LOST

Who else watched the season premiere?  Any guesses on who is in the Oceanic 6?

Quick Tip

Here's a good way to determine what clutter is important enough to keep.  Spill milk all over your counter (on accident of course).  You quickly have to decided what papers are important enough to keep and which ones are just not that important!

Thursday Already?

Sometimes the weeks just seem to disappear before I even have time to blink.  This morning I set my alarm for 6:00.  I was planning on going out and running for an hour before the kids were up...... My alarm went off, it was dark and cold out (36 degrees), and so I turned it off and went back to sleep.  I can always run later!  Turns out I should have just gone though, because about 20 minutes later Zach comes into our room completely wet from peeing in bed.  If I had gone out then Garrett would have had to deal with it :).  Oh well, now we're up and ready for another day.  We'll probably go to the park today, if it warms up some.  (which is funny because I was reading another blog yesterday from Canada where she is talking about how it is 40 below and she was still attempting to get out for a walk.  I just couldn't survive there!)  

I'll leave you with this link today.  Garrett made it yesterday of his "little" brother Mike, who is now 18 and a few months from graduating from High School. 

Activities

We go through this every year....... what kind of activities should we have the boys in?  Last Spring Kevin was busy with the Peter Pan play and T-Ball.  Zach has only ever been in a music class and we haven't done that for almost a year now.  He keeps asking, "When are we going to my music class again?"  The reason I didn't sign up again is because the last couple of times we went all he would do is sit on my lap.  I figured he could sit on my lap and listen to music at home if he really wanted to.  Kevin has announced that he is, "Retired from plays", and unfortunately we were not able to get him on a t-ball team this year, at least not for sure.   So now we are back to thinking about what activities the boys want to be in.  Or maybe they are fine just hanging out at home.

I know a lot of other families where the kids are involved in so many activities that the family hardly has any time at home.  Garrett and I agree that it is good for the boys to be involved in something, but I just don't know how much is too much.   I can't say they always are just hanging out at home, after all, they both are in AWANA, Kevin is in cub scouts and in Spirit Team.  Zach is in preschool three days a week and that seems to be plenty for him.  So why is there that feeling like we should be doing more?  Today Zach and I had a nice morning of hanging around the house.  We did puzzles, played outside, and on top of all that, I got the garage semi-cleaned out!   I think as the boys get older and have more of a strong interest in things, they will be more interested in doing activities with friends.  For now, we will just keep going with what we are doing.   

Ahhhhh, they grow up so fast!

Pinewood Derby

Our first Pinewood Derby......and we survived.  We only had a minor meltdown, but Kevin was willing to come back in and watch the races again after he realized that each car got to race three times.  The variety of cars was really amazing and it was fun to watch the boys cheer each other on.  The biggest trophy went to the boy with the best sportsmanship at the end of all the races.  I thought that was great!  Here are the pictures I got from yesterday's event:

A Break From The Rain

It's been raining all week, or maybe it just seems that way.  Either way, we've gotten a lot of rain and it was supposed to continue with another storm through the weekend.  Thankfully the weatherman was wrong and it is blue skies and sunny, for now.  Nice enough for me to get outside for a run this morning.  I did not go with the group though, I was just not feeling up to it (excuses, excuses).  Where I run is right next to a "dry creek bed".  This morning it was flowing with a ton of muddy water.  I have never seen water in it like this since we've been here.  

Today the cub scouts have there annual Pinewood Derby.  Basically you start with a kit that contains a block of wood, four nails for the axels, and four wheels.  Then you are supposed to shape it to look like whatever you want, paint it and decorate it to make it your unique car.  Some parents, I have heard, really get into it and talk about getting the maximum speed and making sure the car is aerodynamic.....blah, blah, blah. Garrett got some help from our neighbor, since we have very few tools around here. We'll see how it goes soon enough.  Kevin is very excited and I hope that he keeps in mind that is supposed to be fun and that we don't have a meltdown if his car is not the fastest.  He painted his car to look like Lightning McQueen from Cars.  And for all of you that bought popcorn from Kevin this year, a majority of  the sales profits go towards this event, with the In-N-Out burger truck there with food for us all!  I will put pictures up from it tomorrow.  

And here are some pictures from Kevin's latest project that he was working on last weekend.  His Lego Spongebob that he got from Nana on his 6th birthday.    Kevin and Lauren put it together when he got it, but Kevin had since took it all apart.  He also mixed some of the pieces with his huge container of Lego pieces, so I was the one looking through all those pieces for the many tiny pieces he needed to complete it.  But he was able to do most of the actual putting together and following directions on his own, which was a big improvement from when he did it the first time.

Kevin took the pictures but said he didn't want to put them on his own blog.  So I am showing off for him.....

Forwarded Messages

Most of the time I don't really do much with forwarded messages. I typically will read them but I rarely forward them on to others..... especially if they end with, "Do this within the next 10 minutes and something really great will happen to you". Occasionally I get one that I find worth while and so here is my forwarded message to you today:

"The band, Five for Fighting, is generously donating $0.40 to Autism
Speaks for *each time* the video is viewed. The funding goes toward
research studies to help find a cure. When you have a moment, please
visit the link below to watch the video and pass it along to your
friends and family. It is a great & sad video.
They are aiming for 10,000 hits, but hopefully we can help them
to surpass this goal.
Thank you,"

Link to the site

This was forwarded to me from a friend of mine in Ventura whose son has autism and I worked with him when he was just 3 years old.  He is now 11, I think, and in Junior High, and every time she sends me pictures of him I can't believe how big he's gotten.  We used to live down the street from them and when I was pregnant with Kevin this little boy used to always rub my belly and say, "Baby in the tummy!"   

Anyway, watch the video.  It's informational if nothing else and maybe it will help raise money for a good cause.

If Only.....

If only I didn't have a treadmill sitting in my room. Then I would be able to have the excuse of not running because of the rain. But seeing as I can't use that as my excuse, AND due to the fact that I ate a big slice of cheesecake that Garrett brought home for me today from the Cheesecake Factory, it looks like I am going to have to get on that thing and run. Maybe it will be raining on Saturday morning and I wont have to run with the group again. Can you tell I am not feeling much like running today? I would rather be upstairs in my bed, reading or watching t.v., or sleeping.
First I have to get those boys in bed though. I can hear them still in the bath as it gets closer to 8:00, their bedtime.

I told the office manager at work today that I would be able to start working another hour on Wednesdays because Kevin is in an after school program that day. You would have thought that I told her I could work a 40 hours week. I could see her mind starting to think of who would be the lucky one to fill that hour. Those hours in speech therapy are like gold. Fortunately for me, there is more of a demand than there are therapists.

My mind wanders when I don't have a true topic to write about, can you tell? I can't get that cheesecake out of my mind though, so I better go get the boys in bed so I can get on with my run. Maybe tomorrow I will have something more interesting to write about.

Remember This?

Remember back in November I was talking about our plans to get rid of the play room and turn it into an actual dining room?  Well, we cleared out the area for our Christmas dinner and left it cleared out ever since, but had nothing to put there.  As of this morning, we have this as our dining room!
Better, huh?  Thanks to Bob and Denise we now have this nice set that used to be in Mammoth.  Now we just need to have some friends over to use it! And all the toys from the playroom have been in the garage.....the boys don't even miss them.    

In other news, we had a nice three day weekend. A week back in school and then a day off already.  Kevin worked all day on a lego project that I am pretty sure he is going to put on his blog, so I wont show what it is.  Then at the end of the day the boys had some fun in a bubble bath.  Do we ever get too old for these pictures?

This is Kevin's rocker look.  He can't just look into the camera and smile anymore.

Today, Zach and I have spent the past couple of hours at Walmart doing our grocery shopping for the week.   It never ceases to amaze me how much this family can go through.  Shopping always takes longer than I plan on.  Maybe because I don't make a list and am always remembering something that we forgot on the other end of the store.  Plus, Zach is too big for the cart now so I am constantly asking him to stay by me and telling him where we are going next.  But, it's done now and the rest of the day should go by smoothly.  The rain we were having has stopped and is actually getting sunny, so maybe we can have some outside playtime this afternoon.

10-mile Saturday

I got up this morning at 6:15, had a little bowl of cereal, and got my running clothes on, in order to meet up with the Santa Clarita Runners for the first time.  Saturdays are their 10 mile runs.  People can run however long they want.  I was determined to do the full 10.  I get there and all I see is men.  Being that I am not outgoing I slowly get out of the car, hoping that someone will introduce themselves to me so I do have to go make the first move.  Luckily a nice man introduced himself and then brought me over to the few women that were there.  So here's what I learned today.....I have a long way to go before I am really ready to go running comfortably with a group.  I started off with the women.  Two of them went on ahead, faster than the remaining three of us.  I learned that one of the women had just come back from Florida where she ran the Disney marathon last weekend.   Not only did she run the marathon on Sunday, but she also ran the half marathon on Saturday before that.  All of the runners seemed pretty hard core and have been running a lot longer than I.  Anyway, I stayed with the two other women for as long as I could, but even they were too fast for me.  But, I stuck with it and while they told me they were stopping at 8 miles, I told them I was going to try for the whole 10.  And I did it!  I might have been the last one to come back....yes, I definitely was the last one, but it felt good to finish and that is now my longest run ever.  So, will I go again next Saturday?  I'm not sure yet, but I think I probably will.  How else will I get to know this group and truly decide whether it's for me or not.  I can't give up after one time.  Besides, it gives me the incentive to run a little faster and get up and just do it rather than turning my alarm off and going back to sleep!  

Kevin

You have got to check out the coolest new blog!  

I promise, I did not prompt him on any of it.......

Cinderella

Our house was getting to the point where I would get stressed out just walking into it because of all the clutter that had accumulated over the holidays.  I just didn't deal with it because that would mean having to deal with the fact that I had to find a place for all of it.  So today I felt like Cinderella, working all morning long trying to get the house back into some sort of order.  I got a lot accomplished because I had the house to myself.  Garrett took Zach to Disneyland today and Kevin was at school.  So I turned up Sheryl Crow and sang as loud as I could around the house while I cleaned (I know it's hard for some of you to imagine this).  At least the downstairs is looking somewhat better, now I just need another day for the upstairs.  Maybe we just need to downsize, then I wouldn't have as much to take care of :).  

Sorry for the tiny pictures.  Garrett sent them from Disneyland.  This was just after they got off one of their favorite rides, Soaring Over California.

Since Zach got to go to Disneyland, I told Kevin when I picked him up from school that we could do something special.  First he said he wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese.  Then he changed his mind and said he'd rather go to Yum-Yum Donuts.  So he enjoyed a big chocolate bar and milk.  He probably was just as happy with that!

The Bear Chair

We've been doing some rearranging around here.   Making the house more of a mess in my opinion, but it will all be worked out someday.  Anyway, one of the things we are considering is moving a t.v. into Kevin's room for the Smart Cycle and videos instead of having it in the office, where there is literally no more room.  So I mentioned to Kevin that we would need to move some things around and maybe "get rid of some things".  One of those precious things I mentioned happened to be his Bear Chair that he got for his first birthday

He is obviously too big to really sit in it now.  Both boys like to do flips over it and run and jump into it, but usually it just is there taking up space in his room.  I guess I did not know how attached Kevin is to this chair though, because when I mentioned putting a t.v. in his room (which I thought he'd be excited about) and moving the bear chair out he threw himself on the floor crying like there's no tomorrow.  Poor guy, I felt so bad that I said we could just move some his other things around and keep the chair if it meant that much to him.  

So I have yet to buy the stand and move the t.v.  There's just so much stuff everywhere I look I have become overwhelmed with the thought of moving things around again.  I guess one thing is for sure though, THE BEAR CHAIR STAYS PUT!

Superbowl Sunday

I have officially signed up for my first 10k race.  The Redondo Beach Superbowl Sunday 10k to be exact.  It looks like a lot of fun and Garrett said he ran it years ago a few times.  I am excited about it, but a little nervous at the same time.  Just keep in mind, I am not trying to win any medals!

I have also joined the Santa Clarita Runners, which is a group that gets together throughout the week to run.  Saturdays, they do a 10 mile run, Sundays they do some marathon training runs, and then they have some shorter runs throughout the week.  This past Saturday I went 9 miles, thinking it was more like 10 or 11.  It's been hard getting back into it.  But it's nice now because I go out for a 3 to 4 mile run and it feels like I am just getting warmed up.  

By the way, I never mentioned that I finally opened my present from Garrett on Christmas morning and it was just what I wanted..... an iPod shuffle.  The surprise part of it was that Garrett had it engraved with "Run, Tasha, Run".  I have downloaded several songs on it and even got an iTunes gift card so I can buy something other that Gar's selections! 

Sure looks like I am getting all ready.  The only thing that I hadn't really thought about is that the days when I will be doing most of my "real" training will be right when it is sooooo hot here.  I guess I will be getting up real early to do anything then.  It's still a ways off, but it's on my mind, a lot!

Juicin' It Up

Here's my latest attempt at getting more vitamins into my day.  I got a Juicer for Christmas from my parents.  I know that it was all the rage about 10 years ago to juice everything..... so now I am just about 10 years behind, but I love it!  So far I've tried regular apple juice, apple/pear, apple/carrot, and pear/tangerine juice.  I'm not sure about the vegetable juicing but at least the carrots taste good.

And look how much orange juice I can make in a few months....our tree is packed this year!

 

The boys are back at school and I am back to MY MONDAY.  So I better get going before I get sucked into the computer time warp and it is time to pick up the boys again.

Happy Birthday Sandy

Garrett's Aunt Sandy's birthday is today.  She came up the other day with Susan and Namie and it was so cute because Kevin didn't know she was coming so when he saw her he got all excited and yelled, "Sandy's here!"  That day she taught Kevin how to play Twinkle, Twinkle on the piano and he has been so happy to show everyone his new song.  

Here's hoping you have a wonderful birthday, Sandy!

Happy Birthday Rochelle

One of my bestest friends birthday is today.  Rochelle has been a great friend since 5th grade when we were in Mr. Clark's class together and fighting over the same boyfriends.  She is one of the funniest people I know and could seriously have her own talk show!  So just a little happy birthday wish to you, Rochelle.  I should have posted this this morning when I know you are at work......Hope you have a great one!

Sorry I looked and looked for a picture but couldn't find one.  I even tried Maile's site to see if I could steal one from there.....no luck.

OOOh wait, I found one, and I did steal it!  Hope that's ok.

Rochelle is the one on the left with my other friend Vicki.  By the way, I am waiting patiently for you to start your blog, both of you!

Gemina

Otherwise known as, "The giraffe with the crooked neck", has died today at the age of 21.  Garrett was very upset by this news and called me first thing this morning and said, "You should really do a post on this today".  So here it is.  

When we lived in Ventura the Santa Barbara Zoo was only about a half hour away so we went fairly often.  The first time we went Garrett said, "You gotta see the giraffe with the crooked neck!"

Here's Kevin and I in 2002 at the Santa Barbara Zoo.

At least Kevin and Zach have both had a chance to see this famous giraffe, even if they don't remember......

Never Ending Holiday

As much as I love vacation, I am ready to get back to our normal routine.  As much as I dislike the morning routine of getting ready for school, I LOVE having a schedule.  Kevin has had three weeks off of school and will finally be heading back on Monday.  We have been busy almost the entire time so it has gone by quickly.  My mindset has been vacation mode though, which has included eating everything I want and not running nearly as much.  I am ready to start kicking my own booty again!  I told myself I would start up again on the 1st and now look at me 10 days into January and I am still on vacation......enough is enough.

One good thing that has come out of all of our free time is that the boys have started bonding more.  Of course they are still fighting several times throughout the day, but now they are really learning to play well together also.  We went to the park today and although there were other kids there that we knew, Kevin and Zach mostly continued playing with each other.  They make up games, stories, and plays.  Kevin is mostly the director of what should happen next, but Zach throws out some good ideas too.  It's nice to see them truly having fun together.  There is nothing better to me than hearing them cracking each other up!  And another plus side to all of this.....they aren't constantly needing me as a playmate!

Kevin reading to Zach (all on their own)

So tomorrow, I WILL go to work, I WILL go for a run, and I WILL eat well.  It's never too late to start again.

a-MAZE-ing

Kevin asked for a marble maze for Christmas.  This is all he really asked Santa for, so it was a pretty easy order for "the big guy" to fill.  Both boys have been thrilled with this toy and have been trying to create their own mazes.  Finally tonight I followed the directions for one super maze and the boys are thoroughly entertained by it.  After a day of getting all the attention they need from Susan, Sandy, and Namie, I needed something for them to do on their own.

Meanwhile, I am trying to convince myself that I need to get on the treadmill tonight.  I twisted my ankle during a run at my parents house and it is just starting to feel better and I know I shouldn't push it......maybe I will just walk tonight.

Happy Birthday Grandma Trettin!

So, after all the whining I did on Friday, I woke up on Saturday to no rain.  I quickly got the boys ready and we headed up north.  Turns out we were able to make it all the way there with just about an hours worth of rain and the trip wasn't bad at all.  I got to see my friends on Saturday night, with all the kids, and no electricity!  It's always fun to get together with old friends and especially to see how all the kids change.  To me, my friends and I always look the same as I last remember them, but the kids you can really tell how time is passing.

Then on Sunday we had a total of 22 people at my parents house to celebrate my Grandma's 92nd birthday.  I love seeing all the relatives and even though I am not the most talkative person I still love listening to all the stories and catching up on all of their lives.

We drove back today and thanks to my cousin Kelly I have pictures to share.  I didn't even get my camera out the whole time, so here are just a few from the party.  No pictures of my friends unless one of the sends me some.  

Zach was the present delivery boy.

The whole gang, minus Kelly and my dad, the photographers.  We eventually got a tri-pod, but I don't have any of those pictures yet.

I'm so glad I was able to make it.  I would have been bummed out all weekend if it had kept pouring like predicted.  Anyway, now back home, safe and sound, and the house still needs to be cleaned.  Life goes on.....I just hope I live a happy, healthy life like my Grandma!

RAIN, RAIN .....

We all know how the rest goes.  Yeah, Yeah, I know we need the rain, but did we really need it on the day that I was supposed to drive?  Did we really need a huge storm producing high winds and closing down bridges?  I don't think so!  I'm here, and I'm pouting over the fact that things did not go my way today.  I know that I have made the "right decision" about not traveling, but I am not happy about it.  So, I continue to pout and cry to my mommy about the fact that I will not be making the trip.  Sure, there are other weekends, I know, but I had it in my mind that I was leaving today.  I was going to see my friends tomorrow and a million relatives on Sunday.  

Ok, enough complaining......it doesn't help.  I guess now I can get the house cleaned, YIPEE!

The Smart Cycle

The boys got the Smart Cycle for Christmas from Grami and Papa and I finally put it together today.  We thought it would mainly be for Zach, but Kevin has got more exercise on that thing today than I ever thought possible.  It's a pretty good idea for getting the kids active rather than just sitting still and playing video games all day.  It has them find numbers, letters, and shapes.  I think Zach will get into it soon.

You can see that Kevin's a little big for it, but he loved it.  

He found a part where he can race other cars and that gets him peddling even faster.

Look how he sticks his tongue out when he's concentrating!

Ok, gotta get to sleep.  I have a big trip ahead of me tomorrow.  Probably wont hear from me until next week.  Hasta la vista!

Mishmash of Ramblings

After a week of no running I got on the treadmill and it was HARD!  I guess that just means I cannot take a break.  It was getting so much easier for me to go an hour....now I have to work back up to it?  Hopefully it wont take that long to get back into the swing of things.  It doesn't help that I am now carrying around all those cookies and treats that I ate over the past weeks.  I really don't want to go back to the Fat Smash, I'll just run it all off!  

I was back at work today and it felt so strange being back, like I had been off of work forever.  Not sure why, it just did.  But the kids at work are all so cute and the time goes by so fast.  I had a mom bring her son in this morning for an assessment convinced that it was all her fault that her 16 month old wasn't talking yet.  I had to try and give her the confidence that her son is still very young, he may be late talking but it doesn't mean that he wont talk and it certainly doesn't mean it's all her fault.  I LOVE working with the kids, that's why I went into pediatrics, but I am not always the best at working with the parents.  

Anyway, to add to my ramblings tonight, I just had to share these pictures of Zach and his Uncle Matt feelin' the blues on Christmas day while Uncle Dennis played his Ukulele.  I think they are so cute and even cuter if you can imagine Zach movin' his head back and forth in time with the music.

Still trying to think of New Year's resolutions, but I never really keep them so why bother?  I do know one that I plan on keeping.....keep on keepin' on and finish that marathon in November!

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a great New Year's Eve.  I didn't make it until midnight.  We watched the ball drop on CNN at 9:00, yelled Happy New Year, and then went to bed.  A wild and crazy bunch, I know.  We are now back home after a quick drive back from Mammoth.  I am not ready to tackle the job of putting away all the Christmas decorations that are still up.  Especially not the dead tree in our living room.  

Yesterday Garrett and I had a great day of skiing.  I was feeling much more confident and actually having some fun out there.  The boys had fun with Grandpa and Grandma Dee playing in the snow.  Turns out I did pack my camera after all, and Grandpa had his too.  So here are some pictures from our time in the snow.

I am not even really going to unpack the boys clothes, as we are leaving in a few days to head up north.  I am really looking forward to this trip, getting to see family and friends that I don't often see.  First I have to get a couple of days of work in though! 

Puzzle Boy At It Again

Here's how Kevin spent some of his time in Mammoth.  A very challenging puzzle for me, so I tried to stay out of it and let him do his stuff.

The Finished Product (530 pieces)

Breaking it apart to take it home.  He'll do it again here

 and then maybe we'll glue it together.