Down in the depths of my throat there was a small tickle. So, I decided to follow the lead of my dh and the suggestion of AMAZING TRIPS: an amazing trip trick: staying healthy'>my friend Jen. I jumped on the Zicam wagon.

Yesterday I used the mint spray -- blech, tastes like Milk of Magnesia but didn't really affect my taste buds or anything. Today I decided to try the nasal gel to see if I could avoid the yuck taste. OMG!!!!!! What did I do???? Now my nose won't stop running; I can't stop sneezing; and my nasal passages are on fire. Now it seems like I HAVE a cold. It's been two hrs. and it still feels like I snorted jalapeno juice up my nose. If I could shove ice cubes up my nose I would. AND it is completely affecting my taste buds, so lunch pretty much sucked.

I'm going to try the gel on a q-tip like Jen suggested if I am brave enough once my nasal passages return to normal. If that doesn't work, I think I'll just continue with the the kids chewable Echinacea & with the cold away. In the mean time, I'm going lay on the couch and fight the urge to sniff.

I'm so proud of myself for actually posting on a regular basis so let's keep it rolling shall we.........Tagged by my friend Nicole..........

1. Typically what time do you wake up? 7:00 am- I typically roll out closer to 7:20 to get the kids up.

2. On a really good night what time are th kids in bed? 8-8:30pm -- it takes that long to do all the reading; tucking; prayers; and bedtime madness.

3. How long have you been a mommy? Almost 10 years!!!! How did that happen?

4. How old were you when you became a mommy? 28

5. What is your favorite kids show? Word World (sooooo creative) & Backyardigans

6. What is your least favorite kids show? Sponge Bob and Fairly Odd Parents and the tween shows like Zack&Cody.

7. What is your favorite chore? I can't believe someone actually wrote that question- isn't that an oxymoron? making the beds (if I actually do it) b/c it makes all the rooms look much cleaner

8. What is your favorite meal to cook? Breakfast b/c everyone eats it w/o complaining

9. What is the meal you cook most often? I try to mix things up a lot but probably spaghetti it is quick and creeps up every two weeks or so

10. What is your kids favorite meal? going out........sigh

11. What is your favorite thing your husband does with your kids? he reads to them a lot but he also makes a point to have date nights with them so they can each have some daddy time.

12. What are 5 things that make you smile when you are being a mom? I love it most when they play together nicely and make each other laugh. I love watching Maggie enjoy the things I did (dance/drama/music); watching Sean play sports; listening to Amanda laugh (she has the best laugh); and snuggling with Ian.

13. If you could take your kids anywhere in the world where would it be? That's tough! probably Hawaii b/c they have been BEGGING to go for a while.

14. When was the last time you went out with your kids? Friday night we went out for Sean's bday.

15. What is your favorite past time/activity to do with your kids? going to the beach

16. Name 1 thing you said you'd never do as a mom? ground my kids for ridiculous amounts of time completely unrelated to the crime. I would get grounded for "six weeks" b/c I didn't do the dishes ONE night. And then after a few days, my mom would always let me off. @@ I refuse to do that stupidity.

17. Name 1 thing you do that your mom did: cook!

18. What is your favorite quality that your mom has? she is still close with her brothers & sisters

19. What is your favorite children's book? Hmmmmmm, There is a Monster at the end of this Book (Grover from Ses.Street; golden book) --- makes me laugh everytime and it's the one book I remember reading over&over as a kid.

20. Advice for new moms? Scrapbook -- celebrate your memories don't leave them on a camera, disk, or hard drive

21. What is your scariest or most heartbreaking moment as a mom? when Sean was sick with Kawasaki disease.

22. What is your most joyful moment as a mom? Mother's Day b/c they usually try to do extra special stuff and keep it a secret.

23. When was the last time one of your kids said I love you? 10 minutes ago from Ian

24. When was the last time you told one of your kids I love you? 10 minutes ago to Ian

25. Your biggest pet peeve as a mom? aw, just one...............that my kids will inevitably spill something or make a huge mess of crumbs 15 min. after I mop the floor.

Now I'm tagging ---- Amy(foil hat), Janet, Jen(trips), and Deana

The best LOVE Thursday ----
Friday, February 22, 2008 is going to be a big day in our house.
Sean turns 8! Eight is hard for me; he seems like such a big kid now. Where did my bald headed little guy go? From the time he started crawling at 4-1/2 mos. (I have video proof) he has never looked back. He is one bundle of energy. In a nutshell, he is athletic, busy, physical, friendly, shy, inquisitive and most of the time hungry. He loves non-fiction books, collecting football & baseball cards, playing with Fritz, and doing anything with his Dad. He a pretty cool little dude; he makes me laugh and makes me want to pull my hair out with his never-ending sound making. He is his father's son, down to the request for cheesecake for his b-day cake. Happy Birthday to my sweet boy.............

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

and the topper of his birthday --- his Great Grandpa's 1959 Cadillac is set to arrive. He is anxiously awaiting his birthday ride with his Dad behind the wheel.

"I see them melting"
Trying to earn some fun-Mom points with the littles.......yesterday I decided to make some choc.chip cookies from scratch b/c what else would be appropriate for a cold, icky misty rain day. (work with me here, I know many of you are buried in snow and label me a weather wimp, but this IS SoCal winter) I even let them taste the creamed sugars & butter before we put the eggs in. That should get me double points.

Kill.me.now.
I don't know how I'm going to afford to feed Sean if he keeps this up.

Overall, he's a good eater. He always has been. I don't recall him hitting the picky toddler stage. He likes food. Yesterday for breakfast he ate -- 1 ham&cheese omelette; 1-1/2 english muffins; 2 slices of bacon and one sausage patty; 1/4 of a belgium waffle; and a slice of cantaloupe along with two glasses of orange juice. He is an eating machine and can eat more than I do, and often does. He burns every single calorie b/c he is solid muscle at 60-ish pounds w/o an ounce of fat on him.

He'll be 8 on Friday. Send grocery gift cards for his birthday.

Thank goodness Valentine's Day is over. I am quickly becoming a Valentine's Day grinch. The madness of getting valentines for four kids and getting them all filled out just to be exchanged for a bag of paper and candy just makes me insane. Case in point:

Maggie -- had to have two different kinds b/c the boys wouldn't want Hello Kitty @@ So now we have extra cheap paper crap.

Sean -- only obliged b/c there was candy trading involved.

Amanda -- liked doing it but was scoping out her bag as the week progressed to make sure she was getting lots of candy.

Ian -- he can't even write yet, ferepetesake! AND the preschool specifically asks you not to bring candy, stickers, etc. And I am apparently the only lame parent who follows this rule. He had no clue who everyone in the class even was (they are in three mini-groups) nor did he understand the chaos of distributing them in the bags. He is THREE; they are his valentines. He didn't want to give them away. WHY do they do this?

So it was Red-Dye Candy Fest 2008 here yesterday afternoon.

Now, I thoroughly enjoyed getting roses from my husband and going to lunch with him. He liked his wine book and lunch as well. The kids each got a small something from us. I made a nice pot roast with veggies/roasted potatoes/fresh fruit/crescent rolls dinner along with some red velvet cupcakes for dessert. THESE people are my valentines -- I love them. This the reason for Valentine's Day; to remind those you love how special they are.

Not the candy trading madness and clutter creating paper trade that it has become.
OK, I'm done.

So, we try to read to (and with) the kids as much as possible. It's not an easy task with four very different reading levels and personal tastes.

Maggie still enjoys being read to but she struggles to find a genre/theme/catagory that she enjoys. I get it; it's all my fault. I hated to read as a kid b/c it was such a struggle and she is cut from the same mold. She always asks (more like begs & pleads) with me to buy her books; yet she never reads them. I'm encouraging her to use the library to find a good fit THEN we will purchase to our hearts content. It's so frustrating b/c she will read a few pages of a book and immediately hate it. [I just want to note that I have no problem buying books as long as they are going to be read.] She did finish Diary of a Wimpy Kid recently and she is working on The Tale of Despereaux right now.

Sean remains the non-fiction reading king. He loves, loves, loves animal stuff; mostly oceanography but he'll read about most anything. He is working on Step 3 beginning readers. He's moving toward chapter books, but he hasn't seen much that he likes there. I'm hoping he'll jump into Magic Treehouse soon. He's a bit behind on his reading fluency, but he is improving.

Amanda is really moving forward with her reading. She is currently breezing through Bob books and trys to figure out words constantly. I am reading a Magic Treehouse book to her and she is really enjoying the short chapters. She'll be reading these before I know it. One of her current favorites is I Ain't Gonna Paint No More; so fun, and it fits her personality to a tee.

Ian just appreciates the reading time he does get. He loves all the classics (Big Red Barn, Sandra Boynton stuff, etc.) but his two favorites these days are: Ten Clean/Dirty Pigs and Baby Bear, Baby Bear What Do You See? Of course, you have to pinch your nose when you read the skunk page.

I'm not a big military buff. My dh being the typical male species will watch anything anywhere on military stuff. Most of his TV watching consists of History Channel or Discovery Channel or another military flick (title doesn't matter; he'll watch the same one over & over). Most of it is lost with me and I'm Charlie Brown listening to his teacher when he talks to me about it.

However, I do want to give credit where credit is due. If you ever get the chance to watch Band of Brothers, DO IT. Done by Spielberg & Hanks, it is gripping, realistic, and heartwrenching. The scene where the company comes across the concentration camp KILLS me everytime. It's not on the same level as most recent war films. It's intense like Saving Private Ryan and Pearl Harbor, but in no way do you get the 'men in uniform' look of Affleck

I need to go watch a chick-flick to get my life back in balance. Got any suggestions?

Lots to post about but first and foremost on my brain is sleep. Must. Sleep.
Basically I gave up liquid caffeine (coffee, soda -- still eating chocolate) for Lent. Do I really need to explain any further.

Well, by 2:15pm today I. was. dead. could. not. function. I stopped at home for a few minutes before heading to pick up Sean from school. With the two littles playing quietly upstairs, I crashed on the guest bed. There was no stopping it. I woke to my dh walking in to look for his library card. I made a mad dash to get Sean lest he think I forgot to pick him up.

I think I tricked myself into surviving until now b/c I had a caffeine-free Diet Dr.Pepper with my dinner.

I completely understand how comfortable this monkey is b/c that is how I felt this afternoon. It's going to be a long Lenten season.

In the news............
I AM still alive --- incredibly busy with life. Maggie and I have had a ton of rehearsals for The Promised Land over the last two weeks. Run-throughs start next week and then the show begins; it's actually easier when the show begins b/c it's a weekend commitment. Sharing this experience with Maggie has been so much fun; the rest of the family has all of our show songs ringing in their heads.

Sean got picked for kid pitch again this season. We are looking forward to seeing how much he has grown since last year. Yet another bat has appeared in the equipment bag; it's a little bit of de-ja-vu. Practice starts soon; me & my camera can't wait for opening day.

Maggie's first viola concert is tomorrow AM. She is so excited that she earned a spot in the front row. Of course, the occasion required a shopping trip and she looks so grown up. She loves to practice and isn't half bad actually.

Amanda's latest obsession -- learning to read. She is trying to read anything she can get her hands on. It's so cool to finally have a kid who LIKES to practice reading. She loves school. We are so glad that she had a bonus year. She is hoping to find her teacher on the ski slopes this weekend.

Ian --- he is almost 4! Next week I submit my final preschool registration paperwork. We have been there since Fall 2001 (when Amanda was born!) and we will officially be finished June 2009. It's been a loooooong stay and a wonderful experience, but I am counting down the tuition payments.

We are heading to the mountains this weekend. We will be joined by our Best Man and his family. With our recent storms, the conditions are great so it should be a blast.
That's the lastest edition of our news. Now if you need something to do in between these blog posts go check out lolcats.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Here's a little taste of a SoCal Christmas -- tree decorating, boat parade, Disneyland, etc.

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

Time for another installment of LOVE Thursday; it's been a while.
I LOVE being organized and the clean fresh feeling of put-away Christmas decorations (you aren't imagining it; the bottom three large containers are all lights for Clark) and an organized garage. Aaaaahhhhhhhh............

Isn't there some saying about 'things' happen in threes. Well, can I just take a TWO and call it close enough........

Friday night during my CM workshop I had turned on the stove to warm a little glaze for my dessert. Well, I got busy doing something else and forgot about it. Minutes later, smoke was pouring out of my newly, remodeled kitchen. I was moments away from a fire I'm sure b/c the glaze was completely black and smoldering. Pot went into the trash after it cooled.

And today, I smelled something burning this morning. Dh informed me that it was probably the waffles; however, nothing was in the toaster and it was unplugged. Hmmmmm. Later this evening around 7pm, we couldn't get our living room TV to come on. Weird; it was fine earlier. Hmmmmmmm, strange. Guess it's dead; it looked like the little power/channel disk on the top was stuck down so we figured we would need to start shopping for a new one. Dh is quietly happy I'm sure. Fast forward to 9:30pm after bedtime routine, I came downstairs to the tv popping every two seconds and smell of something burning. Dh thinks it was the 'power trying to kick on' with the stuck disk thing but I don't care. Had I gone to bed and not come to down to wade through more laundry we would have had an electrical fire.

SO the installation of smoke detectors is now on the TOP of the to-do list. They have been in the garage forever. (I know it is BAD that we don't have them but they got taken down when we had the ceilings done.)

In the meantime, I promise not to leave the house with the dryer on.

Comedy. Watching your 44yo husband try to learn how to put his contact lenses in. Pure comedy.

I told him I was going to video him and put it on YouTube, but he didn't think I was funny.

So here goes my 1st post of 2008 ------
started the year off right with a roadtrip to AZ last week. It was so wonderful and relaxing. I still played 'wife' to Sandee by meal planning and grocery shopping while she worked but it was so nice to just have no commitments or obligations. We vegged on random television shows in the evenings......making us realize that 1) we want to stay healthy and not weigh 800lbs. individually or collectively and 2) I could easily be considered 'schlumpy' or 'drowning in Mom wear' on the show What Not to Wear.

So what better way to end our visit than with a trip to the outlet mall in search of NON-Mom wear. I kept saying 'what not to wear' special or no? each time I came out of a dressing room. I purchased a pair of tan cords, a denim skirt, a versatile blouse/top (what word do I use that doesn't make me sound old?), and a pair of Bass flats that are soooooooooo comfortable, yet stylish. AND I didn't spend a thousand dollars doing it; all totalled it was less than $100.

Now I just need a makever for my hair! Please!

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!