I promise...

I promise I will blog again...when I'm not so tired or cranky or busy. I was looking forward to blogging about the fabulous weekend we had planned last weekend (free zoo, Fleet Week festivities, oh my!), but it was all a bust. I did get a few cute pictures of the girls though. I will post them, but I must gather enough energy to upload them from the memory card and sort through them first. Maybe tomorrow...

In other news, I finally got photoshop and lightroom, so I am a happy girl. Though I am so tired and busy tired, that I haven't even played with it. Not even once. And...preschool is going so much better (and ballet for that matter.) I have gotten more creative in my delivery and we are adjusting (aka mommy is learning how to teach). I'm just excited they are learning. Maybe tomorrow I'll get some energy and take pictures of our school projects. Maybe...

Going Bear Crazy

So I mentioned a report of a bear (approximately 350 lb bear to be exact) here in housing last week in the post about losing my keys. Well, apparently I'm losing my mind as well. We have found what the boys think is bear poop right in our back yard. Two times. Obviously that freaks me out to no end, and I respond by looking around frantically constantly on watch for a bear while we are outside playing in the yard. My wonderful husband on the other hand responds by going to the store to buy molasses to lure the bear. He poured it on the trees and left the half full jar in the tree. He's hoping to find evidence tomorrow. It makes me laugh just thinking about a raccoon eating that yumminess and knocking it over while Brett is convinced the bear got it. LOL

It does not make me laugh thinking about attracting this bear to my yard though. I didn't realize how freaked out I was until tonight when everyone was already asleep. I'm the only night owl in the house...thankfully. It's so quiet at night...and scary. I went to get a lifesaver out of the kitchen when I decided to make sure the side door was locked. I peeked down the basement stairs and it was open (the screen door was shut, but the actual door was open). I wasn't surprised as my husband has never been big on locking door, cars, anything. He laughs when he gets locked out and calls it Fort Knox. I am the worrier and the safety freak of course, so I run down the stairs to shut and deadbolt the door when I panic. The thought that the bear was inside the basement overtook me and I ran as fast as I could back into the kitchen and slammed the kitchen door. I'm surprised I didn't fall up the stairs. Lord knows I've fallen down those awful stairs more than my fair share.

When I got back in the living room, I laughed a bit at myself and went back to watching my show (Parenthood. The best show EVER.) when I noticed the front door behind me was rattling. A lot. I was immediately frozen with fear and convinced that there was a bear at the front door trying to get in. I gathered a little courage and went to the door and peeked out the little window in the door. Thankfully, nothing was there and the door was locked. I again laughed at myself for being convinced it was a bear versus the crazy wind outside making the door rattle. Definitely losing my mind 'round here.

This may or may not be the bear in my yard. ;)

On a more parental note, we have been sick, so we skipped ballet this morning. I figured the other mommies might give me a nasty look when my little ballaweena comes in hacking and blowing snot bubbles. I did have a few errands I had to run though, so I gathered up all my energy and got us loaded in the car. About 5 minutes down the road, I'm feeling very productive so I decide to head up to the Petaluma outlets about 30 minutes away and return something* to the Gap. I figure this will be a quick in and out trip before hitting up the post office and grocery store, leaving us plenty of time to get home before lunch and naptime. I'm sure this is all too familiar to other moms, but a quick return at Gap turned into TWO potty breaks, a few rides on the... Well, what are those things called? It was a train and a boat that you put fifty cents into and it shakes and moves. They aren't really rides as in Six Flag rides, but I guess that's the closest thing. Anyway, two potty breaks, a few rides, a run around Gap and a diaper change later, we finally made it out of there. For those of you without kids, any "quick" errand that should take less than 5 minutes will automatically take at least 30 45 minutes. Due to said sickness, they passed out on me before we even got to the second stop. I got lunch and sat in the car waiting for them to stir so we could go into the post office. (They were literally unwakeable. Trust me. I tried.) I don't know about where you live, but our post office is always a nightmare. To make matters worse, they have now added an entire card display which only makes juggling boxes and keeping 2 toddlers in line even more difficult. Staring at Scooby Doo, mermaids and Cat in the Hat is just too much for my girls. They have to touch. Everything. We managed to make it out of there and gave up on the rest of the errands. I still felt productive as I managed to check a few things off the "to do" list, which is more than I can say for most days. Gotta celebrate the small things, right? It keeps me sane, even if I am losing my mind.

School!

Our "classroom"

Today was our first day of school. We are just doing preschool at home, but we are all so excited. I bought the Horizons Preschool curriculum because I am a Type A perfectionist, and I need a plan and lots of organization. I knew I would stress myself to no end if I tried to wing it. I would spend countless hours researching and planning, so I saved myself a little time and a lot of future grey hair and bought a complete curriculum. On a side note, if you homeschool or even if you don't, you should look around the Rainbow Resources website. There is so much awesome stuff on there. It is actually a little overwhelming.

I actually got the curriculum in the mail a week or two ago, but then I realized we needed quite a few things for the crafts, lessons, etc. It took me a week or so and a few trips to the dollar store and walmart, but we have most of the stuff we need for the year. I'm planning a trip to this place in the East Bay for a few more teacher like things, but I'm honestly scared for my wallet, so I've been putting it off. So far, I LOVE this curriculum. It starts off with a Bible verse which they base the rest of the lesson around (social studies, crafts, math, writing, etc.) Today we read Genesis 1:1 and talked about how God created the world for us. We talked about how He is our father and then talked about Daddy and how God is like Daddy, providing for us, loving us, etc. We colored a picture of the world, cut pictures that reminded us of Daddy out of a magazine, read books, practiced writing the letter A, talked about the number 1, worked on name recognition and picked out things in the house that were red, green and blue. Thankfully, Kayleigh's ahead of the game and she was already familiar with the letter A including writing it both upper and lowercase, the number 1 and her colors. We breezed right through all the activities in an hour to an hour and a half, which was perfect for her attention span. Campbell participated in everything and I think she'll pick up a lot even though she's a little young just from watching Kayleigh learn.

Kayleigh has been extremely excited about "doing school," but we definitely have some things to work on. She is quite strong-willed* and thought she was the Principal of our little school. She decided to scream "NO" when she didn't want to do something like sing her ABC's. Thank goodness she's at home versus being THAT kid at preschool.

 Here's a few pics of our morning. It was VERY hard to be teacher and photographer. Ha!

She colored the world that God created for us.

Sister got in on the fun.

Drawing a picture of Daddy.

*How in the world did both of my kids turn out so strong-willed?  Oh yeah, they got a double dose! Lord help us!!

Interviews with my Loves

I saw this on a friend's blog, and I couldn't wait to do it with the girls. 

Kayleigh at 3 1/2 years old...

I first asked her to recite her name: Kayleigh Bonner

How old are you? She held up 3 fingers and gave me a look that she wasn't feeling this quiz. ;)

What is your favorite color? Pink

Who is your best friend? Kelsey

Favorite Animal: the monkey...no the elephants

What do you want to be when you're all grown up? a big elephant

What is your favorite movie? Beauty and the Beast

What is your favorite book? Itsy Bitsy Spider book

What makes you happy? Kelsey <3

What makes you sad? After saying I don't know like 5 times and me pushing for an answer, she finally shouted "You make me sad!!!" LOL

What is your most favorite food to eat? chocolate cookies

What is your favorite song to sing? Twinkle Twinkle

What games do you like to play? Candyland 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Campbell at 2 years 1 month...

I only got a few answers before her attention span ran out. I filled in for the rest.

I first asked her to recite her name: Camel Bonners (She also frequently refers to herself as Sissy Bonners, especially when answering the phone. <3 <3 <3)

How old are you? She held up a one then a five and said "I don't know" with exasperation.

What is your favorite color? Chocolate LOL One thing on the mind!

Who is your best friend? Sissy

Favorite Animal: Doggy (She is our little animal whisperer. She definitely takes after her Daddy and Papa Jack.)

What do you want to be when you're all grown up? This really perplexed her. LOL Maybe next year.

What is your favorite movie? Ponyo

What is your favorite book? She loves just about any book, especially Curious George. She will happily sit as long as someone is reading to her. It is quite the miracle that anything keeps her sitting still.

What makes you happy? "CDFG" (ABC song) and Sunshine (her elephant that sings You are My Sunshine)

What makes you sad? She didn't answer, but I think it is safe to assume getting put in time out all.day.long probably bums her out a little. Oh my little troublemaker. Good thing I love her!

What is your most favorite food to eat? cookie (can you tell we made chocolate chip cookies the other day?)

What is your favorite song to sing? Twinkle Twinkle This girl loves to sing. We sing a million songs before bed each night.

What games do you like to play? Again no answer, but she LOVES to play the "I'm going to do something I shouldn't and then run" game and anything Big Sister is playing of course.

Contentment

I just started an amazing Beth Moore Bible study at my church two weeks ago. I LOVE it. Along with the class, people have been emailing their thoughts, questions, struggles, etc. Now to be honest, this study is so intense that I'm not sure I can even connect and put into words all the thoughts and feelings rolling around in my heart and mind from the first week. I just keep praying that God will take all the thoughts He has laid on my heart and piece them together for me...eventually. My heart and mind are so full, after just two weeks! Some women taking the study with me have emailed some amazing, insightful thoughts on the study, and one lady spoke some truth that hit home with me. This very wise woman, Deana, noted that we as women often lack self grace. Beth Moore said in this week's video to "Side with the Lord on your own self evaluation." Now I am the first to admit that I am so hard on myself in every possible way, but I never looked at it from the perspective that I am denying myself of the grace of God. This woman noted that we are constantly comparing ourselves, to other women who "do it all," to the Biblical description of what a woman should be, and to the perfect woman/wife/mother we think we should be in our own twisted minds. This either leads to wanting to be like another woman who is just as imperfect and sinful as the rest of us instead of striving to be like Christ or feeling so defeated that we wallow in despair and defeat. We lose sight of God's grace and that through His grace I can be the woman I was called to be. This wise woman goes on to point out our struggles with believing the lies of this world, specifically as a SAHM that we aren't doing enough, that we aren't important enough or that we are just changing diapers and cleaning messes all day instead of using our degrees/intelligence/talents. This leads to a perpetual search to be more, to do more, to be better. Instead we should be seeking peace and contentment. Only sharing these struggles with the Lord will calm your mind and fill your heart. Releasing them to Him allows us to be happy in the moment, to be content with our calling right now and leaving your calling for tomorrow in His hands. Isn't that all we want to do anyway? To be in the moment and enjoy every second? Discontent only leads to distraction and endless searching, which in turn keeps us from being in the moment, which of course inevitably leads to self-loathing that we aren't doing this whole mommy thing right/good enough.

I'm going to stop, seek peace and contentment daily, and in turn, enjoy every moment in this fleeting life allowing my heart to be full of the thankfulness, joy and love that my blessed life certainly deserves.

Today was my 28th birthday. I honestly loved everything about my day. It was probably mundane compared to the day in the life of many others I know, but to me it was perfect. I woke up to a Mr. Potato head for my birthday just for me because I like big pink noses. LOL The girls climbed in bed with me and snuggled while we watched cartoons on my phone. I did some chores, gave my girls not one but two baths*, and watched them play in this beautiful fall weather. My new tripod and camera remote came in the mail from my dear husband. They were exactly what I wanted. Wonder how he knew??? Oh yeah, after 5 years of marriage, I've learned to tell him exactly what I want. Men don't do subtle hints very well. Brett also came home early, which in itself would be enough, but he came home with SusieCakes cupcakes from the city, and they.were.delicious. We drove up to RP for some Olive Garden that I was craving and even a little shopping at the outlets for winter clothes for Kayleigh bug. It is amazing how such every day things can bring such happiness. I just feel so blessed. I'm starting to think we should get to celebrate our birthday at least 4 times throughout the year. Aren't birthdays the best? Wonder if I can get my husband on board with that? ;)

Kayleigh took this from behind the screen door with my new tripod.

The most delicious Red Velvet cupcake from Susie Cakes. <3

As you can tell, the girls and I dug right in. These were the only two left by the time B took a picture.

*Yes, I am an OCD clean freak. Snot in the hair is almost enough to send me over the edge. I resisted the urge to do bath #3, for which I am proud.

Right in Our Backyard

So I started this post with the intention of telling you about the revelation I've had about all the awesome things and places we have right in our backyard here in San Fran, but, ironically, it also relates to a funny little story about our night, so I'll start there. How's that for a compound sentence?? I think I'm Queen of ridiculously long sentences...and stories. So there's a theme I suppose. Yes, I've also been told, more than once...or twice, that I could talk to a brick wall. But that's neither here nor there.

Anyway, our night was wrapping up around here and I realized that I forgot to return the movie that I rented on Sunday. I take great pride in renting from the box only when it is free and can't stand being late and actually having to pay. This is normally my wonderful hubby's fault, and I can give him lots of grief (yes, I am the cheap one). The fact that it was my fault just made paying $1.08 sting a little more.  Yes, I'm THAT cheap. I grab my purse and try to escape out the door before being caught by my two little loves when I realize that I have no keys. Kayleigh comes bounding around the corner and sees my purse in hand. "Where are you going Mommy? I want to come." Ugh. I was caught and still had no keys. I go on a mad hunt for my keys with no luck. I have a very, very, VERY bad habit of losing things. I also lack patience and get very frustrated looking for them very quickly. I usually have to try to calm myself while calling my dear husband to come find the lost item for me. I have even tried to convince him that a lost remote was in fact a good enough reason for him to leave work and come home immediately to help me. See. I do seriously lack patience. Instead of helping me on my search, he grabs the movie and decides to just run to the store to return it. Literally. Run. That was unimaginable to me. I don't run, but he has been running every day, so off he went with Kayleigh protesting because she wanted to go TOO! Don't bother attempting to explain to a toddler why she can't run to the store with Daddy. She will only tell you that she will just hold his hand and make your heart melt, and trust me. She will not understand any more than when you started.

Though I lack patience, God gave me a whole heap of tenacity. So, I continue on my search when I remember that after ballet (which went ok...better but not great for those of you wondering...all three of you) we went straight from the car to the back patio. I did my Bible study homework while the girls played. While studying, Campbell, of course, got into my purse. I quickly checked that all my medicine was there and went back to studying. I was deep in thought in my study, so I continued on after taking my purse out of her dirty, mischievous fingers. Now that I realized I had no keys, the ONLY set of keys, to my car, I remember her quest through my purse. I ask Kayleigh who is honest to a fault if she or Campbell had my keys. Campbell is totally unreliable as she will answer yes to anything. ANYTHING. Well, unless it is me telling her to do something. So Kayleigh tells me that Campbell had the keys outside under the tree. So me and the little munchkins head outside with a flashlight at 8 o'clock at night looking for my keys. I searched for a few minutes until I remember the bear sighting in our neighborhood and totally freaked myself out, so I called my neighbor, who happens to be Brett's boss's wife, to see if she would just stand outside with me. You know... in case of a bear attack. A few minutes later, Brett's boss comes trudging outside to help me look. I would be mortified at this point, except that they know me and in fact they have helped me search for keys in the grass before. We all search for almost an hour. In case you are wondering, Brett did not take that long to run to the store. He came home to a scene in the backyard and he may be embarrassed, but he joined in on the search. I decide to look in the car for the third time, and what do I find? Yes...the keys...in Campbell's carseat...where I put them when I unbuckled her. Talk about embarrassing. I would like to say that I learned my lesson, but I'm sure it will happen again. Probably soon. It has only reinforced my belief that I should just give up immediately and let me husband do the searching. He would have found it the first time he looked.

So on the the real story of the day...I got an email about local discounts for military during Fleet Week next week. It reminded me of all the places and things that we've been wanting to see and do but haven't. I thought about the short year and half we have left here, and all the things we MUST start doing. It being my birthday week and all, I think I am going to use that to convince Brett to knock a few things off our list. I am dying to go here, here and here and I really want to go to Golden Gate park a million more times before we leave. After reading my newest Sunset magazine, I am also dying to take a quick trip to Chico to let the girls play at Bidwell Park and more importantly take a few pictures at this AMAZING bridge. I think I might have gasped and squealed when I saw it in the magazine. I immediately showed it to Brett and for some reason, he lacked the same enthusiasm. I think it sounds like a perfect plan for this Saturday. Unfortunately, my husband never reads my blog. If he did, I would tell him that I need a tripod and a remote for my camera to take a family pic or two. This one and this one would be just fine. Thanks.

I am now on a mission to explore and enjoy this amazing area before our short time left here is gone. Lord knows I will be over the moon when we leave this station, but I do want to enjoy it this awesome city while we are here. Get out and enjoy the place you live along with me, even if you've lived there forever. I'll try not to be jealous of your roots. 

P.S. If you so feel inclined, you are certainly welcome to share this blog with anyone you like, especially if his name is Brett and he should be planning a fabulous birthday for his amazing wife.

Pumpkin Painting

First of all, I can't believe it's fall, that it's almost Halloween, and even crazier that some places even have Christmas stuff out already! I took a quick trip to Walmart the other day. Well, nothing about it was quick considering it is 30-40 minutes away and I left during the evening commute, but while there, I saw these adorable pumpkins and thought about how fun it would be to paint some with the girls. What was I thinking by the way? Never mind the fact that I forgot a few of the basic essentials that I actually went to Walmart for. We now have zero trash bags and I am out of my barkeepers friend, which is pathetic that that is a big concern, but seriously, it is magic when you are doing dishes...BUT we do have mini pumpkins.

So I was feeling rather Mom of the Year the other morning and decided that we would put on old clothes and paint! Thankfully, grandma bought washable paint, so I wasn't too concerned (read: compulsive) about not making a mess.  And thankfully we were outside. And got in the bath immediately after. Wow. I sound like a crazy person.

 

 We started with such cute little pumpkins

 That were just dying to be blue and white and all sorts of fun colors.

 Of course Campbell got messy...

 

And ended up in timeout...

 And was mad about being in timeout. 

 (Notice she has moved down a step because she is never going to do what I want her to do...strong willed much?)

 And we DEFINITELY needed more paint to make a big mess for Daddy.

 Mommy was just glad the mess was outside (Daddy's dept) and not inside (Mommy's.)

Bet you can't guess who painted each one??? :)