Twins?

Man I wish I had a picture of myself at almost 9 to put on here.  It seems like everywhere I go, if someone knows my oldest daughter, they automatically know I am her mom.  I get tons of "hi Cassidy's mom" and "are you Cassidy's mom?"  This morning was no different.  My oldest is in a school play and this morning was her very first performance so naturally, I had to be there.  I was sitting in a chair in the back of the room with the other two little ones and a lady walked by, stopped and walked back and little and said "you MUST be Cassidy's mom!!!"......."Yes, yes I am"......"Of course you are, she looks exactly like you!!!"  I think that all of my kids resemble me, they all have my coloring and eyes but my oldest, it is a little uncanny.  Years ago when their father was on deployment, he came back and was looking through pictures and held up one and asked where I had taken the girls.  It was a picture of me.  Granted, the coloring and the fact that I was sitting in a station wagon without a seatbelt should have given it away, he isnt the brightest crayon in the box.  But it is nutty how much she looks like me.  It is a little annoying getting recognized by people who I may not even know, there was one guy I had a full on conversation with in the commissary who apparently knew my daughter form school or something and somehow assumed through looks I was her mom, I still have no clue who he was but man did he know me.  In the end though, it makes me smile.  I joke around with her and sometimes have her look me in the eye and I tell her "Cass, this (hands all up in the face), this is what your future holds, muahahahahahahah", I never said my kids think I am sane.  But as I was begining to say, I love it to be truthful.  I love having my girl look like me and am so proud to be her momma.  I am in all srts of denial that she is turning 9 this month, how on earth did she become so old?  Her last year in her single didgits.........sigh..........so, if you know my daughter, feel free to know me too, and vice versa, we are twins after all.  And Lord, please let me still look like her when I am 40 or older, that would be a GREAT compliment :)

Chicken and Waffles

I know that it is a California thing but I think every one knows about Roscie's Chicken and Waffles right?  Isnt it in a couple of movies or something?  I dont know, maybe I am living in my California bubble.  When I went to college, we had a Roscoe's not too far from us and everyone would go and I never got to go.  I have always wanted to go and see what all the hoopla was about but I live a little further now and dont see driving that far just to eat.  Then, like a little miracle, we found out they had more locations and one happened to be 5 minutes from my moms house.  Needless to say, we went over the weekend.  It had to be a happening place, they even had security to control the crowd (kind of crazy).  But, while we waited we got to sit in their lounge area.  It was a cute little room that was dimly lit and had pretty pictures on the wall.  My oldest talked about the fancy seats......wooden chairs with greyish fake sillk covers, the girl knows her fancy :)  She got even more excited when we ordered drinks while we waited and she got her sprite like this....

And her sister got her strawberry lemonade like this.............

And not to be out done just because she had a sippy cup, our girl got just the fruit and it came like this.......

We did have a little bit of a long wait, it was also around noon on a Sunday so it is to be expected.  But, they finally called our number and we got to go into the other side of the restaurant.  I have to say, the lounge is the complete opposite of the actual restaurant.  It was more like a tiny simple diner versus the silk covered dimly lit room with umbrella drinks.  We asked our waiter what most people ordered and I knew it was a stupid question but he still gave me  the "chicken and waffles" answer, however he did do it with a "this is a stupid question" look.  So, we did.  Chicken and waffles all around and my mom, God love her, ordered good ol chicken livers (do you sense I am not a huge fan?).  We were shocked when it came out.  My order alone contained a half of a chicken and my moms livers were piled high on a huge plate.  Luckily my middle girl, who rarely eats more than a few bites, ate one whole plus another half of a waffle, a huge drumstick and an egg, she was going a little nuts on the chicken and waffles!!!!  I dont know if I would go back and stand in that huge line, my kids werent enjoying the wait too much, but maybe if they accept reservations or we can go on an "off" time.  Anyways, if you ever see one and havent eaten there before, I suggest you go in and try it at least once!

Miniature Glee

My oldest is part of the chorus club at her school.  "We may be small, but we are mighty" seems to be the theme of the choir directors, they are also ladies who are a little wacka-do but you love them like they are your grandparents.  This past week, before school got out, they gave their last performance for the year.  They belted out such hits as "Froggy went a courtin'" and "put a little love in your heart", it was fun!!!  My girl was super excited, mainly because we bought her new clothes and also because she got to perform in front of a "small, yet mighty" crowd.  Unfortunately, no one really shows to see them unless their kid is also in the club.  All I know is that Glee has nothing on my girl and her chorus club, I know we could take them if we had a regionals competition to go to........either that or their sweet, small smiling faces would knock them out and they wouldn't be able to sing thus letting us win :) 

Bachelorette Shenanigans

Over the weekend I went away with some of my very best friends and some of their friends all in the name of celebrating the upcoming nuptials of one of my best friends.  We loaded up a decorated van on Friday and weren't returning until Sunday afternoon.  I was pretty excited, I had never been to Santa Barbara, except maybe passing through and we have stopped in Solvang a couple of times but I have never stayed for the weekend.  The first night we ate at a super yummy Japanese restaurant called Something Fishy, they did the whole fire show in front of you and the food was delicious!  The next morning we were picked up and went on a wine tasting extravaganza.  We visited 3 wineries and one olive oil place and had lunch in between.  I think I fell in love!!  It is so beautiful up there and we had perfect weather to make it even better.  Don't believe me?  Take a look.......

As I had mentioned before, we made a stop at an olive oil place after the first 2 wineries and right before lunch.  The name of the place was Global Gardens and it was a quaint little store that doesn't look like much but it is amazing.  The store owner had a small table set up outside under a big pepper tree, she gave us each a roll and proceeded to let us tastes some olive oils, vinegars and my all time favorite, the walnut oil.  Everything she sells is organic.  You can find mustard's, nuts, soaps, dishes, all kinds of things.  I came home with a Spanish mix, it is mainly olives, garlic, olive oil and some seasonings, they say it is great on pasta and I am super stoked to try it out.  If you are ever in Los Olivos, you have to stop in and try some samples and pick up a few things and if you don't think you can make it, check it out online!!!!
After the day of wine tasting and a little bit of relaxing, we headed out for dinner and some dancing.  It was a great weekend that I will never forget and I am hoping wont be my last.  I think my girls would like a trip up sometime to get out in the fresh air and beautiful scenery!!!

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 :)

A Proper Birthday Post

I have been feeling guilty for not writing a birthday post for my youngest who just turned 2.  I wouldn't feel guilty normally, it doesn't mean I love her any less, but all of my other girls have had one so she deserves one too, not one riddled with ER visits overshadowing her beautiful day.  I wont be writing her entire birth story, it may be beautiful to me but I am sure you wouldn't mind me skipping the details of my slimy baby and girly parts.  However, I do have to mention how much of a moron I was and how close I was to having her at home.  I had already taken my oldest to school and was home alone with my middle girl and started to feel pain that felt like gas pains.  It felt nothing like labor.  I mentioned to my sister over Facebook (oh technology) how I felt like I was having gas pains every five minutes.  She told me gas was not timeable and to be careful and the next thing I knew, my mom was calling and she was on her way.  And thank God for her, by the time she got down here and picked up my oldest from school, I knew it was labor pains......and the hospital is a good hour away.  Needless to say, she was born within 45 minutes of us getting to the hospital.  Good job mom!!!!  So glad my little gas bubble was born in a hospital!!!
So, to celebrate her 2nd birthday, we ventured down to Sea World.  The girls love this place and it isn't too much to do all in one day.  Not to mention, Elmo is there now and we cannot leave without a giant hug fest.

The next day, on her actual birthday, we had a family party.  yes, the morning did not start out right and yes, it put me way behind schedule and yes, the food was not that great and the cake was embarrassing, but we were together and celebrating the life of my sweet girl and because of that, I say it was perfect.  So, it may be a little late, but Happy Birthday my sweet angel.  you bless us each and every day with your sweet smile and your infectious laugh.  You brighten mommies day when you are right next to her helping with the laundry and I don't think your sisters mind when you help clean their rooms too.  You are practically perfect in every way!!!!

Up on my soapbox

I like to think that I can hold my own in a political or world view conversation.  I may not be the brightest bulb in the box but I feel like I can hold my own.  However, I rarely like to get political, it can turn the best of friends into enemies and in this case, the most loyal of readers who decide to never read again.  If you are reading this blog because you found me on the UBP, let me apologize for the following statements in advance and promise you that I am not on here as a political blog and this is a very rare occasion, I just feel as if I am being called out and need to step up upon my old, creaky soapbox that is rarely used and make a statement.  Ok, now that the disclaimer is over, here goes..........
This whole government shut down is a pain in my ass!!!!!  yes, I said ass, that too is rarely used on here but it defines exactly how I feel.  I get that there are differing views and people want to see things go one way as opposed to the other, but those very same people make hundreds upon thousands if not millions per year and can go without getting a paycheck for a couple of weeks.  They may just need to eat at home and not go to the mall for a bit but it wont hit them hard.  The people it will be hitting hard are people like me.  Military families who make as little as $23,000 a year fighting for your freedom.  No, I am not one of the ones who make $23,000, luckily it has been years since we have made that little but I can tell you we don't make a heck of a lot more.  So, to think that maybe next week when we would be getting paid and heading to the commissary to do some grocery shopping and hopping online to pay bills, that instead we will be sitting ducks without a penny coming in, it scares the heck out of me.  I have been getting messages from people who want me to stop being so negative and look on the brighter side and realize that the military is not the only ones who will be out of pay and possibly out of a job.  Trust me, I feel for everyone who is in this position but I don't see a brighter side.  And I don't see the people who make the big bucks who are the ones deciding whether or not I get a paycheck offering up any of their millions to help subsidize for those who will be getting nothing, or even offering a pay cut, maybe instead of making 2 million a year they can opt for 1.5 million and have the rest go back to help stimulate the economy.  It makes me mad that the "small" people of this great nation will be the ones who are most affected and the ones who are in the most need.  So no, I will not stop being "negative" about this.  I think that I am a very positive person who has taken a ton of crap thrown on her plate and turned it into something pretty.  I feel like an emotional magician most days but on this, well, it just stinks and you cannot turn something stinky into a good smelling rose no matter what you do.  Ok, thank you for your time, lending me your ears, now can someone give me a hand and help me down form this dang box, it is a little creaky and not used to having someone on it :)