My Life Right Now

This is my life right now, air mattresses and suitcases.  Everything is loaded up and headed to NJ.  I feel like a family of squatters. Ha!

We thought for sure that we had enough electronics to keep the kids happy, and then Miriam broke my laptop.  Now we are down to 2 laptops, a Kindle Fire, my cell phone and a temperamental DS  and for some reason this still isn't enough to keep everyone happy. 

Even with all the bickering over whose turn it is on what machine, I actually like this arrangement.  There is nothing to keep clean, no toys to pick up and I have a legitimate reason for not cooking instead of just not feeling like it.  Just a few more days and we will be on the road!

Halo Cake

Here it is!  Tobie and Coby are having their 10th birthday party combined since we will be in New Jersey for Tobie's actual birthday and we aren't going to know anyone enough to throw him a big 10 birthday.  The boys are both really into Halo, and I mean REALLY into it!  These are actually their characters helmets.  Tobie's is on the blue and Coby's is on the red. 

I used my cupcake cake pan to create the heads, then I just carved the cake in the shape I needed.  I covered each with fondant, which was no easy feat because of all the indents and details.  But I thought they turned out pretty darn awesome.

Theo's Father's Day

For Father's Day Theo picked out this little toy!  It really was a great buy for him.  He runs a lot and is training for a couple of full marathons and another half coming up this year.  For his training it's good to have one of these babies to keep track.  He has been envious of mine that I've had for a few years, this is my fun toy:   

The bad thing about mine is that it is kind of bulky and mine doesn't tell time.  It's strictly for distance, but Theo's Nike+ is great for every day wear.  I guess now it's my turn to be jealous!  I really like my Garmin, but this just might be on my birthday wish list!

Finger Toes

These have got to be the ugliest shoes ever invented, but with past foot problems, curiosity and these babies on sale I decided to bite the bullet and try them out.  At first I thought it was going to be annoying with the fabric between my toes, but oddly enough they are incredibly comfortable!  They promote forefront foot strike when you run, and it definitely does that.  I've been trying to run that way anyway with my running shoes, and with these it just happens naturally.  Of course after a half mile of running I started to feel other weaknesses in my feet which will hopefully strengthen over time.  I switched out to my regular running shoes for the rest of my run and boy did my feet feel weird going BACK to my normal shoes!  I was not expecting that.  I guess my feet really did enjoy the new style.

Of course I will NOT be sporting these things to church, or to the store. You will only catch me wearing them in two places, either on my treadmill or running outside.  Other than that I don't plan on making any bold fashion statements....yet. 

Miriam's 7th Birthday

To celebrate Miriam's 7th birthday we planned a fun day at the beach. Theo even took the whole day off of work. We thought it was going to be a great day, until we heard that the seaweed is out with a vengeance and apparently the water heated up too quickly for the fish and dead fish were washing up on shore. Dead fish, seaweed and a rip tide that brought out the red flag deterred us from going to the beach.

It's all good, because we got to take advantage of Theo's cousin house since they have a sweet pool! I really wish we could go there more often, but it's a good 35-45 minute drive. We spent a fun few hours there until the thunderstorms chased us away.

Once we got home some of us changed and we all went out to a Chinese Buffet restaurant. The food is fine, but I think my kids love coming to this place because of the statues they have all over the place. They have dragons and big lion statues out front that you can climb on other than these awesome Pandas.
 
 She just wanted a cake with a sun, and a beach theme around the bottom since her birthday is in the summer. And can you believe with all the work I do with fondant Miriam didn't want any of that. She said she doesn't like fondant actually. What?! How can she be my daughter? But it was exactly what she wanted, so I guess I am happy for that. Ha! It's probably better that it was this way, after the awesome Super Hero cake and with Tobie's 10th birthday cake coming up, which is going to be HUGE! I guess this cake was a nice little break.

I think she had a good birthday, even though it was just us and my parents, but next year will be a whopper with her turning 8 and getting baptized and all. We go all out for that one.

So Happy Birthday Miriam, you are 1 year from a party!! LOL!! ;)

Organizing

Doesn't this look awesome! Such organization. I just wish that I could get my stuff together and in order this precise. Especially with a very big move coming up I have gotten the organizing bug.

I have clothes to throw out, things to sell, but I can't seem to get the little things in order. I have several drawers and a few closets that are filled with miscellaneous odds and ends from scrapbooking, to sewing projects to school work. But the thing that really eats at me is the cost of getting organized.

Looking at this picture I see $10 here, another $20 there...so much equipment just to get organized. Why does organization have to be so darned expensive! I've seen shows where they help people get organized, but they have to buy trays and baskets and shelving! I just don't have the resources or the time to go to stores to find junk to put my junk in.

I am thisclose to just using a baggy system and putting everything in labeled Wal-Mart or Target bags. It won't be pretty, but maybe I can get everything up to NJ in at least an orderly fashion. With 5 kids and no time, that just may be my only option.

Thunderstorms

I didn't take this picture, but that was a pretty accurate looking picture of a thunderstorm that you would see here in L.A. I really hope they have thunderstorms in NJ.

When we lived in CA the beautiful days of clear blue skies began to take its toll on me. I missed those sweet summer showers with the rolling thunder and the cool relief the rains would bring. I even would turn my computer off and back on because its start up sound was a thunder clap. Whenever I heard that sound I would get so homesick.

As I'm typing this entry now there is a wonderful storm outside. The rumbling outside is so relaxing. There is nothing like a lazy rainy day or evening, especially with the static in the air from a refreshing thunderstorm.

I really hope they have thunderstorms in NJ.

Tobie the Zombie

Summer has started which is Halo Heaven for Tobie! We make him earn time by doing chores, and each chore is only worth 30 minutes of play time. Anything from practicing his piano to scrubbing the bathroom, and he will do it all without any complaint if it means he gets his Halo fix.

It just might be Halo Heaven for me to. =)