Cheetahlicious!!!!

WOW! Last night was crazy(if you are 9). My friend and I took our two girls out to dinner-told them it was a "girls night out" (but we had a little surprise up our sleeves). Took them first to Bubba Gump's since Grace (Dev's friend) had never been there. The girls exchanged presents and then were trying to organize a sleepover. We asked them what they wanted to do next. They weren't sure.... SO, we told them we had a surprise but they had to be blindfolded. They held hands blindfolded and giggled. We tried to mislead them "I hear Billy Joel is playing", did you say Devyn had NEVER been to a hockey game?" etc.... and pulled in to the Honda Center. When I handed over my $20 for parking (yes, $20-highway robbery if you ask me) the lady said "enjoy the show". "ENJOY THE SHOW????" they screamed. "WHAT show, we are seeing a show? Is it Hannah Montana???". They took off their blindfolds and screamed. Apparently, they had no idea Cheetah Girls were even playing. It was their first concert. Dev was excited that the Clique Girlz were opening. Not so impressed by them. My friend said they sounded like Minnie Mouse. Cheetah Girls were more tolerable than I had expected. There back up dancers (all guys) were awesome dancers. Some cool things like being pulled up in gigantic chandeliers to be singing in while suspended from the ceiling, dance-offs, cool graphics, etc. It started early (6 p.m.) and we were out by 8:45 so all in all, not too bad and the mommies survived. Was pretty funny when the announcer said "o.k. boys and girls, we will be back after a brief intermission". BOYS AND GIRLS??? UGH. Guess we ARE old. And the mom in front of us was scary-kept going out for a smoke and leaving her kid by herself (maybe 9 or 10 years old?) and coming back with a beer each time. She was up dancing and it was scary too...

Other highlights this month- Devyn went to the Young Chef's Academy for youth group and made pizza and cookies (cool place in Irvine), sang with Choir at the Nixon Library for Chanukah, and went to Disneyland to see the parade and the "snow". She also came home with straight A's on her report card and her first Honor Roll. YEAH! This is the first time the kids are old enough to earn actual grades. Looking forward to two weeks of sleeping in. Have a Happy Holiday!

Happy 9th Birthday, Devyn!

Can't believe it-I have a 9 year old....On November 18th, we went out to Bubba Gump's for dinner to celebrate her ACTUAL birthday. I can't remember ever drawing a birthday out for quite so long. We had her party so early this year, that it seemed like she really milked it. Hadn't been to Bubba Gump's in a long time-went to the new one in the Garden Walk (Anaheim/Garden Grove???). Aunt Mary and Uncle Robert went too! Devyn was thrilled that Auntie M made her all UCLA themed gifts (her future college choice, of course). New jammies, pillowcase, and fleece blanket. So cute! Her teacher at school even gave her a handmade birthday pillowcase-I thought that was really nice. Anyways, hard to believe she is 9. Makes me feel old. For some reason, 9 seems a lot older than 8. Getting close to the teen years-a tween I suppose. Seems like they get an attitude and hormonal a lot sooner these days.... Well, I just have to say this (if you are reading my blog, Devyn). I am amazed to see what you have become so far and look forward to many more wonderful surprises. At 9 you love sleepovers, socializing, Webkinz, your IPOD (stolen from me), your cats and turtles, the Wii, school, reading (which makes me happy), dancing (especially Irish), and singing. You do well in school-and I am happy that you excel in Math and Science-not my two stronger subjects. Is it possible you skipped a generation and got those skills from your grandpa??? I look at your baby pic and you have changed so much. Pretty soon you will be "borrowing" my clothes and shoes. I watch you eyeballing the shoes already.....Happy Birthday, Davidah Malkah ("beloved queen" in Hebrew....)

October Craze

Long time, no blog. I have been soooooo busy. No excuse. That's the truth! I guess it started with the 14 hour Halloween Crop at the Bee in October. I spent a lot of time helping plan games, set up, make food, etc. It was a lot of fun though but exhausting nonetheless. My daughter decided she wanted to join temple, finally. SO, we joined temple, started Sunday school, joined the choir, and got a private tutor for Hebrew lessons. Guess we are in it for the long haul now. Kiss all of my money goodbye. A Bat Mitzvah was expensive when I had one-a million years ago. Can only wonder what it will cost me when she is 13. Maybe this will be in lieu of a wedding. Can I convince her to run off to Vegas when it is time?

Halloween is my favorite holiday so we did it up pretty big. I had the Halloween Bunco AND Devyn's birthday at the house which gave my husband the needed justification to spend a ton of money on Halloween decorations. We went to Treats in the Streets and of course hit the houses on Halloween. Devyn's birthday party was the day after Halloween (early but we wanted to milk the decorations/theme), and we walked the Buddy Walk for Down's Syndrome the next morning. UGH! I was tired.

Back to the birthday-I came up with a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. It was cool AND pretty original if I do say so myself. However, due to Disney licensing, it was also impossible to find party supplies, games, etc. SO, I did everything myself. We had lots of skeleton decorations, black, orange and purple, bones, etc. We played pass the bone (hot potato), the mummy wrap (with toilet paper), drew Jack Skellington on our heads on paper plates,and pin the nose on Zero (Jack's dog. We had strobe lights, blacklights, and a disco ball. The kids danced and screamed. I bought a lifesize cutout of Jack, Sally, and Zero and took a pic of each kid with Devyn. We made cool frames that I had prepped and the kids got to put their pictures in them. They had glow jewelry and left with a cool CD that Ron had compiled. Spooky Nightmare music and pre-teen stuff. I also gave them sparkly notebooks that looked like presents with pointsettia flower pens that I had made. Food was pasta, fruit, munchies and bone-shaped breadsticks that I had made. The cake was amazing though-our friend made a purple fondant covered cake with Jack and black stars. Everything on the cake was edible except the sticks that the stars were on and Jack. I love fondant but the kids didn't care for it as much.

I will post some pics. Sorry for the long blog. Am I caught up now?

Big Bear

Spent last weekend in Big Bear. It was a lot of fun. Spent time with my bro and his fam. Went Friday after work and came back Sunday afternoon. Friday afternoon traffic is not so fun.... Went to Moonridge Zoo where they take in wounded animals and those who have been "imprinted by humans". Watched a 3:00 information and feeding session. Interesting-but gross. Dev was freaked out by the dead rats they placed in the trees for the owls. They threw raw chicken into the Snow Leopard's cage. Bears were great-they ate oranges, apples, and corn-much to Devyn's surprise and pleasure.... The raccoons opened up eggs and sucked the insides out-quite interesting to watch. Went on a pontoon boat on Sunday. Dev spent a lot of time driving-by herself. Emma (age 2) sat in my brother's lap and drove. She kept hitting the horn. Was very loud!!! Can you believe there is a floating bathroom in the lake? You couldn't pay me to use it. We docked for a quick sec for pictures but the smell drove us away-literally. Only bad part about the trip-lack of sleep. I don't do well in unfamiliar beds....

The Orange Street Fair and a baby opossum

UGH! Another sweltering day of performing at the Street Fair! Nothing like peeling off your costume in a small, sweaty tent that smells of urine!!! Devyn performed three numbers at the street fair Saturday morning. I was hoping it would be a little less hot than last year (where one of the grandparents passed out!) But no, the humidity kicked in and it was pretty miserable. Two positives-we can get close enough to take pictures and I can get another use out of the costumes that I spent a lot on. So, the first pic is of Dev dancing Irish, the second is tap, and the third is jazz. I was fortunate enough to not have to dance-apparently the ADULT group (or "old people" as my daughter calls them) doesn't do the street fair.

The next pic is of a 2 week old opossum. It was SOOOOOOO cute. We held it for a half hour and did not want to give it back. I had noticed it by chance when I went to walk at the Oak Canyon Nature Center. The worker had two babies that had been abandoned and she rescued them. I brought Dev back after school (even though my friend thought I was crazy) because I was sure that she would be just as enamored as I was with them-and I was right. Dev went home and called her dad at work to tell him that she wanted the baby opossum for her birthday. No such luck! Opossums get such a bad rap. It was so cute and cuddly-didn't make a peep, show teeth, nothing....I will never look at them the same. Of course, the next day at school there was a dead baby mouse under Dev's backpack and she screamed like someone had been murdered! It was quite a scene. I laughed my head off because the day prior she had held the opossum and he was bigger than this poor little mouse. Unfortunately, her friend pointed out that her schoolwork had "touched" the mouse and so Dev refused to touch her work. I had to go in and ask the teacher for another copy! Strange child of mine-animal lover on her own terms. Might I point out that she also holds the neighbor's pet lizard on her chest under her chin???

95 1/2 Pairs of Shoes!!!

WOW! I decided to go through Devyn's shoes-I knew that many probably didn't fit anymore. I have been accused of buying too many shoes in the past-both for Dev and myself. I can't help it-clothes are hard to fit on us but shoes-no problem! I started taking them out of her closet and putting them in a heap. Then, just for kicks, I decided to sort them. Lots of pink sparkly shoes, five pairs of silver shoes, gold shoes, animal print, etc. Dev was at a friend's house so I left them out for her. When she came home and opened her bedroom door she was very surprised. I don't think she realized she had quite that many. I made her go through them and I believe that she got rid of about 25 or 30 pair. Last year, she gave about 15-20 pairs to kids in Africa for a shoe drive. Between her and I, and two neighbors, she contributed a pile of about 75 or 80 shoes! I guess it isn't so bad if we put our obsession towards a good cause, right? I call her "baby Imelda Marcos". I think I created a monster..... (by the way, the "1/2" was due to a missing shoe. I am not surprised we lost one in that closet. I may add that this number includes slipper and flip flops. However, she does have about 7 or 8 pairs of dance shoes that are not in the tally. Yes, I know-it is a sickness).

Locks of Love

WOW! Can't believe it. Devyn cut 11 inches off of her hair for Locks of Love. She actually cut about 13 or 14 by the time they evened it out. I thought she would chicken out. She and a friend had planned on doing it all summer. She had to wait until after recital so that we could get her hair up for Irish. She was so bummed when she came back from Jamaica and 4 of them had cut their hair without her! She was afraid she would look "dorky" but I think she looks so cute. She now loves it-we couldn't get her in bed this evening. She kept on playing with it and prancing in front of the mirror. She said she was going to take her brush with her to school! Of course, her daddy is thrilled! No more tangles or brushing conditioner through her hair.....

Jamaica, Part 2

Here are more pics.
1) Dev with new friends at the swim up bar drinking strawberry banana smoothies.
2) Dev with Aunty Pat-the fabulous arts and crafts teacher. Dev spent a lot of time there-tie dying and cutting a t-shirt, making friendship bracelets, making the Jamaican flag, and using pastels. She is an awesome teacher and a neat lady.
3) Dev at Sunset
4) Dev with a cheeky shot at the beach

Jamaica Mon!

Just got back from Jamaica Friday night and boy, am I tired. Remind me to never go somewhere that takes a whole day to travel unless it is direct-Europe, Australia, o.k.....but Jamaica-the traveling KILLED me! We woke at 1:30 a.m. our time here(4:30 there) to get to the airport on time. They only have one road and it takes at least 2 hours to get from the resort to the airport. Stayed in Ocho Rios, the airport is in Montego Bay. The roads are scary! There is no line down the center divider-they do a lot of swerving and honking to acknowledge that they are moving over. On the way TO our hotel, there were 2 accidents. So, the drivers allow for extra driving time. We got to the airport and had to do all of the customs stuff and then wait 2 hours. We had a 2 hour flight to Atlanta, running late, of course (Jamaican time= "no problem,mon!") In Atlanta, we went through customs again and then had to re-check our luggage for transfer. Waited about another 2 hours in the airport and ate lunch/dinner. Had a 5 hour flight home. Waited for a shuttle and the one hour drive home from LAX. Gotta say, it was the first time I enjoyed the ride home from LAX on the freeway. Totally appreciated our freeway system. How many times have I cursed it??? So much more civilized than Jamaican roads. Got home at 10:15 p.m. Didn't sleep much on the plane though Devyn did for a little bit. Of course, I am always over-scheduled so we awoke early Saturday to do recital pics followed by the mommy and me class I taught at the Bee. Monday school starts-ugh!

Anyways, Jamaica had its ups and downs.
Favorites:
1) Tops was probably the swim with the dolphins. Dev and I both did it. We held on to the dolphins as they pulled us, we did the "foot push", and helped with the tricks. Dev kept on saying "this is awesome!".
2) My second fav was climbing the Dunn's River falls. It was 600 ft. up. Dev was scared at first but it was fun! Told her to stay low and climb like SpiderMan. She kept yelling "Spider Dev, Spider Dev"! Was a little slippery but not too bad. It was so beautiful and it felt great-I was ready to do it again. But alas, our driver was waiting to take us back. Will post pic.....
3) Horseback ride and swim-not my fav. My horse (of course) decided to leave the group and head off straight into the deep blue sea with me on his back. My group traveled toward shore while I was pulling back on the reins and yelling "help"! The guides took their time getting to me as I was comtemplating jumping off the horse and swimming back to shore. They dragged my horse back into shore as he "did not want to cooperate". A little disappointing to hear the horse groaning as he was being dragged. Made me sad for the horses....
4) In general-lots of water-spent time on the water slides at the resort, the banana boat, the Hobie windsails, kayak, played at the beach and in the pool, Ron played a lot of volleyball. Dev liked the swim up bar-go figure....
5) Met new friends. Sisters Taylor and Courtney (I will include in Bar pic) and sisters Sabrina and Samantha. Played at Kids Camp, watched shows at night, and modeled in the fashion show (Dev).

Nice to be home. My bug bites are healing as well as the nasty cold sore I got from the massive amount of acidic fruits I ate. Devyn's blisters and rashes??? are healing along with the redness around her eyes. The hole in her foot is healing from walking on the rocky beach. Ron just returned from Urgent Care to get meds for the water in his ears that has been there since Jamaica. But boy, Dev sure has some stories to tell at school Monday.

More cute pics....

I LOVE my little neice, Emma. She is 22 months old and she and Devyn get along really well. If Dev is out of sight, Emma says "where Dev go?". My brother, sis-in-law, and Emma went with us to Kidspace today. Devyn and my other neice, Amanda, (age 11) played with Emma. Here are some pics- (the guy is my brother, the pic of the girls together is Dev with her two cousins :)

I haven't had any baby/toddler pics to scrap for a while so Emma is my new victim- I mean "subject".

Exhausted!

WHEW! The last days have killed me! My husband's family is visiting from Seattle. We have done Disneyland, Knott's, The Pirate Dinner Show, Kidspace Museum in Pasadena, the Swap Meet, and various swimming, shopping and eating activities. It would be hard doing these things alone but I don't tolerate heat well-it makes me grumpy (o.k.....grumpier)!!! After the museum today we went to Old Towne Pasadena and had Frozen Yogurt. My daugter and niece had to use the bathroom. Every door said "no public bathrooms". We asked people and FINALLY found a bathroom through a courtyard near the movie theater. However, it was not even marked. We had to ask numerous people. I thought my daughter was going to pee her pants! So frustrating. I hesitate to ever consume any foods or liquids when in Pasadena again....Anyways, here are pics from the pirate show and the kids museum. If you haven't been....you should go! We were there for almost 4 hours! The water features were a hit by I was surprised how much the big kids enjoyed riding big tricycles with helmets on!!!

Recital

June 12, 2008

One studio recital down, one studio to go. Glad that is done. Took 63 curlers and 2plus hours to do her hair! Were dropping one studio and sticking to Val Weaver's. Probably will add Hip Hop. We will be up to 4 hours of dance a week. I'm a little concerned with 4th grade starting in July. Lots of homework-they drag books home over the weekends....ugh!

Devyn got an award for Super Speller at school. She only missed ONE word ALL YEAR! They had 33 spelling tests!!!! So much like me-I always loved spelling. (In case you are wondering, she missed "design". It was killing me so I asked the teacher). It was a little sneaky. That test had all of the "ight" words (sight, fright, knight). SO, she added an "h" after the "g" in design. Oh well, probably won't forget that again.

Turned 36 yesterday-that was traumatic. Funny, my friend at school turned 28 and celebrated her birthday for several weeks. Oh, those were the days. A kid at school asked me how old I was. I said "old". He said "sixty???". Gotta love those little guys.....five more days of school but who is counting???? I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....... :)

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day. It has been a long time since I have posted. I have no excuse. Just busy.... Went to Bobby Mcgee's for dinner last night. The service was terrible and we were there forever! I am just sitting around in my jammies today. Since it is MY day, I choose to do nothing! O.k...I do want to do some scrapbooking and reading would be nice. I have been really bad and have not put my pages in books in several years. It has gotten so out of hand that I don't even know what order to put my pages in-they don't ALL have dates. Live and learn. I keep saying I won't let it get that out of control again but I know that will be a hard promise to keep.

Devyn's Brownie troop went to the animal shelter for Community Service day yesterday. It was really nice-well organized and informational. I had a hard time not wanting to take them all home. Devyn REALLY wanted another cat.

I wanted to post some pics of Cal Poly Pomona. Who knew that there was so much to do there? It is a really beautiful campus. They have a lot of animals, asian gardens, strawberry fields....go visit sometime!

Dance Fever

This was such a hoot! Devyn has a dance mat that is loads of fun. She got it out when my brother and family were visiting. My neice, 19 months, jumped on the opposing dance mat as soon as she saw the lights and heard the music! Of course, she couldn't follow or step on the colors at the right time, but she thought she could....she just had fun jumping around, (and lying down) on the dance mat.

Devyn is in a year-round school so she is off for 3 weeks! I only have one of those weeks off-bummer.....she is tired of daycamp already. No worries-she has quite the social schedule. Her friends have "rescued" her here and there and kept her for the day-going to the park, swimming, etc. She is going to Disneyland Monday. She has a tap show at the Cerritos Performing Art Center tomorrow (did I get invited??? NO!!) Today we spent at the Bee for their Webkinz event. It was fun. Dev won "most unique" for her costume "Lucky" (the black cat)for their Project Webkinz Fashion Show. Now we are up to 20 Webkinz-much to her dad's chagrin.....where does Dev sleep with all of these Webkinz in her bed? Boy, I want to be 8 years old. Life is sooooo tough!

Cookie Time!

It's Cookie Time and I am going crazy.....we have sold about 330 and still going....did one booth sale and have another on Monday. Just when I think we are done, we end up getting more orders. Back to the troop leader's house I go (about 5 times in the last week and a half...) I know it will be worth it when the troop gets to partake in some awesome outings-but right now it is a nightmare!!! Have to go get ready for the Red Bee garage sale tomorrow. Not really good at "purging" my stuff. I am sure that my husband can attest to that!

New layouts cont.....

Here are more layouts...sorry for the glare-not sure how to "take pictures of pictures" without the glare. I need to study up on that. Does anyone in blogland know???

Recent fav layouts

Here are some recent layouts that I did. Hope you like them!