Aaaaannnnddddd I'm Back!!!!!!

Life seems to get crazy and when you don't have a working computer, blogging really is not a priority.  I tried to blog from my iPhone but as you can see, the pictures really are crazy huge and editing on the iPhone is limited.  After getting another computer and not blogging for so long, I completely forgot about it until a friend of mine mentioned catching up and reading my blog :/  So, memory of my blog has been triggered and I am officially back.  A lot has happened in a short amount of time so I guess I will give quick updates.

 

 

Cassidy is doing really well.  She just started 5th grade, I still don't feel old enough to have a child in 5th grade (my wrinkles are starting to make me feel old enough though).  Her seizures are under control and we are currently in talks with her neurologist to possibly start taking her off of her meds.  We are taking her off of one now as we speak because it is not needed since she is taking the other and if she stays seizure free, she may be growing out of them.  This sends up huge warning flags for me and I have tons of questions but I guess we will cross that bridge when we get to it.  Other than that she is just your typical 10 year old girl and by that I mean completely sassy and wanting nothing to do with her completely embarrassing mother :)

 

 

This one is beyond sassy (not much has changed really) and keeps me on my toes.  She started 1st grade and loves being back in school and playing with friends.  She now has an Ipod and you can catch her rockin out as much as possible, she is turning 6 soon and wants to donate clothes and toys to kids who don't have any.  Her heart is amazing, she recently donated her hair to Locks Of Love (obviously the picture above is older), I sat in the chair blubbering as it was cut off but I have to say, short hair suits her sassy attitude!!!!!  We shall see what year 6 brings with her but I am sure it just adds a bit more sass.

 

 

And then we have her (sigh), moms don't have favorites because each kid is special and unique in their own way but this one just gets me all the time.  I know it is because she is my youngest and I am trying like hell to hold on to anything baby she may still have about her.  I don't know what i will do when she goes to school, except maybe cry into my tub of bon bons while I watch home movies.  She is just the epitome of a little girl and wants to be anywhere I am, it truly melts my heart!!!!

 

 

 

You didn't think you were getting away without looking at this ugly mug we you?  Here is an update on where I am at.  I had a fantastic job, I was signing a lease soon on an apartment for the girls and I am planning my new future as a single mom.  Then my boss let me know he was closing his business, which left me jobless, unable to sign the lease and having to stay here.  I have been completely miserable, I think having a future and having it all pulled out from under you can definitely throw you off but I also know it is a huge sign that that is not where I was supposed to be.  So, I have had to suck it up and live under the same roof with my soon to be ex husband (huge eye roll, sorry, I may be a little bitter and try real hard to put my fake smile one when I say that).  I am going to be enrolling in a phlebotomy program that starts in October and by mid November I should be certified and able to apply for work.  It is not my dream job but it will get me out of my current situation and I can provide for my girls.  Not to say I don't like it, I think it will be a good job and I will like interacting with others.  I am pretty excited.  The only thing I am nervous about is being the old lady in the class, I definitely do not want to be the old lady!!!!!

 

So, that is a quick check up with all of us.  I hope to keep this thing updated and have some fun stuff on here soon.  Thank you for being patient with me as I try to get my life back on track!!!!!!

 



Vegas!

Last week I turned 30. I never thought of myself as the person who freaks out at getting older but this time, I did. Not just because I am officially out of my twenties but I feel lost, starting all over at this age freaks me out. I know I am in no way "old" but starting a new life at this age can make you feel this way. So, to get my mind off things, I went away to Vegas with some friends and family. We had this planned for quite some time and I was extremely happy to get away for the weekend. We all had a great time and I will never forget it. I was also able to see my friend who moved out there last year, if was do nice seeing her!!! I cannot wait to make our yearly trip again next year or maybe I will have to go again before then :)

Yay!!!!!

Hello blogging world, I am back. Here's the deal, our laptop hook a dive a while ago. I had planned on buying a new one and then for Christmas, my mom bought me a sweet tablet. I thought all would be well but it turns out, blogger hates my tablet and refused to let me do anything. I eventually gave up, I guess I could live without blogging. I was mainly sad about my cupcake blog, what good is an online business without a website? I recently bought an iPhone and thought I could blog from there but yet again, no such luck. Then, as I was laying in bed last night, almost asleep, my eyes popped open and I had an epiphany......app!!! There is an app for everything and yes, there is a blogging app!!!!! I am elated, not that blogging is my life but not bring able to blog my cupcakes had stressed me out some. So, here I am, I hope some people have stuck by me and still read this!!!!! I will be updating as much as I can. Here is a most recent family picture for starters, enjoy :)

Fourth Fun

This fourth of July I was honored to be able to make some cupcakes for a friend of mine and in doing so, I was also invited to be a part of the festivities.  My girls were super excited, they were able to spend the entire day in the pool.

I know it may seem ordinary for kids to be in the pool but this was a huge thing for us.  Because of my oldests Epilepsy, she is not supposed to be in water.  Don't get me wrong, people with Epilepsy are allowed to be in water but it can be deadly.  And I feel a little blessed in the fact that she hates water.  Ever since she was little, she has been massively fearful of water and would not go in so when she was diagnosed and we were told the dangers of her swimming, we were actually ok with it.  I felt like God made her scared of water because he knew that one day, it could be dangerous for her.  However, the house we were at has a hot tub and the water temperature was the same as the pool.  She started by putting her feet in, then moved to the steps and eventually was touching bottom in the middle.  Granted, the water maybe touched her shoulders at that point but that is a huge step for her!!!  I was pretty proud.  My middle child who is scared of absolutely nothing was a little fearful at first but before we knew it, she was swimming like a little fish.  And my youngest was the least fearful of all.  She was in a little round fish floater and I just kept hearing "look at me, I kickin' back" and "I swimmin momma", she had a blast.  And not only was it at a dear friends house, my family was there too.  The girls got to hang out with cousins and my Aunt and Uncle, which is always a good time!

And the best part?  We didn't have to go anywhere for fireworks.  The fireworks are shot off basically in their backyard.  So, after a short sing along by ukulele, we sat around the pool holding on to sweet babies and taking in a wonderful patriotic display.  It was a great time.  Thank you Mollie for having my girls and I over for the celebration!!!

Three Blessings

9 years ago I was thrilled when I found out I would be having a beautiful baby girl.  4 years later I was a little disappointed to find out that it was another girl, but I was content and was happy my older girl would have a sister to bond with.  When my third turned out to be a girl, I was devastated.  I know a lot of you will think of how selfish and sick that sounds but I had my heart set on a boy.  When trying to get pregnant, I tried everything written on how to conceive a boy and I even started calling my belly the little boys name I had picked out.  So when the ultrasound tech asked if I wanted to know what I was having, my exact words were "Of course, I mean, I already know it is a boy, but you can just confirm that for me", the poor lady had no clue what to say, I feel so bad for putting her in that spot.  She looked at my two girls in their with me and said "looks like another little princess is joining the family".  I about died and asked her to check a couple more times.  How had I been so wrong, I was not meant to have three girls, I needed my boy!!  I know I heard God laughing at me that day, wondering how on earth I thought it was up to me.  Now that my girls have grown some, there have been many times that I have looked at them and knew it was exactly how it is supposed to be.  I look at my baby and think, there is no way I can picture having a boy.  Last night, we celebrated.  My oldest will be going into fourth grade after summer vacation and my middle one into kindergarten.  And how do girls celebrate?  Girls night in of course! We put on jammies, rented and movie and ate junk food to our hearts content.  Right before bed time, I chased the girls around the house and we ended up in my room.  At one point I was crawling on the floor about to jump up onto my bed where they were huddled and I knew I had to get my camera.  As I sprang up to shrieks of laughter, I saw my three little blessings holding on to one another and giggling.  It was a picture perfect moment and it was drilled into my head yet again, it is supposed to be like this.  Would I love to have a little boy?  I think ti would be amazing to have a son, to watch a boy grow into a man and make a life for himself but I am perfectly content with my girls, I couldn't imagine my life without it being with them.  As soon as the laughter died down, I did go get my camera and we had fun taking pictures.  And another thing about having all girls?  Taking pictures is a breeze, they all sat with me as we took a picture, looked at it and said "lets try that again"  15 tries later and we finally got some with all of us in it.  In all the chaos that is my life right now, I feel so happy that I have these three blessings in my life!

Let's Laugh A Little

Things on here have been kind of serious lately.  Between my friend being stuck in Japan during the radiation nightmare and the government shut down, it is pretty serious and depressing and that's not at all what I am about.  So, to lighten things up, enjoy this video of my cousin.  He is a fun, free spirit who can always make you laugh and an amazing guy.  Enjoy :)

Last night.......

Last night I had a great nights sleep.  I had a dream about my brother.  Nothing in particular, we were just hanging out with our kids and just having a good time.  I could seriously feel him hugging me, it was a fantastic dream.  And then I woke up and realized, he is gone, it was just a dream.  And I have to admit, that is pretty darn depressing.  Today is my birthday and one of my dear friends Pattie called me bright and early and she told me to think of it as a blessing.  So, I sit here with tears in my eyes, thinking of my brother and what he would be doing right now if he were still here but I feel like I got the best birthday present anyone could ever give me.  I know that he is not here, that he is in heaven but I swear it felt like he was right with me and it made me feel fantastic.  I would kill for another hug or another "I love you" and I know I cannot get that until I am up in heaven with him so I will take what I can get.  Maybe it was his way of making me feel special on this day and I can tell you this, I do.  So today started off on the right note and thank you to Pattie for helping me realize how much of a blessing this is!

Aaarrrggghhhh

A couple of weekends ago I took my little pirates to the Pirate Dinner Adventure.  Kendall has been begging to go every single time we pass the place, so we finally broke down and took them.  We really had a great time.  We went with my mom so we got in some Grandma time as well!!!  And of course Grandma had to have her little pirates in he right pirate gear.

So as you can see, Cass is giving us her best pirate "aaarrrggghhh", Kendall is contemplating if she wants to do what her sister is doing and Hayley is 2 seconds from ripping off that hat, she hated that thing.  Kendall didn't care for it very much either so my mom and I decided to be cool.

Pretty soon it was time for the pre-show to start.  That is when this walked out.

He is the captain of the show.  My mom and I looked at one another and I believe the words "well, heelllloooooo captain" were uttered, followed by this picture which was followed by him acknowledging said pervy statement and a wink may or may not have been in the mix as well.  I think all of that was followed by one seriously red faced mama, yeah, my poor kids had to deal with their mom acting like a total dork.  The pre-show was fun, they had a lot of audience involvement and then we got to go sit down and eat and watch the show.  I didn't get any pictures inside, it is super dark and my kids were going nuts and I was trying to balance Hayley one my lap and actually watch the show and eat. All in all it was a great night, tons of fun!!!!

Family and Friends

I love my Aunt.  She is a wonderful woman and we have a great time together.  From time to time she will come down and rent a cottage at the beach about 1/2 mile from our house and she brings her friends.  Her friends are a riot!!!  I love being able to hang out with this group of people.  They are always warm and welcoming and you can always walk away with your belly hurting from all of the laughter.  It never fails that there will be a moment when we are all in the same room and there are at least 3 different discussions going on and I can look around the room and just feel blessed.  This is life!!!

One of my Uncles is in this picture but there was supposed to be another on.  Why is here not there you ask?  Well, it turns out that he is train cursed.  And by that I mean that any time he steps foot on a train, it kills someone, lol.  It has happened once before I guess but that night, he was supposed to be taking the train down, after getting off work early and showing up around 7.  Well, the train he was on hit a person on a horse, thus killing the person and horse.  So, his eta was pushed back to 9 or so.  Around 9 or so my Aunt got another text.  After the train finally was able to go again, it hit another person!!!  Seriously 2 people and a horse were all killed.  So, he arrived sometime around 11pm.  Let me be the first to say, I don't think riding on a train interests me much anymore!!!!

Baby Chunks

Living in California means that we get to wear shorts for almost the whole entire year.  And yes, while the rest of you have been trapped inside with 20 feet of snow blowing around outside of your door, I have had my front door open to let the 75 degree weather and the smell of fresh cut grass creep into my home.  And while that has been happening, I have taken the opportunity to put my little chubby legged baby in shorts.

There is something that I just love abut short little legs with little chunky rolls popping out of shorts.  I squeeze them, when she least expects it, I sneak up behind her and squeeze her sweet little legs and tell her how cute they are.  Don't worry, I do this only to my children because I do know how disturbing it may be to do that to anyone elses child, I promise I will never go that far, even if your child is super cute in shorts with little fat legs.  And please don't mind the hair on my girl.  It has taken her forever to even get any hair and now it is in a wild phase, the only time it ever looks tame is right after her bath when it is wet and slicked down.  I love my crazy haired, chubby legged baby!!!!  (and yes, I have been told numerous times she is in fact no longer a baby but a toddler, to that I say lalalalalalalalala (with fingers in my ears), she is indeed my baby!!!!!)

Baby Shower Happenings

I cant believe I am lame and didn't take that many pictures while I was at my cousins baby shower.  By the time I realized I hadn't taken a single picture, she was already opening gifts.  At that point in the party, my kids were acting like it was Christmas morning and tearing open gifts while I stood there horrified and nervously smiling.  Thank God she is family.  My youngest one seemed to have the best time though.  Here she is helping cousin Wendy open gifts.

She also made her way inside while we were all outside and proceeded to try to put the picture frame shaped like a flip flop on her foot.  I am pretty sure we will never be invited back to the sweet ladies house it was at, lol.

She is lucky she is cute :)

Three Day Weekends Make Me Want To........

DO THIS!!!!!!!

This is also how my middle girl chooses to sleep these days, she is such a diva!



Christmas Happenings

I don't plan on being on this computer for the next couple of days and because of that, here is my 2010 Christmas post.
We have had a filled December I tell you that.  I don't know if I just didn't realize so much goes on around here last year but holy moly, a lot goes on here this time of year!  It could have been that we had our oldest recently diagnosed with Epilepsy and I was a little weary with taking her out with all the lights and sounds and business, I think I was putting her in my bubble and staying home!  But staying home this year, we have not done.
We started with choir performances and church gatherings and Girl Scout parades and that led into parties.  We had parties for the EFMP here on base.  And if you are curious, EFMP stands for Exceptional Family Member and that's what our Cass is.  The girls were pretty excited, this would be the first time they got to sit and actually talk to Santa (we stopped by for a quick 'hi' at the mall but knew we would see him numerous times over so we just did a walk by and high five).

We also attended a Christmas party for ENOC, the Epilepsy Network of Orange County.  The girls had a great time, there was plenty to do.

We also went to a kids Christmas party for Will's command and the girls yet again saw Santa.  I was starting to wonder when seeing Santa would get old since they saw him at least 4 times prior but each and every time they let our squeals when the big man would walk in the room with his hearty "ho, ho ho".
We also had more choir performances and some school plays as well.

We ended all of our festivities with Girl Scouts baking in my kitchen and our local fire fighters getting a basketful of goodies.  So now, it is on to family celebrations and eyes sparkling and mouths dropped open.  Our smallest one is more than thrilled and has tried to open many presents so far.  Good thing I was smart enough to put them in unmarked boxes first, muahahahaha.
I do have to admit, as much as I love this time of year with everyone getting together and the warm fuzzies that come with it all, it gets me thinking of the ones who will not be with us this year.  It will be the third without my amazing brother and the very first without my Papa.  I know I will have my moments when I will have to walk away from the joy of it all to have a moment and wipe away the tears.
And lets not forget the reason why we celebrate.  I don't tell people to have a 'happy holiday' because we celebrate for one reason and one reason only.  We celebrate the birth our Saviour Christ Jesus.  We make our birthdays special each and every year and no one tells you not to celebrate or to say happy birthday in a different way as not to offend anyone.  Well, be offended.  I am offended that people are taking this holiday and making it into something politically correct.  So, just know, if you tell me to have a good holiday, I will make sure to tell you have have a Merry CHRISTmas!!!!!!!!!

Family

Have I ever mentioned before how talented my family is?  2 of my cousins are so very talented when it comes to music.  They both have amazing voices and can even play some instruments.  I have seen them a couple of different times at different venues but a couple of weeks ago I got to see one of them play solo.  It wasn't a huge venue, he was actually there to play when the "headliners" took there break.  However, everyone who was there told him he stole the show.....needless to say the guy who he was playing on break for was none too excited, lol.  I know that one day they will make it big!!!!

By the way, my cousin is the guy with the curly hair, I have no relation to the blonde watching, lol

Weekend Events

This weekend was tiring and fantastic all in one.  It started out Friday with me getting a little shopping done all by myself, peaceful as that may be, I have to go back today to return and exchange things, I guess trying to get some shopping done super fats before you need to be somewhere does not always pay off.  Anyways, from the mall I went to my Aunts church for an event called Shebrews.  It is a woman's coffee night with gifts and scripture and music, it was a great time!!  I ate way too many sweets and think I need a sugar detox but it was wonderful!!! 

After it was over I stayed at my Grandmas house because at 4am I needed to be up and out the door with my Aunt and cousin to volunteer at the Gladiator Rock N Run.  The proceeds go to help Epilepsy so I knew it was something I needed to volunteer for.  However, 4am comes quickly and it was maybe 40 degrees.  Did i mention I forgot a sweatshirt so I got to wear a super thin cardigan?  Yay!!  But in all honesty, it was a lot of fun.  I got to meet some amazing people, talk about Cassidys story and witnessed men in outfits I am sure they normally would not be caught dead in.  I am very thankful for my wonderful Aunt and cousin who came out as well.  They braved the cold and massive amounts of people but they did it in the name of Epilepsy and for that I am ever so thankful!!!! 
Do I end there?  How would it be a crazy weekend if it ended there?  After spending 6 hours at the Rock N Run, I drove home to get my girl ready for her very first choir performance.  She was performing at a local church with her other choir members and the San Clemente Choral Society.  My mom came out to see her as well.

The performance went longer than expected and since we had to be on the road to our next event for the day, as soon as our girl came off stage, we left out the side door.  I did feel guilty, I did not want the others thinking I did not enjoy their singing but we had other places to be.  I felt better once I saw at least 4 other families doing the same thing, lol.  So, with that being over with, we were off in the car to Fallbrook for the Christmas parade that my Girl Scouts were in.  The drive on base to the Fallbrook gate was typical but as soon as we exited into the town, it was sheer madness, cars were everywhere and roads were blocked.  We were told not to park in the grocery store parking lot but Cass started to not feel good (she tends to get hot in the car and proceed to throw up, we are used to it but it is never fun).  So, we pulled into the forbidden parking lot and as the man with the clipboard started towards us to tell us how we were not allowed to stay there, he saw my sweet one bent over a bush and decided to let us stay.  The good part of it all was that we were then able to park in the parking lot and have good seating for the parade.  So, my mom, Will and the 2 small ones sat and watched while Cass and I joined our other Girl Scouts for the parade.  It was a great time, I loved seeing all the little kids so happy, waving and yelling "Merry Christmas".  Our girls would wave and yell back, some sending out a cheerful "Happy Hanukkah" (yeah, that was my child, she wanted to make sure she had everyone covered, lol).  After it ended, we decided dinner would be a good option, the kids were cold and hungry.  Cass got even more sick on the way to the restaurant and even sicker on the way home.  Needless to say, she was happy to be home in her bed.  As was I, being up at 4am and not getting to bed until 11pm is not fun.  I feel like I got hit by a truck today, how did I get so old?  Now, off to the mall and hopefully not needing to go back for quite some time.

When Spaghetti Attacks

Uh Oh Momma......

Look at that face!!!  Gotta love this girl!!!

No words needed

I think this is how I feel every day



Tired

I planned on a fun post, a post that embarrasses me but that will need to wait.  For  am one exhausted momma.  My oldest had a sleep over last night and at one point I found 29 empty candy wrappers scattered about my floor.  And because my oldest was having a friend over, my middle asked if she could have a sleep over with me.   How could I not oblige when her baby blues look right at me smiling?!  So, with Toy Story 3 in hand and bowl of popcorn we had ourselves a great night, we watched, we ate, we chatted like old girlfriends, it was great.  Then we tried to sleep......I think she slept.  But with a constant foot in my side and arm across my face, I didn't get much sleep.  So, I sit here wanting to talk about my latest adventures but all I want to do is cuddle up under my covers and wait for Monday to come.  However, that never happens with 3 kids, one who has had way too much sugar that it may not wear off until next week.  See you tomorrow everybody.

A Day Late

But who cares when cuteness abounds?  Our Halloween was fun and tiring, no really, I really felt like I was 80 and wanted to be in bed at 7!!!!!  We  started out with super yummy blueberry pancakes for breakfast, followed by apron wearing and cookie baking, I will talk about the cookies on another post soon.  Not too long after my mom came down and we hit up the consignment shop near the beach.  As some of you may not know because I have never divulged my secret obsession here, but I love roosters in my kitchen.  Not too over the top where people start thinking an intervention is needed, but I love them and find a place for them in my kitchen.  Well, the consignment shop had some off white china that had a cute rustic vintage like rooster on it.  So, I bought me a pitcher.  I could have gone all crazy and bought the napkin rings, plates, coffee cups, but I didn't, I kept it to one pitcher.  It is super nice, come on over and I can pour us some juice :)  Ok, back to Halloween.  After the consignment shop we came home and dressed the little ones in proper Halloween attire.

Yep, those are my little darlins.  Later we switched Hayley from duck feet to her pink squeaky shoes, more on that in another post yet again, but the squeak was very fitting......and we knew where she was at all times!  After the girls were dressed and ready our good friends came up and went trick or treating with us.  It was hard to get a picture of the whole brood, but my dear friend thought this was her idea of fun for us.....

It wasn't so bad when we were together, it was when we were separate that we got looks.  Thanks Daniela, love ya :)  All in all, it was great Halloween.  How could it not be when spent with friends and family?

Happy Birthday!

Four years have gone by so fast!!!  It seems like only yesterday I was carrying you in my belly and your sister was performing her greatest art works at your expense...or mine.

The day you were born was a beautiful day.  You made your sister a sister for the first time. And at that moment that we held you in our arms, you made our family complete.



I always knew that you would grow up to be a beautiful young girl.  You have amazed me with your adventurous spirit and a love of life.  You are an amazing daughter, wonderful sister and friend.  We love you so very much Kendall!!!!