Cookies

We made cookies for our neighbors. Joe supervised.

Busy little elves!

Teamwork :)

Finished product. It was fun :)

Sicily' Preschool Days!

These are some pictures from Sicily's school. I love that girl. It's co-op Christian school. It's fun to be involved.

This one is my fave.

An addition to the family

Meet Nico! He's the most darling puppy ever. We love him!

Oakland Zoo

The girls had school off for Veteran's Day. My friend and I decided to take the kids to the Oakland Zoo. I used to not like to support zoos but Kennedy and Sicily are so into animals. My grandma once said, "A zoo is the only place your children will be able to see these kinds of animals." She was right. Plus, this zoo was a lot more spacious . It helped. I feel so bad for Cass. She is always the oldest.

It was a really great day. BTW, Cassidee started a blog. It's pretty cute. There is a link off mine. It's called "All in the Eyes of Cassidee".

Bugged but blessed

I'm bugged. Here is why:
1. Lady Gaga....go away with your ridiculous outfits.
2. Fake people who change who they are for others....especially when they're not teenagers.
3. The "Twilight" saga. I enjoyed reading them too but it's just a book series. It's only a movie.
4. Put downs. They're rude.
5. Having a preteen is wearing on me fast.
6. I'm so sick of getting honked at. I don't drive 90 in a school zone. Sorry!

I'm blessed. Here is why:
1. Sicily makes me laugh everyday.
2. My girls are in three different but good schools.
3. I have found fun markets to shop for the best prices, and I actually like doing it.
4. We're getting a puppy!!!
5. Joe comes home to me every night.
6. I have friends and neighbors who help me here.
7. We have a great view of the hills.
8. I have the ability to run. It hurts but I can do it.
9. We went to the zoo yesterday and I'm excited to post pictures.

Halloween

It bugs me when the pictures are backwards. I always think I remember how to do it but I don't....this is all the girls' candy after trick or treating. They got so much; it was ridiculous. Luckily, somebody from school did a drive for candy for the troops. We got rid of a ton. Those shutters in the background are my new excitement. We did the front windows of the house and it looks amazing. The girls are cute too :) Cassidee used a costume from last year's 5th grade play, Kennedy used Krista's (thanks!) veil and flowers to be a bride, and Sicily was Tinkerbell.

Sicily went to Cassidee's school in costume #1. She was a "princess".

Cassidee's LA teacher did a "Celebration of Writing" so parents got to come in a listen. Cassidee loves this teacher. She isn't afraid to talk about things that matter and she grasps the attention of her class.

Kennedy got to be in her first Halloween parade. At the school where I taught, we didn't really celebrate Halloween so she was excited to wear her costume to school.

It was a good weekend. We played games with the neighbors, went swimming, bike rides, I got to run a lot, and new shutters. I'm so lucky.

My Kitchen

This pictures are the kitchen before the Banks. We took off the kitchen cabinets (on move in day), sanded, primed, and painted. Then we put them back on, added some curtains, got new granite, new sink, and knobs. SO CUTE!!!! Ug!

Yes! I soooo love my kitchen now.

Funny story about the knobs. Two of my neighbors just came over one afternoon and started installing them. They knew I was getting impatient waiting for Joe...

That stove and vent were so expensive. I feel pretty bad but.....I'm pretty happy :)

FAB-u-lous

Ok, let's get started. I really thought moving here would be the end of my life. I really did. I'd listen to people write that it'd all be ok but I didn't believe them. Guess what? I'm all right.


Last weekend we took the girls down to LA to visit Joseph's friends. We didn't get to see his sister but maybe next time. Anyway, Krista took us shopping all day Saturday and the girls had a blast. They were even more excited when they were approached by an agent who wanted their business. They thought that was pretty cool. So, Saturday night, Cherry (Mike's fiancee)came and sat with all five kids while we went to Haunted Universal Studios. They made gingerbread houses and had a great time!!!

My eyes look really sketchy here. Maybe I was part of the program. Anyway from left to right: Greg, Krista, me, Joe, Mike, Robert, and Chrystall, and Mike at the bottom. We didn't leave until 2 am. I'm too old for that. Truly good times.

I also got a beach cruiser and a really cool seat for Sicily. I got it from Amazon.com and it came from Utah. Weird!

But I have to write about the craziest day....Tuesday October 13th. It started raining at 5am. Not just pitter patter....full force rain. A down pour. Coming in torrents. About 1:00 it was time to take Sicily to school and there were trees knocked down, flooded streets, power outages. It seriously was the craziest. It didn't stop raining until 6:00 pm. I've never seen rain come so quickly and so much. I sat in the office just waiting for the pool to overflow because all of the drains in the yard were moving so slowly It was about a centimeter from coming over the top.

Anyway, after 6, I made dinner and we were upstairs in Cassidee's room reading. EARTHQUAKE! My first one. What the????? It just like rippled through her room and we could hear it. So weird! We watched the news (major flooding and damage by the rain) and the epicenter was about a mile away from our house.

I know Joe loves us because he came running into the room during the rumble. He did! He ran into the room. I teased him later and said, "You love us!!!"

My office & neighbors

Back home, I loved my "office". I could stay in there for hours correcting papers or "working" on the computer. I was afraid when we moved here, we wouldn't have room for our office stuff but this house does! I love it. This old school fireplace used to be gold but I sprayed it black. I was going to paint the brick but Joseph wanted to keep some of the older attributes of the house. These French doors are the coolest. The hinges used to be retro brass but I switched them out for nickle and now I love it. The two sides that are covered with the curtains have screened windows in them and it looks out to the pool.

Yay! books.

Ah, happiness.

I also have to blog about some of my new friends.....

Jeff and Catrina are awesome. Sometimes, Jeff will talk to me on his megaphone down the street. He has also helped Kennedy with her bike. They have a daughter in Kennedy's grade and a boy in kindergarten. Catrina invited us to walk with their group to Kennedy's school. We love it! Last Friday, we were running late, and the group waited for us. Tender!

Josh and Katrina are also awesome. They're both cops and have been to Iraq in the army. They have some pretty intense stories. They just had a baby boy and he's the chubbiest. Last night, we played Apples to Apples and I haven't laughed that hard since....well, the last time I played Apples to Apples.

I met Thersa at the gym. She's a trainer there. The cool thing about her is that she used to be handicapped. She was in a wheelchair for a long time. Then, through a lot of physical therapy, she got her abilities back and has placed many times in those fitness shows (whatever they're called). Truly inspiring!

There are good people everywhere and I'm thankful I get to surround myself with remarkable individuals.

Read at your own Risk

When we moved, I gave all my big plants to Kennedy's best friend's mom. She loves plants too. I was really sad, so I purchased this one. Isn't it cool? I went back like 9 times to look at it. I love it. My parents also picked out a new piano and had it delivered it to us. It is very nice and I'm super excited. My dad wants to continue to teach the girls lessons via webcam. That'll be super cool. They're the best ever.

So, Saturday, Joe and I went to see the Utes in San Jose. It was way fun. I mean, I didn't have my usual company with my usual nachos and the usual fight song, but still fun. Joe's friends are really funny and they had a good time. Luckily, some are from Utah and know the ropes :)

I also found an incredible babysitter. One of the ladies when we were closing mentioned she had a 16-year-old niece and I was all over it! She was amazing. I'm really happy we had her and I want her to come back.

There is a law here that new drivers can't drive past 11:00 so I had to take her home. When I got home, it was about 12:15. I didn't lock the doors because she just lives down the street a ways. When I came back I saw a man in our driveway. I thought "What is Joe walking around for?" but then I realized it wasn't Joe. I freaked out and kept driving until I realized my doors were unlocked and he could murder my family. I stopped, grabbed my cell, and asked him if he needed help. That is when I realized he was elderly, barefoot, and couldn't speak English very well. Oy!

I called 911 and they sent two cops over (because that is what I need. My new neighbors wondering where the neighborhood has gone). But they were very polite and kind with this gentleman. I got him a blanket because it was chilly and he just kept saying the same numbers over and over again. Sorta "Lost" ish :o) He then told me in broken English that he was sleeping and he didn't know why he was here.

The cops started driving to these numbers on different streets while I sat outside with him. Finally they found a house with the numbers but the car was registered under a very not Asian name. They asked the dispatch to try another name in the household and the wife sounded Asian. Anyway, a few moments later a son came and got his dad. It was so tender.

Last night the daughter came over with a thank you/gift card. Turns out, the son and dad were visiting from Thailand and he has Parkinson's. I was grateful to be in the right place at the right time and that I had left a light on inside. I think that's why he was in our driveway opposed to others.

This girl has 2 and 1/2 year old twin girls and Sicily needs a friend. I'm happy.

We also have ordered new windows to replace the old 60s pieces of crap and new granite counter tops. The city is sending out a 2nd person to look at our overgrown trees to get them taken care of. It is giving me something to look forward to.

Kennedy learned how to ride a bike! FINALLY! She just took off. I barely had to hold on to her. I guess they just need to decide when they want to...We had cookies last night to celebrate this amazing new talent.

I applied for some part time jobs as a preschool teacher or a tutor but have yet to hear back from anyone. Surprise surprise!

Whew! What a eye full of reading. Sorry! Maybe loneliness is kicking in where I feel like I tell nobody anything so it all comes out in the blog!

Cassidee and Kennedy

So, Joseph has been bugging me about before and after pictures of the house. I'm like, "whatever! All of the projects are half or not done." Case in point...the kitchen. We sanded, painted, and put up the cabinets but the counters need to be replaced. The office? Looks great except for the ugly gold hinges and doorknob on the French doors. The family/tv room...ugly old wet bar needs to be replaced. I hope that motivates him :o)

Luckily, all three of the girls's rooms are done and beautiful. I really love how they turned out and wish the pictures did them justice. The best thing is, both Kennedy's room and Cassidee's room cost less than 100 bucks each. Cassidee's room is really calm to be in. Sometimes when she's at school, I sneak in there and sit in her chair for a quiet moment. Those mirrors are the coolest ever. The window guy who came today could not get over her bed spread and paint color. He loved it!

Kennedy's inspiration was built off of that lava lamp you see there. Brooklyn gave that to her for her birthday. We got the bed spread and everything else came into place. I already had the baskets and the chairs for her sitting area. We just needed the lamp (20 bucks!) and some wall hangings. Darci was here to help and I think it turned out great!

It's a little busy but, have you met Kennedy?

Helpers

Two weekends ago, we were lucky enough to have Joseph's sister Darci and her hubby, Joel, come up to help. Joel took off the cabinets in the kitchen and helped me sand and prime them. Darci taught Joe how to change electrical outputs and helped me with the girls' rooms. Most of all, they were just there for us our first weekend in the new house and I got to see my nephew. I'm clueless as to why I have no pictures of this adventure. Darci...I'm just going to have to see you again.

We also had some wonderful and greatly appreciated help this weekend. Joseph's BFFs came up from LA to help with some demolition as well as build some things. It was really great having them come up. They're very patient with me, great with my girls, and so kind. They did a little bit of everything. If you read the last post, you know we want some of these trees gone and all of them thinned out. There were a few that are a bit smaller than others so the boys cut these down first. Here is Joe....with a tree branch. Here is Mike with a dead tree.

Here is Greg who lifted this tree off the trunk and held it up with one hand...seriously.

They also built these wonderful shelves in the garage. We basically had to put our stuff from the shed, the storage room in the basement, the garage stuff, and my craft/teaching stuff all in this one garage....they made it work AND I have room for the Armada. Joe is just out of luck with his car :) If you can believe it, the other side is just as filled up too. I have to tell ya, they were very patient as I demanded that things to go together, stay together. They didn't even complain, just made it work!

We're so grateful to have Mike and Greg in our lives. You guys are truly appreciated and loved by our family. Thanks so much!

Sicily's Room

Well, this isn't Sicily's room but the girls think it's pretty cool to go swimming whenever they want. We've taken full advantage of this pool. As you can see, it is pretty shady. Getting the trees cut back are on our agenda.....What I want to know is, why do I have to get the government's permission if it is on our property? Weird. Oh, a great shot of Joe. These are the old school closet doors we have. At first, I wanted them gone but after we painted them and sprayed those rings silver and not gold, I thought they were pretty groovy baby.

Cute little Sis. There is a lot of pink, but it looks really cute in person. It only cost me 60 bucks (not including paint and the electrical outputs) to do her room. We just took the comforter from Kennedy's room and a shelve from her old room and got Sicily a lamp (which BTW, Darci did an excellent job putting together). I also had to paint Sicily's name from pink and made them brown. So cute though (Thanks Chelsi!)

She is so worth it~ oh, and totally potty trained....FINALLY!

I took pictures of the other two rooms but they were really dark. Soon to come!