Another year gone by...

While creating this year's Xmas card, Mike asks if I am doing another "update" letter (you know the annoying one I'm talking about) and to my surprise he was disappointed that I didn't write one this year. I told him to feel free to sit down and write one himself, as I was too busy with finals and research papers for the semester, to be bothered with this. He expectantly declined. Who ever said traditions have to be every year? I can start an "every-other-year update letter" tradition if I so please! He poked fun and went on his merry way. So be on the lookout next year! :)

The thing I didn't realize is that I will have to work twice as hard on the letter because I now have TWO years worth of info. to include. Not a good idea, right? I mean, I won't have to worry so much about updated sizes and all, as my kids are midgets and don't grow! However, I will have to update everyone on the cute, yet bratty things they've accomplished in not only one year, but two. I could just blog and Facebook a lot more on the 'off' years. This will allow me to leave more stuff out in the 'on' year's letter. Yah, that's what I'll do! (sounds more convincing when I write out my intentions)

This time next year I'll be sitting here wondering why I started this ridiculous tradition. Oh well, as parents we are supposed to do ridiculous things!

Been slackin' on pics...

The princess on her 4th bday!

Santa Monica Pier

at the Americana in Cali.

Halloween (J was with her dad, she was Sandra Dee! I'll get her pic on here)

pumpkin patch


my newest niece Hope-Ryan

Homecoming dance (yes, she wore a cardigan over the dress!)

Varsity "cancer awareness" game

why, why, why......

Bella has officially begun the "why" stage! We were eating lunch today and the conversation went something like this:

Me: "Bella, what would you like to eat for lunch?"

Bella: "Why do I have to eat lunch?"

Me: "Lunch is good for you, so you can grow big and strong!"

Bella: "No, thanks. I just want dinner."

Me: "Dinner is at nighttime, lunch is during the day."

Bella: "Why?"

Me: "'Cause that's just the way it is!"

Bella: "Why is that the way it is, mom?"

Me: "Stop asking me why and tell me what you want to eat!"

Bella: "Can we call daddy and ask him why?"

I think I almost peed my pants! :)

And then they turned two...

The twins turned two on Friday and we had a little Yo Gabba Gabba celebration (how we torture ourselves for our children) with the family. Kids had a great time, mommy made the cakes herself, one blue (chocolate)and one green (lemon). I didn't have any but heard they were good, so that's a plus! Our friend hooked us up with a water slide and it was a huge hit. Much nicer weather this year since we decided on an evening party. Don't get me wrong it was still hot, but not as hot as it would've been in the middle of the afternoon! Got some overdue pics of the nieces and nephews, who are all super cute! Boys got a new Yo Gabba Gabba tent from mommy and daddy, which is not going to last long from the looks of it. We got Bella a similar tent when she was younger and it lasted up until a few mos. ago. The boys are insisting on tipping the tent over and dragging it all around the house, making the plastic poles that hold it together snap off! Not sure why they can't be happy just sitting in it like normal children!! Who wanted boys anyway? They got tons of crap as usual, even when the guest total was a third of what it was last year! We are going to do what any normal, cruel, yet smart parents would do....box them up until Christmas!! ESPECIALLY the 500 piece foam block set from Nate and Celeste!! Oh how we will seek retribution at their next birthday party! :)

Good times had by all and just a heads up, Bella's bday will be at Chuck E. Cheese's with just the grandparents! We are shooting for an all time low attendance (ha!), so we'll see how it goes.

We don't want free health care? I'm confused...

Obviously emanating from the President's strapping speech last night:

Why do people that did not even vote, insist on attacking Obama? If you aren't going to exercise your right as a citizen to vote (for him or against him, I don't care) then shut up! If you didn't take advantage of mailing an early ballot or get up at 5:00am and go to the polls on election day like the rest of us, then just keep your opinions to yourself!

Now, let's tackle the issue of Socialism because people seem to be confused. I keep hearing people say he is one of the most conservative liberals. Which is it? The first clear indication that Obama is not a socialist, is the way his administration is avoiding structural changes to the financial system. This is known as Nationalism, which socialists usually do not support!

The same holds true for health care. Did anyone complain when L.B. Johnson signed off on Medicaid and Medicare? Don't people realize that these are government run programs? How many people do you know poor or elderly, that utilize these plans as means to survive? Are you crying socialism when it saves the life of someone you love? Is it fair that someone is denied chemotherapy over a "technicality" and dies? I pray every day that the ones crying out against this reform never have to experience this! It is awful and nobody, American or otherwise, should have to endure this type of maltreatment.

Onto the issue of Obama's Communist Cabinet picks. Really? So the guy didn't pay some taxes, whatever. I know a handful of people who have made mistakes when paying taxes. If there wasn't such a things as auditing, I probably wouldn't pay mine either! People make mistakes and Geithner had already paid back two years of his back taxes and had another large amount to finish paying, in which a payment plan was already established before he was appointed Treasury secretary. He has, however, admitted to avoiding Medicare and Social Security taxes while self-employed. Do you blame him? If he wasn't spending so much on individual health care, he probably could have afforded his taxes! As for the communism that so many proclaim, I could honestly care less what the guy's personal political beliefs are. He is known as the country's biggest financial genius, and if he can begin to pull us out of this mess who cares what he believes! Anyone intelligent knows that the cries of communism stopped being taken seriously decades ago. That is as ridiculous as those that STILL believe the Obama citizenship conspiracy theory!
*See jus sanguinis (right of blood) and jus soli (right of birthplace) for further clarification.

Next, if I hear one more person talk about Marxism I will gouge my own eyeballs out! What a joke! The only idea of spreading the wealth around, would be the tax plan already in place thanks to Mr. Bush. Why are the Middle-class Americans complaining anyway? They weren't complaining when they were one step from filing bankruptcy and the stimulus check saved them! They aren't complaining now, when they are taking advantage of the "Cash for Clunkers" program as the only method in getting their kids to and from school, and them to and from a job because their old car kept breaking down! If Marxism is giving the Middle-class back the tax break they once had, then I am at a loss for words (Imagine that!) In all honesty, I don't even like politics, hate to talk about them, always have. I am just tired of people buying into the "Caveat emptor" mentality about every little speculation and claim that they hear. Learn to stand on your own two feet and get a voice!

Alas (sigh of relief), for every claim I have, I'm sure there is a counterclaim and that is perfectly acceptable. Just make sure that before you believe Ben Smith's allegations of "communism", which he is infamous for, and are just as ridiculous as Palin's claims of Obama "palling around with terrorists", that you educate yourself and realize that any one person wouldn't have the energy to become President or even the desire, if they possessed all of these alter egos of which Obama is charged.

Three-day weekend ahead...

Labor Day is approaching and I am very excited to get out of the heat and head up north to the cabin! I have homework due this weekend, and it's a 'race to the finish line' to get it in by Friday, so we can leave!

School is going well. I finished my last two classes strong, so I'm happy about that. Next two are a little harder, at least that's what I'm gathering by the syllabi. Two more eight week sessions and I'm outta there!

Hubby and kids are well. We're all trying to survive the heat and gearing up for many trips to the snow this winter. Boys are turning TWO in September!! I told Mike if he wanted a party he'd have to plan it (which was VERY hard for me to do). I am way too busy with school, so we'll be keeping it small this year...(yeah right!)

Summer Updates

We've been enjoying any free time we get to go up north...so nice! We took the kids up for the 4th of July, they had a blast. Younger kids finished up swim lessons. Bella can tread water by herself and she loves floating on her back! The boys, not so much! We'll try again next summer :( One out of three isn't bad, I suppose.

Mike is kinda slow at work the last few mos, which usually happens in the summer, but he's been home early every night, so that's good.

Three classes down and five to go for me!! Very excited!

Jordie leaves next week for her 2nd girl's camp this summer and the following week she leaves for cheer camp....quite the busy body this year! She "flew" in cheer yesterday for the first time and said it was fun. I'm a nervous wreck over her being a flyer, espec. since cheer is considered the most dangerous high school sport these days! She likes it though, so what can I do? She is in the last phase of her braces, and should be getting them off in the next few mos. They look great thus far, so I can only imagine how they will look in 3 mos!!

Bella is very excited to have her cousins Diego and Delaney back in AZ. She asks to play with them every day!!

Crew's new word is "no!", and it has a very negative connotation to it! He also says "yes, please and thank you (dee doo)", it is super cute!

Cooper is a bully these days and likes to pull a "Bella" and drag Frankie around by his collar. He's a good dog, he knows the drill! Floyd has cost us entirely too much $ this summer for his allergies, but we love him and his ailments all the same! America loves her newly found perch, on top of our car at nighttime. We call her our 'guard' cat!

That's it for now, back to homework. More posts to come...

CRAZY summer approaching...

I started school this month, and it's kickin' my butt! I have 4 more sessions (each sess. 8wks) to finish up my Bachelor's. It only took me 17yrs to complete...ha! I'll start the Master's program next May, which will REALLY kick my butt!!

Jorden starts high school in August and has cheer practice all summer. She just got back from her 1st girl's camp (Tempe ward) and has cheer camp early July, then 2nd girl's camp (Maricopa ward) late July. Busy, busy bee!! Oh yah, she also turns 14 this summer. Holy cow!! It seems like just yesterday when I was pregnant with her (in the dead heat of the summer, I might add :) I just can't believe it!

Bella starts swim lessons June 1st, twice a week. If lessons are successful, she'll start beginner's tumbling in July.

Boys will do swim as well, but just on Saturday mornings, for four weeks. They will probably need a second round in July, but we'll play it by ear. Bitty T-ball starts for them in Sept, when they turn two. Mike and I are super excited!

Mike took Floyd to vet this morning, his annual allergies have lasted about a month longer than normal, so we figured we better take him in before he has NO skin left on his stomach! poor guy! :( So $117 later, he got a steroid shot, 2wks worth of meds and a special medicated shampoo, to use 2-3 times a week, til rash subsides. As IF I have time to add that to my plate!! Oh yah, Jorden is home for the summer...score!! J/K, Jordie!

My sister found out she's having another girl...yippee!! So my days are consumed with picking out names for her (or so I think). My older bro leaves this weekend, he's moving to Kansas. We had a going away party last weekend for him and my nephew...bittersweet. While one person leaves me, another arrives. Celeste moves back 'tentatively' late June. I am so stoked and am in "homecoming party planning" mode. I can't help it, Jordie didn't let me have a big shindig for her 8th grade graduation, so I had to settle on a small dinner party. So I'll get my fix with the homecoming party, and then start planning the boys' 2nd bday and Bella's 4th, triple holy cow!!

Never a dull moment....

8:30p- kids in bed
9:00p- bella wakes up puking
9:15p- give her shower
9:30p- new pj's, put her in our bed
10:00p- bella throws up again (luckily on blanket, so didn't have to change sheets)
10:15p- clean her up again, give her crackers and water
10:30p- she finally falls asleep
2:00a- cooper wakes up puking
2:05a- wipe down crib and change sheets
2:15a- both boys get bath (crew didn't puke, but played in cooper's puke)
2:30a- cooper pukes again
2:40a- get cooper cleaned up, new pj's and give boys goldfish and water
3:30a- boys finally fall asleep
3:45a- dad falls asleep
4:00a- mom falls asleep

**don't ask me what time i got up this morning**

Sunday night scare!!

Just when I was about to fall asleep on Sunday night, I hear a scream coming from down the hall. I knew it was a girlish scream so my initial thought is it's Bella...nope! I look over and Bella is in our bed, so I look at Mike just as his eyes open, wondering if he'd dreamt the noise. As soon as he saw me looking at him, he knew I'd heard it, too! So just as we get up and head to Jorden's room, she's already at the edge of our bed saying "someone just crashed my window in!" Mike doesn't even hesitate, runs to the alarm key pad and hits the panic button. This signals the police that we are in distress, without setting off the alarm, and waking the remaining sleeping children...or the neighbors!

We are grilling Jorden on exactly what happened, before the police arrive. She swears she DIDN'T dream it!! My guess at this point is she did, because #1 no crash in window, #2 dogs sound asleep on bottom bunk, and they'd certainly be going nuts if someone was in the backyard, let alone, near the window. Police show up, poke around, come up with nothing! As soon as the officer walks in, I recognize that he is the same cop that came out last year, when had our first attempted break-in, causing us to purchase the alarm!

So all was well, we thanked the officers for coming out, and Jorden kept insisting she didn't dream the noise. We reassured her that it's better to be safe than sorry, and not to worry about it. She may have heard a garbage can tipping over, or someone breaking a beer bottle next door, anything. You just never know. I gave her a future tip though **if the dogs aren't barking next time she wakes up (they sleep in her room), don't be so quick to jump off the top bunk and run for the door** most likely, there's nobody there, and it was possibly in her dream :)

Mike and I finally get back to bed around 2am. Well, Jorden and I really never got back to sleep. Mike asked her if she wanted one of us to sleep on the bottom bunk, but she said she was fine. Mike comes back in the room laughing because she lifted Frankie up on the top bunk to sleep with her...ha! She's not playing around!!

Still amazed that the younger three stayed asleep through it all...go figure!!

Otter Pops save the day

So I was down for a whole week with the flu, sinus infection, you name it! Whatever's been going around for months now, back and forth between my kids and my hubby, finally got me!! I was in bed for five straight days, no food, trying my hardest just to keep down fluids. I was was so worn out and felt so unbelievably DRY! I had a fever so I was hot, and my nose was so raw from constant blowings, that my face just felt so desiccated. We always keep Otter Pops in our outside freezer, for the kids (Mike is a huge fan as well). I used to like them as a kid, but don't usually go for the occasional popsicle. So one of the nights I was laying in bed, and I yelled for Mike to bring me four Otter Pops, not one, not two, but FOUR!! I very insistently told him to mix up the flavors (as if I could taste anything) and to melt them down a bit so that I could drink the juice!! I've never felt so relieved in my life!!

My BFF came over one of the days to help with the kids, and Mike stayed home from work a few days. You know it's bad when Mike misses work! What an awesome hubby I have! AND my house was clean every morning that I was actually able to get out of bed, stumble to the kitchen and get some water!

I still can't breathe entirely well out of one side of my nose, but we're making progress and I'm starting to feel normal again. :)

P.S. Totally off the subject, Jorden made the cheer team...go J!!

I'm annoyed!

The boys both have double ear infections! Well, i guess that'd be quadruple ear infections, huh? :) We took them to their well check and much to our surprise, this is what the doc told us. They didn't have any signs or symptoms, very strange! Which is a blessing in disguise, I suppose, because we would've been back in 3 days when they WERE showing signs, and by then it'd be two cranky kids and another $50 later! So they're on Amox. and ear drops for the next 10days...what a treat THAT has been!

Looking forward to a better weekend ahead. Going to bday party on Sat. and hopefully taking Bella to see Monsters vs. Aliens on Sunday, we'll see how the boys feel.

Jorden's aunt is visiting from Boston and she's at her dad's, so we probably won't see her for the next few days. :(

Mike is behind at work (which we are grateful for, I guess). So he's been working late every night and going in half day on Sat. Kind of a bummer!

Back to dishes and laundry....blah!

the thanks we get....

we struggle with morning sickness, sleepless nights, labor pains, work for what they need, feed them, change them, teach them, support them, comfort them, help them any way we can...for what? so they can throw it all in your face when they turn 13!!!!

somebody shoot me now!!

more of the same old stuff!

kids are running around like mad men right now and i'm catching up on some emails (and just a bit of blogging ;) i'm babysitting my niece again today, long day ahead! jordie is at her dad's for break. my house is clean, laundry is done, dare it say it...i'm a little BORED! i'm gonna regret that, aren't i? i may give mike a call and see if he's got any tedious work for me to do, or maybe i'll catch up on some reading. eh, we'll see how the day goes. as it is right now, i can hear fighting in the other room. most likely it's cooper and bella. gotta go!! :)

better week... :)

last week was horrible. the kids are feeling much better and mike caught whatever was going around, but feels better as well. mike started his softball leagues again last week, thurs and fri nights. we're aggressively working out again, and i am tremendously sore...but it's good!

the boys are sleeping through the night, completely! and bella is pooping on the potty...yeah! jorden's loving gymnastics and gearing up for cheer tryouts in march!

shannon (my sis) passed her test and is officially an RN...go shan!!

mike took jorden and her bff to lunch today. they won a subway g/c at a school auction, and they've been wanting to use it. i guess the g/c machine was down today, so mike bought them lunch AND let them keep the card...(what a schmuck) score girls!

the wedding we were supp. to attend in march, in vegas, is postponed...pending new date! bummer!

i'll stop playing favorites and add a new header pic of just the girls, soon...ha!

ok, break time over...back to cleaning!! blah! btw, wendy's mandarin chicken salad is the best thing ever!!

bummer :(

kids sick again:

jorden- strep throat and ear infection (missing school)

bella- cough and runny nose (also can't poop)

crew- runny nose, diarrhea & teething (so lots of drooling)

cooper- runny nose, diarrhea & teething (drooling a little less)

FUN WEEK AHEAD!!!

clarification time

so i'm trying to find a cute pic for my header and i realized that nobody got to see any pics of the boys for halloween. it was so post-halloween, but mike and i waited for a really cold night and dressed the boys in what would have been there halloween costumes, had they been able to trick-or-treat this year. i don't know if any of you remember me saying it was blistering hot that night, so my kids couldn't go out. crew is the lion, and his suit kept riding up on him, hence, the tail on his back and not his butt! cooper was a monkey and i had to cut the feet out because he couldn't walk in it. oh, the joys of catering to your kids!

i have some more cute pics of their painted faces which i'll post. they wouldn't cooperate (imagine that) and all sit down together, so this is the closest one that i could snap of them together. i thought it was pretty classic with the xmas tree in the background and all...ha! *note* no ornaments on bottom of tree, more catering to kids.

update on bella: 3 wks bottle free...yeah! no nap during day and going to bed at decent hour every night, in her own bed...double yeah! she does sneak in our room most nights around 2am, but we'll take it!

update on boys: bottle free for them as well, however, they could care less because they are actually NORMAL children! crew walks around all day yelling "bella" and cooper just carries on conversations that only the baby whisperer would understand!

update on jorden: 8 more mos. to go for braces. 3 more mos. to go for 8th grade graduation. 6 more mos. to go for high school at marcos de niza.

update on animals: america is banned from the house at the moment for clawing up bella's arms. floyd is still retarded and frankie still doesn't wipe his butt!

update on us: going to vegas this wknd and then again in march for a wedding. very excited and should be a good time. we're hoping to visit hell's kitchen while we're there.

that's it for now...

Will I ever sleep again?

So Bella is completely off the bottle, which is embarrassing to even talk about, really. Mike had to go to Vegas for the weekend and mommy threw the bottles in the garbage! I should've just done this a year ago, but mommy had to let daddy (first- time parent) learn from his mistakes. Nobody's perfect, but we as parents need to do what's in the best interest of our children. We are supposed to make the right decisions on their behalves until they are able to do so. Some parents are weaker than others, i guess, which is why there is usually one disciplinarian in the family and one parent that is a little more lenient. It works well in the grand scheme of things, but certain situations muster up the opinions of each parent. This isn't always good!

Long story short...we bagged up all of her and the boys' "babas" and she threw them away. She did well the first three days. Mike returns from Vegas and she asks him that night for a bottle. He sticks to his guns and we fight with her for over and hour to go to bed. She finally does and we take her to Chuck E. Cheese's the next night to celebrate her being a BIG GIRL now! We tell Chuck E. Cheese all about how she drinks from a sippy cup only now, and he nods his head and gives her the thumbs up (obviously he doesn't talk). We proceed to Wal-Mart to let her pick out a new sippy cup that she can take to bed (containing only water, is the plan). All is well so far.

She sleeps through the night, in her own room...score! We're making strides, as this would be day five "bottle free." Hit a road block last night when she decided she wanted to wake up in the middle of the night and not drink the sippy cup. She tossed and turned, whined, etc, etc. She has to program herself to fall asleep on her own, which is something she never learned to do because she always relied on the sucking of the bottle to soothe her back to sleep. So dad gets up and sleeps on the couch, which is the best thing for him to do when she starts up because he has the weak heart when it comes to this. I on the other hand, am the "bad guy." Which doesn't bother me in the least, whatever needs to be done. So i fight with her 'til 1:30am and she finally falls asleep.

Tomorrow will mark one full week without a bottle. I don't imagine this can go on much longer. I have to remind Mike (and myself) how resilient children are and that this will all be a thing of the past before we know it...sigh!!

"Gone away is the Bluebird, here to stay is a new bird"

Hello 2009! Every year I say "this year will be the best year ever!" Somehow, I really believe that this time. 2008 brought many blessings, yet also some grief. I am truly hoping to witness many triumphs this upcoming year with my family (parents, brothers and sisters) and my own family (me, hubby, kids). Mike is hoping the worst is behind us (I did say hoping) and business will pick up. He can go back to the five year plan of selling the biz and retiring. I will go back to school this fall and finish up my BA in Education. I'm not in too much of a hurry since I can't actually teach until the kids start school. So that is a relief to know I can take my time. Shouldn't take long though, because I was pretty far along and from the looks of it, pretty much all of my creds. from ASU will transfer to Ottawa. Pretty stoked about that! I will also continue to write. My book will probably never be finished, but I'll keep at in anyway...very therapeutic for me.

Jorden will graduate the eighth grade, start high school and get her braces off. ALL of which she's excited for! As for me....not so much! :(

Bella will hopefully learn a new vocabulary that consists of more than just "no", "leave me alone" and "I don't want to"...oh yah, and she'll all of the sudden LIKE her mother...ha!

Crew & Cooper will continue to grow and I will love watching them run (which they will be doing very soon) around and play. I can't wait for Bella to want to play with them and keep them occupied during the day, as I'll need my "study" time. Hopefully the never-ending feud between Bella and Cooper over any and every toy, will come to an end VERY SOON!

I am excited to look back at this and say "yeah, it WAS the best year ever!!"