Cello Camp

What kind of mother makes her daughter go to Cello camp during the summer? Yep me, that's what kind (insert evil laugh here)

I will say that it is not easy task hauling your cello, bow, stand and music around. And the fact she was the youngest kid in the cello group by several years could also be daunting. But it was a very cool experience. I guess it wasn't so much a cello camp as it was an orchestra which broke up into their instrument groups to practice. The theme was "The good, the bad and the ugly". At the end of the week, they all played together and put on a show for us. It was actually pretty good. This was in conjunction with the Maple Valley Youth Orchestra. The people who ran it were fantastic.

The first day Sidney came home and I asked her what she learned. Her answer... "I learned how to fake play". Then she proceeded to sit down and show me how to run the bow across the strings without making a sound. She was pretty happy with herself. So the next day I took her back and we talked to the cello instructor who took some one on one time with her so she wouldn't have to "fake play" anymore. I will say, she is resourceful.

If you are interested, she had her picture on the webpage for The Reported which served Covington, Black Diamond and Maple Valley. Read about it HERE.

Another fantastic use for Apple Cider Vinegar - for Women Only

If you are a guy... I am warning you... retreat!

There, you had a chance.


I am 44 (almost 45). One problem I have had most of my life is heavy menstural cycles (I have endometriosis). As I have gotten older, they have gotten even worse (if that is possible).

I panicked when out of the blue, my Aunt Flo decided to visit early, which meant she was visiting while I went to our church's girls camp. We camp with over 250 girls for a week. So I googled! (see a pattern in my life? Google can fix anything haha).

The answer... apple cider vinegar (I got mine at Trader Joes).

Take 1 tablespoon of organic, non-filtered apple cider vinegar in the morning and in the evening in a glass diluted with water (yes it tastes terrible), then wash it down with some more water after. It will make a HUGE difference. I have tried prescription drugs which didn't even touch the problem. I started doing the ACV the morning  Auntie came to town and it was pretty amazing. I read it is also great for the digestive system and many people take a tablespoon a day anyways. To get the full benefit of helping you through "that time of the month" continue to take it when you are off cycle.

Let's talk teeth.. and cavities

I have Sidney stories coming out my ears. She is funny, spunky and troublemaker cutie.

I am learning so many new things being her mother. One that I would like to share with you, what do you do with a child who is VERY cavity prone?

Her first visit to the dentist resulted in 4 cavities. Even though he didn't say it, I know he thought I was the kind of mother who puts her child to bed with a bottle filled with Coke or Pepsi. Or snipped off the rubber part of her binky and replaced with with a Jolly Ranchers.

The only thing I had going for me is that between my other 3 kids, they have combined... MAYBE 4 fillings. And the oldest is 23. Proof that perhaps I am not horrific... well at least in dental hygiene department with my kids.

And yep, every visit after, even with all the fancy schmancy mouthwashes, toothbrushes, toothpastes, she ALWAYS has at least one cavity. I will say she is pretty tough in the dental seat.

I finally decided to do some research. Between my googling and talking to our current dentist (yeah I switched, beady judging eyes are hard to deal to with at each 6 month visit), I found out that while brushing and flossing HELPS prevent cavities, some people are more susceptible because of a bacteria they have in their mouth. And yes, it can be transfered by sharing spoons, straws etc. It is called mutant streptococci. There is more info here (or google it).

So here I am, with a child who is actually attempting to do a good job on her teeth. Whatcha gonna do?

Xylitol!

It is a tooth friendly, nonfermentable sugar alcohol. Which means this sweetener is actually good for your teeth. It helps to neuturalize the bacteria, prevents tooth decay AND can actually help rebuild enamel.

Seriously, why haven't I been told about this sooner!

I went on Amazon and ordered Spry gum and mints. I figured they would be easy to carry around in my purse. Then I could give one to Sidney if we were out and had a snack. Or they are easy for her to just grab them a couple of times during the day.

I also got this gum

So far, the only gum that I have found that has Xylitol as the first ingredient is Ice Breaker Ice Cubes.

There you go....

Hope this helps you, well and us too!

Cool Picture Courtney Took

I was going through one of my SD cards and found this picture that Courtney took several years ago. It is when we were up at Grandma and Grandpa Thomas' house. If it wasn't so cloudy you could see Mt. Rainier behind the big twisty clouds. Kind of weird, huh?

TOFW - sister/mom get away

Every couple of years, we try and sneak away from our mom/wife duties. This spring my mom single handedly arranged for us all to go to "Time Out for Women". We stayed in Seattle and were able to walk to the event, in between eating, shopping, site seeing and did I mention eating?

I love spending time with my mom and sisters. We have this really weird (funny to us) sense of humor, which we think is hysterical. Not sure how many people agree, but who cares. We are having a good time!

Here are a few pictures from our adventure. Remember this was back in April I think. Yes, I am behind in my posts. And if you think that is bad, you should see my laundry.

Us walking down the streets looking chic and cool. So cool in fact, that I believe later that evening Wendi was mistaken for one of the Charlie's Angels.

Trying on clothes at H & M.

Wendi checking out a cute tan skirt.

We went into the bookstore looking for the cookbook "Our Best Bites" on recommendation from my sister Steff. Of course we thought there was only one left... so look who is the greedy greedy grabber. Thankfully for Wendi, another was found before it came to blows. Because we know I could take here... prison rules or no.

We had to check out Menchies on Queen Anne Hill. Yummy and well worth the many interesting side streets we took to get there.

I have nothing to say about the next 3 pictures.

Eating at a restaurant downtown. I forgot to take pictures of our food. It was very yummy. And maybe that was because we actually carried on conversations and ate at a relaxed, easy pace. As apposed to talking to and helping our kids as we simutaniously fix food, help with math, clean the house and run the kids to practices.

Getting ready for the speakers at TOFW.

This was one of the amazing speakers. Her name was Mariama Kallon. She survived the war torn Sierra Leone. She talked about seeing her friends and family members hacked with machetes and how she survived. It was amazing.

A little melting pot fondue. We were to early for dinner, so we came back for the cheese fondue and chocolate fondue. It was yummy.

Can you see how yummy it was?

More shopping.

We had a great time and amused ourselves. Wish it could have been a little longer, but we are grateful for the support of our husbands and families for giving us the opportunity to sneak away.

How do you view the world around you?

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes.

During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children.. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly..

45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100. This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised:

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.

How many other things are we missing?

Shared via pinterest HERE

What do you do in the summer time?

Yea, it is June, but I guess I wouldn't quite call it summer. What do the Thomas' do on a semi-warm weekend. While others are mowing lawns, BBQing and swimming...
we are doctoring cows.

Since I am such a great sport, I stayed home and made a nice cold batch of lemonade. So I missed out on some of the fun...but not all of it.

The first step in doctoring cows is to herd them into a small corral.



The shovel really plays an important part in the herding and separating process. I do believe that they were used a lot in ancient times and then one day a dad got fed up with his kid and gave him a wack on the backside.... that was then the spanking stick was born.

Now we have to send them down the run. By now, they are a little leery and know this can't be a good thing. This is where you start whispering sweet nothings and talking kindly. We tell the boys this is good training for finding a wife... which is something that should NOT be done with a shovel in hand.



Finally, after a few went in backwards and finally turned around, everyone is headed the right direction (maybe not in a happy motivated kind of way, but definitely enthusiastic). Coty is using his favorite herding tool.. the pokey stick, or his boot. Either works wonders, and helps relieve stress. Wonder if one of those would motivate my kids to clean their rooms?



Timing is of the essence. You need to keep the shoot open so the cow goes in it, but you need to flip the handle so it closees before he gets out. I am not a fan of this job as the person who runs this station has a tendency to get yelled at a lot. I am definitely better at making lemonade.



The cow gets checked, given any medication she might need (sprayed with wormer that kind of fun stuff). And then let loose.



No problem unless you are a fella. The young fellas gets a little extra special treatment... castration. "instert gasp here". I heard tell that in the old days they use to use their teeth to do this process. I have nothing more to say about that.

If your smart, you sneak through without the above process being performed, but then when someone figures it out, it becomes an exciting cowboying event for all those watching (not so much for those participating).

Blain roped this guy, let's call him Herbert, and then the plan was to pin him down while the master surgeon did his thing.



But I think Herbert was fully aware of the forthcoming procedure and did NOT want to be pinned down.



The 3 tough guys finally got a handle on him. I do remember something about sitting on his head being shouted several times before everything was under control. I am just saying... boys, sweating jeans, sitting on your head. Days like this, makes me glad I am 1. not a boy and 2. not a cow.





In the meantime, mother cows are crowding around, bellering about their babies being manhandled. I am telling you it isn't a pretty sight. Just something you learn to endure when living in the wild, well or on 10 acres in rural Washington.



After finshing our cows and grandpa's, they are all turned back out to pasture. I know, you think it was tramatic. Don't let them fool you. If you look real close like, you can see a whiley old bull over there coddling up to one of the females. If I had not cooth, this is where I would make some commment about men being all the same, but I am not going to say nothing.



Look at this cool cucumber. Through all the excitment, she still has her yellow notepad. She takes her job very seriously. She is to write down the ear tags of each cow and record all procedures done.



You can see that she takes all aspects of the western life seriously. Including hunting with her bb gun with her cousin Jack. Picture was borrowed from my wonderful sister-in-law Kari :)



Talking about cool cucumbers, look how our cow dog is keeping out of the heat (can you say 65 degrees). Someone is a slacker.

All in a days work my friends, all in a days work.