Insta-Friday:lots of great and a drop of drama edition

Here's two weeks worth of Insta-ness:

*Last Monday was my "25th" birthday.

*My husband is super.

*Goodies for co-workers {these are awesome}.

*They got little bags of fun too.

*Kids dig technology.

*Something ate these TOMS after 4 times of wear.mystery.

*Nutcrackers are great.

*Trees make great photo ops.even if you didn't actually climb the tree.good thing your dad is 6'4".

*"I love sushi."well California rolls anyhow.

*This happened.

*Play-doh is always rad.

*Kits are fun.never taste good.

*Made these.love her.

*Freaks making the fun-nasty kit.

We just wanted to make cookies...

I SOOO appreciate all the concern and well wishes everyone sent yesterday. Juliet is doing fine and sporting her wrist guard and stitches like they are accessories. 

I've had several of you ask "what the hell happened?" So here's how the freak show went down(yes I'm long winded):

   The girls and I went to the library, then to a Japanese food restaurant that is next to what would be our next destination: the grocery store.

I sent my mom a text to invite her and Randy(her bf)to join us for some sushi. They were there just as we were finishing. I told the girls to use use the restroom at the restaurant but they insisted on waiting because they LOVE going in the back of the grocery store to use theirs. "Whatever." I said. When I paid for our food I secretly paid for my mom and Randy's too.

   Off into the grocery store the girls and I went. A few minutes later when my mom realized I paid for their food they came in the store to give me a hard time and thank me. During this time the girls needed to use the bathroom, "don't be loud and wash your hands" I said. 

   A few minutes later I heard them from an isle over, and rolled my eyes in regards to them being loud. Then in that instant i said out loud "shit that's a hurt cry!" and ran to the other isle while Abby was telling my mom and I that "sissy's hurt bad."

   Juliet had spotted Randy at the end of the other isle and began running toward him (I didn't see him and just though she was running like a crazy person) so I yelled for her to stop. She did, yelling and crying.then I saw all the blood. "Oh my God" was all my mom heard and then was the call-911-panic. Apparently Siri thinks "call 911" sounds like "call Gwen" my boss. Good thing Randy was able to sanely dial his phone. During this panic mode Nicole, an RN, appeared and help immensely until the paramedics got there. Nicole assured me the cut was not over her artery(i think that's right?) and whispered, "it'll be alright." My mom was holding Juliets wrist while we got her up onto the check out belt. {My only suggestion when the kids get bumps at home is "grab a coldy(ice pack) outta the freezer." So I grabbed a pack of P.F. Changs Orange Chicken out of the freezer area...not helpful Kim. Hope they didn't put it back, there was blood on it.} Along with drips up and down the isle. 

   Nicole stood holding Juliets arm up while chatting with her to keep her calm. Not really sure what I was doing(besides grabbing a Pillow Pet off the shelf for Juliet to hug on). My mom was being frozen by the orange chicken she didn't realize she was holding. Randy was on the phone with 911. The store manager had her clip board ready to take my info. Brad was waiting at work to know what was going on next. 

   The ambulance(and fire truck) quickly arrived. I hugged Nicole about 3 times and thanked her. Asked my mom to pay for the Pillow Pet-Ralphs comped it. The girls and I boarded Orange Fire Ambulance #4 and took off to St. Joesph's.all is well.
I know for some families stitches aren't a big deal. For us over here though this is NOT the norm. I've been lucky enough to avoid any sort of major injury with my peeps for almost 11 years. It's something I hope I don't have to ever get used to. However I now have more of a realization and empathy to those in this situation.
Hug your kids people.tight.
Be thankful for family members and strangers alike.

So just what happened in the restroom? Here is the story according to my little peeps:

This trashcan was over-full and when Juliet put her paper towel in the front part the swinging portion stuck up in the back. Juliet reached around the back to push it down. Her hand got stuck and she tried to yank to out. The lip around the inside edge of the top is sharp metal.evil trashcan.

yes i have people.the end.

In such a freak-non-ideal situation anything that could have gone RIGHT did:

*Juliet's cut was not across any arteries, tendons or nerves.

*Juliet is lucky to have a big sister that alerted me to the issue quickly.

*My mom and Randy happened to be at the grocery store when we were.

*Nicole, an RN happened to be in the store.

These little things all add up to big pluses in this crazy ordeal.

Good Karma.Good Karma.

Insta-Friday-late edition.

Last week...

One of my lovely coworkers won a Smart Board...anyone in education is drooling right about now. If you are scratching your head imagine a white board (formerly a chalk board) that can connect to an ELMO (formerly an overhead projector). Pages can be instantly photographed and viewed on the board, in which you can switch easily through them. Oh and it also is pretty much like Microsoft Word..all by using your fingers on the board...drawing, erasing..simple enough, right?

Oh Camp Scherman...anyone that was a Girl Scout in Orange County knows all about this.love.love.love. I feel so lucky I'm able to revisit this place.a consolation prize for having girls.

Quality Movies=wholesome family time.

Ummm...only on the 5 southbound toward TJ.

Insta-Friday: Gobble Vacation Edition

Nowadays over here (a many other school districts) Thanksgiving means an entire week of school off. And (hello furlough days) this also means a week off for me too...which is nice.

This had to have been one of the best days ever that i have spent with my little peeps. Roller skating (yes, of course I skated) with friends, the park, Pier 1, Flame Broiler for dinner, then Barnes & Noble.great day.

Funky Santa Metro Link train production. Full-fun tub. Patient 14 year old cat. My desk. My hard-hat wearing husband looking at the receipt that says we'll be getting $8.13 for recycling our 5.5 year old washer.humbling.

Gobbling it up at my dads. Too many documentaries lead me to do crazy things. FYI, celery is strong when juiced. Happy Subway customers.

Insta-Friday:Mostly Food Edition

Last Friday started with a round of streep for one of my little peeps..and some freaky-huge tonsils.not cute.

 Cheap muffin mix and 1/4 of whole wheat flour=scones

 This makes working at a new school just a little easier.

Attempting something new and "fun."

Those aren't pancakes...they are supposed to be tortillas:fail...fun-ish though.

Scary.

My magical kit I got from here.

{I'm too lazy at this point to take a final product picture..but it's pretty awesome.even if my husband had to school me on some sewing machine tips.}

 Dinner date with my Abigail....a sandwich for her...burrito salad for me! 
Thank goodness for strip malls.

Bounce house birthday party. Always fun.

No, it's not Friday.

I'm failing at this.

Real Insta-Friday: iPhone Style

A few weeks ago I got this:

I'm not usually one to be all hyped up on technology, but after spending 15 days serving Jury Duty on a computer hardware patent case I'm all over it! 

{Thanks c3mos, or should I say Dr. Armond Harapetian for the 3 hour testimony.}

Siri is now a part of the family.

No this isn't an 8-track. This is the Otter-Box cover for my phone...because I drop phones...and it would be a sad day in Mudville if she broke. Unfortunately since she's SO new & FANCY{cough*gloat) they don't have pretty colors to cover her yet.

Thank you Costco for making my 6 year old and I happy!

The girls have been begging to go to this park in ghetto Anaheim for ages...it really is a great park.

And it was gorgeous out.

Ahh Halloween Fun-fetti cake...4 days after Halloween.

I had to make something I liked.

{since I already raided the candy buckets}

nice.happy.

This girl has told me on more than one occasion that 

"it's just hard to be nice." 

So when she says something kind it's almost a shocker. 

Tonight while watching 

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory she stated 

"you can be poor and still be happy."

 I had a beaming moment. Even if it was just a moment.beams.

Awww, thank you Hollywood for the life lesson.

Fat, Fancy & Back to Reality (not actually an insta Insta Friday at all)

Not only do I now have Pinterest to blame for hours of time wasted on the internet, but I can also bitch about them making me fat(ter). This little concoction of honey-sugary-butter goodness was made on our last morning before school started...at 10:45am mind you. Summer indigence at its finest.

Please come to the dark side and make this.

Thanks Pinterest.jerk.

We WERE counting down the days until school started...I suppose we were all in denial because the number never went below four.

The girls were playing "fancy people" with tea cups and grapefruit. After this sophisticated appetizer I served them some Ralphs store brand (chef boyardee style) canned mini raviolis. Very classy. And healthy.right.

 This brings us up to The First Day of School. YaY.

Miss Juliet is in first grade this year and is lucky enough to have both Abigail's kinder & first grade teachers together in one classroom. They are sharing a contract so mid-week when they switch she'll have a refreshed teacher...so is the theory.

 Miss Abigail is in fifth grade this year.time.flies. 

That's all I have to say on this one.

(how cute are these signs, right?)

The first day of school also means that I must break my 10 week fast of not going to work. Back to reality. Back to being Mrs. O. 

I even got a whooping cough vaccine just for the occasion. Because kids are disgusting. 

I really was nice seeing my coworkers and catching up with a few quick sentences as you pass each other in the hall. Hearing about all the fancy far-off amazing places some of these students travel to is interesting..and a bit depressing. 

But it's good to be back. For now.

Juliet.6

Happy 6th Birthday Juliet!

 First thing this morning...

Me: "Good morning Juliet, Happy Birthday!"

Juliet:{singing}"YaY I'm 6-6-6 and I get to do whatever I want today."

Really?!

Proof she is evil.

You Capture: Summertime

Swim lessons. A summer favorite. 

Last year: hesitation, some tears and a non-violent sitting protest in refusal to jump....

This year was different:

Day Trippin'

The Otellio's don't take day trips much(so this is a long post). We've been to Sea World a few times and see a movie maybe twice a year. Usually we hit up local parks or just consider our weekly Costco trip followed by some frozen yogurt a family outing.

However this summer we made a little list of some stuff we wanted to do. 

#2 was Ride a Train

So we did!

We got on at the Santa Ana station and rode the 28 minutes to San Juan Capistrano. 

 The nice train man hurried us along...

We made it...

 The Los Rios Historic District has amazing adobe buildings, shops and little restaurants.

 Yes, I grabbed me a cup...cream behind the counter and no stirrers at 9:45am? Hummm? Oh well...coffee is coffee (for the most part) in my book. 

An old house.. 

I had bought a Jasmere (like Groupon) deal for Zoomars...$18 for us to get in 3 baskets of veggies for the animals and 2 kiddie train rides.

  We LOVE guinea pigs and my kids have always wanted to hold a rabbit. So when they saw a 20x20 pen filled with both running a muck they were in heaven. 
I'm anti-pet stores, circus' and can barely tolerate zoos-so I'm a little sketchy on the care ALL these little guys get-they looked happy and willing to be man-handled my dozens of kids though. What can you do?

We LOVE piggies!

I LOVE goats!

The pigs were sweet.

So were the ponies.

Emus are a bit creepy, but made awesome sounds.

A big cow:

The llamas win for best fur:

A $6 bag of dirt magically had "precious" gem stones in it while panning. I could have sported $12 for the bag that had a "real" arrowhead in it, umm. no.

Juliet thought it was awesome, I suppose that is the real point. (and I should grumble about the $6)

After Zoomars we headed to the the Los Rios Historic District to check out the historical sites...

(yes, I think this hilarious)

We had lunch at a little family owned restaurant that is in the old train depot...they also hold a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater there...it's really a beautiful building.

After lunch we walked by Mission San Juan Capistrano. Abigail went there in March on a field trip and Brad went the many times as youth, as did I. We didn't go in....Juliet will just have to wait four years until 4th grade so she can go too.

 We aren't getting into heaven anytime soon:

We saw a few photo shoots going on around town, there are SO many great spots for them!

Los Rios Park is fairly new. There isn't much shade, since the trees aren't mature yet. But the weather was great and the girls played until it was time to board the train to head home.

Here comes the Amtrak!

Abigail had a brief moment of panic when she read or heard something that said "this train runs non-stop to San Luis Obispo." (which is about a 6 hour drive away)..panic..almost tears. Even the "it's ok we have money to get home or someone can get us and we'll always keep you safe" speech wasn't helpful. Until they announced our stop was coming up. End of panic mode...thank goodness.

We were home by 3:15pm after stopping at 7-11 for some Slurpees. Later that night we went to Souplantation for dinner, stopped at a park for a while, then went home and all watched Kicking and Screaming (we love Will Ferrell-even in clean form)...I'd have to say it was just about the BEST.DAY.EVER. for us people anyhow.

♥