The first Thanksgiving…

This week I had to volunteer in Jacob’s class.  They learned all about the Mayflower and we made stuff as we learned about pilgrims.  It was fun meeting more of Jacob’s friends.  My favorite part was knowing Jacob is well liked (isn’t that important to all Mom’s). One friend said Jacob “rocked” when he thought I didn’t know what he meant his other friends added… “he’s awesome”  and “cool”.  I just love that boy!

They also made butter.

and candles. Which proves messy. All the kids clothing was getting covered in candle wax. Is something wrong with me that this was not okay with me?  Jacob was careful because he knows me but I made a girl decked out in Gymboree at least take off her sweater.

 

It reminded me that a few years ago I was in Plymouth and I learned about the pilgrims story first hand.  This was a replica of the Mayflower that had actors on board acting out the story.

 

The boat was small and since it was winter I can tell you it was unbearably cold too.  It put a whole new meaning about coming to America.

The plantation was so interesting. I would have loved to show my kids.  They had a whole town all set up with homes, actors etc…  You really got a feel for life during that time.   I am grateful to not sacrifice so much for my food, warmth and freedom.

Pumpkin Cake

Gather some help and

4 Eggs

1 cup of oil

1 16 oz can of pumpkin

1 2/3 cups sugar

2 c Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Cinnamon

1tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking soda

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1/4 tsp Cloves

 

and

Watch for taste testing…

It’s easy Lindsey did a lot of it.

Put all ingredient together and mix.

Bake  350 for 20 min.

Let it cool and ice with cream cheese frosting.

3 oz cream cheese softened

1/2  cup butter (softened)

1 tsp Vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Milk to taste.

Whip.

Delish.

New Moon….

We decided to have fun with our girls night this week and celebrate New Moon. We have all been excitedly waiting for its release!

First we headed off to dinner.

Then we headed over to watch Twilight (which we didn’t get all in) because first Lisa did my make up.

Here we are just heading out the movie. 

I can’t wait to not be smiling with braces!

Here we are waiting for the movie to start. It was total mayhem!  Luckily our theatre sells tickets and it always reserves your seat. No lines ever.

Just before the movie started I was almost treated to a full moon. That’s my leg and magazine in the photo.

Speechless.  It’s not about size but it looks like she might have forgotten her shirt!

 

We really enjoyed the movie. It was wonderful!  My sister Diana got stuck working out of town and we missed her.  We used her seat for purses and coats which seem to worry people, but we paid for the seat.  We’ll take Diana next week so she won’t feel left out. Being that we were front row and the noise level made it tough to hear the movie none of us mind at all!

New Moon..

1-New Moon midnight tonight! To say I am excited is an understatement.

I love the books and the movie. I love having fun.

Just leaving all the stresses of life behind. Being silly.

I highly recommend all people, especially women and mothers (as I relate to that most). Find ways to express themselves and find joy for themselves. Both inside the home and for themselves.

I think it makes you a happier person. I think it makes you more fun. I think it makes you more likeable -even to yourself.

So if New Moon isn't your thing. Find something that is. Take time to do it. Leave the laundry that is mounting, the stress at work... behind and do it.

Read a book.
Go to the gym.
Go to lunch (alone).
Listen to music.
Talk to a friend.
Get a treat.
Leave kids at home (with Dad or sitter) and be alone for a bit.

We all need balance.

We all have time for that :)

I'll be at New Moon at midnight. It will be worth waking up tired Friday morning and getting kids off to school and playing Mom half dead. Have a great day! It's a great one for me.

Halloween…

I read all about Mom’s who love Halloween. I must be missing some gene because I find Halloween exhausting.  All the partied poop me out and the pressure with costumes stress me to no end.  Somehow every year though on Halloween night, when the whole process is almost over I relax and enjoy it.  Maybe its getting to see my kids eyes light up with the fun of it all. Who knows.

 

The girls had a Halloween program this year with their new preschool.  Which was absolutely adorable!

Here are the girls with their teachers.

 

 

Then there was the school parade. Each of the older kids had a twin go to their class and walk with them. They were thrilled.  Next year the girls will be in kindergarten. Boo hoo.

 

Here the kids are with their cousins.  We always have everyone over for Chili and take pictures before trick or treating. This year Alan’s Mom was able to stop by and just see them from the car. The kids were so thrilled to see her they could barely take pictures.

The weather was unseasonably warm and wonderful. It felt like California trick or treating.  This year their cousins stayed for trick or treating too. What a treat!

My little cheetah’s.

Jacob was Anikan.  This mask was so weird and funny.  We got a real laugh every time he put it on.

Lindsey was a ghoul bride and was thrilled about it.  I have to admit she looked great :)

Last days…

I know your probably tired of hearing about our cruise but in the interest of recording it all for my journaling please hang in there. I promise to get to newer postings soon…

 

Here is our ship. The Elation. This is an older ship but it didn’t matter. The service and the crew were absolutely wonderful!  Upon arriving back on the ship from Cabo was a relief. Lisa’s head was still spinning a bit and my leg, though mostly normal, was a bit sore. We decided after lunch to go in the hot tub. Lisa went to lay down.  So Holly and I headed over to the hot tub, we sent Diana to change and check on Lisa.  After a while it seemed crazy Diana wasn’t joining us.  Holly and I chatted got out and even laid out for a while assuming Diana decided on another plan (you can’t contact people on the ship easily). When Diana arrived she had a crazy story to tell. Apparently while in the doorway talking to Lisa a girl walked by and fell face first on the ground. Stone cold passed out. They were very concerned they couldn’t revive her and called boat security.  Apparently and unfortunately the boat deals with a lot of drunks on cruises especially after a day of cheap boo’s in cabo.   What surprised all of us was that she was alone. No friend in sight. How could people just let her away from them in that condition, unless they were all in that condition.  Lisa and Diana spent a half hour doing their good deed and tried to help her get help. In the end someone threw her over their shoulder and took her off (we hope they knew her).  I don’t know it didn’t seem very safe to be in that condition. People are crazy.   It was then that the girls noticed my swim suit, which was blue, was almost white. Somehow just 30 minutes in a cold hot tub bleached it out.  

 

After that we dressed for dinner. It was one of  our last nights and its kind of a show time with the waiter.  They sing and dance for you. Our waiter had been so amazing and fun so we took a picture with him.

So when he pulled Lisa and I to dance with him we did it. It was fun.

The next morning we got up early so we could lay around all day at the end of the ship. It was so nice. The weather began to turn as we headed back to San Diego. Mostly windy.

I was very glad my Mom still came along even though Jan couldn’t come.  It felt so bad leaving Jan behind who is was still in the hospital. The trip was planned with my mother in law, my mom, my sisters, and my sister in law (who is like a sister now) Lisa.  Our group did well on the trip and I think we all enjoyed each other  very much!

I had to thank my friend Hillary who jumped in and babysat my kids while I was gone. It required a lot of her time (she has four small children of her own and was just under 3 months old).  I heard great things about her house from my kids about the projects and games they got to do.  I felt so good knowing my kids were having so much fun too and not feeling displaced or upset.  I also need to thank Alan. He did great playing Mr. Mom even though he admitted that my hair standards for the girls could not be met.   He actually surprised me and cleaned out our garage and built floor to ceiling storage. He also stayed up till 2am every night creating a birthday surprise where he painted my room and bought a new mirror etc… This was very sweet as he did it all while watching the kids.   These breaks are so fun and make it so much easier to be a good wife and mother. 

Boat hitchhiking….

Day 2 we got up and off the boat early. So early they were not serving breakfast!  We had early reservations with a dive and snorkel company called Eagle Divers.  I have to give credit to my sister in law Lisa here. All the time I have known here she has made it known she hated the ocean (it was a big step for her to go into in the previous pictures and only proves how warm and safe it seemed) and hated snorkeling even more. She tried it back in Hawaii (which was a very rough day even for me) and she hated it. Yet when we all decided to go she went along and bravely said she would try it out and try to give it another chance.  As we left the dive shop she seemed okay…

Diana had really wanted to scuba dive but we were told we couldn’t go altogether so she gave up on the idea. Turns out we could so Holly and Diana (who are both certified and much more adventurous then me went). If your wondering – yes they are both like a size 0.

The boat was super rough and super bouncy. It was even making me feel a bit queasy (and for the record I never get motion sick).  So pretty soon Lisa was feeling just terrible. She is totally sensitive to motion sickness and had done great on the cruise with Bonine but this just surpassed it abilities.  By the time we arrived at our snorkel spot Lisa was miserable!  Still a sport she jumped in the water and tried it out. She informed me she did not want to see or go near fish. Which of course separated her and I. 

My Dad

After several minutes I went to find her and could tell she wasn’t okay and she decided to swim out to beach.  The current in the water rocking her was making her much worse.  So I continued snorkeling along for a while and eventually checked on her on shore.  I swam with her back to the boat thinking that would help. It didn’t by the way. She was a trooper and sat on the boat for almost an hour.

Yeah I don’t look that good when I am sick either… she was green though I assure you.

After an hour or more I began wondering if the scuba divers were ever going to surface.  Being the person I am I felt the need to get all the snorkeling I could in and stayed in the water till they almost shot me out of the water with their bubbles coming up. At this point I noticed a stranger getting on board (we had a small group so it was obvious). I asked her if she was joining our tour and she told me she was and blew me off.  Who am I to argue- maybe she paid.  She got on board with several bags.  No one seemed worried but me.  When the instructor surfaced with my sisters he seemed concerned about her too. He asked he kindly if she needed help, and what she was doing. She kept telling us where she wanted to go and acted annoyed about getting there. Our tour guide asked if she was in trouble or something and she explained she had worked really hard to get there and took a bus to get here.  Then she had to swim really far (yeah we weren’t right on shore).  He explained that most people took the bus back and this was a paid tour (all the while he was kind and careful to see if she needed something). Pretty soon she got really angry and asked us, “ haven’t you ever seen a boat hitch hiker before”?  and then she left. She backstroked all the way back to shore with her bags in the air the whole way. It was too bizarre to be funny. I sure wish I had taken a picture of her swimming back. Later I found out she had asked a surfer to bring her to our boat (which he did).  It was a really nutty thing. 

Our next stop was a shorter one because we spent so much time at the other location.  I felt tired but was excited because the visibility was very clear and their seemed to be even more ocean life.  Almost immediately after diving in I felt a terrible sting on my leg. At first it seemed bearable but within minutes it got hotter and worse and almost unbearable. I went to our boat and figured out I had been strung by a jelly fish (which I already knew) and he tried spraying ammonia on it too help.  Apparently the same jelly fish got a kid near me at the same time (somehow I never saw that). I spent the rest of the time on shore in pain letting the water hit me (throw me down) trying to nurse my leg.  Fun times.   My sister, Holly wasn’t too interested in snorkeling after me getting stung.  My Dad, however, said it was the best spot of the trip- so at least someone enjoyed it!  Oh and Lisa (forgot to mention her) was dropped off on the beach and spent her time laying down and trying to recover (which worked) and she was much better by the time we got back.  Me, on the other hand, felt the sting most of the day.

 

After our trip we went back to the market for last minute jewelry shopping. My dress was killing my sting laying on it so I tried to keep it up and off it. Pretty soon while looking at a necklace a guy told me he would give me a great deal (he thought I was showing some leg).  Not what I was going for so after that I kept my dress down and gritted my teeth.  Hee  hee.

This picture is mostly for me to laugh. The first time I went to Cabo a year ago we met this gal in flea market. She was very short so it made it easy to remember her and find her (she gave us great deals). We took our picture with her but none of us were wearing make up and all us looked half dead from our day.  She is short enough I can crop out all our heads and you still see her.

 

We all got great jewelry. I can be sure Lisa won’t try snorkeling again and I will be on the watch for jelly fish. I love snorkeling and hope next time I snorkel I won’t feel too scared to enjoy it.  It was quite a day!  I highly recommend eagle divers and our tour guide Joel. They were great.