tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69266209911155246332011-08-15T23:38:43.563-07:00Christinenoreply@blogger.comBlogger651100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-50696846707969071672009-04-23T17:44:00.000-07:002009-04-23T22:31:28.739-07:00

BEGINNINGLast Fall I covered the ground area between the plants in the backyard with bags and bags of bark/mulch (before I realized this sort of thing would be bad for my back situation). Anyhow, it looked AMAZING. I would sit on the bench in the yard and feel content, happy, and listen to the birds chirp. During Winter tons of weeds grew up and took over the beautiful landscaping I had done. The

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-20519343946355962302009-03-11T19:54:00.001-07:002009-03-13T16:09:59.754-07:00

I came across a box of my old baby/little girl clothes today and gave a couple of jackets to Madeleine to try on. I love the color yellow and here she is in my yellow jackets. She's really sprouted and doesn't fit into anything lately, so this was a good find. She's such a big girl now. She is all grown up at the park these days and has fun finding new friends. Yesterday she and two other girls

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-31319271466286606882009-02-13T21:01:00.000-08:002009-02-13T23:09:59.171-08:00

These are pieces of art that the kids did at school this week. It didn't come out in the picture, but they are titled "The Hands That Touch My Heart". I was touched by this project because it reminded me of how kids touch our hearts in even the smallest things that they do.Today Matthew and Madeleine helped me to decorate cupcakes for their school. Matthew took two aside "for Mommy and Daddy" and

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-16964126714292139022009-01-29T22:27:00.000-08:002009-01-29T23:02:42.952-08:00

We started out January with my birthday. Apparently I was determined and serious about getting my wish. That's a lot of air in those cheeks. The truth is it was one of those trick candles and I didn't want to be had.Then it was Marc's turn. Seems like he got a bit more help from the kids, so not as much air in his cheeks.On to cousin Gianna's birthday with a Candy Land theme. No air in the cheeks

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-83516299875284825652008-12-15T17:10:00.000-08:002008-12-15T19:11:17.158-08:00

This weekend we drove out to Half Moon Bay and cut down a tree at Santa's Tree Farm. We go there every year and we always have a great time. For one thing, it's huge. We can drive way back in the valley and across a bridge and find a peaceful place between the hills to find our tree. There is also a barn half way up that has free hot apple cider, a sleigh, a train ride with Santa on board, and

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-43560980845822488112008-12-15T10:44:00.000-08:002008-12-15T19:15:46.322-08:00

This morning Madeleine knocked on the door as I was taking my shower. I was wondering what she needed...more cereal, milk, for me to play with her? I turned off the water and opened the door so that I could hear her more clearly. The whole process made me cold and eager to get back to my spa time. Her words warmed me right up as she spoke so sweetly to me, in her nearly 3yr old helium voice "

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-69131350620449346822008-11-30T15:15:00.000-08:002008-12-01T09:55:31.202-08:00

We started out the day eating breakfast at Townsend, a SF eatery near the ball park that Marc and I liked when we were young and lived in the city. We thought the kids would like it because they put a basket of homemade mini muffins and scones on the table as soon as you arrive. There are also boats and trains that can be viewed from the window, plus countless dogs (Matthew wants one SO bad)

Christinenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-61780692806016592682008-11-26T09:45:00.000-08:002008-11-26T10:40:52.850-08:00

We're leaving for Carmel in a little bit and looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with all 23 members of Marc's immediate family...2 grandparents, 7 brothers/sisters, 6 spouses, 8 little kids (and a partridge in a pear tree). There is a lot to be thankful for this year. At this stage in our lives, Marc and I feel very blessed to have 2 wonderful kids that inspire and fill our

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-19924676031267151012008-11-22T19:10:00.000-08:002008-11-22T19:46:07.654-08:00

For almost two years Matthew has insisted on wearing long sleeves with a preference for pictures over stripes. He also likes pants and not shorts. It has made shopping for him very easy. I just have to make sure to have enough long sleeves on hand in February to last until August when they start selling them in the stores again. The sales in January always help with this.We never questioned his

Christinenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-35589010773613563992008-11-02T21:50:00.000-08:002008-11-02T23:15:12.310-08:00

For Halloween this year Matthew decided to dress up as Buz Lightyear and Madeleine picked out a poodle costume. She had originally wanted to be a frog, but it proved difficult to locate one in her size. She seemed equally as happy about the poodle once she saw it in the store.She still has her birthday to fulfill her froggy dreams. She's been asking for a frog cake ever since she spotted one in a

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-14630097846375176232008-10-27T15:25:00.000-07:002008-10-30T16:13:11.652-07:00

Marc is probably pained from his lack of sleep lately (see previous post). Coincidentally, he recently worked on Pain, a game for Playstation 3.Last month he flew down to LA to record David Hasselhoff sing the feature song for the game and record the band. He came back and mixed it in the Sony studios here in the Bay Area. The Hoff is currently a judge on America's Got Talent and is also known

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-44769793578702778112008-10-26T23:26:00.000-07:002008-10-27T13:21:49.455-07:00

There is so much to write about...a week of fun during a visit from my dad, delightful visits with friends, the school walk-a-thon, a new school the kids have been visiting. The list is endless.Life has been good, but busy, especially the last several weeks. Marc has had the opportunity to mix a new album for Kasabian, a band that's HUGE in England but no one knows here. He's had the best time

Christinenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-10918086115598078322008-09-25T20:27:00.000-07:002008-09-25T22:33:42.860-07:00

For the last 5 years I've listened to all kinds of kids music. I think I've heard it all. I even helped make some when we did the CD for the school. I actually like a lot of it and can sometimes be found listening to it when the kids aren't in the car.In the last week or so, I've found myself longing for tunes of my own. You know, some really good driving music. I've started surfing the channels

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-84708889116309491332008-09-10T16:50:00.000-07:002008-09-10T18:23:18.688-07:00

Perhaps you've already seen the coverage, but I think this new Hadron Collider is something else. Today's test run was successful...see article. In the months to come it should be interesting to see what they learn and how old hypothesis are challenged.I also love the physics student that visited the Hadron Collider and got permission to take footage of her and her friends dancing around to a rap

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-60016245174079330262008-09-06T22:11:00.000-07:002008-09-06T22:42:33.897-07:00

It's a little messy, but really fun to use finger paints with the kids. When I first bought finger paints I was surprised at the cost. It was about $15 for all 4 primary colors and the bottles really weren't that big. I found myself becoming a little stingy with the allocation every time the kids asked for more paint for more pictures. I didn't want to use up all the paint in 1 sitting.The

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-26999175677673075502008-08-31T20:35:00.000-07:002008-08-31T21:02:15.952-07:00

On our way back from Tahoe, we stopped at the Nut Tree and let the kids go on rides. When we got to the bumper cars, Madeleine and I had to sit it out, since she was a wee bit too small. She was good natured about the whole thing and helped me root on Marc and Matthew as they crashed into cars and walls.Since then, she finds every opportunity to let us know she's big enough for the bumper cars

Christinenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-5997836322668277972008-08-22T19:05:00.000-07:002008-08-23T20:25:59.024-07:00

Marc brought home another instrument from Sony last night. He kept it a surprise. The kids were bursting with excitement by the time he came home. They couldn't wait to find out what it would be, plus they were happy about being able to stay up late.Matthew was hoping it was a trumpet and he got his wish. We all joined in on the fun. I had actually never tried a trumpet before. The kids had

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-58246985839116265052008-08-19T22:59:00.000-07:002008-08-20T00:00:35.269-07:00

Madeleine is doing much better since her big fall opening night of the Olympics. And I'm doing better now too since I got a chance to see the ceremony at my friends house on her DVR the other night. :)Here she is on her way to get the stitches out. The abscess that developed is gone, the swelling is down, and the portion of the cut that didn't require stitching is mending great.The doctor had a

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-17865563712758957912008-08-14T21:30:00.000-07:002008-08-14T23:11:31.487-07:00

Tahoe was great fun this year. We took a pic in our best white and blues with the trees and lake behind us. We started doing this last year. It should be fun to see how things change each time. All together we had my Aunt Diane (Dad's sister), my cousins Barbara, Kathy and Steve, Steve's wife Nancy, their son Clayton, and us.On the way up we stopped at Rubio's for the best fish taco's ever. I

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-80203938776867932352008-08-10T00:50:00.000-07:002008-08-10T11:58:40.605-07:00

Matthew's 5th birthday was a lot of fun. I can't believe it took me this long to put something on the blog. Getting ready for, going on, and unpacking from vacation was part of it. Matthew moved away from transportation themes (trains, fire trucks, trains again) of past birthdays and moved toward character themes. It was tense deciding between Wall-E, Buzz Lightyear, pirates, and The Magic School

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-45665919731839532562008-08-10T00:30:00.000-07:002008-08-10T00:43:30.576-07:00

A love affair with an afternoon snack. Good thing we just finished painting...Madeleine was prepared donning a smock.

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-86375377412465649952008-07-01T23:42:00.000-07:002008-07-02T00:32:17.545-07:00

In my last post I had a lot to say. This time I'm leaving most of it to pictures...Madeleine in braids. She wanted to be like her "dolly".We've done a lot of visiting these past few weeks. Here's our kids with friends Max and Aiden watching a movie.Here are Madeleine and Aiden painting...this time at their house. I can't take credit for this pic, since I took it from Margaret's blog. Thanks

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-46283246390088547052008-06-07T05:05:00.000-07:002008-06-07T10:25:04.432-07:00

Matthew had a great idea. Instead of having a lemonade stand, he wanted to sell french fries. I thought it would be a lot more work to cook and keep hot, but it was his idea and it was original.He thought of it last Fall. Marc and Matthew built the stand and it sat in our garage until now. There was renewed interest in it this month, since we started teaching him to use his own money to buy

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-73301151353436172402008-06-07T04:43:00.000-07:002008-06-07T05:01:05.284-07:00

Madeleine is learning all kinds of things lately. Aside from letters and numbers, we're finally saying bye bye to bottles, pacifiers and diapers! We didn't mean to do it all at once, it just sorta happened. We really meant to do it a long time ago. Things were just too busy this time around.The diapers don't go away all at once like bottles and pacifiers do, but we're ready for the Diaper Champ

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-16413812853636106712008-06-07T03:53:00.000-07:002008-06-07T10:31:08.802-07:00

Here is another Amazing Product brought to you from The Garden.Amazing Products have been, well, amazing people all over The Garden. We now have entries from people viewing and enjoying The Garden. This one comes from GAD (Great Aunt Diane). She went all the way to the As Seen On TV store in Hawaii to find this gem. Thankfully, you can now find it at your local Walgreens, Target, BB&B, etc...

Christinenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-68250733544305600912008-05-28T23:23:00.000-07:002008-05-29T00:40:54.201-07:00

It's been a busy month, with the last week or so being especially intense. I should start a graduation store. I now have lots of product...a DVD movie of the school year, a CD of music from the school, and a 40 page yearbook that any classy scrap book store could use as a sample in their classes (seriously, I spent at least 60 hours on that thing).Not only is this all finished, but I've handed

Christinenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-64904904338766197792008-05-11T20:49:00.000-07:002008-05-11T21:35:37.347-07:00

Marc made Matthew's lunch the other day and he put something new in it. Matthew liked it so much he requested it the next day. "Dad, would you put lickers in my lunch again?" What the heck are lickers? Are they popsicles? Ice-cream push ups? Can't be...no sugar at school. It's celery sticks with peanut butter, of course (plus the pic gives it away)! He licks the peanut butter off and discards

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-58920277947641878372008-05-04T06:34:00.000-07:002008-05-04T07:52:28.462-07:00

I have read Green Eggs and Ham at least 100 times. I have read other Dr. Seuss books to the kids 100's of other times. I started reading Dr. Seuss to Matthew when he was about a year old. He took to them right away. I think all the rhyming was soothing to him in some way.We have many Dr. Seuss books now, including 2 that are collections of many stories, one of which we had early on in our

Christinenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-60245202585625289112008-05-02T04:17:00.000-07:002008-05-02T05:20:12.173-07:00

This past weekend we made a stop at Marc's office. I got to hear the amazing mix that Marc did on the theme song of a new driving game AND I got to play it. I'm a long time fan of Pole Position and the reigning Queen of Go Cart racing in my family. We all used to race on Summer visits to the Russian River. The track is long gone, but everyone remembers who used to win, right?...at least I do! :)

Christinenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-70625836557491179452008-04-23T08:12:00.000-07:002008-04-23T23:39:13.332-07:00

Matthew's head teacher, Barbara, is so great at singing and playing the guitar with them during circle times each day. She seems to have A LOT of songs that she sings and I could never remember them all. She literally has hundreds...some traditional and others more obscure. I thought it would be nice if the kids had a CD of the top 30 songs that they could listen to at home and in the car. That

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-71483406958497870742008-04-18T13:45:00.000-07:002008-04-18T14:31:38.569-07:00

Matthew is on Spring Break this week. We've been low key most of the time since we've been hit by the stomach flu. Madeleine has it today, but yesterday everyone seemed healthy. The weather has been spectacular, so we went to Target and got a kids pool. I was going to get the basic round do-dad until Matthew said, "but I like the whale one because it reminds me of the story of Jonah in the belly

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-22107111776131207362008-04-18T10:22:00.000-07:002008-04-18T11:27:08.390-07:00

I can't help myself. I have another AMAZING product. It's hard to see the picture, but check it out. It's called "Pure Ayre" and I found it at Walgreens. I've also seen it online everywhere. This product is great for everyone...especially ALL my readers who have children (5 of you).I've been using it for awhile. However, this week it was really put to the test.Our bathroom tends to smell like a

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-32178325657353857142008-04-15T23:14:00.000-07:002008-04-16T00:06:45.735-07:00

School days are full of memories. There are many different kinds of school days at Matthew's school. In the last short while we've had Crazy Day, Picture Day and now Library Day. I'm hoping for Coffee Day to be implemented.The kids had a good time listening to the story teller, Sue. We've been going to see her for years now. She's a sweet lady and really good at telling stories to the kids.M&M

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-59191518195657587732008-04-04T14:03:00.000-07:002008-04-04T14:42:16.058-07:00

Earlier in the week we had "Crazy Day". Today we had "Picture Day", but for me it seemed like Crazy Day. It was my work day at the school, so it was a full day. I brought a snack for everyone...items that don't stain. Parents that couldn't stay the whole day left instructions (make sure my child takes their coat off for the group picture, can you change her shoes when she goes out to play after

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-62469975120719068542008-04-03T23:50:00.001-07:002008-04-04T00:00:11.076-07:00

This week, Matthew's school had "Crazy Day". They get to think up crazy ways of dressing for school. Matthew told me he didn't want to dress crazy, he wanted to act crazy. Probably all the kids were thinking just that.Matthew is very specific about what he likes to wear. Jeans and a long sleeve shirt with a picture. I was curious to find out what he'd like to do for crazy day. I thought that

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-7822085993545396532008-03-26T13:55:00.000-07:002008-03-26T14:19:30.198-07:00

I should get paid for this endorsement. Too bad I don't. I can't stop talking about it though. It is 2008, I'll be 40 before I know it, and yet I have never had a dishwasher in any dwelling I've rented or owned. Matthew and Madeleine are so interested in dishwashers whenever they see them. It's all so new to them.So, I have used a lot of different dish washing soaps over the years and this is by

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-6064740122779306352008-03-18T23:42:00.000-07:002008-03-19T00:05:31.260-07:00

I've been tagged. Here's my entry.Here are the rules of this tag:A. Post these rules at the beginning of the blog entryB. Answer the questions about yourselfC. Tag 5 people, let them know in a comment on their blogs that they have been tagged.Whew. Here we go....What were you doing 10 yrs ago?I don't remember...well, I was definitely married to Marc because we've been married forever. We didn't

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-66273509636459791212008-03-06T07:16:00.000-08:002008-03-06T23:45:09.152-08:00

It's been 2 years in the making. Madeleine now has enough hair to make pig tales!She's very proud of her pig tales. On the way to pick up Matthew from school she kept repeating, "I show teacher Barbara", "I show teacher Theresa". And that's exactly what she did as soon as we got there. She went up to both of them and said, "look my pony tail!!!" In fact, she told everyone at school and then

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-68645262110231074042008-03-03T20:05:00.000-08:002008-03-05T18:08:29.174-08:00

My friend Tamara and her daughter Rachael came for a visit about a week ago. Sadly, I'm only now getting these great pics of the kids up on my blog.I have been SO busy trying to put together all the pictures, art work, pre-k papers, certificates from soccer, music, and swimming and all the other memories that I've been stashing away over the past 5 years.It's all going into a yearbook that

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-13256364920712938212008-03-02T18:37:00.000-08:002008-03-02T18:51:19.642-08:00

I know it's not too PC to admit that you know anything about tabloid fixtures like Brittney or JLO (Jennifer Lopez), but it IS pop culture so it doesn't hurt to be in the know a little. Plus, it's a click away from many home pages with an entertainment section like Excite.Well, I can admit that I know "a little" and one of the hot topics right now is JLO having twins with Marc Anthony. They named

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-59056952916854794502008-03-02T08:26:00.000-08:002008-03-02T18:15:26.566-08:00

Recently, Popo and Tutu (Hawaiian for Grandpa and Grandma) came for a visit. My Dad came first and then Chris joined a few days later. We had a really nice time.We did fun things with the kids during their visit. Popo treated the kids to a Pony ride one day. We got stuck in a ton of traffic on the way, which was a bit trying for the kids, but we all survived. Popo was a trooper. We picked up GAD

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-43025550080757003212008-02-23T15:34:00.000-08:002008-02-23T15:46:48.024-08:00

I like to shop for shoes by myself or with a friend. Bringing kids in toe is usually not desirable, but it is the most likely scenario. Thank goodness for the world wide web!I have a pair of favorite shoes. Everyone who knows me has probably seen them on many occasions over the past 10 years. The shoe repair store has rebuilt my favorite shoes many times. But, I think it's finally the end of the

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-24151600159635889542008-02-03T17:50:00.001-08:002008-02-04T16:26:19.003-08:00

Matthew plays with Tinker Toys everyday and invents all sorts of things. He started playing with them about a year and a half ago, but after awhile he only had a few pieces in his starter set left. The wood pieces kept breaking at the ends from so much use.At Christmas, he got a new set from his grandmother...a Super Set with 250 pieces...with things like tires, joints and plastic shapes that

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-80938332090826004182008-01-27T07:56:00.000-08:002008-01-28T20:47:03.617-08:00

Sometimes Marc and I can find ourselves very tired with busy days, but then one of the kids says/does something really cute and funny and we both enjoy the moment. Here are some things I want to remember when I get older. I think they are funny right now. They might make me shed a sentimental tear if I read them again when I'm 80.Before I start, here are some relatively recent pictures of the two

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-48599783826943789892008-01-21T22:25:00.000-08:002008-01-22T21:37:11.542-08:00

Madeleine had her 2nd birthday party on Saturday. It was a very nice day complete with sunshine in the middle of January. There were lots of little people to celebrate with her...cousin's Gianna and Clayton, her brother Matthew and friend Havah. She had a blast jumping around with them, playing and eating cake.She was blessed with lots of wonderful clothes and toys from her family and friend

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-48832201840731457512008-01-15T16:05:00.000-08:002008-01-15T17:25:43.015-08:00

I've been wondering why I haven't been getting many revelations from the garden lately. Then it came to me...I haven't been in the garden. Well, that's a revelation right there!God is like that too. If I don't talk to him, he doesn't talk to me...usually. Same with my Bible. If I don't dig in and read it, I don't get anything out of it. Amazing!Since it's Winter, I don't really feel like going in

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-18668504408814575942008-01-11T06:38:00.000-08:002008-01-11T13:12:03.150-08:00

Who is the K Files Blogger? My research on schools for Matthew has taught me a lot and led me to a lot of interesting people. Matthew starts Kindergarten Fall '08 and I've spent much of Fall '07 touring all the possibilities. I visited about 10 schools all together...public KN, independent KN, Catholic KN, Christian KN, Transitional KN (for young 5's). So much KN!Given that I'm the VP of his

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-6319566910018403002008-01-07T21:50:00.000-08:002008-01-07T22:50:30.135-08:00

Here are pics of our attempt at making a gingerbread house over the holidays with my mom and the kids. It looked AMAZING for about 20 minutes, and then it fell down. It was 2 days in the making. We made the batter, rolled out the walls, baked them, mixed the frosting/glue, constructed the house and then finally decorated it. I think the kids liked the decorating best.So, when the house fell down

Christinenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-20424320696874959162008-01-06T16:04:00.000-08:002008-01-06T16:23:54.975-08:00

After 2 weeks of apple cider on the stove at all times, hanging out at cafes, letting the kids stay up late, sleeping in, playing with all the kids new toys, watching movies, and generally doing nothing but hanging out...life starts again tomorrow. Of course there was the trip to Bodega Bay over the New Year, but that was just another excuse for eating and lounging.School starts for Matthew and

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-52838156595344262622007-12-16T09:21:00.000-08:002007-12-16T20:19:22.626-08:00

Here are some pictures from our photo day at Matthew's school and some stories from tree cutting day.Kids are so much fun, especially during the holidays. Yesterday we drove out to Half Moon Bay to get our tree. As soon as we turned into the entrance the kids faces sparkled with joy. Trees shaped and painted like snowmen and a train with Santa inside. Matthew noted that we just saw Santa on top

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-15613751561338096612007-12-11T22:09:00.001-08:002007-12-12T08:10:37.576-08:00

Chalk it up to holidays, knitting and leaving my camera in my mom's car. I've gotten behind in making a post. Plus, my friend Margaret made the BEST post ever. Check it out. I didn't think I could ever top it, but a girl's gotta keep going.Here are some highlights from my hiatus.Many people may have crashed parties when they were younger. Marc and I did it for the first time this weekend.

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-40078401270792844032007-11-29T11:11:00.000-08:002007-12-11T23:05:58.262-08:00

Madeleine has been practicing single words for awhile. Now she's trying to put them all together. It's fun to hear her first sentences and word combinations.Her 1st two word combination, and one she mastered early on, was "all done". She lengthens the "aaaaaall" and punctuates the "DONE". More recently, I was sitting in her room with her as she played with puzzles and she requested, "Mommy play (

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-49681758540955252062007-11-25T23:34:00.001-08:002007-11-26T00:12:22.812-08:00

I haven't blogged in awhile. I've been busy knitting and enjoying the holiday with the family. I'm out of yarn now and the holiday is over. Time to make a post.The first thing we did after arriving in Carmel for Thanksgiving with the Senasac's was to go shopping at Safeway. It's the best way to jump start a holiday vacation. Really. We needed milk for Madeleine and the kids LOVED the double

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-77852742296507785872007-11-11T20:38:00.000-08:002007-11-12T08:06:36.244-08:00

This is my new friend Maria. Well, she's really not a new friend. I've known her for several years. She's a parent at Matthew's preschool. The thing is...I never got to know her because she primarily spoke Spanish.Since then, she has taken many English classes and has learned a lot. I, on the other hand, have done nothing to learn Spanish. Still, we can now have brief and paced conversations in

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-87526905730046157452007-11-06T17:18:00.001-08:002007-11-06T18:20:53.832-08:00

Here's Matthew and Madeleine laughing and screaming uncontrollably with their friend Havah. I love to see kids laugh like this. It's contagious.

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-31006249187534766332007-11-02T21:37:00.000-07:002007-11-02T23:15:38.378-07:00

It took a couple of days. We've now recovered from 14 straight hours of Halloween fun. It started out with a parade and potluck party at Matthew's school. All of the kids were SO cute in their costumes. Aside from a few varieties of princess, everyone had something different. Pixar had a big contingent with Buz Lightyear and Lightning McQueen. We also had the standards...fire fighter, cowboy, and

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-5913697534138865772007-10-30T00:28:00.001-07:002007-10-31T14:03:19.003-07:00

Lately, I can't decide if I should spend time blogging or knitting after the kids go to bed - my two new interests. So, tonight I decided to compromise and blog about knitting.How did this all begin? What is this knitting thing? Is there a knitting movement? Is there is knitting King or Queen?I tried knitting many years ago. I can't believe I'm old enough to say this but....in those days there

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-50403196088766135242007-10-29T23:30:00.000-07:002007-10-30T00:23:30.105-07:00

Matthew has wanted a pedal fire truck for a long time. He worked very hard over the last several months and did all kinds of things to earn his truck.He helped clean the bathtub, remove huge amounts of sand from his bed (a leaking stuffed animal), clean/sort/fold laundry, etc.On Saturday, he became the proud owner of a 1940's styled hook and ladder truck, with room on the back for a crew member

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-21549319189711102142007-10-25T21:17:00.000-07:002007-10-25T22:42:22.813-07:00

I'm often treated to some funny things during the day. Yesterday I went shopping at Old Navy with Madeleine. They have a bunch of mannequins distributed around the store sporting the latest in ON fashion. Madeleine loved them. She liked hiding behind them, holding their hands and hugging their legs.When it comes to mannequins, can you think of a better dancing partner? Not really. They don't step

Christinenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-42441327607695704002007-10-24T13:46:00.001-07:002007-10-25T12:59:45.391-07:00

When we moved into our house, the backyard was mainly weeds. Over the years I've spent a lot of time nurturing it and have developed a picture of what it will look like when I'm finished.As I turn the corner toward our front door, I often look out to our backyard. I usually wish that I could add some mulch and finish off the path I dug out. And sometimes I even imagine the trellis and gate that

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-52525431486689561502007-10-23T21:58:00.001-07:002007-10-23T22:48:10.444-07:00

We went to Lemo's Farm in Half Moon Bay today. My mom came with us. It was a field trip for Matthew's school.There were all sorts of activities, aside from finding pumpkins. The kids went on a pony ride (first time for Madeleine), train ride, tractor/hay ride, haunted house, jumpy house. and petting zoo. We had loads of fun, but we wanted more.On the way home, we stopped off for tacos at the

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-89174161182245823992007-10-22T20:08:00.001-07:002007-10-22T20:30:02.589-07:00

We made orange-almond scones today. Yummy! This is the picture after we cleaned up the counter. Madeleine can't wait to get her hands on them.Matthew and I had a good time measuring. I told him to tell me when we reached the line for 1 cup of milk. He didn't tell me to stop until 1 1/2 cups. Oops, "we went over the line, Matthew". For some reason, he thought that was SO funny. He kept repeating

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-75689409628837213032007-10-22T12:45:00.001-07:002007-10-22T13:53:49.761-07:00

I took Madeleine outside to paint. It was a beautiful day to be doing things in the sun. She had fun painting the paper, the grass, the sidewalk, etc.She likes to do art projects. She can spend a lot of time at the kitchen counter coloring, painting, pasting and adding stickers. She sings quietly as she works, although I don't always understand the words.I get a little nervous when the glue

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-64607277466764145432007-10-21T19:27:00.001-07:002007-10-21T19:42:59.305-07:00

On Sunday's Marc helps out our church with the sound. He goes early to set-up and Matthew likes to go with him. He likes to spend time with Daddy. He also likes to eat the muffins that are out for the early birds who prepare the church.I like the quiet time at the house with just the girls. Madeleine and I hang out and take our time getting ready. She likes to put on a "pretty dress" and "tights"

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926620991115524633.post-21309127413796359542007-10-20T23:12:00.000-07:002007-10-21T19:43:51.989-07:00

It's late and I'm tired. I'll type more in my next post.

Christinenoreply@blogger.com2