party!

Jason had a great birthday party yesterday! The kids were great sports about the warm weather (you never know in April, it could go either way here) and they all enjoyed themselves. We kicked things off with a craft project, wood birdhouses, ships and airplanes that the kids could glue together and then paint. The little guys (the 2 year old siblings) had a great time at the Play-Dough table. Even the big kids liked the Play-Dough table (here's a pic of Jason, his BFF Sidney and Cameron). Next was the Lego pinata that the kids beat to a cardboard pulp. Jason wanted to be the rope-controller, he thought that was the most awesome part. He laughed like a mad man while he watched his blind-folded friends swing and miss. Finally he couldn't stand it any longer and took a turn, busting open the pinata for the candy rush. Next he opened presents from family and friends. Finally we ate Lego cake and ice cream. We had a great afternoon and we are so thankful for Nanny and Pops hosting the bash. To top it all off when we got home a very special package was waiting for Jason at our front door. His cousins, Noah and Kadin sent him a super soaker, and let me tell you, it is SUPER and it SOAKS! More to come on that I'm sure!

happy birthday!

That's right, today is the big # 6 for Jason! And what a day it is turning out to be! Jason's class just happened to have a field trip to the zoo scheduled for today and Darren, Cameron and I got to go along (plus we brought cupcakes for the class). We all rode the school bus to the Lake park and had our orange frosting and chocolate cake cupcakes. Then we went on a tour of the zoo. After the tour we set the kids loose on the playground for 15 minutes before loading up back on the bus. For lunch we picked up some In-n-Out (which by the way, Jeff's in CA this weekend filling his belly with double-doubles I'm sure!). When we got home we let Jason open his presents from us which were two Hot Wheels City sets. It's basically a Hot Wheels city, get it? Tonight he and Cameron are off to Grammy and Papa's to spend the night with their cousins and then go to the hot air balloon festival tomorrow. Yeah, Paso has a hot-air balloon festival, amazing! We saw two ballooners practicing this morning as we drove to school. Should be pretty fun. Here's a few pictures of the crafty preparations for birthday weekend. First up is the completed Lego pinata. Some of the paint peeled so I went over it with another coat today. Also, I made a quick birthday banner Wednesday night. I think this is a fun one because I didn't do any embroidery work, just felt and glue (so technically, it was fun because I didn't take on too much!). Jason is wearing his birthday crown that he got at school today.

correction

It has come to my attention that this is in fact my 99th post and yesterday's was only #98. Apparently my Blogger sign-in page counts drafts in the blog count, and I had failed to post 2 drafts. So here we are at #99 (pat on the back).
Can I just start a discussion of American Idol? I'm not sure what it is to "swoon", but I think I did it a little last night when David Cook sang "Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera. I was holding my breath during the entire performance, just waiting for him to crack, but he nailed it! And please, someone for the love of Pete, get Brooke White off of the stage. This process is too much for her, she can't handle the pressure any more! I'm not a fan to the degree that I actually vote for any of these people, but you may find a few downloads from David Cook on our computer. Does anyone else feel a little squeemish listening to "Jesus Christ Superstar"? Will Andrew Lloyd Webber receive a harsh judgement from God because he turned the gospel into a seventies disco rock opera?
Birthday countdown continues. We bought Jason's presents last night and have made a feeble attempt to hide them. I hope he doesn't snoop...

100th Post!

Wow, I didn't realize it, but this is my 100th post! I'd just like to take a moment to congratulate myself.... there, that's good. We are currently in the throes of birthday party planning. The big number 6 will be celebrated on Saturday at Nanny and Da's/Pop's/Slash (or as Cameron says, "Flash"). We're definitely going with a Lego theme (Lego cake, pinata, and activities). Jason is excited out of his mind and loves being a part of the planning. I think I'm going to use a diaper box and the bottoms of plastic cups to make a Lego pinata, should be fairly simple.... should be. The cake will just be a 13x9 with cupcakes on top for the Lego bumps, or whatever they're called. Jason can stand the wait. He especially can't stand waiting to spend his birthday check from Grandma and Grandpa. We thought it would be best to hang on until after the party so he would get a duplicate gift, but I think he's going nuts. The days are dragging on for him. Poor kid! Here's a picture of Jason in his new tent from Aunt Kathy and Uncle Dave and his big cool cousins (who played with him on the swings at Aunt Pat's party... which was Awesome).

cute kids

I love these kids!

teddy bear tea

Who's ready for cuteness? Today we were invited to Jason's school for the annual Teddy Bear Tea. The kids had gone to the Stuffy Bear Factory (think Build-a-Bear Workshop) and made bears last Friday. Today they got to have a tea party with the bears and their guests. Jason has the pleasure of parents and grandparents who are available at the drop of a hat, so we came to enjoy a cup of tea. Jason's new bear is named Mickey. He is currently learning to deal with his new sister Cameron who isn't as gentle as his daddy, Jason. The kids were very cute during the program. They read a book about insects, recited the months of the year with hand motions and sang a song about going to the zoo. The class is going to our local zoo next Friday on Jason's birthday. I'm going to make cupcakes for the class and bring them to the zoo. Should be fun.
In other news, Cameron is learning to use the potty. So far we have accomplished sitting upon our potty seat without crying. Next up, the long wait upon the throne for "the feeling" to kick in. I don't know how else to teach that besides turning on the faucet and letting the water dribble. I'm also standing by with plenty of jelly beans for bribes. The goal is to get her potty trained so that she can go swimming in our pool this summer. The rule is no swim diapers, so we've got to get this done! I'll post pictures as soon as I can get a discrete one, so far she's very excited about pictures and not ashamed to take them.

crafts for cam

I am determined to start decorating for Cameron's big girl room because I know someday we will move and the kids will have their own rooms... someday! I think I've mentioned this project here before, but finally did it. It's super easy:
1. Cover an artist's canvas with fabric. Staple to the backside using heavy duty staple gun and use hospital corners.
2. Modge Podge the whole thing.
3. Cut out your shapes and Modge Podge them to the canvas.
4. Wait for it to dry and admire your craftiness!

One of my favorite things about this project is going into Michael's and buying the canvas, as if I'm a real artist! By the way, all canvases are 40% off this week and Beverly's has them for 50% off this month. I bought this 8x10 for only $2.50! And the fabric was from my mom's scrap drawers. I have three more canvases to cover, different sizes and I think I'll do different birds. Cameron's room will be so cute! Here's a picture to match the cuteness.

9PM Tonight... be there!

You all know what tonight is, right? It's the return of The Office! This episode is called "Dinner Party" and apparently it's going to be a classic. I can't wait. I think I'll run up to Albertson's today and buy some Jell-O to put my stapler in, oh, and I'll definitely have to pick up some mixed berry yogurt, ice cream sandwiches, a Big Tuna and a cheesy pita (all references from the show... I have the DVDs if you need a refresher).
In other news I just learned an interesting tidbit. I'm going out on a limb here by admitting that I used to watch Kids Incorporated when I was a kid. My brother watched too, I think he liked it but he'll probably leave a comment about how it was so stupid but he only watched to make fun of me, yada, yada, yada. Anyway, here's the scoop: Fergie, formerly of the Black Eyed Peas and now currently on her own singing one of Darren's top 5 most annoying songs ever, used to be on Kids Incorporated as Stacy. Stacy Ferguson, get it? Anyway, there was one other Kid that made it big, can you name him?

quick craft

Hang gang, I'd just like to take a moment to thank the folks who bought our family tins of fancy Swiss Miss hot chocolate mixes for Christmas. I was thrilled to get the tins because I knew I would keep them and use them for something in the future. I decided to cover them with coordinating scrapbook paper and use them for scrapbooking supplies. Someday, when I have space to spread out and work I'll have cute tins to hold all my stuff.

children's museum

I can't believe that I forgot to post pics of our visit to the new Children's Museum in town. My dear friend Lisa had to move out of the area and so she gave our family the rest of her family's membership to the museum. We can go until November for free! The Children's Museum was created in the old firestation downtown. I can't believe we have something so great in Paso Robles. I've been loving the library and parks since we moved here in 05, now we have this! It houses Paso's first fire truck, completely refurbished and available for the kids to climb all over. The museum also includes a play area for toddlers, science stations, a "grape-crush" ball pit, a faux grocery store and pizza parlor, a dress-up area complete with stage, craft stations and the ball-cage thing. The ball-cage thing was the highlight of the day for the kids, especially Jason. It is a netted area with tubes and tunnels that use vacuum pressure to shoot balls across the room. It has a whole series of levers that allow the balls to take different paths through a mouse-trap type thing. Sorry for the lame description, just believe me when I say it's really cool! We'll definitely be back for more fun soon.

bad mommy

I had another "bad mommy" moment today. In the midst of getting ready for school and changing Cameron's very inconvenient poopy diaper, I forgot to bring my camera to Jason's school for his character trait award. Every month two students are recognized for displaying godly character traits. This month Jason was honored for promptness and wisdom (I'd like to accept partial honors for promptness... I run a smooth and prompt carpool). He was so cute, even though his teacher (not his own teacher) announced "Jason ROOOSCO?" he gladly went up to accept the award. Get used to it kid, apparently it's a tough call, RUSco or ROOSco. He stood with his award perfectly positioned in front of his chest for the Kodak moment and I was camera-less. Good thing Nanny was there, I'll have to hit her up for pics. She's obviously a seasoned pro. The best thing about getting recognized is Friday pizza lunch with his teacher, Mrs. Ricks. He's very excited!

april fool's day

Sorry gang, I've got nothing. All day long (and all day yesterday) I've been thinking of a blog joke, but alas, nothing. Typically bloggers will pull the old, "this is my last day blogging, my life's too crazy to keep this up, etc. ..... April Fool's!" Darren suggested a pregnancy announcement but I thought that would be cruel. Jason was "fooled" all morning by the kindergarten kids, apparently they're great at April Fool's tricks. Leave a comment if you've been fooled this year or in years past, obviously I need a supply of ideas.
In other news, Darren's posted some new stuff on his Text in Context blog and also some new articles on prbc.info, yeah that was shameless promotion for my husband, I think he's great.