Decorating

We got the Christmas tree up yesterday.  Also some trimmy stuff.  I am liking the decorations this year, and it is nice knowing they are not going to be torn down by a cat.  I got to work on my The "P" word poncho yesterday also.  I got the pattern from Loops, a yarn shop in Tulsa Ok.  In my opinion the best yarn shop ever.  I had made a sweater a couple of years ago and decided I would never wear it so I unraveled it and am making the poncho.  I will post before and after pictures after I am finished.  All in all we had a good week.  We saw two movies, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and Tangled.  Had deep fried turkey for Thanksgiving.  That was a very good day, and got the Christmas tree and much of the decorations up.  Very nice.   Anyway, I will go now. Nothing going on today.
TTFN

Monday

Well here we go again.  Deanna is doing much better since I started giving her Claratin.  But Devin still has a nasty cough and stuffy nose.  So he will be staying home today.  Duane also does not feel well so he will be staying home today as well.
On a up note I got Butterball turkeys for Thanksgiving.  Buy one get one free.  Yeah.  We are ready to fry.  I am so excited.  No pictures right now because I need to be getting the girls ready for school.  This is the last week before Thanksgiving break and the new Harry Potter movie opens this weekend.  We are all very excited.
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I'm back, I think

I know it has been almost forever since I have blogged.  It is not as if nothing has been going on but, I have just not had time to blog.  We had a really nice time in Oklahoma.  Stayed for almost 5 weeks.  It was really great seeing everyone.  I got a pattern for some fingerless mitts and made three pairs while on vacation.  I gave one pair to my niece Arran.  Since we have been back the kids have started school.  Devin is in 6th grade, Desirae is in 4th grade, and now Deanna is in Kindergarten.  So I have about 4 hours a day without children.  Woo hoo.

We got rid of Cali (our cat) about a week or so ago.  It has really lowered the stress level in the house.  And I am actually looking forward to decorating for Christmas this year.  Last year the cat systematically took down the decorations and took all the ornaments off the tree.  I ended up having to take the tree down two weeks before Christmas to save it from being totally destroyed.

I also got into a little kick where I was making little critters.  So I crocheted a little dragon.  I made one for each child.  And I knitted some little bed bugs.  I made three or four of those.  I still need to make one for me.

And the last thing I will mention today is that I cut my hair again.  Twice.  The picture is after the first time.  I then went back and had more cut off.  If anyone ever takes a picture of me with the really short hair I will post it.  So I hope I will keep up on this and not take so long between postes.
So, TTFN

Oklahoma

     Well, we are here at Gene's house now.  Mom and I went to Loop's an awesome yarn store in Tulsa yesterday and had a very nice time.  Deanna came with and was very good.  They have a play room in the back for kids and she played back there by herself the entire time we were there.  I got some lovely yarn and a pattern to use it for fingerless gloves.  I cant wait to start.  Then we went to Borders and got some books for Devin and Desirae.  I got them book one of three different series so they can see what they like.  We also got a floor puzzle of the USA for Deanna.  Then Mom came home with us and we had dinner and watched a movie. (Percy Jackson and The Olympians,  The Lightning Thief)  Then when I finally got the kids to bed the guy across the street started setting off fireworks.  And not just the little ones.   the ones that go way up and explode!  Awesome!!!  Then finally bed.  So, lets see that today holds for us.

Traveling

Yes, I know I have not blogged in forever.  The children spent three weeks with their Nana and then came back for The Fourth of July.  Now we are traveling to Oklahoma to visit family.  I planned on Yesterday being the long drive day so today and tomorrow shouldn't be that bad.  Only about 6 hours or so each.  We are also planning on trying to see a dinosaur museum in Tucumcary later today.  Last time through it was closed.  Anyway, now to get everyone up and moving.  So far, Devin is up and dressed.  The girls, not so much.  Onward.

Hosting coaches

Well, for the last week we were hosting coaches for British Soccer. We were only supposed to have one but they offered us two so I said sure. I am glad I did. We all really liked them both. It was a little sad that Duane was away most of the week and only was here for two dinners while they were here.

Besides coaching the little ones at soccer camp, they spent time playing with the kids in the back yard and doing crafts with them. We all sat at the dining room table doing perler beads and every time Dawn would finish one she would say Mommy I've finished one. Then I would iron it for her to keep or give away, whichever. Duane looked at the photo and said that Dawn looked like she could be one of ours. She fits right in. I think that after the kids have growing spurts Frankie will match with them because they will be tall like her. I t

hink it is impossible for Frankie to take a bad photo. The camera loves her.

Both of them were wonderful and the kids all miss them, and me too. They were unfailingly polite and sweet and always full of smiles and fun. We told them that they are always welcome here. And the kids got their addresses so they can write to them in England. All in all it was a very positive experience. And I would even consider doing it next year.

Tomorrow I am heading up to Donna's (Nana's) with the kids so they can spend some time with them this summer. It will be a little lonesome here without them. Maybe I will get some cleaning done.

The garden is coming along very well and we should be eating zucchini later this week. Yummy. I find the garden both relaxing and exciting. It is always neat seeing what is coming up. Anyway, back to getting everything ready for the road trip tomorrow. I have already gotten Devins hair cut.

TTFN

So, a few things going on. Devin and Desirae had their last day of school today, followed by a dentist appt. Do I know how to celebrate or what. Desirae and Devin both got sealant on their molars. Then Desirae got a floride treatment. To me that does not look that comfortable. But she was very good about everything. So I kept going back and forth between the two rooms they were in. And Deanna kept offering to let them clean her teeth again. She and I went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago.

We then stopped by Rite Aide and got ice cream for tonight and some little TY's as last day of school presents. Desirae got a skunk, Devin got a penguin, and Deanna got a flamingo. They were very happy.

I also finished the main body of a large bag I am knitting. I still need to do a rim on the bottom, flaps on the top and handles and maybe a couple of pockets for the end

s. Then the whole thing needs to be felted. This is the picture of the bag before felting. I am in the process of picking up a rediculous amount of stitches around the bottom. I think this is my least favorite part of the process.

Yesterday after the kids got home from school we all sat around the dining room table with a bunch of yarn I had and tried out my Clover pom pom makers. They all had a great time. After a bit Desirae decided to make dolls so I did that with her too. We did discover that making pom poms is addictive. I should take a picture of everyone holding all their pom poms and Desirae with her dolls. We were yarn crazy. I decided that even though I had a bunch of stuff to do I would just sit at the table with them and I really enjoyed myself. Cleaning the house can wait.

We heard from the guy in charge of the British Soccer Camp here in town today, we had offered to host a coach. So, he asked if we could take two coaches. They have two girls coaching and one of them has never been to America before. I guess Desirae is the only girl attending soccer camp whose parents offered to host a coach, and he thought she would really enjoy it. We are all excited. Anyway, that is all for now. I guess I would not have such a back log of things to say if I would just post every day but, oh well.

TTFN

Summer

I know I have not been very reliable with the whole blog thing, but it does seem that I always seem to have something else to do. The kids are almost out of school for the summer. They have today and tomorrow, they are off Monday for Memorial Day, and Tuesday and Wednesday are half days then no more until August. Starting on the 7th Desirae has soccer camp, and this year we have decided to host a coach. So one of the coaches from Britain will be staying with us for the week. I hope it will go well. I think Devin is looking forward to it more than Desirae. That week also Deanna has a pre-K class Monday, Wednesday and Friday for an hour. Today is her last day of Tiny Tots. Actually it is a pot luck, not really a class, kind of a play date at the park.

My step-brother Travis was here last night and I cooked spaghetti. From what he says he is a very picky eater (when did that happen) but he did eat. It was very nice to see him again. I think it has been about 20 years since I have seen him. The kids loved him. Sorry I did not torture him by taking pictures. Although I probably should have.

I do know that I am taking the kids to Oklahoma after the 4th of July but I do not know about the couple of weeks before that. We are having some last minute arrangements going on.

Also I am still unsure as to my schedule while we are in Oklahoma (sorry Mom). I have so much planned and so many people to see that I do not know when and where. Oh well, I will get it all figured out.

TTFN

Zoo and Mothers Day

I ment to write this Monday but did not get around to it. Saturday was the Girl Scout trip to the LA Zoo. It was alot of fun. The girls all behaved very well and we did get to see many very cool animals. The cool ties I made the girls went over well and they were always on the lookout for a water fountain so they could get them wet again. We showed up at the zoo at 10am when it opened and walked around until lunch. We had a picnic lunch at the play park at the far end of the zoo and had a little break, and the girls got to play for a little while. Than it was off for more animals. Desirae says she wants to go back with her brother and sister. (How sweet) We stayed until 4pm, then made the two hour trip home. All in all a nice day.

I just had to post a picture of the Giraffes. They are so pretty and they had their heads right near me.

Then on Sunday Duane and the kids took me to Best Buy and got me a Nintendo DSi XL. It is really cool. After that we went to Famous Dave's for lunch/dinner. Delicious as usual. I think Deanna won the grazer award trying everything on everyones plate. Finishing up with their pecan pie.

So on Tuesday we did the big Nintendo trade. I gave Devin my old DS and Devin gave Desirae his old DS and Desirae gave Deanna her DS. So now everyone has one (that wants one). Deanna is so happy. She has been stealing Desiraes every chance she gets for about 6 months now anyway.

And this weekend we are going camping at KQ ranch down near San Diego. I hope it goes well. Hopefully I will get some good photos to post before the next weekend.

I can't believe that school is almost over for the year. And that Deanna will be starting Kindergarten in the fall. Boy, time really does fly.

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Nothing

In case you can't tell from the title that is what I feel I am accomplishing. But in reality I have got a couple of things done. Duane and I rented a rototiller and tilled the garden last weekend. I have since then been working on getting things planned out and planted. So far I have gotten okra, corn, carrots, and squash (both zucchini and yellow) planted. I really do want to plant watermelon but I did not have much luck last year and cant seem to find space for it. I will have to think about that. The photo is after tilling and before planting.

So, this is the picture of how it looks about half an hour ago. I am thinking of planting beans in the far corner so I put up a little Tee Pee. I don't know. And I still haven't decided on placement for other things.

I am also having camera trouble so I am now using the camera I had before that Deanna "lost" for me. I don't know what happened to the other one. It is rattling but I did not drop it. It just won't turn off sometimes.

The Girl Scouts is having a trip to the LA Zoo on Saturday so I made each of the girls a cool tie. I purchased some at the Poppy Festival and they worked really well. Also the pattern looked pretty simple so I just made some off the ones I got there. We are hoping it will be a nice day. And now, back to making dinner. Hunkybunk. Which is cabbage, noodles and polish sausage all mixed together. Yum.

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Friday

Well, I hope everyone had a good Earth Day. I enjoyed it as it is one of the two days this week that I did not have to go into Lancaster or Palmdale. Monday was supposed to be for Deanna's physical so she can go to Kindergarten in the fall. But they did not do a hearing test and I did not know I had to bring a form from the school. So I had to go back on Wednesday and I found out that they had put in her records that the test was done even though it was not. Cheaters. They also decided she needed a more current TB test so they did that on her arm, and did the hearing test for real this time. That means that we had to go back into town today to get the test read and as long as I was going I got a copy of her birth certificate, which was way easier than I thought it would be. So the only thing she needs now is a dental exam and we are all done. Yeah!

Tomorrow is the Poppy Festival in Lancaster and I am really looking forward to going. In particular I like this place there called Rainbow Tie-dyes. I want to get a sweat shirt and a shirt for Duane with a tie-dye guitar on it. Last year Desirae and I went by ourselves so it will be excited to go with everyone.

I just got the lawn mowed today and I have realized that I need to get another fertilizer spreader. I now have streaks on the lawn from when I put weed and feed on the lawn a couple of weeks ago. My lawn is now green with yellow-green stripes. And the yellow-green parts still have weeds and clover in it. I am not sure what to do about that. Maybe something will come to me. Sorry no pictures today. I should take one of my slightly sad lawn but am now too tired to do it.

TTFN

Weekend

Well, as seems to be usual I have not blogged. But on the knitting front I have made a washcloth. It is supposed to have the starship Enterprise, but it doesn't look right to me. You be the judge. You have to look real hard.

So this weekend Duane's Mom, Donna and Max came down to celebrate the kids birthdays. Yes we all know it is very late. Anyway, Duane and Max decided to go down to LA and visit some camera stores and Donna and I were going to just spend the day with the kids. As we were talking it turned into, Hey, why cant we go do something too. So we took the kids to see "How to Train your Dragon" in 3-D. I must say it was awesome. Now the kids want to see it again right now and can't wait for it to come out on DVD. After the movie we decided to go to McDonalds. Their toys were from the movie. So here are a couple of pictures of that.

The kid place was not accessible for Devin. So he and Donna played with the toys while Desirae and Deanna played in the structure.

After that we went to Wal-mart to get a toy for Deanna and then on to Best Buy to get video games for Devin and Desirae. All followed up by meeting up with Duane and Max for dinner at Famous Dave's where we all ate way too much. Their "All-American Feast" is AWESOME. So we all had a really great day. And the kids were very happy. Saddly enough upon looking at my blog pictures right now I do seem to have added the photo of the girls with Deanna's nose pressed to the plastic bubble. Oh well, I'm not changing it now.

So, Deanna has Tiny Tots at 10 today. She really loves going. And I am really looking forward to the Poppy Festival this weekend. I will try to keep posting.

Oh, I almost forgot. Deanna has her physical yesterday and she is in the 70 percentile for height. But she is dead on for weight. Go figure. And she is totally healthy. So while Deanna is at Tiny Tots today I will be going to the High School to get the paperwork to get her signed up for Kindergarden. How exciting.

TTFN

New Curtains

Well, I finished the curtains yesterday. The kids love them which is a good thing. During the day when you turn the lights off in Devins room the planets seem to glow.

And in Desirae and Deanna's room the water glows. So they are pretty happy. I am still considering making tie backs for the curtains but I don't know.

Deanna seems to be a little better today. The coughing is less. So yeah, no doctor trip. Also the weather is improving and will be warmer today and still warmer tomorrow. So maybe we can go outside a little. But as long as Deanna is on that one cough medicine she will need to use an umbrella to protect herself from the sun.

Desirae is making little dolls out of colored clothespins. They are very cute and she makes their clothes out of pieces of felt. I would like to get back to working on my large knitted tote bag just to relax but unfortunately the laundry and the kitchen calls. So, to work with me.

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Easter and Curtains

Well, I have started the curtains for the kids rooms. The space fabric is for Devins room and the jungle print is for Desirae and Deanna's room. The other day I got the panels cut out and the sides ironed and folded for the side hems, so now I need to sew those then do the top curtain slot and ruffle and the bottom hem and viola curtains. They will probably not keep out the light but will give the kids some privacy. Cali has kind of destroyed their blinds in their rooms. Especially the girls rooms.

The kids had a nice Easter. The Easter Bunny was very cooperative and hid the eggs inside the house so the kids did not have to go out in the wind on the just fertilized grass. Desirae was the only one who actually ate enough candy to feel sick. But she is better now. Easter does have the best candy. I personally love the chocolate covered marshmallow eggs.

We were supposed to go to the poppy fields today with a friend to see the poppys and visit but everyone does not feel well. So maybe later this week. It is rainy and windy today anyway and the poppy's go to sleep when the sun isn't on them. And if Deanna keeps coughing I will have to take her back to the doctor tomorrow anyway. How fun.

Anyway, when I get the curtains done and hung I will post another picture.

TTFN

Michelle's visit

It has been really nice having Michelle, Fred and the kids here to visit. All the kids really seemed to love the Lego's. As Duane would say it was liked the beaches of Normandy in Legos. I am still finding them everywhere. They were each building their own things out of all the ones we have. And Devin even got out all his Legos from all his Star Wars Legos sets. Quite a mess

I also finished Devins knitted turtle. I

only had to start him twice. The first time I made an error reading the pattern and had to tink back. But before I could get started again little Isaac decided that my purple knitting needles looked so neat that he had to have one. Unfortunately he wanted the one with the knitting on it and decided it did not need that yarn on it. Oh well. Try, try again. I do think he turned out very cute. I had seen another version with a smaller head on Ravelry but I need to find the smaller head pattern. The pattern is Tiny Turtle, by Raynor Gellatly.

Michelle brought ice cream and root beer and made root beer floats for all the children.

They were a big hit. Especially in the huge glasses we used. Rachael was the big helper on that one and afterwords they all went back outside to run off all that sugar. I now have two huge holes in the back yard. Once I talk Duane into getting me a cherry tree it will have a nice home just waiting for it. I think the other hole was just a trial hole. Although it is about 3 feet deep it is only about a foot wide. Deanna likes to hide in it. Lets see, what else. I just uploaded my photos from the visit and so am now blogging and looking at the photos.

I tried to get everyone together for a group shot

it did not work out very well. Isaac was not in the

mood as he apparently was in need of a diaper

Anyway, they packed up the car and van yesterday morning and off they went. Hopefully to have a safe trip. As of 9:30 this morning they were on the road and still in Arizona. Hopefully they will be in Texas tonight and then on to their destination tomorrow. And speaking as one who knows it is a very long drive.

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A busy day

Well, I was going to go to bed but decided to blog a tiny bit. Michelle and family are here and the children are enjoying playing with each other. They played outside and inside. It seems that Devin, Desirae, and Deanna are getting colds. I just hope they are not bad. Some of Michelle's kids have colds too.

I have been working on Devin's little knit turtle and with a little help from little fingers had to start over once. My fault for leaving it on the coffee table. But I am now done knitting the shell and tomorrow will sew it up and stuff it. Then it is on to the head and four little feet. I think he will be very cute.

Cali is finally getting used to the company. She hides when she wants to be left alone. Although her habit of starring in peoples faces is a little disconcerting to the kids and makes Michelle wonder.

The spaghetti was a hit and I still have leftovers, which will make good lunches for me and Deanna next week. I am having trouble judging how much food to make as I am not used to cooking for 13 people of all ages.

Oh, yes. I got my brakes fixed today. They had to replace the pads on the front brakes and the shoes on the back brakes. Dino said the back ones were almost down to the metal. It was a little more expensive than we were hoping, but if you are going to drive it is always good to be able to stop. Before my brother-in-law left me after dropping me at the shop he followed me to the street to make sure they worked. I will not miss the squeaking.

Duane is enjoying his weekend away spending time with his friend and doing photography stuff. He needed to get away. Unfortunately he seems to have hurt his back a couple of days ago which is kind of putting a damper in his fun. But he seems to be determined to enjoy himself anyway. That's the spirit. I am going to bed now. It has been a long day.

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Another day

So, today I visited Michelle, Fred and children. I was only able to stay for a couple of hours but I was only actually there to pick up some stuff. Now to get ready for them to get here tomorrow. I am looking forward to them coming and staying but I am not looking forward to them leaving California next week. Oh well. As I have been reminded of recently you should enjoy the people you love while they are here.

On another note Devin is back to getting on to me to knit him a turtle. We found patterns for them a couple of weeks ago but with everything going on it kind of got put on the back burner. Now he wants me to start it. And he is reading over my shoulder right now. So I think I will go and look for the appropriate yarn and see what I can do before he blows a gasket.

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New Blog

Well, I am trying out this blog thing. As of today all my visiting family has gone back to their homes. Although I don't think they have reached them yet. I am really going to miss them. It was really great to see everyone again and to get to know my new sister in law Libby. I absolutely adore her. I thanked Brad for getting me such a wonderful sister in law. I know he got her just for me. I miss them already, and can't wait to see them again. So now I am getting ready for my sister Michelle and her family to come by on their way back to Missouri where they live with Uncle Gary. They will be staying for five or six days. I probably should mention it to Devin, Desirae, and Deanna. They will be so excited. Anyway, back to getting the house cleaned up again. Why oh why doesn't it just stay clean? It would make things much easier.

TTFN