Moderately Humming Along

The weather began changing last week. It's a lot cooler and we've had some cloudy skies ... and because of this change our grass is no longer dead looking. It's back to green again, lol.

Nathan will start school next week so I've been trying, and sometimes succeeding in waking up before 8:00 am {for starters}. I go to sleep pretty late, usually around 12:30 and sometimes as late as 1:00 am. I've always been a night owl but I hope to brake out of this habit. I want Riley to also begin to wake up at least by 7:00 am just in case we do place him in a daycare a couple days a week. Since he has a late birthday he'll be starting kindergarten next year. I hope that in a couple of weeks from now I will be waking up at 6:30. The key is to go to sleep by 10:00 pm. For me, that's always hard to do.

We like to visit the library. I enjoy picking out books for Riley. I've been getting him less dinosaur books and more of everything else. He has enjoyed all the books I've been getting him so far. He loves to check the books back in when we first arrive and this last visit I let him check them out. He still needs a bit of help holding the book steady to be scanned. Without my assistance I'm sure we would have been here for fifteen minutes at least.

The most recent Pinterest recipe we've tried making {or should I say, Jacob made} was this cucumber avocado and feta salad. I paired it with my breaded chicken strips and oven baked fries. I have mixed feelings about the cucumber salad. The dill flavor didn't really bother me what bothered me was the feta cheese. I think the recipe calls for too much of it. I do like feta but for some reason I wasn't really liking its flavor in this salad. I told Jacob that next time he makes it that he shouldn't add feta cheese to the entire bowl when he's mixing it all together, just only to his portion.

Have I mentioned that Riley makes friends fast? Well, he does. Every time we go to a park he quickly finds some kid to play with. I love that about him. In some things he could be shy but he's definitely not shy when it comes to talking to other kids. The look on his face had me laughing. He was having a great time.

Of course, a ninja move is constantly being practiced no matter where he's at, lol.

Nathan had a scrimmage game last week. Since I knew this wasn't a "real" game I wasn't nervous or worried for his safety at all. It was nice seeing him out in the field. Riley, however was a different story. He wanted to run around on the side of the field ... obviously I didn't let him so he kept going up and down the bleachers for like half an hour.
Nathan is number 18.

And my sweet from last weekend was this yummy looking donut. This looks similar to the donut I got at Voodoo Donuts in Portland. We like to get our donuts from Legendary Donuts and unfortunately they didn't have a donut exactly like the one from Voodoo but Jacob had them make me one exactly like it. I thought that was awesome. It's a glazed donut with vanilla frosting and crumbled oreo cookie on top. It is SO tasty. I don't crave donuts often but when I do I'm sure I will be ordering one of these ... or a glazed froissant {a croissant-doughnut pastry} from Frost.

Football Camp

Nathan had never been away from home for more than one night so when the time came for him to leave for football camp I was a little blue but I was mostly excited for him because I knew he would have fun.
We talked to him about our concerns and gave him advice but we also told him to enjoy himself. We got to the high school a little early and no one was there.

Riley didn't want brother to leave. He would say, "but I'm going to miss you" and gushing all over Nathan.

All at once the other boys began to arrive. Football camp was held at Evergreen State in Olympia which is about an hour away. The players that had their own cars which was mostly the seniors left pretty quickly, the others hitched rides with mom's that had the space and were going to drive them. Good thing one of the moms drives those big vans and she was able to take 9 boys. I got her information and waved Nathan goodbye {because you know it's not "cool" to give your high schooler a hug in front of his peers. I mean I could care less but I definitely don't want to embarrass him}.

I couldn't believe Nathan was gonna be gone for four days. I was a little sad once I left the school, Riley was crying. Knowing that Nathan wouldn't be home for days made the house feel a little empty ... but only on this first day because by the second day I was fine, lol.

I guess I didn't worry because we decided to give him a cell phone a year earlier than planned ... mainly because he went to camp or else we would have waited until his 16th birthday to give him a cell phone.

We texted each other about 3-4 times a day. He would tell us that the food was horrible as cafeteria food usually is. Ha ha! I'm sure he was missing my home cooked meals. The cool part of camp, I thought, was that each boy got to sleep in their own dorm. They didn't have to share rooms only the bathroom. Some boys stayed up late but Nathan can never stay awake past eleven. The coaches worked them out hard. I felt bad because it was hotter in Olympia so I made sure to remind him to drink lots of water/gatorade and he would tell us how sore he was and how he got hit hard during practice one day and ended up getting a large bruise on his right shoulder.


And here he is the day I picked him up. He was all smiles. We sure missed him.

I don't think I'm ready for any of my kids to be away from home for a long period of time. Once they do leave home I'm gonna tell them to visit every 2-3 days.

Happy to have him back!

Some Of Last Weeks Happenings

Although I'm not even close to being artistic, working on art and craft projects is one of my favorite things to do with Riley.
I've been drawing pictures for Riley to color. I swear, I have lopsided vision. It doesn't matter if I use a ruler or not, the line still comes out crooked. Lol. This is my drawing of a rocket.

Nathan will be going in to the 9th grade this September. Last week he started Freshmen Spring Football practice. Yep, my son will be playing football. I pray that he does some growing this summer. No matter what though, I think I'll be a bit nervous each game. There are some big freshmen in football. Yikes! I pray that he doesn't get too beat up.

Last week we had such fresh and springkly weather. We had a few errands to run then we stopped by the library. Riley has taken over in returning our library books. He sure likes that machine.

Last Tuesday was the last day to have cloudy, cool, sprinkle weather for a while. We were set to have several days of pure sun and weather into the 80's. But for this last day of comfortable weather -I made sure to take it all in and savor it.
Weather in the 80's may not sound even close to hot but believe me it is when one doesn't have a/c in their home. Hardly any homes here have a/c because in reality we don't need it but only for several warm to hot days here and there during the summer months. Still, it doesn't change the fact that it gets hot inside the house in 80 degree weather. Thankfully, one can definitely feel the cool breeze beginning to come in around 8:00 pm ... making the nights comfortable.

After the library Riley and I had Mod Pizza for lunch.  As soon as I got out of my truck I felt sprinkles on my face. It felt cold and the cool wind was blowing. Ohmygosh! It was awesome!
Always making faces. I'm pretty sure he takes after my side of the family. His silliness reminds me so much of my sister Claudia. She's a goof.

This cat. The older she gets the more trouble she gets herself into. Growing up she never jumped on the counters but now whenever she smells and sees food we'll find her on there. She is not allowed to get on the counters so as soon as she hears us or sees us coming she takes off.
Libby was downstairs. I had cooked chicken cooling off on the counter but it was time to pick up Sydna from college. I didn't want to put it away but I was worried that Libby might eat a piece so I had to put her inside Riley's playroom and close the door.
Here she is waiting for Riley to let her out once we got back. Gosh! Pets are cool but they can sure be an inconvenience sometimes.

Thankfully he doesn't suffer from separation anxiety when we go places like church or the park but when it's just the two of us at home he is always sitting right next to me or within arms reach. Even when we sit down to eat and he finishes his food first he'll go to the living room but keeps coming back and gives me hugs the entire time I'm eating ... telling me how much he loves me.
In this picture I'm sitting next to him reading and all of a sudden he stretches his arm to grab hold of my pant leg. I think it's sweet.

He he! and here's Libby looking all annoyed because Riley was getting closer to her. She really tries hard to avoid him because he stresses her out. You know little kids are loud and constantly moving ... well, she doesn't like any of that. She's old but then again she's always been a skittish cat. The ears and the look on her face, probably thinking, oh great! it's him again. Lol.

Nathan had his last band concert of the year and forever. He chose not to continue to play the trumpet in high school. He's more interested in football and sometimes band would have gotten in the way of practice and probably some concerts. He had fun those two years he was in band but I knew he wasn't going to be in it for the long run because he's just not musically inspired. He's really into sports.

{Picture taken by Sydna}

Whenever the opportunity presents itself during the day I either choose to read, crochet or blog. After my life changing experience I quickly discovered that keeping myself busy aside from mothering my three kids and chores is that it is essential that I engulf myself in books that will increase my faith. Having these things {hobbies if you will} to keep my mind busy has made me a happier person.
Seriously. Before I committed myself to these hobbies I would get bored at home and often complain about senseless things. Not anymore. Like that one verse says: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here! THAT is me! My life and my marriage is becoming fuller by the day. No one to praise and thank but Christ.

I have since finished reading these two books. I'm on a roll. I had to start a list on Goodreads.com  to help me keep track of what I've read and which books I want to read. I like going to that website and seeing my book list because it gives me another reason to stay motivated to keep reading.

Getting To Do More

I am two weeks behind in my blogging. Not that much has happened as in activities but life is happening and sometimes I just don't feel like blogging during the day and once its night I'm ready to go to bed.

Today was the first day of Winter. Crazy! Gorgeous Fall was definitely bittersweet for me this time. Never expected to ever be going through what I'm going through. But, like every setback, there is a lesson to be learned.

We still go chasing sunshine when it peeks out from behind the clouds. Even if we're in the middle of watching a movie or playing games ... if I see that the sun is shining I tell Riley that we're either going for a walk or going to the park. We bundled up and went to the park. Riley has been having fun playing with his sword and likes to bring it with him wherever we go.

Later that day Riley received a package in the mail. A belated birthday gift from my friend.

Pretty cool puzzle right? We think so.

Nathan had a band Winter concert on December 9th. It was pretty cool.

Jacob massaging Riley, trying to keep him still and quiet during the concert, lol.

It took almost two weeks {13 days} for the medication to get entirely into my system. By this time I was beginning to feel like my normal self again. No more nervous feeling in my stomach or feeling flushed or depressed. I was looking forward to feeling normal and often prayed for it to be possible. So relieved when it finally happened. Thanked God for that and for His healing {helping me to keep a positive mind} He has been doing in me every day since.

Riley had his 4 year well visit. Jacob took a few hours off work to come with us to his appt. We weren't able to see his usual pediatrician because he was booked. I really liked this nurse, she was very nice and took the time to not only talk to Riley but to listen and make eye contact while he was talking to her. He was set to get three vaccines. I wasn't up to seeing him get the shots so I told Jacob that I was going to step out. Jacob said that he didn't cry at all. He took it like a champ!! What a brave son I have.

He was rewarded with three stickers for every shot he got.

Watching some basketball. I love that my kids like to watch sports.

We are so bummed that the show Gracepoint is over.  We loved it, it was such a great show. By like the fifth episode I told Jacob that I had my suspicion that it was the detective sergeant Ellie Miller's husband who either killed Danny or had something to do with it. I suspected him because the show was hardly ever concentrated on him. That was weird to me. They did an excellent job at making everyone a suspect but it would have been too obvious if it would have been the priest or Nick Nolte's character.

We haven't done many crafts lately ... only one so far. A Santa hand print. Riley colored the hat all by himself and glued all the cotton balls too. So proud of him for doing such a great job in not coloring the rest of the hand.

We had not been to the school playground in a while. I had told Jacob that if it was sunny Saturday morning {2 weeks ago} that we should take him there so he could ride his bike. The sun felt good. The grass was super soggy from so much rain though.

After we got home I had Sydna sit out back with Libby. This old girl also needs her vitamin D. I wonder if there's vitamin D for cats? I should look that up.

Anticipating my mom's visit and of course the kids are so ready to be off for Christmas break.

Christmas festivities in the next post.

Rain Clouds To Sunshine

Jacob got off work early last Thursday so we could go watch Nathan play football.
It was a cold and rainy day. It wasn't raining when we first got there but about five minutes later it got windy and it began to pour in buckets. We sought shelter next to a storage shed. I felt bad for Nathan because it was cold and rainy. I asked him after the game if he was cold and he said no. Well, that's good then.

Once it stopped raining we hung out by the fence. Riley began to pounce on puddles and also kept busy by throwing rocks down the storm drains.

I watched him run around, calling out not to go too far ... always keeping my eye on him. He was running pretty fast and although I did tell him to be careful he slipped on a storm drain and hit his forehead on the concrete. I saw it happen and told Jacob.

He went over to him and saw that Riley had scraped his forehead. He cried a bit but we reassured him that he would be fine and gave him a kiss. After a couple of minutes he stopped crying but he no longer felt like running, lol. So since it was cold we waited in my truck until the game ended. Jacob let Riley play a game on his phone. That took his mind off his boo boo for a while.

The day after was the opposite of the day before. Even though it was chilly the sun was out full blast. So in order to get our daily dose of vitamin D we pulled weeds in the backyard.
This little guy saw that it was too bright and went back inside to grab his sunglasses. He was being silly so I snapped a few pictures.

I detest anything that's slimy and slithers so whenever I would pull a weed out Riley was right next to me to see if there were any worms or slugs. They gross me out so much you don't even know {but I'm not afraid of them}.

Made a quick stop at Trader Joe's. We had gotten their flyer in the mail and saw all their pumpkin yummies and it made me want to go get a few. I still haven't had a pumpkin bagel but Jacob said that they are really good, so is the pumpkin butter. I did have a sconce and it was decent.

We're definitely enjoying all this crisp Fall weather. It makes me very happy. And one can't help but to have a constant supply of sweets on hand.

Football Game Thursdays

Nathan had his first football game last week. The first thing we noticed a few weeks ago when Nathan's team got together for a scrimmage game was that they are all pretty short. They don't really have any big or tall boys in the team. That's a bummer!
But, they have no other choice but to play hard and play smart.

Sydna helped watch Riley while we watched the game.

Not sure what he was doing to sister but he was being good and staying out of peoples way.

That's Nathan. The one the arrow is pointing at. My sister had texted me asking to send her a picture of Nathan in his football uniform but as you can see we really aren't that close to the players. Since this was an after school game and once we got there, Nathan was already out in the field. And once the game is over all the players gather around the coach and they talk for about ten minutes or so. After that they go into the locker room and change. So I haven't had the opportunity to take a picture of him in uniform yet.

I know that my entire family would have a blast watching Nathan play. Wish they could be here to see him.

They lost this game but I know that Nathan is having a fun time out there on the field. He's a starter and that's a good thing. He just needs to get more aggressive.

If he continues to play in high school I'll definitely be a nervous wreck. It's been in the news recently that three football players have died while playing high school football. Scary and very sad.

The School Year Is Almost Over

There were several school activities last week. The kids last day of school is June 19th and they are so ready to be off for summer break.
A BIG milestone/accomplishment for Nathan. He will be promoted to the 7th grade, Middle School. Yikes! I pray he'll feel comfortable and continues to get good grades and continues to make friends fast like he usually does. Both kids will be going to different schools for this coming school year since we will be moving mid Summer into our new home. May God guide them and watch over them ... always.

Two weeks ago when we went to the Pike Place Market we saw rainier cherries but the price made us come to a quick halt ... $9.99 a pound! That's insane. SO one day last week Jacob went to a grocery store by his work and surprised me with a batch of rainier cherries for $3.99 a pound!! Now that's more like it. They were good.
Also, I went to Hallmark and ordered one of my favorite Hallmark movies. All these Hallmark movies are so touching. I love them. Now I have four of them but still need five more and then I'll have all my favorites.

Ever since Riley watched Toy Story for the first time he's been hooked. He loves Woody and Buzz. This is Nathans old Woody from when he was little. Not sure if we still have the hat. It could be packed in a box. I hope it is and the voice box doesn't work anymore but Riley doesn't mind. He brings Woody everywhere we go. Even takes him up into his crib at night but I take Woody out once Riley's asleep because Woodys nose is hard and pointy and I don't want Riley to poke his eye in the middle of the night while he's tossing and turning. It's so cute seeing Riley hug Woody.

Sydna had her last orchestra concert last Tuesday. She's in an advanced orchestra class and 22 of those students are seniors. The last score they played was sad because as it was nearing the end each student got up one by one turned off their stand light and walked off stage for the last time. I got teary eyed. Made my heart hurt a little and the funny thing is my daughter is not the one graduating. Still sad just the same. Once it was over Sydna asked me if I thought the last music score was sad and I said yes. Told her I almost cried and she smiled. She said she also thought it was sad. We are alike ... very sentimental. I told her that I'm most definitely gonna be crying my eyes out when she graduates. Oh my gosh. I'm gonna totally be a hot mess for sure!

She's my baby. 

Gosh, how time has flown.

She's got two more years of high school. Unbelievable!

While I was at Sydnas orchestra performance Jacob and Riley were at Nathans band performance. We were disappointed that the schools had them scheduled at the same time. So dumb! But as much as we didn't want to split up we had to and I knew Nathan would have liked his dad at his performance and Sydna would have liked me at hers. Neither one complained.

On a sad note; my dads brother died last Tuesday morning. I wasn't close to my uncle but do remember going to his place during the holidays. I have many pictures of when I was small of Christmas parties at his house. I'm sad for my dad.

There has been several nights that we have been out during the evening and this messes up Rileys routine. Plus because it gets dark so late this also plays tricks on ones mind and before we know it it's 9:30 or 10:00 pm. Riley and Nathan were being silly and it was close to 10:00 pm ... on a school night. I had to break up the fun and told Nathan to take a shower and go to bed.

I want to make sure to post pictures of my baby as well. After all, she is a member of our family and we love her ... even though Jacob has a love hate relationship with her. Calls her awful names and whatnot and yet she's so faithful to him. My good friend lost her cat several months ago and just two days ago her and her family decided to put their dog down .... Noah, their golden retriever. So sad. I almost cried. Libby will be turning 12 years old on July 4th. I'm really not sure how many years it would be in cat years but I can tell she's slowly changing.

Just loving on my little guy while we laid on the floor and watched a movie together ... probably Toy Story.

Mid morning snack.

Sometimes this kid doesn't want to eat anything except for fruit and crackers. So darn picky!

Last week it didn't rain at all. Most mornings were bright and sunny. Hmm, not really how I like my mornings to start ... so I end up wearing my sunglasses the entire day. It got warm on most days especially at night. We had to open the windows a bit more and covered up with only the sheet.
Blowing bubbles is Rileys new fun thing to do lately.

One day I was in the kitchen and Riley was sitting on the couch watching a movie. Lately he's been placing all of the pillows on himself then he hides under them and pretends he's in a cave. While I was busy cooking I  realized that he was too quiet so I look over and saw him sitting very still. So I walk over to him and he was passed out in a sitting position. Poor thing. So I laid him down and covered him up.

Friday was Nathans school carnival. As soon as Riley saw the jumping house he said "wow" but unfortunately no toddlers were allowed to jump in it.

So he played games instead.
He didn't make the football go inside the tire hole and became embarrassed when the girl praised him for giving it a shot.

Once Riley saw big brother hit the ball he wanted to swing the bat himself too.

He did hit the ball ... and quite a few times too but after about fifteen times we decided it was time to go. Obviously ... he wasn't too happy about that.

This was so funny. Instead of throwing the bean bag he walks over and places it gently on the table. Made us all laugh.

I'm glad my boys had fun at the carnival. A good way to start our weekend.

A lot of you may not like scary/suspenseful movies but I do. Although I am becoming a bit of a scared-y cat when I see movies about possessions. That freaks me out more than your typical blood and gore stuff. Anyway, we watched Dark Skies. Keri Russell comes out in it ... you know the girl from my Hallmark movie I posted in the beginning. I thought it was a good movie. It's about aliens. I have always hated aliens and I'm not talking about E.T. or Starman. I do believe they exist just as I believe in ghosts. I don't think God created.
I think I'll buy this movie.

I will be posting about last weekend later on.