Really?...Loose P.E.?!

6 of these signs are hanging in the gym @ West Hill Elementary School. I'm assuming it is supposed to read 'lose' and not Loose. I am not even really sure what any of that sign means but I have mentioned it to Lilly's teacher and it was ignored, a perfect example of the 'not my problem' attitude. Tonight the school will be hosting a literacy celebration in the gym...wonder if anyone will notice.

RoBoT pArTy Go!

Happy 4th birthday Logan!

and so it goes

Lots to update here, it's been awhile. We have been busy with kindergarten, preschool work , play, pumpkins, fall weather, and zombie costumes. I'll start with the most recent. I do not have pictures yet but BJ's band played a zombie themed show last night and his costume was great(Ash from Evil dead...google it.) Before the zombie makeup we went to a pumpkin patch and picked up some great pumpkins that we will be carving sometime soon. Washington autumn weather is in full swing, rain and wind and more rain have been hitting us hard all week but we are prepared with rubber boots rain coats and lots of pellets for the pellet stove. Kindergarten has proven to be an interesting experience for Lilly so far. We have switched teachers due to some violent incidents involving a special needs student in her classroom. I have many concerns regarding public school and can only say that the school is trying its best to address the issues promptly and make positive changes. We are seeing some progress and are sticking with it for now. Lilly is as smart and creative as ever and is becoming such a 'big kid' lately. Logan is doing very good with his speech. His latest articulation assessment shows that he is almost caught up with other kids his age but we are continuing therapy to maintain his progress. I have been working a few days a week at the YMCA and Logan is going to the preschool there 3 or 4 days a week. Life has become busy days of dropping kids off and picking kids up driving to the library , grocery store, bank, getting to work, making time for family dinner and finding time to relax....thank goodness for Sunday mornings......life is good.

Scott Family Rules

The other day Lilly asked me quite seriously if we had any specific house rules regarding hitting and pushing. She went on to request that house rules be written down for all to see. And so, on the kitchen chalkboard were written, The Scott Family House Rules:
1. Be Kind

2. Be patient
3. Listen to each other
4. Admit mistakes and learn from them
5. Eat well
6. Spend time and money wisely
7. Love each other

After careful consideration Lilly again asked "yeah but what about no hitting and pushing"...I pointed out that if we are being kind and patient that hitting won't be an issue. She was very pleased and asked for me to print a copy for her to have. Seems simple enough right? Obvious and redundant perhaps but, it is important to remember that these are all learned behaviors and it is our job to teach them to each other. Such a simple thing has made a considerable impact on our daily lives for the past week or so...reminding each other to be patient and admitting mistakes have been big ones that come up daily. I am so proud to be the mama to such amazing little people and have this beautiful life. My family provides me the opportunity to be creative and balanced and express love in so many ways. Life.Is.Good.....oh and Logan says "smell my FEEEEEEET"

Zero Dinero

Like everyone else I've been stressed about money lately and decided it is time to STOP spending mindlessly and make a plan...I have not yet fully formed that plan(I'll let you know when I get it figured out)but my first order of business was to put the smack down on spending. I decided on a "Zero Dinero" week. That is, pay the bills, buy groceries , fill up with gas and then spend ZERO money out of our bank account for 1 week. I did have 24$ cash and a bucket of change(which BJ has already raided)but it is now Thursday and I still have 18$ in my wallet and the bank account is untouched! We have been eating at home and coming up with creative ways to entertain ourselves and without the option of spending money we have actually been getting lots done around the house. Realistically I know that we still have lots of work to do to get out of debt but I feel like this is a start. If we can make little changes, we can make big changes...right?
Heatlhy eating is also part of my plan to save. Sooo...with no money and a hankerin for something sweet I threw together some 'cookies' made with no butter, no sugar and no eggs!
they turned out GREAT, they are not really 'cookies' per say, more of a soft chewy nutty texture than a cookie but really really good, and sorta healthy, minus the white chocolate chips.

Banana Oatmeal Goodness
3 over ripe bananas
2 tablespoons vanilla
1/4 olive oil
2 table spoons honey
2 cups quick oats(I used 1 cup oats and 1 cup granola cereal we had in the pantry)
1/3 cup white or wheat flour
2/3 cup chopped nuts(I used some peanut sundae topping and some chopped almonds)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup chocolate chips(I bet semisweet chocolate would be better than the white I used)
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl mash together bananas, oil, honey,and vanilla
In another bowl mix together dry ingredients and add slowly to wet mixture folding until everything is combined
Mixture is loose, scoop heaping spoonfuls onto lightly greased pan and bake for about 12 minutes.
Do not under cook or they will fall apart.
I think next time I make these I'll spread the mixture out evenly in a pan and cut them into bars after they cool.
SOOOO good!

Kindergartner!

Lilly started school last week and is loving it!

Aunt-drea

Andrea's flight landed just a few minutes after Ague , Papa and Granny lifted off and we went straight into more adventures. We went to Seattle on Andreas birthday and visited EMP and then headed to Anies house for Pizza and ended the night with yummy gourmet ice cream....mmmm mexican chocolate.....We drove to the Olympic National forest and went up to Hurricane Ridge, then down 101 to Quilcene and hiked for a bit and again spent lots of time just hanging out enjoying the weather and our company.