Oh my gosh!

It is 12:39 a.m. I am awake and don't think I will be sleeping anytime soon, so I am going to blog -maybe that will help me not go crazy. There is no one to call, nothing I can do but wait, so I'll write.

We all went to bed around 9 p.m. As everyone settled in I was still watching the Giants beat the Rockies. I paused the TV several times as I could hear what sounded like an PA system -but it was fuzzy and I couldn't make out the words. It stopped, the Giants won, I turned off the lights and fell asleep. Shortly after that River started barking (from Steven's room in the front of the house). He would bark, stop, then bark twice, stop, then bark twice. I got up to get Mack (our visiting dog) and move him into another room before River got him all wound up too.
I came downstairs to let the dogs out and got a glass of water. It was 10:10 p.m. The dogs kept barking by the front window, so I looked out. There was a beam of light streaming over the street -like a car parked towards us, on the wrong side of the street had its lights on. This continued for 20 minutes or so .. then I went outside to see what was going on.

As I walked down the front stairs, I could see a white truck parked in front of my neighbors house with a couple of people outside it. I figured they must be dropping someone off -as I headed back inside -2 police cars turned in front of my house and headed past the white truck and down the street. Weird. But I went back inside and locked all the doors. I decided maybe if I laid down I would be sleepy again --so I turned on General Hospital. When it ended, I got up to let Sammy out again -he was still edgy and barking every so often - so I figured he wanted to go outside.

While waiting for him, I decided to check facebook. There I saw a post from a friend that said:

"Hey Rosevillians, have you heard what's going on at Alnwick drive? Two people shot in their home by an intruder. Police are still there, they are not sure if the person is still in the home or not. Scary stuff."

Well -since I live 5 houses away from Alnwick and have friends living on that street- that caught my attention quick. I went back outside and could see police lights at the end of the street. I realized the PA I heard earlier is the SWAT team. I frantically checked for a story online and finally found a video from the 11 pm news. The 3 houses they showed on the news -- surrounded by police cars--all houses where we have friends. I tried to remain calm, but will admit that I am somewhat panicky right now. I am praying that our friends are all ok. The reports state that the homeowner called 911 and reported 2 family members had been shot inside the home. He is out of the house and has met up with the police.

It is now 1 a.m. and there have not been any updates posted online. I am going to make a cup of tea - I have a feeling this night is going to last forever.

Unfortunately the update isn't good.. names still haven't been released -but there are 3 dead.
ROSEVILLE, Calif. -- Roseville police said they are investigating a triple homicide after bodies were discovered inside a home.The bodies were discovered at about 12:40 a.m. Wednesday when the SWAT team and police entered a home on the 1600 block of Alnwick Drive.Police said a caller reported an armed intruder entered the home and shot two people inside just before 9 p.m. Tuesday.KCRA 3 has learned that man and woman, who were related, were found dead. A third person, who was not related to the pair, was also found dead. Identities of the deceased were not released.KCRA 3 has also learned that the caller was related to the man and woman who were killed and is being questioned by police.Police said they are investigating.

Menu Plan Monday

I am working on a month long menu -but for now this week is ready to go.

Monday - Spaghetti with homemade meat sauce and green beans
Tuesday- tacos
Wednesday- chicken with mashed potatoes and carrots
Thursday- Chili in the crockpot with baked potatoes
Friday- chicken pot pie (leftover chicken & veggies from the week)
Saturday- Chili dogs, fries
Sunday- Pot Roast w/carrots & potatoes

A group of friends and I are planning a cooking day to get our freezers stocked up. I am trying out some of our favorite recipes for that and also a crockpot recipe swap that is coming up. Lot's of fun in the kitchen --in fact I am even signed up to take a few specialty cooking classes.... I am looking forward to it.

A whirlwind of a weekend....

This weekend Steven played in a baseball tournament with his new team -the Bandits. He had a good time and enjoyed it. They lost all 4 games -which the coach explained isn't unexpected with a new group of kids together.. so time will tell. I will say it was much better for me, to be with a new group -free of the drama there has been in the past. I was able to enjoy watching them play. They did really well defensively, but their bats just weren't in it on Saturday and on Sunday the reverse was true.... ahhhh 13 year old boys! Steven only played in the 2nd game on Saturday as the first was at 9am and the fields are an hour away -he didn't want to get up too early on his birthday.

Saturday was Steven's birthday. I prepared in advance (knowing the tournament was this weekend) and spent Friday night baking brownies, wrapping gifts and frying bacon. We started our morning off with bacon waffles with bacon on the side and orange juice --delivered to Steven in bed by Jackson with a surprise basketball card hidden in the napkin. Then for lunch after the game we went to Red Lobster for endless shrimp. Steven ate the full plate they brought (2 orders of fried shrimp and french fries and broccoli) and another helping of shrimp before he gave up. He had 2 cheddar biscuits and several glasses of lemonade -so he was full! Then we headed home to watch the Giants game. His friend Josh joined us for the game. He was happy to see his Grandma Pat, Uncle Scott and cousin Iain come over for dinner too. He spent way more time playing than he did watching the game -but he had fun. We had bacon cheeseburgers and fries for dinner. For dessert we had brownies, orange sherbet/vanilla ice cream and neopolitan ice cream. No one ate much -everyone was full from lunch... but I cooked anyway for those that wanted to eat.

I have some pictures on my camera -but am too tired to download them now -so maybe tomorrow I can share those. I wanted to get this post done so I could head to bed (at 8pm -I know, I know) as I am very tired and just plain worn out from the weekend. All that beautiful sunshine just took all my energy it seems.

Today was a beautiful day for baseball. Yesterday it rained on us a bit and it was cloudy. Today was windy (I can feel it in the chafe on my face) and cold in the morning first thing.. but by 10:30 the sun was shining and it wasn't hot, just sunny and warm -perfect baseball weather. I see the temperatures are supposed to be in the low 80s tomorrow -so I am looking forward to that. I am off to open all the windows and air out the house.

A thought I wanted to share....

It has been a busy day. A day where I didn't stop going at all until 4:30 p.m. when my whole family sat, crosslegged on the living room floor with the dogs to talk about our day for 5 minutes. It felt like heaven to sit down. Then back up, call the doctor to get Steven's next appointment, make dinner, dishes and get Steven packed and out the door before finishing a few last minute things for the open house. Will people come? I hope so. If they don't that's ok too. It will be what it is.

I started the day behind. I was up late, thinking, planning and doing. I woke grumpy and my coffee didn't brew right. Jackson left for school and I took a few minutes to ready my mind---then heuaded to work in his class. I got there just as President Obama's speech started being played. His class was in the cafeteria watching and I didn't want to disturb -so I left his teacher a message that I would come back later in the day. I went to Sams Club to pick up some snacks, then picked up my friend to go meet with our upline for some training, help. Home again at noon, ate lunch quickly, played with the dogs and went back to school. I got there as Jackson's class was at PE. They were running the mile. I went into the classroom and finished the packets the teacher needed.

I stopped outside to tell her I was done (they were playing soccer in the field right outside the classroom. I was stopped in my tracks when I spotted her... shoes off, running down the field playing right alongside the kids. It was a hot day, she was in a skirt and sweater.. yet there she was. I wished I had my camera with me to take that picture. It was a spectacular moment to watch and looking back I realize that this is what this year is like for that class. They have a teacher their size (she is a tiny, petite little thing) who really gets what they are about and actually plays with them in a real way.

We are so blessed.

Menu Plan Monday

Well, it's really Tuesday I guess since it is after midnight. I have been up past everyone else tonight, trying to get everything ready for my Premier Open House tomorrow night. I am quite excited about having people over and just playing with the jewelry and having a good time. The purpose of the event is to share the product with others and let them make up their own minds about where to go from here. So for me, once the house is ready, the jewelry is out and the brownies are made --it's just FUN!

So I have a menu ready and this is a busy, busy week -so it is pretty simple. But sometimes, simple is good.

Monday -we had FREE Chik-Fil-A sandwiches
Tuesday- Bratwurst, potato salad and watermelon
Wednesday - Hamburgers, potato salad, mac & cheese
Thursday -pork chops, mashed potatoes, gravy and peas
Friday - chicken drumsticks, rice and corn
Saturday -not sure -Steven's choice as it's his 13th Birthday and he has a baseball tournament that he may play in....
Sunday -tournament day for sure... crockpot meal of some sort.. maybe pot roast? will depend on what we have Saturday night.

Steven has baseball Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday nights this week (like every week) so we need to have a dinner schedule. There is nothing I hate more than not having an answer when he asks at 3:30 -what's for dinner? So now I feel more prepared --at least thru Friday! Next week Jackson goes back to basketball -so it will just get crazier from here. Luckily Steven's best friend goes to the same practices and we can split it up a bit. Jonathan will take them Tuesday (I have my open house) Josh's mom will take them Wednesday and Thursday is still up in the air -but at least we have each other to count on -that makes it so much easier!

2009 California State Fair!

Our trip to the fair got derailed a few times this year -but we finally made it on Sunday of Labor Day weekend. We originally planned to go on Wednesday -as it was a minimum day for both kids... then Jackson was home sick that day. So we decided to go on Friday after school -but he still wasn't feeling his best and it had been a long day at school. So Sunday was about all the time we had left... it was a great day to go. In the mid 80s, the mild weather made the day much nicer. We went right when they opened at 10am and stayed til about 3:30. Around 2 we started to notice crowds and people seemed to be everywhere -so we knew it was just about time to head out -plus we were all getting a bit tired (at least our feet were!).





There was a place where you could get your picture
taken with the kings... of course we had to! Notice Jack's new
fair hat -sun protective, fits and totally cute too!


Steven enjoyed a few minutes of goat milking --he was better
at it this year -having done it last year too.

Jackson doesn't enjoy the petting zoo -but he does like riding
the blue pony (every year!)

Steven really enjoys the petting zoo. We usually all go in,
but this year it was no longer free! See the sign --now it
is $3 just to go in!!! and they just pasted it over the FREE.


Steven enjoys going though, so we coughed up the 3 bucks...

this one really captured the look on his face as he walked around
petting all the animals...

I just liked this one.

We started at the art exhibits -we all enjoy them and it was so nice
to be there when the buildings weren't crowded -we had room to
look and take our time with out worrying. So nice!

The boys like weired mirrors and ALL interactive exhibits... still.

I liked this hall --Candy Nation --so I had Jonathan snap a picture
of us in candyland!


All in all it was a fun day. We all ate our favorite fair foods, they rode a ride, we went for the first time to the horse races and watched a race, completed the scavenger hunt for a fresh fruit reward. All in all -lots of family fun!

Steven's family birthday

There's my boy who will be 13 in just 9 days????yikes.

Grandma was pretty pleased with her wrapping job...

For those of you who are wondering -no his birthdate didn't change! It is still September 12th (same as my cousin Chris). With the kids getting older and having sports games and practices, we find it harder to co-ordinate times for family dinners. We go with what we can work out and since there are 2 birthdays in September (Cyn's is coming the end of the month) it just worked out to have Steven's the end of August when everyone was available. Now, his thought was that was cool -early presents and we can swim at his dinner. Unfortunately his eye diagnosis earlier in the day made that not possible for him -bummer.

After the epic post about his eye the other day - I won't rehash that part of the day. I will however share that after his 2nd follow up (today) they doctor said the eye is healing nicely and so there should be no permanent repercussions, God willing. Good news to hear for sure!

So my mom made Steven's dinner choice: fried pork chops, mashed potatoes (and gravy even though he doesn't eat gravy he asked for it knowing others like it -so sweet my boy is!) and corn. It was yummy. The we had dessert --which I baked. White cake with strawberry frosting. I have to say I thought that was yummy too. We served the cake with vanilla/chocolate ice cream and cookies & cream ice cream (his favorites). Everyone seemed to enjoy dinner and the mood was jovial.

When it was time to light the candle (Steven's unprepared mother forgot candles) that Grandma had... the kids tried to use the lighter. I am pleased to report that none of the 4 could get a flame (unlike my cousins & I at that age..LOL) off it. Brian ended up lighting the candle while Jonathan blocked the wind from the fan. It was way more trouble than the candle was worth -or so my kid told me....

Family time comes at a premium. It seems like there is never enough time and this time was no exception. Steven had been invited to a birthday party for later that night and he really wanted to go -so we headed out about 7 to take him there. So we had a couple of hours of time to visit, no time for games this day.. maybe next time.

Present time, present time, open a box and see what's inside: another wrapped box?


Steven blowing out the candle (for the picture anyway)

Grandma & Ciera


First came Steven and the lighter...

then Jackson & the lighter....

Basketball

Tonight I took Jackson to the basketball skills evaluation. He is moving up a level -from 3/4 grade to 5/6 grade. He was still in the group of the tallest #34 out of 41 by height. He is excited about basketball. With every passing week I can see his mind working faster at what to do as his body increases it's skills. He works at it, alot. I will say that he always puts his whole heart into an activity and basketball has been the hardest for him physically. Not mentally, but working with the size of his body and coordinating everything took some getting used to. I was so proud tonight as I saw him participating in the drills, in control of his movements, being deliberate in his actions and getting the job done. Exciting for me, absolutely!

Now there are always trade-offs. For the last 2 years he has been dedicated to karate. He studied harder and more diligently than anyone and it was apparent to his teachers and those of us watching. When he started basketball 6 months ago - I really thought it would be a passing fancy... but here we are and he is still playing basketball, but has put his study of karate on hold. He just earned his purple belt and is 2 sessions away from his brown belt. A year ago, this kid spoke excitedly, often about when he could get his brown, and then black belt. It was all he wanted to accomplish, it was his dream. He would rush to the computer at the start of a new session to download the new kata and start to learn it on his own. He would often attend 2 or even 3 1/2 hour sessions per night instead of his 1 required class. Now his dream has changed and he is pursuing other sports he feels passionate about. I am still a bit sad, almost nostalgic. Last night at 7 pm I felt a twinge of sadness that we weren't at karate. I really loved watching him perform his drills and kata's --with such seriousness, such diligence, showing in his face and action such a sense of accomplishment. I realize now that what I love about karate isn't karate itself.... but the esteem it instilled in my son through it's structure and discipline. He is such a different kid now than he was before karate. He has grown mature and confident in his abilities in life. He is more direct, less shy and willing to look people in the eye. He has overcome much social anxiety and is now quite social. This is all a sign of growing up and it may have happened eventually, but I know that karate was a big part of it for Jackson. I hope that he will go back and continue his study of karate when he is ready. As Sensei always says: "the best part about karate is that it is all year long, you can take a break and come back, we will always welcome you."

Last Friday Jackson's team played in the championship game. They lost in the end and were disheartened. There were some bad calls on both sides and a disregarding of the rules by the referee's that made the loss especially hard. But they played hard and they know that. In the end the only call is the one made by the referee's and we have to respect their authority as such. That is what I want my son to know. That win or lose, you are a good sport and accept the end result. I will certainly look to the league to provide clarification of the rules that we feel were disregarded -so that we can be fully aware of the rules and regulations, teaching the boys to play by those rules. Now he will be in a new division with some new teammates and possibly different assistant coaches. He is ready for the adventure and looking forward to the challenge. So am I.

The game is tied....in the 3rd...

Time out in 2nd...

Going in to start the 2nd period...


Before the game...