TGHP continues

Last week Carson spun the wheel and won the jackpot; a sleepover. So, Simone is here for the evening and the girls have planned 4 movies to watch. Do they know that is 8+ hours of sitting in front of a screen? I doubt it will happen. Oh, and also....They will be staying up ALL night long. HA!
The homework project continues to work and the secret is this......

All the prizes are stuff she would get or be allowed to do before. She had sleepovers, built forts, bought stickers, and picked out candy/ice cream before!!!

It's all in the details and the wording.

Everybody has their own addiction.

Lately I have been feeling the need for another tattoo. Sharon would kill me if I defaced my body anymore, but.... a girl can dream right? I think it may have something to do with the gray days of Portland when I crave a little sunshine or color in my life. Sometimes I forget about Frida and her monkey adorning my body and I get a glimpse of it in a mirror or window and get so excited that it is actually there. So, I am not going to get another tattoo.....yet.

I quit!

This is NOT caramel icing.

Couch shopping

I got home from a couch shopping outing with Don and Norma and downloaded my photos. This may just be my favorite picture of them EVER. It seemed to capture the moment well. We found some neat couches at Portico and this one jumped out at all of us.

Portland children mid-winter.

The first sunny day in a LONG time. Here is how the Pacific Northwest child responds.

Sam's new do

Sam FINALLY agreed to let me put styling juice in his hair after yesterdays haircut. Look at that pointy little chin! He must get it from Sharon.

Gabby

the puppet show

We had a crazy weekend of playdates and sleepovers. The girls (Carson and Siri) put on a puppet show for the boys (Sam, Manu, and Sten). I didn't think it could possibly last long, but the boys were hooked. I love a house full of kids.

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift."

The Great Homework Project!

My new favorite things to do.

Hot Mama Yoga at a wonderful NE Portland Yoga studio and then an hour of naked sauna and soaking at Common Grounds Wellness Center.

Heaven!

You know I would have posted pictures, but cameras not allowed!

I cannot wear your skinny jeans.

Have you ever been to American Apparel? Well, if you haven't then let me tell you that these people are hip. The employees are about 97 pounds and are just plain "too cool for school". I wear an XL in their clothes and that is pushing it. The clothes are made for adults shaped like Carson. That being said, I went there 1/2 hour before they closed on NYE and bought a t-shirt dress and awesome purple tights. Of course I knew I wouldn't wear it, but couldn't really leave with nothing and prove I am an old chubby mom. So, today I returned it and sam and I got leg warmers instead. Now, we can be hip and cool just like those people in their skinny jeans AND be warm and cozy.

The blackbottoms. Yum.

Dark chocolate cupcakes with sugary cream cheesey tops. They have big dark ghirardelli chocolate chips in them too. Delish. My aunt used to make little ones when I was little and I loved them. Since she doesn't really like me anymore (ahem), I thought I would find my own recipe and gosh, I think these are better.
Black bottom recipe here.

The first homework reward from TGHP

We are hoping our new "reward system" will make our life easier. The Great Homework Project (TGHP) is in full swing. So far, so good. We implemented this just 2 days ago and Carson has done 10 pages of the dreaded homework she had over her holiday break. She gets one token for each page of homework done with no whining/crying/screaming or the like. Once she gets 10 tokens, she can turn them in for a spin of the bingo basket (3$ at Goodwill). Each ball has a number with a corresponding reward. Rewards range from choosing dinner that night all the way up to a sleepover with a friend. You just never know what your prize may be.
Her first spin of the bingo basket gave her lucky number 20. Build a giant fort. So she got a big fort in the living room with electricity wired in for a movie on the travel DVD player. Mama Share even made homemade popcorn.
I have been reading about parents who don't think they should reward children for their work. I ask you this... How long would you go to work if they weren't paying you something?
This is a payoff for all. No homework tantrums. Moms are now watching football while the kids watch a movie quietly in the fort. AHHHH!!

Your friendly neighborhood donut shack

So Portland has these food carts. And people love them. This is a random donut cart that is only open on Sundays from 9-2. It just happens to be about 1/4 mile from our house. I got to stay home from work today and be on call, so what better place to go than the donut shack (Moody's). It even has an "observation deck" for the kids to watch the donuts go through the machine. Sam treated us all to hot fresh donuts with the 10$ bill he found on my dresser. Delicious!
Sorry there are no pictures of the actual donuts, but we devoured them as soon as they were handed to us.

Thank goodness I bought her a flask.

Thanks to Don and Norma for providing the tickets and the sleepover for the kids. We started the night off at Ken's Pizza with some yummy drinks, delish pizza, and divine dessert. We bussed it over to The Schnitz to see Pink Martini, who always put on a great show. There were balloons and a marching band. There was Luis from Sesame Street and half naked girls with feather hats. We then had to make it back home to the east side on the free drunk bus. I actually wished I had drank more so I wouldn't be so uncomfortable with all the drunkards.
Sharon and I hadn't been out on NYE in YEARS! I stayed up until nearly 3 a.m. Unheard of!

We planned our vacation resolutions after a few drinks and decided on the following:
A trip to Crater Lake
A trip to Vancouver, BC with trips to the San Juan Islands.
A possible trip back to Denver.
Mt. Rainier trip.

Carson plays the piano for Gma Judy from afar.

Carson started to play her recital songs at Gramma Dody's house, but didn't have her music for Old King Cole. She remembered the Indian Song because, well, because it is so fun to play. So, she woke up this morning in her cute fuzzy owl jammies and played Old King Cole so Gramma Judy could hear it too. This video is on my new camera, but our lighting was bad. Sorry. Also, the a/v seems to be off a little. Anyway, here are her songs she played at her recital.

The beauty transformation

Lenora's beauty salon experience in Portland.

Praise Jesus. Another Christmas Snow

This keeps happening when Aunt Lenora comes to town. It's like she is trying to get stuck here. I just found a dirty "snowball" in our freezer. These Portlanders are SCARY drivers in the snow.

Sam and Momma scootering

When life gives you oranges.....

stick a straw in it to make orange juice.

share's NOW FAMOUS cinnamon buns

We ate half the pan before we took the picture. They were so yummy we couldn't wait.

Merry Christmas from the Dodsters.

The Dody's have been having a wonderful time this holiday. We have been eating and drinking and drinking and eating and drinking. We have been exchanging gifts and playing with new toys. Aunt Lenora came on Christmas Eve. We went to Don and Norma's church for Christmas Eve service. We all cleaned up nicely.

On Christmas morning the kids woke up, came downstairs, and instead of Sam running to see his Santa gifts which were in plain view he went to get his gift he bought for Mama Share. Now, let me tell you, he has been keeping this secret for at least 1 week. It is a wind-up, rolling, pink salt shaker that is a fancy chicken. So, when someone asks for you to pass the salt you just wind it up and roll it across the table. A perfect gift for Share. Then we moved on to the madness of toy opening.

Our kids got no clothes. Seriously, every thing they opened was a fun and clever gift picked out just for them. Carson is especially fond of the 2 boxes of make-up, her new microscope, the bop-it game (which I also am enjoying), and today we are going to tackle the Tic Tac Sudoku game. She will beat us all, I am sure. Sam is extremely delighted with his new scooter, gourd pig bank to add to the bank collection, and animal hospital. I am digging on my new camera, future yoga sessions, and a groovin' coffee table book with b&w Mt. St. Helens photos. Now, I need a coffee table to put it on. Sharon got a cracker dog (a blast from her past), good whiskey, and a flask.

Sharon has been on a much appreciated cooking binge. She made us delish cranberry scones for Christmas morning. We had Christmas dinner at our house and Gma and Gpa came. We even put Gpa to work peeling potatoes! Yesterday Sharon made homemade cinnamon buns with cream cheese frosting. Yum. I think she is trying to fatten me up for the winter.

More Carson on her birthday!

Carson was so excited yesterday morning to open gramma judy's present. There is was, a Nintendo DS which she screamed at when she opened. I snapped some pictures of the opening of the presents and low and behold-----my camera, which has been on the way out, finally bit the dust. So, happy Carson's birthday to me. I got a new camera. These are pictures taken by the new one. The first picture is a painting of Carson and Danny from Aunt Lenora by Jamie Roxx. Carson got a big kick out of this. The last picture is of her with her DS in the Hello Kitty carrying case we got for her. The food picture is gramma's yummy Brazilian beans and rice dish.
The birthday went like this. Carson played her Nintendo all morning. Super Mario to be exact. We went to my work and packed up food for a local organization that distributes food to newly homed people. Then we went to Gramma Dody's for more birthday celebration. There were more presents, good food, and fancy cookies.
All in all the birthday was big fun. Now on to Christmas, Aunt Lenora, more presents, and yummy food.

Our baby girl is 8 years old today.

I can't believe little baby Carson Jude is 8 years old today. Last night before bed she got tucked in and said, "G'night mom, see you when I'm 8"! I am not going to get all sentimental here, but I do want to say that she is a great kid. She is funny and smart and people love to be around her. I feel truly lucky to have her as my daughter.