what u get

This is what you get now when you ask Greta to smile for the camera. 

Star Wars

It is an obsession. All boys eventually go through it and it still amazes me after, what, 3 decades, this phenomenon is only bigger. George Lucas was definitely a genius. And it’s truly fascinating to me that Aaron and his boys can like the same thing with equal enthusiasm and awe. 

We always make it a point to ride Star Tours at Disneyland, but this last weekend when we stayed at the hotel, we let the boys participate in the Jedi training show. I have to say I was even impressed! They had this stage where it raised up and Darth Vader and his storm troopers came out. Of course this only happened after all the kids were decked out in their robes and light sabers and had the adequate training to be deemed a paduan. Next up they had to battle either Darth Vader or Darth Mal (?) Needless to say, this was the part where Sawyer took his tearful leave. I think he thought it was real. When the kids were lining up for battle, I got the wave and point from one of the Jedi teachers. Gunnar was has some fast footwork and this was definitely the highlight of his day. 

And this is what the boys looked like the rest of the day. I can’t stop smiling that they are standing the exact same way. Same knee bend, same foot stance. Too cute!

And by the way, my cleanse was over Monday night, woohoo! Although Monday was kind of a wash. I was so close I could taste the cheesecake. And that’s exactly what I did. But I have to say I don’t crave the white flour enriched stuff anymore, I am totally content with whole wheat now. And as far as sugar? Just give me some unsweetened dark chocolate. . . divine.

for tati

Tati, this is for you. You bought Greta her first Juicy outfit, and here she is wearing it. I hope she doesn’t follow in your fashion footsteps because that would mean I would have to sell every last piece of clothing I owned just to pay for her habit. We love you Tati, even though you introduced my daughter to name brands at 2 years old. 

babe, u were right

I will repeat that. Aaron, you were right. It’s not often I get to utter those words so I will let you bask in the glory of it today. he he he. 

It took awhile for Aaron to convince me of a round rug for our living room. I had my heart set on a plush beige shag rug, but with 3 kids and a dog. . .beige not so good. I found this 8 foot round rug at Anthropology, and it was on sale. Even better. And I have to say, I love it. I think the round totally changes the space. Good job, babe. Let me say it again, U WERE RIGHT.

Here’s a view from the top. Sorry for the sloppy picture, I was too lazy to change my lens.

This weekend we enjoyed a Saturday afternoon and evening of absolutely nothing planned, with no errands to run, no groceries to buy, just an afternoon to play and get things around the house done. So I used my time to do a major Craigs List extravaganza. Okay, not major. But 4 things I have been meaning to photograph and list are finally done. I sold 2 things right away and one hopefully will be sold and picked up today, and another one left to sell. It cracks me up that some people try to lie, as if I don’t know how much I listed a stroller for. I had an old Maclaren that I listed for $70, when she got here she commented on how I must have spiders in my garage. Um, yes. Doesn’t everyone’s garage have spiders in them? And the stroller isn’t new lady, I already told you and photographed it really well to show the wear. Then she weasled me out of $10 because I didn’t have the carrying strap. Then she handed me a $50 bill. Um, I listed it for $70. So that would mean you owe me $60. She had the printout of the listing supposedly in her car and when she returned she handed me another $10. Crazy people. This is one of the reasons I despise garage sales. I love ebay, Craigs List I can manage, hate garage sales. 

It was kinda sad that Greta cried when she saw her rocking horse being carried to another person’s car. It has been in our house for a year, and after the first week, you never looked at it again. Oh wait, occasionally you would lean your sippy cup on it while watching the latest Miss Spider episode. And now you miss it? Of course. 

House Project- October

We have been in our home since renovating for over 3 years now. And our landing when you walk upstairs has been incomplete for 3 years. Okay, not incomplete, but nothing. Nada. Empty. A big ugly wall space. Originally we were going to have built in cabinets put in for holding linens for the upstair bedrooms, but as most understand, if you don’t do it before you move in, you will never do it. 

So bare it has been. And finally I decided I would find the right piece of furniture for the alcove. It’s a tricky space because it is very long but shallow. Here is the before pictures, we were just using a spare antique dresser to hold necessities. 

And here is the landing now. It isn’t 100% done, but the spaces I will fill in gradually with the kids’ artwork and more photographs as I take them. This is kind of them through my eyes. My favorite pieces they bring home or what they create at the art table, and them just being them through the lens of my camera. I love the lamp and the dresser style. I think it is one of my favorite spaces now in my home.

It’s 1am

in the morning. For some reason my timestamp is not correct. I wish it was only 11:40pm. I am awake because I got the greenlight to have some pure unsweetened dark chocolate. I went to Trader Joe’s and bought 4 bars. That was all that was in my shopping cart. The checkout girl looked at me and asked “so did you find everything else you were looking for other than the chocolate?” My response? “All I was looking for WAS chocolate. I have a craving.” I paid and walked out the door. By the time I got home it was 9pm. I sat down and consumed an entire bar of unsweetened dark chocolate. 

I am awake at 1pm. I have reread every blog I already read today. I have read my Bible. I have finished the book I was reading. I watched a movie. I tucked my kids in 3 times. I edited some photos. I am not tired.

My cleanse is over in 3 days and I don’t think I will be eating any more dark chocolate past noon any day.

Her Pinafore

This is one of my all time favorite finds when it comes to Greta’s wardrobe. I got it from an Etsy seller, and it’s reversible. I wish they made them in my size! 

And what I had to bribe her with so she’d let me photograph her. . .

 

 

Read-a-thon

Gunnar’s school began their 2 week readathon last Friday and I am also going to join in. He sets a goal of how many minutes he will read daily for 14 days. Which isn’t too difficult because he has a mandatory 20 minutes of reading every single night for homework. So he added an extra five minutes daily. 

He came home from the library yesterday with this book. It says for ages 9-12 but it’s perfect for him. We just finished last week Geronimo Stilton Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye which was entertaining. I am going to really try and be better about checking books out of the library and not buying every book we read. 

I am almost done with a book Aaron read awhile ago. Confessions of an Economic Hitman, which Aaron is very happy about since now he has someone to discuss the book with. It isn’t my typical book, but it’s really informative and especially with the economy the way it is right now, it sheds light on just how corrupt the government is. Pretty shady. I finished a few weeks ago this book which I wasn’t so thrilled to read, but I heard so many people recommend it that I thought I would give it a try. It was really good, a very easy read but very peculiar. I mean, it’s about a veterinary student who joins a circus. Crazy things happen. 

I don’t know what I will read next. I think I may be all out of books on my nightstand and it’ll be a good opportunity to check out what the library has in stock. Or make someone loan me a book of theirs.  

Happy reading.

Our Weekend with Mickey

Well, we only saw Mickey very briefly, and from afar. I really don’t care much about Mickey. I don’t know, the whole mouse thing. Kinda creepy, don’t you think?

But we did have a lot of fun. We drove down Friday afternoon and checked into the Grand Californian. We spent Saturday at the pool with friends and then we went on to a scavenger hunt throughout the hotel. An example of my Soso’s personality? At the end of the scavenger hunt, each child got a ticket which they turned in for a chocolate Mickey Mouse cookie. The cookie was of Mickey’s head, with an 2 ears. Since the scavenger hunt ended at 5pm I told the kids they could have ONE ear and then save the rest for after their dinner. I thought this was very generous of me, I mean, we were on vacation. Well, the thought of breaking his cookie was too much for Soso. Instead of having to deface his cookie, he said he’d rather wait and handed me back the cookie. Seriously. A child who would forego a broken cookie and wait several hours so that his cookie would remain intact. That’s my boy. 

Sunday we spent the day at the parks. FYI, Greta is a crazy driver on Autopia. I think she gave me whiplash and I had to hold onto her with both hands so she wouldn’t fling herself out of the car when she refused to turn the way the road wanted her to go. Another FYI, my husband only likes to go to Disneyland with my friend Jane’s husband, David. He really appreciated the dark brown beverage that David brings in a plastic bottle that says “water”. If only Mickey knew the contraband being snuck into his kingdom. . .

There was a lot of this at the pool.

On the scavenger hunt.

Stamps

It’s funny how you remember favorite pastimes of your other children when your younger one goes through the same obsession. This time it’s stamps. I have all their toys and games in baskets in categories. And I thought Greta knew about all the different containers, but this one she overlooked. Until this particular day. She discovered the stamp container outfitted with stamps, ink pads and paper. In this bin were also stamps given to her by a friend which she just discovered as well. Obsession. She is stamp crazy. She stamped her entire arms and feet and a few managed to find their way onto some paper.