Michaela is Five!

My girl is now five! Today was her birthday, but she "officially" turned five just about half an hour before I wrote this. It was a good day. It was filled with fun and special treats. I have some great pictures too!

The day started out with Keith making us a yummy breakfast of bacon, eggs and O'Brien potatoes. Yum! After breakfast, Keith made the kids some hot chocolate. Then we straightened up a bit and Michaela opened a few presents from us.

She was so excited and wanted to open up all her presents, but we were having a family dinner for her that night and wanted her to be able to open more later.

Here are the kids posing for the camera before she opened some of her gifts.

After this, they got dressed and we cleaned up for our dinner guests. They played outside and then Keith took them all to the park later in the afternoon.

We had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, Auntie Ris, all of us and my Aunt Faring. Michaela requested spaghetti and meatballs for her birthday dinner. We had that and salad, garlic bread and I even made Minestrone soup for scratch. I am quite surprised how yummy it came out! Of course we used Kaela's birthday plates. For her dinner plates she picked an Ariel design. The dessert plates were Belle and the napkins were Barbie 12 Dancing Princesses. We added the extra table so that we could all eat at the same table. It was tight, but it was so nice to be all together!

We were all stuffed, but still had cake to devour! Mom brought - per Kaela's request - a chocolate cake from Red Ribbon. This cake seems to be a tradition as far as birthday cakes goes with our family!

Here's Kaela after blowing out the candles. We all enjoyed our cake and ice cream. We even had fresh cut strawberries! After cake, the adults had strawberry Margaritas - Tequila compliments of Aunt Joyce and Uncle Orv!

After cake and Margaritas, Kaela finally got to open up the rest of her gifts. She had a nice round of gifts waiting to be opened. All week we received packages. She got gifts and cards from Aunt Julie, Grandma Fischer, Grandma Karen, Aunt Karensa and Uncle Paul, Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Mary and of course the gifts that her dinner guest brought. Oh, and a couple more from us.


She received some really nice gifts including an Easter dress from Grandma Tessie and Grandpa Manny, a pretty blanket from Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Mary and a really neat hand sewn sundress from Grandma Karen. Here she is modeling her new sundress. She, of course, wants to wear it to school tomorrow, but it looks like we might have to hold off a few days. It is supposed to rain!

Well, I'd say all in all Michaela's birthday was a good one! She had a great day and was showered with gifts from her loved ones. So, off until next weekend when I can report on Kevin's and McKenna's birthday days!

ETA: Okay, so I edited this on 3/26. As my good friend, Julie, pointed out, Michaela is not six (as the pre-edit stated). Michaela has turned five! She just seems like she's six!

Find the Cure for Pediatric Cancer!

I'm walking in May to support the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation.

My family has been blessed to have met the Johnson Family. Their daugther Danielle and my son Kevin have been in the same classes for the last two years. Their youngest child, Thomas, was diagnosed with cancer when he was just three years old. Fighting the battle over the last two years has been very hard. Thomas has endured several painful and trying procedures and surgeries. The family has been through so much. But through it all, they stayed strong and really did all they could to keep their spirits up. Their family is the true definition of faith and hope! During his last round of testing, it has been determined that he is in remission!

To see what Thomas had to endure and what his family went through has inspired me to help any way I can. So, my son Kevin and I will be walking in the 9th Annual PCRF Reaching for the Cure Run/Walk.

If you are local to Orange County, CA and would like to join, "Team Thomas", contact me and I will get you the info needed. If you want to help and sponsor me in the walk, please click below. It'll give you the info you need to help.

Donate Here!

I Don't Know Why I Can't Find the Time

Well, looks like practically another month has come and gone and this poor blog has not gotten an update. I have been busy busy with life. But, when I'm asked what I've been up to, I don't have really anything to report. I am just going through life. Endless car rides here and there. TO the grocery store, Target, Walmart. Video store, post office. Ballet. Cub Scouts. Demo meetings, but no classes or workshops! People visiting - very fun! But, nothing worth blogging it seems. Or worth blogging but I don't have the time and by the time I do, it is well past "reporting" worthy. *sigh*

So, here is my big wow for today...it is 93 degrees today. Yes, that's right a HOT 93. I guess another "newsworthy" item. We are paying $3.10 a gallon for gas. Oh well, the price we pay for living in SoCal.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here are the kids right before dropping Kevin and Michaela off at school. Kevin, Michaela and Kyle all made valentine's cards yesterday. Kevin's class exchanged Valentine's and had a read-a-thon. They got to bring their pillows and two favorite books to read. He also made a huge heart pocket which held all his Valentines. Michaela also had Valentine activities at school today. They had a party at school and exchanged Valentines. Kaela made a special Valentine for her "boyfriend" Ryley. The one she made him one that says, "Sweet Love" on it. After school she went to her friend's birthday party. It was Princess themed, so all the little girls wore their Princess dresses. Very cute!

Kyle, McKenna and I spent the morning running around doing errands for our Valentine dinner tonight. We bought flowers and balloons and Valentines party ware. As a special treat, I told Kyle that he could pick a restaurant to have lunch at. He picked Chuck E Cheese. We had fun there. We had pizza, but while we were eating Kyle said his tummy hurt. Well, you guessed it. He lost his lunch at Chuck E Cheese. He threw up all over his clothes. It was good timing though because had he thrown up just ten minutes later, we would have been late picking up Kaela from the party and Kevin from school.

Well, that's Valentine's day for now. We are having our dinner soon. I'll write more later.

11 Days into 2007

So, it is the 11th, well 12th as I post this in the early morning hours. I finally took down the outside Christmas decor on the 10th. All our other decorations (except our tree) are still up. The house is a mess. I just can't seem to find the motivation to clean. I don't have any new year's resolutions, maybe if I write some down, it'll kick start me into actually doing something.

I think what it is is that the kids didn't go back to school until the 8th. I am still recuperating from them being home. It threw my well oiled schedule off!

So let's see. Well, remember the car accident we had way back on the weekend after Thanksgiving? Well, our car is still NOT fixed. The shop had it for a month and two days and after we got it back, there was a noise and a jarring metal on metal thing going on. I'm sick of dealing with the shop and insurance. I just want my Expedition back. At least we are fortune enough to have my parents (relatively) close by and we can borrow their SUV. What would we have done without them?

Okay, enough negativity. Let's talk kids...

Kevin ran a marathon this past Sunday. He didn't run the whole 26 miles in one shot. He ran the last mile. Keith went with him and actually ran too! Kevin earned hi Bobcat Badge and he earned his Tiger Cub badge. Our little cub scout wants to be in the Scouts all the way up to Eagle. He's really into it. They have a campout coming up in a few weeks.

Michaela has started up ballet again. The studio was closed for the holidays. She is back in school and is really enjoying it, of course. She is one smarty pants. Kevin was trying to read to us tonight. As Kevin was sounding out words, she'd lean over and tell him what they were. I have to sometimes tell Kaela to leave the room when Kevin is reading. She's going to give him a complex! Kaela didn't go back to school right on the first day back. I had the pleasure of taking care of her, as well as Kevin and Kyle, with a stomach virus. The last couple of days have not been pretty here. At least McKenna never got it!

Kyle is doing his same old thing. Loves his cars, loves his books. He likes to watch PBS Kids Sprout (a channel for preschoolers) over any other channel. He is getting more and more mature each day. I think I may *gasp* start to potty train him soon (yes, finally, I know!).

Speaking of potty training, I just may try to train McKenna at the same time. She hates a dirty diaper and will even get me a diaper and wipes when she needs a change. If I don't respond quick enough, she sometimes tries to take her pants off herself! She is getting to act more like a three/four year old than a not quite two year old! She can escape from her crib and she can almost climb right back in. She tries to dress herself and put on her shoes. She has graduated from her high chair and now sits in Kyle's old blue chair. Kyle has graduated to an "adult" chair. She is talking. Drink! Shoes! Poo Poop! Mama! Dada! Hey! Noooooo! Thank you! Please! She definitely understand everything we say. She loves to watch TV and she sings. But of course, her MOST favorite thing to do is to bug the heck out of Kyle, Kaela & Kevin. Oh, and one more thing. She has lost another pair to an earring set. That's 6 sets! Kaela still has the same ones she's had since her ears were pierced almost 5 years ago.

Anyway, as for Keith and me. We are okay. Keith is on the look out for new prospects. I am doing lots of fun stamping/craft stuff. At the end of the month I am going to the Craft & Hobby Association Winter Trade Show. A HUGE event with over 3500 vendors. Then in February, as the kids' Christmas present to me, I am going to go to the scrapbook expo. I get to go two days in a row and I am taking some great classes. I can't wait. I am looking SO forward to both events.

Well, it's past 1am. I should go. Good night!

Happy 2007!

SO my last post was in the beginning of November and two months passed at the blink of an eye! There is so much to report, I just don't know where to start. So, I think what I'll do is just post a picture of the kids (the Christmas card picture) and then go from there. When I have time, I'll post more pictures in our photo albums.

Let's start with how we rang in the new year. We spent New Year's Eve having a nice family day. We woke early, okay not SO early, but early enough - 8:30. We got the kids all dressed for the day and we headed to the Wild Animal Park. We are season pass holders and decided that we really needed to use the passes! We did go to the San Diego Zoo on Christmas day, so the passes have already paid for themselves. Anyway, we had a great time, as always at the WAP. We rode the train and walked around. Kevin was our official map reader and he kept us on track as to where to go. He led us along to see the giraffes, then the tiger, then the elephants. When we finished our trek, we stopped by the Hidden Jungle and had ice cream. It was cold for us - mid 60s, but the ice cream there is yummy! Keith and I were joking around that you could easily spot the locals from the tourists. The locals had on sweaters or light jackets and pants on. The tourists were all wearing short sleeves and shorts. Anyway, we left the park well after closing and were able to catch some of the holiday lights they still had up. After we left there, we ate at a Mexican restaurant. It was a chain restaurant and served what Keith calls Americano food. They were really busy, but the service was not so bad. After dinner, we headed home. The kids immediately went to bed and Keith and I sat to watch TV. We watched the ball drop, then hung out for about 15 more minutes and went to bed.

Today was a relaxing day. I spent most of the day shopping. It was fun for me. The stores weren't crowded and I got to take my time browsing. I brought home Indian food and that's what we had for dinner. We basically just hung out today. It was a good day.

Well, that's all for now. Good night and happy new year!

97!!!

It's the sixth of November, and it is 97 degress outside. How weird is that??? It feels like the middle of summer. Oh well. We'll see where this weather goes!

Trick-or-Treaters

Halloween 2006

Well, here are my little trick-or-treaters. Kevin the Ninja, Kaela as Cinderella, Kyle the Pirate and Kenna the Butterfly Princess. The kids had loads of fun this Halloween. They got a TON of candy. We went with a bunch of the other neighborhood kids. A big pack of twelve kids. Kevin, Kaela and Kyle went, so that meant we comprised 25% of the group. lol Keith and Kenna stayed home to pass out the candy. Anyway it was so cute. Kaela and her best friend Natalie held hands the entire time. Natalie was dressed as Snow White. Kevin and his friend Danny (Natalie's brother) stuck together and Kyle trailed behind the girls, preferring mama to anyone else. While trick-or-treating the group stopped for candy breaks in which they each had a piece before running off to the next house. They had a great time and despite all the candy they ate, went right to bed, off to dream about candy.

Last Year's Pumpkin

This is last year's Halloween pumpkin. I just had to repost this because I thought the picture turned out just great. We carved this year's pumpkin last night. It is always such a fun thing to do. I remember Kevin's first "real" Halloween and how much he enjoyed carving the pumpkin with Keith. One of our most fun Halloweens was the Halloween we spent up in Washington. Maria, Ellie and Colin, as well as my Dad and Ris came up. Mom had a VERY full house! Each kid got a pumpkin, even Kyle who was only 2 weeks old. We sat out under Mom's carport and carved out all the pumpkins. It was nice that day, but it got COLD that night. I love Halloween. It is such a fun day!

How Beauty is Made

This is a short film made through Dove's Self Esteem Fund. I think this video should be seen by all teenage girls and young women, maybe even some of us "older" women. Take a look and pass it on.

Holy Hits Batman!

Wow! Our counter hit over 6,000. This time last year I was posting that we had hit 2,000. That's 4,000 hits in the course of a year. Our website is posted on splitcoastbloggers.blogspot.com. It's a listing of blogs of stampers that frequent splitcoaststampers.com. A great group of stampers I might add. According to my website stats, we get about 10-12 hits from splitcoasters almost daily. Then there is family and friends (not that there are tons of those). We also get the random surfers. Then we get hits from google searches. Some surfed on after searching for "Navajo Sandwich" or "gets her ears pierced" or "Days of Our Lives". Apparently searching on these keys words pulls up our blog. Some might argue that we are too "public". I think we aren't anymore public than others out there. I personally am comfortable with what I post, otherwise I wouldn't post it. So, to our loyal readers, or casual browers, thank you!

New PJs

Brand New PJs

We got a box full of goodies today from Mom. The kids got some new clothes and these PJs. Of course they all wanted to wear them tonight. I lined them up and took this picture before they went to bed. They all love their PJs and they suit them perfectly. Kevin's are Wildcats PJs, Kaela's are Princess, Kyle's are Dinosaurs and Kenna's are pastel green with flowers. I think this picture is hilarious. Kevin and Kaela are all so identical in their poses. Kyle and Kenna are barely standing still. They are all tucked away asleep right now. Nice and comfy.

Kyle's Birthday Party

Kyle's birthday is on the 17th, but we celebrated this weekend. Mom, Dad and Ris came up, and we all had a birthday lunch for Kyle. I love this picture. This is a genuine happy smile. He was so excited about his birthday celebration. Big smiles all around from him especially when we were singing Happy Birthday. He received some very nice presents including clothes from Grandma Tessie and Grandpa Manny, books from Auntie Ris, shoes and a book from Grandma Karen, and a movie and money from Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Mary. The night before his party, we all went out to dinner (we being the immediate family). We ate at Denny's not all that glamorous, but it was fast and family friendly. After that we went to ToysRUs. Kyle picked out an Emergency Vehicle die cast set. He's been playing with it all weekend. Aside from the yummy cake, we had sandwiches and the usual sides to go with it. We are having a nice dinner and more cake for him on his actual birthday. I'll of course post more pictures of that later. Well, this was just a quick update and picture. I am tired and off to bed. Good night!

Kevin

I know you can't see his face here, but yes, this is Kevin. He is doing homework. He is in the first grade, and we work on homework more than one hour everyday. Well, not everyday, Monday through Thursday. His teacher is GREAT. She is so loving, gentle and caring. I volunteered to be one of two room moms. It'll be fun helping her out. Well, I do think that all the homework is paying off. Kevin is doing great in Math and his reading is progressing wonderfully! He couldn't read this summer, but in the short time that school has been in session, he has learned to read a lot. He read me four books tonight as part of his homework. Here's what he does every week for homework. This doesn't include any work that he didn't finish in class. He brings that home too to be returned the following day. Anyway, here's what he does every week. He has a list of spelling words. There are eight every week. On top of those words, he has a list (about 10) of vocabulary words. Then a list of wall words that he has to know by sight. There are about 8 of those. Then he needs to read 20 minutes a day. He has a short four page book that he has to be able to read and then answer comprehensive questions about it. He has one logic/math problem a day. Also in the homework packet is two sheets front and back of math. I don't remember doing homework until the 3rd grade. It's tough to work with him for an hour to and hour and a half every day. Well, other than school, he is now in Cub Scouts. He is enjoying this very much. He is going camping along with Keith with his pack at the end of the month. He is looking forward to that. Kevin brought home a flyer today about the kid's run training program for the Orange County Marathon. He wants to do this. He will train for 10 weeks and in the course of training will run a complete marathon. He will run the last mile during the actual marathon in January. One really cool thing about this is a fundraising event. 100% of all monies he collects will go directly to his school. Every cent! He says he really wants to do this. I told him that this is A LOT of running. He seems to understand that. Well, that's enough to keep him busy!

Michaela

Michaela is having so much fun these days. She's already gone to one birthday party this school year. This is a picture of her in her ballet outfit. I wanted to get her a black leotard or tutu, but she would not have it. She wanted all pink. She is doing really well in the class. I'm pretty happy with it in that of the three classes, she was one of two students in the class. And for most of the class time, she was the only one there. The one lesson in which there were four girls total, her teacher held her hand and danced with her the most. Keith has taken her the last two times and he says she is the best one there. The only one that really listens and dances. The other little girls just do their own thing. She is having a lot of fun at school and is doing so much more socially in class. She also has a lot of fun playing here in the neighborhood. She and her friend Natalie are SO into the girlie stuff. They are always playing house and Princesses. We got Kaela (really me) the digitally remastered Little Mermaid. I am slowing moving my Disney VHS collection to DVD. Since Kaela loves the Princesses so much, it's not hard to buy them! She is constantly talking Pocahontas this, Cinderella that, Little Mermaid this, Sleeping Beauty that. I don't know where she gets all these girlie tendencies. Certainly not from me. lol Anything pink and girlie, that's Kaela.

Kyle

So, this is not the cutest picture of Kyle, but I think this is hilarious! His birthday is next week and although he never saw the movie, he insists on having a "Cars" themed party. We are having a small party for him - us, Grandma and Grandpa and Auntie Ris. I'm not sure what we are doing yet though. Kyle is in the "me do it" phase. He tries, but gets frustrated when he can't do something. We see a lot of him looking like this picture. He communicated very well these days. I've noticed that he's learned how to make himself seem innocent just by his expressions. "I didn't do it!" and those eyes. You know the look, "Really I didn't" big sad pleadingly cute eyes. He is Kenna's protector these days. He is always looking after her and insists that I not leave Kenna behind while we walk. Well, she is slow and if I don't keep walking forward, the short walks will become really long walks. Kyle is in love with Dora and Blue. He likes the Wonder Pets. He loves to sing in the car and is always moving to the music - on the beat even! He is still a smiley as ever and is a comedian in his young age. Everything is funny to him. Even when he is getting scolded. It's hard to yell at him while he is cracking that smile. What else? He hasn't learned to use the potty yet, but he did get a potty ring. He loves that thing. If he would just use it to go potty! He is a big boy. His waist is just a bit smaller than Kevin's. He isn't tall, but he definitely has my build. I can't wait for him to start preschool next year. I know he'll love it. He still loves his Barbie scooter and his Hello Kitty umbrella, but refuses anything else girlie. I tried to buy him a pink shirt and he refused. He is going to be a pirate for Halloween - which he is really excited about. I'll for sure take pictures because when he tried it on, he looked darn cute!

McKenna

What can I say about my baby girl? Well a lot actually! She is officially 18 months old. I can't believe it. Time flies. I know I say that in almost every post, but as you can see, time is flying by so fast, I have about a chance a week to update. Kenny is our little daredevil. She is not scared of jumping off a high ledge. She falls and scrapes her knee and just gets up. Her legs are full of scratches. She wants to do everything the big kids do. She climbs the high ladders at the park and goes down slides that are one and a half times my height. She is fearless. She likes to do things on her own time and likes to dilly dally behind us while walking. If you backtrack to get her, she turns and runs. She laughs the whole time she is running. Let's see physically, she is solid. She is strong. She needs a haircut! She has eight teeth, four tops, four bottoms. No molars yet, but she can eat just about anything. And boy does she eat. She can eat more than any of the big kids. She is opinionated and will scream if she doesn't get what she wants. She is stubborn too. Her way of the highway. And she is only 18 months old. Yikes!

My New Logo

My New Logo

So rather than purchase "vendor approved" business cards, I opted to get my own business cards that were a bit less restrictive. On the "vendor approved" cards, I had to put my title. I plan on kicking up my business a bit this year and one of my goals is to promote two levels. Well, in promoting, I would have to repurchase business cards, or give out cards with the wrong title. So, I created my own logo, to print out my own cards. So there you go. How do you like it?

Happy Sunday

The first half of our weekend has been busy busy. Kaela had her first dance lesson today. She was very cute and picked up on the steps very easily. Her class is not full at all and in fact, for the first 20 minutes, she was the only one there. It was practically a private lesson. Another little girl showed up 20 minutes into the lesson and another about 40 minutes in. It was very cute.

So, of course she is going to continue. We went all over town looking for she little outfit and ballet slippers and tap shoes. I wanted to try to go cheap and get things from Target and Payless Shoes as opposed to the dance shop. The school actually said that expensive stuff wasn't really necessary for kids Kaela's age. Well, first we went to Target, no luck. Nothing. Then we went to Mervyn's We got her leotard, thighs, tutu and ballet slippers there. All on sale. Woohoo! Then we went to Payless for tap shoes. None there in her size. So, we tried another Target. None there. Then we went to another Payless. None there in her size either. Then off to Walmart. None in her size. By this time, we had been out almost three hours. I finally broke down and got her "real" tap shoes from the dance shop.

So, Kaela and I weren't alone in our adventure today. Kevin was with us. We bought his cub scout uniform. We were in and out of the scout shop in 5 minutes. We went there first. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up that that would be an indication of our day. Kaela's stuff was not even remotely easy. Kevin is very excited about his uniform. He looked at his scout guidebook and oh'd and ah'd over everything in it. I think both kids are going to have a great time in their new activities.

Kevin's school is once again doing a gift wrap fundraiser. I am a bit more active in the PTO this year and we had our first meeting of the year. We went over the PTO budget for the school year. I had no idea, but this gift wrap fundraiser is the biggest fundraiser for the school. I won't give you a dollar amount, but let's just say that with the money raised by this fundraiser alone, you could buy yourself a nice new sedan. Not a bare minimum, no features sedan, but a nice sedan with some really nice extras. Yeah. It blew me away. So, does anyone want to buy some gift wrap???

Keith is doing well. He got his raise. A nice one. Over 9%. He also had his interview with the other department. They like him and are interested. They will see what they can do. Keith just needs to figure out if he wants to switch departments.

I started with a new Bible study. Seems like it's going to be very interesting. It last through May. So, I feel like I have been busy busy busy. Carting kids around, doing PTO stuff and this new Bible study, not to mention all the stamping swaps I am in.

Kyle and Kenny. Doing wonderfully. Kenny is probably going to get her very first hair cut. It is falling into her eyes and needs a trim. She needs the back trimmed too. She has long hair that ends in a "V" right between the shoulder blades.

Well, there is so much to think about. I can't wait for the 1st to come round. I have a TON of Halloween stuff that I want to put up. I like decorating for Halloween. We have some fun stuff. Don't even get me started on Christmas. I have SO much more for Christmas. So, we have my mom's birthday along with a big birthday bash, Kyle's birthday, parent teacher conferences, Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Years. Oh my. It is going along much too fast.

Okay, so that's it for now. Not much going on, but so much going on at the same time. You know what I mean. It's just life.

Kyle's Haircut

Kyle's First Professional Cut

He finally did it. He finally agreed to go to the barber. I asked him this morning, and he finally said yes. So, now my baby boy now longer looks like a toddler boy. He looks like a real boy! lol I think he looks like his cousin Colin.