Addition

So much has changed since I was in third grade.

First of all, sitting on the floor with your legs crossed in front of you was 'Indian style'. Nowadays that's called sitting 'criss cross apple sauce'.

Second, every morning I tell my kids to go get their backpacks off the hook that stands right next to the back door. Every afternoon as we pull in to the garage I remind them to put their backpacks back on the hook where they belong. And every time I say this The Girl reminds me that what she is carrying is not a backpack... even though she puts all her stuff in it and throws it on her bag with the shoulder strap...It's now called a "book bag".

Whatever.

So with all this change I began to think that perhaps the new thing in education was to not force kids to memorize their math facts with the use of flash cards. These days the math instruction is all about "thinking", not just rote memorization so I thought that perhaps we wouldn't have need the flash cards.

It seems that I was wrong.

Two days ago The Boy came home and said that he needed to find some flash cards and get his facts memorized. So I hauled out the old flash cards that I bought when he was three months old.

I was a new Mom who had read an article about the miracle of teaching your baby how to do algebra before he cuts his first teeth would increase their IQ and make them geniuses. Of course I also boiled everything that came within twenty feet of that poor child, and flash cards don't hold up to boiling so I scrapped the idea.

The point being that I had addition and subtraction flash cards that have seen more moves than Madonna in a yoga class. Somehow, 9 years and three houses later, I have still managed to keep them in a place that I could readily find them. But I digress...

Here is the sad part...as a child I memorized my multiplication facts, but never really got around to memorizing my addition and subtraction facts. So while my son is doing a fantastic job of memorizing his flash cards, his math deficient mother is still adding on her fingers.

Honestly, it's kind of scary. On a different subject, things have been so very crazy here that I completely missed the first day of fall. Which is very sad because I love recognizing the first days of the season changes. The weather is beautiful and the leaves are starting to change, and as I write I am wearing my super soft and fuzzy, lilac colored wind jacket that the Hubby bought for my birthday last year. It just makes me happy to be snuggled in its coziness.

Yesterday I hauled out the brown corduroy pants that I bought last season and it was fun to be dressed in fallish clothes. I almost pulled out my favorite pinkish red sweatshirt but we can't pull all the favorite cold weather clothes out too early because winter isn't exactly my favorite time of year, and I get a little sick of being cooped up in warm clothes...So it's better to hold out as long as I can.

I am greatly anticipating the un-veiling of Cookie though. Cookie is my cookie-monster-blue heating blanket that is almost makes me as happy from November to March as a cup coffee and chocolate chip cookies. I blogged about that last year though so I will spare you another post about my love of blankets.

Ok, last but not least, I am running in another little 5k this weekend and, as with all races, whether long or short, I always hope that I can finish without embarrassing myself! You know you getting old when you run and then have to come home a take a nap.

Which is what I feel like doing after this mornings run. But there is no time for naps.

I have to go brush up on my addition...3rd grade is killing me.

Nine Years

It was nine years ago at this time when I awoke to the realization that my water had broke and, ready or not, I was about to become a Mom.

My sweet boy is growin' up. Although his official birthday is today he received a gift that he never thought he would get for a birthday present on Friday night. His Grannie and Paw and the hubby and I went in on a combined gift of a PS2 gaming system and the excitement on that boys face when he opened it was really more of a gift for me.

Last month when he asked for it we had told him that that was a pretty pricey gift for a birthday and that we would have to think about it for Christmas. He was very sweet about it and said he would think of something else that he would ask for his birthday.

He couldn't believe it when he opened the gift. He still can't believe it...Waking up this morning he told me he had a dream that I had really just rented it and was going to take it back today!

I really don't have too much time for blogging this morning as everything in my life feels a little bit chaotic....Mostly because the next month is day after day of activities that grow more adventuresome than the next, ending with the wedding of my brother and his wife to be. After October 21st I will breathe a sigh of relief that will be heard across the country...of course since that is my birthday it may be a scream that says I can't believe I am 34 years old!

Speaking of weddings, the Hubby and I were talking about what it takes to make a marriage harmonious. He, of course had some very thoughtful and meaningful ideas on this subject and then he sat quietly thinking. After a pause he says, "Oh, and his and her closets are essential to peace in the marriage."

And, although he had a playful smile on his face, I am pretty sure he meant it.

At first I felt defensive, as if that was a slam on the way I kept my closet, but then I decided I couldn't have loved him more than right at that moment.

La Vida Dulce

New Blog Design

Hey for all my blogger friends that are interested go check out www.bluebirdblogs.blogspot.com.

Y'all know how i am forever trying to find a blog template that most depicts who I am... and I have missed a few times. When Becky was here last week she was telling me she was so glad I was over the blue adn hot pink "Malibu Barbie" theme....which I loved but she said didn't really say "Kellie". The thing is that there aren't many "free" templates out there that say "coffee lovin', guitar playing, sometime crafting stay at home mom" in a way that's clean, warm and cozy. And until I came across this site I hadn't found any blog designers that were exactly affordable.

So, I am going to try to win her contest....but if I don't, I think I may be buying myself a little birthday gift in October!

Go check her out.

Christmas Thinkin'

Meet Olive and Archie...they are my latest crafting project. My First one was made with Grey felt for her hair and the hubby said she looked like a granny so I went out and bought some brown and black wool felt on Friday and whipped these two kids up over the weekend. I think they are so cute...if I don't say so myself.

They are also what my nieces are getting for Christmas this year. Although The Girl has already laid claim to these.

The picture below is also of O and A in a tote bag I made for a certain friend of mine who lives in a very northern and cold place ( I get cold just thinking about it). What she really needs is a very thick warm quilt made of buffalo hide for those crazy winters, but she will have to live with a handmade tote. Maybe there will be treat or two sent in the tote to get her through some cold days. Who knows? Anyway, today is her birthday. Happy Birthday M! Your package is going to be late!

Tote

Irritating!

Yesterdays post was filled with a synopsis of the rest of my day at the beach last weekend. But after I spell checked and tried to post, the computer decided it didn't want to cooperate so my post was dumped, and then I had niether the time, nor the attitude, to repost.

The gist is this: I got some sun. We had fun.

Computers are invaluable and completely irritating to me!

Anyway, today is my day off and I wanted to take a minute to do something that has been on my to do list for several weeks now. My friend, and fellow blogger has given me permission to link her blog to mine. When y'all get a chance go over and give Blue Skies a Texas Howdy. In the future you will also find her link in the side bar.

Today is a perfect day to put on a fresh pot of coffee and get into the crafting room. It is drizzly and 65 degrees and it makes me want to do a lot of nothing... But that isn't going to happen, unless some magic cleaning ladies show up at the door and take over the upkeep of my home. So it's off to do some cleaning and "home-work" so that I can spend a bit of time playing in the craft room this afternoon!

Highlights

A Room with a View...This is a party boat that has a disco on it. The people watching was great. We saw everybody mingling on board around 6:30. They left at 7 and came back at 10:00pm. When they came back you could see the disco lights flashing all over the harbor!

Sunset on the Harbor. Waiting for dinner.

Dinner with a View

Pier in Black and White

High Tide Under the Pier

Dirty Birds

Surfer Sunrise

Happy

I was excited to hear almost two weeks ago that my friend Becky had found good airfare to come see me this weekend. It went way too fast.

As I write this my sweet friend is on her way across the country back to the Ant Ranch.

What a great 48 hours we had.

Although she did laugh at me when I nearly drowned in the Atlantic ocean (I got pulled out to sea by HUGE waves and then nearly panicked when I tried to swim back but kept getting slammed under). She also tried to coax the sea gulls with potato chip crumbs to land on my head...But she did share her crab cakes with me when my red snapper tasted like rubber and I know with the certainty that she will keep the truth regarding exactly how many "fun size" Snickers bars I consumed in a 48 hour period. Because that's just the way she is.

I feel very grateful that I have gals in my life with whom I can be totally myself...And not hold it against me.

We watched a sunset and a sunrise and that says a lot...For one it says that she is getting to that age when one can't fall asleep until it's late but then wakes up early. But not so "vintage" that she can't hoof it with me when I tell her we will go for a little walk through the woods, but what I really meant was a 3 mile hike that's mostly up-hill.

We shopped at some interesting second hand stores that I had wanted to go look at because I had romantic ideas about finding "vintage" items that would look spectacular in my house. But what I remembered is that finding good stuff takes time, and a willingness to get dirty and dig through other peoples old junk. I know of people who go in there and find the best stuff. I just found that lots of clutter makes me anxious.

We did a lot of talking, and we did a lot of not talking. At one point, after having a morning walk on the beach and coming back to the hotel room for some boat watching on the harbor with bagels and cream cheese, we temporarily ran out of things to say (or perhaps it was a lull from the temporary break in Snickers eating). After a prolonged time of silence we easily slipped back into conversation as if we hadn't just completely zoned out on a 20 minute carb crash.

I got a bit of a sunburn which feels great with the fall blowing in the air.

And lastly, I appreciate a friend who will take a risk and travel over a day in the history of America that one would rather just stay in the safety of their homes and do their best to try to imagine what life was like before 4 airplanes, 3 hours, and 2 buildings changed the course of history.

It's bittersweet that the reason I get to experience the gift of friendship this weekend is because the airlines tried to boost sales on a day that will forever be a memory of fear for the country.

Thanks for coming by Becky, I had a blast.

Next time I'll come to you!

It Starts

The season of my favorite things.

Only this year it started early.

It began just the other day.

My little family and I are reading our way through the Little House on The Prairie series. (As a side note: we took a break from the Ingalls this summer with a book called Caddie Woodlawn. If you haven't ever read it you should...it was good. The best part being the ending...where I cried while trying to read out loud to my children.)

But back to Little House. We are currently in the 6th book entitled The Long Winter. In it there is a chapter on how Ma and the girls decided to surprise Pa with a pumpkin pie.

Then The Girl and I read a book yesterday about a pumpkin patch...and I just couldn't handle the pressure...

My baking wheels went bus-a-louie.

I have a tendency toward baking in the winter months that borders a bit on obsession...but it is one of my favorite things. I had the day off today and I had way too many things to accomplish in the 6 measly hours between drop-off and pick-up line at the kids school, but I couldn't go one more day without making some pumpkin bread. So I quick made some.

As I was reaching into my cupboard that holds my cookbooks I remembered one of my favorite ones that was given to me by an Aunt years ago (as in like, 25 years ago). I love this cookbook because it has some really great recipes in it...most specifically the recipe for vegetable soup that I live on during the cold months. Over the years this recipe has been opened so many times that the book falls open to the right page. In all honestly I don't even need the recipe anymore. But I love taking it out and seeing the old brown and orange bowl in the photo, that I swear to you, I think my mother actually owned. Now a days we call that vintage. Meaning, not so old that it's an antique, but old enough to still be hip.

This cookbook has seen some years as is marked by the message on the inside cover. My Mom owned a real estate business for much of my childhood. The boys and I were forever taking messages (by penalty of a slow and painful death. We had a pretty poor track record on keeping telephone messages) on any piece of paper we could find. (picture below) All this to say, the Betty Crocker Junior Cookbook is definitely a fall-time favorite.

Today, in celebration of cooler weather I made some soup. With a glass of my new favorite: Tazo Passion tea.

So begins the baking season and my love for all things "autumn". This is the time before I hunker down with my blue fuzzy heating blanket...the time before I spend three months in a perpetual state of varying coldness.

I have so many fall fave's that I will have to write about them as the days go by. But I will conclude with my most favoritest of favorite things (in any season): A visit from a "vintage" Texas friend. She arrives Saturday morning at the airport where I will pick her up and promptly drive east to the beach for some girlie bonding over Diet Coke and certainly chocolate of one form or another. Probably both.

And keeping our fingers crossed that another fall time activity (hurricanes) don't stop by to say hello!

Until then La Vida Dulce!

The Soup, The Tea, and the Cookbook. Fall Fave's.

Message Translation: Mom, Kay called and the seller accsepted the offer, he'll have the papers tomorow ath the office.

The Recipe..Groovy man.

A truthful picture of the Cake...lest you think I would actually only consume that one tiny-little-peice pictured in the opening of this post. Please people, there is the "taster", and then there is the "peice".

Little Lamb

Rather than sit in fear this week as we watched Ernesto approach our neighborhood I decided to be creative. I used my nervous energy to create this newest "stuffie". It helped me to take my mind off of trees falling on my house...Which has been added to my list of fears this year...Luckily the fear of tornados has gradually lost it spark...Although Mayo may not ever make it off the list...But I digress.

In case you wondered, she's a lamb. My kids both had different thoughts: somewhere between a dog and a rabbit.

Yes, she's a little rough around the edges but I think the more I make the better they will get. You all may be getting little lambs for Christmas. Actually, I am now working on a mouse that I hope to send to my niece, since my nick name for her is Mia Mouse.

So the blog has been a little blase these days. I don't even have bloggers block, but the time crunch has been hard on the old head. It's hard for me write well when I am constrained by time. Of course perhaps the creative juices are focused on wool felt and cotton right now, or homework, or meal planning, or guitar chords, or laundry, or, or, or, or,...Who knows.

Oh yeah, Happy September! When I went running this morning I had to take my light runners jacket because it was 61 degrees! The leaves are already starting to change! Yeah!