Field Trip to Oak Glen

I went with Ali on her field trip to Oak Glen on Tuesday. Oak Glen is the place to go for apples around here. We drove down the mountain and then up into some foothills on the other side. I was glad I went with Ali because they didn't have things very organized and didn't give the kids enough water. But I gave Ali plenty of water. They learned how to make apple cider and how they sort the apples on a big conveyor belt. My favorite part was the cold room where they store the apples. I think that the kid's favorite part was running around the grassy field and playing!

Ina and Shiloh Visited

Ina and Shiloh came to California and came up to visit us on Sunday. It was fun to have them at our house. The girls (Lizzy, Ashling, Ali and ShiAnne) played outside and made a big game of babies. They then cleaned up, ate dessert and watched a movie before going downstairs to fall asleep. The adults enjoyed talking to each other and then they taught us how to play settlers of CAtaan. (Now I want that game for myself. ) It was fun to have friends over to visit. They stayed the night at our house and the next morning went to Disneyland.

I met them after lunch at California Adventure. I was a little worried because pregnant women really don't belong at amusement parks especially without their husbands, but I spent the first hour and a half sitting on a bench while the kids, Ina and Shiloh and Jill and Cameron(Jill's husband not mine,) all rode rides. Ali really liked Muholland Maddness which Jill and Cameron and Ina and Shiloh took her and ShiAnne on. Ashling wanted to be tall enough and tried standing on her toes but she is still not quite 42 inches tall. We all rode on California Soaring which is my favorite ride (especially when I am pregnant.) We also went to the It's a bug's life movie which I do not recommend to people with little girls. My girls screamed and sceamed and demanded that we leave. Ali and Ashling really enjoyed themselves and I was happy I took them, although a little tired after a long day with the kids.

Making Applesauce

Ashling and I made applesauce last Monday and Wednesday. She was a big help in each step of the process. I canned 24 quart size jars and one of them broke in the canner. Not bad for free apples and free jars! I still have apples to make apple pie filling but due to my busy schedule it will probably not be done until Friday!

Staying at Home with your kids

I just got home from picking Ali up at school. She smiled when I picked her up at the bus stop and seemed very content to get in the car. Instead of sitting right down she told me all about the day right away. A little boy threw wood chips at her, she got an excellent behavior note, and it was hot at PE. They played soccer and she got to be the goalie.

Earlier I cuddled with Ashling as we talked about her day at preschool. She sang a lot of songs including ABC's, slippery fish, a number song and some other ones. She enjoyed learning the letter G and she liked playing with the other kids. We read a story about Clifford and then I just held her enjoying that she is still small enough to cuddle on my lap as long as I don't call her my baby. I also had her help me with laundry and watched her succeed at putting a puzzle together.

The girls are now playing outside and I got on the internet to check my email. There was an email from some source about whether to stay at home or not. Then there is a list of Pros and Cons to staying at home with your children. All I can say is that all the cons to staying home are completely ridiculous when you consider the pros. My girls know that I am there when they need me no matter when that is. I get to be there for each success they have and for each failure that they endure. I get to be the one who cuddles them and loves them when they are sad and get to see the smiles on their faces when they are happy.

As my girls grow up and leave me home without them, I am grateful that I took the time to be home with them and to see them grow. Now Ali is gone more than she is home and I can't go back and change whether I was there or not. I will never get those moments back and I am glad I was home with the girls. I am also glad that I will be home with our new baby. Whatever the cost, whatever the lonely days full of crying babies and dirty diapers, it is worth it. That is the message I would like to pass along. Staying home with your babies is of more value than anything else you may try to do!

The Wind has arrived

I love fall. It is beautiful with the clear skies, crisp temperatures and changing leaves. It has been cold all weekend and I am in love with it. Our heater has clicked on and we have had a couple fires in the wood stove. We gave Ali her coat I bought last spring for 25 dollars and she wore it to school and even home on the bus today. I love the apples that are ripe in the fall and the smell of wood that has just been chopped. I love getting out the fall decorations and lighting candles that have sat dormant all summer.

But I do not like the Santa Anna Winds that love to rush suddenly on to the scene and take away the peace of our fall. It is very windy tonight and we are on edge. It is not that the wind itself will do anything to us other than maybe knock over a few trees. But it is what comes with the winds that is of deep concern to us mountain dwellers. We are very concerned about fires tonight. In fact about every two minutes Cameron has asked me to check the alerts on Rim of the World.net to see if there are any fires. (He is trying to study for the PE so he is not actually at the computer right now.) The last two times I have checked there have been reports of smells of smoke. I don't know that there are any actual fires in the mountains but everyone is on edge. I don't think there will be much sleep in the Brown household tonight.

But my evacuation list is on my desk, my clothes are drying the dryer and I have enough gas to drive down the hill if it becomes necessary. I guess I am as prepared as it is possible to be without actually loading the car. (And that would just be a little paranoid wouldn't it?)

Pray for the wind to stop!

Apples, Apples and more apples

Today was a busy day. First we got up to get Ali to the soccer field by 8:00 am for pictures. It was 29 degrees but sunny. All the kids were dressed in the soccer uniform with tons of layers on top of it. When it was time they stripped the layers off and then went to get pictures taken. I know it was cold because after getting in the warm car it took ten minutes for my hands to stop hurting.

Then we took Ali to Lake Arrowhead for her nutcracker practice. We watched her as she practiced because it was the first time and it was only a half hour. After dance practice we went to the Running Springs fire department where we walked around the booths they had about fire safety. (We don't even want to think about it but it is fire season again so pray for no big fires this year.) The girls saw sparky and smoky the bear so they were happy. They also filled their bags with goodies from the booths and their tummies with cookies and punch.

After that we decided to pick apples to make applesauce with. There is a tree just outside of town that doesn't belong to anyone. It is on the side of a steep hill and for ever apple Cameron shook down there was one that rolled down the hill. After he climbed way up in the tree and took a bag with him we filled a paper bag and half full of apples. We were pretty happy about that but knew it wouldn't make that much applesauce.

Later we decided to go pick some more apples. Cameron's sister had already been to one tree where there are a lot of apples and she took most of the apples but we decided to see what else we could glean from the tree. Once again Cameron climbed way up in the tree and shook the apples down on our heads. Cameron would say cover your heads and look down and Ashling would curl into the cutest little ball. We took every last apple from the tree. Cameron enjoyed himself after he climbed down from the tree by throwing rotten apples at trees and watching them break into a million little pieces.

We then had a garbage bag filled with apples and went to Cam's parents house to get the applesauce maker. But on our way we saw an apple tree loaded with more apples. I couldn't resist and I asked the owner if we could pick the apples. We loaded another large garbage bag full of apples. The girls liked this apple tree because they could pick the apples.

Later Cameron's mom called and said she had two bags of apples delivered to her doorstep and if we wanted we could have them too. The only problem is I am only a third of the way through the applesauce process so next week I will be cooking, mashing and canning all the applesauce. But at least my food storage should be much improved and the best part is that it was all free!

We came home and I finished cooking homemade cinnamon rolls and of course ate them. It was very cold today and the girls were freezing from playing outside in the cold for so long. The girls took a shower to warm up. When they take a shower Ali turns on the shower and gives herself a shower. Ashling usually waits until Ali is done and then she gets in. This time when I went downstairs to give Ashling her shower I found her curled up in front of the floor heater where she said it was very warm. She was so cute there I just had to share it.

Hurray for Apples and fun family Saturdays!

Tagged....

It's who I am...

I am... Melissa
I Want....to not be pregnant
I Have.... two beautiful little girls and one more on the way!
I Wish..... for cold weather, a fire in the wood stove and snow.
I Hate... doing laundry
I Fear... not having enough food storage and then really needing it.
I Hear.... Cameron cutting up fire wood and the girls playing outside.
I Search... for my children's shoes. How hard can it really be to put them where they go?
I Always... read.... and want to know what else is good to read.
I Usually... make a dinner from scratch every night.
I Am Not... organized enough.
I miss... my mom and sister. They never visit! (Maybe I could guilt them into a visit?)
I love... Cameron
I Never.... get enough vacations
I Rarely... get all the laundry done.
I Cry... when I am upset. Even when I really don't want to cry.
I am Not Always... patient with my girls.
I Lose... whatever paper I really need at that time.
I'm Confused... by Cameron's engineering problems that he reads to me while studying for the P.E.
I Need... more time in a day and to not be so tired.
I Should... make lunch
I Dream... about going to Hawaii and swimming all day (snorkeling, boogie boarding, getting up on a surf board, swimming in a pond near a waterfall, kayaking, maybe parasailing....)


I tag Stacey, Ina, Nicole, and Sharlene.