Life Adventures for Miles

My other half passed! Woot! So we went a good 3.5/4 hours for some good pizza (BJs Restaurant) and some fun widow shopping at stores we don't see in our town! Woot woot! Because my other half was cramming for 2 weeks straight, this was also our anniversary outing!!!! Fun fun!!! (Also just out of curiosity, when does family anniversaries become couple anniversaries again? Lol, just kidding we love it!) The rest of the day was working on my craft project this week and playing with the Luna (puzzles, cars, singing, and dancing).  Work first of course! Yay! 

Today was one of those breaks from everything days. We played dress up the stuffies (which led to playing ball with the stuffies and then just with the humans in the group). Other then that, it's been a lot of learning through video and video manipulation. I spent the majority of today viewing german language videos on youtube (that were more teaching german in English because apparently, german speed is still waaaaay to fast for me...). While my child learned English vocab /grammar through her songs and stories.  Also, I used our little stroller yesterday and forgot to review...so here goes it: The summurlite stroller is the stroller we use for travel. It's light and it folds small in a narrow line, basically the actual baby version of those doll strollers (I think the actual term is umbrella...maybe). This, personally for me is a more of a cornish pro- it is weighted basically only on the seat so it can tip over pretty easily (which I have done, and yes, she's face plante

Sorry folks, I almost forgot today! Happy Anniversary to me (and my sister)! To me (and my sister)! Happy anniversary to me (and my sister)! That's right five years after my sister had a biggish wedding in her state of transplant (where frankly no one wanted to catch the flowers at the end so we all got nudged/reprimanded and had to do it again, lol), I married my other half...in a courthouse with just the mother's (which was a biiiig deal to the rest of the family even though there was a dinner for all afterward- and frankly,  I think they had to fight for that right since we just wanted to get it over with, heh). It was unplanned (the shared date) as it was the date the courts were open and had available while he was in town...I think my sister was a bit shocked to hear my nuptials announcement versus congrats on 5 years when she answered the phone (or was it her that called me...). As my other half is still cert training, an "anniversary celebration" for us (the no

We started out strong today, waffle blocks, water balloon/helium balloons, and cooking noodles. Then out weather turned...wetter. now I am all for rain, coming from Arizona it's my favorite thing ever, however, the sky today just couldn't make up its mind. Rain? Grey clouds?Thunder/lightning? Or is it blue skies and sunny? By the end of our outing, it decided to not play favorites and adjusted its weather pattern for all of it. Thus sunny thunder! Luna had a good bit of fun guessing when she could jump about in puddles and when she shouldn't (ie, lightish rain vs sunny thunder). Woot woot!

This weekend (including today) there was a lot of Luna wanting to do everything by herself and alone. A lot of the times we tried engaging in her play, it would be shooed off and/or ignored, lol. Considering most of the time we were out and about or outside it was a bit hilarious (and frustrating) when these independent spurts would occur. As I've mom failed about the distance between her and I A LOT, it was quite amusing keeping that magical distance between letting her be alone and not actually alone. I was told that that was a pretty good indicator of being an only child. Ha! Luckily (unlike her parents) she loves to meet and greet new people and socialize. I hope she doesn't lose it!     

This was a basic how-to manual for basic weaving. I've been interested in this style of weaving for a while and since I don't have any of the reeds used I thought it could work for my yarn too... First, you need the right materials and tools: craft scissors, a hank of reed,  a towel in case the dyed reeds bleed color, a tub for soaking the reeds so they stay pliable, tools for marking, crimping, packing, and measuring, and tools to hold the reads in place (like clothespins/mini clamps). Then you prep the reed for molding (cutting to size, soaking the reed, and bending it in the shape). The "spokes" are the reeds you weave around (the...warp thread I guess) and the weaver reeds would be the ...weft thread, maybe (they are the reeds that make up the basket)? Also, twinning reeds are basically the glue that holds the bottom, sides, or top together. Don't forget that you want the rougher side of the reeds on the inside!  This book also goes through different basket ty

The weekend days we tend to go out we have been IHOP (or Waffel House) -ing it in the mornings and window (mostly) shopping the rest of the day. This means a lot of the time all meals are out of the house. With COVID it's kinda hit or miss seating (or should I say hit or wait seating) so for the past few morning outings, it been IHOP. My favorite thing there is their crepes. I am obsessed. Sadly, they got rid of the Nutella ones but they still have my lingonberry! Since these were the pancakes I grew up with I think it makes it doubly special for me! What is your favorite morning/diner meal!?!

Today started out interesting. I read once that you always dream but rarely remember them, I was also told that your emotions usually enter and be processed easier in dream form. My dream always seems to make me wonder what is in store for me. My meds have done pretty well for me. It seems my body really only needs 7-8.5 hours of rest before it is good to go and my days seem to be on more of even kneel. While there are days I have forgotten to take my meds (day pill mostly) there has never been a day where I feel like I've taken them twice...So what does the meaning of being a co-teacher/assistant administrator/aide mean for my future? My child's schooling days maybe? The possibility of my future jobs (i did look into interpretation/cultural  training for my BA field, also as my mother was the head/lead teacher and the first class was elementary whereas the second class was older-the toleration of me was way better the first round, as the second round was a lot more student-led

So I feel like I mom fail a lot...like on a daily  (multiple times a day daily) a lot... I'd say it all part of the process of learning and growing and meshing one little person's growing up-ness with one (and/or 2) persons who have had a lot of their growing up-ness completed already. The mom fails today was waking g up early and thinking I could get a shower on my own...WRONG! My little solo exploring adventurer feels totally safe in our complex...which good and bad as that we live on/and or close to a busy road. Combined that with figuring out the door locks (and being tall enough to reach them)...and that her room is the first bedroom you come too when entering the house...we have a naked mother realizing it's too quiet after the initial noise of her child and calling for as rushed to the front door to see her 4 years old excitedly run in the house (in just a pull up) and jabber on about something or another (...sand toys maybe?). The result a wailing child after being

So after 2 days of heat advisory sunshine fun, it was a 'how long can I veg' day. Luckily even when vegging my child can't do the same thing forever so her vegging was more "how many calm and quiet things can I do without much effort or help." The answer surprisingly (or unsurprisingly) is a lot and all day. We had a couple environment changes (living room vs bedroom, vs kitchen, vs outside in the shade) but mostly there was a lot of screen time that included, silly videos, educational videos, books, games, language, math, and reading/writing learning. coordination, memory, coloring, puzzles, and then some non-screen time with blocks, racing, cooking (popcorn!), and cleaning. On another note, my child's morning hello is always fun to note. Sometimes she brings her screen out but usually, she is ready to play! This morning, I and my bed were the subjects as we played "climb the mommy/luna mountain" hide and seek and train. yesterday it was blocked, th

Today was basically a repeat of yesterday (heat advisory and all). We found 3 ways to use the pump: pumping water/air into the balloons, using it to water plants, and using it to fill buckets and wash things (like hands and balloons) with. Today we tried watering the birds, however, the wait to see if they would use it became too much, and all her efforts to talk to the birds into getting a drink from the bucket failed (adorable as it was). Soooooo let's talk dragon facts!  Did you know: (from google searching) Dragons are mythical creatures of legend from different cultures thus they can live in different environments (like caves and mountains-usually depicted with wings- or water or underground, looking more serpent-like) Dragon depictions are usually based off of other animals (like dinosaurs or snakes) and can be good fortunes (like in Asian cultures) or bad omens (western cultures)  Dragons tend to be powerful with and without powers thus slaying them and using their pieces of

Today I noticed a heat advisory for our weather. My head fully stated that it is a closed locked and nailed shut from the outside type of day...my four-year-old, however, can't be locked in all day so we decided quick trips of outdoor fun it will be! Enter the water balloons! The first outing we had the idea of trying out the balloons pump and its balloons for its actual intended purpose (water balloons). Now yours truly has always had issues with balloons. Not with them directly, but apparently for as good as my lungs are (so stated the sleep test doc) it seems that using them for exercise (running) and blowing up balloons (...and whistling) is just out of their comfort zone- and you know how we all like our comfort zones. So as you can imagine, this pump is awesome for me (too bad I can't find something to do the tying for me so my uncoordinated fingers stop breaking them, haha)! It is also easy enough that a Luna can do it, too. So the first round of outside was water balloo

So we had this hammer peg game. Luna ended up pretending it was a pizza and we didn't notice it was still in the oven so it (along with a couple legos) got burnet (a bit) and melted plastic commenced. Suffice it to say it wasn't doing much after that so I decided to turn it into a step stool for little feet as it is still stable and sturdy. it was kinda fun and kinda hard and scary as I hacksawed the pegs close to size before a using a handheld motorized saw blade to finish(ish) them closer to the size I wanted. The next part was a lot easier as it was just spray-painting the stool a pretty maroonish color (that we found at Ollie's bargain shop) and gluing the pegs in place. So pretty! Now luna has a step stool she can move around (as her bathroom one is too heavy to move). Yay!

So I don't remember ever reading Anne of Green Gables. I do know that there was at least one copy at home or at school (as we were book people and it is considered a classic). I have to say, I do appreciate this version of telling stories. It still has the essence of the stories but gives it a new flavor. The pictures depicted it perfectly (ie, my child followed along and enjoyed it) while the text added some context. HA! I just realized that is basically the reverse of novels (wow am I smart!?!-haha). Anyway, it's basically about a family who sends for an orphan to help with the farming (as they did back then), and instead of the boy they paid for, Anne was waiting for them. At first, they thought to find another for her but as the days went on they all grew into a family of three. It shows the passing of time and all of Anne's life's adventures and the lessons she learns along the way (including the people and places she encounters). I wasn't expecting it as a chi

Today we are waffling block building all day long! Trying to figure out those freakin' gears are tough, haha. We got one gear waffle block working but not the turn crank thing with it! I am honestly wondering if we have all the pieces, actually. Luna is loving it, however, and goes between trying to put it together and make it work and just playing with the little animal/cube blocks pieces that came and/or she made with it.     Okay, okay, as always there was some improv dance and sing party, coloring, and some quiet screen time...but then it was clean up time for some Friday pizza! Bubble bath castle ahoy! 

So this morning we had a few rounds of marbles (with the colored peg pieces) and a few rounds of hide-and-seek with the flag outside before eating elbows and heading off to the splash pad. We had lots of fun with water! After a couple hours of sun, we headed home and the day was a wrap!  Review of the Luna bag: I can't read the label and my husband said Amazon isn't selling it anymore. But we enjoy it. It was advertised as a lightweight day pack for hiking and camping. It has a small-sized pocket in the front for little things (phone, wallet, keys, etc) and a bigger pocket that opens all the way down so it can lay flat. That pocket has an inner pouch in the back for a water bladder and a small pouch hooked for...snacks? (We use it for her stash of gummies). The side has 2 water bottle pouches and the straps are adjustable with a chest buckle clip for ease and comfort. It works pretty well for a Luna bag as all we need is snacks, pullups, wipes, a roll of smell containment bags,

So today we basically did an Indoor Day. Luna was very intent on playing with the house she built the day before with legos (there was even a story!). She also ended the day hard at work (with her daddy) building a train using her waffle block and gear set (we haven't seen them since she got them!). There was also a magnet train with its wooden passengers (again they were rediscovered by a Luna!).  In between, there was a brief stint outside hiding...and seeking "easter eggs" (wooden ends of some pegs) and color soup. As a result of this Indoor Day, her mana did the dishes and worked on her craft for this week (a little kid stool). Fun fun!

This morn, Luna found entertainment inside playing with her toys (which led to some reorganization by her mother). She had a grand old time discovering her waffle blocks and wooden block shapes buried deep within her box (ultimately play with her legos, of course). Before this, the stuffies rained the roost as they got to rescue and slide and climb...and turn into a bus!  Then came the grand ol' adventure outside in the sun sun sun sun! We found the last puddle (before the car that lived in that spot came home), we played shadow/shade jump, and before the intermission of a cooldown and water/food break inside she had a drum/jam session serenading a couple moving out. After the intermission, the race was on: hopping, keep-away, tag, magic wands, and flag-planting! Of course, as the day wore on and it got hotter and hotter, it was decided that the outside was closed for the day and we had some quiet air conditioning time inside before the Buttered Elbows made a quick appearance! Yum!

So we started out slowly as always but picked up speed with finding a stick to draw...that led into a couple rounds of hide-and-seek outside where it was dry but with uber humidity. We came in for a cool down (and lunch of hotdogs and Ramon) and the sky decided that it was time for a downpour...with thunder lasting even longer than the (first) downpour. So what does one do with an active 4-year-old all ramped up from the excitement of the downpour? Fort building and pup playing (with "Daisy the cow"  (a giraffe) and Peppa and George along for the fun). Now, I was only entertaining for about an hour as she banded me to the couch after about an hour in, while she continued to create a storyline with her stuffies. When the rain (and thunder) had a break, we were able to enjoy the drenched grass and all the puddles the downpours created!  

"The rain rain rain came down down down in rushing, rising riv'lets,"- The Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down: Disney Studio Chorus ...and Luna found some mud to play about in! She was extra excited about her sand toys yesterday as she came across some dirt puddles. While the first was probably not so much a good mud puddle...as it was in the middle of a car parking spot...but as we walked to the park/creek near our house, she found a good dirt pile near the water and proceeded to make her own mud puddle! While she was dinosaur stomping (for the second time :)) she decided castles were the ting to build and had oodles of fun doing so! After a brief stint fishing, we all ended up enjoying the splash pad. We found out her flowy dress does pretty well when wet! I also had a conversation about starting a bright idea I had ( joining the bandwagon for travel blogging/vlogging). As we were flushing out the idea, I was reminded that these things would be a lot of work to be succe

So my foray in broadening my book horizons basically lean on the books through kindle unlimited. KU has a lot but only so much to choose from. This week follows the recommendations on Amazon and is about 28(ish) "poor little rich girls" who, unlike those "successful rich girls" who made something with their wealth (and survived with it intact), these biography shorts summarize their ultimate demise: isolation in one form or another and its greed. It showcases how the pampered women and/or their offspring chased the all-consuming concept of happiness...with various results.  The epilogue basically states (to my understanding) that we share similar traits, hopes, and fears whatever the class distinction. While I found the life shorts of these wealthy women interesting (sort of), I did enjoy all the quotes and references to stories of old.

After a week of rainy days, we see the sun! As our morning wore off and we were fully awake and full of Ramon and caffeine... we had our own adventures today... she apparently wanted to explore...without me. :( We are lucky to have such good luck and good samaritans around us, I tell you! I'm (not seriously) contemplating locking her in and losing the key or better yet chipping this child as all my safety talks are apparently going in one ear and out the other and I will die early from all the panic stress her solo adventures are going to give me! Suffice it to say, the outdoors will be close to us for the rest of the day. :(

So it rained today, not heavy rain but rain. Luna had oodles of fun playing in it (or after it). It was also our shopping day so we got to spend some time with the shops. Luna was pretty excited when her daddy bought her long balloons (she already had some water balloon small size that is uber hard for her parents to use...). Dinner was good ol' Popeyes chicken and fries! then some winding down with quiet play and screen time. Just a plain ol' normal day for these folks! How was your Thursday?

Today was an event day (we are part of a FB social gathering of the area group) at the splash pad. The local parks and rec had an event beforehand so we got the play with their gear as well. While it did rain, it didn't truly pour (yet) so even after the event we stayed. My child absolutely loves it!

Holy toledo! I just saw Dune (1980s version) for like the second time ever! It is one of my other half's favorite book series and even beloved movies (though he is not fond of it digressing from the book as it did). Our discussion of it and it's like (because I am one of those who can't stop talking. Seriously, if you want to watch or listen to any media and actually pay attention to it, I will ruin it so just...dodon't invite me...?) and I had forgotten how just darn creepy it is! Yes, it is lots of fun with the theme of good trumpets over evil (with all the bad guys getting their cnuppets and that floating bloated brute being eaten by the worm) and the son avenging his father and then there that whole power of women thing with them being akin to old pagan priestesses where they basically control their people through the drugs of spice and their puppets men...or something like it (the whole no man can survive that transcendence mind melt superpower that his mother had

Today there was some fun in the sun (and rain) but mostly play dough crafting! Crazy fun! There were dinosaurs/animals and numbers, and shapes and plants! We made them in 3 swirling colors: (luna likes to mix them!) Purple, light yellow, and orange!  It was perfect after a good week in the sun (yesterday we finally made it to the beach). Woot woot!

So with all the excitement that was this week, I...totally forgot to put aside time for book reading. So this week will be aimed for those beginning readers (again). Specifically, those easy readers step 1/2 readers! Now I am kinda in love with them as they provide a perfect start to actually reading the words. The sets like my Pete the cat books use both words and picture symbols for clue indicators. They all have simple and repetitive language and the stories get increasingly...lengthy? story-like? advanced as well. Examples in my bunch would be Pete the Cat, Biscuit, and Big Shark/Little shark, while there is a tail (haha, get it,  cause their all tailed animals?) to tell, it is very linear in its nature. The stories like I love my tutu and the Paw Patrol progress the linear nature by introducing different things like characters and scene dynamics. Luna, of course, is not quite at this stage (she still prefers to make up her own stories from the pictures rather then the actual stori

Today we were all feeling like home would be best, thus we did home things. In the midst of playing with my child (building castles, playing paw patrol with her pups, and figuring out which balls bounce faster Waffel bowl fruit salad) I did get to this week's craft: renewing our old couch pillows for a "joker color" requested by my other half! Granted the green is a softer green, but I like the contrast between the 2 colors, anyway. This one was pretty simple as I took the ones that were already there and sewed them into purple and green (2 of each) fabrics.   So on some fun facts about the 4th of July! It's celebrating America's Independence from Britain (as that was the territory mostly formed already-America bought the territories from the rest of Europe later) The way it is celebrated hasn't really changed much (patriotic decorations, fireworks, and big gatherings of food and drink and sport/play) 3 presidents died and one president was born on th

We had this plan of day-tripping and possibly overnighting at catfish lake. While we packed for such occasions...we didn't think about possibly getting stuck (we are very inexperienced)...and that is exactly what happened! Catfish lake was too popular for my other half so we thought we'd detour on what we thought was a tredded forest road to get to another lake nearby. Our new ford ranger (and my husband) did pretty well with the muddy mud mud mud and we were almost uber so close to the end of the forest road! But alas it was not to be. Maybe we will be prepared for next time. Thanks to Bear Creek Automotive for saving us!!! But for now, it's a car wash as well as a people wash and a familiar adventure of the beach tomorrow. Huzzah! Also...The flies were out strong today!

So today we left the house and went about the town as a family. For some reason none of us could decipher (especially not my 4-year-old), my 4-year-old did not have the calm and exciting energy that she usually did and threw screaming fits at every point throughout the day's adventure. Suffice it to say by the time we were done food shopping we were all ready to be home. Hopefully, after a bit of rest, she will be willing and ready to fish with her "moddy" this afternoon! If not, it will be a normal afternoon in and my other half gets a few hours to fish without interruption. Personally, I am perfectly happy to say inside with the air conditioning!