The End of a Year

I make no apologies for the lack of a blog. Our life got pretty busy and I just didn't have the time or energy to update Facebook and this blog.

It's New Year's Eve and I had to write something. So much has happened. First, we are expecting our 3rd child somewhere around June 24th. We are very excited and see this as most likely being our last. Lots of different emotions going on. My brother is also expecting his first child about a month before me. It's neat to be pregnant at the same time.

Some thoughts: This year has had some ups and downs but mostly been a good year. The hardest part was dealing with the firsts of losing my grandma. This past year had all the first holidays without her. We miss her so much and the presence she brought to our family but I know we will see her again. The best parts of the year, for me have been all the togetherness. A new baby was born in January. Lots of fun and laughter has been had. Ethan started school and is thriving! I am so proud of him.

This next year should be great. My cousin is also expecting her second child in March so 3 babies will be born and my other cousin is getting married. Who knows what else might happen? More engagements? You never know. I wish everyone a very happy new year and hope it holds wonderful things for all!

It's been about a week

I've been trying to be better about keeping up on my blog, and being able to do it has been great. However, I miss adding pictures! But when the day is done, I just want to relax with Jason and not have my face buried in the computer. So I have a neglected blog. I think I might try blogging on the phone and then later, go back and edit the posts by adding pictures. We will see how that goes.

Last Saturday we went to the LA Arboretum, which I a huge botanical gardens. It cost 8 bucks for adults, 3 for 5 and up and 5 and under are free. We had never been before and the weather was supposed to be cooler Saturday so off we went. Holy cow, we walked in and about 5 steps later BOOM! Free range peacock right there in front of us. No way. It was just chilling. I can't wait to post the pictures. Ethan was 4 feet from the sucker and would have got closer if I let him. Over the course of the day, we must have run across 20, various sizes and coloration. So cool. Worth the money just for that. This place is very stroller friendly and even. Not hilly at all so you can cover more area without getting winded. I read later that the 3rd Tuesday of every month is free for everyone so check it out.

This past Tuesday, Ethan had his first Back To School night. It actually was more of an informative night, but we did get to see his classroom and some of the crafts he's made. Today I got a letter from his teacher saying that he's getting a special certificate on Monday for all the progress he's made so far! So proud!

Other than that, it's been day to day stuff. I'm looking forward to the fall weather and gearing up for holidays. I'm already thinking of Christmas because I want to try and do some crafting. Hope it goes good!

The Mundane

I'm about to blow your mind with how exciting our week has been. Well...not really. It's mostly been mundane, with a couple of doozies thrown in there.

The biggest one is the water heater. Oy! We came home from running errands Saturday, ready to give the boys a bath, and no hot water. Wha? The pilot light went out on the heater. Only catch was, that after it was lit, it wouldn't catch what it was supposed to and ended up smothering out. Boo! What a blessing to live near Jason's parents because we just loaded up the boys and took them over there for baths. Jason's dad came and looked at it but couldn't fix it. So the rest of the weekend no hot water. We called the gas company Monday and they came and looked, said it needed new parts but that would have to come from the manufacturer. Ugh. Well, Jason's parents just purchased a new one and Jason helped his dad install it Monday afternoon. Thank you! From the bottom of our hearts.

Somehow we lost water pressure in the kitchen sink, which ended up being an easy fix. The filter on the faucet got plugged. We pulled it out and voila! Water! So thank you again to Don and Jeannie for saving our butts.

The other crazy thing, is that my email got hacked. Someone got into it and changed the password on it from the inside. I couldn't check my email for 2 days. Ugh. It's fixed now, but I am going to get a new email and gradually start using it instead.

The rest of the week has been kind of uneventful but I'm grateful for that because it means nothing crazy is happening.

I want to say congrats to my cousin, who just moved into her first house this past weekend. No one deserves it more than her. And one of my dear friends is having a very hard time right now with some personal stuff and I wish her the best and hope everything works out for her. Love ya chica!


Tomorrow is Thursday, which is followed by Friday and I am looking forward to the weekend!

Remembrance

I think it's important to remember as much as we can. It's easy with happy memories. It's harder with the sad ones because all we want to do is forget. I'm posting this tonight so that it can be read tomorrow...and we can remember.

10 years ago, I was oblivious. I had been married for 2 months and just such a naive 20 year old. I woke up, too early for my tastes, but I was scheduled to opened for Admissions at CSUSB. I was tired and didn't want to be there. I walked in and found my coworker listening to the radio. (Ugh. News. I hate the news. Can't we pit on some music) He told me a plane had crashed in New York, right into one of the Twin Towers. So we sat and listened while we got our office ready for the day. As we were listening, we heard them announce another one had just flown right into the second tower. THAT got our attention. The first was an "accident." This second crash made it obvious that we were under attack. The calls started coming in. Would school be in session? We didn't know. Nobody knew if we were targets all across the country or if it was isolated to New York. In-between calls, I tried to contact my husband. At the time, he worked in an office in the parking lot of Angel Stadium. Would that be a target? What about Disneyland? That's just down the street!

He was fine and being sent home. Then we heard the Pentagon had been hit. (Oh My Gosh, this is not happening right now) Another plane went down in Pennsylvania. We didn't know if it was related to the others. We would later find put that brave Americans took over the plane and sacrificed their lives to keep this plane from hitting the White House.

School was cancelled and we were told to go home. I drove to my grandparents because at home I would be alone. When I finally got there, I was able to see the footage of the planes crashing into the towers. Words cannot describe it. But then...we watched as the towers collapsed, one at a time. I cried. I cried out of fear. I cried for the people I didn't know who were caught in those buildings. I cried for their families. I cried for the service men and women who lost their lives, running into the wreckage to save others. I cried for my brother.

My brother, who 4 months before had received his commissioning as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. I knew he would be going to war. I didn't know when, but I knew.

He served 4 tours and he is with us today. We are lucky. I am lucky to have such a wonderful brother, who fights for those who cannot, who didn't have a chance that day. God bless him.

My story is not special. I didn't know anyone personally who lost their lives that day. But I will remember them. They never had a chance to fight. If I can, I will fight for them. If I can't do that, then you better be sure I'm keeping their memories alive. Never Forget.

Please, share your story. Whether you leave a comment here, or write it somewhere else, even if it's in a private journal. Share it.

Remember.

Random thoughts

I don't really have a specific thing I want to write about, but it's almost midnight and I can't sleep again. So I thought I would write a couple of my thoughts down. Lately they have been about Ethan and school, because that's the most exciting thing going on with us right now. He's doing really well. Next week is Back To School night and I'm looking forward to seeing all the things he's been doing in class. He also came home with 2 things: the Parent/Teacher handbook and his first permission slip for a field trip. Woohoo!

Handbook: mostly just rules but what I was excited to get was the list of school holidays and breaks. You should see this thing! There are so many things to remember. Minimum days, shortened days, no school, conference week. Whew! He gets a week of for Thansgiving and 2 weeks for Christmas. I need to look again but I think just 1 week for Spring Break.

Field Trip: it's in 3 weeks and to the LA County Fair. I'm going to try and go. Hopefully Mom can watch Michael. I also have to get a TB Test in order to go with. My mom wasn't able to go on many field trips with us when we were little because she was a working single mother. But the few she could go on, I enjoyed. My favorite was when she went with the HS choir to Washington DC. It was fun to experience new things together. So I would like to go on Ethan's 1st. Just to see how he does and be there to take pictures. Hopefully he will enjoy me too. When he heard I had to get a "shot" he said, "Mom, you don't need to go, I'll be brave." He didn't want me to have to get a shot. So sweet!

Anyways, that's about it for now.

Oh! The salon I took pictures for has their website up and running. If you would like to go see the pictures I took, the address is: www.sonnysalondayspa.com.

Go check it out!

A Fabulous Weekend

I haven't written any new posts because we have been pretty busy! Having lots of fun with lots of pictures to come, but I just wanted to sum it up!

It's Labor Day weekend and Ethan came home from school Friday with no homework. Woohoo! So I decided to take the boys to the mall, which I don't ever do by myself. I am trying to get better at things like this. There is a weekend long event happening at the mall because they opened a bunch of new stores and updated their play area. Radio Disney was there with fun stuff and there was face painting, balloon animals, and all kinds of crafts. So we went, did some stuff and had dinner.

The next day we went again, and today we went again. Dad was able to come with us today.

Let me back up to yesterday: one of my friends had her baby! So Jason told me to go have a night to myself. I went and picked up my mom and we went to visit her in the hospital. Cute little baby boy! After that, my mom and I went to have dinner and dessert. It had been forever since just the two of us did something so it was nice. With all the visiting, I didn't end up home until midnight. My husband is the greatest!

This evening we went to my aunt's to celebrate her two youngest daughters' birthdays. It was a lot of fun and nice to visit with the family.

I want to post some pictures, and when I do, I'll elaborate more. Have a happy Labor Day Weekend!

You'd think...

You'd think that at the end of the day, when it's been a cranky day, and I have to wake up at 6:30, that I would be snoozing away at 12:45am. But NOOO! My brain keeps thinking about all the stuff I want to do tomorrow or this weekend or next week or this bill that needs paid or Ethan's back to school night (in 3 weeks) or his first field trip (in 4 weeks...to the county fair!). Ugh! I can't even do anything about these things right now.

I've tried silencing my brain...nope
I've tried focusing on breathing...nope
I've tried visualizing peace and sleep...nope

Hopefully blogging about it will get it off my brain and send me to dreamland!

I'm glad tomorrow is Thursday. Then one more day and maybe I can sleep in. I'm glad there's no school on Monday. It will be a nice break. It's been a little rough adjusting, Ethan gets tired too but he loves school. So worth it!

I don't like minimum days

I'll tell you why I don't like minimum school days: it messes up my schedule! Depending on what time Michael wakes up in the morning, I put him down for a nap between 10 and 11. This works great when Ethan gets out of school at 2:20. He wakes up by 1:30 and we are out the door by 2 to pick up Ethan. On minimum days, Ethan gets out at 12:45. I need to leave the house by 12:30 to go get him. That's not a very long nap if he goes down at 11. And he only takes one nap.

So today he was acting tired at 10. Ok, perfect. Except he never fell asleep. I kept trying to get him to sleep but nope. So I had no choice but to keep him up, which meant cranky baby. He had an afternoon nap today instead and he didn't wake up until 4. Usually he goes to bed between 6-7. That's not very long between sleepy times. Now he's staying up later which means I stay up later.

We ran a couple errands in an attempt of mine to tire the boys out. I first took them to get some dinner, then we went to Sam's to pick up a couple things. I did pretty good by myself and the boys were good.

So in short, I'm ready for bed!

A change for me

I'm so glad Ethan is in school. It's a kick start that I needed on so many levels.

Everyone knows that when you have kids, your house gets messier, your more tired, you don't want to do anything after they're in bed. At least, that's how it's been for me. I got in a rut of only cleaning when Jason got home so the kids wouldn't bug me or after they went to bed. Sometimes I wouldn't even then because I just wanted to relax. Taking care of kids is hard work, especially when you are a stay at home mom like me. It feels like I never get a break.

With Ethan starting school, I'm trying to rechange my way of thinking and doing. I wake up at 6:30, get dressed (he's usually up by then), make him breakfast, get Michael up, get Ethan dressed then it's time to walk to school. (I pack his lunch the night before)

After Michael and I get home, we eat breakfast then I relax for a few minutes. Then I find a chore to do. Today I tidied up the living room then I rearranged some things in Ethan's room and cleaned that. After that it was about time for Michael's nap. Once I put him down, I threw a load of laundry in. Then, depending on how I feel, I'll either keep cleaning or take a nap while Michael sleeps. Today I napped because I knew Jason had to work when he got home and I would still have the boys to myself.

I've been really proud of my changes. I am getting a lot of clutter out of the house and generally making the house look better which makes me feel better.

I forgot, when Ethan gets home, he has a snack and we relax for a bit, then we do his homework. It makes it so much easier than waiting until the last minute.

I'm also glad to be walking twice a day. Hopefully a little movement will help me drop some weight. It's also helping me drink more water. Yay me! It's just the kick in the pants I needed. :-)

End of the week

Today was the end of Ethan's first week of school. I'm tired and glad for the weekend, but I am super proud of my boy. He has shown maturity for his young age. Even when kids were breaking down around him because they were going to miss their moms, he held it together.

He has been having a blast so far in school. Sometimes he talks your ear off about school and other times he's quiet until you ask him specific questions. I know it's been hard for him to have a strict routine like this, but he's doing great. He falls asleep much faster at bedtime.

The teacher did some preliminary testing on Thursday and she said we have a very smart boy. We already knew that, but it's nice to hear a teacher say that. It tells me that I've been doing a good job. And not just me, all his family, reading to him and asking him questions about things around him. All of this has molded him into a great kid.

As a treat for finishing the first week, we drove up to Riverside this evening and went swimming at my grandpa's. It was a nice way to relax as a family and beat the heat. Afterwards we went to dinner with my mom, then headed home. Both boys fell asleep in the car. It's been a long but fulfilling week for us.

BSR Potluck 2011

Here are some pictures from the BSR Potluck. Boy was it hot! But we had fun.

Ethan with Crystal's son.

Crystal and her daughter

The Band

Michael being snuggly

Our little family. The sun was in our eyes and Ethan was not happy about it.

BSR Potluck

Oh here comes a band post!!

If you did not know, I was in marching band in high school. Let me start by saying it was one of the best things of my youth and I almost missed it.

BACKSTORY:

My brother was in band. I had learned clarinet in elementary school but I gave it up for choir. But because my mom was a single mom, if she went on a band trip with my brother, most of the time, I was with her. He was a senior when I was a freshman. So we went on band trips and I made friends with the other kids. He graduated and sophomore year began for me. I wasn't in band so when anything related to that happened, all my friends were gone. It didn't take me long to realize that that sucked. I had already missed band camp, but with my mom's ok, I went and asked the band director if I could still join. He said yes, but as part of the pit (marimbas, bass drums and other non-marching instruments). Cool with me, I just wanted to belong. That day a cymbal player came to practice with a broken arm. Guess who took his place on the field? Me! With no idea how to march. Somehow I learned. I did that for a week, then the kid got cleared to come back. But I didn't go back to the pit, because a trombone player showed up with a broken leg. So I took her spot the rest of the season...and I basically had to learn the show again because I was filling in in a different spot. Go me!

In the off season, I learned how to play the trombone and the next year I got to go to band camp and learn how to march and play! (Band Camp is 2 weeks of marching HELL because it's in the Californian summer heat!) I continued in band the rest of high school and even made Horn Line Captain my senior year. That means I take over the band when no drummajors are around and am a glorified section leader. So fun!

END OF BACKSTORY

At the end of band camp every year, there is a potluck, where family, friends and alumni are invited to come and see the band perform and how they are doing. That was tonight. It was hot, but I love going because it gives me a chance to remember the achievements I made during high school and to show my kids what I was a part of. I also get to see old friends and reminisce about the "good 'ol days".

It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed seeing everyone. Maybe we can make it out to a football game or band competition this year. THAT would be awesome!

A Nice Surprise

Last night we got a phone call from Jason's friend Frank. He's been stationed in Germany for the past 3 years and he and his family just got back stateside. Anyways, they are living in Arizona but were out here in California for a couple days. They decided to swing by and surprise us with a little visit! It was nice to catch up and see how much their kids have grown. Their youngest was born in Germany so we had never met him. Ethan had a blast playing with all the boys and showing off his room. We've missed hanging out with them, there's always so much laughter and good conversation. We can't wait to hang out with them more!

Gaining Confidence

It might seem random to talk about New Year Resolutions in August but stay with me...

When this year started, I didn't set any firm resolutions. More like ambitious desires. I want to lose weight, but I don't want to go crazy doing it. I wanted to pick some things to improve on myself that might aid that ambition, but if it didn't happen, I wasn't going to stress about it. Gosh I have bigger things to worry about right now more than my figure.

Anyways, my main ambitions for the new year were to cook more meals at home, spend more time giving attention to my kids, and to improve myself, mentally, spiritually and physically. But again, if I only succeed at one, it would be being with my kids.

So today I want to talk about improving myself. I have a lot of things I would like to change: low self esteem, low faith in my talents, not speaking my mind, letting people take advantage of my need to do for others before myself. I could go on. I've been trying hard to communicate my wants and needs for myself, for me to see Cari again and not "Jason's wife" or "Ethan and Michael's mom". Although I love being those, it's not all of me.

The last couple of days have been a big step for me. I'm talking about my photography. I have a long way to go before I get where I want to be, but to get there, I have to start walking. I took baby steps on Saturday...and I fell down. But I got back up. I looked at where I went wrong and today I fixed part of it. I stumbled a bit, but I don't feel like I fell again. I have some people to thank for that. My husband helped me to see where I could improve. Many friends and family offered encouragement and belief in me. My mom helped by keeping Michael for me. And my in laws let me borrow their camera, which after handling, makes me realize I REALLY busted mine when I dropped it 2 years ago. So because of this, it is helping me build confidence and faith that if I keep taking steps in the right direction, I could really do something with my dream.

It was a long and exhausting day but I learned that I am improving myself and doing what I love and that makes it all worth it.

It's some kind of record!

I am loving blogging from my phone! This is my 3rd post today. Technology is good. :-)

Anywhoo, tomorrow is a busy day! I'm off to take Ethan to school again, (of course) and then my mom is coming over to watch Michael while I go back to the salon and take a group shot of the spa technicians ( most weren't there Saturday) and to take some more shots of the salon. Now that I have done it once, I have ideas how to do things differently.

Then it's back home to pick up Ethan from school. Can't wait to see what he does tomorrow!

Ethan's First Day of Kindergarten Pictures

School started at 8am sharp, so I had most of Ethan's things ready the night before. This morning all I had to worry about was getting him fed and dressed. He woke up on his own at 6:30 this morning, saying, "Do you know what day it is today???? School!!" I hope he keeps his enthusiasm. He had an apple for breakfast while Mom got dressed and everything ready so that when it was time to go, we could wake up Michael and head out the door. Michael woke up on his own though, and we headed out the door at 7:30. It takes us 10 minutes to walk to school. We got there about 7:40 and the gates were closed, with a bazillion parents and kids hanging out, waiting. At 7:50, the bell rang and the gates opened. The kindergarteners have their own seperate area, which makes it nice, they don't get lost in the shuffle.

Ethan before we left the house.

Saying "later" to Michael

Waiting for class to start.

The parents got to go into the classroom with the kids while the teacher gave us some info and then read a story to the kids about the first day of school. Ethan was not shy, he even announced it to the room.

Ethan on the rug.

Michael being entertained while the teacher gave us the low down.

We said our goodbyes and Ethan did great. No tears from him or mommy. On the way back home, this was the sky. It was gorgeous.

Michael and I had a quiet morning at home and then he took a nap, which made it REALLY quiet. I tried to lay down and get some rest, but my mind kept going back to Ethan...Wondering what he was doing, if he was still ok, did he eat his lunch.

I didn't need to worry. He did great! Running to me after class.

Hey mom, let's go home.

After Daddy got home, we took him out to the mall to celebrate his milestone. We had McDonald's and then got ice cream for dessert.

My boys. Ethan was full of energy.

Happy Michael

Having fun at the mall.

Definitely not a baby anymore!

Ice cream buzz!

A drawing from school

Michael going for a spin.

We had a lot of fun today and Ethan did an awesome job at school. Jason and I are so proud of him and the way he handled himself. Way to go big guy!

My baby started Kindergarten

On the day Ethan was born, it seemed like it would be an eternity before he would go to school. All of a sudden, he's 5 and 1/2 and starting kindergarten! Where did my baby go? The time flew by, and although I'm not like most moms, wishing I could have kept him a baby longer ( I really hate changing diapers), I do kind of wish this time would go a bit slower, because it is such a huge part of life. I'm going to blink, and he will be in high school! It's just so amazing.

Growing up, I knew I wanted to be a mom, and now, on the flip side, I find myself asking my mom questions about how she worked school lunches or lunch money, and what questions I should ask the teachers. My memory of being in school doesn't prepare me for the behind the scenes aspect of it. I find it all fascinating.

I'm going to post pictures later of him in his uniform, getting ready to go into class, but I just wanted to get a few thoughts down first. This wasn't a long blog but I'll get another one up tonight.

Michael words

Michael is starting to talk. He is more understandable and he keeps adding more words to his vocabulary. Let's see if I can get them all written down.

Wa wa- water
Juice
Hot dog
More
Bok- broccoli
Shoes
Guck- duck
Baberry- strawberry
Fug- frog
Fish
Bird
Nigh nigh- night night
Na na- banana
Apple
Ca ca- cracker
Mama
Dada
Tada
Nose
Tip- chip
Wow
Whoa
Oh no
No
Bruh bruh- brother
Dog
Cheese
Poop
Tash- trash
Fush- flush
Car
Nu nu- nukie (pacifier)
Nummy- M&Ms
Ball
Beck- blanket

Yesterday when I wasn't home Jason said he said Pop Pop for popcorn and cha for chair. I can't think of anymore right now, but if I think of more I will try to write them down here.

I'm my own worst critic

Today was my big photo shoot at the salon. I was super nervous and so glad my mother in law was there and I wasn't flying solo. It helped to ease me in and gain a report with the stylists and clients. I had an absolutely fabulous time taking pictures of all the different styling techniques and getting to know everyone. I was there for 4 hours and left smiling. Everyone thought I was very professional and one person asked for my business card (which I don't have, but what a complement!).

Then I got home and looked at my pictures on the computer. I did get good shots, but out of the 426 I took, maybe 50 are usable. And half of those will be difficult because Jason won't be able to rotate them or crop them the best way for the website. Aw nuts!

I am being super hard on myself because I know I can take good pictures, and I thought I did, but what you see on the camera doesn't always come out right on the computer. I felt like crying. I feel like I let Jason and his mom down, not to mention all the stylists, who I'll probably have to take pictures of again. I know I'm being irrational, but I had such a great vibe during the day and then it's like someone let the air out of my balloon. :-(

But I have a great husband who is cheering me on! We are going to work on editing the pictures and see what we can do. Then we will just have to work out a time for me to do it again. The next time I will do better. I know what needs to happen now and I will still do my best to get it done. Thank you to everyone that wished me well and that believes in me. It really helped today knowing I had a cheering section. :-)

So excited...and nervous, but it's good!

I am an amatueur photographer. I would LOVE to do this professionally. 2 problems: 1) no money for better equipment 2) no time or places to really practice and hone my skill.

But I am super excited because I have the opportunity to do a semi-professional photoshoot tomorrow. Yay! Here are the details:

My mother in law works at a salon, where she is an excellent beautician. She has gotten work for Jason building the website for the salon and a website needs pictures. Enter me. Woohoo!

I am blessed to have a mother in law who has faith in my photography skills enough to have me take pictures of the salon in action. I'm to take a group shot of all the stylists and some in action shots of everyone doing their thing. I already went over there when it was empty and took pictures of the salon as a clean slate. I'm nervous because I've never done anything like this on this scale and I hope I do a good job.

If you are in the San Gabriel Valley and you want your hair or nails done, or you're interested in a spa treatment, come to Sonny's Salon and Day Spa. Located off the 10 fwy, exit Barranca. It's excellent and everyone is super nice. Hey, you might even see some of my photos!

I love being a parent, but I hate having sick kids.

I just feel so helpless when my little ones aren't feeling their best. The day I went to see my mom this week, I had an allergy attack. This is not rare for me. My nose ran, I sneezed like a machine gun and the next day I ended up with a sore throat from it all. But my kids were ok so I didn't think much of it. But late yesterday afternoon, out of the blue, Michael starts having a runny nose. Babies and runny noses are not fun. Constant wiping, cuz that stuff gets everywhere. I use a cloth diaper like a handkerchief because it keeps the nose from getting irritated. Anyways, he had a difficult time falling asleep because of this, on top of his room being very hot. At one point last night, we had 3 fans going in there. He also had a hard time staying asleep. He was miserable! Nothing we could really do to help. So mommy and daddy were zombies today because we didn't get good sleep either. Daddy had it worse though cuz he had to get up at 5am for work.

He felt better today but still not tip top. He did go to sleep better and he's sleeping soundly. I hope he feels better in the morning!

Meet and Greet...yeah right

I got a call last night at 7:30 letting me know that there was going to be a Meet and Greet at Ethan's school the next day from 12-1. Oh great..right during Michael's naptime. I didn't really NEED a sitter, but I really didn't want to walk to the school with a cranky baby AND try to talk to the teacher. Thanks Mom for coming all the way out here and hanging out with us today, but more importantly, being able to just focus in Ethan.

I met the teacher, Ethan got super shy, and I found out I wasted money on school supplies I didn't need. He needs absolutely nothing for school except his lunch and school uniforms. I'm glad I don't have to worry about making sure he has all his supplies. But it would have been nice if that info had been given to me before I bought a whole bunch of stuff. You might think, "why didn't you wait for a school supply list?" Excellent question! Problem is, I've never gotten one. Just today I got the school lunch application and school starts Monday. Really? Not starting off on the right foot here.

My lesson for today is that I am going to need to be a bit more pro active than I originally thought. Woohoo!

I really am excited to see my first born get ready to start school. His excitement is the best part of this whole thing. I hope he thrives!

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday!

After the long eventful weekend, it was nice to not go anywhere on Monday. Ah, chill!

Tuesday, I took the boys up to my mom's house because I was meeting a friend from high school to take some maternity pictures. She and her husband are so excited to start their family, and her joy was written all over her face. So my mom watched the boys while we went to a park to snap photos. The first park we went to had an ant problem, so we ended up going to a different park. I had a lot of fun catching up and clicking photos. She's due September 6th, which is my nephew's birthday! I wish her a speedy and (mostly) pain free labor!

The rest of Tuesday was just hanging out with my mom, which was nice, because usually when we are up there, we end up running all over the place. It was nice to just sit and catch up on whatever had recently happened over the last couple of days.

We ended up going to this little burger joint for dinner. Let's see if I can describe this: the fountain machine was different. It had a space for one cup at a time. You pushed a lever and got your ice. Then you go to the touchscreen. TOUCHSCREEN people! If you wanted Coke, you tapped on the Coke button. THEN it gave you options for which kind: cherry, vanilla, grape, etc. Once you picked the flavor, you hit the dispense button and out comes your soda. Groovy. The sign said there were 106 drink possibilities. So cool!

Today was Wednesday. I woke up with a sore throat. Blah. It felt better through the day but I still do not feel tip top. So we didn't go anywhere today. My mom is coming up tomorrow to watch Michael, because at 7:30 tonight, I got a call from Ethan's school saying there is a Meet and Greet tomorrow from 12-1...right in the middle of Michael's naptime. It will be easier to go to without a crabby baby. So thanks Mom for coming to help me out!

Thanks for reading about my adventures! More to come...tomorrow!

Past Sunday~ Birthdays!

This past Sunday, practically my whole family was at my grandpa's house to do a joint celebration for the people who had birthdays in June, July and August. This included Jason, Nicole, Adam, Morgan, Justin, Bryan and Lauren. Whew! I kind of like doing the big get togethers because you get to see everyone all at once and then have a great party.

My brother, Adam, grilled up some hamburgers, hot dogs and bratwursts. There was a lot of good grub. We ate around 2 and then around 4, my uncle Bryan arrived with his family, who had been celebrating Lauren's birthday up in Lake Arrowhead over the weekend. She had about 8 friends with her, so when they showed up, it was almost like watching a clown car empty, there were so many people!

After they ate, we had dessert, which was 3 different kinds of cupcakes (strawberry, German chocolate, and a chocolate peanut butter) AND a peach crisp. Yummy! My favorite was the strawberry cupcakes. After dessert everyone opened gifts.

I really do love getting together with my family. There is always some kind of craziness, but there is also a lot of laughter, which is the best part!

Saturday!

Yesterday was Saturday and we packed it full of good stuff. Jason and I both tried to catch up on some sleep by taking turns napping in the morning. After Michael's nap, we headed down to San Clemente to a housewarming party for Jason's brother Ryan and his wife Hillary. There was traffic the whole way, which took us 2 hours to drive. That's not fun with 2 kids. But once we got there, we had a great time. Their house is gorgeous!

We stayed until about 8:30 and then headed up to my mom's. She said she would watch the kids so we could go see a movie. We just tucked the kids into bed at her house and then stayed the night after the movie since today we are celebrating birthdays up here.

The movie we saw was Cowboys and Aliens. It's a story about a cowboy who wakes up with amnesia, and some crazy metal bracelet on his wrist. He's trying to figure out who he is, and while that's happening, aliens come and start abducting people. So the posse goes and tries to get their people back. I won't say anymore cuz it would give away plot points. Jason and I enjoyed it but it wasn't as good as we hoped it would be. This movie is based off of a comic book so don't expect a typical western movie. There were a couple of unanswered questions and plot holes but we mostly enjoyed it and recommend it but maybe more as a rental.

We got back to my mom's about 1am. The unfortunate thing is that Michael was restless which meant we couldn't sleep. He woke up at 8 but we probably only got 4 good hours of sleep. Oh well! In a little bit we will be heading over to my grandpa's to have lunch and celebrate a bunch of birthdays! I'll be blogging about that later. Bye for now!

Huzzah!

Sometimes my husband's job can be blah. Sometimes it can be awesome! Tonight was one of those. A few weeks ago his company was given discounted tickets to Medieval Times. $27 bucks a person. Normally they are 34.95 for kids and 59 for adults. So we decided to go tonight! The price was good for more than just us, so we invited Jason's mom and dad to come with us.

Ethan was so excited that he was going to see a castle! The show started at 6:30. We were assigned to the Green Knight, who turned out to be the bad guy. But green is Ethan's favorite color so he didn't care.

The food came and was so good. They served this tomato/vegetable/minestrone soup that was really good. Since we had Michael with us, it was a bit hard to juggle, but we ended up putting a straw in the bowl and he went to town! This boy loves food of any kind. Awesome.

Ethan is our picky one, but even he couldn't resist the chicken. Both kids did really great and enjoyed the show. Michael even clapped for our knight. It was nice doing something a bit different that we wouldn't normally get to do because of the price. Ethan had a great time and he loved being able to share it with his grandparents too!

Party Time

My cousin Janet flew in from Texas this week for her work, but she had time for a family get together. She also had her 14 year old son with her, so it was kind of like a little family reunion.

I headed up to Riverside after Michael's nap and helped my mom set up the table at my grandpa's house. Ethan helped put the leaves in the big dining room table and he was so proud that he could help. No one was really there yet, so I got to visit with my mom and aunt for awhile.

My cousin Ashley got there next, and she had her 2 little girls with her. Ethan was so happy to play with his cousin and Michael "tried" to play with the other baby. When Janet got there, she had brought desserts, and boy did she bring it! There were 6 pies! Coconut Cream, Chocolate Cream, Banana Cream, Pecan, Peach and Apple. Whew! And what a sweetheart she was, she knew I didn't like pie, so she brought me a special donut. Thanks again Janet!

My other aunt arrived on her heels with dinner. Mexican! She lives by a great taco place so she got a bunch of tacos and all the fixings. Yummy! Dinner was great, but the best part was visiting with everyone. I am so thankful to have a big family. It makes get togethers so lively, and no matter what room you end up in (cuz you're chasing kids), you always have a great conversation to jump into.

I did take pictures, but by the time I got home, it was late and I wanted to spend some time with my hubby, who got home from San Diego today. So pictures to come! I got some great ones!

Wow I must be tired

I realized halfway through my day, that yesterday's post had Wednesday in the title. Oops! I hate when I make mistakes like that. Oh well. It comes with the territory.

Today was uneventful. Normal day to day stuff. The kids had a great time getting into all kinds of toys. Ethan got into a box of toys that had musical instruments and dinosaurs. (Great combo right?) Anyways, while he was playing with dinosaurs, Michael was making music. He banged the drum and shook some maracas. But pure joy spread across his face when he found the harmonica. He was so tickled to find that when you blow into it, sound comes out. I love seeing the cheesy grin he gets on his face when he thoroughly enjoys something.

So the house is a big mess right now but I don't really care. We will pick it up tomorrow.

Jason is in San Diego right now. :-( I miss him. But I'm blessed because I get him home tomorrow. I know so many people that don't get to see their husbands, sometimes for months at a time. They are strong women. I get all sad when my husband is gone. I'm thankful for those women in my life because they keep me from taking my husband for granted.

I wish I had more interesting things to share right now. But don't worry: I should have more to tell over the next couple of days!

Oh, I also have friends who also have NO husband and are raising kids on their own. I have to shout out to them too because they do it ALL. You gals rock! And you have a special place in my heart because I was raised by a single mom. :-)

Wednesday Night Musings

Today was a nice day. Although Jason had to teach very early this morning, he was done by 11. We were able to have lunch together and then he went to the office to catch up on some work. It was nice to have him home earlier than usual.

I can't believe how fast time flies. In less than 2 weeks, my oldest starts Kindergarten. Right now he is excited...hopefully that feeling stays. I enjoyed school, for the most part. Math was my biggest adversary. It's not that I was bad at it, I just couldn't get excited about it...not like reading. I enjoyed high school the most because I was lucky to be involved in both band and choir. I am one of the few people I know, who would go back to high school, but mainly for the arts. Someone asked, recently, on Facebook what books we read in high school and would recommend. I couldn't think of a single one, because I just don't remember. My heart was in band and choir.

So I hope Ethan enjoys school like I did!

Michael amazes me everyday. He understands so much and boy is he stubborn! If he doesn't get what he wants, it's a good 30 min tantrum. He loves M&Ms, just like his big brother. Ethan called them Emmies. Michael calls them yum yums. So cute. But he gets mad when he doesn't get them. I just have to let him cry for awhile, especially if he hasn't eaten anything healthy first. Can't have dessert before dinner!

Tomorrow, Jason will be traveling to Oceanside. He has to teach there the next day, so he gets a hotel the night before so he doesn't have to wake up so early. I am so glad we have a stable routine for the boys' bedtime because it makes it easier when I'm the only one putting them to bed. The rest of our week should be interesting. We have family dinners, housewarmings and birthday parties all within about 5 days. Hopefully, I will have lots of pictures and stories to tell! Hope everyone has a good night!

Phone Blogging

Well, I'm putting Ethan to bed, which consists of sitting in a chair next to his bed, waiting for him to doze off. Teeth have been brushed, stories have been read and prayer has been said. So I entertain myself by goofing off on my phone until he's asleep. If I didn't, I might fall asleep in this chair myself!

So I am obviously WAY behind on my blog, which isn't a huge deal, since I constantly update our lives on Facebook. I think it's very important, since it's one of the only ways I can keep some family updated on what's going on with us. It's hard when loved ones are scattered across the country. So I'm not going to try to update the blog by going back. I'm going to try and move forward. Being able to do some of this from my phone is a blessing. Usually when I turn my computer on I have little grubby fingers trying to play on it. :-) Makes it hard to get things done.

My blog has fallen behind, mainly, due to me wanting to spend more quality time with my husband. I'm a lucky girl to have him home most every night and I don't want to take that for granted. Also in the past year, I lost my grandmother to Pulminary Fibrosis. Because of this, less important things have fallen to the wayside, and I've spent more time taking the kids to visit family in Riverside when I can. I want them to know the last great-grandfather they have and to also let him see the kids. Life is too short to not spend with your family, if you are on good terms with them.

I know that was a bit vague, but I am typing this from my phone! (Technology is so cool)

My goals from this point forward are to try and blog once a week. Hopefully with pictures. I may get a couple of phone posts up each day, just so I can chronicle what goes on day to day. I do want this to be a type of journal for myself and family, so keeping it semi up to date would be great! I hope everyone has a great week!

Trying something new

So I'm testing this out to see if I can post a blog entry from my phone. Well, it's a bit difficult so I don't know if I'll do it again. I can't load pictures, so it would be more like diary entries. Now the next test is if anyone can read this after I publish it!