UGH!!!!!!!! So I'm not going to make it to 100 posts for 2007 (which would have been double 2006). Bummer. Oh well, I'll shoot for 150 in 2008.

HAPPY NEW YEAR -- welcome 2008! Hoping for more travel with friends; a healthy family; successful business; and meeting my weight loss goal. I'll take the first three and just enjoy chocolate if I can't have the 4th.

(ready to help the tile guys with the backsplash)
I know I tend to share a lot about Ian. He makes it so easy.....he's the baby, we are together for more one-on-one time I had with any of my other kids, and he is just so stinking cute. (sorry, I'm biased) I'm really trying to treasure my time with him b/c with the other kids growing up so fast I know my special time with Ian is short-lived.

spinning on the swings

flying with his 'Superman' shadow

waving to his adoring fans walking into his Christmas concert



enjoying our Disneyland adventures



Plus, I need to make up for the fact that he was only about one sentence in our Christmas letter.

Yes, you are seeing Ian in December in a wetsuit and rain boots warming his back by the fire. He slays me.

Our conversation just now as I was reading my friend Deana's blog and he saw a pic. of her new niece:

Ian: "that's a cute baby"
Me: "yep, it is. You are my cute baby"
Ian: "no, I'm Daney"
Me: "no, you're my baby"
Ian: "no, I'm a big boy"
Me: "no, you're my baby"
Ian: [cupping my face in his hands] "listen to me, I am your Ian"

...........it's the good stuff............

Merry Christmas!
The overall consensus....
Maggie -- THRILLED with her DreamLife game and Barbiegirl thing; I probably won't be online ever again.
Sean -- LOVES his swizzler car track and the Fathead is already up; the Nerf gun bullets are going to be the death of me.
Amanda -- beyond EXCITED about her Dora cash register (especially since Santa got it wrong last year and brought the Dora Kitchen) and her Webkinz border collie. She is applying makeup at her new vanity as I type.
Ian -- DIGS his Leapster but is also very happy about Sean's car track. Currently he's trying to master the Flippin' Frogs game. Cute and easy game, not complicated or obnoxious with a million pieces.

Me --- furiously typing so I can shower and play with my new AWESOME digital camera....a Rebel XTi. Lots to learn and discover. DH did good. Yeah, me!
Collin --- likes his gifts good enough (clothes, new biking socks, an LL Bean rain coat for work) but nothing stands out except the JUMBO remote that he might be able to read w/o his glasses. He's busy prepping the prime rib for dinner.
Fritz -- is steadily working on his huge beef knuckle that is bigger than his widdle head.

To all of you with snowy weather, throw an extra snowball for me.

Rockin' around the Christmas tree.........I think the Beastie Boys 'bring out the dough it's Christmas YO!' was on at this moment.

the stockings were hung by the chimney with care




Fritz took it all in stride
our beautiful frasier fir; Merry Christmas!

It seems like I'm always rewinding to catch everyone up on pictures. Here are my two little sous chefs on Thanksgiving. They just appeared like this; they were too cute and ready to work.

Helping Sandee with deviled eggs; then they helped with green bean casserole, corn casserole, and sweet potato casserole. And I didn't loose my mind. They still didn't eat most of what they made but it made them feel like they did something. I have a plan. Thanksgiving in five years will not involve cooking on my part. Ha!

Now, if dh keeps playing flag football on Thanksgiving morning I'm not sure that he'll still be able to make the turkey though.
This bruise looked like this within an hr. of being home from the field. OUCH! It was like watching a bunch of 7yo. boys play in grown up bodies. You should have heard it: "Do OVER!" "there are no do overs!" "he didn't score" "that's cheating" "fine, play like that" Honestly, it was the funniest thing and I can't wait to watch again next year.

Ahhhhh, it's feeling like it's REALLY fall and moving toward Christmas. Lately it's been in the 60s during the day and in the high 40s at night. For us SoCal weather-deprived folk, it is SO NICE. Many trees have even had some yellow & red color changes before losing leaves (unlike just losing leaves b/c they are dry from drought conditions). We've even had some rain recently. But enough about the weather.

It's all about --- fires in the fireplace, peppermint mocha, Christmas cookies, and the topper.....peppermint soap!

SHOWTIME!!!!!
The girls are having a ball; and I have to admit, so am I. They were in the opening night show and had a bunch of friends there to see them along with Me, Dad, and the boys. Here are some pics. from right before the show --
"Christmas with Scrooge"
Maggie is in the chorus (poor girl) and Amanda's is Fred's daughter (so Scrooge's great niece)

----I have more pics. but blogger isn't letting me upload them right now, so more later.....

A Make-over

Just got tired of looking at the dots. It served me well, but I wanted to spruce things up a bit. It's like rearranging your furniture; same ol' house but it feels so much better. Add a few decorations (ie, the survey & header) and VOILA! it's all new :) AND the best part -- you can read some great blogs from the links off to the side. I'm still tweeking things, but I like it so far.

What about you.......Love it; hate it; did I miss something?

De-Je-Vu!

So my crazy husband and his buddy Ron have once again decided to go to the National Championship game. For good reason -- B/C LSU is going (GEAUX!) and b/c they are playing Ohio State. It's the perfect match-up for these two grown boys.

Now, don't forget last year's adventure
http://www2.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=32957975&postID=116829840759907771 where they didn't even GET INTO the game. They watched it at Applebee's in Phoenix. [snort!]

As of yesterday, they HAVE airline tickets for the Championship in New Orleans. Of course, they HAVE to go. Now, they HAVE to get tickets or they will be watching the game from the French Quarter.

Trying to finish up my Christmas shopping......the adults are pretty hard to finish up. This time of year brings out the gift options and choices on kiosk displays everywhere. You know what I'm talking about-- watches, wallets, gloves, ties, generic blah/blah/boring and the holiday favorite, fruitcake!

Glancing through the Bed, Bath, and Beyond flier today I came across this treasure--
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=14399593
I don't if I'm skeeved more by the thought of someone needing to use one OR actually using one.

Here's another fun find -- http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=14779434 it looks great in the grand scheme of things, but then reality slaps me in the face and it simply would be SILLY for several reasons: 1) wine in the tub -- it would look like a crime scene with me and my spastic self. 2) by the time I set it all up someone would come pounding on the door. and 3) I enjoy a soaking bath once in a great while, but showers are simply quicker.

So, I giggled my way through the flier and did find something I really need --http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=14759174

Don't laugh b/c you probably have a tennis ball hanging in your garage to help. :P

Tomorrow it's the 1st of December; in case your head is buried in the sand, that means you have 25 shopping days until Christmas. Just a polite reminder b/c I'm a giver like that.

For those of you waiting until December to put up your decorations, you have my permission to begin. The outside of our house is done (thanks to Clark) but the inside isn't even started; not b/c I wait until December, it's b/c I'm a horrible procrastinator.

Being December 1st, I also declare it time for COOKIE fest to begin. My friend Sandee sent me this link http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/12_days_of_cookies/0,1904,FOOD_18276,00.html and I think you should join me in starting TODAY. I'm not doing the 12 day countdown; it's COOKIES not a partridge-in-a-pear tree. We could even go through the list twice forpetesake.

Now, I CANNOT eat all of these cookies. I could. But I'm thinking the WW people would laugh at me. Sooooo, if you really want cookies and you want to be my taste tester, email me :)

Maggie is officially a valley girl -- as I was looking at her religion class papers the other night, I came across an activity where she was supposed to fill in what happened after Jesus was there (in assorted situations). One of the questions was something like "What happened to the lame?"..............

wait for it......................




wait for it...........................



her response: "they would be cool" [complete with a drawing of sunglasses]


Methinks she missed the point. Methinks she needs a dictionary. However, I'm still like totally laughing.

In a mad dash to finish the kitchen before Thanksgiving we had the backsplash installed last Monday & Tuesday. The ceiling was drywalled in on Wednesday.
Nothing like last minute.
I'm really pleased with the look we chose.
Now we just have to install the pendant lights on the peninsula and paint. And install the drawer knobs. And get the window trimmed. And put the canned light covers on. And get the floor grout steam cleaned & resealed. Anything else?

I wonder how long these things will take since 1)they don't affect me using the appliances, etc. and 2)none of these items are urgent. (dare I mention the outdoor Christmas decorations are already complete)

This post is either going to be insanely funny or you will be extremely bothered by it. I'm still laughing as I type.

By complete accident, dh and I discovered that Amanda is sporting a TATTOO on her behind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, it's a temporary tattoo; but what on earth? possessed her to do it. {snicker, snicker, snort} Seriously, she is 6! I just about died laughing and the thought of her holding a tattoo on her butt with a wet towel makes me howl.

FTR, dh has one tattoo from his college days on the inside of his ankle. I don't have any. It's not something we ever realy talk about. A tattoo on her butt, huh???

Talk about a great Thanksgiving dinner table conversation in the future!

There. It's up within a month. Darth Vadar, Sleeping Beauty, Cptn. Jack Sparrow, She Devil
Life is simply insane right now. I keep telling myself that 'things' will slow down but it just isn't. The taxi service is in full swing. Football is finished, but baseball will start soon. The girls are in a play right now but that will come and go. Religion classes. Dance. Ian doesn't even have an activities yet. Ugh!

In the midst of the craziness/volunteering/Creative Memories, I'm learning to appreciate the little things. All of the kids still love to be tucked in at night and basically demand it (from both Collin and I). If I'm tucking Ian in and Amanda is being impatient she'll holler 'come on Mom'. It's actually pretty amusing and probably funny to watch Collin and I playing dualing banjos with the bedtime routine. There have been many, many days where I think "why is the bedtime routine getting longer?" "why can't they just have one of us read to them?" "do I really have to sing this song again?" BUT (isn't there always a but) they stay in their beds and sleep well. As I lay in Amanda's bed listening to her read, impatient Ian came in and sprawled over me. We all dozed off with me scratching their heads; Ian would chirp "scratch" if I dozed before he was ready. As corny as it sounds, I just thought 'this is the good stuff'. Those are the moments that help me get through the insanity of life.

Especially since my coffee pot decanter got broken.

So let's talk TURKEY...........I know I owe you some pics. of Halloween but I've been busy.

I love Fall. And it's finally cooling off around here for the most part. Low 70s during the day; 50s at night. Need a jacket/sweatshirt, check. It's all good.

Next week is the 2nd grade 'feast' for Sean so I have volunteered to bring two pumpkin pies (thank you, Costco). Is there anything cuter than little ones doing the Indian/Pilgrim thing? I know it's hokey and in many circles not politically correct, but I don't really care. I've got bigger things to worry about than whether or not someone is offended b/c my kid is sticking some feathers on a paper headband and pretending. But I digress.

I really wanted to talk about FOOD. Fall just brings out the best in food. Lots of soups, stews, and chili. Talk about comfort food. Thanksgiving with ALL the fixins; pumpkin or pecan, I'll have both thanks. I have made banana bread; cinnamon streusel muffins; and pb cookies in the last week.........I don't need the calories, but I do need the scents in my home (a candle just doesn't cut it). Tomorrow I'm making a HUGE batch of crockpot applesauce. WW is not my friend but I'm trying to behave and still attend my weigh-ins to stay away from gaining the dreaded 'holiday 10'. Cookie fest 2007 will start soon; but it's sorta like Christmas music and Christmas decorations, you HAVE to wait until after Thanksgiving.

So, are there any Fall MUST HAVES that you and/or your family enjoy??? I'm looking to expand my horizons so comment away. Just don't ask me how to make an 'un-dry' turkey b/c that's dh's job.

Fall back.........sigh............hate it!
I stayed up late b/c I had an extra hour to work on getting the Storybook digital scrapbook ready for Collin (as a surprise). Much to my dismay, my children were up at 6:30am; this MUST not go on.

This day has gone on FOREVER and it's only 5:15PM! It's almost dark outside and dinner is cooking already.

Blech!

Seriously. Some things in life just make me shake my head and say 'what are you thinking? Dumb ass.' It's not really a nice thing to think or say, but GAH!!!!!!

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/fugitive-teacher-arrested-in-mexico/20071101175909990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

And a huge EEEEEWWWWW!

RANDOM POST

This pic. is a dedication to my niece and all the random teens out there who take funky posed pictures. It really cracks me up the faces they make. No gangsta signs from me, just HANG LOOSE.

In the spirit of my anniversary, a (clean) list of five things I've learned from my husband.
1) Sushi isn't disgusting; it's actually quite yummy.
2) Craps (after many, many hours it makes your back hurt)
3) Snow skiing is best taught by someone OTHER than your spouse (although he is very good instructor; I was not a good student)
4) He IS the master of the grill and I don't even need to attempt to compete
5) I am more competitive than I ever dreamed (especially with board games like Risk).

This pictures is technically from last week when we went to a wedding, but you get the idea.

Today is our 12th anniversary! A roller coaster of craziness for sure with four kids; a dog; and a cat. If someone would have asked me on the day of my wedding where do you think you'll be in 12 yrs., I don't think I would have said 'four kids' but all in all LIFE IS GOOD -- we are blessed. Happy Anniversary to my dh (husband, Dad, hard-working business man, and football coach [just a few of the many ways to describe him])

(pic. from Sunday evening)


So the good news is that the fire(s) aren't anywhere near to damaging us structurally.

The bad news is that we haven't been able to be outside since Sunday night. The kids have been at school, but are completely indoors for everything. SoCal IS NOT set up for this -- we don't have cafeterias or gymnasiums. (In other climates, worse case scenario if it's snowing, you can buddle up and go out. If it's raining, you grab some rain boots and go jump. WELL, if ash is covering everything and the air is smoke, you do NOTHING). I think the ash is more of a problem than earlier in the week b/c we no longer have the scary wind to blow it away. Ash covers everything that sits still for more than a few seconds. It's like a scene from a creepy movie; the sun is amber too. And now, the district has cancelled school for today. I think I'm going to declare it moviefest and let the kids veg on movies & popcorn.

Nothing like a little ash to make you appreciate and wish for good ole' SoCal smog.

Maggie had her bridging ceremony for Girl Scouts last week. She is officially a Junior Girl Scout. I wasn't sure if she was going to continue with scouting, but she opted for another year. Junior level has lots of opportunities that the younger girls just aren't ready for. We've already done Destination Unknown (a follow-the-clues/scavengur hunt to a mystery location -- we got to see the Angels win the AL West!) and the girls already have a plan for which badges they will work toward. We have such a nice group and meeting once a month fits our schedule nicely. Next up for Maggie (& Amanda) is auditioning for Christmas with Scrooge at our local community theatre.

EXHALE..............

Had my follow-up Mammogram today to check out something mysterious on my left side. ALL CLEAR! The extra smoosh pics. apparently revealed that I simply have 'thick' breast tissue. OK, I'll take that.

Now get out there and get your Mammogram done. A few moments of discomfort and a LOT of peace of mind.

Football is in full swing. I'm happy to report that Sean is doing really well. He plays quarterback and running back when on offense and linebacker when on defense. He really 'gets' the game and is learning so much. He is really getting into watching football on TV (Go LSU Tigers & Go Saints!) too. It's amazing the things that he notices and is picking up on. He is looking forward to playing tackle already; I'm not sure that I'm ready. It's a good thing I have a long time to prepare.

Everyone join the party celebrating Amanda's SIXTH birthday

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I didn't have any pics. on disk from before Fall 2004 but you can still get the jist of how insanely cute she is. No one can quite put their finger on it but many people just say 'there is just something about her'. Smart, sweet, stubborn, independent, witty and precious -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!

DON'T ASK....b/c I don't have an explanation. Yes, Ian asked me to put duct tape on his arm pits. I laughed so hard and told him it would hurt to pull off, but he INSISTED. [shrug] So being the good mother, I obliged. Hilarity ensued. After a few minutes, he wanted it off. With a mixture of 'ow,ow,ow' and snorts of laughter, he survived with no skin damage. These are the moments that keep me sane.


Ergh, mateys. I be Capt'n Jack Sparrow.
Seriously -- the boy kills me. He is simply funny. When he's not driving me bats, he is making me crack up.

Eh, I'm not soooooo bad..........
68%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

When Amanda makes her mind up (whether for or against something) there is NO turning back. She knows what she wants; she always has......my wee colic baby. Recently she woke up on a Saturday and declared she wanted her ears pierced. I've never brought it up b/c I really didn't want it to be about 'me'; I don't know what spawned her decision. So after shuffling about with assorted errands, the two of us hit Claire's at the mall. She climbed into the seat; picked out what she wanted and DID.NOT.FLINCH. She was more uncomfortable with everyone stopping and watching than anything else.

Now we are just waiting to see if her two front bottom teeth will come out since she is currently a shark with her grown-up teeth already in.

TWO GOOD MEN

Today is just a sad, sad day.
Collin's Grandpa died on Tuesday. After a long 84 yrs. of hardwork, Grandpa Z. fought to the very end but his heart finally gave out. This last year has been a LONG ROAD for Grandma and my MIL. After assorted heart med. adjustments, a perforated ulcer [where he spent 4 weeks in the ICU post-op], rehab. center for recovery, and a broken neck after falling on the walker he was supposed to be using, he wasn't going to give up. All of the medical personnel don't even know how he survived the break much less attempted a recovery. His mind was sharp, but his body had had enough. His quality of life was gone and it was really difficult to see his body slipping to barely 130lbs. Grandpa was one of five siblings and he was the first to leave us. He did make it to his brother's 90th bday celebration before he got really sick last year. What an amazing event that must have been. Collin remembers his Grandpa as being the most hard-working family provider you could imagine......he was the ultimate farmer; a master at mechanics with a passion for rebuilding cars/tractors/etc.; a well-read man who loved to talk about his days on the road as a trucker. Need directions -- Grandpa can tell you how to get there. We're gonna miss him "ey-golly".

Collin rushed out of here to be with his Mom and Grandma. Grandpa's funeral was today. Sept. 26th will remain a hard day for everyone. It's also the day that his Dad died from cancer three years ago. I wouldn't have imagined that my MIL would have to say good-bye to two good men so close together. His Dad's ashes are scattered in Lake Lanier (their favorite camping spot) so there will always be a place in Collin's heart that makes GA home no matter where we live.

Shortly after the big kids started school, Ian joined the ranks. I've been at the preschool since Fall 2001 (right before Amanda was born, thud!) and we'll be there until Jun 2009. Yep; EIGHT years in a ROW; we'll hold the crown for consecutive years (I think they should name a classroom after us or something with all the tuition we've paid).



A bittersweet day. I love the SHORT break but I miss the Little Dude.

It all sounds surreal - "all of my kids are in school" "yes, I have a 4th, 2nd, and Kindergartener along with a preschooler" "no, I'm already volunteering in lots of areas"........it's true. I have four kids ALL in school (at least part-time) and I have actually told someone 'NO!' with regards to volunteering. As my dear friend Amy would say "flip me a fish!"
Of course, there remains no time for boredom. And who am I fooling, there is ALWAYS laundry beckoning.

(side note: I realize Ian isn't in the photo but it wasn't HIS 1st day of preschool yet and I don't have those pics. uploaded yet. I'm good but I'm not that good.)

Busy little bee, I am. I'll try to update this weekend but I wanted to take a minute and link to this video. It is simply touching and done well. Take a minute and watch; it will likely touch you as well.

For the Troops

What's not to LOVE about this little guy? Proof that pirates do wear tutus but must be commando underneath.

Wordless Wednesday

after practice one day


TODAY!
The team played well and Sean scored a TOUCHDOWN. We wound up losing 29-14, but the game was actually closer than the scored showed. GO CHARGERS!

A couple of weeks ago, I took a roadtrip to AZ to visit my dear friend Sandee and her two kids. Sean stayed back with Collin for football and some one-on-one Dad time of camping. AZ was HOT, but we had a blast. We hiked to the natural bridge in the Tonto National Forest. Over rocks & boulders/across the stream/at one point I had to slid down a rock with Amanda & Ian behind me b/c it was so steep. It was AWESOME and so worth the effort. We all were pooped, but would do it again.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com