Teacher appreciation!

For the last day of school I wanted to do something nice for Damen's teacher.  He was really great with Damen and we were so happy having him be Damen's first school experience.  I started out with an idea to write a poem and transfer it to a plaque somehow.  I wrote up the poem then searched online and found this tutorial.  It was exactly what I wanted to do!

First I found these pictures that I've had for FOREVER.  I had even put two holes at the top to hang them by with my sisters Crop-a-dile because I was going to do something with them two years ago?  Anyway, I tried to remove the picture first, but it was glued on pretty tight to the chipboard so I ended up sanding it a bit instead.

 Then I painted it using white, black, and purple to get this aged black board kind of look.

Then the poem.  For this trick to work you have to print it using a "mirror" image, easier said than done my friends!  That took way, WAY too long to figure out, but my digital scrapbook program figured it out finally and on I went.

 Once it was transferred I had to fill it in a LOT with this tiny brush and some black paint.

I strung some Raffia through the holes and TaDa, a one of a kind Teacher gift for our favorite Kindergarten teacher! 

THE cake!

The other night Damen wanted to make his Daddy a cake.  Not just any cake, oh no, a VERY special cake.  While I was feeding Mason he went to the cupboard and got out the following:

Cake mix

food coloring

chocolate chips

ONE graham cracker

oreos

red and blue sprinkles

and strawberries from the fridge.

We started with the yellow cake mix, added chocolate chips to the batter then baked it.  When it was cool I realized I had about a Tablespoon of powdered sugar, so we improvised with a frosting that you cook, it was ok, but won't try again.  Damen picked the colors for the frosting, blue and green and directed me on how and where to frost it.  Then I was instructed to draw Batman on the blue part.  Damen was very specific, can you see him?  Next came the blue sprinkles put on the green hot lava.  

Then the desert, I had to crush the graham cracker for that part.  

Then the three, oops two (mommy ate one) strawberry mountains.

Next came the oreos, they were bombs being lobbed at Batman.

Last came a suspicious pile of red sprinkles, Damen couldn't explain what that was for.

And there you have it, a very tasty, very special cake for Daddy:)

PS the chocolate chips all sank to the bottom and made a lovely crust, and except for the frosting Damen did all of the decor by himself!

Disneyland!

Wahoo!  We all went to Disneyland for Mason's first time a few weeks ago, he did great!  We only had one day to visit both Disneyland and California Adventure so we decided to focus on doing our favorite things and then fit in some more.  It was also our last trip for a while since it's gotten so expensive and it's hard to justify the cost.  We had fun enjoying the rides, the food, the happy place that it is!

 Mason was eating Dustin, but this was the best picture we got!

 Damen claims his favorite ride is Pirates.

 Mason wearing Mickey Ears!  And conked out finally!

 The tastiest and maybe most expensive Churros ever!

 Heading home, we left around 8pm, as you can see Damen was done walking and Mason had to be carried, he's not exactly "light".

Mason got this Mickey "chew" toy, we all got T-shirts and Damen picked out a Star wars toy for himself.  

Aaa, fun times, good memories made!

Soccer!

I signed Damen up for indoor soccer this spring.  I was excited!  I hoped he was excited!  My friends started getting calls from their coaches and we hadn't heard anything, so we waited, and waited. . ..
Finally I called the organization and asked what was up.  They said we were late signing up and were on the "wait list", it had 40 kids on it, and there were already 30 teams!!  The only way to guarantee he played was if I coached.  I said yes in a heart beat and thought about it later.
I thought about it a LOT.  I felt like being a "Soccer Coach" was a great responsibility.  Even if it was only pee-wee indoor soccer.
The team was small, only 8 kids playing 6 v 6, but they gave it their all!
Damen played goalie most of the time.  Once he was playing forward the last half of a game and he scored 4 goals!  He liked it I think, but he keeps asking me when he gets to play Basketball, and I am NOT coaching that.

Me and Damen at his Soccer party, with his prized trophy!  He was convinced he was the only one getting one because he scored so many goals.

Mason 7 months old!

Oh my Mason moose is growing up too fast! 

At 7 months he's 21lbs and 28in long.  

He loves to be held and to see what's going on.

He can roll over, but isn't mobile yet.

He started solids this month and after throwing everything up for a week, he likes it.  

His brother always knows just how to get him to smile and giggle.  He wanted in on the picture action and Mason was happy to oblige!

Dinner therapy

I decided tonight that cooking/baking is like therapy for me. 

 All day today I was worried and wondering what to make for dinner. Nothing sounded particularly good, I had my choice of chicken, hamburger. pork chops, or breakfast (eggs, bacon, pancakes) to make and NOTHING was calling out to me. So, I defrosted a pound of cooked hamburger, I figured something would come to me, maybe tacos or spaghetti?

 Then it was dinner time and I still couldn't decide!! I asked Dustin, he's no help, I asked Facebook, nothing.

 I got out a zucchini, onion and my last two potatoes and cut them up, vegetables sounded good. I simmered them in my cast iron skillet until they were soft, adding salt, pepper, and garlic powder for flavor. When they were soft, but not yet done, I added the hamburger and to make it like a casserole, a can of cream o'celery. Then I grated some cheese on top and put it in the oven for 20 minutes.

Oh my, it was fantastic! We ate every single last bite! We had some potato rolls left over from yesterday so we mopped our plates AND the pan with them!

And guess what? I felt super, fantastic, impressed with my ability to cook something tasty! 

 It was like a little "well done" high for me.

I've been having unhappy thoughts lately about my life and motherhood, things that sneak in when I'm least expecting it, so to feel like I did something good and right was nice. I know everyone feels inadequate sometimes, or like they're not cut out to do the job before them.   I am so blessed with a loving family that supports me EVERY day, even if it's just by loving the food I made as much as I do.

It's easy for me to get caught up in the tiniest upsetting thing and let it take over my day, but maybe next time I can remember how good it feels to feed my family and that dinner time is coming soon.  If I can create a meal, put a smile on those faces, and turn my day around, it might not be perfect, but maybe I won't notice the imperfections as much.  

Two more months!

I miss them

 I miss calling her at all hours to ask for a recipe, or how to sew something, or what to do with my crabby baby or back-talking son.(Those last two are just examples of things I might need to ask, my boys are angels)

I miss him calling us at all hours to say he loves us, or ask how to fix the computer, upload a photo, or send an email.  

I'm glad they've had this experience, teaching English in China is an adventure.  But I'm also glad they'll be home in two months.  I miss them.

(I am referencing my parents in this post, not the cute baby girl they're both holding)