2010

Well, my last post was the first day of school, here I am and the school year is almost over. But, what a whirl wind of a school year it has been. We have tried new sports, successfully made it through a foot surgery, battled the awkwardness of Middle School, graduated college, reached "big girl" status, changed professions, painted the inside of a house, done our homework, studied for tests, caught up on laundry then lost it several times. We are in the middle of raising 2 teenage boys and two girls, 7 and 10 going on their early 20's, raising a litter of kittens and praying for a grandma who has been diagnosed withe the early stages of breast cancer, and working really hard on not loosing the small ounce of sanity that we (me) are still holding on to.



I've been keeping myself very busy with taking care of the kids, cleaning the house, and trying to get out of my part time job. Finally I have succeeded at one of those things.



My job started out as a 3 day a week deal, I knocked it down to 2 days a week, and after a lot of piles of laundry, dirty toilets, and no dinners on the table at night I have finally convinced my budget that I can no longer work outside of the house. I can say, with alot of joy, this is going to be my last week of work!!!



My kids have all grown so much this school year. Codi is working on escaping the awkwardness of middle school. High School next year! That is just too weird. My mom's neighbor mentioned to me that my kids are all growing up so fast. My reply was "I can't believe my oldest will be in High School next year". That was the first time i verbalized it, and just as the words came out of my mouth the words paralyzed me. "A kid in High School". WOW!!!



Rich....well let's just say there isn't enough time in the world for me to write about his changes. I will try to get through this one without tearing up and ruining my keyboard. The most common words that I hear myself thinking are "Where did my little Richie go?" He has grown and matured so much this year, mustache and all! Yes I said it.....mustache.....we like to call it his Pedro stash! He hates it, but honestly I don't even see it when I look at him any more. It doesn't stick out like a neon sign on his face.....anymore. Something else that Rich has gained is INDEPENDENCE. Well, sort of. When my little boy started Middle School, he had his KCS friends. All really good kids, all from really good families. It was safe, it was familiar, and I heard all about the going on's of the day. Slowly this group of friends has deteriorated down to obsolete. He now has new friends. I only know who one kid is, and barely know this kids family. I hear they are all good kids...and of course I stalk their facebook's to make sure, gotta love that fb! I don't hear a word about what goes on at school anymore. When I ask, I get a "It was cool". I'm told he has a girlfriend, and he swears this girl is just a friend. (crossing my fingers he's telling the truth) Although Rich has gone through so many changes and shifts in his personality I can still say that I love the person he is. He is still so much fun to be around, and when it's just the two of us we can still laugh and carry on like we do. We still have tons of "inside jokes" such as "ja-panies", and "two ticket'ers". But I'd still like to hear about what goes on during his day. I've been told he will come back around the age of 20. So I sit and wait.........



Linsey has also traveled leaps and bounds! She had such a challenging year last year. We discovered that she had a learning disability, something we assumed, but she was just too young to test. Her teachers last year weren't the best for her, so her grades suffered A LOT. Her spirit went down the drain with her grades. But I must say, she has pulled herself out of that drain with a vengeance!!! She had the best teacher in the world this year who has cared about her like she was family......well, she was, but this is just what Linsey needed! My mom has done great things with Linsey this year. She has almost received Honor Roll twice, she gets Citizenship award every quarter, and she just smiles more. What more could a parent want? Smiles are much needed for the soul!



Miss Mia.........not my baby anymore. Definitely not my baby any more. She is in full blown "girl" action! Independent, spunky, opinionated, in charge and in control! i must say, my little girl has become a great humanitarium. She started a charity called: Mia Helps, and collected money to feed poor people. She raised over $300.00 and donated it all to the Kerman Food Bank. A very proud moment for her Father and I. When there is a spider she begs me to not kill it becasue it "isn't hurting anybody" God help me when this child learn about recycling and going green. I seriously wouldn't be suprised if Mia becomes a vegetarian when she is older. (and not becasue she doesn't like how meat taste) I might even have a grandchild from Ethopia one day.......just sayin, nothing with this child suprises me. When Mia has her mind set.....it is set. We have tried some different things with her this year. We are trying to get her moving around, and busy. You see, if being a couch potato was a Olympic sport we could safely say that Mia has been in training since she was 2. So, I signed her up for gymnastics, she loved it, I signed her up for soft ball.......not so much. She also wanted to do swimming (something I would have never guessed to put her in) and she LOVES it! It has been a lot of fun trying out new things with her.

I am really excited for this summer. I will be home with my kids.....every day! There will be a lot of sleeping in, day trips to the beach, late nights, and Popsicles! I think Mr. Fix it will visit us throughout the summer as well. I have so many unfinished projects laying around the house.

2010 has definitely brought this household a lot of changes, but so far the changes have been for the better.

I am really excited to see what is in store for us in the future.........