Roller Derby Girl and Soccer Girl

Mika had her first soccer practice today - and she seemed to be having fun the entire time. Look at her doing the drills! =) She also got her uniform - which looks pretty nice - and she's #8. We all wanted her to be #5, but the way the number were distributed were based on height. Yup, Miss Mika is the SECOND TALLEST GIRL ON THE TEAM. Can you believe it? A daughter of MINE?! Oh, glorious day...!

Marika decided to practice rollerskating during most of Mika's practice. She's almost ready for the roller derby! Go, Marika, go!

We bought the girls roller skates (Marika) and roller blades (Mika) last Friday, after their friend invited them to go to the local skating rink (you'll remember it from the birthday party they went to, a couple of weeks ago). I was worried that it would be crowded, since it was advertised as an "after school special", but there were only about 6 people there! Mika kept slipping and crying on the rink - which made me wonder if buying them skates was a mistake - but Daddy Dude said that Mika made great progress while practicing on our sidewalk. He took a really cute picture of them all dressed up in their protective pads but... Marika was having a wardrobe malfunction, so we couldn't post it here. We'll take another one soon... =)

On a bright note, when I came to pick Marika up from school, she greeted me with the news that she had made up with the girl who had spit on her yesterday. She said she wanted to try and make up (odd terminology, considering she didn't DO anything to HER) and that the girl had said she was sorry again - and that they had played together for the recess. When Marika was ready to leave with me, the girl gave her a big hug. I was very surprised by all of this - kind of happy that Marika is a very sweet girl who wants to get along with everybody and kind of worried that Marika will get very hurt later on by another act of unkindness.

Tidbits...

1. $10 off $50 purchase at Fresh & Easy (printable coupon)

2. Download your next batch of free ebooks from Barnes and Noble.

3. Labor Day sale starts at Better World Books! 4/$10 in the bargain bin! Free shipping! Cash back through ebates! Woohoo!

Whew! A rough day in the kindergarten classroom...

We don't check our voicemail regularly (I do miss that flashing red light with the beeps - but the guinea pig does not) so when I took the girls to school today, a fellow mom asked if I had gotten her message last night. Apparently, she had called, asking if I could fill in for her in the classroom this morning, since she had a job interview. I said sure...

I was there all morning - I finished all the work she wanted by 11 am, but since Marika got out at 11:45 am, there wasn't much of a point to driving home, when I'd just have to drive back within another 20 minutes. So, I said I'd do more work. That's the first time in my life I ever wished I had an iPod! Ripping, sorting, collating... all the work I used to do when I worked for a non-profit organization during college. I'm very good at that kind of stuff and I don't mind doing it.

The only problem was... I'd gotten up at 5 am to go running and the only thing I'd ingested before taking the girls to school (what with getting lunches packed and breakfasts prepared, not to mention showering, etc.) was the tiny cup of (decaf) coffee I'd brought to school with me (after all, I thought I'd be eating breakfast when I got back home). I was completely wiped out by the time I was done (low blood sugar knocks me down). So unfortunately, as insane as it seems, I'm going to have to set my alarm clock for even earlier, to make sure I can eat breakfast before I take the girls in. *sigh*

It was really interesting being back in the kindergarten classroom, though. When I helped out in Mika's class two years ago, it was a full-day kindergarten and parental help was only asked for painting (which was actually kind of stressful, since kids wander/run with paintbrushes loaded with paint) and some reading assistance. Marika's kindergarten is only half-day now (budget cuts) and I was asked to oversee three tables (3-4 kids each table) working while the teacher had the fourth small group for reading. I must have been out of practice, because while it was easy to watch TWO tables, THREE was a different matter. It was easy to figure out which kids were more advanced (they were quickly and without help) while other kids wanted you there every step of the way, even when all they had to do was copy a few words, letter by letter. I felt really bad that I didn't notice one particular fellow that was crying (I guess I'm used to the loud wailers I have at home) because he was frustrated and said he couldn't do it. It was just so hard trying to help one person well while a few others were clamoring for attention.

I could never be a school teacher! My hat is off to them!

The day didn't end particularly well, because when I went to pick up Marika, she said a little girl on the playground was being mean to her. Turns out that the girl had stuck her tongue out at Marika and then SPIT at her. Okay, is there something with my kid that people keep spitting at her?! When asked to elaborate, Marika said that the little girl was saying mean things like, "I'm better than you on the monkey bars!" or "When I'm at home, I don't drop off the monkey bars like you", yadda yadda yadda...

Man, it's a tough lesson for a little girl. I told her that she would meet plenty of people like this in her life and there wasn't anything she could do, but to ignore them and keep her distance - and that those people tended to get their comeuppance later in life life (she doesn't understand the concept of "karma" yet).

I took Marika back to the yard monitor and had her explain what happened. It was unbelievable luck that the girl was still there - when questioned by the yard monitor, she admitted that she did what Marika stated and was asked to apologize. When asked why, she mumbled, "I don't know..." and then she looked like she was going to cry. So, maybe she won't do anything mean to Marika (or anybody else) anymore. Though the yard monitor said it was out of character for this little girl to do such a thing, perhaps she'll still mention it to the girl's mother. I know I'd want to know if Marika ever behaved badly.

It's hard to see your kids dealing with stuff like this, when you know there's not much you can do, except let them learn life's lessons. *sigh*

And did I mention? I'm scheduled to help in the kindergarten classroom every Thursday, so I'll be back in a few days. I don't think I'll offer to fill in for anybody ever again, though - there are other things I need/want to do. Besides, you'd think that there would be other parents who want to come in and help. I'm also still waiting to see when Mika's teacher needs me to come in - I do wonder what it'll be like working with second graders (the first graders were fun last year)...

Note to self: having 2 "helpers" does not help!

Instead, what ended up happening was - the girls went to the aisle behind me (why, I have no idea) and kept asking, "what's this, Mommy?" Yup, I kept turning back and forth while frantically trying to pursue the stamps. Rubber stamps, after all, is the main reason I go to these scrapbooking garage sales. Those Stampin' Up stamps are gorgeous, but there is no way I'd pay $30 for them at retail prices. Rubber stamps are just as good used as they are new - although I think all the Hero Art stamps I picked up were brand-new. So yeah, I'm a sucker for any Stampin' Up or Hero Arts rubber stamps. Into my basket they go!

I debated whether or not to post a picture, but Holly called yesterday afternoon to see how it went. I thought she might like a look at my goodies. =) I was happy to get several new butterfly stamps (ah, another big weakness - insect stamps!).

And no, it didn't help having two little girls next to me saying, "Oooh, that's cute, Mommy!" I don't let them use my rubber stamps yet (they have their own stash) but one of these days, they'll eventually become more careful (or will they?) and I'll have to share my things. =)

I spent about $7 on the girls - they got 3 bags full of stickers (they've already been using those this morning!) and their very own bottle of Prima vintage flowers (small), which was still stuffed to the gills with flowers. Not bad, right? Although... I'm starting to think that they need a bigger table to work on...

And last but not least, I picked up three 6x6 pads of Basic Grey paper for $6 (Sugar Rush, Perhaps and Urban Prairie). Some sheets were missing, but not many.

And no, I'm not going to confess how much I spent. Daddy Dude knows and I'm still alive (I guess he does love me!), so all is well. =)

BTW, my profile was featured on Crop Chocolate today, since they're closed on Sundays now. CC is a really great company - I have a particular fondness for small businesses, since they seem to foster a sense of family and community around them plus their customer service is out of this world. It's been fun seeing them grow over the past year or two! But I'll admit... Corbin (their staffer who wrote the profile) gussied up my answers to make me sound much cooler than I am. =)

A closer look at Bazzill

Love Bazzill? Talk on cropchocolate.com was about their 2010 Warehouse sale in September. Too bad it's in Arizona! It makes you wonder, though... how much can you really carry? Paper is heavy!

For those of you who can't go, check out this youtube video for a tour of the Bazzill Warehouse...

The Bazzill website has some video tutorials, too. You can check them out here.

The girls and I are headed off to our LSS for their biannual garage sale. Woohoo! I hope bargains abound! This will be the first time I'll be going without Holly (*sniff, sniff*)... who insists she won't need a basket, ends up throwing all her stuff into MY basket (after all, what are friends for?) - and then she has to get her own basket anyway b/c mine is full! Instead today, I'll have two little girls throwing stuff into my basket. We'll see what happens... =)

Halloween is a-comin'...

Cardstock (DCWV, the Paper Company), diecuts (Quickutz), stamp (Stampendous), ink (Memories, Inc.)

Here's my take on Sketch Mania #8. I had a really tough time with this sketch... and ended up with something pretty simple - I didn't even feel comfortable using patterned paper, thinking things might look weird or too busy. So, I'm not very happy with the end result, but glad I came up with something! You have until next Wednesday to enter a submission in time for the drawing of the prize.

By the way, somebody else at Cropchocolate.com posted a tutorial on how to make Rolo teacher pencils. These are adorable! I think they'd make fabulous gifts for Teacher Appreciation Day...

Last but not least, BetterWorldBooks has a bargain bin where books are 5 for $15. From August 31st to September 8th, books with the bargain bin symbol will be 4/$10! How great is that? Did I mention that they offer free shipping? I've already got seven books in my cart! I order all the time from them at half.com - they have excellent customer service. Ooooh! And you can find them at Ebates and get 3% back!

By the way...

The jook (rice porridge) cooked in the crockpot turned out really well. I popped everything in (I cooked the beef on the stove first, as I could have for the stove-top version), turned the setting on LOW and waited. It took about 6 hours before things began to visibly thicken (I admit, was panicking before that). I cooked it for a total of 8-8.5 hours. I actually liked the slow cooker version better because I didn't have to worry about thing burning.

Mika's back to a normal diet now. At least we know now, that she really likes pudding! I could do without reconstituted potato flakes, though. =)

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I had purchased something from Kindred Creations, which is a deal-of-a-day kind of place. My order was shipped about 1 week after I checked out, and received about 3 days after that. I was quite pleased with my purchase and would shop there again.

Today was a whopper of a hot day. It was about 80-degrees around midnight and at 5:30 am (when I stepped out for my run) it was 76-degrees. Sheesh! I checked the temperatures throughout the day and the highest I saw was 108.5-degrees. Fortunately, tomorrow's high is only supposed to be 99 (woohoo!), followed by a weekend of 80-something degree weather. I cannot wait!

Unfortunately, we've been running the air-conditioner for over a week now... we tried to avoid it, but the second floor kept hitting 89-degrees. When the downstairs started to hit 83-85 (a few days ago), Daisy and Hissamina (and the darkling beetles, too) were all moved upstairs to enjoy the air-conditioning. You'd think they'd be grateful, but the guinea pig had been very crotchedy and ornery. She either dislikes the darker environment (obviously all the shutters are kept closed) or she's terribly lonely. A cranky guinea pig, however, does not attract any friends, especially when she nips them on the lip when they come to kiss her. *tsk, tsk*

Hope everybody is staying cool! =)

May the Force Be With You

This will be one of the very few Star Wars layouts I'll ever be able to make (since I have only girls)...

Pattened papers (Prima), cardstock (the Paper Company), flowers (Prima, Bazzill), rhinestones (Studio 18), buttons (Autumn Leaves), brad (Bazzill), metal tag (Making Memories), diecut title (Quickutz), tools (Marvy-Uchida scalloped circle punch, Quickutz nested scalloped circles, Making Memories tag maker, craft knife)

Sketch Inspiration had Sketch #138 up for this week. Here's my take on it, rotated 90-degrees counter-clockwise...

A Special Visit From the Tooth Fairy

Poor Mika. Regrettably, she inherited my teeth genes... she's destined for braces... her teeth are too crowded and things are coming in crooked.

We'd already been sent to the orthodontist for a consultation and everybody had decided that Mika had to have 2 teeth extracted. One of her permanent teeth (I call it her "shark tooth") is well behind the others, simply because there was nowhere else for it to come in (if you click on the picture above, you'll see one tooth sitting behind). By removing some teeth, it was hoped that the shark tooth would start to line up with the others. Mika's probably looking to have some pseudo-braces within another year (so we better start saving $$$!).

We thought Mika could go through the procedure without the nitrous oxide (laughing gas) - a strong preference because when she was 12 months old and had tubes put into her ears, she had to have the gas and ended up screaming bloody murder for about 20-30 minutes afterwards. Luckily, the dentist also had a 7-year old at home and was very understanding and sensitive towards Mika - and he numbed her up really well. Mika said later that although the injections really hurt, she didn't want to scream (I said "thank goodness, you would have scared the poor dentist!"). However, she said the actual tooth extraction didn't hurt a bit - this was a huge relief to me, because I couldn't even WATCH. I had had my teeth extracted when I was her age and I swear, he only yanked a couple of times before my teeth came out. With Mika.. there was A LOT of twisting, yanking, pulling, etc. I felt so bad for her! Seriously, I kept waiting for her to scream. I don't know how people used to undergo dental procedures before painkillers!!!

However, Mika perservered with a smile. We were very proud of her acting so grown-up. Now, keep in mind that this is a girl who DOES scream bloody murder when it's time for any shots in the doctor's office! Too bad they can't numb her there... =P

So here's Miss Mika, with her furry entourage and fancy tooth box. The tooth fairy just took the teeth, since Mika wanted to use the tooth box again and again. The tooth fairy liked this idea, because it's so much easier to find teeth in a container! However, yet once again, the tooth fairy almost forgot to come.

Last night, Mika asked if the tooth fairy was a real person. I said, "Honey, it's whatever you want to believe!" Marika remarked with full confidence, "but we are sure it is NOT you or Daddy!"

And here are Mika's teeth. I was flabberghasted at how LONG the roots were - no wonder it took so long to get them out!

Here's Mika's smile afterward. Poor kid... she has to eat soft foods for the next couple of days and can't use a straw for awhile (suction = BAD). Last night she got a Slurpee and some mashed potatoes out of a box. YUP, that's right - we had promised the girls treats at the Dollar Tree and I was struggling with what Mika could eat for dinner. I'd never eaten potatoes out of a box before so I was pretty apprehensive... but Miss Mika liked them. I thought they were rather... chewy. For lunch today, she took more mashed potatoes (with gravy), some pudding, and Gatorade. I feel like a bad mom!

We'll all be eating jook (rice porridge) today, so Mika doesn't feel left out - as long as the recipe works in the slow cooker! I'll let you know...

And here's my chubby-cheeked daughter reading. Every day, we're supposed to read a book (sent home from school) to her, but Marika never realized that. So, every day, she's been reading the book to us. Ha! I love watching her when she reads... her finger trailing the page while her little lips move to form the words. So cute! They really do grow up so fast...

Changing the subject here... as most of you know, we shop frequently at Barnes and Noble and so, get their emails. I was absolutely stunned and delighted to learn that Jean M. Auel (author of Clan of the Cave Bear) has completed her sixth and final Earth Children book! You can read about it here - it won't be available until next March, though. And don't forget to download your free Barnes and Noble ebooks here!

And last but not least... I stopped by Big Lots and Tuesday Morning yesterday. BL still has Prima 12x12 paper packs for $5 - as well as their 5x7 sheet packs (with 48 sheets) for $2. TM had several KI Memories paper pads (Friendship, Party, Babycakes, etc. I think for $2.99 each) and several different sets of clear alpha stamps. I did leave both stores empty-handed. =)

Catching Up With Sketch Mania

I'd fallen behind on Sketch Mania, but now I'm caught up! Here's my take on Sketch #5...

Patterned papers (Prima), epoxy letter stickers (Marcella by K), diecut numbers (Quickutz)

Here's my take on Sketch #6...

Patterned papers (Echo Park - Walk in the Park), rub-on (SweetWater Designs), sheer journaling ticket (Maya Road), flower (Heidi Swapp), brad (Bazzill), Fiskars border punch

And finally, my take on Sketch #7...

Patterned paper (Making Memories - Cheeky), chipboard embellishment (Making Memories), diecut letters (Quickutz), flowers and leaves (Making Memories), buttons (Autumn Leaves), decorative tape (Making Memories)

I've scrapped almost all of our LA County Fair 2009 photos - but only a couple of more weeks before we go to LA County Fair 2010! I sure hope the weather cools down by then... out where we are, today is supposed to be 108 whereas tomorrow and Thursdays = 106. I am certainly not looking forward to our air-conditioning bill for this month!

Rollerskating Party

And for those of you wondering how the rollerskating party went...

I think there were only about 3-4 children who could skate well. The rest clutched the walls and floundered wildly along. Marika didn't cling to the wall, but skated very slowly and gingerly along the inner section. Mika kept trying and trying, but she couldn't find her balance. The poor thing... I couldn't tell you how many times she fell on her butt! She even cried a few times, out of sheer frustration. Still, this morning, the girls both said they wanted to go back and try again.

It was a really nice skating surface, though. While the kids ate their pizza, Daddy Dude and I skated around by ourselves - fast! That was fun! It's funny, though, how rollerskating has become something of a lost art. When I was growing up, EVERYBODY knew how to rollerskate. What happened?

BTW - my rollerblades felt GREAT and the brakes were secure. =) I might have to start zipping around the neighborhood again!

Gotta Love Echo Park...

Echo Park seems to be one of the hottest new scrapbooking manufacturers of the year - no small feat, considering how many companies have gone out of business within the past couple of years. There's just something so extraordinarily charming about the papers of this new company... I finally broke open a pack to participate in the weekly challenge (Sketch #137) at Sketch Inspirations (sponsored by one of my favorite stores, YSS).

Everything is from Echo Park's Sweet Summertime collection pack, except for the red thread (Coats & Clark). We're looking forward to going to the LA fair again, within a couple of weeks. I sure hope it is cooler by then!

In other news, we finally heard from Marika's AYSO coach today. Her team meeting will be on Monday - practice days to be decided on that day. I volunteered to make the team banner for Mika's team, so I figured I might as well do the same for Marika's (same concept, different design). I can't begin to do anything, however, until AYSO decides what our team colors are - but all banners must be displayed at the first game on September 11th. I look forward to breaking out my diecut machine and getting creative! My friend Dawn will be coming over to get crafty, too - she's making team banners as well. So, if anybody has any suggestions, please feel free to share! It'll have to be sturdy enough to withstand any possible Santa Ana winds...!

Mika's coach, incidentally, turned out to be someone I knew - he's one of the referees for my Sunday Yucaipa league. At that point, I knew I couldn't lie and say I didn't know how to play soccer, but at least somebody else volunteered to be Mika's assistant coach - I could have done it, but I don't think Marika would have liked it at all.

My Wednesday soccer league ended last week and I won't be returning to it. A couple of games ago, we had a late start time - 9 pm. There was a fist fight outside of the park (it's right next to a skate park) and the next thing we knew, a fire engine was rushing to the scene while a police helicopter roared overhead, shining its bright light. As you might have imagined, that was rather disturbing. No, the soccer park isn't in a good neighborhood and I can certainly do without the fear of getting mugged. At any rate, I also decided that I am much better at playing 7x7 than 6x6 (the strategy is completely different) - primarily because the field is too short for me to use my speed (that's my edge, not my ball skills or my mass). I got picked up for another 7x7 league for the fall and my other Sunday league starts up next month, so I look forward to playing LOTS of soccer. =)

Adding to my collection...

I admit it - I couldn't resist it! Target had this slow cooker on sale for $7. Isn't it adorable? I know it's small (1.5 qt), but I thought I could use it for soups or desserts. Maybe I need another big slow cooker for side dishes... =)

By the way, scrappers - Target has some of its scrapbooking materials on clearance (30% off) to make way for Summer-CHA things. My Target had some clear stamps on sale, as well as stickers and various embellishments...

Oh, and my Michaels had some new Studio G stamps (Series 52) - I saw some butterfly designs, at least one bird design, and a couple of card sentiments.

A Bee in My (Procrastinating) Bonnet

I used to be an avid rollerblader, back in grad school. Amherst was a small town but had an awesome bike trail, which went all the way to Northampton - about 9 miles long (if I remember correctly). Yup, that's 18 miles of rollerblading, or 2 hours of effort. Some days, it was the only thing that kept me sane. These skates were near top-of-the-line when I bought them back in 1997, so I paid a good amount of money for them and just loved/used them to death.

After Marika was born, I started to rollerblade again, but after a stupid little dog (off-leash) almost killed me (apparently, dogs hate rollerbladers even more than they hate runners!), I stopped. I tried to start it up again later, only to realize that my brakes were totally worn down. I bought new ones repeatedly - since I kept forgetting I had already bought some - but never got around to putting them on until months later - only to realize that the brakes didn't fit my rollerblades and the store didn't have the right ones (not to mention that my receipts had now expired).

So, I emailed Rollerblade and do you know what they said? That my brakes were obsolete - no longer being sold anywhere - and maybe it was time to buy new rollerblades. The nerve! However, they did suggest that I might be able to retrofit the purchased brakes to fit my old blades.

Boy, did that sound like a lot of work! Holly volunteered her husband to do it (but I knew it was my responsibility). Daddy Dude bought me a cordless Dremel (which died prematurely - and don't even get me started on the cordless thing!) a few years back and after much kvetching on my part, he bought me the Dremel I wanted (with a cord) this past Christmas. Then it was HIS turn to kvetch that I wasn't using it.

Well, today the girls will be attending a skating party and it suddenly occurred to me that I might have to actually step onto the rink and did I really want to wear somebody else's stinky skates? Nooooo... so I spent 1.5 hours carefully whittling/shaving down the new brakes (with my trusty Dremel) to fit my old rollerblades. I am happy to announce that I did not sever any fingers, no blood was spilled, and now I can go rollerblading again (and stop!)!!!

Wow. And it only took me about 5 years to get around to doing it. =) I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to retrofitting/whittling down the 5 other brake pads I have left (can you sense the sarcasm?)... but I suppose on the bright side, I should be able to use this particular pair of rollerblades for the rest of my life!

Speaking of cards, I whipped out these two for the girls' friend. I'm trying to use up my DCWV pre-printed card stash, so I just embellished them a little. It's so much easier making cards for girls!

Prima Online Warehouse Sale

They're selling pre-packed boxes... still a little pricey in my humble opinion, but in case you're interested, you can check it out here.

Waiting (Too Long)...

This is what happens when your big sister takes too long reading her book and finishing her homework! Marika finished her homework and then waited and waited and waited... zzzzzzz.....

The girls are enjoying school. Despite being spit in the eye by some boy, Marika likes kindergarten and LOVES homework (when will that change?). Mika has been getting homework packets every night (just review material), which she has to balance with her reading. She just finished Henry and Beezus - for the next few months, her books have to be a reading level 4.0 or higher and worth 4 or more points (see book ratings here: arbookfind.com). She doesn't seem to mind the longer books and appreciates that the stories are becoming more interesting. Next up? A Bear Called Paddington...

Meanwhile, we have a new science experiment going on. Since monitoring roadkill in the house (or even the backyard) is generally frowned upon, I took a very dead fig and placed it in an observation container. When I first found the fig, I was very excited that there were plenty of silphid beetles scurrying around it - as an entomology grad student, you could usually only find them on carcasses. I had hoped to see masses of maggots developing, but I wasn't so lucky.

However, a few days later, these brown pupae began to appear at the top of the container. You can see a whitish maggot below them (they seem naturally wired to migrate upwards). The girls are dying to know what comes out of the pupae (they have no idea and should be surprised).

And where did those fig come from? We have a lovely tree in the backyard. The ripe figs were D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S - and of course, silphid-and maggot-free. =)

A Wee Bit of Productivity...

The YSS Sketch contest closed today, so I had a last-minute spurt of activity last night. I did end up using "Butterfly Girl" as my layout entry, but made a card and tag as well.

Here's the sketch I chose for the card...

And here's my card. I absolutely adore those cute little bling butterflies that YSS sells. They're only $0.25 a pop, so I have a ton. Perhaps best of all, those little butterflies can be scanned! The bigger ones are gorgeous but pretty chunky...

This is the sketch for the tag I made...

And here's the tag. The mini pearl strand (stitched on) didn't scan very well, unfortunately. I also discovered that I don't have much purple in my stash. I didn't have any purple flowers to match! Oh, well...

In case you're interested, YSS announced a couple of new contests, with a deadline of September 15th - a summer-themed contest and a Christmas card contest. If I'm lucky, I'll actually have an Xmas card proto-type by the end of the contest! Woohoo!

Enabler Alert!

After my dental appointment this morning, I had time to dash to a few stores. Big Lots had Prima 12x12 paper packs (Sasha and Breathe) for $5.00 each - 96 papers each. The papers are thin (the ones you pay $0.85/sheet are much thicker) but I still liked the designs (perfect if you have little girls). I didn't want any more paper stacks, but $5 for that much paper? What a stellar deal! They had smaller packs (5x7?) for $2, but I thought those were pretty thin (36 pages or so).

I finally saw the Slice on sale at Tuesday Morning ($125), for anybody who's looking for it. They were selling Martha Stewart craft glue, so I picked up a couple for the girls to try out ($0.99 each).

I had a freebie $5 gift card to Walmart so I zipped by there, but was disappointed with what had happened to their crafts area. I ended up using it for Daisy's necessities and treats - you can't beat a 5-lb bag of food for $3.42.

Back to School!

We made sure they got plenty of sleep last night - and they even woke up on their own! Early! When I came back from my morning run, the girls were dressed and brushing their hair already. Daddy Dude, I might add, was still in bed (*snicker*).

Here are our new second grader and kindergartener. Woohoo!

And here are their brand new shoes. Let's see how long they look this nice... =P

I've off to continue cleaning the Fun Room (where the girls and I craft and Daddy Dude lounges). I'm planning to deep clean for the first month of school - I think I'll actually feel like I'm making progress cleaning, whereas usually as soon as I clean up, there's another mess somewhere else to take care of... *sigh*... The girls, however, are afraid I'm going to throw away all of their toys while they're in school! Hee hee...

Some bargain tidbits...

1. $6 off $30 purchase at Fresh & Easy printable coupon (expires 8/15/10)

2. Next round of Barnes and Noble free ebooks...

3. You can check out Basic Grey's August 2010 Newsletter here (sketch on page 4!)
4. Basic Grey announced that they have free video classes for digital scrapbooking.

Attention scrappers!

Like Deal-of-the-Day websites? Somebody at Crop Chocolate mentioned Kindred Creations today. Their shipping is extraordinarily reasonable - and they do combine shipping. They have a few special deals in their "clearance" bin. I placed a tiny order today, I'll let you know how it goes... I was sorry to see some of the earlier deals I had missed - like clear stamps for $1.50 from great manufacturers!

And It's That Time of Year Again...

Woohoo! It's raspberry picking time! The email finally came from the farm last week, so Daddy Dude graciously drove us up the mountain to pick some berries. I was grateful that everyone filled up their own basket (everyone has to buy one, to enter the raspberry area) - unlike last year!

Here's the obligatory family photo! You'll note the burned area to the left - one year ago, a good deal of Oak Glen burned to a crisp. The area seems to be slowly recovering.

And here's what happens to bad children... =P

It's also this time of year (it seems) that we find these morning visitors by our front door. Scrappers are very familiar with the term "Doodlebug" but did you ever know what they looked like? Doodlebugs are another name for larval antlions (their walking pathways leave trails that look like "doodling")... and this is the adult form here. For those of you looking for more info, you can check it out at Wikipedia. I have a particular fondness for this insect because it was one of the elusive species when I was collecting up in northern California - but they are rather plentiful in southern California.

The girls finally finished the reading program sponsored by the local library. It was a very intensive program, lasting 7 weeks, designed to encourage children to explore their library and get to know what sorts of resources are available. One of the most recent tasks was to find an origami book and make one item. The girls loved the book we got and spent much of the morning trying to make things. Origami instructions can be an interesting challenge, especially when you're a little kid and still getting used to spatial dynamics... I admired their perseverance!

Perhaps the best thing to come out of the reading program (besides the obvious free kid meal prizes - LOVE those, since it means I won't have to cook for another meal!) was learning that the library has a good supply of audio books. I was surprised at how attentive the girls were - although we HAD to listen to them in the car, since we don't have any working cassette players in the house. It must have been years since I used one - I had totally forgotten that each cassette had two sides and the girls started to panic when it took a good awhile for the second side to start playing! We also have to worry about the cassettes melting in the car...

So far they've listened to Ramona Quimby Age 8, Ramona and Her Father, Beezus and Ramona, and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. Next in line are a collection of stories by Roald Dahl, but they may be leary - they watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory yesterday (the Gene Wilder version, love that one!) and Marika did not like it. I think she was scared! Imagine if I'd shown her the newer version!

And speaking of books... I wanted to recommend a few that I've read over the summer. I really enjoyed The Mermaid Chair (by Susan Monk Kidd), The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder (Rebecca Wells), and Angela's Ashes (Frank McCourt).

I decided to pick up Angela's Ashes after reading about the author's obituary last year - I'd heard of the movie, but never seen it. The book is a magnificent gem - he has an interesting writing style (which takes a little while to get used to), but then all you hear is his voice (with an Irish accent, of course), throughout the rest of the book. He had an amazing, colorful childhood and it makes you really appreciate all the things we have now. There are two other books following this one: 'Tis (which picks up immediately where Angela's Ashes leaves off) and Teacher Man, which is about his teaching career. I finished 'Tis yesterday and loved it. Really, the man was an extraordinary storyteller - especially since Angela's Ashes wasn't even published until 1996, when he was already in his 60's!

Next on my reading list: The Red Queen (Philippa Gregory) and Where Men Win Glory: the Odyssey of Pat Tillman (Jon Krakauer). Remember, I'm always looking for reading recommendations for please feel free to send them along! =)

Pink Paislee and some other deals...

If you're a huge Pink Paislee fan, you might want to check out their online warehouse sale.

And did you remember to download your free Barnes & Noble ebooks for this week? Twelve classics are up for grabs!

Finally, for candle-lovers out there... if you need more Yankee votives, you might want to print out this coupon and head over to your favorite mall...

Last week of freedom!

It's hard to believe that school starts next week! Already! Unfortunately, both girls are suffering from a mild cold, but they'll get over it soon enough.

I think the girls had a fun summer - they learned to swim...=)

And they learned how to do ballet and tap dance... well, kind of...

We're also finishing last-minute housekeeping details, like dental visits.. (look! bugs on the bib) although Miss Mika has her first referral to the orthodontist tomorow - ALREADY. Poor kid, she's got dental issues, just like her mom. Her teeth aren't coming in straight so the consultation is to see whether to yank teeth out (to make room for the adult ones) or do so bridging. This really depressed me, because while I knew she was doomed to get braces eventually, I didn't want her to see any orthodontist until she was 10! This should be no surprise, though.. they started yanking my teeth out at age 7, too... but it was nice to get braces by age 10 and be done by age 12. Mika's already lost 6 teeth, so she'll probably take the same road.

We were finally able to watch Daddy Dude play baseball, for the first time in a LONG time. I wish I had one of those fast click shutters that can take the "action shots". However, I'm much too lazy to lug around those huge cameras. =)

Daddy Dude's been extraordinarily sweet about going to all of my soccer games - no small feat, since I'm playing 3 nights a week right now. He's come a long way... when I was playing (before kids) he hardly ever went! What a big sweetie... I'm very lucky... and he never gives me a hard time about playing too much. Gotta love a guy who supports all of his wife's hobbies... =) Even when she comes home with astroturf burn and sore bumps 'n bruises...