It’s over between us. We were good together but I have to move on. Wordpress offers me more control and you know I need that.
It’s not you.
It’s me.
I’m moving to fluteloop.com with a wordpress blog and I know I will be happy.
I wish you the best, you were always good to me.
fluteloop
The world's first collaborative online orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall on April 15, 2009.
A polar bear attacked a women at the Berlin Zoo after she climbed a fence and jumped into its habitat during feeding time.
"People can't want what they want."
~Dr. Drew Pinksy
Last week was so doom and gloom, with the accident, injuries, and the insurance drama. So today I decided to just get out of the house. Ara needed a day of sunshine and running so much and it made me feel good to see her cheeks flushed with exercise and happiness. We walked to the park with the princess carriage loaded up with Ara’s tricycle, helmet, bouncy ball, water (it was hot today!), and strawberries to munch. It was a good day.
I received information in the mail from the Montessori preschool I was interested in. I was so excited because the website for the school says it is a charter school, meaning free tuition but it turns out only K-5th grade are free. Preschool is NOT free, in fact it would cost more than our rent per month. Plus they run on semesters like the school district and they are a month away from summer break. I feel discouraged. I think she would really benefit from a few hours a day in preschool. She is so smart and active and she is dying to play with kids her age. Between the car fiasco (buy a car, drive for a week, get smashed by a reckless driver, tons of out of pocket fees) and looking at these astronomical tuition rates I feel trapped by the almighty dollar. I keep thinking if only I could contribute the extra money we could do this for her. The school sessions are only 3 hours in the morning. Not really enough time to have a job. I think it’s time to put some effort into building my studio up again. She is just growing so fast I feel like the clock is ticking and I need to get everything just right. There are no “do-overs” in parenting!
Foam letters in a craft store create preschooler frienzy!
Ara takes so much joy in knowing all of her letters. We are working with her on knowing both the upper and lower cases and introducing small words. She is a cute little learning sponge with a pony tail and a too small shirt!
Here is a little factoid about me you may not know; I have funny feet. I walk on the outsides of my feet, I have the Filipino shuffle going on, and I’m convinced they are more flipper than foot. I’m ok with it, it’s part of who I am but until recently I thought I also had to accept that all shoes would be uncomfortable. Not so! Says the pretty shoe in the picture. Salomon Woman’s trail running shoes. The actual model I have are a little different but I couldn’t find a picture, this is close enough. This shoe, is my new favorite shoe. I expect shoes to hurt when they are new. I’ve accepted that as a fact of life. But these shoes felt wonderful from the first day. So, for all of my fellow weird footers out there.. don’t give up! And to the shoe fairies THANKS!
Ara told me I was a monkey. I said she looked like a banana and asked if she was yummy. She said, “no, I’m too hard and yucky”!
The photo is a shot I took back in October. Beautiful old pueblo style window framed with leaves.
I feel artistically blocked. I am trying to design a new site template for Wordpress now that I have control of my domain but I am drawing a blank. I wish I could remember my dream design (literally saw it in a dream).. I saw it so clearly a few weeks ago but now it’s poof! It’s been so long since I had so much freedom and I don’t know what to do with it!
We went to Target tonight and found some really cute Easter basket fillers. We looked at the actual basket selection and both A and I agreed that there was no point in buying a cheap wicker basket or in buying an over priced character basket that would only be used for one year. 
So we went to the home section and found a pink plastic tote that is perfect and only $2.99. A picked out some super cute new socks and panties for her and I grabbed a dozen plastic eggs. A Sesame Street book, toy truck, and we finally caved and got her another Fur Berrie. She has been asking for Blue Berry Bear since December, except she calls it “booboo fairy”.
Quick update on GoDaddy. You can now upgrade your account from IIS6 to IIS7 without deleting your account. It’s a simple setting change. Be warned though, you cannot downgrade once you make the jump to 7. After I upgraded I successfully installed wordpress through the GoDaddy interface with no problems.
I recently used GoDaddy to transfer a domain into my name but I neglected to update the whois information and when the old owner complained, GoDaddy charged me a $10 fee to process that complaint (by process I mean email me about the fee). I need to learn not to take things for granted… I didn’t see this one coming at all. I assumed the info would be updated once it was added to my account. Mistakes will cost you… be warned.
This was the first car I bought for myself. I paid $400 because the owner was an old air force buddy of my Dad's. Originally the car was for his teenage daughter, but she left to live with her Mom so I won! When I got the z it had been sitting for over a year and the inside had a fresh(ish) coat of black paint and thick pink house carpet. The original owner had sprayed every surface pink! A and I re carpeted the car and installed speakers in the back. We worked for hours on end doing everything ourselves. College students on summer break with no money but lots of time! We even managed to get the paint shiny (in most places) by buffing off the paint oxidation. Lots of work! My z treated me well. It had well over 200,000 miles on it but it ran like a champ. I loved it. The only problem was that it was so old and the parts were hard to find and expensive. After a few years I gave it to my Dad to work on as a hobby and had to move on. Mostly because I couldn't bear the thought of selling it. That's how it goes with our first car loves isn't it?
It has been collecting dust in my Dad's garage for years now, but he is moving soon so today he rolled it out. Right after the z saw sunlight the garbage collection came by and the driver leaned out the window wanting to know if it was for sale! I'm telling you, everyone wants the z because it's so obviously made of win. My Dad probably will sell it. So my car heart is breaking twice this month.
The z and the camry... good cars are so hard to find.
I tried to go motrin free last night. I woke up in tears from the pain. But before I woke up I was having the strangest dreams where my shoulder and neck hurt. I wish I could blog my dream world.
My unconcious is so entertaining!
Me: What does Spot have in his lunch box?
Ara: Yogurt balls
Me: What does monkey have?
Ara: A banana.
Me: And hippo?
Ara: Grapes.
Me: What about crocodile?
Ara: STEAK!
While kissing Ara goodnight I say to her:
Me “We are so lucky to have eachother”
Ara “we are yucky?”
Official Earth Hour 2009 video. Earth Hour is on March 28th, 2009 at 8:30pm. More at http://www.earthhour.org
Support Earth Hour by making your own video and adding it to our Earth Hour Global group here:
http://www.youtube.com/group/earthhourglobal
Check out the Flicker photo stream for some nifty images:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/earthhour_global/
Support the earth!
I am now the proud owner of two domains that are fluteloop related. I own them.. well kind of… as much as you can "own” anything on the internet I guess. Anyway, I learned a lot during the process of transferring my old domain into my name. When I got the email saying it was finally complete I was overjoyed. I immediately started planning the content and look. I also started thinking about what content management system I would like to use. I have blogged on Blogger for years now and I don’t have many complaints. I also have a few test blogs set up on Wordpress. In general I feel like Wordpress has more of the options I need and a nicer dashboard interface. But Blogger gives me access to modify my HTML which has made modifying templates so much easier and it connects me to my word (gmail, reader, photos). I also blog on livejournal which is great for the community but not even in the running as far as I’m concerned. I started looking around and I found that I could download wordpress, install it on my own site and have unrestricted access to it! No compromise necessary, I can have every thing I want and need!
Woo freaking Hoo!
***snag***
You knew it was coming right? I logged into my GoDaddy account and found that my hosting plan was not compatible.
What?
How is that possible.. I looked at the comparison charts and my economy plan had a big ol’check mark next to PHP and Wordpress. So I assume there is some mistake (on my part of course). I do what I always do when I don’t understand something… I turned to google. I found an article from March 2, 2009 on Michael’s Techbox called Thinking of hosting with GoDaddy?.
GoDaddy won’t install WordPress on IIS 6.
I started by signing up for a Deluxe Windows Hosting Package, so that I could test out some MVC stuff, and play around with new .net stuff. At the same time I was told that it was “no problem” to install a wordpress blog in the Windows package. It was a matter of a few clicks. Unfortunately the GoDaddy software requires you to select IIS 7 during the account setup, if you intend to run PHP. There were no warnings or prompts about this. Technically PHP is capable of running on either IIS 6 or 7. So this is a GoDaddy specific issue. I installed IIS 6, hoping to install an older version for maximum compatibility. The only way to resolve this is to completely delete the account and restart. This implies getting refunded on money spent and repurchasing the package. If you don’t believe this - here is offical GoDaddy communication to confirm this.
Upon review of the currently hosting plan you have with us, it is not compatible with WordPress. WordPress requires PHP language support. Your hosting account is an IIS6 Windows hosting account, which does not support PHP scripting. If this website is using only non-Windows based programming, then it is advisable to migrate the account to a Linux hosting account. If you must use Windows for any ASP.NET, Microsoft databases or other specific Windows scripting, then this account will need to be canceled, repurchased and then setup as an IIS7 configuration for Windows which does support PHP 5 scripting (not PHP 4). We do not offer an upgrade from IIS6 to IIS7. Please use the steps below for the different options suggested to resolve this connectivity issue.
No matter how you look at this, its totally unacceptable. But could have been avoided if I had a support technician on the line with me during setup. I would also like to again remind you that You absolutely cannot blame the support engineers for this type of answer, instead the real reason behind this, the outdated software that drives GoDaddy.com. I decided it was easier (cheaper too) to migrate to Linux.
A GoDaddy representative actually commented on his article!
Considering this is problem is GoDaddy specific I think they should fix it or at least put something about it in the set up screen. But that is my non-tech savvy opinion. I have no idea what that would entail. I sent a support email, hoping that they have somehow found a better solution than deleting my account and starting over. I will have my answer sometime in the next 24 hours or so. Overall, I am disappointed. I have only used GoDaddy in the past for domain registration. My hosting experience thus far has not been positive. If I am told I need to delete and start again I will be looking at other hosting companies. I should have done my homework before setting up my account with GoDaddy.
Energy efficiency initiatives that reduce electricity and gas usage could save consumers and businesses up to $168 billion, says the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
Read the Article on Digg
Every time I take a picture of her running, neither of her feet seem to be touching the ground. Solid evidence that she is in fact a cartoon! Her legs just blur and she runs on air.
A boy at church decided to tease her and call her a name… “chatter-box”. He told the other kids to run away from the chatter box and then watched for her reaction. Ara just looked at him for a second, then dismissed him. Owned.
Sometimes bad things make you thankful. Today I am thankful.
I found out last night via the blogosphere that an old friend had taken his own life. Jason was someone I connected with online. When I met him I was just beginning to find I had an interest in design. Jason, or JasoNYC as he was to me then seemed to know it all. He seemed to crackle with wit, sarcasm, and talent. We would talk everyday about our projects and he would give me honest and critical comments. Sometimes they stung, but I would dive back in and realize he was right, I could do better. We would even play “photoshop tennis” passing an image back and forth, taking turns adding increasingly far out elements. I felt a real connection to him in this area but looking back I knew so little of Jason himself. We both moved on and we haven’t spoken much these past few years. My last communication with him was a year ago through Deviant Art.
The post by Chris Diclerico about Jason is really touching and explains a little to me how Jason could come to this point. It also has links to Jason’s work, he was an amazing photographer. Several of the pictures in his galleries were taken when he and I were still talking everyday and they look so alive and contrary to the reality that all of his friends are facing now.
I have been looking through old blog posts from back in the day and I found this. It’s nothing more than nonsense but it made me laugh and laugh at the time:
The following is a transcript of a chat I had with my friend Jason, master of random thoughts:
~fluteloop~ : It was sort of ghetto-an-istic... fight or be fighted upon
?jason? : I hate being fighted upon when I'm not in the mood.
~fluteloop~ : so true
?jason? : But after I watch fight type movies...
~fluteloop~ : you totally want to kick some ppl!
~fluteloop~ : yeah!
~fluteloop~ : Im with you!
?jason? : Like Spiderman 2, I was so ready to climb up some walls and fight crime.
~fluteloop~ : I will have to go see that
?jason? : Not really bad crime with guns and stuff.
~fluteloop~ : I just said that...but I know I wont go...crazy
?jason? : Just like...if someone's peeing, and they try to pee on me, I would totally yell at them.
~fluteloop~ : well... you
~fluteloop~ : are a new yorker youre tough and stuff
~fluteloop~ : I would yell at them too but then later I would cry
?jason? : I would yell stuff like 'Hey! Don't pee on me!' And smart things like that.
~fluteloop~ : good call
?jason? : And...
~fluteloop~ : i would say 'whats wrong with you?'
?jason? : Dude. You just totally took what I was going to say...
~fluteloop~ : I also like refering to ppl as pieces of crap
?jason? : Pieces of crap goes with so many occasions.
~fluteloop~ : and that might pertain to the situation
?jason? : You can call someone a piece of crap.
?jason? : Something can BE a piece of crap.
?jason? : You can FEEL like a piece of crap.
~fluteloop~ : cant breathe
?jason? : Versatility is a major part of any important slanderous phrase.
I can’t believe this is a world without him, I hope he found his peace.
It’s that time, actually it’s waaay past that time.
Time for new shoes.
My absolute favorite pair of walking/elliptical shoes are starting to look so ratty even I am aware of it! These were KangaROOS ordered from Endless a shoe and handbag website with free shipping and good prices. I remembered having ROOs when I was a kid. They were awesome shoes with little zipper pockets in them. Back in the day when there were such things as pay phones and two quarters in your shoe could mean a soda, a couple saladito's’ from the ice cream truck, or a phone call home for a ride.
In short they were awesome!
This particular pair were my favorite because they were mary jane style slip-ons so I could literally step into my shoes on the way out the door. They had a cushion insole that came out so it could be washed and they felt like you weren’t wearing shoes at all. Aww how I will miss them!
So this leads me to my search for new shoes. I bought a pair last night at Target with my birthday gift card but then on the way home Alex said, “You should have looked on Endless again since you liked that pair so much”.
And I realized he was exactly right but don’t tell him, it goes to his head.
So I sat down and happily spent an hour shoe shopping online. There is a lot to be said for online shopping. Especially with free shipping (amazon’s shipping is so high I hardly ever click “buy”). I love that I can spend all the time I need without keeping track of Ara, who gets VERY excited around shoes. I also really like the little description they give you about every shoe. I don’t know why, but it really adds to the experience! So I found some Sketcher’s that were similar to my old ROO’s but there is something too trendy/girly about them. I want the quirky KangaROOS from my childhood. Take my feet back in time please!
So I have narrowed it down to two pairs:
The first pair look cute and have the zipper pouch but they have laces and I don’t know if I can spare an extra 10 seconds to tie my shoes.
The second pair resemble my old pair but they don’t have the criss cross straps on top and the color options aren’t very festive, if I was only going to use them in a gym I would like the white. But I will use these for walking as well so I think the black would be more practical.
Decisions decisions.
I started painting this years and years ago in an oil class. I always intended to finish it but setting up oil paints is a lot of work. Plus the paints are toxic so with Arababy around it's a no-go. So goodbye dusty canvas clutter!
Now that I look at it, it was ugly anyway!
Why do we keep all the things we keep to make our lives dustier?
Today was errand day! I had a To-Do list that was looming over my head so I packed up a freshly bathed baby girl and headed out. Can I just say that there is nothing like 6 months on the bus and hoofing it to make you appreciate riding in a nice cool car! It was 88° on this lovely March day and I could not be happier that I am not sitting at a bus stop with 2 gallons of water in my purse and a grumpy preschooler at my side. Haha 2 gallons of water would have to mean I carry one very large purse… so I may have exaggerated the amount but still.. it’s heavy!
In the car we drove by something that looked like a school and Ara said, “I want to go to big girl school, I don’t like mama school!”. Break my heart! I know that on errand day, mommy school does pretty much suck but it hurt a little all the same. I think Ara is telling me something.. she just might be ready. I think I will let myself feel a little sad about that right now. Don’t bother pointing out the positives, sometimes it’s ok to feel sad and I do!
I’m still coughing like a 50 year old smoker and I’m still grumpy-lady, and I just want to lie down and take a nap. Does it seem like being “sick” is more common now? I mean, it’s probably just my perspective but I don’t remember having this many colds any other time in my life.. so is it my age or the germy times?
A friend of mine on facebook just posted a picture of their new tattoo..
I don’t mean to offend anyone but I just don’t see why anyone would want permanent “clip art” on their body. I mean I have seen some people who go to artists and have something truly original and arguably beautiful done and even though I wouldn’t personally choose to do it I can appreciate it. But, really with the butterfly on your back? Or the flower on your ankle? All I am saying is that generic clip-art type tattoos are really not so much a personal expression of anything apart from "I like other people’s doodles so much I paid to have one drawn on my skin'”. To me, they seem like more of a label of conforming to a stereotype. One of my high school boyfriends had my initials tattooed on his chest as a valentines gift to me. It might have been more of a romantic gesture except that he also put a marijuana leaf on his back. It was like, “look, you and this leaf are like really important to me”. He showed me his raw skin and he looked so darn proud of himself. I was horrified. I tried to act enthusiastic but I really just wanted a card and maybe a balloon (balloons were all the rage as status symbols in HS)!
Oh, that reminds me of that song.. you know the one? Something like, “Just like a tattoo. I’ll always have you.” Yeah, that makes me laugh. Ridiculous lyrics and sentiment if you ask cynical me, which no one did, but like whatever!
Doodles are for scraps of paper you keep in your purse not for your butt!
Haha.
Sorry Facebook friend.. I can be such a jerk.
“Just like this scar on my right arm. I’ll always have you.”
“Just like this sarcastic take on pop lyrics. I’ll always have you.”
“Just like my craving for chocolate. I’ll always have you.”
%20-ow-valentines%5B4%5D.jpg "(anon) -ow-valentines")
My Dad turned 50! We celebrated with him on Saturday and I’m glad to see that he seems to be in a very happy place in his life. His fiancé got him a flat screen TV and my brother, sister, and I all went in on a HD DVD player (or something) and a game he wanted. Neither my sister or I had much money to spend. She is in the process of buying a house, which is amazing. We are buying a car, which is exciting. My Dad is so deserving of good things I wish I could spend millions on him. He has always gone above and beyond the call of duty with his family. My Dad is a source of inspiration to me. I have never known anyone with such self control and selflessness. All my life he has worked harder than anyone should have to but I have never heard him complain. He has kept every single one of my cars on the road through sheer determination and through the sacrifice of many a weekend. He has always had a way with Ara. When no one could calm her, he would take her and within minutes there would be silence. My Dad can hold still for longer than anyone! He is like a safe statue. Ara knows he will hold her still and silent until she stops, so she just gives up. He fights the good fight. I have always known that my Dad would be there for me and I hope that I can do the same for my family. Happy Birthday, Dad! I love you.
After we did cake (pecan pie) and presents the adults set up the DVD player to enjoy a movie in all it’s high definition glory and I took Ara out front with Joey’s helmet and scooter. She was a natural right from the start. I didn’t have to show her how to do anything. She had fun riding and I had fun running along trying to get a picture of it! If you look very closely you can see our new white car in the background of the picture!
I had a more elaborate post planned with videos but I am being attacked by an awful cold so instead I am going to put Ara down for a nap, take some Nyquil and take a nap myself.
*cough*
Ara and I went to a craft store today and I picked up a couple things from the $1 bins for her. I found this place mat with the Alphabet written on it (lower case on one side upper case on the other). It came with a dry erase marker that has an eraser on the cap. The mat went over like gangbusters (hmm.. is that a real saying?). She said she was “writing down her schedule” which is super dog cute. We also got new list pads with magnets to hang on the fridge. I had one that I used for grocery lists but Ara took a shine to making lists too so we needed more! I also found a foam 3D animal creation kit and a pad of Disney’s Car’s characters that came with little markers. All for a dollar each! Woo hoo. I have way to much fun in craft stores. I spent a lot of time looking at the cake decorating isle. I need a lot of equipment but I can’t decide if it would be better to buy individually or as a set.
I need all things cake!
I swear every isle in that store sparks my imagination. I want to buy more beads, a canvas, more paint to use on the canvas, storage boxes, picture frames, photo albums… the list goes on and on. The only place worse for me is a hardware store (craft stores for the serious people). I managed to escape with under $20 in items and I have a few little things to keep my Ara’s mind and fingers busy!
Ara used the restroom at the craft store! She still has a lot of worries about falling in and the noise of the flush but her successes are out numbering the times when the fears get the better of her. Yay! We were out and about from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm and she went diaperless and carefree the whole time!
I purchased a domain from GoDaddy on Tuesday and I still can’t access it through FTP. And I have made no progress what so ever towards regaining control of fluteloop.com. I am going to contact the company that is holding it tomorrow.
I forgot to call Caleb back (sorry).
We cancelled our cable TV through Cox. Originally I had a multi line discount that worked out so that the cost of having internet and TV was only $5 more than not having TV. That changed, however and I’ve watched my bill increase from $50/mo to almost $80/mo. Finally I had to say, “no more”. As a side note I hate Cox. Every single time I have dealt with them I have had comical incompetence and/or rudeness. From what I gather there is some sort of industry standard for this in the business of internet so I suppose they are just doing their part. I don’t think I will miss the TV much. I can always watch on Hulu.com and let’s face it the internet has plenty to fritter my time away on!
Ara has come down with a cold and has a rattling cough. I have the same thing. Sucks.
We have been “test driving” the car we want to buy all week. Today Ara and I took it in for a brake inspection because the warning light is on. Brake Master’s quoted me $350 worth of work that needs to be done ASAP. Hopefully we can have that cost knocked off the price of the car. I really like the car. It’s pretty and shiny and… well it’s a car! I hope everything works out.
March is going by so quickly, the student recital is just around the corner and I have slacked off with my practicing. (checks shiny spot on her finger) I am losing shininess!
Ok I think I have captured MOST of my random thoughts. Now I just need them to stay here so that I can sleep!
Good night!
A 17 year old boy killed at least a dozen people on a shooting spree at his former school…
I don’t want to believe that this is the world we live in.
As we prepare to send Ara to school I am continually reminded that this is indeed the state of things. Mesh backpacks, metal detectors, elevated levels of awareness, and still it happens. Doesn’t it? Why?
I’m going to go tell my daughter than I love her.
And think some more about home school.
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Ara, pretending to buy soda. She only has pennies so the machine rolls them right back out. 
How she has grown! Comparison pictures March 2008 and 2009.
I saw this Earth Day Festival advertisement on the bus today! I am going to talk to Ara about it tomorrow. We get to pick an animal to represent in the parade. I am curious to see what Ara will want to choose. Maybe panda bears!
Join the Parade
All species great and small-insects, plants and animals-the Earth needs them all! Dress-up and participate in the “All Species Procession” as part of the Earth Day Parade! Make a banner and tell us how your species is so important to Planet Earth. Are you helping clean the air (trees and plants)? Are you endangered or threatened species? The ice may be melting your home (global warming) or maybe there hasn’t been rain in a while so you are affected by drought or the threat of fire… let us know what we should do to help all species have a green habitat! Parade begins at 10:00 and winners are announced at 11:30.
Below are some pictures from our “Tot School” lessons last week!
This was water day. I gave her different sized cups and bowls. She loved pouring, dropping beads in, and pretending to make a cake. She wasn’t big on the eye dropper for moving water. We experimented by filling a cup and then adding beads until it spilled over. Ara noticed that some of the beads floated and some sank.
This tray was filled with food pictures I cut out of grocery ads. We used glue and scissors to make an “ara’s-favorite-foods” collage. She enjoyed this for a bit but it didn’t hold her attention like the other trays.
This tray was something I saw on the tot school site except that they used big plastic tweezers to move the balls from the bowl to the tray. I didn’t have one so I substituted a spoon. Ara was not interested in this one at all. She does like to play with the puff balls though.
Happy Birthday!
March is a crazy birthday month in my family. My Brother turned 27
For my Brother Ara made a special cake. We used a small star shaped silicone cake pan and she did every step (with a little mom help). She even cracked the egg! Then she frosted it and added sprinkles. We managed to stick all 27 candles into Ara’s little cake and she was tickled about it. I made an extra regular looking cake that we used to back up but it was clear who’s cake stole the show!
For Joe’s birthday he requested a Sponge Bob Square Pants cake. I have never even attempted a character cake before so I was nervous. My problem is that I make these elaborate plans and then when it comes down to it I don’t have the time. I found myself stirring spaghetti sauce on the stove while holding a spatula covered in icing, trying to decide if I could put garlic bread in the oven with the second layer of cake! I ended up at 2 am sitting at the kitchen table, too tired to think straight, scraping designs off with a toothpick. It was all worth it though! When Joe saw the cake today he said, “It looks even more delicious than I imagined”. What a sweetie.
My Sister went all out economy style for this party and it sort of made the day even more special and unique. Everything was home made and just a little different. She actually made a piñata by papier-macheing (spell check doesn’t know that word) a balloon and then she decorated it like some sort of festive egg! It was pretty cool. I think she may have added a few too many layers though because it took quite an effort to take that thing out. All the kids took turns and then my Sister gave it a try.. then we gave the bat back to Joe and he attacked with a candy-craving-maniacal-glint in his eye. He started with a downward stroke, breaking the piñata off it’s rope. Then, once it was on the ground he gave it a few more swift swings with the bat. As a last resort he used some sort of super wrestling/ninja move where he twisted up into the air and brought his new Heelys down, dealing a final blow. I have pictures of the whole thing! Muhahaha!
After the party, we had to rush home to change for my MiL’s birthday dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. Unimpressed by the food and noisy atmosphere over all but it rounded out an eventful Saturday and now, I am glad to be home!
Ara(tear streaked face): "There are red guys. Red guys in the trees. The wind is blowing."
Mama: "This is YOUR room, you need to use the magic word so they will leave."
Ara furrows her eyebrows and looks at me trying to understand if I am angry at her.
Mama: "They are afraid of the magic word, do you want to know what it is?"
Ara nods seriously
Mama: (loudly)"Skedaddle! You see they all ran away!"
Ara: "Ski-waddle?"
Mama: "That's right!"
Ara: "I can say ski-waddle and they will be very nervous!"
Mama: "YEAH!"
Ara: "SKI-WADDLE!"
Ara looks thoughtful
Ara: "Mama? Ghosts live in the rectangle (vent) I can say ski-waddle to them and they will run away."
Ara: "And, wolves will run away too."
Ara: "And monsters live in Sesame Street."
Last night we had a wonderful family stroll to a nearby restaurant, a little Mexican place. Ara rode in the princess carriage and "computed" the whole way. Once we were inside she promptly set herself up to look just like her Daddy! It was cute, she would even pretend to type really fast like he does. The laptop has little games to practice letters, colors, and shapes. She loves it! She calls it her "Ko-puter". Today we are starting "tot school" so I will have some pictures to post later on! I'm excited about the activities I have planned, I hope she loves it! I might also have some car news soon but I will keep that under wraps until things are decided.
28 Creative and Amazing Twilight Cakes
What?! I love looking at cake designs as it is.. Ara and I check out at least 2 books a week on the topic but here is a listing of Twilight themed cakes! Woo hoo. It made me wonder.. what do the Harry Potter cakes look like? And for that 
And.. the Hogwarts cake takes the.. WIN (you THOUGHT I would say “takes the cake” but I am only that cheesy on Tuesdays!)! Come on, this one is impressive!
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