Delgado Family Matters

Happy 2012!

2012-01-16T20:59:00.000-08:00

Here's hoping for more blog entries! At least 4. That will be 1 more than last year :)

Some Late night thoughts...

2011-02-17T00:20:00.000-08:00

Just felt like rambling. I can't sleep and I need to do something with this overactive brain. So, I'm writing some random thoughts. And to amuse myself. So...

Why is it when I'm the most exhausted, I can't sleep? And when I'm up late there is nothing good on TV? Grr...

So...I'm listening to a song titled "Jar of Hearts", sung by Christina Perry. I do like it, I wouldn't listen to it otherwise, but, I do raise an eyebrow at some of the lyrics. The part I question is in the chorus, which starts out quite dramatically (which I like-give me the theatrics, I like it!) So...

CHORUS

And who do you think you are?

Running 'round leaving scars

Collecting your jar of hearts

And tearing love apart

YOU'RE GONNA CATCH A COLD

From the ice inside your soul

So don't come back for me...

Who do you think you are?

Okay...YOU'RE GONNA CATCH A COLD?? First of all, the guy she's singing about is a JERK and all you're going to wish upon him is a COLD? A cold? I know there are a lot more words that rhyme with soul...goal, mole, hole, toll. How about, "You'll sprout a disgusting mole..." Okay, it's been a long day...

But hey, at least...at least...

It's better than Ke$ha's "Your Love is my Drug" or Rihanna's "Love the way You Lie". No one loves the way anyone lies. Unless it's the husband to the wife: Wife: "Does this dress make me look fat?" Husband: "No dear, you look great!" That's the only kind of lie that anyone loves. Anyway, who writes these songs? Seriously. I should write songs. I'll sing about mismatched socks and organizing pantries. That's real.

So, before I write more nonsense, I better try to go to sleep. Another long day awaits. Mismatched socks and pantry organizing await me, to be exact. Goodnight!

Four Fingers

2011-02-13T22:33:00.000-08:00

I had the chance to help at church today with the little Sunbeams. In my church the little Sunbeams are the wee ones who just got out of Nursery. In Nursery they got to play with toys and have snacks. As Sunbeams they get to join the older kids with singing time, sharing time and they go to their own little classroom for a Sunday school lesson. Let me just say, I actually broke out in a sweat today. I was not prepared to take 6 little ones to go potty (in pairs-not ALL at once, are you crazy?). Luckily for me it went well. As for the lesson, well...they half paid attention, climbed on chairs, and each other, we had one lick another and just your general 4 year old squirminess. Which I find hilarious. I often observe my 4 year old, because I just honestly wish I knew what went on in his little brain. Why is looking under your chair more interesting than a picture of Jesus?
My Elijah is a Sunbeam. He is 4. When asked their age today, they each proudly held up their chubby little fingers. Four chubby fingers. So sweet. We talked about baptism and the teacher explained to them that in just four more fingers, (it seemed easier for them to grasp the concept of how many more fingers, instead of YEARS) they get to be baptized. It dawned on me that my baby...my baby! ...will be baptized in 4 years. It hardly seems fair that they grow so fast.
Earlier this evening I held his tiny hand, as I often do, and he showed me his 4 fingers. I thought of what each of those 4 fingers represented and felt a pang of melancholy. His first year of life...all his firsts, and seconds. The terrible twos. Potty training and pre-school. Honestly, I didn't mean to suddenly turn what was supposed to be a fun post about these little ones into something sappy and emotional, but as I started writing it became clear that it is what's really on my mind. And in my heart. So hug your babies tight, relish those milestones, and cherish those precious moments, big and small, because one minute they are these tiny beings you hold in your arms and the next they are showing you their 4 little fingers just to remind you how fleeting it all is.

It's a No Make-Up Crazy Hair I feel like Crap Day!

2011-02-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

After waking up with a sore throat, runny nose and headache, I could tell in 3.7 seconds that it was going to be a no make-up day. I threw on my favorite jeans, t-shirt and shoes, rushed the kids off to school and came home and crawled back into bed. I ignored the fact that my to-do list was a bit long today and turned to my favorite channel, ID. Every morning, all morning they show murder mysteries on Dateline ID, my favorite kind of show. And my perfect kind of excuse to ignore the to-do list. Guilt washed over me (briefly) and in between commercials I fixed breakfast for Elijah and I and put in a load of laundry.

Then...I crawled right back into bed. Jeans and t-shirt on. But no make-up. Crazy hair. And no make-up and crazy hair = A-I'm- staying- home- and- being- lazy- because- I- feel- like- crap- and- don't- want- another- human- to- see- me- in- this- disheveled- state- otherwise- OMG- did- you- see- Jane- this- morning- which- could- cause-me-to-lose- friends- and- respect- and- quite- frankly- I- wouldn't- want- to- see- me- in- this- state- so- I'm- staying- home- and- hiding- under- the- covers kind of day. I'll take this day as a loss. But hey, there's always tomorrow....right?

Coming to Terms

2011-02-01T17:18:00.000-08:00

I've realized that there are so many things I've had to learn to come to terms with. First, there's this extra baby weight that comes and goes. But then I realize that I can no longer call it baby weight-the last baby I had is now 4. I think that hardly qualifies as baby weight. After a marathon, several half marathons, killing myself at the gym and finally losing weight only to find it AGAIN, I've had to come to terms with this chubby me. At least once a day I look in the mirror and say, "Wow my butt is huge!" Then comes acceptance-reluctantly, but acceptance nonetheless. And so I have come to terms with that.

Second, is that I am surrounded by talented women. And I, unfortunately am talentless. I don't sew fabulously, in my case it's at all, I don't sing beautifully-I'm lucky if I'm even in the right key. I don't have a beautifully decorated home and have come to terms that it is not even nicely organized. I don't decorate cakes, or make cutesy little crafts and the like. Yet I have come to terms with the home I do keep. It is more messy than it is tidy. It is loud and crowded and even if I could decorate a cake I wouldn't have the time.

So my point in all this is that though I have a conjured image in my mind of the perfect woman, I am content with being me. Imperfect in so many aspects, but humble, loving, caring, dedicated and first and foremost a mother. I gladly accept the small talents a loving Heavenly Father saw fit to bestow upon me, even if they hide in the shadows of many other grandiose talents of those around me. I can accept the physical attributes I've been given, despite the fact that I lack height, but not weight. I gladly embrace the life I've been blessed to lead, no matter how hectic, disorganized or challenging. Coming to terms with all this helps me to LOVE everything about myself. This is something I've finally learned to do after 35 years. Quite frankly, it feels good.

So I lied!

2011-01-20T17:29:00.000-08:00

I said there would be more posts. So far...NONE. I just get blog shy, blog anxious. I feel like I have so much to say, so much to share and then at the end of the day I lose all inspiration. And I still can't load pictures to the computer. Bleh! I'm trying, I'm trying...

Finally a Family Photo!

2011-01-07T12:24:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from our family to yours!

Happy 2011!

2011-01-07T11:54:00.000-08:00

So it begins again...a new year, new hopes and new goals. I love that renewed feeling at the beginning of a new year. Where you feel like you can take on the world (ok, not really) and accomplish so much. So, as you can probably tell, one of my goals this year is to keep our family blog updated. I've dragged my feet when it comes to posting. My excuses are legitimate! Okay, they're not, they are in fact lame. But I sounded convincing! I almost convinced myself. But seriously, I've had trouble uploading pictures to my computer, and let's face it, posts with no pictures are, well, boring. Then there's Facebook. The "social network". It has taken away my desire to blog because Facebook is like my "mini blog". In 2-3 sentences I can post about family happenings and share it with family and friends, near or far. And posting pictures directly from my phone onto Facebook is painless!

But...I have not posted on here for six months! Six months! And that makes me sad. So I will try...again. So here is to a new year, new goals and lots of new posts!

My Julian

2010-06-28T21:42:00.001-07:00

His birthday was actually yesterday, but with being on the road and such, I didn't make it on time to post on his actual birthday. Either way, it was a day spent remembering him, his sweet smile, his sweet spirit and all the joy he brought to our lives. As his mom, I sometimes think, I would give anything, anything just to still have him here with me. But then I remember how he suffered physically, and all the unbelievable physical pain he endured and then I instead thank my Heavenly Father for the time I did have him, and that 12 years and 8 months was enough.
I also remember how great the blessing is to be an eternal family. I am still his mommy. I will always be his mommy. On especially tough days I try to remind myself of this often. It also reminds me that the time we have on this Earth is but a brief moment compared to all eternity, and that I have something to look forward to. I can only imagine the sweet day when I can be reunited with my son again. Til then I continue to cherish the memory of Julian, of the time we had him here on earth.
So a very happy birthday to my very sweet, sweet boy!

A picture of the Salt Lake Temple by night. Just to help remind me that families are forever.

I'm Still Posting about Rhode Island!

2010-06-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

Newport, RI. Hanging out at the Marriot. The day after my brother's wedding. And the wedding reception. And the party after the wedding reception. We needed to unwind. So...I started a game of UNO. A game of UNO between cousins...

UNO...Filipino Style. Smack-talking. Obnoxious players. Loud. Ruthless. It started so innocently between my cousin Paul and I (who I hadn't seen in 18 years) and my cousin Mikey. As you can see my brothers and more cousins joined in. The most unforgettable game of UNO. Ever. How many people can say that? About UNO? They turned an ordinary game into something truly memorable. And obnoxious. And loud.

Family at the after party. My cousin's wife is on the left, my cousin Jewel, semi-hiding in the background, her brother Paul, the one I hadn't seen in 18 years and my Uncle Junie, their dad, who I hadn't seen in 18 years as well, and on the very right is my mom.

We visited The Breakers. Beautiful mansions on the waterfront of Rhode Island. One of the mansions was used in the movie The Dark Knight. They were enormous and beautiful and made me feel like I live in a shack.

It was freezing! And all along the walkway, only feet from the water we could feel the ocean waves spraying their mist. There were good sized waves too!

The ladies stopping to pose in front of one of the mansions. I hope to go back very soon! Of course to see my brother and sister in law, but I loved Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Hope to return very soon!

More Elijah photos

2010-05-25T09:12:00.001-07:00

I could dedicate an entire blog to photos and posts about Elijah. He is by far the most active, imaginative, talkative, creative and craziest of all my kids. He's an attention getter with things he says and the crazy outfits he wears. He can be a mean little stinker at times, but then he offsets that by being all sweet and loving. Like he'll randomly come up to me and kiss my arm and say, "Mommy, I love you." This picture of him cracks me up.
Just one look at him and you know what he's thinking-he's looking at the water and some rocks.
And for whatever reason, when he sees rocks and a body of water he has to begin hurling them in. Hmmm...I wonder where he learned that from? ;)

One of my Favorite Wedding Photos

2010-05-23T13:35:00.001-07:00

Do they always have to travel in packs?

More of my brother's wedding photos

2010-05-22T20:16:00.001-07:00

You just know when you see a sign like this it's going to be grand!
After the wedding ceremony and their debut they started the reception with a dance. They danced to Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love", which was sung by a live band. The band was amazing! Their dance was so lovely and oh so sweet.

The cutting of the cake...they behaved and were very sweet about it...much to my disappointment. Just kidding.
The father/daughter dance was soooo sweet. I actually cried. The bride's father is such a soft spoken, tender hearted guy and they looked so sweet.
The mother/son dance. My mom is wearing a traditional Filipino dress that is customarily worn in weddings.
This picture was taken after the Dollar Dance. The Dollar Dance is a tradition done in Filipino culture where the bride and groom start off the dance and guests pin money on them and cut in and share a dance. It is a gesture of generosity shown to the newly wed couple, to help them start their new life together.
In this photo is my Aunt Lourdes and my Uncle Junie (my mom's brother). I hadn't seen them in 18 years. Besides being able to attend my brother's wedding, it was also a mini family reunion. I am so happy that I was able to attend his wedding. My brother is one of my best friends and to be able to be a part of the wedding (and all of my kids too) was an honor. As most of you know I was a bridesmaid, Dote was the pianist, Sebastian and Elijah were ring bearers and Sophia was one of the flower girls.
I wish my brother and his new bride all the best as they begin their lives as husband and wife. I wish them wisdom and strength to weather any storm and a love that grows stronger each day as they journey through life together.

Sophia

2010-05-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

She turns 6 today! We woke her up with a birthday song and it was the fastest I had ever seen her wake up. She has been excited about her birthday for a week now.
We had decided with her months ago to go to Disneyland for her birthday. And in perfect girl fashion she changed her mind. "Can I send invitations to all my friends? To come to my birthday party?" I had to gently remind her that we were going to Disneyland. She gave me her best sad puppy eyes and says "Aww." I had to stand my ground. My mind wasn't in party mode. So we are going to Disneyland. I daresay that Daddy may have given in.

As I think about her turning 6, I wonder how it is that time has just flown by so quickly. It seems that just yesterday she was a tiny baby I always held close so I could inhale her baby smell. I remember her first official outing, ponytail, trip to the beach, first day of school, first lost tooth-just last week! From a crawling baby to lip gloss user. This girl is tiny in stature, but her personality is larger than life. She's so genuine and sometimes brutally honest. But always honest, and caring and diplomatic. She is all things pink. All things girl. And yes, like I always say, one of my greatest blessings.

Happy birthday my Sophie girl!

The Bride & Groom

2010-04-30T17:43:00.001-07:00

Presenting Mr. & Mrs. Jon Mark Templado, as they make their first appearance after the wedding ceremony. She was truly a blushing bride and so beautiful! And the groom looked handsome as ever. I still can't believe my brother is finally married and I can't be happier for them. They've been together for 5 years, engaged for one and their wedding day couldn't have been more beautiful.

We're Back!!

2010-04-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

It is mighty exhausting to get a family of 6 onto a plane, to the east coast, to a wedding with a family reunion on the side-and back home! But we did it! We survived! Mostly in one piece. It was indescribable fun. I am having trouble uploading pics, but I am working on it. I am so excited to share our adventure with all of you. Not to mention that my brother got married!! More to follow. With pics. Tons of pics!

Springtime Fun

2010-04-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

Over spring break we took a little day trip down to Long Beach to the Aquarium of the Pacific. It's always such a relief to take the kids somewhere they actually love and to see them have fun! As parents we go through such great lengths to make sure the kids will have fun and not be bored and cranky. Trust me, been there done that. I loved that they loved it.

El Torito

2010-03-04T14:07:00.001-08:00

Deep fried ice cream at El Torito. It used to be one of our favorite places to eat. We hadn't eaten there in a year.

Mugging for the camera.

For some reason, I looked blue in all the pics...so I put my hand up to see if maybe it was my make-up? Hmm....don't know. My hand looks kinda blue.

She wouldn't wear the little bullhorn hat for her pic. Of course not.

Juan actually worked as a server at El Torito when we first moved to Bakersfield. For about 2 weeks. The gay cook scared him a bit. Or was it a gay waiter? All I know is there was a gay guy who would try to grope the waiters. He'd do it when they had their hands full, like carrying a tray of food or something and couldn't defend themselves. I'll have to say Juan would have dropped the tray of food if it happened to him. Luckily it never happened to him. He didn't stay long enough to chance that.

The boys gettin' rowdy!!! Which always means it's time to go.

Pinewood Derby

2010-03-02T19:59:00.001-08:00

It was a blast! Decorating for it was a lot of fun too.

The cars were awesome! The creativity that went into making these cars is amazing and I had so much fun being a judge. We awarded certificates like: Best In Show, Best Jalopy, Most Original, Most Commando and a few others.

Here's the finish line. I learned that little decorated, wooden cars zooming down a track is serious business.

Elijah indulging in chocolate frosting, from several cupcakes that he acquired from...

The cupcake tower! I knew when Bishop announced this warning on the mic: "I have just been advised that if there are any cupcakes on this table that have no frosting, do not eat them"...it had to be my son. I was right.

The little ones were quite enthralled with watching the races. Fast cars...notice how there are only little boys here watching intently.

February 25, 2010

2010-02-26T00:09:00.000-08:00

Five years ago today Julian was called home. At the time we couldn't comprehend or accept his loss, and 5 years later, we now feel a quiet joy in our hearts to know he is with our Heavenly Father. To know that his physical suffering here on earth has ended, brings us immense joy.
I miss him so much, but sometimes being strong is not about holding on, but about letting go. I know where he is. I know I will be re-united with him again. That sweet day will come soon enough.
We placed flowers at his grave today. The adjacent tree had not yet blossomed it's beautfiul white flowers. The kids ran from grave marker to grave marker. They poked at worms. Elijah gently held one in his hand. As gentle as a rough 3 year old can be. We stopped at El Torito for an early dinner. El Torito was one of the restaurants we took Julian to often. We talked about him. We miss him. But more importantly, today we remember that sweet boy who we loved beyond measure...

Hot hot hot!

2010-02-17T23:07:00.000-08:00

Is it an exaggeration to say "My house almost caught fire today!", when it only was really smoky and the smoke detectors were blaring? That's the thought I had when we came home this afternoon to find the detectors screaming and thick smoke throughout the entire house. Every room was saturated with smoke.
So Juan left some eggs boiling. For an hour and a 1/2. In my cute little pot. They were charred by the time we got home. And the smell was horrible and it is still permeating and assaulting my nostrils. I think we came home just in time. I honestly believe that if we hadn't come home when we did that a fire would have broken out.

Nothing could be salvaged. One of the handles had an ember and it actually crumbled into ashes on its bottom side! I think it'll be a while before I can eat boiled eggs again.
We opened every single window and tried to kill the horrible smell with Febreze, Airwick and Scentsy candles. We scrubbed the kitchen down. Juan scrubbed the cabinets and all surfaces. Yet the smell remains. At least he said sorry. I felt bad for him though. He was off work today, sick with bronchitis, and working on his thesis. I was off having breakfast with a friend and asked him to pick up Elijah from pre-school and bring him to me. He ended up hanging out with us and forgot all about his eggs.
It could have been worse. Sure, we may never eat boiled eggs again and right now it feels like nothing is going to eliminate this awful smell, but at least now we have a sparkly clean, freshly scrubbed kitchen. And now we know for certain that our smoke detectors work.

Birthday Dinner at Bucca di Bepo's

2010-02-16T22:53:00.000-08:00

I LOVE this restaurant. We went last month for Elijah's birthday. After a weekend of Disneyland and Downtown Disney fun, we stopped in Santa Clarita to have his birthday dinner at Bucca's. Fun, fun, fun!

It's All About LOVE...

2010-02-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

...it's what makes the world go 'round. This month I am blogging about love. If you rolled your eyes and groaned, I send you my love :P Sounds like you need some :)
So of course I am starting with my lovies. I can't put into words the love I have for my children. I just know that they make me who I am, they are the reason I want to be a better person, and if anything, they teach me all about love. I love them immensely and I am thankful that I get to be their mother.
My babies: Sebastian, 7, Sophia, 5, Elijah, 3, Dote, 16. Disneyland 2010.

California From the Sky

2010-02-03T18:01:00.000-08:00

Somewhere over Kern County...I think.

West Coast!

Great advertising for Southwest.

I love clouds!

10 Reasons You Should Go on a Cruise!

2010-01-27T16:31:00.000-08:00

10. You're on a boat! Admit it, it's cool.

9. You get your own cabin boy, who leaves chocolates on your pillow. And he makes animals out of your towels! How cool is that?

8. It's cheap. Lodging, food, shopping and entertainment all in one luxurious place. Can't beat that.

7. If anything just to hear this (in a very cool Australian accent): This is your captain speaking...

That is not the captain...just didn't know what picture to put here.

6. Wanna go dancing? On a boat the dance floor moves for you, you can just swing your arms around...you can call your new dance move "sea sickness".

Our friends showing their dance moves! Woot! And below, a shot of all the amusing drunk people.

5. Floating for a day in the middle of the ocean. Eerie...cool...you decide.

4. Vegas style entertainment. It's fabulous! A hypnotist that can convince 10 people their shoes are oxygen masks and they desperately need to breathe into them? That's reason enough. We were asked not to take pictures of the hypnotist's show, but how could I not take a picture of these people who were convinced that they were ballerinas? I could not resist.

3. It's just fun, fun, fun. And then you go into Mexico and buy fake Coach bags...fun!!! You can haggle and get them for so cheap. Who cares if you're walking around like an imposter...no one can REALLY tell your Coach bag is fake :D

2. The food. It all comes included in the package. You can eat and eat. 3 lobster tails? No problem. More ribs? Sure. ALL the desserts? Ok! Sushi bar. Luscious desserts. And your servers sing and dance for you! It was my birthday! So I chose ALL the desserts and the servers sang for me. Mostly filipinos, and they made it extra special for me :)

1.Going with your beloved. And getting all dressed up on formal night and taking tons of photos and eating so much your elegant clothes no longer fit.

Other fantastic reasons: Karaoke night. Although I think it should be called Drunk people who can't sing night. The drunker the better. The spa! A pedicure and a hot-stone massage...heavenly. The shops inside the boat. Tons of great stuff. I think these are enough reasons. So just go! We are planning our next cruise already!

So Much to Share! Just Too Lazy to Write

2010-01-21T01:32:00.000-08:00

Yes I admit it, I've just been too lazy to blog. Also, this is how blogging works for me...I click "New Post", I get all excited and start typing. Then, distraction #1. I leave computer, come back, start typing again. Distraction # 2. Repeat 10 times. Next thing you know it's 2 hours later and I've typed 3 sentences. I was risking losing all my hair over blogging. So my solution? I will not be so lazy and blog only when the kids are away or asleep. They are ALWAYS my distraction.

We'll see how well my little solution works.

Random Update

2009-11-30T22:22:00.000-08:00

It has been a very long time since I updated my blog. So I will be updating it in the next few days. I'll start with this one. I was actually excited when this happened, but I never put it up on the blog. When the good ol' Kern County Fair was in full swing, I got to go with Elijah along with his pre-school class and we witnessed a calf being born! I was so excited! I won't go into too much detail, but here a few pics:

Happy 16th!

2009-09-05T23:52:00.001-07:00

My heart is happy today! Happy to celebrate this special day with my son. Happy to share the joy with my husband who has helped to raise a diligent and strong son. We've been truly blessed with a faithful and kind-hearted kid. A real band geek, braces, glasses and all who wows us with his musical talent. Of course, like all teens he can be whiny, will eventually eat us out of house and home, has a streak of laziness on the weekends when he tries to attach himself to the computer or PS3 like some kind of abnormal tumor. But a blessing and joy he really is to have in our family!

He makes us laugh (and laugh) and can take a joke and is not afraid to laugh at himself. He has learned to take things in stride and has learned about being responsible, accountable and more importantly he values his standards. I cry sometimes when I walk by his room and I see him kneeled at his bedisde in prayer. He reminds me that I need to be close to my Heavenly Father and I wish I could share all the times that he has been an example of faith, love, patience and service to me. For his birthday he said he wanted to receive his Patriarchal blessing and wanted to fast.

We celebrated the day with his friends. A great group of guys. We had pizza, soda, cake, chips, dip. Rockband. Games. Fun. Friendship. Family. Love! Happy 16th birthday!

Happy 7th Birthday Sebastian!

2009-08-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

How can it be that the little 8.4 pound baby that I brought home 7 years ago...is 7? My pregnancy with Sebastian was so difficult, and after being put on bed rest at about 30 weeks I prayed that time would fly and I could hold him in my arms finally. He was born 3 days shy of his due date-the LONGEST I've ever been pregnant, all my babies were born weeks early of their due date. (Dote was born at 34 weeks and only 4 pounds.) Sebastian came into this world a sweet, chunky baby with a head full of beautiful golden hair! He was such a sweet, calm baby...just hungry ALL the time, and that hasn't changed!
I'm so excited that it's his birthday since Sebastian loves birthdays. He has been counting down the days until his birthday on the calendar since June! To wake him up this morning we sang Happy Birthday to him and his face just lit up.
We are so thankful for this little boy who loves giving big hugs, loves being in pictures, loves the beach, and loves birthdays!

Pismo 2009

2009-08-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

Our summer beach trip was wonderful! These are some pics I took for my own little photo shoot. My dream is to have one of the local photography studios take our family portrait, which they do on the beach. Each year we go I see this little studio and I can't wait until we can take a family portrait without injuries and crying and fighting. They were so good for my little photo shoot. I love how sweet they look in these pictures, and that you can't buy from a fancy studio.

THE Haircut Fiasco

2009-08-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Here are the much requested pics of the kids' self-haircuts. The Friday before the first day of school, Sebastian, Sophia, and Elijah all gave each other haircuts! Although it was more like, Sophia cut some of her hair, some of Sebastian's and then they helped Elijah with his haircut. Sebastian also helped Sophia cut her hair in the back. And she of course assisted Sebastian with his cut. I don't have a picture of Sebastian's hair, but just imagine very, very lopsided bangs. On hair that is stick-straight and has a life of its own and therefore is impossible to style. Here are some pics:

Early in August at Pismo, before we trimmed it just an inch because she didn't want her hair to be short.

Here's the back before we took her to the salon to get it fixed.
Her sad little face...
The first day of school, a new short bob!

Here's a pic of Elijah the day before at his pre-school open house.

I'm so glad he has no idea that he has a bald patch on his head. He was too busy enjoying the leftover Nutella on his face.

The New School Year!

2009-08-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

I am a day late in posting this since yesterday was just super busy. I did not even have a chance to sit at the computer. And since I'm helping the younger ones make some sleep adjustments, I was asleep by 9:30. We have crazy sleeping arrangements-more on that craziness later.
So the 2009-2010 school year is upon us and I have so many hopes for all of my kids. Dote is a junior this year, Sebastian is in 2nd grade, Sophia started kindergarten and Elijah will start pre-school in 2 weeks.
I was so proud that Sebastian knew where his classroom was and has offered his big brother services to Sophia: "I'll walk you to class in the mornings Sophia." To which she replied: "I can walk myself, I know where my classroom is." I'm so glad that they're being so brave because I honestly was feeling anxious for them and their "first day at school" experience. They did just fine.

They are both going to be a little upset...

2009-08-13T03:35:00.000-07:00

...oh well! So in this picture of Juan, it is the cruise ship in Mexico. Mexico was awesome! The fun part? He had his appendix removed just 10 days before! What's more fun than that? His acute appendicitis was caused by a fecalith...I dare you to google that one. The poor guy thought he had gas, which, when he says that I usually roll my eyes and walk away. Then the pain worsened and by the following day he was being rushed in for an emergency appendectomy!

Now on to his junior...(he may not ever forgive me for posting this pic...but oh well!) He had his 4 wisdom teeth extracted and as expected his face had some major swelling...And 4 days later I could not believe my eyes as he casually walks by me with a mouthful of some Hubba Bubba bubble gum! I wanted to flick him with a fecalith...seriously, look it up.

Here's a super handsome one of him for comparison and I figured I'd add it so that maybe he won't be so upset that I posted his chipmunk-cheeked one. The pic below is from a few months ago when his HS band played at a senior citizens home. I was so impressed at how excited he was that all these "old people" knew the songs they were performing, so I took a picture! No better way to capture a special moment.

The last 4 months...

2009-08-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

Ever since the cruise we...

...changed the carpet and put laminate flooring throughout the house and new carpet in our bedroom.

We got a new bedroom set!
Dote played keyboard for jazz band again and their annual concert was awesome!

Sophia turned 5! She had a ballerina-themed birthday party and her cousins and friends celebrated with her!

Juan turned 39 and we celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary!

The kids celebrated their cousin Tobie's 3rd birthday on the 4th of July.

We celebrated the 4th of July with our friends in Tehachapi. It was wonderful! The kids loved their tire swing.

Sophia had her first dance recital...she did not like it, but she loved the flowers! Ok...this is a quick update, more to come!

Cruise Trip

2009-04-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

The first day of our trip was just to head out to Tehachapi to meet our friends Katie and Eric and their kids, who were our awesome traveling companions, and head out to their time share just outside of San Diego at a beautiful place called KQ Ranch. It is a few miles away from Julian, CA, which is an historic town that used to be a mining town. I loved that town, (not just because of the name.) We arrived there at about 9:45pm and it was freezing! It was 35 degrees and at about a 4,000ft elevation. We unloaded vehicles and began loading our friends' trailer. The kids (7 in all) watched a movie and then we called it a night. Their trailer was amazing-all 11 of us fit and we were nice and toasty.

CRUISE DAY 1

After a 2 hour long check-in process we finally got onto the ship and to our cabins-4 in all. They were spacious and super comfy. The ship took off around 6pm, right at dinner time and the rocking gave me motion sickness-I thought for sure I was going to vomit! Thankfully I didn't and was able to enjoy the rest of the cruise. Later in the evening we checked the kids into their respective "Carnival camps" all done by age groups. They had tons of activities to keep them busy so that the adults could enjoy themselves! We checked out a very fun musical show and then called it a night.

CRUISE DAY 2

The boat docked in Ensenada, Mexico by early morning, set to stay until 5PM. We had some of the kids go with us into Mexico (of course Elijah wouldn't stay at camp Carnival) and did a little tour of La Bufadora and some fun shopping and lunch. After heading back onto the ship we continued with an awesome dinner, a few shows, some duty-free shopping and just had a wonderful time with the kids and our friends.

CRUISE DAY 3

The ship just stays out in the middle of the ocean on this day and I found it unnerving for some reason to look out at the vast ocean and see no land. It was breathtaking and made me feel so small. We took the kids to swim on the deck and enjoyed yet another lunch and dinner. If there is one thing of abundance on the ship it is FOOD. Lots and lots of food. For the evening we enjoyed another show and got ready to arrive back in Cali the next morning.
....Day 4...off the ship finally and back to KQ Ranch where we enjoyed the beautiful surroundings, the quiet and just relaxing. We swam, played mini-golf and relaxed more. The kids absolutely loved it ALL. We are talking about doing it again...without kids, sorry kids! I think the adults loved it more!

The Fun Ship Sails!

2009-04-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

And it has returned. From San Diego and into Ensenada, Mexico. Out of Mexico into the middle of the ocean and back to San Diego. 3 days of fun, food, and sun. I am still trying to unpack and get laundry done, but I will definitely post more about our cruise...

Props

2009-03-19T23:26:00.000-07:00

For about a year and a half Juan has been pursuing his Masters at Cal State to become a nurse practitioner. He has done this while continuing to work full time and has made it on the dean's list again! We are so proud of him and we just had to give him some props. Only one more year to go!

He's in LOVE!

2009-03-09T15:27:00.000-07:00

My son has found true love. I know he will be true and loyal. Dedicated and loving. He will no doubt dote on his true love. All his attention will be focused on her...

He will only have eyes for her...

Ahhh...true love. Isn't it sweet?...

Such a cute couple...

HAHAHA!

Sophia's First Dance class (and a mom who wouldn't shoosh!)

2009-03-05T16:02:00.000-08:00

Today was Sophia's first official dance class. We put it off for a long time because she kept saying she was too shy to dance in front of people. But at home all she would ever do is dance and pose like a ballerina, so...I finally enrolled her. While we were getting ready she was still hesitant and guess what? As soon as she saw the dance studio her eyes lit up and she was so excited. She loved it! And my heart is glad.
During this first class there was a mom (and dang it, I'll be seeing her once a week)who talked very loudly during the entire class. And she was so snooty. Don't get me wrong, I can talk your ears off, but this lady was something else. In one hour I now know where this lady lives, what the interior and exterior of her house looks like. Her neighbor's house as well. I know what she pays for her monthly utilities, all about her mom and husband...and on and on. And she wasn't even talking to me, she was actually rude to me, but I tend to ignore rude people, though it was hard to ignore her, she talked so loud. She actually turned to me at one point and asked Elijah's age. She then says "oh" and then turns back to the lady she was chatting with. And then totally ignored when I asked the age of her little boy. Seriously, I just wanted to tell her to "shoosh"! That's nicer than "shut-up" right?
Anyway, Sophia can't wait for her next class! I'm so happy for her, however, for the next class I'm bringing my mp3 player!

Sophia's favorite dress at the moment. She wears it daily, twirling and doing ballerina poses. It is supposed to be her Easter dress and it is now ragged and torn in a few places. Which should make Easter pictures quite interesting.

It's always gray on this day...

2009-02-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

Today marks the 4th anniversary of Julian's passing. The day he died, the day was gray and gloomy and it even briefly rained. Every February 25th after has been the same. Today is no different. The memory I have of the day he died is still so vivd. Some days I want to remember every detail and on other days I would rather forget. We were by his side when he took his last breath and nothing in the world can prepare you for the moment you know your child's life on this earth is over. He died peacefully, in his sleep. It was anguishing for Juan to hold back from doing CPR and let him go.
I know that I will see him again, but having that knowledge doesn't make me miss him any less. I find great comfort knowing that he is no longer in any physical pain and that his suffering in this life is over. For 12 years and 8 months we were privileged to have a special spirit be a part of our lives. Throughout his whole life we were ever thankful to get to have him yet another day. And on this day I am thankful to know he is still my son and I'm still his mommy. He was well loved by our whole family and is greatly missed. Today my tears flow freely as I remember his death, and I know I will have tears of joy as I remember his life and how I cannot possibly imagine how happy he is in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father.

He is the reason his daddy is a nurse and future nurse practitioner.

Sorry Toys R Us

2009-02-23T21:00:00.000-08:00

I will no longer be buying toys. My kids prefer playing with, take a guess...flashlights. They will fight and scream and cause physical harm over a flashlight! Even though they have boxes and boxes of toys. Fancy, expensive toys. They love flashlights.
Just imagine Elijah running down the hallway, one arm in the air, with a death grip on a flashlight screaming "Noooo, I first!" (no 'r' in first) and Sophia giving crazy chase behind him screaming at the top of her high pitched lungs, "I had it first!!!" A fierce fight ensues. And why bother offering another flashlight, when they want to fight to the death for the very same one? So...the flashlight is now safely hidden away, my voice is a little hoarse, my sanity slightly intact and Toys R Us won't be seeing me anytime soon.

Just A Few Things I Want to Remember

2009-02-19T19:47:00.000-08:00

These 2 are my favorite gamers. Uncle and nephew decided one night that they were going to stay up all night playing video games. Nubes. Ha! So I wake up at 5AM to check up on them and they are both passed out on the couches. I did take a picture of them asleep, maybe I should have posted that one instead. I posted this one though because it makes me laugh at their ambition to have a "24-hour gaming marathon". I love these 2 guys.

This is the picture Sebastian drew last year in Kindergarten that was selected by the BCSD to be permanently displayed at the education center. I just want to remember that despite his challenges with his speech, he has this wonderful talent. He draws beautiful, detailed pictures. I can't draw to save my life. My stick people look like trees and for some reason when I draw a circle, the ends don't meet.

Elijah Elijah Elijah...he has a huge personality in such a small body! Here he is eating cereal. Not Froot Loops, not Apple Jacks, not some kid cereal. He's eating Frosted mini-wheats. He would rather eat that than eat kids cereals. He prefers Special K, mini-wheats, cornflakes or Honey bunches of Oats over my favorite, Lucky Charms. Funny boy!

This picture makes me sad, but it also reminds me that we are blessed to have the advanced medical technology that we have. My Sophia is my one child who is rarely sick and it was hard to see her so sick. I'm thankful for her resiliency and how brave she was throughout her ordeal.

Cousins

2009-02-18T13:44:00.000-08:00

Today I am watching my nephew and niece, ages 7 and 3. That means Sebastian and Sophia each have someone to play with and it always works out beautifully. The boys get to play video games and the girls usually have a tea party or something princess related.
Growing up as a military brat who had to move every few years, I didn't get the chance to grow up with my cousins. I always wished that I had and now I'm so glad that my kids have that opportunity. And they have lots of cousins to play with. 10 in all and hopefully more in the future?

Cousins Sophia and Samantha. They are my tough girly-girls.

When Jerry met Jean (Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!)

2009-02-17T13:27:00.000-08:00

He tried to impress her on his motorcycle-in the rain-and ended up slipping and sliding instead. He was a wealthy farm boy, she was a cheerleader city girl. My parents were the perfect case of opposites attracting. Now after 36 years of marriage they still tease each other about how they met. My dad was the outgoing, social guy, while my mom was the shy conservative one. She apparently didn't like him the first time they met-she said he was a show-off!
As a newlywed couple they left the Philippines after my dad enlisted in the US Air Force, wanting to follow in my grandfather's military footsteps. The first place my dad was stationed at was Guam, where I was born. Then onto Blaine, WA, Albuquerque, NM, Clark AB, Philippines, Albuquerque, NM, Aviano AB, Italy, Kaiserslautern, Germany, back to Italy and now they live in Yuba City, CA. They have traveled the world together and still do.
My dad would always say there was no sacrifice too great for his family. I think of my childhood and I know he did all in his power to provide a good life for us and a stable home. My mom was the soft, nurturing touch when we were small and the tough supporter when we were older. They make a great team and I am thankful to know that despite numerous odds they are still together after 36 years. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

All That Glitters...

2009-02-13T00:51:00.000-08:00

...is not gold! It's gooey glitter glue and my kids seem to have a knack for getting it everywhere! Sebastian was busy all evening decorating his Valentine mailbox. Sophia did hers last night to give out to her pre-school friends today. Oh the concentration level they maintain while making these little Valentines cards is too cute. And amusing. Sebastian is so excited for his party at school, he can hardly contain himself! Our kids play group is having a Valentine's party, which Sophia and Elijah will attend. So much fun...and all in the name of love!!

Time for an Update!

2009-02-10T13:27:00.000-08:00

Seriously! I know I need to get with it. It's just one other thing after the other thing and then the day's over and my blog stays neglected. In trying to start the new year with a clean house I ended up starting various organizing projects and basically opened a can of worms. Here's a tip for getting organized: One room at a time!
Anyway, quick update:
After recovering from a nasty throat infection at the beginning of January, we have now barely recovered from the flu. I had gone up to Yuba City for my Dad's birthday bash and brought more than leftover birthday cake back. The flu! It was definitely the worst I've ever felt. Today is the first day where I feel normal. I just took Sebastian, Sophia and Elijah to the doctor. Diagnosis: Sebastian, sinus infection. Sophia, pneumonia. Elijah, ear infection. So it's another round of antibiotics.
In January our family (combined) has 6 birthdays. And I have 3 godchildren who also have January birthdays. For Elijah we had a little family dinner, followed by cake, a trip to Burbank to Ikea to buy a bunk bed and then John's Incredible Pizza. My Dad's birthday party was a lot of fun. I believe we had about 50 guests including us, but not including the roasted pig. Good food, good company, too much fun.
Juan has been back at school. After Christmas break and 2 weeks off from work he didn't want to go back! I wouldn't either. So, on Mondays and Tuesdays it's single parent duty for me since he doesn't get home until 10 at night. Just a little over a year and he's done! Now I hear fighting, so I will end this long and winded post.
Here's Elijah opening one of his presents:

Birthday celebration dinner. Can't believe he's 2!

The real guest of honor at my Dad's birthday party.

A bird's eye view of the dessert table. That's where I hang out, lol.

He's 2 and he's Terrible!

2009-01-09T01:32:00.000-08:00

Two years ago this child of mine decided he wanted to arrive 3 and-a-half weeks early. And at 5:24 AM nonetheless. Labor started at about 1AM and by the time we arrived at the hospital I was at 9cm and ready to push! It was like a drive-by delivery. Later that day we went home with our new bundle of joy! And now he's 2! An unexpected blessing this one, yet just as loved as if he were planned perfectly. He completes our family and I can't picture my life any differently.

I love that he sleeps like this! Just cool as a cucumber.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T00:26:00.000-08:00

2009 is here! It's always exciting just to think of what lies ahead in the future! And again Christmas didn't make it on my blog. It was wonderful despite Sophia having a massive bacterial infection followed by IV antibiotic treatment, followed by the rest of us coming down with Strep throat resulting in more antibiotics, fever and just plain feeling icky! Icky is a word I don't even like, but it seems to fit here.
The one benefit of us being sick? I cleaned and disinfected the entire house, from top to bottom, every room, bed, surface, doorknob...etc...just in time for the new year! There is something satisfying and therapeutic in starting the new year with a clean house. As far as new year's resolutions? My list is long-more on that later.

This is how we spent New Year's Eve, at home in our pajamas snuggled beneath our blankets.

18 Years!

2008-12-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

18 years of ups and downs, joy and sadness, tears and laughter, blessings and sacrifices and more importantly a patient, resilient love that knows no boundaries.

Under Construction

2008-12-15T16:11:00.001-08:00

For the past 3 weeks our gingerbread house has been sitting in a state of neglect and disrepair. Will construction on this house ever be finalized? Or will it closely resemble our housing market? The truth is it smells so yummy I'd rather just eat it and all the little candy it comes with! Now there's an idea!
Also under construction is our family Christmas card. The picture is taken, now let's see if these things can be sent off in time!

Older...

2008-12-12T07:42:00.001-08:00

...maybe a little wiser. But just a little bit. Definitely older though. And it is with a grateful heart that I recognize how greatly blessed I am to have such a full and wonderful life. I love being a stay-at home mom. It is so rewarding and challenging at the same time and I just couldn't picture myself doing anything else in this stage in life.

When I am overcome by the deep pondering of life...I revert to goofiness. And then I ponder over chocolate. Here's one of those moments. And since it's my birthday, there will be a lot of chocolate to ponder over.

Sometimes...

2008-12-12T00:17:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wish my days went smoother, as planned, no chaos, no accidents. But that is never the case. Ever. Many times I find myself overwhelmed, frustrated and in tears. On days like this I often will say out loud, "Why Heavenly Father, why?" It is also in those tough moments where I am grateful for my Heavenly Father's love for me. Comfort and help usually comes in a friend's phone call, or a letter. I recently had the opportunity to go out to dinner with a dear friend, and it turned out we had both been having rotten weeks and needed some uplifting. I also found comfort in this scripture from Proverbs: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." I guess you could say it's the answer to my question...

Have you been to the DMV lately?

2008-12-10T12:17:00.000-08:00

Shock and awe. Whoa. I was in and out of there within 30 minutes. I could not even believe my good fortune. I even brought coloring books, crayons and toys for Elijah thinking I was going to be there for a while. I had to renew my license there instead of by mail or online since they sent my renewal to my old address. A small blunder on their part, but I'm willing to overlook it considering how well my experience was today. Still shocked that everything went so smoothly. Things at the DMV rarely go that well for me. Not that I go there often, but the last time was horrible. And today I even got to take a new picture! I've had the same picture on my license for 13 years!
I know it seems silly to blog about it, I'm thinking that even as I type this. But if you've had the lousy experiences I've had at the DMV, you'd be jumping for joy too. At last, a government agency that worked for someone today. Like I said, shock and awe.
And for kicks and giggles, here's my old picture. Taken back in 1995. I hope my new picture is better looking.

Quiet Time/Mommy and me Time

2008-12-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

Ever since Sophia started pre-school, I've been able to have some quiet time in the mornings while Elijah naps. I have cherished those quiet moments since they almost don't happen when all the kids are home. I've been able to catch up on unfinished projects and I've even been able to blog! But I've also been able to enjoy one-on-one time with Elijah. I feel like I don't get to spend enough time with just him. It sometimes gets a little confusing with all 4. Dote has Algebra II homework (I oversee, I can't really help him beyond Quadratic equations) and papers I proofread, Sebastian every week has a homework packet with at least 12 pages and Sophia is learning the ABC's and needs constant attention (especially when she's modeling her princess dresses). I feel like I have little time to dedicate to my little guy and it makes me feel sad and guilty. So I cherish these quiet mornings with just him. So far today we've cuddled on the couch and watched Yo Gabba Gabba and Little Bill, unloaded the dryer and loaded the washer-which he loves! And I love that when it's just the two of us, he'll even sit patiently on my lap while I'm reading or at the computer. He knows he doesn't have to vie for my attention. Just the two of us. For another hour at least, until I pick up Sophia...then Sebastian...then big brother gets home...then Daddy...then dinner...
Here's Elijah with his crazy, after-nap hair.

These Crazy Boys of Mine

2008-12-05T13:53:00.000-08:00

So I did promise a quick update on what the big boys in the house have been up to, so here it is. Dote has been busy with school and cross country. He survived the cross country season injury-free and won almost all of his races. He came in 5th at leagues and makes me wish I could run that fast. He had the crazy idea of doing Volkslauf (the mud run hosted by the Marines) with his buddies and that was way more fun to watch than to actually do. I almost signed up for the mud run, but chickened out at the last minute. I'm glad I didn't because they were swimming in mud at the end, which was 6 feet deep, and I probably would have drowned. Or one of those brave Marines may have rescued me. I will think about it for next year.
Anyway, he made honor roll for the first quarter, but hit a snag with a deficiency notice a few weeks ago. It was for Algebra II, my worst subject ever, so I went easy on the kid. He was just missing some assignments and needed to make up a test. Let's see...what else? He's a busy kid so it's hard to keep up. He got to march in the Veteran's Day parade with the HHS band and even made it on the news. We have a few veterans in our family so we thought that was pretty cool. He goes to Seminary in the mornings and went with the youth to the temple last week. He's way busier than I remember being when I was his age and I am thankful that he is a responsible, hard-working guy, like his dad...
...who in the last few months has worked full-time and gone to school in the evenings 3 times a week. He is officially on winter break from school but starts back in January. The nurse practitioner program has proven to be quite interesting and I'm glad he has what it takes. I think it takes a special kind of person to be a nurse. And he's definitely it. And life brings him lots of situations to practice that. I've never met anyone who came upon so many car accidents, or sick people, everywhere! He manages to find them though! One recent endeavor has been the purchase of his scooter. He purchased it online and it arrived in a huge box. Some assembly required, and now he needs his license, helmet, jacket...Uhhh, these crazy boys of mine!

Lighting up the Night

2008-12-04T15:21:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night we headed out to CALM to see the holiday lights. I felt like a kid as I "ooohed" and "aaahhed" at all the dazzling lights. It really doesn't take much to dazzle and amuse me. But it really was a wonderful Christmas display. The kids loved the train ride, the carousel ride and Santa. My favorite light display was the pirate ship over by the ducks. The kids had fun with the animated dinosaur lights.
We ended the night with some kettle corn, hot chocolate (and leave it to me to burn my tongue!) and an apple dumpling. Before leaving they had a dancing light display set to some Christmas music. The kids had fun watching all the lights "move" to the music, and all the trees lighting up. It really was dazzling and just a wonderful outing.

Thanksgiving Tidbit

2008-12-03T09:45:00.000-08:00

Yes this is way late, but in an attitude of gratitude I just wanted to list things I am thankful for:

My family- They are my everything and they even love me for who I am!
The freedoms we enjoy in this country. Imagine being imprisoned just because you have your own opinion, no thank you.
My home-Even if it is messy half the time, it is our home and my little piece of heaven on earth!
Wonderful friends who lift me up and are wonderful and thoughtful.
My Heavenly Father- Without him I would not know how greatly blessed I am.

Just a day late

2008-12-02T16:21:00.000-08:00

Happy 30th Birthday Jon Mark! Yesterday my younger brother turned the big 3-0. I wish we could have celebrated with him, but the east coast is a tad bit of a drive, so a phone call and a way off-tune happy birthday song was the order of the day. I really miss my brother. Believe me when I say I miss him, I do. When I got married and moved away from home he was only 14 years old. We've always been really close, since I can remember. To this day we talk on the phone almost everyday. So even though we live on opposite ends of the country we are always a big part of each others lives. We loved his visit back in October and wish he could come back already. Happy Birthday and come back soon!

Updating my blog!

2008-11-19T22:59:00.000-08:00

Like I've said before, when it comes to procrastinating, I procrastinate. And that includes blogging. So I'm doing an update, and if HTML ever works for me, my blog won't be such an eyesore. Still working on that part...
But anyway, our little family has been doing great the past couple of months. Just busy as ever, and even though it is a little overwhelming at times, I love it and wouldn't trade it for the world. Elijah has continued to find little areas of wall space to draw on. I've nicknamed him "the tagger". He behaves like any two-year old, maybe a little bit feistier. He's going through a separation anxiety phase, and screams, SCREAMS, when I have to leave him. If for even a minute he doesn't see me, he screams. He does not cry and whine, he screams. I hope he leaves that phase very soon. Other than that he is just my spunky little monkey who does happen to love bananas, hugs, kisses on both cheeks and kisses on his belly, peek-a-boo and sleeping with Mommy.
Sophia started pre-school back in September and absolutely loves it. Loves it. She is the first child I have ever met who actually loves school. We are working on her ABC's and on writing her name. Apparently she behaves well in school and is a little mother goose to the other kids in her class. It doesn't surprise me, since she is very nurturing and can be so tender. She still loves to play dress-up and everywhere the girl goes she's singing. Reminds me of Enchanted.
Sebastian finally finished with his sporting adventure. He played soccer and joined the swim team of his school. His reaction to soccer was a little lukewarm, lacking some enthusiasm. It didn't help that at the beginning of the season it was 100 degrees and he was not liking the idea of having to be out in the heat, let alone run in it. The most excitement I saw from him was at the end of season pizza party when he received a trophy. He loved swimming, but the swim meet was a little bit of a fiasco, and I almost cried. I don't cry easily, so I will share more on that later.
And later I will do an update on the big boys of the house!

All about a boy

2008-11-18T12:41:00.000-08:00

Now I understand exactly what it means when I hear other moms say kids grow so fast. It is so true. It seems like it was just yesterday that Elijah was born. I found some of his newborn pictures last week and realized that in a few months he will be 2! Now he runs the household, demanding food and drink at his urging, crayons and markers when he pleases and anything else you can imagine. Our home is always an exciting place with a child like mine.
We had recently painted our living room and hallway only to find it defaced by his handy work-green marker, black crayon and pencil-only 4 days later! He proudly showed us his many, many displays of artwork, only to be spanked on the bottom. He later had his vengeance on the entryway and further down the hall. He chose blue that time. In an effort to teach him that what he did was "not nice", we found that he began giving tours to visitors of his artwork, saying with pride, "not nice". Perhaps he thought we were giving an appropriate name to his artwork.
With crayons and markers put away he finds many other ways to amuse himself. He loves to try on everyone's shoes and walks around the house with them on. He wants to play dress up with sister, pointing at dresses and such. He throws himself into the mix with all the big kids and yes, shows the bossy side of himself. He definitely has a giant sized personality in that pint-sized little body. How boring life would be without all his little antics.

Election Day 2008

2008-11-04T23:27:00.000-08:00

I'm speechless. And that's rare.

My Birthday boys

2008-09-05T23:40:00.000-07:00

One turned 6 on August 31 and one is now 15. I feel that words cannot adequately express the love I feel for these boys, for all my kids really. I thought having a teenager was going to be filled with headache and trouble, but we've been so blessed to have a mellow, respectful, loving, caring and obedient young man. He's smart, diligent and blesses us with his musical talent. We recognize the blessing he is in our lives and are so grateful for him. Sebastian on the other hand is where all the headache and trouble went to. He is very strong-willed and stubborn and I hope someday he will apply it to something positive in his life. He is also very sensitive and affectionate and loves to give hugs. He's quite the artist and loves to draw beautiful pictures-he even hangs them up in random places in the house, which is too funny!
They are a tremendous blessing in our lives and life would just be boring without them. Happy Birthday boys!

Lunch with Daddy!

2008-08-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

To break the monotony of my day, (the non-school age) kids and I sometimes go and meet Juan for lunch. It's often the highlight of the kids' day. We don't get much adult conversation in, but it's a great way to spend some time together, especially since Juan will be starting school again and will be gone 3 nights a week. It was Baja Fresh today and as always, it was too short. We also had lunch with Daddy at Thorner's family picnic day. I love that I can go to Sebastian's school and have a picnic with him-and he loves it! It was extra special to have Juan come along, since he hasn't been able to until this week. Yay for lunch dates with daddy!

Pismo Beach 2008

2008-08-24T23:58:00.000-07:00

As is our family tradition of going to Pismo every summer, we packed, or should I say overpacked the Suburban, loaded up the kids and off we went! We went a few weeks ago, but I had to at least blog about it and post at least one pic from the trip. It is always a nice reprieve from the summer heat of Bakersfield and the kids had so much fun.
We decided to try Oxford Suites again since they re-modeled this year and their FREE hot breakfast is great. We stayed in a poolside room that had a family room complete with sectional/sleeper and kitchenette. At the beach the kids played in the water until they nearly froze to death! They built some cool sandcastles and just had fun.

Veering way off subject...The closing ceremony for the Olympics was absolutely amazing. Chinese are crazy. I feel I can say that since I have a little bit of Chinese blood, so I know what I'm talking about. Very cool. Enough said.

So It Begins...

2008-08-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

School year 2008-09 is here. I may have been more excited/anxious than the boys were and I'm glad that I survived the morning of dropping them off. I'll most likely wait anxiously for most of the day waiting to find out how the first day of school went for them. Sebastian is in 1st grade now and Dote is in 10th. We fretted over the weekend when we saw the bulletin listing Sebastian's teacher: Ms. Fugitt. Yeah, figure that one out. We finally did, and it's Fyoo-git, with a hard g.
I hope this school year brings nothing but good grades, good experiences and good memories that the kids will cherish all their lives.

First day of school picture that we take every year. They are growing so fast.

Sophia

2008-07-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

*An old draft that I had to share. Please bear with me, I procrastinate when it comes to procrastinating. And blogging.*

A few weeks ago, while I was in the throes of an awful disease known as Strep throat, (ewwww) I heard a little squeaky voice. In my delirium I recognized that voice, but could not wake up to respond. It was close by, female, squeaky, cute. It sounded humored. I thought for sure that what I was hearing was from some kind of delirious dream. Not so. No no. It was the voice of Sophia saying:
"Ok Sebastian, cut right here."
Sebastian: "Here?"
Sophia: "Yes, right here. The scissors are right here."
I bolted upright and shot out of bed in just enough time to witness the first locket of hair fall to the floor. Luckily it was just hair and not flesh, or a limb. Can't grow those back.
But oh Sophia! She is my creative, artsy little princess. Ever so feminine and always curious about girly rituals like hair straightening, facials and pedicures. The last time I went to get my hair done she said she wanted me to get blue highlights next. "That would be beautiful mommy", she tells me dreamily. I gasp. No words escape my mouth. BLUE? And now she's sad because Sebastian could not give her a haircut. She stalks off and I hide the scissors. Needless to say we're going to Cool cuts 4 kids as soon as possible!

The Scout

2008-07-26T18:28:00.000-07:00

Our scout is finally back from camp. We sure did miss him. As a surprise while he was gone we made over his room. We rearranged his furniture, put in a new desk, shelving, curtains, area rug and comforter. While he was at camp he: Removed the rattler off of a dead (thankfully) rattlesnake, hiked, helped with kitchen duty and many other scout camp activities. We spent the afternoon listening to all his scout stories, and thanking God that he came home in one piece! Filthy, suntanned, smelly, and dusty, but in one piece!

It's Potty Time!

2008-07-23T01:02:00.000-07:00

So, this for me is one of the big milestones: Potty-training! It's a huge step towards independence and sadly of course a huge step away from being a baby. And since Elijah is our last baby, it makes me a little sad to see how fast he is growing up. But then I think of how many diapers I've changed and I feel relieved to know it will finally come to an end. Who honestly likes diaper duty? Not me. And let me tell you, I've changed diapers for a very long time. I've had a pretty long streak of diaper duty. 16 years to be exact. Too long. How you ask? Well, my oldest son Julian, being a quadreplgic, always wore diapers and he died when he was 12. He was 4 months shy of his 13th birthday. At that time Sebastian was 2 and a 1/2 and was almost completely potty-trained. Sophia was only 9 months old. I had 3 in diapers. Right before Sophia was completely potty-trained, Elijah was born. And here we are. The last one is starting to potty train. It's a work in progress, but we're almost there!

Yuba City

2008-07-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit my parents in Yuba City for a week. It is always nice to be able to spend time with them. The kids thoroughly enjoyed their time with their Lolo and Lola. We didn't really have any specific plans or trips, just a little shopping, bowling and hanging out at the Galleria in Roseville-which I absolutely love. It's a beautiful place to spend time with the kids and shop. The carousel is an irresistible attraction for the kids. They love it. Elijah kicked up such a fuss when the carousel stopped that the attendant let them go one more time for FREE!

We came home Sunday night to the stifling heat of Bakersfield-the night before it was 55 degrees in Yuba with a nice breeze. Right behind my parents' house is a river which cools down the air quite a bit. The fresh air there is enough to make me wanna leave the bad air of Bakersfield. Who knows? The next time I go up north, I may not come back down south...

18 Months old!!!

2008-07-10T22:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Elijah turned 18 months old! It seems like it was just yesterday when I found out I was pregnant. And now here he is, 18 months old! He is thus far the spunkiest, roughest and toughest of all the kids. He spends his days following big sister around everywhere and already they have a very special bond between them. He also spends a lot of time learning from his 2 big brothers. At 18 months he runs like a pro and climbs on everything! He mimics actions perfectly. Everyting from talking on the phone, sweeping to saying prayer. His vocabulary has grown tremendously. He can say his name, but if you ask him what his name is he'll tell you his nickname. His favorite thing to say is "Mommy" in a sing-song voice, more like Maaahmeeeeee! And "NO!" Others are:
Daddy
Dote
Taten for Sebastian
sit down
peash for please
juice
cup
te-too for thank you
Lolo and Lola, my parents
outside or go outside
shoes
And so, so much more.
My favorite is when he "counts". I start off with "one..." and everything after that is two until we reach 9 and then he says 10! I just love this age, and love to see how babies just learn so much. I love this spunky little boy more than I can ever express, and I am trying to enjoy him and all his baby boy antics as much as I can since he's our last baby!!!

A few Summer highlights

2008-07-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

So far summer has been pretty fun. Some of the highlights so far:

Lake Tahoe. *SIGH* So beautiful. So serene, peaceful. So green. I want to go back already. Some of my favorites from this trip: The restaurant I mentioned in a previous post was called Twenty-Four and they had the best food. I'm wishing right now that I could have the Shrimp Tempura again. The hotel we stayed at was fantastic and had an awesome indoor pool. And of course watching the runners do the relay was a neat experience.

^^^^THE VIEWS WERE SPECTACULAR!^^^^

^^^^MORE SHRIMP TEMPURA PLEASE!^^^^

^^^^CAN WE JUST LOUNGE HERE FOREVER?^^^^

After Lake Tahoe, we drove home from my parents in Yuba City on Monday morning. We left at 6:15AM so that we could get home in time for a very special, princess-tacular tea party at noon. Thank you to Stephanie and Elyse for letting us join them on this special Mother/Daughter Tea Party.

All the girls got to dress up, even the Moms! And each one of the girls took home their very own tiara! We enjoyed finger foods and tea! The girls behaved like little princesses. It was all very cute. It was definitely a fun experience for me, especially after having all these boys!

So glad to be over the strep throat! What a horrendous experience. Glad to say all surfaces are now disinfected, just in case.

A week of doctor visits

2008-07-03T14:15:00.000-07:00

In just the past week I've had 4 visits to the doctor. First for Elijah, then for Sophia, for me and then for Dote. Elijah's appt. was routine. A check-up revealed that he is a little bit short (wonder where he got that from, hmmm...?) and that he's one smart little guy. He received 4 shots (ouch!) and just as always, as I've done with all 5 kids, I almost started to cry. It's terrible having to hold them down while they get these horrible injections. To make matters worst Sophia started crying, followed by Sebastian's panicky voice urging us to please go home now! We did in a hurry and thankfully Elijah had no side-effects from the immunizations-no fever, lumps, etc.

Sophia's visit was just as tear-stricken as we took her to get her staples removed. While we were in the waiting room she kept telling us that she really, really liked those shiny things in her head so the doctor can leave them there. As Juan went to lift her up onto the examination table, she thought she'd make a run for it, but was already up in the air, so it looked a little comical with her legs in running motion in mid-air. I told her they had to take them out, so she had to be brave, and she would just say "Ohhh, Okayyy", with tears in her little eyes. I didn't think she would actually try to run away though!

My visit to the doctor was for strep throat. Ewwww. I thought only kids got it. Wrong! It started so suddenly and hit me like a ton of bricks. I usually don't let illnesses stop me, but this one kicked my butt! The fever and swelling in the joints was horrible! The pain in my throat felt like someone was holding a match to it. It was so red and swollen it didn't even look like a throat and when the dr. saw it he cringed, backed away and said in an alarming tone, "Ooohhh". I'll spare you all the other gross descriptions. So at the dr.'s they gave me a shot of Penicillin in the butt-OUCH! If you've ever had one of those, you'll know what I'm talking about. The injection site still hurts! If you ever need one of those suckers, just say NO! You might die from your impending infection, but at least you won't feel like you have a permanent charlie horse on your butt!

The last doctor visit of the week was for Dote. Lo and behold-strep throat. He drank out of my water bottle. That's all it took. As soon as we realized what he had done I told him, "Good luck kiddo." He only had fever for one day, as opposed to my 4 day bout, and his throat hurt for 2 days as opposed to my 5 day pain. My nurse friend said I must've gotten a nasty strain. Gross. I'm going to disinfect my entire house now.
Here is what strep really looks like, though the severity can differ from person to person. By the way, that's not a picture of me, but some poor chap whose picture appears on the CDC's website. Gross.

Some Saturday Fun

2008-06-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

After reviewing our calendar for upcoming events, we discovered that we had today FREE! We decided that we definitely needed to do something fun. We really wanted to go out of town on a day trip, but we discovered that the tires on our Suburban needed to be changed and that one of the shocks was busted. There was unusual wear on all 4 tires, so we did not want to risk it. We do have OnStar, but why take the risk. Instead we thought we'd take the kids to a movie, go out for dinner and then ice cream. The kids chose Kung Fu Panda, which was really cute. Sebastian and Sophia sat through the whole movie with no problem. Elijah was a different story. He attacked the popcorn for the first 20 minutes and then became restless. We stayed in the theater but hung out at the very back where he found a broom and dustpan and decided he would sweep, which he loves to do, oddly enough. For the rest of the time we hung out in the back. I still watched the movie while he swept and hung like a little monkey on the rail next to the handicap seating.

Afterwards we went to one of our favorite little restaurants, Wasabi out at the Marketplace where we ordered the usual, Chicken teriyaki bento boxes and a teriyaki beef bowl for Sebastian. Right next door to that is Baskin Robbins. The kids burned up some energy running around the water fountain and then they had ice cream. It was a little disastrous with Elijah trying to eat everyone's ice cream, but at least he just got ice cream on his face, hands, arms, shirt, hair...and not me!

Before heading home we stopped at Blockbuster so that the adults could rent a movie to watch. We rented Enchanted. Sadly enough I haven't seen it yet. Glad to say that Dr. McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) is in it. Can't wait!

Lake Tahoe Relay 2008

2008-06-28T01:39:00.001-07:00

The Lake Tahoe Relay consists of seven legs/runners, all making up a distance of 72 miles. The leg that Dote ran was leg # 6, (10.5 miles) which had the second toughest uphill climb. Here you can see the elevation.

We were able to follow him on his run, as it is done around the lake along the streets. Of course we trailed him in the Suburban, not on foot. By the time he was able to run his leg it was about 2 in the afternoon and it was pretty warm. Watching him run we felt proud of him and all the hard work he has put in to be able to participate in this relay. All his teammates did amazingly! It was an awesome event and I'm thinking that maybe I would like to try and put together a team of 7 willing runners to do the relay next year. If you're interested let me know, I think it would be so much fun!

Coming up to the finish line!!!

Happy Birthday Julian

2008-06-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

I love to remember him at his happiest. I love his smile the best. For his birthday I prefer to think of what a tremendous blessing he was in our lives and of the joy I feel knowing that he is still mine and I am still his mommy. I wanted to share some of his pictures and share with you that smile of his that I treasure.

{{There was no place he and his wheelchair couldn't go. Here he is at age 9 having just eaten at my parent's favorite restaurant in Vicenza, Italy. He loved the Tiramisu!}}

{{We loved going to the beach with him. His wheelchair had some serious 4x4! Here he is at age 8 in Florida.}}

"In my dreams I'll always see you soar above the sky
In my heart there'll always be a place for you
For all my life...
I'll keep a part of you with me, and everywhere I am there you'll be..."

One Little Monkey...

2008-06-24T00:11:00.000-07:00

...jumping on the bed, she fell down and bumped her head...And off to the ER she went with Daddy. Crying hysterically, and understandably shaken. Actually, she was jumping off our chaise, which is adjacent to the fireplace, lost her balance, fell backwards in to said fireplace and ended up with a 2 inch laceration and 5 staples. She hit the back of her head on the ledge of the fireplace. I was a mere 10 feet away in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher. From the time I heard her hit her head, (since I didn't actually witness it) to the time it took me to put up the armload of glasses away (10 seconds) she had blood trickling down her back to her legs in a steady stream. It was horrible! Head injuries bleed so much and with her screaming and flailing about, it splashed everywhere. Thankfully she didn't lose consciousness. It was a relief to see that she would survive! However, no more monkeys jumping on anything please!

Missing Pieces

2008-06-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

My blog is starting to resemble my latest journal; big, blank, missing pieces of life everywhere. And it's so sad, a tragedy. Things just get so hectic and crazy around here and the truth is my blog falls close to the bottom of my priority list. Sad but true. But I'm trying. In my defense though, there are tons of drafts that I did start on and never finished. So it's not TOTAL neglect of my blog, just partial.
One of the missing pieces is Sebastian's little accident.
Sebastian's Broken arm & Cast: I had several drafts that I never published regarding Sebastian's accident. As active and as daring as he is we are actually surprised that this is the first broken arm/major accident. The whole ordeal was scary, frustrating, funny at times with a tinge of sadness. After he dove/jumped from the couch to his target, a big pillow, and missed-we knew his cry and flailing about was serious. Off to the ER he went where X-rays confirmed he had broken both bones in his right arm. Good thing he's a lefty. Total time in his cast was 5 weeks. He first had a splint for a week, total arm cast for 2 weeks and partial arm cast for 2 more weeks. He had a tough time sleeping and got really itchy a few times, but it didn't stop him at all during school, recess or at the park.

His cast finally came off June 9th and he hasn't looked back. The same day we had it removed was the first day of swimming lessons. He loves water, loves swimming and did great. Sophia didn't like it at all. I felt bad having to watch her scream and cry and claw at the teacher for 25 minutes. Luckily that was just the first 2 lessons. She's better now. Total # of lessons: 8 Oh boy.

Elijah is now 17 months old and had an ear infection the week before going to Lake Tahoe. Nothing a little Amoxicillin couldn't handle and he was just fine in a matter of days. Here he is en route to Tahoe. Strawberries in both hands.

I promised myself I would make more of an effort to keep my blog updated. The good thing is I started writing in my journal again!

All-In-One Weekend Celebration

2008-06-17T11:53:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Juan's birthday, our 16th anniversary and father's day we went to Lake Tahoe for the weekend. It worked out perfectly since Dote was up there with his cross country team for the Lake Tahoe relay. We've lived in California for 13 years and had never gone to Lake Tahoe. It really is as beautiful as people say it is. We will definitely be going back. My parents were able to accompany us, which made it so much more fun! We took in the sights, followed Dote on his grueling uphill run (he had one steep hill to run!), shopped, swam and ate some awesome food at the swanky restaurant at the hotel/casino/resort we stayed at. I hope we can do it again! Here are some pics:

Here's a picture of my parents with Sophia and Sebastian at Inspiration point, the views were breathtaking. The bathrooms were also breathtaking-they really did take your breath away. So nasty. Let's just say I have never seen a hole so deep with such a huge pile of CRAP!

On all of our road trips I always have to take a driving picture. It's really for my own amusement. Plus, we love our driver!

Note: I don't know who those crazy men were sitting so close to the edge of a sheer drop of several hundred feet.

Juan with Sebastian and Elijah. Those two boys had way too much fun climbing on the enormous boulders. To keep Sebastian busy we played "Who can find the biggest rock?" It kept him looking out for them instead of climbing on them. And that's a good thing.

Happy Birthday! Feliz Cumpleaños!

2008-06-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to our fun-loving daddy! He's such a hard-working, dedicated father who sacrifices so much of himself for his family. We took him out to dinner and some shopping the night of his birthday because he always puts his needs last. We jokingly told him we didn't buy him anything for his birthday just so he would agree to buy something for himself. We bought him some very cool workout clothes (to help in his quest to lose weight) and a very cool MP3 player. Happy brithday!!! We love you very, molto, mucho!

The Last Day of School

2008-05-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

It seems like it was just yesterday that I was anxious to have a Freshman and a Kindergartner. And now it is their last day of being such. The school year for both of them proved to be extremely busy. I tried to soak it all up, balancing different schedules, events and assemblies. Now, let summer begin!!!!

Counting down...and other Random ramblings

2008-05-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

It is something inevitable, the passing of time. With that is the countdown of many things to come. For us time seems to be elusive. It's that fluttering butterfly that lingers above your head, and in an instant- is gone. In moments like this I can't help but sympathize with Hook from Peter Pan...TICK TOCK TICK TOCK. I'm a worry wart by nature and spend many sleepless hours counting and recounting what has happened and what has yet to pass. In Juan's words, "You think too much!" Isn't that what women do? My answer to that is a resounding YES!!! I just do it with more chocolate than most women, and I call it therapy. Chocolate is my therapy, and it's much cheaper than seeing a therapist. I have also found that writing my thoughts down (I've done it since the age of 10) is even better. I thought that keeping this blog would be an outlet, but only to an extent. I use to be an open book-very open. Maybe too open. Sometimes whatever crossed my mind came right out of my mouth-good, bad, offensive. I've learned to control that, and with events in our lives over the pass few years I've been more of a closed book. So, what's my point? None really, just thought I'd ramble a little. My mind just got excited at the thought of chocolate, that's all.

So, the real purpose of this post was just to briefly do a rundown of all our little happenings in our busy little life. And a countdown of all the happenings that are yet to...happen. Not as exciting as many of your lives, but hey, I try to get my kicks where I can.

So...firstly is all the end of the school year events. Thus far this week we've had Dote's band awards, his last Jazz and Symphonic band concert, Sebastian's last award assembly (the first one where he didn't get an award-boo!) But I got to see them perform songs they've been working on all year and it was really cute! Last night was an art exhibit with the school district where Sebastian has his artwork on display.

Which leads to...only 4 more days of school left! The boys are so excited for summer vacation to begin!

Two more weeks of school for Juan. I can't wait because I've been forced to proofread the beginnings of his thesis *headache*, (sorry hon)-just keep bribing me with chocolate!

Only 10 more days until the San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon. Yikes! I mean Yipeee!

Only $1,842 more dollars to raise for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training-or I pay that amount if I can't raise the rest. Come on people, throw a dog a bone! Call your rich uncle and tell him to click on that link on the upper right hand corner of my blog and DONATE!!!!

2 more weeks until Sebastian gets his cast off! More on that ordeal later.

3 more weeks until Dote does the Lake Tahoe Relay with his team. I'm excited for him!

3 more weeks until Juan's 3_th birthday. If I divulge he might stop the chocolate bribes.

1 and 1/2 more months and Elijah joins nursery at church! Hooray for me, warning for the nursery!

X amount of days until we have a full-fledged summer vacation filled with lazy days at the beach, road trips, shopping, zoos, aquariums, the east coast, more shopping and anything else you can think of!

Ok, I'll stop boring you now-I'll be really impressed if you made it this far...

Paryting up Filipino style!

2008-05-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago my parents so graciously invited us to celebrate Sophia's birthday with them in Yuba City. We decided that since my dad's elderly aunt and her son were visiting them and it was mother's day weekend, making the 5 hour drive was no problem. Plus, it gives me an excuse to go on a road trip-which I love. Even when Elijah screams to be let out of his buckled-up prison. I still love it. If it sounds like I'm trying to convince myself-I am. So, we arrived last Friday night around 10:30pm to find my mom and my dad's cousin busy in the kitchen preparing some of the food for Sophia's party. I thought we were having a small, intimate party with a couple of our family friends. Boy was I sorely mistaken! So, to my surprise, here's the rundown of it all:

The Guests: 33! Not at all the intimate little party I was picturing. There were more invitees, but there were 3 other birthday parties going on at the same time. Several of our guests were party hopping that night. And about 10 people couldn't make it that night, talk about full house! And we were even lucky enough to have one of Gloria Macapagal's (the president of the Philippines, just FYI) legal advisors partying with us! That was pretty interesting. Anyway...

The Food: (My favorite part) One roast PIG. When my dad and Juan had to go pick up the pig, Sebastian and Sophia overheard them saying they were going to pick up the pig...they actually thought they were going to a farm to get a real, LIVE pig. Needless to say, we had some serious explaining to do. Though this is not the first time my kids see a roasted pig, so thankfully they were not frightened. The food was awesome, my hats off to the chef-my mom! She's an amazing cook and prepared 7 different dishes, with partial help from myself, my dad and his cousin.

The cake: One beautifully decorated, custom ordered princess cake from my mom and dad. It was soooo good. I think I gained 5 pounds eating one slice!

The birthday girl: She was so excited that day! She put on her party dress, ate, played with new friends, blew out her birthday candles, opened her gifts and passed out in my dad's arms-while he was singing karaoke! She slept for about 12 hours straight that night.

A grateful heart: My parents are the most loving, giving, caring grandparents and I love them so much for all they do for my kids. Being able to celebrate any one of the kids' birthdays with them is a blessing and it also brings back a lot of childhood memories. My parents always loved having parties and having people in our home. We always, and I mean always had friends over, for lunch, dinner or just to visit-always. Now I'm glad my kids get to be a part of it all!

Happy 4th Sophia!

2008-05-07T06:10:00.000-07:00

She was the 4th pregnancy...and decidedly a GIRL. I never imagined in a million years I'd be the mommy to a little girl. Never imagined I'd see so, so many things PINK, the most I'd ever seen in my life. Or discover how tender and sweet she would be. I didn't know she would have the softest voice and love to sing. I didn't know I'd be showered in hugs daily with millions of 'I love you's'. Never imagined she would discover sassiness and stubborness, all wrapped in delicate pink. My little princess for sure. And now...I can't imagine life without her. She fulfills a dream longed for, a blessing pleaded for and occupies a whole room of pink princess things, pink walls, pink quilt-and a closet full of dresses and shoes...mostly pink.

I'm a little sad that she will spend her day mostly resting since we found out last night that she has pneumonia-a little touch of it. But nonetheless she exclaimed last night after coming home from Kaiser, "Mommy, I want a pink princess cake!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR SOPHIE GIRL!

On this Day...

2008-04-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

Back in 1991, Juan was deployed to Turkey during the Operation Desert Storm/Gulf War. We had just been dating for a few months, so no real hardship unlike the married soldiers who had to leave behind spouses and kids. Being overseas it was a little scary when the Gulf War started. I was in high school then and I remember because of the Gulf War, school was canceled for a few days. Security all around the AF base was heightened and they urged all Americans to either stay at home or on the base. The entrance to the base was heavily guarded and at one point some local terrorists drove by with machine guns and opened fire, luckily no one was injured.
Juan was deployed for 6 months where he stayed mostly in Diyaburkur, and Silopi Turkey, two miles away from northern Iraq, where he traveled everyday by helicopter. His unit, E Co 502nd Aviation Regiment, the helicopter guys, (mainly the Chinooks or CH-47s) were the first deployed from Aviano AFB and the last to come home. While he was there he was also part of Operation Provide Comfort where they gave food to the Kurdish people of Iraq who were driven to the mountains by Sadam Hussein. He even has a very cool medal from being part of that operation.
While in Turkey he lost a total of 30 pounds! At the time(before being deployed) he weighed 165, so he returned from deployment super skinny! While he was gone, the wives and girlfriends of the soldiers in his unit would put together care packages that we sent out every Tuesday. Anything from Tang (a favorite) to beef jerky, magazines, books, and a variety of goodies.
I know I don't do any justice to his whole experience of being deployed by summarizing it this way on our blog, but I'm hoping he will write about it himself, especially for our future generations. My family is rich in military history. My dad served 24 years in the Air Force and my dad's dad served as a Green Beret (a sniper-scary for me to think of him that way) in the US Army for over 28 years. During his military career he served at the end of World War II, Korean War, Berlin Blockade and Vietnam (2 tours of duty), where he was injured by shrapnel, recovered, and sent back for an additional tour. So hopefully Juan can chronicle his experiences in the military in more detail for our kids and their future kids. And so on. I just merely wanted to mention that that's what happened on this day in 1991.
Sadly I can't post any of his deployment pics (I can't wait to get my computer back!) but as soon as I do I will post those pics.

Ooooh! Dinner and a Show

2008-04-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Juan and I were able to attend Highland High School's Jazz ensemble show. (Thank you Mamita Pera and Tia Libia for watching the kids!)This is the one and only evening out of the whole year that they play. And one of the few times Juan and I get to go out alone. So exciting I know! It was nice to actually sit and enjoy each other's company and have a conversation. We usually don't see much of each other during the week, so this was definitely a treat for us.
Under the direction of Mr. Boyle, they played 20 songs, and they were all pretty impressive. Dote played the keyboard instead of the tenor sax and had a few little solos. I was so impressed by how good they were and admire each one of those kids, most especially mine, for working so hard and sharing their musical talent.
They held the event in the cafe at BC where it was decorated so nicely with a nautical theme. It was definitely a lovely time, with great music, food and dancing. Let me not forget to mention that the silent auction was great, I won 3 items! (Much to Juan's dismay)

My New Loves

2008-04-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

The Cabrio washer and dryer by Whirlpool. So sleek, so shiny. So efficient, so new. 4.6 cubic feet of quiet and fast technology. What was I thinking by not upgrading sooner? I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to replace my old ones. The old dryer was in such bad shape that I had to run a second cycle for bigger loads just to get everything completely dry. Sometimes it took 2 hours to just dry a load. Sad, I know. Now laundry gets done so fast, thanks to my new loves. Just today I've had to wash a bunch of towels, baby blankets, sheets, pillowcases and comforter that Elijah had vomitted on. Everything is washed and dried, and it took less than an hour and a half. My PG&E bill even lowered-I even got a credit from PG&E because of the decrease in my usage! Now ladies, I said these are my new loves, not to be confused with loving to do laundry. That will probably never happen. It's just not as big of a pain as it used to be and not so time consuming. Shoot, with all this free time I might take up knitting. Or not. I'll find something to do-thankfully I know it won't be laundry!

Playin' Catchup

2008-04-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

I was all excited to post about Spring Break, all the exciting, fun and not so fun stuff and all about Easter, and then my computer died! It got a nasty, nasty virus. My computer genius brother says: "This one's new and it's nasty". And of course my computer got it. So, I'm posting this with Juan's school laptop. I was hesitant at first because the last page I visited before the nasty virus was the Posting page on Blogger. I still don't have my computer back since we have to save pictures, documents and music before my brother wipes it clean. Then it'll be like new! Then I'll be able to blog, post pics and get back into the blogging loop.
Meanwhile...spring break looked promising. I love spring break and always try to plan a trip somewhere. So this time it was down south for a few days.

First it was to the LA Zoo. The weather was gorgeous and the kids loved it. The following day was spent at Knott's Berry Farm where the kids had tons of fun. They love rollercoasters just like me! Due to my ear problems, equilibrium issues, I only went on 2 rides. But I enjoyed a funnel cake (they have the best) all to myself. I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Then Juan lost his wallet. And then, what are the chances that whoever found his wallet ran up lots of charges on one card we couldn't cancel immediately? That crook used that card within hours of getting their grubby paws on it. Wallet contents: Pics of our babies, drivers license, RN license, 2 debit/credit cards, 2 major credit cards, 1 corporate credit card, various membership cards and $90 cash. Not to mention that it was a Gucci!

The following day we hung out at Downtown Disney. It wasn't crowded and the weather was perfect. The kids loved the Lego store and Sophia got her princess fix. And then I lost my purse. I was chasing after Elijah and told Juan to keep an eye on my purse. Not so. A good samaritan turned it in to security and it was returned in one piece, not a thing missing. So we counted our blessings and went home.

EASTER 2008
On Thursday we headed north to my parents and spent Easter with them. We took the kids to the Beale AFB easter egg hunt and they had too much fun. They had great prizes for the kids and they did the hunts by age group so little ones wouldn't get trampled on. Elijah quickly caught on and found 12 eggs all by himself. Sophia was a little shy but had help from Grandpa and Sebastian was out to win! He found 10 eggs, 2 of them got him 2 little prizes. We had planned on going to church while we were there, but only Dote and Juan went since Elijah and Sebastian were sick. We also were able to eat at Juan's favorite place, Bucca di Bepo, awesome Italian food. And I got my shopping fix with my mom at a Nordstrom's Rack and Ikea.
As usual my dad made a huge breakfast Sunday morning. My mom made an awesome lunch, and then we headed home. After all that, I really wanted a break!

And I'm so thankful that this Easter Bunny did not give my kids nightmares!

Long Overdue

2008-03-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

Sophia was in desperate need of a haircut. Her super long bangs kept falling and covering her eyes making it hard for her to see. And since she does not like bows or clips in her hair, a haircut was long overdue.

So here she is at Cool Cuts 4 Kids before the cut...

Her sad eye-covering bangs...

After a few tears shed (just over seeing the scissors, she got a little scared) and a little squirming, her hair was done. Finally...

Now it won't be torture watching her constantly swipe her hair out of her face while she's trying to play and have fun. (I don't like my hair in my face, it's annoying!) So yes, a haircut was long overdue!

Say it Isn't So!

2008-03-10T23:02:00.000-07:00

Elijah is 14 months old now and can throw a tantrum like a pro! It is done with complete precision and purpose. He really, really knows when he wants something and he wants it now!That picture was taken at my parents' house, right in the middle of one of his tantrums.

Juan has a really bad stomach bug. I hope he keeps this virus to himself-I didn't want the last one. It really had me though.

Juan filled in this past weekend for a nurse at Memorial and after doing a blood draw on the nastiest, tattoo covered inmate, he poked himself with the needle. It was already known that the patient has Hepatitis C. This is so scary, ahhh! Standard procedure when that happens is to do a blood draw immediately and then test in 3 months, in 6 months, up to a year. They do not know whether the inmate is HIV positive. Juan is calm, cool and collected. He's never one to panic and be afraid (yes, I'm a worry wart) and he says the risk of contracting anything is very small.

I may have pulled my Achilles tendon, I won't know until I see my doc. I was hoping to start training again last Saturday, but the pain hadn't gone away, it still hasn't. So I started Yoga. It's a lot harder then I thought, I actually broke a sweat!

I will be saying goodbye to my trusty washer and dryer. Those things have been overused and abused. And they have still worked for me. So loyal, so reliable. They've served our family well. Load after load. They've been by my side for 15 years! But sadly, the washer squeaks and shakes on bigger loads and the dryer has to be run twice just to dry properly. I'm sad. But you know, not really.

Elijah and Sophia are not adjusting to the time change yet. So I will go now and try to put the baby to sleep for the third time tonight! Goodnight y'all!

L.A. Marathon 2008

2008-03-03T21:31:00.000-08:00

Race Day: We were up at 5:00am although start time was at 8:00. I had only gotten 4 hours of sleep! The night before the kids were just so hyper and rowdy and would not settle down or sleep. So I got all my gear on and ate a quick breakfast and off we went. We drove to the N. Hollywood Metro station, which Sebastian loved, and arrived right around the corner from the starting line. Though totally exhausted, I was excited to actually see where the marathon start line was. We were off and running at about 8:25am and it was awesome! It's definitely a sight to see about 20,000 people on the streets of LA, and all running. This first pic is right before the start of the race. I still had a smile on my face, because little did I know...
that the first 2 miles were uphill and that people nearly knock you down when they're passing you. I maintained a good pace and reached the halfway point with no problem. By mile 18 I hit dehydration, fatigue and some serious pain in the left leg and knee. This pic was taken by the course photographers somewhere around mile 22 or 23.

I look pathetic, but I was not going to drop out, not after making it that far! By then most of the runners around me were no longer pumped up or excited and no one was even making a peep. I witnessed a few stop at medical tents possibly to drop out and some could barely walk. During the race it was neat to see LA up close and personal. It was a little odd to see no traffic at all. I got to run through Hollywood, through a few posh Beverly Hills neighborhoods and right past the Staples Center. The best sight that day was the banner that read: FINISH LINE!

It was awesome to cross the finish line, although I am disappointed with my finishing time. Juan keeps reminding me to be happy that I finished. This pic is the one they take of all the finishers. There were a few pics of me crossing the finish line, but I look absolutely pathetic!!

So I'm thrilled to have reached my goal, and I couldn't have done it without the love and encouragement from Juan, my biggest supporter, my brother Jon Mark who is my own personal fitness guru, and my beautiful children, family and friends. It's been 2 years since I first decided that I really wanted to run in a marathon. I put it aside for the last pregnancy, and despite some difficulties, I'm happy to say I finally did it!

JULIAN

2008-02-25T21:48:00.000-08:00

Three years ago today Julian passed away. We gathered around him just as his heart stopped and he took his last breath. Although it was a devastating moment, there was also an indescribable peace and beauty in that moment-knowing he had left that shell of a body that had caused so much pain, and that he was undoubtedly in the arms of a loving Heavenly Father, greeting an angel who had come home.

We were truly blessed to get to have Julian in our lives. Words cannot express how we love him so, how much it hurt to let him go or how truly grateful we are for our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness. Having a child such as he was had a profound impact on us in every way. We learned to be patient, to have faith, to be strong, we knew immeasurable joy, and how to love unconditionally. Those are blessings we are all given as parents, but with Julian it was tenfold. There are so many more things I want to share about that little angel, but alas, words confound me.

We find peace and solace despite the anguish of him being gone. We find solace knowing that the pain and suffering he endured in his short life is over. I await the day I can see my son again..."til we meet at Jesus' feet".

Just my luck...

2008-02-23T22:40:00.000-08:00

This is exactly the kind of luck I have...there are only 8 more days left until the big race day in L.A. and I am still recovering from the nasty, horrible, malevolent INFLUENZA VIRUS. Not like I'm on my death bed, but the symptoms can sure make you feel like you are. Because of this nasty little virus, I haven't been able to run for a week now. Doesn't sound so bad unless you look at it in miles-meaning, I should have run 33 miles just this week and I have run ZERO. Juan kindly reminded me that because I haven't run all week that I am now de-conditioned. And in a matter-of- fact tone he says, "You know, patients who are bedridden even just one week lose muscle tone." Ok, not like I have been bedridden, because I have NOT been, we all know that when the MOMMY gets sick, she cannot rest, cannot properly recover and no one takes care of her and the show MUST go on. So, seriously, that is just my luck...oh and I forgot to add that I still can't breathe out of both plugged nostrils, therefore can't taste my food, dreading the fever, chills and body aches, and if I cough one more time I will scream!! *SIGH* Just my luck...

This was the last time I ran, up in Yuba City last week.

February

2008-02-19T19:48:00.000-08:00

February is such a challenging month for me. The 25th of this month marks the 3rd anniversary of Julian's passing. Thankfully I am no longer an emotional wreck, but the cloudy, rainy days sure make it harder to cope. Thus, I am thankful for all the many wonderful distractions I've had this month that keep me busy. Being busy is good for me. It keeps me positive and productive. I've been able to enjoy:
The lovely artwork by Sebastian (he's quite the artist) taped up, by him, all over the house.

The many loads of laundry, dishes, messes and nursing 4 sick kids. Who BTW, shared their lovely virus with me, and it is kicking my butt!

My calling in young women's, which has kept me extra busy. We were in charge of SED a few Sundays ago, and mutual last week. The girls wanted to do a Valentine's dinner, a lot of work, but a lot of fun.

A daunting five hour drive up north(which turned to 7 because of stops and LOTS of traffic) with a sick baby-Elijah had fever and bronchitis and cried a lot and of course, the five hour drive back home.

My brother's visit from the east coast. Definitely the highlight of the month for me. I love, love having him around. The kids adore this guy so much.

Hopefully, if I'm feeling better, this Saturday I will run in the Bakersfield half-marathon hosted by the Bakersfield Track Club.

And now I'm preparing for the LA Marathon! Only days away...

Good distractions each one of them, and now I'm off to be distracted some more.Here are a couple of pics from Jon Mark's visit.

10 Reasons Why I Can't go on a DIET

2008-02-12T15:38:00.000-08:00

The title should actually be, "Reasons why I WON'T go on a diet", but the word CAN'T just sounds more convincing and more persuasive. So...in no particular order-

1. I love food and food loves me.

2. I like the idea that there is more of me to love.

3. I really like that I bring a new and fantastic meaning to the term "extra baggage".

4. I have a heart condition that prohibits dieting.

5. Ok, jk about #4, my condition is completely irrelevant when it comes to dieting, but man, it sounded good!

6. It is absolutely necessary to sample (preferrably in large portions) anything I bake.

7. PEPSI. Ice cold PEPSI. Chocolate chip cookies-especially oven-fresh, Oreos, brownies, various pastries, Marie Callender's Chocolate cream pie, my mom's cooking, In-N-Out, & way too many other goodies to mention. My food guide pyramid looks more like an oval.

8. I have grown quite fond of that pudgy pooch I call a stomach. We've cultivated quite a relationship all these years, I couldn't just get rid of it so cruelly. I shall give it a name.

9. I honestly believe that Filipinos are genetically predisposed to eating ALOT. Especially at parties. If you've ever been to a Filipino party, you'll know what I mean. Ex: For my Dad's birthday party a few weeks ago my mom prepared 8 different dishes, they had an 80 pound roast pig and every guest that came (all Filipinos) brought a main dish and dessert. It IS genetic, I hope they find a cure soon!

10. Ok, I've run out of reasons- since I really didn't want to put LAZINESS on this list.

Anyway, dieting has been on my mind lately because I was really hoping that I would lose 10 more pounds before I run in LA. Since my training schedule has been killer, I thought that maybe if I was careful about my diet (you know, 4 Oreos instead of 10) that perhaps I would drop a few more pounds. It seems I've hit a plateau, so I seriously need to go on a diet. I'm 20 pounds away from my weight loss goal, so maybe someone can tell me some reasons why I CAN go on a diet...

Did you vote?

2008-02-07T16:34:00.001-08:00

A Perfect Tribute

2008-02-04T17:20:00.000-08:00

Funeral services for our beloved President Gordon B. Hinckley were Saturday, February 2, 2008. We were able to watch the broadcast while at my parents house, and it was beautiful. So touching, so full of love, just perfect.
Which brings me to the Hinckley Challenge. Show your love for President Hinckley and celebrate his life by reading the Book of Mormon in 97 days. As of today I need to read 5.47 pages a day to be done in 97 days. I know you can too... http://www.hinckleychallenge.com

Picture booth fun

2008-01-22T12:34:00.000-08:00

After having dinner at Red Robin last night, the kids headed for the photo booth right outside. Sebastian and Sophia really wanted their picture taken, so I decided to go ahead with it. At first they started out giggling. Then giggling uncontrollably. Then they burst out in laughter. Then it happened. Like MAGIC. They were all having fun and getting along. Well,it was magical for me at least. No whining, crying, pushing, screaming or fighting. No poking eyes, pulling hair or hitting. Just laughter. For 2 minutes they had good, simple fun. And in a picture booth of all places. I would search the ends of the earth to have magical moments like that with my kids. And we found it right there, in the Valley Plaza, outside of Red Robin. Who knew my kids would have so much fun in a picture booth? All I know is, I'd pay to see that again!

A Boring after Christmas Post

2008-01-21T14:13:00.000-08:00

Now that my head has stopped spinning from Holiday Season 2007, I can now re-focus my energy into normal everyday life. Since the day after Thanksgiving, life suddenly became crazy and hectic. There was the decorating, the parties, last-minute gift shopping and the drive up to my parents in Yuba City-with all the Christmas presents, and back home with even more presents. There was way too much cooking, eating, baking and more eating and then the coughs, colds, fevers and stoamch viruses celebrated with us. There was a lot of laughter, some fighting, some tears, more shopping, and for the FIRST time in many, many years, we did NOT send out Christmas cards! Truly a sad moment for me. I also didn't even have a Christmas post on my blog. So I'm posting a few Christmas pics, just for fun and to go against the grain for once as I'm sure all of you are thinking, "Why on earth is she posting Christmas pics? Christmas was a looooong time ago!" Especially since our family has already celebrated 6 birthdays just this month! Anyway...

Some thoughts on running...

2008-01-17T23:22:00.000-08:00

With at least 200 miles on these shoes, I will have to give them a rest. Parts of the soles are cracking, and the last time I wore them to the gym they kept making funny squeaking noises. Never a good sign...
So, I've been thinking about running...and here are some random thoughts...

1. I am starting to agree with everyone who keeps telling me I'm CRAZY for running so much, and for wanting to run in a marathon. Sometimes when you hear something over and over, you start to think it's true...anyway...

2. Running is an awesome sport! I've even diminished in size, so the jiggling has decreased-unless I just got used to it...

3. It can get expensive! My last pair of running shoes cost me $100.

4. The injuries that can occur if you're not careful suck! If I've talked to you in the last week, then you probably already know that my knee HURTS!

5. Training for a marathon is extremely time consuming. It's to the point where I almost gave up 2 weeks ago because as the runs get longer it's harder to fit into my schedule-AND because the kids start whining as soon as they see me in running gear. Even I know I've been running too much because when I slip on my running shoes just to go check the mail the kids ask me, "Mommy, are you going running?" Maybe it is overkill.

6. BUT- it is a worthwhile goal and I love it!

Happy 1st Birthday to our Number 5

2008-01-09T17:22:00.000-08:00

In my birthday suit!

*This post is way late...but because it was autosaved, the date will be the date of Elijah's birthday when it is published, even though it is being added a week late.* Oh well...at least it will make it on the blog.

So...HAPPY BIRTHDAY- again- to our spunky, energetic, amusing, sweet little boy. He's also our little scavenger and predator...scavenger because of his ability to detect food particles that his older siblings drop, mostly under the table. It's usually hopeless trying to wrangle away his treasure, he will scream and swat your hands away if you dare try to remove food from his mouth or stubby little fingers. Predator because, like a shark, he circles his brother and sister's table when they are eating, waiting for his opportunity to grab a handful of food, shove it in his mouth and run! Sophia usually falls prey to this predator since she's a slower eater than Sebastian.

But he's oh so sweet too...when Juan gets home from work, he runs to the door and holds his arms out for a hug. He listens tenatively to all the many songs Sophia sings to him and claps accordingly. He gives the sweetest little kisses. He has truly been a blessing, this little surprise of ours, filling our house with so much love and laughter, making our family complete.