We Do Things

COOKIES AND CUPCAKES

We headed on up to The CA Grandparents house for Memorial Day weekend to catch up with some family. By some, I mean almost all. It was loud, crazy, unpredictable, unsupervised and cute.

This is my cousin's daughter. She thoroughly enjoyed unfettered access to the cookies and cupcakes The Boy had picked out for dessert.

The Littlest Niece enjoyed access to the cupcakes. Or really, the frosting. I picked up about 20 half eaten cupcakes around the yard, I'm sure other responsible adults picked up just as many. Which is insane considering we only had two dozen cupcakes. It was that kind of day.

Bright blue frosting. She thought ahead and wore a top to match. I wish I had that kind of foresight.

"Oh, Hi Mom..."  TLN's momma had my camera most of the party. I was busy. Doing important things. Like teaching The Littles how to feed The Dog ice cubes.

They one upped me though. Toddlers always do...

Free range cupcake eater. Meet free range dog. On a leash. A leash which is tied to nothing. The Toddlers decided to walk The Dog. He was more than happy, until he finished their cupcakes for them.

Some people say that toddlers aren't good at sharing. I think with the proper parenting, this issue is easily fixed. The Littles were more than happy to share with The Dog.

There were smiles all around.

Until the sugar induced comas kicked in.

 

HIGH RED. ANOTHER BELT CLOSER TO BLACK.

The Boy recently tested for and received his High Red belt.

Yes, I do still giggle a little inside everytime he puts on his groin protector.

Almost four years into this journey and The Boy is more committed now than he ever has been. He recently finished a Junior Assistant Instructor course and will now be helping the instructors in classes.

He's becoming quite the young man and without a doubt his chosen sport has helped him to do so. The "family" that surrounds him there is beyond amazing. He will now be one of those mentors.

We've never been prouder.

I just noticed how very exhausted he looks in that last picture! The higher testing takes 2-4 hours and they are constantly sparring and moving. The Boy had to throw a boy who was almost twice as big as himself. He didn't quite do it, but there's always next time.

ART IN SCHOOLS

I know there is quite a bit of fear going around these past years about loosing art in public education. Thanks to our stellar fundraising efforts at The School, I have not had to deal with this particular concern.

The Boy brings home artwork fit for museums. Of some kind.

Introducing Georgia.

Georgia, The Banana Cat.

I'm sure the art teacher felt particularly proud of her chosen career on this day.

Oh, and The Boy wants me to let you know that the proper pronunciation of Georgia is George-ee-ah.

 

 

JUST ANOTHER DAY AT THE FAIR

May brings lots of things to our part of the country. Usually oppressive heat and dreams of the end of another school year, and our annual trip to The Fair.

This year, we missed the oppressive heat. Really, just a little. It got down to 54 degrees and rained on us. The Mom bit back her gut feeling to make everyone take sweatshirts and we all suffered for it.

The fair was losing its hold on The Kids in the recent years. They were getting too big for the kiddie rides and the bigger rides were either too tame after coasters at the amusement park, or still too scary for a few of us.

Thank goodness for The Littlest Nephew. He has saved our fair going days for a few more years.

He has given us another 10+ years of excuses to go to the fair.

We're still trying to figure out the exact year we began coming to the fair. The Kids were teeny, we know it's been at least 9 years from the pictures, but I'm pretty sure The Boy was at least a baby, if not still in my stomach, the first year we came.

The Aunt and The Uncle were kidless, obviously, and I can't help but look into the future and see the years where The Dad and I are hitting the fair with The Littlest Nephew as our kids are heading off to their own adult lives.

The Kids took their responsibilities as oldest cousins seriously. As we were watching them take such care with their cousin and ensure he enjoyed the rides, The Aunt mentioned that when TLN is The Girl's age, she would be old enough to have her own kids. She'd still be on the young side of course, but the truth hit me hard. By the time TLN is getting bored with the fair, we could be starting an entirely new generation going. TLN will then be the one responsible for ensuring the safety and smiles of another.

Sometimes I really want to punch The Aunt in the face.

Then, I watch TLN. A little unsure of his first coaster ride. I see The Girl leaning over, wrapping her arm around his neck so his gigantic head doesn't flail around, yelling "Whee!" over and over again, and I feel tears brimming that she has turned his fear into smiles and giggles. She gets off and we all tell her what an amazing job she did. She has no idea what we're talking about. She's just having fun with her cousin.

The Boy, while not quite ready to take on the full responsibility of TLN, does his part. His part involves the less hands on moments maybe. Although, he's always ready to jump in and play with his cousins. He's more the comedic relief.

The one who doesn't care what he has to do to get the laugh from TLN. Or the rest of us. He's happy to make others happy. He's also the patient one. He's not much of a ride enjoyer. He doesn't mind sitting back with the adults and catching up on life.

I never would have thought that a day at the fair could show us so much.

Our spinny apples have been replaced by bears. I think bears are cuter and they get the job done just as well.

Although it is just a little odd to be sitting in a bear's tummy with The Uncle.

As long as The Littlest Nephew flashes me that grin, I'll sit in a bear's belly, spinning just enough to not make The Uncle puke on me.

Another year, another fair. Another wonderful family day.

 

THE BOY PLAYS WITH FIRE.

Recently, a co-worker celebrated her birthday. The other co-worker, who usually handles the treats was busy with a sick daughter, so I volunteered to make the treats.

The co-worker had requested a Lemon Meringue pie.

I don't really enjoy pie making, so I took the opportunity to make some cupcakes that had been in my "Things to Try" bookmark folder for almost a year.

 

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes.

These are absolutely to die for and so easy to make.

The recipe calls for toasting the meringue in the oven. Knowing my tendency to over-do, The Dad let me know that he had the perfect tool to help me out.

He then decided I was not blow-torch trusty.

*PSHAW* Men.

Apparently, all one needs to use a blow-torch, is, well, a boy appendage thingy.

Why no, it doesn't hurt my ego at all that The Dad let The 10 year old Boy use the blow-torch and not me. Why do you ask?

Fire! The Boy sure did enjoy helping me bake that night.

These cupcakes were a huge hit. My co-workers loved that the meringue was toasted by The Boy with a torch. The Boy loved that he got to use the torch. I loved that they are completely calorie and fat free.

Make them. Today. And bring them to me so I can see if they are as good as mine.

WHEN HIKES GO BAD.

Yes, I've disappeared again. I've been gone for almost a month. I am a lazy blogger. I also have children who now tell me exactly what I can and can't post to my blog and that takes my entertainment value down. Way down.

Fortunately, The Dad still allows me to guide some of our hikes. That takes my entertainment value up. Unless you are on said hike with me. Apparently me guiding a hike is no longer preferable and so harmful that since I guided said hike, The Family has not taken another.

All of a sudden The Kids are very busy doing their chores and The Dad is offering to take me to yarn stores much more frequently.

The Hike started out beautifully.

A beautiful desert to make a quick one hour hike in. Please allow the theme to Gilligan's Island to invade your brain at this moment. It is most appropriate.

So, as I said, The Dad all of a sudden decided to listen to me when I said, "I think we should go this way."

Usually, me making that statement assures The Dad that he is indeed leading us the correct way on the trail and he doesn't even bother to respond to me.

This time? He said, "Okay."

With that single word, he sealed our fates.

Don't worry, he has taken full responsibility for this incident and he paid a hefty price.

So, here I am, leading away. Please ignore my fat arms and notice instead that my jeans are too big for me! Yeah me!

The Kids were displaying their typical hiking behavior. You know, whining, moaning, and complaining loudly? Drinking all their water in the first 1/2 hour.

And climbing. They did a bit of climbing.

Family bonding at its best. Little did we know that in just a while longer, our family bonds would be tested, bent to the desert's will, and rebuilt stronger than they were the hours before. Oh, and there would be even more drama than that which had already ensued.

At least it was in the 60's and not 110 degrees outside. There are always things to be grateful for.

The Kids foolishly tried to hide in a cave. I found them, silly things. Then, I decided to lead in a different direction!

The Boy agreed it was a great idea, as did The Dog.

The Girl suggested a different path. Ms. Smarty Pants thought it would get us back quicker.

Poor child was outvoted. Of course, it would have helped had the park actually marked any trails with signs other than, NO BIKES ALLOWED, and DOGS ON LEASH ONLY.

This is perhaps our last happy moment on this hike. The Girl and I cuddling on an outcropping as we rest. Really, I just put this one in because The Girl is covering up my fat and other than that odd hand coming out of my elbow, I look pretty good.

Soon after this, we realized we had somehow gone astray. Most of us still aren't certain exactly what happened. Others of us found a scapegoat. The Scapegoat was quick to lay the blame elsewhere and appoint a new leader for the group.

Our Saviors. Of course, we are now three hours into this one hour hike. Notice our lack of backpack with provisions packed. We were starving. By starving I mean that The Dad had allowed me to sign us up for this 30 Day Vegan workshop online and we were two days into the process. Yeah, we were hungry and shaky, and pretty whiny.

I believe at some point The Girl even got it into her head that we were going to die in the desert. I got this idea because she kind of lost it and started sobbing. Along with the sobs were uttered words. Like Die, Desert, Hate, Mom, Hiking. She's apparently not good under pressure.

See her wringing her hands and clutching her stomach. The poor thing was convinced we would never get back to the parking lot.

The Dad had the camera or else I'm sure we'd have some pictures of him hiking ahead of us with The Boy reacting much the same, just more quietly. He always holds things in.

Which way do we go George? I'll give you a hint. We should have headed to the upper left of this photo.

Guess which way we actually went? Yep, down into that canyon, following the wider trail. Never choose a trail by width. It gets you stuck in the desert for four hours.

Then, you just might yell at your husband, "Why do  I always get stuck in the back with the whiny ones??"

To which he will reply, "I have one too." And continue to lead the way out.

Also, he will eventually lead you back to civilization in the form of someone's backyard. He will then have to cut a path through the creek and all the overgrown bushes to get his family back into the park.

He will also then catch a horrible case of poison oak because he went first and saved the rest of us from that horrible fate.

Can you imagine the whining and crying and moaning?
Yeah, then think if The Kids had gotten it as well.

He is our hero.

Lessons learned:

• Alway pack provisions, always.
• Never let The Mom lead the way. This includes giving driving directions as well.
• Always pack rubbing alcohol for quick Poison Oak cleansing. Even when hiking in the desert.
• Don't ever be in a life and death situation with The Girl. She loses it.

Luckily, we did eventually find the parking lot and then food. Also, we wore The Dog out so much, that he slept for two days.

That and the family bonding, made this trip totally worth it.

 

SUNDAY MORNING DONUTS

The Boy is a donut-a-holic. He could live off the sugar high for days if we let him. I could too, unfortunately. Who doesn't love a well done donut?

In an effort to at least bring some health into our Sunday morning donut run, I picked up a mini donut pan from World Market sometime around Christmas. Then I reorganized my cupboard to make room for it and it sat. It sat until Sunday morning when I decided it was high time The Boy and I made ourselves some mini donuts.

We used a recipe I found at My Baking Addiction. This recipe is absolutely perfect down to the smallest detail. The end result was a donuts that met both adult expectations and child expectations. They were easy to decorate and tasted like light muffins.

In the end though, donuts are all about the toppings, so we melted some chocolate chips and dug into the stash of sprinkles that The Ohio Grammy so kindly has kept The Kids stocked up with.

The Girl was still asleep, because she is 13, so The Boy made sure that he decorated a special donut just for her.

The Alien Donut.

The Boy's personal donut, dubbed, The Donut of Sugary Death.

On The Adult side, we dipped in sugar and powdered sugar.

Pretty and tasty.

The donuts took less time than muffins to make, made a little bit bigger mess, tasted delicious, and made The Family happy.

Which made for a very nice Sunday indeed.

I HAVE ARRIVED

Last night I did something I rarely do.

I checked out my blog stats.

My most popular post of all time is The PVC Tepee that nearly caused a divorce when the usually ever so patient The Dad decided I had finally lost my ever loving mind by convincing him it would be a wonderful idea to build a tepee in the backyard.

Anyway, you can read all about our Tepee building adventure here. Come back when you're done though because I have the coolest thing ever to show you.

I'll just wait right here.

Do you see it? I am used as a reference for an ehow article on things to do with PVC pipe. Seriously, I'm cool now.

Watch out all you famous bloggers, I'm headed your way next.

FTF: GRANDMA'S STUFF

My parents recently moved to another city. The Kids and I were lucky enough to get to visit them right after the move and before they had finished unpacking the boxes of goodies.

The Kids caught on a lot quicker than I did that The CA Grandma &Grandpa were merely using us as slave labor.

It worked out for me though. As I helped my mom unpack box after box of childhood memories I was able to snatch a few to bring home to my house.

The table now sports a set of homemade placemats, quilted by my Grandmother. Three of my grandparents passed away long before I had children, the fourth passed away shortly after The Girl was born. I have always been saddened that they didn't get a chance to meet my children.

It is so nice to have items around the house that get daily use that remind me of them.

Thankfully, my Mom's mom was much more talented with the sewing machine than I am. These mats get washed quite often and are still holding together strong.

This quilted one is my favorite. I just love thinking about how she chose the fabrics and put them together. Craftiness is a family trait.

The other items I stole from my Mom's house are perhaps the most fancy items in my house.

Grandma's salt and pepper shakers. I remember using these at every holiday meal. I have them out for everyday use because I want to remember. I want to look at them daily and think of getting together at her home, with my cousins, and extended family. Gathering and celebrating. Enjoying being together.

Hoping that somehow, my Grandmother knows that her Great-Grandchildren enjoy listening to my stories of spending time at her house. Knowing I was so very loved and cherished.

THE BELT. IT IS RED.

The Boy is nearing his fourth year as a martial artist. In the beginning, belt colors change quickly, now as he's nearing the coveted Black, belt colors change more slowly. I wish the same could be said of The Boy.

The Boy is becoming this mature being who voluntarily helps me do the Spring Cleaning, finishes his homework and special assignments on his own, and does his chores with little reminders. He does not like to disappoint. 

He is also becoming a young man who expects perfection of himself.

He is reminding me more and more of myself at his age. Luckily, I can see it and try to help him to understand that he does need to be perfect, he just needs to be himself.

He has been slowly embracing that idea this month and letting go of his incredibly high expectations of himself, while still holding himself to a high standard.

Our kids are total opposites. The Girl we have to push and prod and threaten and continually beat motivate the lazy out of her.

The Boy we have to make realize that it is sometimes okay to have your best be average in some areas. Especially when your best in other areas is extremely superb.

He is finally getting there. Jeet Kun Do is a major part of him finding his confidence and learning that having to work hard at something doesn't mean you suck. It means you are learning.

Two weekends ago, The Boy tested for two hours to receive his Red Belt.

He and his fellow High Purple buddies sweated and sparred and pushed their muscles to the limit.

When we asked The Boy how the test was he said, "Hard, and I'll just leave it at that."

The other High Purples are siblings, the boy in the middle is The Boy's favorite sparring partner. They are becoming pretty good friends as well.

One of the best parts of this particular studio is that it feels like family. The Boy has another safe zone where the other kids and the adults care about him. They don't think it's odd to show it either.

The Boy hated sparring in the beginning, but now it is his all time favorite activity. He spars with a vengeance. Sifu, who is constantly observing and teaching, instills a fairness in them. Sparring isn't about kicking butt at this age, it is about using the proper techniques and reading your opponent. Even if that means you need to back off and give them room to breath a little. Sifu is an amazing role model for our young man.

Sifu understands that kids this age need encouragement and realistic expectations. He sets them goals to reach for, knowing that although they may have to dig deep, they can indeed reach them.

Honor and respect.

Knowledge.

Pride.

As The Boy sniffed his new belt, we all chuckled. The oldest boy on the far left commented that new belt smell is like new car smell.

I would guess that as awful as the old belts must smell after all those months of hardwork, that statement is very true indeed.

This group of kids started pretty much together when the studio first opened. They are now the highest ranking kids in the studio. They have all taken this responsibility to heart and have been very conscientious of their leadership positions. Helping the lower belts and encouraging them along, as Sifu has trained them to do. Continuing the family.

We had a special Red Belt sparring tournament after testing was finished.

This is how real Red Belts spar.