Happy Birthday Keith!

Happy Birthday Keith!

Keith's birthday is today, well, the 12th really. I just assume you are reading this on the 12th. Mom, Dad and Ris came up on Sunday and we celebrated Keith's birthday. We had a couple of Indian dishes. But before dinner, we had a whole huge plate of Rumaki (chicken livers wrapped in bacon). It was SO yummy.

They bought Keith this cake from Red Ribbon. It is a chocolate mocha cake. I think this is the third time for them to bring this particular flavor. It is really rich. It is chocolate cake, three layers with mocha whipped cream in between the layers. There are bits of mocha crunch in the cream and on the top are rolled tubes of chocolate. Wow, is it yummy!

Keith has gotten some really nice cards and we have them displayed on the front room. The kids keep saying they want to go to Chuck E Cheese for Keith's birthday and he is actually entertaining the idea!

Personal note: Happy Birthday MDHK! ktu ilu ylwm

Kenna

She is getting really strong. She is | | this close to rolling over. She is so cute and smiley. She is still sleeping well through the day and at night. Couldn't ask for an easier baby.

Kyle

Kyle has been bottleless for more than a week now. He is falling asleep without them, but is not sleeping as much now. His naps are short - one hour at best, as opposed to the three to four hour naps he was doing. He also is waking in the morning and after naps as grumpy as can be. He definitely takes after me in the grumpiness arena.

Kaela

Potty training is well, going. She is doing pretty good at going number 1 and hasn't had a pee accident in almost a week. But, now number 2s are not going so well. I won't go into details. Eh taint pretty. She fell asleep sitting on the toilet on Saturday. Poor thing. She was so tired from swimming and she sat and sat waiting for number 2 to happen. Well, she got tired of waiting and napped right there. She was all curled up. Her feet were on the rim. It is a hilarious picture, but I didn't want to post it online. E-mail me if you wanna see it!

Kevin

Geez Kevin IS getting tall. I was looking back at posts from January. On the 18th, I commented on how Kevin's nose is right at counter level. Well, here we are six months later and Kevin's armpits reach th counter tops. I watched him just today reach for his cup. His arm was flat on the counter and he wasn't tip toeing. Maybe he will be 5' 11" like the height predictor predicted.

Photo Updates

Check out their photo albums! New photos added. Click on links at left. Good night!

So Close

So Close

The kids are such good sports. They actually let me take these pictures with them all smashed up against each other. When trying to get them to put their heads together, I clonked Kyle's and Kaela's heads against each other. Look at Kenna. What a good sport she is. She just sat there, but made sure to put a pout on to show her displeasure. She was all smiley and laughing until I whipped out the camera. As I recall, all the kids at that age stopped smiling when the camera came out. They relate the camera to the unpleasant flash. And you know with all the pictures I take, they catch on really quick!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!

The kids are all dressed up for the fourth. Maria bought them these cute outfits. The kids were all happy to show their American pride.

We are probably going to catch the fireworks on TV tonight, either Macy's or Boston Pops. Not sure which yet. Enjoy the fireworks!

Happy Independence Day

Well, not only is it our country's independence day, it seems to be independence day in the Fischer house. Potty training and bottle weaning is looking good today. We are on our way to little independent kids.

Okay. Spoke to soon. She had an accident as I was typing.

But, she is making fairly good progress. She pooped after I blogged yesterday. And today, before lunch she pooped again. Yes, in the toilet. Well, maybe she'll be one of those that poops in the toilet okay, but has trouble with the peeing. We shall see what happens.

We probably aren't going anywhere for fireworks. Kevin and Kaela would like them probably. Kyle would be scared (we think). He doesn't like loud noises. They make him nervous. Kenna would probably sleep through them. Kevin did at her age. I think that was the last time we ventured out for fireworks.

Well, whatever you decide to do tonight, have a fun time!

Good Ole Summertime

Good Ole Summertime

It was a big weekend for us here in the Fischer House. We started potty training Kaela yesterday. We also decided to wean Kyle off the bottle yesterday too. That was a spur of the moment thing. Lastly, the spa is ready for the summer.

Okay, first the potty training thing. Let me tell you. It sucks. I hate potty training. It was a pain to train Kevin. No wonder we waited so long to train her. She did semi okay yesterday, but didn't poop. She has only had accidents today and still hasn't pooped. It sucks.

Kyle is doing much better. He cried just a short while at his nap yesterday, but fell asleep. Last night at bedtime, he just went right to sleep. At nap time today, he just went down. Hopefully this will be easy.

Everyone right is quiet. They all went swimming and had lots of fun. They are all tired now, so they are quiet. It is peaceful right now.

With that thought, goodbye.

McKenna is Three Months Old

Three Months Old

Kenna turns three months old on the 1st. She has gotten so big. She is so different from the day she was born (obviously), but she isn't an infant anymore. She has moved to baby. Before we know it, she'll be sitting up, crawling and then walking!

They've Got the Blues

They've Got the Blues

Can't you tell? Just kidding. They are all smiles. Well, the best smiles I could get out of Kyle and Kenna.

Yes, I dressed them up for this picture. Kaela and Kenna's outfits are the cutest I think. Kenna is wearing an outfit that I got for Kaela when she was only 3 months. Kaela is wearing a very cute outfit Aunt Cheryl got for her. You can't tell because Kyle is wearing overalls, but Kevin and Kyle are wearing the same shirt.

Kid Update

Kevin. Hmmm. What is new with him? Not much. Still doing the big brother thing. We were going to try to start training Kaela today to use the potty. He sat on the floor near her and was asking if she was okay. He told her she just had to sit and wait. He also asked her if she just needed a book. He was so concerned. It was too cute. Right now he, of course, is playing with his Legos. He loves them. I am glad I gave up my sets for him. At least now they are being used.

Kaela is officially enrolled in preschool. We have to have her potty trained by Sept 12. This morning was going to be the first day, but I was just so busy trying to clean up the house (someone might be coming over later). I didn't have the patience when after sitting her on the toilet, she peed about ten minutes later right into her pull-up. Oh well. Keith said we could start this weekend when he is here to help. On Saturday, to get to Mom and Dad's on time, we woke the kids around 6:30. She had a dry diaper. So, if we wake her early on Saturday and set her on the potty, maybe she will actually feel what it is like to pee in the toilet and then get a hang of it. I, of course, will keep you posted.

Kyle is talking more. Today, he was grumpy and kept saying nah nahhhhh, nah nahhhhh. Well, duh. I finally realized he was saying, "Nap nap". I got his bottle (which after our vacation we are going to wean him from) and he went right up the stairs to his bed. Haven't heard a peep from him since. He is right now about and hour and a half into his three hour nap. Also today, he was by the range and was saying hot, hot, hot. The oven was off though. But, I think he knows that hot is a temp and not the actual range/oven.

Kenna. She is doing what all the other did. After she wakes in the morning, she eats and goes right back to sleep. Ah. It is so nice. She sleeps all night and then wakes to eat, only to go back to sleep. She is more awake in the afternoon. I think she is also thinning out. Her face isn't looking as chubby.

Well, that's it for now. I'm sure I missed something cute about the kids that I've forgotten about and will remember right after I post. Well, that's it for now. Bye!

Purge Purge Purge

Well, we've been busy here in the Fischer household. We went down to Mom and Dad's this weekend and finally got the rest of our stuff out of their house. Keith drove his truck down and we took out the third row seat from my Expedition. Kevin rode with Keith and the three little ones were with me.

We got everything. Well, almost everything. The kids each got one of those huge, life size stuffed dogs from CostCo for each of their first Christmases. We couldn't fit those in without blocking my view or them flying out the bed of the truck, so we left those there to get another day.

I straightened out the garage yesterday to get everything to fit. It looks pretty nice in there. All my stacks of stuff - we have just TONS of stuff - were looking picked through. I straightened those out and packed everything in there tighter.

Well, Dad is looking to get rid of some of his clutter (1 washer, 2 dryers and dining room chairs - all old and broken) and we wanted to get rid of some of ours (a broken computer desk, broken printers, etc). So, someone is coming on Saturday to haul away all our stuff. He is taking the washers and dryers to a metal recycler. I'm glad it's just not going to the landfill.

So, my goal is to purge about half of the stuff in the house. We still have a lot of things sitting in boxes from when we moved to WA the first time and haven't opened them since. So, it leads me to believe that it is something that is doable. A lot of the stuff is mementos from school. I think I am going to just bite the bullet and get rid of it. It'll be hard for me, but I can do it. Right???

This is...

This is...

a) McKenna as she looked this afternoon and this morning

b) McKenna this week and last

c) Michaela at three months on different days

d) Michaela on the left, McKenna on the right

e) McKenna on the right, Michaela on the left

f) McKenna on the left, Michaela on the right

The answer is "f". Just threw in "e" to see if you were paying attention. McKenna is on the left. I took this picture today. She is less than one week shy of being three months old. Michaela is on the right. This picture was taken in 2002 on the day she turned 3 months.

When I asked Kevin and Kaela who these babies were, they just assumed they were both Kenna. When I asked them which was Kaela and which was Kenna, Kevin guessed right because in the uncropped picture of Michaela, you can see her earrings.

My Stubborn Girl

My Stubborn Girl

So Kaela has this bad habit of eating her food, asking for seconds and not touching the seconds. Well, today at lunch, she asked for a second helping of eggs and a second helping of spam. Well, she ate most of the second helping of spam, but notice all the eggs. I gave her too many. So, I compromised and told her she only needed to eat half of the eggs remaining. I reminded her that she was the one that asked for them and insisted that she could finish them. Well, she refused to eat them. Not even half. So, I told her she could sit there until half the eggs were eaten. Well, after about an hour, she was really quiet. So, I peaked in on her and she was asleep. I snapped the picture, laughed at how funny she looked and then took her plate to the sink. Stubborn Girl.

What the Kids Looked Like on Friday

The Kids on Friday

So, these are pictures of the kids on a typical day.

Well, it was hot that day, so Kevin took his shirt off. He has been doing that a lot lately. He hates to sweat. Notice he is chomping on a carrot. He loves carrots. Let's see, what has he been up to? Well, still in love with his Legos. He is making all kind of Star Wars spacecraft. He is also doing jets and gravitates towards the police mini people. He is also really into his "Visual Dictionary". He flips through this two inch thick book just filled with all kinds of info. He looks at the pictures and then explains to me what they are. He can't read, but by looking at the picture he can accurately explain things. The other day he was explaining how sunlight reflects of water droplets to make a rainbow.

Notice Michaela is wearing her crown. She made this at Colin's birthday party. She loves this thing. She also loves her princess books and her princess coloring books. She is getting into her clothes picks out her own clothes in the morning (she is a bit color palette challenged). This morning Kevin advised her on how to match the clothes, in the process they tore apart her stacks of clothes. But she did look really cute. She likes to put on her hats and asks whoever will listen if she looks cute. She smiles, tilts her head and gives her girly eyes.

Kyle. Well, he is starting to say (or kind of say) more words. Poo Poop. Dirty. Hot. He grunts with the inflection of words. It is a grunt, but I can tell when he wants a drink because it is always the same inflections. I think he tries to say thank you - it is the same sounding grunt every time he gets what he wants. He is in the stage in which he cries when he can't get it across what he wants. So, I have been telling him to "show me". He'll take me by the hand and drag me through the house. To the fridge when he is hungry or thirsty. To the cupboard when he wants a snack. To the toy box when he is looking for a toy. He is getting smarter at communicating.

McKenna is doing well. She will smile in response almost every time you smile at her. Now she is saying Ohhhh and Cooing when you Ohhhh and Coo at her. She likes to be held to an extent then wants to be laid down or propped up in her boppy pillow. She loves to play under her arches still and likes to watch her brothers and sister. She is really taking it all in. She still sleeps through the night, but is going down later at night now. Usually around 10pm. But, she is now waking later. Around 9am.

Keith's father's day was pretty much a typical Sunday. We ended up ordering out at our local Italian. I enjoyed my dinner more though and ended up getting a more expensive dish. But Keith said that it was okay because "every day is mama's day". He is too sweet.

So, that's the update for now.

I Love The Internet

Yes, I am an internet junkie. I have been online since the early 90s. That's more than ten years. I've been on the internet so long, that when I got an ICQ number, it was only in the 3 millions. Now it is giving out numbers starting in the 180 millions. I used the original versions of ICQ and mIRC. My first webpage was made in 1994.

I love the internet because you can find a wealth of information on it. Some of it may not be all that accurate though; you should always check as many reference as possible and not just rely on one.

You can find all kinds of interesting trivia like Los Angeles' official name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula" - the longest city name in the US. But it is also known as "L.A." - the shortest.

You can find what ever you want to know on different countries, peopleethnicitieses and on and on. You can get restaurant reviews, movie reviews, music reviews, reviews on almost anything! You can make plane reservations, hotel reservations, camping reservations, compare prices, find discounts, etc etc etc. You can shop - almost every store out there has a .com. Kevin doesn't refer to a site. He refers to a dot com. He says things like, "I am looking at the Power Rangers' dot com."

If you can think it, you can find it on the internet. And it is so easy anyone can do it. Kaela knows her way to the Little Pony website. It isn't bookmarked, but somehow she gets to it. I think she clicks through on another website that we do have bookmarked. She can't read, but she manages to find all kinds of websites that she likes. From the PBS home page, she can get to the websites of all her favorite PBS shows.

Miss a TV show? Find a recap on line, find the transcript on line, find when it is playing again. You can even find a copy of it online *illegal* shhhhhhh....

We spend a lot of time online, but are always finding new and interesting sites. I can spend hours just diggin up info. As you've read, I've been doingenealogygy stuff - very cool. Keith the other day found a site that plays guitar chords. Shows you how to finger them and shows you the minors etc. Then it plays them so you know how they sound. We are researching our vacation online. We can see pictures of rooms in bed and breakfasts and read menus before we are even at the restaurant.

Who has time to make all these sites? I guess the same people that have all the time to cruise them *grin*.

Happy Father's Day

to all the Fathers out there.

The kids made cards for Keith and this morning when we got out of bed, Kevin and Kaela ran up to Keith to wish him a happy father's day. I didn't even have to prompt them to do it. They were so excited about it, they did it on their own!

Today is our normal Sunday. Lazy Sunday. Kenna is asleep and the rest of the kids are upstairs playing and bugging Daddy. I am sitting at the computer watching our lights flicker. We are having electrical problems. Did I mention that before? It started last weekend when we noticed the plugs on one wall - the one with the fridge and Keith's coffee makers - weren't working. The plugs were coming on and off. Well, then on Thursday, I noticed a slight flickering of all the lights downstairs - kitchen, dining area, garage, bath. So, I called the electric company to see if there were problems in the area. No such luck. It's just us. So, Friday, they sent someone out. It appears as though the main power supply to the house is burning itself out. But, it is only half of the supply having the problem. Thus, the problems with only half the house. Anyway, it is on the outside of the house so, the owner has questions as to if it is an association's problem or their problem to get it fixed. Well, in the meantime, we have flickering lights. It is so obnoxious.

Well, this post has gone from Happy Father's Day to our electrical problems. So, let's see if I can end on a better note.

Hmmm. Can't think of one. Geez. Oh well, I shall think about it and post again. Bye!

Is Anyone Else Sick of

hearing about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes? Geez. So they are in love and as of today are engaged. But geez, do I have to read "headlines" about them everyday??? Can't Yahoo put anything more important in their headline news? I want to read about REAL news. Okay. The end of my rant for today.

Thursday and All is Well

Not much has been happening around here. Well, let's recap and we shall see if nothing has really been going on.

Our Anniversary. Sunday. We went to a Mexican seafood restaurant on the coast. I called the restaurant to see what the dinner crowd wore so that we didn't feel out of place. I wasn't sure if this was a nicer casual restaurant, or a laid back casual restaurant. Well, the hostess said that it definitely was not a jeans kind of place ("Oh no, not jeans," she said). So, Keith and I dressed up, not fancy, fancy, but Keith was in a nice shirt and slacks and I wore a skirt and heels. Well, we get there and everyone is in jeans. There were even shorts and tee shirts, as well as loud obnoxious kids. I know I have kids, but I wouldn't have brought them there. Keith was unimpressed with the food. It was a bit pricey for the atmosphere, but I thought the food was tasty. I didn't think it was so tasty at 3:00am while I was suffering from heartburn. Yick!

Monday. What can I say. It was Monday.

Tuesday. Julie came up with Emily and Zoe. Emily and the kids played hard - in the backyard, upstairs, downstairs, in the garage. Time went by really fast. Before I knew it, Julie was telling Emily that it was time to get going soon. Julie and I just hung out with the babies and talked. We all had a good time.

Wednesday. We met Keith for lunch. We hadn't met him for lunch in ages. Then after dropping him off, I wanted to drive around a little so the littlest ones could nap before we headed off to Ikea. Well, I got lost and all turned around. We ended up getting stuck in totally horrendous traffic. So, what was supposed to be a fun little drive so the babies could take a short nap, turn into us being lost for about an hour and Kenna crying most of the time. We finally made it to Ikea. All the kids were actually pretty good in the store. Kevin and Kaela had fun looking at all the furniture and sat in different chairs and on beds and things. They loved looking at the kid's rooms. Kevin loves to shop and says that Ikea is one of his favorite stores. Yesterday as we were diving around Kevin says, "Mama! Look! Big Lots!" Oh my goodness that boy likes to shop.

Thursday - today. We straightened up the house because the cleaners were coming. Yes, I clean before the cleaners get here. I don't like scrub and clean, I just tidy the house. Pick things off the floors and clear off counters. I do it to maximize what the cleaners are actually able to clean. Does that make sense? Now Kyle is napping and I hear Kenna starting to cry (she was napping). So, I guess I should go. *sigh*

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Well, today is our six year anniversary. It is hard to believe that it has already been six years. Even though we have done a lot in the six years, it seems as though it went by really really fast.

Let's see. What have we done in six years? We've had four kids, threw 9 birthday parties for them, had four baptisms along with four parties to celebrate, changed thousands of diapers, moved six times (if you count the time from WA to CA as two times because of the unexpected extended return to CA), drove from CA to WA or WA to CA eight times, six road trips over 500 miles (not including moving), had three overnight retreats without kids, bought two new (used) SUVs, flown six times - three of those times with kids; no small feat, Keith and I have each worked for three different companies/clients, had two garage sales, one major surgery (Keith), one minor surgery (Kevin), three trips to the emergency room, one speeding ticket, went camping four times, went to different attractions (Disneyland, Sea World, Legoland, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, Cabrillo National Monument, Mt. Rainier, Space Needle, Pike's Market) too many times to count, gone out of the country once (for our honeymoon), have had three different ISPs, gone through five computers, two TVs, but still using the same stereo, eaten out at almost every type of restaurant imaginable, and 2,191 days filled with cherished memories as a married couple. There is so much more that we have done, like the little everyday things that mean so much more than the trips and material things, but it would take a novel to reminisce about all that. In summary I would say that we've had six wonderfully blessed years together. Luckily for us, the "bad" stuff has been few and far between.

Kenna at 2 Months

Kenna at 2 months

I took this picture shortly after Kenna turned 2 months old. I haven't had a chance to post it. But, I thought I should since we needed a Kenna picture. She has changed a lot since this picture was taken. To me, just being about a week and a half since I took this picture, she already looks and acts older! She had an appointment last week and weighed in at a whole 10 1/2 pounds and 21 1/2 inches. She is a shorty in the 10th percentile.

The Aquarium

Dorys and Nemos

View more of the pics from the aquarium here.

Mom and Grandma Left This Morning

We drove Mom and Grandma to the airport this morning. It was sad to see them leave. They were here a whole week, but it went by very fast. It was really nice to have them here.

Let's see. Were did I leave off last time? Okay. Well, Monday we didn't do anything special. We (everyone but Keith) stayed home during the day. Mom and Grandma had fun playing with the kids and just hanging out with them. I was really spoiled this week as Mom and Grandma tended to Kenna and the rest of them most of the time they were here. I got to relax and cook without kids bothering me every second. Not that they are a bother, but they do need attention. Kyle totally warmed up to both Mom and Grandma and really loved the attention he got from them.

I forgot that on Sunday night, Keith and I went to see the Star Wars movie. The tickets were $9.50 each! I remember back in high school when Tuesday nights were dollar night for first run movies. Granted, high school was more than 15 years ago, but still! We also got a large Coke for $4.50 and a small popcorn for $5. Movies are not a cheap date anymore! Nonetheless, we had a nice time and thought the movie was entertaining. I liked how it tied all the movies in. I wanted to buy the first three movies on DVD (I have them on VHS), but nearly choked when I saw how much they cost. I looked on Amazon.com. I was going to get them from Columbia House, but they are not offered as a selection.

Tuesday Keith took the day off. We went to the Aquarium of the Pacific. It was a nice aquarium. They are having a whale exhibition there (there were no real whales, as of course they are too large!). They had these really nice "passports" with info for all the exhibits in the Aquarium. At certain areas, they had embossing stations to emboss a different whale stamp into your passport. Kevin, Grandma and I each filled our passports with the stamps. It was fun collecting them. When we got there, the aquarium had a TON of kids there on field trips. Luckily they cleared out by 2pm and then it really quieted down.

After the aquarium, we went across the street to Bubba Gump's Shrimp. It is a theme restaurant from the movie Forrest Gump. I had a Shrimp Po' Boy. The kids had a basket of shrimp and chips. Keith and Grandma (who doesn't really care for shrimp) had the fish and chips and Mom had a fish sandwich. I thought it was good food. We had a fun time sitting there, although I think Keith was a bit stressed with the kids. Kyle can be quite grumpy when he is tired. And Kyle tends to scream when the mood strikes him. I high pitched squeal really.

After our late lunch, we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway. It was really nice. We had never driven down in this portion of California. We drove south for about two hours. We saw some really interesting houses and long stretches of beach. Grandma especially enjoyed seeing all the different houses and the trees and flowers. It was a beautiful drive.

Wednesday was another lounging day. Keith was home with us again. We all went to the park in the morning were the kids had a lot of fun (of course). Grandma struck up a conversation with another lady there with her great grandchild. Later, I was able to go run some errands that I had been putting off. I spent about three hours to myself and did some shopping. I even got to go to a bookstore and browse. I was looking for a new book to read, but nothing grabbed my attention. Keith barbecued chicken for dinner and Mom made coleslaw and gingered carrots. Yum!

Yesterday Mom took Kevin and Kaela to the park again. I ran to CostCo for a few things, and Grandma stayed with the baby while Kyle took his nap. We just hung out here at the house.

Mom and Grandma's visit was relaxed, but it sure did go by fast.

A Busy Week

I have been really busy this past week and so, I didn't have time to update the blog really. Monday and Tuesday I spent most of the day working on my client's books. There was a problem and the numbers just weren't looking right. I had to go back all the way to February and reconstruct a ton of stuff. It was a big pain in the butt trying to figure out what went wrong, but I finally figured it out. It also took a long time to do the adjustments needed to fix the problem. Sometimes I hate doing accounting work, but it is worth the extra spending money it provides. I am saving up the money for our vacation.

Keith and I are going on vacation the last week in July. My sister had volunteered to watch all four kids for the entire week. She will be getting help from Mom and Dad, but she will be the main sitter. She is going to plan all kinds of fun little outings for them and crafts for them to do while at home. They will have lots of fun with Auntie Ris.

We are not sure exactly where we are going for our vacation. When we last talked about it (last night), we decided to blast our way to Western Washington and work our way down. We have somewhat of a plan, but we are going to leave most of it up to what ever we are in the mood for. We hope to do some camping and we also hope to spend plenty of time lounging on the beach. It is a much needed vacation and we can't wait to finally have some alone time together.

Okay, back to the busy week. Wednesday and Thursday I spent cleaning up the house for Mom and Grandma's visit. I was going to try to get the curtains done (my project that's been ongoing for almost a year), but I decided (with Keith's encouragement) that I was not going to stress out about having the house perfect and exactly how I wanted it by the time Mom and Grandma got here. I keep the house in decent order, so cleaning up wasn't the problem really, it was that I wanted to make curtains, hang some pictures, get the office/craft room together, etc. but I shouldn't try to cram all those projects into such a short period of time. Our lease is getting renewed so, I have time to do all that stuff in the next month or so.

Friday Mom and Grandma arrived. They had an uneventful flight, although Mom thinks she may have lost her driver's license. After picking them up, we headed home and Kyle got some really good Grandma attention as Kevin and Kaela were at Disneyland again. Keith got home late on Friday because on Monday they have a big demo and it is dependent on his program. Well, it was being buggy and he needed to get it fixed. It didn't help that other people held him up until about 4:30pm.

Saturday was the baptism and Colin's birthday party. It all went really nicely. Kenna's baptism was nice. Dad was the celebrant. There were two other babies being baptized that day and all Filipino, so there were quite a good number of people there - as Filipino families tend to be quite large. Well, one of the babies cried the entire time so a lot of us had a hard time hearing most of the baptism celebration. Keith held Kenna as she was baptized with the water. He has held all four of them at their baptisms and it really means a lot to me that he participates like that.

Afterwards was a ton of picture taking. I think we got every conceivable picture configuration with all the family members. We got some really nice pictures. I may post an album soon. After that was the reception and birthday party for Colin. The kids had tons of fun. Maria had them make crowns and necklaces and both little crafts turned out to be very cute. The girls were into it just a bit more than the boys (Kevin), but they all still had fun.

Then we headed home and relaxed the rest of the evening. Today we just hung out at home. Keith worked on finishing up his program and the kids just played. A typical relaxing Sunday. Tonight we are having Tandoori chicken and later Keith and I are going out to watch the new Star Wars movie. So, good bye for now. Keep looking for pictures. I will post them within a few days.

McKenna's Baptism

McKenna's Baptism

McKenna was baptized on Saturday at my church. Dad did the ceremony. We had a party afterwards at Mom and Dad's for both McKenna's baptism and Colin's 3rd birthday. It was a really nice day.

Weekend Update

Congratulations to Karensa! She has her office all put together, and it looks great! She has gone into business for herself and is ready to open her doors. We wish her the best of luck in this brave venture. We know she will do great things!

McKenna is no longer a newborn and is definitely a baby now. She coos and smiles. The other day while I was singing to her, she beamed me a huge smile. Last night (at 4am), she was beaming me the biggest, cutest smiles ever.

Michaela has become quite the singer. She sings all day. No song in particular. She makes them up. She sings about me, her brothers, her baby sister, Daddy, the toy she's playing with, the TV, the weather - anything that pops into her mind.

Kevin's tastes are getting older. He is into the older kid's shows now (but still loves PBS Kids). He can't get enough of the Power Rangers. He is getting more elaborate with his Lego creations. Keith got a webcam yesterday and Kevin played with it for hours, snapping pictures of everything. First thing this morning, he flipped on the computer and started up the webcam to snap more pics.

Kyle is now in the mix of fighting over computer use. 19 months old and already uses the computer. He has a program that when ever you move the mouse or hit a key, a fish pops onto the screen. He already knows moving the mouse does stuff and clicking the buttons on the mouse produces stuff and clicking the keyboard too. He is learning hand eye coordination.

The kids had a TON of fun at Disneyland. They are going back again on Friday (the day Mom and Grandma get here). Ellie, Colin, Kevin and Kaela spent the entire day there - just over 12 hours. What troopers! They wanted to see the fireworks and were really excited to see them. They loved the main street parade and all the rides - well, the rides in Fantasyland. They went on the carousel about 4 times. They stayed in Fantasyland. When they go back on Friday, they will probably check out California Adventure.

Saturday was nice. The party for Tina's Graduation and Auntie Nimfa's Retirement was good. It was at the Country Club. There were two terraces on either side of the ballroom we were in and the kids had fun playing out there. The food was good and it was nice to see all the cousins. I think the kids had the most fun. Kaela fell and bit her lip, but she was okay after a good cry. We tried to do an entire family picture. With that many kids and people and 7 cameras shooting at once, I wonder if anyone did manage to get a "perfect" picture. We got a "good" one, but not with everyone looking good.

Keith is home today, but is in the blue room working away as if he wasn't here. He is using today as a work day so that when he takes time off next week, he can use today as a comp day. Yesterday he watched he kids and I went shopping. It was nice to be able to get away. I hadn't done so since my birthday.

We are excited about Mom and Grandma coming down. Grandma will get to see McKenna for the first time. All the kids have really changed in the almost a year since we've seen her.

Well, that is all for now. I added a few pictures to the kids' albums. Click their links to the left. Bye!

It's Just Me and The Babies Today

Kevin and Kaela went to Disneyland today with their Auntie Ris, Auntie Maria and Ellie and Colin. Maria called me about two hours after they had been there and they had already gone one quite a few rides. Kaela, as usual, is very daring and adventurous. Kevin, as usual, is more tentative. Ris, Colin and Kaela went to ride the teacups. Kevin didn't think it looked like something he wanted to do, so Ellie decided she didn't want to go either. But, at the last minute, Ellie changed her mind and hopped the line and joined them. Kevin watched. After they ate their lunch, Kevin decided that he could try the teacups, so they were going to go again. The had also gone on the carousel. Kaela, Ellie and Colin each had a horse and Kevin opted for a nice safe bench on the carousel. Auntie Ris kept him company on that. I can't wait to hear all about their day. They are going to try to stay late into the evening to see the fireworks.

I had a few hours to myself earlier. Kyle and Kenna both napped at the same time. That was really nice. I was able to get some work done on the computer and to take a short cat nap on the couch. I've had this headache for the past two days. It's been hot and I didn't sleep well last night. I was hot, then cold, then hot, then cold. I must've woke a dozen times.

Keith worked a bit late last night. Not as bad as it was last summer, but he's been coming home at a decent time for awhile now and I've been spoiled. They are doing all kinds of projects over there and really keeping busy.

Tomorrow we are headed south for my cousin's graduation party and my aunt's retirement party. It should be fun. All the cousins are planning on being there and I have a feeling that cameras will be flashing all day long. We've never had an occasion with all the grandkids present at the same time. We will probably be trying to do a few group shots. We'll see how that goes. Thirteen kids six and under.

The Hot Weather is Back

Wow, it is definitely late May in Southern California. On the weekend it was blazing hot. It isn't as hot today, nor was it yesterday, but there's something about the sun this time of year. There are no clouds and no shade. Is the sun closer to the Earth? It feels like I'm frying!

We went to Payless shoes for their buy one, get one half off sale. There were five other moms and four other big strollers in the toddler/kids shoe aisle. It definitely is too hot for shoes. Everyone was buying sandals. One mom and I commented to each other that this is a yearly ritual right around this time. She seemed pretty laid back. The other moms were clearly stressed out looking for just the right sandal for their kid. The problem is that Payless carries character sandals. Spiderman, Dora, Madagascar, Hello Kitty, Ninja Turtles, etc. Well, of course no matter what size your child's feet are, they are out of stock of the character they want. They have every single character in every other size but the one your child wants. Why is that?

I hate the character shoes. Very rarely do I buy character shoes. Last year and this year Kevin wanted character shoes. This year he wanted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I let him try them on and if they fit (last year they didn't), then I would indulge him. This year, same thing. They didn't fit. 11 was too small, 12 was too big, no 11 1/2. So, he missed out again. I convinced him to get some nice brown leather ones. Kaela and Kyle both got brown leather ones too.

Afterwards we went to Target, they are remodeling and the store was turned upside down. I couldn't find anything. It made my quick stop there a little too long and it was getting to be nap time. As soon as we got to the car, Kyle fell asleep.

Now we are home. The house is mercifully cool. Kyle and Kenna are asleep. What a nice afternoon.

Oh! Well, I guess I won't wrap it up just yet. What is going on with Kenna?? Two nights in a row, she has slept almost 12 hours through the night. Last night and the night before was 10pm-9:30am. This girl has been sleeping through the night every night since I first blogged about it. Now she is marathon sleeping at night. She is up more during the day, but likes to lie under her arches and play. Her arches is this mat with two arches that criss cross and connect to each corner. There are five dangly thingys that she looks at. It was Kaela's, then Kyle used it and now Kenna is using it.

Okay. That's it for now. Bye!

A Beautiful SoCal Day

A Beautiful SoCal Day

We spent the weekend down in San Diego. We spent Saturday in Balboa Park. The weather was absolutely beautiful. It was a bit on the hot side. The kids got a bit too much sun and had little red faces. Of course we kept McKenna out of the sun and under a blanket as much as possible.

A very nice lady took this family picture for us. We got a lot of smiles and really nice comments about the kids. When we go out, I almost always get comments from other parents "who've been there done that" with the same number of kids. They are always very positive comments. The parents are usually beaming bright smiles, as if they are happy that we have so many children.

Genealogy

Every once in a while I hop on Ancestry.com and search for info on family members. It's difficult to find any genealogical (is that a word?) data on my parent's families. The explanation for that is that most public records were burned during WWII. Also, many people had to flee their homes, and their homes were destroyed. As a result, there are not a lot of pictures around and information, like family trees, were left behind. I have some info from my dad's side, but not much. I have more from my mom's side.

Today, I searched on Keith's grandfather. I had done this several times before, but haven't found more info than I already had. But today, I hit the jackpot! I was able to find info that was already complied that sprouted off Keith's Dad's Father's Mother. So, going back, from that branch, Kevin, Kaela, Kyle & Kenna's ancestors can be traced back 15 generations. The earliest ancestor listed was from 1580. I find this all very fascinating. The tree has over 11,000 names in it. I spent a few hours pouring over it. It is not complete tree in that some of these families had 10 - 13 kids and they had 10 - 13 kids, etc. There was more info on some branches more than others. But it is so interesting to me that my kids have some part of them from these people that lived almost 500 years ago.

Height Predictor

Okay, so I get this e-mail entitled: How Tall will Your Child Be?

Begin the curious type, I click the e-mail links, and it's for kids age 2 and older. So, I did Kevin and Kaela. Here are the results:

"Your boy will likely be 5 feet, 10 inches at age 18."
"Your daughter will likely be 5 feet, 3 inches tall at age 18."

So, given that info, Kyle might be taller because Kyle is more than 2 inches taller than Kevin was at 18 months.

Kaela might end up being the shortest in the family. I was the shortest in mine.

We shall see. It'll be interesting if this turns out to be correct.

Halfway Through May

Sunday and all is business as usual. It is hot today. Low 80s. Kenna is asleep. Kyle, Kaela and Kevin are watching TV and playing. Keith and I are at the computers. I did a bit of cleaning up and straightening today. The garage was a mess and needed to be reset because I had all the dining chairs in there and the "new" stuff we bought.

I finally finished reupholstering our new dining set. It looks really good I think. I borrowed Mom and Dad's steamer and cleaned the cushions and then reupholstered right over the old stuff. The weekend before Keith and I tried pulling out the staples holding down the fabric, but the mid sized section had like 100 staples in it. There were a total of 6 cushions. I was not up for removing all those staples. Well, it looks good I think. I finished that on Tuesday. I finished the steam cleaning on Monday.

On Wednesday, the kids and I went shopping. We returned items that I bought on the weekend that I decided we didn't really need. One of those items was newborn sized diapers. After I bought them, I realized that Kenna really should be moved up to a size 1. She is so big now! Can you believe she is still sleeping through the night? Today, I was able to sleep in until 8:30.

Thursday the cleaners came. We picked up Kevin's birthday pictures (finally got them developed). I had Mom and Dad take pictures of Kevin's birthday dinner with a disposable camera since we had ours at the hospital. The pictures came out really bad. The pictures were really dark, even though a flash was used. They were also very grainy. I like digital cameras much better.

Friday I had a doctors appointment. All looks good. Keith watched the kids while I was at my appointment and then we drove him to work. We went down to Mom and Dad's that night to watch/feed the dogs. Mom and Dad left for the East Coast on Thursday morning and Ris was expected back from the cruise until Saturday afternoon. So, we went there and spent the night.

Friday was Friday the 13th. I went out with Alma to celebrate. For years, Alma and I have been going out on Friday the 13th. Neither one of us remembers why we started doing it or when. It was back in high school. Gosh, so more than 15 years now! Some years have quite a few Friday the 13ths, others, like this year have very few. This the 13th falls on a Friday only this month. The next one isn't until January 2006, then after that is October 2006.

We had a good time. We weren't able to meet until 9pm. We went to Starbucks for coffee, but they closed at 10:30, so after that we went to Friday's. We split and appetizer. But the time we got home it was just after midnight. It was short, but it was a nice visit.

Saturday, Keith took Kevin and Kaela to the park. It was midday and it was HOT. The kids came home and their faces were all red. Keith said the play equipment was so hot that it was un usable. Kevin and Kaela ended up playing in the sand under the equipment where it was nice and shady. Keith and I also took the time to go through most of our boxes that are still taking up valuable space. I thought that we would end up donation/throwing away a lot of things, but I found that most of the boxes contained books and mementos that we wanted to keep. We already got rid of a TON of books in the garage sales we had and we donate a bunch too. So, it looks like we will be taking a lot of that stuff back here with us. I have a lot of little knick knacky stuff that I have had since I was little. I wonder if I will have the strength to unclutter some of this stuff.

I stopped collecting beanies a few years back. Well, when I say beanies, I mean the animal beanies. I had been collecting the bears. But, shortly after Christmas I stopped collecting bears too. There are just too many to collect. I do buy a bear or two every so often if I think it is especially cute or if they have some special meaning to me. I get bears a presents still, and I do love getting them!

We picked Ris up from the airport in the afternoon. She told us all about their cruise. They all had fun fun fun. Ris said that they went swimming with string rays. But, poor Ellie freaked out and screamed hysterically because she was scared. They were huge rays and the size of them really scared her. Poor Ellie! They spent a lot of time on the beaches of the different ports they went to. The also spent time at the pools when they were at sea. Maria, Ellie, Colin and Ris all had a nice time. Ris brought back tee shirts and shells for the kids and Kaela got a doll. I got a nice little hand woven basket.

We headed back home around dinner time and now it's Sunday. We had a busy week and a nice weekend.

Like Father, Like Son

Like Father, Like Son

I took this picture of Kevin today and remembered that Dad took one of Keith that looked similar. I dug the picture out and I think that the pose is hilarious.

Michaela

Michaela, Today

Kyle Having a Snack

Kyle Having a Snack

McKenna One Month Old

McKenna at 1 month

Mother's Day 2005

It was a nice Mother's Day. Kenna and I had our morning bonding session at 5am. We watched the morning unfold. After about an hour, we went back to bed. I got to sleep in until about 9. When I got up, the kids were busy making me Mother's day pictures. Keith made me a nice card that was hung up on the fridge. Kevin made me a nice jungle scene on the computer, complete with animals, trees, mountains, clouds and the sun and moon. Oh, and a roller coaster and pink mountains. Kaela made me a pretty picture full of bright "girlie" colors. Kyle even scribbles something for me. As I was looking at all of these, Kevin went back to the table and drew me a heart and he even wrote his name without anyone having to help him. That in itself was a nice Mother's Day gift.

Last weekend when Mom was here, she drew with the kids and read them all kinds of neat books. She also worked with Kevin on writing his name. She would draw a straight line and then on another piece of paper write out Kevin's name. Kevin would copy the letters. When we were filling out Kevin's Mother's day cards for his Grandmas and Great Grandma, I did the same thing. But as I watched him, I noticed that he wasn't looking at what I hard wrote, and it appeared he was writing the letters from memory. So, when he handed me my Mother's day heart with his name, it proved that he could finally write his name. I am so proud!

After receiving my pictures from the kids, Keith went to get his hair cut and took Kevin along. Kyle and Kenna both slept and Kaela and I cleaned up. Keith and Kevin came home and we all hung out for a while so Kyle could nap. We woke him up then walked to the park. The kids had fun playing (of course) and then Keith and Kevin played soccer for a bit. We headed home and then went out to dinner with Mom and Dad. We went to Claim Jumper and ate a ton. The kids were pretty good in the restaurant. Kyle was good as long as he was entertained. Keith and Mom played crayon soccer with Kyle. Mom and Keith as across the table from each other and Kyle was at the head. They rolled the crayon back and forth to each other while Kyle tried to grab it. They were all having fun and Kyle laughed and laughed. The couple at the next table even thought it was funny. After dinner, Dad treated us all to ice cream at Dairy Queen.

By the time we got home, it was later. Mom and Dad left, the kids got into their PJs and then they went to bed. Keith and I watched a little TV and then we went to bed. It was a nice Mother's day.

It's Friday

Today is a nice day. It is a little cold, but the sun is out. It was cloudy and gloomy all day yesterday. It rained very hard in the evening last night. They say that we are having record rainfall this year. It hasn't been tons and tons of rain, but for Southern California, it certainly has been a lot.

Kyle is napping right now and Kevin and Kaela are playing in the backyard. Kenna is awake in her swing, but I have been having to hold her a lot today. She is still sleeping through the night, and so she has been up a lot during the day. Well, I thought that I would be getting more stuff done around the house after I gave birth, but I seem to be doing just as much as I was while pregnant, which was not much. She wants to be held all the time or wants to eat. I can't do anything during the day around the house because she needs attending to. As I write this, she is in her swing starting to cry, so I think I shall sign off. Bye for now.

It's May Already???

Wow, yesterday I realized that it was already May 2. I thought it was the 1st. McKenna turned one month old already. I can't believe it. Time is going by so fast. We are going to the elementary school today to pick up the paperwork to get Kevin signed up for Kindergarten. I wonder if I'll be one of those moms that cry on their kid's first day of school. Probably not lol.

We ventured out to CostCo yesterday. Me and the four kids. I like their carts there. The kid seat part holds two kids which is really nice. It is big enough to click the infant seat into as well as Kyle. So, Kyle and Kenna rode up front, Kaela sat in the basket part. Kevin walked. The problem with that was that he kept walking in front of the cart and with the infant seat in there, I couldn't see him. I was scared I was going to plow right into him. I had to remind him several times to say next to me.

We ended up spending a boatload of money, and I only had 14 items. The diapers and formula were just about a third of the total.

Did I ever tell you I hate shopping at CostCo? No matter when I go, there are always too many people there. People, that outside of CostCo are probably normal people, become really lame while shopping in CostCo. It must be the high shelves that block out the sunlight or something. Although the aisles are big enough to drive cars through, someone is always in the way. Why stop your cart in the middle of the isle, stand about two feet from it and look at the stuff on the shelf? I can't squeeze between you and your cart, nor can I get between you and the shelf. Use your brain and move your cart to the side. Would you stop your car in the middle of traffic to see what was on the side of the road? Also, when my cart is fully loaded with kids and 150 pounds of CostCo bulk items, do not step in front of me or dart out from the end of the aisle. I can't stop this now 200 pound shopping cart at the blink of an eye. Watch where you are going. Again, if you were driving your car, would you pull out into traffic without looking? How hard is it to apply traffic common sense to shopping at CostCo? Then the checkout lines, oh my, don't get me started on the lines. Okay, I shall stop now.

Today we are headed to WalMart. I just discovered that if you upload pictures to them online, you can have them printed in an hour and then pick them up in the store at no extra charge. If you want to wait a few days, they will mail them to your house at a reduced rate per picture and they will pay for the shipping. I think that is pretty cool. Our printer has all of a sudden started to suck at printing (I think it may have something to do with me changing the brand of photo paper we use). Anyway, we are picking up the pictures today. I hope they come out decent.

My Pleasure Center

After reading my posts, can you tell that food is one of things I like the most?

Keith says that if he wants to make me happy, all he needs to do is indulge me in my favorite foods. He also knows that if I am grumpy or in a bad mood and I have a food urge, he just has to satisfy it and all is right with the world.

Some of my best memories are triggered by food. When I think of certain foods, I think of certain people. I had no idea my older sister's favorite cereal was Captain Crunch. So, now I think of her when I see it. I also think of her when I have cake with butter cream frosting. My younger sister I think of when I see Liver and Onions on a menu - every so often she orders it. Kare Kare (a Filipino dish) always makes me think of my parents - I only like it the way they make it. I think of Mom whenever I make her gingered carrots and her coleslaw. I think of my Grandma whenever I cut a banana in half for my kids. She would eat half a banana almost everyday. I think of Karensa when I use Nutella. I think of my brother-in-law Paul whenever I use Paprika because he and Karensa gave Mom some really good Hungarian Paprika which confused the heck out of me because he is Ukrainian and for some reason Hungarian Paprika given by a Ukrainian was too much for me to process! I kept thinking Paul was Hungarian and the Paprika was from the Ukraine. I think of my kids around carrots, apples and peanut butter. That's what they love to snack on (not all at once!). I think of Keith often because of all the hundreds of places we've dined at, well, that's not exactly true. I think of Keith often because he is always on my mind.

Ah, food!

Mom's Visit Has Been Nice

Mom flew in on Friday. It was so nice to see her. We were all really hungry by the time we got to our area and we went to Souplantation. I really like the place and Mom had never been there. Unfortunately, she had something in her salad that didn't taste so fresh. It pretty much ruined her lunch.

When we finally got home, Kyle went down immediately for a nap and Kevin and Kaela took up most of Mom's time. They read books and drew pictures all afternoon. I hadn't gotten Mom's room put together, so while the little ones napped and Mom and the bigger kids were spending time together, I straightened out my massive loads of laundry and boxes so that Mom could have room to maneuver in the guest room (which we have been using as a storage room).

After Keith came home, we had take out Indian food. I had been craving Indian food for a few days so, I really really enjoyed it. Before we knew it, it was time for the kids to go to bed. Keith, Mom and I watched Hotel Rwanda; a good, but really sad movie. I cried too many times to count and was embarrassed to be so ignorant of the situation over there. I had thought that the wars and genocide occurred in the 50s or 60s. All this took place in the 90s. Over 1 million people died and we (America) did nothing. What a dreadful thought.

I'm not sure how to switch back into "what we did this weekend" thoughts after commenting on the movie. So, I will just jump right back in and get back to my movie commentary another time.

Saturday morning (today) started early. Kenna and I were up before 6am and Kevin then Kaela came down to join us soon after. Kevin's first words were, "Where's Grandma?" Mom came down just after Kaela did. Keith was snoring away upstairs as was Kyle. I finally went back up just after 7 and woke Keith so that I could take a short nap before the day started. Kyle woke just about when Keith did.

I finally got up and we all headed out into the neighborhood for the neighborhood garage sale. We opted not to sell because we just weren't read and Mom is here for the weekend. We would much rather have had fun spending time with Mom. We weren't going to spend a lot of money, but we ended up getting some good deals. We bought a new kitchen nook for $20, a new computer monitor for $10, a bike for Kevin for $4 and a Sit and Spin for the kids for $1. We thought we did pretty good. Kevin got a free little plastic jet from the neighbor down the street.

After garage saleing, we had lunch. Then Keith and Mom took the kids to the park while I stayed home with Kenna. My Mom and Dad and sister came up to visit Mom and the grandkids (they didn't mention Keith and me in their reason for a visit!). Before dinner, we all hung out and each had a Mai Tai. We had salmon burgers, a tortellini pasta salad and carrots for dinner. They brought a Red Ribbon Cake. Yum yum yum!

The rest of the night was pretty much hanging out. Mom and Keith watched U-571 and I surfed. It has been a nice time, as always our time together has been too short. Mom leaves tomorrow. But! She will be back this time next month along with Grandma Fischer. Yeah!

She's Sleeping Like a Baby

Since having kids, I have wondered why sleeping peacefully is referred to as "sleeping like a baby" because as most of us know, babies wake up constantly every few hours. To me, that isn't very fun.

Well, McKenna has proven four nights in a row now that sleeping like a baby is indeed peaceful. She has slept through the night four nights in a row now. I am SO happy. She has been going down around 10 - 11pm and has been getting up at 5 - 6am. I had been staying up until around midnight - 1am anticipating her waking again, but she hasn't. So, last night I went to bed at 11:30. I slept really well last night. It is the best feeling to her hear wake in the morning and to look at the clock and find that more than five hours have passed.

But, not to burst my bubble. I am not expecting this to last, but I am enjoying the rest.

Why can't my Son say Mama?!?!?!

So, at Kyle's 18 month exam, the doc was slightly concerned that Kyle wasn't talking much, but after asking a few questions, she thought he was fine and not in danger of having speech delays. He isn't saying much verbally, but since he understand everything we say and points and grunts when he wants something or sees something interesting, the doc says not to worry. Kevin at this age was saying more than 40 words and Kaela was at about 30. Kyle can say 5. Yup, five. They are in order of appearance: Dadee, Bye, Tickle Tickle, Higheee and Baby.

So, he and I are together practically 24/7 and he says what - Dadee??? (This has been explained in a previous post, I know.) And Hi and Bye - typical toddler talk. He clearly says "Tickle Tickle" - maybe because of his "jokester" nature. But okay, so, McKenna is only 3 1/2 weeks old and Kyle can say, "Baby." Excuse me???? Where is "Mama"?

OH sure, he'll repeat the sounds, mama and any other weird sound, blah blah, do do do, and so on, but he uses the above mentioned five words in context. Dadee is Keith. Baby is McKenna. I guess I should be consoled that he doesn't say Kaela and Kevin, but I am not.

(Just to let you know, since this is text and you can't see the expressions on my face as I write this, I am not mad about it. I find it as amusing as you all do.)

Augh! The Price of Gas

Last night I finally filled my gas tank after driving around a few days putting it off because of the high gas prices. Well, my "low fuel" light finally came on, and I was forced to get gas. I decided after watching the gas prices the last few days that I should just go ahead and fill the entire tank. So, I pull into the gas station and the pump I pick shows the amount the person before me paid. $53. I thought, "Wow, this poor person had to pay $53 for gas." So, I start pumping and I know that it is going to take awhile since my tank is bone dry. After a bit, I peek at the pump $48. Okay, I am getting close to the other person's $53, so I watch the gauge. 51, 52, 53, 54, 55. It shows no sign of stopping. I am getting worried... 58, 69, 60. "Oh geez," I moan to myself. 61, 62, 63. I can't take it anymore. I finally stop the pump at $65. The darn thing had no signs of stopping. $65 for a tank of gas in which I had to stop the pump myself. Augh! The price of gas.

Four of a Kind

Four of a Kind

(Kenna, Kaela, Kyle & Kevin - this morning)

My kids - all cut from the same cloth, but different in their own right. I guess that would be called - personality!

Kevin is a gentle soul - kind and caring in every way. He is sensitive and has compassion. He's smart and very curious. Always willing to help out.

Kaela is a princess. She is already using her female side to get what she wants. She has perfected the head tilt and the pleading eyes. She knows what she wants and she almost always gets it (unless she is up against me).

Kyle is a jokester. You'd think he was the one born on April Fool's day. He loves to smile and laugh. He plays jokes on all of us and knows exactly when to crack that wonderful smile of his to get out of trouble.

Kenna is easy going. Keith commented today that she is the easiest baby of the four and I think I would have to agree with that. She is very easy to please and loves to just lay around and absorb all that we are doing. I think she will continue to be this way as she gets older.

I (as does Keith) feel so lucky to have such "easy" kids. When I go out with all the kids, I get comments like "Wow, you have your hands full" and "Are they all yours? I only have (pick a number) kids, and I can barely handle them". My response always is, "It's not so bad, they are really good kids."

My Birthday Continued...

Well, Keith did manage to get off work early and we all headed off to the local mall. We had a lot of fun (as always). First, we ate at the Cheesecake Factory. It was our first dining out experience with all four kids. It worked out really well as the older kids were all well behaved. McKenna slept the entire time in her car seat/stroller. The kids shared a popcorn shrimp appetizer and Keith and I split a Navajo sandwich. Yum! We didn't have a heavy meal since it was only 4pm and we thought that maybe we would be eating more later (which we did).

After Cheesecake Factory, we went to Cold Stone and we all had ice cream - again, Yum! We sat on a bench and watched people go by as we ate ice cream. Since it was still fairly early, there weren't the huge crowds that we had experienced before at this mall. It was raining earlier in the day, maybe people decided not to venture out. After ice cream, Keith, Kevin, Kaela and Kyle went on the train that runs through the mall. After the train ride, we strapped Kyle back into the stroller and the two little ones and I strolled around while Keith and the big kids took a few spins on the giant Ferris wheel. After that, we walked around a bit, went to the chocolatier and had chocolate. Keith had a short espresso. It was extremely strong, just the way he likes it. After chocolate, Kaela and I went on the carousel. So, Kaela rode on all three attractions. Even though it was my birthday celebration, the kids seemed to have the best time - not that Keith and I didn't. We had a great time doing all these fun things with the kids. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. We finally left around 7pm and the kids went to bed at their usual time.

We sat on the couch for awhile and watched TV. Keith gave me a really nice foot massage then we went to bed. Kenna gave me a nice break. She slept the entire night! We got up at 6am. She fell back asleep soon after eating and I got to go back to bed. Keith woke me at 9:30am for my day of shopping.

I got to spend the entire day yesterday all to myself. I went shopping with all the gift cards and money I got. I had a really nice time. I went shopping for clothes, but didn't buy any. I did end up using most of my birthday funds on the rest of the family and things for the house. Keith got some new shirts and a new belt. Kaela got a new summery outfit. The boys got socks. I bought two hanging plants for the front of the house by the door. I finally got a new mouse for my laptop (I killed mine - it was a horrible death). I did use my Joann's gift certificate for fabric, but I ended up buying the kids fabric for pillow cases. I paid practically full price on theirs so it consumed half of my gift card. But, I did end up getting some really nice fabric to add to my stash. While shopping, I had lunch at the Indian restaurant. Yum! (Can you tell I love to eat?)

Today is just a typical Sunday. Keith and I are computing and the kids are playing. The house is a mess and we have eaten just whatever we feel like scrounging up. Sunday business as usual here at the Fischer house. Relaxing away.

What a Nice Birthday

Well, my birthday was really nice. I got a ton of phone calls from family, some nice cards and some nice presents. Keith had made plans to surprise me by coming home early (off at 1pm) and have a nice afternoon. But, when he got into the office this morning, there was an e-mail that the bigwigs had scheduled an afternoon last minute meeting. There were some problems that arose yesterday with their new project and they needed to be addressed. So, my surprise is no longer a surprise, but it is going to still happen tomorrow. So that will be fun. We are going to have a nice afternoon out with the family. Saturday I am going shopping. So, I will have a nice extended birthday.

My birthday dinner was yummy. We were all stuffed, and we have a lot left over for lunch tomorrow. After dinner Kevin and Keith went to Dairy Queen (by the time Keith got home from the meeting it was late and we didn't have time to walk all the way there before Survivor started), and we all had ice cream. Then Keith and I snuggled on the couch (as best we could with four kids), and watched our TV shows. It was a nice evening.

Zoe is Born!

My childhood friend, Julie, had her fourth baby today.

Zoe Michelle Antoniette weighed in at 5 pounds, 6 ounces and 18 inches long. She was delivered by C-section at 3:00pm today.

Julie had wanted to name her next baby girl Zoe, but baby #2 is Andrew and baby #3 is Nicholas (Emily is her first). So, finally a girl. So, two girls and tow boys, just like me!

She named her Michelle, after me. So, that is a really neat thing that she was born on my birthday.

She named her Antoniette after her mother who passed away about 2 months ago.

Congratulations to Julie, Mike, Emily, Andrew & Nicholas!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, today I am 35, and I don't feel a day over, well, 35! Today has started out really well. It started really really early with Kenna and me hanging out from 1:45 - 3:30am. We watched Oprah - which I had meant to watch during the day, but completely forgot. So, we caught the last 15 minutes. Then at 2:00 we switched to America's Store (an at home shopping channel). We caught the entire Scrapbooking hour and then about half an hour of their Sewing hour. Good thing they show these things in the early early morning, or I would never get to see it. After eating 6 ounces of formula and an outfit change after her spitting up, she finally fell asleep. She (and Kyle) mercifully let me sleep until 7:45. The morning has flown by and all I have been doing is sitting in front of my computer. Well, I did feed the kids breakfast. McKenna went immediately back to sleep after having her bottle. And can you believe Kyle is already down for his nap? I see his molars are breaking through on the bottom (the tops broke through last week), maybe that's why he is sleeping. Most kids are in pain crying and carrying on (my cousin told me her friend's daughter was in so much pain she was banging her head on the floor to try to ease it), but mine just sleep. Which is a good thing - all is quiet right now.

I have gotten some really nice birthday cards in the mail and got a couple of birthday phone calls this morning. Keith left me a few birthday messages. There was one on the message board on the fridge, a voicemail on my cell, and a really nice birthday e-mail. I opened my present from Mom. I got some really nice foot lotion, foot scrub and a foot brush/pumice. Just last night I was thinking of giving myself a pedicure. Also in the package was a Silpat - which I have wanted since I first used Mom's to bake, a Hershey's Cocoa cookbook, in which everything looks SO yummy and a gift card to shop! What a great present. Thanks Mom! I am going to have shopping with all the gift cards and money I got. Maybe I'll ask Keith if I can take a few hours to myself this weekend to shop. I need new clothes I think. I took an inventory of my clothes and I don't have anything decent to wear out in public. All my warm weather clothes have suddenly become old and worn. Well, I guess since most of the stuff s from when Keith and I first started dating, it isn't suddenly old and worn.

Yesterday, I did a TON of laundry and sorting through of clothes. I did about six desperately needed loads of laundry. I had two huge piles (one in my bedroom and one in the garage) of laundry that I have been meaning to do, but when I was pregnant, I just didn't have the strength or energy to do it. But, after all that I did yesterday, I feel like I am in the nesting phase. Isn't that supposed to happen before the baby is born?

Tonight is Survivor, Apprentice and an "all new ER". My favorite TV night! We are going to have Peppino's for dinner. I love their Linguine Imperiale. Then we might walk down to Dairy Queen for dessert. Sounds like fun.

Well, I am off to do more laundry. Bye!

Starting A New Week

Let's see. What can I update you on? Well, Maria and the kids left this morning and now we are back to our old routine.

The visit with Maria and the kids was good. Short, but good. I am really tired though. I stayed up too late a few nights and then didn't nap, not to mention having to get up with McKenna. But, today after I cleaned up the place, I took advantage of the babies taking their naps and I napped too. When I woke, Michaela had fallen asleep too. Kevin was the only one up. I asked him what he did while we all slept and he said he watched TV and played. He had taken all his toy cars and lined them up like a huge parking lot. He had special parking for his Army Jeep, Michaela's Little People Pink Mini Van and Kyle's Red Water Tank Truck. They were bigger than all the rest, so they had special parking.

The house is amazingly tidy. You'd never know all those kids were here for three days. I actually kept the kitchen clean and the clutter to a minimum. I am feeling really good these days. Maybe I'll finally get to all those projects I had put off while pregnant.

Ris' and my birthday dinner went well. We had barbecue spareribs (yum!), baked chicken (also yum!), corn, gingered carrots and coleslaw. Mom and Dad brought a Red Ribbon Chocolate Mocha Caramel cake. Yum yum yum! The kids drew Ris and me a lot of pictures for our gifts. I got a really nice picnic basket set and some money from Mom and Dad. Ris got me a gift certificate to Joann's. Wouldn't you know it, Joann's is having an additional 50% off clearance fabric sale this Saturday! Guess where I shall be on Saturday morning.

Well, I guess that is it for now. I should log off and get to bed. *Yawn*

A Busy Weekend

Cousins

It has been a busy weekend, even though we haven't really gone anywhere. Maria, Ellie and Colin are here. They came down just to see McKenna - and us too. The kids have been having fun playing together in the house and out in the backyard. They have been watching PBS Kids and videos. It can get pretty loud in here with all these kids. If you go just by age, we have one of each age. Kevin, 5; Ellie, 4; Michaela, 3; Colin, 2; Kyle, 1; McKenna, 0. This happens for a few months every year, from Kevin's birthdate to Colin's - about two months. Then, Colin catches up with Kaela. Six kids in an exactly 5 year span. Wow!

Notice how cute and cooperative the kids are. Well, except Kyle. He is going through the uncooperative with pictures stage. Kevin and Michaela both went through this and it drove me batty. Oh well, par for the course.

Mom, Dad and Ris are driving up here for dinner. We are celebrating Ris' and my birthdays. So, tonight will be even more busy. Maybe we'll try to take more pictures and I will try to post them tonight.

Happy Birthday Ris!

Happy Birthday Ris!

(Left to Right - Maria, Marissa & Me)

Geez! I can't believe my little sister is turning 30! I'm sure she doesn't mind that I just posted her age (Right, Ris?). Anyway, I remember her coming home from the hospital as a newborn, as much as I remember walking her to her classroom when she was in kindergarten. Where does the time go?

Well little sister, I would like to wish you the happiest of birthdays. May there be many more to come. I love you!

No McKenna Pictures

Humpf! Well, I have literally taken over 200 pictures of the girl and I can't seem to find just the perfect picture of McKenna to use for the baby announcement. Even Keith commented that she is much better looking in person. I am hoping that this is just a newborn problem and not that she is just not photogenic (gasp!). Just kidding. There are a few good pictures, and Keith and I are going to poll the ones we like and then decide on one for the announcement. She sure does look funny in the pictures though. In some she looks like an alien, others a real grump and still others she looks fat - it's really just the way I have her propped up. She is not fat at all! Maybe it's because she is still so sleepy and I am disturbing her when I take the pictures. Or maybe they are fine and I am just being too critical. That's probably it! Oh well, off to bed!

Kyle Being Kyle

Kyle being Kyle

Here is Kyle sitting on top of the kitchen counter. He figured out how to move the dining chairs to the bar stools to climb up onto the counter about a month ago (or two). One time when he climbed up here, he managed to crawl over to my laptop and bend my wireless card. Luckily Keith was able to get it up and running again. So, we finally started laying the dining chairs on their sides. The dining area looked like a battlefield of expired chairs. Anyway, after Kyle decided that he wasn't strong enough to right the chairs, he started bringing things to the kitchen to use as steps to the bar stools - toys, the wipe box, my file box. Well, yesterday, he finally figured out that he could use the rungs on the bar stools to just climb right up the bar stool to the counter. This is a picture of him, smiling in triumph.

Best Buds

Eating Popsicles

Kevin and Kaela are the best of buds. I like to watch them play together. They love to sit together on the bench in the backyard. Even though they do the normal brother/sister fighting, they can't stand being separated.

The Kids, Right Now

The Kids, Right Now

Are playing in the backyard. They were looking at a lizard. It is a nice day out.

McKenna, Right Now

McKenna, Right Now

Fast asleep. She sleeps all day. Which is nice. She is so peaceful (and pouty).

My Healthy Boys!

Today the boys had their appointments. Kevin was in for his 5 year and Kyle for his 18 month.

The appointment went well and both are healthy. The doctor says they are in excellent health.

She told me that the school district provides free speech therapy for kids over 3 that reside within the school district. I will call them today to inquire about getting Kevin evaluated.

Both boys got their immunizations updated. I couldn't believe the size of the needles. Kyle got three shots and Kevin got four (three immunizations and one TB test). The needles were about two inches long and they sunk them all the way in! Kyle went first. His first needle stick he didn't cry at all, but the next two he sure did. My poor boy. He was easy to soothe though. Kevin was next. He immediately started to panic and insisted that he didn't want any shots. I had to hold him down while he got his sticks. He was crying even before he got his first stick. By the end, he was very upset. He cried, "I never want to come back here ever again! Never ever!" He kept repeating the "never ever" part. But, I had to gently explain that we had to come back in two days for them to look at the TB test and that Kenna had her appointment on Friday. Poor Kevin. It took about 10 minutes of holding him and telling him that it was going to be okay before he finally stopped crying. He should be done with his shots for a very long time now.

Let's see. Kyle weighs 25 lbs, 3 oz (45th percentile) and Kevin is 44 lbs (75th percentile). Kyle is 32 1/4 inches tall (50th percentile) and Kevin is 43 1/2 inches (70th percentile). Both Kevin and Kaela weighed 25 pounds at 18 months. Kevin was 30 inches, and Kaela was 31 inches at 18 months. Kyle so far is the tallest at this age. It'll be interesting to see how McKenna falls into all of this when she is at this age.

Thoughts

Thoughts

Late at night when Kenna and I are bonding during her early morning feedings, I often wonder what she is thinking about. When she is awake and alert, she is always looking into my eyes, as if she is wondering what it is I am thinking. I know that she is observing and absorbing things because when I hold her while she is sleeping, she smiles and moves her mouth. She must be remembering all the smiles that she gets throughout the day from all of us.

Ten Little Toes

Ten Little Toes

McKenna is one week old today. She is so tiny. Her little feet are so precious. They are just a bit shorter than my pinky finger. She is so delicate, everything on her is tiny. A precious little bundle. It is so hard to describe how sweet it is when she curls up and sleeps on me. She's just so wonderful.

RIP Pope John Paul II

McKenna woke me up at exact 3am this morning for a feeding. So, we went downstairs and I flipped on the TV while I fed her. I had debated on whether or not I was going to watch the funeral at 1am, or go to bed. I decided that I should sleep and catch the highlights in the morning. Well, as it turned out, I caught the last hour of the funeral.

I tuned at a really nice part of the ceremony. They were doing the Litany of Saints and shortly there after there was a ceremony that included the leaders of the Eastern Orthodox church. It was commented that it was the first time in current history that anything like this had taken place. It was so beautiful to see their vestments. They were so colorful and gorgeous. They were there to honor the Pope as he help to unify the Catholic church. Not many people realize that Catholic means Universal, so to have many of the Eastern churches there and part of the ceremony was a really touching thing to see.

Another part of the funeral was the final blessings and then the presentation of his casket to the crowds. I welled up at the thought if this being the last time he would be in public view. Although I personally don't know much about his history and his works, I do know that he was a very peaceful man and truly down to earth when it came to being one with the people and trying to make the Church "catch up" with the modern world. I hope that his life will be an example to many young Catholics and to people in general. He truly was a good man.

Me vs. 4 Kids

Well, Keith went back to work today. He was just as bummed about going back as I was. He enjoyed his time at home with us. He said he likes just hanging out and having fun (not that our lives are all fun and games). It was so nice to have a helping hand around the house. I got to rest a lot to gear up for the days without him. At least it is already Thursday. I can survive two days without him for the time being.

McKenna had her 4-7 day weight check and Michaela had her 3 year old appointment. Both girls are looking "perfect". McKenna lost a little weight (she's now 6 pounds, 13 ounces). But, she is looking healthy and will be checked again next Friday. Michaela is a big girl! She is weighing in at 32.5 pounds and is in height 36.5 inches (that's the 60th and 40th percentile respectively). We are going again on Monday for Kyle's 18 month and Kevin's 5 year appointments.

The appointments were at 11:45am. We started getting ready at 10:00am. I have forgotten how hard it is to get all the baby gear put together. Our next outing I will definitely back all the bags before we go. I gave the three olders baths before we left. Maybe I should do all that the night before too! We rushed out the door by 11:10, grabbed lunch and got to the doctor's office at 11:40. They wanted me there 15 minutes early for paperwork. Oh well.

McKenna has been sleeping mostly during the day and has been awake in the wee hours of the morning. The doctor suggested that I wake her every four hours and feed her and let her take her long naps at night. That was news to me because every thing I have read says that it is not possible to switch a baby's schedule around. But, if I can sleep at night, I am going to give it a shot.

McKenna has been awake at night anywhere from 2am to 6am. But, last night she woke at 1am and then again at 5am, but both times I was able to get her back to sleep within an hour. The nights prior she would be up on and off for anywhere from 3 - 4 hours. I feel like I have gotten some sleep if I can sleep at least a three hour block.

So far, it hasn't been all that hard to watch all four kids. McKenna sleeps a lot. She is sleeping on the couch right now and all the kids are in the same room playing and making all kinds of noise. I am so happy that she can sleep through it. With her sleeping all the time, it seems like it is business as usual. Even hauling the four kids in the car and walking from the car to the doc's office wasn't hard. I carried Kenna's baby car seat hooked in one arm and held Kyle's hand with the other. Kevin and Kaela held hands and then Kevin decided to hold Kyle's hand too. I guess I am really lucky in that my kids don't run off and are extremely mindful about cars in the parking lot and waiting to cross the street. I haven't tried the whole shopping thing yet, but I figure that if there is shopping I have to do, out comes the double stroller. Kevin and Kaela do stick with me and don't tend to wander.

Okay, totally off topic here, but what is up with our weather here? Yesterday it was in the mid 80s. Today it is about 15 degrees cooler. I do like it more today, so I shouldn't complain.

Well, it's Thursday. Apprentice and Survivor are on tonight. Yippee!

Day Three and All is Great!

Wow! McKenna is now three days old and has been home for two. She is doing well and so are we. Michaela is still in love with her Baby Sister. She constantly says how cute she is and how little she is. Kyle is as interested as ever. He wants to watch everything we do with her. If she is eating, he is right there and if she is napping, he is right there looking at her face. When she is awake, he laughs and points and is as proud as can be. Kevin keeps proclaiming himself the big brother and the great helper. He wants to help me with all the kids. Keith is staying home for a few days while we adjust. I am surprisingly rested. I have gotten much more sleep than I thought I would be getting. Keith has really helped out a lot. I think when he goes back to work on Thursday, we will just be fine here at home. McKenna sleeps a lot, which is really nice.

Today, she went out on her first official outing. We did McD's drive through then to Babies R Us for bassinette sheets and formula. Well, it was really just me. I went in and everyone else waited in the car. Kenna and Kyle were asleep. Next was CostCo. This time it was me, Kevin and Kaela. The little ones were still sleeping. On our way back, Kevin and Kaela fell asleep and Kyle was awake. We stopped at Dairy Queen. Everyone was a awake for that one, so I guess Dairy Queen is McKenna's first public appearance. Kevin's first was CostCo at two days old. Kaela's was Cotija's at one day old. Kyle was Gabe's at one day old. Notice the food trend?

After Dairy Queen, we headed to the park. The "older" kids had a good time. There were three older kids (maybe 7 or so) that were mean to Kevin and Kaela when we first got there. But, somehow as the time progressed, two of the boys were following Kevin and playing with him. One of them even apologized to Kevin for being mean. I'm not sure how that all transpired, but Kevin said that the boy apologized to him. When he left, we heard him saying goodbye to Kevin.

After the park, we headed home and had dinner, cleaned up a bit and then relaxed in front of the TV. Right now the kids are watching GlobeTrekker with Daddy. They are up late, but it has been such a great day that we aren't pushing them to get to bed. We have decided to have a great family time these days while Keith is off. No heavy duty work around the house, just relaxing and having fun.

McKenna is Here!

McKenna - Born 04/01/05

McKenna is here! After all that hoping and wishing, the doc finally said that she/we were ready.

Here are the quick stats:

• Date of Birth: Friday, April 1, 2005
• Time of Birth: 1:37 pm
• Weight: 7 pounds, 1 ounce
• Length: 18 1/2 inches

Here is a more in depth play by play (in case you are interested): Keith took the day off and came with me to my NST and doctor's appointment. The NST went fine, uneventful as usual. We went to Starbucks for coffee in between appointments. Then we headed to the doc's office.

During the exam he found that I was already 6 cm dilated and decided to admit us to the hospital. We got into a LDP room at 11:25am. They hooked me up to the IV and introduced Pitocin at a slow rate. My mom showed up around 12:30. By this point, I was having no pain, but the monitors were picking up contractions. Mom went to the cafeteria to get some food. The doc came by around 5 minutes to 1pm. He decided to break my water. Keith went down to get Mom from the cafeteria. By the time they got back to room, the contractions started to get a bit stronger and then even stronger and faster. The contractions were about three minutes apart. I asked for an epidural. The nurse checked me and I was at 8cm. She called both the doc and the anesthesiologist. By the next contraction the doc was there and he said I was ready. I said that I had to push! They were dismantling the bed and getting the stirrups up and the doctor told me not to push and that he could see her hair. They barely got my legs into the stirrups, I gave one push and out she popped. 1:37pm. I was so happy when she was finally out, the pain stopped instantly. I guess I can't complain about a less than two hour labor. We spent the night and left around lunch the next day (today).

More McKenna Photos - Click Here