A little (okay, not so little video) of Christmas morning...

Please, only watch if you have nothing better to do, or if you are required to love us by blood or marriage.




I hope to get some detailed posts up after I get back home.

All Aboard....! (ha,ha,ha,ha)

"I'm going off the rails on a Crazy Train..."

Okay, not really what I intended to post, but it got away from me and I couldn't help myself.

A-N-Y Way, we are really excited around here.

This morning Ryan created this little song. I think the title is a natural fit. What do you think?

"All aboard the Christmas Train" By Ryan




Yeah, just a little excited. (this was 6:30 this morning, yeah, they wake up that way!)

School Photos 1.0

Last week we had the much anticipated picture day at school. Our first ever. Our first of many.

As I opened the envelope I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw these smiling faces. Yes, Evan looks a bit more like a grimace, but hey, it can be interpreted as a smile.


I laughed so hard at the class photo. I've cut out all of the other kids, just in case their parents don't want their kids faces all over the internet. I commend the photographer for getting all the kids smiling (sort of) and all looking at the camera!

Ryan, I think is the only kid that wasn't smiling. Oh, Ryan, why so serious? Evan I think is mid-"cheese". I giggle just picturing the scene in the room with all of those 3 year old kids. Ha, glad it wasn't me!

Just when you think you couldn't love your kids anymore...

they shock you back to your senses.

Just kidding.

Today Ryan almost made me cry. (could be the PMS)

We went to CostCo to pick up a few things we were in dire need of to the tune of way more than I expected.

When we got home, I left the gates to the hallway and the kitchen open to facilitate shuttling all the junk staples from the car to the kitchen. I had one box in, and started putting away all of the perishables, leaving the second box in the hallway.

All of a sudden I hear some grunting and heavy breathing, and I look up just in time to hear Ryan say " Look Mama, I'm helping!"

Ryan had gone out to the hallway, pushed, pulled and drug the second box of junk purchases from the hall to the kitchen. He then proceeded to hand me each item for me to put away. He then took the big box out of the living room and back out in to the hallway.

He ran through the room, flashed me a smile and said "I HELPED!, I'm a Helper!"

Commence tears, praise, and hugs.

I got out partied by my 80 year old mom

Vegas was really fun. I did a very poor job of documenting this momentous occasion. Thankfully my cousins did take some pictures, and hopefully I will get some of them soon.

We decided to rent a car to fit all six of us comfortably. We got this really cool car I'd never seen before called the Ford Flex. Totally recommend it for large groups. It was low enough to the ground that my 80 year old Mom could get in and out with no assistance. It was spacious enough that six women and their luggage all fit comfortably for a long drive.

My Oceanside cousins and I left San Diego at about 10:30 and arrived to pick up my Mom and my cousin from LA around lunchtime. We had a quick lunch and hit the long road to Vegas.

Six women, and their luggage, in a Ford Flex. Check one out if you've never seen it. (I hadn't) It was super roomy and we were able to fit Six women and their luggage comfortably for five hours!

I did remember my camera, and took some pictures at the Bellagio, they decorate The Conservatory every year for the holidays and it was really amazing to see.






This is not part of the Holiday display, but it is the largest chocolate fountain, and it made me wish I had a strawberry or marshmallow to dip.



I got almost all of the group, except one cousin, and um, me...

Masako and my Mom

Kimi and Kathy

My Mom and a polar bear

So the first night we arrived, I was dead on my feet at 10. I was standing on the casino floor, somewhere, I cannot even remember the hotel, and I nearly fell asleep. My 80 year old mom? going strong. My 62 year old cousin, raring to go. My 59 year old cousin? Not stopping anytime soon. My 59 year old cousin and her 23 year old daughter? shopping like there was no tomorrow. Seriously, when did I get so old that I can't keep up with the old folks? (sorry guys, no offense)

The next day, I had to nap. Granted, I didn't get ANY sleep. I'm not a good sleeper to begin with, but, new bed, new roomies, snoring to the left of me and snoring to the right of me, left me sleepless.

We took my Mom out to a special dinner, I made a cake and brought it with us, so we were all full and sugared up, but I still was in need of bed by eleven. My mom and two of my cousins were out until TWO AM!!!! TWO. TWO O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING!

It was a long drive home, most everyone, except me, the driver, napped. That made me feel a little better, but seriously, there is talk of making this an annual trip, I'm going to need to train or something.

Viva Las Vegas!

I'm tired today. It's been a busy day.

5:30 AM Child of Mine wakes me up. He's still asleep, crying out in said sleep.
6:15 AM I am still awake and Child of Mine is now awake too.
6:30 AM Other Child of Mine is awake
6:45 AM Breakfast is served.
7:30 AM Dress two Children for School.
8:15 AM Rush out door to get to school.
8:30 AM Beg for hugs and kisses as Children rush in to their class to see what today's activities are to be.
8:30 AM Run to Von's and beg the bakery guy to sell me a cake board and container, because I forgot to get one while I was at Michael's on Wed. (One of two things I wanted to get there, but forgot because well, I had the kids with me.)
8:50 AM Run back to school to help with the packaging of baskets for Women's Dessert Night next week.
11:30 AM Pick up kids from classroom down stairs.
11:45 AM Make lunch for the darlings.
12:00 PM Eat lunch with kids.
12:45 PM Kids in bed for naps. Clean up from lunch.
1:00 PM Begin to fold MOUNTAIN of laundry.
1:45 PM Evan wakes up to go pee-pee. (yea! progress in the PT arena)
2:00 PM Evan wakes up hysterical because his tent has done some crazy thing and is no longer on his bed.
3:30 PM Finish putting laundry away, Ryan wakes up.
3:45 PM Ryan helps me put away his clothes.
4:00 PM Ryan "helps" me pack for the weekend.
4:30 PM Ryan comes with me to the garage to get meat out of the freezer for tonight's tacos. (yeah, I forgot it earlier, that's what the microwave is for)
4:32 PM Start defrosting meat in microwave.
4:40 PM Evan wakes up from his nap.
4:41 PM Ryan stops following me around and begins harassing his brother.
5:15 PM Dinner for the boys and me.
5:30 PM Boys finish dinner while I start making frosting for the cake I am taking to Vegas.

(Tomorrow I leave for Vegas. My Mom turns 80 on the 14th and some of my cousins and are are taking the old gal to Vegas. My Mom and Dad loved to go to Vegas. It must be something in the blood because my whole family likes to gamble...being adopted, I totally missed that marker on my DNA, I don't like to gamble, because I don't like to lose.) (Happy Birthday Jamie, I know you are not 80, but I hope your day is special too!)

6:00 PM Evan still has not finished eating, and I have frosted and decorated cake for Vegas.
6:30 PM Get boys in jammies.
6:50 PM Scott calls to say he has not left office yet.
6:51 PM Crying begins, the boys are crying too.
7:00 PM Snacks eaten, teeth brushed, cuddling and reading begins.
7:21 PM Reading finished, boys going to sleep, I finally get a shower for the day.
7:25 PM Scott comes home and starts working again.
7:30-8:00 PM Ryan still restless, cut his nails because he tells me he is "so disappointed, because he is scratching." Sync iPod, upload picture to iPhoto, clean off SD cards for camera.
8:05 PM finally relaxing on couch with Kings game and computer, avoiding Christmas cards.

But hey, tomorrow I leave for Vegas.

Whew, what a month!

So, you may have noticed my flurry of postings in the last month. Quite a change from one post a month if I'm lucky. I decided in late October to try to unofficially try NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) I also decided to keep it a secret, because if I failed, only I would know.

Yeaaaa!!! I did it. One post a day for thirty days! It was not easy. Not all of the posts were post worthy. Not all of them were well composed. But that's not the point. The point is to do it! Get in a groove and stay in the groove.

So, now where do we go from here? I'm going to try to be more regular about posting. I did rediscover how much I love my blog. NaBloPoMo got me Sharing some of the stuff the kids say and do, while it is fresh in my mind, instead of what usually happens. I forget.

Speaking of which, tonight Ryan said to me, "Mommy, I love you so much. You are Sooooo cute!!!!!"

Oh, and Evan just may be a musical prodigy. He heard four bars of a song last night and told me "We saw this song on the computer!" I asked Scott, he listened, for far more than four bars, then a light went on and he said, "um, yeah, ONCE! like a month ago!"

I'm very glad it's December...I won't be posting everyday in December, I HAVE to get the Christmas cards in the mail!!!!