Riley is back from the snow. He had a good time. The only problem was that he left his boots (the only shoes he took with him) outside last night. They were frozen and wet when he woke up this morning. Luckily, one of the other boys had another pair of shoes that Riley borrowed. Oh well, now he knows for next time. He seems fine, and he wasn't cold at all last night. I'm sure he'll sleep well.

You can't tell in this picture, but Riley's face is a little red from the cold and snow sun. He's becoming so independent. I love it and hate it at the same time. Does that make sense? Quinn was happy to have him home as well, they played some sort of gun thing all night, with no arguing.

Quinn came out this evening, dressed as Ash, from Pokemon. He asked me to take this picture. See his Pokemon on the counter behind him? I shot a video of him too, which you can find at the end of this post.

In between baseball practices-Quinn had practice at 10:30 until noon, and then batting cage practice from 3:30-4:25-I did a little shopping. I went to Macy's to buy two more sets of Fiesta dishes. I got orange, or rather, "tangerine." I think I will go back on Wednesday, if the sale is still going on, to get the lime green, or "lemongrass" dishes, and then I'll be done. I also stopped at Bed Bath & Beyond, and got this jewelry tree. I had wanted it before, and when I went to get it, it was sold out. I checked the internet, and it was sold out everywhere. They had another one, kind of a clear plastic, which I went to get today, but they had this one-only one-so I grabbed it and ran to line. I'm very happy with it.

Here's Quinn, future superstar. Enjoy!

Have a great Monday!

Saturday

Kevin took Riley to the Scout House at dark o'clock this morning. He had to be there, ready to go, at 5 am. He was pretty excited to go. I'm glad for him. Not so glad for me as I have no idea if he's warm or cold or hungry. Oh it's just a bitch having kids grow up. I guess I'll find out tomorrow, when he gets home. The rest of us were quite lazy almost all day. I cleaned the house, played Words With Friends (I'll play you too-juliebeane), farmed and worked in my cafe on Facebook, watched a little iCarly (yes again), started a new puzzle, etc. It was nice. When we all finally did get motivated, we went to see Alice in Wonderland. It was AWESOME! I loved it. We didn't see the 3D version. I am not sold on 3D, and I still have bad feelings since I saw Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D and had a headache for three days. I did manage Avatar in 3D, and didn't get a headache. I could see that Alice would have lots of stuff in my face, especially her fall down the rabbit hole. I liked it just fine, flat. After the movie we had dinner at Tony Roma's-because we couldn't get NEAR Texas Roadhouse. Quinn had ribs. He was in heaven. Kevin and I enjoyed our meals as well. They have some tasty looking beverages! I'll have to try one next time.

Earlier today, Quinn went out to ride his bike, and Kevin took Maya for a walk. When they returned, Quinn wanted to throw the ball around with Kevin, so they did just that, leaving Maya inside, with me. Doesn't she look pathetic watching them? She sat like that until they came back inside.

I reworked my flower necklace. I wore it tonight, but the top two flowers kept turning backwards, so I reworked it. Moving the flowers closer to the center, keeps them from turning. Now I like it even more.

This is Quinn's Stanley, all ready to head to Illinois on Monday. See the little monkey he made to go along with Stanley? I think I will tape him to Stanley, so he doesn't get separated from Stanley. I have mine to send out for my class as well.

Have a great Sunday!

Wooo Hoooo, It's Friday!

Happy Friday everyone! It was the end of the trimester for us at school, so we got out early! I was trying to find my desk, but ended up leaving because the janitor wanted to vacuum, and I couldn't concentrate. I got the house to myself for two hours though! Quinn's practice was cancelled today, so it freed up some time. I picked both boys up at 4, when Riley's chess class ended. We went to Toys R Us to get ideas for Riley's birthday, and so that Quinn could spend his Visa gift card, left over from his birthday. He got Bionicles, Riley showed us some Legos and DS games he likes, and I found this...

Look at all of those yummy iCarly toys!!! What fun!!

I came home with these three, little clip-on toys. Sam, Carly and Freddy. They can go everywhere with me now! I'm going to put them on my school keys (I think). It will give me an "in" with the girls in my class. Nah, they already know how much I love iCarly, so they won't be surprised.

I finished my flower necklace. I shortened it, and I ended up having to glue the smaller flowers to some filigree pieces. I like it.

Arden changed her clothes, and her eyes. She's sporting new boots. I think Arden needs a sister. I love this one, and this one.

Let's Rally!

So today was Stand Up For Schools, a statewide event to get people to take action on better funding for education. There were rallies all over CA today, mostly peaceful, but I did watch the news and saw that protesters in Oakland got way out of hand. They marched onto the freeway, clogging traffic for a couple of hours. One of the people even jumped from the freeway, and ended up in critical condition in the hospital. The others ended up arrested. I'm thinking that probably wasn't the best way for any of them to make their points. We want the voters/people to know how badly the cuts to education hurt everybody, but we don't want to turn people off by clogging the freeways and acting like idiots. I went to the rally here, in Fremont. There was a pretty good showing of people, and lots of support from passersby.

I took Quinn with me. He really got into it.

Standing on the corner of Fremont Blvd. and Mowry. This is the busiest corner in Fremont.

We walked to the ghost house and rallied there, then Quinn and I headed back to the car, with a quick stop at Starbucks for an apple chai for me and a cookie for Quinn.

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY!

I think Mother Nature is going crazy on California. Perhaps she's just trying to get noticed amongst all of this hoopla about the state budget. We had rain, wind, rain, cold, rain, hail, rain, thunder, rain, lightening, rain, oh and even an earthquake, today. I guess Mother Nature is asking, "What does a girl have to do around here to get noticed?" I noticed-well maybe not the earthquake. I didn't feel it, but around that time, my classroom made a loud creaky noise. I sure noticed the rain. It was constant, and wet.

I have to say, "I.Am.Sick.Of.The.Rain." We are not parking in our parking lot at school this week, as a demonstration to the budget cuts. Worst week ever to quit parking in the lot. I personally think it's stupid, and I don't think any parents have even noticed the nearly empty lot. Yesterday it was pouring rain when I got to school. I couldn't find a place to park, so I parked in my spot in the lot. Got a text asking where I parked my car. I moved said car. Again, I think it is stupid. It's only irritating the teachers. It was raining again this morning, when I "hiked" to school. It was raining on my yard duty yesterday-ever try to get a bunch of kids OFF of the playground, in the rain, when they have been released to play? Not fun, and not dry. So, yes, I am pissy. I am sick of the rain. The only plus is that my rainboots are getting A LOT of wear! They make me happy when I look at my feet, through the driving rain. I think it is supposed to be clear tomorrow, which is good as we are rallying for Stand Up For Schools, at 3:00 pm. I am hoping to just wear regular shoes.

Kevin and I went to the Junior High tonight, for a parent meeting. Riley will be a 7th grader in the fall. I guess I feel better about it. It was comforting to see the teachers, who seemed normal, and who seemed to enjoy their job and their students. Some of the classrooms were even nice, while some (many of the Math classes) were boring as hell. So I guess I feel better about it. I don't know. I just feel weird. I can't pinpoint it. Just weird. Maybe it's the rain.

A Bracelet, A Toy, Some Cranes, and Kevin In A ???

I made a bracelet last night. This one is for a friend of Quinn's teacher. I used a mix of new buttons and vintage buttons.

Maya got a new toy today. See how thrilled she is? When she gets a new toy, she picks it up right away, and then takes it to her bed. These rope toys last longer than any plastic toys or plushie toys. She's shredded parts of it, but it's still intact. She likes it.

I bought a whole bunch of these little ceramic cranes at the Japanese Tea Gardens on Sunday. Aren't they cute? I love them.

What is this strange box? What is that weird contraption inside? It appears you put change into it, and...then what? Weird. It's been awhile since we have seen a phone booth. This one is near the Golden Gate Bridge, in case you want to go there and attempt to figure out how it works. Bad news though, it appears you are stuck inside the booth if you want to talk to someone. How vintage!!

It feels weird not to be watching anymore Olympics. It's so strange how they are here, and consume TV viewing, and then...gone. Nothing. Done. I watched The Bachelor all the way through last night, and American Idol tonight.

I'm still thinking about what an awesome day we had yesterday! Today I don't feel well, and my eye is swollen, again. I go for my skin test in just over two weeks. I am anxious to find out what it is that I am allergic to.

The water was really clear in the little pond in the Japanese Tea Gardens. Kevin suggested I take a picture of the boys' reflection in the water. I did this one, which I then flipped so it is right side up, and I did another one where you can see the "real" them and their reflections. I like the look of this one, and you can see Riley smiling regular, like he always does, and Quinn being, well, Quinn.

This is up in the tower at the de Young Museum. There are great views of the city up there. I have no idea what Quinn is doing. He has visions.

The Golden Gate Bridge and the man who built it, Joseph Strauss.

Awesome view of the city.

The Pacific Ocean.