Grateful for: D

Dishwashers

As much as I'm OCD about our dishes, I hate doing them.  I always feel great when I get them done, and I'm always embarrassed by how quickly they can be done (yet, I procrastinate for as long as I can before doing them), but I never seem to learn my lesson and clean them in a timely manner.

Weekends are the worst.  Everyone is home and we seem to eat a lot, so the dishes are piled high by Sunday.

Thank goodness for dishwashers!  It would make this chore that more dreadful if I had to do these by hand.  Been there, done that.  I'm happy with and appreciate my modern day conveniences.

Grateful for: C

Cookie Sales

The Lime has a jog-a-thon at school next week.  

I've never been a huge fan of school fundraisers.  I'd participate every now and then when I was growing up, but I was never one to win any of the cool prizes.

So it's been hard for me to get motivated with The Lime's school fundraisers.  The first one was pasta themed.  You could buy a pound of pasta for $16!  Or I could go to the store and buy 16 pounds of pasta for $16.  I just couldn't bring myself to ask friends and family to waste their money.

He came home from school a few weeks ago with a flyer announcing the jog-a-thon.  Included in the flyer was a sign-up sheet for people who would like to donate.  It makes it tough when your neighbors go to the same school, so we opted not to go door to door, seeking funds.  

I threw it out there in Facebook land, if anyone wanted to help a 5 year old possibly have an ice cream party with the principal, or a class pizza party, to feel free and donate.  We got a couple bites, once I offered to send anyone who donated $10+ a dozen cookies.  I ended up with 4 dozen leftover cookies so we headed outside, made a sign, and went to work.

My sweet Lime stood on the corner, waving his sign, trying to entice people to buy some cookies.  Sure enough, it worked.  We sold $20 worth of cookies and one guy just gave him some money (bless that man's heart!).  Our neighbors across the street asked if we had any Snickerdoodles but, unfortunately, I only made chocolate chip.  So guess what I did today?  Made Snickerdoodles.

We took the leftover chocolate chip cookies, marked them down to 50 cents, and sold the Snickerdoodles for $1.  The Lime waved his sign again and between both days, he was able to earn $36.

I want to teach him that we have to work for everything; nobody is going to just hand us money.  And if selling cookies is what we have to do in order for him to learn that, then that's what we'll do.  It was hard, though, for him and Doodlebug to not eat all the cookies while we waited for customers!

On a side note, the generosity of complete strangers always amazes me.  Aside from our neighbors across the street, all of the customers were strangers.  But they were all more than willing to support The Lime, applauded him for his efforts, and wished him well at his jog-a-thon.  

Grateful for: B

Best buds

When The Lime started school, his biggest fear was that he wouldn't know anyone in his class.  It turned out that 3 out of the 4 other kids at church who were also starting kindergarten were in his class.  What a relief it was for The Lime that one of them was a semi-close friend.

That semi-close friend has now turned into a best friend.  The Lime and this boy coordinate what they'll ride to school (bike or scooter), if they'll wear pants or shorts, have had several play dates over the last two months, and are practically connected at the hip.  In fact, sometimes The Lime gets a little over zealous and I have to remind him they're two separate people.

Nonetheless, it makes my heart happy that The Lime has a best bud to have fun and make memories with.

Grateful for: A

Answers to prayers

This video was taken seconds before I sat down to start writing. If you turn your volume up (because it's more for the sound than the picture), you can hear the much needed rain we've been praying for for the last year.

We've been blessed with sporadic moisture in the last twelve months.  And each time it's rained, it was right after the wards and stakes in California have fasted for it.  Today was no exception.

It is not a coincidence that it rained all day.  It's not luck.  It's not anything but an answer to the thousands of prayers that have been offered for our area.

What more heart-warming way can Heavenly Father show us he loves us than by proving he hears and answers our prayers?

Halloween!

I just love Halloween and was excited it fell on a Saturday this year.

Earlier in the week, I read that our city's jail was no longer in use so the police department was going to have a special Trick-or-Treat event.  Since The Lime was a SWAT guy, I thought he'd really get a kick out of trick-or-treating in the jail.

I've learned my lesson and don't tell him about surprises until right before they're about to happen (otherwise he bugs me 24/7).  As we drove to the station, he thought we knew where we were going (the church) but when he saw the parking lot was empty, he didn't know what to think.  Then we pulled into the parking lot of the station as he got excited.  "I hope Mason's here!" he exclaimed.  Sure enough, Mason (his friend from church) was there but they were leaving as we were arriving.  Mason's mom warned us that the line to get in was long but worth it.

Thankfully, they had some squad cars out for the kids to sit in to help pass the time.

Once we got in the station, we waited a little bit longer and then turned the corner and TAA DAA, it was the jail.

I have a small infatuation with jails/prisons and have passed on that weird trait to The Lime. He's been dying to go to Alcatraz for years but said this little trip would do for now.

He got to go inside of one of the cells and see firsthand how crummy jail is. The cement beds are reason enough for me to not want to ever step foot in one.

We then got to have our mugshot taken. The Lime's turned out way cuter than our group one (why didn't anyone tell me I looked ridiculous with my robber mask on?).

The event ended at 6:00 and I think we got out of there at 6:15. We raced to Sonic for dinner (50 cent hot dogs!) and then raced home to head out into our neighborhood for trick-or-treating.

LaVor took both boys out this year while I stayed home and handed out the candy. We only had about 10 groups of people stop by which means we have way too much candy leftover. When LaVor got home, he said a majority of our street had their lights off. Stinkers! Thankfully, the rest of the neighborhood was pretty festive and the boys made out like bandits.

The candy rationing has begun and all of the decorations are packed away (I had to do it right away or else I'd put it off until it was time to put up Christmas decorations).

I'd say Halloween is officially over.

Doodlebug - Tally Mark 17

-Hits...a lot. Hits if he's mad, hits if he's trying to be funny, hits if he's trying to get your attention.
-Has a passion for coloring with markers. And usually ends up with rainbow colored hands.
-All of his molars have erupted. He has a total of 11 teeth right now.
-Doesn't scream in the car if I'm facing him (if I'm in the passenger seat) but the second I turn around, he erupts in hysterics.
-Says "Baa!" for boo.
-Asks for his blanket when I take him out of his crib.
-Always meets me in the same corner of his crib when I go in to get him.
-Has mastered "Mama" and now that's his favorite word. It's usually used in the form of "Mama!!! Do _______ for me!"
-Goes to a friend's house every other week while I work in The Lime's classroom. The mom and I switch off, so her baby comes to our house every other week. Doodlebug usually just wants to pet the kid's head.
-Is in a big car seat now and seems so tiny in it.
-Loves Halloween candy.
-Still can't get enough of dogs.
-Knows how to swing a baseball bat and has the most hilarious throw.
-Hates when his hands are dirty.
-Loves playing outside on his little fire truck, scooter, and "driving" his little car (but it's really me pushing him up and down the street.  Good thing I love him!)

Anniversary

What better way to celebrate the 26th anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake than to take a trip to San Francisco!

We've actually been wanting to visit the city and talked about it Friday night.  Then we woke up in the middle of the night to torrential downpours, thunder, and lightning and thought our plans were ruined.  But when I got up at 6:00, I checked the weather and it was going to be a lovely day.  So we went ahead and continued on with our impromptu plans.

Our first stop was to Dolores Park.  My first time here was during the Avon Walk in 2008.  The park provides an amazing view of the city and has so much space to explore.  Plus, the park is awesome.  And that's why we went; the park.

We spent a good hour and a half playing on everything, going up and down the slides, avoiding a woman who was Skyping with someone and trying to show the person on the other end what Doodlebug looked like (she was literally following me around the park and I asked her if she was taping him. She replied with "I don't speak English."), avoiding the strange man who was also taping children (but didn't have any of his own), getting misted on by the fog, asking kids who were speaking German if they spoke German and having them tell us no, and just plain enjoying ourselves.

We worked up quite the appetite and decided it was time for lunch. It just so happened that our favorite barbecue spot was in between Mission Dolores and our next stop. When we walked in the door, the smell brought back so many memories! The original owner suddenly passed away last year but we were thrilled to see that the place was exactly like Bob ran it. The food was just as good as we remembered and the service was top notch. We aren't going to wait years before we go back.

A five minute drive took us by the Painted Ladies and to the address where my great grandparents lived almost 100 years ago. There wasn't an actual number on the building, but based on the houses surrounding it, I'm almost certain this was the building they lived in. I would love to know what San Francisco, and specifically that neighborhood, was like while they lived there.

Wherever we go, we try to take a picture of The Lime with a fire truck. After one of the Avon Walks, we ran into some firefighters at Safeway and they invited us to their station. Since we were in the same neighborhood yesterday, we swung by to take another picture for The Lime's collection. While I was taking his picture outside, the captain came out and struck up a conversation. Before we knew it, two other firefighters joined us and invited us in. We bought a shirt (and are hoping it'll drastically shrink in hot water) but they gave The Lime a plastic helmet and a station patch. Not a surprise, but the guys were all so nice and gracious and made our quick stop worth it. As a side note, San Francisco is one of the last cities that still uses wooden ladders! The city owns the company that makes them, as well as the trees that they make the ladders from. The tallest ladder they make is 50 feet!

Down the street from the station was one of the entrances to the Presidio. Gosh, such a gorgeous part of the city! Again, I'd love to know what it was like 50-100 years ago.

We stopped in at the Visitor Center and got some good advice from the park rangers. In fact, I got a photo of a pretty cute ranger myself.

We followed the map the rangers gave us to the San Francisco National Cemetery. Holy cow! The spirit you feel as soon as you enter the grounds is amazing. With as many times as I've been to San Francisco, I have no clue how I've never been to the cemetery. So many headstones honoring the selfless men and women who served our country. What an amazing place.

Unfortunately, a crabby Doodlebug cut our visit to the cemetery short. We couldn't take his screaming any longer so we continued on to the playground the Rangers recommended. Once there, the boys had a grand time playing and digging in the sand. LaVor and I also tried our hand at one of the rides and I thought I was going to die. I hate things that spin.

The Lime really wanted to go to the beach so after about an hour of playing, we drove across the way to Crissy Field. We landed a perfect spot on the beach and the boys went wild again in the sand. The Lime especially loved teasing the waves but they ended up winning. The look of pure joy on The Lime's face brings me to happy tears. He was having so much fun.

It was beginning to get a little chilly and we wanted to grab a bite to eat before heading home. Since pizza is our usual weekend meal, it only made sense to stop by Tony's for a slice, or six.

On the way to Tony's from our car, Doodlebug insisted on walking without holding my hand and ended up taking a nosedive into the disgusting San Francisco ground. He initially just fell on his knees but the decline of the sidewalk caused him to fall completely forward, onto his face. I thought he bonked his teeth, because his mouth was open (and there was gravel in his mouth from the sidewalk...yuck!) but then his nose started to bleed. His nose progressively got more and more red throughout dinner and eventually turned into this.

On a happier note, once the two little guys fell asleep, the drive home was a breeze and we all crashed when we walked in the door. It was a great day and thankfully, there was no earthquake.