Happy 7th Birthday Nathan!

Seven! He is seven! He is the sweetest boy. Prone to overthinking everything. Loves legos. Can read like nobody's business. Hates all vegtables, will not eat it if he even sees green. Would have a tough time choosing between riding his bike and playing the Wii all day. Loves Mexican food, especially cheese enchiladas from La Costa. Kind hearted and a great big brother who puts up with a lotta crap from his little sister.

Christmas Spirit

I keep hearing a little voice in my head saying that as we have been given much we should share. I know at this time of year there are wonderful organization that do great things. And I give them full credit for all they do. I want to find a family or individual that needs a little help, that is not signed up with all those organizations. Those who are hanging on at the risk of falling is there is one wrong move. They don't qualify for all the help out there and yet, if they had a little help it would change their outlook in a lot of ways. If you know of such a family or individual please please let me know. email/facebook what ever works.

Lights On at The Grand

We decided that since Greg had 5 (yes, FIVE) days off in a row for the Thanksgiving holiday that we needed to do something with the kids. So, we packed up for the night and headed down to Little America Hotel and got our Christmas kick-off on. We got a beautiful tower room with a king sized bed and made a plan. We would head over to the Grand America for their Lights On celebration and then we would go back to the room have a little dinner (we ended up with Cafe Rio) and watch a movie all snuggled up on the bed. Hence the king size bed. It was a lot of fun. The Grand had a crowd but was not super packed and we got to see Santa and Mrs. Claus (see our picture below), wander through the hotel while we filled out our scavenger hunt card which told the story of helping Maurice the penguin find the missing Christmas star. And when we were done, the kids got yummy shortbread cookies at the La BonneVe store. Nathan could spend all day at the new toy store JouJou at The Grand, it was a lot of fun. I bought our Christmas tree ornaments for this year there...........really cute glass robots. And, probably the kids favorite part, Greg (the Daddy who hates to swim) took them swimming while I went to go get dinner. Capped off the night watching The Smurf's movie snuggled on the bed. Alex crashed before the movie was over, and because I love my children, but have no desire to sleep in the same bed with them (pretty sure I would wake bloody) I moved them to the air mattress we had brought with us. I felt a little weird about packing in an air mattress, but it worked out so well! Then Nate ended the movie and moved to sleep with his sister. This was brilliant, and even more so when they both climbed into bed with us at 6 am (ya, we had a nap when we got home). I am a sucker for a good breakfast buffet and the one at Little America is one of my favorites. A perfect end to a quick get away. As we drove away Alex said she wanted to go back, and Nathan said next time we should stay at the Grand America. Maybe this summer we can make that happen. They have an awesome outdoor pool.
(A little blurry, I took a picture of our picture to post it here)

Cruisin' part 2

The weather this year has been a little bit crazy. Our cruise was the second week of Sept. So I anticipated it would be warm, but not so hot and humid that my hair would need it's own cabin. I was WRONG. Once we made it past the tip of Baja, it got hot and muggy. Cabo San Lucas was truly miserable. It was 90* plus with at least 90% humidity. Not being big on the costly ship excursions, we just decided to go ashore and see what happened. We found a water taxi that took the 5 (us plus Grandpa) of us out to Lover's Beach and the Arch and Divorce Beach for $40 US. The ship wanted $40 per person. So we go a little tour, the dropped us at the beach and we hung out for a while. It was not a bad visit, but so hot and we didn't have life jackets for the kids, so we dared not go to far out in the ocean, as there was a bit of a shelf and an under toe. I think we were all happy to get back on the ship and peel our stick clothing off ourselves. The second day in Cabo, the kids stayed on the big ship with the Grandparents and Greg and I got off and wandered around. It was still too hot to be comfortable, so we ambled along and found Cabo Wabo (hello, we were in Cabo!) and at 10 a.m. I had a daiquiri and it was awesome. We sat there for a bit and then meandered down the road for a little bit longer, but ultimately just decided to take a water taxi back over to the pier and grab some lunch and a coke (oh, Mexi-coke how I LOVE you) before we got back on board the ship. Cabo is not bad, and maybe if we had gotten more into town it would have been even better, but it was so freaking hot and humid I had a hard time wanting to do anything!
Our second (third? after two days in one location) stop was by far one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Puerto Vallerta was green and lush and ohlala. I was smitten for the moment I saw it. Gorgeous. We had decide to splurge and give the kids one big adventure, so we booked the Pirate Ship adventure for the majority of the day. Ohmygosh! It was great. You have your own personal pirate for your party who takes care of everything from serving your food to bringing you drinks, to helping you with water sports. We had an awesome pirate, who was so good with the kids. We loved this because it was kind-of an all inclusive excursion. It included breakfast and lunch and drinks. The food was pretty good. And truly we had a ball. We got on board, had breakfast, got seated, watched an awesome little action packed show, which included the pirates jumping overboard while we were cruising along the ocean and shooting at each other. Nathan LOVED it. He was all over the place trying to watch everything. Alex enjoyed it too. We then got to spend 2 hours on a private beach. It was so nice. There were drinks. Some water sports, Nathan loved the boogie boards. And even a chance to go snorkeling and kayaking. Greg, Mike, and Steph got to go snorkeling, I got to be mom and hang with the kids, mostly because I didn't think it was fair to just ditch them on Grandpa, though I know he would have happily taken them. Alex, of that girl, she was happy as a clam to just float in the ocean. Literally. Once the snorkelers came back, she and Aunt Stephy went out up to Stephy's neck and stayed there until it was time to get back on board the pirate ship. We loved that adventure, I can safely say it was worth all the bucks I spent on it.
Our last 2 days were sea days and they got a little stormy, but we still had fun. The kids discovered that the loved the stage shows that went on every night. Nathan was in awe, Alex made it half way through and then crashed hard, and slept on mine or Greg's lap for the remainder of the show. We quickly learned to just put her in her PJ's before we went to the theater. We swan in the swimming pools, soaked in the hot tub, and lest I forget the water slide, which Alex rode all by herself. That child is fearless!
Mostly this trip was a great way to reconnect, not only with the 3 most important people in my life, but also with Greg's family. I am so lucky to have such great in-laws. Both his parents and his brother and sister-in-law. I love that we can spend a week together and not be miserable. So here it to our next adventure, where ever it may lead!

And we are CRUISIN' part 1

We took a little family vacation last week. Oh, alright, it was a big family vacation. Big trip, new adventure. Lots of family. We took a 7 night cruise to Mexico with the Hub's family. Parents-in-law and siblings-in-law. Actually that only adds four to our count of four.


Anyway, the eight of us jumped on a boat (ship....big old honkin' ship) and made our way down the coast. First, let me tell you that I was a little concerned to be sailing with 2 small children. It was not ever as bad as my mind made it out to be. The SHIP (Carnival Splendor) was more then ready for them and they were beyond taken care of, along with the rest of us. Everyone we had one on one contact with were awesome with the kids. Our room stewards and wait staff were amazing. I think it helped we had a ocean view stateroom. The window was really quite large and the kids loved to crawl up in the opening and just stare at the water.....this is especially true of Nathan (and Greg). Our room was large enough we were not stepping all over each other, and it also helped the Greg's parents were right next door and our rooms connected. Score. There also was the magical thing they call Camp Carnival. I suppose you could look at it as a kind of glorified daycare, but for my kids, it was there chance to get away from us. To go play with the other kids and do all the fun things the staff had planned for them. Everything from movies to art projects to towel creations to video games. They loved it. Nathan asked to go nearly everyday, and by the mid part of the week so was Alex. Greg and I are not big partyers (a shocking revelation I am sure) so we never did the paid part of Camp which ran from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. and I will hold my tongue as to my feelings on the whole thing, because I really didn't need to use it. I was lucky enough to have 2 other sets of parents on board for my kids, should they be necessary. And, I suppose I did use them, on a number of nights we tucked the kids and grandparents into bed and went out to the movie, or the show or bingo. But I would not likely have done that had my wonderful in-laws not been there. But the kids were good, they loved the trip. Heck the tooth fairy even found Nathan when he lost his top tooth while biting into a burrito the first full day of the cruise.

My little ballerina

Or maybe I should title this post "my little sassypants" both titles are very fitting. I know I just said it, but I LOVE this girl. Spunk. Sass. Mouthy. Precious. Amazing. Our first day of ballet. Yes, our. I am so right there with her. I stood glued to the window, tucking in my hiney....engaging my abs.....stand straight and tall. And I could not hear one word. I am such a nerd. I wanted to be right there next to her, but this is her moment and her turn. I want her to love this. I want her to want to dance. I realize I have no control over this, but I want to share this with her. I had to quit dance at way to soon (in my world) because of circumstances beyond my control and I missed it and still do. I am 30-something and still long for a good ballet technique class. Only time will tell how this plays out. I am hoping she will love it and it will be good for her. Keep your fingers crossed!

Talese, one year later.

I am not one to celebrate the anniversary of anyone's death. But I have been thinking about her, so here goes.

Just over a year ago, my sister-in-law's sister died. She was a unique soul who was much different than I, but one I cared for, nonetheless. She was a good friend. And a loving person. She was spunky and had a sweet tooth that would rival anyone you ever knew. She was not afraid to have ice cream for breakfast, or lick the frosting off the cake that had been sitting out for 8 hours. Here are my thoughts for her this morning:

Dear T,

Just over a year ago you made your choice and I hope it has brought you peace.

I wish you were here to get to know my little girl. I think you would enjoy her. She is a piece of work. Spunky and crazy and so fun. She wears ribbons from your collection in her hair all the time and it makes me smile.

I miss you and hope you that you are whole again.

Love,
Joey

Late August 2011

Well, life as we know it will never be the same. Alex is now a preschooler. I know it is trite, but they grow up so freaking fast. Wasn't I just holding a new baby, blah blah blah. I love that my baby is growing into such a sweet girl. She is smarter than I give her credit for....she likes to seem pretty aloof about things, but really sucks them in like a sponge. She is so different from Nathan, which is so much for me to wrap my brain around. I knew they would be different, but I truly had no idea how very different they would be. My little trouble-maker has not given her teacher one bit of grief. I guess she saves it all for me! She loves school and asks every morning when she gets up if it is a school day for her. She also wants to know when she will get to go to Nathan's big school (elementary school).One thing at a time kiddo! Currently she has a thing for baby dolls, "Pocatontis" and Fancy Nancy books. This girl is so amazing. I love watching her grow and learn and surprise me almost everyday.

Early August 2011

Seems our month has flown by. I realize it is only half over really, but there has been so much.

Next week Alex will start preschool. She is so excited. Yesterday I registered her for her first ballet class. She is so excited. The girl does everything full on, so she is always excited.

Nathan has been in school for just about 3 weeks now, and he continues to amaze me. He can count to 8 in Chinese, and I swear his Chinese vocabulary grows every day. I just stare in awe. He is able to pronounce things so clearly, and he loves it. I am excited that we have found such a fun and challenging program. I could never imagine having done what he is going at this age. But I am excited for him to grow and to learn such a unique language.

Greg FINALLY transferred to his new store. Oh, the luxury. He is 15 minutes from home. Went from a 65 mile commute to 15 miles. I think we got a huge raise just based of the gas $$ we will be saving. Plus his new schedule is much more our style and his new 2nd pharmacist seems like a super nice guy.....as opposed to the gems he had been working with. He is looking forward to working to get to know his patients and his staff. Ya Greg!

Me, just mom and chauffeur. Always something that needs to be done.....dishes, laundry, bedrooms, bathrooms. You name it I clean it. I did get to love on some brand new puppies yesterday. Oh my are they sweet. And no we are not getting one.

Smoke Alarms and the Sound of My Voice.

The other day we replaced all the smoke alarms in our house. Or, I suppose I should say Greg replaced all the smoke alarms. I bought them, and was here for moral support, but I in no way changed anything. But, back to the point. After almost 3 years of smoke alarms going off randomly in the middle of the night I could not abide it any longer. Scared the *&^% out of me. Woke up Greg and Nathan. But not Alex. In fact, she did not even roll over. Out cold.

I said something about the fact that Alex slept through the smoke alarms this past week on facebook. Most people thought it was funny. If it had someone else, I probably would have thought it was funny too. Oh, wait I do think its funny and it is my kid. What I think is even more hilarious is that they now make smoke alarms on to which you can record your voice. I saw them at the store but gave them little thought. I thought about it again when my aunt mentioned it. Speaking of funny...........who in the world would think my children would wake to my voice as opposed to a screeching alarm? Certainly not I. I am pretty sure that my voice is on a pitch that my children cannot hear at all. Something akin to a dog whistle. After all I have to say NO to things at least 4 times. And if I ask them to do or not to do something, it must be repeated at least twice. I hope one day that my kids feel compelled to call me and apologize like I do with my mom.

First Grade..part 2

Because your little sister will always try to steal your thunder!

Walking out the door to his first day of FIRST grade 2011-2012!

The day has come. And I think Alex and I are feeling a little lost. I am not sure what to do with just she and I, but we will find our way. Nathan was up extra early this morning and he was ready to go. I had to tell him to go back to bed. But it was a good morning. I made him a good breakfast (french toast and sausage), packed up him lunch (a lunchable sandwich pack plus chips and cookie) and got him ready to go. I decided (along with all the other mom's and dad's) to wait with him at school until he went into class. He was less than impressed. He just wanted me gone, that was especially true once he saw his friend and was off to line up and catch-up. And I was really proud of myself. Hardly an urge to cry....until I saw Ellie and Luke's mom bawling, and then I started with some tears myself, only after I yelled at her to knock it off! {Ellie and Luke's mom is a special person in my life.....her twins were in the same NICU as we were at the same time. How we ended up at the same elementary school is crazy. We lived out here and they bought a house out here. I figured it out last year when they had the same kindergarten teacher and now they have the same 1st grade teacher too. Their mom and I have a special bond.....one that never requires words.} Then Alex and I were off. It will be strange to not have him at home all day, and we will miss him. But he is off to conquer the world is his own Nathan way.

First Grade......part 1.

In just about 30 minutes Nathan will meet his English speaking first grade teacher, shortly after that we will meet his Chinese speaking teacher. Then tomorrow he will have his first full day of first grade. My mind is whirling. I am excited, nervous, anxious.....you would think it is my first day! I want things to go so well for him. To learn and to grow. I am excited for the chance to spend some one on one time with my sweet girl. She and I, we are going to miss Nate during the day, but I think that we will be happy to spend quality time together. It will be interesting to see how it is just she and I all day together.

July 2011

Wowzers......It has been a long time. Long Long Long time! There is no way I can catch up on everything in one post, so I will just start from now and will try to go back at later dates.

As thing stand right now, there is a lot that is to come........the most pressing of which is that Nathan will be starting FIRST grade in less than a week. How the hell did that happen?!?! We are really excited that he is going to be joining the Chinese immersion program at the elementary school he attends. Both we, as his parents, and Nathan are excited for this awesome program and awesome challenge. He will spend half the day learning from an English speaking teacher and half the day learning from a Chinese speaking teacher. He has a friend who lives in a different school district that has completed her first year in the program and has loved it. We look forward to him having to put some work into learning. We all agree it is going to be one crazy adventure!

Come a little farther into August and Alex will also be going to school. This will be her first year of preschool, and for me that means 4 hours a week to myself. I have not had that in almost 7 years and am not quite sure what to do with myself. I am both excited for this time, and a little sad to think my baby girl has grown up so fast. Trust me, she has no qualms about kicking my butt to the curb so she can go do her thing at school. She thinks it is about freakin' time she gets to go to school too.

Greg should soon be starting his adventure in his new store. If they ever get the transfer completed, we are now at almost 4 weeks and counting. But it will be so great to go from a 65 mile commute to 15 miles. And we will be going back to a schedule that our family deals with much better. We are greatful for his job, and looking forward to all that is to come, but mostly getting rid of that crazy commute.

Third of July

Oh if only you could read their little signs....It is their names and ages, so here we go.......

Back row: Andrew (2) ....he and his bro were napping so parents are standing in.

Middle Row: Max (4), Nathan (6), Riley (11), Jack (9), Madison (6), Cooper (2)...see above.

Front Row: Mari (7), Alexandra (3)

We, as a big old extended family, were lucky enough to have both of my cousins home for the fourth of July weekend. This was a big deal because Zeke and his brother (and twin) Max are both active duty in the Army and have been for many years. Zeke just barely got home for a nearly year long deployment in Afghanistan and he and Max are both stationed in the same place for the first time in a long time. So when they asked if they could do a family party at our house, there was not doubt that we would say yes. Of course in 2011 we had only one day over 100 degrees in the entire summer and it was July 3rd. So it was hot, but we are fortunate to have a great back yard with lots of grown trees. So we had lots of shade. A lot of great food and wonderful family and friends. I have made it a point to figure out how to entertain massive amounts of children and have decided a bounce house is always a hit. And if it is over 100 degrees and you can add water to that.....you might just find gold stars on your forehead. These kids had a great time. And so did I. I am happy my cousins are safe and sound on US soil. I am grateful for what they do every day that allows me to do what I do. I could not be more proud of those 2. And I will have a party for them ANYtime they want.

2011

Wholly neglected blog batman! I have been so neglectful about posting for the past month or so. Partly the craziness of Christmas and partly because we all had the crap around here. Yuck! Greg and I rocked some kind horrible head cold thingy. It was miserable. Then the kids got strep. Yehaaa! We needed that. So I have a lot to catch up on, and fully intend to do so, but bear with me! 2011 is starting off with a BANG! I have a new job with the March of Dimes. Needless to say, things never seem to slow down. And as proof, I offer the fact that Alex will be 3 in a in 9 days. Wholly crap, that was FAST!