Halloween Soiree
October 27, 2009 at 9:00 am (Uncategorized)
Friday night, we had the opportunity to attend a Halloween Party organized by our friends here in Family Housing, the Rowleys. All the kids and the adults dressed up and brought food to share. We had soup, salad, and bread for dinner. The kids made a mess of the toys, danced to the music and had a good time while the adults chatted and even played a couple of games ourselves. Everyone pitched in to help clean up too and we even got the kids to bed at a decent hour. It was a nice evening.
Miss E has found a good friend here. J is just 2 months younger than Miss E. They’ve had fun playing at the park together a few mornings over the last week, tossing the ball at each other and running around. Whenever we go to play with friends, Miss E wants to know if J is coming. They had fun playing together at the party as well, including the dancing as you will see. It was very cute. J’s mommy said, “hold hands!”. The pictures are so cute.
Oh, and no, Miss E is not a firefighter for Halloween. She’s actually a kitty, but all the kids were playing with the fire hats, so Miss E was too.
Halloween Party – Toddler Style
October 26, 2009 at 9:37 am (The Haren Report)
One of the great things about living in Family Housing is all proximity to many other couples like us and with kids about Miss E’s age. One of the other mommies decided to host a Toddler Halloween Party. Miss E received an invitation in the shape of an owl and talked for days about her party. When we went, she had a blast. There were owl pictures to color, an owl scavenger hunt to play, and owl-shaped pumpkin bread to eat. And not only that, but there was an owl story to read and she came home with her very own Halloween cup. She had a blast playing with all of her friends and going to her very own Halloween party.
Getty Center Trip
October 24, 2009 at 2:06 pm (Other)
Okay – so let me take you back in time to early September. With the move, a few posts I had planned to write did not get written. This is one of them.
For those of you who don’t know (and who are to know), I tutor a jr high school girl 2 afternoons a week (or three mornings during the Summer). Well, summer it was and I was seeking for a way to get my student (we’ll call her Gem) into reading and to finish a couple of books during her summer break. So, her Grandma and I contrived a plan that if she completed 5 hours of reading each week over 6 weeks, she would earn a trip to the Getty Center.
And she earned it, finishing 2 books in the process. So, we picked a Saturday and Daddy stayed home with Miss E (making the longest time I’ve been away from her) and Gem and I headed up to Los Angeles. Now, I’m not a huge fan of LA freeways and it had been some time since I had visited the Getty. Since I had never driven there myself, I had my handy dandy google directions. Thankfully the 405 was kind and the other freeways followed suit and it only took us about an hour and a half each way. Nice!!! And, I’m proud to say that I didn’t really even get lost. Okay, I did get turned around but it wasn’t my fault. I blame google.
So, Gem and I had a nice day at the Getty. We walked around the gardens, ate lunch, and saw lots of paintings, illuminated manuscripts and such including my favorite painting, Van Gogh’s The Irises. It was a great day. I was so proud of Gem for earning the trip.
A Trip to Oak Glen
October 13, 2009 at 12:55 pm (The Haren Report)
Last Friday, Miss E and I joined some friends and took a trip to Oak Glen. The original intention was to go pick some U-Pick Apples, but the season was short and the picking already over. Instead, we wandered around a U-Pick pumpkin patch and took a ton of pictures. Miss E had a ton of fun and covered herself in dirt. The minute we got to the pumpkin patch, she sat in the dirt and started to play.
Missing: Neem-Neem
October 10, 2009 at 8:11 pm (The Haren Report)
Ah, its good to be back. Now that we’re moved into family housing, mostly settled and the internet is working, you can return to your not-so-regularly scheduled blog posts.
As some of you may know, Miss E has a great attachment to a plastic little M&M figure she lovingly calls Neem-Neem. She received this toy filled with little candies from her Grandma for Valentine’s Day.
Well, about 3 weeks ago, Neem-Neem went missing. I attributed it to the move and to packing, figuring that she’d show up eventually (Yes, Neem-Neem is female). Well, we unpacked the last box today – and no Neem-Neem. Miss E wandered around the house saying,
“Neem-Neem! Where are you?”
No answer. She’s not in the car, the diaper bag, the toy boxes, nada.
To explain how attached Miss E is to this toy, the blocks are often built into Neem-Neem houses. Daddy makes the coolest, his are 2 stories with stairs. She thinks that’s pretty awesome. But alas, no Neem-Neem.
During a Target trip today, I found another M&M figure, very different and attached to a funny little fan. Not a replacement for Neem-Neem, I fear, but a distraction from the beloved and missing toy. She slept with Neem-Neem and always wanted to take her everywhere, so I’m sure she just got dropped somewhere and I didn’t notice. Alas, Neem-Neem is gone.
Would you all please observe a moment of silence for Neem-Neem.
….
….
You know the saddest part, this new M&M’s name is much closer to M&M than Neem-Neem. More like Nem-Nem. Neem-Neem has gone with that language phase. Sadness.
Homemade Laundry Soap
September 1, 2009 at 12:18 pm (Other)
For a long time now, I have been intending to make my own laundry soap. I had the stuff sitting in my cupbaord forever; I just had not taken the plunge. Well, this weekend I decided to finally try it. I really don’t know why I waited so long. It took less than 10 min to make and now I have a bag of homemade powder detergent. We used it for the first time yesterday and the clothes came out clean and…well, scentless. You don’t really realize how much scent is in store bought laundry soap until you use something that really doesn’t have any. This is the recipe I used:
1 bar soap, grated fine (I used Zote)
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda (I used baking because I haven’t been able to find washing)
After grating the soap fine (or sticking it in the food processor) mix with the other 2 ingredients. Ta Da! Laundry soap. It only takes 1-2 tbsp per load, so it should last a little while. And, I figure it cost about $2.00 to make – so that’s worth it. I will definitely be doing this again. I’m still on the lookout for that washing soda (anyone know where to find it?)…but from the research I did prior to making, others substituted baking soda and had good results like mine.
All and all I’m pleased. 10 min well spent. Nice.
A Tribute
August 31, 2009 at 12:04 pm (The Haren Report)
As a few of you already know, our number has come up and we are officially moving into the University’s family housing in about 3 weeks. While this is a very exciting thing for us (cheaper rent and my own washing machine are always very exciting) it has its downsides. One of which was the fact that the 4th little member of our family had to leave us. Cats are not allowed in Family Housing, so Admiral has a new home. I meant so much to do this post weeks ago, but haven’t until now.
Admiral came to live with us about 3 years ago, before I was even pregnant with Miss E. He was a shelter kitty and snuggled right into my arms there at the shelter. He grew to be a huge guy – 16 pounds! Although he’s pretty timid and wouldn’t even go outside for the longest time, he loves the quiet and peace. He was my great company through my pregnancy when I was home. But, since peace and quiet are his preference, you can imagine that once Miss E got mobile, his world changed and he found that what was once a quiet little place and turned into a place where he could, and would, be chased and expected to play. He wasn’t too happy about his change in events and spent most of his days hiding from Miss E and all the excitement. I knew he wasn’t terribly happy, so this move is good for him too.
He has a new home where I know he’ll be spoiled rotten. Daddy’s grandparents have taken him in. They have had cats in the past, but it has been about 5 years since their last one, and now Admiral is theirs. He is slowly adapating and I am grateful to know that he’ll be well cared for and that I will still have the opportunity to see my “first baby”.
Admiral - we’ll miss you.
A Very Interesting Article
August 26, 2009 at 6:46 pm (Random)
I find the political debate both fascinating and nauseating. Nauseating in that it seems to never end, we never seem to compromise, and it seems we are loosing the ability to let others believe differently than we. Fascinating, because it seems so full of contradictions, attitudes, and problems that makes me wonder where exactly the truth lies and why we as a society seem to not see the contradictions. Like I said, fascinating and nauseating.
So, when I stumbled across this article on Yahoo! today, I was excited to see and interesting analysis of the political debate extending far beyond Health Care to which the title refers. It is a idea that I believe has merit and that I have seen as truth when it comes to the polarized discussions. It is something that everyone on the political spectrum is not only capable of but potentially guilty of to some extent of doing at least once in a while.
So, now that I’ve told you nothing, read it. My brain really has enjoyed thinking about it all day. I had to pass it along.
Amazing Alphabet
August 26, 2009 at 10:26 am (The Haren Report)
A little over a week ago we spent a Friday night playing Risk with Uncle Josh. The game was picked up and put back into the box when the evening was over, but the box remained on the table. The next morning as Miss E was climbing on to the bench for breakfast she suddenly said, “S”. Now, she was looking right at the Risk game as she said that and thinking it was just coincidence I asked her to show me the “S”.
And she did.
Then she proceeded to identify the “I” and the “K”.
And there were other letters she knew as well. As of this morning, Miss E can idenitfy 10 of her letters. She will also say that “E” is for her name and that “M” is for Mommy. And, sometimes, she will even distinguish between a big “E” and a little “e”.
Amazing.
I’m in shock. But, its a really cool sorta shock. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised as Daddy was reading by age 3. But, still…
