Pictures of the kids

These are Alex and Samantha's school pictures as well as some pictures I took on Halloween morning.

Trick-or-treat

The kids had a spooktacular Halloween this year and managed to gather 6 lbs. of candy each. We first headed to our downtown district of Turlock were most of the business hand out candy. If they are participating, they tape an orange paper in their window. This is my favorite part of the day because I can window shop and find new store downtown. I found one little handmade country store were I bought a bar of homemade almond oatmeal soup and put on my mental list a set of hand sewn placemats with matching napkins. I also came across a children's consignment store and I think I'll knit a couple of hats to sell there. Since Grandpa Ron has his apartment on Main Street above the storefronts, we were able to get treats at his house. 2 bowls of goodies waited for the kids along with a nice place to make a potty stop and rest from walking. His place is slowly coming together and is perfect for him.
Later that evening, Grandpa Ron took the kids in our neighborhood and I was surprised at how long they stayed out. I want to say it was close to 2 hours. When they returned, Ron claimed they walked all the way to Modesto (about 15 min. away from us). Overall, it was a fun Halloween, with way too much candy, and I've already eaten my share of it.

Samantha's 1st Horse Show

Samantha had her horse show this last Saturday in Galt. Neil and Grandpa Ron when to watch our girl. Samantha has been taking horse lessons in Jackson curtosy of Horsey Grandma. She was so excited to have her first competition. She won 2 first place trophies and ribbons, a 3rd place ribbon, and a participant ribbon. And these are gorgeous ribbons. They remind me of best of show ribbons from our county fair. For future lessons, Samantha will be working off half of the cost by cleaning stalls and other chores for her insturctor. She is absolutly in love with horses and I am so thankful to my mom that she is able to provide her with the lessons.

On a budget

I started reading "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey and have been very impressed to follow his steps on getting out of debt. He gives 7 Baby steps to financial freedom. Check out this page on his website for details on the steps. So we are starting and it takes alot of work to get a budget together and to look at your total spending. I averaged our spending over the last 3 months on groceries and it was around $600 a month. I had no idea we spend that much. I was thinking more like $400. And that's with me being a bargain shopper. We decided that we will be putting paying off our debt above all other spending - vacation, Christmas presents, eating out, and so forth. I know we can do it because we have already been sacrificing and buying less.

One of my favorite bargains in town has been shopping at the local 99 cent store. This week I found bananas, grapes, tomatoes, tortillas, hash browns, Halloween candy, and a gift bag. The produce is usually not the best, I would give it a B- but it last just as long as produce that I buy at the super markets.

Alex had a hard day....

Alex must of had some bad karma floating around him or luck just wasn't on his side yesterday. I got 2 calls from his school. The first one was asking me to bring him a new pair of shoes because his broke. He ripped off the back strap on his red clogs. I wasn't anywhere near home so I had to go to Rite Aid and buy him a new pair of shoes. The red ones ended up in the garbage, which was fine with me because they never fit right anyway.

The 2nd call was by the school nurse informing me that Alex had been "accidentally" hit in the face by one of his classmate, but she put ice on it and he was fine. By the time I picked him up, an hour later, his poor left check and eye were still red. I asked him if one of his friends had hit him and he told me the boy isn't is friend anymore and he had kicked him in the face...Ouch!

Later that evening....we are having dinner and I just happen to be sitting next to Alex (not always the case) and notice something little sticking out of his ear. A closer look revealed a rolled up piece of paper! I pulled it out and demanded answers, Why did you put it in your ear? (I don't know) When did you put it in your ear? (At lunch time. It was a sticker on the table) Did you put anymore in your ear besides this little piece? (Only one on this side and two on this side) That got Neil moving to find his flash light and a pair of tweezers. Neil extracted the remaining pieces. I felt we should take him to the doctor, Neil felt he got it all and they were blocked by big chunks of wax so they couldn't have gone very far. Alex was very remorseful especially after we lectured him that he could loose his hearing. In my best mom voice my final words to him were, "You don't ever put anything in your ears, up your nose, in your eyes or up your butt." (Did I name all of the orifices?)

Weekly updates

Neil is on a motorcycle trip with 2 of his fellow traffic officers. They origianlly had planned on going to Reno but due to the weather, they went to Las Vegas instead. So far he is having a great time. Yesterday they took a trip to Hoover Dam and Neil called home from the very top. He also spit to see what it would look like! He will be headed home tomorrow evening.

Samantha has started piano lessons and is going on her third lesson. She has picked it up rather quickly and loves it. I brings me back to my own piano lesson days and how much I hated to practice! My grandma told me I would regret quiting some day. So, no matter what, Samantha will take piano for at least 2 years. After that, she can pick a different instrument if she wishes.

Alex is excelling in kindergarten and it's remarkable to see how quickly he learns. He is still in soceer, although we have missed 3 games so far (out of town, sick, and raining).

We went to out friend Nathan Wallen's 2nd birthday yesterday. The theme was balls so I made him his own football cake. I was privledged to make his 1st birthday cake as well which was a horse's head. He was having a bit of a hard time with all the people and it was his nap time.

I have my application in for a part-time job at 2 different places. One is for a teachers aide at a nursery school and the other is to be a caregiver here in Turlock. Both would be flexable and work around the kids schedules. I'll keep you updated.

Neil's dad, Ron, moved to CA from Wisconsin this week. We are so happy to have part of Neil's family here. He has offered to help with the kids while I'm working. Alex adores his Grandpa Ron and wants him to live forever in our house. Ron is looking for something close by. He is used to the bachlor life for the last 15+ years.

September, 10 years ago.....

10 years ago....a decade ago(as Neil likes to say), was when we started dating. Oh, the memories. Can it really be that long ago? But yes, sad to say it's true. Sad is the wrong word to use. A ten year journey that started on the Internet. Neil and I met on AOL Personal Dating Ads and from the 1st date on we were stuck together like glue. We've had a wonderful 10 years, some more memorable than others. Like the years our children were born - couple vacations - family vacations - living in Napa, CA - the Airforce - buying a house - my grandparents passing - Neil working toward his bachelor degree - police academy - Alex being sick and in the hospital - me working at Safeway - Neil's job. And through it all, Neil has been my best friend, lover, goof ball, provider, and sweetheart. He has definitely earned the title of "The Best Husband in the whole wide World." I love you honey.

New things on Etsy

By reading our blog it doesn't seem like I have been doing much of the crafty sort lately. That's because my time has been consumed with kids, a husband, and school work (my school work). I find that the day flies by most of the time and I have very little time for crafting (knitting). But I have managed to squeeze in a couple of projects lately. I added 2 new hats to my Etsy shop and also knitted a scarf for Lyndee for her upcoming birthday. The scarf was made using vintage yarn that Geena, my youngest sister, bought for me at a yard sale. She purchased a black yard size garbage bag full of vintage yarns. Other than the musty smell that goes away the more you handle it, the yarn has be a welcome member of my stash (much to Neil's dismay because all of my stash is sprawled about in our Master bedroom)

Yes! That is my son modeling the pink girly hat. Don't worry, I made him to it, he didn't volunteer.
The yarn used for this scarf was called Flame. A cross between hot pink and bright orange.

Alex's Kindergarten Life

Alex has had a bit of a hard time adjusting to school. This was the end of week 3for him and it ended with triumph. Alex won over his wiggles and running feet and made it through the day without any time-outs. He earns a prize from his "prize bucket" when he accomplished this tremendous feet. 2 out of 4 days this week were good days for him. The other 2 gave him a bit of trouble. The beginning of this week started out wonderful because it was the first time he didn't cry and say he would miss me. He even ran out of his classroom a few times! One morning I had to drag him in by his backpack and the next day I had to carry him. But, the 3rd week brought no tears and no whines. I think he really enjoys it (especially all the girls - he seems to know all of their names).
Al started soccer 2 weeks ago. He practices on Wed. evening for 1 hour and we will start games in the next couple of weeks on Sat. mornings. He is the one always lagging behind, not listening, standing on his head during discussions, stopping to fart in the middle of a drill, and so forth. Although, this week seemed to grab his attention more. That's my boy. He has his Daddy's attention span and my gas!

Samantha's Days in 4th Grade

Samantha has been thriving and excelling in her new GATE class. She has been attending for almost 1 month now and loves it. She actually has less homework than she had last year because she finishes it in class. She does spend 10 mins a day studying her spelling words (a list of 25-30 per week) and 10 mins. on vocubulary words. She also has to read for 20 mins. every evening and complete a book report at the end of each month. She is very happy at her new school and hasn't complained about missing her "old" friends at all.
Lyndee has been at our house less and less - just on Thursdays for gymnastics. This seems to put alot less stress on the entire family, especially Samantha. They pretty much do nothing but argue.
Samantha started horse riding lessons last weekend - a treat from Horsey Grandma. She has 2 lessons in one weekend. She is learning English style riding and has received many compliments from her instructor saying that she is extremely talented.
I'm hoping to purchase a keyboard from Costco this weekend. They have one for a little under $100 - we have a rebate check for $62 - and I want to start lessons for Samantha and myself. I think Alex will enjoy playing as well. My children love to sing and are always singing up a storm in the car on the way to and from school.