Awesome Owl Costume

How cute is my little Hoot?
This costume is made from fabric from a fabric sample book and a bit of left over fabric from her bat costume a few years back. I cut a gazillion triangles and hot glued them onto an old sweather I had sitting on a shelf.

Total cost about $3.00

Rapunzel....

Sela and I had an afternoon of crafting on Sunday. We were making things out of packing peanuts. We had a little piece and some yarn left... and a big piece of paper... so Sela said, "let's turn it into Rapunzel!"

Here is what we came up with. Sela drew most of it by herself. I added the tree, and some flowers. She asked me to write the words in the first quotation... the second quotation says, "Rapunzel, I'm coming!" Love my creative girl!!

Here are some of our packing peanut crafts....

A new year and a chance to start new goals!

What will 2011 bring?

What a wild ride 2010 was. I felt frantically busy thrugh most of it, and didn't care much for the pace.

This year I have some things I am going to commit to doing for myself:

Reconnect with friends - last year I wasn't much of a friend - between being a mom, keeping the nonprofit moving forward I let "me" fall by the wayside some.

Run. I miss my running... I miss the awesome ideas that would pop into my head when I was in the middle of a run.

Unplug more often. I am going to make more days be unplugged days. Emails can wait a bit.

Celebrate my kids more. Man - I have some great kiddos - I want to slow down and laugh more often with them.

Blog. I love to look back on my blog and remember moments that I blogged about. Especially family moments... my fav.

Cook from Scratch - we are trying to ditch all the food wrapped in plastic.... that means lots of meals from scratch.... yummy... but also requires some planning on my part.

Mark and I want to be in the best physical shape we can for his 50th b-day. My goal is to look like his MUCH younger wife - haha! :)

What will 2011 bring for you?

Early New Years Resolution

I will be blogging in 2011. :)

Eyes in the back of my head

My kids have believed for some time now that I have eyes in the back of my head. They can't figure out how I know wha they are doing when I am not looking right at them, so I offhandedly told them it was the eyes in the back of my head. Then one day Sela wants me to wear piggy tails... and I ask why.
She says, "So I can see the eyes in the back of your head!"

They keep moving my hair trying to catch a glimpse.

Sela even starts to ask me how I knew she was doing something, will catch herself, and say, "I Knoooww the eyes in the back of your head."

They are soo funny.

Recycled Crayon Valentines!

 

I saw a number of blog posts for recycling crayons recently, and one Make and Take that suggested Valentine's Cards... so we whipped these up for Zach and Sela to take for their Valentines cards. We used the gazillion restaurant crayons that they always HAVE to take, when we leave - which is better than tossing them - but I was thinking we would be buried in Red, Blue and Yellow crayons until this great project came along!


I used a silicone heart baking tray, we broke the crayons in pieces, heated them up to 300, watched them melt, pulled them out, let them cool, and repeated until we have 48 beautiful chunky crayons for their Valentines! Easy Peasy!

Zach's new Z Journal

 

Check out Zach's awesome journal and colored pencil holder that the ever-talented Cathy made for him for his Birthday. Zach decided to give money to Save the Whales, instead of getting gifts - but I know he still enjoys getting a few gifts, and this one was an extreme hit!

 

This was his first story in his Z Journal - let me translate, "
One upon a time there was a giant monster that eats girls. (Sela was bugging him that day, apparently!) Ir smashes houses and eats 50 girls fo a snack, it eats 1000 girls for meals, and sometimes for holidays it eats 10,000 in one day.

He thought he was pretty funny talking about a monster that eat girls.

 

This is Sela's Picture.
From Right to Left
Papa, Me, Sela, Nama, Anna, Uncle Tom, Mark, Sheba, and Zach
That would be God in the clouds looking over us.

Thank you Cathy for giving them such thoughtful and lovely gifts!

Zach's Birthday

Zach had an awesome birthday at reCREATE. We decorated rubberband propelled boats that my Dad cut out of scrap wood. Mark sanded and primed them, and we let the kids go to town! When they were done decorating we had a little boat race.... Zach won. He said, "The rules didn't say I couldn't give it a little push!"

It was his best birthday yet!

 

Our Little Entrepreneur

 

On Saturday, as Sela was cleaning up her room she came across a bunch of Hello Kitty rings she had left over from her birthday party. She got a piece of paper and asked me to help her "make a sign to sell them."

so She got paper and wrote out H (Upper case or lower case H?
E (uppercase or lower case E?...
L

Her sign said Hello Kitty Rings

Then she asked me to put a price of $2.00 each. I asked her is she meant 25 cents each. She said confidently, "No I want to sell them for $2.00 each."

"Who are you going to sell them to?", I asked.

"Little girls from around our neighborhood." (there are very few...)

So she set up shop, and waited patiently.

Zach came around with 50 cents Mark had given him to go buy a ring, and she happily lowered the price to sell one.
Then she sold Mark one for $.50, and me one for $.50. Then Mark asked if he could buy one more, and she said, "no. One is enough for you. I need them for the other little girls who are going to come by."

A bit later I asked if I could buy her inventory for $2.00 - and again - she said no. She would rather close up shop and keep her inventory for a different day!

I think I see a future in high end sales...

I Can Smell the Future!

Sela's imagination has been in overdrive lately, and she is keeping us laughing.

She told Zach and I the other day, "I am a witch you know. I can smell the future."
To which we broke out into hysterical laughter... maybe you had to be there... but Zach and I were impressed with her originality.

Last night I asked he who knew she was a witch.
"Just you guys, and my best friend Emily, and Miss Jennifer (her preschool teacher)."
"You told Miss Jennifer you were a witch?"
"MOM! She already knowed. She's a witch too!"

This comes on the heels of her telling Emily that Dr. Seuss is both her grandpa AND her doctor!

'Holiday Happenings at reCREATE

'The latest reCREATE newsletter....'

I can't believe I didn't post for so long

It was crazy busy in October...
I went to Austin Texas and met up with some old friends from High School, and ran my first half marathon... here we are the night before the run about to go see the bats fly out from under the bridge in Austin. They have one of the largest bat colonies there in the Western hemisphere!

I had an awesome time and just love my friends that I have been so lucky to reconnect with!

The run was HARD... it rained for the last 5 miles... REALLY rained. Despite that it was an amazing feeling to complete 13.1 miles.

Zach and I both got what ou doctors told us was H1N1 flu a bit later in October. It was ugly. It took is both a few weeks to get back to having any energy at all. We are all good now!

reCREATE opened! So much to say I will leave it for a separate post!

I am still alive... really...

424 kids going through reCREATE at their school this week.
1 Huge Fundraising event called Junk 2 Genius with the Davis Art Center on October 2nd.
1 reCREATE ART Center and reuse store slated to open October 17th.
1 Grand Opening Art Show October 24th - UnMASKing the Beauty of Trash.
2 beautiful children who really don't care about my other obligations
1 husband who I have asked too many times to help with reCREATE
1 very overwhelmed and tired person.
3 weeks until my half marathon

434 reasons I have NOT had my blog updated lately.

Rocket Camp - Launch Day

 

Launch Day for Rocket Camp was yesterday. Zach woke me up at 5:45.

Z - Mom the bus leaves at 6:00.
Me - No - it leaves at 9:00
Z - You are WRONG!! I am going to miss my launch.
Me - dragging out of BED - get the info paper and show him.
Z - The paper is wrong - they said 6:00 - we have to go! (He was MAD)
Me - Zach, you heard wrong, and when we get there and the bus is there - you are apologizing for getting so mad at me.

Driving up the the camp, bus parked in front.

Z - Sorry Mom - with a huge smile on his face.

The Launch was out at UC Davis.

Sela didn't like the sound when they launched... but once it was all over and Zach was running to pick up his rocket, Sela leans into me,and says, "Mama I love our running Zach." She was proud of her big brother (And glad it was over!)

Swimming Lessons

 

My poor kids HATE their swimming lessons... can you tell?? The pictures of Sela "telling jokes" on the side of the pool just crack me up.

Normal Day

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.

Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart.

Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.

Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so.

One day I shall dig my nails into the earth,

or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut,

or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.

~Mary Jean Irion

Too Young to Die...

Breezing through the posts on Facebook yesterday I came across a post from a high school friend. It was obvious she was shocked and hurt, having just found out about the death of a friend. I read it and felt sad, and thought - I hope that he had a nice life... and then a few minutes later I stopped cold in my chair and went back to her post. Paul Mclaughlin... I knew a Paul Mclaughlin. I quickly searched his name on Faceook, and linked onto the one that my friend was linked to, and scrolled his friend list. It didn't take long for me to sadly realize this was my old friend Paul. We had been out of touch for several years and yet he was one of the best people I've had the opportunity to cross paths with.
Back in my 20's, I remember meeting him - a crowded night at Dailey's Bar - his wit and sarcasm was blended perfectly with niceness. Our circles of friends intersected often enough that the lines blurred and became one. I remember I never spent time around him without laughing at myself, while at the same time never feeling like the butt of the joke. What I remember the most is taking him to a Sharks Game... and sitting outside the stadium after the game - having the most amazing talk about life. My friend Paul was not well - he had lupus - with many complications. And yet he had the most amazing outlook of anyone I knew. I remember not taking things for granted for a long time after that... until slowly his words faded, like a favorite old pair of jeans that get forgotten when the new ones get placed in the closet.
I'm sad I fell out of touch with Paul.... He was a marvelous person.

I have been thinking alot about my friend Thom Mannarino lately. His death still sits unsettled in my heart. I always thought I'd be an old woman drinking cocktails at my friend Jens house - listening to old Madonna, and reminiscing about our wild younger days. In that picture I always imagined Thom's laughter as Jen suggested something inappropriate.... that only she could get away with.

I miss you Thommy and Paul. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the memories and for the laughs and for the friendship.

Sela's Happy Art

 

Every doodle that Sela makes seems to have a smiley face on it. (Unless it is the No Brothers Allowed sign she made for her door - there ishe made Zach with a sad face) I guess we have a happy girl!

Dear Tooth Fairy

I lost my tooth. I think I might have swallowed it. I wonder if you have a tooth detector? I hope it is still possible to get a prize for my lost tooth. Thank you,
Love, Zach

PS.. Just a little tip... look in the toilet!

Tooth Fairy - Zach is telling the truth. Look in his mouth on the bottom. Signed Zach's Mommy.

Oh my boy is hilarious... We have had a day - he'd been worried ALL day about that tooth. He woke up realized it was gone and got all nervous. "My tummy hurts." "How will it come out?" "What about the tooth fairy?" "What am I going to do??!"

I'll post pictures of the smile with the hole tomorrow.

Hail Mary Passes and Plan B

I found out last week that we would likely NOT be getting the space we have been waiting on for 3 months - because of unforseen costs to build out the space. Last week I was feeling sorry for myself and MAD. I was mad that I had let this go on for 3 months without grabbing the bull by the horns and ro either make it work or walk away.
In less than an hour the Mayor and Asst. City Manager will be walking the space with me and the developer to see if they have any suggestions on how this deal could work. I know it is a Hail Mary Pass... I keep thinking about how Montana and how he always pulled things out in the last seconds of the game.... to win. Today though I feel more like I'm punting, and that my quarterback didn't play his best game,and is hoping for a miracle. We all know this is farther than I've punted before.
So chances are when the buzzer sounds in an hour - We'll be looking to win the next game - to find an alternative space and make THAT be the home of reCREATE.
So - I'll hold my chin up and go find plan B if I must. I have another friend looking for a plan B at the moment and I wish her all the best to find it. If the door slams shut, climb through the window!