three day blog

See my water rats? When you live in rainy Oregon where you get nine months of rain...you just have to make do. I remember my days as a puddle jumper. Those were the best times to play. Heck with those boring sunny days...

I am now embarking on year two of irrevocably ruining my son's academic career.  Otherwise known as:  Rachel does homeschool.  The program that I am doing consists of classes three days a week with an actual teacher with actual brains. He is taking creative writing, beginning piano, and beginning drawing. I am not sure...but we may be a little heavy on the creative side.  For academics, we are doing a curriculum called Calvert . I just received the box today and this thing has everything---down to the very pencils....so I guess I could have saved that $0.99 at Walmart. But my favorite thing is that there is a guide that tells me what everything is for. Thank goodness.  I hope it has pictures... ...and an instructional dvd... ....and a real live teacher.  The great thing is that all of t his is for free because we are getting the Calvert through an online academy that is a fully accredited public school. A public school without the evil influen...

So what do you do on a Saturday, home alone with the kids, with nothing but a cellphone camera and some imagination? You take some pictures..... ...send them to your husband, and make him think that you plunked down his hard earned money on some unneeded and expensive new toy for the children. It is at this point, around the third frantic interrogation text message, that you can start laughing...and I don't mean your everyday laughter... this is where you can pull out the evil villainous laughter you have been practicing since 5th grade. Go ahead....you've earned it.

Today is the big day for my x-ray. Of course, the hope is that the gray, cotton-candy looking substance, which unceremoniously invaded my lungs, has taken it's leave of me. Honestly, without going into too much detail, I really haven't been as "productive" as I think I should in getting rid of this gunk. I don't really know what is next, though. I took a strong three day antibiotic that stays in my system for ten days---I am only on my sixth day, so I suppose I should try to be patient for the remaining 4 days. It is just hard knowing that there is a foreign invader in my body. In the past I have taken kindly to foreign invaders...I ended up marrying the last one I came in contact with. Of course Edgard doesn't make me all phlegmy so that could be why he is still around. This current invader is a little less pleasant. Although, having pneumonia garners me more sympathy than being married to Edgard does---so I guess that is sort of a bonus. Other t...

I was trying to figure out which part of my thrilling Dr.'s visit I should tell you about. Maybe the part where every time I had to use the elevator---6 times---I ended up being trapped in there with someone who smelled badly...really badly. And as if that weren't punishment enough, they always got off before I did and there I was... left in in this funky elevator looking highly embarrassed and very guilty. I obviously could have skipped the shower and no one would have been any the wiser. Then there was the part where I saw John Travolta's character from Love Song for Bobby Long in the waiting room. Well at about age 35 but he looked about as healthy as Bobby Long. Or there was the fun moment after being jabbed and x-rayed and the waiting.... all the flipping waiting... I was told that, after being in bed since Saturday, I was going to get the bonus of five more days of bed rest. Yipee! I truly hope the sarcasm hits you right between the eyes in that last exclama...

Edgard: Hi...so I am getting out of here. I'm on my way home. Me: okay...hey can you stop by the store and get tortillas? I would have picked them up but I thought we had some in the freezer....they must not have made it through the great freezer debacle of '07. * Edgard: Sure, I can get some corn torntillas. Me: What did you say? Edgard: Tor n tillas. Me: I thought so. Edgard: hee hee hee * The great Freezer Debacle of '07: in which Edgard, in a fit of organization, threw out everything that was good in the freezer and left all the bad stuff.

My little snowboarder... Much like Bradley , at the age of (nearly) 33, he is in an advanced state of decay...so though he was able to make it through the day snowboarding, he was barely able to move the next morning.

Here are a smattering of pictures from the first of December when we cut our Christmas tree. We had a fun time and hope to do it next year. Here are the things I know for next year: Prepare to get stuck in the snow early and hike the rest of the way. And, oddly enough, if we hike a mile and a half, cut a gorgeous Christmas tree, play in the snow and take wonderful pictures....the fun ain't over...we will still have the mile and a half hike back to our car. I also need to realize that a 3 mile hike will not kick my metabolism into hyper drive. Translation: I cannot eat like a pig for the entire holiday season and cover it by saying "I can eat this _____ (insert food of choice: piece of cake, candy cane, cheese log, entire gingerbread village) because I hiked three miles last week--month--year". I also have learned that my children are immune to my insanity but after around 6 hours they might start to whimper a little...but only after the cold has mentally broken ...

Edgard is going to M é xico, again . There will be no surprises for him, like there were last time . I am not going to paint anything... in fact, I may not even clean anything... in fact, I may not even go anywhere... in fact the kids and I may not even get out of bed. He will only be gone for 3 days this time around, and in that time I plan to orchestrate my life in such a way, that I expend as little activity as possible. I am exploring the possibility of moving the top mattress somewhere in the house and directing everything from there. I think, at this point, I like the idea of setting it up in the kitchen. This is ideal for the least energy output, as most of the energy that I use during any given day, is directly related to eating. Obviously the one hitch in this plan is that we (the kids will be on the mattress, as well---think: life raft) are nowhere near the bathroom. This will be solved by taking in no liquids for the duration of the time that Edgard is gone. That also ...

So here are a few (read: enough to kill with boredom) pictures from our camping trip. Since it is almost labor day I will be back to our regularly scheduled program on Tuesday. While I was away, I was tagged for a meme (my first official tag) and nominated for an award(my second, no less appreciated---in fact I'm giddy---award) so I will fill you in on the details on the aforesaid mentioned Tuesday. Multnomah Falls A close proximity to our campground. Isn't it fun to play in the dirt when you are camping? Our, second in command, clown. My beautiful family. Irene just has to do everything herself. Anthony unsuccessfully avoiding the camera. Irene at the bridge of the gods. I didn't make that name up folks. It is really the name of the bridge that connects Oregon to Washington over the Columbia river. A rock quarry we found next to the river. We had fun exploring everything. Now this is Edgard's idea of a camping trip!

We are going camping . It should be really fun . I have this image of what camping should be . I also have a nagging feeling of what it will be . I will let you know how it went, when we return. I now leave you with some camping tips I found online in case you decide, in my absence, to go insane camping, as well. Some Camping Tips When using a public campground, a tuba placed on your picnic table will keep the campsites on either side vacant. Get even with a bear who raided your food bag by kicking his favorite stump apart and eating all the ants. Old socks can be made into high fiber beef jerky by smoking them over an open fire. When smoking a fish, never inhale. A hot rock placed in your sleeping bag will keep your feet warm. A hot enchilada works almost as well, but the cheese sticks between your toes. The best b...

This couple , who have literally just retired, are on the countdown to what I can only dream of doing. Moving to, and l iving in, México . They are moving from Washington state to Mazatlan . The other amazing thing, is that they are selling---already sold---everything! They are only taking what will fit in their minivan. These people are doing all the things that I want to do. I, too, want to get rid of all my crap priceless treasures and go live in México. You know---they are already going to drive through Oregon---I wonder if they would want to swing by and pick us up? Don't they want to take two cute Mexican kids and their unassuming parents? We'll share driving duties. Probably not. I wouldn't. Well, at any rate it is just an enjoyable privilege to follow along in their journey. Go check it out!

Last night, my two friends---I will call them Susie * and Michelle *--- and I went grocery shopping. All in one car. All with optimistic attitudes and silly grins on our faces. The grins were wiped off pretty soon by a super shopper with a bad hip, a pregnant woman , and a fat lady who followed the other two around and just wouldn't shut up . That was us...by the way. We started at 8:00 p.m. and didn't leave the store---two FULL grocery carts later---until 10:00 p.m. We left with a hobbling super shopper , an unbearably whiny pregnant woman and a fat lady who still wouldn't shut up . So you will forgive me if I went to Shari's and had a buttermilk pancake griddle breakfast. I finally got home after 12:00 a.m. and tallied up my calories. I didn't do too stinking bad! I only ate bites of everything (and all the pancakes) and for the entire day I basically ate enough calories to maintain a 120 pound woman. What 120 pound woman? I don't know. I think, thou...

Loma Hermosa....this is the view that my husband had every day of his life, growing up. Chapultepec lake Avenida Constituyentes Our nephew Horacio at Antara Mall Here is a studio that Edgard visited with the guys that he grew up with. Some of his friends. Getting to do what he loves. One of the restaurants that we eat in frequently when we are in Mexico city. (VIP'S) The Metro Edgard had a good time and thankfully missed us and decided to come back. Always nice when that happens. If you would like to see more of the pictures that he took on the trip, then pop on over to our flickr page to check them out.

You may or may not remember how I had decided to surprise my husband when he got in from his flight from Mexico city. If not, here is the original post for your perusal. I then mentioned it again in the first half of this story which, again I will link to another post (first half of this story) for your perusal. I will assume that you did all of the tedious back reading...or can I assume that you know every word of my blog by heart? I am sure the latter is the case, right? But just in case...here is an excerpt from my original post about the surprise for Edgard: " I have another surprise up my sleeve for Edgard. He is flying into a city that is 2 hours distant. When he left, he parked the truck at a motel for a lower fee than the airport's long term parking. Now he is going to arrive Saturday night at 10:00 p.m. and by the time that he goes through customs and catches the shuttle to the hotel to get his truck it will be quite late and he still has a two hour drive in fro...

He is back and we are both exhausted. I didn't get to weigh this morning so I will weigh tomorrow morning and announce it then, instead. After that? On with all the news! future posts will be including, but not limited to: before and after pictures, reliable friends, canceled flights, antsy children, one (pleasantly) surprised husband, continental breakfasts (and lunches), and one endless sleep deprived night!

I am covered in paint and exhausted. The house is not done....but done enough. I have another suprise up my sleeve for Edgard. He is flying into a city that is 2 hours distant. When he left, he parked the truck at a motel for a lower fee than the airport's long term parking. Now he is going to arrive Saturday night at 10:00 p.m. and by the time that he goes through customs and catches the shuttle to the hotel to get his truck it will be quite late and he still has a two hour drive in front of him. So this is the plan. My mom is driving up to the same city tomorrow. The children and I will go ahead and drive my mom up to the hotel where she will take the pickup from there and continue on to her destination and we will stay at the hotel. When Edgard gets to the hotel, late and tired, he will see our car instead of the truck with a note saying "Your nutty little family is room ###". I think that he will be very surprised and pleased since he has called saying that he ...

There will be no celebrating for me today.... I have a house to paint. Did I mention that we are in the middle of a heatwave. Did I also mention that today I am painting alone. Apparently people would rather go to barbecues and be with their families than help some crazy woman paint her house in 90+ degree weather on the fourth of July. Go figure. Well I did get the children and myself out of the house for a few minutes today. We went to Home Depot. At least they got their face painted. The face painting lady was so nice...she asked me if I wanted my face painted. I politely said no with mental visions of being wheeled away in a straight jacket if I had to come into contact with anymore paint. I am breathing, eating, smelling, wearing, dreaming paint...my life is consumed with paint. At Home Depot I bought a doorbell (chrome) and matching front and back door handles with deadbolts also in chrome. Does any one else find it creepy that they are called Dead bolts? I also bought o...

LiteraryGirl offered up an interactive meme (redundant?) I couldn't resist this one, which is entitled "interview me". Any of you out there in blog land can participate...the rules follow at the end of this post. Here are the questions LiteraryGirl gave me: 1. What is your favorite Mexican food dish? Hands down---Tacos al Pastor made from a trompo (top). It is seasoned pork, layered on a vertical spit slowly grilled all day. It is quite the art form just watching them slice it off and flinging it into a waiting corn tortilla and then topping it off with pineapple (which I take off not being a fan of that particular fruit) and then garnished with Cilantro, onions and salsa---if you like. O.K. now I'm drooling!!! 2. Which season do you prefer and why? Hands down...spring!!! I am one of those people who tends to get a little down with the seemingly endlessness, impenetrable darkness of winter months. When I see the first little buds popping out---instant c...