A quiet morning can only be wishful thinking..

Hello World

Yesterday I spent most of the day spring cleaning and as you know I love having a clean house. It makes me feel like I have control. Scattered toys, splattered toilets, crumbs on the floor, dishes and laundry drives me crazy. I took care of most of that yesterday so when I got up this morning I would have a relaxed morning. Ya right !!!

Well recently I have been put on mandatory rest and have been asked to slow down. I consciously have been going to bed around 11pm which is two hours earlier than my 1am lights off routine. This morning my wonderful husband let me sleep in until 9am in the hopes that I would not wake up Bitchy today as I did yesterday when he got me up super early to ask me a dumb question... aahhhh finally he did something right.

We had a good start to the day, I had a nice cup of tea while he sipped he coffee that was probably cold since he made it , What an hour ago...why do coffee drinkers sip that coffee forever ???? Pravan got his reading done for the day and Priyasha was happily playing pretend with her dolls. Todd finally sat on the couch and decided to take football of pause.. All of a sudden we heard Pravan screech.. " Mommy look at the trampoline !!!! "

This is the neighbors backyard. Notice their shed lost the roof...

Todd and I were in shock as this gale force winds lifted up the trampoline that was not staked down as we finally got grass, yes we finally got a backyard...that cost way too much for grass, so taking care of it by not staking a trampoline before the roots take to it's new surrounding was priority..

..

Todd runs next door to check it out... Thankfully there was no damage.

So we worked together as a team to get the trampoline back into out backyard...

I helped gather all the legs and just when we thought we were in the clear...

There was another gust of wind and the trampoline took off again... Missing hubby by inches. It landed back in the neighbors backyard.

Thank heavens we have wonderful neighbors and they were understanding and came out to help. Just as we got the trampoline over the fence , it blew right back into the neighbors yard. We then decided to leave the trampoline in their yard and weight it done with some wooden pallets.

All of these pictures are courtesy of my eight year old boy. He did a pretty good job taking these from the upstairs bedroom window. He takes after his mama... life through the lense...

So much for a quiet morning and this time I actually scheduled it in my day ****SIGH ***

Much love to you all

You only have time what is a priority in your life

So often people say " I don't know how you have time to do that " I smile and think to myself...if something is important enough to you or means a lot to you then you will find the time.

I have obviously removed blogging from my life for while for many reasons. I also stopped reading all the blogs I follow. Instead for the last year and a half there has been a ton of emotions to process and still even as I sit here and write this I have thoughts and feelings about things too personal to share. But what saddens me the most , is the realization that I have turned my back on so many blogging friends.

The cyber world was a big part of my life that made me smile every single day. Today I have decided to get that back. I will blog more every week and will not feel the pressure of filling in the missing parts of my life over the last year.

I hope to find all my lost cyber buddies once again. I missed you all.

Free Spirit

XOXOXOXO

I'm Back !!!!

Hello world

Life this last year has been one Tsunami after another. So much has happened and I have no idea where to begin. I would really love to get back to this cyber world. I miss all you guys. Life has been so so overwhelming that I needed the break. A very very long break.

Last year I received some unexpected news that my mother was very ill. Within 15 mins I heard back from my family in South Africa that my mom had passed away. I was at a birthday party at the time and had to rush out leaving my kids behind. I desperately needed to be by myself. Thankfully I have amazing friends that took care of my kids.

It was no too long that I wiped away my tears and had to figure out how I was going to get to South Africa from the west coast in the United States. Financially it was a challenge and personally as well. My family was scheduled to fly to the east coast to visit with my in laws. I was packing and preparing to travel already. However going to my mother's funeral was never ever a planned thought. Yes I thought about it real briefly and dreaded that this day would come and it was here and this was last July. I have so much to say and get out there and I hope blogging about it a little with help with the grieving process which I have not allowed myself to do.

I had many many miles ahead of me and little to no strength to do it.To be precise I had to travel from Nevada to New York which is about 2, 413 miles or 3 883 km.

From New York to Johannesburg is 7960 miles or 12810 km and

from Johannesburg to Durban is 308 miles or 497 km.

I then had another 45 km which is about an hour drive from the airport to my home town, Tongaat which is in Kwa- Zulu Natal set in the rolling hills with sugar cane plantations.

Nothing could have ever prepared me for the journey that waited. All the life experiences I have been through did not help. I somehow went on auto-pilot mode and did what needed to be done. I have so much more to tell you but I need to do this in stages. If you have any suggestions on how I tell my story please feel free to write a comment or e-mail me at esplandry@sbcglobal.net and in the subject line " life story" .

Thanks for stopping by. I promise to add pics from my trip so you can get a glimpse of my life and of South Africa.

XOXOXO

Free Spirit !!!

It's raining, it's pouring and pump it up

Yesterday the kids were had a fun filled day. Early in the morning we went to a great place in Reno called pump it up. It was our first visit. A nice friend of mine who lives on my street invited the whole neighborhood to go and play. She won an auction and had to use up her voucher. What a splendid idea to invite all the kids for a massive play date. Thanks

Michelle.

Pump it up is a place where they have parties and open play on certain days. We had the whole place to ourselves and there was two rooms. We first watched a safety video and then we got to go to the first room to play. There was a basketball bounce house, an obstacle course and a climbing wall and a slide. The kids loved it. I was the big kid and got into the structures with my wonderful new D3oo and got some fantastic shots.

After about an hour or so we were directed to the next room. In this room there was another maze like obstacle course and a massive slide and also a battle arena. The kids had to slide down on mats if they wanted to and in the arena they wore a safety helmet and got to battle with another kid with this huge stick thing. Priyasha was too little but she had to check it out with her brother. The stick thing was bigger than her and she could not carry it. The helmet gave her a bad hair day and then about 30 seconds later she was done and off to the big slides. The boys were thrilled not to have a little princess ruin their rough play.

The prince all suited up.

Get off !!! This is not for girls.....

I want to try buder !!!!!!

Oh forget this !!!!!!!

This messed up my hair ....

All tuckered out and best buds again.

It has been raining in Reno for about two weeks. This is the most I have seen it rain in the last six years. We will no longer be in a desert if this precipitation persists. Today was the first clear day but this afternoon on my way to spin class we could see a storm brewing. The sky got darker and darker. We heard the thunder rumble and saw lots of lightning. When I left the gym we saw a double rainbow. In the two minutes it took me to get home the one rainbow disappeared.

The sun was out but it was a constant rain.I raced the whole one mile home to grab my camera. I found my wonderful husband with my camera in his hands taking some pictures from the back door. He was trying to get the lightning strike with the rainbow. My camera will do 8 frames per sec but he had no idea how to activate this feature.I could hardly stand watching him take pictures so I asked to have a turn. I actually got in the car and drove up a hill to get a better shot. It was still raining and I had to be careful . After the first shot I realize there was no memory card. I raced back home and got the memory card and raced back up the hill. In case you were wondering I was in the car and not running. I parked on the road several times and put my hazards on. I got out for a few seconds and snapped some shots. I had to be careful with

my new toy in the rain.

I snapped several shots and I have attempted to panoramic stitch the pictures to get one amazing shot. Here is my try. This is my first shot but I hope to keep trying this new technique. In the future I hope to get a wide angle 12- 24 mm lens so this type of pic will be easier than edited in photo shop. The rainbow was a nice way to end the day.

So prepare to see the worst attempt at a panoramic stitching. Pravan coached me and told me to be better than the best and if I keep practicing I will perfect it.Great advice from a six year old. I taught him well. I could have planned this better and taken better overlapping shots. I am not sure why there is a patch over where the pics meet. Oh well this was my very first try and I am okay with this result for now but the next one will be way better.

Thanks for stopping by. Please stop by to follow along the kids footsteps to get their first real pet. The cat we have does not count as that is my cat from when we were first married.Can you guess what they got ??? I will post that in a few days.

Free Spirit !!!!

Still alive and kicking

So how is everybody ???? Thanks for still stopping by. Life has been very crazy and there has been a lot going on. Here is a short list of all I have been doing.

**** Been very sick. All better now. Have two nodules on my thyroid glands but since they are so small it will be monitored for growth.

***** Been running the kids food campaign. That is going well and we still have several places that are hosting the barrels.Here you see the food drive truck picking up the barrels at the schools. He already had the barrels loaded from six different schools.I happened to see him at Pravan's school and we took some pics.

**** The princess is in gymnastics and that has been a great journey with a natural monkey for a child. I have so many more pictures that I will share in a upcoming post.

***** Been working out a lot more. I am now doing a hoop dance class. Yes I can dance and move, walk with a hoop. Great work out. Zumba is a Latin dance exercise class full of energy and a great workout.I am looking forward to the mastery Zumba class on Saturday at Gold's Gym on Longley Lane. If you are in the Reno area maybe you can stop by and join in on the fun. My best class is the trampoline class that kicks butt. I still doing my body sculpting with weights twice and week and now I will include water aerobics.My spin and body sculpt class is brutal and I swear I cried through part of it. It hurt and burned so bad but it is all good.

**** School is out now. Field trips, classroom time and homework has kept me hopping. Got two cute baskets made up for the teacher and an awesome school bus driver. Filled with yummy goodies and a great container they can use always. I am looking forward to no real other than my own. No more nagging in the morning or racing to catch the bus or packing creative lunches. OOOOHHH it feels like so much pressure is off. It will be a great summer with lots of fun stuff happening.

Priyasha had to hug his teacher too.

*** Cub Scouts has been great for the Prince. He is officially a wolf cub and graduated from a tiger cub. So exciting.It was a huge ceremony and deserves it's own post so be on the look out for that.

***** Been cleaning house from inside out. Every draw and room. Still a long way to go but it is looking better. No better feeling than recycling, reducing and re-using. I do not have pics of this as I have a long long way to go. Maybe the end of summer I can do a post on all my drawers. Yeah right that will be "Mission Impossible " or " Mission Accomplished " We'll see.

**** Been scrapbooking a lot more.

*** Changed and re-arranged all the kids furniture. Princess got a double bed. For being three she went from a crib to a toddler bed to a daybed (twin size ) and now to a double bed. Luckily I had all these sizes available to me. For the full bed all I had to buy was a headboard. Pictures to come soon.

**** Moved kids folded shirts, pants from draws to hangers. Much easier, way neater and they can reach the new lower rod. Life is good. I actually enjoy doing laundry a little more.

**** had three four jobs. Quit the concession stands to work at the Bistro. I loved it there on the weekends. I still babysat for two different families and I still do that. I had to quit the bistro as it conflicted with the family schedule. I was pissy about that but I love my freedom and family time on the weekends. **** Been chatting with a nice young lady on the Internet who lives in Poland and has been teaching me how to make Kanzashi. It is a great way to make flowers out of ribbon squares. I will share that too in the future.

**** Planning a quilt for Priyasha's bed now.After going through about a hundred quilt patterns and books I think I found the right pattern. More to come on this later........

****The best thing ever is I have my new baby my D300 which I have been saving for these past two years. I am so thankful for a wonderful husband that supports me in having such an expensive toy. I love it and will show you some pics soon.

There are so many more things I have not mentioned but this combined left me with little time to use the bathroom and that created other issues that I will not mention here. So I have had to sit back and re evaluate my way of life. I am under control once more and will blog more often. I have so much to share with the world and all my loyal followers. Thanks for stopping by and reading about a day in life as a mom.

Free Spirit !!!!

Official thank you from the food bank

Today I am very pleased to share with the world a formal thank you to my kids from the food bank. I hope that we will be able to top this number next year. We still have a few months to add to the total for this year. I will keep you posted on that effort. For now here is the nice letter that was sent to my kids.

April 8, 2009 Pravan and Priyasha Landry xxxx Willow Ranch Trail Reno, NV 89523 Dear Pravan and Priyasha, On behalf of the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, thank you for organizing and coordinating the food drive during the Easter Egg Hunt at Summit Ridge Park. The food drive generated 339 pounds of food valued at $1.49 per pound for a total value of $505.11 With the help of your generous contribution, we have been able to feed over 65,000 people in Northern Nevada – almost 1 out of 10 people in the area. We primarily feed seniors on fixed incomes and families with children. These groups make up 87% of the people we are able to supply with food. I also want to take this time to thank you for your effort in 2008 when your Easter Egg Food Drive collected 246 pounds of food for the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. In addition to the over 100 partner agencies, we also provide food through several outreach programs. These programs include but are not limited to the Commodity Supplemental Food Program and Kids Cafe. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program staff and volunteers deliver boxes as far away as Eureka, Battle Mountain, Gerlach and Hawthorne. These boxes are for income eligible seniors. Approximately 30 boxes are also delivered each month to home bound seniors here in the Truckee Meadows. One gentleman in poor health eagerly awaits his box as this food is not just a supplement for him; it is the food he will live on for the next month as his meager veteran’s pension covers little more than his rent. The Kids Cafe programs serve an evening meal to children between 12 months and 18 years of age during the school year and a lunch meal during the summer. This summer at a food site, a record number of 182 children lined up in the extreme heat to receive a meal. Thank you again for your support and we look forward to our partnership in the future. Sincerely, Bill Kolton Bill Kolton Volunteer and Events Coordinator

Thank you for stopping by and sharing in the pride and joy Todd and I have for our kids.

Free Spirit !!!!

Updates, real numbers and still very busy !!!!!

Okay I heard back from the food bank and we are very pleased with the results. Here is the e-mail I got from them : Dear Easperee, Thank you for your efforts on behalf of the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. We weighed the food and a total of 339 pounds was collected. Using Feeding America's guidelines if $1.49 per pound for donated food, the total value of your donation is $505.11. Thank you again, Bill KoltonVolunteer and Events Coordinator I have finally taken some time to care for myself. I went to the dentist yesterday and got my teeth cleaned and then had a nice lunch date with hubby. Today I went to the doctor and I have a double sinus infection, double ear infections and an enlarged thyroid gland. I have blood work scheduled and an ultrasound of the thyroid gland scheduled this week. This is not going to be a mellow week for me. I am just glad that I will have some meds and can feel better soon. I am off to the channel 4 news room this afternoon to get a tour with the cub scout group and we get to watch the 5 o' clock news live. That will be so exciting. I am also baby sitting a little girl this afternoon so I will have one more kid for the night. Oh I also got good news that I am an aunt once again. Hubby's sister had a little baby girl named Westerly. She is a healthy little girl and all is well. Hope you are all doing great and I will fill you in on my week soon. Thanks for stopping by. Free Spirit !!!!

Easter Egg Hunt

Hop one ! Hop all. Hop on over to
Pravan's sixth and Priyasha's third annual Easter egg hunt.
Sunday April 5, 2009 3pm-5pm
Meet at Summit Ridge Playground Close to K-mart and Home Depot
Bring your favorite basket, A dish to share
Pass the news to all moms you know.
Just one rule, no candy in the eggs please.
Entry fee is 3 cans of food for the food bank or more. This is Pravan and Priyasha’s second year helping the food bank. Please join the kids on their mission to feed the hungry.Please forward this to everyone you know as it is an open invitation. I would like to fill more than one barrel of food for the food bank.
See you there for an eggciting time!
Easperee, Pravan and Priyasha
830-6377 http://www.twoworldsunite.blogspot.com/

This was the info that was floating around on the e-mails and via word of mouth. This was the sixth year that I hosted it and it was Priyasha's third year as she is only three. Collecting food for the food bank started out as a threat at the dinner table with the kids. I told them that lots kids were starving and go to bed with no food.Next thing I know the harshness of the truth right around us and far away was too much for either one of my kids as they were both in tears. They wanted to share their dinner with the hungry kids and so the food bank collection for my kids and I was born. This year is year two we are supporting the food bank.
It was a bigger success than last year and we are so happy that we can help. The food bank is 35 % up in their demand for food yet with the down economy they need your help more then ever. Todd and I are very proud of the kids and I will do all I can to help support their dreams. The little people are making a difference with our help and I hope you will take the time to donate some food to the food bank in your area or do something similar and bless someone in need.
The big day has finally arrived. We have been promoting this while over a month now. I had passed out 250 fliers in my son's school amongst the first graders and kindergartners. There also was a large group of my friends that helped me pass out the invite. I really was expecting a large group of people today. I was actually nervous about it. It was extremely successful. Lots of people close to 100 showed up. We filled up a huge barrel of food. Each barrel can hold up to 250 pounds. The guy who picked it up estimated that we had 362 pounds of food. I will get the exact figure in the morning and update you.

As you many of you know the kids and I have a goal to get 10 barrels of food by the end of the school year. We have one down and nine more to go. After spring break we will have the schools on the area involved and a few local business's that will help out as well. I am now drained and really sick. I hope to have a some what quiet week and rest up. I have scheduled rest in this week and a doctor's appointment and a dentist appointment.It is about time this body got a tune up. I sure do like being in 10Th gear but the wheels need some grease and I earned my rest. Thank you for helping me help my kids help all the other kids that need some food. Here is a poster and the invite so you can see what we have been up to.

A big thank you to David Spillers from Digi Print Reno for sponsoring the posters. http://www.digiprintcorporation.com/ David was very generous to sponsor some fantastic posters that will be used in the schools to promote this mission. Thank you to Kirk Bailey who helped make today's event a success and help me get the posters sponsored.

Part two

I want to say a big thank to all the people that have assisted me in making today a huge success. We could not have done it without you. Thank you for reading the great achievements of my kids. I will keep you updated on how we are doing with our goal of 10 barrels. Thanks for stopping by and reading our story.
Free Spirit !!!

What a blast or a blur !!!!!!!

The turn out last night was fantastic. It was incredible to see how many woman came to celebrate with me. I had a wonderful time. If I really drank all the drinks that were offered to me I would have had alcohol poisoning. Every time I turned around someone offered to buy me wine.

I am a martini gal and stuck to my martini's. It was a great night. Thank you to all the ladies that came out and celebrated with me. I appreciated the gal's night out. It was so awesome to have such a diverse group of woman be my friends. This really was the first birthday celebration I ever had and it was a blast. My very good friend Brandy baked me the cake and everybody sang to me. First they sang in English, then in French, then in Russian and also Spanish. By the end of the night we had about 22 woman that drank with me and had a great time. Still I had several regrets from lots more woman that could not make it for various reasons. My Filipino,Korean or Vietnamese friends were not there. I wish I had recorded them singing. It was great. So since I am from South Africa I am going to find out how to sing it in Afrikaans and also in an Indian language. I should know how but sadly I don't. We were all in the wine shop a mile away from home. Some people got food from the Bistro where I work on the weekends and ate it at the wine shop. It seemed like through out the night we arranged the entire wine store. We kept adding tables and we made a train of tables and it was great. When they sang to me we took over the over place. It really felt like it was just us but it was busy last night. The bar usually close at 9pm but stayed open for us until 10pm. Then we got kicked out. My friend Suzanne smuggled champagne in but we had to get some to go cups and took the champagne and another bottle of wine and took the party outside. We sat on the chairs next to the fire place. The group trickled down to a few of us but we had a blast until we all needed to pee. I had a ride home with Jennifer, a friend and neighbor. Instead of going home she and I decided to go to another bar and get food. before we sat down we found the bathroom. I was in a desperate rush to pee. I ran into the ladies room and pushed the first door and next thing I know there was a loud scream. I slammed the door into another woman that was peeing. The power of a lock is priceless in the public restroom. I ran to the next stall and then later found out it was the woman in the wine place that I had take our group picture. It was so funny and we had a good laugh. We ordered food and drinks but never finished it. We headed home about 1:30 am and that last part feels like a blur. Today I am drained and exhausted. No hang over though which is a good thing. I am very happy that I had my first party after planning all those wonderful parties for my kids. It was a blast and feels good to be loved. Thanks for reading. I will post pics soon from Priyasha's birthday party.

Free Spirit !!!!

April Fools Day !!!!!!

Happy Birthday to me. These are the cards I received in the mail so far from family. Hubby surprised me with this lovely bouquet of flowers. They were delivered to the house and it was not what I was expecting at all. Today I plan on getting my hair cut and styled and to wax my eye brows and lips. It should be a good day as I plan on pampering myself. I am very excited and looking forward to ladies night out. I planned on meeting over 20 woman tonight at the wine shop about a mile away from my house. I just read a few e-mails asking if it was an April fools joke. No it is not. I am really born on April 1. I hope the joke is not on me and people do show up. It is going to be a blast. I hope you all pull put a fabulous trick to play on your loved ones. Last year I melted marshmallow in a pan and dropped them by the spoonful around a dried apricot. It looked like a sunny side up egg. I took it to Pravan's class and played a trick on all his classmates. I also made a cake out of ground beef and used cocoa in the meat so it looked like chocolate. For the frosting I used mashed potatoes and colored it red with beet juice. Yeah it sounds nasty and I did not dare try it. I gave it to a friend as a joke and never heard about it. Must have been awful. Oh those were a few things I did last year. Today I am going to cut out all the extras and have this day be for me. Wish me a happy happy birthday. This will be the first real semi- sort of party for me. I have never had a party before so I am thrilled that so many woman I know will share this day with me. Hope nobody made you too much of a fool. Free Spirit !!!!