Wednesday, January 10, 2018

TIME OUT

I love my community. LOVE it. We are super blessed to have great friends that live just a few houses away. And we have an awesome neighborhood for the most part. Even our weird neighbors are pretty nice. 

The other day my weird neighbor made me laugh. I came outside to witness a pretty intense Nerf gun war between about 8 or 9 of the neighborhood kids. Winter was a part of it. It made me happy to see them all playing outside and not on ipads and tablets etc. I heard the pleasant voices and laughter from them all running around and screaming, enjoying the 75 degree January afternoon we often take for granted here in SoCal. I smiled and sipped my diet coke I refuse to give up... at least not in 2018. (Don't worry Elizabeth, I don't drink them very often) Then I heard a man's voice from down the street. "Time out!" he yelled at the kids. "I'm calling a TIME OUT!" I guess they were arguing but I didn't even notice. Maybe my arguing tolerance has gone up since 4 kids. I guess his tolerance was not as high. I smiled and waved a friendly hello. He shook his head and waved back. 

Then Angus wanted to ride his balance bike so I said sure and hopped on my razor scooter so I could keep up. Addie came out and joined in on the Nerf fight. As we passed the same neighbor, he yelled, "How is your little girl the same size as your boy? Or is that not your little girl??" I laughed and yelled back, "Yep, both mine! Genetics I guess." Who says stuff like that? haha. Neighbors. They like to keep things interesting.

So, here are the pics that made the blog this week:

Wendy has been taking the girls to Disneyland once a year for their birthdays since they turned 5. Addie is going to be crazy fun next year. Can't wait. I love this tradition because I don't really care for the place. It's crowded, there are lots of strollers and crying children and it's WAY overpriced. But I do want the kids to experience it. Mya passed it up the last two years because of her fear of people dressed up like scary Disney characters (like Minnie and Mickey). She is ready to face her fears for her 9th birthday in August. She's also no longer afraid to get her ears pierced. Brave girl, that one. 

So Wendy took Winter last week. She had a blast.







Addie impressed me the other day when she asked me if she could "make breakfast" for Angus and herself. Dry cereal. She even remembered to put the dogs outside first. Well done little one. 


This is both wonderful and horrible. Angus has started totally zoning out to YouTube videos about construction trucks and trash trucks. It's okay because they are "educational" and the kids were on Winter break all week. When all four kids are home, all good mom bets are off. I can't really take care of all of them without going insane. Someone is going to have to watch TV and it's usually the little ones. I try to take them to the park or outside a lot to balance out the rotting of the brain that the TV is causing.


The girls didn't get enough of their Christmas dresses in December so they wore them again to church Sunday. I tried to get a pic but I guess the sun was a little bright.


I used to love reading. I was a total bookworm in my early teens. It's been a couple of decades but I've rediscovered my love for it once again. There's my unfolded clean laundry on the dresser behind me. It's mostly caught up though. I'm on fire in the laundry department right now. So much so that there isn't room in anyone's drawers for all the clean clothes. And how fabulous do I look in my new readers? Very sophisticated indeed. 


Things I'm slightly obsessed with these days:

Eric Hutchinson. By far my favorite artist right now. I don't think I've heard a song I haven't liked of his. If you haven't checked him out, you totally should. I'm not really sure how mainstream he is because I haven't listened to the radio in years. I usually only listen to Amazon Radio... which brings me to my next slight obsession.

Amazon Prime comes with an app, Amazon music. It's like Spotify but it's free with Prime and there are no commercials. You can make your own playlists or download new music or chose a radio station. There are a few albums that aren't included unless you pay for the unlimited version but I am able to download most of my favorite artists and songs. Check it out if you haven't already. And if you don't have Amazon Prime... I don't know what to tell you. How did I ever live without it? I'm not sure. Amazon is taking over the world by the way.


And what am I currently reading? OUTLANDER!! Ohmagoodness the best series I've seen in a long time. I watched the first 3 seasons and loved the story so much that I started reading it. There are 7 books I think. So maybe if I keep reading, I can find out what happens in season 4 before it actually starts. It's like an 18th century Grey's Anatomy if you like that show. I have really loved reading an actual book instead of my kindle ap. I was starting to feel like I was getting brain cancer from looking at my phone so much. 


And last but certainly not least, thrift store shopping. My great love for 2nd hand items came also in my early teens when I was introduced to some of my first thrift store experiences in Hollywood by my sister Wendy. In the 90's the grunge look was born and thrifting became popular. But ever since, I've always kept an eye out for a good place for 2nd hand items. Moving to Azusa put me in super close proximity to some of the best thrift stores I've found in SoCal. Community Thrift and New Unto Others in Glendora are so organized and lovely that I could spend hours there. Especially because I shop for clothes and shoes for the whole family. Most thrift stores don't sell anything that isn't newish these days so it's not like the stuff looks used. It usually looks like it hasn't even been worn. And you can get good brands and quality stuff for just a few bucks. It satisfies my shopping urge and I rarely spend more than $30 or $40 for a big bag of clothes, shoes, purses and the occasional toy or baby doll if I bring a kid with me. Most of Angus's Christmas presents this year were from thrift stores. And a few of the girls' presents as well. It's quite an addiction of mine. 



And that's all for this week. Happy Wednesday!












1 comment:

  1. I LOVE AMAZON MUSIC!!!!! It's the only reason I still have prime while living out of country! Good find!

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