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the places I call HOME; Sept. 2012
Once again, I blinked and a month went by. This is a little sample of what I've been up to. Between Seussical and football for the boys, we've been a little busy. Add in school starting and work for me and it's a controlled chaos. I managed to get home for my 25th high school reunion in the wake of Hurricane Isaac (LITERALLY, I flew there on the day they re-opened the airport). I had a blast visiting with great friends. Even, a rock-a-billy-style Billy Idol made it to the reunion. I got to spend some time with my Mom and my brother & his family. A whirlwind trip made even sweeter by driving a sleek Camaro around for four days.
This year it's odd numbers for school.....Maggie in 9th!!!, Sean in 7th, Amanda in 5th, and Ian in 3rd. Everyone is doing well so far.......IF they could just keep track of their PE clothes. They keep us hopping but we are very blessed.
Enjoy a taste of the two places I call home. (Notice the Fleur de Lis of the NO Hornets on Sean; it might be not home to my kids but NOLA is in their souls hence the Saints gear on the first day of school)

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Just one of those days

Have you ever had a day where MOST everything just goes well? I don't have them very often; well, I can't even remember the last time MOST everything went so smoothly. Ya know, minimal bickering; transitions go smoothly; dinner is pre-planned; everyone seems happy in the moment. I'm happy to say today was one of those days.

With plans to hit the beach, I got up before the kids (see, I said not very often!). I prepped the roast for the crockpot, got some coffee and breakfast, and made beach food. We made it to the beach, found a good parking spot immediately, and managed to hit the sand without incident. Woot! We met up with friends and the kids scattered like cockroaches while I rummaged for sunscreen, my hat and my beachchair.

Ian is the sand-crab digger. He will spend hours hoping to find the biggest one on the planet.

And then keep digging for yet an even bigger one. He did eventually venture out into the crazy waves but went right back to being the professional sand-crab finder (and creeping me out with them).

The waves were insane. They were the biggest I can ever remember seeing. Sean was even wary for a short while saying "too big, too powerful." However, having a great friend by your side makes everything easier.

That's Jake and Sean on the bottom right, cracking up. They are 17 days apart in age; they met just before their 2nd birthday. Even though we don't see Jake and his fantastic family much the kids get along splendidly. They just 'get' each other. (can you see the wave crashing in the background!)

It was even cooler to watch bunches of the kids in our group venture out together. They would find a comfort zone in the rolling waves and all jump in together.

Left to right.....Ben (9), Amanda (10), Jake(12), Sean (12), Marin (almost 11)
And, believe it or not, I even got in the water......to take pictures. Here is my favorite of Amanda.

I really need to get my zoom lense fixed b/c the Pacific Ocean is COLD!

I don't think Jake came out for more than five minutes the entire time we were there. Since I was 'used' to the water at this point, I decided to venture in myself. I RARELY go near the toe-cramping salt water and the kids were shocked when I grabbed a board and joined in. Thanks to Nicole, there is proof of my insanity.

And, sweet Grace filled her day with sand play and lot of wave jumping.

That makes any day PERFECT in her eyes :)

Everyone made it safely through the day without a scratch except for the random bee sting that Ben ended up with. As if that wasn't a good enough day......add in ice cream on the way home and the knowledge that my crockpot was cooking, it was all good. To top off the day, Amanda had her first

tae-kwon-do belt testing. She held her head high (she doesn't do that often), displayed good posture, and did really well.

Through her rosey sunburnt cheeks (yes, she wore sunscreen and we re-applied), she was still able to flash me a proud smile. She should be proud! Such a fighter.

But wait, there's more.........we hit the pool for a while while our potatoes roasted because one can never have enough sunshine and water play. We had a yummy dinner and then it was time to do the kid switch and bring Jake to his family where I would also retrieve Maggie.  We met half-way in a Denny's parking lot (cue a country song, oh, nevermind) and like friends do the adults began to chat while the kids rocked out to blaring music/ car doors open/ windows down. All. the. while. my. batttttteeeerrryyyyy drained. Gah!

And that's the kicker. That is why it is a MOSTLY smooth day. Even better with the fact that Chad had jumper cables and I didn't have to wait for AAA in a random parking lot with four kids at 10pm. See, smooth :)

With summer days dwindling away, I will gladly take a few more of these MOSTLY smooth ones. (minus the bee sting and sunburn of course).

The boy of many names

Back on May 6th I mentioned that I should update on each child, mostly as a journal to myself, but also to try to keep in mind that they grow so fast and change so much. So this post is dedicated to my little Ian.....he truly makes me laugh everyday.

He is a bundle of energy from sun up to sun down. A bit of an outlaw in his own right.

He LOVES seafood, cooked most any way, for any meal. If I ask him what I should cook for dinner, he always responds with "crab, shrimp, fish or lobster." His plate from the Luxor buffet above is full of crab legs and a piece of baked fish. He is truly his Momma's son and can even handle spicier foods than I can.

He is also a fish; loves the pool and loves the ocean. He is getting more brave with boogie boarding in water beyond his thighs (lol!) and sends me into fits of laughter as I watch him attempt to skim board. If Sean is interested in doing it, so is he. He thinks his big brother walks on water!

Ian is a typical little boy and loves all things military. He is intrigued by it and was especially thrilled recently when we had a chance to explore some military vehicles and equipment at the Great Park Anniversary Celebration. Here he is in an AAV.

And he was all grins after experiencing the F-16 flight simulator. The chance to see and touch the gear along with talking to the Marines was an unforgettable experience for him.

THIS picture is just so Ian. It was all I could do to get him to put the guns and ammunition down and move on. He thinks military guys are cool and his favorite Marine is Chad Muhlenbruck (a great friend who just retired last month!).

He also loves sports (just like his big brother). He loves Angels baseball (I refuse to call them that stupid long LA name) and Saints football; he can't wait for the Olympics after watching some of the trials. He just finished All Star baseball and all-too-soon he will be venturing into the world of tackle football. BUT look at this little string bean.......he's long and lean and I hope he finds some MEAN because living off of peanut butter spoons isn't getting him very far.

On any given day, he will answer to Ian, George, Dane, Fadoops, Peen, Poots, Poonie. I'm sure I've forgotten at least one.  He's a sucker for a back massage and loves to laugh. But most of all he has a kind soul so when he got an award for Empathy at the end of the year it meant to world to him (and us). He has eyes that pierce my soul; he's a keeper!

Oatmeal!

Shopping at Costco is always an adventure. An adventure I try not to be a part of very often because it is always painful on the wallet. Even if I manage to go alone, I end up with 'extra' stuff because I was likely hungry while I was shopping and/or the sample lady found a sucker in me.

Today was another adventure with me and three kids. I was armed with a list and limited funds so we quickly meandered our way through only going down aisles where we needed something thus avoiding half of the store. It was going great until I was busy with a teriyaki chicken sample and the kids had time to peruse the cereal selection. That's when Sean found it......the oatmeal!

"Mom, you know I love oatmeal. If you get this oatmeal for me I will eat it everyday. It is so good for you. Can we please get this?"

I was quite overwhelmed with his randomness. "Um, ok, sure!" Amanda chose Frosted Flakes so she clearly had an understanding of what Maggie meant when she wrote cereal on the list.

The trip went quickly and I avoided making eye contact with any more sample ladies. We checked out and when they all parked their butts in the car leaving me with a cart full of food I laughed and said "you've got to be kidding, get your butts out here and load this car." Sean grabbed the oatmeal first.

The unloading at home went smoothly and I did the breakdown of surplus to the garage while they put assorted things away. Then came the oatmeal. I grabbed one of the two bags and poured it into one of the Snapware containers. Well, I should say I ATTEMPTED to pour because half of the bag remained after the container was full. 110 Servings advertised - they AREN'T kidding. Amanda's response to my bugged-out eyes "we are gonna have enough oatmeal for life!" I should have been more quick-witted and responded with 'and Sean's going to eat it all' but instead my brain started thinking about recipes.

So now we have..............Butter Pecan Granola

 and Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip cookies.

And I'm sure after Sean has his oatmeal for breakfast we will have made it through about four of the 110 servings. Oatmeal, anyone?

Jumping into Summer

The hustle and bustle that the end of the school year brings has ended. Here is a taste of our last few weeks as we roll into summer. We really enjoyed our mini-vacation to Las Vegas and now we look forward to finishing All Star baseball, VBS with Good Shepherd, and lots of time at the pool and the beach. All too soon it will be time to shop for school supplies, new shoes, and bedtime at a reasonable hour. For now, I'll treasure sleeping in and quiet mornings.

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In a nutshell -

An update of sorts---
-my Mom is improving slowly. She has been moved to inpatient rehab to work on ot, pt, and speech. My brother and sister-in-law are ROCKSTARS and are handling everything beautifully. Thank you for your continued prayers and well wishes.

-Maggie is finishing up 8th grade; looking forward to her 'graduation' next week. She made the decision to change her mind and she is going to play french horn in high school for concert band (maybe symphonic if she's good enough). She has received some strong encouragement from her teachers (past and present) and I was definitely on board with the switch. Now if I could just figure out a nice gift that is within reason.

-Sean is finishing up 6th grade; excited and sad to have his last kindergarten buddy meeting tomorrow. He adores his two little buddies and has said how much fun they are. He has improved his reading lexile and worked so hard to finish strong. He's anxious about middle school, but after the first day I'm sure he'll be fine. Looking forward to a summer of playing baseball and lots of swimming and beach time. (and LOTS of watching the Angels!)

-Amanda is finishing up 4th grade; working SO HARD and never giving up. It's hard to imagine that she missed 4-1/2 mos. of second grade and that she is doing work alongside her classmates. She struggles but with a few accomodations she is seeing results. She is enjoying tae-kwon-do and we are seeing consistent improvements in her. She has a strong mothering instinct and wants to take care of every baby she comes across; she is a nurturer. I can't wait to see what she has in store.

-Ian is finishing up 2nd grade; getting an award on Friday (shhhhh, don't tell him). I'm just hoping it's not for Class Clown or the Child Who Tells The Most Bad Jokes. He has LOVED 2nd grade and says his teacher is "the BEST ever!" (I think she's pretty awesome too, but that's not as important.) She completely 'gets' him and has encouraged him to blossom. I hope he maintains his positive attitude toward learning throughout the summer. He is also looking forward to a summer of playing baseball and living in a bathing suit at every moment possible.

Me? I can't believe I will have a freshman next year. I remember vividly freshman orientation when the seniors sang 'Welcome' to Micheal Jackson's Beat It; blisters from my new saddle oxfords; sitting in Mr. Danton's homeroom my freshman year; and stressing about forgetting my name tag. How is it possible that MY 25th reunion is this summer?

The phone call changes it all.....

Something as simple as a phone call can change your perspective so quickly. With the news that my Mom had a stroke today, I almost immediately went into survival mode. There is NOTHING I can do from 2000 miles away except to pray for healing and thank God for the miracles of modern medicine. But I had to go on with my day and function. And I did. Just with a better perspective on what's important.

So, I'll continue to be grateful...........

• GRATEFUL that my husband just happened to be landing on a plane THERE literally 30 minutes before I got the phone call. He was able to get to the hospital and give me some piece of mind
• Grateful that I have a calm sister-in-law and brother who handled a tough situation so gracefully
• Grateful that my Aunt instinctually knew something wasn't right and raced to my Mom's rescue
• Grateful that I was able to visit in February and spend some time with my Mom
• Grateful for the beauty of text message and modern technology

and Grateful that I have four healthy children that functioned right along with me, did their homework, and didn't argue at bedroom. And they let me snuggle each of them for an extra minute, no questions asked.

A jam-packed end-of-the-year dash......

Just for today I am trying to be grateful.

• Grateful that my kids are able to have music education in elementary and middle school. They have amazing teachers.
• Grateful that I have a working washing machine and dryer because baseball laundry is endless.

Grateful that I have a job that I love and it reminds me that EVERYONE feels the year-end crunch. (not just me)

• Grateful that I have a reliable car with working air conditioning.
• Grateful that I live right across from a pool and 20 min. from the beach!

SUMMER is a comin!

In the blink of an eye.....

she turned 14!

My bald-headed, blue-eyed first born is growing up WAY TOO FAST. It seems like yesterday that I was lamenting about 'missing' Mother's Day when my due date came and went. For a child that took her own sweet time to enter this world, she sure is growing too quickly for my taste.

She keeps me on the go (along with everyone else)......these days she is in rehearsals for the part of Adult Amy in Little Women. She is in her fifth year of doing shows at MTV. Her first role there was a nightingale in Once Upon A Mattress and now she is in an amazing March family so many shows later. This past year she was the Artful Dodger in Oliver; Freida in Charlie Brown; and Louisa in Sound of Music. She is continuing her passion for performing arts with her high school elective choices. She is signed up for Creative Drama and Dance Tech II (which she was thrilled to make it into after a jam-packed audition process). Much to my dismay, she isn't planning to continue with the french horn. She has really enjoyed it these past two years and even though she is quite good at it she doesn't want to do marching band or persue that avenue. Can't win them all...........and, boy-oh-boy, am I trying to figure out which battles to pick.

Another BIG milestone for her this year ---- PIERCED EARS! She simply was too afraid for the longest time and then one morning she woke up and declared that she was ready. She is enjoying that added fashion accessory while I just try to keep her from losing them.

After lunch at Ruby's (b/c Collin had to work tonight), she spent her day helping with the Little Women set before we ended the day at Farrell's. What a way to end the day.......with balloon creations, zany birthday songs, and The Zoo (that we finished about 1/2 of).

Ian the chicken head; Amanda a dog face, Suzy and Sean have giraffes and Maggie has cat ears.

He didn't know how to make a fleur-de-lis so I opted out. (shoulda got the flamingo!)

And if you think this was a topper to her day after gifts of clothes, money, and new bedding.....

Suzy topped it all with her gift of Cody Simpson concert tickets.

How sweet it is.......

Biting off more than I can chew

Those eyes tell it all.....overwhelmed! And that's exactly how I feel.

I didn't fall off the face of the earth. Our computer died in February. Well, the screen did and since it was an all-in-one deal thingie we were dead in the water. I managed to read facebook occasionally from my phone but that is too much of a pain to do for any amount of time; not that I really have time for that time-vampire anyway.

We managed to finally get a new system. THANK GOD! Driving to the library daily for homework for the kids was making me even more insane than I already am. SO nice to have the internet at my fingertips again. (Yes, I know I can search on my phone for stuff but you can't type assignments, etc.)

And now the daunty task of recovering photos from the old system that we had copied over AND praying that I can merge my Memory Manager vaults to access all my photos from the last six years. Slow and steady with a commitment to GET IT DONE!

I've missed blogging and hope to be able to jump back in and keep going like I did when the year started. Still cooking random stuff that I love sharing; being a taxi for kid activities; and looking forward to the summer that is fast approaching. Maybe I'll do some kid posts to catch everyone up on their adventures.

Never fear, I'm still out here running on the hamster wheel of life.

It's Superbowl Sunday!

The Superbowl is on this afternoon; and who cares. I am a huge football fan but this year I'm looking forward to friends visiting, great food, and funny commercials. Oh, and Madonna. I'm hoping she knocks it out of the park and shows Lady Ga-Ga who the original risque diva is. It must be the 80's girl in me. What are you going for the game?

And I have more pictures of 2012 Life in Pictures....

Jan.26th - I might have been on the losing side of the Game On challenge but I still won. I helped in serving the winning team an Italian dinner. This is my Caprese. It tasted so yummy along with the lasagna, salad, garlic bread and other NONE diet foods :)

27th....a boy and his dog.....if only the dog would SLEEP with him, Sean's life would be complete
28th.......Sound of Music picture day; they are so sweet together, love Family #3!

29th.....Amanda's mission project! the one that her notes got left at school over the weekend so it had to be turned in late. Can you say grumpy mom?

30th....welcome to the world of adolescence; it means more homework AFTER rehearsal. Gah!

31st.....and speaking of rehearsal -- it's ME, off to slappy dancer rehearsal (I was a nun the night before, bahahaha)

and then it was February! Already....always a good time to take a picture of my goofy dog. We love Fritz.

Feb. 2nd -- homemade goodness. Nothing better than walking in after a busy day to dinner 80% finished :)

Feb. 3rd .....the day I flaked. No picture :( I simply forgot but don't give up on me.

Feb. 4th....a rockin' Saturday night for Maggie. Laundry!
And now, let's 'start at the very beginning; a very good place to start'.....Maggie made us a cake for Superbowl.

Working towards being The Next Great Baker. (she used orange b/c it's all she had and we don't care about blue and red teams; it's ALL about Black and Gold!)

Pull up a chair; it's a long one!

Was it really 13 days ago that I did my last post? I am still taking daily photos but it seems like I just blinked and now it's January 25th! Between rehearsals, homework projects, and what you call LIFE, I haven't managed to sit down and actually compose a post.
Let's start with a little review--
13....aren't these the most clever.....duct tape wallets (compliments of our little friend Max)....of course, black and gold for Ian and then Sean's even has an id pocket.

14.....more random cuteness....Ian....the snuggliest little dude...always willing to toss me a smile

15....fun at the park.....with our friends' the Skverskys and Paynes....Grace fits right in with my blondies :)

16....and here is where I attempt to be June Clever. I've recently started packing Collin a lunch b/c he wants to eat better and he's tired of fast food. I did it for a couple of days and then he is now sick so I'm out of the habit. Oh well, I tried.

17......and the not-so-willing-to-toss-me-a-smile Maggie/starving after rehearsal/don't take my picture!

18....my girlie Amanda....on nights I have rehearsal she is often asleep before I get home. I love kissing her soft forehead and counting her as the blessing she is!

19.....the insanely spoiled dog....this is how I left him on Thursday night and this is exactly how I found him Friday morning. He greeted me with a yawn. (by the way, he does have a bed)

20....two of favorite things....scrapbooking and babies! My friend Laura joined us and brought her sweet little daughter. Ian and Amanda were smitten; it was so cute to watch them together.

21......hubby was out of town; kids and I had a late lunch so Cheerios....it's what's for dinner :)

22....Sunday was full of house cleaning and laundry. Here is my biggest laundry FAIL to date. I haphazardly washed the tablecloth in photo #20 with a load of kids clothes. Um, those shirts sleeves WERE white and those jeans WERE a pale lime green. AND, another load had a sparkly lip gloss explode that ruined about six pieces of clothing. Bad laundry day, but nice clean house.

23....Costco at 8pm is deadly, especially since they close at 8:30. I felt like I was on Supermarket Sweep, but I did my damage. And this is only part of what I had to put away at 9pm (after I retrieved Mag from rehearsal)

And, last but not least, 24....today....why am I posting in the middle of the day? Because Ian is home "sick"

He's armed with his bed friends; the remote and some Ginger Ale. I thought he might be getting the bug Collin has been fighting when the school called for me to get him (99* temp and tummy ache). Alas, he is FINE...an eating machine.....and not wanting to nap.

Silver lining his temp isn't going up and I got to update my blog.