Where that leaves us

Unfortunately, my theater class fell through due to low enrollment. :) But honestly, I'm enjoying not stressing about: the lesson plans, the commute, the parents, etc. Instead I'm hoping to take a couple of the completed lesson plans and try them out on Drew and Gwen's classes on party days, see how they go, take notes and wait until I get another opportunity.

Meanwhile, we've been trying to find someone to landscape our front yard since July and I think we've finally found some people that we can work with and that want to work for us. Well, at least that's what I had thought until we woke up last Wednesday to find workman taking out our front lawn. Don't get me wrong - that definitely needed to happen, but we hadn't heard from the designer yet. We had no front yard plan and no idea how long it would take to get one and no one told us that they'd be coming by to take the lawn out so soon. Would a phonecall be that hard? Really it amazes me that people do business this way. I'm starting to think I should start my own landscape company just so I could return phonecalls in a timely matter and be honest when I can't or don't want to do a project.

Anyway, I've got my fingers crossed that our newly expanded dirt pit gets replaced with a garden of eden soon. Until then I won't post before pictures in the fear that they will also be the after pictures. Wonder if they'll take my driveway on Monday....wonder if they'll let me move my car first.

Almost not quite gainfully employed

Bang! And their off! my children to school every weekday. It's like living in a whirlwind while their home, but I'm finding myself volunteering more and more to fill the 3 hrs of kid-free time I get each day but Wednesday. (I'm starting to hate Wednesday) I love all the little odd jobs I've found to do, but last week I was actually offered a little odd job that pays! And get this, I would actually be using my college major. And here I thought it was impossible to actually get paid in theater!!

Starting October 10th I will hopefully be teaching a class at a local children's theater group and this group is amazing! How amazing? They're doing Peter Pan this winter and Peter's gonna actually fly! That amazing. They sound like a great group to get involved with and the class keeps me at once a week instead of diving in for free like I normally do. Now I just need to hope some children sign up for my class. At least 10 of them. Cross your fingers!!

Tumbling Tumbleweed

June was an action packed month. There is too much to tell so I will sum up quickly with the "a picture is worth a thousand words" thing and show you some of my favorites.


Gwen was very proud to graduation from preschool this month. She's on to kindergarten in September and can't wait for summer to be over so she can get on with it. That's her wonderful teacher Miss Pam next to her.










Not only did I make it to Yosemite this month, but I made it to the base of upper Yosemite falls. There was so much water! Luck for me I had a poncho handy! Please don't ask whats up with the hair.



And what vacation could possibly be complete without a visit to see Paul Bunyan and his blue ox Babe. That's me and the kids hanging out under Babe and we're not the only ones hanging out if you know what I mean. Drew was in awe.




So we've driven East and driven North and now we're going to take a break before venturing South in August. We're rolling through California this summer......like a tumbling tumbleweed.

Shazzam!

New couch, new couch, new couch!!!! I can't wait for you to arrive in all your gold/brown glory to make my living room look like grownups live there. Avast! We are moving on up from an enormous olive green cordoroy love sac to this.....

I'm doing the happy dance right here on the laptop!


In completely non-Schoner style, we showed up at the furniture store 2 minutes before closing time and picked out the fabric for this 2 minutes later. Oh, and we'll take this too....

Yep, we've figured out how the checkbook works and now there is no stopping us. Be very afraid!!

The Atomic Blue

To my utter shock and amazement Brian bought himself a brand new car - a Honda Civic LX - when he went with the kids for a test drive this last Saturday. Isn't it cute....

Brian even went for the "atomic blue" one instead of the plain boring silver he was contemplating. This is Brian's first new car; the first he's owned with A/C, the first he's owned with power doors and windows, the first he's owned with a CD player. I was practically positive we'd be shopping around for 6 more months for a car, but in an extremely impressive 2 weeks of shopping he's brought a new car home. I'm so proud of him! He deserves this!

Now,in looking at this picture please ignore our rockin' out walking neighbor and admire the pile of dirt to the left of the new vehicle. Once the location of the hugest, nastiest, spider and snail ridden hedge on the planet, we are extremely pleased with our soon to be new ultra grande flower patch. Thank you to Jesus Sanchez for removing not one, but two of the neighborhood eyesores. Not only did he defeat the hedge. He also purchased our old Dodge Neon.

Bye Bye Little Neon! Thanks for cruising 124,401 miles with us!

Mother's Day

I'm one lucky mama and Mother's Day is always a terrific reminder. I get extra hugs and kisses. I get great cards like these... I get to enjoy brunch with my mom and my sister. My husband does the dishes and the laundry I didn't get to this week. I climb naked into my attic to retreive Daisy the Cat. My husband takes the kids pretty much all day and I get to make a kid-free run to the grocery store. Ah, pure bliss! And just when I think it can't get any better I get presents too. What a great day!

Now on the Road to Manhood

Check out who got their training wheels off this weekend! Yep it's Drew, now officially speeding down the highway of life a little bit faster. Way to go Drew we're so proud of you!

Lighting

Just when it was all going so well, I showed up a play practice yesterday and couldn't get a single one of my stage lights to work. Ok, so I was feeling a little over confident. It's elementary school, I have eight lights, I used all the same equipment last year, one run-thru, two dress rehersals should be plenty, but alas, I lost the run-thru entirely on the phone to the customer service rep who was (bless him) completely stumped so I didn't feel like a total moron.

I ended up bringing the whole system home with me to putz with over the weekend which I'm sure caused all my neighbors to think I'm shooting a porno here this weekend. But after locating the "reverse polarity switch" on the light board within the first 10 minutes the system was in my house I toted them all back out to school in the nic of time. Shazzam! Let there by light!

Spring

I'm pretty sure at this point that winter kicked my ass. There is nothing like two months of straight gray to send me into hiding. But now that spring has finally arrived and I've had a chance to go wicked medieval on my house cleaning I'm ready to face the last of the school year.

In recent news, after much debate and a conversation with Northern California Beagle Rescue I have decided to keep Luna, the little beagle we met and brought home back in October during our kitchen remodel. BTW - note to self, puppy and kitchen remodel must never again be seen in the same sentence. So without further ado, please meet Luna, shown here at 10 mos old.
And to be fair I would also like to introduce Brian's new baby....
...whose chewed off bottom branches and bark were the inspiration behind the call to beagle rescue. Please admire the new beagle proof playpen for this beatiful baby Dogwood tree.

But all is well once again here in paradise, I mean really, when you're backyard looks like this things are definitely looking up.

Where the heck I've been

I have a golden ticket. Isn't it beautiful? Ha ha! I'm back online baby! Last month we made the bold move from cable modem to DSL, but didn't set up the laptop until today. I don't know why. I am no longer the tech savvy genius I once was - I think maybe it has something to do with the proper alignment of the stars, but I'm not really sure.

Luckily not much happened in the last month so I won't bother to try and sum it up, but I know you're dying to know what I got Brian for Christmas.....drum roll please.......

A dented driver side fender - that's right - I backed into my husband's car, my own precious dodge neon, on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas honey!! I'd attach a picture, but by the time I went out with the camera two days later Brian had already pulled most of it out. But this was not a little ding, this was a crush the car into the front tire kind of oops. And that's ALL he got for Christmas from me. That man is so abused. Ah, but that was way back in 2005.

In 2006 I'm going to be a lot nicer - trust me. I might even blog more frequently than once a month. It could happen...meanwhile, the kitchen is still not done, but I'm cookin' with gas baby! This is going to be one fantastic year!