Our Dinner Guest

Tonight at the dinner table Mia had this cup sitting next to her. I thought maybe she got herself a glass of water or something and would rather drink from a cup that she picked. So I didn't think much of it until she stuck her arm completely into the cup. I then thought maybe there was ice in the cup and she was diggin it out. So I once again didn't think much of it.

Then all of a sudden she had this little black thing on her finger. Shannon and I both looked at it at the same time and Shannon yelled "what the beep is that?" (he didn't really say beep, I just don't want to type what he said.) It looked like a rat terd! That was my first guess.

Mia said in her cute little voice "It's my rolly-polly, he's having dinner with us tonight".

It was so funny! I had to grab my camera and shoot some pictures to share with everybody

She is so proud of herself!

Saying "Goodbye" to our dinner guest

Day 1

This is the view from the back fence looking at what we call the "front of the back yard". The greenish blue stuff is some kind of grass patch. Shannon wanted to see what it would do. There is seed under it, just in case you are worrying. The patio will go from the spicket up to the house, around the corner and fill in the space behind where the dogs and wheelbarrel are. A tree and ground cover will go in the dirt space where the dogs and wheelbarrel are.

waiting for the grass to grow........................



Enjoying their new yard!

What a sweet face!

Notice the dog bone. My dogs will always have one or two of these with them. Last night one of my precious babies chewed up the drip line. I almost murdered them........all of them! I have since then sprayed all the drips with a nasty tasting stuff that is suposed to keep dogs from chewing (I'll be doing this everyday), burried everything that I could, and bought dog bones!

There's Bridgette with her bone.

She is so darn cute!

Just another shot of the dogs enjoying their new yard.

See the tree! I did that when it cooled down. This is also where I will put a ground cover, probably Vinca Minor, after the patio goes in. Where Ross is laying is where he has been laying since I put the tree there. I think he found his spot! Or maybe he is sitting on a bone, if so It's been 3 hours and he is still here.

"Guard the bone Ross!"

Fiesta

Last night we laid the sod! It was so great.

What made it so great..........

• The fact that we now have grass in the backyard,




• The dogs romping around on it showing us their excitement,




• and the Fiesta music being played in the neighbor's yard. It was so appropriate!

When we got it down me and the dogs rolled around on it. They were so happy. It was full of so many smells, and it was so soft and cool!

Today we will throw the seed on the rest of the yard and do some heavy praying over it. Then I will install the drip line for the flowerbeds and plant some flowers, bushes and ground cover. We are just so ready to have this backyard up and running. I would hate for the dogs to have another hot dirty summer. I want them to have grass to lay in, trees to be shaded by, and pretty flowers to look at. (they will probably eat the flowers, or dig them up but I'd like to think they will just enjoy them with their eyes, not their paws!)

This morning when I went outside to check on the grass Liko decided to flip over one of the strips of sod. I think I will have to nail the stuff down! Or maybe I'll throw a blanket back there everyday to keep him busy with something else. He thinks it is funny to take blankets away from Ross and Bridgette and drag them around the yard. I've watched him pull a blanket out from under a sleeping dog. He romps around like "HAHA, that was funny"! I seriously think he is a prankster. He is Richie's dog!

Here are some pictures of our hard work.

Ladies, he is mine! (Check out the outfit! Check out the boots and the really high socks, I can't forget to mention the short shorts with the boots and really high socks!)

true love....

This is true love!

Blue and Flower.

little Richie and Wyatt

This little boy will be graduating from 6th grade on June 3.

And this dog is about ready to take his last breath.

My two favorite boys slipping away from me.

Wow, where did the time go!

She's on her own.....

I'm sitting in the bathroom, not what you think........I'm watching over Mia while she washes herself entirely on her own. She washed her hair, she washed her body, and even her little face! She soaped herself up like nobodies business. What a big girl now. I can't believe how well she did. Well, actually I can believe it. My Mia is pretty independent, and likes to try new things on her own.

As she was washing her hair she said "I want to get myself all sparkly and clean. I don't want to just be plain"

She washed her hair twice, and lathered up her little body. She looked like a snow man!

She asked me to wash her back and I showed her the "Zest fully clean strategy" She was super excited that she could do that without help too.

So does this mean that this mommy doesn't have to give nightly baths any more? We'll see. I'm sure I'll need to give the occasional wash down. It will be interesting to see how long the newness of bathing herself lasts. I know with the boys it only lasted about a week and now, 6 years later I would still like to climb in the shower with them and scrub them down really good. I'm sure that Codi's 3.5 minute showers aren't very productive. I'm sure that Rich doesn't wash, but sitting in the shower for 45 minutes with the water as hot as possible must do something. Linsey seems to do good. She likes to relax in the bath. She fills the water up to the rim and when she gets in the tub the water slightly overflows, soaking the bathroom floor, but hey, the kids soakin! She needs her "down time" I guess. It will be interesting to see what Mia's bathing style is. Will she do the quick "in and out" that Codi does, will she steam her pores out like Rich, or will she relax in a full warm bath like her sister?

Well anyway, here is a picture to show off how independent my Mia is becoming!

Our Secret.

May 10, 2002 my soon to be husband and I went to the city hall to get our marriage license. It was so exciting. We were thrilled to take this next step towards starting our lives together. Starting our lives together meant that our 3 children would have a family. They would no longer be raised by single parents. We were so in love. Remember that, butterflies when you heard your fiance's name, a smile on your face when they walk in the door. Add three children who also felt the same way about your fiance and life is good!

So to the story: While we were filling out the paper work there were two boxes one could check. One box was to get your license, the second box was to get married right then and there. We read the second box out loud and looked at each other. Shannon and I are very spontaneous and we love do do major things on a whim. This probably bites us in the butt at times. But anyway, we sat there and contemplated the idea of getting married then! Back and forth, back and forth we went.

You see, we have three kids, this wedding wasn't going to be just for Shannon and I. It was for us and our children as well. What was ours? Just ours? The honeymoon sure, but there would be other people invading our beach in the Bahamas. At this moment we were alone, just us and the "bird lady". Which by the way I will never forget her face. She looked like a fairy tale character. She looked like a lady that would play a great bird in a Broadway musical.

So May 10, 2002 became our day! We got married. My wedding dress: Capri jeans, and a pink T, white flip-flops, and my hair in a messy pony tail. Shannon's tux: Jean shorts, a red Disneyland T, and brown flip-flops. We stood there with the "bird lady" and said our "I do's"

It was the most romantic event on my life. It was how my husband and I started our lives together.

Now why do I call this "our secret"??????

Well, nobody was supposed to know. We wanted May 10, 2002 to be our secret wedding day! We planned to tell nobody. Isn't that romantic? I think so.

So on May 18, 2002 the wedding day that everybody was invited to, the day my parents spend a fortune on, our pastor, I won't give his name, thought that Shannon and I were being deceiving towards my parents. Why just my parents, why not Shannon's parents too?

As I was in my dressing room getting ready to have my father walk me down the isle to have the wedding for our family, our pastor brought my groom and my parents in the room and started this great big speech about how we all need to be honest, and how there is something that Shannon and I needed to tell everybody. My mom turned white, I thought she was going to pass out, my Dad's neck veins started popping, and his fist started to clinch. I saw my husband-to-be in the hospital for a brief moment. I then realized what they were thinking........."I'm not pregnant" I shouted out. My mom let out a sigh, and my Dad, well my Dad's face turned back to the natural color it should have been. Our pastor was a bit shocked by this, but if he only knew!

So then Shannon told my parents about May 10, 2002. I explained how it was supposed to be our special day, and that nobody was supposed to know. My Dad seemed to understand. My Mom was pretty upset. I don't blame her. She wanted to watch her daughter get married, and now she knew that this wedding wouldn't be the "real" wedding, and the money, oh the money.

As my Dad was getting ready to walk me down the isle he looked at me and said "Are you sure your ready" I felt so bad because, I was already married. I then felt like I stole something from my Dad. This is a gift that every father is supposed to have. Make sure his daughter is really ready. I felt like I took that gift from him. I didn't give him the opportunity to make sure I was ready. Although, when Shannon asked my Dad for his blessings (In Disneyland I might add. Slightly ironic that Shannon wore the shirt we bought at Disneyland when we got married.) my Dad told Shannon "Are you sure you want to marry her, she's really hard to live with." Hummmmm, Daddy didn't you want me to move out one day? I wonder if he realized that comment could have ruined his chance of being able to run around the house naked!

So we still decided that we would try to keep the day secret but my Mom's not really that good about secrets. She still tells me "Happy Anniversary" on May 10. My Grandma knows. Some friends know. Our kids don't know..........we'd like to keep at least one thing from then.

So why blog about it and tell the world? It's been seven years and to tell you the truth, we never did anything that special on that day. It always falls really close to Mothers Day, and gets forgotten. :(

After seven years, although, we have our differences, and it's alot, alot, alot, alot of work..........I still love him alot, alot, alot, alot!

totally bummed :(

I am so upset right now. I took all these great pictures of a tractor in my backyard, and then as I was attempting to put the pictures on my computer I deleted them! What the heck!

No blogging tonight......I'm going to pout!

Round two....

Shannon and I are doing the backyard, again. I'm so excited about getting a yard, but not too excited about all the hard work. Rotertilling, trenching, leveling, digging, sprinklers, humus, dirt, adjusting, raking, shoveling, etc.....

funny story: Shannon was rotertilling (not sure how to spell that) and while he was doing it I kept saying, in my head of course, why doesn't he push it down more, why doesn't he go slower, why doesn't he go in a straight line, why doesn't he watch out for sprinklers, why doesn't he stop complaining! He had no idea about all of these questions I had, of course! He looked at me and said, "you wanna try?" I said "of course!" I was going to do it right, I was going to dig up this dirt in no time flat and show him how to do it! HOLY CRAP! Right away I squeezed the handle and that darn thing took off with me! I had no control! I was shaking like crazy! My hands hurt, my arms hurt, my shoulders hurt, my chest hurt, my legs hurt, and not only did I hurt, did I mention the shaking! And this was all in 30 seconds. I now also know about the "claw" that he keeps complaining about. The way to get the blades going you have to squeeze a lever, and he says it gives him a "claw" for a hand. My hand was stuck in the "claw" for about 20 minutes after I was done.

We have really hard pan dirt in our backyard, and some chunks of grass that didn't die from last years attempt to start a yard. This is a bad combo for rotertilling.

Did I admit how wrong I was to my husband about this rotertilling stuff........no way! I just had a much greater respect for him. And chose to keep my comments in my head where they belong. He did the whole yard last year, all 800 (maybe more) square feet of it. This time we only did half, and a friend is coming over with a small tractor to do the rest. Yes, I said tractor. That's what it is going to take to level and till up the yard.

I get to put together drip line for the flowerbeds, I'm so excited. We bought a kit and some extra parts that we will need, and it's so exciting! I love putting together puzzles and complicated things, and this is right up my alley. When we are done I'll take some pictures and post them. I've been way too busy WORKING to remember to take pictures. Maybe I'll remember to take some pictures of the tractor. That might be funny to see.

Keep me and my sore body in your prayers. Right now I'm sunburned, and sore from all the shoveling, trenching, raking, leveling, digging, and adjusting. :)

Terranova Ranch

Wow, it's been a while since I've been here! Either I've been really busy, or I just haven't had anything to write about. I can't decide. But today was definitely blog worthy!





Today I had to go to work. But I would classify this day at work as the best ever. Mia's Kindergarten class took a field trip to Terranova Ranch. It was so great. My boss, Don, did such a wonderful job explaining the different crop's to the kids, and adults. (Of course us adults wanted to learn too!) Don was very patient, and answered any silly question that the kids might have. We drove to different tomato fields, carrot, onion, and garlic fields. Don picked some carrots for the kids to have with their lunch, and he picked some onion and garlic just to smell. Whew.......they stunk! We also stopped by the prunes where the kids were able to eat a prune, and we went to the organic walnut trees. The kids were so good! There was even a bonus on the trip. In the middle of one of the dirt roads there was a snake. That was a thrill for the boys! Below are some really great pictures of the kids and some of the things we did. There are many more pictures on my facebook account.

Here are the little experts learning about tomatoes.

This is Don Cameron, my boss, teaching the kids about Carrots.

Mia and Alyssa posing as far away from the snake as possible.

Check out the other kids in the background, they are so silly.

Don and the kids at the Prunes.

My silly Mia!

A Love Note

Here is a letter my daughter wrote to me today......

I feel good.....

This morning I had a much needed shopping trip planned. Codi and Mia both needed clothes, I mean REALLY needed clothes. So off to Kohls I went. I am having a hard time making the switch from Mervyn's to Kohls, but I have to make the best of it, right? Shannon just went to Kohls and got a $30 off coupon, so that was a start!

As I walked the isles of the little girls department I saw a dress that I already bought for Mia at Costco. I checked the price to make sure I didn't pay too much, and it turns out that I got a deal. I was becoming very pessimistic! This glass was half empty! I was not feelin the Kohls love. I bought the dress at Costco for $7, and at Kohls it was.........hold on to your hat people.......$20.00! "What the heck was I doing in this over-priced place". That was all I could think. I figured right then and there I was going to get my free $30 item, and head next door to Old Navy.

Then, right in front of me was a table full of little girl summer clothes all clearance, and behind that was a rack full! Everything was less than $4! OK, my mood was changing. It changed fast! I bought her one of everything. In fact I was feeling so great about this great deal I walked over to the dresses, and bought Mia a dress as well. Then, I went to the shoe dept. and picked up a really cute pair of shoes! Kohls is not so bad after all.

Codi also scored. I was able to get him four pairs of shorts, and four T-Shirts.

So after my Kohls experience I headed over to Old Navy. I bought myself a really cute dress for Mothers Day.............well, I'll say it is for Mothers Day but we all know I'll wear it before that! Then I saw them, swimsuits!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I no longer have a "bikini body". In fact I haven't for a few years now, but I chose to ignore that. However, this year I can't. I'm screaming ONE PIECE from my shoulders to my toes!

Every woman knows that trying on swim suits are the worst. Especially since department stores insist on using florescent lighting in the fitting rooms, so every lump, dimple, sag, vein, and bulge shows. You know, if stores would just dim the lights, and make the dressing room area warmer swim suits would fly off the shelves.

My experience wasn't too bad. I took two suits in with me. The first suit was horrible. I really think it was from 1984. This suit was cut so darn high. Remember when the leg holes of a swim suit were cut up to the waist, well I know that style isn't flattering on me! Yuck.

The second suit was a miracle! I have never tried on a swim suit and was so happy. I do believe this was God's sign that my two piece days are over. Total bummer. I like bikini's. There fun, and young!

So after my great deal at Kohls, and my great miracle in the swim suit dept. at Old Navy I thought I would do something odd. Today is "Odd Day", 05-07-09. It will not be an "Odd day again until 07-09-11, so I seized the moment. I went to the Panda Express and had my lunch ALONE! What! Me, the girl with the dependency issue! Me, the girl that can't go the grocery store alone! Me, the girl that can't fall asleep at night when she's alone! (I have to turn the television on so room is full) I ordered my orange chicken and took it outside and ate. ALL ALONE! I'm so proud of myself.

So while I was eating lunch a bum walked up and was asking people for money, or food. Of course the first thing I thought was, "oh great, get a job!" But for some reason my heart changed. I started feeling really bad for the guy. I don't know why, my usual feelings in this situation are pretty strong. I usually never give anything to bum's, But today I gave in. When I left the restaurant I gave him my cookie. He was so grateful. He kept thanking me and wishing me a "great day".

I felt good. I felt good about saving money, finding a swimsuit, eating lunch alone and giving a bum a cookie.

Today is a good day so far. I just can't wait for the kids to come home and see their new clothes.

A Productive Night

Tonight when I came home from work, I loaded up the kids and took them to KFC for free dinners on Oprah! Gotta love Oprah! I printed 12 coupons. I plan on going twice in the next two weeks. Since Shannon wasn't feeling well, It was just me and the kids. I realized that we never go out to eat. I always send Shannon or myself out to get the food, then we bring it back home. Going out to eat tonight was allot of fun. We ran into a few friends, and left the mess there. Good idea! I think we will be going out more to leave the mess rather than bring the mess.

After dinner I came home to a clean house so I decided to give the dogs a bath. That is always a chore. Especially with Liko. He has enough hair for 4 large dogs. Roscoe is great. He just stands in the tub and looks up at you with his big sad eyes, and waits. Bridgette lives up to her name, Baby Bridgette Bonzai! She squirms all over the place, and jumped out of the tub twice. Not so much fun, but now I have clean dogs, wet bathroom, but clean dogs. YAY! The poor dogs were covered in fleas, Yuck, they got their monthly Frontline treatment.

Rich helped me bath the dogs, I think he actually made more work than he helped but, since Liko is his I have to get him involved. Rich asked me if their was an easier way to rinse the dogs. I told him about the adapters that attach to the faucet. He was really stoked about getting one of those until I told him we should go in together and buy one (I make him help financially with Liko occasionally, I call it "dog-support"). All of a sudden a big cup did the job just fine. Funny how that works.

Now I'm watching Home Improvement with Shannon and the girls. I have fed kids, clean kids, and clean dogs. But the best part of all of this is the back rub I'm getting from Mia. Her little hands can work wonders!

Father of the Bride

This evening Shannon and I watched a great old movie, Father of the Bride. When I watched it as a kid I just thought it was a funny movie, with a cute story. But watching it as an adult, WOW! It was a real tear jerker for me. This movie was exactly how I would imagine I will be when my kids get married. Steve Martin did such a great job narrating the film. Every thing he said was dead on!

There was one time when the "Father of the Bride" was watching his daughter get married, and he said "it just hit me, Annie won't be home any more waiting at the top of the stairs when I get home, She won't be sitting at the breakfast table in her pajamas and socks any more, I won't be waiting up for her any more at night to be sure that she got home safe", and when I heard that I lost it. I bawled! During the wedding in the movie, when watching the mother walk down the isle to be seated, while watching the father walk the bride down the isle, and watching the couple stand in front of the church made me cry so hard. All I could think of was my kids will be there one day, and if I'm falling apart during a movie just thinking about them getting married, how will I hold it together through the real deal?!?! At one point I looked at Shannon and said "How will we.............." I couldn't finish my sentence, I was doing the ugly cry. I was supposed to say, How will we do this for Mia one day, but it didn't come out. I cried even harder. Shannon surprisingly looked really moved by the whole thing too. I think we shared a moment, but he won't ever admit it.

I always say how excited I am to maybe one day be kid free! Take vacations, make small dinners, if any at all. Not have to give baths, or make people brush their teeth. Who cares about what the kids are wearing, they don't live with me any more, that's their responsibility. No more worrying about grades or behavior, no more loud kids in the other room playing so loud and annoying that I can't hear the TV...........No more washing four thousand dishes a day, and the laundry, WOW how it will shrink! All this sounds so great to me. It sounds like a magical fairy tale, it sounds like every mother's dream right? Right now it seams like a night mare. How will I let my kids go? How will I exist if I'm not their mommy? What will fill my days, my worries, my happiness, where will my adventures come from, what will make me excited and proud, where will all the noise come from when they are gone.........what will fill my heart when my kids go away and don't need me every day any more?

Ever since I was 16 I have been mommy. One day I won't be needed as mommy any more. I'll just be Mother, or even worse...........Mother-in-law.

Who was I kidding when I said I can't wait to be an empty-nester? Apparently I was kidding myself. I'm not ready for my babies to grow up and go away, and I don't think I ever will be.