Timber!!!

Nicholas and I drove up the hill to see what Dad has been keeping busy with lately. But, when we arrived, all we saw at first was the END of a what had been an ENORMOUS burn pile (estimated starting size outlined).






Of course, when you have something that big burning, a simple shovel just doesn't cut it. NOPE! . . . for this type of job . . . you bring out the BIG SHOVEL.
(And, no, John didn't drive it. He hired a professional--WHEW!)



We found John and his friend, Jason, down the hill. They were busy cutting up another tree that they had brought down.



Nicholas didn't like the noise the chainsaw made. So, he decided that if he climbed up the steps to the tree house, it would be quieter. I asked him if it was. He said "No. But, I can see Uncle Pat" (who was working further down the hill).

Feel Up Chicken (the Video)!

Well, for those of you who asked for it . . . here he is!

LIVE . . . Mr. Nicholas singing "Feel Up Chicken."

Feel Up Chicken

While Nick and I were waiting at the checkout stand this morning, he started "rocking out" in the shopping cart and began singing,

"Feel up chicken!
... Feel up chicken!
...... Feel up chicken!"

Over & over he sang it! It took me a few times before I was sure I'd really heard him correctly. But, the hardest part was trying to figure out WHY he started singing it (well, that, and not laughing hysterically, of course).

After we got back home, I finally figured it out. We were eating lunch at the kitchen table (and then Nick started singing again ... for Dad's enjoyment).

What Nick was trying to sing was . . .

Philadelphia Chickens!

Philadelphia Chickens is a musical parody utilizing the characters from Sandra Boynton's children books. I had been playing the CD this morning, but had it playing quietly, and, I didn't really listen to which songs were playing.


If you need a CHICKEN fix, listen to the song.

Select ACT ONE: Song #3 -- Philadelphia Chickens
(by the Bacon Brothers)
{PLAY SONG}


Don't be surprised if you start dancin' with the chickens! (LOL)

Good-bye Grandma

This morning, my mom called to let us know that my Grandma had passed and was finally at peace. She had been on hospice for quite some time. She was one month shy of her 98th birthday, so she lived a very long and happy life.

If you didn't get a chance to meet her, you missed knowing a very sweet and wonderful woman. My grandfather knew that from almost the first time he met her. He proposed to her after only dating her for 1 month and continued to propose to her every month until she said "Yes." My grandmother told me that the night she finally accepted his proposal they were out on Lovers Lane (which is now one of the runways for Los Angeles International Airport). They were married for over 57 years, until my grandfather passed away in 1988.

My grandmother had
one daughter. She got
to see both my brother
and I get married. And,
she had 3 grandchildren
and 3 great-grandchildren
that she loved very much.







Photo: Four Generations
December 2005

It Ain't Spring!

Hail ?








Snow ?

Would someone kindly tell Mother Nature that today is April 19th! It's supposed to have been SPRING for almost one month.

Going Greek

My MOMS Club didn't have its standard Mom's Night Out this month. Instead, my friend Sandy kicked off the first Cooking Club event. She decided that we would go Greek. Although it turned out to be a small group, we had a great time cooking, eating, drinking, and hanging out.

Some of the foods we made were Greek Lemon Chicken Soup and Baklava Roll-Ups. When I got there, Sandy was putting the finishing touches on an incredible batch of Greek fries with lemon and a dip that had layers of feta cheese and ketchup. I know there were more ingredients but I don't remember. However, I do know I ate my share of the fries--YUM!!!

Trims, Trikes & Tummies

The TRIM . . .

After sweeping his hair off of his face (for what seemed the millionth time), I decided that TODAY (Thursday) we were going to get his hair cut. It's definitely NOT his favorite thing to do . . . the loud screaming and sobbing were a good indication. While our hair cutter was sort of patient, I don't think she really wanted to cut his hair -- she said almost nothing while I tried to calm Nicholas on my lap. The BAD news . . . she basically MOWED his hair. The GOOD news . . . it's out of his eyes, it's short enough that he won't another haircut for a while, and it WILL grow out!


The TRIKE . . .

After the haircut, it seemed like every part of "goodness" that was in Nicholas was cut away with his long hair. He was a complete challenge. He didn't listen, he broke almost every rule, he didn't take a nap, and he barely ate his dinner. After 6 hours of this, I was NOT going to stay in the house any longer. So, we went outside. AND . . . a miracle happened! My sweet little boy was back again (for a little bit). Not only that, but he decided to ride his tricycle and actually peddled it up and down the street. He seemed very excited about it too.


The TUMMY . . .

It was 8:30am the next day. Nicholas woke up crying and calling "Mommy!" That is an extreme rarity. So, I ran into his room and found him throwing up all over his bed. Nicholas gets a runny nose now and then, but rarely ever gets this sick. I knew he was really feeling bad, when he curled up on the couch and pulled a blanket over him. We spent the morning on the couch. Every time he got up to curl up in my lap, I KNEW we were in for another round.

UPDATE . . . by late afternoon, he seemed to be all better and was asking for food. Of course, I knew better and limited what types of food I gave him. But, it seems he's conquered this tummy battle.

Storytime Sweethearts

Today was "Story Time" at the local elementary school. Our library branch hosts a weekly program that involves a theme (today was rainbows), a few stories and songs, and a craft. Nicholas' friend Whitney arrived at the same time we did. The two of them ran in together and sat together in the front row (this was the first story time Nicholas wasn't clinging to me).





At one point, I looked down to see how they were doing ... AND, was I seeing this right??? Yep! My son had his arm around Whitney. I realized later that she had a book on her lap and he was laying his head on her shoulder the way he does when we read together.

As soon as story time was over . . . off they ran . . .
but, not too far!

Field Trip

Today our MOMS Club ventured out to the Water Resource Center. There are a lot of exhibits for the kids to enjoy and interact with. In addition, they have a toddler area that has a small play structure, a magnet table (bug-themed), activity bins, puzzles, books, and aquariums to view fish, frogs and invertebrates. There is also a little puppet stage with a wide variety of nature-themed puppets.

Nick enjoyed looking at the fish and the frogs, carrying around the salmon magnets, and pumping the water in the "Flood Simulator."

We visited the Center with MOMS Club last year, too.
LOOK how much the boys have changed in a year.












2006 <------------------------------------------------> 2007

Heat Wave

Do you believe this???


If you look back about 2 weeks ago, I was posting about a Saturday filled with sun, rain, hail, and SNOW!

I'm NOT complaining. I love the warm weather. I'm tired of being cold. I just wasn't ready for it ALL at once. But, I did make the most of it. I washed and scrubbed the patio furniture. I fertilized my apple trees, which we recently transplanted.



Don't they look nice?





Then, we spred out the picnic blanket and enjoyed a nice picnic dinner on the back deck tonight.

Would you believe me if I told you we could POSSIBLY see some snowflakes NEXT Saturday???

Dino Birthday

The last member of Nicholas' playgroup celebrated his 3rd birthday today . . . Dinosaur-Style! His mom created the cake, which included an ERUPTING volcano (dry ice for those wondering). It was a HUGE hit with the kids.

Here's Nicholas enjoying the
"frosting." He rarely eats the cake. Today, he didn't even eat all the frosting off the top . . . I think he knew that I had picked the piece with the LEAST amount of frosting. (OK, call me a "mean mommy" but we had to go grocery shopping on the way home, and I WAS NOT going to have a sugar-hyped kid in the shopping cart!)

Nicholas loved his goodie bag with dinosaur stickers and a coloring book. The first thing he wanted to do when we got home was to put each dinosaur sticker on the page with the "matching" dinosaur. Then, we had to READ the coloring book . . . yep, read!


Can you name this dinosaur?

Nicholas will gladly tell you that his name is . . .

BROCCOLI-ASAURUS

It's not Sunday

During dinner, we were discussing this evening's schedule. I was so tired today that I kept forgetting what day it was. However, Nicholas came to my rescue . . . sort of.

Here's how the conversation went:

Daddy John: My 9:30pm meeting was cancelled.

Momma Sheri: Oh, that's right. Today is Monday. I keep forgetting. When I woke up this morning, I thought it was Sunday.

Nicholas: It's not Sunday.

Momma Sheri: That's right Nicholas. Today, is Monday--not Sunday.

Nicholas: It's NOT Sunday. It's FOGGY-day!

Enjoying the Sun

Many many thanks to my friend, Casey, who suggested we take today's playgroup out to a local park. The sun was shining, and the kids definitely needed to run off some pent up energy. Nicholas spent most of the time racing his friend up and down the slide--with an occasional break to go swing.








The swings
just don't seem
to be getting
any lower . . .

ONE day
they will be!

Jump'n Good Time

Today, we went to an indoor group of bounce houses. Nicholas wasn't too sure about it at first--it was a bit crowded as it is Spring Break up here (although my photos don't quite show the chaos). But, once Nicholas found his friend, they were off and running . . .

. . . errr, I mean bouncin'!

How high does this slide go up?

The TUMMY slide . . .