Mama's Birthday

Hanging Out

Now that summer is here we have spent quite a bit of time over at GramE and GrampE's. I spent one morning helping Auntie Amy color and cut her hair (I think this DIY stuff is almost out of hand) and Boe enjoyed listening to a Winnie Pooh record on our old Fisher Price record player. Good times!
Huxley and Uncle Bubba
Huxley and GramE
Play photo shoot. I love the look on Huxley's face, kinda unsure about this older brother who is usually making so much noise!
They are so cute, it is hard to pick just one photo.
Relaxing now that his older brother has left the room:)
The smiling is still new, but I am already addicted to it! Love this little guy.
Hop Scotch for Boe's friend Sammie's fourth birthday. She is very athletic and when I saw this post on Pinterest, it had her name all over it. Next time I make one (because Boe has said he wants one) I will probably use felt, as the oil cloth I used (painters drop cloth) sucked up a bottle of paint per 12 X 12 square and took almost 15 minutes to sponge on (painting did not work). It is a bit stiff as well, but Boe gave it a test run and it works great for a fun indoor activity on a hot or cold day. We included painters tape to tape to her wood floors and some felt markers, the things you throw onto the scotch squares. When I was in elementary, I love playing Hop Scotch and my mom taught me to sew some of these markers and stuff them with birdseed. They stick nice to where they land and don't bounde all over the place like rocks or other misc. found on the school yard. Spunkers felt a need to help, not!
Saw a recipe on Pinterest for homemade goldfish crackers. When we were at school playing with the playdough, there was a cute little car cutter that we used. They were quite delicious made with whole wheat flour and organic sharp cheddar. Yum! My helper having his after nap snack.

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The recipe was super easy, thanks to my food processor. However, this little cookie cutter was a bit teadious. It is worth it to me to make things from scratch so I can pick my ingredients and show Boe that food does not come from a box!

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Making a bridge out of french fries on his plate. He is currently obsessed with bridges; knows the different names of bridges and always wants to make them for his trains.

Swimming Lessons

This summer we invested in semi-private swim lessons. Boeing was the youngest kid in the class of four (with three instructors) and he was one of the best swimmers. It was fun watching him improve daily on some basic skills like blowing bubbles with his face in the water, floating on his back, kicking, jumping off the diving board, retrieving sunken items from the bottom on the shallow end and much more. Diving for rings! Got it! A final jump! Class Photo - Teacher Casey on the right Funny thing is, after great advancements in his lessons, he won't do any of it at home in GramE and GrampE's pool. He says he is scared. Should I be scared that he seems to trust a complete stranger over me?

Family Room Re-do

Thank goodness I married a VERY handyman. I have been wanting to paint the living room for some time now, as the current color is original to my move in (yikes). Kent wanted to rebuild the TV cabinet to be a bit slimmer for our new flat screen. Well, I asked if he would be up for making an entirely new one, as my taste have changed in the last 10 years. He built the first one exactly to my specs, but he still gladly agreed to scrap it for an update! Apparently, he had his own reasons for willingness to take on a new project...insulation. Whatever, works for me. Took me a while looking at lots of pictures and trying to combine the features I liked for each into one that would work with our existing wall and fireplace. Although my taste have leaned to the more modern, I don't want to stray to far off from the little 50's home we already have. So, happy with my final design that will be modern with some whimsy touches. Can't wait till it is done! Before
As you can see, the original cabinet on the right sticks out quite a bit to accommodate our big old tube TV.
Demo started, running new electrical and cable for TV relocation. He had to go in the attic and under the house. What a trooper!
Holes drilled for insulation. Kent and his dad have already insulated most of our other walls on the perimeter of the house; this was one of Kent's ulterior motives for such willingness to demo! They also insulated my parents (non insulated) 1950's attic the same day. What a messy job.
Shutters down, patched holes, maybe paint tomorrow!

Father's Day

A while ago I decided that all of the boys would make the meal for Mother's Day and the girls would handle Father's Day. Kent did a great job orchestrating a tasty brunch to celebrate us moms, with a beautiful charm of Hux to match my Boe one. We had some yummy pulled pork sandwiches and tasty sides for Father's Day. Kent, Richard and Kirk
Me, Daddy, Bubba and Amy
Aw, what a great Daddy! He is gonna have his hands full if there is such a thing as pay back!!
Had to sneak in for a little family photo!
So many great memories with my dad; eating his hot dog sandwiches while watching The Munsters; listening to limericks in the car; working on school projects in the garage with him (like my cell that lit up); digging big ditches at the beach...I know my boys will have great memories of their dad as well, since I picked such a great guy who is so similar to my dad it is scary! Thanks for everything Daddy!

Parent Education Family Night

We have been taking Boeing to a Parent Education class since he was five months old. At first, I thought, "I don't need to learn how to parent!" when I saw the class description in our local adult education catalogue. However, after hearing so many wonderful things, we just had to sign up. After several years, we are still as pleased with this great program as we were as new parents. This program has taught us so many things by great credentialed teachers. Sadly, with budget cuts, the program was almost cut. Luckily, it has been saved; someone must have smartened up and realized the value of early education. Our close mommy and Boe friends have come from this class, and for that we are so grateful! This last night of class before winter break was a pot luck. Teacher George has been a wonderful and very personable teacher. Each week she has made the effort to recognize each child in class and talk with them about their personal interest. We really like her! Singing "Choo Choo the Big Train is Coming Down the Tracks Now", hand motions included.
Accepting his summer beach ball gift.
Story time; he is clearly very interested!

Beach Day

Kent and I are trying to take the boys to the beach lots this summer. We bought a great pop up tent large enough for all of us, especially Hux. Although it was overcast and not ideal tanning (ha, yeah right, those days are over), we all had a good time. Boeing and Daddy made a great sand castle and Hux enjoyed his thumb. Hux is so content with his first trip to the beach (Zuma) Getting ready for a sand castle competition Love my boys! Lunch on the beach, yum! A great day.

First Time Out With My Boys (Solo)

Finally Huxley was deemed worthy of joining in on some of our many outings. Until this point, someone always stayed home with him, keeping germs at bay until he was a bit rough around the edges. When that day came, to go do something outdoors with Boeing's Rinaldi School, both Kent and my dad were unavailable. So, I did what most mom's do and took both, alone! It was pooring rain, but the field trip did not get cancelled. It did not rain too much out in Moorpark where the farm is, so things were looking good on that end of town. Luckily, when we got there, the skies had stopped crying and opened up for a very fun morning at Underwood Farms. My girlfriend took these pictures, as I did not think I could handle the addition of a camera! Boe and his Ladies! Their boots all came off when they were lifted onto the horse; so cute! Ah, sweet baby Huxley! It really is such a cute farm; where else can you stand under a wood plank with a goat crossing over? Our class, those that came out in the rain!!