Angry Julie Monday

Wordless Wednesday: Halloween Night

November 2, 2011

Last year was the first year that we stayed in our neighborhood for trick-or-treating. Angry Husband stayed home to hand out candy while I took Angry Kid with his friends. I came really late that night, and told Angry Husband all about the awesomeness of the local neighborhoods.

Angry Husband was sure to not miss out on the trick-or-treating fun this year. He invited his friends and their kids. It was fun to see Angry Kid interact with the little ones.

Calvin was a firefighter. He got a ton of attention with his battery-powered inflatable firetruck. Angry Kid was a ninja. A great combination!

The houses had some awesome Halloween decor. It was super dark outside so I didn’t want to blind everyone with my flash. I got a few shots of the decorations.

Angry Kid ran into a friend from school. Actually, he ran into several friends, but all of the kids were running around like crazies. It was hard to catch them to take photos.

This was my favorite thing of the night. A house was decorated with Disney Princess pumpkins all over their front yard. The pumpkins were amazing. But there were so many people, it was hard to get photos. I hear that they go all out every year. Seriously, this carriage took my breath away though.

Angry Kid got quite the haul of candy. He stopped several times to have Angry Husband dump the candy into a backpack. The kids lasted from 6:15pm to 8:00pm which is pretty good.

********************

Welcome to “Angry Julie Monday’s Wordless Wednesday Linky”!

If this your first time here, HELLO! I do a link-up every Wednesday! Post a picture(s) and link back to it here. Wordless Wednesday is a great day to post an awesome picture that “speaks” for itself, no words needed.

Be sure to check out Wordless Wednesday Link-Ups at these other sites also:

Project Alicia, Better in Bulk, By Word of Mouth Musings, Dear Crissy, Five Minutes For Mom, Live and Love…Out Loud, Parenting By Dummies, Seven Clown Circus, Supermom, The Divine Miss Mommy

Also, Lindsey from The Pleated Poppy does “What I Wore Wednesday” every week with a great big link-up.

And, I can’t forget Krystina from Lollipops whom does “What I Love Wednesday” every week with a great big link-up.

Filed Under: Holidays, Orange County, Parenting, Photography, Wordless Wednesday 28 Comments

Happy Halloween

October 31, 2011

Today is Halloween!!! Angry Kid and his friends were totally bummed that they could not dress up for school. Only the kindergarteners were allowed to dress up. The first graders are having a party though. I get to volunteer in the class during the party, yippee for me, I think?

I finally got some pictures of the simple decorations that I put up in our house. I figure since it is the last day of the month, and actual Halloween, I should/would share. I’m a slacker like that. Ok, honestly, my house is a pain to photograph. NEVER use semi-gloss paint unless it is a kitchen or a bathroom. My living room walls are so reflective. It is a total pain to take photographs.

This view is where most of my decorations are. The picture frame all have different photos from Halloween’s in the past. I buy the frames on sale at the end of the Season. The bunting above the TV was made by me. The other Halloween things have been collected over the years.

The console/sofa table was a great find by me on Craig’s List. Like the photos displayed near the TV, these are photos from Halloween in the past. The wreath on the front door is a Harvest Themed Wreath made by cousin-in-law Jackie. The bunting above the office doorway and on the dining room mirror was made by me.

On Sunday (yesterday), we went to the Pumpkin and Pancakes event at South Coast Plaza. It was our first time attending. The event raises money for CASA Orange County, CHOC Children’s Foundation, and Orangewood Children’s Foundation. We were invited to attend this event as special guests/media.

We started off the event by having a delicious buffet breakfast including pancakes, and other delightful breakfast foods. The event was held on all three floors of South Coast Plaza West. On the first floor, there was a DJ, and dancing with some of the characters that stopped by. The second floor had the buffet breakfast, silent auction items, and photographs. The third floor had arts & crafts, facepainting, hair feathers, and balloon animals. Angry Kid had a hard time deciding which thing to select first, but he chose facepainting.

Angry Kid told the make-up woman that he wanted an “atom bomb symbol”. Yea, I did the translation to a hazmat symbol. I was able to pull up a graphic on my iPhone to help her out.

After the facepainting was finished, it was time for crafts. Angry Kid was big on the crafts. He wanted to do every craft. That kid of mine loves glue sticks.

There were some awesome gift packs for the Silent Auction. Ironically, Angry Kid already had most of the toys…yikes, we have a ton of stuff at our house.

Of course, Angry Kid spent so much time doing crafts, we ended up in an extremely long line for balloon animals. When we go to the front, Angry Kid did not know what he wanted. He settled on a sword…Ya, this sword is a bit odd looking.

We finished the morning off with some trick-or-treating.

I had to take this picture because I heart Hello Kitty.

It was a fun morning at South Coast Plaza. I really appreciated the invitation and Angry Kid had a blast.

Now, if we can just survive tonight!! Wish me luck!

Filed Under: Holidays, Just Julie, Parenting, Photography 4 Comments

Project 365: Week 43

October 29, 2011

I can tell that my family is starting to get busy. Just by looking at all of the photos from this week overwhelms me. We have a few more Halloween events this weekend. I attended a bachelorette party last weekend for a friend. The first picture is what was found in the paella served for dinner, I passed. My son had Tuesday off from school, but back to homework he went. And I ended it off with a little time spent at a local high school football game, it was homecoming.

Project 295/365: Part of our dinner tonight completely creeps me out….just sayin’

Project 365 296/365: My Life: Kid, Cheez-Its, Zombieland. I am now hiding in the office.

Project 365 297365: I’m watching TV in my son’s room. Our other TV is at a friend’s house.

Project 365 298/365: I was at a friend’s house & we couldn’t find their puppy. We looked all over. We finally found her in this warm spot.

Project 365 299/365: Homework time for Angry Kid.

Project 365 300/365: Visiting the kitties at my mom’s house. Say hi to Harley!

Project 365 301/365: My very own Friday Night Lights with @bringingupburns screaming “Defense” in my ear like a true sports fan.

Filed Under: Photography, Project 365 6 Comments

Million Moms Challenge, A Mother’s Touch

October 28, 2011

A few weeks ago, I shared my story of My Pregnancy on the Million Moms Challenge site. Today, I’m returning back to the Million Moms Challegne Site to share my story of holding my son for the first time, and what an adventure that was.

Hop on over to A Million Moms Challenge and read my story of:

A Mother’s Touch

Filed Under: Blogging, Just Julie, Parenting 6 Comments

Things I Have Done

October 27, 2011

Last week I participated in Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. The topic was 22 Things I’ve Never Done. It was a very popular post and the comments were pretty funny. Apparently, everyone wants me to rush out and buy a jar of Nutella. Oh, and I can wash down the Nutella with some coffee. These were two things on my list that I have never tried.

Well, one of this week’s prompts is “22 Things That I Have Done”.

1. Joined a sorority

2. Received my Master’s degree

3. Was in The Junior League

4. Went to elementary school with Fergie

5. Seen Metallica in concert over five times

6. Got a tattoo

7. Read Gone With The Wind in 5th Grade

8. Blogged for over four years

9. Flown in a helicopter

10. Died my hair burgundy

11. Had plastic surgery

12. Been on TV

13. Had a c-section

14. Gone to the movies alone

15. Attended over 10 blogging conferences

16. Bought two houses

17. Broken a bone

18. Gone to a gun range

19. Ran a mud run

20. Had veneers put on my teeth

21. Made a dinner that my family actually ate and loved

22. Taken a photo with Peter Facinelli at Disneyland

Filed Under: Blogging, Just Julie, Photography 15 Comments

How We Survive Homework

October 26, 2011

Thanks to Tervis for sponsoring my writing. Visit their website http://www.tervis.com to learn more about the world’s first smart cup.

Angry Kid is in first grade. This is not his first year doing homework though. Luckily, we knew what we were in for, so we were not surprised when the homework starting coming home.

At Back-To-School Night, Angry Kid’s teacher explained what their homework would consist of. It was very similar to kindergarten, but with some additional work. His homework has a packet of worksheets; math, etc. plus journal writing. He has to write three sentences in his journal based on a weekly topic, and draw a picture to go along with the journal. After discussing homework, his teacher made the best announcement ever. She was going to send the homework home on Friday so that we could have more time to work on it.

Although, we are not experts at this, I thought I would share some of our smart thinking tips for homework:

1. Parent Preview

As soon as Angry Kid’s homework comes home, I look through the packet. He gets everything at once. I look through the worksheets and see what kinds of things that they are doing in the class that week. I also check out the math. Their style and way of math totally confuses me, but it works. And really, my most favorite part (Angry Kid’s least favorite) is the journal. Every week, his teacher places a sticker in their journal with a topic for their journal writing. I’ve even used the journal topics for blog posts.

By reviewing the homework before we start on it, I know what to expect.

2. Set Out The Supplies

My son can easily distracted. We learned very early to make sure we were prepped to do homework. We make sure that he gets all his supplies ready. He grabs a sharpened pencil, an eraser, and his crayons when it is time to do homework. Before we started doing this, my son would be running back and forth getting things. It took forever for him to focus.

3. Get Rid of Distractions

Either Angry Husband or myself will help Angry Kid with homework. We’ve tried to do a “team-style” way of helping with homework. Ya, it really doesn’t work in our house. My husband and I have different ways of doing things. Every little noise completely distracts our son, so we have no TV on while homework is being done. My husband sometimes thinks he is being sly and mutes the TV. Angry Kid still tries to watch the TV. I usually grab a magazine to read when homework is being done.

4. Work On The Easy Stuff First

Some people will tell you to start with the harder parts of the homework first. We prefer to not having the screaming at the beginning. Angry Kid loves math, and completes the math homework in only a few minutes. The journal is his least favorite part of doing homework. The journal is always the last thing that Angry Kid does. We prepare for the kicking, screaming, crossed arms, and tantrums when we begin journal writing. Once he starts writing, he is fine.

5. Getting It Done At The Beginning Of The Week

As I said previously, Angry Kid usually gets his homework packet on Friday. We usually start working on it Sunday night. We end up having everything completely done by Tuesday night. Angry Kid has soccer practice twice a week, plus daily reading. We try to not put off regular homework. We are ALL less stressed when homework is done too. Plus if something comes up last minute, we know that homework is done.

Last year, we were constantly scrambling to get Angry Kid to finish his homework the night before it was due. Talk about stress!! Yes, we were stressed out with kindergarten homework. Angry Kid was learning so much so he was exhausted. By having a routine to follow this year, we are all a bit more relaxed.

Disclosure: I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. To learn more about Tervis, visit their website http://www.tervis.com.

Filed Under: Blogging, Parenting 3 Comments

Wordless Wednesday: The Pumpkin Patch

October 26, 2011

It is an annual tradition for my BFF, Stacey and I to take our kids to the Irvine Park Railroad Pumpkin Patch. We’ve gone every year since the kids were about 18 months old, except last year. We both have very busy schedules, but had to fit this adventure into them. Of course, Angry Kid thought everything was lame, and Stella loved everything. But luckily, I got a few pictures.

Welcome to “Angry Julie Monday’s Wordless Wednesday Linky”!

Be sure to check out Wordless Wednesday Link-Ups at these other sites also:

Project Alicia, Better in Bulk, By Word of Mouth Musings, Dear Crissy, Five Minutes For Mom, Live and Love…Out Loud, Parenting By Dummies, Seven Clown Circus, Supermom, The Divine Miss Mommy

Also, Lindsey from The Pleated Poppy does “What I Wore Wednesday” every week with a great big link-up.

And, I can’t forget Krystina from Lollipops whom does “What I Love Wednesday” every week with a great big link-up.

Filed Under: Holidays, Orange County, Parenting, Photography, Wordless Wednesday 31 Comments

Project 365: Week 42

October 22, 2011

Another busy week in our house. Angry Kid was fighting a cold all week, and now Angry Husband is sick. The weather was all wonky. We had our annual visit to the Pumpkin Patch. Next week is school conferences and family pictures…

Project 365 288/365: Early dinner or late lunch. Burger from Five Guys.