Mmmm, Tea...

I know that sounds like a strange subject, but I am sitting here with a cup of warm peppermint tea,
and I tell ya,
-it tastes mighty good!

I can remember my mom had a nightly ritual: put a kettle on the stove, wait until it whistles,open up a Lipton black tea bag and put it in a mug, pour the steaming hot water over the bag and let it sit for a few minutes.
Then, the sugar, milk and saucer.

Oh yes, don't forget the cookies!

Good memories...

Don't Worry, Bee Happy!!!

Who says Halloween isn't in January...


Watch out for that stinger!

We Have to Push the Chairs in Now...

Yes, it's true, we have to push all of the chairs in under the table as of today.

Why? Miss Josalyn has learned to pull herself up onto the chair and go from a stomach crawl on the chair to a standing
position on top of the chair. But wait- she didn't stop there.

She is the first of my three children to actually step up onto the table and stand there, smiling proudly at me.

How do I know this? I watched her do it today, each step of the way thinking,
"I'm going to leave her alone and see how far she gets...she can't possibly-"

That is the last time I let that pass through my mind as far as she is concerned,(or my boys too! )

I Love My Moccasins!

Thank you Grandpa Bill and Grandma Pat!

Oh, and we all know that...


She does Rock!!!
Thank you Emmy and Kayah for the awesome shirt!

Here is my Husband...

Jammin' at the Press last Saturday night with his band,
The Stolen 58's...
(Drummers Rock!)

An Assortment of Topics

The T-Shirt was a gift from Grandpa Bill and Grandma Pat and reads,
"I didn't do it, Nobody saw me do it, I want to speak to my Grandpa..."
So appropriate...

It has been a few days since I have posted, so I have a variety:

-Josalyn is eating a Balance bar right now as she yells, "Bye" and runs away. I know she wants me to chase her because she peeks around the corner and smiles and says, "Mooooommmmmm!!!!!!!" in the loudest voice she can muster.
She is so INDEPENDENT!!!! Thank God I have more energy now to deal with her constant (and good) curiousity and sense of adventure.
Oh, did I mention that when I handed her the Balance bar she yelled, "NOOOOO!!!" Then I remembered that I broke off the top little bit and tried to give it to her, when she really wanted THE WHOLE BAR- I promptly gave her the bar and she ran away smiling, happy that I understood her and knew what she wanted. (I swear I wing it sometimes....)

Today Aaron tried out his Heely wheels for the first time. He was very brave and tried scooting around the driveway and promptly fell, skinned his knee and requested that the whole box of band-aids be brought outside.
I am so proud of him. He wanted to rest and try it again tomorrow.

Nolan also went to his first ice hockey game today with Dad and his friends the Genies. It was the Kings hosting the Sharks at the Staples Center. I asked him who he wanted to win and he said he was cheering for the Sharks.
Already blazing his own trail. Go Nolan!

On Friday, Gayle, Stacy and myself went for a hike up Potato Mountain.
Here is a description:
Potato Mountain: (EL. 3,360')
(Map USGS 7.5' Mt. Baldy)
4.5 miles round trip. Easy to Moderate.
Easy?!! The only thing easy about that hike was finding a parking space!
It was an exceptionally beautiful day: clear, cool but sunny out in the open, just a light layer of haze covering the valley.
I am looking forward to another hike.
Here are some pics...

It Happens Overnight

I was just talking with my sons about their day and how they spend their recesses. Nolan informed me that he and Aaron do get to play together, but Aaron can't play "tire tag" because he isn't a 2nd grader, only a 1st grader. Next year, Aaron can play tire tag, but not with Nolan.

"Why not?" I asked the boys.

"Because next year Nolan is a big kid," Aaron answered sweetly. "Yeah, I'm a big kid and 5th graders don't have recess with the little kids. Also, we don't have early lunch with the little kids." Nolan clarified.

I had to hold back the misty eyes.

"Wow, that's right, you will be a big kid next year," I said bravely.

At least for now they are still officially little kids. Although, they will always be my babies.

Things change and people grow up and grow older. I think my medical terminology teacher stated it very eloquently when he said in class today, "That's the thing about age, Something hurts all the time and all of it makes noise..."

We all laughed out loud.

Have you ever conquered a fear?

The other day I was cleaning out the garage... nothing major, just moving some boxes around.

I am DEATHLY afraid of black widow spiders... I get a physical reaction to even seeing them (rapid heartbeat, shivers, irrational thoughts like it will attack my face or something-)

I grabbed a picture that was covered with a blanket to move it, and I felt something hard on the soft part of my hand between my thumb and first finger. (yes, it was the spider)

I didn't know it was a black widow at first, until I saw it crawling away on the ground- to which I promptly responded by stepping on it.

But, in that brief moment I didn't freak out, didn't panic- I acted!
Now, I know in the larger scheme of things it isn't much, but it is comforting to know if you need that strength inside you it's there, accesible.

Sometimes conquering the little daily fears let you know that it is ok, and that it isn't so scary after all...

Tickle Fest with Monkey Bumps

Right now the kids (Nolan, Aaron and Kayah) are having a massive "tickle fest". What is this? Well, it's tackling Dad (Brian)
and giving him massive atomic wedgies with tickles and monkey bumps with the possibility of peeing your pants.

It sounds brutal, right?

They beg for more as they scream and run away.....

Picture link

This is a link to Flickr- it is a website where I have some pictures posted.
You have to register to view them, but it is free and they shouldn't spam you or anything.
I will try to add more pictures and photos soon.

-Hint: the link is the post title until I figure out how to put it in the body...-

Here is a picture of our sunset last night....

Kind of beautiful-

Many props and much love and thanks to my husband Brian

-for figuring out how to post pictures on this site!

He is the best, and is a pretty smart guy.
(he married me, didn't he!) hee hee
There should be some more pics pretty soon, hopefully.

Just a quick little note- in the picture below are my two sons at the General Patton Museum in Twenty Nine Palms.
We had to do a pit stop there to change a stinky on Little Jo, so we used it as a photo op also.

(Aaron was so excited to have his picture in front of the tank. He also took one with the Patton statue-pretty
cute, I'll try to get it up here soon.)

testing testing

testing a picture..

I Don't Know Why...

...I like this quote, but I do:

"You taught me to be nice, so nice that now I am so full of niceness, I have no sense of right and wrong, no outrage, no passion." ~Garrison Keillor

First of all, I think there is nothing wrong with being nice. I guess it depends on how you define the word. I think to be nice, you definitely need to know the difference between right and wrong. If you are doing something wrong, you aren't being very nice, but, maybe you are doing something wrong very nicely....

But then again, I can see how if you are too nice you lack outrage and passion.
Hopefully, being nice gives you a better perspective on what to be outraged about, and helps you enjoy what you are passionate about.

How about this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. :

"We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right."

Now that's nice....

Ah Yeah, Teethin' is fun ya'll!

Poor little Jo. She is cutting some major molars in the back and she's as bitchy as I am, except she can still get her sugar fix.

Thank God for tylenol and ice cream.

Funny day today. Aaron's door accidentally got locked and it was a funky door with a lock on the outside of it left by the previous owner. The "funny" part is we don't have the key. After a day full of Aaron worrying about his turtle locked inside, Mr. Stripe, Daddy B came home and pulled the knob off with some vice grips. He was amazing to watch-such dedication, yet gentle strength (hee hee). My niece Kayah, and nephew Kush were also excited about the unlocking process, and we all watched anxiously from the hall.
My sister in law Stacy tried a credit card and her keys, and although determined, nothing worked.

Finally, the knob broke off and all the kids ran in excitedly.

School starts tomorrow.

I built my raft

I think every planter around this house is now officially flooded. It poured and stormed, and not just a "California Storm" but a real winter, windy, chilly, face wet and cold storm!

I am on my first day of cutting down/ out the refined sugar in my diet. I am also cutting down on caffeine in hopes of eventually eliminating it. YES YOU HEARD ME! WHAT? NO I'M NOT CRANKY!!! j/k

What is the point of that? Better health and willpower will prevail.
Off to bed to dream about pastries.

Yappy Hew Near!

Hee Hee, My best friend forever and for life, Kathy and I use that to wish each other Happy New Year!
Whoo Hoo 2006. I think this year will be pretty spectacular.

Of course, I say that every year...

Tomorrow is the Rose Parade on Monday. I hope the folks get some great shots of their wheat grass on the Kaiser Permante float as it rides down the route.

It is pouring buckets right now, and I hope it lets up for the parade.