Friday!

I am so excited. I took a half day off of work to regroup. To spend time with my mom in Maya's class and to get ready.. Ready? for what you ask.. I mean we all know that once marriage, kids and the 9 to 5 kicks in Friday nights are rarely glamorous (can you hear G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S, playing in the background.. Right!)

I am getting ready to host some great friends.. It's CRAFT night! I am hosting a monthly craft night so we can all work on one of the gazillon projects we are working on.. We all have unfinished projects, quilts and scrapbooks.. Its going to be a small group eventhough I am sure I invited half my address book..Sharon is treking up from P.B.. Deanna from Fallbrook. Melissa and Sarah are new friends and both local.. It was an open invite to anyone who had stuff to do. I am providing the table space to spread out without distractions.. Martin has agreed to host dad and Maya movie night upstairs while us girls chit chat and craft well into the wee hours..

Its not even dinner time but I finally got a min to sit down. I want to read some more of my book before I dig into project land. I haven't decided what to work on tonight. I have a few quilts that need backs.. I finished a Shutterfly photo book of 9 months of 2008 so I am almost caught up.. Not to mention I have a few ideas for Christmas that can be started anytime.. I am sure I will sew.. I have been looking forward to sewing..

Speaking of sewing.. Julie at Tattered Threads was featured on Paula Prass' blog for making that stinkin cute quilt for Sissy..Check it out here.. I was so excited for Julie.. I mean afterall we have know how awesome she is but she was our little jewel. I am glad the world is discovering her. The blogosphere is a smaller world.. a fun and friendly world.

On that note, I am off. I need to quilt a few hundred quilts before Christmas..

Stich, Stich,

Alex

Summer, School, Stress...

Yes, its been a busy summer.. School started and Maya is an official student.. All that leads to STRESS! My head has been aching for about 3 days.. I wish this migraine would just hit me and be done with.. Instead it has made my head feel like a foggy ball of mush with a side of serious pain.. The weather has been all out of whack which also helps.. C'est La vie...

No time to lay down and rest.. Its Sunday and we need to get ready for the week...

Its our family day so if all goes well we will get in a movie at the local cheap theather for a kid flick.. I was also hoping to check out a different church..We need a good community feel church..Its off to costco and target for househild supplies..

Have a blessed Sunday!

Alex

It's official...

She's a kindergartner.. She's in school.. Today's was Miss Maya's First day at Lavorgna Elementary. She wasn't feeling great due to a rough night of coughing.. We thought it was the milk she drank and that the claritin hadn't kicked in soon enough but it was a little something else..Just a little end of summer bug.. That bug was not stopping her..She was determined to go to school. She was ready for the new experience. She wanted to carry her backpack and meet her new classmates..

She looked as shiny and clean as a new penny.. The little jumper dress with apples and the matching knee socks were so cute. It was what I thought all parents would have found at the mall. I worried that every other girl would be in that outfit and that it would ruin the moment. I was wrong.. The class was full of parents and kids all in a frenzy.. All individuals and no one in the outfit.. Yipee..

The routines were established, carpet time, flag salute, hang up back packs, find a square on the mat.. reading..homework packets, etc.. Parents fill out forms and watch or sniffle from the sidelines.. Not one tear was shed by me.. Yes, I made it without flinching.. I was all pride today..

My little girl was ready for school and school was ready for her..

Mrs. Iverson read the Kissing Hand and since I had already read that book (part of the teacher cirriculum at Cal Sate) I wasn't bawling by the time mama raccoon kissed Chester raccoon goodbye for the night at school.. However, as I listened to the story and watched the intent faces..the eyes and ears all perked up for a story I was amazed at how simple it all was at 5. As Mrs. Iverson mentioned that raccoons went to school at night the kids looked surprised. She asked if kids went to school at night? the blank faces stared back.. At the back of the sea of little heads, a hand shot up.. Maya waved her anxious hand and stated clearly.. "Its because raccon's are nocturnal".. the parents smirked and the teacher winked at her.. "I love that you know that, great job".. Meanwhile Mama me just smiled with pride..My little one said that.. what a treat for me.. Aren't I a lucky mama?

One day down.. A life time to go..

Schools in!

A proud mama..
Alex

Summer craziness...

The past two weeks have been a roller coaster.. Literally and figuaratively.. We usually have a good home routine and it helps us stay sane. Well most days it does.. However, in our case the past 2 weeks have been all about end of summer fun, start of school preparations, soccer and then some..

Maya starts Kindergarten tomorrow! Are we ready? Of course not. Where did the 5 years go? How is it that my baby is ready to sit in those little chairs and learn for a living? we have the school supplies, we met the teacher and we even picked out the cute little school clothes. Here we go!

As we got ready for the new "big kid" school.. Preschool Summer Kids Kamp was ending. Maya has been at ABC since she was 3.. That has been a place of sand and singing for her. The Kamp was capped off with a trip to Knotts Berry Farm. I was so excited about having a day off to go play. Well after riding the Sidewinder roller coaster I was praying to go home. I spent the rest of the day drinking water and eating Maya's goldfish pretzels to settle my stomach. I knew a spinning roller coaster couldn't be good. Maya giggled through the whole thing and wanted more..Next time we send Dad along.. Friday we had to say "Thank you" to all her teachers. We took picture cards and brownies down for the whole staff. Some of them will always been in our life. They have become friends.

In the middle of all this the soccer board work had begun. In the evenings, I am working on recruiting new coaches and finalizing teams. In orther words, begging parents to be coaches where we are short and hoping I don't loose track of a kid somewhere because they expect to play..

Thankfully yesterday we were treated with a visit to the Bell home. This was the first time in weeks we had gotten to see eachother. Our families have been on differnt schedules. It was time to relax and play. The girls played in the water slide for HOURS.. They were wrinkled and freezing by the time they stopped splashing around in it. We ate and caught up. We browsed furniture online. The guys talked about "stuff".. At the end of our fun a fire was lit in the pit.. We peacefully watched the fire as the marshmallows melted for smores. Peacefully, until the girls started their singing ala Alvin and the chipmunks. They held their noses (they didnt like the smell of the fire) as they belted out some kid tunes..

It's been a summer of silly songs, new beginings and friends..

Buzz!

Alex

Soulcaring Sunday

After a week away from home I returned recharged and yet a bit out of sorts.. I started cleaning immediately even though all I wanted to do was get to my fabric and start cutting for class... 3 hours later all three bathrooms were clean and laundry was in progress.. The kitchen or the heart of my home was also another area that had to be cleaned before I left for quilt class.. I simply can not come home to a messy/dirty kitchen.. I mopped the floor, ran the dishwasher and decluttered the fridge.. It smelled clean!

Once my house was back to normal and clean I could focus on my fun night.. I grabed some civil war farics that have been waiting for just this project to come a long.. we are working on hand piecing of hexagons..super cute and oh so time consuming.. I have no aspirations of completing that quilt for ages. but its okay.. I love that it requires hand stiching and I can carry it with me or sew in bed..

Yesterday was a complete blurr and the day hit me like bricks. I had no energy what so ever. I was able to finish more laundry and run to the grocery store but beyond that I was pretty useless. I wanted to lie down and rest but I kept puttering around trying to organize. I got the library books ready.. I cooked a complete meal with veggies. I ignored the mess in Maya's loft.. I decluttered all the paper clutter at my desk and mental made a list of how many more organization projects I have on my plate...By the end of the day I was exhausted and unfortunately I did not rest well, the neighbor dog barked for hours.. Poor Martin who absolutely requires his beauty rest was not a happy camper...

Today however is Sunday.. Today I have a few to do's that need to get done to start the week on the right foot. Today I will plan my menu for the week, get the needed fresh veggies and run a few errands in town with my little partner in crime.. However, by the late afternoon I should get a chance to decompress.. to focus on relaxing.. work on some of those hexagons...to care for my soul and ready it for the week..

"Soulcaring" is a term I found in my Simple Abundance book.. That book is always within reach of my bed.. I don't go a week without picking it up for some inspiration and reminders that life should and can be easy.. You can be thankful for every breath you take and every opportunity to enjoy life and those in your life..

Wishing you a Sunday of blessings,

Alex

Our weeklong retreat..

In a little KOA kabin.. the girls on the porch swing.. this was one of the neat perks of the trip..

I refuse to call it "camping".. we had a little wooden cabin and too many amenities to list.. We head to Bakersfield last Saturday to pick up the Garibay girls, Denise and Emily. The would be Maya's playmates for the week.. I would have borrowed kids for a whole week and my hubby would have to survive a week with 4 girls! Yikes...

We headed to the Montery Bay Aquarium and the Santa Cruz boardwalk.. we ate, ate and ate some more..

Maya never wants to be in a picture unless she see's that other's do.. then she is all set to pose..

The kids area of the aquarium had a colorful clamshell.. Martin refused to climb in but the girls were game..



The girls pose as sardines.. then ask, "what are Sardines?"



Maya is not one to shy away from roller coasters or anything that moves fast.. The buccanear pirate ship was the first ride..before the trip was over Denise would discover she could handle roller coasters. Emily was brave and took on both the Hurricane and the Great Dipper! I however decided that standing in line and following the kids through the park was all I could do..

That's all for now.. I will have to post more about the "adventures" we had in the cool Santa Cruz weather and the stories the girls will tell about the trip..
A tired mom,
Alex

One-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater..

This song was a song from my personal childhood.. I can remember my cousins singing this song to me and laughing at it.. I was surprised when Maya was moved to her new class and assigned for recital that this would be their music...Other than the fact that this version was sung by the Chipmunks I enjoyed hearing it and watching the class tap, wiggle and dance to its silly lyrics..

Missy was all smiles and curls!

The recital was GREAT.. this is a PRODUCTION company not just a little dance studio.. We are lucky enough to live close to Temecula Dance Company and the recital was superb! We got an entire variety show.. We saw jazz, tap, interpretive dance and ballet. All the productions had great music and costumes.. It was a night well spent and most of all enjoyed with our family..

Making summer memories..ta da!
Alex

It's HOT!

Yes, I know we live in the desert but every year the summer heat surprises us.. Maya however was immune on this particular day and decided she MUST wear her "auntie Deanna made me snowman dress".. Look at how cute it is and the smirk on her face.. Yup.. 5 and determined to wear courdoroy..
Stay cool,
Alex