Monday, March 7, 2011

What we are up to lately....

Xander working a Kakuro puzzle.

XuMei on Minecraft.

playing with friends


Halo: Reach


Call of Duty: Black Ops


Minecraft


Little Big Planet 2


Kinect games


Kakuro


Pepakuro


Mario Brothers on Nintendo DSi


Gilmore Girls


Mythbusters


Extreme Engineering


Segway


Solar panels


Quidditch


Dodgeball


Skype with cousins and friends near and far


Phineas and Ferb


3rd Rock from the Sun


Nerf Capture the Flag


Puberty


Dungeons & Dragons


Horseback Riding, Natural Horsemanship


Fluxx


Uno


Monopoly


The Game of Life


Icehouse


Pigmania


Luck of the Draw


MadGabs


Apples to Apples


Spoons


B.S. (the card game)


Dictionaries


Bananagrams


Pokemon


Bakugon


Rubiks cube and other puzzles


Bucky balls


airsoft guns


target shooting


Legos


Lola and all things dog related


Evergreen Space and Aviation Museum


OMSI


The Hobbit





This is a partial list of things we have been interested in or doing for the last 9 months.


Thursday, August 26, 2010

Facebook in your Face

Blog? What blog you say? Perhaps I'll start blogging again. hmmm...perhaps. But only if I can get Facebook to accept my blog URl!! HAHA!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Ever since I got my new phone I have stopped blogging--- it's easier to post directly from my phone to facebook or Twitter. But I miss the blog. And I still get a lot out of reading other blogs so I want to be able to blog from my phone. I will work on getting photos on here........
I'm trying to send a picture to my blog from my phone--- it's not working ....
Hello blog! Are you there?

Monday, July 6, 2009

Saying YES to Life

Say YES to life (and even though I am tempted to say the universe and everything---that's not what I mean.)
Saying "YES" more......
an unschooling concept deceptive in it's simplicity. It doesn't mean say YES to everything all the time. It also doesn't mean be irritated with your kids for asking permission because, after all, aren't they suppose to be free to make their own decisions. It doesn't mean you have to say yes and feel like a martyr.
Saying YES has become increasingly challenging for me. I don't have resistance saying yes to more cherries, another Popsicle, a trip to the park.
Can I use the camera?
Let's watch Mork and Mindy.
Can we go to the pool? Well....actually I did rail against this request early in the summer when the temperature had not yet reached the necessary 80's for me to enjoy being sopping wet. I did not want to go and the more I thought about it the more I was mad that I "had to go". Then as I was grumbling about not wanting to go, Xander and XuMei said, "you don't have to go Mom."
And all my pissed off resentment melted away and I felt free and light as I walked up to the counter and said "2 kids and one adult".
Saying yes----not HAVING to say yes-- wanting to say yes.
SO this brings me to the things Chris and I have been saying No to.
Can we get chickens?
Can we get a dog?
No and NO.
Why?
It's complicated. My Mom lives with us and is in the last stages of her life. Hospice helps tremendously. But the emotional work of helping a loved one die is ours. And really we are not helping her die-- I am standing on the side of the living helping her live as fully and richly as she is able. It is the greatest privilege second only to welcoming new life.
As I wrap my head around this process I hold my breath waiting, wondering when it will happen, when will she pass? Will I have any warning? Who will find her? Can I really go on living around her? How to squeeze every moment out of the time we have left without seeming to be saying "good bye" every time I leave her presence.
So I keep saying no to bringing more living creatures into our family because it just feels like more work.
More food, more clean up, more stress, more worry, more expense, more more more......
more laughter, more fun, more smiles, more learning, more love.
More life.
All this time I have been saying no to life.
No more life! Dammit! We are trying to die here! We are trying to not be stressed and not be messy and die.
I am not saying that we should bring into our family indiscriminately any scruffy mutt, or squawking meat ball with legs that happens our way----but I am making strides toward expanding our brood. I am reading books, web sites, asking people about their experience, and softening my heart to the idea of a dog.
I am a quintessential cat lady. So a dog is a big stretch for me. And ultimately, like a lot of things about parenting, a tremendously healing stretch for me. I used to be afraid of dogs. I have learned that my fear is not of the dogs but of the owners.
And I don't HAVE to get a dog. I am making a choice. I am choosing to say YES...
to life!

To us and our good fortune!
Be happy, be healthy, long life!
And if our good fortune never comes,
Here's to whatever comes,
Drink la kayim, to life!
~~~Fiddler On the Roof

or this one from Diana:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiOcW_YR1G8

Friday, June 26, 2009

Just testing this text feature....
Testing 1,2,3
;-)