Our Trip to San Francisco

                     We had a FABULOUS time in San Francisco last week!

1st - we went to the farmer's market at the Ferry Building. It was AMAZING!!!!! We all tried new foods. We bought some fabulous carrots and leeks. We fed the birds and even caught a glimpse of an otter! If you live anywhere near San Francisco I HIGHLY recommend this farmers market!


2nd - we went to the Golden Gate bridge. I have been to San Francisco more times than I can count and had never been over the bridge before. It was really cool and the kids thought it was "freakin' awesome". There was no place to park at the vista point so we just drove back across the bridge back to the city but it was a great experience none the less!

3rd - we went to Golden Gate park. We played by the CA Academy of Science for a long time. We tried to fly a kite but the wind won and the kite broke :( Wesley kept up a great attitude and decided to roll down the hill instead - a good time was had by all! There was also some bubble blowing and a ton of running and laughing!

4th - we walked on over to the children's park area and rode the carousel and played on the playground for hours! The kids had a blast riding down the slide. Tyler and Wesley made some new friends and Olyvia did a great job being the big sister and leading the twins all over the play equipment.  I think we spent about 3 hours there before we decided it was time to head back to the car and get dinner.

5th - I am going to be brief here.....we got to the van exhausted from our long outing....Bryan says "Do you have the keys?" and I reply "Huh?"... then a certain  "OH &$@!" look washes across Bryan's face...He leaves to find the keys....we wait...and wait...and wait....we get tired of waiting and decide to go look for him...he comes back empty handed...we start looking....a cute little foreign boy comes to the rescue with this statement "Are you looking for key of car?" ... we exclaim YES! and he hands over our keys...crisis averted...prayers answered....hallelujah!

So, missing keys aside it was a fabulous trip to the city and I can't wait to go back again soon!

Joseph Thomas

I am an Auntie again!!!!
Joseph Thomas was born Friday morning April 9th.
He is a big healthy boy weighing in at 8lbs 11oz and 20" long!
I have not been able to hold him yet but we have pictures and I have seen him on skype and he is precious!!!

                    Have you ever seen a more precious baby?????

Happy Easter

"Twin"tertainment

I have a little video to share of a lovely morning I spent with the twins recently.
Yes, we are at Starbucks.
Yes, the girls are in pajamas.

That's how we roll......



Yes, I know she said cookies and not "car keys" like I originally thought she had said :) Hey, I can't translate everything they say right away!

Thursdays....

Today is Thursday. I work in the kids classrooms on Thursdays. I come home and make lunch for the duo and then we play until it is time to go get the big kids from school. We will briefly play at the park and then come home and get homework done before Ty's baseball practice. Dinner will follow and then it will be time to get everyone bathed, jammied up, brush teeth, read and pop kids in to bed. Thursdays are really starting to bum me out! I am not sure how but I need to find some way to jazz up Thursdays. Maybe we can have a special dinner...maybe "brinner"? Maybe a different bedtime routine? Leave it alone??? Any suggestions????

Our Tip Toe through the Tulips

On Saturday our family visited the Dutch Hollow Tulip Farm. It is simply breath taking! Seriously, if you live nearby you MUST get over there soon! We loved every moment we were there but watching our children enjoy the simple beauty of nature was a memory we will treasure forever! Here is a little slide show of our day...

Dinner a la CSA

Last night's dinner was FANTASTIC!!!!

I started with these ingredients from my CSA box

- Spring lettuce
- Arugula
- farm fresh eggs (aren't they pretty?)
- Ruby Red Grapefruit
- Pink Lady apple
- Granny Smith apple
- Meyer lemon
- Kanaka sweet potatoes

And this is what I made...

The Menu
~ apple salad with grapefruit vinaigrette
~ baked sweet potato fries
~ hard boiled farm fresh eggs

The Salad

I used a great recipe for the dressing from Country Living
It was quick and easy and it made a TON of dressing!
*I washed the lettuce and arugula
*I sliced the apples
*I tossed on a few sunflower seeds
*I drizzled on the dressing and voila! Delicious salad!

The Fries

These were so easy it is embarrassing to even post...but I will do it anyway!
*I peeled the potatoes
*I sliced the potatoes
*I tossed them in some olive oil and some garlic seasonings
*I put them on a cookie sheet
*I baked them at 400* for 20 minutes. That's it. Ta Da!

The Eggs

Ok, I know that no one needs me to explain how I boiled eggs BUT I did want to share a pic of my pretty eggs! I can't get enough of these eggs...I think I might need some professional help at some point. I wish I had a better camera to fully capture the beauty of these eggs. The colors are gorgeous inside and out! I am also pretty impressed with my particular presentation of the eggs - half peeled, peppered, and in a cute little ring!

My Plate ...

Every Other Thursday

Every other Thursday is a pretty exciting day around our house. No, the circus is not in town (although you might wonder if it is when you pass by my house), it is MUCH more exciting than that! You see, every other Thursday is our CSA day. I think we might have to rename it CSA day instead of Thursday, it is that awesome! We belong to a wonderful little farm called Z and D Frago FAMILY Farm.  Debra (the "D" of Frago farm) brings our bountiful box and her sweet little kids by and delivers the goods for my family and several others. (If  you are interested in joining please let me know - it is FAB!) While we wait for everyone to come by and get their food the kids play out in the front yard and basically go a little crazy! Today was a beautiful day - 75* and a nice light breeze. The kids got out 2 buckets of sidewalk chalk and created wonderful masterpieces all over the driveway. Please enjoy the all of the works of art from our CSA day.....

 A life sized portrait of Ysabelle

Layla's portrait... I am a little concerned about the severed head by her feet :/

 

The longest hopscotch ever...as far as we know.

 

Some of the bounty delivered today... wait until you see our dinner!

Catch Up!

Where does the time go??? It is hard to keep up, especially when they just up and take an hour away from ya! I have been a slacker with this blog but I am trying to rededicate myself! Here is a brief recap of life in our crazy house!

Lyvie and I went to see the play Annie in February. It was her Christmas present from Bryan and I. We had a GREAT time! We went out for tea and dessert before the play.....

                                                                               

Then we went to our seats

 And after we purchased a magnet...it's just what we do

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We also joined a CSA and are quite taken with our lovely eggs

 

aren't they beautiful????

And speaking of beautiful, check out the twins!

Raffi

We live in a Raffi house. We have been listening to him since Tyler was born. There is something calming and reassuring about Raffi. He makes me feel safe and happy and loved. The other day I was driving to the grocery store all by myself and I realized I was listening to Raffi with no kids in the car! I left the CD on anyway. There is just something calming and reassuring about Raffi......

For your Raffi 411 click here

To buy your own CD click here

My favorite Raffi Song on youtube

Lent

The Lenten season is upon us again.
(How did that happen, it feels like it was just Christmas!)

Lent is a season of reflection and preparing your heart for the death and resurrection of Christ. Some people sacrifice something to help remember the sacrifice that Christ suffered for us. This year we have decided to add something to help us carry out the cause of Christ, to love. We are accepting every opportunity to show God's love and mercy that arises in our day. It may be small, like opening a door for someone or letting someone go ahead of you in line. It may be something more difficult like forgiving someone that has hurt you. Whatever situation presents itself we will seize, and hopefully be a beacon of the life abundant that Jesus Christ suffered and died to save.

So far I have only been presented with small gestures of kindness but already my heart swells with how great His love is for me.....

Kids in the Kitchen

I have always had my kids help out in the kitchen. I have pictures of all my kids at some point helping me stir, blend and mix. I recently decided to take it to another level with the big kids, thanks to my friend Natalie! We decided that once a week they were going to be in charge of one meal. They can choose breakfast, lunch or dinner. They get to decide what we will have, write a list of ingredients we need from the store, go with me to purchase the ingredients, and follow the recipe. Tyler was the 1st one to accept the challenge. He did a GREAT job!!! He selected a full menu from his Star Wars cookbook .

The Menu

Han Burgers

Dark Side Salsa

Hoth Chocolate

R2D2 dessert

*He learned how to add fractions when we doubled (and tripled) a recipe. 

*He learned how important it is to write your shopping list clearly so that when you get to the store you can get what you need.

*He learned how to use a knife.

*He learned how to chop an onion

*He learned the value of planning and preparation by reading through the whole recipe before diving in to uncharted waters.

It was such a great experience and he was so proud of himself!!!! It was good for the whole family as well. We all tried something new and had a great time with the fun recipes! I strongly encourage you to let your kids help in the kitchen and let them get messy!!! Tyler made a few mistakes but we were able to fix everything and he has more confidence because of it!

Here is Bry and Ty making the Han Burgers

 

Here is Ty with the complete dinner.

Han Burgers & Dark Side Salsa with blue corn chips. YUM!

 

My world class chef with a plate of his masterpiece! 

By the way - the salsa was AWESOME!!!

* upon reviewing the pictures I have noticed my son is wearing the apron of a 3 year old....I guess I better make everyone a new apron before I take anymore pictures :-)

What Does It Take To Bloom?

I am still living life with my "Blooming" mantra. It really is helping but I confess there are days I struggle. Recently a very good friend of mine (love ya Janie!) brought to my attention that there are certain things that must happen in order to bloom. Flowers need to be watered, get sunlight, and be weeded.

Watering - The water keeps the entire flower refreshed and replenished. From the roots to the blossom the water touches every part of the plant. We also need to be refreshed and replenished from root to tip; body, mind and soul. What refreshes you? What replenishes you? I need a little down time to refresh my mind. A little game on Facebook, some mindless tv or some simple chit chat with my hubs is all it takes. To be replenished I need to go to church. I have to physically be there in order to get the desired effects. I need to sing, heard the Word and be fully surrounded by the tangible arms of God. It is a requirement. Without a weekly soaking of God's love I am convinced I would wither away.

Sunlight - The sunlight makes the plant stretch up and stand tall. What gives you a boost? What makes you reach higher? I have been thinking about this quite a bit. Your sunlight needs to be the bright spot of your day. What makes you smile?  I love to cook! It makes me joyous and elated! I love to cook for my family and when they like what I have made it makes me feel all warm and cozy inside. Who wouldn't want to feel all warm and cozy inside??? I can tell when we get busy and I don't have time to cook that I start to feel a little droopy. I need to cook, to feel the sunlight, in order to bloom.

Weeds - The flower can not blossom if it is choked out by weeds. What are weeds? I think weeds can be anything that distracts you and keeps you from blooming. I have many weeds and I need to take the time to tend to my little garden. I need to learn how to say "No." Not necessarily to helping or volunteering, I actually think most of those things are good ideas (in moderation), but to say "No." to people and things that drain the life out of me. Sometimes there are things, events or people that not only do they offer no support or joy but actually drain the life right out of you. I need to get better and shutting these things out of my life so that I am able to fully reach my blossoming potential.

So, I am off to enjoy this beautiful day and bloom where I am planted!

My Thoughts On Going "Green"

There is a lot of GREEN talk these days. I, for one, am tired of the phrase and I hope the term is a passing phase but that the philosophy stays with us forever. We all need to share this one planet and we all need to take care of what belongs to everyone. I do not pretend to do everything I can to protect our planet, I drive a mini van instead of a hybrid and I do use disposable diapers (gasp!),  but I will tell you that I do the very best that I can and try to improve whenever possible! When I learn of something new I do my best to implement it in to my daily life.

I have a large family and I have heard the criticism of how my family's carbon footprint can have a negative impact the Earth. I am not willing to get rid of any of my precious children but I can do my best to teach them how to care for our planet. We recycle, unplug appliances not in use, have energy efficient light bulbs, set our thermostat low in the winter and high in the summer, we have a backyard compost and try to walk whenever possible. I recently found this website. I was pretty pleased to see that my family was below the US national average!!! It also gives great ideas on how to cut down on your impact to our planet. It is very cool and a great place to start.  

I am also a supporter of our local farms. I love going to the farmer's market and I frequently buy produce from local fruit and vegetable stands. I am pretty blessed to live in the Central Valley where agriculture is rich and abundant. Last summer I learned about community supported agriculture or CSA's. I have to admit it sounded great but I just didn't get the info I needed and I lost interest. A friend and fellow blogger, Elle Bee, recently posted about her experience with a local CSA. You can read about it here.  It was a fantastic story and rekindled my interest in joining a CSA in my area. I contacted the farm listed in her blog and I am working on finding 6 others to come with me and join this CSA. If you live in Modesto and are interested in joining me please leave a comment below and we will get you signed up! It is so important to buy local and to know where your food comes from. So shop local and maybe even grow some of your own!

So, rather than jump on the current "green" bandwagon I encourage you to learn about the planet that we live on and take an active step towards making it a better place. Get  to know the soil, become friends with the energy all around you, and fall in love with our home!

Happy Birthday Baby!

I am not sure how it happened but my baby is 10 years old today... it is such a strange feeling to have a child that is 10... double digits... a tween. I am not sure where time goes but it seems to go by faster and faster each year......

This year Tyler requested to have a "cool" birthday party. No party games, no goodie bags, and no baby stuff. I have no idea why my little googey baby waby thinks I would throw a "baby party" but I decided to follow his lead and let him have a "cool hang out party". We had his party at Custom TV  , if you are local and in the market for a television system you must check them out!!! Anyway, we took the wii and hooked it up to an 82" television set and let the boys have at it!!! They had so much fun!!! They played Guitar Hero, Mario Bros Slugger (or something like that) and something with alien creatures in it - needless to say they had a great time! I bought 4 pizzas, a veggie trey and strawberries and everything was gone by the end of the night! We had cookies instead of cake (another request by Ty) and instead of singing happy birthday Tyler we did a "Happy Birthday Tyler" cheer on 3, like they do in a football huddle - that was also a big hit! I did not make goodie bags but I did give out large movie theater sized boxes of candy, Ty didn't seem to mind at all!!! Overall, it was a great party and I think that he enjoyed his day!!! I have to say that I did too...even though my baby is 10!!!


Happy 10th Birthday Tyler! I love you so much!

A Rainy Day Craft

While I am not the craftiest gal on Earth,  I like to do various crafts.
I do not knit at all, although I wish I could!
I sew a little bit, we are talking pillow cases and aprons, not evening gowns and fine linens.
I scrapbook, kind of, I should do it more, I will someday...maybe.
But what I do like to make are mini projects. You know, the kind you do on holidays or special occasions. The other day I had a special occasion. It was raining and all of my older children were out of the house! It was a perfect day to do something crafty! I rummaged around the house until I found suitable supplies for a perfect afternoon craft and I think it turned out quite nice!

My supplies... a 10x10 canvas, 3 pieces of scrapbook paper, a stencil, and mod podge or glue...

     Trace the stencil on to the back of the paper you are using and cut it out

put it all together

slather it with mod podge or other sealant and wait for it to dry

 

Then hang it up on your daughter's wall - she will love it!

(I just want to add that it is hung straight but the picture is taken crooked!)

Potty Training - UGH!

The twins are 2 now. It's true. I would not make this up!
There are a lot of fun things that come along with the age of 2....real conversations, exciting activities like coloring and painting, watching them grow in leaps and bounds, longer attention spans (kind of), temper tantrums (ok, maybe not fun but certainly funny), and many, many more. I actually love the 2 year old stage/age. I think they are hilarious and so cute you could just cry. But there is one HUGE drawback in my book.....potty training!

I DESPISE potty training, I loathe it really. It is simply awful. I have potty trained 3 children so far so I know it can be done. And truth be told, Wesley and Olyvia pretty much potty trained themselves. But, still I complain. I complain because, when a small child is potty trained it means that they go potty in the toilet...every hour or so. No matter what you are doing or where you are, they still have to go potty, especially if you are out running errands, in public! There is something about taking my sweet, innocent, angelic baby and placing them on a public toilet that just makes my skin crawl!!! It is a horrendous endeavor and I would just prefer to keep them in diapers until they can hold it for several hours...and use the bathroom at home.

The twins are showing signs of being ready to potty train such as
-saying "Mama, I need to go potty."
- taking off all of their clothes and sitting on the toilet
- being unhappy about having a stinky diaper.
- taking their diapers off and going on the floor - not pee pee either :-(
- and asking me if they can sit on the toilet, where they sit happily for 30 minutes or so.

I have decided that it is no longer acceptable for me to tell them "It's ok Baby, just go in your diaper." So, with a heavy heart we have started to potty train the girls. So far it is going well. I am only practicing for about 4 hours a day. It might be a longer process with these two than it has been in years past but that is ok, I am in no hurry!

Roots....

I have spent the last week blooming where I am planted. I think it is going well!

I have my tulips in a pot by the window in the kitchen so I pass by them several times a day. They are starting to get bigger and a new sprout popped up just the other day. I am so excited! But, I started thinking about how crowded they were in the pot. I wondered how the roots would do in such a shallow pot.
I am sure it would be ideal to plant them firmly in the ground where the roots could grow deep in to the soil. Where they could spread wide and thrive.
But even if I did this, would the flowers be any less beautiful?
Would they be more vibrant?
Would the blooms be any bigger? 
My little bulbs are blooming where they are planted, and thriving, despite their provisional dwelling.
In my effort to better bloom where I am planted I am going to take a lesson from my little floral inspirations and allow my roots to grow despite my current surroundings. I have found a verse that is not only proof that I can bloom where I am planted but also encourages me that I will thrive!

Ephesians 3:17 (NLT)

¹⁷ Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.


I am not a horticulturist or even an experienced gardener but I can see that with water and sunlight my little bulbs are continuing to flourish despite their seemingly cramped quarters. With a little trust and faith I can will not only grow but grow strong and thrive! If my little bulbs can flourish than certainly I can as well!

Blessings to all that are blooming with me this week!

Blooming.....

It is a nice, bright, and shiny new year!
I am not going to go in to a long laundry list of resolutions that will never become realities...that is just too depressing. What I am going to do is start this year with a clean slate and let last year just disappear into the past! As I mentioned before my resolution is to not let worry rob me of any of my precious time with my family. Not one minute! It isn't going to be easy as we have several challenges facing us this year. I know we are not the only people to have mountains to climb. In fact, I know several of my friends and family members have long journeys that they are facing this year. Isn't that what life is all about after all?  So, in order to adhere to my new resolution I have come up with a new mantra, or motto, or battle cry...whatever you want to call it......

Bloom Where You Are Planted

Isn't that beautiful? I have heard this saying many times before but it really seems to speak to me now. It is not directly from the bible but the bible has dozens of examples of this basic principal. Can you think of any? Almost every character from the bible has been placed in some sort of situation that is less than desirable ... Joseph, Daniel, Gideon, David, Esther and many more...and they were all able to do amazing things! They were faced with a situation and rather than lie down and give up they were faithful and were not only able to get by, but to prosper. No worry needed.
So, in every situation I intend to "bloom where I am planted".
To be calm.
To be receptive.
To pray.
And to blossom.
To help me with my journey I have purchased a little pot of tulip bulbs.
They are from the tulip farm...if you are local you should check them out!

And guess what???? They are blooming.......

Back in the Saddle Again!

We interrupt this blog to bring you our irregularly scheduled life!

For the last 2 weeks the kids were out of school for winter break. We slept in, had pajama days, ate our meals at ridiculous times, and just got out of our routine like crazy! It was wonderful!

On Monday the kids went back to school. They were almost late. I am not sure if they had a lunch or not. We did some homework...I think. Basically I am drowning. We need to get back in the saddle again and in to our daily routine! My goal is to survive the rest of this week and to be back on track and posting again on Monday the 11th.....

Signed,
Crazy Mom in California