California McMillans

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 you

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

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 t

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

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 t

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.  Ju

Danny's surgery went well.  He went in today to get some nerves cut that have been causing horrible, daily pain that affects daily life.  I am not much of a worrier but I was really really really hoping that this worked.  My mom's best friend, our Aunt Rita, had nerve damage that was so horribly excruciating she finally got her leg amputated.  Danny's was nothing like hers but he told his surgeon he was ready to amputate than to live in this pain.  My heart goes out to all those with chronic pain.  I very much take my health for granted. He had a similar surgery done a year after his first hip and got immediate relief. When we left the hospital today he thought it was better.  He has some phantom pain lower in his leg, but the back pain seems to be alleviated.  Keep him in your prayers.  This could be a huge blessing. It seems like we have been receiving a lot of pretty awesome blessings lately.  A lot to give thanks for during the season of thanks.  

Ok, we listen to AM radio.  Every time I listen to talk radio, I am reminded that I am old.   Anyway, today while we were driving to Walnut Creek there was a lady on the radio that couldn't stop talking about the Romney boys serving Mormon missions instead of serving in the military and if they loved their country they would have served in the military.  Apparently, Ann Romney had been talking about the positive impact her sons' missions had had on their lives. While no service can be compared to serving in the armed forces, I do feel that anytime we serve, whether serving for the liberty of our country, serving in our professions, humanitarian service, volunteering or serving in our church, we are bettering society and bettering ourselves.  This is a commendable and good thing.  The talk radio hostess was so bold as to state that the only reason mormons serve missions is to grow their church and thus have more money for their church. That got me.  I thought about the

Wassup? Oh, you want me to find my own binky?

I went in for my biopsy today and they were unable to do it.  The doctor was concerned that my inflamatory processes were too high.  She explained this might be a result of my pregnancy with Blake, infection, hot nodule or disease.  They want to make sure that it wasn't a hot nodule that elevated the esr.  She doesn't want to biopsy until she repeats labs in a couple of weeks. She is hoping to see a decrease in my sedimentation rate during my next round of labs.  My hormone level is really low, pretty much non-existent but t-3 and t-4 levels are normal which she said might be a result of the cyst interfering with my thyroid function. She said my cyst is very large and pushing on my wind pipe and eventually lead to more symptoms.  She was surprised I didn't experience signs of having trouble breathing.  It hurts my ear right now and I can feel where it is pressing but not painful or troublesome to breathe.  She showed it to me on the ultrasound and it is a lot bigger than

I got sick right before going on vacation and of course was sensitive to my aches and pains and noticed a lump in my neck from about a month ago that was still there.  Told Danny, who was upset and told me if I were his patient he would send me off to the Doctors right away. I was going on my trip and promised I would go to the doctors upon arrival home. Luckily sickness passed within a couple of days.  I was slightly concerned I am so tired and get sick more than I used to. Went to doctor, who I love, on Friday and ended up spending three hours at the doctors, getting annoying moles removed, tb test, labs and antibiotics there with 4 children.  Luckily I rock at doctors visits with kids and barely survived.  She thought the lump was probably a swollen lymph node, which didn't explain why it wasn't going away and I was so tired all the time, put me on antiobiotics and set up a follow up appt. Labs came back normal for infection.  The abnormals were non-existent tsh yet no

Fall break is over and it was soo much fun!  We got to visit Glen and Janine who are serving a mission in Las Vegas.  It was Conference weekend which I love!  It was so nice to sit, talk, catch up, listen to conference and see them as missionaries. They are working so hard.  They are doing an incredible job and blessing so many lives. I thought a lot about my mission.  As I reflected on mission life I realized how blessed I was to serve in Barcelona with amazing mission presidents, companions, members and districts. I got to know my first mission president well as I served in the office zone and he was so full of love.  We wanted to be obedient simply because we wanted to love the Lord as he loved the Lord and loved us. The missionaries came to talk to my kids about serving a mission and that was one of my highlights.  I hope they choose to serve missions someday.  It was one of the greatest blessings of my life.  The mission age changed from 19 to 18 and 21 to 19 for girls whic

Heidi, her dad, and the kids drove the van to Las Vegas to hang with my parents.  I flew to LV the following day and here are some sites we checked out. Then we left for dizzyland at 6:05 Monday morning.  The kids had a great time.  I started getting into the urban myths about Disneyland and began asking workers for insider information.  Heidi didn't believe any of it.

Finally got Tyler to predictably ride Little Bike.  We rode to Krey twice and he doesn't quite have the stamina, but I remember when Scott used to ride Little Bike to Northgate, he'd get tired, too.  Then, on Wednesday, Scott and I decided to ride bikes to soccer practice but Heidi left Scott's bike and insta-tandem at the school.  I pulled down White Lightning, filled up the tires for Scott, and we made it to soccer.  White Lightning is still a little big for Scott but here he is, riding it.  25 years old. And here's Kira on the trike in Walnut Creek.  We went to Brett's house and I brought along some oil so I could lube the squeaky wheels.  By the time we got there, the trike was going pretty good.

As Danny rode off on his bike with Scott behind waving good-bye, yelling over and over, "I love you mom, have a good day, see you soon," with his backpack bigger than he is I wondered when my baby got so big.  So good on a bike to turn around and wave without falling or running into parked cars.  I wondered how we were so lucky to live in a beautiful neighborhood and country. I was filled with JOY! I was filled with joy that danny is so lucky to do something he loves that allows him to ride the boys to school! This type of joy that can't be bought with money, a big house of fancy cars.  It is the joy that is found with family, friends, love and living close to God.  The joy of having a wonderful husband.  The joy of having kids who enjoy school and are striving to be good little people.  The joy that my husband gets to take my kids to school because he works down the street.  I love our little neighborhood.  It is perfect for our family!  I felt so blessed! I was fi

Can you believe Tyler is 5??  I really can't but so far 5 has been magical.  Except for the bad headache last night, Tyler is a new kid.  He is happy, healthy, social, fun to be around, loveable with a little kick instead of a lot.  His fontan has made him into a new kid and we are all loving it.  His cardiologist said that kids personalities oftentimes transform after the Fontan and not being so oxygen deprived.  I didn't hold my breathe, but he has miraculously transformed.  It makes me realize how sick he really was.  His blueness became normal and I thought his personality was just him being tough.  I guess he really wasn't feeling well for the first 4 1/2 years of his life.  Gives me a little more patience and empathy to try to understand why my kids or adults for that matter act the way they do.   It is a miracle.  Each birthday for Tyler is a miracle. We have so much to celebrate this year!  He started school and loves it.  He has made some great friends.  He en

This is when I went to Max's wedding one day late...My mom told me she thought it was Friday and sure enough she was right.  While I missed the dancing and mingling lucky me got to hang out with my bestie Laurel and her sweet little guy. These little men are about 3 monhths apart. Our last kids are 1 day apart. Robin served me up some yummy mexican from the night before and her bundt cake that was SOOO good.  I can't stop thinking about it.  I got to actually talk to the special couple Max and Emily without any rush.  It was a fabulous post wedding night...so if you aren't quite ready for your wedding to end in a night, just invite me and I might just extend the party!  This is my life with 4.  

Aquaknights had their awards ceremony and Scott's relay did pretty well. Tyler enjoyed the hot tub more than anything. A sinking Kira has had to be pulled from the pool at least three times but she's learning how to breathe. Scott's happy about the regalia Blakey is thinking, "Hmmm, steak or chicken?" Tyler says, "Cheese!"  Look, that open bite is almost closed.  And Tyler can pretty much do bathroom duty on his own.  Sweeeet.