Moments of Christmas

Uploaded my pictures from the days before, during and after Christmas and just loved looking at them. Before Christmas, we made lots of sweet treats to eat (and give away.) Here is my youngest helping me made some cookies. He was great company to me while I made them, a wonderful helper and taster and fun entertainment. I took several pictures of him and after each time, he wanted to see what he looked like on the display on the other side of the camera. It seemed that each picture got sillier and sillier! We ended up making about five containers of cookies etc. for our friends and family. I'm thinking that next year, if we eat fewer (lol!) I could probably make at least seven for others! I wouldn't have to lose at least five to ten pounds if I had done that as well.


Going to visit my mother-in-law and spending their celebration with families at the assisted living facility. She loved the different desserts and gobbled them all up! Santa made an appearance there too and my kids were able to tell him what they wanted for Christmas. The event and the many people around were really nice but at one point was overwhelming for her and she started to cry (she's used to routine even though she really isn't aware of what's happening around her.) She opened up a couple presents while we were there as well.



Putting out reindeer food for the reindeer on Christmas Eve. It was cold and raining outside but we managed to get their food out nevertheless!


Opening presents! You don't often see this...my teenager (ok, she's 20, I should probably say 'young adult?!?') smiling! Not just smiling, but smiling for a picture!


My first grader putting together a crane! He opened the box and was putting the pieces together! It's been probably the toy that has kept him occupied the longest thus far!



My brother surprised me with a cedar chest he (and his son) had refinished for me. He had mentioned the need for a coffee table and this was a perfect solution (plus it can hide our multiple blankets we keep around the living room!)



Here he is opening a present I got him (an book he had been wanting to read that had been autographed by the author.)


Later, my other daughter came over and I took a picture of my two daughter together (before they left doing their own thing again.)


In the evening, one of my younger brothers came over with his family. Unfortunatley, my camera was set on a weird setting so if you moved the slightest, the picture became blurry. This pic is the best I could get by cropping everyone else out.


I am very blessed to have a nice family. I hear about others and their dysfunctional families whose chaotic mountains made out of tiny molehills, so to speak. I don't have a large family but I'm happy for the one I do have. I hope everyone else had a nice holiday season as well!

December - friends, tree, etc.

Although December isn't my favorite month of the year, it seems to be my brightest. I just love the music, smells (especially, wassail and Christmas trees,) and the colors everywhere (red, green, white!) I try to remember those who are feeling a little lonely as well, as when I'm not doing anything, I often reminisce about my late parents and how much I miss them!

This past week, I enjoyed lunch and visiting with my friend Betty (who introduced me to a couple groups that I attend regularly now as well as the arts as I also go to community plays as well.) Her husband passed away almost five years ago and she has recently met a man with whom she has been spending a lot of time lately. I think she was just trying to be active and involved so that she wouldn't be feeling down...and after inviting me a few times, I started accepting. This is us at a luncheon this past week. She is usually a kind of extraverted socialite (opposite of me.) Yes, I'm the youngest of the group, lol! Betty's on the left and I'm in the middle. An acquaintance Bessie is on the right.


I also contacted an older former collegue (who used to be a boss where I worked seven years ago.) We weren't particularly close but I know that her mom died last April and she is now in the same boat I'm in regarding taking care of a loved one with Alzheimers (and those kinds of circumstances.) We had lunch yesterday and even though her dad is younger than my mother-in-law, we had many similar stories. Luckily, we could use laughter when discussing those trying times when we were forced to take on a situation with our loved one. Like she mentioned, otherwise, we'd be crying. I found it interesting that we actually had a lot in common. I'm learning how to reach out, or rather, practicing, so expand my small circle of friends.

My 'lil one had a Christmas pageant this past week. He was precious and did his cute hand gestures at just the right times. He (and his classmates) were doves (which explains the white feathers on his shirt!)


We put up our Christmas tree this week. Well, actually, we put up my daughter's boyfriend's Christmas tree this week. He let us borrow it again this year (we borrowed it last year when my allergies went through the roof the first day we brought our live one in the house.) The kids loved putting on the decorations. I hadn't bought any new one is years. My mom always used to say not to buy any you didn't love because you'd be looking at them for twenty years. I now know what she means... So, even though we don't have a whole lot of ornaments, we have ones we really love! On the front of this one, I noticed a few in the picture that are noteworthy: a green stocking I made when was about 11, a Santa made out of red pipe cleaners and cotton that my brother made, and those lovely ones brought home from my kiddos from school that they made in class! I had some beautiful breakable ornaments that were destroyed by a little kid who was unsupervised in my house many years ago and, even though I was angry at the time, I still don't really remember what those particular ones looked like. It's the more ordinary ones that seem to be the ones I love...those made with love!

Doubletake ---

I was walking through the house the other day and noticed this! My preschooler had placed them on the piano! I had to run grab my camera and take a picture of them before he returned!

Thanksgiving Tradition

One of our favorite things to do at Thanksgiving (and Christmas) is to make teacakes via cookie cutters. It's something that takes hours (probably because we make a mega-recipe!) I have enjoyed doing this since I was a child and have passed on our holiday tradition to my kiddos. BTW, I totally forgot to invite my brother to our cookie-making evening (and am again apologizing in case he's reading this!) I have accumulated many cookie cutters throughout my life and we probably have several for every occasion possible (including many Texas ones!)


Notice the 'diaper' still taped to the edge of the cabinet that's been there for a few years. My relatives try to take it down sometimes but it prevents accidents with my kiddos bonking their heads! My kids and hubby are making their favorites. As they use up the dough, the left-overs go in a bowl to use after the first batch is used up. With this recipe, the more you use the dough, the better the images are from the cookie cutters. So, we use simple ones at the beginning and ones with more ornate detailing near the end.


My preschooler got out some raisins to add to the 'gingerbread men.' He kept saying he needed to put the buttons on (and I didn't understand him) until I just said 'ok.' Then, I realized he meant he wanted to put the raisins on those kind of cookies and also added eyes. He did many like that!


Some of our cookies!


We celebrated our Thanksgiving early. My hubby would be at work the week of it so we enjoyed it the weekend before. All my kids and both my brothers were there with their families (my other brother is overseas in Navy.) We even had friends there this year! It was a wonderful stress-free day with lots of great food and wonderful company! I'm blessed to have such loving people around me!!

Demon bug?!? Really!!?!

So, at my kiddos's school, you have to behave well to come home with a 'green' color, meaning everything went well. If something happens, you act up or not mind, you get 'yellow.' If you've been told something and continue to not listen (or do something unkind), you get 'red.' Finally, for those really bad actions, there's the ultimate bad, 'purple.' Of course, I love hearing (and seeing the color on the daily sheet) of 'green!'

Recently, my kiddo (and some others) learned how to make loud burp noises. Of course, one burp means that several kids will giggle afterwards, making huge disruptions in class. Not good. He's been warned not to do it (again.)

However, last week, an incident happened. He came home with a 'red' color! I asked him what happened. He replies, "There's a demon bug that flies around and chews on your sock that leaves out a poison that makes you burp." I am stunned. I grab a paper and pen and ask him to repeat that!! He repeats the exact same thing. Then he shows me his sock, where the upper part has been torn (chewed!) a little. I thought to myself, this excuse took lots of time and creativity! I smile to myself and go along with it. Of course, he then proceeded to tell me that he helped destroy this bug and it won't ever be returning. When we get home, I have to naturally take a picture of the evidence, of this amazing rare occurance.

A little later, we go to dinner (hubby returns from work after being gone two weeks and we usually go to our nearby Mexican restaurant.) The subject gets brought up about his behavior that day and I take out my camera to show him the chewed up sock. I stare at my kiddo to see his reaction as he has that embarrassing smile you get when you're trying not to laugh and be serious as he's lowering his head, almost looking away. Hubby goes along with the story too.

Of course, before dinner (and afterwards,) he is cleaning whatever it is I ask him to clean because that's his consequence for getting a 'red,' bug or not. But as we return from dinner, I mention to him that if his sock ever gets ruined by any other demon bug, he'll be buying new socks with his own money! Just as he starts to try to continue the story, I give him the look in which he 'knows' I'm serious and that I clearly know the truth. He nods his head in compliance.

The evidence!


A couple days ago, he turned 7. He requested a cake with zombies on it. Second choice were to have vehicles on it. And if that wasn't possible, tractors. I bought a plain cake and then provided all the vehicles and 'dirt.' He helped me crunch up oreos for dirt and we put little m&ms in the buckets! He loved it!

First Cub Scout Campout

Last weekend, my new Cub Scout went on his first campout. While we love camping, especially when it's cold, it was out first with other people around (who are not family.) In addition, while most participants were dads and sons (with the exception of one kiddo who had both mom and dad,) my kiddo was had just me (hubby was at work.) I had been kinda feeling anxious about it but knew that it'd work out ok. Our first cold front of the season had come in that weekend and it got into the lower 40s. For some, it was just too cold! We were seasoned veterans in that department and loved it! I overpacked with practically everything...but forgot my camera! Luckily, thanks to my older brother, I had my camera from my phone for a few pictures and grabbed another picture from a friend's FB page. We saw armadillo and deer all over the place. The tent neighbor's food box had a raccoon breakin and lost their hot dog buns. We were so tired (from all that fresh air) that we didn't hear a thing! All in all, we had an excellent time and my kiddo can't wait to go again!

My 'lil Tiger Cub.


Sunset at the State Park.


Fishing of the pier was a big hit! Nothing was ever caught but they enjoyed trying. My kiddo with his two friends.

Happy Halloween!

My 'lil one with his 'lil pumpkin! He picked it out and then drew the face himself (with a pen) and I cut it out.


Today, at my 'lil one's pk3 class, they had a Halloween parade where they all walked around the school wearing their costumes. They were all SO cute! Mine was a Train Engineer (complete with the whistle which he loved blowing!) My oldest daughter called earlier that morning and wanted to attend too so I picked her up on the way. Here they are...my oldest and my youngest.

Trio Dinner Again.

I worked at a place for 12 years (and loved it) before resigning to stay home after having my first son (close to seven years ago.) It's interesting how you have such good comraderie at work but when you're no longer there, the friendships slowly fade away. But there are a few of us who get together each year no matter what to celebrate our birthdays. My two former coworkers and I see each other three times a year (sometimes another time or two if we're at the same event or girl's night out.) Two of us pay for the birthday girl's dinner around their birthday. I don't know how long we've been celebrating this tradition but it's probably close to 13-15 years now. Even though we're not really similar to each other, we all have stuff in common so I always look forward to the next upcoming celebration. Recently, my friend Sherry celebrated her 50th birthday. She chose to go to a steakhouse this time and loved her t-bone steak! I loved kidding her because she took the bone home to chew on later to get the rest of the meat off of it.

Here are all three of us (Sherry in the middle) as well as the awesome cheesecake dessert we shared afterwards!

Monkey's Adventures

My preschooler sleeps with his monkey every nap and bedtime. 'Monkey' will jump out of bed (which means my preschooler will throw him from the bed) when something is needed (when he needs to use the potty or get a new tissue.) By jumping from the bed, I have to go in his room to place him back into bed (and get said tissue or help preschooler with potty or whatever.) This 'monkey jumping' outta bed sometimes gets to be a problem so we try to ensure the sleeping routine covers each issue beforehand. That silly monkey!

Sometimes, when we go places, Monkey will ride with us! Looking through my pictures in my camera, I ran across a few I took while waiting in the car (and I don't remember why.) I remember I was looking at something and my preschooler had placed Monkey up there and I called for him to get down (in a pretend mad voice.) Each time I instructed him to get down, my preschooler would break out in a hysterical laugh!




In fact, even as I write this post, Monkey is jumping (being thrown up and landing on my preschooler's head or in my closet where I have to stop and go find him amongst my hoard of boxes or clothes or on my bed where he needs to come get him causing my laptop to move all around, lol!) I am hearing a little pretend Aaaah! and then I see Monkey fly past me. Afterwards, I always hear a little "Monkey jumped!" or "Silly Monkey!"

Pumpkin picking!

I love this time of year...Autumn! I love that it gets cooler and the leaves start to change colors! When I am older (with fewer responsibilities,) I want to get in my car and drive scenic routes looking at all the gorgeous leaves of the trees! I am currently burning a cinnamon apple candle in the kitchen as I look at the thermometer outside the window, 82 degrees at 6pm. I loved that it has been in the mid 60's lately though. Can't wait for it to get cooler yet enjoying temperatures right now. At least it's not very hot! We picked out our pumpkins this week. While my first grader got a rather large one, my preschooler got the tiniest one possible, lol! It was fun walking around the 'pumpkin patch' for an hour inspecting and looking at all the different kinds!

Train Museum

I had planned on visiting my sister-in-law today (she lives about 2 1/2 hours away.) She thought it'd be nice to meet somewhere in the middle, have lunch and then go to the beach. Rain was in the forecast but we decided to go anyway because we could probably find something else to do anyway.

And, of course, it rained all day long! We went to a place for lunch I hadn't been to before and it was really nice. The kiddos loved the shrimp there so we'll definitely be returning. We walked along an area with many shops and then to a Railroad Museum that none of us had visited. It was better than I thought it'd be. Most of it was outside (we were able to climb up and into real railroad cars and engines.) For some reason, my preschool loved saying, "I'm a doctor." Apparently, he wanted to make sure we knew because he must have said it about 75 times...in an hour. Each time I acknowledged it, he repeated it. Even when I didn't say anything, he let me know. It was becoming almost funny though and it was a lesson on patience for me!

At one point, it was thundering and lightening (scared the kids a bit!) We were walking in a railroad car getting ready to climb back down and into the rain and weather again, my first grader stopped me and got ahead of me. He said, "Mom, stop, I want to die first. I don't want you to die so I'm going first so you will be ok." I heard him say it but it didn't register as we're walking. And, then all of a sudden, it occurs to me what he had just said. He was probably thinking that the lightening might strike us as we were descending and wanted it to hit him, not me. I didn't even have a chance to say anything to him. He just went on as if it was just another statement of his. But to me...it was more. I was caught offguard and awed in his protectiveness. So incredibly sweet.

By the time we finished seeing all those cars outside at the museum, we were cold and wet. We walked down a couple of blocks and went to a store to eat ice cream and drink strawberry shakes. The boys rode one of those horses (with real saddles) that you put 50cents in to ride. They loved it! And, as we were enjoying the moment, my first grader ran into his soccer teammate (who was also with his family in the same place!) What a small world that we ran into someone we knew (in a place 2 hours from home.) Their plans had changed too due to the weather and they were also making the best of it.

We drove home shortly afterwards. I hate driving in dark, rainy weather because the monotony and the sound of the rain pounding on the car makes me sleepy, lol! But we got home safe and sound. As we were getting ready for bed (or rather, sending the kids to do last minute errands as they're getting ready,) my first grader came up to me and said, "I have something for you." As he came closer, he hugged me. Awwww...it's days like these that I love being a parent!

Mountain Climbing

Just as my hubby and I arrived in Hawaii and were met by my brother, he mentioned the activities he and his wife had planned for us that week along with taking us mountain climbing. I initially thought he meant hiking on top of a mountain but was surprised to learn that he meant actually climbing up the side of a mountain. He has been mountain climbing a lot lately (as part of his job on occasion) and his place of employment had all the equipment we could borrow. I am afraid of heights but the idea seemed exciting. Since I didn't have to worry about having kids with me and the fact that he mentioned his wife also being concerned since she had not yet done it either, I figured it'd be a great adventure. It turned out absolutely wonderful! We spent about four or five hours climbing up and then back down the mountain. It was totally awesome and I'd love to do it again!!! The only thing I wish were different were the little annoying ants that climbed all over you as you climb. There were SO many red ants (that did not bite) that could crawl on your fingers and hands and arms as you climbed. You'd have to fling them off before they got further up your arms or legs. Before we started up the trail to the first leg of our climb, my sister-in-law took a picture of my hubby, my brother and me. In the background is the valley between the two mountains. That's where we climbed up.


My hubby was the first one. We were using a prusig which was a sliding knot tied to the rope that we used to pull ourselves up and also to our caribiner connected to our rope (from our harness that we wore around our hips/legs.)


I just love this picture as my hubby nears the top of this wall. The tree at the top has it's roots going all the way down and they're firmly attached. It's so high up that it looks like he's entering a hole up toward the sky.


And, of course, here's me climbing up. We all had to stop and pose for a picture. The whole way we're climbing, we're getting lots of support as the other three are helping us find a spot to put our foot or fingers or remind us what we should be doing to make it easier.


Here's a spot where I stayed at the lower area a little while as the others moved up just to take a picture showing how high we were climbing and what it looked like with all the ropes, cables, or scary areas.


Even though I did really well on all the really scary places where I should have been scared, I freaked out right here. For some reason, I couldn't find a place to put my feet and felt like I were going to fall. I just got stuck. At this particular moment in time, my brother is encouraging me to lean back and extend my arms because even though I can't tell, there are more places to put my feet. If I did that, I could then continue vertically to get through this spot. I ended up attaching my caribiner to the rope as a back-up and finally leaned back. When I did that, I moved right through it. At one point, I remember saying that I felt like crying because I was so frustrated and scared. After I conquered this challenge, I felt like I could do anything!


The biggest wall we climbed was the last one. This picture shows my sister-in-law going up first (well, actually, my brother had to climb up first to tie off the rope for us to use to climb up as he belayed, or supported the rope with us on it in case we fell.) She did so well the whole day and I loved being able to do this with her. My hubby uses this kind of stuff in his job so this was not new to him as was my brother. But for us girls, all this was new and kinda scary. I loved the 'peer pressure' because I felt that if she could do it, I could too. She loved it so much that she went up this wall twice! She had a lot more energy than I did!


This is me climbing.


This is a picture of my sister-in-law going down. As difficult as it was going up, it was even scarier going down. Off this edge, you had to walk off backwards...and while leaning back the entire time. If now, you'd swing forward and be flung against the mountain rock. So, I had to literally talk myself down slowly. It was nice having the others help as well. At one point, my brother reminded me to keep my legs square with my shoulders. At another, my hubby encouraged me to lean back. My sister-in-law was also supportive letting me know how great I was doing. I finally got over this edge too and even got to the point where I could 'bounce' off the wall near the bottom.


Here's a picture of my brother and me. Halfway up, there was a spot where you could see the ocean in a distance. So beautiful!

Hanauma Bay Natural Preserve

Last week, we went to Hawaii to visit my brother and his family. I hadn't seen him in a couple years. He and his wife have had two kids since then and this was the only time due to his and my hubby's work schedules. The next chance would be perhaps a year away. I had saved up all my earned miles and cashed them in for us to go. Since the kids were in school, my younger daughter took care of them (she still lives at home and knows everything about them.) About fifteen years ago, my hubby and I were together away from the kids for a night and this would be the first time that we would be away longer from out kids without one of us being home. It was kinda stressful but I knew that she could handle it. My older brother and his son live two houses away and they were great "plan b's" in case something happened.

We enjoyed visiting with them and loved hanging out after their daughters went to bed. I helped rear my brother after my parents died and to be able to have an adult relationship with him now is awesome! He's been in the Navy after leaving home over a decade or so ago. I loved seeing him being a dad. His wife is so much like I am. It's hard to believe that she's younger than my older daughter. That was the best part of our trip. The extra adventurous and scenic stuff was just lagniappe.

While we were there, on one day, we went to a bay and snorkeled for hours. I could have done it all day long! I didn't realize how cold the water was though as I'm used to the brown warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It was brrrr...cold at first! Being able to look down and see something in the water was awesome! Of course, we can't see anything below in our waters either. Seeing fish and the fact that they were colorful was mesmorizing. I just floated on top of the water looking down enjoying the wonderful sights of coral, fish and other sealife. I felt like a dog. You know how a dog sniffs something and then follows it a while and then continues not paying attention to where he started or finishes...that's what I did. I did snorkel with someone and would lift my head to make sure they were close as we meandered through the water. My hubby or my sister-in-law stayed close or vice-versa as we ventured out further and further. One time, a huge wave broke near my hubby and the (really salty) saltwater practically drowned him. After that, he was done, lol! We watched our nieces as my brother and SIL snorked for a while. Then my SIL and I went back out. Such a great day! I loved it!! My SIL (who lives at the bay/farm) gave me an underwater camera last Christmas and it came in very very handy!!!

This is the bay from the top of the mountain.


I saw one turtle...such a graceful swimmer!


Me.










Hubby from a distance.




One thing I didn't realize is that as you snorkel, the waves make the water move and therefore you move along with them. So as I was watching the fish, a wave would push me forward toward the fish and at the same time, the fish would also be moving with the waves. It was a rocking kind of action as you floated/swam.