Survivor: La Verne

Krista and Edward

2009-01-07T23:24:00.001-08:00

New Hair!!!!

2009-01-04T00:27:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about dying my hair dark brown for quite a while. I finally decided to give in to the urge and JUST DO IT! Here is a before picture:

Here are the AFTER pics!

Happily Ever After...

2009-01-03T21:49:00.000-08:00

My cousin Jennifer got married on New Years Day! Her husband's name is Rich. It was a beautiful day. A rose amongst thorns, if you will. It has been so cold and rainy, then perfect weather on the 1st! Then back to cloudy, foggy, and dreary on the 2nd. The ceremony was beautiful. Here are a few pics! Enjoy!

Nicolette and Simon walking down the aisle.

Rich and Jenn coming down the aisle.

Rich laughs at a funny moment in the ceremony.

Exchanging Vows

With this ring . . .

Here was their first dance. It was right after their first kiss. It fit

perfectly at the end of the ceremony. They were not having a "traditional"

reception, so I'm glad they had a first dance!

Here is their cake :-) Yummmmm! Notice the cake topper...

Cycling is the hobby of the happy couple, so instead of a traditional cake

topper, here they are riding tandum! So cute!:-)

Three Christmases

2008-12-29T20:30:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful "Three Christmases" this year!

We hope you had a wonderful holiday season as well!

Here we are at my Dad and Helen's on Christmas Eve!

Here we are at our house on Christmas day opening (and riding) presents from Santa!

Here we are at Dan's Parent's house. Kelsey got an American Girl "Bitty Baby"!

More from Christmas

2008-12-29T08:31:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more pictures from Christmas Day at our house.

What am I doing?

Michelle cutting the squash for dinner.

Betty and Alan relaxing in the living room.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-23T10:26:00.000-08:00

Here are the kids in their Christmas outfits. Have a wonderful Christmas! Blog you next year!

Cherub Choir

2008-12-21T16:56:00.000-08:00

Today Connor sang at church in the "Cherub Choir". It's the pre-school age choir. It was really cute. The first service he sang most of the time because he couldn't see us. But second service we sat right up front and he could see us watching him and cheering him on. Our extremely shy boy clamped up and didn't sing the whole service. We have a couple of great shots of the kid in front of him, who he hid behind the whole time, as well as the back of his head as he watched the performance live on the big screen!

Here is the only one where Connor is smiling.

Here is the only one where Connor looks like he is singing.

Connor giving Dad the evil eye for daring to take pictures of him.

Enjoy! and Merry Christmas!

Princesses and Pirates

2008-12-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

We went to a Princess and Pirate party. It was amazing! The girls all dressed in princess dresses and the boys in pirate costumes. They all had a blast. A few minutes into the party guess who showed up?!?! Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella!!!!!

Here's Connor in his pirate costume after he got his face painted!

Here is Sleeping Beauty!

Pretty Hair!

2008-12-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

Kelsey got her hair braided at school!

Field Trip!!!!

2008-12-11T23:29:00.000-08:00

My friend Tressa and I went to the zoo on a field trip with Pre-School. This our second year taking the day off to spend the day with the kids there at the LA Zoo. We had 5 kids amongst the 2 of us, so it was a little hectic, but we survived! What we really had to survive was the hills at the zoo pushing that much weight in the strollers! These pictures are taken with my iPhone, by the way. Pretty good pics for a phone, don't you think?

Rock Stars!

2008-11-29T20:56:00.000-08:00

Here are my little rock stars at Best Buy on Black Friday!

Fo-Hawk

2008-11-17T10:14:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we headed down to Sea World to use our passes one more time before they expire! We had a ton of fun! We left late morning so the kids would hopefully sleep in the car a bit. We wanted to stay late this time so we could see the night-time show "Shamu Rocks", which was really good! Connor insisted that morning on styling his hair in a faux hawk! So funny!

You know you are a Twilight fan when...

2008-11-16T18:09:00.000-08:00

You know you are a Twilight fan when ...

Your heart leaps when you see a silver Volvo drive by.

You drink cranberry juice...just to pretend.

You doodle his name.

You hunt mountain lion.

You compare every guy to Edward.

You pretend to read minds.

You run really fast (or at least try to).

You love meadows.

You suspect others of being vampires.

You think that pale-white is the new tan.

You think the Cullens are the new Brady Bunch.

StephanieMeyers.com is your homepage.

You quote the book in every day conversation.

You fantasize about fangs.

You spend rainy days pretending you are in Forks.

You will name your first born after a character form the books.

You put on white make-up and hiss at strangers in public.

You downloaded "Clair de Lune".

You interrogate pale people.

You friended Edward Cullen on facebook.

You cusually migrate away from redheads in crowds.

You are afraid of dance studios.

You think being accident prone in now "in".

You have the countdown to the movie on your blog.

You have already purchased your tickets.

Settlement

2008-11-06T19:47:00.000-08:00

After yet another day of mediations, the district and our union have finally reached an agreement!!! I am not happy. At all. But, if this is the best deal we are going to get, I trust that our union contract negotiators have done all they can. If they are for it, then I know we can't get more than this.

Some lowlights of the settlement are:

A 1.4% raise for the current school year. We will not be getting a raise for last year in which we had no contract. This contract is through August of 2010, for some reason, and offers no raise for the next year. This also means no retroactive paycheck for last year (which I was really hoping to use for Christmas shopping!).
The district had proposed putting a cap on the amount that they would pay for our health care plans. This would cause a family of 3 or more to pay an additional $300 (approx.) out of pocket. Instead of paying an additional $300 a month extra out-of-pocket for our health care plan, we are incurring higher co-pays, prescription costs, and deductibles (while the district pays the insurance companies less).
Full day Kinder was not pushed through, but the district is forming a committee to look into doing this in the future.
Coaching stipends were increased by 10%

All in all it is good because we can stop the madness, but I am not happy about what we are getting. I should add that I am so glad that my prayers were answered and we did not end up striking (assuming the teachers vote to ratify this agreement). Did the march work? Maybe we will never know.

P.S. Trebs-you were right! Good things come in 3's! Here's our 3rd!

Front page

2008-11-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

Look! Our march made the front page!

March

2008-11-03T20:59:00.000-08:00

Tonight myself and 609 fellow employees and families had a march on our district office. It was awesome! It felt so great to be out there doing something a bit more tangible than wearing red every Tuesday. (I can't complain red is my "signature color")

I wrangled up Dan and the kids, and some hats, mittens, jackets, a

nd umbrellas, and we hit the streets of Covina! We had a great time hanging out with the other people from my school. All of the kids know each other from pre-school/day care, so they all had fun running around and playing together.

We started out at a park about a quarter mile away from the district office. We assembled there and collected our glow sticks, kazoos, and signs. We then marched to the district office where the board was having their monthly meeting. They did have the door propped open so hopefully they heard our chants:

"2-4-6-8 settle now it's not too late!" and

"What do we want? A contract! When do we want it? Now!"

It was great to be part of something like this,

especially right before the national election! Get's ya all riled up for it!

*In case you have not heard the scoop on our district's woe's, here is the abbreviated version: The teachers in my district are without a contract. We have not settled our contract from LAST YEAR. SO, we have been without a contract for over 14 months now. The district is offering us nothing. They are not agreeing to ANY of the union's proposals. They will not even give us our Cost Of Living Allowance (COLA) which has already been funded by the state. They are also wanting to put a cap on our health care costs so that I would end up having to suddenly pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for our health care plan. Etc., etc., etc.

So far, we have been wearing red on Tuesdays, a button every day, and have passed out flyers to parents at back to school night and football games. Finally I feel like we are doing something real.

I pray it does not come to a strike.

Trick or Treat

2008-10-31T23:18:00.000-07:00

We had a great time on Halloween! The kids were so excited to get in their costumes and go trick or treating! Kelsey caught on after about a block that she was going to get candy at each house and became much more eager to go to the door. She just wanted to eat that piece of candy NOW! Patience is so hard to teach a 2 year old!

After about 2 blocks Connor said he wanted to go home (whew!). Which was great because that meant we didn't get very much candy! When we got home the kids had so much fun greeting the other kids, seeing all of the other costumes, and handing out candy! I really think they had more fun doing that than trick or treating! Connor was rotating through, "Happy Halloween", "Happy Harvest", and "I like your costume". He is such a crack up!

Two-Wheelin'

2008-10-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

My baby boy has hit another milestone! He has learned to ride a two-wheeler (no training wheels!). He actually learned at pre-school. I guess one kid could do it and then his whole class was Determined (with a capital D) to do it too! They spent about 2 weeks doing nothing but taking turns on the two-wheelers and now they all can do it!

We of course had no idea that this was going on, but Connor spent about a week trying to convince us to take off the training wheels. We kept telling him that we needed to wait until the weekend so we could spend the whole day working on it. But, he wore us down. I ended up texting his teacher to ask her if he was telling the truth about doing it at school-and he was! We felt so bad for not believing him!

Hate

2008-10-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

I hate campaign smear ads. I hate watching TV in October every year for this reason. I hate that people can be so deceptive. I hate that there are people in this country who are listening to the lies and not finding out the facts for themselves. I hate that people at Obama's events are yelling things like "He's a Muslim! Kill him!"

Seriously? SERIOUSLY?????

GET THE FACTS!

Barack Obama was actually sworn into the Senate on his family Bible. He's regularly attended church with his family for years. He is a committed Christian.

These nasty rumors have got to stop! It is really insulting to people of all faiths. Spread the word! Get The Facts to your Mc Cain supporting friends and family.

Feelin' Groovy

2008-10-12T15:28:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for your prayers and good thoughts. I am feeling better, although my stomach is still a little sensitive. I will be having an ultrasound on my tummy and gall bladder area, as well as follow up blood work this week. Apparently my liver enzymes were just a tad higher than normal, so my doc wants to see if they are still high. One of the causes of this is the gall bladder. So we will see if that is the case. JUST SAY NO TO SURGERY!

Party!!!!

2008-10-11T15:48:00.000-07:00

I've always found myself to be pretty moderate in my political beliefs. I agree with some issues on both sides of the aisle. At election time, I find myself choosing "the best man for the job", or the "lesser of two evils". I have voted both Democrat and Republican. But now I find out this interesting fact:

Our 4th president, James Madison was a "Democratic Republican". Can that be a new party for the moderates? Or a revival of an old one?

Gastro-itis?

2008-10-05T20:59:00.001-07:00

About 3:30 yesterday I started to have really bad stomach pains. They were excruciating to the point of me crying-a lot. I thought it might be my gall bladder. I went to the ER and they gave me some green foamy stuff that tasted like scope to "calm" my stomach (didn't help). Then they gave me a pain medication in my IV which took the edge off the pain, but it came back full force after about an hour. The doctor poked and prodded me and decided it was stomach inflamation, rather than my gall bladder or appendix. Then they gave me morphine-which worked within minutes-and sent me home.

So, I can't eat spicy food, caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, acidic foods, etc. But at this point I don't really want anything. I had some plain past last night and did OK. This morning my raisin bran made the pain come back and has been here all day. I will try soup tomorrow.

I was given a prescription antacid (plavorix?) and vicodin. I am still in some pain, but at least it is bearable today.

I was very upset, however that I missed girls night to see The Women! HOW WAS IT???

I LOVE fall!

2008-10-04T15:10:00.001-07:00

Autumn is such a beautiful word. It flows nicely off the lips, don't you think? I love the silent n. It is a much more beautiful word than fall. Autumn encompasses my love for this season so well!

It has been so hot here that I didn't even realize autumn began two weeks ago! Finally some respite. Today it is cool. It is sprinkling. I am wearing my pumpkin colored sweater. The kids are wearing long sleeves. Only Dan is unaffected. He was still in shorts today. (But, for those of you that know him, you have to give him credit for wearing pants to work every day!)

Last Saturday I got up and, instead of starting the usual weekend chores, I decided to make some pumpkin bread in the hopes that it would bring autumn temperatures and colors to our house. I guess it worked!!!

Maybe I will find a new "autumn layout" for my blog . . .

"I'll have the manipulative shrew."

2008-10-03T16:34:00.000-07:00

Watching the VP Debate made me think of a scene from friends where Monica manipulates Chandler into having sex even though they are in a fight. At dinner, when placing his order, he says "I'll have the manipulative shrew".

I recalled this episode because as I watched the debate I found myself thinking how manipulative Sarah Palin was. Don't get me wrong, I think she did her job very well that night. However, she has a way of manipulating her audience by saying things like, "The American people want to hear ..." or "What the American people want right now is ..." I found myself thinking, "If I didn't know any better I would agree that the American people DO want this!" Manipulative.

She has a way of looking directly into the camera and talking about being a soccer mom that makes you feel like, "I relate to her. She's one of us. She's a normal gal. She could be my neighbor." I just don't think that being relatable or being "just like me" makes her qualified to be the Vice President or, God forbid, the President! I don't think I am qualified to be the president, nor are 98% of other joe-shmoe americans. Why would I want that? No! I want someone who is qualified. Who is very intelligent. Who is level headed. Who can make good decisions and who surrounds him/herself with people who help him/her to do these things.

I don't know if any candidate can live up to these high expectations, but I sure hope they will try.

I was a little dissapointed that Joe Biden was not the attack dog he is known to be in DC. I hope he was not being chivalrous so as not to look like he was attacking a woman. He did "man-up" after a bit, but by that time she was on a roll. She even ended up attacking him in such a nice and genial way that you ended up chuckling along with her (and the audience who was supposed to be silent). Luckily the polls showed that it did not help her.

The Joker likes Greenday!

2008-09-26T23:25:00.000-07:00

Once in a while we take our kids to McDonalds for a Happy Meal, and tonight was one of those nights. Connor's Happy Meal Toy was a fake-lego Joker. As we are driving along, a song by Green Day comes on and Connor says, "Oh! The Joker likes Green Day!"

Don't kids sometimes say the funniest things!

Speaking of, Kelsey is finally learning how to "Use her words". Yesterday she said Connor was mean, which got him very upset (like sad upset). Then today she told me when he kicked her. Yeah for using your words! Now if we could just do something about that kicking . . .

Disclaimer: Connor is a very nice boy who usually treats his sister very kindly. But they all have their moments!

TMI

2008-09-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

There is soooooo much political info going around right now (which is good). But, I know the overload is coming! As soon as Season Premier Week begins (9/22) I am sure we will be inundated with ads. Thank goodness for the DVR! I can fast forward through all of that crap and make my hour long program 42 minutes like it should be!!!

Here is a link I received to a video about McCain lying about Obama in his TV Ads. Once on YouTube I decided to search for videos about Obama lying. I like to be thorough in my research. It's always good to hear both sides. There is also a video about Palin's views on shooting an endangered species. Then I've included Palin's interview with Charlie Gibson (I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this one!).

Now I am the one inundating YOU with info!

No matter who you are planning on voting for it is important to be well informed. People often look over their preferred candidate's faults. I have been guilty of this too! Unfortunately we end up voting for the "lesser of two evils". Either way, find out all you can about both candidates. Visit their websites. And make sure EVERYONE you know is registered to vote!

I am an Olympaphile

2008-08-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

Apparently I am an Olympaphile, according to Bob Costas. I have really enjoyed watching the olympics this year. I, of course, would have liked to see more coverage of some of the less popular sports, but have enjoyed it nonetheless. Sorry Trebs I thought the olympics were great!

Hopefully the IOC can fix the gymnastics scoring as it seemed heavily NOT in our favor. It seemed we got ripped off quite a bit in the scoring. If you saw ANY of the many interviews with Bela Karolyi you could know this. :-) I've got to rent Nadia again! If you did not see this on TV back in 1984, you've got to put in on your Netflix!

What???? It's over already????

2008-08-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

I was back to school today for a bit. I needed to organize my classroom. I moved rooms this year after 10 years of being in the same classroom! Our staff had 2 sixth grade teachers leave due to downsizing, so I was sent over to the sixth grade quad from my cozy little home in the 7-8 quad. I was not very happy about it because that may mean I will see less of my friends from that quad. So I am hoping for a good lunch schedule! (We have two lunches, so I am hoping to be with those friends!)

My cupboards were quite the "hot mess". (It's the new catch phrase, apparently). So I went in to organize. I had a very productive four hours of work. I feel like I have most of the stuff in my room in place. I just need to do some decorating. And untangle the mess of cords that are attached to the sound system in my room. I pulled out two cords from that mess that aren't attached to anything and don't go to anything. Weird.

It's sad to be back to school already. Summer was quite shorter due to the fact that I taught summer school this year. There are technically 11 weeks from the time school got out until the time school starts. Four of these weeks were taken up by summer school and half of the last week is a work week. But, I can't complain right? At least I had time off. Dan has been a temp at his company for almost a year and so he doesn't earn any sick or vacation time. He is on the list to be hired, but they are in a hiring freeze right now, so we are just waiting. "Wishin' and hoping and thinkin' and prayin'. Plannin' and dreamin' each night . . . "

I am Emma!

2008-08-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

Take the Quiz here!

You are Emma Woodhouse of Emma! You like being the queen of your social circle (small and provincial as it may be), and feel it's your duty to help those less influential than you. You often meddle in the affairs of others, though you do it with a pure heart. You are often deluded in your flights of fancy, but your good intentions and creative spirit make you someone anyone could like.

Survivor La Verne

2008-08-14T14:19:00.001-07:00

Dan and I perform at the Beijing Olympics. We were in the rhythmic gymnastics competition.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

To clean or not to clean

2008-08-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

I'm trying a new hair product. I bought it after seeing an ad on TV! I know, CRAZY, right? But I actually LOVE it! It is called Wen by Chaz Dean. (Check it out by clicking on the pink link) It is a "conditioning cleanser". His idea is that you should not use shampoo to clean your hair because it is too harsh and strips the good stuff from your hair. Anyway, I LOVE the way my hair feels. And it feels really clean! I can't believe I bought something from an infomercial. It was pretty cheap! AND I can't believe that I really love it!

Happy Birthday

2008-08-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures actually taken on Kelsey's B-Day. She got a pink cowboy hat from her Noni and Papa that she LOVES! She wore it out to her birthday dinner at Red Robin.

Classic Kelsey face!

A little apprehensive of the servers singing to her at the restaurant!

Fun with brother...

Two

2008-08-07T15:46:00.000-07:00

My baby turns 2 today. I can't believe it! She is amazing. She loves to talk (although most of you have not heard her) really loud. She loves baby dolls and cars. She sings off key and skips 7 and 8 when counting to 10. She know most of her ABC's and loves guacamole. She has big, beautiful blue eyes and thinks all of the characters on Little Einsteins are named June. Her hair is finally long enough to put in pony tails and she is finally starting to stand still for this (which means I will have to get up even earlier come fall). Her favorite activities are closing doors, pushing her stroller around, and putting lids on water bottles (no toys required!). She finally can say Tinkerbell and now screams it at the top of her lungs when any Disney movie begins. She is a gem. I love her and I love being her mommy.

You Know You're A Mom When . . .

2008-08-06T15:44:00.000-07:00

your dashboard looks like this.

New Look

2008-08-05T16:26:00.000-07:00

Decided on a new look for the blog. Comments?

You're how old??????

2008-06-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

WOW! I turned 32 today. I still answer 25 or 27 often when people ask how old I am. It's like an automatic response. I can't help it. I also almost wrote 2003 on a check yesterday. Hmmm.

Pretty in Pink? Not.

2008-06-24T08:44:00.000-07:00

After being gone from summer school for two days (Friday I was sick, and Monday we were in Arrowhead), I am now home again because Connor has pink eye!!!!! I don't like missing this many days of work, not to mention the fact that I will not get paid for those days I am not there. (Summer school is hourly.)

Liposuction can get you to work

2008-06-23T23:16:00.000-07:00

Want a new way to power your car? Use your fat butt. Read all about it here. Hilarious!

We had a great weekend in Arrowhead with the fam. Day one: Super HOT! But we went to see Get Smart to beat the heat. Funny stuff. Day Two: Shopping!!! My kind of day! Here are a couple of pics of the kids from Arrowhead!

As we drove out of the 73 dees-grees weather in Arrowhead up to the highway overlooking the Inland Empire, I couldn't help but thinking how hot it could be back home and that I was Descending Into Hell. My premonition was confirmed when I saw this headline.

One Word

2008-06-19T22:56:00.000-07:00

"One word that describes me" on Facebook came up with this word for me after taking a 7 question quiz:

"Phlegmatic:

This is the word that best describes you! The dictionary meaning of the adjective phlegmatic' is unemotional, stoic and calm. As a phlegmatic person you are reliable, reasonable, contented and observant. You possibly get stuck in ruts because of your dependence on routine and lack of enthusiasm. Although often seen as shy and reserved; you have many friends because you are dependable, rational and kind."

I disagree with it saying I am unemotional. I think anyone who know me would say I am emotional, sometimes overly so. I am not shy and reserved and do not like being described as having a lack of enthusiasm. I should stop taking these dang quizzes.

I also found out my 80's sone is "Wanted Dead or Alive" which I LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! Especially the live version! AWESOME! And my 90's song is "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Cool.

Almost done . . .

2008-05-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

It has been one of those years at school. The entire 6th grade has had a reputation since Kinder of being especially immature, unorganized, unmotivated, not doing homework, etc. It's weird since they come from four different elementary schools. Must have been something in the water in '96. So, you can see why I now have a countdown to the End of School on my blog. (See right!)

I am very excited to have reached my minimum donation amount for the Avon Walk ($1800)! Yeah! I would still love to reach my goal of $3000, of course, but at least I don't have to pay out of pocket to walk! I need to really get on the training thing. Especially with the weather cooling for a few days.

Connor has a friend at school that always asks if he can come over to play. I don't know the kid very well and have never met the parents so I feel a little weird about arranging a play date. I guess this is how you get to know your kids friends. It is nice that he asks!

Kelsey is talking up a storm! 3 word sentences, sometimes more! It's crazy how different boys and girls are. Connor knew only about 20 or so words at 2 years old. Kelsey, of course wasn't walking until she was almost 16 months.

Currently in our district we are experiencing low enrollment and some teachers are being laid off. Originally they gave notice to 240 teachers in our district - that's about one third. They have slowly been "recending" the notices, which means letting the teachers know they still have a job next year. All but one of the teachers at my school got recended. It's very unfortunate. He's a great teacher. Apparently there is still hope that he may be back. We are expected to have 100 less 6th graders at our school next year so we are supposed to lose 2 sixth grade teachers, who will be transfered to another middle school. Luckily, my principal has indicated that it will not necessarily be our two newest teachers (they are both great)! But, that also unfortunately means it could be me! I sure hope not!

Also, our principal had to let 2 custodians and 2 office clerks know they will be getting layoff notices in a few weeks. Things are going to be tough all over. The kids coming up to 6th grade better be way better than our current rascals!

San Diego

2008-05-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from San Diego!

Connor with the "treasure" map!

Kelsey fell asleep on the "Journey into Africa"

Stroller time!
Riding the carousel . . .

What a beauty!

2008-04-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent pics of Kelsey from Penney's. I can't help but brag. Sorry!

Psycho

2008-04-12T23:12:00.000-07:00

Connor's new favorite song is called

Psycho by Puddle of Mudd

It's really funny because now Kelsey knows it by the third note and gets SOOOOO excited and starts dancing! Hilarious! You have to listen to the words. At least the first few lines to know why this is so funny. At least I like the song also! The kids just like to sing "Maybe I'm the one. Maybe I'm the one."

Here's a cute pic of Connor from a recent field trip to Adventure City:

And a cute one of Kelsey from a party we went to at My Gym:

How Could You?????????

2008-04-10T22:56:00.000-07:00

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU AMERICA??????? HOW COULD YOU VOTE OFF THIS!?!?!?!?!?

We voted and voted. He has not been in the bottom three yet. The other two girls that were in the bottom three have been there multiple times. I can't believe the two of them are still on the show. Dan said he wanted to write "A strongly worded letter". I said "To who?????, America?????" He said that he would take an add out in the newspaper. . . . I thought this would be cheaper. :-)

Are you doing it?

2008-04-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

Ladies, you should be feeling them once a month! It's for your own good!

How to feel your boobies:
~use pads of fingers
~press firmly
~examine collarbone and underarm area

What to look for:
-lumps or thickening
-puckering or inflammation
-nipple discharge

When to feel your boobies:
>monthly
>same time each month
>preferable a week after your period

Where to feel your boobies:
~in the shower
~before a mirror
~lying down

Visit the website!

Feel Your Boobies.com

Avon Walk

2008-04-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

Don't forget the Avon Walk is in 160 days! Click here to see my Avon Walk Page! You can donate from that page!

My Avon Walk Page

2008-03-26T19:32:00.001-07:00

Today Connor had quite an "adventure" (to put it nicely) in our house while he was supposed to be napping. Grandma was upstairs, so he snuck out of his room went into our kitchen and got some bread to eat. Then I guess he decided to cut the bread, so he got a variety of Cutco knives out of the knife block (2 steak knives, the really long bread knife and carving knife) to cut the bread on the couch. For those of you who don't know, Cutco knives are extremely sharp!!! I cut myself once with the cake froster!

So, back to the story, . . . so I think he got thirsty from eating all of the bread and decided to get a sippy cup. Since he can't reach them I think he climbed on the counter which enabled him to reach all of the stuff we keep in the cupboards, like desitin. Instead of getting a drink he decided to play with the desitin, spreading it all over the kitchen sink, counter and floor (luckily not the carpet). Also he spread it all over the bathroom counter and toilet seat cover (which he decorated with a sharpie a few weeks ago). I think he was trying to clean it off of his hands because it was all over the faucets in both the kitchen and bathroom as well as the towels.

Also, in his bathroom he somehow found an old lipstick in one of the drawers (I think my sister must have left it in the bathroom when she lived in there). So he decorated his toilet with the lipstick. (He also colored the grout in his bathroom with a green marker about a month ago.) This is becoming an epidemic!!!! I am ready to put him back in a crib with that net-cage thing!!!

I was, of course, most concerned with him playing with the knives. Praise God that nothing happened to him! He has apologized to me a bunch of times and keeps randomly telling me he will not play with knives any more.

TIP: The only thing that gets desitin off of stuff (like your hands or the sink) is baby wipes. The Kirkland brand ones from Costco are awesome for that! And cleaning lots of other stuff!

Questions on Lost . . .

2008-03-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

While trying to fall asleep on Thursday night after watching "Lost", I came up with some questions . . .

If people have such trouble finding the island, how did the Darma people find it in the first place?

How did the others get there? Some of them seem to be "original inhabitants of the island". So, how long have they been there? The character that talks to teenage Ben about gassing all of the Darma people has not aged in the current episodes. Do the original inhabitants of the island not age? Does this have to do with the healing power of the island or the space/time continuum?

How come Ben does not have trouble finding the island?

How can the others get to and from the island without having trouble with the space/time continuum? They have traveled to and from the island in a submarine, is the space/time continuum not messed up when you are under water?

How does Charles Whidmore (Penny's father) tied into all of this? Does he have anything to do with Darma? Or with Jacob? What does he want with Ben? In the flash forward do Ben and Sayed work for him?

Why would pregnant people die if the island has healing powers?

Happy St. Patrick's Day

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

Don't send a lame St. Patrick's Day eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Boring Bumper Stickers

2008-03-06T17:36:00.000-08:00

I think I have seen it all (not really) . . .

Bumper Sticker:
"Happiness is
being a home-school mom"

Really? REALLY?

That's all you can come up with for your bumper sticker? With all of the clever sayings, political or religious statements, or just plain hilarious one-liners, that's it? Who was the genius who printed that up?

And to make matters worse, it has no punctuation.

Great teaching, mom.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T16:54:00.001-08:00

The In-Laws LOVE to Tango!

Don't send a lame Valentine's Day eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Dan and Krista gettin' their polyester groove on!

Don't send a lame eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Dan and the kids "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo"

Don't send a lame eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Mom and Emmy-Lovin the Oldies!

Don't send a lame Valentine's Day eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

2008-02-13T18:31:00.000-08:00

The Strike is OVER!!!!

2008-02-13T18:09:00.000-08:00

At long last, a strike chart you can get excited about!

With the three-month-old WGA strike finally over (yay!), the networks are feverishly finalizing plans to salvage what's left of the current TV season. At the same time, I've been quietly picking at my moles to get a preview of those plans — the results of which appear in chart form below.

Keep in mind that the following information remains extremely tentative and is subject to change (and probably will). In other words, I strongly suggest you refresh your browser at least once an hour to ensure that you're getting the most up-to-date scoop possible.

24
Season 7 postponed until January '09.

30 Rock
Expected to shoot 5 or 6 new episodes to air in April/May.

Aliens in America
Eight pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Back to You
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future TBD*.

Battlestar Galactica
Returns April 4 with first half of 20-episode final season. Production on second half could start as early as March. Airdate for those TBD.

The Big Bang Theory
Expected to shoot 9 new episodes to begin airing on March 17.

Big Love
Expected to go into production on Season 3 in the spring. Airdate info is TBD.

Big Shots
No new episodes expected. Ever.

Bionic Woman
No new episodes expected. Ever.

Bones
Four pre-strike episodes left. Unclear whether additional episodes will be produced for this season.

Boston Legal
One pre-strike episode remains. Expected to shoot 6 to 8 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Brothers & Sisters
One pre-strike episode remains. Expected to shoot 4 or 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Burn Notice
Production on Season 2 expected to get under way in late April. New episodes could start airing as early as July.

Cane
No additional episodes expected this season. Future beyond that TBD.

Chuck
No new episodes until fall.

The Closer
Expected to kick off its fourth season this summer.

Cold Case
Expected to shoot 5 new episodes to begin airing on March 30.

Criminal Minds
Expected to shoot 7 new episodes to begin airing on April 2.

CSI
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 3.

CSI: Miami
Expected to shoot 8 new episodes to begin airing on March 24.

CSI: NY
Expected to shoot 7 new episodes to begin airing on April 7.

Desperate Housewives
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Dirty Sexy Money
No new episodes planned until fall; three remaining pre-strike episodes will undergo some tweaking and kick off fall run.

ER
Expected to shoot 4 to 6 new episodes to air in April/May.

Everybody Hates Chris
Twelve pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Friday Night Lights
No new episodes expected for this season. Future TBD.

The Game
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 8 or 9 additional episodes to air in March/April/May.

Ghost Whisperer
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 4.

Girlfriends
No new episodes expected this season, although a special one-hour series finale is being discussed.

Gossip Girl
Expected to shoot 5 or 6 episodes to air in April/May.

Greek
Kicks off second half of Season 1 on March 24. Still awaiting Season 2 pickup.

Grey's Anatomy
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May

Heroes
No new episodes expected until fall.

House
Expected to shoot 4 to 6 new episodes to air in April/May.

How I Met Your Mother
Expected to shoot 9 new episodes to begin airing on March 17.

Jericho
Seven episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Journeyman
No new episodes expected. Ever.

Las Vegas
Two pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Law & Order
Expected to shoot an indeterminate number of episodes to air in spring.

Law & Order: CI
Expected to shoot an indeterminate number of episodes to air in spring.

Law & Order: SVU
Expected to shoot an indeterminate number of episodes to air in spring.

Life
No new episodes expected until fall.

Life Is Wild
No new episodes expected. Ever.

Lost
Six pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot five additional episodes to air in April/May.

Medium
Six pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot additional episodes for this season.

Men in Trees
Eleven pre-strike episodes remain, the first of which airs Feb. 27. No additional episodes expected this season.

Moonlight
Expected to shoot 4 new episodes to begin airing on April 11.

My Name Is Earl
Expected to shoot 8 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.

NCIS
Expected to shoot 7 new episodes to begin airing on April 8.

The New Adventures of Old Christine
Seven pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected this season.

Nip/Tuck
Season 5 concludes Feb. 19. Production on the show's eight-episode sixth season expected to start up this summer. Airdate TBD.

Numbers
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 4.

October Road
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

The Office
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to air in April/May.

One Tree Hill
Five pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 5 or 6 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Prison Break
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Private Practice
Slim chance it could return with 4 or 5 new episodes this season. Either way, it'll be back in the fall.

Pushing Daisies
No new episodes until fall.

Reaper
Three pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 5 or 6 additional episodes to air in April/May.

The Riches
Seven-episode second season kicks off March 18.

Rules of Engagement
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 14.

Samantha Who?
Three pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot an additional 3 episodes to air this spring, likely after Dancing with the Stars.

Saturday Night Live
Returns Feb. 23.

Scrubs
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Four additional episodes will likely be shot; unclear whether they'll air on NBC or go straight to DVD.

Shark
Expected to shoot 4 new episodes. Airdate TBD.

The Shield
Final season already shot. Airdate TBD.

Smallville
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Supernatural
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 4 or 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Two and a Half Men
Expected to shoot 9 new episodes to begin airing on March 17.

Ugly Betty
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

The Unit
No additional episodes expected this season. Future beyond that TBD.

Without a Trace
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 3.

Women's Murder Club
No new episodes expected this season. Future beyond that TBD.

* TBD = To be determined

Happy 2008!

2008-01-03T15:21:00.000-08:00

Hellllloooooooooooooo BLOG WORLD! I am back! I have had a very busy Fall and am hoping the upcoming winter will be less so. Christmas vacation has been good, yet extremely busy with family, projects, and cleaning (blah!).

My brother-in-law and family came from Ohio last Thursday and it is always so nice to see them. We have had some good hanging out time in the last week and I will be sad to see them go on Saturday.

I have been busy cleaning, cleaning, oh and also . . . cleaning. I hosted Christmas at my mom's this year (since we are living in her back house). It was fun, but it took me 2 days to get the dishes done. I threw my back out on Christmas eve, so that made it very challenging. Then we had stuff piled all over our tiny house. Laundry. Toys. Presents from 3 different Grandparent's houses. The took me another 3 days. Now of course it is time to do laundry again. Will it ever end?

I am pooped out. And by that I don't mean tired. I mean I am sick of poop!!!!!!!! These two weeks off of school have been challenging for us in the potty training department. Connor does not like to tell us when he has to go. It's been about every other (or maybe every third) day that he goes poop in the toilet instead of his pants. Not fun. Besides cleaning him up, and washing underwear (or sometimes throwing them away), and changing Kelsey's poop twice a day, I also am dealing with dog poop!!! Why does this happen to me?!?!?!?! (See blog from Nov 2006 "Poop Day 2006) I can't tell you how many times Connor has stepped in poop and then tracked it all over the yard! Another thing to wash. His shoes and the walkways outside. Well, today He stepped in it in his brand new shoes and then tracked it into the house onto the kitchen rug that I had just washed and put down not 5 minutes earlier. I lost it. It was not pretty. Needless to say, we have a very clean rug now.

Hope you all had as fun of a Christmas as I did!

Hoes are for bros

2007-10-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

Quote of the day from Connor: "I like Hoes!" Hilarious. Dan and I were silently laughing for like 10 minutes.

The backstory is we were reading a book about a farm and the children are holding a shovel and a hoe. He asked what they were and then said, "I like Hoes!"

Runner up:
Connor: "Mommy, can you put Green Day on the radio?"
Mommy: "You want to listen to Green Day?"
C: "Yea. I saw a green car and the mountains are green. Can you put on Green Day?"

2nd Runner Up:
Mommy: "Who did you play with at school today?"
C: "I played with 'D' ".
M: "Did you play with 'L'?"
C: "L's a butt-head."

The 2nd runner up was an unfortunate incident brought on by his raucous peers at his Christian pre-school. Due to the graphic nature of the incident points were deducted from the final tally.

On another note, I think I am the only one who is glad Wayne Newton was voted off of d|Dancing With the Starts last night. He was a terrible dancer and I think he was getting votes because people felt bad for him. It was like he's your grampa and so you feel obligated because he's such a sweet oldie.

K-22

2007-09-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

I wish I had this information to tell a crazy parent I had last year. . . Did you know for a teacher to teach all of the national/state standards that are required for Kindergarten through 12th grade it would take 27 years????? No wonder the US is so low on the list of educational achievment! We are trying to teach too many things EVERY YEAR! And we don't have enough time to teach mastery because we have to move on so we can cover all of our standards! Crazy! All of us teachers have known this all along, but the stupid people on the State Board of Education or our NEA or CTA are not doing their jobs to make it any better.

Don't get me started on the NEA or CTA. I have to pay dues to them and then they spend my money telling me to vote for certain candidates for all kinds of different offices. And you should see these leaflets they send out; professional grade color photos and all. Very expensive looking. Thank you for spending my money telling me to vote for someone I don't want to vote for. One of my coleagues even got a text message today telling them to vote for someone in particular! Unbelievable!

Update on life

2007-09-22T16:42:00.000-07:00

Oh It's been way too long since I have posted!

I walked in the Avon Walk last weekend with my stress fractured foot. I shouldn't have walked at all, but my goal was to make it 1 mile and I walked 4 before it started to hurt. So Dan picked me up from the beach. I still had an amazing time and signed up to walk again next year! The pictures above are from that. One of me with the Avon Walk blow up thingy that we all sign when we arrive at the Queen Mary at 5:30 AM. (I wish I could put 5:30 in capitals to emphasize how early that is for me.) The second pic is of Connor, Kelsey and I all in our pink shirts.

I am back to school as of August 28th. Yes I said August. CRAZY! It was very odd starting school in August this year, but it will be good to have the entire week off for Thanksgiving. So far the year is going well, except for one kid (there's always one). We'll call him "Mosh Pit". That's how I refer to him to the other teachers. It actually has to do with his real name, but I can't disclose it here. Anyway, he is SOOOO hyper. Never raises his hand, is always talking to me or others, is constantly turned around in his seat, etc. Friday he went home early and I can't stress enough how quiet the room seemed to be. His parents are from another country and I find that foreigners have less of a tendency to get their kids tested for learning disabilities or ADD. Anyone out there have any idea why? I'm not one of those "Medicate them all!" people, but I do find that medication does work for some and has positive effects for many, rather than negative effects for a few.

Here in So Cal we are on "Storm Watch 2007". It has been raining off and on for 2 days (and I do mean raining-like cats and dogs). It's all the news stations can talk about. So Cal is weird that way. Although I can't remember the last time it rained in September. I do love the rain and the cool weather!

One of my favorite things about Fall is the crisp air, so I am so glad it cooled down this week so I got some of that. And Yeah-got to wear some new sweaters! There are a few deciduous trees here in La Verne, so I am looking forward to those beautiful fall colors on some of those trees. We used to have one in front of our FOntana house, but the darn city ripped it out because it started to raise the sidewalk. They left this big bare spot of sand (not dirt) in front of our house and even messed up our brick work. I had to fight them to come out and fix the bricks, but they never replaced the tree. We finally planted grass last week.

Speaking of the Fontana house, our renters are crazy. They have been coming up with the most ridiculous problems and Dan has been out there almost every day for the last two weeks! It has been very wearing. We had to give them some new phone rules because they would call us like 10 times in a row without leaving a message. Or call and leave demanding messages. We are just so fed up with them. But every time we talk to them they tell us how much they love the house and how they want us to extend their lease. We don't get them. Why complain so much if you love it?

Big Girl!

2007-08-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

Kelsey turned 1 year old! I cannot believe how time flies! Here are a few pics from her birthday (we went to Downtown Disney and Build A Bear Workshop) and her Birthday Party a couple of weeks later.

Pretty girl

2007-08-05T21:55:00.000-07:00

Just a few pretty pictures of Kelsey!

Scientolospawn

2007-08-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was BEACH DAY!! This was Kelsey's first trip to the beach and Connor's second (I know we are bad So Cal Parents). Connor and Daddy had a lot of fun playing in the sand. Connor is still not so hip on the waves rushing at him or the COLD water, but enjoyed making a castle. Kelsey and I just sat on our blanket and played with empty baby food jars. Funny how much money you can spend on toys for babies and all they want to play with is things you have in your kitchen, like pots, tupperware, or in this case, trash. ha ha ha

This

Article

I found on TMZ is not all that interesting, but I LOVE the new word they have made up for TomKat (for those of you living in a box, that is Suri Cruise, the daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes).

Poop Watch 2007

2007-07-30T22:27:00.000-07:00

Kelsey has learned how to shake her head no! It's so cute! She does it to copy you and it's her new dance move!!!! Hilarious! She also did a "hands in the air like you don't care" dance in the car today for most of a Pink Floyd song. So funny! I can't believe Kelsey will be one next week! She is still so little - yet getting so big! No word on first steps . . . I will of course post that!!!

Poop Watch 2007:
We are still waiting for Poop #5 so we can get "Harvey" the train (see previous blog entry "Dirty Jobs" with the picture of the poo-poo chart). Connor has started pooping during naptime, so it's hard to catch him to go to the bathroom. (BTW, we do put a diaper on him for bed!!!) He went pee-pee standing up for the first time on Saturday. Dan was so proud and thought that deserved the final sticker. Men... :-)

Fire Truck

2007-07-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

You know how kids, boys especially LOVE fire trucks. . . well we were searching for videos of fire trucks on You Tube for Connor to see and we came across this one!

Book Release Impending!!!

2007-07-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

I just finished re-reading book 5. I finished it 2 days before the movie came out, which gave me a bit of a biased point of view. I kept pointing out to Dan when things were different between the book and movie.

I am going to re-read book 6 now and hope to be done by the release time. Here's a countdown!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2007-07-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

We went and saw The Order of the Phoenix today. It was really, REALLY good. Very cool camera angles and up to date stuff like that. Of course, there were many changes in the story line and some stuff was left out. But the book is the longest book in the world, second only to the Bible. Here's a

Quiz

to take!

Find out your Harry Potter personality at LiquidGeneration!

Not a good way to get a "Colon Cleansin'"

2007-07-05T15:28:00.000-07:00

Check out this headline!

Drain Sucks out Girl's Intestines

Not a good situation in any circle! Makes you want to cross your legs. Also makes you wonder what in the heck the girl was doing sitting on a freaking drain at the bottom of the pool! And for long enough to suck out her intestines????? Parents-hello??? Watch the child in the pool!!!!

"Dirty" Jobs

2007-06-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

Well, It's day five of Sore Throat 07. It's not a good campaign. I think the nasal irrigation has taken my normal moisture away and I have the driest throat EVER. So, I now sound sexy, or manish, depending on what you think is sexy.

Connor went poo-poo in the potty again last night, so we started the poo-poo chart on the fridge. 5 Stickers and he can get Harvey!!! What's amazing is when he just disappears and then comes out of the bathroom with the good news.

Kelsey has started standing up in her crib. The problem is that she can't figure out how to sit back down for some reason and stands there SCREAMING her head off and biting the crib rail. She gets hysterical. It's really bad. We have tried to teach her how to slide her hands down the rail to sit back down, but she has not gotten the hang of it. What I don't understand is that babies just fall onto their butts all the time when they are first learning to stand or walk. But in the crib-where it's padded-it somehow becomes impossible to just sit back down???? Weird.

Trebs mentioned that she is currently watching The Tudors. Great show-if you missed it, rent it when it comes out. Speaking of . . . Did you see the season finale? The opening scene of the season finale was, for lack of a better word, grody! To put it as nicely as I can, in the opening scene King Henry is standing there pleasuring himself while a mae servant is kneeling in front of him with a cloth to catch the . . . well, you get the idea. Sounds like a new episode of ˆDirty jobsˆ. Ha ha ha!

If it burns, it's working?

2007-06-27T17:32:00.000-07:00

I tried the "nasal irrigation" this morning (see post below). I think my nose was too stuffed up to snort the salt water. I got a little bit all the way up to my nasal cavity, but no burning. Hmmmmmm. . . Not enough salt in my mixture? Didn't snort enough? High tolerance for pain? Just a dumb thing the P.A. made me do thinking it was hilarious and laughing behind my back as I left the doc's office?

New Job :-(

2007-06-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know, it's summer . . . but we must pay for our bills. So, I have gotten a summer job at Lane Bryant, which is about 1 mile from our house. I interviewed yesterday and had training today. It was pretty boring, filling out forms and watching videos on "Shrink" (which everyone seems to know is loos prevention, but being out of the retail market for over 10 years, I had no clue!).

One funny thing was when we had to go out into the store and create an outfit to certain parameters, then come back and talk about it. Afterwards, we had to return the items to the floor. I was waiting for this older lady to finish getting something off the rack, so I asked if I could help her. Once I untangled the shirt from the hanger she said, "OK Now I need some white pants with elastic waist." Which is hilarious in and of itself because that is to polyester-1970's and sooooo old lady! So I told her we didn't have any with elastic waists but I could find another pair for her. She wanted to sit down, and as she did she asked for the pants and for me to pick out 3 more tops for her that would go with white or black pants. What's even funnier is she had no idea what size she was and wanted me to figure it out!!!! Luckily the store manager heard all of this and asked some one to take over for me so I could go back to my training! SO funny! I guess I just jumped in with both feet!

On a bad note, I came down with a sore throat about 15 minutes before my interview yesterday and feel awful today. I got drugs though and hopefully those will kick in ASAP! Another funny (but not ha ha) note, the doctor wants me to do "nasal irrigations" to loosen up the PND (Post Nasal Drip). DISGUSTING!!! Snorting salk water-eeeewww (which she warned me will burn). Why would I take this advice!?!?!?!? I'll keep you updated on whether or not I do this and if it is a successful treatment! Hee hee!

"School's Out For Summer!"

2007-06-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

Yeah!!! I can't believe we are finally done! I shouldn't say finally since I was on maternity leave until December 4, but still . . . Yeah! It's done. Despite the fact that this year has been extremely trying with one particular class, they were actually pretty good today. I would say that this was a good last day. Most off the time I am so annoyed by the end of the day that I don't even care that they are leaving.

Just a few reminders: Visit my Avon Walk page and donate if you can (even small amounts-it all adds up!). http://www.avonwalk.org Click donate and search for me by name. Or send a donation to PO Box 7637, La Verne, CA 91750

Also: Visit the

Pray for Rod Cathey

blog. And please, PRAY!

A few headlines from around the country that I found funny:

1) Honey, the baby's spacewalking
“Baby monitor picks up NASA's live shuttle video.” Hilarious! Luckily the mom can still keep an eye on the baby with the other channel. Here’s the whole story:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/14/baby.monitor.space.ap/index.html

2) Mr. Mayor: Shut up and grow up
Oh this is even funnier! There is some kind of editorial on how poorly “Villareconquista” is handling his divorce on the LA Times website. They don’t go into much detail, because Villaraigosa is asking people to give them privacy, but I love that the LA Times is actually headlining this title! And just when I thought they were too liberal . . . maybe the pendulum is swinging the other way???
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez14jun14,0,6964079.column?coll=la-home-local

Krista Marriott's Blog

2007-06-13T21:35:00.001-07:00

Make your own Zing!

Another BIG DAY!!!!!

2007-06-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

Kelsey started crawling today!!!! Yea!

Guess what made her start moving . . . the vacuum!!!! So funny! She wanted to touch the vacuum bad enough and finally went for it. Just a couple of slow "steps", but she is on the way!!! Hooray!

BIG BIG DAY!!!

2007-06-10T21:02:00.000-07:00

We have been working on potty training and Connor has gotten pretty good and going pee pee in the potty. He has even started telling us when he has to go. So, tonight he went POO-POO in the potty for the first time!!!!!! YEAH!! He was in the bath and he grabbed his bottom and I asked him if he had to go. He said no, but then a few minutes later he suddenly stood up and said "I have to go poo poo!" So he got out and went in the potty!

His reward was to go get "Harvey" (a crane-train from the Thomas the Train set). BTW, there is an emphasis on the 'h' and the 'r' sounds when he says it. It's hilarious! When we went to Target they were out of Harvey's so we got a Transformer instead. I think Dan was more excited than Connor (and Connor was pretty excited).

Tragedy

2007-06-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately a tragedy has occurred. Last night some students from my school were involved in a car accident. One 8th grade bot was killed, another 8th grade boy is in critical condition and the driver (who is the injured boy's 17 year old brother) was also killed. It has been a horrible and emotional day for all. I briefly had one of the boys in 6th grade, but remember him as being a really nice kid and a good student. He will be missed.

My love-hate relationship with May

2007-05-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

I have a love-hate relationship with May. I love the season finales of my shows, and the weeks leading up to it, but that means they are over for a while.

What an awesome episode of Heroes on Monday night! So cool that the girl that Matt saved is the "tracking device". I never saw that coming. I never thought it would be a person at all. Is D.L. really dead? What is Grandma Rose's power? More importantly, what is Sulu's (George Tekai plays Hiro's father) power? I personally think that Claire's Dad will die on the finale. I saw an interview with Hayden (Claire) where she said she must choose between something she loves and everyone else. So, that's what my money is on. I can't wait for the finale next week, which is supposed to be so awesome, but then that means no hero for a few months! :-( But, there is supposed to be a summer show where new "Heroes" are introduced and the audience gets to vote who will be on the show in the fall. FUN!

Can't wait for one of my other faves tonight! LOST!!! (Then tomorrow, everyone's favorite-Grey's Anatomy!!!! Yea!!!!)

for you mommy

2007-05-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

Funniest thing happened yesterday!

Back story: We are potty training and Connor has gone pee-pee in the potty for everyone but me. He was also told he would get a train he wants if he goes poo-poo in the potty at home.

So, I was about to give Connor his bath last night and he was farting. So, I asked him if he needed to go poo-poo. He said no but I sat him on the pot anyway. He pushed and pushed and farted 3 or 4 times, then said, "that was for you Mommy". And he was completely serious! I almost died trying not to laugh!!!!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Big Girl

2007-05-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

Kelsey is a big girl now! She began eating Cheerios yesterday!!! I think we waited too long to try it because she just chewed them right up, no choking or anything. She is doing pretty well with the "pincer grasp" also.

Today my mom and I went to a Mother's day luncheon at Connor's pre-school. I was so excited. It was my first school event! The kids sang a song (well Connor's class mostly just stood there while the teacher sang) and then we had lunch. It was lots of fun! Can't wait till parent conferences next fall!

Miss Wendy is leaving!

2007-05-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

Sadly, Connor's Pre-School teacher, Miss Wendy is leaving. She has quit and we are sad to see her go. Connor really likes her. She has been great for the short time we were there. She has gotten him to go potty every day at school for two weeks now. (He just won't go at home! - HELP!)

I finally watched Grey's Anatomy on Saturday night (only two nights behind-not bad). It was very weird. The whole thing was about Addison going to LA. It was like the pilot episode for her new TV show, but with a few clips thrown in here and there from the gang back at Seattle Grace. I did not enjoy.

"Have an 'Incredible' Day!"

2007-04-30T17:21:00.000-07:00

We had our 6th grade citizenship field trip to John's Incredible Pizza today. Every time they made an announcement they would end it with "and have an Incredible day!" in a perky voice. Very annoying!

Connor's list of future job aspirations include:
fireman
police man
trash man
baseball player (but not a basketball player)
Duke University Alumni

Things to work on with Connor (per his teacher): Coloring inside the lines. They've already got them tracing letters and trying to color in the lines. He's in the 2 year old class! (They are older two's or have already turned three, like Connor.)

Apparently he a Breona have been throwing sand at each other in the sand box. This is per Connor, not the teacher, so I am not sure what's going on. But, what a weird way to spell Breanna.

This weekend we finished the move. Friday, we were up until 1:30 in the morning loading and unloading my dad's truck, only to do it again on Saturday. Now we just have to go through all of the crap at our new place and put it away or take it to storage or give it to people or sell it...you get the point. It's a little overwhelming. When we did the first weekend of moving we thought, "I think we will be able to fit in this small place!". Then after the second weekend of moving we started to get a little crowded, but got stuff put away. Now, it's just a bit crazy. We've got stuff on the porch, in the driveway, in the car...again, you get the point.

Avon Walk

2007-04-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! In an earlier blog (Sleepless in Fontana) I indicated that I would be participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer again this year! I have signed up and here is my Avon Walk page. You can see some pics of me from the 2005 walk, read about The Avon Foundation, and of course DONATE! Thanks so much in advance for your support! Copy and paste the link below to view my Avon Walk page.

http://walk.avonfoundation.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=1284&px=1586778

For realsies

2007-04-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

This time it's for realsies!!! Kelsey said Mama! We were practicing on the way home again and she said it twice. Then I told her to tell Grandma what she said and she looked at Grandma and said "Mama . . . Mama". It was so exciting!

So, Grey's Update:
~Christina was hilarious last night with the girly-girl feign and the nailpolish! So funny!

~I knew the second those Hannah's parent's said "Are you Dr. Stevens?"-I knew they were the adoptive parents. It took Dan a minute because he forgot that Izzy had a daughter (a key detail of the show that we women have logged in to our memory banks, unlike Men with their Baseball statistics).

~Meredith was quite b*%#y with her step-mom. I am so over the whole "I'm damaged because my mom was over controlling and over bearing and my daddy left us" thing. Move on! Get a heart!!!!

~And what's with Derek contemplating misery over company? I know some people are career driven, but losing the woman you love for a 2nd time (two and a half if you count when she "died") in order to become chief of surgery? Is that necessary? Mc Dreamy? Not so much anymore. More like Mc Chiefy? or maybe Mc Driven? I don't know...Can you come up with a better one?

Big Firsts!

2007-04-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

We think Kelsey said her first words today! Connor was practicing with her in the car on the way home (saying Mama and Dada over and over to her). WHen we got home Kelsey looked right at Dan and said "Da"!!!! Then she looked at me and said "ba". Not quite "Ma", but if you do both of these sounds out loud right now you will see that these are very close to each other. Yea!

Pre-school: Day Two
Another good day! We are so proud that he is doing well in school. No problems with other kids. He is apparently not following directions very well with the teacher yet (big shocker). So, we will work on that. I'm so glad that he has been OK with being dropped off there! It would break my heart if he were to cry when I left! (Sorry Trebs!)

"I'm a big boy now"

2007-04-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

Connor started pre-school yesterday!!! I can't believe it! If you look at one of my previous blogs I talked about blubbering about him moving to a big boy bed and being worried about not being able to cope with him starting school. Luckily I left to go to work and Dan stayed for a few more minutes to make sure he was OK. When Dan went to leave he said Connor had this sad, lost look in his eyes that made Dan sad. I think if it were me I would have lost it! I guess it was a good thing that I had to be back at work!

He apparently did very well at school. The teacher seemed impressed that he knew his numbers and letters already (Yea me). He did not want to use the big biy potty though. (He is not yet potty trained.) It's a big adjustment, you know, starting school and moving to a new place, so I was not surprised that he was resistant to her. He is very resistant to me with potty training as well. I'm sure within a couple of weeks he will be fine. Connor seemed to get along with the other children, although he didn't know any of their names when I picked him up. :-) We will have to work on those social skills! His teacher, Miss Wendy, is very nice and talked to me for quite a while yesterday. So far I think this will be a good fit for him. Unfortunately we have to register for next year in the next few weeks, so we need to decide if we like it there very quickly!

I hate Shmirna!

2007-04-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

So we moved! We started sleeping in the new house on Friday night. It's been a tough last few days but we are handling it OK. It worked out really well to move a little bit at a time. We were able to move suff and unpack it, then go more more stuff and unpack it, etc. It made everything much less overwhelming. Plus we were able to make sure everything fits before bringing too much from the old house. All of the stuff from the old house still needs to be packed up then moved into storage before May 1. CRAZY!

Speaking of crazy, I hate Charla and Mirna! If you watch Amazing Race, you know who I am talking about. These two girls are sooooo pushy and annoying and call everyone "my friend" to manipulate them. They keep saying they are playing the game with dignity and integrity, but they are the worst!!!! So I call them Shmirna, as you can see in the title of my blog.

Sleepless in Fontana

2007-04-13T03:37:00.000-07:00

Well, my brain just would not turn off tonight, thinking off the endless tasks to do in the next 3 days. Moving is tough-especially with two kiddos! The things running through my mind were not things you would forget. Like "Don't forget to pack the glasses". Duh. So, alas, I got up and came downstairs to do some of the mindless tasks I had set aside for tomorrow (well, now later today), like packing those darn glasses.

What's really tough is moving from a 1600 square foot house to a 600 square foot appartment (I don't know if those are the actual dimensions). To catch you up, me and fam are renting out our house and moving in to my mom's back house. It is a one-bedroom, one bathroom joint with endless cupboard space in the kitchen (but no dishwasher *%#@). Our little guy will be sleeping is "his" room in the main house and the baby will sleep in a pack n play in our room. The main reasons for the move are:
1. Closer driving distance to work
2. Thus, save money on gas
3. Save money due to less rent and utilities
4. Fontana is so dang hot, windy, and far. Although we have been getting so many new stores/restaurants in the last year!

So the plan is to move all of the necessities to the new place this week and be living there by Sunday. Then everything else will go into storage. It's going to be crazy, but we will manage!

I heard a great quote on Oprah the other day. The gist of it was, "Life is not about being successful. It's about being significant." WOW! I love it! But then I got to thinking, "Am I being significant?" I hope that I am significant to at least some of the children I teach. I hope I make a significant sontribution to society in some way. (Not looking for sympathy comments here.)

On a related note, I have been thinking about doing the Avon Walk again this year. Now that we have officially put off the Colorado move for a bit, I can commit to doing the walk (which is in September). I skipped it last year since I had a c-section 6 weeks before the walk. For those of you who don't know, I did the walk two years ago (2005) with my dear friend Darcy. God laid it on my heart to sign up for it in like January or something. Come to find out, my mom was diagnosed with Breast cancer 3 days before the walk! She is doing great-had the tumors removed and went through radiation treatments. No chemo! No masectomy! YEAH! Obviously this was the reason God put this in my life. That walk really gave me the support I needed at that difficult time.

So, I am signing up! I will post a link to my Avon Walk page so you can visit it (and pledge if you so choose).

Goodnight, I hope . . .

Hilarious Must Sees!!!!!

2007-04-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

If you don't already know, I love J.T. (that is, Jultin Timberlake). He's a great artist. And now we find out he is absolutely hilarious as well! If you did not see him on SNL (Saturday Night Live, for those of you who live in a box), he was so funny! Here are a few videos from that! Enjoy:

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/#mea=51288

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/#mea=51290

Warning: Explicit!
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/#mea=51289

Easter

2007-04-09T17:33:00.000-07:00

How cute is my daughter! I just have to brag. Sorry. Unfortunately the weather was very drizzly on Easter so we did not make it to church. Only Papa and Noni got to see her in the dress.

I feel awful though, as we got Kelsey all dressed up, I went in to Connor's room to get him dressed and realized I hadn't bought him an Easter outfit as well. He doesn't even have a button down shirt that fits him right now!

Resurection Eggs

2007-04-07T21:39:00.000-07:00

We went to an Easter Egg Hunt at a farm today with a bunch of people from Church. It was really fun! Connor really got the whole egg hunt this year. Also, they told the story of Jesus' death and resurection. They used 12 eggs as props, and each one had a different item inside symbolizing Jesus' journey to Jerusalem all the way through the resurrection. Connor caught on very quickly that in order to be picked you had to raise your hand at just the right time.

He finally got picked for egg number 8 (which ended up being a white cloth to symbolize the shrouds they wrapped the body in) and was so excited! He ran up to the front yelling "I get to open it!" It was really cute.

Although what was not cute, was him later screaming because he wanted to start the egg hunt. Embarrassing? Why yes!

What was cute though was on the way to the farm we saw a lot of cows. After a while Connor yelled out " I . . . LOVE . . . COWS!!!!!!!"

Here are some pics from our day at the farm.

I have a what?????

2007-03-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

I have a three year old????? CRAZY! I think I will say that every time Connor has a birthday. We had his party, which was very fun this year. Not that the other parties were not fun, but this one seemed less stressful. I did way less planning, less cleaning, less everything. Plus, Connor was in the bounce house the whole day, so I didn't have to worry about him at all!

Here are some pics!

V-Day

2007-02-16T22:55:00.000-08:00

Well, Dan and I had a really romantic Valentine's day this year. Wait for it . . . wait for it . . . Yes we went to Fatburger and the Laker Game!!!! Actually, it was really fun. But not romantic at all. We didn't even get on the kissing cam! But at least we saw Zach Braff!

Here are Kelsey's Valentine's Day Pics:

"Me love you long time..."

2007-01-27T14:30:00.000-08:00

So, I haven't blogged in a while. ......Well a really long while! I started back to work at the beginning of December and it has been crazy trying to keep up on work and life with two kids. Once you get past the 3 month mark with a newborn life becomes soooooo much easier. And I couldn't have asked for a more well behaved, easy baby who is a great sleeper and follows a schedule to a tea! That makes life soooo easy! If you are a mom (or going to be one) I highly recommend getting you kids on a schedule, albeit a flexible one. "Baby Wise" is our baby bible. (So to speak) It has GREAT ideas and really helps you get a handle on the mom thing.

Wow that was a tangent!

So, Kelsey sat up, got her first tooth and ate cereal for the first time all in one week! She is growing up so quickly! She will be 6 months old soon! I can't believe how time flies!

Connor went pee pee in the potty twice last week also! What a big boy! We are so proud he is on the road to potty training!

For those of you who don't know, we are planning a move to Colorado this summer! We are very excited and nervous all at the same time! It is just time for us to get out of California. We love Colorado and have found a new home to buy.

Seriously. Seriously?????

2007-01-26T10:02:00.000-08:00

Grey's update:
Two proposals in one night? Seriously???? SHOCKING
I don't even remember much else about the episode. I do remember crying, but that is nothing new. I think I cry during every episode. OH-I am glad Christina gave in and started speaking to Burke. She's an idiot. I never thought she would give in. Very unlike her.

Speaking of idiots, Will Isaiah Washington (Burke) be fired? aka, written off the show. Why the H-E-double hockey sticks did he bring the whole "faggot" incident up again at the Globes? And why bring it up only to lie about it? Kudos to TR for going on Ellen to discuss.

Table Emergency!!!!!!!!!

2006-12-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

So back in September we were moving our dining room table. I stupidly tried to move my end while Dan's end was still on the carpet. The spinning motion just ripped the leg right off. Well, we called Wickes where we got the table, and they came out to look at it. The guy said it couldn't be fixed and he would order a new leg.

Fast forward 3 months...Dan says to me on Wednesday, "Hey Where's our table leg? They never sent it!" So he calls and it was ordered, but come to find out, our table is discontinued. So since they can't find the part they gave us a credit to go buy a new table! We thought they were just going to be like, "Sorry, Too bad for you."

Here's where the emergency comes in. Christmas is Monday and we have no table for people to eat at, so I had to go immediately to Wickes to buy our new table and just hope they have something in stock that I like. Luckily they did!

Middle school moment of the day...

2006-12-21T16:30:00.000-08:00

I sent a student to the office today for singing "Baby Got Back" ( a rap song about how the artist likes to get with ladies with large posteriors). But, he changed the words to "I like big titties and I cannot lie". Can you believe an 11 year old would say such a thing! Then, some stupid kid took the blame for his friend and almost got suspended.

C'est la vie...

Want to see the video? http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3940806668555855882

Sadness

2006-11-15T23:12:00.000-08:00

Sadness is seeping in that I have to return to work in 2 and a half weeks!
It has been wonderful being home with the kiddos, but I must do my duties to earn some dough. Some days I am ready to get out and be with adults, but most days I just want to stay home and watch my kids grow up. It has been so fun to be with Kelsey and see her smiles and giggles. I am so attached to her now I can't think of being with out her the whole day. But, I did the same with Connor and I survived...somehow.

On a happier note: In homage to my Papa, an article from the onion featuring RC Cola.
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/55142

"Man Love"

2006-11-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

Great quote by the chief on last night's Grey's is the title of today's blog! The chief, unaware of the sexual preferences of his favorite bartender and his tent mate, brought along a rolling suitcase and a picnic basket with brie on a fishing trip in the woods! I'm sorry, who is supposed to be gay in this scene?

I would have thought Addison would have been more upset about Callie sleeping with Mc. Steamy. Maybe she really is over him. But odd that her and Callie are now bonded.

Merideth is so stupid. Going out with Mc. Steamy? Like that's a good idea. "Seriously". He sleeps with everyone. Does she really think that's going to change? Good thing he went to the bathroom right before Mc Dreamy came in.

But, Mc D's lines in the bar were really cheesy. The writers/creators keep saying these are characters we can relate to. "Seriously?" If Dan ever said cheesy lines like that I would think he was abducted by aliens.

Poll: Should Christina give up Burke to win back the respect of "the Nazi"?

Pet Peeves

2006-11-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

This is an open forum to add you pet peeves to the list:

1. Hair on or in the bathroom sink. Yuck.
2. Same side boothers (adj.) two persons who sit on the same side of the booth at a restaurant when on a date (or other activity).
3. Leaving the sponge or scrubber in the bottom of the kitchen sink then piling dishes on top of it.
4. When people chew gum or eat an apple while on the phone with you.
5. Water on the bathroom sink (like after you wash you face or brush your teeth and get water everywhere).

I am sure there are more, so I'll add as I think of them. Feel free to vent yours!

Hee hee!

2006-11-08T14:15:00.000-08:00

Kelsey giggled for the first time today! So cute!

Poop Day 2006

2006-11-02T23:01:00.000-08:00

Poop day 2006:

Picture a quiet morning, baby Kelsey is sleeping upstairs, Connor is playing with his trains, I am checking my e-mail while the dogs sleep peacefully on their beds next to me. (I just realized this would have sounded great if I had made it into a "Twas the Night Before Christmas" Poem, but alas, I am not a poet.) I half notice Peanut get up, which is not unusual. She sleeps only half as much as Abby. She takes a loop around the house and then I hear a huge loud "Phhhhhhhhhhtttttttttttt" (is that how you spell a farting noise?). I think I must be mistaken because Connor has never farted that loudly-even in his first week of life. I think it must be paper rustling or perhaps Connor has found an empty grocery bag, which I must immediately confiscate due to the suffocation hazzard.

I run into the front room and see Peanut running away from what can only be described as something that looks like that dark brown salsa from Baja Fresh, minus the tomatoes. I immediately put her out and try to do damage control, all the while trying to keep Connor from touching the filth. I start mopping it up with dry paper towels, wet paper towels, etc. when I realize that the force of the enormous fart that came out of my dog's rear had caused the "salsa" to spray a bit, landing some droplets on my shoes sitting near the scene of the crime (a slow motion CSI scene enters my mind-eeewww).

I rush to get the carpet cleaner spray from under the sink, all the while yelling to Connor to stay away from the poo poo. I try, to no avail, to spray the cleaner on the "spot". The freakin thing is broken (at which point I wished I was a cusser, but I am not). So I grab some cleaner that I got suckered into buying from the WT lady that came to my door to sell it a few weeks ago. (I really love the cleaner though.) I spray that enough to soak the carpet and then quarantine off the area. I then open all of the windows in an attempt to get the stench out. The thought then enters my mind, "Crap. We just agreed to have another open house on Sunday!!!"

I convince Connor to watch Nemo (which is not difficult) so I can keep him away from the "area". About an hour later Connor has climbed onto a dining room chair to try to abscond the halloween candy I have hidden. I go over to "assist" him in putting it back when I notice what looks like poop on the dining room chair. Ahhhhh! Mind you, we have cream cloth on the seats. I calmly ask Connor if he stepped in Peanut's poo poo, which he repeatedly says no to. So I tell him we need to clean his feet. I wipe his feet off and realize there is no poop on his feet. I am perplexed. Aha! (lightbulb over head) So, I ask Connor if he went poo poo. I check his diaper and, of course, he has and it has started to come out of his diaper, which got on the chair when he sat on it. I go to change his diaper and when I grab his ankles to pull his legs up I realize there is poop on them, which has now transferred to me (eeewww). I start to clean up a very messy poop when I come to the end of my package of wipes. (again, wish I was a cusser) So, I clean him up as best as possible with the 2 wipes that are left (I usually use about 4 wipes on him). I throw the diaper on and swiftly move him to the sink to wash his legs, ankles, and feet-and my hands!!

Needless to say, when Dan called to see if I wanted to meet him for dinner I said I was too stressed!

BTW: Good news! Stanley Steemer was able to come out to clean the carpet before the open house!

Uniquity (a new word?)

2006-11-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

I became more unique by getting married! There are 16 other people with the name Krista Gross in the US and only 1 with the name Krista Marriott! Find out how many people have your name!

Halloween was so much more fun this year! Connor had a blast trick or treating! I think he had the most fun just yelling "trick or treat" as he was running down the street! He also got the hang of "Happy halloween" and "I'm Yoda". Sadly, we lost our camera on Halloween, so this is the pic from the day we got the costume in the mail.

On a brighter note, We get to get a new camera!

You can't make a 2 year old wait an hour...

2006-10-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

What is going on with the cast of Grey's Anatomy? Fighting on the set? Outing a co-worker? And now rumor has it that a cast member may be leaving? As my cohort in Grey's blogging put it so eloquently, "Hug it out bitches!"

Could I be more pissed at JC Penney's? Thursday I went to have the kids halloween pics taken. We arrived to find there was only two people in front of us, but with 2 studios going, how long could it take? Well, we waited over an hour!!! It got to be past 1:00 and I started to complain. We finally got called in and Kelsey was screaming her head off (bright lights? hot flannel costume? sheer exhaustion? you call it.) and Connor was a typical overly tired two year old (aka: uncoorperative). He kept falling off of the blocks they had for him to sit on (on purpose) and would NOT smile. I think Kelsey screaming and my impatience and sweatiness didn't help. Luckily my mom was with me or I might have lost it.

After about 10 or 15 minutes we just gave up and decided to see if there was another appointment the next day. There was and it was earlier so we hoped not to run in to nap time. So, Friday morning I get us all ready to go. I arrive 5 minutes early for my appointment. Find that once again there is only one person in front of us and 2 studios going. So...AN HOUR LATER - yes that's right we had to wait an hour again! - we get called in. Connor could not be torn away from watching Toy Story in the lobby, but after Kelsey took a few cute shots he calmed down. Finally we got him to smile too! But, by the time we went to do pics together Kelsey was wound up and hot again (that girl is sweaty!-does not get that from me) so we got one pic together where Yoda is kissing Princess Leia's screaming face! (I'll post those as soon as I get them!)