28 days and counting...

Deep sigh. We just finished standardized state testing which I must say, was an eye-opening and very frustrating experience. Cross your fingers that they did moderately well. So my dear next door neighbor and team member at school just invited all of us over for some popcorn, red vines and Capri Suns to watch "Meet the Robinson's" with her kids. So I thought it would be a good opportunity to post up. There are 28 days of school left, which is crazy, but nice. Then there is about a week reprieve then I am teaching summer school with one of my girlfriends, so it will not be too bad working during the summer. I get solace in the fact though that normal jobs dont get 3 months in the summer off, so it is really okay if I work 8 weeks. Ryles has been incredible lately. We went from pneumonia to a high fever to a bacterial eye infection that spread to both eyes and then an ear infection. How fun has that been? Needless to say I have one sick day left. She seems to be doing well now, so I am hoping this will hold out. Chris just got an internship in WA for Microsoft so he is going to be off doing exciting fun stuff all summer. He will come down to visit Ryles and she will get to go up there for a few days as well which is an adventure that I am sure will be good times. Hope everyone is doing well. Take care

Bigger and Bigger...

Rylie's teacher, Miss Mary (who is every kind of fabulous) sent these pics of her at school to me. She is getting big and makes me laugh everyday. Thursday at school she told me I had to come with her because I had to meet two very important people, George Washington, our first president and Mom, this is a picture of George Lincoln, our 16th president....he is on the penny...the brown little one. Oh, what would I do if she wasn't around to point these things out. =) We went to Disney Princesses on Ice with a girlfriend from school and her niece. It was awesome. I have never been to an ice show, ever....but I was amazed. It was a good show, if you guys haven't taken little ones to it, I highly recommend it. Let's see what else? School is good. The year is passing very quickly and I get a little nauseated when I think I am going to leave third graders and have kindergartners next Fall. Oh no. State testing is in a few weeks. Oh boy how I love no child left behind. Genius. 7 and 8 year olds, sitting still for an hour and a half and filling in scantron bubbles, if that is not a recipe for success of measuring their knowledge, I am not sure what is. I am also in the mix of planning the big 10 reunion for high school. I am actually looking forward to it, it will be a great time to see a lot of old friends. I have 6 months to lose 100 pounds...;) Hope all are well...Lots of love to everyone.

No me gusta rainy day schedule

With the craziness of the holidays, I kind of forgot that I had a blog... I thought being the end of January it might be time for an update. Fun times. We made it through Christmas. It was wonderful. Rylie had way too much, but I think that she enjoyed herself throughly. The big list items were Leapfrog and a skateboard...I got her a scooter because I didnt really feel 3 years old and skateboard were a good combo. She opened it, looked at me and said, "Mom, this is a scooter, not a skateboard." Nice. She is getting way big and way sassy. She is currently obsessed with any Disney Princess movie and old school Annie. Which is a fun kick back. Speaking of, she found an old bag with my stuffed animals and is having a great old time with Rainbow Brite and my old Lady from Lady and the Tramp. Over Christmas break we also moved into a new house, living with the mom and dad, as wonderful and gracious as they have been, was getting a little overrated...so if anyone feels the need to come to Northern California, you are more than welcome to stay with us. Lots of love to you all. Hope all is going fabulously well.

Is it really November????

Hi Kj...I'm not dead, just a bad friend with no internet connection....=) Ok, here we go. I might have to break out the planner to see just what has gone on this month or two...Well first off and most fun, Ryles turned 3!!! So great, we had a great time partying it up in Davis and at the good ol' Pixie Woods here in Stocktown. A lot of Disney Princess and a lot of sugar. It was fabulous. I was trying to be crafty and did in fact sew about...let's say 65% of her princess costume. Chris and I took her trick or treating and not only did she really get the hang of it, she told us to wait on the sidewalk outside each house because she wanted to do it "All by herself!". My favorite quote of the night was most definitely "This is the most fun ever" and she screamed in between houses. After all of the Halloween/birthday festivities...I took the mom to see Gwen Stefani. She and the Harajuku girls actually came to the Stockton Arena. So the mom and I went and had a great time, albeit except for Truth getting violently ill and not being able to come and play. Neel threw a spectacular bash for the big 27, my wonderful team members took me to lunch, and went to some great hometown Mexican food with the fam and then hit up Kelly Clarkson with Neel. A great way to ring in another year of getting older. Time seems to be flying by. I cant believe that it is Thanksgiving tomorrow and then Christmas is right around the corner. As hectic as life is (I had 4 2nd graders suspended in the last 3 weeks, some more than once, fun huh?) I have so much to be thankful for...Wondeful fam and friends and this one little girl, who even though in time out the other night told us that she "hates this world" is the light and happiness of my life...

Hold me closer Tiny Dancer...

Okay, so the quality of these pictures aren't the best, because I am pretty sure that my camera is lame-o and I have NO clue how to get it un-fuzzy these days...but Ryles is starting ballet tomorrow! We had a dress rehearsal of sorts tonight and she was loving it. It is really the greatest, I love it and I don't even get to go. She loves dancing, singing, really anything that will draw attention to herself. Maybe she will get some great scholarship and I wont have to pay for college, we can dream right?

Keepin' it Real Simple

Read this the other day in an old Real Simple magazine and loved it, so I thought I would share...

"The best reason to take your time is that this time is the only time you'll ever have. You must take it, or it will be taken from you. It is telling that the phrase "taking your time" is synonymous with slowing down. If we want to live life fully, we do best to slow down. I don't suggest that we turn back the clock, trying to retrieve a bygone era when life was slower. We couldn't even if we wanted to. But I don't believe we should want to. We should revel in our electronically supercharged, unbounded world. But, to make the most out of this new world, to avoid feeling overbooked, overstretched, and about to snap, to make modern life become better than life has ever been, a person must learn how to do what matters most first. Otherwise, you will bulldoze over life's best moments. You won't notice the little charms that adorn each day, nor will you ever transform the mundane into the extraordinary."

Excerpted form Crazybusy, by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D.


Dr.Hallowell.....all I have to say is, word.

Party Time

Phoebes, They are really turning 3. I can hardly believe this. Well Little Miss Rylie Bird is indeed turning the big 3 and I am having a party for her in the infamous Pixie Woods. Now those of us from the 209 have fond memories of this mecca of all things fun...when we were children. The eyes of the innocent look past the cobwebs and chipped paint and see just pure fun. Ryles has been there a few times when I had play groups in the Summer and loved it. They have an Alice in Wonderland themed birthday party area, so I though how cute, she can be Alice for Halloween and we can have the party there....Took her to the fabric store (because I am either being ambitious or dumb, I haven't decided yet) to get the material and pattern to make her costume. All those who are seasoned parents have told me that was my first mistake. Homegirl looked through the books, and honestly Alice is boring, just a blue dress with a white apron....compared to the pink foo foo la la princess that she is now going to be (it has a cone hat with a veil and everything...) So I decided much to my chagrin, to let her pick what she wanted to be and now I am making a pretty pretty princess costume and still throwing the Alice bash. I got her, well Nana got her, the funniest shirt from the internet. It is an old school picture in color of the Alice in Wonderland artwork that you think of when you are thinking of the old school Lewis Carroll art work....And underneath the caption reads, "Who let Blondie in". I think actually it will work out better, her costume probably would have been torn up....So maybe in the end, everything works out ok...at least let's hope.


I have been in the habit (three years now, three times, that constitutes a habit right?) of making her birthday invites...here's the latest product. So Phoebes, Rache, Kristi, Kristin, Jules and anyone else that I am leaving out (Sorry!)...in the area, more than welcome...=)