) and then the mass of dressed up children storm the surrounding neighborhood until the time is up at 8:00. In CA I think we just went door to door until we could no longer walk. It was a new experience for the girls, I'm not sure if they were impressed but they ended up with plenty of candy and my ankle/foot was so swollen and throbbing by the end I was glad to have it over. I did think to take a few pictures when we got home. Our neighbor, the one with the pet tiger, stopped by dressed as a werewolf and gave each of us a big Hershey bar. He said it was the first time since 1954 that he has handed out Halloween candy. He hasn't ever had trick-or-treaters in this house. We had a totally decorated yard with ghosts, corn stalks, glowing eyes, tomb stones, pumpkins, candles, we covered our windows with black fabric and cut out scary eyes that glow from the light inside and......no trick-or-treaters.
Aubrey and Taylor sorted through their loot but the rest of us were tired.
4 pm girls get home from school except Taylor she's at a friend's house, I fed them a quick snack while being bombarded with information about the happenings of the class parties - even though I planned them and I was there
4:30 cousins come over to decorate
5:30 cousins get picked up and I quickly get the three girls dressed
5:50 we leave to pick up Taylor who we find not in her costume and while I frantically try to change her back into Hannah Montana Talia and Christine decide they need to get out of the car to come into the friend's house to use the bathroom
6:35 We finally meet up with our friends at the town fire station where hot cider and donuts were served for half an hour (for those organized enough to show up on time - we didn't make it). Then the fire station siren sounds (the siren used for tornado warnings) and then the mass of dressed up children storm the surrounding neighborhood until the time is up at 8:00. In CA I think we just went door to door until we could no longer walk. It was a new experience for the girls, I'm not sure if they were impressed but they ended up with plenty of candy and my ankle/foot was so swollen and throbbing by the end I was glad to have it over. I did think to take a few pictures when we got home. Our neighbor, the one with the pet tiger, stopped by dressed as a werewolf and gave each of us a big Hershey bar. He said it was the first time since 1954 that he has handed out Halloween candy. He hasn't ever had trick-or-treaters in this house. We had a totally decorated yard with ghosts, corn stalks, glowing eyes, tomb stones, pumpkins, candles, we covered our windows with black fabric and cut out scary eyes that glow from the light inside and......no trick-or-treaters.
Aubrey and Taylor sorted through their loot but the rest of us were tired.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Bobby Socks
I don't spend a great deal of time talking about my older girls in my blog postings so this one is dedicated to Aubrey. When Taylor was little she called Aubrey, Bobby, which then somehow evolved into Aubrey-Bobrey-Bobby-Socks. I have no idea how, but isn't that the mystery of unusual nicknames?
For anyone who isn't familiar with Aubrey you should know that she has an unusually creative mind, a trait she undoubtedly inherited from my dad. At least once a week she comes up with some entrepreneurial scheme ranging from the classic lemonade stand to band concerts, art shows, making and selling soap, and raking leaves. She usually develops a business plan that involves younger sisters as grunt workers being paid low or no wages (though they happily go along just to be involved) while she leaves herself in the CEO position where she runs the business and marketing side of things and of course oversees the work. I generally try not to reign her in too much because I think creative thinking is a talent worth developing. Right now she is reading the biography of ......... Bill Gates. If she could find a poster of him I am sure she would hang it on her wall by Hannah Montana and Lebron James. (ok, so we actually took the other posters down but you get the idea)
This hobby of hers is not just a creative outlet, apparently it is also about making money. The other day as we were driving to Wal-Mart I overheard part of a conversation she was having with her younger sister Taylor. Taylor was trying to decide what she was going to waste (my description, not hers) her money on. If Taylor has money she likes to go to the store and find something that costs the exact amount she has rather than finding something she really wants and then trying to save enough money for it or finding something she wants and then verifying she has enough for it. Apparently this is a pet peeve of my money-hoarding Aubrey. "Taylor you should really start saving for college. Do you have any idea how much it will cost? If you start now and put just half of your money aside you will be surprised how much money you have when it's time to go to college." This is a concept I thought I would discuss with them in high school when they have a job, we've talked about saving money for things you want but not specific to college. Aubrey came up with this savings plan on her own. Taylor's response, "but I wanted to buy some candy." Because of course there is a shortage of candy in the house after four kids trick-or-treating for two hours a week ago.
At parent teacher conferences Aubrey's teacher said she liked that Aubrey can think outside the box. When the teacher assigns a project she gives the students a list of possible project ideas, the kids pick one, and turn in their proposals. She said that Aubrey likes to think of her own project concepts, something most students don't even consider as an option. When she does choose from the list she puts her own Aubrey twist on things. Her current project is based on the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid which, by the way, is hilarious. It is what Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes) or Dennis the Menace would have been like had they ever reached junior high. Her project is collecting items that explain the book. Her items so far include cheese, a foil ball with toothpicks, and vinegar and green bean salad, she had also wanted to take in speedos, a loaded diaper, and a door with Roderick's name on but I didn't think those were good choices. You have to read the book to understand the humor. And by the way this project isn't due for over a month, who knows what it will eventually evolve into.
Last week there was a picture in the local paper of Aubrey casting her vote at school. She took this job very seriously. Constantly asking me about issues and what the differences are between the candidates. I am sure much of the information I gave her was bias but as much as possible I tried to give her the idea and let her reason it out. For example I'd say "lets talk about health care, one sides says this and one side says that. What do you think?" She would break it down into very logical steps and talk herself through the decision making process then I would tell her if that made her a Democrat or a Republican. We did this with alot of issues and it was really fun. This activity, however, is not limited to an election year and her interest in politics began before she started kindergarten. I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh when I was driving around and even at four years old she started asking very big questions about politics and world issues. I took me a while to make the connection between her questions and her listening to Rush until one day when he was ranting about something and she asked me "Why is Rush using his angry voice?" I never knew she even paid attention to anything he said. Then another time we were playing 20 questions and she began with the clue "I'm thinking of a person that lives in Florida." I replied, "Aubrey we don't know anyone that lives in Florida. Do you mean Mickey Mouse?" "No!" She laughed. "A real person mommy." When I never guessed who she told me the answer. "Rush lives in Florida!" I still don't have any idea how she knew that. I cut her off talk radio after that because I wasn't sure what else she would pick up on.
She is a unique little girl that is becoming too grown-up too quickly. I received an email recently that asked where I saw myself in 10 years. I realized that in 10 years Aubrey would be as old as I was when I was pregnant with her. I panicked and avoided answering the question. I definitely know what personal goals I would like to achieve in the next 10 years but I just couldn't fast forward over ten years of her life without hyperventilating. She'll always be my funny, crazy, enthusiastic, imaginative little girl.
Here is the snapshot I took of the picture in the paper. Aubrey is in the dark hoodie with the green headband. Not the best quality photos. But she was excited to see herself in the paper.
For anyone who isn't familiar with Aubrey you should know that she has an unusually creative mind, a trait she undoubtedly inherited from my dad. At least once a week she comes up with some entrepreneurial scheme ranging from the classic lemonade stand to band concerts, art shows, making and selling soap, and raking leaves. She usually develops a business plan that involves younger sisters as grunt workers being paid low or no wages (though they happily go along just to be involved) while she leaves herself in the CEO position where she runs the business and marketing side of things and of course oversees the work. I generally try not to reign her in too much because I think creative thinking is a talent worth developing. Right now she is reading the biography of ......... Bill Gates. If she could find a poster of him I am sure she would hang it on her wall by Hannah Montana and Lebron James. (ok, so we actually took the other posters down but you get the idea)
This hobby of hers is not just a creative outlet, apparently it is also about making money. The other day as we were driving to Wal-Mart I overheard part of a conversation she was having with her younger sister Taylor. Taylor was trying to decide what she was going to waste (my description, not hers) her money on. If Taylor has money she likes to go to the store and find something that costs the exact amount she has rather than finding something she really wants and then trying to save enough money for it or finding something she wants and then verifying she has enough for it. Apparently this is a pet peeve of my money-hoarding Aubrey. "Taylor you should really start saving for college. Do you have any idea how much it will cost? If you start now and put just half of your money aside you will be surprised how much money you have when it's time to go to college." This is a concept I thought I would discuss with them in high school when they have a job, we've talked about saving money for things you want but not specific to college. Aubrey came up with this savings plan on her own. Taylor's response, "but I wanted to buy some candy." Because of course there is a shortage of candy in the house after four kids trick-or-treating for two hours a week ago.
At parent teacher conferences Aubrey's teacher said she liked that Aubrey can think outside the box. When the teacher assigns a project she gives the students a list of possible project ideas, the kids pick one, and turn in their proposals. She said that Aubrey likes to think of her own project concepts, something most students don't even consider as an option. When she does choose from the list she puts her own Aubrey twist on things. Her current project is based on the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid which, by the way, is hilarious. It is what Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes) or Dennis the Menace would have been like had they ever reached junior high. Her project is collecting items that explain the book. Her items so far include cheese, a foil ball with toothpicks, and vinegar and green bean salad, she had also wanted to take in speedos, a loaded diaper, and a door with Roderick's name on but I didn't think those were good choices. You have to read the book to understand the humor. And by the way this project isn't due for over a month, who knows what it will eventually evolve into.
Last week there was a picture in the local paper of Aubrey casting her vote at school. She took this job very seriously. Constantly asking me about issues and what the differences are between the candidates. I am sure much of the information I gave her was bias but as much as possible I tried to give her the idea and let her reason it out. For example I'd say "lets talk about health care, one sides says this and one side says that. What do you think?" She would break it down into very logical steps and talk herself through the decision making process then I would tell her if that made her a Democrat or a Republican. We did this with alot of issues and it was really fun. This activity, however, is not limited to an election year and her interest in politics began before she started kindergarten. I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh when I was driving around and even at four years old she started asking very big questions about politics and world issues. I took me a while to make the connection between her questions and her listening to Rush until one day when he was ranting about something and she asked me "Why is Rush using his angry voice?" I never knew she even paid attention to anything he said. Then another time we were playing 20 questions and she began with the clue "I'm thinking of a person that lives in Florida." I replied, "Aubrey we don't know anyone that lives in Florida. Do you mean Mickey Mouse?" "No!" She laughed. "A real person mommy." When I never guessed who she told me the answer. "Rush lives in Florida!" I still don't have any idea how she knew that. I cut her off talk radio after that because I wasn't sure what else she would pick up on.
She is a unique little girl that is becoming too grown-up too quickly. I received an email recently that asked where I saw myself in 10 years. I realized that in 10 years Aubrey would be as old as I was when I was pregnant with her. I panicked and avoided answering the question. I definitely know what personal goals I would like to achieve in the next 10 years but I just couldn't fast forward over ten years of her life without hyperventilating. She'll always be my funny, crazy, enthusiastic, imaginative little girl.
Here is the snapshot I took of the picture in the paper. Aubrey is in the dark hoodie with the green headband. Not the best quality photos. But she was excited to see herself in the paper.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Tag You're It
Shauna, Chris's cousin, tagged me. I've never been tagged before but I thought this would be fun.
Answer these questions in just one word. If your name is on the bottom, it's your turn next!
1. Where is your cell phone? charging
2. Where is your significant other? couch
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? amazing
5. Your father? workaholic
6. Your favorite thing? laughter
7. Your dream last night? real
8. Your dream/goal? celestial (someone else's answer but I liked it)
9. The room you're in? family room
10. Your hobby? reading
11. Your fear? dark
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? hmmmm
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? shy
15. One of your wish-list items? shoes
16. Where you grew up? sacramento
17. The last thing you did? dinner
18. What are you wearing? pj's
19. Your TV? on
20. Your pet? none
21. Your computer? laptop
22. Your mood? anxious (election results!!!)
23. Missing someone? everyone
24. Your car? squeaky
25. Something you're not wearing? jewlery
26. Favorite store? Target and Macy's
27. Your summer? Humid
28. Love someone? completely
29. Your favorite color? red
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? today (My great uncle passed away yesterday, completely unexpectedly, and all day long he was in my thoughts. I am really going to miss him.)
I Tag:
1. Melinda
2. Jenn
3. Jen
4. Jackie
5. Rachel H.
Answer these questions in just one word. If your name is on the bottom, it's your turn next!
1. Where is your cell phone? charging
2. Where is your significant other? couch
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? amazing
5. Your father? workaholic
6. Your favorite thing? laughter
7. Your dream last night? real
8. Your dream/goal? celestial (someone else's answer but I liked it)
9. The room you're in? family room
10. Your hobby? reading
11. Your fear? dark
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? hmmmm
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? shy
15. One of your wish-list items? shoes
16. Where you grew up? sacramento
17. The last thing you did? dinner
18. What are you wearing? pj's
19. Your TV? on
20. Your pet? none
21. Your computer? laptop
22. Your mood? anxious (election results!!!)
23. Missing someone? everyone
24. Your car? squeaky
25. Something you're not wearing? jewlery
26. Favorite store? Target and Macy's
27. Your summer? Humid
28. Love someone? completely
29. Your favorite color? red
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? today (My great uncle passed away yesterday, completely unexpectedly, and all day long he was in my thoughts. I am really going to miss him.)
I Tag:
1. Melinda
2. Jenn
3. Jen
4. Jackie
5. Rachel H.
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