Pink Confetti

I think I'm losing time.  It's Thursday and my weekend started today.  I don't think I actually accomplished anything this week.  My laundry didn't get started til today and that's only cause I didn't have anymore clean pajamas. I never knew taking care of a toddler would be so intense.  Samuel is trying to learn, grow and absorb information at such a rate that I can't keep up.  Add to that he has refused naps two days this week, doesn't he know he needs naps to grow?  And that mommy needs naps too? I am so excited to go away this weekend. Tyrone and I are going on a marriage retreat and having our 1st Samuel free weekend.  I probably won't catch up on my sleep but I will get to see my husband. It should be interesting to see how my parents and Samuel survive the weekend.  The nice part is they are all going to the cabin.  Samuel has slept just fine there and enjoys playing pots and pans as drums, since he can't do this at home. After...

Today, Tyrone was the guest speaker at our church.  He usually speaks a couple times a year, sometimes at our church, sometimes at other churches. This morning was the 2nd time Samuel has heard him speak.  Samuel did really well, he listened to daddy and sat quietly in my lap, for the most part.  A couple times he'd stop playing with Grandma's bracelets and point and say 'Daddy.'  He also said 'yellow' quite a few times.  Yellow is the one color Samuel knows, so when he sees it he let's us know.  Samuel got a cute John Deere soft book for Christmas from his Great-Great Aunt Alice.  It is a counting book that is green with a yellow border.  So every page it was 'yellow, yellow, yellow.' Most Sundays, Samuel is audible enough to be picked up by the Pastors mike, which means Samuel can be heard on the podcast of the sermon.  I imagine that if you listen today's, you'll hear lots of yellow and daddy since we were sitting in the front row, inc...

I love candy!  I try really hard to not eat to much and to avoid the candy aisle at the grocery store.  Last night that was not the case.  I wanted chocolate and headed down the candy aisle and there they were SIXLETS.  Sixlets are not really chocolate, they are candy coated chocolate flavored balls.  Carob, is where they get the chocolate flavor.  Not everyone loves carob and it can be an acquired taste, but Sixlets are so yummy. Sixlets are also really hard to find.  For about 5 years I couldn't find them anywhere I thought maybe they stopped making them.  One day I was at Bartell's and there they were,  I was so excited I bought a bunch. Isn't amazing how candy can be like a time machine?  When I think of sixlets I think of Halloween.  That was the only time I remember them growing up.  The halloween packages only had 6 pieces, I assume this is why there were called sixlets. Jolly Ranchers are another time machine cand...

Today felt kinda rough, it didn't start out that way.  Today started sunny and lazy.  I had the day off and love days off to hang with Samuel.  On my days off I'm not as tired and we play a lot harder. So we got up opened the curtains and let the sun in the living room.  Tyrone make pancakes and sausage for breakfast.  We had a wonderful family breakfast while watching the Price is Right. After breakfast it was play time and before I knew it, it was nap time.  Since I didn't need a nap I should have done some chores but some how they didn't happen.  So now's it 8pm and I'm regretting it.  My dishwasher needs unloading, my laundry needs to be done, and I didn't even cook dinner. I did have one major accomplishment, I took a shower.  Any parent of a toddler knows that a shower is an amazing accomplishment.  So after I finish this blog I'm going to get off the couch and start with the dishwasher. Did I mention that Samuel is popping...

This past September I found out they are tearing down my old elementary school, View Ridge Elementary.  It made me sad because when Samuel was born I realized he would get to go there.  I've been to so many schools I thought it would be cool that my son could go to at least one of them. My school journey started in Kindergarten with my mom homeschooling me.  My mom and I were best buds and she wasn't ready for me to leave, plus at the time Mukilteo Elementary wasn't the great school it is now.  We both liked homeschooling so much, I stayed home for 1st grade too. For 2nd grade I headed off to Silver Lake Christian School.  I don't remember my parents reasons for starting school but there I was.  I met some new friends but school work wise had a rough start.  Halfway though 3rd grade my parents were done with that school.  My dad was in Japan and woke up in the middle of the night to call and remove me. Come January I started at View Ridge. ...

My day starts at 4am when my alarm goes off and I hit the snooze at least 4 times.  At about 4:12am I realize that I must get up or I'll risk being late to work.  So I stumble off to the bathroom trying to be quiet so I don't wake my boys.  Sometimes I take a peek at Samuel to make sure he's still under his blanket. Once in the bathroom I attempt to make myself presentable while keeping my eyes open.  Once dressed it's time to make breakfast.  Sometimes it's really hard to eat at 4:30 in the morning but I make something edible.  This morning it was grilled cheese in Tyrone's new Sandwich Maker.  During breakfast I check my Facebook even though the only posts to read are the two people that are already at my store.  One last peek at Samuel and I'm out the door.  If I time it right I'm in my car and heading down the street at 5am. Once at work it's time for an Americano or hot chocolate.  I love the perks of working at Starbucks, Free ...

Why does laundry never end?  I feel like I can't go 3 days without washing, drying or folding clothes. There are the whites, darks, towels, sheets, delicates, and the stuff you are supposed wash by itself.  Why do I buy stuff that I can't wash with other stuff?  Or dry clean only?  I've actually stopped buying cute stuff if the label says anything about dry cleaning or wash separately. I try to have a system, work clothes are my 1st priority.  The joys of wearing a uniform to work is I don't have to think about it but I do have to make sure they are clean.  I have 3 sets of work clothes so I only have to wash them every 3 workdays.  I made the choice to only wear black to work since it does't stain like white and khaki.  This also allows me to wash darks with my work clothes. I tend to wash whites next, this usually happens when I run out of clean jammies.  Samuel's stuff is mostly white so I throw in some of his clothes too. Towels o...

Today Samuel is sick, he's got a slight fever and a barking cough.  This is only his 2nd fever so he still doesn't understand being sick.  Poor thing wanted a nap right after breakfast.  So he is napping and I'm watching movies and reminiscing about past sick days. As a child I got the usual stuff: croup, chicken pox, stomach bugs, colds and flus.  I don't remember how bad I felt but I do remember that the rules changed when I was sick. -- No Soda Rule was broken with flat 7up.  To this day drinking 7up makes me feel 5 years old and slightly nauseous. -- Limited TV Rule was broken with Anne of Green Gables marathon.  Anne was replaced with Pride & Prejudice, and today since I don't have a copy of either, I'm watching the Bourne Trilogy. -- Getting dressed was replaced with fresh jammies. One of my more vivid sick days was the chicken pox.  I remember my grandpa came over so my mom could run a quick errand.  We were sitting on the flo...

Why is this the most annoying question of everyday?  Dinner?  It shouldn't be that hard.  We all have to eat and dinner is just as good as breakfast, lunch, or snacks, right? Breakfast Breakfast is easy, there are very defined items for breakfast: cereal, baked goods, eggs, breakfast meat, fruit and leftovers from dinner.  Okay maybe that last one is just me.  I will eat almost any dinner leftover for breakfast.  Tyrone thinks I'm crazy since most people eat the same thing every morning with some variation on weekends.  I blame my mother for this weird habit.  She used to eat cold leftover chicken while making my dad's lunch.  There is just something about leftover pizza, lasagna, or casserole that I can't wait until lunch to enjoy. Lunch Lunch also has a some what defined menu: sandwiches, salads, carrot sticks, soup, burgers, fries, and other lunchy items.  My favorite lunch is grilled cheese sandwiches.  When I was little...

Today was a nothing day.  I didn't plan anything, go anywhere or do anything.  Well maybe I did something.  I woke up and waited for my boys to get up so we could eat breakfast.  At breakfast we watched 'The Price is Right.'  Then Tyrone left for work and Samuel and got on with our day. We played with Samuel's toys and read some books.  Later I got out a bed sheet and shook it to make it bubble up.  Samuel laughed historically and kept running under it.  This lasted about 15 minutes before my arms got tired and Samuel started to get tired. Then it was time to workout.  I workout using my Wii and Samuel loves to copy my moves.  He can do windmills, lunges, heel lifts, pushups and hip circles.  Half way though my workout he got bored so it was time for snack.  How come toddlers can eat so fast sometimes and so slow other times?  Today it took him half an hour to eat half an apple.  After his snack he went down for h...

The view outside my Treehouse is gloomy.  There is snow, slush, trees without leaves and gray skies.  It's cold, wet and windy.  It makes me wish for summer.  My sister is currently enjoying summer in New Zealand.  My friends on Facebook have been posting about wanting summer or going to warm places.  All these thoughts of Summer make me think of my favorite Summer memories. Lake Chelan Every Summer from 1987 - 2000 we would pack up my dad's van and head to Lake Chelan.  Days were spent going to the beach, eating around a campfire, sleeping under the stars, and exploring the town.  We always went with a large group from my Cousin's church, so there were tons of kids to play with all the time. The days were so warm and sunny.  If you got to hot you'd just pop in the lake, fed by snow, to cool off.  The beach at Lake Chelan State Park was so cool, it was made up off three tiers of grass.  You'd claim your spot and then s...

Everyone is talking about snow.  When will it start?  How much will we get?  When will it melt?  Is it spring yet? As I write this it isn't snowing yet, but there are remains of Saturday's snow on the lawn across the street from my treehouse.  The roofs are also partially covered.  I keep hearing that we are getting 3 inches starting at 4pm and ending sometime tomorrow.  All this snow talk has made me remember some of my favorite snow days. January 1985 I'm five years old and I have a new baby sister.  There is lots of snow on our street and in our yard.  Our old house had this amazing yard, it was huge.  There was a greenhouse, large garden, fruit trees, volleyball/badminton court, sandbox, and a huge deck. I remember going out side with my dad and his old sled, the real kind with runners.  He would make the runners slippery by rubbing them with a candle.  We would walk up the little hill by our house and sled down. ...

Today is my day off so I decided to play Happy Homemaker.  I don't like doing chores on workdays, weekends or any day for that matter.  But since they need to be done I attempt them on my one weekday off. I have a system for my chores.  I pull up a movie on the Wii via Netflix, today was Romancing the Stone.  Then I start with the laundry so that it is working while I'm working.  After the first load is washing I fold any laundry that has been lying around since the last day I did laundry. Today I also threw a sweet potato and butternut squash in the oven to make some puree. Then I tidy the bathroom.  I like to do the bathroom first since it's the smallest room in our treehouse.  So the bathroom got windexed and wiped down plus new towels. To make chores more fun my shadow, Samuel, follows me around trying to help.  Today Samuel helped by pushing empty laundry buckets around, pulling clean kitchen towels out of their drawer, re-stocking th...

Sundays, I'm not even sure where to start.  It's a day for rest, family, and food. As a child I remember dressing up in a cute frilly dress with frilly socks and hopping in the car and heading  off to church.  I remember that my dad helped teach Sunday School and that my mom played the organ.  It was a small church that met in an old dace school/preschool.  There were lots of kids my age to play with.  Sometimes after church we would go to Taco Bell or McDonalds.  Taco Bell was my favorite.  I remember they had these cinnamon twist things and they were so warm and yummy. When I was a child we still went back to church at night for the second service and it wasn't a repeat.  After church we'd head back home and eat nachos for dinner.  This went on for a few years until we switched churches. Our new church had 3 morning services and my dad always wanted us to go the 8am instead of the 11am.  Some Sundays it was a challenge to ge...

I love Saturdays.  Who doesn't? I have so many wonderful memories about Saturdays growing up.  Every Saturday my dad would make blueberry muffins.  There were so yummy, made with fresh ground whole wheat and blueberries from our yard or my grandpa's.  Most Saturdays involved doing chores around the house, inside and out.  In the Spring and Summer both sets of Grandparents would come over some Saturdays to help with big projects.  Or maybe just to see me and my sister, since we were the only grandchildren. My mom says I used to organize my grandparents.  She claims I started this when I was 2 or 3.  Apparently, I would give them each a job around the house.  After we did the chores they would stay for lunch.  Over the years, they helped paint the exterior of the house, hang curtains, remodel the kitchen, help with the house addition, build a deck, and help plant and harvest the huge garden in the backyard. We moved right before my 9...

I love to grocery shop! When I was little one of my favorite things was to go grocery shopping with my mom.  I'm not sure why I loved it so much.  Maybe cause I got to spend time with her or cause it was Shopping. My mom home-schooled me until 2nd grade so there was lots of grocery shopping days.  I remember starting school and feeling left out that my sister got to go grocery shopping and I didn't.  Whenever Mom would pick me up from school after grocery shopping I would feel so left out.  Fortunately, I was home-schooled again in 5th & 6th grade.  Grocery shopping was back. My mom used my interests to guide my lesson plans, so she focused some of my projects around the grocery store.  I learned how to check the price per pound to see which size was the better deal.  We studied sugar content in cereal and compared it to the price of the cereal.  In the 7th grade I used the cereal data for my science project, I think I got a blue ri...

I live in a Treehouse, or maybe it just feels like I do.  My mom calls me a former basement dweller.  My husband is a former basement dweller too.  So how did two basement dwellers end up in a treehouse? Our treehouse is a miracle.  When Tyrone and I got engaged we started looking at apartment rents and wondered if we could even afford to get married.  Rents were insanely high and our salaries were pretty low.  So we kinda started to worry but kept looking and then we just stopped.  Fortunately my mom loves a good challenge.  She started looking at houses or condos or anything.  Another thing about my mom, she loves to walk.  She gets bored walking in the same neighborhood so sometimes she'll drive to another and walk there.  View Ridge was one of her favorite places to walk. View Ridge is such a different neighborhood.  There are large homes on the bluff, 1950 ramblers, an apartment building, a church, and our condo. ...

Why am I starting a Blog?  I'm not sure but I've been thinking about it for the past month.  Today it dawned on me that I've been reading my sisters blog and learning about her life and I haven't been able to share mine as much. My sister is in New Zealand for the next year and I'm starting to miss talking to her or having her stop by my house.  Every so often she would call and just want to come over and see me.  Samuel misses her too.  He can climb chairs now and every time mine is empty he crawls up and touches my computer looking for his Auntie.  He thinks she lives in my computer, because he only sees her when we video chat. Why am I starting a Blog?  I've had this urge to write about my day and have started composing blogs in my head.  I've always been scared to write.  My teachers were never very supportive of my writing.  They always complained that they couldn't understand why I couldn't write since I read all the time. Ma...