Okay . . . Now about that Mitchell Report . . .

I have to admit I wasn't rivited to the spot when the report came out (although I probably should have been). Did some of the names on the list suprise me? Some . . . yes, some . . . no.

Maybe it was because, being a Giants fan and all, I'm freakin' tired of hearing about the whole steroids thing!

Does Barry Bonds have something to do with that? Yes and No.

A few weeks ago when Barry was first indited, I talked to my dad about it (an avowed Barry basher). He was asking me what I thought about it and basically pointing out that Barry was getting what he deserved.

Now although I don't disagree about him about Barry being indited about the perjury (not that I would admit that to him) . . . but the thing that set me off in the conversation what the that fact that Barry is being made the example. Mostly because he's known as a jerk in the media.

The thing is . . . the steroids culture in baseball has been so pervasive for so long, that I think singling Barry out is just wrong! ALL baseball players who were (and are) juiced should be held accountable. That includes players like Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire.

In short . . . if you're going to asterik Barry's record-breaking home run . . . you need to do the same for Mark in 1997 . . . or for that matter, just asterik the past 15-20 years of baseball records.

Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?

Don't get me wrong, I am incredibly happy that this report has come out and that all of baseball's dirty little secrets are being aired for all the world to see . . .

In the hope that things will change for my son . . .

I've mentioned in the past that Kid #3 is my jock. I had never seen a child who takes such joy out of physical activity until he came into my life almost 6 years ago. But from the time he was 18 months old, he has shown an incredible talent and inate ability that I didn't even know existed up until that point.

He loves, and has shown an appitude for all sports, but there's one area that he shines in particular . . . baseball.

Now I don't have a crystal ball, and I have no idea whatsoever if he will ever play baseball professionally or otherwise . . .

But I'm hopeful that this report will make the sport clean up it's act so I don't have to worry about what my son may or may not put in his body in the hopes of playing like Barry or Mark.

I hope he just plays for himself and his love of the game.

And that's my rant for the day . . .

Thanks for listening. :)

Given the fact I've been up since 3:30 this morning, I'm not going to go into all my comments regarding the Mitchell Report (I'll save that for tomorrow or Saturday, after I've had a better night's sleep!). But I had to post this . . .

A friend of mine sent this to me the other day and I almost fell off my chair! At some point I'm going to post it on my Fridge from the beginning of November until the day after New Years.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have . . .

Ten Tips for Christmas . . .

I’m sure we’ve all seen this before but these really are words to live by. Join me, my friends, in adopting the following as a life style choice!


1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can'tfind it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholicor something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes.Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car withan automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people'sfood for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the timefor long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near themand don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you'renever going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three.When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; startover, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by: 'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways,chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO what a ride!'

Have a great holiday season!

WOW! I can't believe another month has gone by and I haven't been keeping up with things!

I'll give you one reason for my sluggishness . . .

Working!

I'd forgotten that I haven't talked about my new job! Well, here's the deal . . . thanks to Capital One dismanteling Hubby's old company (although he'd left before they pulled the plug on it completely) . . . and then all the sub-prime lenders falling like dominoes . . . being in the mortage business has been (how shall I put this delicately) . . . challenging.

So . . . I went back to my old stomping grounds . . . COFFEE!

I have always been a retail kind of girl (especially after I decided teaching elementary school was NOT for me, but writing was), and that's been my business both as a worker bee and also managment.

Well, in 1994 I went to work for Peet's Coffee and Tea as an assistant manager. At the time Peet's was still a hole-in-the-wall kind of company. I was hired for store #18 (yes, that's right #18). Each of the stores were basically run as individual cafes under the Peet's umbrella of strong-dark roasted coffee.

6 1/2 years and two kids later, I left when Hubby and I decided to try for Kid #3 in 2001. I had figured out by that time that standing all day and pregnancy didn't mix well for me. When I stopped working for Peet's I stopped going there too since I didn't have one in the town I live in.

That's when I did the unthinkable . . . I started going to Starbucks!

At that time we only had one Starbucks (now our town has 5 locations not including grocery store ones). But when they opened one approx 5 minutes from my house . . . I was hooked.

I've been going to that location loyally for some 4 1/2 years . . .

And now I work there!

I've been here for about a month and it's just like riding a bike . . . you never forget how to make a latte!

How's it going? I LOVE IT!

I still use my store as my office/writing place . . . but now I get a discount for drinking my coffee here too.

How awesome is that?!

Now all I have to do is sell my first book and I'm set!

I can dream . . . can't I? :)

The following article is about my cousin Jayson. My Aunt Mary is not only my godmother, but one of the best persons I have ever known. I couldn't help but tear up when I read this.

Regardless of how you feel about the war, remember there are hundreds of stories about soldiers just like my cousin.

And I thank God for each and every one of them!


Soldier's gift to students on hold, but still prized
Posted: Saturday, Nov 10, 2007 - 01:51:25 am CST
By Hillary GavanDaily News staff writer

As Newark Elementary School remained under lock down on Friday afternoon because of the Footville bank robbers, the school children missed out on a special gift.

Major Jayson Dodge of the U.S. Army was planning on sending his brother Tom Dodge to deliver a flag to the school in light of the upcoming Veteran's Day.Instead of meeting with the kids, however, Tom Dodge was inside his home as helicopters soared overhead looking for the criminals.

Tom Dodge said he remained hopeful that the school assembly will be rescheduled next week and said his brother was thinking about the children. During his time serving in Iraq, Major Jayson Dodge said he received amazing support from children at Newark Elementary School.

Jayson's mother, Mary Lamm-Feltman, worked with the kids to send 60 pounds of Orbit gum and Nutter Butter chocolate bars to the soldiers as well as letters, cards and pictures.“It was a real morale booster,” Jayson Dodge. “It was a lot of fun, especially the drawings and letters. I'd read them to all the guys and it took our minds off things.”

To thank the children, Jayson Dodge purchased an American flag and took it with him on a mission. After his brother takes it to the kids, there are plans to put it in the school's display case.

Although Jayson Dodge, a former Newark Elementary School student and Parkview High School graduate, wasn't able to get the flag transported to the kids on Friday, he shared with the Daily News how he's served his country.

Dodge got commissioned as an Army officer in July of 1996, after completing an ROTC program at the University of Wisconsin - Stephens Point and was later deployed to Afghanistan in 2004.He worked as fire support officer and was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 4th United States Calvary and later became Assistant Battalion Operations Officer for the Third Battalion 7th Field Artillery Regiment 25th Infantry Division.

“It's not all that much fun when you are there, but once you get back and look back, you realize what you've done,” Jayson Dodge said.Although it was difficult being away from wife Laura and his 10-year-old daughter Emma in their home in Hawaii, Jayson Dodge feels proud of what he helped to accomplish overseas.

Jayson Dodge started his service in Kandahar, a more conservative area of Afghanistan. He said the most rewarding part of his service there was working with the elections. He was one of the few American soldiers with a mostly Afghan Army protecting the city in the days before people had the chance to hold an election.“I remember seeing people come out after voting and they had ink on their finger. People were just overjoyed that they were electing their president,” he said.

Jayson Dodge interacted with the people of Afghanistan on a daily basis. He would go into the villages and see what they needed.“We would see if the Taliban was running around,” he said. “We helped them get the schools and wells rebuilt. We would help with agriculture and help them stand back up. The people were very appreciative. I really enjoyed my time in Afghanistan.”During the last part of his service in Afghanistan, Jayson Dodge was stationed in Herat, a more liberal part of the country.

While he saw women in burqas in Kandahar, the people of Herat were starting to enjoy life without the Taliban.“They had music stores, shops and bazaars,” he said. “Girls were going to school and a lot had changed for the better.”After he returned in 2005 from Afghanistan he was deployed to Kirkuk, in the northern part of Iraq in 2006.

In Iraq he worked in command of AlphaBattery 3rd Battalion 7th Field Artillery Regiment. He patrolled along the oil pipe lines and gas fields and taught Iraqi soldiers how to protect their country's assets. In just four months, Jayson Dodge saw a lot of progress. The number of improvised explosive devices went down and the Iraqi soldiers learned how to man checkpoints, use rifles as well as ride and maintain Humvees.“They kind of got bragging rights about training with the Americans,” he said.

After Jayson Dodge got promoted to Major, he worked overseeing others. He finally returned in 2006 to his home in Hawaii. Now he is looking forward to moving to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin to train the national guard units which will be deployed.“I've been gone quite a bit, but I'm used to it. It's part of the job and part of life,” Jayson Dodge said.

This picture is a little expantion on my last post (At least part of it) . . .

Why would the recent fires in SoCal concern me? I guess it's because even though I don't live down there any more, I still feel a little like a SoCal girl.

I had called my dad a couple of weeks ago in San Clemente and talked to my step-mom. She made a comment that her brother and his family had to be evacuated, but they were fine (they live in Malibu, he works at Pepperdine). Of course I asked, "Why? What's going on?" She told me about the fire up there, and that pretty much started it.

The following day was the worst.

I woke up on Monday to hear one of the cable news channels talking about a fire that had been burning in Orange County. When they mentioned the 241 tollway, Foothill Ranch, and started calling it the Santiago fire, I knew exactly where they were talking about.

The fire was burning in my old backyard.

I grew up in an area that used to be El Toro . . . now the city of Lake Forest.

I found out my HS was being used as an evacuation point . . . the fire had burned up to Irvine Blvd./Trabuco Road bordering the old ET Marine base . . . to the east it burned within less than 2 miles from where my dad and step-mom used to live in Tustin Ranch . . . it burned towards Cook's corner which is a motorcycle hangout and hole-in-the-wall place that I last visited with my best friend about 5-6 years ago . . . it burned Modjeska Canyon where the wildlife and bird sanctuary (went there on a great outing with my Kindergarden class) and forced the evacuation of my step-mom's other brother . . . burned through Hangman's Loop where I used to run in HS with the cross-country team . . . lastly, it burned up towards Santiago Peak, the same one I could see from my bedroom window every day from the time I was 5 until I was 18.

Thanks to all the wonderful firefighters, it didn't finish going up the mountain and down the back . . . directly to where my mom lives in Temescal Valley.

Basically, parts of my childhood were going up in smoke.

The above picture was taken by my best friends in-laws from their house (I know it's a little blurred). They live about mile down the road from my HS and about 3-4 miles away from the Marine base . . .

On top of that, Hubby's cousin and his family were evaced in San Diego, they closed I5 where my dad and step-mom live because of the fires at Camp Pendelton, and don't even get me started on what happened in Lake Arrowhead (another place that's dear to my heart).

So that's why the fires got under my skin . . .

Tomorrow I'll talk about a happier subject . . . MY NEW JOB!

Where is it at? You'll never guess . . .

Wait for it . . .

STARBUCKS!!

In fact I'm enjoying an eggnog latte right now because it was the only way I was going to get through writing this post.

So, until tomorrow . . .

Yet again, time has gotten away from me . . .

Just a few reasons why I haven't been keeping up with things:

- I was glued to the TV for a week during the recent fires in SoCal (more on that later).

- Girl Scouts have taken over my life!!!!

- I have a new job! (more on that later too)

- Halloween and my birthday the day after . . . #37! :)

- Hubby has been gone since Sunday at a training in SF . . . but he'll be home tomorrow night just in time for the 3-day weekend!

I'm sure you've noticed my lack of comment regarding the World Series and baseball in general. Well after an EXTREMELY disappointing season for my Giants, I had a least some hope for the Rockies. They reminded me of 2002 and our run. Unfortunately the outcome was the same. I'm just hoping our managment decides to crap or get off the pot as far as which direction they want to go with our team next year. Who knows . . . maybe they might decide to go after A-Rod even though AT&T is not a hitters park (although right-handers fare better than lefties).

Speaking of right-handers, I'm tending to a slightly swollen and bruised nose because Kid #3 (my jock) decided to give me a Marcia Brady moment with a nerf basketball.

Lucky for me it wasn't a real football . . . that kid can THROW!

Hopefully I can expand on my talking points tomorrow . . .

I had something really cool happen last Thursday. I didn't blog about it yesterday because I was too busy ranting, but I had to mention this.

The other day I received a box in the mail. I kind of knew it was coming because my brother had mentioned something about it earlier in the week.

I know I haven't talked much about my parents, not because I haven't wanted to, but because I'm grateful that at the moment my relationship with them is pretty damn good. It wasn't always that way (especially with my dad), but I have nothing to complain about.

So . . . in the box was my Dad's newest book. Now my Dad has written many books, in fact he's had 2 or 3 out in the past couple of years. But what makes this book special was the dedication:

To Lisa and Christopher . . . Thanks for the terrific grandchildren.

This line means alot to me for two reasons . . . One, this is the first time he has ever dedicated a book (or anything) to my brother and me. And second, years ago I wondered about how my dad would feel about having grandchildren. He's not the kind of person who likes to be reminded about the fact that he's getting older (my grandma was the same way). When I first told him, almost 12 years ago, that I was pregnant with Kid #1, his first comment was, "I don't ever want to be called Grandpa."

Thankfully soon after, he and my step-mom adopted my little sister. It's because of her that my dad changed his mind . . . and I will always be grateful to her for that.

The other special items in the box were two other books . . . a book of Ben Hur that belonged to my Great-Grandma who I knew and repected, and a copy of Little Women that belonged to my Grandma, who I had a very special relationship with, when she was young.

The significance of Little Women, is that it had always been one of my favorite books. Although I never had a copy of my own, 22 years ago my mom gave me her copy she received when she was 10 years old. Now I also have my Grandma's copy. Given the fact that I will presumably be accomplishing what she always wanted to do, write for children, when my article gets published, I feel like I've come around full circle.

On top of that, to have received these three books during what's been a very stressful time in my life, just reminds me as to why I've been going through everything I talked about yesterday. The kids . . . the writing . . . everything.

And you know what . . . I'd go through it all again in a heartbeat.

Thanks for listening.

So another month and a half has gone by and I haven't been able to get myself to start blogging regularly again . . . . what AM I going to do!

This school year has been INSANE and right now I'm suffering from a very common mother syndrome called . . . CANTSAYNOITIS. I had always prided myself on not not falling into this situation. I had seem what my sis-in-law had gone through, and I've had several friends comment on how amazed they are that I'm able to run a smooth household with 3 very active kids . . .

Unfortunately that's not the case anymore.

Right now, 2 times a week, I'm working in at least 2 of my kids' classrooms . . .

Then I double booked myself to run both Kid #1 and #2's Halloween partys

Then I changed Kid #2's Girl scout troop to meet 2x's a month . . . at my house . . .

Then I took over coordinating the GS Fall Product booth sales for the ENTIRE city . . .

Then I had to plan Kid #1 AND Kid #2's birthday parties (three weeks apart) . . .

Then I start working again next Thursday (but only part-time 3X's a week).

AND my husband just got home last night after having been on a business trip since last Sunday.

I am SO waiting for November 1st! Not just because it's MY birthday (#37), but because a good portion of what I've been dealing with for the past 6 weeks wil be OVER!!!

WHOO HOO!!!!

Of course I'm not taking into account the fact that even though soccer will be over for Kid #2 and #3 tomorrow, Kid #3 started basketball tonight . . . and Kid #2 will start basketball in about 2 weeks.

Then Kid #1 starts basketball the end on November . . .

It never ends does it?

I do have one big . . . actually HUGE piece of news . . .

I got my first writing piece accepted by Boys' Quest magazine! It won't be published until June of 2012, BUT it's a publishing credit all the same.

Well, that's it for now . . . I'm sure I'll start venting again in the next day or so.

Or . . . maybe not. :)

WOW! It amazing how time just slips away from me . . .

I can't believe it's already the beginning of September! I am SSSOOOO far behind!

Well to bring you up to speed, the rest of my trip in LA was FABULOUS!!!! I got home on Aug. 6th, and then Hubby left for his annual fishing trip. Unfortunately the morning he left I was hit with a bombshell . . . turns out my child-molesting neighbor was trolling my street this summer for kids.

Needless to say I was shocked and appalled . . . and part of the reason why I've taken a while to get back into blogging, even though the temptation to blog right after all this happened was tremendous!

Here's the deal . . . a year and a half a good, I took the advice of my local paper and checked out the DOJ (Dept. of Justice) website to check the sex offender list. Turns out I have one who lives within a 5 minute walk from my house. I was hoping this guy didn't really live there (I was in TOTAL denial) and then about 6 mos ago I saw his getting his mail and realized it was him.

I have been watching his house like a hawk ever since, but what I found out a month ago, made my blood run cold. Apparently the Friday before I got home, this person approached my neighbor's sister's car where her 16 mo old daughter was. The mother was in the car, but the guy didn't know it until she popped her head up. He made some excuse about wanting to tell her she had a beautiful child, and left. This same person was seen watching my next door neighbor's 2 yr old son, and actually watched my husband and Kid #3 playing catch in the front yard. All this happened in the same week.

Thankfully my neighbor with the 16 mo old niece called the police and they have visited him at least once. One of the detectives commented that they know about him and have him under observation.

This is one of the few times I'm actually glad that I live in a community where a very well known child abduction had taken place . . . because I know the police don't want that to EVER happen again.

So . . . what have I done about all this?

Well apart from leaving a bag of burning dog feces on this front porch, I've been watching his house even more. My kids know about him and to watch for him. Kid #3 knows about his white truck and watches for it whenever we go by his house. My neighbor and I both have logs to document if and when he comes down our street again.

I know they say knowledge is power, but why do I still feel so helpless?

The only thing that has kept me from going is the craziness of the beginning of the school year. And . . . IT HAS BEGUN!

YEAH!!!! I'll write more about that tomorrow . . .

I shouldn't be blogging right now, but I'm doing flips at the moment . . .

Okay, okay, not physically but mentally.

I'm still down in LA at my conference and having a great, and exhausting, time . . . and it's only been the first day! I had set up for myself a list of things I needed to get done this year (or at least force myself to do), and for the most part . . . I'm doing it!

My critique for my Picture book isn't until Sunday, but I've already met some great people and I have some high hopes for the rest of the conference.

I miss Hubby and the kids . . . but I REALLY needed this!

More later . . .

Wow! A whole month . . . huh, how did it go by so fast?

Okay, I know DAMN well how it went by so fast . . . I've been on vacation (and still am).

During my last entry I was desperately trying to get ready for the first (and longest) part of my vacation . . . a 2 1/2 week trip to the wonderful state of WISCONSIN!

Why, I'm sure some of you are asking, did I go to this particular state? Well, there's a few reasons

1. Family

2. A beautiful lake

3. Did I say Family already?

Overall it turned out to be a pretty good trip. The trip was broken up into 3 parts: Madison, WI, Land O'Lakes, WI, and then Chicago.

The Madison portion was fun . . . the plane ride to O'Hare was great, all three kids did well in the car, we found out if we sold our house in the Bay Area, we could buy a 7,000 sq ft home complete with a full dance studio in the basement, and I got to see two of my favorite Aunts.

Land O' Lakes was pretty good too . . . Again, the kids did pretty well on the car trip up. Once we got up there, though, the weather would not cooperate. It was cold, windy, and NOT what we ordered. :) However after a few days, and more of Hubby's family showing up, the weather cheered up as well and the rest of the trip was fun. We went to Bond Falls which about 15-20 miles north in UP Michigan. The lake was positively beautiful . . . but unfortunately the water level was pretty low.

Finally we headed for Chicago. We spent the first day going on a road trip to South Bend, IN going to, where else, The University of Notre Dame. Neither Hubby nor I went there (in fact neither of us had ever been to Indiana before), but the campus was absolutely beautiful

The fun part was . . . even though I wasn't going to read it, I found a pile of Harry Potter #7 sitting in the front atrium of the Notre Dame bookstore. After some prodding from Kid #1, I bought it . . . and read it all the way back to Chicago. The next day we went to the Field Museum and the Aquarium next to Soldier Field.

We headed back to O'Hare for our 8:35 PM flight back to Oakland only to find out our plane was having a mechanical problem (some liquid was leaking from the right engine - not a good thing!). It wasn't until 10PM they informed us that they were taking our flight out of service, however there was a plane we could use . . . but it wasn't coming into O'Hare from LA until 12:15 AM!

We finally got home last Wednesday morning . . . at 5 AM!!!!

The good news was . . . my kids were pushed back into the Western time zone feet first. The bad news was . . . I left again last Sunday to drive down to Southern Ca.

I am exhausted both physically and mentally. I love my kids . . . but I am SO READY for school to start.

Thankfully, Hubby flew down last night, and drove me up to LA, dropped me off at my hotel, and is on his way home right now with all 3 kids. I am now preparing to do some MAJOR absorption of info as soon as my SCBWI conference starts tomorrow morning.

I'm looking forward to this . . . this is MY vacation.

I'll be going home on Monday . . . with only 2 weeks left until school starts.

WHOO-HOO!!!!! :)

I know . . . I know, I've been gone for a while. I have no excuse other than the fact I have been INSANELY busy this past month. It still doesn't feel like summer has started for me yet . . .

But it will this FRIDAY . . . because I'm going on VACATION!!!!!

The past four weeks have pretty much followed this pattern . .

Me sick (okay, just at the very beginning, but it screwed up my plans for the last 2 days of school) . . . Kid #1 & 2 had day camps, sleepovers, and friends over . . . Kid #3 had preschool, swimming lessons and gymnastics.

Now this week goes as follows . . .

All kids - NOTHING!!!! Kid #3 now is no longer in preschool! It's hard to believe that for the better part of the past 9 years we have had at least one child there - sigh!

Me - Trying to get everything ready for us to be gone for the next 2 1/2 weeks (yes, that's what I said, 2 1/2 weeks). Some of my stuff has already been dealt with (paper, water, mail deliveries), but the rest is the stuff I truly hate . . . packing!

The rest of the summer is pretty much a roller coaster (which is good for me, since I can't ride real ones anymore), we're in Wisconsin for the 2 1/2 weeks, then we get home for about six days, then I leave again with all the kids and my dad for sunny So. Cal. I see both my parents down there, then Hubby picks up the kids and takes them home while he drops me off in LA for a fun filled weekend of no kids but lots of authors of kids books. The day after I get back, Hubby leaves for his annual fishing weekend. By the time he gets home, we have one last week until . . . SCHOOL BEGINS!

Is your head swimming? I know mine is . . . so I can tell you right now I may not be blogging much (although I do have internet service in the Great North Woods of Wisconsin), although given how long it took me to get this entry in . . . who would know the difference? :)

I've got to get back to work . . . hope everyone has a good summer!

I was planning on writing an in-depth analysis of the past week, but unfortuantely I feel like CRAP!

For some reason I have the same stomach bug I had not once . . . but TWICE in the past year. I'm hoping third times the charm here and I won't be going through this again any time soon.

On top of that, Hubby left for a business trip yesterday . . . and tomorrow is the last day of school for Kids #1 & 2 and I was going to let them have each have a friend over after the shortened school day . . . AND Kid #3's last t-ball game (and pizza party) are first thing Sat. morning. Hubby dosen't get back home until later Sat. morning.

Hopefully I will write more tomorrow since I plan on being in bed . . .

Heaven help me!

You are NOT going to believe this . . . .

So I guess the baseball gods were listening to my rant yesterday, and guess what?

Armando Benitez is GONE!

Apparently just before our final game with the Mets today, the trade was announced.

Now if only my kids would listen to me like the baseball gods . . . my life would be sheer bliss!

Speaking of kids, I know I don't get say this much . . . BUT . . .

I HAD A GREAT DAY TODAY!

Now, it's late . . . I'm tired . . . and I'll post more tomorrow.

BYE!

WARNING . . . . MASSIVE rant coming!

Every once in a while I watch a game that just sucks every ounce of being out of me. I get that feeling in the pit of my stomach that something really bad is going to happen. The last time I REALLY felt it was during the 7th game of the WS when my Giants lost (I'm STILL trying to get over that one!).

But last night was one of those games.

I had forgotten they were playing the Mets and thus they had an early game. By the time I turned on the TV it was the 10th inning. I sat there, glued to the boob-tube since the score was 3 to 3. It was a good thing I can't ride roller coasters anymore because this game had more curves and drops than the Revolution at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

FINALLY in the 11th we got a run and were ahead . . . .

Then we brought in Armando Benetez (I know I just butchered his name) and everything went to hell in a handbasket.

Up until about a week ago Armando had been doing quite well, or at least better than he had since we got him a couple of years ago. He did have one bad game, and that seem to set things off for last night.

You see, Armando is an emotional player . . . . to the extreme. The guy just doesn't seem to be able to deal with what's going on around him. The few times he shuts out the crowd and noise he's done all right. But when all hells breaking loose around him he gets affected . . . really badly.

What didn't help was that he was in New York. I had forgotten he had been with the Mets when he blew not one, but two saves against the Giants during the 2000 post season. But what amazed me was the sheer hatred that was coming from the crowd last night. Now I understand how they would be pissed with him, but it was like they KNEW if they threw everything they could at him, he'd cave.

And cave he did.

He walked the first two guys and then everything went crazy. When the first balk was called on him, I couldn't believe it. I was totally dumbstruck. IT WAS NOT A BALK!!!! The second one that was called on him and brought in the tying run had me up off of my bed SCREAMING at the TV!! In watching on the TV you could not see that he did in fact balk the second time. Then the next batter came up and it was bye-bye ball.

What frustrated the hell out of me was that if the first balk not been called, it wouldn't have set things up for the second one.

So needless to say I didn't listen to any of the post game wrap, nor have I listened to ANY sports radio today because I know what they're talking about and I don't want to hear it.

This concludes my rant for today. Thank you for listening.

WTF!

That is the only way I can start this post because I'm feeling incredibly old!

We've been having a really great time with my mom visiting, and like I mentioned on my last post we were going to the Giants game on Friday night . . . which we did.

The game itself was great until the 7th inning when we started self-destructing, but that didn't bother me half as much as the obnoxious teenagers who were sitting behind us!

The whole reason why we had gone to the game was to suport not only the team, but also our town Education Foundation. One of the local HS's band and the choir sang the national anthem and all that good stuff. So we were in the section where a lot of those kids ended up sitting.

It was a disaster!

Now I understand what it's like to be a teenager . . . although I'll be going to my 20th HS reunion next year, I do remember what it was like . . .

But I'd like to think I would have had AT LEAST a little bit more compassion and pay a little more attention to the fact that there were people with some children sitting in front of them.

They were LOUD, OBNOXIOUS, RUDE . . . I guess they were just being teenagers.

Thankfully we got through the game and they were all quiet for the fireworks display.

We finally got home by around midnight . . . and thus no post yesterday.

Now the other side of the coin about this feeling old and crusty thing was that I was reminded today that my hubby and I will be celebrating 20 years of being together this July . . . and the fact that my oldest niece, is now EXACTLY the same age I was when Hubby and I got together . . . she's almost 17.

DAMN . . . time goes by fast!

Hope everyone's having a good Memorial Day weekend!

The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter and I'm so happy!

Got through the Kids' open house tonight, and made plans for Kid #2's final Girl Scout party next month. We still have to get through Kid #1's family camp-out for his Boy Scout troop, but his camp-out with Hubby last weekend went really well.

Amazingly . . . and thankfully . . . we are staying home this weekend.

YEAH!!!!!

Okay, so that's not completely true. My mom is coming up tomorrow for the long weekend, we're taking ALL three kids to the Giants game on Friday night, and we are going to a get together at my sis-in-laws house on Sunday.

So it's busy, but not crazy busy.

I'm really excited about going to the Giants game because my mom has never been to AT&T Park and I can't wait for her to go! Although what the hell was I thinking taking all three kids to a game when we won't get home until maybe 11:00 . . . I must love a challenge!

I know I haven't mentioned this before because I usually talk about this on my other blog, but I've had some really exciting stuff going on with my writing. As I mentioned in my profile, I've been working on trying to become a published children's writer . . . well last week I received a rejection for a non-fiction magazine piece, but their reason was that I didn't have any supporting pictures.

Turns out, I can get some and resubmit the story!

So that's the other thing that's been going on with me.

And on that note . . . I need to deal with some of that right now. I'll update tomorrow when I'm not frantically cleaning the house . . . or dealing with my 5 year old.

I know I've been away for a while . . . my plate has been very full lately.

The good news is . . . my dad-in-law is doing well. His surgery went great and he is feeling good. However there were some bumps along the way, and that's part of the reason why I haven't updated. There were some issues with his heart rhythm after they replaced the valve so he spent an extra two weeks in the hospital. He finally got a pacemaker, and now he's doing fine and has been home since last week. YEA!

The bad news is . . . there's a reason why I HATE this time of the year. Everything is wrapping up and everyone needs to get stuff done and it all needs to be done . . . NOW!

I will admit that I am a very anal person when it comes to details (so that's where Kid #1 gets it from) and it because of that that I am feeling so overwhelmed right now. I'm afraid to let anyone help me because I want it done my way.

How childish is that?

Unfortunately this year it has hit me like a ton of bricks and the past two months have finally caught up with me.

All I want to do right now is crawl into bed and ignore everything and everyone.

The thing is, there's a light at the end of the tunnel! I only have 3 weeks left! But if I keep feeling the way I have this past weekend, I have to seriously wonder if I'm going to make it.

Maybe what I need is one day where I stay in bed and do nothing but watch old movies and read. That would be heaven right now.

Now if only I could get rid of all the bad stuff going on in the world, or at least in my world.

Maybe someday . . . but now I have to pick up Kid #3 at preschool.

More later . . .

Well . . . it's all going down tomorrow.

My Father-in-law is going in about 6AM tomorrow morning for his surgery. It will start about 8AM and will take about 4-5 hours. The good news is he doesn't have any underlying conditions (diabetes, heart disease, non-smoker) that would cause any complications. So he should come through it with flying colors . . .

But the thing that gets me (and him too) is that since it's a valve replacement surgery, they have to put him on a bypass machine and take his heart out of his body.

I've been a mess today. I thought I was doing okay . . . and then this morning I starting going through some of my common anxiety stuff.

I know he's going to be okay . . . but I can't help thinking (like I always do) . . .

What if?

Those are horrible words for an anxious, worrisome person like me.

I guess I'll just have to replace those words with . . . He'll be OK.

Easier said then done.

It's hard to believe it's been a few days since I last posted. I can't begin to tell you how glad I am that this month is almost over.

When I last posted I was with Hubby and all 3 kids in Lake Tahoe for my cousin's wedding. Wonderful wedding (they live on the North shore so it wasn't one of those cheesy wedding chapel type weddings), but the reception kind of sucked because I was pretty much playing babysitter the whole time.

On top of that, my allergy to pine pollen reared it's ugly head. Hubby decided to ask me if I was interested in moving there when we retire. I pretty much told him what he could do with that idea.

So in between that, and Cancun, and everything else that's been going on . . . like I said, I'm SO glad this month is over!

Unfortunately May is looking to be just as busy . . . and even more stressful.

I've been busy cleaning house today because my brother-in-law is coming up on Wednesday to stay with us through the weekend. That's because my father-in-law (a man who is essentially my 2nd Dad) is going in for open-heart surgery on Thursday morning.

I am more than a little freaked out about this . . . but it's also one of those times where I'm trying really hard to be strong for Hubby.

But on top of that, my own dad informed me about a week ago that his cancer is back. He was diagnosed with a slow-growing form of lymphoma about 6-7 years ago. His chemo was very mild and he went into remission very quickly.

Even though my Dad told me it nothing to be freaked out about . . . I'm freaked out big time.

Man . . . I SO need to go to a baseball game right now!

It's been a long week and a half.

I was all set to talk about Cancun (pics included!) on Monday the 16th and then I woke up the news of what happened at Virginia Tech. I know it's been a while now, but the whole situation sort of put me out of the loop for a while. I don't know what it was about the situation that hit me the hardest . . . thinking about my own kids and what those poor parents must be going through, the fact that I live a mere minutes from my own college alma mater (Sonoma State University), or just the terribly senseless loss of life that happened.

Whatever the reason, I was not in the best of shape.

It turns out that April is not a good month for me emotionally. There are other reasons why, but I'm not going to go into them today.

For anyone who reads this . . . please keep in your prayers the Kott family. They live up here in the Sacramento area. The same week of VT, I saw a story on one of our local newscasts about a 6 month old boy, Trevor Kott, and his family. The day after Trevor was born last October he was diagnosed with an extremely rare leukemia and the doctors gave him weeks to live.

But he did live . . . for 6 months.

The family had been organizing bone marrow drives to try to find a match for him. Unfortunately but the time I saw the story, the drive in my town had already happened. I had been reading his parents' blog when the sad news came . . .

Trevor passed away peacefully this past Tuesday, April 25.

The family is still hoping to continue working on organizing bone marrow drives in Trevor's name. If you can, PLEASE get yourself swabbed.

For more info you can go on www.TrevorKott.com

I'll update more later . . .

I'M BBBAAAACCCKKKK!!!!!

Actually I've been in recovery mode since we got home on Thursday night . . . that's why no updates until now. And since it's VERY late I'm going to give all the gory details of our trip tomorrow or Monday (with pictures to boot!)

One baseball note . . . even though my Giants are in last place right now, Barry hit 2 homers yesterday and our old friend Russ Ortiz had ALMOST a complete game. He was with our 2002 team that went to the world series . . . but left the next year. After coming close to retiring (thankfully he didn't!) he's been working on his mechanics and looks like our pitcher from 2002.

YEAH!

More later . . . .

Well . . . finally all has worked out!

I'm so glad I love living in the Bay Area because given the amount of time I spent in the car today driving back and forth to the passport office in San Francisco (and poor Hubby having to do it TWICE!) . . . I don't know if I would have dealt with it as well as I did.

So don't be suprised if I don't post until after next Thursday when we get back, and hopefully I'll have pics up by next weekend.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!!

HAPPY OPENING DAY!!!

I know, I know my Giants got routed today by the Padres on this their opening day . . . BUT what a game it was!

My favorite part was watching the pre-game show because they had more than half of the Giants' All-Star players there. It was so fun seeing a bunch of the guys from when I first became a fan in 1987 . . . Matt Williams, Robby Thompson (one of the reasons why I have a #6 on my jersey, the other being our former 1st baseman - JT Snow), Kevin Mitchell, and of course Will "the thrill" Clark. I was tearing up remembering one of the best games I ever experienced . . . seeing the '89 Giants beat the Cubbies in the 5th game of the NLCS to win the pennant and head to the world series.

I didn't get to go to any of the WS games that year . . . I had to wait until I went to game 5 in 2002 when we played against the Angels (my other most memorable game I ever watched).

I know I've had to listen to everyone and their brother say how they don't expect the Giants to do anything this year (with quite a few people saying they'll finish dead last). But that's what I love about opening day . . . there's always hope!

So here's to baseball 2007 . . . and GO GIANTS! :)

Alright . . . so I'm at least one step closer to getting a passport.

So this morning I wake up at 3AM AGAIN to call the passport office.

On the other end is a fairly cheery customer service rep who comments when she finds out I'm calling from California, "Oh, my first call this morning came from California too. What is it, like 3AM out there? You girls should be in bed."

To which I reply, "Well, if I knew for sure that I would be getting my passport in the next five days I wouldn't have to call."

She was very sweet, and pretty helpful. She answered all my questions . . . unfortunately when I asked about picking up the passports at our local office instead of having them sending them, she had already sent off the expedited request for the rest of the passports.

So I can't make another request until Wed morning.

AAAAAAAHHH!!!! Another 3 AM morning call!

CRAP!

After this little bomb shell, she mentions that if I get an appointment I don't need all my papers because the office already has it. I told her the earliest appointment I could get (last Thursday) was on April 11. She tells me to recheck the automated appointment service because at that time every day, they repost the canceled appointments from the following day.

After I thanked her she put me through . . . I didn't have high hopes.

I go through the appointments and find there are no afternoons appt. until April 13. HOWEVER . . . after going through the appt. for every day this week, it happened.

Friday April 6, 9:30 AM.

You could have knocked me out of my chair . . . and not because I was half asleep.

SO . . . we'll see what happens come Friday. Otherwise, I'm getting ready for Cancun.

WE'LL SEE . . . .

I have to say the past four days have been . . . dare I say . . . blissful.

Got a lot of gardening work done with Hubby, Kid #1 had a suprise after-school movie and sleep over with his new best friend on Friday, Kid #2 got A LOT of craft time, and Kid #3 had lots of opportunities to practice baseball and basketball.

What's the one thing that's screwing the whole thing up?

I am waiting to see if our passports will be showing up so we can go on a trip to Cancun that we've been planning since December.

Okay . . . this is just a mini rant because I'll admit this is partly MY FAULT.

Last December (around Christmas) my mom calls to ask me what I think of flying the whole family to Cancun and meeting her at a resort that my Aunt and Uncle have a time share at during Spring Break.

I think . . . okay . . . this could be fun.

She then warns me that the passport rules will be changing and that all 5 of us (including the kids) will need passports. Now . . . neither Hubby or I have passports because we've never had the inclination to do much traveling (we're BIG homebodies).

So after the haze of the holidays finally cleared, I'm ready to look for my birth certificate. I have all the kids' in the S-D box and Hubby had just gone to San Francisco in November to get his for his real estate license. I check my S-D box . . . nothing. I check all my personal effects (including my baby book) . . . nothing. I finally call my mom . . . nope, she didn't have it either.

Hubby finally goes online and orders ONE copy from one of those Birth certificate services (since I was born in Los Angeles). After about two weeks I get my BC the beginning February. The day after, all 5 of us went to the Post Office to order our passports.

The gal tells us we don't need the expedited service because even though they're working about 8 weeks out, we should we them in time for our trip (April 7).

Okay . . . my mom comes up for a visit the weekend of March 17th. She asks if we have our passports yet and I tell her, "Not yet but we should have them soon." I go online and check the passport website. It stated our applications are being processed and we should receive them the week of April 2nd.

Last Tuesday I checked again . . . no date is posted for when we should be receiving our passports . . . .

SHIT!

So then I spent three days trying to get through both the main passport line and the automated to see if we could get an appointment at the SF passport office. On Thurday night I finally got through the automated line . . . the earliest appointment isn't until April 11th . . . the day before we're supposed to be coming home from Cancun.

I noted on the website that the passport office opens at 6am EDT . . . that means . . . yes, I did get up at 3am California time to try to talk to a human being at the passport office.

Did I get through . . . YES!

Did she tell me that our passports would be making to us before our trip . . . NO!

Apparently all she could do was flag our application as URGENT and hope for the best.

There was nothing else I could do.

I proceeded to stay up for another hour coming up with a bunch of questions as to WHY we we're going to be getting our passports and trying to figure out all the angles as to how we could make this work.

So in about 4 hours I will be getting up so I can call and hear someone answer all my questions and still tell me we're screwed.

The only good thing out of this is I did talk to my mom on Friday and gave her the lowdown on what was going on and that I was exhausting all my options. After the eventual "I told you so," I did tell her that if things didn't work out for Cancun, that we'd come down and visit her in So Cal and spend Easter with her.

That seemed to do the trick.

So . . . I've got everything crossed in hopes that I can still salvage some of my upcoming spring break week.

Stay Tuned . . . .

AARRGG!!!!!

I've been so FREAKIN busy that I haven't around much lately (throw in dealing with Kid #3's strep throat and the US Passport office which I will be ranting about soon . . . it's been a really party at my house this past week!)

I've been so busy I haven't been watching my beloved Giants playing against the demon A's this weekend.

At least Opening Day is next week!

YIPPEE!!!!!

OMG! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S BEEN ALMOST A WHOLE MONTH SINCE I LAST POSTED!

Life has been crazy . . . I finally got over being sick and got my voice back, then Kid #1 was home for three days the week after that, and I was taking a class to get my Notary Public commission (I found out yesterday I passed the test - YEA!) Then I had Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Basketball games, my cousin's wedding shower last weekend, AND my mom visiting.

It's been an INSANE 3 weeks!

Hopefully I'll be posting more for the next couple of weeks because I can tell you right now . . . the month of April will be just as crazy.

On top of everything else, I am SO exhausted, I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open.

I'll have a longer update tomorrow . . .

I promise! :)

Good News . . . I'm feeling better.

Bad News . . . My voice still sucks and I can't do two of my favorite things, laugh and sing.

I'm not posting much because the Real Housewives of Orange County are on and I've got to watch.

More about that tomorrow . . .

Well, I now know I should have no problem posting over the next couple of days . . . I have no voice.

I started feeling the cold early last week. After 2 days of taking Zicam (which is my new best friend), I stopped assuming the cold would not be nearly as severe as what the rest of my family had dealt with.

I was wrong!

Friday wasn't so bad . . .

Yesterday was fine, but I could feel my voice slipping a little by the evening. Of course we had a big to-do planned with some friends of our so I spent the rest of the night talking. We had a great time, but by the time I went to bed, I knew I would be hoarse today.

One problem . . . out girl scout troop had a planned outing this afternoon for Thinking Day (A BIG deal in the GS world) and we were representing the country of France.

Good news . . . the other girls had a great time and we won an award for the best craft project! Who knew making a model of the Eiffel Tower with marshmallows and toothpicks would be so popular? So popular that we had to make 2 emergency trips to the store to buy more toothpicks and paper plates (for the base).

Bad news . . . I had to make 2 trips to the store (one in the pouring rain), my voice was gone within the first hour, and my darling daughter spent nearly a half and hour under our table because she was tired and crabby after having stayed up until 11 last night.

To complicate matters, Kid #1 and #3 decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at each other's throats.

So now I have no voice, a throbbing headache, and Mr. Monthly has finally arrived.

At least I got to watch the Academy Awards with very little interruption . . . in between the yelling and screaming of all three kids.

So we'll just see how tomorrow goes . . .

I know . . . I know . . . it's been a while since I've posted. But in between a sick family (myself included), Girls Scouts, Basketball, etc. I haven't had much time to do anything much less keep this thing up.

I've also been messing with the layout of this thing and have been getting increasingly frustrated with it. There are some things I just can't figure out.

Now on top of that I'm being interrupted by Kid #3 because he can't understand why he can't drink strawberry soda and quarter to 10 in the morning!

So hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things this week.

We'll see . . .

I borrowed this from KELLY . . . I'm suprised at how much I remembered . . . I mean it has been almost 14 years!

Have fun with it! :)

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Marriage Meme

1. Where/how did you meet? Very long story, but basically we've known each other all our lives.

2. How long have you known each other? First picture of us together, Christmas 1971 - I was 1 he was 4.

3. How long after you met did you start dating? 16 years.

4. How long did you date before you were engaged? Almost 4 years.

5. How long was your engagement? 2 years.

6. How long have you been married? 14 years come June.

7. What is your anniversary? June 19th

8. How many people came to your wedding reception? I have no idea . . . maybe 150.

9. What kind of cake did you serve? A 3-tiered cake, alternating white w/strawberries and chocolate w/grand marnier.

10. Where was your wedding? San Rafael, California.

11. What did you serve for your meal? We had a buffet with all sorts of appetizer type stuff.

12. How many people were their in your bridal party? 4 on each side

13. Are you still friends with them all? Yes.

14. Did you or your spouse cry during the ceremony? I bawled, he choked up.

15. Most special moment of your wedding day? Dancing our first dance.

16. Any funny moments? Apart from my 2 yr old niece wandering around the altar during the ceremony and almost knocking over some candles . . . no.

17. Any big disasters? Okay, so the above answer COULD have qualified for this . . . if had it ended differently.

18. Where did you go on your honeymoon? Drove up the Northern Ca. coast stopping at different B&B's along the way.

19. How long were you gone? 10 days.

20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change? Absolutely nothing.

21. What side of the bed do you sleep on? Left side.

22. What size is your bed? King . . . my guy's 6'3".

23. Greatest strength as a couple? We are each others best friend.

24. Greatest challenge as a couple? Dealing with family and a certain family business.

25. Who literally pays the bills? Hubby makes the money and I dole it out.

26. What is your song? "I Can't Tell You Why" by the Eagles.

27. What did you dance your first dance to? "I Only Have Eyes For You" the Art Garfunkel version.

28. Describe your wedding dress? Wow, I remember it had a sweetheart neckline with lace flower appliques, short cap sleeves, floor length gown with a long train.

29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding? White and light pink roses, white freesia, and some small lavender accent flower.

30. Are your wedding bands engraved? What do they say? No . . . I honestly have no idea. Maybe "GO GIANTS!" :)

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I have mixed feelings about today . . . because 11 years ago, Feb. 10, 1996, my Grandpa, Paul William Lamm, passed away.

I have to admit that I don't always catch the significance of this date. With three kids and everything else going on in my life, I'll admit there have been years that I have totally forgotten. But this year I would have been hard pressed to.

Yesterday I helped Kid #1's class set up for their Grandparent's Tea.

It was a wonderful function. The kids worked on family trees and wrote stories about their grandparents and how much they meant to them. But it was the picture slide show that got to me and seeing the family picture with my son and my father-in-law.

When I was growing up I didn't get to see my grandparents that often. We lived in So. Cal. and all our other relatives lived in Wisconsin. I got to see them more when I was younger, but the visits got fewer and more spread out as I got older. So I really came to appreciate my time with them and why I'm so grateful that my in-laws live a mere 30 minutes away and my parents are just a day trip away.

I was lucky enough to have all my grandparents with me at my wedding 13 1/2 years ago.

My last real conversation with his was a strange one. It was Nov. 1995, and he had called me because he had sent my birthday card late (my birthday's Nov. 1 and he called me around the 20th). We had a great but very interesting conversation. We talked about all sorts of stuff, and then I congratulated him on the impending birth of his first great-grandchild. He thanked me, made a comment around the circumstances behind it and then said something that struck me . . .

He said, "I'm waiting for you dear."

I knew something was wrong when my Dad told me in Dec. that Grandpa was going into the hospital for by-pass surgery. Even though both my grandpa's had fought, and won, battles with cancer, a stroke, and ulcers, I knew my Grandpa Lamm was not in the best of health. I was just starting to work on my writing, but I had this poem pop into my head . . .

GRANDPAS ARE LIKE LOLLIPOPS

Grandpas are like lollipops
and as strange as that my seem,
the more and more I think about it
it does make sense,
you see . . .

Most Grandpas are sweet
of course most lollipops are too
and they come in all shapes and sizes.
As for lollipops, that's also true.

But the one big difference
I can make between the two,
is that lollipops come and go,
but your Grandpa is always with you.

I love you Grandpa with all my heart
and I hope you always know
that you'll always be with me
wherever you may go.

I got the chance to see my Grandpa a week before he died and I read the poem to him. It was one of the hardest things I had ever done. I didn't go to his memorial service, but a couple of my cousins read the poem at the service. I hope everyone there enjoyed as much as he did.

I'll admit that I did "see" my Grandpa one last time. 3 weeks after my Grandpa died, I found out I was pregnant. At 30 weeks, I went into pre-term labor for a very strange reason (I had an asyptomatic bladder infection). While I was in the hospital, a flurry of activity of nurses and doctors around me, I had an incredible sense of peace because I could feel someone in the room, telling me that everything would be all right.

It was my Grandpa.

I was on bedrest for 4 1/2 weeks, and Kid #1 made his entrance into the world on Oct. 10, 1996. 8 months to the day after my Grandpa died. With blond hair and blue eyes. What makes this even more significant (or in my case funny) was that Kid #1 was a month early and my Grandpa had always been INCREDIBLY anal about being on time.

He lived by the credo, "If you aren't early, you're late."

Do I think my son is the reincarnation of my Grandpa? That's for others to wonder. But at the very least I think he has a very special angel watching over him.

I just wanted to say . . . I miss you Grandpa . . . and just remember, Lisa loves you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PEANUT!

After taking SSSOOOOOO long to post ANY pictures from Kid #3's party a couple of weeks ago. Here's at least one. Hubby was helping the kids with a pull-string pinyata that was a MUST-HAVE! I was really suprised he didn't want the hitable kind since he loves all sports that require a ball.

BUT . . . the hitable pinyata didn't have a picture of Lightning on it.

Anyway . . . more to post later.

I SEE A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!!!!

I know this phase can mean many different things, but I'm using it in reference to Kid #1. I have been talking at length about some of the stuff he's been going through. Well on Friday, I had a breakthrough.

About a year and a half ago I met a woman at a confernce who was telling me about her 14 yr-old twin boys who had just been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. If you've never heard about it before, it's one of the "spectrum disorders" associated with autism. It has to do with kids (mostly boys) who have difficulty with social skills. Actually there's alot more to it, but I have a limited amout of time to write right now. While she was describing some of her boys habits, behaviors, etc. I sat there with my mouth agape . . .

She described Kid #1 to a T!

That night I called Hubby and asked him to pull up some info for me off the internet so I could read it when I got home.

To say my Hubby got defensive is a VAST understatment. He basically blew me off.

I tried to explain to him that I didn't KNOW if he had it, but I was interested in finding out more about it.

He wouldn't do it.

Fast forward to last Thursday night. We were sitting up talking and he tells me, "I wish there was a way to help him (Kid #1) with some of the stuff he's going through." I brought up the subject of Asperger's again, and this time . . . he listened.

I told him that we probably needed to start with our school psychologist (who already knows our son because of some work she did with him in K & 1st grade). When I talked to her about what had been going on with him and my concerns, what did she say?

"I've thought that he could possibly have Asperger's . . . "

WHY DIDN'T SHE TELL ME!!!!

She told me that she hesitates to talk to parents about these types of issues for fear of the same reaction I got from Hubby 1 1/2 years ago.

Go figure . . .

So now I have a plan on what to do. I'm going to be sending a letter to the principal requesting an assessment for social communication skills, and go from there.

Am I scared shitless? You bet!

But now, as I said before, I see a light at the end of the tunnel and we can deal with this head on.

As I've said before . . . my life is NEVER boring!

I know, I haven't posted Kid #3's party pics yet . . . I'll try to do it later.

I swear I have been going through more hormonal mood swings lately, and these past couple of days have been REALLY BAD! It's a good thing I haven't posted anything until now.

The best way to describe how I've been to Hubby and all three kids?

Buffy the Wonder Bitch!

Everyone and everything was setting me off! Tuesday was really bad because Kid #1 was being a total pain in the ass. It didn't help that I needed to get to a doctor's appointment first thing in the morning and I needed everything to run like clockwork.

But it didn't, and the entire day SUCKED!

Yesterday was a little better. I was still dealing with kids who weren't listening, but that afternoon I had an interesting experience. I took them to Target after I had picked up Kids # 1&2 up from school. They had been pretty decent while I shopped and I ended up in line behind a woman with a 6 or 7 year old boy. I was calmly trying to get #3 to stop whining about being tired by deflecting every "PLEASE!" coming from #1 as he was continuously asking me for a soda. The woman gave me an astonished look and said something to the effect of, "I don't know how you do it with three kids." I told her I had my moments and she gave me a little 'We're not worthy!' sign to me while adding, "I have a hard enough time with one!"

It helped make Buffy the Wonder Bitch go away . . . at least for a little while.

Then everything came to a head last night . . . I was facing a kitchen I hadn't been able to clean in 3 days, the house was a disaster, and NO ONE was helping me.

Hubby always says, "If you need help, just ask."

Yeah . . . right. Didn't you just hear me? I'm Buffy the Wonder Bitch!

I was so overwhelmed with everything that was going on this week (in addition to being blindsided by PMS) that I really COULDN'T ask for help.

Lucky for me . . . just as I was about to lose it last night, Hubby came over and took the dish brush out of my hand as said, "You go upstairs. I'll finish it."

And finish it he did.

God does work in strange and mysterious ways . . . like bringing me that woman in Target . . . and giving me a DAMN GOOD man!

WOW! WHAT A WEEKEND!

The weekend went REALLY well! Kid #3 had a great birthday party. We had about 6 boys (including mine) and they had so much fun! Unfortunately it had been raining the night before so we ended up cancelling the jump house. Turned out it be a fabulous thing . . . the boys spent the whole time playing hot wheels, trains, and just about anything you can think of that involves wheels!

After the party my in-laws, sis-in-law, nephew, and my Hubby's aunt all stayed for dinner and a lot of laughs! We had a BLAST! I'll try to post pics tomorrow.

Then yesterday we had some dear friends of ours visit. They live out in Davis and haven't been to see us in 8 or 9 months. They have 3 kids whose ages mirror our 3. Kid #1 and his friend played racing games on X-Box, Kid #2 and her friend transformed our downstairs bedroom into a stuffed animal wonderland, while Kid #3 (still on a high from his b-day) ran around watching the boys and watching Backyardigans with his friend.

It was good food and good friends!

I spent today playing catch-up from the weekend . . . finally life is getting back to normal!

Hopefully! :)

I know it's been a week, but what a week it's been!

Hubby came home from his business trip on Monday with a nasty cold. In the mean time, Kid #3 already had a cold (the one that just seems to go on, and on, and on). Anyway, guess who gets it next . . . ME!

Now I LOVE being a Mom and wouldn't give it up for the world, but there's always been ONE thing I've been bitter about . . . NO SICK DAYS!

So since Tuesday (even though I'd been feeling pretty nasty before then, and the reason why I DID NOT go to the GIANTS fan-fest on Sat.) I've been taking Zicam. The thing is, this is such a yucky cold that the Zicam wasn't doing a lot . . . and I finally stopped taking it yesterday.

On top of all that I have to get the house ready today for Kid #3's birthday party tomorrow.

I CAN'T BELIEVE HE'S TURNING 5! IT'S JUST NOT POSSIBLE!

I'll post more later . . .

As you can see from my previous post, I lost my poor kitty.

On Wednesday I was still struggling with the fact that Bob wasn't eating. On top of that he had spent the whole day curled up in a ball on my bed.

This was not the Bob I knew and loved.

So Hubby and I made the decision . . .

Kid # 2 went with me. I wasn't sure if I should have at first. She didn't go with me when DP was put down (but she was only 5 then). But since she's 8 now, I figured I'd give her the choice. Not only did she go with me to the hospital . . . she also insisted on staying there when he was put down.

Why did I let her do that? Why did I give her the option instead of being a hard-ass and tell her she couldn't be there?

Because when I was 14 (yes, 14) years old, my mom had my dog put down and didn't tell me until after she had done it.

Now I know she did it to protect me, and I knew my dog was sick, but the issue I had with it was . . . I didn't get to say good-bye. After I went through that, I decided I would NEVER keep my children away if they were ever in a similar situation.

So I didn't.

At first I wasn't sure if it had been a good idea. My daughter was VERY upset after it all happened. But you know, now that it's been 2 days later, she's doing remarkably well. And I don't regret my decision one bit!

Kids certainly are AMAZING!

I should be writing lots tomorrow . . . I'm taking all three kids and my former babysitter to the Fan Fest at AT&T Park! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!

Until tomorrow . . .

In loving memory

My Bobby Boy

1992-2007

Don't you wish sometimes that the world was only filled with nice people? I know that a lot of people change from when they were kids, but sometimes you can see those kids who were mean and cruel then and see them 10-15 years acting the same way.

Why am I venting about this? Because right now I'm going through major childhood flashbacks every time Kid #1 comes home from school.

5th grade SUCKS!

I thought it was just me who went through this kind of crap when I was in 4th-5th-6th grade, but unfortunately the kids are just as cruel now as they were 25 years ago.

Why is Kid #1 being treated like this?

Because he's smart, his body is changing, he's VERY quirky, and because he doesn't like to play sports.

Thankfully he's trying hard not to let it get to him, but when he does break down because the kids (mostly from his class) tease him, I feel like I'm going through 5th grade all over again.

I'm almost wishing their library was open all the time like mine was at my school . . . I'd be tempted to suggest he hide out in there like I used to.

But I know that won't solve his problems, and it won't make my residual pain go away. So we just have to both deal with it as best we can.

Only 2 more years until Jr. High . . . it's GOT to get better!

BTW Bob's still the same . . . we may be putting him down tomorrow.

Sigh!

Well, things are still moving along . . .

Bob is doing okay, but he's definately NOT himself. I'm not sure if he's trying to get over the trauma of all the tests he went through over the weekend, or if this is the reality of his existance until the inevitable happens.

The one thing I'm really bummed about is that the WONDERFUL doctor who was helping us is not on-call at the hospital this week. I can't tell you how sweet, helpful, and caring she was. Especially since we didn't really get a lot of answers (even though I found out his liver is in bad shape) and she did have to tell me that there was a good chance this was cancer.

I can't stand what he's going through . . . and it's even harder to watch.

My heart breaks for those who have to go through this with a human family member, because all this is breaking my heart.

If his appetite doesn't come back in a week, I'm going to have to put him down.

God, this is hard . . .

OKAY . . . I've already broken my resolution about writing here more often. But I have a REALLY good excuse.

I brought my cat home from the pet hospital today to die.

In Dec. 1995, I was really stressed and frustrated because hubby and I were trying to get preggers and not having any luck. All of our friends were expecting, but it just wasn't happening for us. I was getting really depressed so my hubby agreed to getting a cat.

I didn't realize we would be getting two, but we did. Turned out the humane society didn't have a lot of cats to choose from at that time . . . except for a big, fuzzy long-haired cat named Bob and his brother, DP (don't ask me what the DP stood for). DP took to my hubby almost instantly, as did Bob to me.

Nearly 10 months after we took them home, I had Kid #1.

They were GREAT cats and I couldn't have asked for sweeter pets for our children. For all the stories I heard about pets being jealous when children came into the picture, not one of them happened to us.

Unfortunately we lost DP in June 2004 to a chronic condition. After we lost him, Bob in some ways took over DP's personality. He suddenly became very clingy and didn't leave the yard much. On the good side, he was able to tolerate our dog, Sadie, who's incredibly territorial.

Anyway, about a month ago Bob stopped eating and he's gotten progressively worse since then. After X-rays, blood tests and ultrasounds, we checked him into a really great pet hospital on Friday.

I found out last night that even though they can't put an exact finger on what's wrong with him, it looks like he coming to the end . . .

And I am devastated.

Tomorrow I find out what the results of his liver tests are (although I know his liver is failing), and I need to make some decisions about how long to let him go on before we let him go.

So even though I hope I can write more over the next week, now you know why if I don't.

Sorry about the venting . . . I needed it!

HAPPY BELATED HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!

Because of this, that, and the other, I've obviously been neglecting this blog. Unfortunately it's not from lack of stuff going on with my life . . . but I just haven't gotten used to the idea of doing this as an everyday thing.

But one of my resolutions this year is to correct that.

My Christmas and New Year's were very good and filled with lots of love and happiness. I wish it didn't take holidays like this to appreciate just how blessed I am . . . I should be remembering this all year.

We went to Lake Tahoe on New Year's Day and were there for two full days, coming home on the 4th. It was a pretty great trip and one event pretty much sums the whole thing up . . .

The first full day up there, we went to a sledding park up at Echo Summit. There was snow, but it wasn't new. It was comfortable, but not too warm. And we had the BEST snowball fight I have EVER had. It reminded me of why we decided to have children and how life can be SO much fun if you just let go . . . and enjoy the feeling.

I did . . . and I won't ever forget it!

So now we're back to business as usual. The kids are back at school, I'm getting ready for Kid #2 to start selling Girls Scout cookies, and making plans for the rest of 2007.

It should be a REALLY interesting year . . . in more ways than one!