911 call ~ Part 2

The photo above is from last night. Yeah, that's right, that's how WE do Friday nights.
Don't be skurred. I learned my own little lesson about calling 911. Remember this?
Well, last night Rylan came into my bedroom teasing me that he had "lost" his arm in a battle.
Of course, I played into it with him and said "oh, no, we'd better call 911 so that he'd think I really believed him. So, I picked up the phone and dialed 911 and then turned the phone off IMMEDIATELY. Well, apparently the phone doesn't need to ring to connect with a 911 operator.
To my surprise, I received a phone call back asking why I hung up and if I was free to speak.
Needless to say, Rylan (and everyone else) got a big kick out of this. I figured it was only a matter of time before the po po showed up at my door. Sorry if my gangsta talk is throwing you off. I have seen cops one too many times and at this point, I feel like a convict. We now have a record with the department of all our calls. When the officer came up, she was very suspicious. Still, she didn't get that I had called as a joke. Again...embarrassment. Yes, I was tricking my son and gee what a great mom I sounded like eh? Now i'm Canadian. Anyhow...it was funny and the officer was gracious enough to let me photograph her. Thank you Bainbridge Police.

The Flu Bug.....not as cute as it sounds

Well, we are all miserable and sick. Not just sick, sick and tired and coughy and sniffy and achy.
All but two of us. So, I am going to be out of commission for a couple of days.
Hope everyone is well.

The Battle of Land and Sea

I am OVER THE MOON excited that one of my all time favorite bands, The Battle of Land and Sea has just agreed to come ALL the way from Portland to play at our bazaar in June. Sarah, who is the amazing voice in this band, is a crafter as well and will be showcasing her art and selling their albums. Check them out here. My favorite song is birdsong. You can check out our bazaar website and the new artists here. You can also click on the following link . www.myspace.com/battleoflandandsea .This bazaar is going to be amazing. We have over 10 artists from Seattle coming over and our new location is downtown Winslow at the Eagle Harbor Congregational church. I am hoping that we get lots of Seattle foot traffic. If you are reading this and are interested in joining, please visit our website to learn how.

Dahn Yoga

I just started taking yoga from a great Dahn Yoga instructor on Tuesday. It was a great session and I was barely sore the next day. Fast forward to tonight. Different kind of class tonight, dancing for 10 minutes and I feel like jello. I took Nathan and he was a little freaked out and a little interested.
I'll write more tomorrow. Goodnight!

I LOVE YOU ERIC!

My little brother is reading my blog.....FINALLY and so I really just have to say....I love you Eric!
He and his wife are living in the San Francisco area and I rarely see them anymore. Many of you may remember them from when they were living here on the Island on their boat. I am trying to convince them to start a blog. My brother just isn't sure. Just the word "Blog" is funny to him.
They are a fun couple that are living on their sailboat and enjoying the big world.
I really miss their company.

Nathans a teenager!

That's it. You heard it here first. I now have a teenager. Where did the time go? He woke up today convinced that his voice was lower. Too cute. He really really really really wanted this-


So, we looked everywhere for one. Craigslist, Ebay, our local groups etc. They were selling used for 180+. I told Nathan, this would be a great thing to save up for. Then we scored. We found one on Craigslist for 150.00. Not only that but the seller was in Poulsbo (5miles from us) AND......we negotiated the price down to 120.00! How is that for a steal?? He is all smiles tonight and it was fun to find it for him. I had NO idea how amazing this Itouch was. We have wireless internet at home and so he can use the internet on it. Don't worry, I was able to put filters on it. I want one. I am so jealous everytime he comes in to say something else it does. Anyhow, he is in love with it. Here are some fun photos of today. Since he received this big gift, we didn't really plan on anything else. We had lunch at our local Mexican Restaurant and I cooked his favorite dinner tonight, but that was it. Happy Birthday Nathan. What a gift you are to this family. Keep in mind, I have to ALWAYS talk nice about Nathan, now that he has shown me that he can access my blog from his itouch.


In true Nathan style, he didn't want a cake. He begged for a cinnamon roll.
His brothers hovering to get a peek.
An "almost" smile from Nathan as he shows off his new present.


This above photo says it all doesnt it? I asked them to sing him Happy Birthday.

Happy Late Valentines Day

Well, the actual Valentines Day was pretty uneventful, but the two days before Valentines Day was pretty fun. Here we are at Brennans classroom party. He was so cute taking Mae around to all his friends to show her off. He held her the entire time we were there and while playing a game, I asked him if I should take her so he could play and he said "no way". I enjoy going into the kids classrooms and getting to see what my little guy does all day out of my sight. It is always fun going to Brennans school because of all the little girls that have crushes on him. They all come up and hug me and tell my all the latest gossip and what Brennan is up to. This year he received 3 anonymous love letters. Too cute.
Okay, so for the "real" Valentines Day. For Valentines Day, Shane let me go to
this place to buy fabric. I love buying fabric and now I have a purpose for it all. I can't announce it now, but my friend and I are making some amazing things that we are hoping to sell to boutiques and at the bazaar. She is an amazing seamstress and I can't wait to work with her on these. Also, I was permitted to attend the book sale ALONE. This was such a great gift. I was able to get some really beautiful books, to keep, and a few to sell. My score was an old 1920's ballet book with photos. I really slacked with the kids. I bought them each a cheap heart box of chocolate and that's it. I am not really so much into Valentines Day. I didn't even make them cards, which they grumbled about later. I hadn't realized that they even cared anymore.
Oh well, they get enough "because" notes to satisfy their "does mommy love me" moments.
Instead of our tradition of making a fancy dinner for Valentines Day (my mothers tradition), which I have honored ever since she died, we bought take out. We had grand plans made with a few other couples to have a game night together at one of the couples houses, but of course, two of the couples children weren't feeling well (one of which was ours) and we had to reschedule for next week.
So......all in all, a very uneventful Valentines Day! Is it me or are these smaller holidays really lacking their luster? Maybe everyone is starting to figure out what REALLY matters.
Well.....one can hope.

Books and film.

First.......this film. I watched it last night and guess what....so did Shane! Normally Shane refuses to watch anything that he was to read. This has been hard for me because I adore foreign films.
This film was adorable, sweet, funny....WONDERFUL!! I will watch it again tonight.
The below book is Rylans favorite book at the moment. He has to have it read to him every night.
Bunny My Honey......aaagh. Sorry,....this is now Mae's favorite book. She wants it read to her all day all night. I have to hide the book to get any kind of peace. She giggles when the mommy calls her baby "bunny my honey" and now she is fussing as I am typing because she can see the photo.
Myron has started this Warriors series. The funny thing is, I bought it for Brennan, but of course it piled up with all of the other books and got lost in the shelf. He is really enjoying it.
Brennan is so excited about this book, that he requests more time every night to read more and wakes up in the morning to read again.
Nathan is reading this Twilight series and is on the second. I haven't read the second yet, but because he is such a surprise spoiler, I already know a lot that has happened and have lost the desire to read it.
Now on to MY books! These are 2 of the 5 that I am reading. I know, I feel as though I am cheating on my other books, but these are AMAZING! This first book is lost in my house right now, so I hate even talking about it. I'd read it all in a night if I could find it. I am half way through as it stands. It's all about food. I love love love this book.
This book is great as well. I am so into food and cooking right now that these books are really satisfying my culinary desires.

I want to share the books we are reading for two reasons.

• Sometimes it is hard to find books that the kids haven't read yet and will love.

• I would love to hear back from everyone about what they are reading as well.

That's it for now. Hello to all the new family that have decided to visit. We are excited to share our lives with you.

Latedate.

Yes, that's update.....only later. Get it? Yes....I know, I am clever. Sunday was a very busy day.
As we were leaving for church in the morning, Myron got his pinky finger slammed in the door, which rendered him useless for church. Boy am I a sucker. Shane stayed to lick his wounds.
Sucker again! When we arrived back at home, Myron had a beautiful little paper towel and scotch tape bandaid on that Dr. Dad had made. I was however, overjoyed to return to a spotless house.
Usually coming home after church, we meet the front door with an ugh. Ugh when we remember the tornado we created before we left that morning. Does this mean that Shane has a free ticket to stay home anytime he wants? No, but let's just say that he isn't going to meet his normal wall of opposition if he needs to for some reason. So....for a child that stays home from church, or actually any child at all on a Sunday shouldn't be watching tv, playing games etc. For Shane...not only did he get to play hooky (sp?) he was able to go to a friends house AND watch the football game. M and Shane had been eagerly waiting for this game, so this was a special occasion. G and I just hung out and talked around the table. The talking won me my new partner for the Indie Banditas Bazaar, so I am very excited about that. After lunch, game and other no no's, we had to scoot to our next event. Miss Nora's birthday. If every Sunday, we can plan like this, I will be a most happy camper. Two meals for free and lovely conversation. Nora and Mae are about the sweetest little friends in the world. Here are few photos and a video or two. Nora is like another daughter to me. I love her sweetness, her kindness and the special little spirit that comes out when she smiles. I remember R and I, 4 years ago sitting on the grass in the backyard talking about having little girls and how special that would be if we ever did and they were friends. Little did we know how very close they would be. Right after R gave birth to Nora, she called me immediately from the hospital to tell me she had had a girl. I was screaming and hopping up and down with excitement. Later that day, I had my own ultrasound to find out the sex of my child and then visit R. I walked into her room after finding out and said "R, it's a girl"!!! She said "I know, I know" and looked down at Nora. I said "No, R....(pointing at my tummy) it's a girl"!!!
I still find it so amazing that we both found out we were having girls on the same day. Ever since I first laid eyes on Nora, I loved her. She has always had these very knowing eyes. I feel so blessed to be part of her life. I love you Nora, my girl.
Sorry the photos are so dark. My camera batteries went dead and I had to use the camcorder.
I should get clearer photos uploaded when R emails them to me.

Too much goin on

It's the calm before the storm. I feel it. I was asked to chair this years baseball jamboree (thanks Shannon) and later realized that this would be the same time as my bazaar. So...I pushed the bazaar back until June, but I have since realized that this means that I will be already deep in baseball while trying to organize the bazaar. So...here I am now, not much going on, but still anxious because it all starts next Tuesday. That's right...4 days. Tuesday night, we are meeting to plan the jamboree. After the jamboree, I have 4....yes 4 kids in baseball. This means, it will be a nearly every day thing. Talk about putting miles on your vehicle! Luckily we live about a mile from one of the fields, so the kids and I can walk. I love that walk with the little ones. I love baseball season. I love the crazy busy-ness of it all. I love how my heart swells everytime I watch the boys play. They play so hard and are so talented. They never have taken any classes or other training, it is just in their blood. Their uncle Eric was a star baseball pitcher and to this day tells everyone his "Al Bundy", "could have been a pro", story. Myron has a gift for pitching and Brennan is just an all around amazing player. He will be trying out for majors this year, but only because he has played up every year. Brennan was Nathans majors teams helper last year and all his coaches were blown away with his talent. Nathan enjoys the sport, and has a very strong arm, but is still learning the fundamentals. Rylans first year is this year and he is a little disappointed that he has to play t-ball when he is used to being pitched to. Okay, so do I sound like a proud mom or what! Your getting a taste of what I am like during baseball season. My competitive nature comes out and it's scary. I wasn't into team sports in high school. I tried basketball, but wasn't into it. I was more into being cool and boys. Okay Grandmas and Grandpas that read this. There it is. Your bragging rights for the next year.
Sorry, for the regular joes that aren't family that had to read all that. Hopefully you rolled your eyes and stopped reading a few paragraphs ago. xoxo

Nora and Mae

I will dedicate Sundays blog to Nora and write more, but for now, here are my twins, Nora and Mae for those of you that have been following their relationship. Nora's birthday is Sunday and so we will be celebrating at their home. I will write more then.
This is the girls at this evenings scout session. Nora had been crying in the van because she saw us and wanted to come in. I told R that I would keep Nora while she went on an errand. When we finally had to part ways, she cried and cried because she wanted Myron. We truly are blessed to be so close to this family. R is my dearest friend and now our daughters are dear friends as well. I feel so lucky.
Goodnight.

Monkfish

Today while grocery shopping at Central Market ( a two hour procedure by the way ), I visited the seafood specialists and asked for something I hadn't tried yet. They brought out something from the back that I really hadn't tried! Monkfish. I'd heard about it on Top Chef (my favorite show), but never really considered it an option before. It was 15.99 a lb, so not bad and I bought just one pound. I decided to really doll up tonights meal for the kids. They really love eating new foods, so I thought they would get a kick out of this. Nathan, my future marine biologist had to inform us all about the Monkfish. See description below.

The monkfish, known variously as the goosefish, anglerfish, or "allmouth," is a large, ugly, benthic (bottom-dwelling) fish found in the coastal Atlantic area. Its size ranges up to about three feet, and its body is composed mainly of a huge, gaping mouth attached to a muscular tail. The monkfish is an anglerfish; its spine ends in a flexible, extensible cord which it dangles for use as a fishing lure.


Anyways....it was fantastic. It's texture is the same as lobster and the meat is very sweet. I had a hard time trying to come up with a good sauce to compliment the taste, when I hadn't tasted it before, but, in the end, it turned out good with just a citrus, butter, vinegar emulsion drizzled on the plate. I butterflied the shrimp and sauteed in peanut oil and placed on top of the seared monkfish. Then couscous underneath which I wont do again. No one ate it and it wasn't very complimentary to the fish. The brocolli rabe and Chinese long beans were a big hit and I can't wait to cook them again. I love cooking like this but I realized tonight how hard it is to layer a dish and make all the elements compliment each other. I am a separates cooker and it was a little intimidating tonight. Oh well, it could have been worse. Tomorrow night we are having a lamb roast for the first time. Does anyone have any good flavors that work well with lamb?

School and bro's

I love my eldest son. He is a wonderful, creative, talented young man. This year has been very difficult for him academically and so after much deliberation, we pulled him out of his large middle school and put him into a very....very small one. It is still a public school, so it is free, but after today, I am beginning to wonder if we made the right decision. Some of you may recall this same sort of situation with the next son in line. It is such a hard decision. When I went to pick Nathan up, I got to see him in class with the rest of the 7th and 8th graders. There are about 25 kids in both classes and they are together. I saw a lot of kids that were.....um...."alternative" in disposition and outward appearances. Not what I thought this school was about. I later received a call from an old friend that mentioned that a child had left the school the previous school year because of kids that were "cutting". N's first day was today, so I am not in too deep, but I have such a hard time doing this. I really feel great about the teachers and principal, but I don't want my child picking up bad habits or worse. It's like when a kid goes to jail. You know that kid comes out with new tricks and worse off than when he went in. So, I am off to another school tomorrow. A private school. No...not Waldorf this time. N's old BFF goes to this school and although they are pricey, I hear they have scholarship programs and maybe I can work it off at the school or something. I was offered a cabbie job tonight from my friends that own Bainbridge Taxi. I am contemplating this job. What do you all think? So many of you view this blog and never comment. Did you know that you dont have to have a google account to comment?
Drop me a line once in a while. I'd love some feedback on these topics.
On a lighter note, I shot some great photos of Mae and her brothers. She is so lucky to be so loved. They are always asking for me to take photos of her with them. I love these photos.
Hope this finds everyone safe, warm and happy.

Zoiks, foiled again!

How dare I state that I was looking forward to church today! That was counting my chickens before they hatched. Shouldn't I know better by now? I stayed up late getting all the church clothes washed, ready and laid out, prepared a scripture with Brennan for primary, made a cute little hair clip to go with Mae's dress, etc. Wouldn't you know it, right after barely falling asleep,....waaaaaaaaa. This "waaaa" reminds me of Mae's favorite song , "Put the baby to bed".
The baby is given everything, a blanket, a bottle, a binky, and after kissing the baby goodnight, the baby "waaaas". Anyhow, sorry, that was random, but I am tired. Back to the story. So......back to me barely falling asleep and being awoken. This was Rylan who had a night terror, who then woke up Mae with a runny nose who has been teething. She wouldn't settle at all last night. Poor girl.
Everytime I moved (yes she sleeps in my bed and yes, I know I deserve this) she woke up and wanted to nurse. I am not one who can sleep while nursing, thus....a sleepless night. I am just now up and checking emails and getting the Sunday roast in the oven. Today is Superbowl Sunday. I hate football. Hate it. Shane......LOVES it and waits all year for this game. He is lucky we have four sons that enjoy it as well. I can't wait to nap during it. So, that's my drama for today, so far. This is for my friends that are going to be wondering where the heck I was today.