Pumpkin Cupcakes

Two posts in one day, YAY! The first half of this week has just been so crazy wacky that I haven’t been able to post between work and babysitting. I’m thankful to be able to sit on the couch and read and catch up with a few things today.

Anyway, back on Monday (like how I’m working backwards in my life instead of forward, haha! ) I was trying to think of something fun to do with Derek and Laney. It was a cooler day and windy I think so we ended up making cupcakes- I found a cheap Halloween cake mix at Aldi’s and got chocolate and vanilla icing. We then colored a bunch of the vanilla icing all different fall colors, plus blue for Laney to use as sky on her cupcakes. Derek just had fun putting the icing on, but Laney really enjoyed creating designs like me.

Creations by Laney…




Laney made a flower and I loved the idea


A couple of my pumpkins

Most of the creations…we had eaten a couple

Less than two days later the two dozen cupcakes were nowhere to be seen…so I’d say it was a hit!

Over The Rainbow

We had a tornado watch (or warning? I can’t ever keep them straight!) on Tuesday. For a while the kiddos and I hung out in the basement, playing games and reading books while the tornado siren whined outside. On the way home from work, I caught sight of at least three rainbows on the way home and was able to get a few pictures. Sadly, I couldn’t get my phone (I was SO mad I didn’t have my real camera with me!) to capture the whole rainbows in one shot.

Heading from the storm into the sun

This last one was taken near the airport- seriously would have been a gorgeous picture with a better camera

The rainbows made for a nice ending to a crazy day!

Snapshots of California

I *still* haven’t posted pictures from my trip to California from last month. In all honesty, it seems like a dream…did I really go? However, things have been a bit busy what with getting a new job, starting it, and trying to get used to the new schedule. I figured the least I can do is at least be kind enough to share the pictures from my phone until I actually have time to write some real posts. Sorry…but enjoy..??

   
It was a pretty day to fly =)

SANTA CRUZ

It was a warm but windy day…the water was FREEZING!


Cool mission church

I had lunch right by the water

Fresh fish, anyone??

 

17 MILE DRIVE

Watch out for the tsunamis…greeeat!

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

I spent a gorgeous day wandering around the campus. In love :)

Pretty fountain by the med center

Ahh, palm trees pretty much make my day!


We went to Kara’s Cupcakes…featured on Cupcake Wars I think??

SAN FRANCISCO

Yes, that’s me and a giant macaroni…

Golden Gate Bridge….but oh man, this reminds me that I HAVE to show you more pics of California at some point because we saw DOLPHINS!!!!!!


So, Anna didn’t know how to use the camera on my phone, either that or she was laughing too hard, but I was NOT THRILLED to see a Christmas tree in the mall in SEPTEMBER!!!!!

 

And there you have it…at least a tiny snapshot of California. I don’t feel *quite* as bad now. Sheesh. Not like I’m behind or anything..hehe!

Testing

Trying something out...if this works you should see a picture of the tiniest dog we saw at the park below...hmm!

Accentuate The Positive

I don't know about you but the last few days have been rough for me. I've been frustrated with some of my relationships with friends and feeling like I've really lost what I had with my old coworkers. Last night I fell asleep in tears, my heart breaking in sadness. I just miss them, damn damn double damn as my grandma says.



Today is a new day though, a Friday, and so I've chosen to focus on the positive! TGIF!



- I will be getting out of work early today, since my bosses and the kids are heading out of town for the weekend.



- I can go home and nap! I didn't sleep the best last night...woke up at 330 and started getting ready for work!



- I have been successfully (I hope!) de-liced. Did I not tell you one of the kids I babysit found out they had it? Ugh, yea.



- I get to spend tonight with Bug!



- Tomorrow evening I get to see and babysit for three of my old students.



- It's a sunny day, chilly, but sunny.



- I am still sticking to my budget! I still have a good amount in my envelopes and there are 9 days left in the month. I should be okay...



- I get my first real paycheck for this job today. It's technically my second one but the other was a partial, so with this one I will be able to see what my true budget can be- that will be extremely helpful!



- It's Friday!!!!!!



-

Hey, It's Okay Tuesday

I can't remember what blog I saw this on..it's 8 pm and I'm falling asleep but I figured I might as well make a quick post before Tuesday, aka CrazyHazyDay, passes me by. 

It's okay...

...to take a bunch of Airborne when your roommate tells you she thinks she's getting sick.

...to be proud because you finally finished a book you've been reading for a few weeks.

...to have absolutely no idea what you're going to be for Halloween.

...to miss your old coworkers and feel sad that you're disconnected to them. 

...to be upset about the phrasing your old boss is using to parents of old students about why you left school.

...to want a chai from Starbucks every day.

...to want to take a nap. 

...to be frustrated with the stupid eczema on your hands that seems to have come early this year

...to be enjoying some of the new fall shows after working 10 hr  + days.

...to love your second job.

...to wish you had the slightest idea where your old student ID is hiding so you could get into a game for a cheaper price. 

...to be sad that Courteney & David are splitting up.

...to have a budget, and stick to it, and be proud about it!

....to want to be a fly on the wall, in my situations.

...to laugh at the guy staring at bras in the store...just standing and staring.

...to go to Cici's pizza (or another restaurant) solo

...to go to the movies, solo. I've done it more times than I can count. The ONLY time I felt weird about it was when I was the sole person IN THE ENTIRE THEATER. That was strange. 

...to not be a morning person.

...to enjoy the small things.

Edwar

I swear I have written about Edwar before but I'm having trouble finding the post on my phone. If I find it later I will link up!


Edwar is a worker at the grocery store I went to ALL the time when I lived in my last apartment. The store was within walking distance and whenever I needed something quickly I would stop in.

Most of the time, I would run into Edwar, the door greeter, because I'd be there at night and so would he. During last school year Edwar was a bright spot in my day, a cheerful 80-something Italian short man. He would always recognize me, ask how I was doing, wish me a happy day...

Ever since I moved in May, I don't shop at Edwar's store very often. There are at least two or three stores that are closer to my new residence but I did see Edwar once this summer, in July or August. I explained to him that I had moved and been traveling but promised to come once in a while to say hello.

Last night after my babysitting gig, I needed to stop at a store and grab milk and other necessities for the week. Since it was evening, I drivers to take a chance and see if maybe Edwar was at work. I walked in the door and was disappointed to see another worker...friendly, yes, but not Edwar!

Oh well, I said to myself, and continued on. Halfway through my shopping though, I happened upon a worker in a battery operated grocery cart, a bit slumped over who looked up and said, "hello!"... At first I just said hello back but then looked closer and saw a familiar sparkle in one eye- it was Edwar! He was moving away from me but I realized that half of his face, and body, seemed sagging and slumped over :(. He must have had a stroke since the last time I saw him.

I thought about him all last night. I told my roommate about him...he was my first thought this morning. I just feel so bad! Not that there is anything I can do, but I want to go back again now and (try to) talk to him more, make sure he is okay. He looked like he'd aged 10 years in a few months and it just makes me so sad...keep him in your prayers- it's not like I really know him, but I do- he's my happy grocery guy!

Christmas

I was able to make it through the craziness that is the beginning of my weeks. I cruised into Thursday and majorly cleaned and organized almost the whole day. I babysat in the evening and have two more babysitting jobs this weekend alone. Aside from that, I have 8 more jobs scheduled between now and the week before Christmas and a weekend gig as well. I'm sure even more will come up! No wonder I collapse when I have a "free day" or part of one...

Today will be busy as well! Laney is the kindergartener in the family I nanny for and she doesn't have school for whatever reason. So, we are heading to a paint your own pottery studio and the kids are going to make Christmas presents/ornaments for their parents. Baby Tobin and I will watch as Laney and Derek paint...one of these days I'll actually go and paint something myself...it looks so fun!!!

I'm not sure what I'll be up to tonight. My roommate is out of town so I might hit up a movie at the dollar theater and/order a pizza...hmm. So many choices! What are you up to this lovely Fall weekend??

Conversations with Derek, Part I

Derek, the middle child in the family I'm nannying for, is always full of stories. He's a silly kid at age three (and a HALF!!! he will tell you).

Derek: Oh NO, I forgot to shave this morning!

Me: Whatsthat? (thinking I misheard)

Derek: I forgot to shave. I have to shave every morning to keep the smeary away.

Okkkay then. He has a fake razor, starts "shaving" and I head downstairs to make lunch.

Five minutes later, I call upstairs and tell Derek to come down for lunch. His response was, "I'm shaving! I'll be a minute!" lmao...

The M/T/W Curse

So, I basically just have to accept that from Sunday night until Thursday morning, I will do nothing but work, eat and sleep. There will be rare (Tuesday morning) mini blogs, possibly. However, I will have no time to write real posts, comment on blogs, upload pictures, read, bike, go to the park, etc. until Thursdays, my day off of work.

From there, I can handle the week...get a bunch of stuff done during the day on Thursday, glide through work Friday because well, it's FRIDAY!!!!!!! And then head into whatever I'm doing on the weekend.

During the Mon/Tues/Wed stretch though, I work at least 30 hrs and go home and crash...or cough, as the case was yesterday when I came home from dinner at a friend's and suddenly seem to be allergic to pecans? (I hardly eat them to begin with so not a big deal, I will just stay away from them for a while because I enjoy being able to talk and breathe...)

Anyway, signing off from the midday depths of the MTW curse. See you on the other side, or later today if I get lucky and all three kids rest/nap at the same time!

Bad move?

One of my former coworkers, A, has a son that I knew from school. Today is his 5th birthday party and when his mom mentioned it to me I jokingly said that I was going to come crash the party.

A said that was actually a great idea because lots of my old students would be attending and it would be fun for them to see me (and vise versa). So I agreed to stop by.

Now I'm at the park where the party is taking place. I was a little early so I've been taking a walk through the gorgeous trees while I wait.

And now I am super nervous, more so than a job interview even makes me. For what, I'm not sure...

Am I scared to see how the kids have grown and learned in the four+ months I've seen them?
Anxious to talk to the parents, answer their questions??

I'm just nervous. No explanation. I hope I'm making the right choice, kids are always excited to see their old teachers, right?????

Whew!

Happy Saturday, everyone!

I don't know about you, but I've had quite the busy week! I survived my first full week of the nannying position and it's going well. After writing the post Monday I felt a lot better, just getting my thoughts typed and out, I guess. 

I'm currently babysitting (Bug is sleeping, I'm not ignoring him, lol!) and so far this week I've been watching kiddos and on the clock 56 hours this week. Last night when I realized this, I took myself to see the new Katherine Heigl movie "Life As We Know It". I do not want to give anything away but I really enjoyed it- there were very funny and very sad parts. 

Today was just absolutely non-stop. My roommate Hope's nieces were in for the day. They are very sweet girls but I had never met them before- R is 9 and E is 6. Their parents dropped them off a little after 9 am and my roommate was not home so I kept an eye on them (she had asked me to beforehand so it wasn't a surprise or anything!). We colored and did a few puzzles and got to know each other. Hope came home and we all trekked to the store but as soon as we returned home, Hope realized she'd forgotten one of the ingredients for our brownies, so I headed back to the store sans the girls. I was in and out of the store in 1/20th of the time it had taken the first time, but I hopped in my car to come home and Hope called- she had forgotten her paid for prescription, so back in the store I went once again. LOL! 

Eventually, we had lunch, made brownies, went to the park and walked while the girls scootered to a playground and we all went swinging like careless kids. Once back at the house, we played a game called Encore. I'd never heard of it before and it's really not my kind of game since I stink at music and lyrics but I had fun anyway. 

After getting my butt kicked by my music obsessed roommate who made up fake songs,  I had to scoot and come to Bug's house. Soon after I got here, Hope let me know that she, the girls and their parents were all going out to eat a nearby steakhouse so Bug and I joined them. For being nearly two, Bug's done pretty well every time I've taken him out to eat with friends in the past month or so. We bring trains and goldfish and hope for the best! 

The day wasn't done there. though. Bug and I stopped by a Rita's custard and then met up with Hope and took a 1.2 mile walk around the lake at a local park. Given that again, Bug is 2, he half walked, I half held him and he wanted to throw rocks and slide down minor ravines the whole time. It was an adventure and took a good hour, at which point it was beginning to get quite dark! 

So, I'm a bit worn out tonight! I plan to spend most if not all of tomorrow resting up. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll make a dent in my Google Reader! ;-)

Thursdays

I'm actually posting from my computer! This never happens these days.

So, with my new job, I work four 10-hr. days instead of five 8-hr. days. While I don't have a three day weekend, I do have Thursdays off! This means I only have to get through three days in a row of waking up early (seriously, this is the HARDEST part of the job for me, well that and getting out of the house before 7 am, plus going to bed early..well it's all connected, right?) before I get a break on Thursday mornings. Then there is just one more work day and it's Friday. So, Wednesdays are almost like a Friday for me too, hehe!

This is my first full week at the job, so tomorrow's the first breather I have. Between working and babysitting I've put in 35 hours of work in the past three days, so I'm a little excited! However, I have a lot of ideas of what I can/will get done before 4 pm, when my friend Lyn is coming over for a movie and dinner. 

What I'm hoping to accomplish...

- looking for a new fall coat (mine doesn't zip anymore :(..)

- vacuuming the house

- reading

- cooking a meal to use for lunch on Friday

- catching up on TV shows

- catching up on emails

- catching up on blogs that have sat in my Google Reader all week (that 1000+ number is staring me in the face!)

- a bike ride at the park]

- clean the bathrooms

- lots and lots of laundry

Of course, the jury is out on what I will actually accomplish...hope everyone has a great day!

Bloggin' From the Car

First of all, thanks for your love from the last post. I feel much better today, more confident in what I'm doing and that I CAN do it; if it is supposed to work, than it will. Love my readers! :)

Onward...

A lot of my blog ideas, bad as they may be, come to me while I'm working or out on the town. By the time I get home, I've forgotten about them and they are never published. Never again!

Let me introduce you to my new best friend. Yes, it's true we only met yesterday, when I was working a 16 hr. day and arrived home past my (new workweek) bedtime, not even cracking open the computer once and skipping a shower in favor of my warm bed. During the day, I had a moment to sit and wanted to blog, but had forgotten my computer.

Turns out there is a free app for that!! Seriously, it's simple but I am loving it, and if you have an iPhone and are always on the go like me, it's a lifesaver!

On the downside for you all though, you will probably be getting a lot more posts from me. I guarantee they will be random...