Scott's 7th birthday

Scott turned 7 today.  We celebrated with doughnuts and orange julius for breakfast and let him try his first gift:  hair gel.  He likes doing mohawks.  Later that day, he got a skateboard, helmet, a game, hot wheels car, and a trip to Chuck E. Cheese's with Grandma and Pop.  When I was done with work, we went to Buffalo Chicken Wings on Lone Tree for din-din.  

The food was good even though it took way too long for it to be delivered.  Scott was happy that they brought him some chocolate cake and ice cream.  

 One of my little didges has a broken lens mechanism, so this top picture is blurry.  Sad, but a bad picture is better than no picture.

 We were excited about this craigslist bin of 12 month clothes.  $25 for 48 pieces of clothing.  Yeah, craigslist!

I have ordered Scott a gift that hasn't arrived yet, but I'm pretty sure he'll like it.  Until then, this short post will have to do.

Heidi's bangs

Heidi got some clothes and shoes for Christmas.  I was working in the garage when she showed me her new acquisitions.  Then, out of the blue, she said, "I'm ready to cut my bangs."

Good, because I've been trying to get her into bangs for years.  I studied the google images for various styles and this is the result.  Scott goes, "Mommy, you look younger now."

"Oh yeah?  I don't look like an old woman?"

"Not anymore."

I am pleased with the result.  She has been with a center part for so many years that the bangs naturally separated like this, but in a few days we'll get them straight down.  This morning, we decided to cut three inches more off the back and make the anterior taper more aggressive, so we'll have to photograph that but I had to run off to work and she is visiting Grandma today.

Some people are shocked that Heidi lets me cut her hair.  Well, anyone can cut hair, with the abundance of how-to videos on youtube and readily accessible household items.

"But I can't believe she lets you do it!"  Is a common response.   Heidi doesn't care what other people think of her.

Even if this endeavor had ended in catastrophe, we could have gone to a real stylist to have her/him make it right.

And the difference between a bad haircut and a good one is just a few days--weeks at the most.

December

Santa Claus visited the Brentwood 3rd ward's Christmas party.  This might be the first time all the kids are in the picture and there are no tears.  

This list must be from kids club.  Where does he hear about these things?  Heidi and I are only responsible for the iphone.  Well, good luck, Tyler!  But I bet Santa is feeling the recession, too.

Scott got a certificate from school to Rubio's.  He wanted to go on the VFR, so last night we went, on the coldest night of the season.  I ordered a mahi-mahi taco and it was Taco Tuesday, so we each got a fish taco.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Fish tacos are kinda the niche for Rubio's.

Good old Taco Tuesday.  Dan-o, Hobble, Rummage and I used to go to Taco Time every Tuesday ever since we could drive.  Sometimes Tadeo, Neal, Benj and Justin came and it was something we looked forward to.    We'd say, "Only six more Taco Tuesdays until graduation."

In college, we had pizza night.  Before Little Caesars offered the $6 pizza everyday, it was $5 on Mondays:  Monday Night Madness.  Well, before everyone and their dog had cell phones, we coordinated who was in for pizza night and then one or two of us would pick up the appropriate amount of pizzas.  Usually, three fed six of us.  I took white lightning and Dan-o and I would bike together for many Pizza Nights.  Once, there was a pizza under the heat lamps.  I asked about it and the employee--who, after months of seeing us, never learned our names--said, "Oh, you don't want that.  It's old."

I said, "I'll give you two bucks for it."

"Three."

"Fine, keep it,"

Exasperated, she said, "OKAY!  Two dollars!"

Yeah, pizza night.  My record for eating pizza was five meals in a row.  There was one semester where I had doughnuts for dinner every night.  Man, those were the days.

Hospital Panel

I haven't done a teaching panel in a long time mainly because it is harder to get to UCSF with the kids in school. The course was for NICU caretakers.
I always learn so much from hearing other parents experiences and journeys. Each individual has such unique needs. A great nurse or doctor will take time to ask and find out those needs, listen and take time to respond. One parent might relate their pregnancy to an unborn baby while another might never want to face that reality.
Part of the day included a class on spiritual care. We were asked how our religions or faith played or didn't play a role in our journey. It was humbling to reflect on one of my greatest blessings. I am blessed with a knowledge of eternal life and a community that wherever I live provides any type of support our family might need. I simply can't fathom loosing a child without a faith.
A reality of these panels is that so often the families that speak have the coping mechanisms to deal with their very difficult journey. We don't represent, nor should ones journey ever represent another's experience.
If just one person came away realizing that, than I think it was worth it.

November

What happened in November???

Lots to catch up on....Here are some things I must blog about this week...

1. Was super Tired from Thyroid and now feeling MUCH better.
2. Krey awards assembly=1/3 done with the school year.  That is CRAZY.  The boys are doing amazing. So grateful!
3.  My mom was finally doing better from her radiation.  Starting to gain her balance and walk a little and then broke her hip on Thanksgiving morning.  No bueno!  Grateful for my wonderful family and her wonderful friends.  She is loved by so many people.  It is so hard to see her go through so much.
4. Trying to sell our condo and it keeps getting postponed.  Learning patience.
5. Danny's hip surgery went alright.  Nerve pain is doing better but his back still needs help.
6. Feeling very blessed for life.  It is a wonderful season of the year and I feel like our cup is overflowing with blessings.  Grateful!

I actually have a lot of pictures I would love to put on the blog but we have exceeded our limit so we need to decide to buy more space or start a new domain.  Any suggestions?

November weddings

Heidi's classmate, Shawn, got married in Dublin on 11/9/12 and had a reception at Ruby Hill Winery in Pleasanton.  The cover band and the food were good.

Nancy and Vladimir got married on 11/17/12 in Brentwood and had a reception in Crockett.

 Tyler and Kira had a great time running around and socializing with the other kids.

 Kira shows off her dress we got from craigslist.

We didn't have enough earplugs for all the kids, and Scott wasn't happy about wearing these cotton ones.

Most of these pictures were from the little didge.  After 8 years and one trip back to Canon, it's still working.  The quality isn't as good as the SLR, and you can probably tell which ones are which.  But sometimes it's too much a hassle to lug around the big dog, and I never even take it out of the case.  So a bad picture is better than no picture.

Heidi hasn't been posting much on the blog.  We don't have much news about her thyroid except that the numbers seem to be improving but the physicians aren't that concerned about getting her in to biopsy.  I'm always concerned when things change without much stimulus or why they appeared in the first place, but I'm no physician.  I've been keeping my fix-it blog up to date but people are more interested in the kids.  By the time I come home from work, we eat, maybe do piano, and then go to bed.

For my birthday (34--entering my mid thirties), I got some chocolates.  I like dark chocolate, but anything beyond about 70% is too dark.  Well, there was some 85% in my stash and the kids got into it.  Also, my peanut M&M's began disappearing.  Turns out Scott had climbed up on the sewing machine table, removed the chocolates from the high shelf and helped to eat all but the 85%.  Kira and Tyler joined in, but I found pieces of the 85% all around the house.  Even in the bed.

We got Tyler's report card.  He did better than expected and seems to be thriving.  He can memorize things easily and does well with his Spanish accent.  Scott has improved his reading quite a bit and is enjoying it now.

Kira speaks the most Spanish out of the kids and can repeat short sentences.  Her hair is still a mess and I want to cut it short, but Heidi was traumatized by a bad haircut from her youth.  So we'll keep Kira's hair a rat nest for now.

Blakey has been real fussy for the past week.  He had explosive diarrhea in which he would soil his outfits every three hours.  He doesn't have it anymore, but he still cries a lot and doesn't sleep well.
Okay, that's all for now.

Freedom and Politics

The past weeks and months have been a time for me to examine my ideals, beliefs, and what I personally stand for. What a great blessing to be a part of a democracy which fosters this personal growth and reflection instead of taking it away.

Everytime I went down our street and saw signs, both for and against propositions and candidates, I felt proud to be an American.

With that said, it was so sad to see how many interpret that freedom as a duty to bash, put down and name call a side with a differing viewpoint.

I am pro-life.  I have had very sacred and personal experiences in my life that have formed this belief.  Has everyone had those same experiences?  No.  Do I consider others wrong who are pro-choice?  No, however, it would be wrong for me with the experiences and knowledge I had while pregnant to stand for any other belief.

If our state legalizes marijuana, will I teach my kids to smoke marijuana?  Of course not, just like I don't  teach them to smoke cigarettes.  Just because the majority says something is legal doesn't mean it is right for my family.

Our Nation is Divided.  I don't know what the solution is or sadly if there is one.  As a result politicians spend a lot of time getting very little done.  While I believe all truly want the common good for our society, we are all seeing how it is harder to reach that when the morale fabrics of our society continue to become more and more divided.

So the question I have spent a lot of time reflecting upon is what to do about it.  The answer came simply and powerfully: Be the best person, mother, wife and community member I can be.  Teach my children right from wrong. Teach them that living a certain way leads to happiness and fulfillment.  Be just as strong an influence on my family as society will be.  What a sacred responsibility!

I will continue to stand for what I believe.  I will rely on faith, prayer, love and constant attention to my family to teach them to become good, morale members of society, loving husbands and wives, mothers and fathers. It makes me want to be a better person, better mom and wife.  It makes me want to be a greater influence for good on my family and children.

Does the nation dictate my happiness or belief?  Yes and no.  As laws and ideals shift, I will still have the freedom to choose how I will personally live and what I will personally stand for and yes because I am blessed with that freedom!  For that I am very grateful to be an American.  I am grateful for the election we just had.  I am grateful for our wonderful country that blesses me with that!