Time flies

I know most moms always say this, but I can't believe I am the mom of two kids in school. It has been quite an adjustment. My house is quiet. Perhaps I have caught a glimpse of what empty nest syndrome is like? Not to be overly dramatic, as Blake is only in school for three hours a day, but I still miss my little sidekick.

We decided to walk to school in the rain. It was POURING. Our poor puppy who used to be white, is now brown. He smells, and basically is my new third child. The kids named him Sundae (fluff and stuff). It is fitting with the rabbit being named Sherbet. Our kitten (Curry) is super jealous. He keeps attacking the dog. Guess I have something to occupy my time. :)

Life has been slow and steady here. Still working 40+ hours a week. I have the single mom thing down now. We are doing karate, gymnastics, and competitive swimming. It's a busy life, we we are a team. I've dated off and on. Recently broke up with Jeff for good. I know I've said that over and over, but really. This time it is for good. Jamaica was an eye opener for me and I realized that I deserve to be happy all the time, not just part of the time. I won't go into details, but we are headed in different directions. I miss him, and love him, but it was time to move forward.

Dating has been interesting. I had a date with someone with a swastika tattoo. Grin. Met a lot of nice people along the way, but none that have caught my eye and made me want to take time away from my kids for. I'd rather sit at the table and eat peanut butter and jelly rather than make small talk with a random stranger.

Time flies. It really does.

Off to the gym.

xo

Seeing Shadows

February 2, 2010. Groundhog Day.

Looking out my window, I think back to the last season. We really never had much of a winter. We had one week of snow and sub zero temperatures. Other than that, we have had the mild Pacific Northwest weather that we are known for. My pipe burst in the garage causing a broken washer. I am very thankful that I bought the extended warranty. Who is laughing now? And to think that my friends were mocking me for spending the extra money on a warranty for the new washer. :)

Blake has really turned out to be a great kid. I am blessed to have two well adjusted children. Blake loves his best friend, Cole. I worry about next year when they will go to seperate kindergartens. Cole and Blake are inseperable in preschool and even in swimming lessons. Blake has a great attention span. He loves all things car/truck related and can chat on about dump trucks for great lengths. He still doesn't get along with his sister and taunts her on a regular basis by calling her names, repeating what she says, and going in her room and teasing her. He loves music. Dancing, singing, head banging. You name it, he loves it.



Makena is doing well in school. She loves to read and excels at it. Her spelling isn't up to par. The teacher said it is rare to have such a good reader be such a bad speller. Time will tell. Computers are her favorite pasttime as well as drawing. Her pictures aren't amazing, but they are fun and I can usually guess what they are. She is starting to become self conscious and is very skeptical about a lot of things, Tooth Fairy and Santa included. Uno is her game and she can play for hours. Seriously. Blake is evil in her book, and she goes to great lengths to irritate him. Ugh.



I have the worst time adding photos to this blog. :(

More to come. I have to get Blake off to swimming lessons. xo

Summertime...and the living is easy.

July. Sweet Summer. Birds are flying high. Kids are doing somersaults in the grass. Red ripe raspberries are ready to be picked and lavender is abundant. I love the Pacific Northwest in the summer. It is absolutely beautiful, never sweltering hot and the sun on my face feels heavenly. We don't have the heat wave on the Peninsula like Seattle, but rather a calm breeze that makes everything smell sweet. I love my home even if it has been turned into vampire seeking territory. Thanks Twilight! This time of year though, our town is flooded with lavender lovers. A couple pictures below:



Makena is off to summer camp. It is her first year and I am sure she will have a blast. Her best friend Madeline is going too, and I am sure they will have memories to last a lifetime. Pam and I took the kids out on the boat and she got to see Camp David Junior. I think her mind is at ease knowing that she will be safe and have a friend.



Blake has been such a good kid lately. We really did manage to skip the whole terrible twos,and torturous threes. I really think God is giving me a break with him...or saving up for him to be a super naughty teenager.



We have had a great summer. I took Makena to Portland with Eric and Kayla. We also made it to Lake Chelan, in Eastern Washington. We have made a few trips to Seattle and summer is already half over. Sigh. I don't want summer to end.

I'm off to get ready for work. Still working away at the Casino. Also making a lifestyle change with my diet. I have kids that see what I eat. I need to be a good example. Ten pounds down. Twenty to go :)

Thinking of Jess, Rach and Hannah today. I wore my sparkle pin all day.

xo

No shopping

Maybe I'm crazy for doing this, but I've been letting Blake take pictures with my camera. He is actually starting to understand a few of the fundamentals of taking a picture. He knows that if he doesn't hold still, that the picture will not turn out. He has also figured out how to turn it on and off and tell people to smile. It's actually quite cute and he has taken a few cute shots...for a three year old. The above one is a perfect example. It's a great picture of my......teeth. lol

Makena and I spent some time together yesterday. I really need to focus some more one on one time with her. She thrives on it. We went for a bike ride and rode all through the streets. We rode down to her school and watched the gardeners in the volunteer garden. Makena's school does a lot of their own composting and recycling. It was neat to see how excited she became over worms. We played a good game of soccer too. She is getting good.

The Hood Canal Bridge will be closing for six weeks. It pretty much shuts our community off from the outside world unless we want to make the long trek around the peninsula on a very windy road. I'm making my last major shopping trip to the city on Wednesday. This is a great cost saving opportunity as I won't be seeing a mall forever. Of course, there is still online shopping :)

I've been working a lot in my yard. I might actually get a handle on it this year. I'm not promising anything. Speaking of yards, I should probably get out there. :)

Time flies

The above picture is of me and my dad. It makes me chuckle every time I see it. Gerry really is a great guy. I hope to find a guy just like him someday. My mom is truly blessed, and she doesn't even realize it. The picture was from my little sisters wedding last month. I can't believe that she is 22 and married. Wowser. Time flies when you're having fun. It seems like just yesterday she was the little brat that wouldn't stay out of my room. Now she's married and wanting to start a family. Crazy!

I've thought a lot about what I'm going to do when Blake is in kindergarten full time. Working nights works with my schedule now because I am home with Blake all day. I'm unsure as if this is what I want to do once both of the kids are in school all day. We have a couple new chain restaurants opening in town in the next year or so. I might apply and see what type of hours they offer. It would be so nice to work during the day and be home at night.

Blake is at school today. Mike picked him up since he isn't working and I have the kids this weekend. He goes to Phoenix every six weeks or so to see his girlfriend. Don't go thinking he is some amazing out of the way dad. He's not. He does what he is supposed to and for that I am grateful, but he doesn't go out of his way to see his kids unless he is scheduled to do so. He wouldn't even have to pay daycare, but he chooses to do so because he doesn't want the kids on the nights I work. Bizarre isn't it? I never pass up a chance to have my kids.

Work was busy last night. The last two hours were slow though and I think I almost fell asleep twice. Chewing gum helps keep you awake though. I've never been much of a gum chewer but it helps pass the looooong late night hours.

I'm feeling motivated, so I might actually go do a load of laundry or two before the kids come home :) Enjoy your day.

Enjoy

We have had beautiful spring like weather. It was blue skies and forty eight degrees yesterday. Blake decided it was warm enough to go shirtless. Silly kid. He changed his mind after a few minutes.



Ruby has grown into a full pledeged pain in the rump. She is just as neurotic as I thought she would be. Little dogs are a pain. She decided to take a bite out of my vacuum cord the other day. For being a free dog, she has cost a lot of money. The kids adore her. I stand her. Sometimes I think she would be better suited with a different family, but for now, she stays.




I had dinner with two of my girlfriends at the local Thai restaurant last night. It was nice to get away for a bit. Kati is moving back to the East Coast in June. Her husband is in the Coast Guard and they want to be closer to her home, which is Philly. They will be about seven hours away, although it's still closer than Washington.

I came home and took the kids for a drive. Yes, they protested. We headed to the grocery store and then they were in bed by eight.

James called last night. He was back from his trip out in the waters. Why I attract emotionally unavailable men, I do not know. He is pretty screwed up from the whole Iraq thing. I guess that's another blog.

Off to get Blake dressed and go pull some weeds. Enjoy your day!

Laugh like you mean it

Both of my children were born with best friends. They don't realize how lucky they are to have friendship from such an early age.

Blake's best friend is Cole. He and Blake are definitely double trouble. The funny thing is that they look absolutely nothing alike, yet people think they are twins. I took Cole and Blake to the park today after preschool. They laugh and giggle. Isn't that what life should always be about? Having friends and laughing like you mean it?

Cole will sit patiently by the front door at preschool and wait for Blake to arrive. They really are inseparable. Cole was teaching Blake how to pray the other day. He even told him he was thankful for Blake. I wish I could bottle up all the cuteness for when they are naughty.


Both of my children were born with best friends. They don't realize how lucky they are to have friendship from such an early age.

Makena has had two best friends. She has formed her own separate best friend at school, but still loves Madeline and Rylan just as much. They all go to separate elementary schools, but see each other a few times a month as all of us try and get together as frequently as our schedules allow.

I took Makena and Madeline over to see The Lion King last month. It's a definite show to see in the theater. Blake is a little too young, so he got to enjoy grandpa all to himself. They loved being big girls and going out to eat with just me. You should have seen the flirting going on at The Olive Garden with the male waiter. Giggles. Eyelashes being batted. It was a sight to see and scares the living daylights out of me for what the future holds.



Makena's other best friend is Rylan, who is kind of like a girl. We all think he will either be gay or a man with ten thousand women chasing him because he is so sensitive. :) We still have sleepovers but that will be coming to an end soon enough. They are getting old :)



That's that. I've been trying to blog more. Ha. We will see how long this lasts.