Merry Christmas is done

Hi...it's done. My favorite holiday is already over and I swear we just bought our tree. My house just got straightened up since before Thanksgiving yesterday. My dad and david came over to celebrate xmas with us and the kids and we had to clean. I mean clean. Put things where they belonged and put as little stuff as possible into the "someone is coming over hurry and clean" box. I think every one has done this at one time or another. It's a must when you have a family. Or at least that's what I tell myself.

Kids were completely spoiled this year. Feeling a little overwhelmed by it. There really are so many more people without, it makes me take inventory a little. Er says not to worry that our kids are getting so much. That we have great kids and they deserve it. I know they are great but still. So, today through hopefully only one or two days later I am cleaning the kids rooms and having them get rid of some of the things they don't play with anymore. We usually do this around Thanksgiving but we weren't home this year.

So, Im signing off with the hopes of being on here tomorrow or tonight. I love it when I do this but it seems like such a chore after a long day. Ill figure it out someday right?

:)

More children

I want another baby. To most of the people included in my life this is not news. If I think down the road that we have decided to have another baby, I get so excited. I can't wait to find out the sex, plan their wardrobe and just being pregnant. Then in that very same moment, Erwin and I start to bicker or not soon after we are arguing about how to raise Ethan and Abby. And here I am about 10 hours later wondering what the heck am I thinking wanting another baby? Er and I bicker most of the time when it comes to the kids and making the right decision for them. I just start to feel selfish and guilty when it comes to me thinking about raising another child when we can't even agree on how to raise the two we already have. I am seriously torn. And I really have no idea how Erwin feels. I know, start there right? I just don't think it's fair to be mad at something he said to the kids then in the next breathe try to convince him to have another baby. lol... what a mess.

Is it the father's job to push the kids to reach their goals and maximize their abilities and then the mother's job is to catch them when they fall short or can't handle it? Maybe if I figure this out, the parenting dilemmas between Er and I might fall into place. "Might" being the key word!

Night Night!

p.s. Just thinking of baby names puts a smile on my face. ;)

Back in the swing of things...

Ethan had his first week back to school. And I was a horrible mom 3 out of the 4 days this week since I gave him a granola bar for breakfast while we ran to the car to get him to school late. It was so hard this week to get back into it. Thank goodness he is so easy going and has been completely okay with being dropped off at the curb. He is so grown up. Or just really good at dealing with his overworked mom! LOL!
A really disturbing thing has happened in Ethan's world this week. On Monday or Tuesday another mom from his class let me know that a friend of his is in the ICU fighting for her life. Little 7 yr old  has been diagnosed with Lupus and as of Tuesday had complete Kidney Failure. I was sick to my stomach when I heard this news. She is 7 yrs old and the chills are back on my arms just typing it. I cant imagine what her mom and dad are going through. I haven't heard anything since then so as I remember everyday I try to say a little prayer for her and her family.
So Abby said a cute thing the other day. Now most people know that she is going to be a star of some sort, well maybe just I k now that, but above anything Abby LOVES to dance. She has been moving since she could sit. Knowing you would have to know that Dancing with the Stars is one of her most favorite shows. As we were driving somewhere this week she says," Mom...when I grow up can I be on Dancing with the Stars? And can I dance with Daddy? 'Cause I love to dance!" I told her "Yes!" She is going to dance or sing or act in any job she ends up in. And I can't wait to watch! I don't think Ive heard of a dancing, singing Zoo Keeper...have you?

Another week...

Here we go another weekend gone, another week on the horizon. It's already packed with things to do. But I did make a little change. I added a few fun things for the kids and I to do. Tomorrow we will have a play date with Ethan's Kinder teacher who I have become really good friends with. She has a 4 1/2 yr old and an 8 months old. I have told Ethan she has been practicing her English a lot since he is kind of confused how I can talk to her so well. (he thinks she only speaks Spanish, since that is the way it is at school) Then we are headed to the Balboa Park museums on Tuesday since they are free on that day. Wednesday I am free for the afternoon which will be nice. Thursday, I have joined a Meet-Up group for Chula Vista Moms. They set up all these different play dates all over Chula Vista and south San Diego to give moms and kids things to do. I am surprising the kids with Pump It Up. They have been dying to go and since I screwed up royally a few weeks back, I owe it to them. Plus, it's $6 for one kids and $4 for a 2nd. Perfect! They will be so excited to jump around like monkeys for an hour and a half. And Friday we have an afternoon Birthday Party at a pool. Tuesday and Thursday we have a Volleyball games to attend to support Erwin's Varsity and V girls starting their season. I think Wednesday night we may do a "team bonding" dinner. A house full of teenage girls. Poor Erwin!

We went Saturday to watch 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua'. so good! Perfect for kids. And of course Abby was LOVING it! LOVED IT! She is too funny!

What a day!

I can't believe I did today what I did today. I started "Zumba". I guess it's a Latin aerobics type thing. Anyway, I just had my first class today with some of my best girls. I Marangued, Salsa'd, Cumbia'd, and 4 other dances. I haven't sweat this much since I don't know when. Definitely not in San Diego. It was crazy! I am going to be swearing my friend up and down tomorrow morning. I already know this. I will be going next week though. Too cool!

And then I had a meeting with a new boss. A friend who has started his own business has asked for my help and I have accepted. I will be his Executive Assistant and loving it. I will have my hands back in the corporate business world all the while staying at home with my family, working for Lee and running my passion with CM! I am stoked. I already have 4 emails from this new job and I just started about 2 hours ago. It's a good thing! Craziness is my specialty! Now I am going to catch up on some brain-numbing Days and some frozen yogurt. Then off to bed.

My Inspirations

Focusing

Enough is enough. I have waited till I can find the right moment with the right thing to say so when the next person who reads it will see that I am productive, getting ahead and staying strong. This blog should help someone else focus on what's important. That has been my mind set for the past 3 months and I have gotten almost no entries done. Part is I feel like I have to tell you all everything that is going on in my life. That is if I leave something out, I am not going to be holding up my end of the friendship/communication bargain. I mean really, don't you have to know everything going on in my life to know how I am?

I just watched the Oprah about the mom who left her 2 yr old in the car for over 8 hours while she was at work. It wasn't in her normal routine to take the baby to daycare so she just completely forgot once she was on the road. She went into auto-pilot. All these other moms called in and wrote in saying that is exactly what could happen to them if they don't stop right now. I'm telling you that is what could be happening to me. Difference is it will be something like pulling out of the driveway without both kids in the car or without me looking behind me to make sure there aren't cars coming.

2 weeks ago it was my daughters best friends birthday party. Both kids had been looking forward to it all week. I of course used it as a behavior tool..."if you don't blah blah blah you won't go to the party!" I had been looking at the invite every morning and afternoon for 4 or 5 days prior and especially the morning of. The party was at 1pm. Perfect ... I get to sleep in and get up when the kids do, eat at a leisurely pace, give the kids their showers as well as myself, and hey Ethan can even clean his room before we head out. We get to the party place at 1:10pm and I don't recognize anyone and sure cant find the birthday girl. I ask the front desk what is going on and she says our friends party is over it actually began at 11:00 that morning. HORRIBLE MOTHER! That was the first thought in my mind. I had to tell the kids, especially Abby that we now had to go home because I messed up. All she knew was she couldn't play with her friends. She bawled and was so sad. I was devastated that I did this. I just don't do these things.

I had not been focusing and messed up. Now after watching this show I feel that may have been God just throwing a little pebble at me to wake me up and tell me to slow down. I really don't want the big brick to be thrown my way! I am not going to be the "Perfect Mother" now nor ever. I need to learn how to get over that. The sooner the better. I have another friend that has finally gotten up the courage to admit she is fighting Post Partum Depression and has stopped faking it in front of her Dr that she is okay. She has started her meds and I think from recent conversations she is feeling a tad more in control now. We all need a break. I really feel this empowerment about me choosing to take a nap pretty much every day. ( I cant believe I just admitted to that) Sometimes I have a big chunk of time and sometimes its 20 minutes. But if I don't rest, I am no good to anyone. I admit I cannot do it all. And even well rested I cannot do it all. Some things I do better than others. And that is okay. It's okay.

I am committing to myself to continue to write here every night before I go to bed. I'm usually trying to finish up an email anyway. I can throw something in here whether it be a "GOD Moment" a "Mommy Moment" or an "OMG-what-the-heck-am-I going-to-do-now-Moment". I hope some of you, my dear friends, will think about doing the same. Take time for you. Just breathe! I just did!

Gonna try again!

End of summer so I thought I better start again somehow. Here I am 2 days after a stupid mistake of not refilling my most important meds. It just wasn't a priority I guess. Well, that was until I didn't have them to take and I knew deep down that I better get them refilled ASAP or I would face the wrath of my system freaking out. And on Wednesday it freaked out. Good thing I had them to take and my family was forgiving and supportive. That means Abby slept with me through the morning and Erwin was welcoming to me bringing the kids to him for the remainder of the day so I could just be in quiet for a bit then go back to bed for my meds to kick in. I was up for a few hours while the kids went to bed and then i headed to bed before Er did that night. I hate them as much as I love them. The pills that is. There are so many days where I wish I didn't ever have to take a pill again and then the other ones I am so glad I can make it through those crazy days without one ounce of anxiety! Thing is I haven't done much else to get to the point of no anxiety. I went to one Pysch appt which was so-so and I never called a therapist for ongoing help. And I really don't need help...I think I just need direction. Just point me in the right direction. Or at least confirm that I am headed in the right direction. I know which way to go ... I know what I want and how to get it. I just need someone to tell me yes, that is how you could do it. When I am at my worst, it;s not like I am doing bad things or making bad choices. I just don't do anything, I don't make any choices. I don't move anywhere. And I just let life happen around me. And it's funny, cuz the only way people other than my husband know whats going on is when I tell them. Other than that, when I am out, I put on a show. I can't let anyone know how I am being more lazy than lazy and not taking care of myself at all. I take care of the kids, the dog and my husband (to a certain extent-he's an adult-he can handle himself). Everything else falls to the waist side. Even the things that make me happy.
We have the wedding of the century coming up in 2 weeks. I mean that whole-heartedly and somewhere in there is sarcasm of course. But really my sister has taken this on like a superstar and will have the wedding of her dreams. Part of me is jealous. She is having the wedding of her dreams. She works her butt off and can do that along with help from everyone. But sometimes I feel maybe I am so blah with it because if I would have worked harder I could have had a huge wedding of my dreams too. Not that my day wasn't what it should have been , but ya know. It's going to be neat to get all fancied up with my babies and my man. Ive lost probably 10 pounds in the last 5 months. Not sure where the hell it came off of, cuz my thighs are still there fighting with my legs and ass, as well as still looking 3 months pregnant if I let out my gut! I guess the pictures will tell!

I feel a little lighter after writing all this. I haven't even re-read it yet. lol...I'm such a perfectionist. So--- on to the so-called norm I call the rest of my life. It's been sitting there waiting for me patiently only with a few outbursts of "what the hell are you waiting for?!?!?!" Might as well with only 1 short months till I'm 33 yrs old and 4 months till a new year!

My kids are amazing!

We woke up at 530am and were on the water at 615am. It was freezing cold but the water was glass. Er got some time on the board and then the kids were chompin at the bit to get in the water. It was just the 4 of us today. As usually I wasn't keen on going in today so I chilled on the boat while the kids and E played in the water. The boat was barely anchored and Abby was in the water shortly followed by Ethan. The water was warmer than the air today at 730am. When the sun came out Abby and Ethan finally decided they could do the tube by themselves. Ethan has always been the scared one. We were excited that he was okay with going. As we started to tow, Abby got this petrified look at her face. We stopped, fixed the tube a little and the smile came on Abby and Ethan's face. All was well! Er stepped it up a bit and they were getting soaked going up and down the wakes, cracking up. But I was watching them off the back of the boat thinking..."Abby is freakin' 4! She is tubing at 4 years old!" hilarious! I can't believe that "MY" kids are doing this. I didn't learn how to swim till I was 11 or 12. Abby has absolutely NO FEAR. We anchored for awhile and Er hooked the tube up close to the back so they could just go from the boat to the tube and jump off. Well, Abby decides to stand on the back of the boat and do a diving somersault onto the tube into the water. Then next I told her to go backwards. She stood on the edge of the tube backwards and deadman falls stiff as a board into the water. Yep, no camera this time. I'm sure this isn't the last time she will do this. Just too much fun watching them today. We were home and napping by 1230!

The Internet Kills ME!

Who has ever spent an hour and a half on the internet working on something that requires decision making only to find out that when you are ready to check-out the fabulous computer tells you "please return to the homepage...there as been error"! AHHHH! Umm...ya....I have!!

Night Night!

Abby, Abby, Abby

Today has been a day of spring cleaning and laundry and car fixing! During this the kids and I got a bit of a nap. This means that the kids are awake for longer in the evening. This is okay since it's vacation. After dinner we have the rule of no video games or TV for the rest of the evening. While dad and i are cleaning the kids are usually playing with their blocks, cars, reading or inventing some kind of game in the living room. Tonight they had an old box and were decorating it with crayons and markers. I was in the dining room and Abby came up to me and asked,"Mom - can I have some glue so I can draw something on the box?" I said, "Nope!" She said her usual, "Uh." And she walked away. As she entered the living room she said to Ethan, "Ethan, mommy said no, I tried to trick her." I was like WHUUUT!!??!! "Abby what did you say?" "Nothing." I walked in there and called her over. I asked her again. "I said I tried to trick you." I couldn't believe it. I explained her that "tricking" was lying and it was not acceptable, blah blah blah. She was trying to trick me. She admitted she was trying to trick me. Give me a break! Too funny I tell ya!

June

Ive been crazy busy. I think. Or maybe too much has been going on inside my head that I could never really figure out what to let you all in on. Today I went to a new Psychiatrist for the first time in over a year. My Psych retired a few months back without telling me and of course Kaiser never let us know. My new guy is probably younger than me and I sort of feel good about it. He is definitely going to be a bit challenging. Well, let me rephrase that. We will be differing on some things. Ok, let me rephrase that...he is going to be telling me things that are going to be hard for me to hear. Like day 1..."do you know what co-dependant is"? Am I? I don't know. I did start to think harder about why I let people need me, want me, walk all over me and then invite them back only to let them do it all over again. It's attention and it gives my life a purpose. I like being there for people and place that at a higher importance level than my own self worth. Project #1 I assume.

Got so sick last week about 3 days before my big scrapbooking event. Freaked out because I was hurting so bad. Just aching and I had no control. Er finally stepped in after I told him exactly what I needed and took care of me. That was Tues, Wed and Thurs and after sleeping in on Friday, I was able to function for the next 2 days and you would have never know I was fighting for my life! Well not really but I can't give away all my drama. It was nice to work last weekend but it's nice that it's done.

Ethan is done with 1st grade and I now am the proud mama of a 2nd grader! AHH! You should see how tall he is getting. Seriously I think he may pass me up by 5th grade! He did so well this year. He is brilliant ya know. Speaking Spanish like no ones business. So stinkin' brilliant! And Abigail is dancing her little heart out every chance she gets. Today she unrolled a bunch of hair ribbons I had gotten her and put some in each hand then proceeded to dance around the living room as if she was in the Olympics. She didn't even know that was a sport until I told her. Then to hear her tell Er later that night that she was going to do "GINASSICS" was hilarious. That will be super fun to watch with her this summer. And she is now moving on to Primary Ballet at her dance school. She was in Pre-Primary which was a little tap and a little ballet and tumbling. Now just ballet. It was funny too, when I was registering her for the new class her teacher referred her to, there was this line by the classes that read "Average length of time in each dance level is 2-3 yrs". Yep, that was Abby's first time in a class. And now she is moving up. YAY!

That's all for tonite. Migraine today and need to eat something so I can take an Excedrin. NOW! Talk with ya soon!

A proud moment

Tonight Er and I went to his high school All Sports Banquet. The Athletic Director who is also a close family friend and the head coach for Varsity Basketball told me over the weekend to make sure Erwin attends this event. He would be getting an award. I had no idea what though. So we all went and saw some friends. Nice time. Then at the almost end of the event, the principal was annoucning the Coach of the Year. And bam! It was Erwin. Coach Macalaguim! It was so cool cuz he had no clue! Erwin has coached (3) sports every year for as along as I can remember. This past year it was Girls Varsity and JV Volleyball, Boys JV Basketball and then Boys Varsity Volleyball. It was so nice to see him recognized for all the hard work he has done. Although, in my mind a plaque doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. But saying my husband is "Coach of the Year" is pretty neat!

Mommy and Me

Abby and I splurge every now and then with McDonald's for breakfast. She loves pancakes! Loves them! But today as we were sitting there getting ready to eat, I turned to her and said,"When you go to Kindergarten who's going to eat breakfast with me?" For the first time, Abby was speechless! We had a moment and took some pics being silly. I love this one the best! Lucky for me I have a breakfast buddy for another year and a half!

Happy 7th Birthday Ethan!

My bubba boy turned 7 today. WOW! I can't believe he is 7 yrs old. It is getting more fun celebrating his birthday. I asked what he wanted to bring to his class. He wanted to make cookies. (Galletas in spanish.) Tuesday night we got the pre-made cookie dough out and Ethan and I rolled the dough and decorated them with icing and sprinkles. He loved and it and we laughed! They were a hit with his friends! Funny things was they were so imperfect looking that they looked GREAT! For dinner the four of us went to Chili's and Ethan got his favorite Chocolate Milkshake! My favorite part of taking someone out to dinner for their birthday is when the servers sing! So of course we had them sing to Ethan and he was so excited and embarrassed! As we were eating his unbelievable cake, Ethan said, "I am so lucky to have this great family!" Amazing little boy! We had fun tonight and my baby is growing up!

It's Clean

The office is clean and I just have to finish the top of the desk. It looks so nice again for the 10th time. Hopefully I can keep it this way. My dad helped me get things to where they needed to be instead of piled in one place. I got lots of papers filed and shredded. It felt good. Now, I am attacking the laundry. I got some good ideas from a fabulous friend and will be implementing them starting Monday. I can't wait because I think it's something I can do. I can't imagine being caught up on anything...especially laundry and filing.

We bought MS Office 2007 today. Awesome deal...Er's Dad is in the Navy so we have access to the Navy Exchange which not only has no tax on purchases but usually has awesome deals on things. So, I was able to buy this program for $80 instead of $200 or more. So cool! Now I can get work done on my laptop. Real work. hahaha.

May Gray

Ok...it's freezing, ya it's 58 but c'mon...it's San Diego! For some reason this years May Gray is killing me! I'm cold...Mother's Day was yesterday and Er was gone in his BBall trip to Vegas as he is every year. He left Thursday and I worked Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. My biggest gift this weekend was Er's parents watching the kids from Friday afternoon till Saturday evening. After work on Friday I was able to veg and then wake up to a quiet house. It was very nice! I got an awesome T-Shirt from Ethan that his teacher helped them make. It had his picture in the middle with a letter written to me in Spanish. It was so cool! So Cool! I got my first handmade mother's day gift from Abby. She was so excited to give it to me. It was a cute card with a little sachet of potpourri.

My dad is coming tomorrow to help me get organized and cleaned up in the office. I think my biggest flaw which makes my house look dirtier than it really is, is the paper clutter. Just the things that are not put in the right files whether bills or the trash file. I hope my dad can give me some solutions that I can get down! Seriously...I cant get a hold of it. I'm feeling positive!

Erin and my Laptop

So I talked to my Erin friend in Tennessee today for the first time in a long time. And I swear we could have talked for hours. We got a good 32 minutes in. She is such an inspiration to me. She sometimes has plans for life, with detail. And when they happen as said, it's like, why don't I make plans like that. When they don't happen as wanted, she seems to pop up and carry on to new plans. Nothing holds this girl back. And then I say "get off your ars Amy!" I love talking to you lady!

I now have a laptop! I feel like a grown-up when I am using it. It's crazy. It has been only a week since I bought it and about 3 days since I have been hooked to the Internet. But...I love it. I am able to respond to emails and be with the kids and Erwin at the same time. I also loved the fact that when I was watching Oprah, I was able to jot down on my Microsoft Office OneNote pad some website info she gave out. Usually when I watch things, I say I am going to visit the website later and I never get there. Now, I can check it out as I am watching the show or at least type it down where I won't lose it!

Ok...getting tired and I can't believe it's only 1050pm. Seriously I have been going to bed around 1ish. Insomnia falls to #4 on the list of things to nail down.

PMS

PMS just kicks my butt, I swear. I was on such a high after the last post and then BAM! Nothing. And today I realize that Aunt Flo has been the cause! Thank goodness, cuz now i have turned my brain on again and I woke up to what I haven't been doing for a week.

Friday was great. It was hotter than heck down here and I stuck to my plans a friend and I had made about getting our butts to the pool. Right after school the kids and I met the other RPS gals and their kids and did some much needed bonding. (FYI - RPS= Red Panty Society) Every Friday now, unless there is serious winds or rain, we will be at the pool. It was good to be in the sun outside! It felt so good to be around the people who didn't care what ya looked like, how you smelled, how much you complained or how quiet you were. You were just accepted! I LOVE these ladies! The kids had a great time too of course. In the pool for 2 1/2 hrs! Let the tanning begin!

Then I worked that night with a workshop at my place. Again, other ladies I love came and worked on their albums like mad women! I didn't sit down for 4 hours and loved every second of it! I was in my moment. In my passion! Making some money too! I had the chance to catch up with some other fabulous friends I haven't seen latelty.

Ethan has learned to ride his bike and start and stop all by himself! WAHOO! Erwin showed him the last weekend he had off during break! He told me if he completed nothing else during this break, it was enough to watch his son ride his bike with no training wheels! The pictures and videos are priceless!

So to end with something exciting for me. I am getting me a laptop tomorrow. Kind of big and high tech for me. I just figured that I sit in this office way too much. And most of the time I don't get much done. Either, staring off into the space called the "computer screen" or being interrupted by Abby, "Momma...I want to sit with you!" or Erwin, "AMY...whatcha doin?...You almost done?" So, now I can do bits and pieces of work and emails to you all anywhere and everywhere and be with my family too. It's going to be good! I'm scared, but it's going to be good! Have a Magical Monday!

STUFF

I have so much stuff. Piles everywhere. Some clutter...some important. But all of it when piled together is stuff. Been reading a New Earth (the Oprah Book) and trying to get into that focus that stuff and things are not important. But where do I start? I know where I want to start. My kids things. I don't want them growing up thinking that the kids with the most toys wins. Or thinking it's okay to have piles of things. Clean clothes, toys, books, papers, more toys and more clean clothes. Does this mean they have too much clothes? Probably...but people paid for these clothes. I paid for a little of them. We get lots of hand me downs. Which I love. But I think I have a hard time getting rid of the clothes and the toys because we spent our hard earned money on them. I feel like I am just throwing that money away. Yes, the kids got major use out of them. And I never really throw things away. I give to the American Veterans Association about 4 or 5 times a year. And we give things to Er's mom and dad to take to the Philippines. Plus, I give clothes to my nephew and to other friends who have babies. I guess I need to just get over it and realize that they are just things. GET OVER IT...I hate those words. Hey, if they had less clothes then I would have less laundry!

I need to work on my albums. It always brings me such focus. Oprah was talking about being in the moment. In the present. You can only find real peace if you focus on this moment. When I work on my albums, I am so in that moment. Really! Thinking about it more right now, it is one of the only times I am in the NOW! Maybe when I am watching the kids sleep or when I watch Abby at her dance class. At those times all of my senses are focused on that moment. And I am peaceful. Wow... I may have had a little wee "aha! moment"! But I can't even count five things on my hand which give me that peace.

You know who is really good at being in the NOW...Patty! Yes, you are so good at paying attention to what is going on right in front of you. Whenever I talk to her I never feel as if her mind is floating off somewhere else or that she might be thinking about what she has to do when I leave or hang-up. She's the best! Anyone want to scrap this weekend? I need some peace! lol

February Highlights

Ethan up close with those beautiful chompers!
Abby needing another picture!
Mommy playing Chutes and Ladders with Abby, Ethan & my nephew Nick!

Friday night

So, its 1230AM and I just finished watching an Oprah on night terrors and sleep disorders. Stay away from caffeine, alcohol, eating, etc. Did I forget to mention I was eating a small serving of lime Tostitos and a glass of white wine? hahahaha. So funny! Then one of the things Dr Oz was talking about was giving up caffeine. The people writing in were saying, "I have given up my 3-4 cans of Soda a day....I have cut my 6 sodas a day out and feel so much better..." Hi, I only have one a day if not, one every other day. I still have a hard time going to sleep. I don't always drink it right before bed and on the days I don't drink any, I still cant go to sleep at a normal hour. hmmm...

Er and Ethan are going fishing tomorrow morning with Ethan's best friend and his dad which I am really proud of Er for. He is always happy with the friends he has and never really ventures out. But this time he is. So, i am anxious to see how it goes. Although, he spent $125 on gas for the boat and the truck. I am so walking to school next week. Gas is crazy!! I mean seriously. I need my nails done before i gas up the truck. lol!! I might as well work on my health too. It was so warm today though. 85 degrees at 1245pm. Supposed to be hotter this weekend. Hopefully it cools off before next week.

Have a great weekend everyone, I hope you all get some fresh air!!

End of my Trip to San Jose

I have one more day left in sunny San Jose. It has been a great trip. We will fly out Tuesday evening. Bittersweet goodbyes to my family. I will see my brother, sister-in-law and babies one more time tonight. I spent lots of time with Nick (Abby's age) and that was very important to me. Abby and him get along so well. I was able to see some childhood friends, most of who will read this. That was HUGE. Kind of surreal as we were together with our kids. I got to visit with my most special Aunt Lynn and my cousin Kristi. I haven't seen them in 2+ yrs. My aunt is 67! No way...I just cant even begin to believe it. My cousin just opened up her own Childcare/Pre-school. This is something I know she has wanted to do since college days. I was so excited to congratulate her in person. She was actually one of the people who I watched and really wanted to be like. Especially her gift of teaching and caring for children. It was great seeing my family. I will get to see them 3 times this year. The wedding shower in August and the wedding in September. Its going to be a good year!

Two of the best things that have happened here: I was able to do a lot for my mom this time. I rearranged furniture, cooked, helped with laundry and we just sat and talked a lot too. And the other thing was watching my Abby play with my friends kids. Last night we visited Teresa who I have know since 6th grade and who i hold dear to me. She is one of the most special people in the whole world. Her oldest is about 5 weeks older than Abby. They get along so well! Like two peas in a pod. Teresa asked me when I left,"i wonder how it will be when they get older?" I told her they have no choice but to be friends. And just thinking about how all my friends kids with all be friends was sooo coool! I can only imagine what their conversations will be about. What a blessing!

Breathe

Ok...this is the time where I start to not being able to breathe...did that make sense? I am headed to San Jose to surprise my mom on Wednesday morning. I just finished taxes and e-filed them. LOVE IT! Money in 9 days. Anyway, that took 4 hours of my day and I am officially trying to switch uplines with CM. So i am frantically trying to get all my contacts off my cm software in case I have no access to it. Umm ya and it's 1141pm! Er let me sleep in really late today so that was good. Then tonight I got to meet my one of my BFF's for coffee. Who does that? Meets for coffee on a weeknight at 9pm in Nasty City? I guess I do now. It was so nice...thank you very much. But back to not breathing. I know Er is in the other room waiting for me to join him for some TV catch up. But I really like knowing that some of you are catching up with me on this. So I have to keep this up to date. And Er just called me on the intercom and asked what I am doing. I am finishing this up I swear. I don't even think he has checked this yet. Laundry just beeped 3 minutes ago so I have to change that too. Cuz I am not packed yet. But it's ok because I have tomorrow. lol...Nails, packing, buying Abby a cute little backpack for her Build-a-Bear as a surprise, follow-up on emails, meet with my loan lady/very good friend, and ummm, ummm figure out dinner and take Abby to dance. I love doing that because she looks so stinking cute in her leotard. I have to get pics on here. After the SJ trip I shall tackle that.

OH...I am reading the Good Earth (Oprah book). My mom-in-law bought it for me. I think I am going to love it. Has anyone else read it yet? Ill keep you "posted"!

Back from Vacation

I'm tired and glad to be home. We had a great time in LA with my dad. The train ride wazs great and I will totally be doing it again. What a great way to make the trip. It was less time and I didn't have to do much. The kids loved not having seatbelts on and I loved that I got to work on my scrapbook journaling. The coolest part thought was seeing dolphins right on the coast. Amazing. It was beautiful. The most uncool part was belueving that I could check luggage and then having to carry on and off 6 bags by myself. And the greatest thing was watching all the gentlemen asking if they could help me. Ya, uh, NOT. Not one person asked. Hilarious I tell ya!
We got time to visit with Jen and Kai. So nice to see her especially since I will see her again next week when I am in SJ. Being back home is good though. I do enjoy my life. I enjoy my home and my children and my husband. Life is good. I dont think I can remember a time when I could say that before. Its been awhile.

Happy Easter!

Today was a great day! Kids didn't wake up so crazy early. Probably because we didn't go to sleep till pretty late. Hey, whatever works right? I, I mean the Easter Bunny sent the kids on a great Egg Hunt for their baskets. It was so fun watching them try to figure things out and even Er was having fun! Then we rested today until it was time to go to Er's mom's for an early relaxed dinner. Dad is back from the Philippines and he brought back video and pictures on how the "mansion" is coming along. Amazing. I saw the air conditioning unit and the water purifier. The most important things for me and mom. We laughed at it. We said as long as there are beds, air conditioning, clean water and that the Massage Therapist and Manicurist can get there, we will be fine! It is beautiful and I saw for the first time the view from the 2nd floor out of the window. It was so tropical and green. Just beautiful. Made me more anxious to get there.

The kids and I are headed to LA tomorrow on the train. Er had volleyball practice for the week so he is home alone for 3 days. The kids and I are excited since we haven't taken a trip on a train before. Should be interesting. I already saw there are only 2 seats together. Not sure how I pull that off. We'll see. Looking forward to going to my dad's and being cooked for with no messes to clean up. Going to work on my crocheting I haven't picked up in about 6 months. The same blanket I have been working on for 3 or so years. Er swears it will be for Ethan's high school graduation.

It's late and really it's already Monday. Gotta sync up the Ipods for the trip. Hasta Manana!

Today

The end is coming to a long day. Easter bunny is supposed to be visiting tonight. That is if my son who has been fighting a fever for 3 days and his dad will detach their fingers from the Nintendo DS and go to bed. The things are ready and I can't even believe that. I have consistently been running to the stores for the last 10 or so holidays the evening before or the morning of to complete the Easter Bunny or Santa's responsibilities. Not today. I ran into the "treasure hider place", aka closet, today and as I was entering a slight panic mode, I found a Target bag, a WalMart bag and a Vons bag with all the fixin's. Phew! I mean for real. It never is this good. But don't ask me where their baskets are. I am just going off the good ride and assuming, I know, that they are where they should be upstairs.

We are on Spring Break here in CV. It's good because Er is home too. We get to relax. I get to sleep in a lot. It's nice since I am normally up at 6am everyday to get Ethan to school by 740. Ok well I am up by 645. Horrible. Anyway...we are glad because not only is tomorrow Easter but Papa Verr is home from the Philippines after being gone for 6 weeks. We will see him tomorrow for dinner and some egg hunting. I got the kids some Easter clothes. Simple but I know they will make for some fabulous pictures. I can't wait to see them. Plus, I think this will be the last year I will be able to dress them up without a fight.

Er finished his latest Volleyball tournament today with a championship for his Varsity Boys team. He is really enjoying this new coaching experience. He is usually a golfing fool right now. I did just find out that no games on Fridays for VBall. YAY! That means we can take up mom and dad on some Friday night sleepovers for the kids every now and then.

Happy Easter to umm...me since no one even knows this exists. lol...

Here goes nothing...The WHY

Erin, you are my inspiration. I, like other busy women, was feeling guilty lately, more than usual if it can be imagined, that I have not kept in touch with so many of my friends and family. I stopped sending family updates. No more birthday cards for at least the past 3 years and for sure about 98% less phone calls to see what's going on in other peoples lives. Or at the very least to just say hi! In the past 3 yrs I have had some very important people move further and further away. Well, 7 1/2 years ago, I moved far away too, but of course right now we'll only talk about the others who moved. Most recently a friend I met through someone else, I guess I kind of borrowed her friendship, moved away in November of last year. A military family, completely used to setting some roots and then having to pick up and go to where the Navy wishes them off too. I am not used to it yet. And here I go again, I have another friend leaving me in July. Yes, leaving me... not continuing their commitment to this country and keeping my family safe... leaving me! lol

I don't know why I can't just pick up the phone and call Tennesee. Or Texas or Colorado. I can't even easily pick it up to call Pasadena, 3 hours away. So, this is my attempt to stay in touch with my most beloved friends and family. To let everyone know that I when I say, miss ya, I really do MISS YOU. And because I am on the computer a good portion of the day, I can keep adding to the days post when I think of Becky or Kristin or Jenn (why do I put two n's) or Becky G. See the list goes on and on. I couldn't possibly call these gals as often as I think of them to let them know the goings on of this wonderful family I am responsible for. Oh, I also think I was getting nervous of MySpace. I was on there and have been for years. But it takes so much of my time. I can zone out on that thing for ever! Going to this link, then to this link from there and reading abuot this and oh I can't believe I found this. I think a blog is exactly what I need. I think. This may have been too long. Are there rules for blogs? I guess I will find out.