Ok, I Am So Over It!

Well, I was depressed and now I am over it...kind of.
Enough over it that I want to get on with the season of giving!
This year we will be making up some shoe box gifts for those local families
who lost everything in the fires. A friend at our church is organizing it and
I received an e mail with ages of kids and adults that could use some Christmas Cheer. So Kaleigh and Cole will be giving up a couple of stuffed animals and Kaleigh has quite a few Barbies she is willing to part with. I may see if I can get some little extras for one of the Moms. She could probably use some lotions and fuzzy socks and maybe a home made scarf. I am also including a Christmas Scrapbook and a couple of disposable cameras, so they can have some new memories to start over with. I am hoping that will make things smoother for the holidays.
So now I am getting more in the mood for Christmas and the yucky tummy feeling I had will hopefully go away! I didn't have a headache today so that was good!

Friendships....then and now.
Ok, it is time for me to make a statement. As you can see by the headline, Friendship is the topic. Here is my statement: No matter who a new friend is they will never be as loyal as a friend you made when you were younger.
Case in point. I have had some really good friends in my life, #1 being my sister, Tina. We have always been friends and would most likely have been friends even if we weren't sisters. We are just built the same way, personality wise. About 6 years ago, when Kaleigh was in her first year of preschool, I met someone who seemed to be very much like me. Loved to laugh, joke around, liked the same things as I did and loved her kid to death! We got along and had playdates for the kids joking about how her son may some day marry my daughter and wouldn't it be lovely if that happened. Now I am not so sure. She would probably be late to the wedding, forget the rehearsal dinner, call and cancel for the showers and talk on her cell phone during the ceremony!
What I am trying to say is, when I say, "Hey let's meet somewhere for lunch" or "do you want to sit together for this seminar?" I mean it, I will be there and on time! This friend treats these questions as a "if I feel like it I will be there", or "sure, if nothing better comes up". Of course this is not what she says, she says something more like this (as I am waiting at the restaurant), "oh, you know we were up late last night and I just didn't sleep well, can we do this another time?" or "I am so sorry, I totally forgot about ******'s soccer game, I will have to pass this time." Or then there is always the nothingness. I expect her to be someplace, call her phone, no answer, I leave a message, no call back, no show and no explanation. I mean hey, I could be off the mark sometimes but not every time. She might have been in an accident, and I would feel bad if that happened. What I am trying to say is there have been too many non-accident excuses if you know what I mean. I don't think she purposely tries to be mean, I think she is too busy carting her child to different activities, she has so many shallow friends that she does stuff with that she can't make time for everyone. I don't think I am the only one she lets down either, and that should make me feel better, but it doesn't. I have other friends too that I have made in more recent years and it seems as though none seem to stick like those in the past did.
I still have friends from 20-25 years ago that I still have as much fun with and can rely on more than my newer friends, and here is the key, even though I see them only about 2 times a year!
Now, some of you may say, well there you are, you expect too much from these other friends, you only see your other friends 2 times a year! Well, that is only a distance problem. Every wedding, every bridal shower, baby shower, big birthday etc, I still invite the old friends and the new. Who do you think shows up every time? The new friends that I talk to all the time? No.
The old friends who care enough to take time out of their lives to make me and mine feel special.
There is something wrong with the new generation of friends, regardless of age. Too many people have "contacts" that they not only "network" with but have over just so they can say they had them over! True friendships are rare these days and I personally wish that those that have moved away from here, wouldn't have, because I miss them terribly and I don't seem to be able to recapture that bond that friends should have despite stupid cell phones and busy schedules! Ok, I really have made myself depressed. Oh well....such is life....for now.

11th Annual Charity Silent Auction November 17th 2007

Well, after all the fuss and preparation it is done.

This year was a little different, as I was sick to my stomach on Thursday and Friday Kaleigh was sick so we were basically home and resting, so I didn't get done what I usually do. I usually bring a good dessert to the auction and I was seriously wondering if I was going to make it this year! I organize the whole thing and I am the emcee for the evening as well. I haven't missed in 11 years and I wasn't about to miss this year. I would have, however, if I had a fever or was feeling so miserable that it wouldn't help for me to be there. But even though I started having a sore throat on Friday night (maybe catching what Kaleigh had) Saturday morning I woke up and didn't feel too bad. I decided to take a shower and see how it went from there. I wasn't feeling 100% but more like 65% at this point. I met my helpers at 10:30am at the church, we worked until the auction started at 1pm. Then it gets crazy and I don't have too much to say other than it was fun and everyone had a good time. Each year we raise a little more than the last year. Not once have we made less. I think that is pretty impressive considering mostly the same 45-50 people show up every year! Last year we raised $1,711.00. This year we raised $1,915.25, so over $200.00 more this year.

Goes to show you what a small group of ladies making homemade jams, jellies, soup mixes, scarves, wreaths, woodcrafts, etc. can do! I am very proud of everyone who donated crafts, money, effort and desserts, cause they make the whole thing happen! The recipients I'm sure would agree! They are an orphanage in Malawi, Africa, a broken family in the Phillipines, missionaries in Uruapan, Mexico, and a group of Christians in Burma where lately riots have broken out.

So, that is it for the Silent Auction! Until next year! Oh by the way you can see some of the items I made: On the orange table there is a black scarf and the vase with the blue flowers. I also finished some pendants from my dad, who was too ill to finish them.. I have to say the price of those pendants went up this year! Those suckers are way hard to do!

Spelling Bee!

So my 1st Grader made it into the Spelling Bee. He was one of 3 in his class and one of 12 in his grade at school. So yesterday was the 1st and 2nd grade spelling bee, where the parents and classmates are invited to watch. Man, I didn't realize how competitive some of the parents are!!
I sat there with Carl's mom and we watched the 2nd graders go first. It was very suspenseful!
Then out of the 3 classes (nine kids) they narrowed it down to 3 kids. They go on to the district Spelling Bee. Then it was the 1st Graders turn. They went up there (I was so proud of Cole! He was third in line to go. His friend Matthew (in photo to the far left of Cole), was first. Then they started. I think Coles first word was "ape", ok, not so bad. Some of his other words were "born, belt and care". Those were all on the list that we were given to practice. Then poor Matthew was the first to get a word not on the list, "airport". He got it wrong and then the next kid got something like "amaze" and he stayed in, then Cole got "apart" and he got that one, then his other friend Reese got "bacon" and of course it doesn't sound like it is spelled and he got out.
They went through just that one round and that was it! Cole made it! Wow, he is very proud of himself and I am full of mixed feelings. Yes, I am extremely proud and happy that he made it, but I know that from now until January 18th, we will have to study all 400 words on the spelling list! YIKES! I was kind of hoping he would get out, not first but near the end so we wouldn't have to deal with all of this! Sheesh, I know there were better spellers up there, but Cole had the luck of the word! Oh well, I am very proud of him, for even getting this far and who knows maybe this will help him to learn about competition and being a good sport!

Disney's Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!

Well, last night we went to Disney's California Adventure where they have a Halloween party every year. It's fun! We went on rides and got a lot of candy from the "Treat Stations". Kaleigh and Cole as you can see by the photos were Pippi Longstocking and the dog-boy. Kaleigh's costume was a huge hit with everyone we came in contact with! Cole was his normal cute self. We were going to have him be a full on dog, but it was rather warm and the costume was a little tight and probably would have been uncomfortable. He was fine the way he went. We went with our friends, Elysia, Randy and their son, Joshua. We had a blast! Kaleigh's costume was also the most labor intensive of the two. Her hair was managed by using a coat hanger (a la Steve Martin's arrow trick) to make it stand up. We then hairsprayed her hair orange and viola! We did it. I was surprised we found all the clothes at Walmart! It worked out rather well, if I do say so myself! She will be dressing the same for Halloween trick or treating! Cole too.

So Far - No Fire Here
Well, so far we have been spared from any fire coming near us. They seem to be all around us at a distance though. Ontario is where Carl's sister lives and they are ok, Carl's cousin and family live in Irvine and they are ok, some friends have been evacuated and are living with relatives for the time being, most of which have moved out before mandatory evacuations. Unfortunately, some did not and when they tried to get to family they were stuck in a freeway parking lot for hours. One couple (older, from church) went to stay with their daughter who lives just 1 1/2 hours away and it took them 6 hours to get there! Whew, not fun. But so far, we are all fine, staying indoors and keeping the windows closed. Most of the time it is just hazy and we get a whiff of smoke now and again. The kids are all inside at school, no outside PE or anything, it makes it difficult with the winds, but as of today it is mostly calm. It was dead calm this morning and I was hoping it would stay that way a while but as I look outside I am seeing the palm trees blowing again. Well, I have to say we are really appreciating all the outside firefighters coming in to help. I am praying for the winds to really die down so that they have a good chance of ending the destruction! Keep on Praying please!

Kaleigh still not cut!
Well, Cole and I got our hair cut yesterday and Kaleigh had hers measured. That's right, measured. A few posts ago I blogged that Kaleigh was growing her hair out for Locks of Love. It is still long and it is still making me crazy. Yesterday her hair measured at 9 inches. 1 more inch to go, although our hairdresser said she would like another inch just to make sure all is long enough. That should mean early December. I can't wait!!! We are braiding her hair every night and that is keeping the tangles to a minimum. When we forget, whoooowhee! She cries it is that bad! So, I won't forget again to braid it! I always look the same after a hair cut and Cole's hair always sticks up a bit after a hair cut. It is funny how he looks so much older with longer hair! As soon as he is done with a hair cut, he looks a year younger!
I will have to post photos again, when I have the chance. Today is a busy day! Carl's Uncle passed away last Monday and today is the funeral. He had muscular dystrophy and was not expected to live to be 30, he passed away at 51! So he lived a pretty long life with this debilitating disease! Kaleigh and Cole will not be coming as one of Kaleigh's best friends has a birthday party today! Cole was not originally invited but the mom offered to take him as well. I thougth that was wonderful of her! We got Emma, Kaleigh's friend an extra gift from Cole! They will be going Ice Skating and then having Pizza. Well, that is our day in a nutshell. More to come....

TINA IS GOING TO FREAK!!!

Ok, so here is the deal.

Yes, it is the real Stanley Cup and no, I didn't meet any of the Mighty Ducks, they weren't around.

The school has a program with the Ducks that allows for freebees and special assemblies that allow the (mainly fourth graders) kids to participate in real accomplishments, for example the Ducks winning the Stanley cup. So, the Ducks take the cup around to the schools that participate in this specific program and they allow the kids to take photos and even touch the cup! No because the program is mainly for the fourth graders the 3rd graders do not get a class photo with the cup. The neat thing was this year they allowed parents to come and if they were there were allowed to take a photo (all at the same time of course) of their kids with the cup. I was there and took the photo of Kaleigh touching the Stanley cup and then the one of me in front of the Stanley cup was a staff photo, the principal said any staff can go up and since I am staff, I got to go up too. Of course this would have meant a lot more to Tina but I had to do it. So, Tina, I won't be offended if you put your head on my body and dream! Hee hee. I did learn a bit about the Stanley cup. It is the oldest sports trophy around today, 115 years old! There have been a lot of misspellings and even one name crossed off. The name that was engraved that was crossed off, however was the name of the engravers dad! He just thought it would be cool for his dads name to be on it! Sheesh! Anyway, it was pretty cool and I am just sorry, that my sis and bro in law, could not be present! I was really thinking of you guys!

Happy 80th Birthday, Papi!

Well, it may not have been too happy, but it was the 80th and we (Mom, Connie, Tina and I) tried to make it as happy as possible. Dad wasn't feeling very well, so when people came and he was asleep, they just waited and visited with us until he was ready to see them. They all wished him a very happy birthday and gave gifts to entice his taste buds! Since that was the worst part of his illness (didn't want to eat at all) we hope that the bad tummy goes away soon so he can enjoy all the treats that were given to him!

Tina made a gorgeous book (his autobiography beginning) and presented a bound copy to him. That was a definite winner and it won a smile!

Connie had a beautiful flag made up and Mom got a flag pole and a Canadian flag to fly on it. We all did the best we could to put him in good spirits. I helped Tina with the second half of the present. A digital voice recorder to tell the rest of his life story so he doesn't neccessarily have to get up and go to the computer. Good one again, my sistol! I on the other hand, did not have a cool present, although I came the farthest and that included a flight to Portland from the OC. That was a good present too I think! All in all it was a birthday to remember, for the good and the not so good. Fell better, Papi! Love you lots!

Ack, Too Much Hair!!!

Ok, as most of you who know me know, I have short hair, Carl has short hair, Cole has short hair, and Kaleigh used to have relatively short hair. I don't like long hair, on anyone in my house. It is yucky, because Kaleigh sheds sometimes and I feel it on my bare feet, it is all over the counter in the bathroom and in her room as well. Since she grew it this long, however, she really wants to wait until she has enough to give to locks of love. Unfortunately, that will most likely be in December! I don't know if I can hold out that long! It wouldn't be so bad if she didn't have a sensitive scalp. I have to brush her hair out since she is not used to doing it and never gets it all untangled. We do use the detangling spray but it is underneath that gets the tangles the worst. All I hear for 10 minutes is "ow, ow, OW!" So you can see why I can't wait to have her hair shorter again. She likes doing ponies and piggies but the rest is a pain. Sigh...

Cole in 4-5 years?

Ok, so maybe he doesn't look exactly like Cole but this Fantastic Sams Ad had this boy on it and it struck me that he looked a lot like what Cole would look like in maybe a few years!

Cole says, "he looks kind of like Connor", so hey, maybe there is a resemblence between Tina and my kids after all! Anyway, so Tina what do you think? Do they look like they could be brothers at least? I think so!

Anyone can comment of course but it kind of freaked me out a little when I first saw this ad in the mail!

Citizen of the Month

Well, here it is the first month of school and just like Kaleigh (though I am not comparing) Cole will be awarded the Citizen of the Month in his class! Way to go Cole! They get to go onstage and receive their award and of course I will be there with camera in hand to document this momentous occasion! Well, it is pretty cool! Kaleigh is doing awesome in her class, much better I guess than she would have done in one of the other classes (apparently the teacher in one of the other classes is very strict and doesn't really make the work fun). Her teacher is wonderful! Very laid back in an organized way, and just really nice and fun. Kaleigh hasn't had any anxiety over tests or anything (yet). We are hoping she will get everything absorbed without stressing about it. Afterall, these days 3rd grade is like our 6th grade used to be! Whew! The other night they brought home their social studies book, had to study 35 pages for a test the next day! However, they did go over stuff in class that week so....
Anyway, Cole has brought home a smiley face everyday which means it goes on his behavior chart at school. He lets us know every week that he stayed at "green" all week, which is their way of saying that he didn't do anything to have a card pulled. All you parents out there probably have seen or heard of similar systems in your schools. Anyway, he and Kaleigh are both doing great and my class of 4 year olds are doing fine too!

A New Crop of Kids

Well, here is the new crop of kids for this school year! I do have two from last year (fourth from the left and the far right, they are twins that only go to school on Tuesdays at our school) I had them in my 3yr old class and now they are in my 4's class. So far it has started out well. I have a couple that could listen better and one that may actually have a bit of a learning disorder, possibly ADD or something similar, I am not an expert but when I read a story, I have everyone's undivided attention except the one child. For those who know me well, my storytime is fun and very entertaining, so it is weird to have someone not be at all interested and just lays around or starts talking to themselves. This child also will hide her crayons under the table instead of doing their work etc. It makes teaching this child difficult to say the least. I also have to say that 8 out of the 10 kids have never been to school, so it is almost as if I am doing the same as what I did last year! They are all learning to function in a structured school atmosphere. Not something I want to continue to do. I was looking forward to doing more teaching and less training...ah well, we don't always get what we want. But they are good kids and there are a couple of real gems in my class too! I already get "I love you Mrs. Wyckhouse" from at least 2 of the kids! They are sweet and about 1/2 are up to snuff academically. I will work hard to catch the other ones up! Whew, it will be an interesting year! But hey it is only twice a week, so I have a lot of time for myself! Cole and Kaleigh are both in school till 3pm and so it goes.... more on them later.

My Friend Kristy

This is my friend Kristy. We have known each other for about 20 years now. We met at Disneyland while we were both working there and became fast friends. We hung out together, talked about guys and boyfriends together, went dancing together, and even roomed together for a bit, until my car blew up.... But that is a different story. Anyway, I got married, then she got married and we kept in touch. I had her in my wedding and she had me in hers. Now when I got pregnant the first time Kristy and another friend threw me a baby shower. It was wonderful! Very fun and lots of neat things came my way. Then when Cole came along she threw me another one! Wow, talk about a great friend. She knows that I don't have my family here anymore and she always is willing to fit in as a pseudo-sis! She has been trying for a while now to get pregnant and was a little worried (she is in her late 30's) that it wouldn't happen. But as you can see by the photo, she is happily 8 months along and I was honored to throw her a shower! We had fun, she got a lot of nice things and everyone enjoyed themselves! It was hot, but I cranked up the air so that she wouldn't be too hot! So, Kristy, Congrats and I am so happy that I could finally throw you a shower! Lot's of love to Baby Girl!

No Photo Yet - Haircuts

Well, some of you reading know that I have short hair. Sometimes it is really short (Pixie style) other times it is a little longer, enough to flip up the back a bit or scrunch it. Well, today it is short, very very short. Let's see, I would say about 1 1/2 inches on top and about an inch on the sides and about 1 1/2 inches in the back. I truly love it! It is easier to maintain and I don't get hair everywhere. Well, not MY hair anyway! Kaleigh is trying to grow hers out so that when she cuts it it will go to "Locks of Love" and organization that takes hair and makes wigs for children with cancer. It is a great thing she is doing though the hair everywhere is making me nuts! I mean 3 out of 4 people in this family have very short hair, and her hair all over is just yucky. On the floor, on the bathroom counter, and of course in the shower and so on. I will try really hard to let her grow it out, but it is not easy. She has trouble brushing the bottom of her hair and I usually have to do it. It gets horrible tangles and she is constantly saying, "ow!...OW!" whenever I brush it. We are going to try to get some more spray in conditioner, since we are all out. So anyway, we all went (the kids and I) to the hairstylist and I got mine short, Cole got his hair cut for school (has to be over the ears etc), and Kaleigh had hers measured. So far she is at 7 inches from a pony tail top. She needs at least 10 inches to make the "Locks of Love" thing happen. So I will try to keep my sanity for about 4 more months or so. Apparently hair supposedly grows approximately 1/2 inch a month. More so in the summer months. Her hair seems to be growing pretty quickly, but I think this is the last time we attempt this because she is not the type that has superfast growing hair. My hair did not grow that fast either. So around the first of the year we may try again, unless I measure it and it grows faster, then we will do it sooner! Wish us luck in that department! One good thing, at least there is one less payment a month for a haircut. Of course Carl cuts his own. His is about oh 1/8 of an inch all over! Hee hee.

Turtle Bay Exploration Park - Part 2 The Fun Part!

To say that the kids enjoyed this part is an understatement! They really enjoyed this place and we could have probably stayed longer but the time was not bad, we got to see all that we wanted to, without doing things over (not that the kids didn't want to go back and do things again!). The best part for the kids was the Paul Bunyon fun camp. They really enjoyed the water feature that was a flume type thing that they could control the flow of the "river" and make a waterwheel turn and so on...

My favorite part was the bird house where we were able to feed the cockatiels and the parakeets, and of course the butterfly house was cool too. I, of course, got photos of both kids with the parakeets but the butterflies were not doing a lot of landing at the time we were there, maybe too early, not sure. But one of the workers noticed that Kaleigh really wanted to hold a butterfly and she found one to have Kaleigh hold, very nice, don't you think? If you are wondering about the banner behind the kids, in the first photo, that was a new part of the museum that had all sorts of planetary information about planets and stars and how they form and what they are made up of, that sort of thing, not much to do with aliens...weird advertising if you ask me. Maybe there will be more later... who knows. We know that it was a fun time!

The Last Leg of the Journey...Turtle Bay Exploration Park - Part 1

The Sundial Bridge

So since the drive home is sooooo long, we decided to break it up a bit. We stopped in Washington over night, then drove through Oregon and stopped for an hour to have ice cream with the Kiesters, (can't go through there and not!) and then stopped in Redding where when making reservations before we left, I discovered that Redding, CA has a place called, well it's in the title, I don't have to type it again, right? Well, we decided to visit this place and check it out. First stop was the Sundial Bridge, very impressive! The bridge goes over the Sacramento River and is really quite beautiful! Since we got to the park early that was the only thing open so far so that was the first thing we did. Of course in most cases like this the photos really don't do it much justice, the thing was enormous! The kids thought it was pretty cool too!

Tapas - YUM!

Ok, so Carl and I are usually not too adventurous with our choice of foods, but since Connie made the effort to

introduce us to a new place in Kettle Valley called the Tapas, Bar and Grill, we couldn't refuse! We all decided to pick one appetizer or Tapas from the menu. We really ended up all discussing them so we could all try each one. We ended up with this (first photo), from left clockwise (and Connie, don't get mad if I get the name wrong) Pear and brie on flatbread with carmelized onions, the salmon duo, with tarrow root, cranberry and goat cheese on flatbread and a metz platter, with olive tapenade, pesto and chipotle crush. At least that is as close as I can get to a description. All of it was good, but my favorite had to be the cranberry with goat cheese. It was delicious! Omi and Connie and Carl and I all had a taste of everything and we also had creme brulee and apple cheesecake for dessert! Ooooooh that was good too....are you drooling yet?

Fun With the Cousins...

The kids had a really good time with their cousins and were more than happy to hang out with them when we adults went to have a nice dinner and another time when we went for appetizers in Kettle Valley. They played at the park, at Omi and Opa's house and at their house. We even went to the lake beach in the evening and all the kids went in the water except for Kaleigh, who was far too busy making the perfect sand castle! All in all it was a fun time and Kaleigh even got some of Catherine's drawings which by the way, are now hung up in her room as I write this! Thanks for the fun!

The Birthday Girl

Well, as hard as it was with Opa in the hospital, we finally decided after much thought to go ahead with our plans for dinner for Omi's birthday. Omi and Opa had invited their good friends the Kohlgrubers for dinner

and we felt we didn't want to just stay home worrying about Opa, and Opa told Omi to go and have fun and that he would feel bad if we all didn't go to dinner. But wait, the morning before, Saturday that is, Connie and I took Omi to breakfast at the Pheasant and Quail Pub. A favorite of Omi's it has a nice brunch. So we did that on Saturday and on Sunday was the big dinner. Catherine was kind enough to babysit the kids and we all went to the Minstrel Cafe and had a wonderful meal! Some had Salmon, some had steak, it really was yummy! We then came back home to have delicious hazelnut and chocolate cakes! Of course the hazelnut cake was not as good as Opa's but hey, he was in the hospital! So we enjoyed a piece of cake and coffee and good company!

I think Omi enjoyed her birthday, but of course it would have been precious if Opa would have been there too!We did toast him at dinner and missed him at dessert!