2009

“For an athlete to function properly, he must be intent. There has to be a definite purpose and goal if you are to progress. If you are not intent about what you are doing, you aren't able to resist the temptation to do something else that might be more fun at the moment.” ~John Wooden

In 2009 I accomplished a lot, and lived with as much intention as one can muster.

Possibly my biggest accomplishment? I'm not sure if I'm an athlete yet, but I'm definitely more athletic and healthier than I was at the beginning of 2009. I've continued running (even though I'm still not fond of it), have been going to spin and core conditioning classes lately, and recently started cross-country skiing. The kids got me a set of touring skis for Christmas, so I am looking forward to spending more time on the snow, making my way to the many warming shelters in the area.

Up...

This is Boo.

Zip

This is me, riding the zipline at the Mount Hood Adventure Park (aka Skibowl during summer):


Scott and I did pretty much everything that was open. (Yes, I bungee jumped - twice - and have the pictures to prove it!) The kids each got to pick one "premium" activity. QP also bungee jumped! Boo rode the zipline (she wanted to bungee but didn't meet the minimum weight requirement). Stinky went rock climbing. The kids flipped round and round on bungee trampolines. We all raced down the alpine slide overandoverandover, slid down the tubing hill, and more. We had a blast! More photos here...

Elevensies

You know, kinda like lunch? Hot lunch, that is. Remember school food?

It's hard to remember all of those details on the first day of school. There are supplies to gather, forms to fill out, physicals to schedule, and lunch money to send.

That's right, my kids are school lunch junkies. We tried the healthy, home-packed lunch thing in the past and it just doesn't "happen". Either I have to pack it (and then deliver it to school when they forget it) or we have shelves and shelves of spoiled lunch goodies in the pantry and the fridge. So this year I threw my hands in the air at the start of the year. I am not even going to try. Back to school is stressful enough, right?

Anyways when I looked up lunch prices I found out something that put the final nail in the coffin of my healthy, home-packed lunch pipe dream. If your kid goes to a Bend-LaPine school then you can pay for meals online. Hooray!

Why? Because it always seems like in addition to forgetting that healthy, home-packed lunch the kids are always forgetting their lunch money too. Also, I can check their balances to see when they are running low and "guesstimate" how many times they have sneaked into school breakfast. (I say "guesstimate" because you can't see details yet, just the balance. But apparently this feature is "coming soon".) When they do remember that they are out of money in their little lunch accounts, I usually get around to dealing with it after they have gone to bed for the night. Which means I forget about it, too. In short, lunch money is one of those things that should be really easy, but for some reason it's not.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am still all about kids being independent and learning to take care of themselves. But in this case I'll grant the bye.

Two thumbs up to the BLP School District for this new service. And a big thanks from this busy, busy mom!

Skool

Where the heck did summer go?? Time flies whether you are having fun or working your tail off, apparently.

So... can you tell who is excited, and who isn't? Happy back-to-school!

Meant

I've meant to blog about several things lately, but I haven't. If I had found the time to post you might have enjoyed reading about...

...My trip to Ignite Portland 3. Kate and I had a fun time. Afterwards we went to dessert at Rimsky's with Ana's mommy and daddy. But hey, at least you can look at my photos from the event.

...Eating dinner at the new Flatbread Community Oven in the Old Mill District. While the gelato was worth going back for, the pizza was a little "meh!" Oh well...

...Boo's ballet recital. The one that lasted three hours, in a non-air conditioned auditorium. That also featured tap dancers. Which proves that I love Boo. A LOT!

...Hiking the McKenzie Trail to Tamolitch Pool. With Divot and a friend. To see a waterfall that happens once in a lifetime. It was worth the drive.

...Eating Chicken & Waffles in Downtown Bend. But they were a little too classy for my taste. I bet I know who can do better. (And I'll let you know as soon I hear whether they give it a twirl!)

...Going to a Bend Elks baseball game with Occidental Girl and her family. RHPB bought OC a sno-cone which quite possibly made him a new best friend, but might also have made her head spin around from the sugar rush. Oops!

...Our family trip to da beach. It was windy but still fun. We hiked, played in the sand, and found geocaches. Oh yeah, and I got older while we were there too.

...How sore I was after walking (at 6:30 in the morning) with Chubby Mommy and Speedy Kate.

Sorry folks, I meant to do better. Where the heck is this summer going, and would someone please hit the pause button?!

Vacation

School's Out! I don't know about you but two of my least favorite words are "I'm Bored!" Lately I have been looking around to see what types of free activities are out there for the rug rats... and it turns out there is a lot going on for the kids in Bend this summer. So in addition to what I am sure will be weekly (daily?!) trips to the pool I made a list of all of the different activities that they can try... and since I am super-nice I also put them on a calendar of free summer activities (including the scheduled events at the library that are part of the FREE Summer Reading Program) for all of you to take advantage of, as well!

Standard disclaimers apply! Please verify all activities and hours before attending to be sure something isn't canceled or rescheduled at the last minute. Since my kids live in Bend, this calendar is pretty much just about Bend! (But maybe Occidental Girl will setup a Redmond calendar that I can link to?) If there is something you know about that is missing, leave a comment and let me know and when I get around to it I will add it. :-) And... ENJOY!

Happy summer, everyone!

Bounce

Christopher Robin: You're next, Tigger. Jump!
Tigger: Jump? Tiggers don't jump. They bounce.

Bouncing... it's not just for Tiggers. Or for toddlers and "little kids". Today, we all bounced. Sometimes, we bounced up high. We bounced on slides, steps and mushrooms. We bounced in castles, elephants, and an obstacle course. They bounced balls, bounced on hippity-hops, hula-hooped, and balanced on pogo balls. The kids bounced for close to three hours. I took many, many breaks. It turns out bouncing is hard work!!

Therefore we are all very, very tired.

Wanna see the rest of the photos? Click here!

Fiddle

When we found a spot on the bleachers, I leaned over and told Boo, "no matter what happens, remember that I love you very much." She looked at me with a confused expression. I reassured her that soon she would understand.

Kids dressed in black pants and white shirts (some with ties!) started to filter in and find their seats on the gym floor. We spotted Q.P. and Stinky among them. It was almost time to begin.

Our chosen seats had a good view of Stinky but it was tough to see Q.P. which was a little disappointing. Finally the teacher appeared... and the 6th grade orchestra concert began!

Some time during the first number Boo asked me, "Is this supposed to be 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'?" And by the look on her face I knew that she understood my earlier comment. But all things considered, it was pretty good for a bunch of kids who just started playing assorted stringed instruments. And it was QUICK too... they only played for about 20 minutes. There were few surprises - I think they played the same tunes that I probably played at my first orchestra concert.

But there was one large surprise - Stinky was the second chair for the first violins.

When it was over, I could tell that the kids were relieved. That first performance is a tough one. Next year music classes are optional. I hope they will both continue with something, if not orchestra.

Snow

Just like many other bloggers in Bend, we have a lot of snow in our neighborhood. By the end of the day yesterday (Tuesday) there was about six inches. That's apparently a LOT for the East side of town. So we made the most of it and enjoyed it!

Divot loves the snow. The highlight of our trip to Eugene last month for her was stopping at the top of the pass so that she could run and roll around on it. She loves it when anyone throws snowballs at her. Her favorite thing to do is try to catch them in her mouth and then quickly crunch them into little pieces. She would chase snowballs, big and small, for hours. What a weird dog! Scott started making huge snowballs, and lobbing them high in the air for Divot to catch. Like the one in the photo to the right - which was taken just moments before it smashed onto her nose, and broke into tiny pieces. Still, she wanted moremoremore! Long after we went inside for the night, she sat by the window looking out at the snow.


And yes, of course the kids love the snow too. They bundled up in their snow pants, boots, hats and gloves and headed outside. The roads in our neighborhood are just steep enough to slide down, and they started packing a sledding hill at the park across the street, too. Some other kids from the area were out playing too, and the shrieks and giggles could probably be heard for miles.

Meanwhile Scott and I shoveled. And shoveled some more. And some more. We don't have a long driveway by any stretch of the imagination. But it took the two of us more than an hour to clear it, as well as the sidewalks. Yes, today I am soooore!

It was starting to get dark, but the girls wanted to build a snow man. They did a great job and now we have a "stranded Mt Bachelor skiier" snow man in our yard. Complete with (really old, pointy) skis, poles, and lift pass. How cute is that? My favorite part is the hat.


Happy snow day!

Purge

We (OK... I) decided that one of the "musts" for starting off the new year was purging the kids' rooms. They have accumulated so much stuff, that I don't even know when they use half of it.

Today was day one, and I started off with Boo. We emptied her room into the bonus room - anything and everything but the furniture and her "keepsake" shelves (we wouldn't want to break anything).

Then, slowly but surely we put everything back... where it belongs. You see, a few days ago I hit Target's sale on Rubbermaid and stocked up. So now all the little odds and ends are neatly stored in labeled containers. Phew! It actually didn't take as long as I thought it would - but I was also there to keep her moving instead of playing with every little thing she touched. As a bonus - she also found plenty of stuff to give away! Some of it will be saved for future generations, and some will go either on the Freecycle list or charity. We'll see.

Next up is Q.P.'s room. She has accumulated a LOT more stuff than Boo, but hopefully it won't eat up the rest of the week. Luckily we still have plenty of containers left! Haven't decided when to get her started yet... any volunteers?

Inservice

Today was an Inservice day, grading day, or some obscure holiday (Pearl Harbor Day?) so the kids didn't have school. But Scott and I had to work. Boo is off at her dad's, but I planned to work from home anyways because we have many stashes and caches of Christmas loot around the house. I didn't want to give Q.P. and Stinky the opportunity to dig around. Then last night Q.P.'s friend (we'll call her Miss M) spent the night, and she ended up spending the day here as well.

Which made "working from home" more like "referee between emails". I didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked, but I probably still got more done than if I had been in the office.

It was actually pretty quiet until about 11 this morning. By then everyone was up and milling around, and wanting to watch cartoons or whatever. Stinky was hanging out in the living room, and made some paper snow flakes. Q.P. needed to clean her room and get her birthday party invitations ready. After the room was sufficiently un-messed, the girls ran over to Miss M's to pick up some supplies. When they came back we had a quick lunch and they got to work. They made some really cute invite's that look like flip-flop sandals. They also made a big, crafty mess.

Next they all gathered around the table and I took a break to teach them how to make these really nifty 3-D snowflakes. This kept them busy (and quiet) for about an hour. If you have older kids (probably 9 and up) this is a really fun way to keep the kids busy for a while. And who doesn't have paper, tape, and a stapler (I recommend the red Swingline model) around the house? Okay... so I couldn't find our stapler, so we borrowed Miss M's. But I know that I will find it some day.

Miss M hung hers around Divot's neck. Doesn't she make a nice model?

Finally it was time to clean up. And then a wrestling match (girls vs. boy of course). Miss M and Q.P. had Stinky pinned to the floor in no time. Then time to finish cleaning. :) Just as they were done Scott got home, and admired their handiwork. For once he thought one of our cheezy day-off-school craft projects was cool. He wants us to make some ginormous snowflakes to hang around the house.
Stinky, Miss M, and Q.P. are snow flaky.

Eyeballs

For Halloween this year, the cool treat was the gummy eyeballs. The kids got a bunch of 'em... and finally polished off the last of them a few days back. We had dinner with some friends tonight and they brought over a bunch more. The kids are ecstatic!! Especially since we were almost out of Halloween candy. All the chocolate's gone anyways, and that is all that matters right?

Their favorite trick? Sticking it in between their teeth with the eyeball gazing out at you, covering one eye with their hand, and jumping up and down shrieking. It was really funny...

But only the first twenty times I saw it.

Eyeball, anyone?

Tricks

After a busy Halloween-eve, the kids still managed to find the energy to have some Halloween fun. This year Q.P.'s friend M joined in on the fun!

We started off with our traditional trip to the Expressway market to see "Otis" and guess how many seeds would be inside. This is always one of the favorite stops since they also happen to give away full-size candy bars.

Next, we headed over to the office for the "Fall Festival" trick-or-treating event. After having their picture taken with "Frank" they were off through the hallways, collecting candy at every turn. I think they made it through the entire building in about 20 minutes flat - a new record! We took a quick break to have some cookies and cider, and then headed out.

We visited and trick-or-treated at a few friends' houses. Then it was time for Boo to go trick-or-treating with her Dad. I took Stinky, Q.P., and M to McDonald's and picked up a pizza for me and Scott. We dropped by Q.P.'s mom's house so that she could show off her costume. Finally we hit the road back to the house.

Scott had been busy handing out candy to many neighborhood goblins. This was a pretty busy year at our door, I don't know if they bussed the kids in from somewhere else? The girls did a loop around the neighborhood and collected even more loot.

By the time we finally settled down and the doorbell stopped ringing (I turned the light off at 9pm) we were bushed. It seemed odd that the kids were out trick-or-treating in the light since we are still in Daylight Savings mode, but it didn't seem to bother them.

Tomorrow

I am taking the girls to Portland. Why this mid-week jaunt over the pass?

We are going to see "Hannah Montana" at the Rose Garden.

I think this puts me squarely into the "certifiable" category. But it's all good. And the girls are understandably - ecstatic. No, that might not be a strong enough term. Overjoyed? Delirious? That's closer. Deliriously overjoyed? Yeah, that's probably about right.

Now Stinky - that's a totally different story. I have four tickets (knowing full well that Scott would laugh even more hysterically if I had asked him to go). And when I asked Stinky if he was interested, he responded "what do I look like, a ten year old GIRL?!"

So it will just be me and the girls heading to P-town tomorrow night. My friend Carrie is going with us, so it really is a girls' night out. Which, I have been informed, is the name of an actual song by "Hannah Montana". I am new to the whole "Hannah" phenom, since we only recently started getting the Disney channel. It's a cute show, and it could be a lot worse. Have you ever seen "The Wiggles"? Apparently you can go to their concerts, too. *shudder* It is shocking to me what a big deal this concert has been in the news. I don't think my mom bought our crummy whoever-on-ice tickets from scalpers at several hundred dollars each. Just for the record, neither did I. Apparently we got lucky... because a lot of other people did.

Let's hope "Hannah" gives all of us in the nosebleed seats a wave. And wish me luck!

Pancakes

When Scott and I moved in together, one of his contributions to the household was a fabulous recipe for pancakes. That's right... fabulous. Not yummy, not fantastic... fabulous.

Part of what makes them fabulous is that the recipe is pretty easy. Mix the dry ingredients together, mix the wet ingredients together, then mix 'em all together. No weird ingredients either - it's all stuff that everyone that cooks on a semi-regular basis has in their kitchen.

But here's a secret - I hate to make pancakes. Something about making six at a time, and then waiting, and then six more, and then waiting again... just not my thing. But of course we all love pancakes so in the past we compromised - I made the batter, and Scott had griddle duty.

Last night when we were thinking about dinner, someone suggested pancakes. And then I had a brilliant idea. The kids are old enough to cook. Even Boo (8) can make things like brownies (from a mix) and Top Ramen. So, we let the three of them have at it.

They did all of the work themselves, with a few questions about using the griddle and what kind of oil to use. The batter was mixed, and QP started working on cooking them.

We went over to investigate, and the batter looked pretty thin to me but I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Until I tried one.

They were awful.

I can't figure out what they did, but whatever it was, it was very very bad. So we washed the rest of the batter down the sink, the kids cleaned up the kitchen, and we ordered a pizza.

Maybe we'll let them try again next week.

Until then... here is the recipe!

Corny

Last weekend (yes, the one before we just finished- I am behind)... we took the kids to the corn maze. Not the pumpkin patch, since we weren't quite organized enough to get on the road earlier in the afternoon. But we sure had fun exploring the maze in the dark!

Everything starts off in the pirate ship. You enter through a "gangplank" on the other side.


If you go around the far side there are stairs and you can explore the deck. There is a slide and the kids can "walk the plank" - jumping off into a pile of mattresses and straw.


Then the fun begins...


We all got pretty lost in the ma(i)ze. Eventually Stinky went off on his own, and the girls also split off from us. Stinky found his way through several times. Scott had to go in and look for the girls while I was stationed at the exit. Everyone had a great time - after all it's just a corn maze right?

Sweeeeeeet

School

The first day of school ... an event that triggers a combination of emotions ranging from anguish to ecstacy ... for everyone in the household!

Boo started third grade today. She is excited by her school's "habitat" where they are growing a variety of crops and critters. Today they snacked on sunflower seeds from the garden (she likes the bagged ones better, because they are salted). She proudly showed off her "agenda" (a notebook with a calendar and organizer) and seems happy with her new teacher and classmates.

Stinky and QP both started sixth grade - middle school - today. This is the first year that they will be attending the same school. It will be interesting to see how things go. They are in separate "houses" so they only have music together so far. Currently they are biking to and from school, since the trip is about a mile. We'll probably re-evaluate this plan when it's not so light at 7:15 in the morning, though. That's right... they leave at seven-freakin-fifteen. School starts at 7:45 in the morning. Yaa-aaawwwwn... I am sooo glad that I am not in middle school any more.

QP said that she had a blast and that middle school is waaaay better than elementary school. How long do you think that will last? She wanted to stay and watch Stinky's practice (more on that in a minute) but she called me and said she was cold, and heading home. She decided against playing volleyball this fall (?!?!?!). I told Scott she's turning into a girl. Heaven, help us.

Stinky is happy too. He saw his new buddy from orientation and had sushi (yeup, SUSHI) for lunch. Hmm, maybe I wish I was still at middle school after all! He had a great time at his first Cross Country practice, even though it was really tough. I reminded him that the first couple weeks will be the hardest, as that is when they tend to weed out the kids who aren't as dedicated. If he can make it through that stretch then he will be fine.

Happy kids? Check. Phone calls from the office? Zip (so far). Yeah, I would say this year's off to a great start!

Kaboom!

The first day of school is starting with a bang - literally. There is a huge thunder, lightning and hail storm passing over us right now. Fun, huh?

I wonder if Stinky's first XCountry practice will be canceled? Do you think the kids are still glad they decided to ride their bikes to school?