On The Road Again...

It's Race time again! We are starting to have some racing withdrawals so we are heading to Eugene tomorrow for some racing action! The kids will be racing at the indoor track in Eugene at the fairgrounds. Registration starts at 11 so the racing action should begin somewhere around noon or a little after that. Then I think I'll sign them up for the clinic right after racing which is from 2-4. That leaves me time to play for a couple of hours!

The kids did very well last year with their racing. Nick was 79th in the district. Gabi ended up 11th. Can't wait for another great year of racing! Way to go kids!

What's happening...

Well it's been a while since I posted anything so I thought I better give you all an update of what we have been up to. Which I must say is nothing much. My BFF Becky was up for the weekend because she had a board review in Vancouver. She is studying to be a dental hygienist, which she is almost done with. She has her big board tests to take in a couple of months so she was able to come up for a review session and that meant she was able to hang with us in the evenings. It was great to see her and hang out with her. Haven't gotten to see much of her these days since we moved so I'll take what I can get!

We had a little bit of snow on Sunday. I have to admit I wasn't excited to see it either. There was about an inch of snow maybe when I got up in the morning. Luckily it wasn't sticking to the roads or anything, but there were still flakes coming down. It lasted until about 1 I think before it all melted away. It was funny, even the kids weren't excited to see the snow. However it did look pretty out the window. I'm just glad it didn't stick around long. Maybe next month I'll be more excited about seeing snow. Maybe. Then again, maybe not.

Nick and Gabi haven't been up to too much these days. Gabi did get an award at school for Responsibility last week. And the perfect attendance award as well. We are quite proud of her accomplishments. She's really becoming a delightful and entertaining young lady. (She'd hate to see me say that about her, but it's true! LOL) 

Nick would have had that perfect attendance award too if it wasn't for that fishing trip he went on when Josh was home last time. Oh well, it isn't like he gets to fish with his brother and dad everyday. The absence was worth it to him for the bonding time they got. Plus the fish they caught that day was delicious!

Bryan is still working on Nick's room downstairs. He has moved onto drywall now so we are one step closer to completion. That will be a good thing! But now he has gotten a new project. The bobcat is back in the driveway needed a new motor put in it. He was finally able to find a new motor after months of searching and wants to get it put in so various friends can use it. Spring is coming and the bobcat will be in high demand by some people. I'll just be happy to get it out of our driveway again.

Me, I've been working as usual. Found out I've been pulling my hair out over my latest catalog deadline for no reason since we have another 2 weeks until it is due. The good news is at least we have time to finish it without rushing and make some of the last minute changes we didn't think we would be able to make.  Other than that I made macaroni and cheese from scratch last night for dinner for the first time and it was so good! A complete success and even Bryan likes it despite the fact there was no meat for dinner. LOL He kept telling me that it would go good with steak. But I told him he was nuts! Considering it took about an hour to make I'm not about to spend that kind of time on a side dish! He didn't really complain too much though as he was too busy stuffing his face! LOL

So that's about all that has been going on in our little world. Hope everyone has a great week! 

I can see!

Nick got his new glasses yesterday. He was so excited and afterwards said to me he could read the license plates on the cars! I used to be able to see through his glasses, but these new ones do not help me out at all. Nick is thrilled to be able to se again without squinting. He doesn't even seem to mind wearing them all the time anymore too.

Princess Lilian

Rashelle and Lilian came over for dinner last night and we had a great time playing. Lilian loved to play with the kitty and Meow just let her do whatever she wanted, as usual. She's such a little cutie! We had fun playing with cars and coloring too. Nick played with his helicopter which Lilian loved to watch, but she had to be sitting in someone's lap when it was flying. Then when it crashed she would get down and go get it for him and give it to him then run really fast back to sit with Gabi and watch it again until it crashed. She also takes her coloring very seriously and loved to have help coloring her pictures. I haven't seen someone so excited to see a box of crayons in a long time! 

  

 

After the kids went to bed Lilian was playing with her diapers so Bryan helped her try to diaper the cat. Meow being the good cat that he is pretty much let them whatever they wanted. Unfortunately it didn't stay on very long. But once the grown ups had given up she took the dipaer and went over by the cat laid the diaper down and told the cat to put it on. It was funny. We won't tell Gabi what went on though.   

Flying bugs

 

So we had Christmas part 2 on Sunday with Bryan's Dad and Step-mom. They brought up the presents from family Christmas we weren't able to get to this year because of the snow. We got some pretty cool presents including a copper firepit for the back deck which I have always wanted! Gabi got a pink chair for her room that she has been wanting for a long time and Nick got lots of Tech Deck mini skateboards he wanted and a remote control helicopter that is pretty cool. In fact Bryan liked it so much he wanted me to go out and get him his own helicopter to fly with Nick. But Bryan wasn't the only one interested in it. Ginger our bird catching cat took an interest in the helicopter as well. I think she was amazed we brought a flying bug into the house for her entertainment. 

     

 

Construction Update

The new water heater is in, the pipes are moved and our hot water is back on. YEA!
Bryan decided he needed to move the water heater first in order to frame Nick's closet which involved moving pipes as well as the placement of the water heater. He decided this needed to happen Friday after work since his 2 days off this week are filled with other activities. So he started the project when he got home from work. I helped once I got home, and of course had to go get dinner that night since we had no water at all.

We worked really hard and got the whole thing moved, hooked up and started when a little drip started from the hot water connector hose. When Bryan went to tighten the connection it burst and water went EVERWHERE! I quickly got the water shut off and mopped up the water. Of course it happened just before Home Depot closed so there was no fixing it that night. We were able to disconnect the hot water and at least have the water turned back on. Then yesterday after Bryan got ome from work he fixed the hot water. So now we have hot water again, a new more efficient and bigger water heater and Nick will be able to have a bigger closet. All is good now!

Wii're going to get in shape this year!

I bought the Wii Fit yesterday. I figured it's time to get in shape and thought not only would this fit into my schedule better than anything else, but exercising might be a little more fun if I can play games while I do it. Plus the kids and I can compete with high scores which should be another motivator.

I must say after trying it out last night and this morning it is actually fun to play, and the strength training and yoga exercises are actually quite a challenge for this out of shape body! My goal is to get up every morning when Bryan leaves for work and exercise for an hour or some before I have to take my shower. I figure I'm usually awake anyway since I can't go back to sleep after is alarm goes off so I should just take advantage of the time. 

Maybe this will at the very least help me become more active and sleep better. Plus the activities seem to really work on your balance and posture which could always use a little help. The kids are pretty excited about it too. Tonight I'm going to help them set up their mii characters so they can start their own exercise routine too. It should help with their coordination and balance which should really help their racing out for this year.

Something needs to be done with this "fluffy" body and this is a good start. Now if only I could get Bryan to give it a try...

The Secret Life

So we found a new show (to us) that the whole family likes to watch. It's called The Secret Life of the American Teenager and it's about a 15 year old girl who finds out she's pregnant.  Now I must say this was not a show I really wanted to start watching, but after seeing previews of it through the Christmas break it did start to look intriguing. And Gabi started watching it during a marathon of episodes so we got hooked. Besides being a teenage soap opera I actually think it's a good show for parents of pre teen and teens to watch together.

Because we recorded all the episodes we have been watching them together as a family and it actually opens up a discussion about sex, teenage pregnancy and just dating and the whole boy/girl relationships as a whole.  It has turned out to be a very non-threatening way to have a very important conversation with our kids about growing up, relationships and sex without being uncomfortable for anyone. The kids feel comfortable asking questions or we might comment about the show but then move on to how they would handle the same situation or issues facing the kids in the show. It might seem a bit early to be worrying about these issues, especially with Nick who is only 10 and said he doesn't even know HOW to get a girl pregnant, but it opens the door to being able to have opened conversations with them as they grow older. 

Even Bryan has enjoyed watching the show which I was really surprised about, but I think he's starting to realize how important it is to have open communication with both our kids about sex and relationships to help them navigate their way through the tough teenage years they have ahead of them. I whole heartily recommend this show to anyone with preteens and teenagers in the house. 

Construction Zone

It's construction time again!

Now that everyone is gone and we have our house back we have moved Nick up to the guest room so Bryan can finish his room. Our plan in that room is to enlarge the tiny 4 ft closet, scrape the popcorn off the ceiling, retexture and repaint the room. Hopefully it will only be a 2-3 week project. This project also involves moving and installing a new water heater in the furnace room as well. Once this project is completed the downstairs will be completed, except for the laundry room which just needs a few cosmetic fixes and some new paint. It will be nice to have this done so all of Nick's stuff can be in his own room and not spread out throughout the house. It also means we can finish organizing the family room and start actually using that room on a regular basis.

 

Bryan is standing in the little closet soon to be expanded and made into a mini walk-in closet.  

 

Looking into the room from the doorway.

 

 

The furnace room. The space behind the water heater will become new  closet space. The water heater will move forward a bit to make room for the closet expansion.

We got all the demo work done last night, including scraping the popcorn off the ceiling. Today it's framing time and then sheetrock, then the boring taping and mudding. After the demo part I look forward to the painting part, because then I know it's just about done!

I'll keep you posted on the progress!

Whew! The end of the holidays

So the holiday guests have all gone home and now it's time to do a little out with the old in with the new. I love that part of the new year. Why is it we always feel compelled to clean and organize after the holidays? Is it because everyone has been home for such a long time and the house is a pig sty from everyone's stuff? Or is it because the new year is also a new beginning and a chance to get rid of all that old dirt and unused or unwanted stuff to make room for the newest latest and greatest stuff we have accumulated.

I got all the Christmas decorations put away, the tree is waiting for Bryan to get home to go outside, and most importantly the Wii has been moved to the downstairs TV so the adults have their space back again. I'm guessing we won't be seeing much of the kids anymore as long as they have Wii time available to them!

Now if we could only get the kids back in school I might not go crazy afterall!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

My Dad is a New Years baby so not only do we get to celebrate the start of the new year, we also get to celebrate his birthday. We had a great dinner New Year's Eve at Jake's Crawfish a Portland icon that has been around longer than my Dad! (Sorry dad, couldn't resist!) We had an amazing dinner of the freshest seafood with the whole family together. Something that hasn't happened in quite some time! It was a lot of fun.

New Year's Day is usually a time of making resolutions and plans for the coming year. I always think of it as a time to get rid of the clutter in life and organize and prepare for the coming year. I'm not good at the whole resolution thing though. Usually any resolutions I make are busted within the first month or two. Plus with the economic uncertainty these days I'm just thankful to still be employed and making ends meet! 

So this year I'm going to work on my attitude and outlook on life, and maybe a few accomplishments by the end of the year.

1. This year I'm going to focus on worrying a little less about things I have no control over. No sense worrying about things you can't change.

2. This year I'm going to focus on my relationships more. I realize how important it is to be surrounded by the people who care and it's good to know there are people who care and are there to lean on when needed. I have a feeling that might come in handy this year. That's partly where this blog comes in. It's a way to stay in touch with the people that matter to me. Let them know what's going on in our world so we stay connected and a part of each others lives.

3. So that means this year I want to keep my blog up on a daily if not every other day basis.

4. I'd like to reorganize a few areas of my life. Get rid of the stuff we don't need or use and keep just the things we love around. 

 That's about it to focus on for this year  I think. I don't want to over promise and under deliver! I have a feeling this is going to be a great year, despite the uncertainty in the world these days. My family has been so blessed in the last few years and we are so grateful for all we have. We have a wonderful healthy family, great jobs we both enjoy, a beautiful house, and the chance to have lots of fun with our family and friends. I look forward to another great year!