Arranging & Rearranging

The moving truck arrived and then the family came to unpack and rearrange.  This is an efficient bunch of people.  Dishes are put away, computers and TVs are up an running, and the garden has been worked on.  The house has come back to life and seems even more family/community oriented than their Oakhurst farm.  Neighbors, old and new, have been cycling through and the walls spoke out and asked for Christmas to be hosted there.  Let the party begin...

Farm Take 2

Ellen and David are moving into their new farm today.  Yesterday, we helped "kid-proof" the house by testing out every square inch of the place with little hands and feet.  The farm is a third of an acre smack dab in the middle of Sunnyvale.  Ellen is really going to turn the brown dirt into a wonderful sea of green.  I can't wait for next year's bounty.  It is so great that David will be a mile or so from work and Ellen can have her city farm, all at the same time.

The house is huge and gorgeous.

They have a giant master bedroom with a giant master bath.

Lots of space in that bathroom.

 Here is the view from the front door.  There is grass and on
the other side of that is an area for a garden.  There
are tons of fruit trees on the property.

This is the garden area on the other side of the grass.  
That fence is the front fence that opens to the road.

To the left of the grass is this shed and walk through to the
garden.

The planters are bare, but Blake is doing his best
to till up the soil with his trucks.

Donut Quilt

Here is a "my kids are sick so I will make a quilt-in-a-day" project. I bought the two, donut hand towels on clearance from Crate and Barrel. It is horribly constructed, but that is my favorite way to make a quilt.

It is for the RV

Which is your favorite?

I used meaningful scraps around the edges.
The cowboys are from Blake's
first birthday party invitations.

The back of the quilt was my inspiration.  It is a thrift store sheet
I bought for $2.99 (don't worry, it was stain-free and odor-free).

Guitar History

Reade caught Blake's cold so today is a lazy, sick day at home.  Reade has expressed a lot of interest in the guitar so I am starting "morning guitar music history" lessons with the kid.  We will see if it sticks.

Today, we started off with R.L Burnside.  Who doesn't love a guy who has four daughters (Mildred, Linda, Brenda, and Pamela), as well as nine sons (Melvin, R.L Burnside Jr., Calvin, Joseph, Daniel, Duwayne, Dexter, Garry, and Rodger):

 

Now, Reade's turn:

 

?

It is just one of those mornings: go to the gym, come home to find husband cleaning poop off the bathroom floor and walls, jump in shower, say goodbye to husband as he runs away to work, thoroughly clean bathroom from top to bottom, realize I haven't eaten anything and it is 10am, eat breakfast at the computer, thank Facebook for some entertainment:

Buy This Here

I am bummed because I wanted to take the kids to the Ames Research Center for some NASA education to go with our space themed week, but I think all three of my kids are sick.  I guess my new goal is to clean my own bathroom, since the cleaning supplies are out, and take the kids for a bike ride/walk.

The Family RV

Is everyone else spending your online time checking out RV family blogs?  It is awesome how these families trade in their houses for some good, quality family time.  I have already learned some great tips and look forward to following their adventures.

MaliMish Blog

Recalculating Route Blog

We Choose This Life Blog
They have six children (my idols!)

Hooray Today

Today is the first day of Fall. What a great day. What great things to come. Why is it 80 degrees outside?

Too warm for clothes around here.

Andrew pulled up his corn and gathered the stalks for fall decoration.
Notice a homegrown pumpkin in the picture.

Blake picked a poppy (don't tell the government) for Piper.
Someday she will have hair around her ears.

Endeavour

Blake played hooky today from pre-school so we could watch the Endeavour space shuttle piggy-back a 747 on its way to retirement in L.A. It was over quickly, but quite a sight to see (Piper was there, but in my arms the whole time).

We headed out past Google to stand atop a hill to see the shuttle.

We climbed down the other side to be on flat land.

Googlers on the roof with the best view of the bay & Moffett Field.

Blake in his spacesuit waiting for the shuttle to arrive.

Roughing It

My kids create "campsites" in our backyard. I need to buy a campout cookbook so I am not left eating alligators every time.

TLAPD

It is Talk Like A Pirate Day and we are ready for it over here.  The chosen jokes we are spreading today:

Q: Why did the pirate sit on the toilet for so long?
 A: Because he had the ships!

Q: How long is a ship's plank?
A: A yarrrrrd!

Here is my pirate family: 

Our RV

Pilot & Co-Pilot

The kids crawled in our bed after waking up.

Asleep on the way home.

Maybe?

Why does This article appeal so much?

Two Left

It is all we can think about around here. Two more days of waiting...

I *heart* Wal-Mart RV sections.

Saw this on the road.  I think we should tow this behind our RV for guests.
Photo

The interior of a burro.
Photo

Yam Fries

I was in the mood for more fat in my diet so I made yam fries. Verry yummy.

Slice yams thinly.

Fry in oil.

Drain on paper towels & sprinkle w/ salt and pepper.

Now eat!

Costume #1 & #2

Where are all the wetsuits?  That is a question I ask myself all the time at thrift stores in our area.  Well, the other day I found out.  They are amongst all of the Halloween costumes.  I guess everyone wants to be a surfer for Halloween.  I scooped up two wetsuits for my kids and was proud of myself for nabbing the Spiderman costume and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume (both at $5/each).  It never is good enough.  Here is a picture of my child in his Spiderman costume trying on his robot costume he "had to have" that we made out of a box, tin foil, and printed out dials.  After all of this, he says he wants to be an astronaut for Halloween.  Good God, how many costumes will be under my belt before the big day?

Scanned

I love innovation.  This was my first time scanning paperwork as a .pdf file so I could sign it and email it back to the sender.  Cheers to those who invented that.

Why do new printers look like spaceships?  This was a cheap one too.

Well, we have a new tab in our files.
We will be picking it up next weekend.
Complete family excitement.

Month Two - Piper

At two months I:
* Am called Gummy Bear by my mom
* Talk and laugh all the time
* Go to bed at 9pm and wake up at 5am
* Nurse all the time
* Am in the 85% for height and weight
* Spit up a lot (more than Reade, less quantity than Blake)
* Took a bottle for a week or so and reject it now
* Am a super easy going baby
* Have blonde, reddish, and brown hair
* Think my brothers are loud
* Am queen of diaper blow outs

My one month photo.

Jars

"Conceit is bragging about yourself. Confidence means you believe you can get the job done."
- Johnny Unitas

 Is it conceit if I brag about someone else and reap the benefits. I love you Sister-In-Law Sandy. You make the best food. I LOVE it when you send home jars of your homemade goodness. Will you move in with me? You owe it to my children for their health and sanity. I'll pay you.

My bounty is better than yours!

I had Andrew's homemade toast with Aunt Sandy's peach jam!
Jealous?

P.S. My friend Danika's mother makes a damn good plum jam too.

Sandy didn't make this, but I can't wait to try it.