Caleb Preschool Music - September

Play Dates

This week has found me in a whirlwind of playdates.  Daniel at his friends house, his friends at our house, the neighbor at our house, Caleb at a friends house, taking Josh's friend to the beach. 

But someone is always without a play date.  Unless you count mommy as her perpetual playmate, but I don't think that really counts. So this week we got together two sweet little girls, to see how they would do for hours without their mommys.  If they did well, this could mean we could help out in the boy's classrooms, run errands solo, the possibilities are endless.

Well, they did fantastic..so cute and sweet are these two little two year olds.

I received this picture as I was getting a pedicure yesterday (by myself!!)

So sweet!!

I came home Wednesday night after Enrichment to find this...



Thursday after work we picked up this...





Friday evening, Dave started in, and by Saturday morning we had this..




Just another craigslist find..

Every weekend should end this way..

That kid cracks me up..

Over two weeks ago I met with the Speech Pathologist to go over the routine for evaluating Caleb's speech. I thought she would listen, evaluate, and give the proper course of action to take. Much to my surprise we went over paper work, and scheduled the next eight appointments spreading over the next two months with various speech pathologists, psychologists, and nurses.

I can definitley say they are thorough!!

Today was Part 1, where he was evaluated by both a speech pathologist and psychologist. Natalie and I played with various toys as I listened in on the fun. They had him do various puzzles to evaluate his problem solving skills, they had him color, and best of all they asked him verbal questions.

Here are a few gems..

SP: How many ears do you have?

Caleb: My Dad has big ears, he's giant. He has a monster truck that goes fast, it's giant too. It has a trailer and we go camping. My dad is cool. My mom is small, she has small ears.

SP: So many ears do you have?

Caleb: one, two (pointing to each ear) Two!

SP: What colors are in the rainbow?

Caleb: My dad has a red shirt. He wears it to work, he likes red. My brother likes blue, he has a blue car that goes fast. My dad has a blue car, My car is black. Natalie has balloons, they are pink, she had a birthday. Josh likes all colors.

SP: So are those colors in the rainbow?

Caleb: Yeah, and others.


Both of the ladies were completely enthralled and amused by him as was I.

I love this kid, he cracks me up!!

We made it, our first week of school..

Well we concluded our first week of school with much success.

Daniel is excited by his teacher and new classmates and his happy to be back in school and see his friends on a regular basis.

Joshua loves first grade and is obsessed with earning a "Good as Gold" everyday for great behavior.

Caleb is wowed by preschool and loves going to the "other school" for his daily dose. He likes painting, and playing with toys, and says he is even OK with the singing.

Natalie is my little pal, and unfortunately for us, we spent the first days without the boys shopping for clothes for family pictures. Not my idea of fun, but she was super excited for her new shoes. That chicky loves her shoes!! We also split a caramel apple so not all was lost.

I'm excited for the boys and the new experiences ahead of them.

Now to try and tackle that "to do" list that has grown all summer long...

Friday Philosophical

This morning as I was getting ready, I looked in the mirror, and I noticed this brown ponytail with strands that had been touched by the sun. I laughed to myself, because it was only two months ago that I wanted that same ponytail to be red. Yes, you heard it, RED!!

I wanted something different, a change, and I thought red was so striking, and I do in fact have one redhead (possibly two). So why not?

I called my hairdresser and made an appointment. She replied with "for a trim?" and I enthusiastically said "No, some color". She hesitated and then told me to bring in some pictures of what I wanted, and she would see me soon.

I left the house that Saturday morning, and gave me husband a grin, and said "you'll see in me in red soon". I got to the salon a little apprehensive but excited. I pulled out my clippings from magazines of beautiful red hair, more auburn, reddish brown tones that you're fire engine-red jell-o reds.

She looked at me and then said, much to my dismay, "Tasha, sweet girl, I see you a couple of times a year for a haircut, you're not ready for this, to see me every six weeks to keep this color up."

It was true, I do very little to upkeep my hair, and at this time in my life I probably wasn't ready for that much high maintenance. That's probably one of the reasons my hair has been long for so long, it's easy. I left the salon with a reddish tint in my hair from some demi-permanent color. It would was out in a month or so, and did much to satisfy my desire for red.

A few weeks later, Dave left on a trip up to WA for work. While he was gone, I purchased some brighter red, home hair color that was also wash out. Why not see if I liked it redder? After two applications and some touch-ups I felt good with my more redder outlook. I surprised Dave when I picked him at the airport, and again much to my dismay, it wasn't really noticeable, and he didn't even notice it till we got home.

I wanted something I couldn't have, but more importantly it wasn't right for me at the time.

What surprised me this morning, was that I had completely forgotten about my obsession and need for a change, for red. That was only two months ago, and yet I had let it go.

Now years down the road when I can make appointments during the day and juggling little ones isn't an issue, I may revisit red.

But more importantly I think, why did I want something so much, when it wasn't even practical, or good for me and my lifestyle (family). Why did it seem so important then, and now a few months later I barely remember it.

Thankfully the world doesn't work according to what I want, and when I want it to happen. It works according to His will and only He knows what is good for us, and what we need.

I guess I didn't need red. I may have been trying to fill some other need, or want, or maybe I just needed a change. And since I'm OK now with just being low maintenance-non red me, I must have filled that want or need with something better and more fulfilling.

Hopefully I learned a little lesson too!!

First Day of School

Today we woke up, kids were dressed by 7:10, pancakes made and eaten by 7:25, lunches made, backpacks filled, and even a few pictures taken before the crew headed out the door to their first day of school by 7:35.

Daniel is starting 4th grade, with his first ever male teacher. Josh is in first grade with the same teacher that Daniel had for first, and Caleb started preschool today as well. My sweet little Natalie wanted in on the action too, but she was stuck flying solo with mommy for a few hours while Caleb is at preschool.

She's TWO!!

My sweet little girl turned two, and this is her big hurray for blowing out her candles by herself!!

She is such a joy to our family.

She loves her babies, but also loves to play with cars and especially trains.

Her favorite though, are shoes!!

She loves to play chicken with me as she climbs and stands on the top of the monkey bars in hopes of scaring me silly.

She wakes up so sweet, without tears or grumpiness like some certain boys in our home.

Raspberries are her favorite, she eats them like they were candy, and we barely leave the store without half of them eaten.

She takes baths when ever she pleases, she dresses herself, and is so ready to be potty trained, as she does it herself most days.

She has a sparkle in her eye that she is up to something, and can get into so many things and make so many messes, such an imp!!

I love this baby girl, and the sweetness and silliness she has added to our home.
We are so blessed to have you Miss Natalie!!

Road Trip - Day One

Our first day of travels, we visited the beautiful danish town of Solvang, CA.

We walked around town, and enjoyed the beautiful architecture of this quaint little city. The kids enjoyed treats at the sweet shop, while Dave and I had the most decadent sandwiches.




Afterwards we packed up the kiddies, and headed towards Morro Bay. The fog started rolling in, and the air was quite chilly.

We walked around the dock and snapped a few pics. Then we drove around to visit this monstrous rock.

Then we headed North on the 1 to see the elephant seals. The kids could have looked at them forever.

As we drove off into the sunset to find our campground for the night, I snapped a few pics from the moving car...not too shabby.

Road Trip - Day Two

As we got back on the road we noticed that the rain and fog from the day before had dissappeared, and it was going to be a beautiful day.

We made our way into the heart of San Francisco, and found a parking place big enough for both the truck and tent trailer, only a few blocks away from the wharf. The sun was shining, and their was a breeze as we got closer to the water.

We walked around Pier 39, and enjoyed fish sandwiches and fish and chips for lunch.

The boys loved going through the naval museum, and I found myself quite nostalgic looking through the old memorabilia. The ship pictured actually came across the banks of Normandy, and I was choked up as I read the account. So many have sacrificed their lives for what we have today...

Road Trip - Day Three

After another night in the tent trailer we were again on our way. Did I mention our cheap stays..we paid no more than $25 a night to stay, and had pools and showers at our disposal. We also were cheap on eats, and only ate out once a day, and no fast food!

Monday was a long travel day as we drove through the beautiful forests of Northern California into Oregon. It was absolutely breathtaking, as we drove through tunnels of tree covered roads, and passed by streams, brooks, and lakes.

Late Monday night we arrived at our destination, Long Beach, WA.

Here are some pics of the northwestern countryside as we were driving..

Road Trip - Day Four

We arrived at the beach house late Monday night when everyone else was sleeping soundly. The kids were anxious to check out their surroundings, so we got everyone dressed and decided to make a little pit stop at the beach before our planned excursions for the day.



The beach was incredible, yet so different from the California beaches I know. The tall grasses and drift wood, and the beach that seemed to go on forever. We took Bailey out so she could get some exercise, and she went crazy playing amogst the waves. Natalie wanted in on the action, and I left her to take off her own shoes as I snapped more pictures. My next picture of course is of her wearing her birthday suit, playing in the chilly chilly water.

We learned that we could drive on the beach, which is over 25 miles long, so after a quick pit stop to change little Miss we took advantage and drove down the Washington coast..on the beach.



We traveled on so many bridges I lost count, and I loved them all.



That afternoon we met up with a friend of mine, and her sweet family. They took us through Portland, and to this great restaurant where the kids enjoyed cheese fondue, an accordian player, and new friends they weren't ready to say goodbye to. Did I mention that it was a sit down restaurant with eight kids total..

Road Trip - Day Five

On our fifth day, we traveled down the WAshington coast to view the lighthouses and beautiful coastline. We visited two lighhouses filled with great history, and did some great hikes.







We enjoyed a picnic lunch and then made our way to Tillamook, OR to visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory and Creamery. We learned all about chesse, and even watched them package it, which did little to hold Natalie's attention. There we sampled a variety of cheeses, and my kids and I got our first taste of cheese curds, or "squeaky cheese" to those who know it well. We purchased some for the ride home, and indulged in ice cream cones while we were there.




We then headed north up the Oregon coast to Cannon Beach, OR where the ending of "Goonies" was shot. My boys were especially eager to get a picture there after seeing the movie.

Road Trip - Day Six

almost have it done..

Road Trip - Day Seven, Eight and Nine

almsot done..