Pics of the Week of April 1, 2012

This week was Spring Break for Tom, Conor, Joey and Jeff.  Tom and Conor were out of town for most of the week on vacation with their cousins but Jeff and Joey had a busy week!  Every day Jeff and Joey had plans that included a trip to the zoo, Funderland, gymnastics, an Easter party, etc.  Very special time for them... I tried not to be too jealous!

If there is a tree to climb, Tommy will climb it.  This was taken at Effie Yaw Nature Center -
he ate his entire lunch on that tree limb!

Logan pretend calling people on his "phone."

Me and Joey baking more oatmeal chocolate chip cookies - his favorite!

Tyler Monkey celebrated his birthday this week on April 3.

These are the ridiculous socks I wear at night sometimes.  Every time I put them on I hear the Justin Timberlake song, "SexyBack" playing in my head cuz yeah... that's how I feel wearing these Dr. Suess socks!! 

Joey at the Easter Party he attended.

Logan dressed up for a schoolmate's princess and prince birthday party.

Emmie got to be a princess for the birthday party.

That is a cat Emmie is using as a pillow.  Poor kitty! Tolerant kitty!

Joey chillin' in the dentist chair.  No cavities for Joey, Logan or Emmie!!

Pics from the Week - 3/25/12

This week was busy as usual for the Freelands.  On Friday I helped out in Joey's kindergarten class and gave a presentation on Association Management to Tommy's 7th/8th grade AVID class.  I was so nervous! I talk in front of people all the time but this was in front of 30 preteens and that is a whole different ballgame.  I had to talk for the full class period and have an activity for the class to do.  I asked Tommy what other professions had been presented this year and he said a scientist, nurse, and soldier.  Hmmm.... nobody presenting about their job that involves meetings on top of meeeting to recap meetings? 

I used Prezi to make an interactive presentation instead of powerpoint, showed up in a business suit and heels, and spent a good portion of the time discussing interview skills.  I figured that aspect of my job is the most relevent to them, and gave them real life examples of what not to do in an interview.  I knew I could make them laugh with some of the crazy things people have said in interviews to me.  In the end Tom said it was "cool" so I guess I did a good job.  :o)

Here's a glipse of the rest of our week...

Logan requested a "picnic basket and an apple" Monday night and about a half hour later I found him
sitting in the pantry having a picnic for one.  So cute.

My favorite drink in the world is a bellini.  This week I had blood oranges from our Farm Fresh to You box
and a tiny bottle of champagne.  Just enough to make a perfect drink!

Joey's "Family Homework" for March was to design a family flag using symbols.  He included an Italian flag for his Italian language classes, Irish flag for being Irish, the Freeland family crest, a heart because we love each other, Mickey Mouse for our trips to Disneyland, the Golden Gate Bridge because his favorite city is San Francisco and a picture of the beach for our annual beach house trip with the family.  

Very nice to be appreciated!  Walked into a board meeting on Wednesday to find these at my seat from the board members. 

Preschool closed at noon on Thursday so I took Logan and Emmie to the zoo.

Logan with the zoo map leading the way with his little sister.

Emmie ready for her day at Ms. Christina's house on Friday complete with her Dora Ballerina backpack.

After a long day of playing and running around without a nap, Emmie fell fast asleep at the top of the stairs.

Joey brought home his latest kindergarten journal and I loved reading every page.  This page says, "My mommy and me are making cookies.  The cookies are ready.  I like the cookies."  So adorable!

Pics from the Week- 3/18/12

This week was crazy at work.  Super long days and a new event on Thursday left me mentally and physically exhausted.  Then Friday Jeff had the flu and Saturday I was down with a migraine.  I am happy that week is over. Sunday started this week off much better!   

On Friday I got a much needed new phone and it has a great camera so I am excited for the pics I will get for this week.  Last week's photos are scarce to say the least...

Joey reading "Ten Apples Up On Top" for the first time all by himself!

Emmie throwing a fit on the way to school.  She was put in 7 time outs before she even got to school that day.

The letter I received Friday night from Conor and Joey to convince me to take them to Bounce Spot.

Emmie eating her second blueberry muffin and practically an entire carton of strawberries.

Gidgit waiting for someone to drop some food.

Emmie using Conor as a chair.

Potato soup was requested on a rainy Saturday night.

Pics from the Week - 3/11/12

Glimpses from last week...

Emmie feeding Gidgit chips... not vet approved.

A random cat followed us on our walk and jumped on Jeff's lap.

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I baked - so yummy!!

The ridiculous lengths we had to take to give Logan a bath after he got his first bandaid worthy scrape on his hand.

Playing the Angry Birds game (this is before the bird hit me in the throat).

The star Joey received from the tooth fairy for his latest tooth.

Crescent roll wrapped chicken for dinner.

Baby Elijah was born this week!

If people I work with don't remind me, I forget!

Unless of course I have a lunch meeting... at Ella this week!

Emmie got into my purse and decided to put on lipstick.

Joey the Storm Trooper

Logan in his St. Patrick's Day hat he made.

Some of our favorite moments are snuggling on the couch.

St. Patricks Day

St. Patrick's Day has developed special meaning for me since my grandmother's death in 2000.  Both of her parents came to the US from Ireland, and being Irish was something she was very proud of.  She always told me that my dark hair and eyes were a result of being "dark Irish" (I'm pretty sure they are from being half Nicaraguan but I never argued). 

While I never spent St. Patrick's Day with her, I always heard that she made corned beef and cabbage each year.  The year that she died I was supposed to see her on St. Patrick's Day for my first taste of the traditional Irish meal, but she passed away on March 1.   

In an effort to keep her traditions alive with my family, I now make corned beef and cabbage every year.  My Irish husband enjoys it as do Tommy and Conor.  I must admit I have never tasted it, being a pescatarian for the past 8 years keeps me from things like corned beef.  But I am more than happy to make it for my family.

This year we spent the day with our extended family, the Sahotas, and also celebrated Bella's upcoming 6th birthday.

On the menu was corned beef and cabbage cooked in Guinness all day, homemade Irish potato bread, and mashed potatoes with gravy.  For dessert we had Guinness chocolate cake and cupcakes.

Here are some photos from our day...

The leprechaun trap we made the night before.  The sign Joey made reads, "free Lucky Charms and gold for leprechauns" and there is a trail of marshmallows leading to the box.

The gold dust left behind when the trapped leprechaun snapped his fingers and escaped from the box. 

I made chocolate Guinness cake with Baileys Irish Cream frosting..

...and cupcakes with Lucky Charms on top.

A very happy Bella about to blow out her candles.

 

The Great Room Swap

Since musical beds is a favorite past time at our house each night, we have decided to change around the room arrangements. 

Problem: Conor never sleeps in his room with Tom and instead sleeps on the floor of Joey and Logan's room each night.  He and Joey want to share a room so badly that they both sleep on the floor together (leaving Joey's bed completely empty and leaving a pile of sleeping bags on the floor).  This has been going on for months... maybe a full year now!

Problem: Since Conor spends every night on the floor of Joey and Logan's room he doesn't really take any ownership of his and Tommy's room.  Instead he just passes through each day to get his clothes and leaves a mess of dirty clothes in his wake.  This seriously annoys Tommy.

Problem: Emmie and Logan take the longest to put to bed each night.  Since they are in separate rooms that requires Jeff and I to divide and conquer.  This means that we are both dealing with bedtime stall tactics instead of doing whatever else needs to be done for the night.

Here is the proposed solution:
Logan moves into Emmie's room with her.  Conor moves into Joey's room.  Tom gets his own room. 

In theory, this will solve the problems we are having. 
In theory, bedtime will be easier. 
In theory, the rooms will be cleaner. 
I have a lot of theories...

Of course this isn't just a matter of moving rooms.  Emmie's room is sufficeintly girly and Logan has no interest in leaving his pirate room for the land of flowers and butterflies.  So, that room will need to be changed into a gender neutral theme that excites them both. 

We are also changing Tommy's room to a Navy theme since it is his dream to attend the Naval Academy. Plus I figure we just embrade it since he is already doing that whole pre-teen staple posters to the walls thing anyway.

Last but not least, we need to move the trundle bed from the loft into Emmie's room for Logan.  Emmie recently got Conor's twin bed (since he didn't use it anyway) so now we are down a bed overall.  No idea what we are doing with the loft yet. 

Stay tuned for before and after pics.  The plan is for this transistion to take place over Spring Break.  We shall see if my theories are correct... fingers crossed!    

Pics from the Week 3/4/12

So I have seen this done on other blogs, and I figured I would give it a shot.  Here is my past week in iPhone photos.

Joey on a Big Kahuna trip with Cheri.

Logan & Emmie on the way home from school.

Girl Scout Cookies + Wine = Not a pairing you'd find in Napa
Don't necessarily recommend Thin Mints with wine but it was all I had.

Joey as the "corvax" in his Italian play.

Doctors office waiting room... waiting to see what the doctor said about my 911 episode...
verdict remains that I hyperventilated. :o(

Yes, that says over 61,000 items in my Inbox and yes, our IT guy must hate me!

Emmie looking adorable as usual.

Joey drew this for me - it is me with a flower, tree, and birds.  Oh that flying disk above the flower? 
That is "aliens invading" of course!

Logan enjoying a cupcake from a new cupcake bakery we discovered.

Jeff being amazing as he performs magic tricks for the kids.

New nail polish I tried this week... I was not a fan. It looks better on Emmie.

How sad is it that I was seriously excited about the launch of Tide Pods?
And how wonderful is my husband for ordering them directly from Tide so I would get them asap?!
It's the little things... :o)