MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.......

HOPE EVERYONE HAD A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY!!!

CHRISTAMS EVE, MY FAMILY CAME OVER TO DO OUR 'ADULT' GIFT EXCHANGE AND FOR THE KIDDIES TO OPEN THEIR GIFTS FROM MY FAMILY...

I MADE A BIG HAM AND WE MADE SANDWICHES AND BAGELS AND STUFF. WE HAD A REALLY GOOD TIME PASSING OUT GIFTS AND STUFF. AND MY SIS WERE PLAYING AROUND WITH BECCA, TELLIN' HER SHE WAS A 'SKINNY MINI'....

......HERE ARE THEIR PICS PLAYING AROUND.......

BECCA GOT A WHOLE BUNCH OF 'ELVIS' STUFF (SHE COLLECTS THAT KINDA THING) AND THE KIDS LOVED EVERYTHING THEY GOT FROM THE FAM. MY NEPHEW, CHRIS ADORED THE THOMAS THE TRAIN TENT E AND I GOT HIM AND HE WANTED TO OPEN EVERYTHING HE GOT RIGHT AWAY! MY MOM LOVED HER PERFUME, 'AS USUAL' AND AFTER EVERYONE LEFT, THE KIDDIES WENT TO BED AND E AND I MET WITH SANTAS TO PREPARE STOCKINGS AND SANTA GIFTS.

K ACTUALLY SLEPT IN HER BED UNITL ABOUT 7AM....SINCE VANESSA WAS AT HER DADS THIS CHRISTMAS, SHE HAD MINOR INTERUPTIONS.....

J FELL RIGHT TO SLEEP AND DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO WAKE A 7AM WHEN K FORCED HIM AWAKE...... THE KIDS BIGGEST GIFTS FROM SANTA WERE:

K GOT A NEW BIKE (NO TRAINING WHEELS!!!)

AND J GOT A BIG AIR HOCKEY TABLE.........

PLUS THEY GOT A BUNCH MORE STUFF!!!

B GOT AN ADAPTER TO PLAY HER IPOD IN HER CAR OFF THE FM STEREO AND V GOT A NEW MP3 PLAYER WITH ACCESSORIES!!!!!

HOPE YOU ALL HAD A MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND WE ARE WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

~I AM ON VACATION NOW AND I DO NOT GO BACK TO WORK (......CROSSING MY FINGERS........) UNTIL NEXT YEAR, JANUARY 8TH!!!!

MY WORK SCHEDULE KINDA SUCKS THIS YEAR, AS USUALLY I AM ON THE SAME SCHOOL CALENDAR AS THE KIDDIES, BUT THIS YEAR, IT'S DIFFERENT. THE KIDDIES HAVE ALREADY BEEN OFF A WEEK AND GO BACK TO SCHOOL ON JAN 2ND......AND I JUST STARTED MY TWO WEEKS VACATION ON DEC 25AND DO NOT GO BACK TIL JAN 8TH.......

OH WELL, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO EVERY MINUTE OF MY TIME OFF.....

BELIEVE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~ MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT~

Holiday Cheer.....

The kids had their Holiday singing for parents this week and it was really cute. J's much more "the big kid" type and he seemed little embarrased of me with both the video and digital camera clicking away. So I tried to keep it as minimal as I possibly could for his peace of mind.....

(I did get it all on video though, and he does not not know it yet!!!!!!!)

Although, when K's day came, oooohhhh boy, she was ready....... I got her her a new Santa dress and she was ready to go boy!!!!!!!!!!!!

She wanted me to take pictures of all of her friends and made sure that I video taped the whole singing part so E could see it later. (cause he could not make it to this one) Here she is in her dress (one with bro J)and below with friends from class during their Holiday Party......

J

TOO MUCH HOMEWORK TITI................

-I went out in the front yard yesterday evening for a quick minute to help E with the Christmas decorations and when I came in to check on K and her homework and this is what I found..........

She was just too tired to do aymore, I guess, cause she was passed out on the table, pencil in hand and all.

My big Kindergartner is also getting her very first BIG award this Thurs for Student of The Month. She does not know yet and I cannot wait. I will be there to get pictures as usual. E is even going ot try and make it! How exciting is that. We are so proud of her!!!!!!!!!

what's going on ??????

well last sat we went to a very good friends house for their daughters 16th b-day party. HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY VALERIE! we had a blast. i must admit that I got a little buzzed and had an awesome time visiting and catching up with many old and some new friends. E drove so it was my turn to have some extra fun. we have been friends with this very special family for years and years and even though it's a little of a drive, it was well worth it. the kids went with and so did my bro, josh. all in all, we had a ball!

the doggies got groomed this week too. they really needed it. especially Karl, the cocker.... he looks SO much better and i know he's got to feel better too! they had Holiday scarfs on when i picked them up. they are too cute!!!!!

And of course, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE...... hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with your families. we had a great day...... i did not take too many pics yesterday but we did have a nice time visiting and eating as usual!

.................BLACK FRIDAY.................
E AND I GOT UP AT 4:30 AM AND HIT THE 3 STORES WE HAD ON OUR LIST AND GOT EVERYTHING WE HAD ON OUR LIST AND THEN SOME, AS USUAL........

man, are we just crazy, or what.......

actually, we saved many dollars, after we got home and i figured it out, it was REALLY worth it. we were able to come back home and take naps as kids, J & K spent this years Thanksgiving with their Nana & Papa in another town so they have been gone since Wed. and they are coming home today. I did miss them (alot) but on the other hand, it was nice to have a bit of a break and being able to get to go early bird shopping with E made up for it too! (as usually E stays home with the sleeping kids and I go, usaully with my sis)

ANYONE ELSE FIGHT THE CROWDS WITH AWESOME DOORBUSTING DEALS!!!!!!!!

a more personal update.......... and more.........

let me tell ya'll a bit more about my situation, past and present. i know i list my profile as being a full time mom and aunt of 4, 2 teens of my own (B & V) and 2 that i am currently the legal guardian of. (J & K) well, most of that is true but V's dad and I have had 50/50 custody of her forever now and this last week it has come to a stop and a HUGE mess of a dispute. my V is currently near failing half of her classes this first quarter of her junior year and i cannot take it any longer. she has basically been 'living' at her dad's and weekends here with me unless she on break from school and during the summer. it's not like she wasn't here alot as her dad and stepmom's house is only 2 streets over from our house so she has always been close and able to go back and forth easily. Although her bedroom and the majority of her belongings 'were' at her dads house, this is where she starved to be. here 'at home' with her mom and sister. i finally took control and told her dad (who at first did not agree with me) that 'we' needed to give her the chance to turn her grades around (along with her attitude and other issues) and if this is what it's going to take then so be it. i reminded him and stepmom of our 50/50 custody (i just wanted to make it clear, not argue) and after 2 long nights of talking and meeting with them both, 'he' finally agreed to trying it. i know deep down inside (wherever my 'ms. hardass' feelings lay) this is what she really ached for. and trust me when i say that my level of guilt has been overflowing for years. we really don't have a room here to just let her have of her own right now, but she gets along well with J & K and for now she can hang with them until we figure out what we're gonna do. we do have the family room that was once a bedroom that we can work with so i'm not worried about it. she has been coming straight home from school AND.......... 'DOING HER HOMEWORK' AND EVEN 'DOING DISHES AND STUFF'. i know that she has become lazy and has the attitude of 'i don't care anymore so why try', but i can already see a difference and it's only been a week. i feel like as her mother, i owe her at least this much. i mean, i have had 2 children for over 4 years now here with me that aren't even my own and i'm sorry if her dad feels bad and is sad, but what else can i do. my own kids need me too, i am their mother and i'm sorry that i was very young when i had both my kids and things weren't right all the time, but things change and people change and i we can only move forward in our lives instead of dwell on the past.

whew.......ok well, lets get on it now i've got dinner to prepare........

here are K & J's fall pics from school (this is K's first kindergarten picture and J's 3rd grade picture)



also- today was K's Thanksgiving feast in her classroom. I went and served my duty and the "classroom volunteer". we had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, squash, a bunch of pies and different stations set up like: make a necklace or hackey sack, a cranberry tasting station and then the kids put on their pilgrim and/or indian outfits they made in the class and sang us songs! it was really cute. i didn't get a lot of actual pictures cause i was video-taping too. here are a few from today!

UPDATES.........................

I had to take some pics of K and Lexi at bedtime. YEAH, I know, Lexi is a little spoiled. She likes to be under the covers too! This is how K fell asleep this particular night!

This is K's parade and Halloween party at school. Only the Kinders got to participate i dressing up at school and having a little parade. E went and took some pics for me as I was really busy at work with my students' costume parade and pumpkin patch. I did her make up and sprayed her hair black with a white strpie down the middle! She is really looking like a scary Vampiress!

SAT-THE HALLOWEEN PARTY

Was another great one, as usual. Here I am as a witch as most of you already saw over on SHETZQ's blog. We didn't have quite as many people show this year but the first keg was empty by 10:30pm. I made my famous meatballs (and again, this year I did not get any of them) and the usual chips with chili and cheese. I also made some rum flovored cupcakes. They were a hit! I finally cleared the place out near 3am as you know the men can get when they get to that point of "alcohol and fighting" combined. All in all, it was another great party!

Here are Lexi and Karl in their Jailbird costumes. They are such good sports when I dress them up! Aren't they cute! They kept them on for a couple hours!

Halloween night-TRICK OR TREAT!!!!!!!!!!!1

Jnd K dressed as Vampires and friend D from down the street as a dirt bike rider. J is pretending to 'suck his blood'. E took the kids around with Dand D's dad this year and I sat on the porch and passed out candy. I had my scary music playing and my fog machines going off and some little ones wouldn't even come up. This is my favorite time of year and I enjoy doing that. HOPE YOU ALL HAD A SAFE AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday.......

October Is HHHHEEERRRREEEE....................

My favorite time of year has come again........And so fast at that............I cannot believe that Halloween is here and that Christmas is now less than 2 months away. We are beginning to prepare for our 7th annual Halloween and Birthday Bash Celebration!!!! I am going to be turning 35 this month and I'm a little worried about it. I am getting old and not liking it. In between my latest Doctors' appts, I actual make it to work on time or make it a full day. I'm not complaining, my Dr's are running so many tests and I am so grateful for that. Just this week, I have had ultraounds taken of my belly, gall bladder and kidneys. I will wait on results and my next appt with my regular DR. Personally, I just continue to pray daily for some answers soon, or hopefully no BAD news will come of the majority of the tests. I hope ya'll are having a good week so far and I'll give you updates soon. here are a few pics of K after we bought some new skeleton decorations for this year............

Taking My Own Back To School Fall Pictures........

Which ones do you like??????????

I'm OK..............

Whew.....didn't know if I was gonna make it through this one......Doctor's say I had a panic attack. This was a first for me and it happenend at work last Thurs. It was terrible, I have never felt anything like it before in my whole life. I couldn't even drive myself to urgent care, I had to call E, who was on the road in his work truck and have him come drive me. Dr gave some ativan and sent me home. Well, sun night, I had another one and insisted on going to ER room. The ER Dr told me the same thing. Am I losing my mind or what? I am on overload at work and wondering what is wrong with me health wise has really been worrying me, but panic attacks? (I have been having stomach/abdominal pain for months now) I guess I worried myself into a panic attack knowing that my dr appt were coming up and I thought something terrible may be wrong. Well since last Thurs, I have been poked and proded numberous time and in numerous places, (thats gross, I know) I have had at least 10 viles of blood drawn for testing and so far everything came back ok. I have had a full blown pelvic exam and ultraound and dr found nothing in my female parts via ultrasound. This Thurs I will have a stomach/abdominal ultrasound and if they don't find anything there, I'll have a scope put down my throat to take some pics and see if there is anything there. YEAH for me, right......As far as my extremely miserable cycles every month, we're gonna start with a simple out patient surgery under general anethesia of course called a D & C. This is scheduled for friday, 10-20. E will taking off work that day to be with me and they do these in Fridays because usual recovery time is just acouple days, so I'll have the weekend. If this doesn't improve my problems, then OB Doc will then try and submit to my insurance to perform what is called a 'lunchbox hysterectomy'. It is a new and very costly procedure that is also an out patient procedure and there's no surgery involved. They will destroy the lining of my uterous and thats it. No more periods for me and goodness knows, we're fine with no more babies. We have enough of of those from kindergarten to college, we're good to go!!! I'm still reading up on this one, trying to find out all the long term effects and stuff, ya know.

So, I'm still alive, and I plan to stay that way for a long while. Halloween is right around the corner and I can't miss our 8th annual Halloween Party. I took last week off and slept most of the week trying to get panic attacks out of my mind and not dwell on things. Plus the ativan helped me sleep too. I am going back to work tomorrow and I am ping to be just fine! I have been praying everyday and yes, sometimes, I even talk to myself. I have to tell myself that I'm gonna be ok, ya know? Call me what you want, it won't bother me. I have to take care of myself now, instead of everyone else..........

VIOLATED......

Gosh, you know that feeling that you see and hear about terrible things happening and at the same time you thank God that is wasn't you. Well it happened to me last Thursday while I was parked at the gym. Here I am, trying to better myself and working out with my sister and during the whole hour and a half that we were inside the gym, someone broke into my van and robbed me blind. Some asshole thieves who cannot take care of themselves in this world the way we do, they have to take our hard working, back busting belongings that we had to save up for before we could even buy them. And the most horrible thing about it is that they will probably never get caught and they will trade my precious belongings for a liitle dope somewhere and not even think twice about it. They got all my personal info as well which meant that I have had to place a watch on all my credit cards and my bank account. I will have to repeat this every three months to keep watch and control of my own identity. As my sis and I were walking out thurs evening (still daylight by the way) she was talking abou thow she did not like to park so far outin the parking lot because it was dangerous in which i was totally agreeing with. We walked her to her van first which was only 3 cars or so away from mine and then I alked on to my van. We noticed a couple of cars and a police officer at the very end of the lot and there was broken glass on the ground and one of the women was sitting on the ground talking on her cell. Man, I thought, poor lady. As I turned through the lot went to grab my cell which I had left in the car to call E and let him know I was on my way, i noticed it was gone. I thought ok, it fell onto the floor or something, then I saw that my work keys were gone from where I put them everyday after work. SHIT..............Ok then I see that my trunk light is on the dash which means my trunk was not shut all the way......Well, I knew that I had not been in the back all day........SON OF A &%#@! I said and I immediately pulled over quickly, shut my car off and got out. I thought what if someone is back there in my car. I circled the car, I did not have my phone to call anyone but found it was clear and drove home crying and feeling violated as heck.................. When I got back into the driver seat I noticed that the DVD players that once were strapped to the back of both seats for the kiddies were also gone......... I continued to drive home and call the police to file a report and figure out what else was missing and make a list of my "report stolen" calls I had ahead of me. Talk about a HUGE MESS that I have been dealing with. Anyhow...I know that all that stuff can be replaced and I thank God that nothing happened to me or anyone else affected by the break ins. I also learned that I won't ever leave any of my personal stuff in my car again.

On another note..... Sun, we went to a swim/BBQ get together with E's work colleagues and it was a lot of fun. It got my mind off of stuff and the kiddies had a blast swimming and playing the games that they had there. It was great! K officially took her life jacket off and YES... she jumped off the diving board and swam to the side and did it again! She is growing up too fast. She is loving Kindergarten and she loves it in the am when I drop them both off at school before going to work. I on the other hand, feel sad and cannot believe what I am doing. Here are some pics from the BBQ on Sun:

Becca's Softball Party & The First Day of School!

Sat night was Becca's end of the summer league softball party at her coaches house. We had an absolute blast! Her coaches house is VERY nice and all I could say when I walked in was WOW.......OMG.....It looks like a house that is just for show and decoration ya know, no one really lives in it.......Totally immaculate and everything including the house was so HUGE and decorated so RICHLY that I almost wanted to take pictures of every room..... (no I did not, don't worry, LOL) You should of seen the master bath, straight from the show Cribs on MTV, I swear! Anyhow, we ended up staying way later than we had expected. E was not feeling well and we did not plan on staying long. But we started having so much fun and dancing and karaoke and stuff we didn't get home til darn near 2am. (the kiddies got to spend 1 night at their mom's before going back to school, so we were kiddieless) It was so funny when Coach G and his wife and team mom D did the awards for the girls..... Their team finished 1st place and all the girls received GOLD medals and then Coach G announced and handed the "special" awards for the season. After he was done with all the others, he called up Becca and one of her BF's for years now, Destiny....They are the 2 oldest girls on the team and this is their last year to play for this league cause the are both over 18. So they went up and coach awarded them with 'old people' canes from the party store. It was so freakin funny, I was literally crying with laughter, no one saw that coming......It was so great, I really needed a night like this one!!!!!!!

BACK TO SCHOOL~ K'S FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN,

B'S FIRST DAY OF COLLEGE, V STARTED 11TH, AND J STARTED 3RD....

B and V left too early for me this am so I did not get pic of them before they left....(they did that on purpose) But here are the kiddies, J and K while getting ready and at school.....K was so excited and she did a great job her first day for her first day of Kinder........... and we met J's teacher today too and all went well!!!!!

wrap up- E went to the dr's today, dr wanted to do x-rays and he came home pnemonia in his left lung.........and anti- biotics....... and watch out......his boss is gonna actually have a couple days off to recover..... how nice, huh??????????

anyways....hope all ya'll had a good weekend and are off to a great week!

Favorite Foto Friday.....

~You'd Better Watch Out J~

~if you played along, let me know so I can check out your FFF~

Visit With Friends and Doheny Beach.......

Early last week, the kiddies and I went to visit some close family friends of ours. I needed to get away and my friend D, cut and highlighted my hair for me. YEP....I actually did something for MYSELF for a change...... Believe it or not.... I had a great time socializing and catching up on old times! The kiddies had fun swimming with the kids the kids there and they got to spend some time at V.B.S. (Vacation Bible School) while we were there and they had alot of fun! K brought home corn that she got to plant herself in her class and J brought home some Bible books and lessons that he learned about.

Our camping trip to Doheny Beach was so much fun....

Most of the campsites there are close together but we had really cool neighbors and the kids made friends right away! When we finally made it into our tents at night, the sound of the crashing waves is what we heard while falling asleep. That by itself was enough for me! It was awesome!!!!! My friend, Y met us up there too for some good times! We got there early Friday and set up our tent and stuff and then headed down to the beach for some waves and fun in the sand. The sandy beach was about 100 feet from our tent. Very close and very neat! The kiddies had an absolute blast the whole weekend. We all had a blast this weekend. E got pretty blitzed Sat night and he was dancing around the campfire with the flashight. I haven't laughed as hard or as much as I did like this for a while. Me and my friend Y were having a great time wathing him and singing to the music! The kiddies were full of smores and sound asleep in the tent. We played poker throughout the weekend and even J is learning how to play now. Starting him early, I guess.....

All in all, I could not of asked for more fun! We will definetly be planning on reserving our own spot on the beach for next time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow I have to go down and fill out a bunch of paperwork for daycare for the upcoming year and This Friday, we have Kindergarten orientation and K and I will meet her Kindergarten teacher and stuff. J will start 3rd grade and V will start the 11th grade and my Becca will start her first day of COLLEGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Favorite Foto Friday......

HEY.....I'm back.........

Well, seems like I've been gone forever..... I'm back home now for at least a day then we're off to the beach for a weekend camping trip. Much needed at that, I must say. Although it is a lot of work to go camping, we will have FUN, I'm sure! We got a deal from our neighbor, (gotta LOVE thy neighbors) cause they planned something else and gave us their reservations so it really wasn't planned by us we're gonna do it anyways! E got Fri and Mon off so I said LETS GO!!!!!!

the pageant was so much fun.... becca did sooo good for it being her first pageant. she looked absoulutey beautiful on stage in her formal wear! she answered her question with no stuttering or forgetfulness and accomplished her pivots and turns like a professional model! i was a very proud mom watching and helping her prepare in between competitions..... it was an extremely busy weekend... sat morn she had her personal interviews with the judges in ontario at the sheraton and sun morn we started our morn with rehearsal and then a lunch break and then back for dressing and make-up and hair touch-ups at 2:30pm to prepare for the pageant at 4pm. she did not win anything this time and that is totally ok.... she is not upset at all and then i asked her if she would do it again she said, "probably not mom, i think i'll stick to softball"

~here is a pic of when she did her casual wear routine on stage~

~walking to center stage with the MC~

~standing on stage in pose~

well crap......., i'm having trouble posting more pics right now so i will try again in the AM..... must be a blogger thing going on~ hope everyone had a good weekend and a great start to their week!

Wordless Wednesday.....

weekend updates.......

Thursday night E took K to see GREASE at our city college auditorium. Heather went to with Emmy and a couple of her neighbors. K loved it and she got to spend the night after with Emmy at Aunt Heathers! I took this pic of them before they left! She was sssooo excited!
J spent most of his weekend with his BF Donovan. All day Sat and most of Sun they hung out and went swimming at Don's grammas. I (WE, E and I) ) did a whole lot of nothing ALONG WITH some cleaning and laundry this weekend. It was nice to not have a party to host for a change! I really needed a weekend off! Sun we watched the boys while Heather and Steve went an Angels game with Steves daughter and one of her friends. I went to their place while they napped and then when they woke up, I brought them came back to our house. They had fun playing with Kaylee and with the dogs! Zach and Karl really had fun together!!!!

Next weekend is the pageant and I will be BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!

HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GREAT WEEKEND.....

Favorite Foto Friday....

TOO MUCH FUN!!!

HOPE ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

Weekend updates.......

Fri night, E and I went to have some time to ourselves at Franks Bar & Grill, had some beers and dinner and then we went over to Judi's ( a friend from work) and we did not get home until 2:30 am. It was nice to have some adult time but I am really paying for it now.....

Sat morn, we got all of David's stuff moved into storage and his mom and dad are now on their way back home. I really hope that we stay in touch with them and are able to see them again.... and just so you all know, we have adopted David's dog, Karl. He is a purebred Cocker Spaniel and he has adapted well here in the last few days. He and Lexi are getting to know one another and are becoming friends!

J & K's b-day pool party went great on Sat. (talk about another SUPER busy weekend) This year we combined the two cause we have had so much more stuff going on and finances are tough, I'm sure ya'll know what I mean. (Thanks Papa & Nana for letting us have a pool party at yur house! ) We had BBQ hot dogs and hot links, nachos, chili & cheese, tortilla wraps, fruit trays and cake and ice cream cones! Nana bought the huge super slide you see in these pics and let me tell you, IT WAS A HIT!!!!!! The kids had a ball on it!

Everyone had a blast and the party went on into the night with us adults sitting outside by the pool hanging out and stuff.

The kiddies got a lot of nice gifts and we thak you all for coming and for the awesome birthday gifts this year!!!!!

Today, Sunday, Becca and I had training class for the upcoming pageant. It went great and she has a bit of practicing to do because this is her first one but I know she will do fine! She (we) now have bit more sponsor $ to come up with and we need to finalize her outfits for the competition and we'll be set to go! It's getting more and more exciting as we go! For all that have had sponsored so far, We thank you very much!, We could not have done it without you!