I know that a lot of moms are not as happy about summer coming, but i am ecstatic! The reason being that I am now free. In our school kindergartners have to be brought to school and picked up by a parent or older sibling. So for the past year I have been faithfully taking Dylan to school every day, and picking her up everyday. Next year however I get to sleep in (I know it is not likely, but I like to live in my deluded mind) because next year she will be walking to school. Yes she will be only 6, but since we live across the street from the school and there is only one street to cross, I will probably only have to walk her across the street and she can walk from there.

I am sad however that my first baby is done with her first year of school. Next year she will no longer be the baby on campus. Today we went to a end of the year assembly where the kids sang some songs and we watched a slide show of pics taken throughout the year. I am definitely going to miss her teacher. She was the best teacher for Dylan. As soon as I get a copy downloaded I will add the link to the assembly for anyone who wants to watch.

Last friday night was girls night in. When Zac has poker on Friday nights, we do all the things that he doesn't enjoy. We has curry and asparagus for dinner, then we watched a new anime called Ponyo while we cleaned, cut, and colored our nails. Now, I love anime, and I wouldn't say that I didn't like it, it was just different. It is a Japanese version of the little mermaid. My friend Gareth who I borrowed it from said that the kids would like it, but he wasn't sure about me. He apparently didn't like it as well. When you figure the things coming out of Studio Ghibli, you can't say that most of thier movies aren't a little screwed up, but thats kinda why I like them. When I was about 14, I saw the second half of Grave of the Fireflies. It was the first anime that I had ever seen. It was so powerful to me, even thought I didn't see why the kids were living in a cave, that I looked for it for years. Netflix came along and I finally was able to see the beginning and it broke my heart even more.

We did a bad thing and had a cheese platter for dinner a few nights ago. I was at Trader Joes and I can't walk by the cheese aisle without wishing I could taste all the different cheeses. Now, I do like my cheese, but am weary about spending a boatload of money on something I am not going to like. My top cheeses are Part Salud, and Havarti. My love of cheese however for shadowed by my intense stomach pains, and slothiness for the next two days.

This week we went through many babysitters as it has been the first week of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Normally during the week I tell Zac to take a friend, but since it is the playoffs and an experience like no other, I had to go. Wednesday night I was not feeling well, but went anyways, and tinnitus ensued. You know when you hear a bomb go off, or a gun shooting at close range (because people hear these things often) and you have that period where you kinda have the fuzzy hearing? Well that's what it was like, I could hear the crowd chanting just fine, but couldn't hear the guy sitting next to me talking to me.

Sometimes I wonder where my inner hippyness comes from then I come across pictures like this of my dad

This is my dad holding me and my older sister for what I can assume is my first christmas. Then it dawns on me. People are mostly about, where they came from. When you go back in my family, they are basically middle income, alot of military, easy going laid back type people. I have family on both sides that lied on thier military records in order to serve, one of which got found out, and kicked out of the air force.






I started doing my family history this week. I have way back on my fathers side, but have no pictures or stories about them, and then my mothers side doesn't go back farther than my great grandparents, but I have over 400 pictures now scanned in and stories typed about them. Here are some pictures of them:




This is my grandmothers grandmother's memorial

















This is my granmothers brother Andrea climbing the Alps.











And this woman with the flowered dress is my grandmother, Fernanda









My family may not have classical beauty, but darn it they have European cuteness!
I am proud of my heritage.

I can never think what to write when I am sitting on the recliner with my laptop open. I mean, I have ideas of things I want to write, like short stories, and such, but nothing to write here. I get my ideas when I am driving.

Today I met my new visiting teachers. One of them Mandy, is really nice, and I have met her quite a few times but have never sat down to talk to her. She is really nice and it was good to get to know her. Jen is the other one, she is a convert like me and is the same age and has kids the same age. I am really looking forward to get to know her. She is nice, and I think she is going to make a great friend.

This week seems like it is going by fast, but when I realize when it is, it is never as far as I think. This weekend I had the best time. We had Ben and Desi over to spend the night, well sort of. They came friday night and we played Magic at a my friend Jen's. Then, saturday I went to Zach's cousins bridal shower. When we got home she left and we had Jen and another friend Robbie over to play Magic again. Then that night we had Jen and her hubby scott, ben's brother, and a friend named Darrin over for Magic again... needless to say we played alot of magic this weekend. It was fun though.The girls spent alot of time playing with thier cousins and friends.

I finally got Dylans birthday invitations done and passed out. She wants a Easter themed birthday, so we cut scrapbooking paper into the shape of eggs, glued a 6 on the front and the info on the inside. We invited our immediate family, a few family friends, and 5 kids from her class. Dylan wants sandwiches and chips, so I am thinking about getting a big sub for the adults and buying uncrustables for the kids. It is going to be at the park behind our house as that is where she likes to play. We were at build-a-bear a week-ish ago and there was a party and I asked her if she wanted to have a party there. She said she liked having it at the park. At $9 per kid I wasn't going to argue with her.

I am watching Eagle Eye while I watch this. One of my top 5 movies (the other 4 incase you are wondering are Dan in Real life, In the Land of Women, Howls moving castle, and Little Women in no particular order), I appreciated the fact that it is Even Stevens first movie as an adult. I tend to like movies that might actually happen, although I realize that Howl's moving castle is a bit of a stretch...LOL!

I hate summer. Not actually summer, but how it makes me feel. I love to swim, I love the heat (well ok, hate it, but it's not the end of the world) But every summer I start to get headaches, it messes with my hormones, and I am usually burned to a crisp by the time is hits 70 4 days in a row. But, I am excited to have Dylan home. Last week she had spring break and was home, ie at the park/etc As stressful as it was, I liked having her home. It was nice to have a conversation where we weren't both mostly confused.

All my plants except my green beans are dead. Some of white flies, some of fungus... I decided that other than flowers I am done until I get my own backyard.

Ok, I know I promised I would update this, but I have been super busy. Today I decided that if we are going to be in this house atleast another year and the blah color of paint can't be changed (i.e. I am too lazy to paint it back) then I should decorate the girls rooms. Maybe they would like playing in it/sleeping in it more if I make it more pleasant. So, I got paint, curtains, and butterfly decals. I painted thier dresser (which has been painted by yours truely atleast 3 times) just darker than peptol bismol pink. Then I put the decals up around the room and am just waiting till Zach gets home to put up the curtains. Then I will be taking a picture to regal you all with my handiwork.

Now, since this is the first time I have been online today (even thought it is 4:30 which is not normal for me, I am online like atleast 5 hours by now) I did all the usual surfing, checked out woot shirt, fed all my characters and checked out the food porn on foodbuzz, which is a daily reminder of food I would love to eat but are too cheap and incompetent to make myself. This reminds me I need to find somewhere in the valley that makes grits, becuase they are never as good when I make them. Anyone?

Dylan had field day today. Her teacher told her that she could wear shorts, hats, and sunglasses. Now, it has been cold and raining for days, but yesterday the rain let up and alot of the water dried. Today was glorious weather for a field day, then as soon as I left to pick her up, it started to blow and now it is sprinkling. They had hula hooping, jump roping, bean bag tossing and more. Her favorite was the hula hooping and they came home with ribbons, and water bottles.

I transplanted my zucchini last Friday. With all this weird weather, half of my plants look like they arent going to make it. Although both the zucchini plants have half a dozen blooms, but no leaves. I can't wait to have my own backyard, I am putting a gate across half the backyard, and use half for raised beds, and half for a swingset and a little dog. I want a fig, almond, and an orange tree.  As you can see I have this all planned out. I want to be as self sufficient as possible. Since we eat alot of fruit and veggies, this is the best way, since I have no idea how to butcher a chicken. Now when Zach and I buy a couple acres in southern Oregon, then I will have chickens for eggs (again, not to butcher, thats gross! I prefer my meat dipped in ammonia and wrapped in plastic. See Food INC)

Last weekend we went to the renaissance fair and the kids had a blast. We went with the Holewinski's. The little girls got leather bracelets, but Dylan didn't want anything. But the highlight of the trip other than the 50 chicken nuggets on the way home was meeting TWIG the fairy. The girls sat on her lap and got pictures taken, and she gave each of them glittery fairy rocks.

Well, off to finish my favorite stew (ie beef, chopped potatoes, and trader joes fire roasted vegetables).

I am not new to blogging, but I have no public blogs. Since my extended family lives across the west end of North America, I thought this would be a good way to keep everyone up to date on what we are up to.

Right now I am finishing my low point taco soup and waiting for all our Thursday night dinner group to get here. We rotate houses with two other families in what started as a mutual love of the show Alias (if you have never seen it, Netflix it. Awesome!) We have now moved on to Lost since Alias has been over for a couple years, and still want to hang out.

I started Weight Watchers again last week and since I have been sick with allergies and hormonal, I will not list what I "lost" this week, just know that it wasn't weight. I have 20 pounds to lose. I think I look ok, and feel fine, but we need health insurance and am betting that it will be alot cheaper when I am in the "Healthy" weight range. Our previous insurance didn't cover anything and was 800 bucks a month. This time I want to pay the same amount and have it cover atleast well person coverage and maternity. Not that I am planning on getting pregnant, but do want atleast one more kid before we call it quits.

I have planted a garden a few weeks ago, and things are not looking well. As much as I want to be self sufficient and like to work outside, I can't seem to get anything to grow under my hand. I planted green beans, peas, carrots, radishes, and have bell pepper plants that were growing in the community garden. They grew from seeds on my kitchen window sill, and there are two zucchini plants still there waiting for me to move outside. As it is, they grew great from seeds, then when I took them outside and put them in bigger pots, they are just stalled.

Well, people are here. Talk more later.