Kermit!

Thanks, Aunt Nancy, for the photo! Here's that Kermit the frog costume I was talking about.
I can still smell the paper mache.

tuckahoe plantation

Last weekend, we visited Tuckahoe Plantation for a picnic with the Farm Table. Known as "Thomas Jefferson's boyhood home", I thought a little education might be slipped in, as well.
Not much learning happened, but we did breathe deeply, taking in presidential air.

TJ's view growing up. Very pretty.


Can't you picture Thomas Jefferson doing this same thing when he was little?


This precious girl just keeps growing up.



A friendly little cat..she let all the children pet her. Diego still loves the kitties.


Me and my new favorite boots. I bet you'll be seeing those a lot, come colder weather. I can't wait much more.


Oh, the story behind this picture. While Juan Pablo and I debated about whether or not someone lived in this home, Joaquin headed up the steps to go in. We tried to stop him. But yes, it was the gardener yelling across the yard, "That's someone's home!" that actually sunk in and made him turn around. (I was wrong by the way. I mean, why would someone actually live in Thomas Jefferson's boyhood home? Shouldn't it be a museum or something?)


I hesitated to post this picture of me. Have you ever looked at a picture of yourself and not even recognized you? This is not what I look like, but somehow it is still me.


An action shot. Juan Pablo took most of the pictures in this post. He was quite proud of this one. I thought it was blurry, but he said, "That's the whole point!" He's got an eye for these things, you know. :)


A friendly scavenger hunt for the kids....but....those intense looks tell me they are only 'in it to win it'. I guess Juan Pablo and I are somewhat competitive, and I fear it has rubbed off.


And here's Isabela with the prize! So happy!


Me and the kids...glazed over...I guess it's time to hit the road.


It seems fitting to end with some quotes by Jefferson. Enjoy!


A coward is much more exposed to quarrels than a man of spirit.
Thomas Jefferson

Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.
Thomas Jefferson

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
Thomas Jefferson

If God is just, I tremble for my country.
Thomas Jefferson

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson

There is not a sprig of grass that shoots uninteresting to me.
Thomas Jefferson

a spooky halloween!

Old halloween memories are so great.

There was the time my friend peed on someone's porch because she couldn't hold it anymore, and wasn't ready to go home. Or the time I froze as a hawaiian dancer because to wear a coat would ruin the costume.

You don't know this as a child, but what you choose to be for Halloween will be with you forever...although some costumes are more memorable than others.
There were the store bought ones, with the plastic mask that got all wet on your face after breathing in it for a few minutes. My odd choices were Woody Woodpecker, Woodstock (from Snoopy), and a storm trooper, which isn't so odd, except that Juan Pablo just told me that was for boys.

Then there were the homemade ones: a clown, a safari guide, and one of the most memorable--Kermit the Frog (picture a green leotard, green tights, yellow felt collar, and a GIANT green paper mache head. Oh, I hated that head!)

And when I was about three, I was a witch (gasp!). Nowadays, dressing up scary is met with mixed feelings...so when my kids chose 'ghost' and 'witch' this year, my initial response was NO.

But it's true that I'm easily influenced, so when a friend said her daughter was going to be a vampire, I thought, "Why not?"

And when they're this cute....

....and this silly, how could I not say yes?


Now this one, I'll admit, is pretty scary. It's homemade...out of a goodwill sheet...but the idea was from pinterest, of course.


There's nothing better than getting to wear make up at age 8...


...and lots of it!

Practicing his ghost face...and then it was off to the fall carnival.

Are they thrilled, or what? (There are those pumpkins I was talking about.)


Diego discovered party favors and blew it until it fell apart.

And I was shocked, but Joaquin won for scariest second grade costume. I'd warned them well that they would NOT win this year...so when Joaquin did, and Isabela didn't...it was upsetting for her. But she held it together well. I did my best to reassure her, and she agreed it was better for us to be happy for Joaquin, instead of being sad for her.


Diego had had enough by 8pm and was reduced to playing with a toy car in the middle of the school hallway.
And I let him.
He was happy, people were walking around him, so I just went with it.


And my favorite image of the night...waiting in line at the last stop, the giant inflatables.


And I thought I'd share how photo editing can change an awful image into a good one. In the first picture, I forgot to adjust the white balance on the camera.

Do I know what that is? NO.
But it's easy to adjust and makes the colors come out right on your picture. So if you forget, you can turn the picture into a black and white. But don't stop there. Increase the whites of the image by increasing the exposure or highlights. Then increase the blacks by increasing the contrast.
I learned that at Katie Evans Photography and I LOVE IT. Read it.
This image was edited in picnik, and best of all, picnik is free!

anatomy of a school project

All by herself.
Isabela finished her latest school project all by herself.

(I've been known to help a little too much in the past.)

So what does that really mean?
Here's a quick recap:
She laid out her map, every last detail. I debated some of them, but she backed them up with excellent explanations. I suggested chalk pastels instead of marker or crayons, and she agreed. (I sprayed the hairspray to keep the chalk from smearing, and so she wouldn't get it in her eyes.) She decided the symbols for her legend. I tried to change some of them. She stood strong. I helped her spell all the words right.

So did she hole up in her room and complete it without me seeing it? No. And it might have been completely different if she had. But did I draw an example and risk her copying it? No. I gave a little help when needed, but this one is all hers... and it's beautiful.


Now, she WAS up until 10pm finishing her other homework. Time management we'll save for another day.

a mom's life

I'm on the PTA this year.
It's a great responsibility. And amazing how this organization of moms gets money raised and things done for the school. They sure know how the system works. I don't understand half of what they're talking about. Just 'smile and nod' is still a good motto for me.
So I'm Beautification...which is totally ironic if you've ever stopped by my house unexpected.

Out of the many ideas I've proposed, one of them is happening soon! Pansy Day for the Kindergarteners. They'll be planting almost 200 pansies around the school grounds, plus a master gardener is coming to talk to them the day before. The idea came from another nearby elementary school that plants 800 every year! I decided to start small, and as I was organizing this, I felt like a project manager for Donald Trump. Definitely been juggling balls around here lately. But it's finally coming together.

Beautification also means hay bales and scarecrows out front in fall. Besides Juan Pablo's pumpkin contest, that's why I've been painting pumpkins for the last week.

Go bulldogs! (Although Isabela informed me that our football team is called the Miners...don't ask, something about school associations.)


I spray painted some tiny pumpkins our school colors, each having a letter to spell out the name of the school....and added this mascot, too. I found the pattern on pinterest. Did I mention I LOVE pinterest? Still do. If you paint your pumpkins, make sure to cover it with varnish so the paint doesn't wash off in the rain.


A busy mom equals lots of coloring on walls...and sometimes on paper.


And I finally gave in and decided to pay someone to clean the house. The kids!

They have a book fair next week and want to buy lots of books. I've posted a list on the fridge with all the chores and their monetary values. Last night they earned a total of six dollars....and I have a clean tub, folded and put away laundry, clean toilets, and shiny mirrors. I'm happy, and so are they.


There's one more thing I finally tried from the elusive mom manual I've always searched for: Listening. I've been struggling for years to figure out behavior charts, rewards, consequences...they're complicated, time-consuming, sometimes expensive.

But the other night, Joaquin told me, "If I knew I was on yellow or red, then I'd stop." My mind screamed, "What?" All this time, and he finally gave me the answer. See the school uses a color system...their card is changed from green to yellow to red, depending on their behavior. Sooooo, we started that here, too.
Ours works like this: Our colors are Green, Yellow, Red, and Black. Every day, they start on green. Outrageous behavior and unkindness will move their color. Kindness and helpfulness can move it back. Ending the day on anything but green will mean an extra chore the following day, for each color past green...so up to three chores. (Yes, Isabela ended on black one day.)

It's working. I'm happy and they're happy. Again.
I might finally be figuring this mom thing out.

Just look at this angel.

angry birds

Here's a sneak peak of our entry for JP's annual pumpkin contest at work.

I found a great tutorial on drawing the birds here.


He's even going to use our homemade blocks to set them up. It's got my vote!

ashland berry farm

If it weren't for this hay maze, I don't think my kids would have gone to the pumpkin patch this year. They just weren't interested.


But,....there's nothing like a rope swing to put smiles on their faces.


Not quite as easy as it looks.


If I could find a good branch, I'd definitely put one of these in our yard.


Those were some GIANT pumpkins.


Really, there's only three of them. Why is it so hard to get a shot with all of them?


So we headed out on the hayride. Isabela said, "This is definitely not safe." She's used to the covered wagon with metal sides keeping you from falling out. I know. Spoiled.

Some little people found their pumpkins and fell in love right away. Which also means they're ready to go sooner.


Others combed the fields with a fine toothed comb searching for just the right one.




At one point, I think I stopped Diego from turning the water on in the fields. Ohh, that would have been bad. Although now that I think about it, I'm sure a water tank is hooked up first. But the possibility is still funny.


The trick at this patch was 'all you could carry and take 3 steps with' for $20...the problem was... it was just me and the kids. We did a couple of practice runs in the field. We lost a few in the process, and I had to be rescued once by a nice woman passing by.


It was WAY harder figuring out how to get the nine pumpkins and three kids from the field to the hayride stop, than it actually was carrying them for the special.


Now, I'm not sure how long these pumpkins will last, but rolling them worked.

africa!

We're about to have two more children join our family.

From Africa.

It's only for a few days.

But it will be life-changing.

And we're so excited!

The Hope for Africa children's choir, from Uganda, is touring the US, and one of their stops is our church. They needed host families...we have plenty of space...so we signed up.

Our kids are asking thousands of questions already...my favorite so far from Joaquin: "Will they be my brother or sister while they're here?"

With a smile, I responded, "Probably."

a cold day for the fair

I love pictures.
They remind you of the fun you actually had, even when you can't remember it.

Like this day at the State Fair. Way to cold. Way to gray.


These kids do not seem happy to be holding such a big cotton candy.


At least one person thought it was real.


Joaquin really played the part here. (FYI, I used the 1960s edit from picnik on these shots.)


So I'm sure they planned it this way, but we definitely got trapped on this circle of food and rides. The whole reason we even went (OK... the whole reason I went) was to see the giant pumpkins, crafts, and farm animals, but we couldn't find any of those the entire time we were there. Really bad maps. Really bad set up.


The bull ride was definitely worth it though. Only, don't do it after you eat. Isabela's face started looking a little iffy for a few minutes. But both kids were able to hang on tight and not fall off.


We hadn't even planned to go on rides. But one look at this, and Diego eyes lit up. How could we say no?


"And that one, too!!"


"OOOOhh, and look over there!"


Isabela and I headed to a row of cut-outs while the boys were on the ferris wheel. But there were no steps! Really?


Someone's happy.


Well, at least this one didn't need a step.


Now, this one was hilarious. As Diego tried to situate himself at the top of this slide, his body started turning and he ended up going down spread eagle, head first. He just laid there like a rag doll and went with it.


And his first ride all by himself!


I wasn't sure this flimsy rope would hold him in.... and he seems to be wondering the same thing.


And the bumper cars. Am I the only one that hates these? I don't think so. They don't go the way you want. You get jammed up with whiplash and spend half your time trying to figure out how to get your car to actually go.


But Joaquin sized it up pretty quick. After his first pile up, he stayed away from the other cars and just did laps around everyone jammed in the middle. Smart boy.


Then there's the fast one. Diego and Joaquin were dying to get on this. To me, it's another one that looks fun, but really isn't. Speeding in a fast circle with you head bobbling around is not for me. Joaquin doesn't look too sure, either. He's a second guesser, like me. Makes a decision, then wonders if it was a good one.


It was.


And their eyes are on to the next one.


So I figured the day was quite a disappointment. No giant pumpkin. No prize cows. No hand-stitched quilts. No turkey leg for Juan Pablo. No cotton candy for the kids.

But I saw some smiles, too. As my camera reminds me, the day was not all lost.

There are good days and there are bad days, and this is one of them. Lawrence Welk

Or this was both of them. -Me.