So, I did really well in my last class, but my current two classes are so much different and so much harder for me! I know that I'll pass and do well, but it's going to be a trying month for sure.
To give myself scheduled "me time" I am also taking the second course of the Wilton's cake decorating class at Every Baking Moment, a cake store in Dixon. That is a lot of fun, but its difficult when I have to do prep work at home before the class. I wish it was something I could just show up to and not have to worry about homework for cake decorating!! It's a 4 week class, but I'll have a two week break for Thanksgiving and the Tree Lighting the week afterwards... By then I'll not only know how to do creative decorating with buttercream, but I'll be able to make gum paste flowers and work with royal icing... mmmm.... We'll see how this works out!
Because that's not enough on my plate, I'm also in a flute choir for a Christmas concert in December! I'm really looking forward to this chance to play with a group... I haven't really played at all since high school, except for maybe a song or two as a descant for a church Christmas program!
Add to that the kids keeping me busy with Kyle's school and activities and Elizabeth and Ranen just being very BUSY toddlers! I get to help out with Music Makers for Elizabeth and Ranen, a mommy and me music group that we go to once a week. I do marching time and story time and next month I'll be the one in charge of singing time. We have circle time with finger-plays, singing time, marching time, dancing/movement, and story time... They love it and have a lot of fun with it. I'm excited to be the one in charge of music time for Christmas songs!
Right now I'm procrastinating doing my homework that's due tonight, but Ranen is now awake so I won't be able to do it now anyway... It will have to wait until after their bedtime! The thing that's killing me with these classes isn't so much the work load or the material, its the MLA sourcing. I source everything, and make sure the works cited information is up to MLA standards, but there's still things that I miss, or do incorrectly that's hurting my grade. It's frustrating, because I feel like I know the material, but I'm just getting hung up on the technical side of things...
This Monday we're starting our first bit of remodel on the house. Nothing major, just updating the laundry room, getting the furnace and water heater up to code, and making it look nicer. We'll be doing different parts of the house bit by bit until it's all done and ready to sell. I had originally wanted to do the bulk of the work myself, but I just don't have the block of time needed to get projects done. Naptimes aren't regular enough, or long enough, to do what needs to be done, and I don't want to have Elizabeth's "help".
Anyway, it's time for dinner! More mis-adventures of the Abel family to come soon!!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Reading....
So, I've always enjoyed history and reading about it, but I don't have the mind capacity these days to really dive into a good narrative book... so I read my historical fiction and it's kept light enough to give me a taste of history as well as the fluff that I have to read in order to easily read it without much thought. I recently discovered Helen Hollick and read a series of Harold II (the one who was defeated by William the Conqueror), that was pretty good. I like her writing, but the editors need to be fired. The punctuation was horrible! Primarily their lack of quotation marks. I would be halfway through a paragraph before I realized it wasn't an inner monologue, but he/she was actually speaking. Very frustrating. I'd also like to read her series of King Arthur, but blast it! Our library has the 3RD book of the series, but not the 1ST or 2ND!! Grr.... Oh well... I guess we can't expect too much of our library these days with funding being cut everywhere... but still... it'd be nice if ALL the books in a series were available!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Spinach Salad
I have to tell you about a salad I made for lunch the other day that I LOVED. I'm sure there's a real recipe for it somewhere, so I can't take credit that it's all mine, but I just put in what sounded good to me, and it was sooo... yummy! It was spinach with homemade candied walnuts (just walnuts and carmelized sugar with a bit of sea salt), chopped strawberries, apples, and craisins topped with fetta cheese and a raspberry vinegrette. I was thinking of adding chopped poached chicken, but I'll do that next time... SO good!!
Once again, life is non-stop!! :) Just the way I like it... this week has been a whirlwind! I finished a very difficult class, but ended up with 100% on my final project and a B+ in the class (it would've been an A, but one assignment I submitted was 0.24 MB over the accepted limit, so the teacher gave me a zero on that assignment... he could open it just fine, just a very strict instructor), so I'm happy! Kyle had a belated birthday party/end of summer party on Wednesday and had a blast. We had water gun fights, slip 'n slide, potato sack races, tug o' war, and swimming with KFC and brownies (he's not a cake fan). He loved it! Thursday he started school. He tried to be non-chalant about it, like he wasn't excited, but it was so cute how giddy he was about being there! I'll post pictures with him talking with friends of his in his class as they were waiting to enter the classroom. So fun to walk him up to his class and have them call out his name and say "Yeah! We're in the same class!!!" Love it...
Later, we took Ranen to get his first haircut. :( SO sad! I loved his cute little blonde curls, but it was getting a little shaggy, and its time for him to look like a little boy, not a baby... From there we went to have lunch with my cousins, Zara, Sasha, and Wendy, with Auntie Dorothea and Grandma Beth and a niece of Wendy's. I love that we try to get together for lunch once a month. Sometimes it doesn't happen because of our busy schedules, but when we get together we never want to leave. I have the best cousins in the world. So sweet, and you'll never find better people anywhere than you'll find at that lunch table.
We've decided that Kyle can start taking the city bus home from school now, and I had Devin drop me off at his school so I could ride home with him for the first time to help him know what to do, and today he did it all by himself! He thinks it's awesome, and I think it makes me a nervous wreck! If it was a straight shot, I'd be a little more calm about it, but he has to make a transfer and that freaks me out. So, from the time he gets out of school until the time he comes off the bus at the stop around the corner, my eyes are glued to the clock wanting it to go faster so he'll be home. He loves it though, and there are a few other kids on there too... I'm just a nervous mommy not wanting her little boy to grow up... it happened way too fast!
Today I had a meeting for Music Makers, a program that I take Elizabeth and Ranen once a week that's just an hour long of singing, finger plays, marching, dancing, and story time. I've agreed to be a helper this year, so I'll be doing the story time portion of it for a few months, then doing singing time, and then change to something else. It'll be fun, and I was so happy to see my friends at the meeting as we were talking through what we'll be doing for the year... I just wish Elizabeth and Ranen weren't so clingy sometimes. My friends kids were all fine playing with each other, but no... mine both wanted to play on my lap and climb all over me while I was trying to participate! In all fairness, it was Ranen's nap time, so he had an excuse, and then Elizabeth always tries to vie for attention whenever she thinks Ranen is getting too much from me, so if he's in my lap, she wants to be too...
Anyway, it's getting late and I have a Pampered Chef show tomorrow that I have to prepare for. Nothing big. Just have to get all my PC stuff that I'm going to take out of my kitchen and into my bag. I really like doing shows. It gets me out of the house, meeting new people, cooking food (if I'm lucky, I get to eat some too), and make a little extra for us at the same time. Can't get much better than that! It's also a perk to get the products at a discount... BUT! I'm restraining myself from getting EVERYTHING I want... ;)
Hopefully I'll post pictures soon! I have such a hard time taking pictures, then transfering those picturs to the computer, then posting them on the blog and/or Facebook... *sigh* Trying to be better! Don't even talk about scrapbooking! Yikes! That requires so much more time than I can dream of right now... ;)
Later, we took Ranen to get his first haircut. :( SO sad! I loved his cute little blonde curls, but it was getting a little shaggy, and its time for him to look like a little boy, not a baby... From there we went to have lunch with my cousins, Zara, Sasha, and Wendy, with Auntie Dorothea and Grandma Beth and a niece of Wendy's. I love that we try to get together for lunch once a month. Sometimes it doesn't happen because of our busy schedules, but when we get together we never want to leave. I have the best cousins in the world. So sweet, and you'll never find better people anywhere than you'll find at that lunch table.
We've decided that Kyle can start taking the city bus home from school now, and I had Devin drop me off at his school so I could ride home with him for the first time to help him know what to do, and today he did it all by himself! He thinks it's awesome, and I think it makes me a nervous wreck! If it was a straight shot, I'd be a little more calm about it, but he has to make a transfer and that freaks me out. So, from the time he gets out of school until the time he comes off the bus at the stop around the corner, my eyes are glued to the clock wanting it to go faster so he'll be home. He loves it though, and there are a few other kids on there too... I'm just a nervous mommy not wanting her little boy to grow up... it happened way too fast!
Today I had a meeting for Music Makers, a program that I take Elizabeth and Ranen once a week that's just an hour long of singing, finger plays, marching, dancing, and story time. I've agreed to be a helper this year, so I'll be doing the story time portion of it for a few months, then doing singing time, and then change to something else. It'll be fun, and I was so happy to see my friends at the meeting as we were talking through what we'll be doing for the year... I just wish Elizabeth and Ranen weren't so clingy sometimes. My friends kids were all fine playing with each other, but no... mine both wanted to play on my lap and climb all over me while I was trying to participate! In all fairness, it was Ranen's nap time, so he had an excuse, and then Elizabeth always tries to vie for attention whenever she thinks Ranen is getting too much from me, so if he's in my lap, she wants to be too...
Anyway, it's getting late and I have a Pampered Chef show tomorrow that I have to prepare for. Nothing big. Just have to get all my PC stuff that I'm going to take out of my kitchen and into my bag. I really like doing shows. It gets me out of the house, meeting new people, cooking food (if I'm lucky, I get to eat some too), and make a little extra for us at the same time. Can't get much better than that! It's also a perk to get the products at a discount... BUT! I'm restraining myself from getting EVERYTHING I want... ;)
Hopefully I'll post pictures soon! I have such a hard time taking pictures, then transfering those picturs to the computer, then posting them on the blog and/or Facebook... *sigh* Trying to be better! Don't even talk about scrapbooking! Yikes! That requires so much more time than I can dream of right now... ;)
Friday, July 22, 2011
July...
It's been SUCH a crazy month but fun too... Kirsten and Karin came out to visit and it was so nice to have them here! We all went down (minus Devin who had to work) to San Diego for the weekend to take Kyle to a youth camp at San Diego State (check out www.rally4youth.org to see pictures and video!) and went a few days early so we could go to Sea World and the Zoo with the kids. It was a bit cramped in that hotel room, but we had fun and all got burnt! Our favorite part was the dolphin and sea lion show. Kyle really liked when we got drenched on the water rafting ride, but we did it a little too late in the day and were pretty cold after that!! We came back and spent a day in San Francisco and took a tour around the bay. Ranen slept through it all on his Aunt Kirsten and Elizabeth seemed to have fun just sitting on my lap and being on the boat. We worried she might get sea sick, because she gets car sick a lot (threw up once going down to SD, and again coming back up to V-ville, poor baby), but she just had a good time and the boat guy (not the techincal term, I know) was so helpful with bringing blankets for us, and even a sucker for Elizabeth.
Back home I started up classes again and they've been pretty labor intensive. I'm trying to keep up with that and keep the house in somewhat of an order, and I've found that if I stay on top of the housework and keep to my menu plans, things run a lot smoother, but it's a daily struggle! Elizabeth doesn't like to take naps much anymore, and that throws a wrench in the works. I'm trying to get her and Ranen in separate rooms, but to do that I have to finish making over the room I'll be moving Kyle into, then makeover the room he's in now (scraping popcorn off the ceiling, priming, texturizing, priming again, painting, etc.)
Ah! She's in the garage and I just heard our recycling hit the floor.... I know she's fine, but my semi-organized garage is no longer even semi-organized... that's my cue to go!!
~a
Back home I started up classes again and they've been pretty labor intensive. I'm trying to keep up with that and keep the house in somewhat of an order, and I've found that if I stay on top of the housework and keep to my menu plans, things run a lot smoother, but it's a daily struggle! Elizabeth doesn't like to take naps much anymore, and that throws a wrench in the works. I'm trying to get her and Ranen in separate rooms, but to do that I have to finish making over the room I'll be moving Kyle into, then makeover the room he's in now (scraping popcorn off the ceiling, priming, texturizing, priming again, painting, etc.)
Ah! She's in the garage and I just heard our recycling hit the floor.... I know she's fine, but my semi-organized garage is no longer even semi-organized... that's my cue to go!!
~a
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Sacramento Zoo!
So, today we finally were able to enjoy a California Summer day! We've had a VERY long winter, completely passed over spring (though a couple weeks in February was very spring-like), and now we're enjoying Summer weather! The perfect day to visit the Sacramento Zoo and Farytale Town on Devin's day off. The kids all had a great time, and Elizabeth loved the Giraffs and birds the most. Kyle was the most excited over seeing a Jaguar, and Ranen just enjoyed the ride in the umbrella stroller all day.... We took lots of pictures, but I had of course forgot the camera so once I get the pictures off of Devin's camera I'll post them! My favorite animal to visit were the monkeys... they were so similar to the kids behavior that I felt right at home!
I hadn't been to Farytale Town in a long time (if ever... I can't remember) and it was cute with a bit of a petting zoo with the Three Little Pigs (three potbellied pigs), Billy Goats Gruff (three goats), the Little Red Hen House (chickens running everywhere - Kyle was able to "pet" one but Elizabeth was just content to watch them from a couple feet away), and there was a donkey named Eeore and a cow named Daisy. There was also "Three Blind Mice", but we weren't able to pet them, thankfully, and I never could find Charlotte the Spider... We have plenty of "Charlotte's" in our garage... The rest of the park was cute, but was pretty much just a bunch of slides made out to look in line with the farytale theme. The longest one was a slide down the home of the little old lady who lived in a shoe... Also, you could climb up a hill "to fetch a pail of water" but instead of falling down and breaking your crown, there was a slide provided... I did get a couple pictures of our little princess in her pumpkin coach with Daddy driving the 4 horses...
All in all, it was a fun day and the kids were able to sleep on the way home.
Elizabeth has started calling her daddy "Devin" or "Dev" because that's what she hears me and Kyle calling him, and a couple of times she's called me "Ams" hearing Devin call me that... I think it's kind of funny, though Devin makes a point to correct her and let her know that to her, his name is Daddy. So, to try to help him out I'm trying to remember to call him "Daddy" whenever I talk to him...
I'm slowly making improvements to the house. It's slow going because it's best to do it when the kids are napping, so I have to decide if I'm going to do schoolwork, housework, home improvements, or (if I'm feeling selfish) read a book... As tempting as it is to give them Tylenol or Benadryl to help their naps last a bit longer, I haven't resorted to this... yet... Yesterday I scraped the popcorn off the ceiling in the downstairs bedroom. Next, I'll re-texture it, paint the whole room, change the closet doors and move Kyle to that room and then do the same in his current room so that each of the kids have their own room. I figure if I go room by room I can get things done in a systematic way. I've also cleaned up and organized the cave of a laundry room that we have and am planning on tiling and painting to finish it. I've never tiled before and am looking forward to completing this...
We have a new fence in. It looks beautiful, and has given us more incentive to work in the yard... Well, the fence and this sunny weather! My little garden is looking really good so far. I've got apples budding on the tree, tomatoes, peppers, and flowers blooming... The pool is blue and Kyle has already been swimming a couple times, though it's too cold for me or the other kids to try it out this year yet.
I know this is a lot to write for one little blog, but I figured I'd catch everyone up with what's going on here! Next up: Pictures!!! =O)
I hadn't been to Farytale Town in a long time (if ever... I can't remember) and it was cute with a bit of a petting zoo with the Three Little Pigs (three potbellied pigs), Billy Goats Gruff (three goats), the Little Red Hen House (chickens running everywhere - Kyle was able to "pet" one but Elizabeth was just content to watch them from a couple feet away), and there was a donkey named Eeore and a cow named Daisy. There was also "Three Blind Mice", but we weren't able to pet them, thankfully, and I never could find Charlotte the Spider... We have plenty of "Charlotte's" in our garage... The rest of the park was cute, but was pretty much just a bunch of slides made out to look in line with the farytale theme. The longest one was a slide down the home of the little old lady who lived in a shoe... Also, you could climb up a hill "to fetch a pail of water" but instead of falling down and breaking your crown, there was a slide provided... I did get a couple pictures of our little princess in her pumpkin coach with Daddy driving the 4 horses...
All in all, it was a fun day and the kids were able to sleep on the way home.
Elizabeth has started calling her daddy "Devin" or "Dev" because that's what she hears me and Kyle calling him, and a couple of times she's called me "Ams" hearing Devin call me that... I think it's kind of funny, though Devin makes a point to correct her and let her know that to her, his name is Daddy. So, to try to help him out I'm trying to remember to call him "Daddy" whenever I talk to him...
I'm slowly making improvements to the house. It's slow going because it's best to do it when the kids are napping, so I have to decide if I'm going to do schoolwork, housework, home improvements, or (if I'm feeling selfish) read a book... As tempting as it is to give them Tylenol or Benadryl to help their naps last a bit longer, I haven't resorted to this... yet... Yesterday I scraped the popcorn off the ceiling in the downstairs bedroom. Next, I'll re-texture it, paint the whole room, change the closet doors and move Kyle to that room and then do the same in his current room so that each of the kids have their own room. I figure if I go room by room I can get things done in a systematic way. I've also cleaned up and organized the cave of a laundry room that we have and am planning on tiling and painting to finish it. I've never tiled before and am looking forward to completing this...
We have a new fence in. It looks beautiful, and has given us more incentive to work in the yard... Well, the fence and this sunny weather! My little garden is looking really good so far. I've got apples budding on the tree, tomatoes, peppers, and flowers blooming... The pool is blue and Kyle has already been swimming a couple times, though it's too cold for me or the other kids to try it out this year yet.
I know this is a lot to write for one little blog, but I figured I'd catch everyone up with what's going on here! Next up: Pictures!!! =O)
Friday, June 3, 2011
Blogging...
So, I've decided I need to blog more... I haven't for a while, so maybe it's time to start doing more of this instead of so many silly blurbs in Facebook or something. So! Though I don't have time right now... I am determined that more thoughts, pictures, and family updates will be here soon! =O)
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Happy New Year!
Ok, it's been waaaaayyyy too long since I've posted anything! And, of course, I sit down to finally write and Elizabeth is up from her nap! :) She's getting so big now. She turned 1 year last month and I gave her her first haircut on Sunday morning before church... she looks so old now! She's not walking yet, but I think she knows she can walk, but figures its much faster to crawl right now that she doesn't bother... Christmas was fun this year and Santa brought some fun things for both Kyle and Elizabeth. It was great to be able to spend Christmas with my parents and all of my siblings and my grandma. It doesn't happen too often that we're all together so it made for a full (albeit loud!) Christmas. Hopefully next year (or sometime soon!) we'll be able to make it out to Utah to spend time with family there.
Elizabeth likes to babble a lot. I can see her being a big talker once she forms those sounds into words. She's so much like her daddy! She looks like him, she talks a lot just like him... and the girl can eat! :) She's not afraid of anything either... we have to keep her fenced off to keep her from going up the stairs or finding other ways to cause mischief. She's just very curious. She loves to be upside down too... while standing with her, she wants me to lean over so she's upside down... when I'm sitting on a chair with her she likes to crawl over the arm to get down that way... Nothing below my waist height is safe from her sweet little hands (or her mouth) either. Our dog, Bobby, is so energetic that we keep him outside to run and jump to his hearts content, but when he's inside he gets followed around by curious little Elizabeth wanting to pet him or climb all over him!
Kyle is doing well in school, piano, and cub scouts and enjoys having a little sister. Telling him it's bedtime is always a bit of a chore because he wants to be able to stay up and play with her "just a little longer". I can't believe how fast he's growing though... this is the last year he's in single digits! I'll have a 10 year old this summer!! Crazy... He's very much into all things BOY. He loves video games, sword fights, bike/scooter riding... and when it's not too cold plays outside with the dog or basketball hoop. He's getting very good at chess too. I love that he's old enough now to win on his own and not have mommy "lose" for him... He's always loved games that require thought and not just the roll of the dice...
Devin is still loving his job working for Ron Dupratt Ford in Dixon, CA. Last month he was one of the top sellers for the dealership and he's only been there 2 1/2 months! :) It definitely helps that he loves talking to people and loves the product he's selling. Each night he comes home in a good mood which is so good for our family.
I'm loving staying home with Elizabeth during the day and being home for Kyle after school. It's such a blessing to us all. For Christmas I got a computer drafting program so I can keep up with home designs and renovations. For now I'm just playing with it to see what it can do (and moreso what I can do), but eventually it may be nice to have a side business of sorts to do what I went to school for and enjoy doing!
Baby#3 is doing well and on it's way this June! Though with my track record baby will be born the end of May... We haven't found out if we're looking for blue or pink booties, but we hope to find out within the next month! The little one made me pretty sick and tired for a while but now has given me back a bit more energy than I've had, and I'm no longer sick, so I'm happy!
That's a little of what's going on with the Abels in California! I hope to post pictures soon, but little Lizzy is calling for lunchtime!
Elizabeth likes to babble a lot. I can see her being a big talker once she forms those sounds into words. She's so much like her daddy! She looks like him, she talks a lot just like him... and the girl can eat! :) She's not afraid of anything either... we have to keep her fenced off to keep her from going up the stairs or finding other ways to cause mischief. She's just very curious. She loves to be upside down too... while standing with her, she wants me to lean over so she's upside down... when I'm sitting on a chair with her she likes to crawl over the arm to get down that way... Nothing below my waist height is safe from her sweet little hands (or her mouth) either. Our dog, Bobby, is so energetic that we keep him outside to run and jump to his hearts content, but when he's inside he gets followed around by curious little Elizabeth wanting to pet him or climb all over him!
Kyle is doing well in school, piano, and cub scouts and enjoys having a little sister. Telling him it's bedtime is always a bit of a chore because he wants to be able to stay up and play with her "just a little longer". I can't believe how fast he's growing though... this is the last year he's in single digits! I'll have a 10 year old this summer!! Crazy... He's very much into all things BOY. He loves video games, sword fights, bike/scooter riding... and when it's not too cold plays outside with the dog or basketball hoop. He's getting very good at chess too. I love that he's old enough now to win on his own and not have mommy "lose" for him... He's always loved games that require thought and not just the roll of the dice...
Devin is still loving his job working for Ron Dupratt Ford in Dixon, CA. Last month he was one of the top sellers for the dealership and he's only been there 2 1/2 months! :) It definitely helps that he loves talking to people and loves the product he's selling. Each night he comes home in a good mood which is so good for our family.
I'm loving staying home with Elizabeth during the day and being home for Kyle after school. It's such a blessing to us all. For Christmas I got a computer drafting program so I can keep up with home designs and renovations. For now I'm just playing with it to see what it can do (and moreso what I can do), but eventually it may be nice to have a side business of sorts to do what I went to school for and enjoy doing!
Baby#3 is doing well and on it's way this June! Though with my track record baby will be born the end of May... We haven't found out if we're looking for blue or pink booties, but we hope to find out within the next month! The little one made me pretty sick and tired for a while but now has given me back a bit more energy than I've had, and I'm no longer sick, so I'm happy!
That's a little of what's going on with the Abels in California! I hope to post pictures soon, but little Lizzy is calling for lunchtime!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Lack of sleep...
No, it's not because of Elizabeth... she sleeps through the night... it's a variety of reasons really... all from one source: Devin. :) Oh, don't get me wrong, he sleeps just fine... but too often I wake up with elbows on my head... he's playing basketball in his sleep again... but last night takes the cake. Apparently he was dreaming that someone stole something from him... so he had to take it back. Unfortunatly for me this meant me waking up to my pillow being snatched from under my head and then him curling up with it. No worries, I turned into the irritable grizzly bear that I am after being awoken and wrestled to get my pillow back, but my goodness! I've thought seriously about the two twin beds in the room! Or better yet, just a separate twin for him and I'll keep the bed we have!
I have to say that he is sorry that he does this, and did allow me to stay in bed a bit longer when Elizabeth woke up this morning. I'll look back at this and laugh I know... but for now? I'm tired... and Elizabeth is awake again...
I have to say that he is sorry that he does this, and did allow me to stay in bed a bit longer when Elizabeth woke up this morning. I'll look back at this and laugh I know... but for now? I'm tired... and Elizabeth is awake again...
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Abel Update...
Seems like life goes by too fast. We've had some milestones for both Devin and Elizabeth the last couple of weeks. First off, Devin has started college and loves it! He's taking classes for Sports Medicine including Nutrition, Weight Training (that made him so sore he could hardly walk yesterday!), and prevention of athletic injuries. He really does enjoy it, though with school full time and work full time we sure miss having him at home. He doesn't have a day off anymore. We know that this time will pass quickly though (and in some ways, too quickly) and enjoy the time we do have together as a family.
Elizabeth has made her Mama very happy by sleeping longer at night. She goes to sleep about midnight each night and then wakes up between 6:00 am and 7:30 am. She also has the most beautiful smile and was so happy smiling for me last night as I was talking and smiling to her. Two days ago, she rolled from her tummy to her back and we had to clap for her! Ok, she hasn't done it since, and she did it while she was upset, but still!! She rolled! :)
Kyle is doing well too, and though we're not ready for him to walk to and from school on his own, we drive him to school in the morning then I walk (sometimes Devin is able to make it too) to his school with Elizabeth in a stroller, and his scooter folded in the basket below so he can ride his scooter home from school. We enjoy this time together to do nothing but walk/ride next to each other and talk about our day. When Devin comes we also bring our dog, Bobby, and it's really a nice family time. Of course, it gets a bit ruined when we get home and it's homework time! Ha ha... not really though. Kyle does his homework as soon as he comes home from school and I'm always there to help him and he loves showing me how well he does at math but loves to do his vocabulary word searches with him. After homework it's playing outside with Bobby, or light sabers, and loves his computer games like Leggo Star Wars or Age of Empires. Yesterday though, he didn't have homework so we played Battleship (I won) and then UNO (he won) and then watched Night at the Museum until Devin came home from work and had dinner together.
We're getting a little excited/nervous though, 'cause we're planning another move. To enable me to stay home with the kids we'll be living in my parents house (they moved to Roseville and let us stay in their Vacaville house until Dev finishes school, or they're able to sell the house). So, in the meantime I'm taking care of Elizabeth and trying to clean and pack, but we're also helping my parents fix up the house a bit. So, yeah, I'm keeping a little busy, especially since Elizabeth is awake a lot more during the day and doesn't like to be set down. I know things will work out (they always seem to), so I just try to take things one day at a time.
With that in mind, I think I'll take the rest of the time that Elizabeth is napping to finish her blessing dress or clean house! Fun Fun!
Wait! Nevermind... she's awake...
Friday, January 2, 2009
Happy New Year!
Elizabeth was born on December 13, 2008 at 6:31 pm. This little peanut was 6 lbs 9 oz and 19 1/2 inches long... the exact same as her older brother! She scared us the first week with a bit of jaundice, but is doing well now. She cries only when she's hungry and is just a very content little girl. Already she has a slew of nicknames from her mommy and daddy (Buggaboo, Baby Doll, Lizzy, among others like Sweetie and Honey, etc). I'm feeling great too, although I am very tired. She wakes up quite a bit at night to eat and the only plus side to that (besides her getting the nourishment she needs, of course) is that her Daddy sleeps like a rock through it all, so he gets all the sleep he needs... meaning that he can better put up with his sleep deprived cranky wife...
Seriously, things couldn't be better. Kyle loves his little sister and always takes the time to give her a kiss on her head as he walks by and always looks for the chance to hold her... when he's not preoccupied with a Wii or computer game! His favorite things these days is everything Star Wars! He also loves "rough housing" with our Jack Russell Bobby, and playing "light sabers" with Devin...
We had a great Christmas and this past year has been absolutely wonderful with our marriage, and new baby... couldn't be happier and are looking forward to what this year has to bring us!
Seriously, things couldn't be better. Kyle loves his little sister and always takes the time to give her a kiss on her head as he walks by and always looks for the chance to hold her... when he's not preoccupied with a Wii or computer game! His favorite things these days is everything Star Wars! He also loves "rough housing" with our Jack Russell Bobby, and playing "light sabers" with Devin...
We had a great Christmas and this past year has been absolutely wonderful with our marriage, and new baby... couldn't be happier and are looking forward to what this year has to bring us!
Elizabeth Theda Ann Abel
Our little angel came to us on December 13, 2008 at 6:31 pm weighing 6 lbs 9 oz and 19 1/2 inches long... Exactly the same as her older brother! She gave us a bit of a scare the first week with jaundice, but is doing really well now. She is so sweet and precious. She only cries if she's hungry, and sometimes when she just wants to be held... no worries about that though. It's not too often that she's not in her Mama's arms, or Daddy's, or big brother Kyle... ;)
These pictures came from my camera phone (or Devin's) so they're not very good quality, but we'll try to get some good pictures soon and post them!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Lately...
I just have a few minutes on my lunchbreak, so in between gulps of Ramen and Milk I'll give you a bit of an update on the Abel family in California. We're all well, and keeping busy. Kyle has been with his dad the last week and a half (we get him back on Sunday!!! Hurray!) and Dev and I have been busy almost every night it seems. With childbirth classes, yoga classes (me, not him), church obligations.... oh and going into "false labor"... always keeps our evenings together busy! Oh, as far as the "false labor", there's nothing to worry about. For one thing, I'm far enough along so that if our little girl were to introduce herself soon, there'd be no (or very little) developmental problems and things would be just fine (I'm about 34 weeks along). For another, my contractions that I'm having aren't doing anything but hurting me! *sigh* That's frustrating! Elizabeth's head is far down at 0 station ready to go, but I'm not effaced, and only 1.5 cm dialated... so yeah... as far as my body is concerned, she's in there for a while longer... So, again, no worries on our little girl coming too early.
Work is going ok. Dev still is wowing everyone he works for with his marketing/selling/customer service skills, but we're still hoping for something better for him at this point. It's not his favorite place to be, but hey! In this economy... it's a job... My work is going good. They like me there, I get my work done, but I keep thinking about how I want to be home to get things ready more here.... I get so tired at night I don't want to do anything! Luckily, Dev steps up without needing any nagging from me... Dishes and laundry is taken care of, and most of the household chores he's always willing to help me with or just take over... Couldn't ask for a more understanding and caring husband!
Anyway... I'm going to be late getting back to work, but wanted to let you know how we're doing!
Work is going ok. Dev still is wowing everyone he works for with his marketing/selling/customer service skills, but we're still hoping for something better for him at this point. It's not his favorite place to be, but hey! In this economy... it's a job... My work is going good. They like me there, I get my work done, but I keep thinking about how I want to be home to get things ready more here.... I get so tired at night I don't want to do anything! Luckily, Dev steps up without needing any nagging from me... Dishes and laundry is taken care of, and most of the household chores he's always willing to help me with or just take over... Couldn't ask for a more understanding and caring husband!
Anyway... I'm going to be late getting back to work, but wanted to let you know how we're doing!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Prop 8
My good friend from High School thought I was discriminating because I'm voting YES on Prop 8. I sent her this response and hope I cleared that up. What do you think?
Prop 8 isn’t taking anything away from the gay community except that it defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. Civil unions are still protected under law with the full civil rights of those that are “married”.
If prop 8 is passed, no same sex couples will not be able to be "Married." but under the California Family Code section 297.5 it states:"Registered domestic partners shall have the same rights,protections, and benefits, and shall be subject to the sameresponsibilities, obligations, and duties under law, whether theyderive from statutes, administrative regulations, court rules,government policies, common law, or any other provisions or sourcesof law, as are granted to and imposed upon spouses."So same sex couples will still have all the same rights, protections, and benefits and they should. They DO deserve all of the same rights, protections, and benefits. They wont be "married" but they get the same everything besides the word.
The issue comes in when (as evidenced by the state of Massachusetts after they allowed same sex marriage) they start teaching same-sex relationships in schools as being acceptable. Children in 2nd grade going on field trips to see a lesbian wedding and it being viewed as a “teachable moment” (as we saw in San Francisco just a couple weeks ago). Kids being sent home with colorful children’s books about a King marrying another King. Parents being thrown in jail because they demand notification before this is discussed in the classroom with administrators telling them they have no rights to know beforehand what their child (KINDERGARTENERS!) is learning about same sex relationships. Sex education for older elementary children including how same sex relationships “do it”.
Also, churches lose their rights to act independently as a church organization. In Boston a Catholic Church had to stop their adoption services because they refused to allow these children to be placed in same sex homes. They wouldn’t allow them to retain their moral beliefs in this. Churches can also be sued if they don’t allow same sex couples to be married in their buildings by their preachers. It’s using the law to compromise another’s moral beliefs. There is no longer a separation of church and state that our forefathers fought so hard for!
You know I have nothing against those that are gay and have friends and family members that are that I love. They are entitled to all the rights granted by the government just as they should be. However, tolerance is a two way street. I need to be the one to teach my son (and soon daughter) about what I believe to be morally correct without having the intolerance label put on me. I should be able to worship in a church that is able to teach the same moral values that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained by God for the procreation and bringing children into the world. This is why abstinence before marriage is taught by churches.
You know me. You know that I have my beliefs and standards but that I never pushed those on you or anyone else. Shouldn’t I be allowed the same courtesy by others?
Prop 8 isn’t taking anything away from the gay community except that it defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. Civil unions are still protected under law with the full civil rights of those that are “married”.
If prop 8 is passed, no same sex couples will not be able to be "Married." but under the California Family Code section 297.5 it states:"Registered domestic partners shall have the same rights,protections, and benefits, and shall be subject to the sameresponsibilities, obligations, and duties under law, whether theyderive from statutes, administrative regulations, court rules,government policies, common law, or any other provisions or sourcesof law, as are granted to and imposed upon spouses."So same sex couples will still have all the same rights, protections, and benefits and they should. They DO deserve all of the same rights, protections, and benefits. They wont be "married" but they get the same everything besides the word.
The issue comes in when (as evidenced by the state of Massachusetts after they allowed same sex marriage) they start teaching same-sex relationships in schools as being acceptable. Children in 2nd grade going on field trips to see a lesbian wedding and it being viewed as a “teachable moment” (as we saw in San Francisco just a couple weeks ago). Kids being sent home with colorful children’s books about a King marrying another King. Parents being thrown in jail because they demand notification before this is discussed in the classroom with administrators telling them they have no rights to know beforehand what their child (KINDERGARTENERS!) is learning about same sex relationships. Sex education for older elementary children including how same sex relationships “do it”.
Also, churches lose their rights to act independently as a church organization. In Boston a Catholic Church had to stop their adoption services because they refused to allow these children to be placed in same sex homes. They wouldn’t allow them to retain their moral beliefs in this. Churches can also be sued if they don’t allow same sex couples to be married in their buildings by their preachers. It’s using the law to compromise another’s moral beliefs. There is no longer a separation of church and state that our forefathers fought so hard for!
You know I have nothing against those that are gay and have friends and family members that are that I love. They are entitled to all the rights granted by the government just as they should be. However, tolerance is a two way street. I need to be the one to teach my son (and soon daughter) about what I believe to be morally correct without having the intolerance label put on me. I should be able to worship in a church that is able to teach the same moral values that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained by God for the procreation and bringing children into the world. This is why abstinence before marriage is taught by churches.
You know me. You know that I have my beliefs and standards but that I never pushed those on you or anyone else. Shouldn’t I be allowed the same courtesy by others?
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Oh Baby!
So, I haven't been able to get over to my mom's house to scan pictures yet, but we took a picture of the picture (ingenious, aren't we?) so we could show off our little Elizabeth... She's so cute, even in a grainy black and white picture... :) I don't think she's actually sucking her thumb in this picture 'cause she only had her hand there for a second when the radiologist took the picture, but it's still sweet. We have another U/S on August 25th that's supposed to be better and clearer so hopefully we'll get pictures for that.
On other news, Kyle is loving school and his teacher. The homework right now is "so easy" and it's fun to watch him learn. He's really into reading right now (like mama like son) and can easily finish one of his Magic Tree House books in one sitting. He actually took one to church and read the entire book during Sacrament Meeting. He's never sat so still in Sacrament... :) He also just started Cub Scouts and is having so much fun with the other boys. He is always quite the "ladies man" so it's nice for him to develop his friendships with boys a bit more... He goes to a friends house after school and instead of playing with the boy that's in his grade, he plays with his friends younger sister that's in kindergarten... he's not really into video games or playing with action figures, but instead prefers to use his imagination and explore while searching for monsters, or shoot aliens that only he can see... he's constantly looking for "clues", but clues to what, no one can ever figure out. Yesterday he found a rock, and acorn, and a few bird feathers that were a "clue"... I just let him know how cool that is and don't ask questions... He gets exasperated when I don't understand... :) but he has started collecting Pokemon cards... He loves having his "collections". So far, he says that he collects baseball hats, rocks, Pokemon cards, and Magic Tree House books...
Anyway, we're all doing well... Devin just got a promotion at Sam's Club and is being recognized by regional marketing directors (even if English isn't their native language and their praise is sometimes hard to decipher!) but is looking at going into the CHP Academy soon. My work hasn't changed much, but the engineers here all seem to want me working on their projects and like that I can get my work done fast and how they want it. The Public Works Director knows me by name and says hello to me each time I see him... so that's nice...
Anyway, we're doing good, Elizabeth is healthy and growing stronger each day (I think she's bruised my insides a few times already), Kyle is loving the Olympics and wants to be a gymnast, Devin is happy at his work, and me? I'm happy that I can fall in bed and go to sleep each night! :)
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