About Me

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i am a stay-at-home mom living, learning and loving by the bay!I love to take pictures. I love to crochet cozy things for my family and friends.

December 2, 2012

Weekend





Well, our weekend was pummeled by the "Pineapple Express."
An atmospheric river that made its way here from
the Hawaiin Islands.
Lots of rain, rain, rain.
And since we are studying weather and climate, I thought this would
make an excellent lesson!  So Binky
made a diagram of the "Pineapple Express."
You can read  more about it here, if you like.
 
 



 
So while we were indoors, listening to all that rain, Goose
broke out some holiday decorations.
This is Binky's favorite christmas item.
I bought it for him at the Nutcracker several years ago.
 
 

 
 
 
I made some salt dough ornaments and we
had a blast decorating them!  Grandma came over with her
craft box and we went a little crazy with all that paint, glitter, and beads!!
I love how they turned out! 
 
 
 
 
 
 








These two ornaments are for my two nephews.
I hope they love them!  I had so much fun making them!
 
 
 

 
 
 
I even made some for us.
It was a nice time.  Holiday memories in the making.
I asked the kids what they would like to do this holiday season
and we came up with a few ideas so far. 
 
Make snowflakes
birdseed ornaments for the birds
solstice walk in the woods
gift making for family and friends
light the lights for Hanukkah
watch Elf
go ice skating
 
has a beautiful list of advent activities she made with her family.
What special activities do you do with your family this
time of year?
 


November 19, 2012

R e s t

 
 
Sebastien found the best spot in the house the other
morning to enjoy the sun.
He loves to lay in the sun.  He will follow it around the house
just to soak up all that warm goodness.
I love his little face reflecting in the window.
I could use some rest like this.
I am not feeling too good right now.
I am functioning, but I am nauseas all the time,
especially after I eat.  I am really
starting to feel the effects of this chemo cream I have
to put on my face.  I can't see anything yet, but I can sure feel it.
I must try and fit some naps into my day!
Never easy while the kids are home.
Especially during the holidays!
 
 
 
 

November 17, 2012

Tosca




Wednesday afternoon was a good one!
Goose and I joined some friends for the final dress rehearsal of
Puccini's Tosca.
It was amazing!  I loved it.  This was our 4th opera together and
Goose said it was by far her favorite.
During the intermission there were cookies waiting for us and they left the curtain up
so we could watch the set change.
It was very interesting.  So many people working to
put it all together.  And so much larger than I realized backstage.
The San Francisco War Memorial Opera House is gorgeous!!
It takes us 15 minutes to get there from our house!
If there is no traffic, of course.
I am learning to really love the opera.
After seeing The Capulets and The Montagues in September
I was hooked.  The two women who played Romeo and Juliet
were absolutely amazing!!!!!
 
Don't forget about my Giveaway!!
Deadline to leave a comment is tomorrow night!
Have a great weekend!
 
 
 
 
 


November 13, 2012

Giveaway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




My first Giveaway!
I am giving away a scarf of your choice from my Etsy shop, Crochet Crowe!
Please go to my shop blog, Crochet Crowe and leave a comment letting me
know which is your favorite scarf!!
The deadline to leave a comment is Sunday, November 18 at 12pm Pacific Time.
I can't wait to hear from you!!
Happy November!
 
 

November 12, 2012

Antibubbles

 
 
Have you ever heard of antibubbles?
I had not until last week when Binky came home from
science class and was talking about bubbles.
An antibubble is a bubble underwater.  So it is water surrounded
by a thin layer of air, which is surrounded by water.
A little confusing, I know.
I have a link below that explains it with diagrams.
 
 
 
He also practiced blowing bubbles inside of bubbles.
Both Goose and Binky had fun with this.
At one point, they could blow 4 bubbles inside of each other!
I was amazed at how much fun they both had blowing bubbles all weekend.
And whenever a friend or family member came over they had to show
them how to do it!
 

 
 
 
Binky's teacher talked about antibubbles a little bit, but didn't
really get into it, so I found a great website that
explains what they are and how to make them!
Of course, we had to try and make our own.
It does take patience, but the results are worth it!
I also found this great youtube video.
We have to try this next!
And I thought we were long past bubble play!
Have a great week!

October 29, 2012

l i f e




 
Life is a little crazy right now.
When isn't it, really?
My mother's husband has brain cancer.
He was diagnosed 2 years ago with stage 3 anaplastic
He had surgery to remove as much as possible as soon as he was diagnosed
and then 1 year of chemo.  It was an oral chemo that was very easily tolerated.
And then all was mostly well.  About a month ago, after one of his
usual MRIs, we could see that the cancer had started to grow again.
We knew it would eventually.
So he went in for surgery last Wednesday and his home now.
The surgery went very well at UCSF.
He had the best possible surgeon.
Joe, my step-father, is now scheduled to start brain radiation
in less than two weeks.  Treatment is EVERYDAY for 7 weeks.
And now they have opted to add chemo again while he is doing the radiation treatments.
I don't know how this will affect him. 
From what I have read online, it will not be easy for him.
But he is still young, in his mid fifties, and healthy otherwise.
But in the end, we all know this will take his life much earlier than
expected.  It is a lot to deal with.
I haven't even mentioned it here because then it becomes more real.
I am very concerned about my mom and how she is
handling everything.  We are going to visit tonight or tomorrow, depending on
how Joe is feeling. 
As for me, I am starting my chemo cream for my face today!
My insurance did not want to cover the prescription at first.
But my amazing doctor got on the phone and made it happen!
 
On a happier note, we are getting ready for Halloween!
Binky only needs 2 more things and then both kids are all set.
Goose will be a gypsy and Binky will be Jester, a comic book character.
I can't believe how grown-up they both look in their costumes.
I will post pics later.
I am looking forward to the distraction.
Watching all the kids with happy faces and fun costumes.
I hope your celebration is filled with fun!
Happy Halloween!
 
 
 
 
 


October 23, 2012

New Blog!!!

 
 
 
I created a new blog for my Etsy shop!
I am so excited to finally be doing this!  Crochet Crowe is
my shop for handmade scarves.  Crocheted cowls that are beautiful and cozy!
I will have some new scarves available later this week.
I hope you will stop by for peek!
 
 
 
 

October 18, 2012

home learning fun

 
Binky is up to his drawing again.
I love this one!
I love seeing him hang out in his room
and come up with these ideas of his.
I want to print this one on a tshirt to give him for
Christmas this year.  He will be so surprised!
 




Goose's science group is studying Earth Science and I taught a class on
volcanes.  We sketched and labeled the main types of volcanes.
The kids labeled a world map with a variety of different volcanoes.
We talked about the silica content of magma and how the more silica in the magma,
the more viscous the lava.
 
 




I poked a tiny hole in toothpaste tubes and the kids squeezed the tubes to watch how the
"magma" oozes down the side of the tube.
This is very viscous lava!  They made a chart of all the different elements
in igneous rocks formed from different lavas, like basalt, andesite, dacite and rhyolite.
It was a great class!  I only had two hours, but we covered a TON of information.
 
 

 
 
Goose decorated this lovely sarcophagus. 
She is still studying Egypt.
We attended a workshop at the local Egyptian Museum last Sunday
focused on Egyptian oils and perfumes. 
She loved it!  One more workshop this weekend and
 she will be able to attend a sleep-over at the museum.
How cool is that!
 
 

 
 
 
Goose has also spent a lot of time crocheting this week.
She made herself a little pouch yesterday.
So cute!  I love seeing her enjoy something I love so much.
 
We are looking forward to a cooler weekend here by the bay.
It has been in the 80s most of the week!
A little too warm for me right now.
I was getting used to wearing my scarves and boots
and then I had to break out my sandals and tank tops again.
But I have noticed a beautiful sparkle to the sun.
Every October the sun seems to sparkle.  I can't find a better word
to describe it.  Do you know what I mean?
Anyway, I love it.
It will be much cooler this weekend.
Hopefully I can break out those scarves and boots again!


September 26, 2012

s k y and s c h e d u l e s

 
 
While sitting in my room the other evening I could see a pink glow
seeping through the blinds.
When I peeked outside, the clouds were aglow with beautiful
shades of pink.
 



 
And the moon was gorgeous!
 
 



 
 
A day or two later we headed down to the water
to fly Binky's new dual-control kite.
There were a lot of sailboats out there!
How I wanted to be on one of them.
 
 



This is the new kite!
Binky is so excited about it.
He is quite good, too.
He told me his kite was really pretty up in the sky.
 
 

 
 
Here he is doing his thing.
 

 
 
 
We have been very busy.
Our lessons and groups and classes have begun
and I am just trying to get back into the
swing of things.
Goose is quite busy this fall. 
Her schedule is as follows
 
US Constitution
Epidemics
Earth Science Group
Egypt
Writing Group
French
Algebra
Cooking classes
Library Book Club
 
Binky's schedule
 
Maritime and Tallships
Science class
Math
Writing
Engineering
US History
Martial Arts
 
Actually, seeing this in print kind of scares me!
It is a lot, isn't it?!
For many years I was one of those under-scheduling moms.
My kids had plenty of time to just be.
  But now that they are older,
they have a lot more interests. So we are busy bees for now.
Besides, I like my job as chauffeur!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


September 19, 2012

Drawing and other stuff...




We have been pretty busy lately with lessons
and planning for the year.
Binky has been busy, too!
 
 



 
There has been a lot of drawing going on.
He has been giving his drawings away to
friends and anyone who will take one!
 
 



He wants to put them on
t-shirts next.
I think that is a great idea.
This is only a sample of his drawings.
I try to take pics of as many as I can because he
does love to give them away.




We've also started leaf collecting on our morning walks.
I love to look for leaves!
I usually come home with at least
10 or 15 leaves in my hand.
I just wish I could keep them all!
 
 




We have been eating lots of yummy soup this past week.
I made a pot of soup that lasted 4 days.
And each day it was better than the last!
I love to put parmesan on my vegetable soup.
What is your favorite soup to make at home?
 
 

 
 
Yesterday, we sat in the backyard and
made Autumn journals.
We used pretty printed paper and kraft cardstock.
 




This is the inside lining of Binky's journal. 
He loves the crow.
 
 

 
 
Goose used this very cool spiderweb paper
to line her journal.
 
 




Binky started his journal with a list of things that
remind him of the season.
Things like crows cawing, apple pie and
squirrels eating nuts.
 
 

 
 
 
Goose made this title page to start her journal.
 
 
 
 
 
 
I can't wait to see what the kids have in store for their journals.
Have I mentioned this is my favorite season of the year?
It really is!  I just can't get enough of the falling leaves,
warm scarves and the long shadows.
 
So, now for some news!
My etsy shop is now open!
The name is Crochet Crowe.  I make crocheted scarves to
keep you warm and cozy!  I hope you will pop
over when you have the chance!
 


September 10, 2012

Thinking of Autumn

 
 
 
 
 
Autumn is on my mind!
My mother-in-law brought me a huge bag of apples
the other day and I have been baking pies like crazy!
The smell of an apple pie in the oven always makes me think of autumn.
 
 



I visited my favorite Botanical Garden yesterday.
It was just so beautiful.
The sky was so blue!
When I saw these leaves in oranges and reds, it made me smile!
 
 







 
 
This was my favorite spot!
A carpet of autumn leaves. 
 
An Autumn poem to get you in the mood.
 
September
by Helen Hunt Jackson
 
The goldenrod is yellow;
The corn is turning brown;
The trees in apple orchards
With fruit are bending down.
The gentian's bluest fringes
Are curling in the sun;
In dusky pods the milkweed
Its hidden silk has spun.
The sedges flaunt their harvest
In every meadow-nook;
And asters by the brookside
Make asters in the brook.
From dewy lanes at morning
The grapes' sweet odors rise;
At noon the roads all flutter
With yellow butterflies.
By all these lovely tokens
September days are here,
With summer's best of weather,
And autumn's best of cheer.
 
 

 

August 30, 2012

surgery update




My surgery went very well!
Only two excisions were needed.
The cancer had gone quite deep and some
precancerous cells were also found.
My scar is about an inch long.
But the doctor was able to sew me up, which isn't always the case.
So I was happy.
There was some swelling for the first several days, but
icing every hour really helped.
I still cannot exercise or do any lifting until next week.
I am having the stitches removed on Tuesday.
And we will talk about when to begin
treatment for the precancerous cells.
Which will include chemotherapy cream.
All in all, I am happy with the results of the surgery!
Now if only people would stop staring at me in public.
One guy even asked me what happened while I was with my husband.
He looked at me with a "likely story" look on his face.
I get so many stares!  What do they think happened, I wonder?
 
Thanks, Nicola for your concern!!
 
 


August 1, 2012

4 0




This is me first thing in the morning.
This is me at 40.
Yep, I turned 40 on Sunday.
At 7:55pm to be exact.
It wasn't how I thought I would spend my
40th birthday. 
But it was still nice.

It was hard to enjoy the day when my son is in pain and
can't really do anything.
His concussion is VERY slowly getting better.
But oh, so slowly.
AND, we found out yesterday that his horrible back pain
is caused by a fractured vertebrae!
Before he hit his head at the gym he was jumping
on the trampoline and landed on his feet right onto the hard platform
surrounding the trampoline.  And he said he was jumping quite high.
Which is probably why he had such a hard time
getting over the small fence and hit is head.
But after he hit his head he was so
disoriented for a couple of days that he couldn't really remember all that happened.
So it took a week for me to get all the details.
Which is when I took him for an xray and visit with the orthopaedic doctor.
So we are looking at about 2 months healing time.
And to top it all off, I am having my skin cancer surgery(mohs surgery) on my face
in 3 weeks.  The round spot under my eye is the scar left from the biopsy.
That is where the surgery will take place.
I am getting nervous.
I did have a dream last night that the surgery went really well
and there was hardly any scar after it healed.
It was a nice dream!
My daughter is leaving for Catalina Island on Saturday.
She is so excited!
She and her best friend are sailing from Long Beach to Catalina Island
for a week long summer camp.
She is already packed and ready to go!
So... I am 40.
I made it!
Hoping the next 40 are filled with love and laughter!!










July 27, 2012

MaD TeA PArTy 2012



Please join me for a

MAd TeA PArTy hosted by the lovely

Vanessa from A Fanciful Twist!

There is sure to be tons of magical fun!

July 26, 2012

1 2




Goose turned 12 yesterday!
This is a photo from her first birthday.
Such sweet memories!




Happy  Birthday Goose!!!!!!
We are so proud of the young woman you have become!!
We love you!!
Mom and Dad




July 23, 2012

crocheting and concussions



This is my latest creation.  I am in love with the colors! 
I can't wait to wear it this fall.
I have been crocheting like crazy and hope to show you what
I have been up to soon!
Now on to concussions.
On Saturday, Binky was on a metal fence with metal bars, like jail bars, and fell while still holding
onto the railing and slammed his face up against the bars.
His brow bones and the bones under his eyes hit the bars on both sides!
He was disoriented, terrible headache, seeing colors and dizzy when he walked.
He is still dizzy, has a headache and his face hurts!
And some bruising is starting to show.
We went to ER yesterday just to be safe.
Now we are home trying to rest and avoid stimulation.
Do you know how hard that is for a 10 year old boy?
If friends come over they always end up wrestling at some point.
So none of that for this first week!
No TV, video games, computer, wii, physical activity of any kind or reading!
Focusing his eyes at all hurts.
That is for the first week.
Next week we can ease into reading for short periods of time.
So I am reading to him now.
Which I do anyway.
And he is playing with is action figures.
Clone troopers, mostly.
Thank goodness for Star Wars!

July 19, 2012

knight's helmet



I am not sure why, but Binky decided he wanted to make his own knight's helmet.
He started with a basic sketch.
There are so many designs to choose from!
We did a little research online and found this site very helpful.





We started with cardboard, a stapler and tape.










He had to model his helmet, of course!





And pose with it!




Next, we covered the entire thing with foil.





And now we are working on covering it with paper maiche.
This will take several layers and several days to achieve the final look
he is going for.  I can't wait for the finished product!
I will post pics when we are finished!




So, I had the cancer removed from my arm last week.
It only took about 10 minutes.
Scrape, burn, scrape, burn, scrape, burn.
While I was there, I had one more mole removed to be biopsied.
And the results for that one are benign!!!!!
The doctor also made me feel better about the
upcoming surgery on my face.  I am scheduled for
August 21 at 10am.
Keeping busy with the kids helps keep me calm.
Being crafty, like with Binky's helmet, also is a big help.
How do you keep calm in times of stress?