A breath of fresh air

My friend B. (yes, that's H.'s DH) and I went hiking up in the mountains today. It's supposed to be a strenuous hike, due to the steep inline - basically, you gain more than a vertical mile. We had to abort early, for medical reasons, but I still got some pictures!!! And on the bright side - we didn't get attacked by any bears or get lost! =)

And perhaps best of all - check this out!!! I found this fellow under the second rock I overturned. VERY COOL! I'd never seen a scorpion in its natural state (always dead with a pin through it or on display at a zoo). I wish I'd brought something to bring it home to show Marika, but she was happy with the picture...

Grandma's Little Helpers

Grandma lets the girls do all sorts of things I don't - like... prepare a sashimi dinner and washing dishes! It just makes me too nervous to let them "help" like that, but they had a ball helping Grandma. I have to admit, they did a fantastic job with the sashimi - although... somebody was hiding all the little shrimp under the fish... hmmm...

While Mika was in school, Marika took Grandma out for a bike ride. They both came back in one piece, so I was pretty happy about that! Don't they look stylish???

We went to a new storytime on Friday, too. Ms. Aimmee was one of the original storytellers at the local library, before she got a new job. Since we stay in touch with her, we were delighted to hear that she was starting a new storytime (the girls can't go to the others, now that they are both in school). Fortunately and unfortunately, the girls were the only ones there for the first one, but hopefully other kids will show up over time! They had a great time anyhow - and got to do apple crafts at the end...

Rise and Shine!

I'm taking the week off from running (to give my old joints a break), but the problem with biking (when you don't have a light) is that it has to be bright enough outside so you don't get run over by a car. The best part of biking, though, is to watch the sun rise...

The shot on the left was taken at about 6:10 am... the one on the right about 5 minutes later. I actually had to go home just before the official sunrise (said to be 6:42 am), but the most fantastic part really, is the early stages. The mountains are a gorgeous backdrop and seeing the pink and yellow colors streaking against the sky... breath-taking! How can anybody's morning start off badly after seeing this?

It was another day of volunteering today - Marika's school celebrated their "Fall Fling", where it was all about apples and pumpkins. I was at the "Apple Math" table, where kids made apples and drew apple seeds. The festival didn't end until 11 am or so, so I helped out in the classroom (it made no sense to drive home for 10 minutes, before having to drive back again). Once again, the preschoolers were very sweet and very cooperative while we worked on their paint projects. They're neater than kindergarteners and so much kinder to parent volunteers!

This list hanging in the classroom made me laugh. The teacher asked them for words that start with "C" or "D". You can see what it's on their adorable little minds...

And last but not least - Grandma's here! She's been traveling around (again) for the past month so the girls were pleasantly surprised and happy to see her. They even helped Grandma prepare a sashimi dinner and Grandma let them wash the dishes (I'll admit it, I was holding my breath the whole time, but nothing disastrous happened).

On the bad side... another local fire was brewing this morning (3 miles or so away) and Grandma said she saw something else brewing on the horizon when she arrived this afternoon. This area certainly has enough problems to deal with, without having to worry about fires (especially those set by arsonists). *sigh*

A Day in the Life of a Preschooler

I never volunteered when Mika was in preschool, since I was afraid it would have been too difficult with a 2-year old Marika by my side. This year, however, I promised Marika I'd help out. Today was my first day to get a glimpse of "a day in the life of Marika at preschool".


It was fun to see her interacting with other children and the teacher. She was definitely more interactive and sociable than I had expected (which was great!) and seemed to listen quite well. I like her teacher and think she does a good job of trying to teach them things and maintaining classroom order (never an easy feat).

Today, it was my job to help the kids paint their handprints for their Christmas presents to the family. I was surprised at how sweet and quiet the preschoolers were - it was so easy to work with them! Helping out last year in Mika's kindergarten classroom was definitely much more work and sometimes quite stressful. Who knew one year could make such a big difference?

Sadly, I can't volunteer in Mika's classroom this year because I can't bring Marika with me. So, at least once a week we take a pile of materials from the teacher and help collate assignments. Marika, ever my sweet and faithful little helper (and sorely disappointed that we can't help out in her big sister's classroom), insists on being my automated stapling machine.

Daddy Dude had to work last weekend, so we kept things pretty mellow. Sunday was "game" day - I played soccer in the morning and was happy that the ref did not threaten to throw me out this time. In the game before ours, I heard that the ref (the same one who ruined my day last week) actually carded somebody who slid (like I had last week) two times and threw her out! I still can't believe it - I just can't. At any rate, we ended up forfeiting on a technicality and lost 1-0 to the team that will probably be the 1st place finishers (again).

In the afternoon, we went to Daddy Dude's game. The girls enjoyed the chance to parade around with their umbrellas (as their parasols). It was a very exciting game, but unfortunately, it was a painful loss - Daddy Dude's team had to relinquish their first place status back to the other team. *sigh*. Daddy Dude finished the season batting just under 0.300 but was on the leader board (top 10) for top RBI's within the league. Pretty cool, eh? He made three fantastic outs (with dramatic flair!) at third base - I was so proud!

Supplies: cardstock (Bazzill, DCWV), patterned paper (DCWV), diecuts (Quickutz)

I didn't get any "alone" time today (and won't on Thursday, either) but was able to finish a layout over the past few days. This is based on a Becky Higgins' sketch for 11 photos (I was glad to get so many photos on the page but not particularly happy that there wasn't much room to do anything else). We enjoy spending several of the major holidays throughout the year with our very good friends and July 4th was certainly no exception. Who knew I could find paper to match H.'s patriotic strawberries? =)

Happiness is... not just a warm puppy!

Daddy Dude had to work in the morning, so the girls and I headed off to an errand before going to the library for a book sale. Fifty cents sure can't buy very much anymore, but it still can buy some smiles...


Then it was off to library. On Tuesday, each book was $6 but by today, everything was only $2! We just discovered that they had a used book store downstairs - once our membership kicks in, everything is half-off the already low prices and we'll go back for more books. They're having a book bag sale in a couple of weeks (fill up a bag for $3!). Can you tell I love books??? We try to stretch our dollars during this dismal economy... (and besides, it's basically a donation to the library).

It's pretty toasty over here, but the girls enjoyed spending the entire afternoon outside playing in their little plastic pool. Then Daddy Dude turned on the sprinklers and their day got even better.

Remember when little moments like that really made you happy - when you were little? =)

Double Trouble

Supplies: patterned paper (Me & My Big Ideas), diecut letters (MAMBI), epoxy stickers (Joann's), stamp (Autumn Leaves), white embossing powder (Hero Arts), white pen (Uniball Signo), ink (Versacolor)

My sister-in-law once told me never to dress my girls in matching clothes. We were very careful to heed her advice, since she had suffered through this during her childhood. You could imagine our surprise when she started giving our girls matching clothes! She said she just couldn't resist. Well, at least she has good taste in clothes... =)

This summer especially, the girls LOVE to match. It's not our doing, really! I love that they're so close and love each other so much... hope it lasts forever! I can't tell you how many times people have come up to us and asked, "are they twins?" Whuh?! Usually, of course, the girls are sitting down when people ask (otherwise the height difference is a dead giveaway!),

Let's see how long this phase lasts...

Happiness is a cancelled meeting!

As time goes on, Daddy Dude gets more responsibilities at work and ends up working longer and later hours. It's just a fact of life, but it's a little more depressing as the days get shorter and the evenings get darker earlier. So, we were delighted when Daddy Dude paged that his evening meeting had been cancelled and he'd be able to have dinner with us, after all!

Well, he still didn't get home until about 7 pm but he was home! We went to the local fast food Chinese restaurant for "2 Buck Tuesday". I know, I know... sounds a little scary but the food is decent and the portions good-sized (leftovers for a few days!). The girls love coming here and couldn't wait for Daddy Dude to come back with the food...

After Mika finished her homework yesterday, it was craft time! Yay! The girls made princess crowns, necklaces and bracelets before they worked on making Perler bead alphabet letters. Marika's just starting to read from books and very excited about it, so we're taking advantage of that to work extra hard on sight words.

And let's face it - melting Perler beads is about the only time I ever use the iron!

I also almost called the police last night, because I couldn't find Marika. No, she hadn't left the house. She has the ability to fall asleep anywhere, so after running around the house for at least 10-15 minutes and screaming for her at the top of my lungs, I finally found her - fast asleep, of course - underneath her bed! I was really panicking, because I didn't think she'd left the house and couldn't believe anybody had managed to enter the house without my knowledge! I think I lost a year of my life because of those moments...

Some sad news this morning, though - the local newspaper reported that a plane (experimental kit) crashed a couple of blocks from here. The local airport (just behind us) had had an unusually bad string of luck over the past year. Two planes whose flights originated from there have crashed and this last plane was less than a mile from the runway to land.

Trying to look at the beautiful side of things...

I've had quite a few headaches over the past week (some issues not getting resolved either), so it was nice to sit back and enjoy watching Marika play at the park this morning. The day was kind of overcast and almost cool (*gasp*). It was just one of those few moments when you could actually forget your troubles and just watch the beauty of what was in front of you - and that's one of the greatest joys of being a stay-at-home mom - enjoying the experience of being a mom and watching your children develop.

Even though Marika was alone at the park, I am glad she can entertain herself. Obviously, she enjoys her time on the swing (whether it be "back and forth" or "round and round") and "hanging out". She's a little monkey like I was growing up, which greatly amuses me.

Supplies: patterned paper (Jillibean Soup), cardstock (red - Bazzill Basics, white - The Paper Company), journaling sprouts (Jillibean Soup), ribbon (Offray), ink (Cateye chalk ink), diecut title (Quickutz), backpack sticker (Paper Bliss), heart brads (Recollections), mini pop dots (All Night Media)

I was checking out my friend scrapper al's blog this afternoon when read that Jillibean was sponsoring a sketch challenge. Now, you KNOW I love sketches and I love challenges, so despite the lateness of learning about it, I whipped out a layout. Jillibean papers are colorful and happy (which I love!) and the sketch was a really great one. I'd been waiting for a good idea in order to create a layout celebrating Mika's return to school. I wish I'd purchased more Jillibean products at my favorite scrapbooking store before they ran out! Between this layout and the last one I made, I'm almost out!

*Yawn*

It has been a busy week - somehow, we're always a bit tired after a holiday weekend...

Yesterday Marika and I went to the library. I thought these Thing 1 and Thing 2 dolls were absolutely adorable! I tried to convince the girls they should be Thing 1 and Thing 2 for Halloween, but the idea didn't seem to stick. Too bad!

On the bright side, Marika is starting to read books on her own. She has been able to sound out words for a long time now, but didn't seem motivated to read sentences. For some reason, she now seems ready - and was very excited to be able to read short books (8 pages, with a few words on each page). She's been reading from those books every chance she gets! We'll have to go back to the library for more books sooner than later...

This was Marika's recent work from preschool... compared to the other children's work, we were very pleased to see that her car actually looks like a car! Must have been that Lightning McQueen influence... ;)

After Mika is done with her classwork, she's allow to draw on the back of her worksheet until time is called. Usually she draws pictures but today, she came home with... the lyrics to the Scooby Doo theme song! I was impressed with how much she remembered, but I hope she didn't start singing aloud in class!

And here's a recent drawing of our family (by Mika)... I guess we're three princesses with one king... =)

Supplies: patterned paper (KI Memories), cardstock (Bazzill), cardstock sticker and diecut sentiment (Making Memories), acrylic letters (KI Memories), ribbon (KI Memories), gel flowers (Heidi Swapp), rhinestones (The Paper Studio), diecut brackets (Quickutz)

And here's my layout from today's "alone" time (another Page Maps sketch - I love those!). Can you tell Marika loves ladybugs? =)

Running in My Rolls Royce (Shoes)

A couple of days ago, when my friend H. and I were cattily discussing somebody's questionable attire, I casually remarked that her fashion faux pas seemed especially horrific because she was around my age. "No", said H., not meaning any offense (I think!), "...she was young".

Ouch. But true, I guess. My father always believed that you're only as old as you feel - in my heart, I feel like I'm 23 (on a good day) or 30 (a bad day) - but never older. If I was alive during the cave man era, though, I suppose I'd be lucky to be alive... and perhaps considered one of the "village elders". What a thought, right? =)

So, I'm slowly coming to grips that apparently - despite my very best efforts - I'm getting old. I'm starting to wonder if the body is going out, too. Since March, I've put a few hundred miles on my running shoes. However, a couple of weeks ago, my knees and hips started screaming in pain when I ran, leading me to the conclusion that I was in dire need of new running shoes - or a new body.

Since the latter was impossible, I opted for new running shoes. We trekked over to the Nike Factory Outlet store after the fair and took a look. Now, if you're like me and have smaller-than-average feet, you're forced to shop based on what's available, not on what you like. There were only TWO styles of shoes in my size. The first pair felt W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L - like a soft velvet glove cushioning my foot. The second pair - eh, NOT! Other than the huge price gap, I wasn't sure what the difference was so we tracked down a salesperson. The first pair was, in his words, "as far as Nike is concerned, that is the 'Rolls Royce' of running shoes". The other pair, apparently, was just your basic cross-training shoe.

Oh. Despite never having spent so much on a pair of shoes E-V-E-R (and I've bought a lot of shoes!), it was a no-brainer to buy the Rolls Royce shoes. Pain... or no pain??? DOH!

I'm pleased to report that I took the Rolls Royce out this morning and they felt good! Five point five miles... no problem! =) Well, okay... so my leg joints groaned for the first half-mile, but afterwards, it was fine. Whew! Soccer season starts this Sunday so I've got to stay in shape...

And here's a girl who faithfully loves her guinea pig. Every Tuesday after school, Marika picks all visible dandelions before we come home. She'd do it on Thursday, too, but the school grounds get mowed that day during class. Daisy just LOVES the dandelions and runs to the front of the cage whenever those gifts are bestowed... now that's guinea pig love!

Supplies: patterned paper (JilliBean), diecut journaling block (JilliBean), patterned tape (Heidi Swapp), diecut flourish and scalloped flowers (Quickutz), pen (American Crafts), stamp (Technique Tuesday), ink (Memories, Inc.), epoxy sticker (Sonnets)

And here's my layout for today's "alone time"... the girls just love their new pool! I love how mature Mika looks here... perhaps a glimpse at what she'll look like as a teenager!

A Day at the Fair

We hadn't planned on having an exciting Sunday, but when we heard that early bird admission to the LA County Fair was only $1 (usually it's $17 per adult), we couldn't resist, especially knowing that rides were only $1 later in the day. We called up our good friends and met them at the fair.

It'd been several years since we'd last come - I believe it was 4 years ago, when Mika couldn't do very much and Marika could do nothing at all. There were so many things to do and see... and the kids had a lot of fun hanging out with each other (though the two younger ones were lucky - they got to ride around on the stroller - thanks, B.!).

The fair had an African Safari attraction, which included some animals. Who doesn't love seeing animals???

And then they had some insect displays... pretty cool!!! The pictures on the top show the bee hive they had on display, along with some old nests...

Going along with the African theme were these sculptures. At first glance, they appeared to be regular animals of the African continent. But, when you got closer, you realized that they were composed of seeds and other vegetable matter! It was amazing!

Some old locomotives and other train cars were on display... the kids enjoyed pulling the ropes to make noise BUT they did not like it when other kids did it! Check out their expressions!

And last but not least, the kids were able to go on several rides at the very end. They were patient souls, despite being forced to wait until 4 pm, when the rides/games were only $1 (versus $4.50 or so!). The best part was probably the Ferris Wheel... what a view!

I don't know if we'll be going back again next year, but we came back with some good memories at least.

Raspberry Thoughts and Go Bears!

This past week, we were very concerned about two local fires. As of this morning, the Pendleton Fire was 100% contained while the Oak Glen III Fire was 95% contained (full containment expected by Monday). We received word Thursday that the Oak Glen roads were open and the orchards would be open for business this weekend. This was extremely fortuitous on many levels - no structures or lives were lost in the fires, the apple picking industry was untouched and Michelle had been planning to visit on this particular Saturday (to go raspberry picking) for the past several weeks.

In the top left picture, you can see how frightening close the fire came to Riley's Farm - literally, it stopped right across the street. We love Riley's Farm and have been coming for their raspberries for the past couple of years (Holly got us addicted!). We were lucky enough to run into Mr. Riley himself (don't you love his costume?). As usual, the raspberries were delicious!

Here are the raspberry pickers! Daddy Dude stayed under the shade - he's not one to pick berries (after all, he's "not Nature Boy").

And as always, when the opportunity presented itself, I took some photos of some insects. It's very hard to get a good picture of a bee - there's something about their shape that doesn't lend itself to good overall focusing! This particular bee would not leave my basket but went from berry to berry, sipping leisurely. The other photos is that of some plant sucking bug nymph. I loved this shot because you can see its proboscis extended, drinking plant juice!

Last but not least... today was the season opening game for Cal football (note Michelle's T-shirt)! Daddy Dude has been glued to the TV for most of the day. We are extremely pleased to report that Cal crushed Maryland! Yay! GO BEARS!!!

Hard at work!

As soon as the kids arrive at preschool, they are expected to sign themselves in and do some work. Look at Marika, hard at work! Although, I kind of feel bad for her, being so close to the piece of paper...

This past week, they began work on their classroom fire truck. That certainly explains where all the red paint came from on Tuesday... doesn't it look cool, though?

Supplies: patterned paper (Scenic Route - Laurel), flower (Prima), rub-ons (American Crafts - Purkey), ink (Cateye chalk ink), letter stickers (Pink Paislee), cardstock sticker (Scenic Route), diecut arrow (Scenic Route), ribbon (Michaels), epoxy sticker (unknown), punches (Making Memories tag maker - square and Marvy Uchida corner rounder)

I tried to make good use of my 2 hours of "alone time" and managed to complete a layout. Here is Marika, waiting to say bye-bye to her Daddy as he drives off to work. On the few days she sleeps in and misses it, she usually ends up bawling about it. As a result, we have to call Daddy up so she can sniffle a sad good-bye to him. I used to wave good-bye to my father in the mornings, so this ritual has fond memories for me, too!

What a beautiful sight!

Rain! Beautiful, beautiful rain! And lots of it! A thunderstorm rolled through our area this afternoon... hopefully enough to put out the Oak Glen III fire (I think the Yucaipa one has been extinguished).. and hopefully it rained a lot on the Station Fire as well... keep your fingers crossed!

And here's another peek into the mind of a preschooler. The shoe store was out of flip flops (are we the only family to wear them year-round?), so Marika chose these blingy silver shoes instead (her previous pair had been glittery pink). They're so shiny! I can tell that when she wears them, she's noticeably happier. Ah, the wonders of pretty shoes!

Isn't this duck cute? You wouldn't believe the hassle it was to get him! Mika's school already began its fundraising and each family had 2+ weeks to return the forms. Every day, Mika would ask, "When are you going to turn in the order form?" Of course this got to be annoying and finally I asked, "Why? Why do you care so much?" Apparently, once you turned in your order form, you got at least one duck on a lanyard - the more you sold, the more ducks you got to wear. To further entice students to guilt their parents into selling more, the principal would randomly select people (wearing their ducks) for more prizes.

Well, last week I finally turned in the order form, sealing everything inside the given packet. And then, we waited. And waited. And waited some more. But... no duck! When I asked Mika, she said she no longer cared about the duck (?!) and then she'd say, "Oh, I'm sure I'll get it tomorrow." Well, after almost a week and no duck, I finally asked the teacher, who said she had sent the entire packet (with the duck coupon) up to the office. So, we trudged on to the office, where all the PTA people had already left. The office people were very kind, though, and instructed me to write a note explaining my woes. So, I did.

I looked up when I heard the secretary gently reprimanding somebody for standing up - and there was Miss Mika, standing on the bench inside the office! I was so embarrassed! Then (even though I was writing as quickly as I could), the girls disappeared from sight. Totally. Utterfly. Completely. Just gone. Although... I could hear some giggling and knew they were somewhere nearby. Then I heard a bystander say, "oh, you're hiding from your mother?" Yup, my children were hiding in the office, while I was doing my best to get her that silly duck! Talk about being ungrateful - and bad!

Anyway... all is well that ends well. When we picked Mika up this afternoon, she sauntered out happily, swinging her duck lanyard. Never mind that she later madly swung it around and let it go so it whacked onto the pavement. Never mind that she put it on the doorknob and accidentally slammed the duck with the door. *sigh*

And oh yeah, did I mention that Mika was supposed to take the duck coupon and turn it in during recess for her duck? And that she KNEW that? But didn't do it? Or tell me that that was protocol?

*sigh* Well, at least it's a cute duck...but this school stuff is making me tired. Yesterday, the teacher told me Mika had cried during class... because she said she missed her little sister! I was sure something bad must have happened earlier during the day to make her more sensitive, but nope - Mika insisted that she had had a good day and just missed Marika. Well, that's sweet, but... *sigh*

Reminiscing about alligators

Marika went to school today, with a huge grin on her face. She was so happy to go back! She had a fabulous day, coming back with red paint all over her hands, arms, shoes and hair. When I asked if she had touched herself all over with red paint, because I couldn't possibly understand how else it could get in her hair, she sighed with disgusted exasperation and said, "Mommy, EVERYBODY had paint in their hair!"

My goodness, how does one respond to such a statement?

Supplies: patterned paper (Basic Grey), diecut sticker (Basic Grey), journaling block (Luxe Designs), ink (Cateye chalk ink), diecut flowers (Quickutz), diecut title (Sizzix), glitter (Stickles), pen (American Crafts), circle cutter (Fiskars)

So I enjoyed about 2 hours of "alone time", which I spent trying to finish my layout from last week. This is one of two pictures I have of myself being pregnant with Mika, but the one I like best. When I was 5 months pregnant, I attended my last entomology conference. As a new post-doc, I was suddenly treated better than ever (no longer a grad student grunt, I suppose) and was invited out to see the Florida Everglades with 5 other (male) professors. I'd never been there and was looking forward to seing the Everglades. What could happen, right?

This gator was about 7 feet away, below the wall I was sitting on (I'm not stupid, you know!). The professors, however, had a different idea of what a "close encounter" was. As we drove around, one of them hollered that there was an alligator by the side of the road. You can imagine my disbelief when they pulled over and ran out to get a closer look! They yelled that I should get out, too, but I was already wondering if I was going to have to drive the car away by myself if they all got munched! Luckily (for both myself and the alligator), the mosquitos were out in force and drove them back into the car.

Testosterone sure can be a funny thing - and I tell you, I don't think I'll ever understand it.