Fun summer stuff

I've been trying to find some fun things to keep the kids busy once summer is here so that I don't hear 'I'm bored' too much or don't have to fight multi-media being on all the time.

1- Got on eBay, a build your own house thing. I bought two. They were super cheap. Kaela wanted to do it and I let her.....well, TRY, that is. The thing sucks, broke a few times and she gave up on it. Daeton hasn't tried his yet, I think I'll do with him to see if it is just too cheaply made or if Kaela was being too rough.







5-in-1 Solar Power kit. I haven't even shown the kids yet.



I also bought (no pic shown) three super heavy boxes to 'make your own stepping stones.' They were brand new, in plastic wrap. I bought them for $4 each at Simi Thrift.

SVRR Track award picnic

We had the award picnic today for Daeton and Kaela's track team, Simi Valley Running Rebels too. They both received trophies, their yearbook, a 'good grades certificate' and some medals (Kaela) and ribbons (Daeton). We missed picture day because it was right after my car accident and we didn't have a rental yet. There is a few random pictures of Kaela in the book but I didn't see any at all of Daeton. :-( I told him he needs to participate more in the events and not miss the practices so much (some misses were due to his leg being hurt from the accident).


We got there 1 1/2 hours later and didn't stay for the water play (water balloons, the water spray part of the park is on and everyone brings squirt guns and super soakers). The kids are tired and the day was quiet cold (for us in Ca). It is overcast, cloudy, chilly breeze and 70 degrees (F). Daeton was shivering and begging to go home! LOL! I think being overtired doesn't help when a person is cold.

We haven't decided if they are doing cross-country this year but it doesn't start until the end of August so we have a little bit of time to decide. "I" want them to do it, but they are unsure.





We are now home and have an hour until we need to leave, again. This time for kickball practice.

Rockstar Kickball Party

The Newbury Park kickball league had their end-of-the-year party last night, theme was 'Rockstar.' I took a ton of pics (all on FB) but here are two cute ones to share. First is a random stranger that was just SOOO rocked-out I had to ask if I could take my pic with him. :-)
This is my younger brother and I. He was a few awards, including the Rambo Award and received a certificate and a strip of fake bullets to wear across his chest! The kids were with a friend and it was a fun night. I carpooled with three other friends and it was 3am by the time I got home. Got a phone call at 6am of 'your kids will be dropped off at 6:45 so that I can go running.' Got up when they arrived, went back to sleep for a little bit and got up again.


I am definitely T-I-R-E-D mommy today!

Pic of me & D

This is after Daeton's double performance tonight. He performed with two other students in his strings class (Daeton is learning violin) and then he performed as Starvling (and old man) in A Midsummer's Night Dream in is Much Ado About Shakespeare class. He was 1/2 in costume in this pic. I took a few videos but they aren't too great. My sister took some pics so I'll have to get her to send them to me so I can upload them (she has a better camera).


Both Daeton and Kaela had art work and other projects on display in various classrooms too. It was Exhibition Night at Huckleberry Learning Center. This is the place they both take a few enrichment classes. Today was the last of classes for the year. We are done until fall. They still have until the 9th for their school year to be out but are done with these classes so just need to do book work at home or field trips and other fun learning.

Monday-Friday of next week Daeton is attending Jr. Orchestra Summer Camp. It is a three-hour-a-day camp for one week for kids that play the violin, viola or cello. On the last day, in the eve, they'll have a performance.

Kaela and I are going to hang out with my friend, Michelle, and her daughter while Daeton and Michelle's son are at the camp. It is too much gas and time to go home and back so we figured we'd explore the city nearby or find a park or Starbucks to hang out at. Michelle and I can can chat and catch-up and the two girls can play. It will be a lot to be there at either 8:45 or 9:30 am (I need to check on which one with the teacher) considering it is 1/2 hr drive. But it will be worth it for Daeton to get a 'boot camp' for the violin to really set in all he has learned and for him to learn more before he has a long summer break. There is another 'camp' that I read about that is here, in our city, that is the same price so I might put him in that one too, later in the summer (there is two sessions). He seems to really like the violin but needs to practice a lot more. I'm hoping the more he learns and expands with it, the more he'll enjoy it and decide to just play, at random, because he likes it.

My Fruit Trees- Peach Tree Sick

My fruit trees are getting huge. I REALLY cut them back this winter but the sapling branches and leaves are all over both and fruit on the peach tree. The peach tree is a dwarf and the plum i semi-dwarf (but before I pruned it it the shooter branches were above the roof of the house). I LOVE these trees and wish I had the yard to have a dozen fruit trees. Besides these two I have a tiny orange tree (barely-above-knee-bush size).



The peach tree has some weird disease growing on it that seems to dry out the branches. First there is white fuzz then it dies and turns black and the branch underneath is messed up and dried out. I need to take the pics to a nursery and see if they can tell me what it is and if it is repairable. In the winter I cut off most of the diseased branches but it is there, again, on two main ones. I don't think I can cut it all off without cutting the tree so far back that I'd kill it. :-( These trees were both gifts to me from my mom and step-dad and I've always loved them. When the fruit is ripe I make jam with them and share with the neighbors. It won't be until late summer but the harvest is something to look forward to. The kids get excited when we get the first few pieces of fruit that are ripe enough to pick.





Last year birds ATE UP the peaches before I could pick them. I couldn't figure out why it was happening since it had never happened before. It dawned on me that my dog, Zeus, was getting old and no longer such a spaz that the birds were afraid to hang out. Last year he ignored the birds and choose to nap or rest in the shade so they snacked on most of the fruit. A friend, Judy, told me to hang CD's in the trees. As they spin the sun will reflect on them and it scares the birds away. I'll have to do this soon, since the fruit is starting to grow and I already see bite marks on the fruit and leaves. We put Zeus to sleep in November so he isn't here at all now to scare away the birds or squirrels.

New family members...rabbits

We just got two rabbits from someone on Freecycle. She was a busy mom with a one-year-old and needed someone that could give them more attention. The brown one is Rascal and the white-ish one is Sweet Pea (both are boys but she discovered that after naming them). They are both about 5-6 years old and super sweet. Our cat, Jett, isn't sure what to make of them and is afraid of them. :-)

Amish Friendship Bread

I've been making (and sharing) AMish Friendship Bread with a new-found high school friend, Leticia. It is a 2-week process and fun to make. If anyone wants a starter kit, let me know. The second pic, the finished bread, has some 'kids grabbed it' chunks missing but it is still a pretty bread and tasty too.

Chocolate covered fruit

We had some leftover Valentine's candy (yeah, it was lost or it would have been long gone) and we also had some strawberries that needed to be eaten. So, I melted all the chocolates, swirled them together (white and red on the bear made cute design) and we dipped some strawberries and apple slices in it. The swrawberries worked better. I think the chocolate didn't cling good to the apples because the apples were fridgerated. Will have to try them room temp next time. Regardless, they were YUMMY! :-)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Books... next?

Daeton has read all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Books. and.. . LOVED them.  I think the pictures breaking up the words/paragraphs make it easier for him to read.  He doesn't like 'picture books' per se but seeing a whole page of only words is sometimes overwhelming.

Anyone have any recommendations since he finished this book? Is there more coming out? Or similar authors/styles?

Unique Ouchies Band-Aids

I ordered these from Mamapedia Sweet Deals. 8 boxes of band=aids. 20 in each box for $10. Eric Carle, Natural History Museum, Mad Libs, Groovy, etc.

I've been subscribing to a few 'saving money' groups via email or Facebook and this was one of them. Others, Screamin' Daily Deals (got a Jolly Jumper for Kaela's birthday for $37, even though her birthday is in August), and BOGOPOD (got large 2-topping pizza, four soft drinks and $30 in tokens at Big Z's for $17).

Also (not sure where I bought it from) Newsweek magazine for $3.99 for the year and Cosmo magazine for $2.99 for the year.

I know it is still spending money, but most are 50-71% off of normal prices!

Da Vinci Museum Pictures

A few pictures from outside the exhibit (we were at the corner of Highland and Hollywood, in the city of Hollywood. There was about 20 people outside dressed up in costumes. They would pose with people for a photo or two and ask for a few dollars in return. I got a few pictures of the kids with Freddy Kruger (sp?) on my cell phone but need to figure how to put those pictures on here next.

Daeton and Kaela in room full of mirrors. Made so people can see all sides of their wardrobe at once.


Similar to a modern-day hang glider. Picture above is a bike. Kaela was 'squeezing Daeton to death' on purpose.

Simi Valley WAKA Kickball

Kaela took this picture of me in the dugout. I am on an adult kickball team (21 and up, co-ed). Our team is called The Free Ballers. We played a good game tonight but lost (5-0).

If this posts, I found a way to put pictures on my blog (at least one way). I have all my photos in Picasa2 and there is a box to click on to 'blog it.' So, this is a test to see if it works. If so, I'll upload pictures from the Da Vinci Museum too.

Coming Back, Again. Da Vinci Museum, Hollywood

Oh, my dearly neglected and almost forgot blog (I barely remembered the log-on password). It has been WAY too long since I have updated or posted on here! Basically since I became addicted to Facebook (FB) and started posting and playing on there all the time. Well, I've decided to try, again, to keep this up-to-date. I have long forgotten how to have the Google AdSense on the blog so deleted them. I might look into them and update at a further time. As for now, here is a brief update:

Still me in the same place, just two years older (my kids grew too!). Both of them are growing like weeds and I know it will be only a matter of time before they are both taller than me.

We have two weeks left of this current school year. Trying to do some fun things. On Friday of last week we went to the Da Vinci Museum in Hollywood. The kids got a kick out of the adults in costumes, posing with tourists with camera for a few bucks. I asked a StarTours guide if one of the local buildings paid them to be there. Her answer, "Noooooo.... they work as independents but they get in HUGE trouble if they go back without making enough money for the day." and then, as if she said too much, she changed the topic. Sounds like a new form of pimping to me! Just saying!

So, the Da Vinci... I had to DRAG the kids there! Not kidding. They both thought it would be stupid. Daeton thought he knew it all already. Kaela thought it would be boring. Well, they both really enjoyed it. We spent about 2-3 hours there. Daeton took about 40 pics and 8 videos of how some of the gears worked because he, 'wanted to buy the material and wood and use the ideas to build them himself at home.' Not sure it will ever happen but I love his ambition.

Afterwards we headed 3 miles away to Whimsical Alley (Harry Potter Store). It was open as we drove past it (big OPEN sign) but we parked on the side of the building, feed the parking meter (not used to having to PAY for parking everywhere- paid $2 after validation when we went to the museum). So... anyways, we get to the front of the building and it is 5:01 pm and the place is closed! :-(

Big MOM FAIL! I thought they were open until 6pm. That is only Sat & Sun. M-F they close at 5pm. So, we grab Indian food at a restaurant next door (took them 45 min to make it and we were the ONLY customers in the place) and Quiznos for Daeton and Kaela and we head towards the car.

The 6 miles from Whimsical Alley to the freeway on-ramp took 45 minutes and it took another hour to get home.

I let the kids watch tv in the car for the first time since we bought it (I told them it was for road trips only and not around-town-driving. It was QUIET in the car the whole ride as the munched on their subs and watched Freaky Friday.

Okay, off to cut coupons and get to bed.

My newest thing.... call me crazy but it works, is to get up at 5:30 and give Daeton his ADHD medicine and let him go back to sleep (and I do too). The meds kick in in about 1 hour and wake him up and I get up about 7am. In that 30 minutes of his own time awake he usually plays with Legos in his room or posts his own videos on YouTube (I'll share some soon). By the time I get my coupons done it will be after midnight so that is all for now! I have pics of Da Vinci Museum to upload too (I have to re-learn how). The place was suppose to close the end of May but they extended it until June. It is definitely a neat place to visit.

where charter school money comes from

Someone posted this on another chat group. It explains where the money comes when someone gets $1100-1800 in vendor money going to school classes or curriculum stuff.

This explains it nicely!

http://www.cacharterschools.org/pdf_files/Charter%20Funding%20Basics.pdf

:-)

Debbie