Freecycle This Island is up and running!

Due to our current freecycle moderators power hungry attitude which includes refusing to post because of lack of capitalization, I have decided that I have had it! I was one of the very first members of freecycle 5 years ago. As in, one of the first 10 members. Ken, the moderator, hired by owner and friend of mine, Elaine, has gotten out of control with his denials of postings.
Anyhow, after being deleted, yes deleted from the group because I posted two "wanteds" in a row, I decided to start yet another group. This is in addition to my "islandmom2mom" group and being moderator to "Bainbridge Island online yard sale". So to join, please click that groovy little button to the right or below and help us grow!

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MJ phone home, or to Haley at least.

She sees the phone and reaches for it.



She dials Haley's number. Well, not really but wouldn't that be awesome? Actually maybe not after remembering Rylan's 911 call a couple of days ago.
Look at that smile when she hears Haley's voice.

Sorry Mae. Haley has to go! Parting is such sweet sorrow. We love you Haley!

I just have to post these photos for my 17 year old sister Haley. Mae loves to call Haley on the phone. Haley sits and talks to her and Mae giggles the whole time. They have been having these conversations ever since Mae was about 9 months old. I took these photos today while Mae was fussing to call her auntie. Since Haley is the only one that Mae talks to on the phone, I know when she wants to call her. She hands me the phone and says "hello, hello", to call Haley. As soon as Haley answers, Mae gets the biggest smile on her face.

By the way....this is what hubby made for dinner tonight and I was so impressed. He is really getting good at cooking. Ravioli with home made marinara and fresh grated Parmesan. Yummy!

Sunday Sluys, sorry you gluten free sacramenters!

My husband and I joke that he isn't the most thoughtful man, but then he does something like this that just melts me. Yesterday afternoon, we decided that today we would have to miss out on church. Just being out and about yesterday in regular pants, irritated my stitches and caused quite a bit of pain afterwards. That and Shane's back was feeling pretty bad after helping a friend dig a trench all day on Friday. So...we decided to take today just to rest. Thinking ahead, Shane went to Sluys yesterday and bought a dozen doughnuts, without any of us knowing. This morning, right after we woke up, Shane came into our room holding this beautiful box of Sluys doughnuts. Sluys is a locally owned bakery that is famous for it's doughnuts. Here is a photo of the doughnuts as soon as Shane put them on our bed. Mae is amazed. Although she has never had a doughnut, look at that face as she recognizes the chocolate!



Below is a photo of the doughnuts about 3 seconds after they were sat down.
Rylan in sugary bliss. He took a bite of each flavor of doughnut. I figure, that they all add up to one doughnut. Speaking of, how cool would that be to invent a doughnut that is a mix of all the different doughnuts?? You heard it here first!
Nathan and Myron are both absent today. Being good friends with both of their best friends families has advantages. They were more than happy to have the boys over for the weekend.
Although I miss them terribly, it gives them a nice break from the boredom of home while mom is getting better.
Missy Mae on her 3rd doughnut. She only liked to lick the frosting off. Look at those eyes!
That's all for now. I'm turning on the BYU channel to get some sort of spiritual enlightenment today since I am missing church.
Sorry to all of you who are having nothing but gluten free bread for sacrament. For those that don't know, in our church we take bread and water to symbolize the body and blood of christ. Because of a few people in our ward that have gluten allergies, our bishopric decided that we would have gluten free bread instead of regular bread. This has resulted in some funny faces during sacrament. My kids especially. I have to force the little ones to keep it in their mouths. Their first instinct is to spit it out!
Bye for now!

Ding dong, the TV's dead

Well, once again, I have done away with the television. Above is proof for you skeptics! It's always about this time of year and lasts off and on until summer time. This time I am committed to only watching tv when it is a family movie night. This is a big deal considering that I have been watching so many films this past summer. Familiar patterns return and I am back into reading. This first week I have finished 3 books that I started reading at the beginning of summer and just attended the library book sale today to claim a few more. I have also been obsessed with making toys for Rylan and Mae. Myron attended a Waldorf school a couple of years ago and Rylan took a Waldorf parent tot class. It was so inspiring and yet, I fell out of the groove for a while. I bought this really great book called " Creative Play" (see photo) that is inspired by Rudolph Steiner's Waldorf philosophies. I have been sewing and felting incessantly for the past few days. It is so rewarding to make something for the kids and have them be so excited. This week I worked on little felt people and felt floor puppets, wooden rails, wool pig and bird, and a baby doll. It is so fun to sit on the floor with Rylan and Mae and tell them a story and have them tell me one in their own words.


Today was a beautiful Saturday day. Shane and I hit a friends yard sale and scored a free standing hammock (sorry Michelle!) and a beautiful medicine cabinet for the bathroom. Then by pure luck it just happened to be my favorite thing in the world today. The library book sale!!!
My score for today was an old 30's class ic Aesop Fables book. I can't wait to read it to the kids tonight. After that, I went to pick up a down comforter that someone was selling and I was wanting....real bad. I am lying in it's pillowy warmth right now in fact and loving every minute of it. So, to sum it all up.....no tv, but down comforter and books. I'll take it!
Oh, and this sweet little clean something or other that I like to call Mae.

She's just being happy and another one of my favorite things is these happy moments.
Happy Saturday!

Adventures in mommyhood, the 911 call.

Phone ringing-
Me: Rylan, where's the phone, Rylan? Rylan?
(Rylan is hiding somewhere)
Person on phone- 911 operator, I am responding to a hang up phone call
Me: Rylan! Um, it must of been my son, where is that *&^* kid! Um, I didn't even realize that he knew how to dial 911, smart kid! I mean.....no, he shouldn't of called, I am so sorry, everything is fine. Yes, I can speak freely, it was my 4 year old. No, you don't need to send someone over.
Thank you, goodbye.
Me: (yelling) RYLAN! You called 911??? Who taught you, why, how, when??
Rylan: I just learned by myself. I had a tummy ache. I think the ambulance needs to fix me.

Okay, at this point I have totally melted and think this is the cutest thing ever. I can't help but give him lots of cuddles. Ever since I had to take the ambulance to the hospital for my gall bladder attack, and then had to have surgery, he has been such the concerned yet fascinated child. After about 10 minutes of cuddles and giggles, here is who showed up at the door.
Not the best photo. Sorry officer. Seriously, I could have answered the door "hi OCCIFER" on account of the pain pills, but I just don't think the visit would have ended the same way. As in, him leaving. He was kind and explained to Rylan that it is important to be able to call 911 but not unless it is an emergency. Rylan was shy and hid behind me the entire conversation.
Thank you officer...what's his name (didn't ask). He was a great sport and something tells me that Rylan won't be calling again unless he absolutely has to. I love days like this. It reminds me of why I love being a mom. There are far more laughs than cries and that life with kids is never boring. By the way...it wasn't even 10 am yet!
Ciao!

9-11

I can't let today go by without talking about the events that happened on 9/11. It is still an eery day in our history and I don't think a single person can't recall where they were when the planes hit the two towers. I was in bed sleeping when a friend from England called to see if I was okay. I sat up, turned on the television and watched in horror as one of the twin towers was on fire. They were talking about a plane crashing into it and as if that wasn't horror enough, I watched live as the second plane hit the second tower. Your mind doesn't want to believe what it is seeing. Kind of like the 7.4 earthquake that hit here right before. You just cannot fathom that the earth would move. Your nice steady world, being shaken up without your control or understanding. At that point, no one could see the good that would come out of it. Some still shake their heads in disagreement but since then, I have never been so proud to be an American. We were and still are disconnected from each other. It is so easy to hurt someone that we can justify saying that we don't know. That day in history, we were all targeted, thus we as a country banded together to support and help one another. That day in history we realized that we are all the same. Americans.
Peace.

Still.......yuck!

My expectations for recovery were a bit too high. I assumed that I would get to rest and then would be up and around today. Wrong. I underestimated the power of 5 children. Today was a half day. Yesterday I thought it a great blessing to have the older kids home today to help out. Instead, they kept running into my room because of a fight or question. So, here I am, in more pain than yesterday, exhausted and awnry. Shane is trying to hang in there, but he doesn't understand that if I don't rest, it will take longer for me to heal. It is just no fun when mom gets sick. I had to take Brennan and Noah to football practice tonight because Noah's mom had an emergency at work. I am not supposed to be driving yet, but really needed to get them there. On my way home, I was trying to think of who's house I could go to to take a nap and not be bothered. My family thinks that if I am lying in bed, that's resting. It is not resting if they are all jumping on me, wanting cuddles, help with homework, a judge for their fights etc! Anyhow, it is quiet out in the livingroom and I think I can get a good 1/2 hour nap in before Bren gets home from practice.
It's nice to vent!
Ciao