Mama's Getaway

Ah, what a great weekend it was! I went away to the coast with 4 other mamas for two nights and stayed at Arch Cape....my favorite Oregon beach. We stayed at a wonderful rental house and filled our time with yummy food, fun drinks, games, laughs, walks, and a few other things.
It was awesome. I'm certain we'll do it again.

Our beach house was really a good fit, as it made us all feel like we stepped back in time with all kinds of kitschy stuff straight out of the 1950's and 60's. The same dishes that my granny had, a turntable and old albums, aprons that tied at the waist, drawers of vintage utensils, etc. My favorite find at the house...boxes and rings of recipe cards that a very meticulous housewife gathered and sorted.
Very Mad Men, indeed!

Megan, Kathy, Cindy, Amy and Amy.

Put a bird on it.
My view from the kitchen table as I sipped my coffee this morning at sunrise.

Mama's Birthday

Mama's 'spa' treatment.
Turning 45 wasn't so bad! I had a wonderful birthday weekend, and felt very spoiled and loved. My house was filled with tulips, my favorite beer was waiting for me in the refrigerator, Dan and the boys baked me a carrot cake and a delicious homemade dinner, the list goes on. Oh, and Dan cleaned the inside and outside of our household windows that were FILTHY.

Nate and Chris cranking out the homemade fettuccine. Yummy!

On Sunday my mom came up to see me and said that she would bring the makings for my favorite comfort dinner~her homemade meatloaf, twice baked potatoes, and cheesy broccoli casserole. It was Delicious, and the nicest part was that all I had to do was pop it all in the oven.
She also brought a big box that was all marked up with "Kitchen Aid" labels, a UPS packing slip, Amazon shipping, etc. I couldn't believe that she was attempting to give me another Kitchen Aid mixer like she did last year that I returned...I just don't need or want one. But since the labels said that it was ordered from Amazon, this year I was going to just keep the senseless (in my eyes) machine and question her sanity as to why she thought I needed one of these things so bad.
Boy, was I ever fooled when I was digging in to check out my new pink mixing set when I discovered that there was no mixer! It was a fake box, with fake labels, and on the inside was a wonderful gift....an i-pad! Of course, I cried. She got me good, and was beyond generous.

Happy Birthday. I'm looking forward to 45 more.

I was Pinspired!

I have to admit, this whole Pinterest craze has sucked me right in. I love looking through all of the ideas and gathering fun ideas. I have never been a crafty sort of gal, but darn it anyway! I just knew that I could do something. One thing that caught me eye was a whole website that I found linked to Pinterest which had beautiful stuff that was made out of those free paint swatches that are displayed at all home improvement departments. Beautiful colors. simple. free. I was bound and determined to make something happen this weekend.
I felt like a thief and a poser as I plucked the colors that I wanted off of the rainbow palette at Home Depot yesterday. I kept wondering, are they on to me? Or do I look like a lady who really wants to test out 45 different color combinations for a bedroom at my house?
I decided to make a banner of hearts out of Valentine colors, since it's the next holiday coming up. Not only was it fun, I actually like my final product and have it hanging in the living room. Hot glue gun, string and color swatches doesn't even come close to what one of my friends can do with banners....but it's a start. What shall I make next? Oh, and Autumn, you might just have to include me at your next craft night. There's a new banner-making-lady in town!

White boys can jump!

Ballers, Shot-Callers.

Yesterday the boys had their first basketball game. They are playing on a youth league that is part of their after school program. It was unlike any basketball game experience that I had ever been to. If it doesn't do them in, it will definitely make them tougher. This game was some serious basketball for second and third graders.

Nobody messes with Nate!Chris taking charge in the air.

I'm thinking that maybe last year's above-the-knee black soccer shorts won't fly for the basketball look. I think that I will be heading to Sports Authority this weekend.

Oh, the memories.

Hey don't laugh. I probably had about 25 kids needing my attention and about 3 minutes to throw this beautiful painted tile together. Lovely, huh?

Today was a fun day. I had a substitute teaching job back at the school where I taught for 7 years before having the boys and leaving my career behind. It was fun to see some old familiar faces of people who are still there, and to see that the Spanish Dual Immersion program that I helped to get going from the ground up is still going strong 8 years later.
I was taken aback as I dropped the students off at their music class and found a legacy project that every student and teacher did back in 2000 (remember, after Y2K?). Right there was my tile along with so many other students and teachers who were such a big part of my life back then.

Happy Birthday, Harry!

Happy Birthday, Harry! Today Harry had his 7th birthday. We treated him right with some new toys, and his first ever can of Fancy Feast cat food. (gag) Before he got to the good stuff we lit a candle for him and sang the birthday song.
Oops! A singed whisker.

Nom-Nom.....gravy flavor!

Another fun thing from this weekend was Nate's robot called "2 Cool". He told us on Friday that his class would be making robots in class, or they had the option of making them at home over the weekend. Dan jumped to the occasion to help with this project, and they went to SCRAP bright and early Saturday morning to get some robot materials. The grand total for all robot parts at SCRAP was $4.75 He really is too cool.

Chris and Mama playing around.

2012 has arrived!

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential. ~Ellen Goodman

2012
We kept our tradition of burning our yule-log(s) that is made of last year's Christmas tree.

We also (along with our friends who rang in the new year with us) each wrote a regret, disappointment, or other thought and attached it underneath the twine. Into the fire it all went, as we bid them adieu with aspirations of better things to come, and no more fretting over things of the past.
New year, fresh beginnings.

Fresh cut collard greens.

Hard and uncooked black eyed peas.
About 8 hours later we had a delicious southern meal to bring good luck our way in 2012.

Enough already!
Between Christmas, New Years, the boys on Winter break for 2 weeks, lots of friends and family in-and-out, etc., Harry is ready to get back to his old routine.
Here's to hope for good things in 2012!

Christmas 2011

We had a great Christmas celebration! I knew it was going to be good when G'ma showed up with a container of Granny's infamous 'Star' cookies.

One of my favorite holiday memories is that of Granny's Stars. She had an amazing recipe for homemade sugar cookies that she would make, roll, cookie-cut, bake, and frost each Christmas. Somewhere along the way one of us grandkids told her that the 'stars' tasted the best and that she shouldn't bother with any of the other shapes. So that's what she did from that year forward. Only stars. Oh, and only green, red, and colored balls for decoration. No exceptions.

'Santa' made another visit this year, and the kids loved seeing him in the living room! Please note his special beard. We laughed until we cried with this one. Thanks, Mark.

Aunt Susie and the cousins get their turn on Santa's lap. Naughty or nice?

Cousins. After all, Christmas really boils down to the memories that they make together every year. That's what this whirlwind 24 hours is all about.

One of Grandma's gifts was a bunch of scratch-it lottery tickets. Everyone was a winner! The fun part is that grandma was just like an ATM and you could redeem them and cash them in on the spot. Catie was the big winner with $9.00 in winnings.

Pajama time!
The kids were questioning Grandma's fashion sense with her infamous Forever Lazy.

Wrong, just so wrong. I'm feeling thankful that there wasn't one for me under the tree.

Slumber party in the basement! The cousins got to sleep together in anticipation of Santa's arrival. Not the best night of sleep, but it sure was fun!

The tree and gifts after Santa stopped by.

Morning chaos....we wouldn't have it any other way!

Merry Christmas.

Randomness from the i-phone

I forget that I've got pictures on my i-phone, and when I took the time to scroll back through all 332 of them, I found a pictoral representation of life over the past 6 months. I guess that I did take a photo or two at Thanksgiving!

Cousins in Seattle.

Nate getting Willy Wonka's signature after the performance on Saturday night at the NW Children's Theatre. Magical.

6:00 a.m. reading together by headlamp on the top bunk.

Wagon rides around the bases at Alberta Park.

G'ma with the boys before their piano recital.

Back-to-School shopping and blending in at Old Navy.I found these after Chris discovered my photo booth app.

Happy Holidays

Cyber-card.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season, and good things in 2012!

Christmas Decor

One of these mantel decorations does not belong.
Oh Harry. He always has to be right in the action. He sits as still as a figurine.

It's a tad smaller than in years past, but is loaded with the same memories of years gone by.
Merry Christmas!

Chandler Tree Farm Party!

What a great day! It is the first weekend in December, and that means that it was time for the annual Chandler Family Christmas Tree Party! Not only did we get to see Christmas Tree harvesting more than close-up, (yes, we were FREAKING out about the helicopter that we zipping right above our heads), there was also a calf who was abandoned by it's mama that we got to feed some milk to from a big bottle. Friends, family, tradition, and sunny crisp weather made for one of my favorite tree party events ever.

Baby calf wanted his milk.

Mmm....milk!

Susie gets some lovin' from the sweetest boy, Athan.

The front half of Big John's trailer heading out into the woods.

Some of the troops unloading from the ride.

Magic mushrooms in the tree forest. Beautiful.

Mike and his boys. Wouldn't be a tree party without them!

The Moores.

Ready to chop this bad boy down!!!

My family. Even grandma joined in the fun this year!

Dan loads the tree while grandma supervises.

Oh, Pete!

Helicopter action!

Old friends. I mean, they've been friends since high school....Kelly, Cindi, and Susan.

Here is some video of the helicopter tree harvesting operation. It really doesn't do justice to how cool it was to watch. I was certain that a tree or two was going to fly off the hook and kill us all...but it didn't. We survived and have great memories from a great day! Thanks, Chandler Family.