Riding in style

This was at Santa Land at Pravan's school a couple of weeks ago. They host this every year and the parents are not allowed to go in. We have to sit outside and drink coffee and eat cookies. Sounds like a blast right. Well I just had to break the rules. I just cannot help myself. Pravan knew I was around so he waited for me to leave so he could shop. The PTO buys stuff all year long and they sell them at Santa Land. Everything is in between $1- $4. Pravan usually has a list of people like grandma, grandpa, great grandma, aunt, uncle, mom, dad and sister to buy for. They have some amazing things here. Well as a treat half way through Santa showed up on his Harley. That was so cool. Pravan was shocked to see Santa ride a motorbike. At this even Pravan cried as he did not have enough money to buy everything he wanted. I gave him $50. That was a lot I thought. Well he picked about six beautiful ornaments for me and they were $4 a piece and I was called back in when he was short on paying. I asked him to put the ornaments back and he started to cry. He said that he really wanted to buy then for em as I deserved it. The teacher told him to pick out his favorite and he did but was clearly crushed. We had to skip the gift wrapping as I did not have any more money on me. We then went to the dollar store to but gift wrap and he asked me how I had money to buy that gift wrap. I told him that I was going to charge it. " Oh you should have charged all the gifts I wanted to buy you " he snapped After a while the tension and silence was weird so I said " I am sad " "why are you sad mommy ? " he asked I am sad because I hurt your feelings and you were being so thoughtful " " I just think you should have given me more money as you and daddy take care of me all year long and now I want to take care of you guys and you should have let me buy all those ornaments " I then had to explain to him the value of money and how to spend it wisely. He still argued with me that I deserved to be spoiled. He is the sweetest kid ever if I should say so myself. I love him dearly and I hope he will always be this way.

Thanks for reading and remember that Christmas is about giving. Free Spirit !

christmas mice

I have been very busy lately. We have been baking cookies, sewing jammies and cleaning, wrapping and shopping. Pravan had a xmas party in school on Friday and I made all the kids in his class as well as all the cub scout kids one of these. It is a funny story about how I got the pattern to re-create these. Several months ago I was in line at Jo-ann's fabric store. The lady in front of me was buying a lot of the green and red felt in squares. I asked her what she was making and she was more than happy to talk about it. I also asked her where you got the pattern from and she said from an old magazine. She was sweet and asked me for my address and promised to mail it to me. Well weeks went by and then out of the blue it showed up in my mail box. she also sent me one so I could see it made. I would thank her but all I have is her first name and cannot find her. Well I doubt she will ever find my blog but here's a big thanks to Kathy. You were so sweet to share with me and now we have made more kids happy together. So fo those that are reading here are some pics of the mice.

mom's christmas letter

Here are my thoughts to Santa. I found this years ago and I changed things around and made it more to fit my lifestyle.

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and made over forty Christmas mice and added not just eyes but a candy cane for a tail.I have done more community service this year to set a good example to my little cub scout. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes: * I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have)

*arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store. *I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like :

* a fingerprint resistant windows

* a radio that only plays adult music

* a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals

*a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

* I almost forgot my D300 so I can continue to be click happy.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" oh wait with technology now Priyasha already has a doll that says that and much more too.On the other hand Pravan does not , can you program him with a chip that says " Yes, mommy " to anything I say instead of debating and negotiating with his dad and I on everything. It drives us nuts but it might be a positive trait in the business world later on in life.

Also do not forget a boost of confidence to my parental skills or should I say the answers to some stuff I may pull out of my a**, along with that two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Alvin and the chipmunks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother,give that back to your sister" because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the cat who also ignores my screams now.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served on one of the kids used plates in the hopes of doing less dishes.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely for the days that I am running out the door to boy scouts and have no time.It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment or a treat as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back.Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always, MOM...

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

Cool sky on the local news

I sent this pic to John Potter the weather man at channel 2 news and he showed it on TV and mentioned my name and said I wrote bbbrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! This was taken from the patio door to my backyard. i was still standing in the kitchen when I snapped this shot. You can see the black clouds approaching.It has been freezing lately.

That was so cool to see my pic on the local news. Todd suggested I take it and send it in and all this happened in just 20 min. 20 min from the time I took it to the time it was on the television screen. The beauty of technology!!!! I just love it. My heads is big can you tell. I sure could do this for a living.

Free Spirit !

winter wonderland

This morning Reno was covered in a white blanket. Pravan was scheduled to go to the Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory play at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino. It was a field trip and we were not even sure if there was school. After watching the news we learned that there was no delayed start. I was surprised as there was a lot of snow. Well it is supposed to snow all week and we are in a winter storm watch.

I dropped Priyasha off with a friend and wanted to go on the field trip but it was cancelled. I was happy about that as the roads were not great for the kids to be on a school bus on the congested highway with poor visibility. Tonight we got an automated call saying that the field trip is

re-scheduled for tomorrow.It is going to snow all night and the chances of the kids going is pretty slim. Here are a few horrible pictures I took before I drove Pravan to school. I knew the buses would be delayed and I needed him to be safe as well.

I have so much to post and tell you all about but I am spinning my wheels this week. So much to do, so little time. I may have to share some stuff next year. I hope you all are striking off things to do on your list and preparing for the the festive season.Stay safe.

As you can tell it was snowing when I took these pictures. I will try to get better ones this week. Thanks for reading.

Free Spirit !

It is better to give than to receive

The best things in life are free….. Trying to tell a child that it is better to give than to receive is an extremely difficult thing to explain. I think that it was a job well done when these cub scouts got to go and sing Xmas carols to old folks at a nursing home. The kids were so happy to find someone to hand out their special ornament that they made and to hand out a decorated candy cane. That was special and they were happy to see that their kind gesture even though small brough a smile to a sad face. Xmas lights : $10 Xmas tree :$25 Toys : $100 Joy to someone else : PRICELESS That is exactly what all these adorable cub scouts did today. They spent their Sunday afternoon visiting a senior nursing home. There were so many sad lonely faces and once they saw the troops march in you could see their faces light up. Each and everyone of them has a story behind their wrinkled skin that marks their age. There seemed to be more woman than men but they are somebody’s daughter or son. They were somebody’s mother, father, sister or brother. They were somebody’s husband or wife. Somebody’s mother, father. Grandmother, grandfather and even maybe a great grandmother or great grand father. Whatever their story is and wherever their days have taken them they all seem to seek the comfort in each other that were strangers no too long ago. Pravan never knew what a nursing home was but now he knows. This was an amazing experience to us both. I find living in America and raising my kids such a joy and an eye opener through a child's eyes as I have never experienced so many things like this and I am blessed to experience it all with my wonderful kids mostly through their eyes for the first time right along with them and that is truly magical. The cubs sang their carols and then handed out ornaments they made and also candy canes to the seniors. Some of them were so happy to see us. They seemed hopeful and yet so lonely. When we talked with them they said they wished they would have family visit with them on Xmas. It brought tears to my eyes to see such loneliness in their eyes. I am glad the cubs got to do a good deed and their little sweet voices brought so much joy to these folks. I am so glad Pravan takes the cub scouts seriously and really enjoys it as well.

Thanks for stopping by.

Free Spirit !

Naked mail

Whhooooooohooo !!!! Did that get your attention !

I have been busy making these for a swap on splitcoaststampers. There was a dollar limit and we have to mail these on Dec 15 to a name that we received. It is sort of a secret sister swap. We have a lot of ladies playing and this was totally my idea. I am sure the post office workers are going to go crazy. The idea was to mail all kinds of scrap booking goodies in any sort of a container and it cannot be placed in a box or wrapped. I chose a one gallon water bottle. I made three of these so I have had to drink a lot of water. Three gallons in three days. Yes I spent a lot of time tinkling at the white house.

If you are from the swap on SCS then this is what you may or may not receive. Only two of you will get this. Leave me a comment if yo uthink it is you and if you guess right I will send you a little something extra seperately for being so naught as to peek. LOL !!!!

This was so cute and Pravan suggested we make one for his cousin Addison who is so adorable and only 18 months old. He and Priyasha bought her some stuffed animals and we packed them in the bottle as well. Hope you like them and you should give it a try. All you do is empty out a bottle, cut a rectangular opening in it and stuff. Seal shut with clear tape and conceal opening with address label. Then mail to a friend and see if they can figure out how to get into it. Have any questions, post me a comment and I will try to help you out.

Thanks for looking.

For my neice. Filled with stuffed animals.

Partly wrapped with gift wrap. Sort of looks like a coke wrapper.

Thanks for looking.

Free Spirit !

Xmas shoot with kids

This year we decided not to do a family picture for our Xmas card. I did use a family picture we took in August for Pravan's birthday shoot. I however just had to take the kids in to JC Penny and got these pictures taken. They did a great job and all of these pictures were forwarded via e-mail. I just had to share. Thanks for looking ! Warning !!!! There is a lot of pictures.

Free Spirit !

Tragic acceident

The news in San Diego now is that four people died from the crash. This makes me so sad as this family a stay at home mom, 2 month old, 15 month old and the grandmother all died. Their is an on going investigation as to what really happened. I am so saddened by this. Read more on it here :http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28156838/ Free Spirit !

F-18 crashes

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28115760/from/ET/ Now this is why I was freaking out when that F-18 was pulling stunts right above our house a while ago. Things like this is no longer unusual. You know when I was a kid I always heard people say " If you are in your house , you won't die from a plane crash or a car running you over " Gone are those days as these days it is becoming more and more common. Not sure what happened with this plane but it crashed and now someone has lost their home. It is not yet determined if there are any injuries. I just needed to share in case you read my previous post and thought I was a nut job for freaking out. Those jets are not toys and even when you fly them with experience and care something unfortunate can happen and that is why when the pilot that flew the plane above my house decided to take if a joy ride I complained to everyone in authority that would listen. After talking with the Mayor's office, Reno Aviation, the Fallon Naval base I received several follow up calls and assurance that the pilot at fault was going to be facing some severe consequences. I am glad that the pilot of the F-18 crashing in California was able to bail out and is safe. These freak accidents do happen but the less reckless we are the better than chance that we can be safe. Better safe than sorry I say. If you have not read the post I am referring to , here is the link. http://twoworldsunite.blogspot.com/2008_11_13_archive.html Free Spirit !