And the Winner Is....

Deborah! She wins the retired "Basket Full of Fun" set.

Thank you to all who played and scoured my blogs. Thanks for all the lovely comments! I had a lot of fun with the blog candy. Keep reading, I may do this again sometime (or two or three!).

The correct post I had you all search for was dated October 21, 2006. There were 26 comments made. I used a random number generator and up popped 11. So counting down 11 comments, we get...

Deborah said...

WOWZER! You are doing great! Congrats on 10,000 big ones! Deb

8:30 PM

Deborah - I followed the link to your blog. I used the email address listed. Please contact me for your blog candy.

Almost up to 10,000 - blog candy alert!

So this little family blog that I started the second to the last day of 2004 has grown to almost 10,000 hits. The first year around this time we were just at about 2,000. Then the second year around this time we were at just about 6,000. And now, well, you've seen the title!

I do know that we do get a few random hits from people googling certain words, and we just pop up. About a fourth of the hits are close friends and family. The majority of the hits are stampers brought here from splitcoastbloggers.blogspot.com. This a HUGE listing of blogging stampers that read and post at splitcoaststampers.com. I know a lot of them are expecting to see a stampin' blog, so that's why I added the link to my stampin' blog up above. (Check that one out too! It's been averaging about 1,000 hits per month.)

So if you ARE a stamper, here is your chance for some blog candy. Here's the deal. Find the post on this blog where I originally posted about this blog reaching 6,000 hits. Post a comment in *that* thread. I will randomly choose one poster to receive last Stampin' Up! catalog's retired Level 3 hostess set "Basket Full of Fun". (Sorry there is no picture, you can find samples in the gallery on splitcoast or in last year's catalog.)

Here's a bonus. Go over to my stampin' blog (see link above). If you post a comment over there AND are the winner over here, I will throw in a few extra goodies with your stamp set. Happy posting!

Kyle Goes to School!

So my baby boy is officially a preschooler!

One of the things that I was bummed about when we found out that we were moving was that Kyle was going to lose his spot in the school district run Preschool. This preschool was very affordable compared to what private preschools charged. Around here at our new place, people put their kids on preschool waiting lists before the kids turn one year old, so the chances of Kyle getting into an affordable preschool was not looking good.

So when we get here, I start calling around. I can find space at Preschools, but I am getting ridiculous quotes most of them were anywhere from $106-119 per week for part time two days a week. Eight hours total per week. That comes out to be roughly $13-15 per hour. Well, I thought that was just a bit too pricey for us. I had resigned to the fact that Kyle was just not going to be going to preschool and next year would have to go right into Kindergarten without any kind of social prep. Of all my kids, Kyle is the most clingy to me and the slowest to warm up. He is constantly attached to me in social settings, such as picking up Kevin and Kaela from school or at family parties where there are lots of unfamiliar Aunties, Uncles and cousins. Not to mention all the Lolos and Lolas.

Anyway, I see an ad for a preschool that is run by the Parks and Recreation department. It isn't an academic program but rather a social program. Perfect! This is exactly what Kyle needs. So of course when I call the first week of September to inquire, there is no space available, but if we wanted to be on the waiting list, we could come by and have a tour. So, I tell Kyle that we are going to look at a school that he might be going to. He is very excited so I have to explain to him that there isn't a space for him and that we were only going to look. Kyle says, "Maybe we can ask a kid to move over so I can have a spot to sit." Too cute. I had to explain to him that I didn't mean that kind of spot.

SoO, we get to the school, and he is all excited. But, as soon as the door opens for us to go inside, he immediately super glues himself to me and won't let go. I try to encourage him to play with stuff while I talk to the teacher, but he just isn't having it. He wont talk to the teacher or to any other kids. He doesn't utter one word the whole time we are there. So, now I am totally worried that he won't do well at parting at school and if he did get a spot, he would be crying every morning.

So, the teacher is nice, the school is nice and on we go to the waiting list. I'm thinking that he'll never get in. BUT, not two weeks later, the new session is starting and they have an opening or two. So, we go back to fill out the paperwork and to pay the tuition, VERY affordable at what works out to be $5.50 an hour. Kyle still does not want to talk to anyone and is definitely not straying from my side. The teacher explains to me that when Kyle starts it'll be fine. There will be tears, but they are experts at handling it. Some kids cry for a week every morning, others cry everyday for the whole year. I thought, "Great. That'll be Kyle."

So, Kyle starts that following Monday, the 17th. One of the forms I fill out is a list of Kyle's favorites and one of the things that was asked was his favorite color. I wrote down blue. So, the teacher reads the list and knows from the times she's met Kyle that he would have to be coaxed into letting go of my hand. Let me back track here a bit... the weekend before he started school, we went to pick out a lunch box and a water bottle. I had run through different situations with Kyle on what to do at school. What if you have to go to the bathroom? Tell the teacher. What if a kid is being mean? Tell the teacher. So, he knows he is going to school Monday and is very excited about and he is talking all about how he is going to be in Preschool. Totally looking forward to it.

We get to school and yes, he is attached. And no, he won't say a word. So back to the list. The teacher reads that his favorite color is Blue and totally gets him with that. "Kyle, we need to get you a cubby (a container where they keep their stuff). What's your favorite color?" Silence. "Is it blue?" she asks. Kyle gets a big smile on his face and nods. She takes his hand and leads him away. He waves at me. Whew, he's going to do fine. But, McKenna is now following them. "Kenna come here. We are going home. Only Kyle is going to school." So, McKenna crumples to the floor and cries. The teachers thought it was cute. She was upset because she didn't want to leave her brother. Um no, not cute. Baby crying!

So, one last thing about this list. They had asked if there was anything in particular to know about Kyle. Well, they wouldn't have guessed this because Kyle appears at first glance to be extremely shy. When he is comfortable, he is LOUD. He is my loudest child. When I went to pick him up from this first day, I could hear him through the door. When I saw his teacher, I say, "I see he warmed up." "Um, yeah he did!" she says with a disbelieving look on her face. He is now in his second week. He loves it. The teachers never would've guessed he was the same kid they met before school started.

Keith

Keith doesn't like to get his picture taken, but he does indulge me every once and a while. He'll even crack a smile! He probably won't be too happy about me posting this picture, but I really like this picture. I took this while we were at the Zoo with Dad and Mary...

A Bit of Silliness

So, it was HOT here a few days ago. VERY hot. It was in the high 90s for several days and the nights were even in the mid 80s. This is not fun weather for us spoiled SoCal people!

Well, since it was so hot, we didn't really go out. We all just tried to stay cool here at home. Our new house doesn't have AC and there wasn't much of a breeze. I ended up buying two more fans. We have 5 free standing floor fans. They really did help.

Anyway, this is what we did one day when it was HOT. I took out my camera and was just fooling around taking pictures of the kids and me and Keith. So, since we were all kind of in the picture taking mood (everyone except Kevin), I wanted to do a family picture. This is what we got...

Falling into a Routine

So school has been in session for just under three weeks, but it seems to me that three months have gone by. Our schedules are jam packed and the kids aren't in any activities yet other than school.

I keep my calendar in Outlook. It is a very neat program because you can assign a color to each person and then keep it all on the same calendar. When you look at the month view you can see who has what going on just with a glance. It works really well for us. Anyway, my calendar is blocked solid for the next few weeks. Kevin is starting up scouts this week. Michaela has gone on a play date already and has a birthday party coming up. Not to mention all the swaps that I have to finish off and mail.

I need a vacation!

So my last post talked about the traffic around the school. Well, last week we tried walking in the morning. It worked out pretty well. It has been Africa hot (as my friend Julie says) for about a week, but it has cooled down considerably. So, walking in the morning is quite nice. It takes about 15 minutes to get there are a nice pace and 20 minutes at a leisurely pace. McKenna is in the umbrella stroller and Kyle walks like the big kids. Kyle does pretty good!

Michaela started with home work two weeks ago, but Kevin brought homework home for the first time just today. The school Open House was last Thursday night. Keith went to Kaela's class and I went to Kevin's. I was pleasantly surprised that Kevin has less homework here than he did at his other school. Kevin was happy about it too.

At Open House, there was a call for Room Moms/Dads. Since I was a Room Mom for Kevin last year, I decided to do it for Michaela's class this year. Well, seven other Moms had the same idea. For Kevin's class there was only one volunteer, so I decided to step away from Michaela's class and help out with Kevin's.

We will see how busy all the school stuff keeps me! I'll keep you posted.

Summer Vacation Ends, School Begins!

So since most retail stores consider it the end of summer and the beginning of fall, all the summer stuff is going on clearance. Well, lucky us for living in SoCal. We are going to have summery weather through October. We got this pool (nice sized at 12' X 30" - perfect for us) at a great price and we couldn't pass it up. So, up it went on the weekend and the kids have been playing in it every day since. I even ventured into it yesterday!

I thought it would be fitting to post a picture of them in their swim wear. Since it is an end of summer vacation post. This was them just before we all hopped in yesterday. I don't know how they can stand the water. I was freezing!

So along with the pool, they each got kickboards on sale. Kevin had his from last year, so really only the three youngers got them. Kaela is continuing to swim well. She taught herself last summer and can now swim underwater the length of our tiny pool. Kyle still refuses to get his face wet. He even dislikes baths and showers! lol Kenny is right in there, thinking she's swimming, but really all she is doing is bending over with the kickboard in front of her as she walks along the bottom. Kevin of course is all over the place in the water. He has always loved the water. He was less than 24 months old when he started submerging and kicking to propel through the water. Well, even though school started today, the pool is still up and they went in as soon as Kevin came home from school.

So here's some first day of school pictures...

Here is Kevin at home before we left. His clothes are to big, but his normal size is getting a hair small. I didn't want to have to buy him new clothes again in a few months, so I just went with the bigger size. He's so grown up!

So the one thing I worried about with Kevin and a new school was that he would have a hard time breaking into groups of kids that have already formed friendships from previous years. We are lucky in that Joshua, the son of my good girlfriend from high school, is in Kevin's class. Even though Joshua and Kevin haven't grown up seeing each other all the time, we have throughout the years had chances to see them at family parties. So, I told Kevin that Joshua would probably hang out with him, but in the off chance that Joshua didn't (because he was already familiar with his other friends), he could find other little kids to play with. All he had to do was ask.

So, as soon as I picked him up, Joshua and Kevin were near each other but weren't really acknowledging each other. So, of course, I asked Kevin if he played with Joshua today. "No, not really," Kevin says. So then I ask him who he played with, "No one." Kevin says. Hmmm. Not making for a good first day of school. I think to myself. So then, since Kevin really doesn't offer up any info without my prompting, I ask more questions. Who did you have lunch with? - Joshua. Did you play with Joshua at recess? - No. So, you had lunch with Joshua, but afterwards he just went and played with other kids? Kevin doesn't respond. Okay, so now I am feeling really bad for Kevin. How come you didn't play with anyone? - It was too hot. I sat in the shade. What did you do in the shade? - We talked. Who did you talk to? - Joshua. You were with Joshua? - Yeah. I thought you said you didn't play with Joshua? - I didn't. We sat in the shade and talked. We did Rock, Paper, Scissors and talked about what we did this summer. We did Rock Paper Scissors with Nicolas and some other boys too.

Point of story. So no, Kevin did not play with Joshua. They talked. They talked with a few other boys too. Kevin was not lonely and left out like he made it seem. I just didn't ask the right questions. *sigh*

So here's my Kaela. This picture is deceiving. She looks happy as she waves good bye on her way to her class. Her first day of Kindergarten. But here's what happened before this picture.

In the car Michaela says she is nervous about going to school. I reassure that everything is going to be just fine. So we get to school and as we all pour out of the car, she latches onto my hand. Ouch, she has a strong grip. The whole time we are walking, I am trying to walk with McKenna and Kyle holding my other hand. No one wants to let go, except McKenna, who is the one kid whose hand I want to hold! So we get to the inside of the school, and she is squeezing my hand harder. Didn't know she had it in her. She is also now somehow superglued to the side of my leg. So now we are where she is supposed to line up. Glued to my leg and my hand in a vise, I have carry/drag her to the end of the line. Her teacher suspects that Michaela might be having issues so she helps us to the end of the line, talking to Michaela and letting her know how much fun they will have. I give Michaela a big hug and a kiss. Then another hug and another. I am trying to slip away as the line in front of her starts to move. Finally she lets go, gives me a big smile and turns to follow the line. I snapped this picture as she turned back to say one last goodbye. Ah huh. She will go when *she* wants to.

So the kids both said they had fun their first day. Kevin already has a new best friend and Michaela was pleased that the songs she sang in class were ones she already knew from preschool. The traffic around their school is horrendous. There is a middle school right next door. So picture about 1600 kids getting released from school within a half hour of each other. About a third of them walk, bus or bike. The rest get picked up. The traffic around there lasts a good solid 45 minutes. We'll have to get used to that.

Well, off to bed. Good night!

School Starts in 3 Days!

Here's a pic of the kids after dinner today. I had wanted to get a picture of the boys to show off their new haircuts, but then of course the girls wanted to be in the picture. Well, to get these four to pose for a picture is not the easiest of tasks. I do all I can not to lose my cool. I envision this cute picture, but of course there is always someone making a funny face (usually Kevin), or someone trying too hard to smile (Kyle) or someone who acts like they just don't know what the heck I am talking about (McKenna). Michaela is usually the only one who knows what to do.

Anyway, my two oldest are off to school on Wednesday. It's really been a fun summer for them. I think Kyle is going to take the big kids gone especially hard because he does almost everything with Michaela. When Michaela doesn't want to play with him or just needs some alone time, Kyle gets very upset. McKenna is still at that stage when she doesn't always play with the other kids. Hopefully he falls into a routine to entertain himself when his big sister isn't around.

Packing is still going slow. We've been here just over four weeks now. Most of the boxes are still not unpacked. Oh well. Someday! I plan on working on my craft room today. Maybe I'll be able to get it done. On that note, I am headed to bed! Good night!

Still Slow Going

Well, we've been here for three weeks now. It doesn't really seem like it's been three weeks. We have been busy here. We got all new screens on all the windows that needed them (probably about 3/4 of ll the windows), then the windows were fixed (they didn't lock or slide well), then we got new sliding screens for our two sets of sliding glass doors to the patio, then we had three different plumbers come in and look at what needed to be done. The bathtub in the kids side of the house was sagging. As it turns out the floor was totally disintegrated and was perched precariously on a support beam of the house. Then there were problems with the sprinklers. Oh man, this poor house has seen better days. The dishwasher is only 5 years old and is caked with calcium deposits. I tried scrapping some of it off, but it didn't help. I think there is calcium buildup in the pipe. Oh well, there are a few other little things, but I guess I'll stop complaining. It really is a nice house. It just needed some TLC. We are definitely giving it that.

We aren't anywhere near being unpacked. I still can't fin half my kitchen stuff! Oh well, as long as it is done by the time school starts. School starts in two weeks!

So, I got a new phone. A Samsung Sync. I am having fun playing with it. It has a 2.0 MP camera and can play MP3s and videos. I took some pictures of the kids last week. The camera has built in frames that you can add to the picture. Here's what we did the other day...

All Moved In - sort of!

Well, I am happy to say that we have moved into our new house. Our stuff is there and the kids finally got to see their new house. They are excited about the back yard and all the space they have to run around in. They can now move freely around the house and make as much noise as they want. No more worrying about the downstairs neighbor because there isn't one! lol

The kids were wondering why, if it was a 5 bedroom house, did they not each get their own room? Well, one room is being used as an office for Keith and one is a guest room. The boys in one room and the girls in another. They are young enough to be sharing rooms still. Our master bedroom is the rear part of the second story and the kids' rooms are way on the opposite side of the house over the garage.

Where is my craft room you ask? Well, when you walk in the door, there it is. I am taking up the entire huge living room! The TV/family room is fairly large and in the rear of the house with the kitchen next to it. I get the living room which is next to the formal dining room. I had wanted that area also for stamp classes, but Keith nixed that idea. My new craft area is big enough he says.

Okay, so in reference to the title - the "sort of" part. Well, let's just say that we are renting a UHaul for tomorrow. We had so much stuff that the movers couldn't get all of our stuff into their truck! They took all the boxes and the furniture, but had to leave behind the bulky items like the kids' plastic drawers where they keep their toys, the bikes, some of the bigger toys, Kaela's dollhouse. Everything has been moved to the garage and once we get the UHaul, we'll fill it up and drive it to our new place. A pain in the butt, but apparently we have too much stuff for the average three bedroom home. I guess that's why we had to move up to five bedrooms!

Well, good night for now. I will update in a few days with my unpacking saga!

Moving in Soon!

Keith started working on Monday. We are staying at my Mom and Dad's house until we can move into our new place on Sunday. I have been driving back and forth from here to our old place everyday to pack. My parents and sister have been watching the kids and we are so thankful that they are so close and can help out. I was starting to worry yesterday about the progress I was making and took my dad up on his offer to help. He packed up the entire kitchen and saved me a whole day's work. Things aren't looking so bleak now! Well, I am off. I'll update more later when I have more to report!

We Have a New Place!

I am SO happy to report that we now have a place to live. We are frantically packing and trying to get things squared away. We found a place not too far (walking distance) from my parents house. The kids will be going to the same school I went to when we (my parents, sisters and I) moved to the area some 30 years ago.

It is a 5 bedroom, 3 bath house with a nice big back yard (well, nice and big for Southern California). We are moving in on the 15th. There is so much to do! Yikes!

So, when things settle down a bit, I will try to update you! In the meantime, here is a picture of Kevin. Please excuse the blurry picture and the messy hair! lol Kevin finally lost his two front teeth. They came out two days apart.

The Search Continues

Well, we are really busy. We are packing, and we are still looking for a place to live. We thought we had a place lined up, but it fell through. We ended up giving notice here as Keith starts his new job on the 9th. We have to find a place to live. Ack!

Michaela's Last Day of Preschool

Today was Micaela's last day of Preschool. It was sad in that she was with a lot of these kids for two years and with the same teacher. Many of them would be going to different elementary schools, but with us moving now it's hard to know that Michaela won't be able to see her friends anymore.










The end of the year picnic was fun though. They had yummy food and all the kids played in the park.


Later, her teacher presented each kid a book of some of their school work form this year and a bag of goodies. I got some very cute pictures of Michaela with her friends. There were so many cute ones. I think I might make Michaela a scrapbook of all her friends. I did want to post this picture of her though.

This last picture is a picture of Michaela with her "boyfriend" Ryley. Most of the school year, they played together and hung out with each other. Whenever they stood in line, they held hands. I think this picture is adorable!

Good News!

Just a few months ago, I was feeling really down that Keith and I just couldn't catch a break. It felt like these past four years or so there had been a lot of obstacles. Financial problems, a couple of car accidents, having to move (again and again), job worries, health issues (mine), etc. We did have some really nice times, but it seemed like when something was going good, something else would come along and complicate things.

Well, I am very thankful that things seem to be going very well for us right now. Some very wonderful things have been going on and the not so pleasant things are not around.

Anyway, Keith is going to be changing jobs. This will be his ideal job. His interview went very well, and the formal offer is being overnighted to him. We are moving back to San Diego. On top of all of that, Keith is getting a substantial pay increase. We found the perfect house for us in my parents' neighborhood. The house is within biking distance to Keith's new place of employment.

We are so excited! With this new house and me being in a more familiar area (to me), I am looking forward to stepping up both my Stampin' Up business and my Taste of Home Entertaining business. (I just had my Taste of Home Entertaining open house, and it went very well!) There is so much more I can gush about, but I think I should head to bed for now. Good night!

The Stars of the Show

Pre Ballet/Tap Combo Classes

Here is Michaela (2nd from the right) with some of her classmates. Michaela had her very first recital on the 9th and absolutely loved it. Oh, she was SO cute. It was a wonderful performance with about 130 students. Michaela was the youngest dancer in the entire show. Some of the teachers and alumni performed and of the students, the oldest were Seniors in high school.

Michaela was asked to dance with both her regular "younger" girls class as well as with the "older" girls class (aged 6-8). The older class was short and needed one more dancer. So the studio's owner asked if Michaela could do both classes' performances. She danced in a total of four numbers. She said that she loved being on stage and had so much fun.

She loves to dance and just can't seem to get enough of it. She is constantly asking if it's Saturday yet (the day of her lessons). Because she danced with the other class, she has been taking two hours straight of lessons for about three months now. But, even after her class, she still wants to stay to watch the teenagers dance. I think dance is going to be Michaela's "thing".

Always and Forever

Today is our 8th Anniversary. I surprised Keith by arranging for Ris to watch the kids. I picked Keith up from work and let him pick out a restaurant for us. We ended up going to the Rusty Pelican and had a table right by the water. We indulged in some very yummy Calamari and some garlic bread for an appetizer. We both got Crab Bisque and then both ended up ordering a Salmon dish. Keith's was crab stuffed and mine was broiled and was served with shrimp in a lobster cream sauce. Oh it was SO good. We got a yummy mudpie for dessert compliments of the restaurant.

After dinner, we went to Ikea and looked at all the fun furniture and things. We talked about all kinds of things and were we would put it. It was fun walking around and just looking and dreaming. We closed down Ikea and went to see if there was a movie we'd want to watch. We didn't find one, and so we went to the bookstore instead. We had coffee and browsed the books.

On our way home, our wedding song, "From This Moment", sung by Shania Twain and Bryan Adams, was playing on the radio.

We had a nice evening out. Not too exciting for most people, but it was just perfect for us. We look forward to the rest of our lives together.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Yesterday, we all took a day off from reality and went to Disneyland. It wasn't exactly a spur of the moment kind of thing, but up until the night before, we weren't 100% positive if we were going. We had been trying to go for about three weeks now.

We had a lot of fun. We spent the entire day there (around noon to midnight) and still did not get to do all we wanted. The weather was nice. Overcast and cool and in mid afternoon the sun came out. It never got too hot.

The crowds were not so bad either. We didn't go on any bigger kids' rides, so most of our wait times were 10-15 minutes. We did Fast Pass a few of the more popular rides and that sped us through the lines.

All the kids did really well. We took our time doing things and had fun going here and there. Kaela got to meet Aladdin. Kenna and Kaela met Tigger and Eeyore. The boys didn't want to meet any of them! They did get to enjoy a Star Wars Jedi Academy performance. We saw Darth Vader, some Jedi masters and Imperial Storm Troopers. We watched the parade and had lots of yummy food to eat. We had fun browsing the stores. We found a Disney Princess Store that we didn't know was there. An entire store filled with Disney Princess stuff. Very fun!

As for our favorites, I think Kevin liked Star Tours and Autopia the best. Keith seemed to enjoy the Astro Blasters ride inspired by Toy Story 2. Kaela liked the Tea Cups. She, Keith and Kyle were in one Tea Cup and Kevin, Kenna and I were in another. Kevin spun us around at his leisure. The other half of the family (the thrill seekers) were in their cup spinning as fast as they possibly could. My favorite part was It's A Small World. I would have to saw that Kenna and Kyle probably like that the best too. We closed down the park. Kenny started to fall asleep around 10pm. We woke her for the Teacups and after that we headed to the gift shops and then home.

I Belong In...

Check out this fun blog quiz. Here are my results...

You Belong in 1981

Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

What Year Do You Belong In?

5 Things I Love About....

Keith

1. No matter what I look like, or how fat I feel, he always makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.
2. He always does whatever it takes to make to me happy.
3. He knows my deep dark secrets and still loves me.
4. I sometimes catch him looking at me with a silly grin on his face.
5. He enjoys playing with the kids and loves them to no end.

Kevin

1. He is a kind, sensitive soul, but is still all boy.
2. He watches over his sisters and brother. He is the big brother to a T.
3. He hugs me for no reason and will hold my hand when we walk together.
4. No matter where we are, he always sees something beautiful.
5. He is respectful of the Earth and does not disrespect it.

Michaela

1. She is strong willed and knows what she wants.
2. She is willing to try anything at least once.
3. She is a girlie girl, but is definitely a Michaela and not a Makayla.
4. She already understands that a woman has power over a man.
5. She is not one of the mean girls.

Kyle

1. He always has a smile on his face.
2. He brings a fun presence to our family. Everything is funny to him.
3. When he does something bad, all I have to do is look at his face and I'm not so angry.
4. He is a momma's boy.
5. He is only 3 and a half but has a wise presence about him, almost as if he's done it all before.

McKenna

1. She commands attention when she is in the room.
2. When she is around other 2 year olds at the park, she seems much more sophisticated socially and developmentally.
3. She thinks she is five.
4. She is a troublemaker (yes, I love that about her!).
5. She knows her smile can melt anyone's heart.

Oh I could go on and on for each of these lists. I never knew that I could love so much.