being creative

i'm pretty much a logical type person. my creative side is, well, let's just say i'm a bit challenged in that area.

i'm trying to make letters to spell the grandkid's names for their rooms. i've run in to all sorts of problems. the latest being i can't find the paper i want to use to cover them. so today my quest, amongst others, is to find the right stuff and get to creating.

mom had a small bistro set she was going to get rid of. i snagged it for megan's balcony. her husband, shane, smokes so i thought it would be a place for him (and his visiting mother) to sit, instead of having to stand the entire time. i'll deliver that today while i'm running my errands.

i'm hoping today proves more fruitful than yesterday with regards to my project for the kids.

the letters look like this:

i will make victoria's like this, gavin will get a monkey theme to match his bedding and i'll let christopher choose what he wants. probably star wars for his room.

precious moments

when i get down, i'm going to remember to come back to this post.

christopher and victoria met their cousin for the first time today. it looked like this:


they absolutely loved this baby. here are more pics.

God love 'em, and so do i.

friday

got up extra early today. w left for el rosario and the celebration they are to have there tomorrow. i decided to stay so i can take the kids to church. i also promised them i would take them to see their new cousin for the first time.

so i finished painting victoria's room and hung her drapes. it's. . uhm. . .very lavender. but it goes well with her favorite "little mermaid" and various other assorted princesses. there are some things that just need to be indulged, especially if you are a grandchild. every child should have someone that thinks them so special. it's good for them.

next week we're taking the rv camping. the kids really miss taking the "choo-choo" and will have a blast, no doubt. their papa has already made arrangements so they can watch dvd's while enroute. he's ordered a trailer to haul the dirtbikes so we are almost ready to go.

i will need to figure out meals, but everyone is pretty easy and not too picky, so i'm not anticipating any problems. now that i said that. . .

working

i stayed pretty busy in victoria's room today. i discovered why they empty a room on HGTV of everything before they paint it. i ended up pretty much emptying her's but it was a piece of furniture at a time. if i had started with it empty, it would have saved me a bunch of moving stuff around.

i need to tape the ceiling and then touch up the walls, but it's pretty much completed. tomorrow i will finish that and then push the furniture back in, re-apply the wall decals, hang the purple windows panels and call it good. at least until i can find a used headboard that i can pimp out in all things rhinestone and gold. it will be fun.

i'm hoping tomorrow i'll hit a good garage sale, i've got a few items i could use for some of my DIY stuff.

trying to stay busy

okay, i started victoria's room yesterday. it's going. . .very slowly. as i previously confessed, i lack basic painting skills, and patience. both are important when you are painting a room. this may not be pretty. lucky for me, the recipient is 3 years old and probably won't be too big of a critic. i did give her a preview yesterday, however, and her only comment was "it's not done yet."

heh

she doesn't know just how long painting can take, especially with her nana doing it. she's young and still has a lot to learn.

in other news, i had to fetch some things from the rv yesterday. i had to look twice to find our rv as it didn't stick out like a sore thumb with the olde evel knievel theme. that was pleasant.

okay, so after i watch a bit of the sopranos, i'm off to work on my painting.

somebody stop me! i'm being productive.

been very busy

we hosted greg, holly, courtney and connor this past weekend and had a great time. it was good to see the kids and christopher and victoria were able to spend some time with them as well.

since victoria's papa bought her a new pink helmet with little mermaid stickers on it, she's been all about the dirtbikes. every time we see her, she wants to go dirtbiking. today she saw it on the counter and said "i just love that helmet."

heh.

have spent some time seeing our little mouse, gavin. he's such a dear. momma and baby are doing great. they are figuring out their schedules and making things work.

i have started to prepare victoria's room for painting. it still hasn't gotten done though. what i realized between purchasing the paint and actually starting is that my painting skills are horrible at best. it all looks so easy on HGTV. they can do a whole remodel in 30 minutes. i can't even bring the stuff in from the garage in that amount of time.

but i suppose it will have to be done. . .anyone want to come over and do it for me? anyone? yeah, that's what i was thinking. :-D

as promised

our gavin!

1:31 p.m. and he's here!!

6 lbs. 4 ozs. 19 inches long. both mommy and baby are doing well.

pictures when i get them!!!!

1:09 p.m. and still no gavin. . .

megan called at 10:30 and said she was fully dilated. i can't wait for that next call!!!!!

the countdown

megan will be admitted tonight at midnight. they will hook her up to the pitocin to get her contractions started and we will have grandbaby #6!!!

gavin lane kaiser

and so it begins

craigslist. gotta love it. by tomorrow night we will have a new grandson and pink moto gear for victoria. the guy says he has the the shirt and pants to match.


pretty in pink.

today is the day. . .

that megan is induced. gavin should be arriving sometime tomorrow, i'm guessing.

i'm stupid excited for her. she's going to be a great mommy. can't wait to see his swaddled little self lying in mommy's arms!

i pray each of them is happy and healthy.

it's the simple things

i've been smiling all day about victoria's gear bag. christopher has always been taught and held responsible for packing his gear back in to his bag properly after it's use. that way when it's time to ride again, you don't have to worry about where everything is.

if it's not done right, he is required to do it over. he's also responsible for making sure his gear is packed in the van when there is riding to be done. one weekend it didn't make the van, his bike did, but he had no gear. so his bike sat unused that weekend. to his credit, there was no whining, but it did get his attention and hasn't happened since.

and now, victoria's bag is sitting there with her shirt, pants and princess boots. . .just like her brother.

she made sure she had her hat for the desert in her stroller full of junk.

here she was watching and collecting sticks for kindling for the camp fire. those kids are always looking forward to the next fire.

would you look at the determination on this little face.

"i did it!"

i'm a thrilled grandma.

sunday

from a post to the socal maggot list:

today it became unanimous, our entire family rides. (at least until wednesday when our newest grandson arrives. megan's son, gavin, is scheduled to be born)

3 year old victoria was our last hold out. she's always been afraid of the noise, etc. this morning brother, ye and i all geared up. not to be outdone, she put on christopher's outgrown riding gear.

she put on her pink princess boots, along with her lime green riding gear, grabbed her stroller full of junk and hit the sidewalk for the walk down the block to the desert. the "boys" rode ahead, ye on my dirtbike, chris following closely behind. we chatted about them along our way and found where they were riding. we watched for a while, then ye asked if i wanted to take a spin. i threw my leg over and asked victoria if she wanted to ride with me. i promised her i would go slow. i was not expecting the response i got.

she raised her arms and let me set her in front of me. i told her to hold on to the crossbar. she did, for the first loop. by the second loop she was tossing her curls back, shrieking with delight and yelling for me to go "faster!" by the third loop, then she told me to move my hands, grabbed the grips and yanked on the throttle. we were chasing her brother and every other living creature for a long time. she told me she wanted to stay there for "a hour."

when we stopped, it wasn't because she was tired, it was because i was tired. heh.

i smell another dirtbike purchase in our family. she also told her papa that she needs a mermaid helmet

this seriously opens up a lot for me. when we would go out in the rv, we would take a bike for w and a bike for chris. no bike for nana as she was stuck at base camp with victoria. now that she's willing to ride, (we do not believe in ever forcing anyone to ride, especially a child), i can take her out with me. i certainly do not mind put-putting it around with her.

now the unfortunately part, unfortunately that means we have more gear to buy - and a nana with no j.o.b.

she really only needs a helmet as christopher outgrew his gear this year. once she starts riding on her own she'll need the chest protector, elbow pads, etc. but for now, helmet, shirt, pants and princess boots will serve just fine.

i got such a kick out of giving her her own "gear bag" today and watching her pack her gear away in it.

i should be sleeping

granted it's only 8:54 p.m., but i worked hard today. all stripes have been removed. woohoo.

now the leftover adhesive, then a thorough washing before the detailing begins. it will certainly look like a well kept machine. a little less ghetto every day.

tomorrow is a busy day. must do shopping in the morning, pick up megan for her doc appt., pick up victoria at the day care, back to casa grande.

then the whole weekend begins. lots of stuff in store. the kids are in a church program, then packing lunches for the homeless before heading out to the zoo with the adventurer's club. this is a boy scout/girl scout sort of club with a religious twist. they both love it. they earn honors and badges.

we're looking for a nice quiet spot to spend saturday evening where the kids can ride dirtbikes and enjoy the out of doors.

wednesday

austin's surgery was early this morning. we were on our way home by 9:00 a.m. we ran some errands and then came back to the casa to catch up on some of that sleep we missed by getting up at 4:30 a.m. to make the 5:30 a.m. check in time.

then, it was time for yet more stripe removal. the good news is, i got a lot done. the bad news, it's still not done. but the end is in sight at this point and help is on the way via our good friend, david. he's the one that rescued me from butchering my cabinet doors.

the rv looks better already. austin referred to the stars and stripes motif as "70's game show". and he's right, it did look like that. with the majority gone, it is beginning to look like a regular rv. we will "blend in".

i'm tired, and looking forward to making even more progress tomorrow. dare i say. . .complete it tomorrow. nah, probably not.

i would really like to get the countertops, kitchen and bath, replaced with corian. i think the total countertop area is something like 4 feet, so it shouldn't be too expensive. ah, that's where the "no job" comes in. . .

oh well. more later.

more work

after getting up this morning following a wonderful night's sleep, i headed out to the rv with hair dryer in hand. don't know if i mentioned it, but when we bought the rv it had every sticker known to man stuck all over it. there were numerous flags boasting "God Bless America" plastered on all sides, a huge bull on the back and a bunch of dealer related stickers touting their being the best at everything.

i felt like the griswolds in any of the national lampoon vacation movies. we're down to the final stars and stripes removal. unfortunately, those stripes make a double loop around each side, as well as front and back. i figure there must be about 300 ft. of stripes.

sigh.

so i started scraping. . .and scraping. . .tomorrow i'm picking up a 3M stripe wheel that is supposed to make short work of the rest. i sure hope that is the case because my fingers are permanently scarred from the heated vinyl and adhesive today.

and then all those darn stickers will be gone and we'll blend into the rv ocean. i never thought i would be looking forward to anonymity. i guess i'm just not an extrovert.

tomorrow austin gets his hardware taken out of his arm and hand. that is his last surgery. he started rehab on his knees on tuesday. we're in the final stretch. we're even ready to settle with the attorney.

woohoo!

back again

i'm back from mexico. actually, i've been back since friday evening but have been running ever since.

the time in mexico was brief and uneventful. most importantly, it's over. and that is a good thing. next on the agenda? gavin's arrival.

later today i am going up to megan's, run some errands with her. she doesn't drive due to her dui and needs to get the final items for gavin. he'll be here in a couple of weeks. i can't wait to see his little face, and to see him look at his momma. there is nothing that beats that picture.

after helping her run her errands, she should be ready for his arrival, at least as far as "things" are concerned. it seems like it's taken a long time, and yet, no time at all. there are some obstacles to overcome and work out, but he is a blessing already.

holly & greg and the kids are coming the weekend after easter. we are looking forward to seeing them again. we don't get to see courtney and connor enough, i wish we could share with them the moments we've shared with christopher and victoria.

speaking of the monsters, we took them out in the rv on saturday night. they've really taken to the rv. victoria goes on the roof with papa, christopher can do it himself. saturday night they went to bed while we were still out around the campfire. it gave us some time alone which was nice.

in the morning we all went for a hike. victoria, who normally isn't a walker, did a great job. christopher unearthed a lava rock that on the surface appeared to be small, it was a hug boulder by the time he got it loose. but he worked it until he got it. they each have quite the rock collection. i've suggested that we make a rock garden in the backyard. little do they know it's so they won't bring them in to the house!!!

it's all good.