{virtual} coffee

Good Morning! 

 Please come in and have some raspberry hot chocolate. 

I will post the recipe later this week.  

I hope you are having a good week.  The sun is out here, but its still cold.  We're supposed to have sun all week, which is good, because I am tired of clouds and rain.  

Oh, my son is better!  It was so sad to watch him last week, when he was sick.  On Wednesday, I took 1/2 day off to take him to the doctor again.  I heard his running footsteps down the hallway to my bedroom from his, and my heart leapt!  My little man was back!  His stepmom is sick again, but I'm hoping my little man will stay healthy. 

We had a busy weekend.  Little Man had a baseball game on Saturday, then we had our big school fundraiser.  We ended the evening with dinner at our favorite place!  On Sunday, we had church and did some shopping for summer clothes for Little Man (had to use those gymbucks!)  When we came home from our errands, I dropped our packages and then went to find my little man.  Here's what I found him doing! I snapped a bunch of pictures of him enjoying the weeds that have taken over our yard!  

Next week is spring break!  My son is spending the week with his dad, which makes me sad. My husband will be home with me though, which will be a nice treat.  When we got married almost 2 years ago, we moved 2 houses into one.  For about 2 weeks when we moved in, I got to park in the garage, then we moved the rest of his stuff in and my parking spot became a storage room!  Before we do anything next week, we are cleaning out the garage!  Its going to be a lot of work, but it will be good to finally have time to get all that cleaned out.  We will also make time for some fun.  

After gushing about some time off, I'd ask you what you've been up to.  How is the weather where you are?  Are you enjoying the spring weather? What projects do you need to tackle around the house?

{virtual} coffee

Good morning!

Please come in and have a cup of french press.  I stopped yesterday and picked up some fresh roasted beans at our local coffee shop downtown.  I'm having mine with frothy vanilla milk.  How would you like yours?  Yesterday, I also made some delicious homemade granola and homemade english muffins.  

Before we start talking about our week, I need to apologize.  Last week, I was not very gracious or social.  I don't think I stopped by anyone's for a cup, and I feel guilty.  It was one heck of a week last week.  I was an emotional mess and exhausted after work every day.  I will be better this week, I promise!  I chose this cup today for me.  Its time for me to snap out of it!  Last week was tough, but I need to move on!  

As we settle in on the couch, with the sun streaming in the window, you will probably notice the kid shows on in the background.  Yes, my little guy, who I brag about never getting sick, is sick again.  On Saturday morning, while I was running errands and getting ready to go meet him at his baseball game (he was at dad's house last weekend), I got a text from his stepmother that he had a 102.3 fever.  My heart broke, shattered.  He just can't catch a break this year.  He ended up getting sick to his stomach 3 times.  We've been home together yesterday and today.  His appetite isn't really back, and his fever comes and goes.  I just want to wave a magic wand and make it all better.

Next, I'd tell you that my friend is home from Europe!  I drove up there on Saturday afternoon and spent a much-needed afternoon shopping and talking with her.  Its so nice to have her home!  We live about 45 minutes apart, but just knowing she's there in her house, and I can txt her or call her makes things look brighter.  I love being able to share with each other over the years.  

I think I'd also mention that we have Spring Break coming up in a week and a half.  My son will be with his dad for the week, but my husband will be home!  We're planning to spend the beginning of the week cleaning out our scary garage.  I hope we get it done so we can take some day trips.  I'd really like to go down to Carmel and maybe spend a day wine tasting.  Maybe we'll get to San Francisco to the museum. We've been together almost 5 years and have always talked about it.  I hope this year, we can make it!

What is going on in your life?  Is everyone healthy?  I'm so glad you stopped by for a cup of coffee.  I hope to see you next week!  For another cup or 2, visit Lucky 13.

{virtual} coffee

Good morning.  Welcome, come on in and we'll sit and chat.  I'm going to have a caramel late this morning, using my frother of course!  That thing is still in my top 5 kitchen toys I've ever bought, and it was less that $20!   Oh, and have a piece of birthday cake, we have plenty and this one is delicious, its a marble cake with raspberry filling.

Please settle in and stay for a while, I'd love to sit and talk. 

 As I told you last week, one of my BFFs is in Europe, and while she's coming home later this week, I still miss her terribly!  I do love getting her emails, but its just not the same.  

We're finally enjoying spring!  I took off my jacket this afternoon and I wasn't freezing.  They say that by Thursday, we will have nice, warm temps.  I laughed this morning when the guys on the radio were joking about not knowing what the sun was, only in California.  Two weeks without sun and we all freak out.

I had a birthday party on Sunday for my 7 year old (I can not believe that he's 7) yesterday.  I had 12 children between 4 and 7 in my house for 2 hours!  It was a Ninja Party.  Imagine this: 10 boys, all 6 and 7 and all been cooped up for almost 2 weeks due to rain, and having a Ninja party.  It was a little boy's dream!  All considered, it went very well.  The boys had a ton of fun, and enjoyed being outside for a while too.  My little man has a ton of new loot to play with!

Speaking of my little man, he has been so sweet lately.  He knew that I was missing his auntie Trina and struggling with some other things lately.  He came up to me last night and gave me a huge hug and asked me how he could help.  I melted!  A few times.  Even though he's a big boy, I can't resist his hugs, those big blue eyes, and his sweet words!  He has such a good heart, and I am so proud to be his mommy!

Now, I'll sit back and listen to what's going on in your neck of the woods.  Has spring gotten there yet?  What helps you pick yourself up when you're feeling down?  Thank you for visiting, will you please take so cake home with you?!

For another cup, head to Lucky13 or Grey Umbrella.  Have a great week, let's make a date for next week! 

Ninja Party!

Mark my words, in a month, there will be ninja birthday stuff EVERYWHERE!  Last year, we had a robot party, and in March, there was no robot theme stuff anywhere, but a month later, it was everywhere!  I felt the same way this year.

Today, we had my son's 7th birthday party.  The theme was Ninjas.  The weather wasn't quite sunny, but they were able to get outside and play a little.

I didn't make the cake this year, but we picked it up from here, which is where my husband and I got our wedding cake.  They do a beautiful job every time!

We broke "boards" (I bought styrofoam sheets that my husband cut into rectangles) and we played Sensei Says (instead of Simon Says).

I made this banner

And I put their goodies in red and yellow chinese take-out containers from the party store.

Here's the birthday boy with the ninja from his birthday cake!

I can't believe he's another year older and that we have another birthday behind us!

Homework, Oh no, Oh, yes!

Homework is a bad word in our house.  He drops his pencil, he whines, he argues, I argue, it turns nasty.  I hate it. 

 As a teacher, I always thought, "Oh what a great way for parents and students to work together.  What a great way to review what we're doing in class."

As a parent, I think, "this is ridiculous, this is not how I want to spend afternoons with my son, he needs to play, we need to have fun together, he needs to have fun with friends"

The issue with the homework is, it should take him about 30 minutes at the most to do.  Instead, it takes about 2 hours because we argue the whole time.  Its some of the worst mommy moments, and I hate it.

So, starting next week, we are going back to stickers.  He is going to set a goal.  If he gets homework done in the 30 minutes I set the timer for, he gets a sticker.  If he gets up in the morning and gets dressed without arguing, sticker, and if he goes and gets ready for bed the first time I ask, another sticker.  We'll set a goal and he'll need to reach that goal for a special adventure with mom.  

I don't always like to use extrinsic motivators, but I do think they have their place when behaviors need changing.  I don't want to spend my time with my little man getting frustrated and upset.  I want to get the yucky stuff out of the way so we can do other things, like if this rain ever goes away, we can go for walks before bed!

I'll keep you posted.  We're going to set it up this weekend when he's back home at our house.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!