Thanksgiving Recap - Part 1

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  We just returned from a great week with the Wes and Tami family.   (You know the guy who has a job much cooler than your job?  That's Wes.  See the above link.)

You may recall that they are the friends who stayed with us after the earthquake.  They used some Timeshare points to get condos in Lake Tahoe and asked us --while we were still in Japan-- if we wanted to join them for Thanksgiving.

We considered the fall-out if we chose to spend our first major holiday in the states with friends instead of family...

Then we realized that they ARE our family:  Uber Family.  Earthquake Family.  Japan Family.  Just family.  And hey, they asked us first.  So we said YES!

(Plus, we're also FUTURE family since we're planning for our kids to inter-marry--just to make things more official.)

We are SO glad we went.  We had a blast.  Here's a quick(longish) re-cap:

Thanksgiving Tahoe Vacation

Day 1/Tuesday:  Leave at 6:30 a.m.  Drive a new way up the 395.  Drive drive, drive drive drive, 

Breakfast at Denny’s, drive on windy road, stop for Sam to puke, drive drive drive.

Really pretty scenery, stop for ice ball fight,

drive drive drive, 12 different pee breaks, drive, drive, drive, stop at an antique store, drive drive drive.

Arrive in Tahoe.  Papa Murphy’s for dinner.  Meet up with Tami and Wes, check in to our BEAUTIFUL condo.  {This is the second time Doug and I have stayed in a time share condo in Tahoe and, again, it was awesome.} We had a two room suite, Tami and Wes had a two room suite, and Wes’ brother Sam, wife Adrienne, and their eight kids had a three room suite.  If we ever buy a time share, it will be in Tahoe.  It was awesome.

(We met Sam and Adrienne when we went to Monterey for Camille’s baptism a few months ago and our kids were excited to see each other again.)

Day 2/Wednesday:  We visited the lake (right across the street from our condo)

It was a little chilly, but super-duper beautiful!

And only one kid (Sammy) fell in the frozen lake.

 relaxed, hung out, made pies, watched HGTV and YouTube videos,

Doug and Wes are such a cute couple!

went in the hot tub,

and went shopping for groceries and supplies.  (I made two America’s Test Kitchen Chocolate Cream Pies.  No Peanut Butter pie this year…I thought it would be too hard in a condo kitchen.  I’ll make it for Christmas!)

Day 3/Thursday:  Tami made stuffing and we got it in the Turkey and in the oven early.  (I was in charge of the turkey, which is the easiest thing ever) and Adrienne did potatoes.  Tami made apple pies the day before and the rolls were from Costco this year.  Oh, and Doug made Raspberry Jello which is always a crowd pleaser...

Wes, Doug and Sam (Sam is Wes' older brother)

Lunch/dinner was at 2 and a huge success.  Everything tasted fabulous and there were plenty of left-overs.

Lots of kids having lots of fun!

Tami, Me, Adrienne

Mini Wes and Mini Doug (Sam Jr. and Max)

To top off a perfect day, Guillotine and Rummikub were both played multiple times.

With one major exception, it was a fabulous day!

And that exception is...a story for tomorrow!

To Be Continued... 

Day at the Beach--Oregon Style

San Diego Temple view coming home from the airport.

My awesome cousin Kimmy, her husband and baby all came to visit us from Utah last weekend and we had a blast.

Kim, Coleman, and Cliff (the goof-ball!)
On the Oceanside Pier.

Kim wanted to take her baby to the beach despite it being rainy and cold.  Our friends from church had the same idea: go to beach despite rain.  Since I'm super tough and impervious to cold, I said "HECK YEAH!!!"  So last Saturday we loaded up all the beach crap that's been un-used for the last two months, grabbed some kites, and went to the beach in the rain.  In NOVEMBER.

Kim introducing Coleman to jumping over incoming surf.

This cute little guy LOVED staying at our house due to our overabundance of TRAINS!
And okay, he liked the beach too...

Turns out going to the beach when it's rainy and cold is sorta rainy and cold.  But the kids didn't seem to notice.  

Until their limbs starting turning blue and dropping off and random.

But before that, a frisbee was lost, kites were flown, clothes drenched, Smash Ball played, holes were dug, castles built, and sand consumed (by Gray).  In other words, it was a perfect day at the beach.

Ruth/Scott Family watching some kite action

 Of course, this (cold) little adventure necessitated a follow-up Hot Chocolate party at my house.

Oh, to have some of Tommy's energy!

On our way inside, one of the kids stepped in the overflowing gutter and I overheard Ruth say "Oh, you're fine!  Gutters are natures bathtub!"

Classic.  Definitely my favorite quote of the day.

I'm not gonna lie.  It never would have occurred to me to choose the beach as a rainy day activity.  But it was a LOT of fun.  And darn pretty to boot!

A good time was had by all!

Monday Home School Report - Weekend Edition

In other news H.S. news this week...
Wednesday:
 I finally made it to our new charter school (30 minutes away) and met my "Educational Specialist" (E.S.) and picked up a bunch of curriculum.  I'm excited, but also terrified.

And back to having hourly panic attacks and asking myself alternately;

"WHAT was I thinking?"

"WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO???"

and

"What would they do if I just took him back to school and dropped him off tomorrow...?!?"

The reason for my panic is that our "E.S." told us to expect to work for a normal full school day.  Six hours.  I don't think we (ANY of us) can handle that!
  

BUT I'm not totally hopeless.
I want to try it and see what happens.

---

This comes on the heels of Monday.

We had a great day of "unschooling" on Monday.  We went to the beach with my cousin and uncle and family (who's visit I still need to blog) and talked about:

Starting a business, patents, monopolies, competition, price fixing, price gouging, marketing, advertising, overhead, profit margins, supply and demand, etc.

AND (during lunch at Ruby's on the Pier)

Customer Service, (good vs. bad) tipping, and work ethic.

AND (walking across the Pier)

A bunch of engineering stuff about how you support a Pier and get it to stand up.  (Okay, that part came from cousin Cliff.  Not me.)
AND saw a sea star, some live (caught) fish, and two pelicans,
AND played in the sand,
AND even looked up some stuff on the Internet about the Pier that night.

Anyway, it was an awesome day of learning and playing without many books.  (Though we still worked on math and the above writing.)

It's hard to want to trade that in for a very structured and full day.

I'm torn.

But like I said...I still need to try the Charter method and see how it goes.

----
Thursday:
Okay, yesterday I sat down with Max and cracked the books we got from the charter school.
It was INCREDIBLY overwhelming.  Then, late last night after coming home from a church activity, I started trying to tell Doug about the Charter school and their expectations and pretty much had a full blown panic attack.
If I do what the C.S. wants, I'll be completely overwhelmed.  If I don't, I'll feel guilty that he's getting behind in other core subjects like science and history.  (Since our focus has been on Math and Writing.)

This morning...I don't know what I'll do.  And my E.S. is gone for vacation so I can't get any more information about what is actually required and what is suggested.  All I know is, they expect me to work with him for 6 hours a day and gave me enough to do with him for 10.

So here's my question:  Do I take Max back to school NOW, or wait until after Thanksgiving...?
HELP!

Overheard in Pottery Class...

Woman wearing flourescent orange full body jump suit over her clothes:  "I don't have a wire tool, but I have this half eaten dog biscuit..."  (long pause while she considers her next statement...)  "they're actually pretty good!  It's hard to find really crunchy snacks without too much sugar!"

Teacher:  "If I win the lottery, I'd love to buy a restored '66 VW bus!  ...I actually spent a year and a half living in one!"  (Confirmed my suspicion that all pottery teachers are ex-hippies.)

Woman 1:  "So how was the date otherwise...?"
Woman 2:  "You mean besides his age and his body?"
(Neither were up to her standard.  Evidently women are allowed to lie about their age on on-line dating services, but men are NOT.)
Woman 2:  "He did have horses..."

Me:  "This is way more interesting than the audio book I was going to listen to...!"

Teacher:  "Everyone needs to get out of here!  I have a cold Stella waiting for me in the car and a woman in a teddy waiting for me at home!"

I love taking pottery!!!

Monday Home Schooling Report

Okay, since it's Wednesday night at 11:49 p.m., maybe I should give up on the idea of a Monday Home Schooling Report.  Clearly, I'm not totally on top of my blogging game these days.

But there are a few things I want to jot down so here we go:

The other day Max said:  "I want to do creative writing!"  I said "Awesome!  Okay!"  And then went back to making quesadillas and cleaning up spilled soy milk.
Then later that day, I was cleaning up the family room and picked up a piece of orange construction paper.  It had a single sentence written across the top.

Something like; "Boom boom boom tweet tweet tweet smoke filled the air."
I told him it was the best thing I'd ever read (sorry Brandon Sanderson) and that I wanted him to write more.  I told him he had to fill a whole page.

He did, and it was awesome!

So the next day, I told him I wanted MORE!  Who is this guy Bob and where did he come from?  We talked about characterization.  I asked him a bunch of questions about his character and had him write another whole page to preceed the first one he wrote.

I was so impressed, I told him I was going to blog it.
He forbade me.
Too bad he's not the boss of me!
(I'll apologize when he finds out when he's older....)

Here is what he wrote without any correction from me.  (Except I'm fixing the spelling for you.  You're welcome.)

(2nd Day Characterization)
Ricky was a strong muscular man who had stunning gold eyes and blond hair.  He had a dog named Sushi who loved sushi.  He just came to a deserted island where it was lined with volcanos.  He had just building a very nice log cabin and a very nice dog house.  He was taking his dog on a walk  on a very ___ day and the birds were singing.

(1st Day Story)
Tweet tweet tweet tweet tweet tweet.  Boom!  Boom!  (He knew he had to fill the page, so he was generous with the tweets.)
Bombs started falling every where!  But Bob (got changed to Ricky on day two.) was still alive!  He ran for cover as soon as the first boom sound filled the air.  He ran into a cave.  But it started to collapse.  The entrance was blocked!  Then he saw light at the back of the cave.  He quickly ran over to it.  There was a fire burning, but nobody was there to make it...

-------
Are you dying to know who made the fire?  And who dropped the bomb?  Me too.

Sure, his handwriting and spelling are absolutely horrendous, but for someone who's never ever ever ever voluntarily written anything creative (that I remember) I think it's pretty darn good!  He could start writing with Clive Cussler!

Anyway, much more to discuss this week!

This post to be continued tomorrow...

Yep, I'm a Fan-Girl with Post Edit

So the other night Doug arranged to take me on a surprise date.  He got a babysitter and everything.

It was a Wednesday night.

I was sure he was taking me dancing or to a dance class.

I'd used various deductive reasoning techniques to come up with this theory and I was very sure of myself.

I told at least two people we were going dancing.

I put on a swingy dress and my new red heels.

I applied full make-up AND even a tiny bit of perfume.

We got in the car and Doug said, "We are NOT going dancing!"
I said "Yes we are!  ...Aren't we?"
No.  We weren't.

We went into San Diego to "The Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore" for a book signing by
Brandon Sanderson.

And it was AWE.SOME.

Even better than dancing!  The rest of this post will now be addressed to someone else:

Dear Brandon Sanderson,
First, I'd like to start by saying, I'm sorry we walked in to your reading late.  If I had known we were NOT going to a Swing dance class but instead going to hang out with a bunch of fantasy readers, I would have held off on the make-up and heels and we would have been on time.  My bad.  (But also Doug's bad for not telling me sooner.)

However, how AWESOME was it that there were two empty seats for us on the front row?  (Totally awesome.)  I could NOT believe my luck!  And hearing you read Legion was really cool.  (BTW, is that title a Biblical reference?)  I wont lie, I recorded your whole reading on my phone.  But I wont post it unless you say it's okay.  (But I might send it to my nephew in Utah even without permission 'cause he's a huge fan.)

Anyway, mostly just wanted to let you know it was a great night.  My husband and I are huge fans!  (And so are our boys because they've been listening to the Audible version of Alcatraz and the Evil Librarian.  So stinkin' funny!)

Also, I'd like to tell you a little about myself:  I am an avid reader.  I have been since first grade when I got hooked on Boxcar Children.  I'm pretty much always reading at least one novel.  At the moment, I'm reading three different books.  (One in the bathroom, one in the car, one by my bed...you get the idea.)  My point is, I read a lot.
And here's the thing:  I think you are HANDS DOWN one of the (if not THE) BEST AUTHOR I've ever read.
Your intelligence is astounding.  Your imagination is awe-inspiring.  Your worlds are incredibly cohesive and believable and awesome and deeply-developed-without-being-overwhelming and awesome...

But of most importance to me, your books have something I learned about in college:  they have Artistic Unity.  In your words, (heard on a pod cast Doug found--if I'm remembering correctly...) "no unkept promises".  (or was it unanswered?)  Anyway...

Every tiny detail in your books is in your books for a reason.  When I finished the Mistborn series, I was sad that it was over, but HAPPY because you had answered all my questions and resolved every introduced issue.  What a freakin' awesome series!

{I'm SO glad you've chosen to continue it in a different time period.  I would be reading my signed copy of The Alloy of Law right now if it weren't for those other three books and the fact that Doug got to it first.}

(An aside:  Once I read "The Historian" and it sucked.  Not because it was about vampires.  Because it lacked cohesion and left MANY questions unanswered.  I'm still bitter I wasted so much time on that book! Just like stupid Lost!!!  I'm still mad at you and your lack of ARTISTIC UNITY Lost!)

Anyway again, just wanted to let you know I'm a big fan.

Also, I know when you travel, Tor probably puts you up in some fancy-shmancy hotel.  BUT, if you ever crave more homey accommodations in the San Diego area (that include yummy healthy homemade dinners with unhealthy desserts), know that you and your family are more than welcome in our home.  You mentioned you have two boys.  We have four, therefore; plenty of boy toys.  (Not "Boy-Toys" per se....oh, I know you know what I mean 'cause you're a freakin' genius.)  I'm just saying you're welcome to stay with us.  And I promise not to be too weird and fan-ish.

(Okay well, I'll ask for another picture because the one where we're posing with you turned out super blurry... :(

But after that I'll be normal.  I swear.)

So to sum up, you're the best writer ever and it would be super rad if you wanted to bring your family and sleep in our guest room.

Sincerely,
Emily W.

P.S.  My baby's middle name is Brandon.  Not after you, but still...!

P.P.S.  This is my first fan letter.  Did I come on too strong?  Sound too stalker-like?  Dangerous?  Sorry.  I swear I'm normal(ish).

POST EDIT:  My blog posts are automatically e-mailed to my mom so her comments come to my e-mail in-box.  This was her response to this post:

Dear Emily,  Great fan letter!  I'll have you know that I borrowed and read (my brother) Brandons  copies of Mistborn!  They were OK.  What shall I try next that's not so far out into ugly and violent cretins?  I didn't like all the good guys expiring.

(Not ALL the good guys expire...!!)

But I love you and Brandon, and I trust your judgement normally.

Love, Mom xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

I had to laugh.  Clearly, Epic Fantasy is NOT for everyone!  :)  Always good to have differing opinions!  


(I told her to try Gail Tsukiyama--an author I read and liked in Japan.)

Japan Rememberances

Cleaning out the office today, I found a random index card with notes scribbled all over it.  On the back, I had written;
"Things I don't want to forget: Restaur. have kid stuff, poles have pics, happy construc signs."

Good thing I found this, because I already don't remember what "poles have pics" means.
BUT, I do remember items 1 and 3.

1.  When we ate out, 97.3% of the time the servers/owners/chefs brought out special
dishes, cups and occasionally silverware for the boys.  Usually kid sized melamine stuff.
Winnie the Pooh was a favorite theme.  Also, Anpanman--a Japanese character.  Most places were very sweet and accommodating to the boys.  I just loved it that they kept separate cute dishes around for kids.

3.  Never before have I seen such happy construction signs.  They want you to know they are working on the road, but they're very sorry for the inconvenience it may cause and just want you to know they are happily and efficiently carrying on with their work.
I may be reading in to things a bit, but that's what I got!  I remember always being astounded to pass road workers.  Not only did they ALWAYS bow at passing cars, but they also always had a man with a straw broom trailing along behind them cleaning up the mess.  Unbelievably awesome.

{When Doug and I were driving home from Utah a few weeks ago, we went through some construction.  As we passed a large man holding a flag, we both automatically bowed to him.
He did not bow back.}

HEY, I just remembered what 2 means!
2.  Poles have pics.  As you drive along the road, the guard rails/fence posts, are painted so that as you drive by you see a picture.  Does that make any sense?  Individually, each post doesn't look like anything, but as you drive by, they form a large picture collectively.  Birds in flight or something.  Just another example of how the Japanese try to make every day things (even ugly utilitarian things) better and more beautiful.

Japan, you're so kawaii!!!!

Monday Home Schooling Post--Right on Time

Okay, actually a day late.  I told you I wasn't very good at formal schedules, right?

So yesterday marked our one-week anniversary of Home Schooling.  And yes, I'm still getting minor panic attacks when I think of what I've done.

But then I think, hey, Max has now mastered his 7 times table and almost has his 8's taken care of.  Something we couldn't manage all of last year.  So we're doing pretty good.

And that sums up most of what we did during the last week:  We worked on multiplication.  I made flash cards, we watched a lot of School House Rock, played "Timez Attack", (which is awesome, btw) and took tests using "Mad Minutes".

For writing, we worked on writing letters to friends in Korea and Germany.  We worked on penmanship, spelling, sentence structure, grammar, and letter etiquette.

Last night Max asked me if we could work on "Creative Writing".

Uh, yeah.

I think I can help with that.


Better get to it!

P.S.  For those of you worried about his socialization:  He hasn't turned weird yet.  I'll keep you posted.

Halloween Served Cool

On Monday, October 31st, driving to school to pick up Sammy, I happened to note the temperature on the car thermometer.  It was 72 degrees. (fahrenheit)

View of the sunrise from my bed.

Yes folks, 72 glorious degrees with sparkling clear blue skies...

on HALLOWEEN!!!

 No worries about bundling up and figuring out how to show off a costume buried in coats and scarves...

...no coats were necessary!

And happily, no trick-or-treating in the snow.  (Something I did more than once growing up in Utah.)

He looks like a marathoner in this one!

(Frankly, Gray could have used a long sleeved shirt and possibly SHOES, but I was in a hurry to get to the dang ward Trunk-or-Treat*.)

It has been getting chilly when the sun sets, and Halloween night was no exception.  But that just made it all the more perfect.  That meant we were completely justified in making a fire and having Hot Chocolate that night.  (Because everyone needs more sugar after a church party and trick-or-treating.)

And THAT is why we chose to live here over any other place in America or abroad!  And why YOU should come visit!


Happy Halloween!

P.S.  I realized when I downloaded the pictures that we didn't get any of the other boys in their costumes.  Maybe because they were sorta lack-luster repeats from last year.  Max was Darth Vader--again--but didn't want to wear the mask, (because the foam fell off so it isn't comfortable) Sam was Obi Wan Kenobi--again--with no light saber, (because he couldn't find any of the 38,000 light sabers we own) and Gabe was Transformer Bumble Bee.  (New this year from Costco.  He actually was super excited about his costume, but still managed to avoid being photographed.  Mom fail.)

And of course, Gray was a little tube of tooth paste!  Costume made by me many years ago for Max in San Francisco.  I didn't even have a sewing machine back then so I put it together with "Stitch Witchery"--the tape that melts when you iron it.  The hat was a made with a lamp shade from Target.

Yes, I know I'm awesome and I should start a craft blog.  Sorry--I'm too busy being awesome at other stuff.  Super important stuff you wouldn't understand.

*which was very fun, but made the evening very rushed and hectic!

Monday Home School Post

I think I should write about home schooling every Monday.  Why?  Because if I'm going to home school, I need to get myself a leeetle bit more organized.  I need a schedule!  I need some structure!  I need some accountability!
(What I REALLY need is just someone to do all this for me.  Someone qualified.  With a degree and stuff.  Maybe even at a different location.  They could call it  "Shool".)

Okay, so on my very first official day of Home Schooling Max (and Gabe and Gray just for kicks) here are my goals:
Scratch that.  I'm no good at goals.
Here are my ideas of things I'd like to do with Max:

*I'd like us to write books together!
One thing Max really needs to work on is his penmanship and spelling.  So I thought we'd both pick a topic...something we'd like to learn more about, interview people, and write up the q's and a's.  And then make them into books when we're done!

*I'd like to make a history time line...of music.
Okay, so this isn't totally relevant to...anything...but dang it, my kids need to appreciate everyone from Mozart to Frankie Valli to the Beatles and Bee Gees and Neil Diamond to Erasure to Aerosmith, Van Halen and U2 to Coldplay and (shudder) Lady Gaga.  (Who will appear with a large red X over her face.  Oh, did I mention it's a picture timeline? too.)  Isn't this what home schooling is all about?  Brain washing your kids with your own agenda*?  Notice how absolutely no country music is represented?  (BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!)

*I'd like someone else to teach him math.  Really really well.  Kumon, perhaps?

*I'd like to do lots of art projects with him.  I haven't been reading "Art Projects for Kids" for the last three years for nothin'!  (I hope...)

Aaaaaaand....

That's it.

I'll let you know how it goes next Monday!!!

*Not only am I leaving Country out of the history of music, I'm not even going to teach him who Harvey Milk is!  Take THAT California!!!!

A Few Little October Things

*I'm starting to get a little depressed that I wont be in Misawa for Halloween this year.  For the last 3 years, our good friends the F's have come over for a Halloween Party.  We would eat dinner together and then Erin would make the best donuts ever in my kitchen and we'd trick-or-treat around the neighborhood.  Little Japanese kids would get bused on-base to Trick-or-Treat and we'd get to see all of their cute cobbled together costumes and hear their awesome attempts at saying "Happy Halloween".  Good times.  Sigh.  It's okay though.  New place, new traditions.

*My friend asked me if I'd pulled Max out of school yet and how home schooling was going.  I replied that we're on Fall Break.  And then she laughed and laughed!  But really--it's not MY mandated Fall Break, it's the school district Fall Break.  Which means Sam is home too.  Which means I'm just waiting until November to officially start.

*Speaking of homeschooling, I found a charter school (about 30 mins away) that caters to home-schoolers.  They will GIVE YOU CURRICULUM FOR FREE.  And then your kid can take elective courses one or two days a week at the school if you want.  Or not.  I don't know what we'll do about the electives, but I'll definitely take the free curriculum.  That means I don't have to choose everything individually, and Doug doesn't have to pay for everything.  WIN WIN!  (I figure I can still change or supplement if, say, the math program isn't that great.  But at least this gives me a starting point.)

*Speaking of Doug's practice, (weren't we?) we're ramping up for our Grand Opening Celebration and Candy Buy-Back on November 1.  We made a million flyers to hand out around parks and schools and businesses, (and to every trick-or-treater who comes to my door) and now we just have to hope someone, anyone, shows up.  We really need patients!  And patience while we wait for patients!!

*So I have this head cold.  It started with a sore throat two days ago and then yesterday I woke up with a hacking cough, hardly any voice, and feeling like my head was going to explode.  So of course I whined about it on Facebook.  And then a new friend from my new ward here called and offered to take my kids for a few hours so I could take a nap.  And she did and I did.  Which just goes to show that God can use technology to answer prayers if He so chooses!  Thank you x1,000 Ruth!!!

*Sam Quote:  "Mom, you NEED to change Gray-Gray's diaper!"
Mom:  "I just changed him!"
Sam:  "Well, he pooped and it smells like ACID!"

*And since we're on Sammy now, just so you know, he's been folding laundry like crazy, got his $10 pity money from Grandma, and then $10 guilt money from Mom (thanks to Uncle Dave) and has already spent it on 1. a lego set for himself and 2. a birthday present for his best friend Micheil in Korea.
(No, I'm not the one spelling Micheil wrong.  His parents are.)
(And yes--he's recovered from the Target incident.)

*Oh, and the reason I'm not pulling Sammy out for home schooling too?
1.  He's been thinking about it and decided he does NOT want to.
2.  Trying to make him do something against his will results in a lot of wailing and teeth knashing.
3.  It'll be WAY easier without him.  (No offense Sam)
4.  Max's need is more critical at this point.
5.  We can always pull him out later if he changes his mind.  Which he might when he sees Max not having to leave the house with him every morning!

So that's it.  I'll keep you posted on both practice and home schooling progress.  (Or lack thereof!)
Wish me luck!

My Mom Is Cooler Than Your Mom!

What, I never mentioned that Faezer is an artist?  Well, she is!  Back in the 60's and 70's, she worked for a magazine called "The Friend" published by the L.D.S. church for kids aged 0-12.

The two paintings we hung in the office were both in The Friend.  The one I've named "Rainy Day" was a full cover spread.  (Unfortunately, the two little cuties on each end got cropped in half because of the pre-determined canvas size.)

Just recently, my super nice cousin Brent, (elder brother of BlueLilyWendy), scanned the originals of these two pieces and gave all of my siblings a very large file of each.  (Actually, access to the files on "Dropbox" if we're being perfectly accurate.)

With the LARGE file size, I was able to order the paintings (from Wink Flash) printed on canvas, using a 60% off coupon.  SCORE!!!

The little boy in the green shirt has always reminded me of Jared Weight.
Jared, if you're out there reading this, I think my mom painted you!

I love love love these paintings, love how they turned out (minus the cropping on #1) and think they work perfect with our retro vibe.  But...

What do you think?
Be honest!
(But know that if you say anything negative about my mother or her art, I'll be forced to hunt you down and slap you with a glove filled with rocks.  On each cheek.)

Open For Business!

Although we haven't had the official 

"Grand Opening Celebration and Candy Buy-Back" 

yet, 

(we're saving that for Nov. 1) 

Doug's office is open for business!!!

Would you care for a before and after tour?  (I personally LOVE seeing before and after pictures.)  Okay!  Here we go...!

Front Desk Before:  Many clashing shades of green.  No love.  No help.
(One day we'll have the money to replace the green cupboards...but that day is not today.)

Front Desk After:  Neutral color tones down the green.
My mom's painting adds a splash of retro color and awesomeness.
The awesome NEW STAFF adds a splash of HELPFULNESS AND PRODUCTIVITY!  HOORAY!!!

Have a good visit?  Earn a quarter for prize from the machine!  No cavities?  Extra quarter!
Machine from Gumballs.com.  Cute retro clock from Target.  Shilling Tin Toys on the counter (too small to see.)

Open Bay before:  Every shade of blue/green/turquoise imaginable.  A different color on each wall.
I'm so happy the previous Dr. took his water blue cabinet with him!!!

Open Bay after:  Walls all one bright happy color!  New flat screens on the wall (for staff) and ceiling (for kids).
Wall art from Pottery Barn Kids.
Happy patients, Happy Doctor, Happy Teeth!!!

Parent Waiting Room before:  Dull gray/green wall, old stained gray/green carpet.

Parent Waiting Room after:  Pretty green walls, Faezer's art, and super comfy mid century modern furniture.
(And cute throw pillows for Halloween.)

Mini chairs across from the long couch--these sit under two windows that look into the kid waiting area.

This little boy is the epitome of what my mother would have called a "Mud Hen" when I was a kid.  She used it as a term of endearment, but only when we were really grubby and disheveled!

Kid Waiting Area before:  I don't have pictures, but the kid area before was VERY dark.  We lightened the paint and added two windows that look into the parent waiting room.  The TVs were replaced with flat screens and new game systems were added.  Adorable tiny red chairs were purchased at Home Goods and red storage bench was found at a consignment shop.  It's a skinny little area, but I like having it separate from the other room.  In theory, the parents can have a little peace while they wait!

Wall art from Land of Nod.  The storage bench is filled with toys and vintage Little People.
(Not to be confused with Little Village People.) 

Doug hates the wagon already because Gray cruises around crashing into things with it.
I still think it's cute.  All the books were found at nearby thrift stores.

Quiet Room before:  Not my style...

Quiet Room after:  Much better.  (Wall art coming...)

And last but not least, I wanted to show you one last Consignment store find.  When I saw this table, I knew we had to buy it for...somewhere in the office.  Turns out, it's perfect for the employee lounge.  (Which, if we get super busy in the future, will be another quiet room.  Sorry employees.)
Presenting...

my table.
Please disregard the hideous folding chairs Doug bought at Costco.  Clearly, he has no respect for the 60's!  (Trust me...it's even cooler than it looks in the picture.  I can't wait to pick the perfect piece of art for this room.  Low priority though...)

So...that's about it.  It's still a work in progress.  We need a few more pictures and things, but for all intents and purposes, we're ready to go.  I personally love how it turned out but...

What do you all think?  
Would you take your kid here?

Many many thanks go to our talented advisors:  Laura, Kris E., Steph, Beth and lastly, our web designer Shawn who said "If you don't buy those couches, I'll kick you in the face." THANK YOU!