My Lil' Man

Whenever it's one of my kids birthdays or even close to, I tend to get all sentimental and mixed feelings of both incredible happiness and a tinge of sadness at just how fast my precious babe has grown. This week will be my lil' mans 9th birthday. How can that be? It seems like only yesterday I was pregnant with him and was pretty sure he was a boy before the ultrasound confirmed it from his powerful kicks that truly scared me. I thought he might deliver himself he was so incredibly strong!

As a baby, Christian was colicky for the first few months but then seemed to settle in good. Before he was one he climbed out of his crib.... then over his gate..... and then I found him on the counter in the kitchen reaching for the above cupboards. I knew then that I would have to keep my eyes on this lil' guy big time! Since before he could walk which was at 8 months Chrish would bang on the screen door wanting to play outside. He insisted on riding a scooter and rode one very impressively I might add by 1 1/2. He's always been such a remarkable, fearless and gifted kid. Everything sports related and physical he is truly amazing at! His love is for soccer and baseball. He'll blow you away shooting one basket after the next in basketball. He also has a passion to build things. You name it, he can build it! Some of the many projects he has built for us have been a deck. It was sturdy enough to withstand a rather big earthquake too with bbq on it and all. He has also built a scooter, some shelves, forts, a table, chair, desks......

Besides his many abilities, Chrish has an incredible compassionate heart. He can make friends with any and everyone of all ages. He loves giving things or helping people out. What he'll end up doing in life I'm not sure but I do know that he can do whatever he sets his mind to. I am already so incredibly (obviously) proud of him and to be his mom and sometimes try to take a lesson from him and to live my life passionately like he does. Happy birthday Chrish I love you!

A Blast on A Dime

After much planning and re-arranging my girlfriends and I went on an overnight together. There are 6 of us and we were all cutting way back on the finances but still wanted to do something together. How often can you get 6 moms with 26 kids between us to coordinate our calendars and spend a weekend together.

It was going to be either camping on the beach in a trailer which would have been fine except the temps here lately have been on the chilly side. Our friend offered us her moms house in the desert which is what we ended up doing. Since her mom was going to be babysitting for her anyways the place was already going to be vacant and you can't beat the price of 'free'.

After dropping the kids off to school Friday morning we all met up, stopped off at Starbucks and were on our way to the desert. Once we got settled at the house we loaded in the car and headed up to the mountains for the afternoon. Once there we found a great spot to eat called 'The Red Kettle'. We walked around the little shops and found ourselves a quaint little candy shop. Of coarse we had to treat ourselves and then headed back down the mountain. One of the girls is pregnant and wanted to share the experience of a 4D ultra sound with us, so our tech savvy friend found the where and when and we all got to watch on a huge screen our dear friends precious baby boy.

The rest of the weekend consisted of delicious food, talking, watching a movie, more talking and definitely laughing...... a truly great time. Some of the girls had to take off so the rest of us headed back towards home unsure of our plans. We ended up going to one of our friends homes where we ate more yummy food, drank some wine and relaxed in the jacuzzi. It was a great way to end our weekend.

I Heart You

Those who know me pretty well know that I am a HUGE fan of hearts. I've always liked them and still do. Whenever I see one, especially in things of nature I become child-like and my heart fills up with excitement. I don't go looking for them, but when I do see them it's like God saying "I love you Cherie". It is also something I can say happens at just the right moment and quite frequently. But every time it does, it surprises me as much as it did the very first time. Even my kids know how much hearts mean to me and sometimes come running up to me excitedly saying "here you go mommy!" God shows me His love in many different ways but this is just one of the ways He does.

Like most people these days, things have been tight but Valentines Day is a special day I so look forward to. Yesterday was pretty mellow and relaxing for the most part which is always such a treat because it's not the norm. Christian picked us some flowers (thanks neighbours) and put a beautiful bouquet together for us. How sweet he is! Emma made Larry and I an adorable Valentines card. She really enjoys making things for people and has a generous heart. The girls and I made a delicious Valentines dinner (steak, mashed potatoes and veggies) and a festive Valentines cake with cinnamon candy on it. We enjoyed our delicious meal, and then the older girls and I went out to the movies which was a nice treat. All in all a wonderful extra cuddly, lovey day.

The kids have the day off from school tomorrow which I'm thankful for. I'm hoping to spend the first part of the day hanging out, playing games and then definitely getting some organizing done, and then finishing the day off with the same way we start it.

Knock, knock... Lemonade?

I got home from running yesterday and pulled up to a sign Christian had made for a lemonade stand. They've done this many times before. They have even gone around to neighbours gathering lemons and have tried to make 'fresh' squeezed lemonade. Running in the house all excited to show us their profit and begging me to buy a cup from them. As I hesitatingly sipped and even more hesitatingly swallowed down the most sour water I've ever had..... I insisted they NOT sell fresh squeezed lemonade again.

So as soon as I realized what they were up to, I insisted on going to the store to get some descent lemonade. By the time I got back they were all set up. They had chairs, a table, the pitcher and cups all ready. Even their container to collect the money in. At first Christian was thinking of selling at $2 a cup (if any kid could he could) but being as it's hard times for everyone right now he thought maybe $1.

The kids weren't outside more than 15 maybe 20 minutes and ran inside showing the $9 they had made. After that I didn't see them for a bit. I figured that they got bored or were satisfied and over it already. The kids ran in asking for more lemonade. When I asked who for they said they were going around the neighbourhood selling lemonade door to door. By the time they were done they collected $20. I was quite shocked but that only lasted a moment til' I realized 'this is Christian we're talking about'. That kid can sell anything to anyone and make money.

Finishing Out '08 Strong!

As I write, we are in La Quinta enjoying a nice family getaway for a few days with extended family. I'll back up though and tell you about our Christmas first. It was another very fun-filled Christmas. The kids woke me up with their giggling (my favourite way to be woke up) at 5am. Since I didn't get to bed until 2ish I made them go back to bed for a while. They ended up falling back asleep and then came tiptoeing in to get me at about 715am.

We opened our gifts. Everyone was excited about what they got and very thankful. I even got knocked down with grattitude a few times. The big family gift came last which was the 'wii'. The kids were ecstatic about it to say the least. A special gift the kids made for Larry and I was a dvd. It had photos playing to music and was very sweet and thoughtful. I've been enjoying my Christmas gift for the last month which is my new camera. I just wanted to give myself time to get used to it before the holidays.

After opening our gifts, a little clean up and our traditional 'cinnabon cinnamon rolls' we had Myke and Dara over. We exchanged gifts, ate food (almost McD's which wasn't open... don't ask) and really enjoyed their company. They spoiled the kids with 'Rock Band' for the Wii which the kids LOVED!!!! They left and then we had Donna, Ed and the girls over for some more fun. More presents, more food, a very LOUD Lakers game and some good times.

Having family around is a precious blessing I do not take lightly. If you know me you know that my family is in Canada with the exception of my brother Myke and his wife Dara. It has been such an incredible blessing to have them out here the past 2.5 years or so. They just told us about a week ago that they are moving back to Toronto, Canada. Very sad news for us, but exciting for them! It's definitely hard at times having my family so far away and seeing them few and far between but I know that I am especially blessed to have married into such a great family. I have my older (doesn't look it though) sister I always wanted, great brother in law, awesome nieced that I adore. I also didn't expect to come to love Lar's Gram as much as I do. I love her as much as if she were my very own. The whole rest of Lar's family is a huge blessing to that I could go on and on about. Besides actual family I have been hugely blessed with a group of dear friends that are like family to me too! I know they would do anything for me and be here whenever I need them. How blessed am I! Richly for sure!

Okay enough sappiness. We enjoyed a quiet restful boxing day which I love! Lar had to work a bit and so I ended up taking the kiddos to see Marley & Me. The lines were long and tickets went fast so we hung out at the plaza for a bit. Grabbed dinner, enjoyed some yummy warm Starbucks and waited in line all huttled together. Saw the movie which I thought was cute. Had to have the two little ones cover their eyes a couple of times. Thankfully those moments were few and short.

The next day, Saturday I think? Yes Saturday we left for the desert to hang out with the Saltis for a few days. The cousins are playing and colouring and having a blast. We're eating delicious food and just relaxing as much as possible with 7 kids under 12. We're planning on spending our New Years Eve here. Ending the year together and starting a new year together. The way it should be. Right now they're yodeling and I can't quite concentrate anymore..... Happy New years to you, may it be a blessed year for you and your loved ones!

The Countdown

I have to say I'm pretty excited. Only a few more days until Christmas. I'm so looking forward to the kids waking up all excited, opening their gifts and just enjoying more time together. This year Emma is definitely excited, probably the most I've seen her yet. She has been singing non-stop (mostly 'Deck The Halls') since mid- November. It seems the kids and I just put up our advent calendar and now we're almost finished with it.

I enjoy our usual traditions that we have such as decorating Thanksgiving weekend, looking at Christmas lights, decorating gingerbread houses, having a Happy Birthday Jesus party and the ol' pickle ornament (whoever finds the pickle ornament gets to open the family gift). It's interesting to me though how those traditions are changing or shifting I guess you'd say a bit. For instance, I have kids who are very excited about wrapping which is something I take great joy in but now need to share which is fine. This is the second year that I've let the kids help decorate the big tree. They still decorated the 4 ft one too though. They were quite thoughtful in their ornament placement which was sweet.

A friend of mine had a good idea that I decided to incorporate which is having the kids draw names. They were very excited to do it and very precious in picking out their gifts for each other. Emma insisted on buying her Dad a 'handsome' gift. She just couldn't believe how handsome her item was and insisted we get him one. Besides the gifts I so love how the kids enjoy giving. Whether it's making special pictures and/or cards for each other, sharing their Christmas treats they got from school/ friends it's quite sweet. The last few days the kids have been pairing up and taking turns making funny faces on iphoto which you just can't help but cry you end up laughing so hard.

Anyways, if this is scattered I'm sorry I need to get back to more wrapping in my rather chilly garage. But how I do love listening to the rains pitter pattering on the roof. I'll post back soon with some photos of the holidays. Hope your holidays are merry and bright with warm memories and loved ones close by.

Tis' The Season 2008

Well gosh it's been a while. I think with Thanksgiving being later this year this Christmas season sure has seemed to pop up on me rather fast. I'm trying really hard to enjoy this season and not overcommit or spread myself out too thin.

This last half of the year has really been full with four kids playing soccer and Larry being coach for Christians team. Don't get me wrong, it's been a blast! We have so enjoyed watching the kids games, cheering them on and all the time being outdoors. It just gets tiring and there has not been much downtime at all. So, this will be our first (besides THanksgiving weekend) weekend with no soccer games since the beginning of August. All the kids did great this year. Larry coached Christians team all the way to 1st place! Hannahs team came out on top too! Hannah and Christian both made it to the all stars (the best of the best) and both of their teams finished first place. Last weekend between Hannah and Chrish they played 6 games and won every one. You can't tell I'm competitive can you? I'm honestly just very proud of them and happy for them. They will be playing more soccer in January sometime but I'm not sure when.

Caley and Hannah had a holiday concert choir performance that went very well. I was impressed with what they've learned in only 3 months. Chrish and Emma's holiday program has been going on this week. I'll get to see them on Thursday and am looking forward to seeing them. Emmabear has a speaking part that she is quite excited about and I'm already looking forward to Christians concentrated cute face.

I'm SO excited about the kids getting out of school on Friday :D Some of the things that we're planning on in this next week are: driving around looking at all the Christmas lights, seeing a live nativity, decorating gingerbread houses, making a few homemade gifts and definitely making time for some holiday drinks and serious cuddling while watching some Christmas flicks. Well, I'll try and post more later but for now Happy Holidays!

Yesterday I awoke like any other day. After getting the kids off to school, my first cup of coffee and then looking at my calendar I realized that it was Thanksgiving in Canada. Being Canadian, loving another day to be thankful not to mention yummy food..... I thought I'd try to meet my brother for lunch to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Myke and I did have a delicious lunch over in Orange @ Panera. It was great to catch up with him and I just love hanging out with him, he's a great guy. On my way home from lunch I decided that I'd try to surprise the family with maybe not a 'traditional' Thanksgiving dinner but a Thanksgiving dinner none the less. Obviously I wasn't going to be able to cook a 'traditional' turkey...... I was running out of time. I headed to the store and picked up the last available like it was there just for me pre-cooked turkey. I was SO delighted. Then potatoes, ingredients for everyones favourite creamed corn (NOT the canned kind), salad, dressing, and in my books a definite Thanksgiving important food item...... pumpkin pie with whip cream. No, the pie was not homemade which I think are the best but time was an issue for me and this Vons bakery pie was quite tasty and two of my non-pumpkin pie eaters tried some and were surprised at how much they loved it.

My second oldest Hannah, helped me get dinner ready. She really likes working in the kitchen. Emma helped to set the table which she seems to enjoy and take pride in doing, very cute. We then sat around the table eating some deliciously filling food while taking turns around the table sharing what we were each thankful for. It seemed to go on and on and I'm very happy to say we have a lot to be thankful for! Though I've not celebrated Canada's Thanksgiving for the time I've lived here (mostly due to little ones and lack of planning) I took pride in a tradition I grew up with and hey, any day is a good day to reflect and be thankful. I wanted my kids to appreciate some of their herritage but mostly I want them to grow up in the habit of being thankful.

Little Pill Lots of Magic

Well for the last 6 years I have on and off (mostly on) been taking a little pill first thing in the morning. Let me back up a bit. Probably about 6 months after I had my 4th baby I was so absolutely fatigued, depressed, freezing cold in 100 degree weather amongst other symptoms. I just thought I was a failure and 4 kids was just too much for me.

After several people recommended that I go to the doctors, I finally did. The doctor pretty much suspected right away that I had a thyroid problem. He did some blood work and he himself called me a couple of days later telling me to come back in right away. When I did, he proceeded to tell me that he was shocked I wasn't in the hospital. My thyroid levels were SO wacked! A normal persons levels would be somewhere between 4 and 11. Mine were over 100. He also explained that I would have to be on a pill the rest of my life because I had hypothyroidism which means my thyroid is underactive. I didn't even know what a thyroid was or did. He just said 'basically it's what gives you your energy'. AHA, that would explain my lack of functioning. I was SO relieved I can't even explain it. Weird yes, to be happy something was wrong with me. BUT, at least it meant I wasn't really a failure.

Jumping ahead a little bit. It took roughly 2 years for them to balance my thyroid levels. After seeing a specialist and her telling me basically to ignore the instructions on my pill bottle which were telling me to take with a full glass of water. She instructed me to take enough water just to make the pill go down and then wait an hour before having anything else. I did that and within 6 weeks felt remarkably better and at my next appointment my levels were all normal. Praise God!

Why this story continues is because for some crazy reason, I have a couple of times taken myself off my meds..... forgetting what NOT being on them was really like. Well, this summer I again went off my 'magic' pills and let me tell you, it was NOT pretty! I basically just got my levels checked again and was back to where I started at +100 and feeling lethargic and quite honestly, pretty miserable. As soon as I got my new prescription I immediately took my pill. I've been taking them consistently and do not plan on messing around with them again. Now that I am again reminded of what not being on them is like I am truly thankful for them and like the magic they seem to work. Life with 4 kiddos is challenging already with the help of my magic pill, and take away the meds, makes my quality of life really go down to barely functioning.

Maybe down the road, when time and money are more accessible I will look further into a more natural way to supplement my thyroid meds. I would only ever do that if I had a professionals help and guidance. For now though, the doctors are helping me, what they have done for me is working and helping me. So, I'll take it!

One Way Or Another

I was just reading a blog and this person articulated very well what I've been kind of figuring out on my own lately. She was saying that instead of becoming distracted ' if one shifted their focus on the outcome of their goals maybe one would be more productive.' To some people this may be a 'no brainer' but for people like me it's just not that easy.

We all have our 'to do lists' some are scribbled down on paper, some typed out, some people keep track on their phones, or in their head. Well although having lists has personally helped me be more organized it has also been somewhat overwhelming. I tend to make not just one list but several and put way too much on them. I have the classic 'Today ' to do list 'This week list, the 'fix it' list for things around the home which is a constant. Just when you think you finally finished that list there are four more things to add to it (actually I guess they're all that way). Then there's the grocery list, shopping list, school list. I think I sound way more organized than I really am. This is my attempt at becoming organized and now I'm learning to scale it back and do fewer lists with far less on them. More of just the essentials. Back to simplicity.

I've had some projects that I've been wanting to get done for a LONG time and instead of just taking it one thing at a time like I should I get overwhelmed and don't even know where to start....... so I don't do any of them. I'm going to pick one project for the month of October and get something big off my to do list. I'm thinking I'll start with painting the bathroom or organize my photos. Then I'll go down the list from there.

Bogged Down

I don't know about you but I'm not much for watching the news or reading the paper. I don't think there's anything wrong with staying up to date on current events and in fact I actually think we need to, to some degree. For me though, things seem to stay with me and it's hard for me not to be weighed down and sometimes even depressed by certain stories. I'll pray for the people involved and try not to dwell on the story but it's not always that easy. Sometimes I feel so weighed down and such heaviness that's it really stresses me out. I realize that this is a problem for me that I'm working through but is also the main reason I personally don't keep up on current events regularly. Usually how I will even hear of a story, I'm talking more about personal tragedies, abductions, murders etc.... is if someone tells me, when I check my email there will be news headings that pull me in, if I overhear the news while the hubs is watching it (though he usually watches political shows and stays away from the stories I'm talking about).

Last night I was praying to God about why it's so hard for me to not be so weighed and bogged down by all the stories that seem to flood through the media. This morning I felt like He was telling me that I have a compassionate heart, I'm sensitive and care deeply about people. That's not a bad thing really. He also reminded me that I should pray and then give each situation to God and trust that He will take care of 'them' because it's simply not my job. I think the enemy knows my buttons and besides distracting me, he also knows I tend to take on other peoples stories and he at times can really weigh me down. There are times that I have walked in this and it's such a wonderfully free place to live in, just hard to live there all the time.

I'm thinking of that saying 'you are what you eat' or how about 'garbage in garbage out'. In other words what we allow to filter through us will come out in some way. If I'm constantly being bombarded (some by choice some not) by sad and depressing news, then chances are I'm going to struggle with being sad and depressed.

There are things I do to prevent that very thing from happening which usually is a great help. Besides the obvious of praying and asking for God's help which I try to daily, I listen to worship and/or upbeat music, I do a gratitude journal or at least try to verbalize my gratitude in little throw ups (prayers to God while I'm working) to God while I'm cleaning house. These things really are instruments that seem to help and are how I try to live not because I have to but more because for me, it's just healthier to. Some days/seasons are easier than others for sure but the truth remains that I do have a lot to be thankful for no matter what I'm going through or what the season is!

This morning in my devotional time, I read a verse that struck me and touched me deeply. One that I've heard many, many times and there is even a beautiful song about it but especially after writing the above yesterday and actually stressing quite a bit about my point not really getting across this verse was quite timely for me.

Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer.

Too Cute

The kids have been collecting lizards (pretty small ones) out in our back yard. Just this afternoon they caught four of them. The kids walk back through the house to go find some more and Emma says, "Christian, they're NOT all boys" while he interrupts her saying "yes they are!" and Emma continues, " I named one a girl!" Another Emmism today was pretty cute too. She was throwing a fit while she was in a time out in her room. She yells out "Fine, I'm calling 911 if you don't let me out of here!" A few minutes go by and she then says "The police are coming in 1 hour!"

I just love the innocence and the confidence to boot. So precious and sweet. Another innocent moment today was while Emma, Hannah and I were setting up to play cards. I was saying "we have to shuffle the cards really good" and Emma says "I can fushle the cards" I tried to correct her a few times and each time she again, confidently like I KNOW MOM, said "I AM fushelling the cards!" Had me in tears. SO dang cute!

Over the years we've had several of those kinds of sayings. From calling things like "cajuzzi (jacuzzi), panpakes (pancakes), tomatoes (potatoes) ....... the list goes on. I do have the really funny ones written down in a book I've kept (not very well I'm afraid) of cute things the kids said or did. At the time you think you'll remember that precious moment forever but unfortunately that's not always the case.

My oldest used to watch Barney (who really was a lifesaver) so much so that Larry and I would get some of the songs stuck in our heads. Great that she was learning important things but Geesh those songs were very catchy and annoying. She used to call him Bonny. Another things when she was little was that she was very impatient. I'd have her in her highchair and sometimes make her waffles. No not the homemade batter kind. The kind you put in the toaster. Well the moment she saw me take them out of the freezer she'd want them. So I'd put them in the toaster and crouch down and try to explain we had to wait for them to pop up. So I'd crouch down and jump up in the air shouting "POP!" which would make her giggle so hard. She also came up with "all D" (meaning all done) which carried onto our other three kids.

I'll have to find the 'safe place' I put that book and add on to this later but for now that's all I've got. I'm looking forward to more of those innocent moments though.

Goodbye Summer Hello School.....

Well, it's quite surreal that summer is coming to an end already! It has been fun though much slower paced than normal which I'm sure is a good thing. Especially considering our schedule coming up. We started the summer out going to Catalina for a week which we're already looking forward to doing again next summer. Then July it was camping (not something we're planning on next summer) although we did have some fun moments. Then there's now.... I'm sitting in a beautiful 4800 sq ft house in La Quinta and have been lounging by the pool, playing with kids and having some quality family time (when the kids aren't fighting and frustrating me). It has been a great way to end the summer and is our 2nd year doing this. I'm thinking it could be our new tradition. I LOVE traditions!

As of yet we have no plans for this coming 'Labour Day' weekend. Maybe a family BBQ will be in order. Then it's back to school on Tuesday for the kids. New schedule, new teachers, back to making lunches and homework and ........ boy here we go. We've already dived into soccer so we've pretty much got into the rhythm of it already. Eight practices a week M-Thurs and 4 games each Saturday..... yep I'm ready for it!

Although I'm surprised at how quickly summer has gone by, I'm looking forward to a more structured schedule. It seems to do me and the kids a LOT of good. I'm also really looking forward to my summers resolution which so DIDN't happen. Thinking I would have a slower paced schedule I was planning on hitting the gym religiously. Nope, didn't happen. Now though I feel very motivated and excited to start going back to the gym regularly. It will be my first year of having all four kiddos in school ALL day!!! I'm really hoping to be able to get more things done and time to take better care of myself. Both at the gym and also having a more consistent daily time with God.

Camping 2008

On Sunday we left to go camping in Lake Arrowhead. The kids were so excited it was quite cute. I think the last time we went camping was 3 or 4 years ago, so it had been a while. We got to the site and immediately at the check in two ladies made us want to do a u-turn and just head back home. They told us that someone had left food out on Friday and a bear came onto the campsite. They said since then they had seen a 9 ft bear and also a mama bear and her cub. Usually they only come for the dumpsters they said but that one had gone onto our campsite.

So we nervously drove to our campsite and started setting up our two tents. Unfortunately our campsite was apart from the 3 other families that we went with. They all were beside each other on pretty open and flat huge lots. Our site was up a hill and across the way, with lots of bushes which one would think would make me feel more comfortable but actually left me feeling more vulnerable as it was harder to tell if something was hiding in or behind them. The only plus to our lot was shade during the day and it was close to the bathrooms.

Lar and I had just finished setting up the first tent and the kids were excitedly running around playing with their friends. Next we see Chrish and his friend were playing with a wave board/ripstip (not exactly sure what they're called) which I wasn't too nervous about until they brought them up the steep hill and were about to go down. We told them no and suggested a flat area for them to play on....... next thing you know they're both going down the hill at excellerated speeds, the friends mom is screaming for them to stop and get off..... her son wiped out. From where we were we saw everyone run up to her son helping him out. Usually Caley is mama bear and is pretty good at letting her siblings know their boundaries so I just figured she was running around the corner to catch up to Chrish and bring him back. Still everyone is gathered around the friend. Caley makes her way up to our site. So we ask her where Chrish is. She says 'well he's beat up pretty good'. We couldn't get her to talk fast enough. So we run down there with the first aid kit. We see Chrish standing up watching his friends knee scratches get cleaned up.

We then ask Chrish how he is. He stands up looking pale as a ghost and says 'Dad? I can't think clear'. I then couldn't get him to look at me straight or answer me so we lay him down as he almost passes out. Thankfully Larry knew to elevate his legs which pretty quickly brought colour back to his face. I start cleaning his obvious and deep elbow gash. It was hard to stomach but I was relieved to get it cleaned and stop the bleeding. Hoping that was the extent of it I was informed that no, there were more wounds to clean up. He ended up scraping both elbows, his side was pretty raw, his chest was scratched up and then lastly I noticed on the side away from me his left wrist/hand area was so incredibly raw. Chunks of skin were actually missing. Meanwhile we've got bees flying all over and fine sticky camp dirt sticking like glue to him. We got him cleaned up as best we could, took him back to the campsite where we gave him some orange juice and some tylenol. After struggling to get comfortable he then took a little nap. When he woke he was much, much better thankfully. I don't think it took him all of 30 minutes before he was back on the wave board.

I should mention that Chrish rode down the hill and why we told the boys not to was because they didn't have any helmets or pads. He rode down anyways and did a superman dive off after he heard his friends mom saying get off. He would've been fine if he stayed on I'm certain. That was on Sunday. The rest of the time camping the boys were running around, more wave boarding from not as steep those crazy kids! Larry and Chrish were playing catch and football and though he favoured his especially 'raw' arm we were pretty sure it was because it was SO raw. We got home Tuesday the older 3 got home the next day. I help Chrish bathe and get as much of the sticky camp dirt off and carefully away from his wounds as I can. As I'm working ever so careful on his 'raw' arm I realize that two of his knuckles (index and the next one to it) are swollen and he admits pain inside not just the skin or lack of it.

I brought him in to the Dr.s the next day. They then send me to an orthopedic later that day who thinks there is a bone broken but is not 100%. He puts a cast on him for 2 weeks for precautionary reasons and says we'll then re-examine and go from there. The first day Chrish was quite excited about it. Unfortunately because of the raw wounds he couldn't put him in a waterproof cast. So he has to be extra careful because with those wounds under the cast if he gets wet or dirty there could be serious infection. Yesterday was a pretty tough day with frustration and tears and he was definitely pushing the limits. He at one point was trying to take his cast off and said he'd slip it right back on after he was done playing. So I have to keep my eyes on him like a hawk.

Oh to sum up on the 'bear scare'. We didn't sleep a wink the first night. Chrish and Caley insisted on sleeping in their tent which with our campsite layout couldn't be right beside ours. Had they been with us I think Lar, Hannah and I would have slept some. Every little sounds sent my heart a racing. I kept listening for the kids. At one point I saw the silhouettes of a pack of somethings. Not sure what but they were close enough to our tent and in the morning found paw prints all over our site. Later on that night we all heard something sniffing around the tent which I was sure was a bear. Caley and Chrish heard it too. Our second night we put everyone in our tent. Lar had his own twin and me and the kids put two twin air mattresses beside each other and laid side by side width way. Slept much much better thankfully.

We had some fun moments but don't think we'll be going camping anytime soon. At least not tent camping. It was fun hanging out with the other 3 families and even driving to Lake Gregory where they had waterslides and paddle boats. It just was a LOT of work and exhausting going back and forth between the camps.

Hamptons by the Sea

Well, we've been told about this camp called Campus by the Sea for years (well I have at least). I've heard so much about it and have mentioned it to Larry a few times figuring it just wasn't his thing. Last year one of the husbands was talking to Larry about it and probably because it wasn't ME telling him (you know how that goes) he actually thought about going.

I have to throw this in..... the two little ones heard Lar talking about possibly going and summer of 2007 had packed their bags for it. It wasn't until I noticed a few certain items were missing (a few months later) that I found already packed suitcases under their beds. We then broke the news to them that they'd have to wait for summer of 2008.

How it works is that you sign up for your 1st,2nd and 3rd choice of weeks and then they get back to you and let you know which week you get. We got our registration sent in the first possible day and got our first choice which was the last week in June which also happened to be my birthday week. The fun thing too is that we had four other families from our church that went the same week as us.

Anyways, to sum up our trip..... well it was a structured Christian family camp that had guest speakers, sing time (which everyone seemed to enjoy) set meal times and I HAVE to mention the food was awesome! A huge thing is that we never had to once think 'uh oh, where's Chrish?' the kids are either with their leaders for group time or off doing their own thing. They had so much freedom but it was in a totally safe environment. We didn't have the usual exhausting chore of keeping an eye on them the whole time, or the checking in continually. The kids even had an account at the 'snack shack' and I don't know who enjoyed it more (ok well the kids) but we set the limits for the kids on the first day and whenever they wanted a snack they'd go get what they wanted and as long as they hadn't gone over their limit they got what they wanted. It was nice not to keep track or have to keep small cash or change on me or even have to accompany them.

There was kayaking, tubing, snorkeling,fishing (Hannah had the catch of the week catching an 18 incher, and Chrish caught a 12 incher) volleyball, basketball, camp fires, square dancing (all the kids tried it and kept up very well), talent show, game show night, a make your own boat and race competition. We were in the top 10 out of like 30 boats.... not bad for us newbies.

Wednesday was my birthday and happened to be the 'free' day. Those who wanted to hiked into Avalon at 7am. Hannah stayed at camp all day with her friends. Larry and Emma took a boat ride in at 930 while Caley, Christian and I did the 6 mile hike into town. Unfortunately Caley got poked with some cactus which left a dozen or so pricks in her leg, poor girl. But, she was a trooper and kept going though we couldn't get them all out. Got to Avalon, played a game of mini golf (Emma has her own strategy) then we ate right by the water which I enjoyed. We then got some yummy ice cream and hiked in town another couple of miles to watch the kids play soccer. After a relaxing boat ride back to camp we had beach time which was one of my favourite times. At dinner they had announcements like normal and reminded us about the talent show that night. The next thing you know all the workers start singing a RENT song (really well too) I was getting into it and luckily I stopped and realized they were all coming to my table. I was thinking "this must be for the talent show and spread out you guys" and then they stopped and sang happy birthday to me. Tickled me pink! What's funny too is that Emma who had gone to the bathroom came in right when they were coming up to me so they grabbed her hand and she joined in.

On Friday night they had a nice banquet for everyone. Well, the adults had their own and they decorated the food hall with all the crafts the kids had made during the week. We had a delicious prime rib dinner and then took turns sharing our highlights of the week. Some people had been going there for more than 20 years.

While we were doing our thing, there was a separate banquet for the jr. high and highschoolers and then a movie night and camp fire for the youngsters. Everyone seemed to really enjoyed themselves. It was a great way to end such a spectacular week too.

I think it was by day 2 that the kids were saying ' when we come next year can we.......' It's definitely a place we want to go to again and are planning on going next year. If you know Emma then you won't be surprised when I say that she has already asked me 'how many more days til' we come back mommy?'

All Muddy

I've had my calendar marked for months now and yesterday was the day. My friend Marianne and I had been training for a few months for the "Mud Run" at Camp Pendleton. It's a world famous 10k obstacle course run that 4000 people signed up to do. You can run as individuals which is what we did although we stayed together, or you can do teams of 5. If you ran as a team you had matching outfits and let me tell you, some of those outfits were very creative. There were guys who were only wearing running shoes and speedos, naturally they named themselves the "speedos". Cracked me up! Then other teams wearing colourful nylons under their shorts, people with rainbow hair and mostly people with matching coloured t-shirts with their team name on them.

The race was to start at 9am sharp so we left my house by 615 so we had enough time to check in and know where to be. It was like a sea of people. All kinds too. Young and old, athletic and well, not. Married couples, father/daughter teams, friends you name it they were there. I really loved how everyone was so encouraging to each other. There were several army guys there showing us the way, handing us out water and gatorade, guys who were kneeling down in the mud allowing us to use their knee to get over the 5ft walls, those poor guys!

Some of the obstacles we did were....... you guessed it, the tires which kind of came out of nowhere but were a piece of cake. There was an ambulance right there in case anyone got hurt too which hopefully didn't happen. We went through a couple of very muddy creeks which REALLY weighed down your shoes but at the same time was refreshingly cool. There was a mud wall about 3 ft high to climb over and on the other side was a 50ft mud pit about knee deep leading you to the 5ft wall to climb, then another 50 ft of mud pit to get through and over the 3 ft mud hill. Then we made our way to this football fld length ravine that was over 5 ft we had to cross with an extremely muddy slippery bottom and seaweed to boot. You couldn't really swim it because your feet felt like they were 20lbs and luckily for me there was a rope on each side for us shorter people to grab onto. A few people had to be carried across because they were just too short. This other obstacle called 'Suicide Hill' was pretty funny (SIDE NOTE: it was definitely a different kind of marathon...... obstacles and laughing most of the way) leading up to it was this super-slippery mud pit and then an incredibly steep, steep muddy hill to climb with someone using a pressure powered hose (like a fire truck would spray) to shoot down the hill. So there was running water going down this hill as we're trying not to fall climbing up. Towards the end, actually right before the finish line was a tunnel to crawl through, more mud pits, mud walls, 5 ft walls and a 50ft 3ft deep muddy water pit with ropes and flags just above the water that we had to crawl under on our hands and knees then climbing another mud wall with the soldiers help this time and then was the finish line.

Being that this was my first time doing this I now know what to expect and how to train better too. My friend and I were told that there would be a major hill, but weren't aware that most of this race was hills. We're talking steep big hills that once you were on top and looked down it was amazing! Also, the way down ....... I wouldn't say it was easier than going up. It was SO steep that you had to be very careful not to fall and I'm glad to say we didn't. I'm very proud of my friend and I one for even trying this and two, for finishing it.

After we finished the race, we made our way back up to claim our bags and headed for the open showers which did help with the mud situation a bit though not entirely. Then luckily they had 2 canopies together that they called the womens changing room. That was an obstacle in itself! After that my friend and I headed home but not before stopping at our favourite breakfast place 'The Pancake House' which was such a reward. I'm told there is another Mud Run in October and can't wait to sign up for it. I'm looking very forward to it and hopefully other marathons in the future.

New DO

Alrighty friends, I took a chance today and got a new do today. I'm happy with the results and think it'll be great for the summer too. I won't have to do too much with it and the messier it is the cuter it will look. Bedhead ROCKS! Anyways, I'll be turning 33 in a few weeks and still need to make sure I have some edge to me. No 'mommy' hairdo for me no siree. Anyways, I just thought I'd share a few pics.

Green Disaster!

My poor bud. I feel terrible for him! Well let me back up here and tell you from the beginning........ Christian has been saving money for a few months now for this thing called a Green Machine. It was $100.00 and he worked very hard to earn money to buy it for himself. He did work in the yard, helped around the house, and even made a lemonade stand (more like lemon juice) and he STILL made $4.00 for that. Anyways, he had been bugging and pleading with me for a few days to PLEASE take him to Toys R Us so he could finally get what he's been wanting for so long. Well, we thought we'd surprise him and plus it was just plain convenient for Larry to get it one day while he was out near there anyways. So Chrish came home from school and saw that his dad had gotten him the Green Machine. Unfortunately there wasn't time for us to put it together for him but still, he at least was able to get it. Well, after homework was finished, Chrish and Hannah together put it together all by themselves and actually did a great job! They were having a blast riding that thing. It was a crack up just watching them. Even Lar got on it one evening and I of coarse just HAD to get evidence of this.

Christian got the Green Machine on Thursday. Well, Sunday rolled around and the kids were playing back and forth between my house and our neighbours down the street as usual. I'm not exactly sure just how this happened but one of the kids left the Green Machine out on the sidewalk as they tend to do. Unfortunately it was left behind our next door neighbours truck. Need I say more?

So, on the one hand I feel just awful for poor Chrish! I mostly feel grateful that no one was ON the Green Machine - thank you Jesus!. I also feel like whether it was Chrish (which he INSISTS it wasn't him who left it there) or not it's an expensive lesson in taking better care of your belongings as he does need to improve on. We've tried taking the wheel that is all mangled down to a bike shop to see if they had anything in that particular size but they didn't. Next we'll try looking on ebay for a possible replacement part. Who knows? So, another life lesson for the poor guy.

Betcha

Betcha didn't know.....

-that one of my pet peeves is having my pants tuck under my shoes as I walk. HATE it! That's partly why I wear heals most of the time. Most of my pants are too long for me (yes I could get them hemmed) but who has the time?

-I used to wear a clothes pin to pinch just above my lip to give me what I call a more defined 'bum lip' I love those!

-I still enjoy watching Saturday morning cartoons :P

-I used to bite my nails until I got engaged. (I tried everything to stop but nothing helped..... except for an engagement ring apparently)

- though I truly don't care for hip hop music it's great to clean to and makes for a good work out : )

-I can't even count how many white hairs I have on my head because there are just too many.

-I don't have a favourite colour or flower because I see the beauty in all of them.

-My favourite chocolate bar is called 'crunchie' and BOY is it Yummy :P

- I do NOT like thunderstorms!

-I do however truly LOVE sunrises and sunsets.

Kind of random but things that I betcha didn't know about me and now you do :D

Where Do I Start?

Well, the last month has flown by as fast as the first few of this year. Where do I start? Okay, well we celebrated Christians birthday at a place called Boomers. I wasn't sure how chaotic it would be taking 10 kids there but it worked out that everyone had a fantastic time. Batting cages, laser tag, go- carts, spinning tea cups and other carnival rides, arcades....... are just some of the fun things we did. It was definitely a memorable birthday for Chrish that he was incredibly grateful for. It's hard to believe he's getting so big.

I've been training for the 'Mud Run' which is coming up the beginning of June. It's a 6 mile obstacle course at Camp Pendleton and is quite fun, so I've heard. I've been running with a friend 2-3 times a week. We've been following a training schedule and are pretty proud of our accomplishment so far. The proceeds go towards helping the troops which I think is a great cause and am honoured to be able to help out a little.

To say there is a lot going on at school right now would be a HUGE understatement! It's quite overwhelming actually but we're managing okay. Lots of order forms for this and that (yearbooks, 5th grade t-shirts, carnival donations and work, spring photos, fairy tale ball, 5th grade graduation party...... and the list goes on) so needless to say I'll be a little relieved when the kids are out of school and SO looking forward to spending more time with them and less time spent in the car or doing homework.

Also, wrapping up this week will be baseball and signature soccer for Christian. It's been so fun watching him play. He's truly remarkable at everything he does. I'm not just saying that either. People really trip out at how great he is. He's #1 pitcher (also the youngest and smallest on his team) and he plays forward on his soccer team. For a bit there he was doing two practices and two games each week which made for one tuckered out little boy.

We just celebrated Emma's 6th birthday this week. I've started letting the kids have a 'big' party every other year. This was her 'off' year and she was such a great sport. We always have a 'family' party though which she absolutely savored and appreciated. What 6 year old wouldn't want to be the center of attention for the day? She was thrilled with all her gifts and as I tucked her in bed she so Emma like (she LOVES counting down to things) asked me how many days until her sleepover? I decided that she could have a friend spend the night on the weekend (her first one). They actually did great too. I had a total of 7 kids that night and they all were sleeping by 11:30pm. Not bad at all. I decorated Emma's room with streamers and balloons everywhere which she seemed to love.

Well, I should go and continue my day after I have my Monday morning coffee of coarse, and tackle some of the things on my 'to -do' list. I just LOVE crossing things out!

We Had A Ball!

Last night we went to a Fairy Tale Ball that our school had for our kindergarten classes. The teachers have been teaching on fairy tales and the parents a few years ago decided it would be special if they ended that unit with an actual ball. If you had a daughter in the class then the Daddy would take them and if a son then the mommy would. I helped out so that's why I got to go. You could dress up as fancy as you wanted (parents and children). Some kids wore their 'disney' costumes, ball gowns, or regular 'Easter Sunday' dresses as my Emma wore. Of coarse Emma decided to tell me the night before the ball that she wanted to wear one of the older more worn dresses. I took a deep breath and decided that it was 'her' night and she could wear whatever she wanted.

As soon as she put her dress on you could immediately tell that she felt beautiful! She insisted that her shoes have heals so that when she danced they made noise. Thankfully she also approved of the way I did her hair. We added some bling and a pretty tiara and you could tell she truly felt like a princess...... oh and we definitely couldn't forget the sparkles.

Larry looked handsome as usual and dressed up quite nicely for his baby girl. They both boogied on the dance floor, made a royal goblet together, ate some yummy dinner and had a memorable night. Emma was so bummed when the ball was over she made if very clear the clock hadn't struck midnight yet.

Hard Lessons To Learn

Both of my girls tried out for cheerleading this year. We've already gone through all this just last year when Caley tried out. Hard to believe it was a year ago already. The intense stress and nausea were fresh in my mind. These tryouts are pretty brutal as I recall and more than half the kids get turned down. There were two cuts. They had a couple of clinics where the girls would all learn a cheer and try out with a given partner.

Sadly, Caley got cut the first round and handled it incredibly, though it was hard. Hannah made it to the final round. She had to make her own dance to a given cheer as well as learn a dance in only a couple of hours that the whole group of girls would learn. It was unbelievably difficult! This time they would be performing two routines all by themselves in a closed off room with a panel of 12 judges. (I about cried for her, talk about nerve wrecking!)

Hannah was number four. When she came out after her turn she decided she didn't want to wait for an hour and half to get the results and that she wanted to go home. I'm so glad she did! I should mention that Caley was very supportive through all this to her sister and friends. Talk about making me proud! Well, we found out that Hannah didn't make the team either which broke her heart because she had worked so incredibly hard for this and wanted this so much!

Her chin is now up, a lesson has been learned, and both of the girls are already talking about trying out again next year. I'm so proud of both of my girls for not giving up on something that they want! They may not have made that particular cheerleading squad but they sure are my cheerleaders and anyone is lucky to know them! They naturally love to encourage people and cheer people on in all they do! Go girls go, I love you both!

The last few days have been pretty jam packed to say the least. On Thursday was the cheer try-outs (the first cut) which I couldn't believe how stressful it was. I don't care if the girls are cheerleaders or not......it's their feelings I'm more concerned about. Both girls did great but we have to go from about almost 50 girls down to 24 at the most. Yikes! That's more than half to say no to. Well, I really thought both the girls would make the first cut. Hannah did make it and Caley did not. Both of the girls were quite shocked. Hannah thought she wouldn't make it and Caley was sure she would. Caley got over it really quick and already wants to go to cheer classes and prepare for next year. I should note that this is the second time Caley tried and didn't make it. The only reason for telling you that is that I think it says a LOT of her character. She's an incredible girl! Hannah knows how proud we are of her and has been working her butt off since she got home from school on Friday and every spare chance she gets. She really wants to make it. I believe she can too! The finals are next Wednesday so we'll see how that goes. The same day as Christians birthday unfortunately but oh well, that's life.
Thursday was also the night of the talent show which was fun. I wished it wasn't on the same week as cheer was but nothing could be done about it. We made it work. Both Emma and Hannah were in the show. Emma in the beginning and Hannah was the second last. Both of the girls did great! Emma stepped on what looked like a block and was actually a prop that her foot got stuck in. She was giggling trying to get her foot out. When she finally did she went on with the show. At one time she also ran out at the wrong time which was still very cute and funny. Hannah and her friends did a great job dancing and staying in sink with each other. It was such a long and tiring day that we all came home and conked out pretty quick.
Today I woke up at 730 to go running with my friend. We had 3 miles to run today. We have a race in June at Camp Pendelton that we're trying to train for. It's actually a 6 mile track with an obstacle course to boot. I've heard it's really quite fun and am really looking forward to it. I guess there are some block walls to climb over and some nets to crawl under through the mud. You get so dirty and muddy that you are told not to plan on keeping what you wear. Anyways, we're following a marathon training schedule and are only at the beginning of it but it's been fun so far.
Caley has a party tonight where she needs to dress semi-formal. We had to go buy her a dress being as she's not had a need to have a semi-formal dress really before. We found one and on sale I might add. She looks absolutely beautiful. It's for a birthday party for her friend. They're going to go see "Guys and Dolls" which I heard was really great. I'm sure they'll have a good time.
While Caley's at her party, Christian and Larry are going to go to watch a basketball game. That leaves Hannah (probably practicing cheer) and Emma and I to have a much needed time of veggin' out!

Calling All Talent

So I have about ten minutes before today kicks into high gear (for the second time today) so I thought I'd atleast try to recap my day yesterday. What a day it was! The morning wasn't too crazy and some plans actually fell through and I had a chance to catch up on some much needed house work which was nice. After I picked up Emma is when the craziness started. I picked her up at 145pm then took her to her talent show rehearsals, picked up the elementary kids, went home for about 20 minutes which flew by like it was 2. Got Chrish ready for his baseball game (luckily his clothes were dry.....pheeeeew). I then took Hannah to cheer where her sister was going to meet her. They're both trying out for cheer this year! Which means cheer clinics every day after school for a bit. Dropped Hannah off, said hi to Caley (check) luckily within walking distance was Christians baseball game. Dropped him off walked back to cheer, whispered sternly to Emma to NOT climb up and down on the bleachers while the girls were trying out. Took the girls home to change and get ready for the talent show rehearsal. Picked up a friend and dinner to go (thank you Carls). Got to the school 20 minutes early thought we'd have time to chow down......no people started flooding in, had to go cheesecake MUST wait ;( We got there about 530 and didn't leave until 9pm. Emma is in the 'circus' act as a ballerina and is the second act on. Hannah is dancing to the song Toxic (I know I didn't pick it) with her friends (they're really good too) literally closing out the show. Guess what number? Act 36. It will be a great (LONG...........) show. It's just rough on a school night. Well, even though it was crazy and I felt like I was constantly thinking 'what's next?' there were lots of smiles exchanged and laughs that were had. I'm glad every day isn't as crazy as that but am thankful for every day I get.

Spring Break

Wow this week has gone by fast! It has been an enjoyable and relaxing one though I must say. It's been quite nice to have a break from all the chauffeuring, making lunches, homework and everyday routine. Don't get me wrong, I usually enjoy the daily routine. It's just nice to slow down and not HAVE to go anywhere.
On Monday we went to the beach which was absolutely beautiful. We saw a whale actually which was not something we've seen there before. We got to see some sea lions and dolphins too. We see dolphins there regularly but not the sea lions. The kids were boogie boarding and digging pits. It was such a great day!
Tuesday we went to the movies to see 'Horton Hears A Who' which was cute. We then got some frozen yogurt which is such a yummy treat. For the rest of the week we've just been taking it easy hanging out at home. Watched a few movies on t.v like 'The Secret Garden', and 'The Princess Bride'.
Yesterday while Chrish was at baseball practice the girls decided to play 'spa'. It was great. They had a massage chair set up, and were giving each other facials and massages.Too sweet I tell you.
Tonight we're going to go to my sister in laws to have a pizza party and hang out. Her hubby's out of town and mine is in LA so I thought we'd not make a big production of dinner and enjoy each others company. The kids are looking forward to it too. So the day is almost over, then we've got the weekend and then it's back to the usual everyday routine which by then we'll need because the kids are getting a little tired of each other.

Ahhhh........ went for a nice run this morning. Oh how I enjoy running! The more I do it, the more I realize that I really need to make time for it. The fresh breeze against my skin is so refreshing and I am truly amazed and absolutely love pushing myself past my own limits. It's quite a sense of accomplishment and recharges me unlike anything else.
On my 'list' for today ( I really like making lists) is decorating eggs with the kiddos, baking some cupcakes and a cake for our Easter celebration tomorrow, putting together the kids Easter baskets (later tonight so the kids don't peek), one more grocery store trip (I knew I forgot something!), the carwash is a MUST and in general just relaxing and hanging out with the fam.
Tomorrow we're going to church as usual. Larry will be playing guitar in the sanctuary and the kids will help me out in Sunday school class. Then we will head home to rest up a bit for our Easter celebration dinner @ four pm. We'll pig out, kick back and of coarse have an egg hunt with the cousins. Much fun will be had I'm sure. I'll be sure to snap some pix and post them. Happy Easter to all!

Again, it's been a bit since I last wrote. Gosh this month is flying by as fast as the first two of this year did! Everyone's is healthy and doing good though thankfully. The last few weeks have been filled with a new book study I'm going to with some girlfriends. We're studying the book called "The Shack". I don't want to say too much about it because I think everyone should read it and I definitely don't want to give anything away. I hope that it is as impacting on you as it was me.
This month Chrish has played his first few games of baseball. He's amazing! He's the main pitcher and for a lil' guy who is still 7 playing against 9 and 10 year olds he's quite remarkable. I find it hard sitting on the bleachers controlling my 'proud mom' smile that I just can't wipe off my face. I don't think I could be more proud of him. He's so incredible at all he does sport related, now if he'd just apply himself more at school. I'm really honoured to be his mom.
My last few weeks have been so choppy between taking the four kiddos to school almost all at different times, to all the various meetings and tryouts and what nots. The kids had try-outs for the annual talent show. You would've thought it was a try-out for American Idol. The judges were just fine, but there was just a lot of chaos and pushy moms. Let me just say that I got there 20 minutes early, was third in line and ended up getting cut in on a bunch of times.....by the time I got out of there with the kids it was an hour later. I'm glad that process is done with and am really looking forward to the show in April.
There's meetings for 'The Fairytale Ball' yes that's right, they're having a ball for the kindergarteners. It's been quite interesting meeting with a bunch of moms all with different opinions as to how to have things done and some way more outspoken then others. Makes me more giggly than frustrated so that's good.
Also there's meetings for the 5th grade graduation. For sanity sake I missed the first one (life must still go on) and they really did fine without me I later heard. I'm looking forward though to being a part of the planning process though and making it a special time for my girl.
Let's see, book study, fairytale ball, baseball, talent show,.......... oh yeah the end of the year carnival, pancake breakfast, read-a-thon and jog-a-thon. I won't go into detail on those because they are pretty self explanitory. This year with all my kiddos now in school I've been able to help out in school more and am really enjoying myself. That's something I love about our school. You can go there at any time and find parents who are there and giving of their time. I love helping out the teachers and being able to peek in or work with my kids too. They seem to get an extra glow when mama's around.
Of coarse school wouldn't be the same without all the gazillion parties. Hey I actually think it's a good thing teaching them to celebrate life. Forecast for this week, Monday morning first thing I'm helping out in lil' mans class to make green eggs and ham (and green milk apparently) : } We'll see how that turns out. Then Tuesday the kindergarten class won a rootbeer float party from the read-a-thon. Wednesday and Thursday are my normal days to work at the school, and then Friday is Spring party day. Wahoooo. I think I better get to work and get a bunch done around here cause it looks like I'll be gone a lot this week. Fun, fun FUN!

All Mixed Up and Very Raw

Well, it's hard to know quite where to start but after being gone this weekend from home and the kids I really thought today was about jumping back into our normal routine. It sure didn't happen that way. It started out just like any other day really.
Alarm went off at 630am, got the kids up, lunches made, got ready for the day. I took the first batch of kids to school and was wondering what I was forgetting and why all those people were standing lined up all along the front of the school. Not thinking too much of it at the time, I went back home continued with this and that. The phone rang, and it was my close friend telling me that something horrible had happened and involved some kids that go to my kids school.
She proceeded to tell me that the dad had killed the wife and three of the kids and also himself. The 14 year old who goes to my daughters school survived. I also came to find out that the youngest of the kids was a kindergardener and the two little girls were ages 8 and 9. My kids didn't know them very well but did know who they were.
I've been through a whole slew of emotions today. I've been all mixed up with pure shock, heartache, believe it or not thankfulness that the guy didn't put my kids at risk, gratefulness that though there's a very tough road ahead, that 14 year old boy survived!!! I've been really surprised at just how much I've been affected by this. The kids all handled it differently and as I expected the little one was acting up quite a bit this week which isn't like her. She may act up here and there but not for a whole week. I'm just trying to have some extra grace for the kiddos this week. Well, how do you end something like this. I guess just that I pray that God blesses that 14 year old boy beyond belief, and also to remember to be thankful for the here and now you just never know how God numbered our days. Enjoy today the best you can!

So, it's been a while since I last posted. Wow, almost a month! Well, it's been pretty event-filled to say the least. I'll try and fill you in on a few things but I won't go in any particular order, just by what my scattered mind allows me to remember.

Well, starting with the most current, I'm sad to say that Emmabear is sick AGAIN! I can't believe this flu season. It is by far the worst that I've ever seen since I've had kids. After 16 hours she is finally starting to feel a little bit better, but boy has she tugged on my heartstrings today. She was tearfully pleading 'Jesus please make my tummy all better, I don't feel like being sick!' I wished I could trade places with her.

Larry and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary! We spoiled ourselves by going to the spa. Enjoyed it as always. When we got home we were surprised that our middle two were making us what turned out to be a scrumptious ' anniversary ' cake. So sweet of them. Then we went to a yummy steakhouse close by that we really like. Our newly 12 year old was dipping her feet into baby-sitting at night for us and did a great job.

Our daughter Hannah entered a contest at school to design the cover of this years yearbook. She ended up winning which truthfully wasn't surprising at all! We're so happy for her and proud of her though. Quite the talented artist she is.

Hubby quit his job and has been at home the last few weeks studying in a new field. So that's a big change. Thankfully he left appraising on friendly terms and now has a great opportunity. We'll have to see what the next few months bring eh.

We hung out with Myke and Dara on Saturday night. That was something we haven't done in a while. We went to a restaurant called Catals in Downtown Disney. It was yummy and as always lots of fun just hanging out with them.

Oh, I guess I should mention that morning (Saturday) I got my haircut. That might not be too big of a surprise, but I did get it cut shorter than I've ever had it before. I've always wanted to go super-short but just wasn't brave enough. Well, finally did, plus changed the hair colour yet again (I like changing things up a bit.......get bored easy). Anyways, I'm really happy with the new do, and bonus.... Larry loves it too! Emma wants me to glue my hair back on but I told her everyone has different tastes.

Christians soccer team played all-star district (quite an accomplishment in itself) and beat the other team 5-0 with us having only 7 players no subs and them having basically two fresh new teams. It was quite a victory that our guys were very deserving of. Buddy boy saved the team a bunch of times stopping any goals from coming our way. Oh yeah, and he lost a total of four teeth now. He's quite fond of money cause atleast two of the four teeth were'nt even loose when he pulled them out. Believe me, I was NOT encouraging him.

Lastly, I'm leaving tomorrow night (Thursday) to go to Vegas with two of my dearest girlfriends. There was going to be six of us but it's rather hard getting six moms of atleast four to get our schedules all to coordinate. So we'll be us three. We're just going for the weekend and we'll be back Sunday night. It'll be nice to sleep in, read, not have to clean......just hanging out, talking, laughing being girly girls. I'm just really praying that no else gets sick because it will be very hard to leave!!!

Oh, for anyone interested in a great book. Okay first of all, I don't read all that much. Don't have much time or even care to honestly. A friend recommended a book called ' The Shack ' by William P. Young (canadian.....boooyaa) anyways, I cried tears of sorrow and joy in it and finished it in about two days. Easy read, very touching, impacting book.

Enough Already!

Well, our start into 2008 has been a rather frustrating one health-wise to say the least. Pretty much since boxing day somebody has been sick in the Hampton household. Now don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that it hasn't been worse or anything more serious. Just when you're going through it and for such a long stretch as this one has been it takes it's toll on you and you get where I am now which is sick of sickness. I do prefer to be the one sick then watching my loved ones sick though. It almost seems like as soon as I think we're in the clear and done with this for a while.....someone gets sick all over again.
First we started out with Larry getting the flu the day after Christmas, then Chrish a couple days later. Then Emma caught us off-guard and got it on New Years Eve. I think that was her first time getting the flu. She did NOT like it one bit except for the extra cuddling she said. Then Larry got sick again a couple days after his birthday, with myself and Hannah joining in. What a long drawn out horrible thing. Now I'm left with an annoying cold which is taking it's time going away.
I got home from seeing a movie last night with my friend Amber. We saw "Bucketlist" which was a good movie. We were crying we were laughing so hard. Anyways, got home and in bed by 11:30pm and Emma came running in my room at 1:50am crying and in pain. I was so startled and concerned. So I jumped out of bed took her temp. 103F and we cuddled on the couch all night long so I could keep a close eye on her. Gave her a popsicle and cold cloth on her head........fever broke (rather quickly too thank you God) One would think, four kids, we've had our share of sickness, you'd think I'd be more used to this by now but no! I do NOT like seeing my kids sick. I'm sure no one does. It just puts knots in my stomach like nobody's business. Now my lil' princess is up colouring wishing she could go to school as though nothing happened. Hey, I'll take it!
I've read an article before saying that Doctors say a family gets sick an average of 8-10 times a year. Well, I'm thinking we're almost meeting that quota. So hopefully we'll be real healthy the rest of 2008. We'll see how that goes. So, here's to a healthy rest of the year for everyone.

My Dancing Princess

Yesterday was Emma's first dance class. Well her first real dance class anyways. When she was about 3 1/2 she took a short session at our friends community center..... it was more of a 'toddler gymboree' class then a ballet class. Though she seemed to enjoy it, she didn't learn one dance move. Yesterdays ballet/tap class was by a teacher who taught my older girls when they were Emma's age. We walked in the room and Emma was delighted/relieved to see a classmate from school. We had no idea we would see them there, it was a pleasant surprise.
Half of her class was ballet and then half-way through they change into their tap shoes. Emma was so excited that she was giggling for most of the first half, but she not surprisingly picked up some dance moves right away and very gracefully I might add. One of the other moms was asking me how many years Emma had been taking dance and was surprised with my answer. She thought for sure Emma had taken dance for a couple years anyways.
Emma has ten more weeks of this class left. I'm certainly going to enjoy watching her continue to improve and grow and mostly just have fun while twirling and spinning around.

Good Things CAN Come Out Of Bad

This morning I was woke up (surprise surprise) by my Emma who unfortunately wasn't feeling well. "No! This couldn't be. She couldn't have got it from...." I began thinking. Before I could even finish that thought she got sick (if you know what I mean). My poor girl. I thought we were in the clear. I mean Larry was sick all day 'boxing day' the day after Christmas. Then Chrish got sick the day after that. For the next few days I had been having on and off prayers to God asking Him to please not let anyone else get sick. Just when I thought we were in the clear Emma woke up with the flu too!

It just makes me sad when my loved ones get sick. As much as I hate being nauseous I'd much prefer myself to be sick then anyone else. It's almost harder to watch my poor lil' one being sick and in pain and saying 'Mama, I don't feel like being sick!' or the latest when I went in to check on her and asked how she was feeling she said ' I'm warmish hotish'.

The only good thing to come of this is that we've spent a LOT of time cuddling today than most which I truly do treasure. Though I wish it were for better circumstances I do cherish any time I get to hold my baby while she's still available, still wants to, and while we both have the time to spare. I know it won't always be this way. Emma and I actually cuddle quite a bit, but today was a bit different being that our cuddling was helping her to feel better she told me. Me too Emma, atleast I was doing a little something to help out. Her Daddy came home with some popsicles for her which put the very first smile I've seen on her face all day. Yay, Daddy to the rescue!

Though I didn't expect to spend the last day of the 2007 like this, it definitely had it's precious moments. I can get my 'list' of things done any other day but it's not every day that my sweet Emma needs her mommy like she did today. Hope you all have a blessed and very happy New Year. Here we come 2008!

A Break From Pirates of the Hairabean

My kids can't seem to get enough of the movies "Pirates of the Carribean" and "Hairspray". We've watched each three or four times in less than a week. Each time that I've watched 'Pirates' it has grown on me more and more. I have to admit the first time I watched it I found it rather hard to follow and thought part of that was due to my four lil' interrupters who played their part real well I might add. Having the movie on four times though did allow me to watch the movie in it's entirety and I grew to like it more and more. The girls and I went to see "Hairspray" in the theatres (with Auntie Dara too) which I thought was good then and now the girls and I go around the house singing the songs. I don't know if I'm getting a little tired of the movie (being that it's on for the 3rd time) due to overload, or hearing Caley telling me how 'hot' she thinks Zack Efron is. Weird to hear my baby talk like that. Anyways, I think I'll just have to insist on a break from both of these movies for a while so we don't end up disliking them altogether.

Christmas Hampton Style

It was a wonderful Christmas here at the Hampton household. We celebrated with hubby's side of the family on Christmas Eve with last minute location change to HERE! Worked out great though and we didn't want to chance picking up the flu from a cousin who was sick the day before. The kids and I were already planning on cleaning up for Christmas anyways and everyone seemed to work together really well. I just wrote a list of what needed to be done and we went from there.
Everyone came around three. We ate an incredible amount of delicious food with leftovers to spare, had good laughs and fun, and enjoyed listening to squeals of delight and excitement. My very thoughtful sister in law who had already surprised me a month early with a very sentimental ceramic Christmas tree also surprised me with a set of glass mugs with flowers etched on them just like mom used to have. I couldn't even tell you why they mean so much to me, they just do! (maybe I'll try though) They bring back warm feelings of anticiaption, fond memories, fun times. I used to watch my mom drink from those glass mugs and couldn't wait til' I was the grown-up drinking from them too! I suppose I even just assumed that we'd both be drinking out of them while playing 'boggle' or a card game like mom and aunt Theresa used to do most every weekend. My mom and us kids would drive back to our home town and get together seemed like every weekend (staying over at Grams if we didnt already live there) During those times, the adults talked and played games and the kids had fun playing in the fields make believing, or playing video games, or building forts..... times I'll cherish always. I also could'nt wait to have my very own ceramic tree like Gram used to make proudly displayed in my house. Even though mine is not 'Gram-made' it still symbolizes those same fond memories and good times. After everyone left the kids were eager to go to bed so Christmas would come sooner. Then hubby and I did our usual Christams Eve tradition which is to watch 'It's a Wonderful Life' while bringing out all the presents.
Christmas day the kids got us up at 619am and all ready to go. Of coarse they had to wait in their room until Lar and I got the camcord all ready but they did good. We then opened up our gifts and I have to tell you I was pleasantly surprised at just how excited the kids were to hand out their presents. We then had our traditional cinnamon rolls and started the clean-up process while trying to NOT throw away things accidentally as has happened in the past. In the afternoon my brother Myke and his wife Dara came over which was fun. We caught up a bit, relaxed (with Christians electric guitar playing in the background) ate more food and Myke spoiled us by making and sharing his delicious buttertarts. Myke just 'had' to try Hannah's Guitar Hero which he liked. He also decided to pump some weights with the gift he wanted but gave to Chrish (magnetix) Dara was sweet to help Chrish build his birdhouse he got. They did a good job! I think everyone was a bit stuffed and sleepy so we just layed low but had a good time. The rest of the day was spent playing games, watching movies and cuddling. I think I nodded off before the kids. I just couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. Well, here's wishing you happy holidays and a happy new year.
BTW, I've been trying to post some photos with this blog but for some reason it's not working......I'll try tomorrow.

Tis' The Season.....

As I write, the hubby is watching a basketball game, the two little ones are roller blading in the house (it gets dark pretty early these days) and I'd prefer that to the alternative which would probably be diving onto the bed from the dresser, or doing summersaults down the mattress or using it as a slide. It's all been done before. Yep, rollerblading......I'm okay with that. I'll mop the floors tomorrow. Besides, I adore the contagious giggling they can't seem to control. They're laughing so hard that they're falling over.

The older girls are watching their favourite (don't understand why!) Friday night show......Friday night Smackdown WWF or whatever it's called. Atleast they're not fighting or watching "Zoey 101" which while I'm not against the show - seems pretty harmless- but now the main actress that the show revolves around in real life is 16, pregnant and Brittany Spears little sister. I don't like someone in the spotlight that my kids keep track of setting a bad example for my kids.
Well the last few weeks have consisted of shopping, wrapping, more shopping, making angel wings, addressing and mailing Christmas cards, attending Christmas progams, getting the car fixed, YaYa breakfast party, helping with classroom parties all while trying to maintain some level of picked-upness in our house and not being totally burried by the mounding up piles of laundry. It's not that bad really. I've been trying really hard to NOT stress about the holidays. It's totally understandable in my opinion though not worth it in the long run and definately not fair to the kids. Along the lines of "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit!" I've adapted it to "you do what you can do and you don't have a panic attack!" It's actually been helping me.

This weekend Christian has three, count em' THREE soccer games this weekend for all stars (the best of the best) and though I can't believe that people have the nerve to schedule any soccer games the weekend before Christmas I'll put a smile on and enjoy watching my boy play. Boy can HE play! We're also going to have our annual "Happy Birthday Jesus" party. I like to do my best to remind the kids of WHY we really celebrate Christmas. We usually bake a cake or muffins, make a craft (this year I'll let them decorate gingerbread men), we'll read the story of the birth of Jesus, and the kids usually make a card or picture to put in our stocking for Jesus. This year they did it the day I hung up the stockings.

I'm savouring as much as I can and trying to teach the kids to too, because before we know it 2008 will be here and before you know it my kids won't be kids and won't be here to watch Frosty or Rudolph with. On that note I'm going to go so Hannah and I can cuddle.

Hope this holiday season is your best one yet, that you feel the love, peace and joy that is sent from heaven above. May God bless you beyond all measure. Happy holidays!

Fa La Freakin' Da

Well, pretty busy around here. So much to do and not quite enough time and energy to do it in. Taking it one step at a time. This week I had the unexpected honour (not quite) of making Christians class angel wings. Only 10 sets. But 10 sets! It was a lot more time consuming than I thought and after I do get finished I have a LOT of glue gun glue to scrape off of my floors. I was too deliriously tired to figure out a way to NOT get it on the floors. Speaking of my floors......they're quite 'festive' I must say. Full of gold garland strands all over and I've not swept the floors today or yesterday being as I'm not finished and will only make more of a mess.
Anyways, I wasn't planning on these 'wings' taking anywhere near this long and so while on Monday I thought I was pretty on par as far as being prepared for Christmas. I try really hard NOT to stress especially around Christmas. It makes it more enjoyable for everyone that way. I now have not only a little more shopping to do but also a lot more wrapping.
It will all be worth it and I'm sure I'll get done. On task for next week: more shopping, lots more wrapping, Happy Birthday Jesus party, Christmas programs (2), class parties (3), many more Christmas shows to watch, not to mention catching up on the laundry, taking my car in for a tune up (not a good time for this....lots of errands : ( )
Tis' the season to be jolly. People are driving like maniacs don't they know the songs? Tonight I almost got in a car (minor) accident, fender-bender would best describe it BUT didn't! Alls I could think of to say was 'merry freakin' Christmas! and Fa La freakin' Da!'
This is probably a pretty scattered blog but I'm pleading insanely tired and have a pretty sore back so there you have it. Happy holidays I'll try to post some pictures soon.

Brunch @ The Beach....I Think That's a YES!

A couple of weeks ago my good friend Monica and I finally made it happen! We were finally able to work it out and were able to go out for brunch. Not only that, but we decided that we'd drive down Crystal Cove Cafe which is right on the beach. We both only had a few hours but thought it was totally worth it. Unfortunately as soon as we got on the freeway we came to a complete stop because of a sig alert. We ended up being a total stop on the freeway for twenty minutes or so. It could have been longer so I can't complain. It didn't take us long at all to drive the coast and get to our destination. What a beautiful day it was!

We enjoyed a little stroll down to the beach cafe after parking. Once brought to our table we noticed the chairs all had cozy colourful lap blankets on them for our pleasure. The atmostphere of the cafe was very warm and friendly....delicious food too! You can't beat the view though. It doesn't matter where you go or how the food is, I think most any restaurant on the beach would be delightful. There's just something so incredible and tranquil about the beach.

Once we finished or tasty meal, we walked down the wooden steps and were immediately on the sand and only steps away from the ocean. There were even a few people swimming (even though it was in November, the temperature was in the high 80's) Monica and I walked along the shore and then found a perfect rock to sit on. Amazing blue sky, white puffy clouds but not too many, crashing waves and even a beautiful heart shaped rock placed just so, so I would notice it. The atmosphere was so soothing and calming. Definately will have to make my way there again.

Loads and Loads Part II

So again while folding loads of laundry today I was watching Oprah again and saw the second part of the "hording" episode. I thought I was blown away (read grossed out, shocked, amazed) the first time. Aha, but this time I was even more blown away but happy to see just what this couple/family was getting free from.

I thought that those huge 5 ton dumpsters were of all their stuff they had in the house. WRONG! It WAS of all the garbage they had in the house. 75 TONS of garbage! OMG!!! Okay so moving on...the professional organizer had all of the 'to sell' things in a warehouse so the family could see just how much stuff had consumed their lives. It was a 10,000sq foot warehouse FILLED with endless rectangular tables piled with stuff galore. Even underneath the heaped on tables were 1800 storage bins of, you guessed it, more stuff. They had the family come and see the warehouse filled with all this (I'll try not to say 'stuff' again) and to say they were blown away would be an understatement. The mom was almost physically sick but then became relieved once she realized she was free from all of this chaos. When told she had 5 minutes to take anything of importance to her she surprisingly declined. (now that's a step in the right direction, she wants a new start) Turned out there were over 3000 pairs of shoes, and when they had a rummage sale to get rid of it all they made $13,000. Can you believe it? Something good came from it.

Not only did they make money, but some major stores donated a new makeover to their house. This was a house they lived in for over 32 years and the last 12 were definately not lived with quality. When they got to go see the house 'clutter/pile-free' they were brought to tears of joy. The damage done from that disastrous hording problem caused mold all over the carpet, drywall, furniture etc. They had to have professionals come and sterilize what was salvagable and dump and replace the rest. Luckily there were very generous companies willing to help this family have a fresh and very stylish I might add new start. The floors were done in a beautiful hardwood, walls replaced and freshly painted. Brand new kitchen cupboards, appliances. Basically the whole inside of the house was re-done and it was absolutely beautiful. A place they can now be proud to call home, a place to be enjoyed and share with family and friends. I really am SO happy for this couple it brought me to happy tears.

Although I had a rather rough start and end to my day (for reasons unmentioned.....2 of the 4 kids) seeing this episode REALLY motivated my very tired body to do what I set out to do which was clean up and organize. I feel like God really helped me out and I got so much done (always more to do though) that it would've normally taken me a week to do. Part of that is because I was angry, and I always clean faster, maybe even better when I'm angry. Anyways it's such a wonderful feeling getting things done that you've 'been meaning to get to' for a while. Just think, when the kids are back in school on Monday.....I'll have WAY less interruptions and get even more done maybe. Hope your day is an enjoyable, productive one!

Loads and Loads of....

Today while I was taking a rest I was watching Oprah. The episode today was about this lady who had a massive problem of hording. I mean it was unbelievable! This woman was obviously trying to fill a void and was actually creating an even worse problem for her and her family. As a result this lady and her husband were prisoners in their own home. They could barely sleep, let alone walk and 'live' inside their own home. Their kids stopped coming to see them 'cause there just wasn't any place to sit and visit. I'm not quite sure how people actually live this way, but they managed to for over 12 years. They lived in a 3000 sq foot house, 3 car garage filled from floor to ceiling with .....junk. Even the trunk of the car was filled with 'stuff' that had been there for goodness knows how long. She was a shopaholic who had stuff galore.

The good news is that Oprah had a professional team of one hundred people spend two months going through the house making piles of donations, to sell, throw away, and keep. There was 75 TONS, yep that's right, TONS of stuff overall. Fifteen of those HUGE garbage bins each with a 5 ton capacity. Now I'm not wanting to sound in judgement of her or her husband for not intervening, I'm just really glad that they seem to be getting help and can hopefully start to enjoy the second half of their life now with family and friends. In watching this it motivated me to go through my 'stuff', well crap really. We are no where near being that cluttery of a family but I sat my kids down and made them watch about 5 minutes of that show so they could see what not cleaning their room leads to. They were more than enthusiastic about cleaning their rooms (we'll see how long that lasts) I taped the show in any case and just might have to resort to another viewing from time to time.

Tomorrow 3 of the kiddos have the day off of school (the younger 3) and though they are entitled to a day to play and rest and NOT have to do homework, I am for atleast part of the day going to put them to work. We will be going through dressers, closets, cupboards and drawers and purging anything we haven't used for 6-12 months, anything too small or that we simply just don't need. Usually the kids are pretty happy to fill a bag to give to the less fortunate. So, we'll see how that goes. I always tell the kids to start out with cranking the music. It always makes cleaning and sorting way more fun...or just fun period! I heard lil' Emma telling one of her friends that she couldn't play til' her room was clean and then proceeded to guide her in turning some music on first and then cleaning from there. Here's hoping to a fun, productive day tomorrow!

headache

It's just one of 'those' days. Everytime I get near being comfortable and relaxed I hear "MOM! ....." or the kids are fighting over something absolutely ridiculous and will NOT stop! Now this is reminding me of having a newborn who must have a sense of humour because everytime I would rock him/her to sleep and was just about to ever so carefully sit down for a moments rest...."WHAAAAAA!!!!" Almost comically. Today has been like that. Just this afternoon but in any case it's quite ridiculous. The most recent call for mom was "MOM, there's a big bug in my room!" ...oh great what am I going to find? To my relief it was prayingmantis on the screen outside the window. Phhhheeewwww! Just after I took a photo of it and sat down getting all comfy again, Emma shouts out "MOM, I think it has a headache" I ask why she would think that. She responds " because it's rubbing his hands on his forehead!" "I bet you're right Emma". Too sweet I tell ya.

101 Things To Do In 1001 Days

I was reading a blog called Simple Life At Home and it had an interesting idea of making a 'to do list' of 101 things but they should be done in 1001 days. First of all I don't even know if I have 101 things to do. Take that back.....I'm not sure how interesting my list will really be, but hey being more productive is a great thing and I am a person who enjoys lists and my favourite.....crossing things off my list. So here it goes,

#1 (by the way in NO particular order, drum-roll please..........)
*1.making my 101 list. (Did 11-10-07)
2.going to the beach for a run :D (excited about this one)
3.going to the beach by myself to read.
4.Read 'To Kill A Mockingbird' like I was supposed to in highschool.
5.Read the whole bible.
6.running a marathon
7.going away with hubby for a weekend.(did Jan5th 2008)
8.family going on a cruise.
9.get extended families personal contact info updated.(all but two)
10.write a christmas letter and actually send it.(ok, have to wait til Christmas)
11.send card to Gramma once a month.
12.write about my life.
13.get picture of biological father/health history if possible.
14.go to the spa.(did but would love to do again :D )
15.learn to crochet and prove first grade 'meanyhead teacher Mrs. Johnson' wrong!
16.take a dance class of some sort.
17.learn to play guitar.
18.dance with my husband.
19.go bike riding.
20.go hiking.
21.get livingroom painted
22.decorate and furnish livingroom.
23.paint bedroom
24.paint gameroom
25.finish painting girls room
26. re-arrange Emma's room(did)
27.get yard landscaped front/back
28.look more into cosmotology schools(working on it)
29.walk 30 min. a day for a month
30.do something nice for someone once a week
31.go through my closet/dresser....LET IT GO ALREADY!(did)
32.do a girls only trip with my mom and sister
33.go to New York
34.guess i should add....get passports!
35.do yoga regularly for a month
36.paint a picture that's hangable
37.make ceramics with Hannah
38.get photos organized
39.make album for each kid
40.go to Santa Barbara already!
41.take a photography class
42.find a good obgyn(found one)
43.get gameroom closet organized
44.get camcorder tapes on dvd
45.get wedding rings re-sized and dipped
46.go skiing
47.sponsor a child in a 3rd world country
48.watch Anne of Green Gables straight through
49.watch Pride and Prejudice straight through
50.go kayaking
51.go see Wicked (did/loved it!)
52.wash all my windows (house)
53.try a new recipe once a month(did)
54.have the girls cook once a week
55.eat healthier(am doing pretty good at this)
56.find Dr. I like
57.organize paperwork
58.organize hall closets
59.go through jewelry/organize
60.learn to french braid
61.start/go to a bible study(did)
62.host a party for adults
63.find a good red lipstick
64.do a mother/daughter study with girls
65.work with Christian on his reading(in progress)
66.take Christian on a date(did and have to do again)
67.get ceramic Christmas tree like Gramma used to make(did thanx to Donna)
68.learn to speak french again
69.find a really great pair of jeans
70.get a livingwill (I KNOW this should be #1)
71.go to British Columbia
72.take kids to the snow(did......fun)
73.go to the mountains, desert and beach in the same day. (just cause I can)
74.organize my address book (LONG overdue)
75.keep car cleaned for a straight month(did)
76.drink lots of water for a week(am doing)
77.use the china more often (life's too short...why not?)
78.go ice skating with whole family (c'mon Lar)
79.get new bedspread(did thanx Donna)
80.save all my photos onto disc
81.update my ipod(did)
82.get new family photo
83.get a facial(did)
84.candlelight bath baby!(did)
85.buy something new from Victorias Secret
86.go to Boomers with Lar
87.join some sort of sport team
88.go to Mexico
89.study for citizenship test
90.take a couples cooking class
91.keep up my grattitude journal more regularly
92.cleaning out my garage/organizing it and keeping it clean for more than 2 weeks.(kinda)
93.update kids 'keepsake' boxes
94.finish my 'what I love' list(did)
95.keep my room clean for a week straight(did)
96.learn to make a really good steak
97.go to dentist :(
98.do a week fast of sugar
99.go to gym atleast 3x/week for a month
100.bike to the beach from home
101.now make a new 101 list after this one is completed.

I tried posting a countdown clock but couldn't get it to work but apparently I have until August 8th of 2010 to finish this list. We'll see how it goes eh! Happy checking.

Precious and Pink

Not much to say except my son is quite secure in his boyhood and he and his sister cozied up while reading a book together. One advancing in reading while the other is trying to catch up and doing a good job I might add. Precious moments.

Trick-or-Treat

Well, that sure came and went fast but it was a rather festive Halloween for the Hampton family this year. The kids really enjoy dressing up, getting to wear make-up OUT of the house and of coarse the absolutely LOVE getting candy! This year they faired better than most too!

I remember being a kid coming home with pillow cases full of candy and since I've had kids they haven't got even half of what I used to. That's probably a good thing though. I still end up tossing half of theirs away anyways. This year I got smart and bought a lock and have all their candy locked up in a cupboard in the garage. They aren't even really asking me for much of it either. I think it's the out of sight out of mind thing. It also helps me and my lack of self-discipline too!

This year we had Chrish who was a punk skateboarder (cheap costume....I only had to buy tatoos and hair paint). Emmabear already had a cheerleading costume she got for her birthday or last Christmas and was more than happy to wear that. Hannah was such a perfect, gorgeous little Red Riding Hood as you'll see in her photo. Then Caley who I must say had very little options on what to wear. Not even a teenager and most of the costumes that would fit her were VERY sleazy and provocative. We found one we both liked which I think was called "the Nature Fairy" and she looked beautiful. Me? I wore a shirt with hearts all over and painted a little heart on my cheek and was calling myself a "sweetheart". I could've been 'the Queen of Hearts' but didn't really want to wear a tiara this year. Chrish said "Dad, what are you dressed up as?" Larry replied "comfortable!"

We had a fun, messy gooey time carving our pumpkins. Actually finding them was the more difficult task, but luckily we did. The kids couldn't wait to get their pumpkins all carved. I came up with this 'brilliant' idea? I thought while they were gutting their pumpkins I would be in the kitchen 'surprising' them with a festive, yummy treat. Well, my yummy idea turned out very melt in your mouth tasty but at the cost of a few pumpkins. They made way more of a mess just in those few minutes it took me to whip those muffins up. Chrish ended up cutting a way too big of hole at the top where the lid is supposed to go. We ended up turning his pumpkin into a 'mummy' pumpkin which he was pretty thrilled about.(and don't worry we most definitely did not light it) Something a little different this year. Emma insisted after I already cut the mouth that her pumpkin have red lips. Larry and I enjoyed carving a pumpkin together this year too. We went for a 'spongebob' look and I think we pulled it off quite well.

Hannah and Christian got really festive and decorated the entire front yard with webs all over and they made a giant spider out of newspaper. They decorated the mailbox and made the front yard very cute. I'm shocked how fast that came and went but we sure did enjoy it and they are already deciding on what they will be next year.

Thoughtfulness From India to Canada to Cali....

Yesterday we got a package! It's pretty exciting even just getting a package, and then you get to unwrap it, and while the box was to hold a set of drinking glasses (very nice by the way mom and dad) what was inside was even more intriguing. Dad who had gone to India work related for 6 whole weeks was already incredibly sweet and thoughtful to have hand-picked a postcard specifically for each of the kids with their 'special' topic of interest. The kids brought them to school to show their teachers and friends and were really happy about those. You could tell they felt extra-special that their Opa did that for them. Though they were sent the same day I think it added to the 'specialness' that they each got their own piece of mail each on a separate day.
When the kids got home from school yesterday I couldn't wait to show them their special gift from Opa. They were squealing with delight! I really should've video taped it, I just never remember til' after the fact. (a new years resolution already for 2008?) Anyways, Dad had picked out this colourful drum for Christian which is perfect for him. Though he didn't send me any headache medicine to go with it, just seeing Chrish play on that drum (even while watching the world series) was pretty precious. Hannahbear knew right away which package she wanted. Hers was a pink beaded purse. She just gasped and hugged it when she saw it! It also came along with many beautiful bracelets and a gorgeous ring too! Emma reached for the purple beaded purse with multi coloured bracelets of purple, blue and gold. Caley wasn't here when we opened the package but when she got home she absolutely loved her green (a favourite colour of hers lately) purse, red and gold beautiful bracelets and a multi-coloured ring that she loves! I heard her in her excitement telling one of her friends that "my Opa gave me these and they're all the way from India!". Larry was given a black t-shirt which he likes with a pretty cool symbol or picture on it. Now assuming that I handed things out to their intended owner : { ..... I was given a gorgeous, beautifully embroidered tunic I think you call it. I believe I also got this very feminine, delicate jewellery set with lavender jewels. One of my favourite colours too! (plus, purple reminds me of royalty and you know.....I AM a princess!) Along with these gold bracelets with bright coloured gems on them and they make that ding-a-ling sound when you where them on your wrist. Don't ask me why, I just have always loved that sound.
So, there you have it! My Dad spoiled us rotten and we like it! It was so very sweet and thoughtful of him to think of us on his trip. Plus it's a great reminder of him and his love for us. Even though we're separated 3000 miles apart we think of him often and love him beyond words! He is such a rich blessing in our lives, a gift from God!
If you're reading this.....I love you Dad and thanks you tons and tons!

Your Thang

Yesterday I ventured out and went for a run on the trails by my house. I'm not exactly sure how far I ended up going but ran for an hour. I met, well waved hi I guess you could say to all kinds of people. Some would just smile, while others gave a 'head nod' and yet others would say "hi" and I in turn not wanting to shout (sometimes with my headphones on I don't realize my actual volume and I tend to yell) would wave "hi" instead. It was such a beautiful day out and as I planned, I enjoyed all kinds of plantlife, playful birds, fragrant and NOT so fragrant smells. Saw more rural parts of this town than I'd ever seen before. At one point I even saw a donkey just munching on some straw.

I really soaked in the warm sunshine and was grateful for the cool breeze too. At times I would make a landmark as I tend to do to encourage myself to go 'just a bit further' and when I'd make it to that certain landmark it was like God was high fiving me for crossing that next line. I certainly enjoyed myself while trying to balance pushing myself a bit and not too much so that I would'nt be too sore. I'm still getting used to more regular exercise these days. I've always enjoyed it but haven't really made it a priority as I'm trying to do now. While some people have their 'thing', their outlet in some way or other I'm learning that running and exercising is 'my' thing! Some people just have to paint, or design, or sing or play an instrument....I notice that if I don't have me time, it's NOT pretty! I'm a much better, nicer, more calm person if I just get even a little bit of me time. Part of the running for me is also a sense of accomplishment I think which I think everyone needs too.

I think I'm going to change things up a bit though from time to time. Like working out in the gym, going for a bike ride, running in the neighbourhood, or at a park, and I'm especially looking forward to running along the beach. That'll be a fun one! Well, whatever is your 'thing' make time for it and, enjoy it to the fullest!

Full of Possibilities!

Today is full of possibilities! It's already 845am and I've got the dishes done, counters wiped down, breakfast made, kids ready and out the door, bathroom cleaned up, and I'm dressed and ready to go. Thought I'd sit here and check my email while my food digests but other than that I'm ready for all the possibilities for today! On the agenda for today are the must do's which include attending Chrish's soccer game which I'm looking forward to seeing my boy play his big heart out. Then later this afternoon is babysitting for my sister n' law so she can go to a wedding. That's from 345pm til' late tonight and will be fun and tiring I'm sure :D
Now on to......the possibilities! Maybe I could go running with the wind blowing against my face, my heart beating to a favourite song I like, being in the sunshine surrounded by the birds and such fascinating, detailed creation like the trees, plants and flowers. Besides great exersice I think it's also incredibly healthy for the mind and spirit too.
What else? Let me see, there's the unlikely possibility of reading a few chapters of a good book. I'm trying to dig into the one called "Eat, Pray, Love". I've heard good things about it but seem to get laughably interrupted every time I begin to crack open the book. Hhmm? Maybe the timing is just not right. Or, maybe that's just life. In any case I'm determined to get started on that book.
There's amazing possibilities with food everyday. I told you I enjoy food! There's the tasty veggies with some garlic and a dallop of butter which I always enjoy. Some flavourful chicken or a nice juicy steak.....oh, wait I actually prefer mine dry. I didn't say I was a great cook. Just that I really enjoy food. Some yummy hazelnut coffee with a bit of carmel creamer which is highly likely especially around 6pm tonight after chasing my two neices around a bit. Oh, I also think I'll make some scones. I've had this new recipe I've been wanting to try for the last few days and why not today. Though I'm full my tongue can almost taste the jasmine green tea accompanying a tasty fluffy scone. Okay enough of the food my mouth is craving a few too many things.
Well, we'll see what actually happens today. Possibilities are really quite endless most everyday and hopefully today will be a productive, yet relaxing (atleast for a little bit) fun enjoyable day! I hope yours is all you want it to be today too!

Thou Shalt Add miniMarshmellows!

Goodmorning! So after getting to bed after 2a.m hanging out with some girlfriends (that's VERY late for me!) I woke up at 7a.m (which is sleeping in for me) to do dishes, laundry...okay not really it just sounded better...I had to go pee SO bad! So then I also wanted to see if it was still raining and find out if Chrish's game was cancelled. Yes his game is cancelled because the fields are too wet - he's NOT happy about that (even went to sleep in his shin guards and uniform) When I opened the curtains to see that it was still raining I got almost giddy. Actually as I speak, my kids are outside all bundled up (sweatshirts, hats, mitts {good} and flip flops? EMMA!?) playing outside in the rain. The kids have always been excited when it rains. Almost as much as I was about it snowing when I lived back in Canada. We also have a rule in our house, that when it rains it's just an unspoken rule that THOU SHALT MAKE HOT COCO! With mini marshmellows atop of coarse!!!
I absolutely LOVE these kinds of days. These are the stay in your jammy days, snuggle up, play games and cuddle days. You can never get too much snuggle time in! Amamzingly the kids are all getting along! Going back outside for round number 2. They just helped brother get bundled up and I made Emmers change into more suitable shoes. I'm curious to see how many minutes it will take from the next time they come in for them to ask for their naturally expected hot cocoa. Now THIS is Autumn. Unlike our 80 degree weather in October. THIS is refreshing :D
I just went outside with the kids for a minute to take a photo. (Emma wasn't quite happy about that) It has already stopped raining : (
No sooner did I turn around to come back in and I hear "Hey mom, can we have our hot coco?" with each adding his/her own idea ....."oh yeah, and smores, and cookies and ...." OKAY 9am let's pass on the smores atleast til' after lunch. Hot cocoa okay but smores? Not quite yet! Better go start on the coco.

Seat LOCK!

Ok too funny not to share. You know how when someone wants to sit in the front seat of the car they yell out "shotgun!"? Well, the girls had finished their homework and were both being couch potatoey. Well, I'm not sure which one but one of the girls had to get up for something and shouted out "seat lock!" Hadn't heard that one before. We just laughed ;D
I don't know why they think they can claim their spot on the couch but they sure do try. Sometimes they'll go off even for an hour or twenty minutes or so thinking that when they get back that they are actually entitled to "their" spot again. I mean if they have to go to the washroom or get a drink and want to return back to their seat I understand but more than a few minutes I don't think so. They've even resorted to leaving "reserved" signs on their spot.
Now of coarse being a parent.....well, we've earned the right to sit wherever we'd like whenever we'd like! I remember as a kid hearing that. "You're younger than me. Get up!, or Out of my chair!" Now I'm the adult and I get the luxuries that come with it. They don't tell you when you're a kid though that with the benefits comes all the stresses and responsibilities too! Probably a good thing.
Emma today brought home a colourful picture of the world. She was asking Lar and I "how do you spell Columno?". "What do you mean honey?" come to find out she meant Columbus. Too cute I tell ya!
I love the cute not quite right things they say. I'm hearing less and less the older they get but have written a few of them down over the years.
There's the typical almost expected ones like "panpakes, pagetti, tomatoe meaning potatoe..." and then some famous ones like "front bum, who took a bite out of the moon?...." many more I've sadly forgotten and can't quite place where I put that special book with more of their cute sayings.
Now with them pretty much knowing how to talk properly it's the things they write that are pretty funny and cute. Emma sounded out the words "I LOVE you" all on her own and writes "ILFU". How adorable! Chrish got his spelling test back today and the spelling word was "crutches". You can probably already guess what he wrote.....yep, "crotches". I told him and I knew he'd get a kick out of that which he did! One time Hannah didn't want to do dishes so she automatically started to write lines. She knew that I'd discipline her for not doing what she was told so she thought she'd get a head start I guess. This was when she was probably around five or six. It's amazing how kids can melt your heart unlike any other.

Catchin' My Breath

Well, in a little bit here I have to go pick up our oldest, Caley from her first dance. Yes, that's right! She went to a community dance that I'm told and trusting is well chaperoned and basically more like a party then an actual dance. She was extremely excited which I can understand why. I am excited to hear what she thought of it though. In her excitement, she couldn't get there soon enough. A half hour before the dance she had my keys and was insisting that we go. I told her that the doors wouldn't even open til' 7pm......when we got there 10 minutes early there was already a large crowd of a couple hundred kids. Ooops, next time we will leave a half hour early. While dropping her off she insisted that I NOT walk her in cause her friends were right there and she knows me. I could barely hold back the tears long enough to pull the car away from spectating eyes. I wasn't bawling, just crying a bit both happy and sad. Happy that my baby is growing up and sad that ......she's just growing up way too fast! I know it's all part of life, part of this 'journey' that we're on. I'm trying to really live in the moment and savour as much as possible. I think I do for the most part.
It's pretty hard to savour the moment when you're not feeling well as I am tonight. More than anything I'm tired and my throat is getting more and more sore by the second. Do you ever just have those days where you just WANT TO complain, and be a big baby and be pampered? That's how I feel today. But I'm sure all the things I have to do tomorrow will overshadow my 'not feeling well' and it will probably be good to distract myself from how bad I feel.
Well, gotta go pick Caley up. I guess I dozed off for a few.
I just went and picked up my girl. She DID have a great time as I expected! I got there about 15 minutes early (for parking) and was rather encouraged by all the security guards around and all the other 'eager to pick their kids up' parents that parked and were only inches from the doors. Most of them had this certain look of anticipation on their faces (probably all the 6th grade parents.) Then you could tell that ones that had been there done this a bunch of times already. They didn't seem to have that excited, nervous look on their faces. It cracked me up seeing the kids pouring out through the doors and most of them on their cell phones not even waiting to see if their parents were out the door. It was quite comical!
I'm So glad she had a great time! She hung out with a bunch of friends both old and new. The music selection was great apparently and though I'm told at first the 6th graders were a little shy (compared to the 7th and 8th) it didn't take long for them to start bustin' moves. So they DO dance at these parties! One of my friends has chaperoned before and said that the chaperones walk around putting their arms in between people if there is any couple dancing. There is a certain distance one must maintain at these dances. Well, she's already counting down til' the next dance in November. Caley was horrified when we told her that her dad and I would be chaperoning and were going to busta move and teach these young people to REALLY dance! We only said it for a reaction and got the one we thought we'd get.

I LIKE TO EAT!!!!!

Okay so after months of NOT going to the gym, I finally broke down and MADE myself go this morning! I'm so tired of hearing myself complain about this not fitting anymore "oh this must of shrunk too!" and "I'm SO exhausted.....". I'm sorry but I just can't eat only salad. I LIKE to eat! I enjoy food, and am VERY thankful God made it and pray we even get it in heaven (especially ice cream, and chocolate, well that's a given). I think the last time I went to the gym was in um (gulp) March, or maybe even April. Well.....it's October first today! Oh gosh, especially with the holidays coming up. Yikes!

I actually enjoy excersicing and working out, playing sports etc....I am just not one for doing it by myself. I had a work out partner and she just got so discouraged that she just quit. I think that's why I ended up quitting was because I didn't have anyone to go into that HUGE, overwhelming, stinky, sweaty pick up joint with. Well, it's hard to find someone who has a similar schedule as you, or even goes to the same gym as you (kind of expensive......I almost considered paying my friends way) I don't like going after the kids are in school because by the time I get into the gym it's mid-morning, then work-out, come home and shower and oh, it's lunchtime and the kids will be coming home soon. Where's the day gone then?

Last night I made sure to get to bed at a descent time, and asleep by 10pm. Not too bad! I woke up to see if it was near 5am and when I looked at the clock feeling pretty rested it was only 1am. Then I kept waking up off and on because I didn't want the alarm to wake everyone up that early. I ended getting out of bed 15 minutes before my alarm went off at 5am. Got dressed, even did some stretching. I'm big on that! I remember how sore and stiff you get when you don't stretch enough. Had my work out outfit, running shoes, sweat cloth, and ipod all ready and charged last night ready to go. I sat on the couch for about 10 minutes this morning going back and forth on "should I start today or not?" I knew if I didn't go today that it would be even harder tomorrow.

Got to the gym, where with the money that has been accumulating from all the months we didn't go.....we could have bought a peice of equiptment for our home which I'd still really like to do. I skipped the overwhelmingly complicated weights (you shouldn't have to re-assemble the weights yourself I'm sorry it's just too early for that!) with all the scatterd body builders and headed straight upstairs to do some cardio. The layout of this gym is really quite stupid to me. Instead of having privacy and facing outward like most gyms do, it has everyone looking inward where you can't help but people watch which is why I DON'T do the weights or atleast a lot cause I don't need people watching me fumble around and making that slamming noise every once in a while. I did the bike for a while and then went on this stair climber/eliptical machine. I got myself all situated, keys, water and sweat cloth placed just so. Picked my program and level and of coarse out of a dozen available machines I had to pick the one that made this really loud thumping noise. I kept waiting for a worker to come and tell me to get off it was too loud! I didn't want to make a scene so I just tried to do my time and remember NOT to go on the 4th machine from the wall again!

I was pretty winded but caught my breath on my way home whlie enjoying the beatiful sun rays peaking through the mountains. What a sight! Then I got home and started our morning wake up and get the kids ready for school routine. So now I'm off to have a hopefully very productive day. Then to bed early for me to get back at the gym again tomorrow ;D

CHOCOLATE or Vanilla?

Well today started off with us going to watch lil' man play a soccer game which was fun. He scored the first goal for their team and they won 7-1. Uncle Myke came and watched too which was so sweet of him and meant a lot to Chrish. We then headed home for a bit and then of coarse to our favourite breakfast place The Original Pancake House. (Yum yum!) After that my bro and I both needed to get our cars washed so we went and hung out at the carwash for a bit. Sweating in the supposed 'Autumn' weather.
Came home to a couple of cuddling sleepyheads on the couch (Lar and Emma) SO precious! We gained to more kids for the weekend which is fun for the kids. They so enjoy having friends over. First thing Chrish and Aaron did was make a .........you guessed it, ......sigh.....fort. Then it was outside for them building, playing baseball, football, breaking the masterbath window : ( skateboarding, and soccer. The girls have been playing "bratz" which they do for hours and hours. Sometimes they won't even come out to eat, but more recently I'm insisting on it. They play so well together. Emma has been going back and forth from group to group til' she gets kicked out and the older kids want their privacy. Caley, poor girl has been fighting a really bad cold. I gave her sleepy cold meds though and she slept the majority of the day. Since she woke up she's been remarkably better - Yay! I really get bummed when the kids get sick or hurt or troubled. Not depressed bummed, just heavy hearted.
I think I've loaded and unloaded the dishwasher 3 times so far today. Still have some pots and pans to do too. My hands are squeaky ' palmolive' clean! I also baked two cakes. Chocolate and vanilla. We took a vote and were split; meaning they wanted vanilla and mama wanted chocolate! Boy that chocolate one sure was delicious ;P I decided that this weekend I would indulge however much I want because come Monday it's time to shape up and get serious. I'm planning on getting back to the gym and starting to work out again. It's been several months since I last went. I do enjoy working out I just am not thrilled about the idea of going by myself to this HUGE gym. But I figure I'll get my ipod and rock out with fun people such as: the Goo Goo Dolls, U2, Coldplay, good ol' Lenny Kravitz (he's great for cardio and cleaning too!..... I find if I get into my routine and exercise regularily I have more motivation to eat healthier but still realisticly ( how I DO love my sweets) Now it's time though early, for me to wind down and conserve some energy for tomorrow.

Remote Control Anyone?

Don't you ever wish you could just 'pause' life sometimes? Certain moments in life that you could just savour a little longer and freeze. Or atleast have on 'slow-play' so you could live it but just a little bit slower. I'm so grateful to actually have more moments that I'd want to pause or slow-play than not.
I know sometimes there are definately moments I wish I could fast forward or rewind and re-do. It would be interesting to actually see yourself, live your life eh. Probably a bit weird, and even embarrassing at times but it would be a rather remarkable thing to be able to live outside ones self.
Right now I'm sitting on the couch with this odd non-noise. It's almost too quiet in here. It was bothering me so much I just had to turn on the tv in the back room. So then it wouldn't be right in front of me distracting me, but still giving me that soothing comfort of ' not being alone' I guess. The kids are actually due home from minimum day in about ten minutes now.
I've had a rather productive morning so that's a good feeling. Dishes done, laundry folded (put away? yeah right) counters washed, bathrooms cleaned, floors swept (not mopped cause on Wednesdays I get 7 kids running in/out of here for a bit in the afternoon......so it's pointless really) appliances wiped down of all the various sizes of fingerprints. I was telling a friend that it's almost pointless to clean BEFORE the kids get home because once their home from school all my morning work is 'undone' and I basically start over after homework time only don't get as far. I try to laugh about it and really do most days but some days it just gets to me. There are times I like to actually sit and enjoy the house being clean and today was one of those days. I'm planning on having to do it again after homework time and a dentist visit today while making dinner. The one good thing about being able to clean up the house so often is that I'm learning to do it pretty fast while thorough. Now here's to trying to 'teach' the kids to clean after themselves. They're getting a bit more trained than before so that's something. Well, I heard that car door slam........the kids are coming ; ) ..........Here we go!

Crooked Smile : {

The last couple of weeks we've been getting back into our 'school' routine as well as some other fun and not so fun things. On the not so fun part, quite sad really, my lil' Emmabear went to the dentist expecting to get some cavities filled. Well, she did get filled alright, with lots of numbing medicine. Poor thing had to get a root canal. Didn't know they even did those on kids so young. She was such a trooper and I honestly think it was harder on me than her. She was SO numbed up on the right side it lasted for several hours which started to worry me that maybe they shot her up with too much medicine. We kept checking on her saying "Emma, smile now" and this was the result: That was four or five hours after the dentist visit too. She now has her beautiful not crooked smile back.....Yay! and Whewww!
Okay so now for some of the fun things: Hhmmm well, let's start with the skate board ramp that was built by Christians uncle Chris. Quite the generous project he did I'd say. Just the thing lil' man needs though to keep him occupied and out of trouble. Any spare time he has he's on that ramp doing tricks that I can hardly bare to watch. He's quite incredible really, but his bravery that he has is a bit nerve wrecking.
On Friday Emma was invited to a 'Hannah Montanna' party. She's been counting down the days. We got her all dressed up as a 'rocker' and did her hair pretty stylin' and she got her hair all punked out with pink and purple spray, some make-up and nail polish to boot. The little diva came home all tuckered out having danced for an hour straight apparently.
Oh, and Christians back to playing soccer again with his dad as assistant coach. He's 7 playing with 9 year olds and his proud mama might add that he holds his own!

Back 2 School!

Well, the kids just finished their first full week at school. They started on the 4th and I think that we're all adjusting to our new schedule. No more sleeping in or staying up late, but I have to say I think routine is a good thing for all involved. On the first day it is our tradition to walk to school as a family and walk the kids to where they need to be. Caley and Emma accompanied us even though they both had different start times and Caley an all together different school. I have to say I did pretty good about not crying. Especially after the "you'd better not cry and embarrass me mom!" from Caley for a week before school even started. As we were walking seeing the kids who obviously sprouted up quite a bit over the summer, carrying their backpacks and with their new 'back to school' outfit and cute hairdos.....it choked me up and I had to G-U-L-P down my emotions and take a deep breath. How fast my babes do grow : (
Emma is absolutely LOVING kindergarten! When I picked her up the first day I was so excited to hear how she did so I said "how was it Emma?" she shouted with a HUGE smile on her face " Mama, I got an A+!" and she still talks about that and how she's planning on getting more. Christian, now in the second grade is enjoying school. I think it's more that he gets to see his buddies. He's off to a good start though and even has gotten a few "star acheivement" awards already! That's my boy! Hannah is making the most of her last year at this school. Her fifth grade class is right next to Emmas kindergarten class so they can say hi to each other sometimes. She's not too happy about homework especially since she got some even on the first day but is good about coming home and getting it done. Caley, my Jr. Higher....is really enjoying school and a little overwhelmed with the boat load of 6 classes of homework. She's holding her own though and getting used to this new amount of pressure.
I've just started volunteering in the three younger kids classes which is the first time I've been able to help out, being that I've always had a kiddo at home to tend to. So, it's something new and so far fun. Surprisingly tiring, but a nice chance to see the kids in their element.

More Pics OF Our Trip......

Vacation 2007

Okay so that was fun! We just got back last night from our 9 day get away to Las Vegas. Las Vegas in August? Well, we stayed at our friends house. Our friends weren't there so we had the whole place to ourselves. We had more space then we knew what to do with. There was a pool too so we got TONS of swimming in!!!
I never realized what little fishies my kids were til' this trip. We swam for hours and hours every day, and I don't think the water temperature could've been any more perfect. It was so nice to be able to watch them and yet at the same time relax on my inflatable lounge chair while getting a nice tan too. I also really enjoyed playing various games like "Marco Polo" and lap races, or who could stand on their hands the longest, who could do the most somersaults.....It really made me feel like I was a young kid again. Plus, not to mention watching the kids have SO much fun while having fun with them is to me a piece of heaven on earth. I LOVE watching people have a great time and smile and laugh uninhibited!
Maybe I should've started with this first but......We left for our trip on a Friday night (to avoid traffic-yuck!) and also (the hubby had a poker game and what's more is we had a better chance of NOT hearing "are we there yet?" for 3 hours the later we left) so we left around 3am (hubby's a nightowl what can I say?) and I couldn't sleep at all on the way there 'cause I felt a duty to make sure he didn't fall asleep (it was more me, than him) So by the time we got there the sun was just coming up and the kids started to awake one by one. Then we got to the house, and by this time Larry and I are exhausted and the kids are becoming more increasingly excited! We tell them to stay put in the livingroom if they were'nt going to bed, and we tried to get some sleep. Well, he got some and I got 15minutes. I got woke up with a "MOM! There's a loud beep going on and it won't stop!" So I rushed downstairs with my eyes somewhat cracked open, and managed to find that horribly loud screeching alarm! With the push of a button it had stopped. I guess they unlocked a door they weren't suppose to. So, I then went to the couch and couldn't keep my eyes open and was constantly awoke by "Can we go swimming?" and "Mom I'm hungry!".......so I finally gave up on trying to get sleep. I don't know about you but whenever I try to nap or sleep and am being interupted it only makes me more cranky, so I just don't until the time is more suitable.
I did get my second wind and we enjoyed our first day as well as all the rest with swimming,swimming,swimming and more swimming! As well as eating yummy vacation foods such as donuts, ice cream, cookies, chips and dip.........mixed in with some healthy food too of coarse, but hey we were on vacation or atleast that's what I kept telling myself. Seriously though I don't think my kids have eaten so much fruit in one week. I kept a pretty consistent bowl of cut up fruit that kept emptying before I could even finish cutting up the day lot.
There was one day that hubby took us to Circus Circus. They still were saying thank you just yesterday and that was a few days ago! We got there, ate at a really expensive, crappy restaurant where my youngest wouldn't even eat a quesadilla. Now how can you go wrong with that? SO, okay moving onto the attractions. We got our tickets (luckily the gal at the counter was gracious enough to point out where to get some coupons, otherwise a family of 6 for a daypass would be like a million dollars....instead it was half price, thank you nice lady!) Then we spent the day riding on rollercoasters, a huge watercoaster, bumper cars of coarse (they rock), bungee jumping, some 3D shows. Emma did NOT enjoy the SpongeBoB motion ride (thank God it was only 4-5 minutes! There were also some carnival games and a trashbag full of stuffed animals were won (cause we needed more stuffed animals) Oh another one Emma did NOT like was the little bumpy train coaster! There was actually a video camera in front of every car and so we got to see her expression the whole time......it was kind of funny but we didnt' want to buy it for fear of embarrassing her down the road at how scared she was :( Sounds mean but you had to be there. We ended our time there with allowing the kids to get a "build-a-fake-bear" which they've been cuddling with since.
Our time in Vegas was very bonding. Lots of cuddling, watching movies, colouring, poker (well, hubby did),fooseball, reading books, painting nails, and of coarse yes even on vacation the kids just had to make a fort changing it every five minutes making it bigger and better. I have to admit the time went surprisingly fast, but not too fast like it sometimes does. We couldn't remember the last time we took a vacation and did, well in some peoples books, nothing. No tours, no meeting up with people, no be here at this time and take this map and find huh? We came back refreshed and relaxed and very thankful for our trip!

Here We Come.....

This morning Caley and I went to the Jr. High to get her all registered for school. After an hour and a half at this station and that station, getting her photo taken and picking up all her workbooks and her schedule she is officially registered. Pretty pumped too I might add. She's all set except for some supplies we need to get and some runners for P.E which she'll have everyday. She's got her backpack which she has already stuffed with her clothes for our vacation.....only 5 days early. Nothing wrong with being prepared!
When we got home we looked on the schools website and figured out her walking route from class to class. Nothing too crazy! Her classes are actually quite close together. I also figured out my "Mama's chauffer schedule" I'm calling it. Pretty much that's what it will be like. I'll just get some good books, a few magazines, some lined paper for my 'lists', some snacks, and a drink. Typical chauffeur activities right?! Luckily the kids schools are super close. As much as we've been enjoying the summer even the kids are getting pretty excited about starting school. Maybe not Hannah, but everyone else.
We're planning on having our 'last' beach day on Thursday and then have all of next week to swim in a pool and have fun together too! This week the reality of a new season is sinking in. New school supplies, new schedules, .........homework hour (not looking forward to that) but I'll end on a good note.......how blessed am I to be able to hang out with my 4 wonderful kids, watching them grow (way too fast I must say) while ending one jam packed fun season with a new slate, a different kind of busy of brand new opportunities and memories. Here we come Fall' 2007!

We'll Have Fun, Fun, Fun......

Well, summer is almost over and the kids will be going back to school before we know it! They start the Tuesday after Labor Day. I'm pretty mixed about it. I really do love hanging out with them in the summer just having lots of fun and making some memories. Going to the beach, sleeping in, watching movies in our nice chilled livingroom, getting ice cream (if I keep it in the house I'll eat it all!) having BBq's, hanging out with our friends, going to concerts.....
I must admit that it will be nice to get back to a more regular schedule which = less grumpy kids. I enjoy getting up early in the morning even though sleeping in is nice in theory, I like having more hours in my day and being more productive. This summer, I've been way laid back just soaking it all in with the kiddos. Unfortunately I think they're getting on each others nerves and need to get back with their friends at school.
We've gone to the beach about twice a week and it just never gets old. I'd say 95% of the time we've seen groups of dolphins too - which I absolutely love! I think they're so playful and fun to watch. My oldest and I have got loading and unloading the car down to a science. We tried out a different beach last week that we had heard of. Would've been great for when my kids were toddlers (barely any waves) and though they were pretty bummed when we first got there, they really made the most of it and had a good time.
This week will mean finishing up back to school shopping, taking the kids to the dentist, to the hairdressers, registering Caley for Jr. High and Emma for kindergarden and then getting packed up for our vacation. We leave on Saturday for a week. YAY! Looking so forward to a week of relaxing, swimming, reading, photographing, listening to music and having a good time!

This weekend went by pretty fast. Friday night was cuddling with the kiddos while Lar was across the street playing poker. Saturday morning I woke up, made some pancakes and forgetfully made Christian shove a big one down his throat while rushing off to play soccer. Oopsies.......totally forgot about him getting cramps. Poor kiddo was obviously hurting while playing but still managed to score two goals and the team devastated the other team with a 6-0 win. The rest of the day was birthday party limbo......and with the youngest Hampton left I called in a favour and sent Emmers across the street to sister in laws. She loves playing with her cousins. SO, while she was playing I was having some 'me-time'. I couldn't believe how amazingly tired I was, so after a nice hot bath I took a nap. I have a hard time taking them so this should explain a bit just HOW tired I really was. Then, Lar got home from the wedding he attended, the kids came home from their party they went to.....roller skating. I went to tuck Emma in bed and ended up falling asleep with her at about 8pm.
Today we woke up and went to church like a normal Sunday. Larry led worship today and I taught Sunday school. Right after church I had to go pick up my neices from a sitters, and babysit for the afternoon. It went good and we had fun :D They're quite precious! By the time I got home and ate the chinese my sis n' law generously picked up for us, I was wiped!!! I was SO hungry but couldn't eat much cause the huge mess left over from yesterday was getting to me. It's amazing at how just even getting the dishes washed makes the house look SO much cleaner! After that was done, it was already time to get the kiddos bathed and into bed......where DOES the time go?
We got the kids to bed, had to go pick up my car and then Lar and I grabbed a coffee and a decorated cheesecake. We had a quick check-in with each other while at the same time inhaling our delicious cheesecake and pecan praline latte. Our own little celebration of the beginning of Autumn :D Not a bad way to start the new season.

What Was I Thinking?

So the girls decided that they wanted to share a room again.....being that Hannah is always sleeping in Caley's bed everynight anyways. We planned bedding and colours and layout and had it all worked out. We got the bedding which was on sale this week (gotta love sales) Really cute (did I mention on sale.....yay!) and knew that we wanted a 'tan' colour.

Well, 'tan' colour is a little bit vague. Today the girls couldn't get me out of the house soon enough to go to Home Depot to get paint, rollers, tape etc...... I forgot how awful I am at picking colours. I mean, I thought I was on the right track. I remembered to atleast bring a swatch of the fabric. The paint chip matched the swatch in the store (in the horrible florescent warehouse lighting) We three agreed it looked just right!

Got home and the prep work took quite a while! I guess I should mention that naturally the girls were VeRY eager to participate in this redecorating of their room. (understandably) Well, then they decided to recruit 5year old Emma! Everything was going pretty smoothly in our rather close quarters. Besides the "why can't we just paint RIGHT now!?".....I was telling them that prep work is the hardest part of painting. Of coarse it took even longer with unexperienced minors 'trying' to help. I was determined to make the most of it though and should say we did have fun.

After a good few hours or emptying the room, dusting, sweeping, taping, priming and yes our first coat...............we realized that we didn't really care for the colour. This is the part of me that I wish was more mature, and could've just bought the quart sized can of paint, tested it out and then went from there. But NOoooooo, I had to be all excited and just had to buy the gallon size assuming it would work.

Somewhere in between checking on the other two kids I booted out and grabbing a snack, the older girls made quite......a mess would be an understatement......quite a disaster!!! They did have fun doing it, but lets just say there is STILL little painted footprints all down the hallway, and after an hour soaking in the tub, the girls also still have paint on them. I put a halt to our project and told the girls that we'd find a better colour choice tomorrow.

I think when I get a more suitable choice of paint tomorrow, I will be painting solo because the kids definately had their share of it already. Plus painting is already quite a challenge (much easier done without the kids 'help') and now I also have paint to scrub off of this and that. (We started off so well) All in all, fun times were had but I have a lot of work ahead of me. I do think a better shade of tan will make all the effort worth it though and more importantly the girls having a special, beautiful room they enjoy and smiles on their faces ;D

Things I like........

Besides family and friends which are already a given......DUH.....
Some of the things I most enjoy are...........(and in no particular order)
-birds (thanks to my Gram I have a great appreciation and awe for God when I see them)
-running
-exercising (though I should confess I haven't in months)
-coffee (YAY Starbucks)
-Ice Cream (what more can I say!) Lately it's been NY cream cheese Frozen yogurt topped w/ mixed berries
- the sunrise/set (especially by water, is like heaven on earth)
-singing (mostly when I'm alone so I can really let loose - my kids get a crack out of it too)
-spending one on one time with people
-cuddling
-seeing Larry or the kids faces light up about something ; D (LOVE that)
-photography (hope to take a class maybe this Fall)
-hairstyling
-cleaning with the music blasting
-dressing up fancy
-having jammy day
-going on trips/traveling
-making lists (not that I always 'do' what's on the list but......
-finding pictures in the clouds
-finding the face on the moon/watching the stars
-fondues.... (cheese and chocolate!)
-going to the spa (facials, massages, mani/pedis)
-reading a good book (with no interuptions)
I'm sure I could go on and on and probably left out some stuff I'll kick myself later for but it makes me thankful to think of and see these things because they're apart of my life pretty regularly. I know I am a blessed woman ; D

More summerfun : D

Just thought I'd throw in some recent photos of our fun summer so far.
Out in the pool making the best of it.....Emma was a grumpygrump and did NOT want her photo taken! I told her we'd use it as evidence of what a grump she truly was ......later.
Every Sunday after church the kids like to jam on the drums and piano, this time Lar let Chrish rock out on his guitar.
I actually got the kids (1/2 fish 1/2 human) to get out of the water and pose with me! Emma gave me a nice big hug!
Emma and I were cozying up at our beach bonfire which was a bit chilly but made for a good excuse to cuddle.....YAY!
Looking at the photos of the girls on my lap.....I didn't realize what good photographers they're becoming.....Caleybear (almost as big as me) ......and Hannah is trying to catch up to her.
Lil' man posing with mama's sunglasses on ;D
Emmabear running around the beach with her red dress (using it as a cape) being 'Supergirl!'

Licence to Play

Yesterday was the much anticipated day away with my friend Amber! Being that we both have four kids, it was a much needed escape from the tedious everyday demands that are both hard work and pleasurable at the same time. We wanted to make the absolute most out of our day away as we could possibly squeeze in so we started our adventure at 7am. It's probably already apparent where we went, but I'll just say it anyways, we went to get coffee first though our excitement was a buzz itself.

We then headed to the beach, and while our gabbing and catching up distracted us from our planned route, it turned out for the better because we ended up going to a wonderful restaurant called 'Plums' off of E.17th St. in Costa Mesa. We had both been taken there a couple years ago by another friend of ours and loved it! I just could never remember how to get back. We gladly stuffed our faces and savoured every bite. Definately a place to go again, and again, and again!

We then drove along the coast even stopped by to check out 'Crystal Cove' which is now State owned and is a really cute little beach village literally steps away from the beach with a restaurant and little store. After we checked that out we headed for our original destination, Laguna Beach. Found a rather peculiar parking garage......"leave our keys? yeah right!" it WASN'T even valet! After that was settled we walked around some of the shops and then set up at the beach, bringing only the essentials (being sunscreen, water, beach chair, towel, sunglasses and of coarse some trashy magazines to read - gotta keep up on all the celebs) and not the usual truck-load of stuff we normally bring. It was amazing! We could lay down! Even close our eyes, face a-w-a-y from the water, you don't even know how exciting this truly was! I, me, Cherie even took a nap! It was magical!!! Went to grab some lunch on a rooftop with a beautiful beach view, pigeons grabbing food by our toes, and enjoyed a delicious lunch at "C'est La Vie", went back to the beach for a while with none other than 'Starbucks' enjoying the crashing sound of the waves and a beautiful bridal party getting married on the beach.

We eventually decided to pack up and head to the Irvine Spectrum. At the Spectrum we just 'had' to grab some cheesecake, of course! Walked it off a little looking around at all the cute little shops, and then saw a late showing of "LIcence to Wed" which I thought was rather cute and the audience was laughing pretty much throughout the whole movie. I always get a kick out of other peoples laughs ; D

It really was a great day! I'm very thankful to have had the break and time to miss the family as I'm sure they did me.

So, Saturday was a a pretty mellow day around the Hampton house. Larry had to go to a 3 hour mandatory class to be an assistant coach on Christians soccer team (already starting in August) While he was out doing that I was hanging out with the kiddies enjoying 'not' having to be anywhere in the a.m. or do anything particular. Now as I'm writing I'm realizing that I may have already blogged about this day. So I may have also already mentioned that I went to breakfast with my girlfriends, and then later went shopping with Donna and our girls at Fashion Island which was a nice change from the regular quick trip to Target (which I love it's just that variety is nice too)
All of us were apparently sleepyheads on Sunday 'cause we all slept in! Luckily Larry didn't have to lead worship Sunday morning. We all had our 'one hour' clean up which feels more productive when everyone is helping clean up the house. Goes by faster too ; D
Larry decided to take us all out for lunch to our usual ' Pancake House' which is always a treat! Then we went to the beach to meet some family and friends for a beach bonfire at Balbo Pier. We got there around 4pm and left around 9ish. My sister in law brought this 'super-roaster' which is much like a metal tree that can roast somewhere between 20-30 marshmallows at a time......let's just say we only used that once. The kids of coarse 'had' to roast their own which thanks to my good friend Marianne who gave us these totally great marshmallow roasters (you can roast 4 at a time) everyone had something to roast on. We all had a great time and left pretty tired!
We then had a rough early morning. Lar and I were alarmed at about 5am when Chrish came in crying because he was sleepwalking and bumped his head so hard on his bookshelf that he got a narly goose egg! We brought him in bed with us and put an icepack on his head for over an hour.....swelling gone down a bit.....but still visible. Monday (today) was his first day of a one week baseball camp which he was really eager to go to. So, I told him we'd go and see how he felt. Well, he's quite the trooper because he had a super-long day basically being up since 5am and being at camp from 8:30am-3:30. He had a great time though. Got some home runs and struck people out.......that's my boy!
Tonight Larry's at band practice (he's got a gig tomorrow night) so the kids and I are having egg salad sandwiches for dinner and going to cuddle and have a mellow, relaxing night : D Thank God for cuddly kids.......YAY!

Catchin' Up!

This last week consisted of beach days on Monday and Thursday, the kids surprising us with a breakfast on the patio (scrambled eggs, oj, and some fruit) it was a great start to the day ; D , then another surprise of turning the garage into a 'restaurant'. The kids got all dressed up fancy, had centerpeices on the tables, music playing, a menu with food choices, Chrish played the piano for us, Emma and Chrish danced, massaged us and kept heaping lots of hugs and kisses on us. I guess Christian thought it would be a nice idea for mom and dad to have a date. Caley and Hannah were very professional in catering to us. A precious moment I will remember always! Yesterday being Friday Dara invited the kids and I to come over for a swim. We first walked to the Spectrum to grab some lunch (love those Big Macs) and then went for a refreshing swim. Came home for a bit, and then went to the beach for 'movie night' and saw 'Over the Hedge' which was quite funny. I loved being at the beach to enjoy the sunset, the smell of the bonfires, the cool crisp air, and the you could really see the stars pretty well too.
Today after lounging around the house this morning taking it easy, my sister in law Donna, my friend Marianne and I went out to a favourite restaurant of mine " Pancake House" which is always SO delicious ; D I then came home, took an actual nap...was interrupted (that's why I don't nap usually anyway.....interupted sleep makes me cranky) Then Caley, Hannah and I went with Donna and her two little ones to Fashion Island (an outdoor mall) for a few hours which was something different than our normal weekend activities.
Up on my calendar for tomorrow.......cleaning up the house in the a.m. and then planning on going to the beach in the afternoon and enjoying a bonfire and some yummy marshmallows. Looking forward to it - should be fun!

Summertime Fun....

I realize that it's been a bit since I last wrote......just a little bit busy around here. (and I thought things would slow down in the summer) Just a different kind of busy. We're enjoying our time though, having sleepovers, going to the beach, eating yummy watermelon and berries, going to blockparties, waterballoons, slip n' slides, pools.........on another note....cleaning out the garage (it HAD to be done), giving the kids extra chores so they can save for a ? , how many times can you wash a beach towel before it starts to wear out?, cleaning out the cooler ( I just did that ....again? and again?), paper plates....I use those a lot in the summer ( I call it having 'grace' on myself...and saving water and energy right?!)
Okay back to the more fun part about summer.....I SO enjoy the kids little toesies and little bum cheeks that are SO pinchable. My kiddos are like little fish that won't come out of the water much. They like to boogie board, find seashells, baby crabs, dig huge holes and make forts in the sand. We enjoy our yummy picnic lunches, and of coarse ice cream! That's a must! I pray that there is ice cream in heaven.
Since getting out of school June 14th, we took a weekend trip to Palm Springs, gone to the beach, had VBS (vacation bible school - the kids enjoyed that a lot), Hannah has started vocal classes and spends a lot of her time now practising with karaoke cd's....so sweet!, a few pool parties, many sleepovers, we saw a few movies......enjoyed Evan Almighty, Shrek 3. I celebrated my birthday (does age REALLY matter?) Just kidding, I'm 32 years young and proud of it! (most days) We had a fun time at our neighbourhood block party for July 4th. We stood in our street to see a great view of the fireworks show that we wanted to skip the ridiculous traffic for and were happy we did! Oh, how could I forget.....Christian (forcefully) took out his first tooth....what can I say, the kid really likes money! He does look really cute I must say. We've had lots of cuddle time and I'm planning on making the most of our 59 days left til' the first day of school.
I plan on having a few beach bonfire parties, lots of more beach days, LOTS of more ice cream ; P , lots of yummy smelling sunblock ( I keep those companies in business) a nice vacation with the family, and who knows what else there might be......Hope yours is a wonderfully happy, safe summer ; )

Our Palm Springs Trip

On the last day of school, I loaded up the car and then picked up the kids for a four day trip to Palm Springs. My friend Amber and I brought our families to share a 2 bedroom condo and vacation together as we did last year. For three adults, and eight kids....it went pretty smooth. I don't think the temperature got over 105 F. Which for the desert is pretty good. Let's say we were in the water most of the time and at the peak of the heat we went to our condo to hang out and lay low. All my kiddos are like little fish that don't want to get out of the water. Emma surprised me with her confidence and independence in the water and actually was the hardest to get out. We had a great time swimming and going down the water slide again and again, the kids played in the well-chilled activity room which has arcade games, crafts, free movie with popcorn. We were back in time to celebrate and have a bbq for Fathers Day with some of our family.

jUnIoR HirE

My oldest is now officially a Jr. Higher. She's ready but I don't know if mama is! I can remember like yesterday staring at her delicate little tiny fingers and watching her eyelids flutter as I held her fast asleep. Now she's as tall as me (not hard to do when you're only 5'4) but none the less she is growing up faster than I'd like. I do have to say that although the lovely ' hormones' have made themselves a home in her rather early, she can be quite a caring, helpful, mature, beautiful girl that I love and enjoy (most of the time) being around. I'm very proud of her and honoured to call her my own. She told me now that she's in Jr. High she wants me to hire her to babysit and do things around the house to earn some money.
They had quite the elaborate party for the kids. People put a ton of time, money and generosity into making it a very special day for all 60 graduating kids. It was a pirate themed party which took up the whole park with a bunch of different stations with fun activities for the kids, airbrush tatooing, an amazing treasure chest cake one of the very talented moms made, the macharaina, and tons of pirate flags and decos all around. I personally got there at 6am to help set up and stayed until 215 to help out. Very exhausting, but super-fun day! The kids had a blast which was most important!
The day before this was the kids combo class party which was a luau and it was fun helping out with that one too. I so enjoy watching the kids have a great time and getting to meet their friends they spend most of their time with. The last day of school which was June 14th I picked them up at noon and we headed out for a weekend trip to Palm Desert. That deserves its own blog so more on that later..........

Happy Fathers Day Larry!

I just wanted to write though words definately are not enough to express overall what a great person, husband, and especially father that Larry is among many other roles/titles that he is. He is such a hard working, loyal, devoted, passionate man and it shows. He's such a hard worker who carefully balances work and play. He just LOVES spending time with his kids and they him! Whether it's playing catch, basketball, soccer, wrestling, tickling and cuddling, kissing and hugging, playing garage band with the kids Larry sure knows how to put a smile on the kids faces. He is such a gift from God to all who know him and we're truly blessed to have him in our lives.

Cheers!

Our good friends the Rethmeiers took us to a wine tasting party at the House of Blues in LA on Wednesday night. We were also joined with two of our other great friends Bobby and Jen. We drove down early and went to one of Lar's favourite guitar shops by the Santa Monica Pier. I've heard lots about it and finally got to see for myself what this place was like. It was smaller than I thought but crammed with quite a wide variety of guitars, amps, etc. Some were really cool looking and Larry and Bobby tried some out and cranked up the volume!
We then went to the House of Blues for dinner. We had some delicious hors deurves and started in on the wine tasting. There were two wine makers who paired a glass of wine for each course making a total of twelve different glasses. They seemed to progressively get better and better, but then again that could've been the alcohol's judgement. No I seriously believe they did. We met some 'interesting' people and some really normal people. Cheers to great company, good food, and always great laughs with Steve around. He makes my side hurt, in a good way from all the laughing.

Memorial day weekend

I'm backtracking a little bit, but we had such a fun Memorial Day weekend.......internet was down.....and I wanted to tell you about it. It wasn't great for Larry though, poor guy was sick in bed all day! It started out with on Saturday which was a really great day. We got to spend the day at Myke and Dara's and see their new appartment which is within walking distance to the Spectrum. This was the day poor Lar was sick in bed : (. (that's a 'period' not a mole) Myke and Dara bbq'd up some yummy hotdogs and burgers and we enjoyed a swim in one of their rather large pools. It felt as though we were at a resort. They even have a Starbucks on the corner. After a fun, refreshing swim and of course dip in the jacuzzi (yes even in Cali we use them and yes, even in 70 something weather) Myke was his usual fun self with the kids who adore him. Very sweet! After drying off and getting changed we then walked over to the Spectrum. I think it would've taken us longer to park then it did to walk there. Plus it was a nice scenic walk which I love! We got there, and watched Shrek 3 which we enjoyed. Emmabear said "Mommy, it was too long!" But I know that's mostly because she was wiped from a long day of swimming and fun......but thought it was cute of her. I think most everything she says is cute really.
The next day everyone slept in (Hallelujah!) and we skipped on church that day. Larry pulled himself out of bed to go though so he could lead worship. When he got home we loaded up the car with 3 extra kids and went to the church picnic. The kids were all excited to go because they had bounce houses, ice cream, and some game booths with prizes. I think the pouch on the back of my lawn chair still has those 'cheapo' prizes they won. We were all glad we went, and it was an incredibly gorgeous day which made all the effort worth it for sure!
Okay, so now Monday, Memorial day.....it was great staying in my pj's and taking it easy. Not waking the kids up before they're ready, or rushing anyone off to school, or packing lunches etc. We took our time and had yet another BBQ at Ed and Donna's. As always great food, good music and fun times!

Happy Birthday Ashmatash!

Today is the birthday of someone VERY special that I know. She is my sister, the baby of the fam, now in her twenties! Personally I enjoyed my twenties and find thirties even better (forties should be rockin' then eh). Anyways, I love her more than words can say, she is a gift from God! She's incredibly smart, funny, talented.....can do anything she puts her mind to, not to mention she's absolutely beautiful! I have to say, my littlest one reminds me very much of my sister which is fun to see. She cracks me up just like Ashley would! It kinda helps the 'sting' of us being 3000 miles apart not 'sting' quite as much.
Anyways, I'm SO grateful that Ashley was made, and even more that she's part of 'our' family! I look forward over the years to hanging out with her as much as possible and getting to do fun girly things that sisters do. I am honoured to know her and even more so to have her as my sister and friend. If you're reading this my lil' Ashmatash...have the most wonderful birthday possible filled with love, joy and all the things you love most! You are a rich treasure in my life whom I love dearly!!! xoxoxo

Happy Birthday Michael Michael

Happy Birthday Myke! I sure hope it's a great one!!!
We'll work on 'NOT' eating the paper plates by the time your next birthday rolls around. Maybe we'll do 'transformer' plates for you next year......or should we save that for your 30th? I dunno. ; )

I love you more than words can say. You are not only the sweetest, kindest brother ever, but a great friend that I enjoy hanging out with (Dairy Queen) and am thankful to and for. I'd pick you as a friend even if we weren't related. You are a wonderful Uncle that the kids absolutely adore, a smart, funny, though sometimes odd (but I'm glad you're free to be you) sensitive (just a little bit eh) considerate, compassionate, did I not mention very handsome, talented brother. If it's not coming across......I really love you!
Love Cher

Yummy Weekend

This weekend was sure a fun one! It started with a bbq at Donna and Ed's house with some friends and neighbours. Good food, music and fun times were had by all! Saturday 'I' actually got to sleep in which is the first time in a few years til' 930am! Usually I can't sleep past 630am even when I try to. Saturday morning I did my sister n' laws hair for a wedding she was attending. She always looks pretty so the hairstyle couldn't have gone wrong really, it was funky......I would've wore it myself, it's just a little hard to do an updo on yourself, but I'll keep practicing.
We went to Christians last baseball game of the season. Emma decided that morning she was a model and decided to dress as so for the occasion with her pink feather boa. So cute! Then Larry took Chrish to the end of season pool party at the coach's house. Chrish was SO excited that he jumped into the pool while still wearing his t-shirt. He brought home this really cool bobble head trophy and displayed it proudly on his 'award' shelf. He's a talented, athletic kid that one!
Sunday was church as usual, lunch afterwards as usual which is always a fun treat! (anytime I don't have to cook is a treat!) Emma, Hannah and I went for a quick shopping trip and then I took Emma to a birthday party a little kid gym. It was fun watching her have such a great time. My lil' gymnist! After dropping Emma off after the party, Hannah and I got to go on our long awaited date. Nothing too fancy, but we've been talking for a couple months now about going to Ruby's (50's diner) for an 'ever so yummy brownie fudge sundae' which was incredibly delicious! After the tasty food, Hannah wanted to go to Target to buy herself a stuffed animal (surprise, surprise) which was a donkey/dragon called "Dronkey" from the new movie 'Shrek 3" she was happy with her new purchase. We went home to cuddle and paint nails to finish our special date. The cuddling while watching " A Night at the Museum" happened, the nail painting didn't happen until this morning before school. Black with pink polka-dots is what she wanted and is what she got! It really was fun spending one on one time with Hannah, she is such a special giggly girl whom I love dearly! She is heaven-sent and I am honoured to spend anytime I can with her.

So today......

So, today was a Mother's Day picnic at Emma's school. The kids sang a few cute 'mommy' songs, then we went outside for a sweet little picnic that the kids helped prepare. They made peanut butter sandwiches, had some yummy crunchy grapes and two 'famous amos' chocolate chip cookies for each of us. Then they surprised us with a fake, sparkly potted plant, and a homemade photo pin made interestingly enough out of a styrophome cup curled down into a little flower. Very sweet! My favourite part was probably watching Emma, giggle and play with her friends on the playground and 'monkeybars' that she's always telling me about.
The rest of the day consisted of laundry, dishes, cuddling and tickling Christian (but then we had to get serious and do homework.) The kids weren't home but 5 minutes and you couldn't even tell that I washed the floors this morning (I have to laugh about it though) Emma made her fort yet again today taking up the whole livingroom, then fell asleep in it. (so precious) While I was doing dishes and making dinner, I was really enjoying watching Caley just be a kid and ride her bike. Just back and forth on the sidewalk, not a care in the world. Do you remember that? Being a kid, just doing whatever YOU wanted to do, not stressing or having grown-up concerns, just thinking about what you would do next. I remember a bunch of times laying down in a field looking up at the sky and puffy clouds daydreaming, or singing, talking to God.(those were the days) Anyways, Chrish had his second to last baseball game for the season, then we ate din din and went to bible study. So, a pretty regular day. Now I'm tired and am going to go to bed at a descent time and maybe, hopefully be a bit more productive tomorrow. We'll see what memories we can make tomorrow ; )

xoxo..Happy Mother's Day!..xoxo

Happy Mothers Day! Today is a day that I am even more than ever filled with grattitude to my mom for giving me life, love and many special memories. I am now in the midst of finding out myself what it means and takes to be a mom, and because of her I am striving to be the best mom I can be. My mom did it all on her own too! Still don't know how she did that! My mom is a loving, strong, perservering, hard-working, smart, caring, affectionate godly woman whom I think God personally picked out of His treasure chest to give to our family. Life has not been easy for my mom (it would be rather boring and we'd be unappreciative if it came too easy), but she's quite a survivor and has a great heart! As long as I can remember I have always thought of my mom as a friend.....as well as a mother, believe me! To me she reallly exemplifies God's heart. She's always been so accepting, loves unconditionally, just as I am in all my faults and weaknesses, and has always been so forgiving. I will forever be grateful to her and for her. Mom, you are the best and I love you!

I just have to add how grateful I am for my family. Today was a day spent with the hubby and kiddos. Lots of home made cards and pictures, even a special necklace (yes with a heart) from the kids, and Larry spoiled me with a wonderful spa gift card. At church this morning they had flowers for all the moms which was sweet, and when we picked up the kids from their classes they had flowers for us too! Very thoughtful! I am honoured to be their mom and it is indefinable how precious they are to me! I love you sweethearts!

Laguna Beach Tide pools

On Wednesday Emma and I got to go on a pre-school field trip with her school. We took a long, bumpy busride down to the Laguna Beach tide pools. Emma was giddy she was so excited about riding on the bus with her friends. The weather was absolutely beautiful and just perfect. We took a rather long walk (for lil' ones) along the coast to get from the buses to the tidepools, broke up into groups and had our own lifeguards to show us around. I was amazed at how fast time flew and with that many young ones you have to keep a pretty tight schedule. While nervously and carefully hiking all around the tide pools (quite slippery and we didn't want to disturb the sea life) we found two (one was huge) starfish. We also saw a ton of sea anenomies I believe they are called, of course many baby crabs. Then we walked away from the rocks and over to the beach and had about 5 minutes to let the kids dip their feet in the water. We had to hike back up to the grass area and had a fun picnic lunch and after a potty break had to head back on the bus and head for home. I think we spent an equal amount of time on the bus to and from as we did at the actual beach. The kids were much quieter and more tired on the way home but everyone seemed to have a really great time! I know Emma and I sure did!

godma & godpa

Today we had a surprise visit from the kids godparents, Glenn and Donna. They have lived in Oregon for the last 11 years. The kids were very excited to see their godma and godpa. They even ended up coming to watch Christian play baseball in the scorching hot sun. He of coarse was extremely excited about that! The kids were showing them their rooms and things that are special to them. Emma showed off all her new birthday presents. Glenn and Donna couldn't get over how much the kids had grown since the last visit. It was really great to see them and hopefully we'll see them sooner than later next time round.

Before the rush of energy and appetite come barging in, I thought I'd take a few moments to reflect on this pretty busy, tiring, yet very fun weekend. It was filled with various different things that had us in a few different directions as well as gathered together with our friends and family. Let's start with.......drum roll pllleeeaaassssse!!!! "the spy's" Yes, special agents Emma and Christian thought it would be fun to put on one of dad's jackets, a tuke and spy on certain, hum-hum (family) subjects. All the while giggling making it hard not to giggle yourself. After the spying, they decided that they wanted to turn lil' man's full size mattress into a slide/trampoline while both wearing boardshorts (Emma makes a cute 'tomboy').
Saturday I took Emma to a birthday party, where she had a blast with all her pre-school friends there. Meanwhile Larry took the 3 older ones to the park where he worked 'snackshack' for 3 hours and the kids played at the park while he did that. Later that day we came home, I had a friend who was going to a party and needed her done in an updo. She graciously asked me to do it for her. She looked pretty and said she liked it. It was fun and scary at the same time. I want to go buy some big doll heads with hair now so I can practice more. Then my sister n' law Donna took me to get a much needed pedicure which was amazingly sweet of her. Pretty toes now, YAY!
Sunday, our baby girl's 5th birthday. Lar took the 3 youngest to church while Caley, Donna and I kicked butt and set up the cutest little five year old party ever! My sis n' law has great ideas which made it cute with extra touches. It was decided by the birthday girl that it would be a "Barbie Princess Party" She insisted she wanted a bounchouse, and we surprised her with a real 'live' princess coming to her party for an hour to do face painting and balloon animals which all the kids even the older ones seemed to love. There were about 17 kids that came (yes including my bunch) it was rather hot, in the high 80's if not low 90's. She was beaming all day long and kept telling us what a special party it was and how thankful she was. She also, got a special phone call from Oma which put a huge smile on her face! She couldn'g wait to get home from school today (normally she wants to go 'do' something) just to play with all her special new toys. Oh, forgot to tell you this cute thing....As I was carrying her home from the party (which was at Aunties) I was kissing on her and telling her what a special girls she was, and as I opened the door she says " there's no more 4 year olds in here!" So cute she is! So those were some of the highlights of our weekend. Take care : )

Last Day To Be Four

Today was the lil' ones very last day forevermore of being four! Quite a special day! Of course she's extremely excited about tomorrow being her 5th birthday. She's been planning it for quite some time now, like atleast a few months. Actually I think when we were talking about the oldest one's birthday back in January, the lil' one made a guest list and told me where she wanted to have her party. For this year and the next few to come. Being that it was her last day to enjoy being four.....we gave her sets of four hugs, kisses, and of course tickles too. We kissed our four year old girl goodnight and look forward to kissing and awakening our big five year old girl tomorrow : ) Sweet dreams sweet four year old, sweet dreams!

How sweet

Emma's birthday is coming up on Sunday.....so Chrish decided he wanted to give his sister his old pair of heely's. In case you don't know, heely's are shoes that have small wheels in the bottom of them. He got the relialbe can of lysol wipies and gave the rather worn shoes a good ol' wipe down. Then he carefully and colourfully wrapped them in a box. He did a great job too! The next day he could hardly wait to give them to her. I had suggested he wait a week for her actual birthday but he just could not contain himself. You would've thought HE was getting the gift. It was a very sweet moment! She tried them on, and though they are a bit big for her and she'll have to learn to get used to them she appreciated the thoughtfulness. He's such a sweet boy with a huge, generous heart. I love my little boy so much!!!

Cherishing the moments

It's SO precious to me how sweet the kids can be with each other and rather incredible considering some of the sibling squabbles they can have sometimes. These are the moments that I cherish and hold close to my heart. Unless you're a parent you can't fully grasp just how priceless these almost heavenly moments are. I don't know if it's all the sweeter BECAUSE of how ridiculous they can get when they aren't getting along or what. Sometimes you don't really appreciate the good things in life unless you've had heartache or struggles.
Right now my two little ones are busy building a fort together that they intend on sleeping in. We'll see how long that lasts. They really can surprise me though you know. I so enjoy watching them do things together. Like singing, having "band practice", riding bikes, skateboarding together, cuddling, colouring, dressing up, you name it. What's fun too is that all four of them interact and mix it up together. Sometimes the older one becomes very nurturing of the youngest, or my middle takes pride in protecting and defending his sisters (especially from the infuriating neighbours unfortunately in close proximity to us). My little artist enjoys drawing, and will from time to time teach her siblings whom she sparks interest in.
They definitely know how to fight as most siblings do, but it warms my heart and tickles my toes how they really do love each other and have their own unique relationship with each other. I do pray that they will continue to have a special bond with each other throughout their lives. That they'll continue to encourage and cheer each other on. I am SO amazingly blessed beyond belief with and by them. I am honoured to be called their mommy.

Pain in the neck : (

This is what I would love to do the way that I feel today! I currently feel as though I have a knife stuck in the left side of my neck/shoulder. Could be worse, but I sure would love to be laying on a beach with my head covered, the warm sun beaming on me. The sound of the crashing, powerful waves hitting against the rocks, and to just do....nothing. Especially not feel this annoying and surprisingly painful, inconvenient pain in my neck. I can't turn my head to the left or I have to move my whole upper body to do so. I don't normally like to take medicine, I like to think I'm a pretty tough lil' lady, but I've been taking regular doses of pain meds today and it's not helping as much as I'd like it to. I really am bummed that I've been so cranky today, just because I have this pain. I've tried explaining to the kids, that it's not them "Mommy's just cranky and not feeling well" and I'm trying not to take it out on anyone.
Anyway, today was a pretty mellow day thankfully. This morning I met my neighbour for coffee which is always a treat. We see each other here and there but don't really get much of a chance without all the kids interrupting us to actually have a conversation. Mind you, my brother in law decided he'd do that for us.( Just kidding, it was nice of him to stop by and say hi. He enjoys his Starbucks too!
After coffee it was time to pick up my youngest from pre-school. Went home to get some lunch, and had to laugh at myself for locking us out of the house (long story...not really just boring). Luckily my sis'n law lives across the street so we could use her potty. Seems like the bladder always insists at the worst times! I got a spare key from sis and headed back home (all the way across the street) for 15 minutes before picking up the other kids. It was a short day today, where they get out a bit early from school. After a quick trip to the grocery store, we came home did homework (well they did that) and I did the usual cleaning up bit, took my star athlete to his baseball game. One hour for two innings! They just started coaches pitch and oh boy, it took quite a while, but he did a great job! By the time we got home and I had to make dinner, I was in so much pain I had to cancel going to bible study. How come when you want to go somewhere your kids are like "No mom! I want to stay home! It's boring!....." and when you decide to stay home they get all mad at you and complain that they will miss out! That's not really a question, I know it's just the way they are. They like to be contrary at times.
My lil' "strongwilled" baby (almost 5) fell asleep on the couch right before dinner (of coarse) I was afraid of her getting woke up by the other kids (when she wakes on her own she is usually fine, but if woken up....OH BOY...watch out!) Well, it's WATCH OUT time! I'm trying to ignore her irrational, annoying screaming right now. The more I try to interact with her the worse it gets. If I give her space she'll come around.
After all the kids are in bed and asleep I'm hoping to just relax, and imagine myself at the beach with the towel on my face without a care in the world. Then, I'll start some new adventure tomorrow. I'd prefer to not have the annoying pain in my neck though. Sweet dreams my friends!

The Luckiest Girl....

These are my parents!
I am the the luckiest girl there is! My mom and I go way back, 32 years that is.(I guess you could add 9months to that, I just don't quite remember that part) My mom is a hero of mine. I've seen her go through all sorts of things and no matter what, she never gave up! I am incredibly proud of her and grateful to her. She has been such a huge source of encouragement, unconditional love and support to me always. She's one of my best friends really.
My dad......well I remember being about 14 and helping out at church. I couldn't help but stare at this man holding this precious, angelic little girl. She was just glowing with the look of "I'm in my Daddy's arms!" and he was beaming with a very proud "look at MY beautiful girl!" I remember thinking "one day I wish I could have a daddy just like him!" I think that it was shortly after that when it really hit me that I didn't have one. Though it was a rather hard season, God used it to show me that He wanted to fill that void in me and wanted to be my Father. Which He really did show me! It was one of the most precious seasons in my life that I will always cherish, one that also ended up leading me to meet my husband on my 17th birthday but that's for a different time.....back to Dad. Ok so I'm not great at math, but about 10 years later my mom ends up marrying a man. He seems to make her really happy, which is extremely important to me! My next visit back to Canada....I meet mom's new husband, he's very quiet, but smart, an intellectual computer-whiz. It hits me! HE"S the one! The very same dad I had wished for ten years earlier. I've been spending the last 11 years getting to know him and right from the beginning he's had his arms wide open to me. In a lot of ways, you would think he was my biological father. The curly hair (well his does when he sweats. His brown hair and hazel eyes. Like our brilliant sense of "humour" the way we enjoy photography - he's really great at it! I was a little reserved and guarded of my heart when I first met him. Now I must admit, it didn't take long for him to win my heart. Though I was in my mid-twenties when he came into our family(an adult thinking, "I don't need a daddy now!"), he was worth the wait and I finally have an earthly father I am proud to call Dad, and love very much!
So, you see.....I am the luckiest girl! I know God really loves me......he put them in my life!

All better now.......

Well, we just got the plumbing fixed....YAY! We have a really nice guy who came and thankfully fixed our plumbing problems. (We actually had a few issues) You know, I just wait til' there's more than one reason for him to come to get my money's worth. What can I say? After a week of a plugged toilet let me just say it wasn't a happy time cleaning the front bathroom. I went in all suited up. Brought the bleach, lit some candles. The candlelight really makes me look pretty and puts me in a better mood. (JK) All better now though : )
This weekend was a rather low-key one. Saturday was a stay in your pj's, veg and watch t.v. and play on the computer kind of day. It was really nice! Sunday Larry lead worship at church, and the girls and I taught in Emma's Sunday school class. After church we usually go out to lunch, but this week we decided to just bring some lunch home. Yummy lunch, had a nap (I usually can't nap even if I try) Unfortunately after the nice nap I woke up feeling sick to my stomach (no I'm not pregnant) and the huge kink in my neck turned into a kink/migraine. I had to cancel jacuzzi night with my girlfriends : ( My oldest daughter was really incredible though and did a ton of laundry and was taking care of everybody. She's really incredible!
Luckily today I woke up feeling all better! I really needed to wake up that way to play "catch up" from the weekend and catch up I did. I'm of coarse not all caught up - I don't think I ever will FULLY catch up but atleast I'm not burried in laundry anymore.
Laundry, dishes, dropping kids off, picking kids up, having the plumber come, taking Chrish to baseball practice, grocery store, pharmacy, a couple of time-outs, a bit of refereeing......that's my day. Mix in a few hugs and kisses, smiles and tickles, and you have a pretty usual day for Cherie : )

Sadly Distracted

Well, today I've been trying to get caught up on some of the neglected things around here since having my parents stay with us for 2 weeks. I don't know about you but I'd MUCH rather hang out and spend time with loved ones then stay caught up on the laundry or scrubbing the bathroom tub. Housework will unfortunately always be here for me to do....my parents on the otherhand are over 3000 miles away.
I've always been very close with my mom - she's like a best friend to me-we've been through a lot together. My dad, is very special to me too! Though he's very quiet...I know he loves me.
We celebrated my moms birthday, went to Vegas for a weekend, to the beach of coarse, and shared some yummy meals all while taking many, many photos. It always pains me greatly to see them go, but at the same time I am SO very grateful to be able to see them at all!
Luckily I have four precious gems to (well five if you count Larry) to distract me and keep me busy. The kids have been on Spring break this week so we've been squeezing in all the fun that we can. After we dropped Oma and Opa off at the airport yesterday, Larry took his teary-eyed family to our favourite restaurant "the Pancake House". After breakfast I met some girlfriends and all their kids(16 of us total) at Boomers in Irvine. It's an amusement/recreation park. I wanted to take the kids minds and mine off of being sad and just have some fun. We did!

Hello

Hey there! This is my first post, just getting started : )