Feeling Halloweenie

This kid has always had a kinda
loosey-goosey-kooky-
cool-and-wooly-wildness about him.
He's a bit of a rock star.
And this is his first costume of choice,
worn to the Pre-School Halloween Ball.

Life.

My son isn't a morning person. Actually none of the men in the house are particularly cheerful for a good hour after waking...actively trying to start fights with anyone who crosses their path. It sucks. I don't wake cheery but I am friendly. I am also very busy and, at my worst, if things aren't going my way, I am quiet. But when pushed I am BOSSY and LECTURING. My very worst qualities.
Yes, mornings around here are tough and often start me off feeling like I want to cry. By the time the kids are finally walking out the door to their carpool, I sometimes feel like we are leaving eachother after a fight. I don't like it at all.
But today, Caroline asked "How are you this morning?" and I said "Sucky" and rolled my eyes towards the kids. She laughed and said, "ah, life's rich tapestry." I don't know why but those words just hit me the right way at the perfect moment. Step-back-and-look-around words.
Then she said that it reminded her of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE when the banister knob keeps falling off every time Jimmy Stewart runs down the stairs. I love it that she's an optimist...and I know I am too.
Yes, this life if full of banister knobs falling off right onto your big toe.
But then there are always Zuzu's petals!!
Thank you Caroline!

Atheism and this Article which leads to this book.

Interesting. Haven't read any of the other books of his.
Have heard many things, good and bad about him, but I am all for keeping religion far far away from politics.
check it out the article here.

OK, there has never been a better 4th Birthday Greeting than this...

.....and the ending is SWEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!

Silas says "Thank you Finley I love you." then to me, " I thank them and love them."
and then "Please could we do BEE-BOP again!"
And then, "That Craigy is always playing that saxophone. He never leaves his cat alone."
Then, "Hey, where's Murray?"

We love you so much East Coasties. You are the coolest of the cool!

Day and Night

It used to be pokemon cards and paper-invented "video games" and comic books and chess and football stats and greek myths and inventions and on and on....
Now it is all about the guitar.
DAY AND NIGHT.
(and a little about football stats;)

Happy Birthday to Our 4 Year Old Boy!!!!

.

one , two , three, and FOUR!




We Love Love Love YOU Silas Loyal Dreyer!!!!




Birthday Quote:
"When I go to preschool they should call me OLD SILAS!"

Get out the tissue! Beautiful!

Someone is almost 4!

And it's not me!!

Check out the SDCCS garden blog

HERE!!<----------

Good Garden!

Ideas for the school garden.
A garden "bed"...kinda cutesy but very simple. It would be fun to make pillows out of one type of plant and a striped blanket out of others.

I also love this tunnel for the kindergardeners.

And the pumpkin teepee is great!




























Two of the greatest natives that bloom in fall!
pineapple sage (the variety with the green NOT YELLOW leaves is much hardier!) and enigma blue salvia!

Calvin and Hobbes

Emmett and Mac love Calvin and Hobbes completely and I have many memories of them lounging all over the house and the car and the cabin reading and giggling. So I love Calvin and Hobbes too.
Just the other morning Emmett asked when the last comic was written so we looked it up on the computer. 1995. And here it is. (clearer if you click to enlarge!)





I don't know what it is about this that made me cry because I just don't understand what happened to my mush-o-meter since giving birth. But for some reason this one really got me and I blubbered and misted and it was very messy and Emmett looked truly perplexed.
But the funny part was later (in the car, for christ sakes) when Emmett says to Mac, "Watch this." Then to me "...Mama, remember the last Calvin and Hobbes?"
And, on cue, I cried.

I give Silas the camera sometimes...

...and I am never disappointed. He likes to contribute to music day by taking pictures...blurry movement pictures or 20 in a row of Mabels fur. Here are just a few of his latest!



















I love his faces and his feet all over my camera. Such a great way to see into his mind!

Peace Day at SDCCS

Love it.

Thank you Again Stewart and Colbert

HILARIOUS and GREAT!!!!
check it out!

Mac's First Real Haircut!

Mama just can't manage the mane anymore. Especially since it is getting CURLY!
So this is my pottery student, Lauren, doing her magic. Mac wanted it thinned and the
curls to come out...but got to also see it flat-ironed in the process!

A Story for Feee!

So, Silas and I were playing with the felt board, telling eachother stories. When Silas jumped up and said he had a great idea. A GREAT IDEA! We should make a story movie for Finley. He would be the cameraman. So this one is for you Feee!

8th Grade, 4th Grade and Second Year of Pre-School

And they're off...


If the pictures are any indication of how this year will go...I have a feeling we will be in constant
motion.
.

summer 2010 is over. (here is where I complain a little.)

I am completely sad that summer is over. I want more sun, more beach, more reading, more tomatoes, more kids at home.
I completely reject making THREE lunches every morning and out the door by 7:30.
I am not looking forward to the carpool or the after school lessons or volunteering anywhere.
I don't like to be so bossy, "everybody up, everybody brushed and do you have your homework" ...etc.
I can not believe that three months can go by so quickly. I feel like I did as a kid and really every year since. Summer is easier.
I am not ready for halloween costumes, stuffing and christmas shopping and wrapping.
I do not want to sign my name up on anymore school party potluck lists.

I realize I need to get motivated and being that I am mostly a positive person I know I'll come around in a day or two. But right now I am sad sad sad.
Emmett definitely takes after me in this area.
He says he's really good at summer. I am excellent at summer.
As Mac told me today we have 283 days until summer 2011, starting tomorrow.
She is bummed that she has to go to bed so early. Silas is not entirely sure what the end of summer even means since he has 3 days of preschool year round...but he emphatically agrees anyway. I have infected the whole house. I know it's wrong to get the kids in on it but I just can't keep my mouth shut about how much it stinks that we have to get up so early and that our free time is limited to little pockets of time on the weekend.

And we don't even get a real autumn here. No leaves or brisk air. No fall fashions. Just dying garden and too much work to do.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!! sniffle sniffle. nonononononononNO!
this sucks!!!! waaaaaaaa. boohoo.

Sigh.

Good night and see you tomorrow for the more cheerful back-to-school picture-post!

Mac and Emmett Rock Hotel California

I love it! Mac makes the song sound so haunting and sweet...

...Emmett Rips!

We had a really great time at this student showcase. There were all ages performing and everyone was really enthusiastic and supportive. My favorite way to spend a day.
The awesome bass player is Gethin. Super nice kid and just look at him...he looks like Matt and Craig at 14!

Happy Birthday Papa!

...a little home party with delicious nana made cake, some sweet
presents, including a BANJO POLICE shirt from Meg and Crys
and new a hat...
and a truly great beanbag guitar and amp made by emmett.


You have navigated a pretty miserable year and things are looking
up. We love you Matt! Happy Birthday!
And here's Matt stylin' with his posse and some Diggable Planet.
(This cracks me up.)

Could you blog me some FEEEEEE???!!!!

We miss you, miss you, miss you Finley. I mean really. Could you just talk a little into the camera. Even if you just say, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" or "I need some quiet time!"
or "I love you Aunt Sugar Cookie!" That works too!!! We talk about you every single day because
Cousin Power is the Best!!

Even the Chickens MISS YOU!!!!

AFRICAN DANCE AT WORLD BEAT CENTER

Calling all dancers or lovers of crazy awesome movement or just a really incredible workout.
No dance experience necessary...really! The others in the class are just winging it and having a great time. Come one come all.
mon, tues, wed, thurs, or fri 10:30-12:00. (I can only go monday and friday!)
It looks kinda like this video. The real dancing starts around 1 minute 44 seconds!

I Have A Dream

Subtle

Mac wanted animal friendly back-to-school shoes so we went to
the ALL VEGAN store on Park Blvd. While I watched Ry and Silas
run through the store Mac and Emmett decided they wanted back-to-school
t-shirts also. These are two of their less subtle picks. (definitely click to enlarge!)

run on sentence with lots of dot-dot-dots.............

I keep having conversations with complete strangers about how technology is taking over...and one about how I discover a new song, download it and then it disappears in my IPOD shuffle within an hour....about how book stores are loud now with music blasting and coffee shops are quiet with everyone on their computers...about how everything is different from the month before...
I am sure it has always been this way...old farts talking about how things are changing too fast but even the teenagers in my life are saying stuff like that...surely I didn't talk about the good old days when I was 13??
I hope this phenomenon isn't exponential or we will be loving and hating and living and dying in a blink. Ok, I am taking it too far....too fast....
Check out the chart. You will probably have to click to enlarge and clarify because that hasn't been worked out by the little scientists in my computer yet.
And while I am at it. Below is another cool and completely unrelated chart I found on Matt's facebook that I thought was worth spreading...(and forgetting, right!)...

All You Need is Love

Imagine getting married on the cliffs overlooking the ocean at Scripps Pier and when the ceremony is over you look down to see a sandy beach covered in hearts of all sizes with children running around them! Well, that's what happened!




This was so much fun for all of us. We made maybe 15-20 hearts
with the help of two other girls. Mac was right when she said that
bride and groom will never forget it...we are quite sure the photographer
and wedding party took a lot of pictures! We will never forget it either.