highlights

Joshua lending support to his team.
And the best part of the game...running through the tunnel!

one more time

A better picture of Hector's socks. The colors are more accurate than the other photo. Nice shades of red.

weekend update

Once again I have our weekend update. As usual we have a soccer game. Joshua is much more involved in the sport than Tyler. Josh puts in a lot of effort and determination and he really seems to enjoy the game. The soccer team has improved each week and it really shows. There isn't as much crowding around the ball and we've added a loose defense.

Joshua spent a quarter playing defense which made me wonder if he understood the concept. He is supposed to stay in his half and of course he would come way out into the offensive side. Then the other team would get the ball and come very close to scoring a goal then out of nowhere Josh would come in and kick the ball away! It was remarkable.

Another surprise is Josh's role as cheerleader/ team player. There was a moment when Josh's teamate scored a goal, Josh ran up to him and gave him a big hug. It looked like a professional sports moment where the team celebrates hugging each other. Josh would pat the other players on the back and try to give high fives. The team played awesome and scored 5 goals. Josh kept updating me on the score.
Here is one of Josh's many gestures to his team.

socks

I finished Hector's socks on Friday night and here they are. I haven't taken a picture of Hector wearing the socks yet but that'll be another time. I'm very happy how these came out...you can see the variations of the yarn color...very autumn-like. I used a baby cable pattern that continues on the instep. After numerous projects that I've knitted for myself and friends/family, this is the first item for my original Cheeseboy. :)

kitchen antics

On Monday night we got to see our first hockey game. Even though it was preseason, it was still fun. I like our new seats so far but our row was empty so we'll see how it goes next time. Lots of fights...here is one of them.

I've been pretty productive this week. I already made banana muffins. Had to put those extra ripe bananas to use while utilizing ingredients in our house. We are aiming to stick to a budget and so far, so good. I happened to come across a recipe book that Tyler's 2nd grade class came up with. At least they pulled real recipes from the internet and Tyler chose Apple Strudel Muffins. I looked at it and sure enough we have all the ingredients! Woo hoo!

These came out really yummy so I'm gonna bring some when I pick the kids up from school. Tyler will be so happy.

But wait, there's more...

I managed to pull enough ingredients for a beef stew in the crockpot for tonight. Chop some carrots, potatoes, onions, throw in some stewing beef and add the seasonings and water. Voila!

Hopefully it will be nice and tasty with some crunchy French bread. Hmm.

This morning I even helped out with Josh's classroom. I cut papers into little booklets for next week. Then I had a child do a secret project involving, glue, paper and glitter. There are 20 kids in the class and I managed to get through half in about 45 minutes. Oh well, another time....no hurries.

no words are necessary

Here is some video silliness.

Um, yeah.

Our family room was nice and neat but now we're sorting through the stuff we packed so it's all back until I throw some of it out.

Today I will have my TB skin test read so I can finally volunteer in Josh's classroom.

Who watched Dancing With The Stars? I'm a little behind but I should finish last night's show later this afternoon. Yes, I already know who got kicked off which I had predicted.

I'm still trying to finish up Hector's socks...at the foot portion midway so maybe about another 2 more inches then I can start the toe decreases. I really want to knit my friends and family gifts this year but in reality...it's too much. I will knit something for the boys' teachers at Christmastime. And I need to finish up a dog sweater that I started a year ago. Ugh..too much stuff and not enough time. The story of my life.

I will resign myself to knitting items for everyone but at my own schedule. That way no one will get hurt. :)

soccer pics

Another weekend and that means another soccer game. This time we played the Blazers which happens to be Alex's team. It was a good game and the score ended up being tied at 1-1. Josh was doing very well and trying to kick the ball.

striped socks

Here are the Carlos socks....I'm patting myself on the back for these. Yay!

busy times

Wow, we had a very busy weekend. Where to start? First of all, Hector's brother Carlos came out this weekend which was cool since I could finally give him his super neat handmade socks. Which by the way, fit perfect. Yes, I managed to make something the correct size!! :)
Saturday was mostly hanging out although Hector had to volunteer 2 hours at the soccer field. My cousin Hannah came out to visit and bring some doner kabobs from Spitz in Eagle Rock. They were very good but not quite the same as the ones we had in Germany. Well I guess that would be a great excuse to go there. Anyway, H hung out with us while we caught up on the latest goings on and I showed her my various finished projects. We settled on the yarn she likes for the next set of wristwarmers and I gave her a little shrug/capelet. Her Po came by and they took off. If you want to read more about her adventures, here is the link. http://datingjohndoe.blog.com/
Saturday night was set aside for a very nice dinner at Mortons. Steaks and seafood. We had made plans for this about 2 weeks ago with She-ra and He-man. Carlos came out over so we decided it would be the perfect time to introduce him to Mortons. To make a super long story short...She-ra and He-man got in a big blowout right before driving to our house so it delayed us a bit. The normal people at Chez Cheese discussed our options since we had no idea how the situation with those two would turn out. An hour and a half later and multiple phone calls they agreed to drive down to our house so we could go to dinner as planned. Hector was great in convincing the restaurant to move our reservations back. The couple was even later getting to our house so we decided to go without them. Just as we got to the street, they pulled up. Doh! Then we got in one car, drove to Mortons and had a wonderful dinner. There was a little tension and we ignored it by ordering lots of drinks. :) I tried a few new items on the menu and they were great. The crab cakes was delish, the garlic green beans and mac n cheese to die for. I was very happy.

classic

last days of summer

Today I'm uploading Hector's pictures from his camera. Yes, all 450 photos and videos taken since our cruise perhaps? It will be worth it because he has the Olympus waterproof (up to 30 ft) and shockproof camera. It is pretty cool to be able to take pictures at the pool, underwater and at the waterpark without having to worry about it.

Things in general are going well at Chez Cheese. The kids are adjusted to their school schedules and activities. We have had no problem having an extra person live with us. He is pretty quiet and keeps to himself in his room.That does remind me that I need to go grocery shopping. Having a housefull of guys keeps me on my toes since I have to feed them...

soccer action

finished

The fall season is almost upon us so I wanted to make a pair of scrunchie wristwarmers. This is the 2nd pair I've made and I'm definitely keeping these for myself. The first pair belongs to Kat because she saw when I was knitting them and fell in love. This is a different colorway but equally stunning. Now I can't wait to wear them to the first hockey game and show them off!

soccer

Josh had his first soccer game on Saturday. He looked so adorable in his soccer uniform. Awww. Of course, 5 years old play soccer by running in packs.

Or just run around...

Where's the ball?

this and that

Here is a pair of socks that are for Hector so he can can nice warm boot socks for his motorcycle riding. Baby cable pattern which is a little hard to see in the picture. I'm currently working on the gusset decreases but it's coming along.

I've been working on another pair of socks since we came back home from our cruise. These are for She-ra...her birthday was Sept. 2nd. A little late but you can't rush my creative juices. Ha. The pattern is a crosshatch lace which is surprisingly easy to knit and it looks very cool.

And here are the finished products. As usual they came out slightly big because they fit my feet (size 9) and She-ra is around a 7.5 womens. The blue has purple in it which I like.

Look how big my boys are on their first day of school! My baby starts kindergarten!

cruise trip wrap up

My updates are getting later and less frequent as I get busier. I never finished the cruise updates but believe me, we had a great time. We aren't the touristy types who take the city tours etc unless it's included so our 2 stops at Ensenada and Cabo where leisurely affairs. We had a nice breakfast, go to shore and mosey around. We walked all around Ensenada in search of aguas and by the time we did, we were hot and thirsty. Cabo was extremely hot so we didn't last as long. We walked long enough to find an ice cream shop, ate it then walked back to the ship. :)

The kids discovered the Camp Carnival on our 2nd day and never looked back. Both boys when given a choice between hanging out with the parents or camp, always chose the camp. One night Tyler came back begging us to let him go to the late night party the next night where they party til 1 am. I'm thinking, Dude, you're only 8 years old and way too excited about a party. We let him go where the 6-8 year olds took over the disco from 8-9pm and danced the chicken dance and rocked out to the theme song from Spongebob Squarepants. Those kids are wild!

Overall the trip was a success. I survived living in a very small room with all the guys. The kids had lots of fun and Hector said it was okay (good sign). We arrived back in San Diego on Thursday so we walked across the street to our car, drove about 2-3 blocks to check into a hotel. We spent a few hours at Sea World (annual passes come in handy) and came back to enjoy the suite. Our hotel package included pizza and an in-room movie so when Speed Racer came up as an option, well the boys got to watch it for the 4th time. It was nice and fun.

It was back home just in time for Labor Day weekend to prepare for Tyler's birthday on Sept. 1st and get the boys ready for school on the 3rd. Phew!

stuff

It's been a busy week for me...I guess I don't feel in the blogging mood. The kids are finishing their first full week of school and I'm just doing other stuff. I finished a pair of socks for She-ra for her birthday which is a little late but oh well. The socks came out nice...I hope she likes them.
Also her baby shower (surprise) is this Sunday so it should be very interesting.

On Wednesday, my bff Kat came over so we had a video game session starting with Guitar Hero then went to Rockband when my Nephew finished his homework. Hey we need a drummer and he fits the bill. Those years of high school band etc and Vanguard comes in so handy! :) So we continued our "bandtour" and we're about halfway through (total 63 songs). I sing more because Kat is a better guitar player but we do trade. It's a lot of fun.

Our Saturdays and some Sundays will be Josh's soccer games. He looks so cute in his uniform! I'll be busy taking loads of pictures and shooting video.

On my needles are a pair of socks for Hector. That way he can say I knitted him something; he doesn't have to wear them, I never know with him. :) I'm also knitting a pair of handwarmers that I want to finish in the next couple of weeks since I received our hockey season tickets yesterday! Yeah! It was a nice surprise to see that we were given the preseason tickets too. There will be 2 games in September to get the juices flowing.

Okay, I need to get going over to Costco and buy some essential. I also need to buy a baby shower gift too. Gotta run.

Day 1

Okay now I have the time to tell you about our last trip, the 5 day cruise to Cabo San Lucas. The ship was scheduled to leave Aug. 23 Saturday so we were packed and ready to go around 10am. Our drive to San Diego was uneventful and we arrived about 11:45am. We found the cruise parking lot right across from the ship which was super convenient and just in time for the 12 noon check-in time.



The check-in area was nice and fairly empty so the whole process from start to finish took maybe about 20 minutes. We made our way over to the buffet since our room wouldn't be ready until 1:30pm. The kids were set up with their soda fountain cards and we had our lunch while enjoying the view of the harbor and sailboats. The pool was open so we checked our room which was ready and the kids changed into their swim trunks. The pool was divided into 2 sections, one even had a waterslide. Josh wanted to go on it but he was a bit too short and couldn't go on with this floaties. The kids had a great time although the water was a bit chilly.



Our room was small but built for efficiency. We had an ocean view with 2 twin beds pushed together, a very narrow twin on the floor and another which folded down from the wall to make a bunkbed. The bathroom was small but the shower was a good size. Hector got to work on the shower head to take the water restricter out so we had a nice spray instead of the trickle.

We spent some time in our cabin relaxing. The kids played their GameBoys and I knitted. We set sail a little after 4 pm and soon had to do the lifevest routine. Of course we were tired and Josh fell asleep during the drill. I think he missed the whole thing. Our dining time was 6pm so we got ready and by now, Hector wasn't feeling too well. He sat with us at dinner for a while but was feeling worse so he went back to the cabin. The boys and I had dinner alone but they entertained themselves with the various silverware on the table.

There was an announcement that there was a tropical storm heading toward Cabo San Lucas so our itinerary would be changed. Instead of a day at sea, then Cabo, a day at sea, then Ensenada...we would be going to Ensenada first, day at sea then Cabo to avoid the storm. Okay, it didn't bother us in any way although the schedules were messed up a little but we didn't have any excursions to worry about.

The kids and I went to bed early that first night. Hector started to feel better so he went out to eat which is always an option and that was our first day.

ignorance

I don't pretend to know about investments, stock etc but I had a crash course today. I have a 401 k plan with my former employer where I had worked for almost 15 years. I picked a few funds and just watched it grow quarterly. It was nice and there was a period of rapid growth but recently this former company was bought out. Soon after I received the notices that I own stock at my former employer and I need to take action. Either accept the offer or I can sell the stock. it was actually more complicated than that and I spoke to several people about my options. After a hour of listening to explanations, I was transferred to a financial advisor who suggested I sell the stock since it closed a bit higher than the offered price from the company. Okay...so I have to call the 401 k company again and tell them to sell it now. Meanwhile I log onto the website and holy moly, my shares total up to a very large amount of money! I could only find my statement from June which had the stock at $41.00/share and today it was $71.75/share. Sweet.

Now I need to figure out my next move which is probably rolling everything over to an IRA and meeting with the advisor to give me the best options for investing. I also to need to take a little more active role in my finances since it's now at a larger amount so I need to protect it while investing wisely. I guess I have to grow up.

cabo san lucas

A few pictures from our cruise. Honestly, I will blog more about that but the kids start school tomorrow and I have to organize their stuff. Then I will tell you ALL about our cruise.

sneak peek

I finished the pair of socks for Carlos (mostly on the cruise) Friday. Unfortunately he hurt his back and couldn't make it to our house. Bummer. I had thought I could post the socks but since he officially has not seen them I don't feel right about posting the pictures. However, I could just show a glimpse of them. To show the colors, of course!
Here is a peek at the item closeup. Nice, huh?

This is all the yarn I had left. Seriously, I was sweating it there for a while. Also the colors are bit more purple than the actual color (blues) but these socks will keep your feet warm & toasty on those cold rides in the desert. :)