H.K. Everyday

My new blog home (sort of)

2010-04-22T17:55:00.000-07:00

I found a new blog home! It's prettier, it's brighter and some of you may be familiar with it. I'll be writing all of my future posts here:

http://hkweighin.blogspot.com/

(just click on the above link to go to my new blog)

So long old blog, it's been a great ride!

Missing RM

2010-04-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

RM has been at his new job for almost two weeks and for the most part, he likes his job. He found work in his career field and is excited that there are new things that he's learning from his new job. I just wish that he worked closer and not 2 1/2 hours away from home. I see RM only once during the week and on weekends- at least our reunions are sweet!

Aunt Sue asked me last week if there was anything positive that I saw from RM being unemployed. It was a great question and though it was a stressful time, he was able to help me out with things that I could not have done without him:

- He was available to scratch my back- night & day. No more rubbing my back against a corner wall!

- It was nice having company while I ran errands.

- I slept in every morning while RM got up, fixed Moe's breakfast, and took him to school.

- No more 5 am gym workouts, when you're unemployed you can work out after 8am!

- RM saw what I do on a day to day basis at home, and really appreciated everything I do to run our home efficiently. He's always been appreciative, but when he saw it first hand- it made a big difference.

- We laughed a lot.

- We cranked up the music...and danced. I still have fun when I dance by myself, but slow dances are more enjoyable when you have a partner, and this time- I let him do the leading.

- RM helped Moe complete his Scouts Eagle project!!!! Four months ago, Moe still needed to complete several merit badges and a huge Eagle project to plan. During RM's two month unemployment, they were able to complete the remaining merit badges and Moe's Eagle Project. (will post about Eagle project with pictures later)

RM and I have always had a close relationship, but we drew even closer. It's no wonder I miss him so much.

God's Love

2010-03-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that the past few weeks I've been struggling with some anger and started to question why our family was going through such a difficult time.

I couldn't understand why one woman's pregnancy was saved after receiving a blessing from her husband.

And mine wasn't.

About 4 years ago RM was unemployed and it took over a year for him to find employment. I felt that since our family underwent a tough period that somehow RM would never be laid off.

It was a naive thought- RM was laid off from work 2 months ago.

It was extremely overwhelming dealing with grief over my miscarriage and the fear of being unemployed and not knowing how long it would last. I haven't worked in a "real" job in over 10 years, so I started to become discouraged that with every phone call I made to job agencies- they would tell me that most employers were looking for someone with "more recent experience."

I wanted to "throw in the towel" until I read an article titled "Love and Law" by Elder Dallin H. Oaks from my church magazine. After reading and pondering the message, I finally understood and stopped being angry.

The article helped me to realize that though no earthly power could save my pregnancy- only a divine power could save me in my grief, and help me overcome my fear.

I find it amazing that after I found peace- RM got the good news that he starts his new job this Thursday.

Though I still cry at times over the loss of my baby- I find acceptance, hope and I know that God loves me.

Our Early Easter Basket

2010-03-30T18:09:00.001-07:00

My Aunt Sue lives a few hours away from me, and last Friday she came up for a day to take me out to lunch. She came in to the house holding an Easter basket with one hand, and the other hand holding a bag of books for me to read.

After she placed the items on my kitchen counter she gave me a hug, after we pulled away, she asked me, "So how are you holding up?"

I immediately started to cry and tell her how I really felt, and Aunt Sue was a great sport letting me whine. It was the first time that I felt l didn't have to sound brave or positive.

We spent the next several hours just sitting, talking and eating. The only downside of the visit was when it had to end- it was time for Aunt Sue to drive back.

It was 6 hours of visiting, and I know we could have spent another 6 hours of talking, and never run out of things to talk about.

I wish everyone had an Aunt Sue in their life.

Easter has not arrived, yet all the items in this Easter basket that Aunt Sue brought, are all gone...

- Chocolate marshmallow bunnies and Cadbury eggs have been consumed by RM and Moe.

- RM and Moe saw the Weight Watcher mini bars and they assumed it wouldn't be good. I made a funny face when I bit into them and pretended they weren't great. I wanted the WW mini bars all to myself- they're delicious!

- Costco cash card is safely tucked away in my wallet.

- RM took an immediate liking to the toy duck that makes quaking noises and preceded to quack and walk like a duck - free entertainment!

- Moe played with the plastic ball filled with glitter that lights up every time you bounce it- he used our dining table to bounce the ball...with plates of food still on! He cleaned up the mess.

It was an Easter Basket enjoyed by every member of our family.

Thanks Aunt Sue!

Lemon Loaf

2010-03-30T18:08:00.001-07:00

It's rare for me to find a recipe where I don't make some changes. When you have a family with a sensitive digestive system and and a picky palette- you learn to make adjustments. The recipe for this lemon loaf was no exception, except the original recipe I found to be too dry and not moist enough.

After baking a few loaves and not satisfied with the result- I came up with this recipe that I was very happy with.

Ingredients:
-2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs, room temp
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon lemon extract
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- ½ cup oil
- ½ cup sour cream
ICING
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a medium bowl, combine eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla extract, lemon extract and lemon juice with a mixer until blended.
Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and blend until smooth. Add oil and mix well.
Pour into loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pan on a rack.
Making the icing: In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, milk and lemon extract with a mixer until smooth.
When loaf is cooled, remove from pan and frost top with icing. When icing has set, slice loaf into slices (should get about 8 good slices).

Cooks Note: For a zestier lemon taste, grind about 1 to 2 tsp of lemon peel. If you want a thick layer of icing, wait about every 5-10 minutes before you put another layer of icing until you get the desired thickness. RM likes his icing very thick, but I got tired after 3 layers. The picture below is how the icing looks with only 3 layers of icing, the icing is very thin which is why you want to keep layering the icing.

This is another family favorite except for Moe- he's allergic to lemons!

Smile

2010-03-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

Since last December, it seems that our family has been heaped with one trial after another. There are days when it's hard to find something to smile about until I read this beautiful song from Charlie Chaplin:

Smile,
though your heart is aching
Smile,
even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
you'll get by
If you smile
through your fear and sorrow
Smile
and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through
for you
Light up your face with gladness

Hide every trace of sadness

Although a tear may be ever so near
That’s the time you must keep on trying
Smile
what’s the use of crying
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you’ll just

Smile

And then you're reminded that no matter what you're going through....there is always something to smile about.

(comments off)

Roughing it

2010-03-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Moe went on a camping trip to Dillon Beach with the youth boys in our ward/church. He was excited about going and we were excited to have a weekend to ourselves at the house.

The weather forecast for the weekend was overcast and heavy raining. So, I packed extra towels and soap. When I tried to put in a toothbrush and toothpaste- Moe stopped me.

"Mom, you do realize that I'm not going to have time to brush my teeth in the morning."

I instantly shuddered and replied, "That's disgusting- you don't want to go around with morning breath."

"It's calling roughing it". "When you're out camping with the guys- no one cares about morning breath and trust me, no one is going to bother brushing their teeth or taking a shower." And then Moe proceeds to take out the extra towel and soap from his backpack.

It was hard to shake the image of Moe going through out the day with cotton mouth, so I made him promise to stop at the convenience store and buy gum or Altoids.

Moe rolls his eyes and says, "Yes, mom." I feel like I've won a small victory.

"Do you think you could at least just wipe yourself down before you go to bed?" "You'll feel so much better and get a better sleep if you do."

Moe gives me this exasperated look, and I know that no matter how much I try to convince him about the merits of cleanliness, on a camping trip- it wall fall on deaf ears.

When Moe came home after his trip, he was exhausted, but had a great time fishing, crabbing, sand surfing, building beach fires, and they played a version of hot potato, but with a live crab.

The game was short lived because someone is a tad scared of crabs and when the crab came to him- he spiked the poor crab into the sand, ending the game. I won't say who that person is, but he looks a lot like RM. Shhhhhh...

(Moe pictured with one of his church youth leaders, Brad B.)

Moe and RM wants to go camping by the beach as a family trip.
Of course, I'll go with them as long as we go in a RV equipped with a bed and shower.

And I definitely will not be "roughing it"....I'm brushing my teeth.

My Corny Poem

2010-03-09T01:07:00.001-08:00

There are still a few more stories from Moe that he wrote when he was in middle school, that I want to post on this blog. Stay tuned for more of his stories later this week.

In the meantime, while I was sorting through a box full of memorabilia - I found a poem that I wrote when I was a sophomore in high school, as part of an English assignment. At the time, I thought it was a poem full of mystery and intrigue, but when my English teacher read it to the class - they laughed!

The class thought it was supposed to be funny, which of course wasn't my intention at all. I was mortified!

It's only been 10 years since I graduated from high school (humor me) and reading the poem again as an adult, my opinion has definitely changed - it's pretty corny!

Here is the poem that I naively thought, would go down as the most riveting poems ever written:

"Nature"

I like to sleep under the stars,

with the moon giving light to the darkness.

The grass beneath me like a green rug.

Loving the perfume of nature .

The rattling of a snake,

Not far away.

Looking for a poor creature to eat.

The possibility that the creature might be me,

I discover nature is not for me.

Note: It's funny but after I wrote that poem, I didn't like camping as much. Nowadays, my idea of camping is the Marriott Courtyard.

******************************************
I'm a guest blogger this month at Solomon Family Delights- a blog full of yummy recipes and fun crafts. If you want a delicious and easy recipe for crumb cake, click Here for the recipe.

I made this delicious crumb cake last Sunday and my family loved it!

Childhood Friends by Moe: Part 2

2010-03-04T14:57:00.001-08:00

(written at age 13)

Everyone has a childhood friend, but in my case, I have many friends. Friends are people who call each other when someone is sick. A friend is someone that sticks up for you if you're getting bullied. A friend is someone who is nice to you, no matter what situation.

For me, my first best friend was in Pre-school. His name was Ryan. Ryan and I would have a play date at each other houses almost every week. We would play action figures and video games.

In kindergarten and first grade my best friend was Zade. He loved sports, and I loved sports too. I guess that's why we became friends. When we would go to each other's houses, we would just play sports all day.

In second and third grade, I was best friends with Mickey. That guy was so funny. He and I would make each other laugh so much, it would hurt.

(Moe and Adam)
In fourth and fifth grade, I was best friends with Aliki, Kyle, and Adam. We would all just hang out and go to the movies.

(James, Moe, Kyle)

Then once I got to middle school, I became very lucky. I had four best friends.

Their names are David C, Kyle, James and Adam. My parents called us the "four amigos". We would go to the movies, walk to Nob HIll, rent movies, and last but not least, play video games. What was cool was that two of my best friends live across the street.

You do not need to have only one best friend, you can have many. I became very lucky because I had a lot of friends.

Note from H.K- I only posted pics of Moe's friends from middle school because it was then, that he started to realize the true meaning of friendships. The last two pictures were taken at our home. We were getting ready to move and we had a goodbye pizza party. His friends were great- they gave him cards, gifts, and when it was time to say goodbye, there were also tears.

Moe has developed other close friends since then, his only contact with these boys are through Facebook and has remained good friends with only one.

But, no matter how many friends Moe makes over the years, you never forget your childhood friends.

My favorite Childhood Toy by Moe: Part I

2010-03-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

(written by Moe when he was 13 years old)

One boring and long summer day, my mom told me to get off my butt and clean my room. I don't blame her, my room was a mess. I went upstairs and started cleaning. I put away my sports stuff, games, and videos. Then I folded my blankets and I looked under my bed to clean.

It was then when I found my bear Russ. Russ is a beanie bear that I got when I was three.

I remember the day when I got my Bear...It was a regular day and my birthday had just passed. My grandma couldn't make it to my birthday because she had something to do. She stopped by my house to give me a late birthday present.

The gift was wrapped in a box as large as a mouse pad. I opened it and inside was a stuffed little bear. I was so excited when I got it. I named the bear Russ.

Russ looked so cool at the time...I used to play with my bear 24-7. I pretended it was a Power Ranger, an airplane, and a cop. I hugged it, threw it against the wall and "playfully" threw it at my parents.

I know that Russ didn't mind the rough housing because he still had a smile on his face. I took him everywhere I went and I MEAN EVERYWHERE.

That bear was one of my favorite toys. It reminded me of good times because of the memories it gave me. In fact, I still have that bear sitting right next to my bed on my dresser.

Note from H.K. - This is how Russ looks now. Russ has seen better days and has gone through a lot of wear and tear over the years. He's been sewed together so many times, it's amazing that he's still in one piece.

Moe's too old to play with Russ, but he still has an honorary place in Moe's room - on top of his dresser.

***I'm a guest blogger for Solomon Family Delights- a blog that contains some yummy recipes from Mother Goose. And all the recipes have Pictures! Check out my latest recipe of Noodle Spinach Casserole recipe and click Here ***

My one year Blogiversary

2010-03-01T12:14:00.001-08:00

Next week, it will be about a year since I started this blog. My blog has evolved since I wrote my first post. I first started it as a way to improve my writing skills and then it became more of an online family scrapbook.

I've read through old posts and I'm so glad that I was able to write down some important family events and post pictures. It has become very important to me to document those events.

My goal is to eventually put everything that I wrote on this blog and compile it into a blog book- something that our family could always look through like an old family album.

The past two weeks, I've been sorting through old pictures and journals. As I went through the pictures, I started to remember events that occurred when the picture was taken, and I couldn't help but wish that blogging was invented when Moe was a baby!

I used to love to scrap book, but it took so much time. You spent more time figuring out how to place the pictures on the page than doing what was more important - writing down the memories. Blogging is so much easier- it's a combination of a journal and a scrapbook.

To celebrate my "One Year Blogiversary", I'll be posting a series of flashbacks; edited entries from old journals and posting old pictures, especially the ones of Moe.

I found a written report by Moe that he did for his school when he was 12 years old. It's titled, "My Life". He writes about favorite memories of his childhood.

Moe's report is already starting to decay with age, so what better way to preserve those memories than to record here it in this blog. The next few posts will be from Moe's report.

I'm looking forward to recording those flashbacks on my blog and it has been fun blogging. I can't imagine a day that I get tired of it!

Exercising the stress away

2010-02-24T08:05:00.000-08:00

I gained almost 15 pounds while being pregnant, which is not a good thing when I still had some extra weight to lose, and of course, no baby to show for it. And then someone asked me over a week ago, after looking at my stomach, if I was pregnant.

I immediately said, "Nope, I just forgot to suck it in."

That comment was the extra push I needed to haul my butt into the gym. I knew that the best time for me to get into the gym is between 5 & 5:30 am. When you exercise that early, there's nothing that can distract you. You don't have time or the energy to make up excuses not to work out.

After hitting the snooze button a couple of times, I drag myself out of bed with one eye barely opened and the other eye that seems to be glued shut- not a pretty sight. After splashing my face a few times with cold water, change into my work out clothes - I'm ready for a sweaty work out!

The other motivation is my personal trainer and my work out partner.

He's committed.

He's a hard task master.

When I feel like I can't do one more push up, he screams at me and tells me, I'm a pansy.

And then I scream back at him and remind him that I'm his wife.

I've had some work out partners before, but RM is the toughest. He's helped me to run that extra few yards when I feel like quitting. When I grab a 5 lb dumb bell, he gives me the 15 lb dumb bell and tells me that I can lift it- surprisingly he's right.

RM has already lost 15 pounds in 3 weeks and I....don't come close to that.

However, I've worked out with RM for less than 2 weeks and I've already started to see a difference in my attitude, my stress level has gone down, and my jeans are just a tad bit looser.

It feels good to be back into a routine.

This is my favorite new low fat snack. When I want a chocolate fix - I grab Chocolate Goldfish Graham crackers and they're delicious and fixes my need for chocolate right away. Only 50 crackers equals to 150 calories and only 3 grams of fat. You can find them at any Safeway or Target store.

Love is in the Details

2010-02-14T18:47:00.000-08:00

"I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon".
~ Author Unknown

We have always celebrated Valentine's Day as a family occasion - just the three of us. We would normally go out to dinner and then come home for homemade desserts or go out for ice cream.

Since Valentine's Day was on a Sunday, we had dinner at home and RM did the "cooking" - warming up a roasted chicken purchased from Costco the night before, frozen tortellini with Alfredo sauce, and Pillsbury Buttermilk biscuits.

It wasn't a homemade dinner, but it was still delicious!

And since RM was in charge of dinner, I made desserts - Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I'm always a wee bit nervous when I make something new, not sure how Moe or RM would react, when I venture out of their normal eating habits.

When I made the finishing touches on the cupcakes, I had RM take the first bite.

He took a bite, closed his eyes, chewed very slowly, made some strange guttural noise with his throat, and then when he finally opened his eyes, said,
"That was one heavenly cupcake."

The next person to please would be tough:

- He's been known to scraping off cheese & all toppings from pizzas,
- He's renowned for putting ketchup on almost anything,
- Makes gagging noises when he has to eat salad,
- And went through a period of taking out the chocolate chips from chocolate chip cookies.

When Moe took his first bite, I was prepared for anything.

Surprisingly, he said, "Mom, not bad. I like it a lot."

And then I noticed that he ate his cupcake from the bottom and threw away the top ...with the frosting still intact. The kid definitely has some strange eating habits.

Next to Christmas, I love celebrating Valentine's Day. There's nothing like expressing love through sweets.

"Love is in the details" and I wanted to show my family on this Valentine's Day, that they are worth spending the time- to make it just right.

***I used Paula Deen's recipe for the cupcakes which you can find here.
For the frosting, I used a small zip lock bag and filled it with frosting. Snip a corner and pipe away. If you want small swirls, snip a small hole and for bigger swirls snip a bigger hole. ***

Moving On

2010-02-13T13:31:00.000-08:00

"While grief is fresh, every attempt to divert only irritates. You must wait till it be digested, and then amusement will dissipate the remains of it." ~Samuel Johnson

RM knew that I needed time to grieve. He held me as I cried and often cried with me. When I had no energy to cook or clean the house, he took over the household duties and kept the "ship" running while I recuperated physically and emotionally.

After several weeks of coming home after work and finding me spending more time in my PJ's than in regular clothes, RM became worried.

He said to me, "I know that you still need time to grieve, but right now, you need to find a balance between grieving and living. I lost a baby too, but I still have to go to work, and we have a son that needs us. I don't want you grieve so much that you forget to live."

It has been a little over two months since I had my miscarriage, and I took what RM said to me to heart. I know it sounds cliche, but I started to notice nature's beauty. I marveled at the flowers blooming in our front yard despite the cold weather, and even the bare trees had it's own unique beauty.

And when life recently started to give out more lemons....

....I made lemonade.

**Some of you have shared your stories of your own miscarriages, which I truly appreciate. It helps to know that when you read my experience of loss- you know exactly what it means.

Thank you everyone for your supportive comments and emails. You will never know how much it has helped me.

Moe's Winter Ball 2010

2010-02-13T12:18:00.000-08:00

Moe went to a friend's Winter Ball two weeks ago. He didn't go to his own school's Winter Ball because according to him; "All Winter Balls are boring."

However, when one of his best friends from another another high school asked him to her Winter Ball...he agreed.

RM and I were surprised that he was going to his friend's Winter Ball. When we asked him why, after he just told us that Winter Balls were boring, he said, "because she asked."

One of the things that I admire about Moe is how much he loves his friends and will do anything to help them out. (It also helps if a particular friend is pretty)

My older sister came from out of town and spent a whole day with me, while RM helped Moe get ready for the ball. Moe still doesn't have his driver's license, so RM drove Moe to one of his friends house which was the destination meeting point for several other couples. From there they went to a restaurant called "Blue Crush" in Roseville by limo and then went to the dance.

After the dance, they went out to eat again, went to a birthday party. and then came home at 1:30 in the morning. I went to bed early, and RM stayed up until Moe came home. Moe wasn't ready to go to bed yet, so RM stayed up with Moe as he talked about his fun evening.

I'm fortunate that Moe and RM have a close relationship and that he feels comfortable talking to his dad about anything...well, almost anything.

Here's a few pictures of Moe's winter ball:

Moe and his date Courtney

They make a good looking couple.

It's hard to believe that this is Moe's last formal winter dance for high school.

Loss

2010-01-23T23:25:00.000-08:00

Last month I was pregnant. I went to my Obstetrician for an ultrasound and he gave me news that I did not expect to hear - my pregnancy was not healthy, and that I would eventually have a miscarriage.

This is not the type of news that anyone wants to hear a few days before Christmas.

My Obstetrician wasn't certain when I would miscarry, and told me that I would either have a miscarriage later that evening, or in the next few days. It took seven days for me to miscarry, it was an excruciating and painful wait.

I kept hoping that my doctor was wrong. I searched the Internet hoping to find a miracle, but deep down, I knew my pregnancy could not survive the cramping and heavy bleeding that I was going through.

After feeling certain that I would miscarry, I knew that instead of looking for stories of miraculous recoveries of impending miscarriages, it was time to search the Internet of what to expect when a miscarriage occurs.

When I went to my first prenatal appointment, I was given a pregnancy packet that included information on the hospital's birth center, lists of Lamaze & Lactation classes, and a blank form for the birth certificate. I was equipped with a lot of information that would help me maintain a healthy pregnancy.

However, you leave the doctor's office empty handed when you're going through a miscarriage. After my doctor told me the news that I would miscarry, he asked me if I had any questions. I had none. What questions do you have, when you're still trying to absorb the news that you're not going to be having a baby? The moment is surreal and overwhelming.

I left the office feeling numb.

It has been several weeks since my miscarriage occurred. I have gone through all the initial stages of grief: Shock, anger, guilt, depression and acceptance. Though some days I vacillate between anger, depression, & acceptance.

Here is what makes me upset; Giving me the pregnancy packet was premature. I believe most of the information contained in the packet should be given during your 2ND trimester or later. I mean do you really need a form for a birth certificate when you're only a few weeks pregnant?

Also, how is it that you can be given a list of lactation consultants & Lamaze classes and no list of support for women who are going through a miscarriage?

I was given no instructions, pamphlet, packet, or at least some kind of information on miscarriages. I had to rely on the Internet to do all my research .

I understand that even if my doctor gave me information on miscarriages, it may not contain all the information that I need. But, having some kind of information is better than having none.

I do not want to give the impression that my Obstetrician or the staff in his office were unfeeling. They were very professional, nice, and sympathetic towards my loss. But, they can do better in giving at least basic information to women who are going through a pregnancy loss.

I found many invaluable websites on miscarriage, but the one website that I found most helpful, is one that was created by a woman who went through a miscarriage. The website is called "pregnancy loss" and you can read it by clicking here.

I don't want women who are told they are going through a miscarriage to walk out of that office empty handed. They should know what is happening to their body and be equipped with the basic facts of miscarriage.

I plan to make a packet which contains basic and helpful information on miscarriage and include a list of support groups, websites, and mail it to the doctor's office.

I'm not sure if they will toss the packet to the recycling bin, but if they hand out my packet, or at least use a version of it, and it helps at least ONE woman, then it is worth the time and the stamp to mail it.

I have debated whether I should blog about my miscarriage or if I should bother to mail a miscarriage packet to my Obstetrician's office. And then I realized that healing comes in many forms. For me, part of my healing process was to write about this & maybe help other women.

It has been several weeks since I miscarried, and yet I still grieve for the baby that could have been mine. I am often amazed that I can still find something to laugh about after experiencing a traumatic event, and then there are days in which I find it hard to get out of bed.

RM has been extremely supportive, especially since this pregnancy loss has affected him as well. He was ready to buy the baby a football.

When I told him that the baby might be a girl, he paused for a moment and said, "Then I'll buy a pink fuzzy football."

He was looking forward to being a dad again.

And I wish I didn't have to lose my baby.

A new Christmas Tradition

2009-12-28T23:16:00.001-08:00

A few days before Christmas, I received news that left me heart broken. First you ask yourself, "Why did this have to happen before Christmas?" and then your next thought is, "Why did this happen to me?"

You begin to wonder if you could find any joy during Christmas- and then you see your husband doing his best to make you feel better and a son that you don't want to disappoint. So, you take a deep breath, put one foot in front of the other, and you do your best to make this Christmas a memorable event...and it was.

We had a great dinner, Beef Stroganoff, salad and rolls. And for dessert, various cookies, pies, and in between meals, we ate tons of candy from our Stocking stuffers. (There was absolutely no guilt in the amount of calories I consumed, I enjoyed every bite, lick, and taste!)

We didn't get a chance to look at Christmas lights before Christmas and decided to do it after dinner. It was a good choice. Our neighbors suggested these 3 different neighborhoods that had great Christmas lights.

Our first stop:

There's something about watching Christmas lights that brings a smile to your face.

The second stop...was a complete Dud. The poor homeowner was so desperate for someone to see his Christmas light show, that he sat outside waving people over to see his lights. We politely "oohed" and "awed" and quickly left. It was a very sad little light show.

Our third and final stop was a neighborhood outside of our town. This neighborhood had 15 houses in its street court and all of them were elaborately decorated with lights and Christmas displays.

Traffic was heavy and we were in line for nearly forty minutes before we were able to park our car and walk. The wait was worth it.

Our family loves to hear choral singing, especially when it's Christmas Carols.

A new tradition is born: Watching Christmas lights on Christmas night!

I love our old traditions and the new ones that we create each year.

And despite the lingering dark cloud that hovered above me; for a few short hours, I was able to let Christmas...

"...wave a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." Norman Vincent Peale

(comments off)

Our Christmas Morning

2009-12-28T22:33:00.001-08:00

Most kids have to wake up their parents to start opening their gifts-not at our home. Moe has never been a morning person, so for many years on Christmas morning, we would have to wait for Moe to wake up.

This Christmas morning, we decided to let Moe sleep in while RM and I went out for chocolate croissants and hot eggnog (taste even better hot!).

We came back home and Moe was seated on the couch wide awake, showered, and ready to open his presents.

Since Moe is our only child, it's hard not to indulge him on Christmas. So this year, I decided we should limit his presents and get him only 1 present from each category:

1. Want
2. Need
3. Wear
4. Read

Well...we did stick to those categories, but it was so hard to stick to buying only one item! (You don't have to wait until next Christmas to use this idea, you can also use it towards your child's birthday. For more information, click here.)

We open our Stockings first and then Moe is first to open his presents. RM was especially excited about getting this particular present for Moe.

Every boy needs a huge remote control car and every father has to play with it too!

Moe and RM were disappointed that they had to wait 8 hours for the battery to charge, so as soon as the battery was ready, they went outside and played.

Poor RM had to wait awhile until Moe was finished playing. He's seriously considering buying his own remote control car.

(comments off)

Our Christmas Eve Tradition

2009-12-27T10:59:00.001-08:00

Every Christmas Eve, we get together with my mother, my sister and her family. We used to call it the 'Orphan Christmas Eve'. Anyone who didn't want to be alone on Christmas Eve was invited to ours, whether they were a friend, neighbor, or relative.

We always felt fortunate to live close together and wanted to extend our home to those who didn't have family or didn't live near family during Christmas. This year we spent Christmas Eve at my sister's, and later in the evening, some friends stopped by for dessert.

Here are some of the highlights of our Christmas Eve:

Our schedules have been very busy this year, so it's not often that we can all get together as a family. This is the first time in a very long time that my mother was able to be pictured with Moe and my nephew.

What do you get a mother that has practically everything she needs?
Another framed picture of Moe!

This is my older sister - the best sister in the world!

My cool brother in law and my nephew.

No matter how old Renaissance Man gets....

...He still loves playing with toys!

Moe and my nephew are both only children, so they get a lot of presents especially from my mother. They open Santa Stockings from her and then more presents. Can you tell that Moe is anxiously waiting to open his?

Moe is very pleased with his "Christmas stack." He received movie tickets, gift certificates, money, and an awesome photography book of Michael Jackson- a collector's item.

This quote summarizes our Christmas Eve:

"The best Christmas of all is the presence of a happy family all wrapped up with one another."

(Comments turned off)

A Joyous time of year

2009-12-21T11:17:00.000-08:00

There are so many reasons why I love Christmas. One of the things that I love to do, is picking out a tree with my family and decorating it.

I love that Renaissance Man and Moe wants to observe the holiday traditions that we have had for many years- hanging up the stockings, decorating the house, going to Christmas concerts, baking Christmas goodies, and making gingerbread houses.

I love that despite Moe's teenage years that he still gets excited about Christmas.

I especially love seeing RM putting up the most tackiest Christmas decorations around the house. If there was a prize for tacky decorations, we would win, hands down. Alas, I have my pride and refuse to post those pictures on this blog.

And one of the best things I love about Christmas is the message of hope that it brings. No matter what our family is going through, the spirit of Christmas puts everything into perspective for us.

Merry Christmas & Have a Wonderful and Happy New Year!

Renaissance Man's Birthday!

2009-12-15T15:15:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Renaissance Man's birthday this month. I asked him what he wanted me to make for his birthday dinner.

His response was, "Just make something simple, so you're not tired."

"How would you like Cream of Mushroom chicken?"

RM's eyes lit up, "That would be great!"

I haven't made that dish in a long time because- it's boring to make, I'm sick of making it, and RM and Moe love the dish so much, they can eat it every week.

I then asked him what kind of cake he wanted me to make. He hesitated before he answered, "Well, there's that coconut raspberry cake that you've been promising to make for the past 6 months."

I detect a slight sarcasm in his voice and say, "The only reason why I haven't made that cake is because I never have all the ingredients." "Besides, I've made you other types of cakes."

"Duncan Hines doesn't count, and since you showed me a picture of that coconut cake, I've been dreaming about it ever since."

(Wow! Talk about laying the guilt trip on thick!)

Well, Renaissance Man got his wish- I made his coconut raspberry filled cake with cream cheese frosting, and he doesn't have to dream about it again!

I topped the cake with relightable candles. It took RM a few seconds before he realized that no matter how much he blew the candles-the flames would never extinguish.

Moe and I had a really good laugh and RM was a good sport. It was a great little birthday party.

Here is my Ode to Renaissance Man:

You are the light of my life,
the anchor to my ship,
the star in my sky,
the Christmas ornament to my tree,
the soy to my sauce,
the non perishable milk in my refrigerator...well, you get my drift.

Happy Birthday Renaissance Man!

My culinary creation!

This cake doesn't look as good as the one pictured in the recipe book-probably because I forgot to cut the crusts out! It still tasted good!

All Good Things Come to an End

2009-12-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

Moe's team lost last Friday night. There was only 1 second left to the game and the field goal would have sealed the win. As the ball sailed through the sky, I'm sure every person in the stadium were holding their breath in anticipation - the ball hit the crossbar and didn't make it over the field goal.

There was close to 11,000 people attending the game, so it was a surreal experience to have almost half of the crowd be stunned to silence at the loss; The other fans & opponent team ran into the field celebrating their win.

My only thought, 'How is Moe handling this?'

While the crowd excited out of the stadium, RM and I headed straight to the locker rooms and waited for Moe outside. We met with other parents of the team who were also waiting for their sons; Everyone was still reeling from the shock of losing and anticipating their son's reaction.

Several players came out of the locker room and immediately sought the comfort of their families. As Moe came out of the locker room, I saw the tears streaming down his face and a look of pure defeat.

It's hard to stay strong when you see your son hurt and crying, so the best thing to do, is to put your arms around him.... and cry with him.

The loss was especially devastating for the seniors. For many of them, it will be the last time they will suit up as a football player. Some of the seniors and their families took a last walk around the field as a Folsom Bulldog football player.

Moe just wanted to go home.

It's been a few days since the loss and Moe is feeling better including RM.

As RM and Moe were taking out the pads of Moe's uniform and cleaning it, RM looked at Moe and said, "Son, this will be the last time I'll be helping you out with your uniform."

Moe teared up and replied, "I know Dad, I know."

We're going to miss the coaches who helped our son become a better football player.

We'll miss the parents of the football players, the team, waiting outside of the locker room after every game, Friday night burgers at In & Out (hence the ten pounds we gained from eating after 10pm every Friday night!), washing Moe's uniform every week and storing all his football equipment in our dining room.

Moe plans to continue playing football when he's in college, but it won't be the same - We'll miss watching him play under the "Friday Night Lights."

(Moe is on the left Jersey #66)

Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

2009-12-08T11:12:00.000-08:00

We woke up yesterday morning and was surprised to see snow! It doesn't snow in Folsom.

Moe wanted his picture taken by our snow covered snows- okay, our partially snow covered cars.

Most of the schools closed down and Moe was disappointed that he still had to go to school.

RM worked at home today, so as we were driving to lunch- it was surprising to see so much snow every where we drove.

The view outside our restaurant.

Who would of thought we would have "winter wonderland" in our town?

It was nice to see snow in our backyard, but I'm looking forward to having the snow melt away.

Catching up

2009-12-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

It feels like it was only yesterday that I complained about the hot weather and tried to find inexpensive ways to stay cool rather than dropping the temperature on the air conditioner. Now, I'm bundled up in a blanket and debating whether I should raise the temperature of our heater.

And has it really been a month since the last time I posted???? It seems like time sped up and I'm still trying to catch up. So, what has our family been doing since I last posted? Here's a review:

Moe was in charge of putting together the Scouts Court of Honor. He did a great job in organizing the program and conducted the program which was held on Thursday November 12th at the Mormon Center. A Court of Honor is a great Scouts tradition in which scouts are awarded rank advancements, a patrol flag ceremony is performed, and parents are able to see some of the leadership qualities that their son developed in Scouts.

Moe was nervous in the beginning, but as the evening progressed, he became more relaxed and also managed to crack a few jokes in the process- which were actually funny!

Moe was awarded his Life Rank and I received this gorgeous heart shaped pin. When a Scout advances and is awarded a badge, the mother of the scout also gets a Scout pin. Renaissance Man thinks the fathers gets short changed, since they don't get anything except a smile and a handshake.

After I received my pin, I was ready to go back to my seat and surprisingly, Moe reached over and gave me a hug. I'm not used to getting hugs in public from Moe, so this was a big deal!

RM tried to reach over and give Moe a hug too and instead RM received a pat on the back and a handshake. I told RM not to take it personally: Moe already fulfilled his public hug quota for the night.

I am truly grateful that Moe has great Scouts leaders. These are just some of the Scout leaders who have helped Moe, and will continue to help him to achieving his Eagle Rank. Moe's Scouts leaders have been awesome!

It was a memorable night. We're proud that Moe displayed great leadership skills that evening.

******

Last year I went to the midnight premier of Twilight and had so much fun, decided to watch another midnight premier of New Moon this year! I went with the same group of friends this year though the numbers did dwindle by half. Only the strongest or insane, (probably both) that are able to be at the theatre by 6:30pm and wait several hours for the movie to show....though the waiting is all part of the fun.

We purchased our tickets two months before the movie premier and were able to get seated into the theatre right away. We smuggled in our dinner and movie snacks while playing Twilight trivia along with other movie goers that didn't belong to our group. It was close to 3am by the time I got home. I crawled into bed and willed myself to dream of a certain vampire, but it's hard to dream when you hear RM snoring away.

*******
Since September of this year our Friday nights have been busy with high school football and while the season is over for most high school football teams....Moe is still playing football!

Moe's football team is in the semi-finals playoff-the first time his high school has been able to get this far in 20 years! They won the Delta River League Championship and the winner of tonight's game determines who goes into the Section championship game next week.

This season has been without injuries. Football is a brutal sport and when you have a long season like Moe's team there are bound to be a few dislocated shoulders, sprains, muscle strain and bone fractures. Moe has been in physical therapy for the past few weeks for a muscle strain, but has still been able to play. (Moe is one of the two players on top of this pile-up)

Moe's team has had a phenomenal season, with only one loss. Moe was named "All League Defensive Lineman" and was named Best Defensive Lineman for two games in a row.

Tonight is a big game against Del Oro. The school is expecting close to 5,000 people attending the game. RM and I plan to arrive at the stadium an hour before kick-off.

I would love for our team to win and go into the championship round, but as I look back at the beginning of this season- I remember how much I wanted my son to have a great season. That wish has been fulfilled.

Win or lose tonight-those kids are winners. Our son can walk off that field and know he's been a great contributor to his team.

******
There have also been other things that have happened between these events that have kept me busy, but I won't bore you with those details. Most were good, some not so good, and other events that I wish never occurred, but that's life.

Next week is Renaissance Man's birthday! Come back next week as I blog about that. In the meantime, I hope to catch up on your blogs in the next few days, and have a wonderful weekend!

Moe and his Grandma

2009-11-09T15:30:00.000-08:00

"If nothing is well, call your grandmother."
Italian Proverb

As a little boy Moe took that Proverb to heart. Every time he thought we were treating him unfairly he would call up my mom and tell her what we were doing wrong. He memorized my mother's number and called her for every "offense" that we committed. (In Moe's mind our crime was making him eat his vegetables, getting grounded or making him do something horrible like.... taking his vitamins)

It was funny to see this little kid take the phone into his bedroom, call up his grandma and complain about his parents. Yet, every time he finished talking to my mother- he always felt better.

Nowadays, Moe doesn't call my mother as often as he did when he was little. They don't go on train rides anymore, take trips to the zoo or the dinosaur museum; and since we moved a few hours away, they see each other less. However, distance cannot break a bond that can only exist between a grandparent and grandchild - their bond is unbreakable.

At 17 years old, Moe's eyes still light up when he sees his Grandma and she still brings him treats.

"A grandparent is old on the outside but young on the inside".

~Author Unknown

Grandmother-grandchild relationships are simple.
Grandmas are short on criticism and long on love.
Author Unknown

"God couldn't be everywhere, so he created grandmother's."
Author Unknown

A very important October event...my birthday!

2009-11-02T18:15:00.000-08:00

October has been one busy month! This month we have had friends and family visit us from out of town, celebrated our wedding anniversary and the most important part of October was my birthday. I consider my birthday one of the most important holidays in our family. Its right up there next to Christmas and Moe's birthday.

My birthday is such an important event that Renaissance Man takes that day off of work. And when my birthday falls on a weekend, he takes a Friday off. He's been taking a day off of work for my birthday since we first got married. He's such a good man.

We celebrated my birthday for an entire weekend and I did absolutely nothing around the house. Whenever I was asked of something from Moe or RM, I told them I couldn't help because it was my birthday. Here are just a few examples:

Example #1:
"Mom, I can't find any clean clothes."

"Sorry, I can't help you it's my birthday."

Example #2:
"Hey honey, do you know where I put car the keys?"

"Sorry, I can't help you it's my birthday."

Example #3
"Mom, what's for lunch?"

"Sorry, I can't help you it's my birthday."

Alas, all good things come to an end. My birthday weekend has come to a close.... and Moe still needs clean clothes.

My favorite cake is sponge cake with custard & raspberry filling with whip cream. Cake compliments from my Aunt Sue & Uncle Mike who came from out of town with a birthday cake, presents, and watched Moe's Friday night football game with us.

RM let Moe do the honors of lighting up my cake. RM decided not to put the same amount of candles as my current age...he thought it would set off the fire alarm.

I wanted my birthday cake to be brought to me in the comfort of my warm furry blanket sitting in front of the fireplace.

I have a half worried/half smile on my face because I want RM to hurry up and take the picture as the wax is quickly melting into the cake.

As soon as I make my birthday wish, Moe surprises me with a kiss on the cheek.

It's a perfect birthday.

Our Wedding Anniversary "Celebration"

2009-10-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

This month we celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. We didn't go out to a fancy 5 star restaurant, exchange expensive gifts or spent a weekend at some high class resort hotel. Renaissance Man and I celebrated our wedding anniversary by going out to breakfast and later taking Moe to lunch with us....our usual Saturday morning ritual for almost 10 years.

I felt a bit guilty for not doing something different for our anniversary, especially when I hear friends or family recount how they celebrated their anniversary. Truthfully, I've never made a big deal out of it. This year, I felt I should make more an effort to plan something special for our anniversary.

I asked RM if he wanted to do anything different this year. His response?

"For 18 years, you have conditioned me to make YOUR birthday more important than our anniversary. Why change now?"

He's right. My birthday is definitely more important.

Happy Anniversary RM! We don't need one special day to celebrate our anniversary...we celebrate it every Saturday morning.

Beating down the Bullies

2009-10-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

I've been a slacker reading & commenting on your blogs! I've been sick with the flu and though I've been feeling better, I'm still feeling tired and going through the yucky lingering effects from the flu. Let's just say, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired! Now on to another topic....

Moe has always had problems with bullies from the time he was two years old. There was this tiny girl who was 3 years old that loved hitting him. They were in the same daycare center and poor Moe was terrified of her! The bullying stopped when he pushed her. This is what makes me sad, is that it seems the only way to stop bullying is to hit the person back.

Almost every year in elementary school & junior high school, Moe has come home in tears because of a run in with a bully. Renaissance Man and I didn't want Moe to retaliate because he was so much bigger than them. We were afraid that Moe would hurt them. He's a strong kid so we didn't want someone ending up in the hospital.

We taught Moe to ignore the taunts or to tell a teacher. Sometimes it worked and other times he's had to be physical. He got into his first fist fight when he was in 5th grade. This kid was taunting him for an entire year. Despite our talks with the teacher, the parents, this bully wanted to fight Moe, so we gave him the permission to fight back. The kid stopped bullying Moe and they actually became good friends!

I've had parents tell me that you should ignore the bullies, turn the other cheek, talk to the bullies parents or tell a teacher. They don't work, they RARELY work. The worst case of bullying happened when Moe was in junior high school. It was a large group of them, they taunted Moe in the bus, the lunch area and the hallways and often pushed him. We knew the bullying wouldn't stop if we told the school, but we wanted the school to have the complaint on file. The only way Moe was going to stop the bullying was to fight back.

Renaissance Man taught Moe how to hit those kids without hurting them too badly. RM has been practicing Martial Arts since he was 13 years old and knew a few moves that Moe could use. RM taught Moe fight moves that could stun the kid without hurting them. Moe was worried that he would get suspended. I told him if he got suspended, I would pick him up and take him out for ice cream and celebrate. Why should he get punished for defending himself?

After having a few sessions with RM, Moe was ready to "Beat down the Bullies." The leader and some of his cronies pushed Moe against the lockers and Moe was able to push them back and did a few other moves on them. They tried pushing him again the next day & Moe fought them back again! The bullying stopped and Moe didn't get suspended. Sadly a few of those boys are in jail for assaulting someone with a deadly weapon.

It still makes me mad when I wonder where were the school officials when this happened? Why do parents keep defending their kid when it's obvious they're bullies? I know you shouldn't teach your kids to hit, but shouldn't we teach them to defend themselves? This is a topic that I often discuss with other parents and some agree with me and others think you should just ignore it and the situation will go away.

I always knew that as a parent, it was important to teach Moe to be kind, courteous, and honest. Who knew that one of the most important lessons we would teach Moe was how to defend himself against bullies.

Scouts, Sewing, Patches..Oh, My!

2009-09-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, September 27, 2009 Moe went to his Board of Review for his Life Rank for Scouts and he passed! He's six months away to getting his Eagle Rank and it's been hard work to help him get to this point. Moe has an extremely busy schedule. He has early morning church seminary at 6:30am, a full load of classes, 3 hour football practice, hours of homework & studying and then there's Scouts. Moe somehow manages to get his Scouts done and I'm proud of him for sticking with it!

Moe was asked to wear his Scouts shirt to the Board of Review with all the proper patches sewed on. For all you seamstresses, you might think that's not a big deal, but it is for me, especially since I cannot sew! Here are the results of my "lovely" handiwork:

At first glance, everything looks fine until you look at the next picture....

Can you gues what's wrong with this merit badge?

It's upside down!

And this just looks pitiful.

Moe told me that the numbers were crooked. Well....Duuuhh! The stitching just makes you want to weep.

Renaissance Man told me that he's proud that he married a talented seamstress...

He is soooo going to hell for lying.

I am very happy that Moe wasn't judged on how his patches were sewed on. However, after the Board of Review, RM did notice the Scout Leaders giving him and Moe sympathetic looks.

Winning is the best revenge

2009-09-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was Moe's Homecoming Football Game and Dance. Moe has been looking forward to playing against this team for a very long time. He used to play for this rival team during his freshman year. Despite doing well during practice time and basically blowing away most of his team mates, it didn't matter to this Freshman Coach. This Coach made up his mind who was going to play and Moe wasn't one of them.

The only time the Freshman Coach let Moe play was during the 5th quarter which we call the "Pity Quarter". During the 5th Quarter, they let the 3rd & 4rth string play from both teams. You may think that's a great concept, but it's humiliating. You're basically telling these boys that they're not good enough to play during regular game time and only good enough for the 5th quarter. And you know what? Most of these boys knew that. Their heart wasn't in it and you could tell by the way they played, including Moe.

At the Freshman football banquet, the coaches acknowledged each player and said something nice about them. When Moe's name was called, the coach had NOTHING nice to say about him. We didn't go to the banquet, but we were told by several of the boys from the team and from the parents what this stupid coach said. I wish I was there because I would have taken that microphone and banged his head with it! Moe was devastated. These coaches made Moe think twice about playing, they ALMOST took that dream away.

Thank God Moe has a great dad who helped him through this ordeal and let him know that he could either let this experience break him or use the experience to help him be a better player. I'm glad Moe chose the latter.

Since his Freshman year, he developed a thick skin, a tougher attitude, and became a better player every year. All the hard work paid off, Moe got to beat the rival team and prove to them that he's one damn good player! He played extremely well, got a few tackles and showed those coaches that he's not 5th quarter material!

After the Homecoming Game, RM saw Moe's former Freshman Coach talking to a few people he knew. RM approached the Coach, shook his hand and said, "My son used to play to on your team."

The Coach paused, briefly looked away and said, "Yes, I remember."

RM continued to hold his hand in a grip and didn't break eye contact for another second or two before he let the coach go. I believe the coach got the message, don't you think?

Here's Homecoming Weekend highlighted in pictures:

The Bulldog is Folsom High's Mascot. Right before each home game, the cheerleaders or the JV football team line up on each side and...

...cheer the Varsity Players as they run from the inside of the inflatable balloon out to the field, while the school band plays, and the fog machine is cranking away to give that awesome special effect!

It's Friday Night Lights! There were over 4,000 people attending which is pretty much the average size for a home game.

A football game isn't complete without it's cheerleaders. I'm glad I don't have a daughter on the Cheerleading team because the flips they do in mid air makes you hold your breath! My stomach can't handle worrying about two kids!

I love school bands and Folsom High's band is great! There's over 100 kids on the band, flag girls and the jazz band plays on the sidelines. Together it makes for an awesome half time show! When you're at our home games, you truly feel like you're watching a college game.

My stomach is always in knots the day before a game and when it's game time, I'm a nervous wreck. There are all types of thoughts running through my head... "I hope he doesn't get hurt." "Please let him make a good play." "Why isn't the coach giving him a break?" "Why are they hitting him so hard?!!" (I guess I should be worried about the other guy that Moe's tackling!) During half time I knew their team was winning and I was finally able to relax and enjoy the game. The final score 54-33. Moe's team rocked!

Remember Moe's dilemma? He asked one of his good friends instead of asking a girl he really liked. The reason? He felt he would be able to relax more and be himself rather than trying to impress a girl that he liked. Moe was right, he had a great time!

One of the reasons he had a great time....he went with a group of friends to dinner and the dance, so he never ran short of dancing partners!

So far Moe's Senior year has been great. He's stayed healthy and injury free. He's having a great football season and he's made some really good friends both on and off the field. And that makes me happy.

A look through the years in sports

2009-09-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever went to some one's home and they bring out the dreaded photo album? You panic because you realize that you have to look through that thick album and pretend to be interested. And when the person looks away, you quickly skip through a few pages and hope that they don't notice.... until they bring another thick photo album for you to look through!

Well, this post is similar to that situation. Now, I'm the person bringing in the thick album for you to look through! Why all the pictures? I want to make a blog book for Moe as a graduation present, so since I've been slacking off with my scrap booking...I'll be posting old and recent pictures and record as many significant events this year that I know Moe would enjoy reading. Blogging is soooo much easier than scrap booking!

Warning: There are tons... many... I mean a whole bunch of pictures to see here. The pictures mean more to me, but who knows you might find them interesting! Enjoy!

Moe went into wrestling in the 8th grade. He was in a new school and very sad to be away from his friends and family. It wasn't baseball season yet, so we signed him up for wrestling...his first time wrestling! We knew the best way for him to beat homesickness and to make new friends was to involve him in wrestling. It worked and he loved it!

Moe's weight put him in a weight class with older boys, so he often wrestled with boys from 9th grade. His weight may have been the same as them, but they were so much taller than him! He looked like a little boy compared to those high school boys.

Moe was an EXTREMELY active little boy. How do you channel all that energy? Sign them up in sports! He was five years old when he played T-ball and continued to play for 9 years. He had a bad experience with a coach when he was 14 years old and it shook up his confidence. Though he plays football, baseball is still his first love. He's going to try out for baseball one more time next spring even though he hasn't played in 3 years!

I am totally being objective when I say this....he was a really good catcher!

Moe's position in baseball has always been catcher or 3rd base. In this particular game, Moe's team was winning and the coach let the kids play positions that they normally don't play. Moe got to shine as a pitcher, his first time! He was 13 years old in this picture.

Look at that intensity!

This is a picture of Moe in his 9th grade football uniform. (He's a big Cal Berkley fan) Moe is only a few inches taller than me here.

Fast forward 3 years and look at how much taller he is than me! I wonder if there's something about wearing a football jersey that prevents you from smiling?

When Moe was shorter than his dad....

Look who's taller now! He'll always be our "little guy".

During his sophomore year, Moe wanted to grow his hair long. Pic taken after a long grueling game.

Despite moving several times and attending 3 different high schools, Moe always ends up with Jersey Number 66! Sophomore action shot.

During his junior year, he attended his third and final high school and got his jersey number 66 again. Moe and a team mate tackling the quarterback!

Moe is a senior and still in the same high school. (no more moving!) He broke through the offensive double team!

The first game of the season was last Thursday and they played at the Aggie Stadium at UC Davis. What a way to kick off the season! And they won!

About 2 weeks ago, we attended Moe's high school football dinner fundraiser. The varsity football players were the servers and they waited on the tables that had their jersey numbers.

We didn't get our son's table and had to sit at table #67. It was a steak dinner and surprisingly very good! The highlight of the evening was the coach introducing all the varsity players. Before the dinner each player is given a questionnaire to fill out. The head coach reads a few of the answers. The answers are often hilarious and gives you an insight to the player behind the uniform. Moe's answers were unique, but hilarious! It's the writer in him!

Now before you exit out of this blog or leave a comment... please wait while I upload another 100 plus pictures for you to look at.

The Things Teenagers Say

2009-09-05T20:05:00.001-07:00

Moe has a dilemma. A very huge dilemma. He doesn't know who to take to his Homecoming Dance! He told me that he has four girls to choose from, but can't decide which girl to take. This was the conversation that I had with ~~Mr. Casanova~~ Moe:

"Moe, how do you know any of these girls will say yes to you?"

Moe rolls his eyes and responds, "Mom. Of course they're going to say yes."

"The dance is just around the corner, if I were you I would ask one those girls...NOW. Some one else is going to ask them."

Moe smiles and says, "That's not going to happen, they're waiting for me to ask them."

(Yeaaah right. Moe has many female friends, but I'm afraid that his overconfidence may just come right back and bite him in the butt and he'll be dateless. I hope that doesn't happen!)

He's also picked up a few of his parent's bad habits. It's one of those things that as a parent, you wish you could tell your kid, "Do as I say, not as I do." Renaissance Man and I are notorious for getting out of invitations for events that we don't want to attend. The usual excuse that we use is that our family will be out of town and because I don't want our excuses to be a lie...we pack up and go away! We are soooo pitiful.

Here's a snippet of a phone conversation I had with Moe. An example of our bad habits influencing Moe:

"Hey Mom. Can Mike and Andre come over?"

"Of course they can."

"What I can't hear you! Did you say that Mike and Andy CAN"T come over?!" (At this point Moe is talking very loud and slow.)

"I SAID that they CAN come over! They're welcome here any time!" (I'm talking very loud because I believe that he can't hear me.)

"Oh, you mean they CAN'T come over?!"

I yell into the phone, "I SAID THEY CAN COME OVER!"

Moe hurriedly whispers into the phone, "Mom, work with me here, I DON'T want them coming over, I need to take a nap!" (Yes, my 17 year old still loves to take naps whenever he can)

"Ohhh....Okay. No, they can't come over." (I know they can't hear me on the other side, but you never know if one them has supersonic hearing.)

"So, you don't want them to come over because you're taking me out to lunch?" (Does that sound like set up to you?)

"Yeaahh. Sure, I only want to take you out to lunch." (Now I feel like the mean mom who doesn't want any of her kids friends coming over the house.)

"Wow. If you really feel that strongly, I'll just have to tell them that they have to go home. I'll see you later, mom." Right before he hangs up, I hear him tell his friends, "Sorry guys, she won't budge." (Moe is really making me look like the bad guy, I guess that's what parents are for???)

I'll be taking Moe to lunch because I don't want to make a liar out of my son. And when we go out to lunch, we're going to have a nice heartfelt parent to son chat, and I'll start our conversation by saying this, "Do as I say, not as I do...."

********
Moe just came home with Mike and Andre! I asked him what changed his mind that he let his friends come over. He said, "Well, I still want to take a nap, but I felt bad that they were going home to an empty house."

I guess I don't have to have that parent to son chat after all. RM & I should take a few pointers from him!

Learning to listen and other things

2009-09-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

I have really missed my bloggy friends and I know I've been M.I.A lately. Renaissance Man misses me writing on my blog too! He said, "I miss reading your posts....and I miss your bloggy friends." Isn't that sweet? (I still think he should start his own blog, but he's put that project in the back burner for now.)

Though school has started, I have been taking seminars on "How to prepare your teenager for the S.A.T's" & "How to get your teenager prepared for college" & "How to spice up the bed"...oops, won't talk about that seminar! Moe has been in school for almost a month and surprisingly my schedule is still busy. I do plan to relax by the end of this week so I can catch up and read your blogs!

Last week was Moe's "Back to School Night." As I was walking at his high school campus, it occurred to me that this was the last "Back to School Night" for us. That's it. This is the last year of dealing with the attendance office, parent/teacher conferences, carpooling, making school lunches, receiving report cards, and high school dances. And I'm not ready for any of that to end....well, except for lunches, they're a pain to make!

I also can't help but wonder, if I have done everything I could to prepare him for the world outside of high school & home. Have I sheltered him too much? Have I taught him enough gospel principles to sustain him during trying times? Does he know that he should NEVER EVER mix whites with colors? I've taught him those things, but will he remember? Is it ever enough? What else does he need to know?

I'm determined to make this a memorable year for him. Along the way I've forgotten that quantity time doesn't equal quality time. When Moe wants to talk to me even when it's past 10pm and my eyes are ready to shut, I pinch myself hard so I can stay awake and listen to him. When Moe is upset and starts to rant and rave, I'll listen instead of trying to solve his problems for him. I'll stop trying to always be right just because I'm the mom. Sometimes I'm not right and that's hard for me to swallow.

I'm going to stop tearing up every time Moe talks excitedly about leaving for college. I need to "man up" and LISTEN. For my son's last year at home, I am determined to do more listening and less talking.

And I'm not ready for him to leave home. I'll never be ready.

On a lighter note, I discovered this website that's called "yearbook yourself" & was trying on a few looks for a new blog profile picture. What do you think?

I call this the "ultra hip cool mom" picture!

This is the "PTA Mom" of the year look.

And this is my favorite. Since I have curly hair, I have never been able to have my hair look like this. I've always wanted this hairstyle even when it went out of style. I call this the "Charlie Angels Wings look."

I debated whether to have the majority take a poll on which picture I should use for my profile and decided against it. I've always wanted wings, so I took on the "Charlie Angels" look. Have a great week everyone & I look forward to reading your blogs later this week!

As Summer draws to an end

2009-08-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

Our summer has been full of football camps, graduation parties, mini vacations, family visits and a daily schedule that varied day to day. And though summer hasn't officially ended, for us it always ends the day school starts. Today Moe started school as a senior in high school!

Our family has a tradition that has started since Moe started kindergarten. Renaissance Man gives Moe a father's blessing, we go out to an early breakfast and then both RM and I take Moe to school. It didn't happen today. Moe told us yesterday that he was going to "Senior Sunrise". It's a tradition in our town for new seniors to gather together on the first day of school and watch a sunrise from a hill, and then they go out to breakfast before school starts. Moe woke up today at 4am and then left the house shortly after.

We knew that our school tradition would come to an end, we didn't expect it to happen this year! All good things really do come to an end. It is hard for me to believe that I'm the mother of a 17 year old boy who is only one year away from college.

When Moe was in Preschool, he wouldn't stay in his classroom unless I was with him. On the first day of kindergarten, he felt so grown up with his backpack, his school supplies and his new school clothes. He made sure that every one saw his backpack!

After his first day of junior high school, he came home in tears. The class schedule was confusing, the campus was bigger, and the school secretary wasn't as friendly as Ms. Tracy from his elementary school, who let him use the school phone to call me just to say, "Hi"! That's another story for another day.

Moe looked forward to his freshman year in high school and had a great first day. I remember thinking that his high school years would end quickly and it has. Time has sped by and I want it to slow down. So, if you know the secret to making time go slow, please share!

(This is Moe at his winter h.s. choral concert, last year. He's been involved in some type of choir since he was 10 years old)

I see Mice...everywhere!

2009-07-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

I hate mice. I hate all types of mice, field mice, house mice, and rats. Mice and rats are in the same category. I apologise in advance if you have mice for a pet. Good for you! Not for me. Small, squeaky, furry things with long skinny tails is SOOO not my type of pet. I will scream like a banshee, cry like a baby, and run as fast as a Gold Medal Olympic Runner. That is how much I hate mice!

We came across some mice as Renaissance Man and I went out for a walk last night. We were minding our own business, when what should appear? A family of mice crossing our path! Yes...there was a daddy, a mommy, and three tiny babies! I stood there like a stupid idiot and just screamed. And what did Renaissance Man do? He laughed! He laughed so hard, it was hard for him to continue to walk!

Since we were still another mile away from home, we were stuck taking the same route. Every where I looked I saw dense bushes and huge trees and lots of tall grass. Perfect places for mice to hide in. I was careful to stay on the sidewalk and thought if I started humming it would prevent the little buggers from coming out.

I guess, the humming worked because the bushes started shaking and rattling and I ran! I didn't care that I left RM behind. Yet, no matter how far I ran, the bushes still rattled. I realized that the mice were following me and I pushed my legs to run like it's never run before! My lungs felt like it was going to burst, my chest was burning, but somehow I managed to keep running until I heard RM shout for me to stop, and then I wondered if he lost his mind because he was laughing so hard.

I slowed just a little bit until he caught up with me. And then he tells me something that made me wonder if I should call a divorce lawyer. He was the one making the bushes rattle! I ran for several blocks because I thought mice were following me, when in fact it was a big 6'2 rat that happens to be my husband!

We have been known to play practical jokes on each other and I give this round to the hubby. But, if I were him I would be careful about going into the shower! (insert evil laughter)

(I was going to post a picture of mice and just couldn't bring myself to do it!)

Learning to Drive: A True Fairy Tale Story

2009-07-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

My life as a chauffeur is coming to an end! Let the count down begin! Before I get ahead of myself, let's start from the beginning, in the form of a fairy tale story....

Once upon a time, there was a young man named Moe. When he turned 14 years old and started high school, he felt older, wiser, & independent. Though his parents knew from experience that high school doesn't necessarily equate maturity, they were wise enough to let him believe that. There were three things that Moe was excited about high school:

1. Football (He was always too big to play Pee Wee football)

2. Driver's Ed

3. High School Girls (His parents were excited that girls were last on his list)

Moe was excited to be able to accomplish two of the things that made high school great. He was able to play football and he became friends with a lot of high school girls, but there was one goal that was still out of his reach, Driver's Ed, which he would have to take during his sophomore year. Moe's parents were excited, especially his mom who dreamed of one day being able to send him out to run her errands. Moe's father planned to send his son to the store late at night, to satisfy Moe's mother's monthly PMS cravings for "Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chunk" ice cream. Alas, the dream of having Moe becoming a driver would have to wait another year.

Many changes occurred during Moe's Sixteenth year. His family moved, life became a little too stressful and there were other important things that needed more attention, than Moe learning how to drive. When Moe's family started to settle into their new home, his parents agreed that it was time to have him apply for his driver's permit. Moe reviewed the material he learned from Driver's Ed the year before and believed he would "ace" the test....he didn't.

Moe reviewed the items that he missed, took a few practice tests on line and passed all of them. Two weeks later, his mother took him to the DMV, promised to take him to his favorite Chinese restaurant for dinner, if he excelled. They all believed he would pass...he didn't. His parents wondered why he failed the test, because they saw him studying diligently, until they saw a few of his answers to these questions:

Q: Do you yield when a blind pedestrian is crossing the road?
A: What for? He can't see my license plate.

Q: When driving through fog, what should you use?
A: Your car.

Q: What changes would occur in your lifestyle if you could no longer drive lawfully?
A: I would be forced to drive unlawfully.

Q: What is the difference between a flashing red traffic light and a flashing yellow traffic light?
A: The color.

These were not the questions or answers to the DMV test that Moe took, but his parents were surprised by some of the dumb questions on the test. To Moe's parents, it seemed that the person who wrote the test must have been anal retentive. But, that's not the point of this story to complain about the stupidity, silliness, and uselessness of some of the questions, this is about Moe, because it would be another several months before Moe got the nerve to take the test the third time.

Moe's mother took him to the DMV and wished him luck. It took Moe thirty minutes to take the test. He took his time answering each question, often re-reading the question several times before he answered. When he completed his test, he took his test and gave it to the DMV lady to be corrected. As he saw her take out her red pencil, sweat started to trickle down his forehead as the DMV lady started to mark a few of his answers incorrectly.

He knew that if he missed more than eight answers on the test, he would have to wait another few more months before he could re-apply to take the test. As the DMV lady marked off six answers wrong, Moe's life as a non-driver flashed before his eyes. He had visions of being the only senior in high school not having a driver's license and even worse, his dad driving him and his date every where and he's 25 years old!

Moe's hopes dwindled with each mark of her red pencil and then when it reached number eight, his shoulders slumped and he started to accept his fate, until the DMV lady put her red pencil down, smiled and said, "Congratulations, you passed." Moe wanted to reach over the desk and give the DMV lady a great big hug, but instead looked for his mom, who was waiting on the other side of the office and gave her a big thumbs up!

This was indeed a cause to celebrate! They waited until Moe's father arrived home from work, and immediately went out to eat at Moe's favorite Chinese restaurant, "Debbie Wong." It was a joyous occasion for all, until Moe asked his father if he could drive home. His parents considered the question briefly and then his father said, "Why don't we have you drive in an area where there are no people or cars first."

Let's get real, the kid failed his test two times and barely passed the third time!

The End

funny DMV Q&A taken from richardpettinger.com

A Memorable 4rth of July

2009-07-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

We were invited to go to a friend's house for fireworks, but since they lived too far away from us, we decided to celebrate Fourth of July on our own. My big family of 3! Moe was very unhappy with our decision since he's a "social bear" (social butterfly sounds too dainty for him) and loves to be around people.

We had a non-traditional celebration. When we moved we didn't bring our barbecue grill and I didn't feel like cooking, so off we celebrated fourth of July at the "In N Out" Burger place. My program with Weight Watchers took a back seat as I chowed down on a Double Cheese Burger with large fries. I usually share my fries with Renaissance Man, but this time I told him to get his own!

After wards, we dragged Moe to check out the sales at the sports store. It was funny looking at Moe and seeing how "miserable" he was. He would say, "My friends are either at the lake, at a beach in Hawaii, or on a cruise and I'm shopping with you guys, what a way to celebrate 4rth of July." His comment just made us laugh.

Of course, we would have loved it, if someone invited us for a barbecue at their house, but since we don't know a lot of people and our close friends and family live too far away , it was okay that we celebrated the fourth with just us. We still managed to have fun.

We went to the rodeo to watch the fireworks. We thought it would be fun to get to the rodeo a few hours early before the fireworks display started. Surprisingly, it was a cool evening and when the fireworks started...it lasted less than 6 minutes!!!! Three hours of waiting for a six minute fireworks show and it wasn't that great.

When we realized that the fireworks display was over, we looked at each other and burst out laughing! It was by far, the lamest and shortest fireworks display we've seen and ironically, it was the best Fourth of July we've had in a very long time.

At the end of the evening, Moe enjoyed himself and discovered that hanging out with just his parents wasn't so bad after all.

Our Family Getaway

2009-07-01T21:27:00.000-07:00

It has been a very long time since I posted here or read your blogs! I've really missed my bloggy friends, it has been one heck of a busy summer! My family has been tired and overwhelmed with our busy schedules this summer, so we decided to take a last minute getaway. We asked Moe where he wanted to go and we were surprised with his answer. He wanted us to visit Virginia City in Nevada. A place that we first took Moe when he was 9 years old. It's an old gold gold mining/cowboy town established in the early 1800s. Apparently Moe loved the history of the place. He wanted to take his cousin and best buddy L.J. They loved playing cowboys as small kids!

So, we spent a few hours in Virginia City and spent the rest of our time in Lake Tahoe. Here are a few pics from our trip.

Chocolate/Candy store in Virginia City.

This was definitely a sugar addicts dream....or nightmare!

I just died and entered Chocolate Paradise!

Best buds since they were in diapers!

YES!!! Look what I found at the store...a bean salsa that you can feel safe to eat and not worry about any repercussions. I know what I'll be serving at the fourth of July Barbecue!

And we'll be eating this when we look at the fireworks. The only sound effects that will come out that night is the actual fireworks!

Boys will be boys.

It was a gorgeous Day!

Renaissance Man and Moe refused to have their picture taken here, so my nephew graciously posed with this life size horse statue. I think the boys were starting to get embarrassed that I was acting so "touristy."

Moe loves his ice cream!

Moe was excited to see the cowboy skit that he enjoyed when he was 9 years old. This is the look that you get from one of the actors when your cell phone rings in the middle of the skit!

L.J. and Moe were getting tired posing pictures for me all day, so I asked this cowboy to give them some "motivation" to keep posing.

When you go to Virginia City, you have to go on a camel ride.

Renaissance Man got so cross eyed from all the fun he was having on this camel! (R.M thought my expression looked too staged and phony...well, duuhhh of course it is. I had to pretend I was galloping on a camel!)

We spent a few days in Lake Tahoe after spending a day in Virginia City. The boys resting on the pier.

There's something about breathing fresh air, looking at a beautiful view, that inspires you to do a little jig! Who says you have to stand to be dancing.

We're back home, the bags are unpacked, and we're back to our busy schedule. And when I start to get overwhelmed, I think of this picture and it makes me smile.

Have a Great Week!

What I achieved from Blogging

2009-06-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

I got an awesome blog award from September Mom! She's a talented writer and poet and became hooked to her blog from the first visit. Pay her a visit and tell her I said Hi!

The recipients of this award are encouraged to share some achievements of their blogs. For me, blogging was a way to improve my writing and be a creative outlet for me, but it has become so much more;

- The Cyber friends that I have made from the blogging community was unexpected! Your comments on my posts have made me laugh, cry (I'm a big crier!) and gave me a different perspective on things.

- Where can you get people from all different walks of life come together? Blogging! Where can you show off pictures of your children or newest home remodeling project? Blogging! Where can you vent, rant, rave, & complain about the latest headache of the day? Blogging! The greatest thing about blogging is that not only do you talk about things that matter the most to you, but you get feedback. It is so much more rewarding than journaling. Blogging is interactive.

- When I started blogging Renaissance Man was a little paranoid. He wondered what kind of things would I write about. Would I give out family secrets? Would I write about things that would later come back and haunt me? Would I write anything embarrassing about him? I would never embarrass him, what a silly man! I love and respect him too much to write about the time he wore zebra striped MC Hammer pants with his pink and white polka dot shirt. That's just too embarrassing to tell everyone. I mean I would NEVER tell anyone that he loved those ugly pants so much that he bought TWO zebra striped MC Hammer pants. There must have been a "Buy 1 for 2" special.

- My blog has become a topic of dinner conversation with our family! Renaissance Man has become (surprise!) a big fan of blogging! When he comes home, he relaxes by reading my blog and loves reading the comments. He still wants to have a blog of his own and like a typical business man is "researching" what kinds of topics would interest the blogging community. He looks at different blog layouts, is still working on a catchy blog name, and reviews blogging statistics! And Moe just loves it every time I write about him.

- One of the greatest thing about blogging is that it made my transition to a new area a lot easier! It gave me something creative to do other than cooking, cleaning, and being a chauffeur. Blogging became my muse.

- My schedule for the summer just gets busier, so I haven't had time to visit your blogs as much or to post, but I want to thank all of you for reading my silly blog and for taking the time to comment! It's always great to hear from you and even more exciting to get comments from new bloggers!

- I'm passing this award to 5 bloggers whose writing and observations in life are thought provoking, inspirational and often down right hilarious! I've never met them, but I get a feeling that if I did, we would have a grand ole time!

* Mother Goose from "Solomon Surprises"

* Wendy from "No Botox Allowed"

* Lilly from "Pray for Roy"

* Sassy from "fat sassy and mr wonderful"

* Sally from "Mais Fica"

What I saw at the gym

2009-06-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

Life just gets busy! Moe's physical therapy appts and various activities is taking up a lot of my time, it's a full time job being a chauffeur. So, I only have time to post and read other blogs at least once a week, but despite the busy schedule this summer, I have made time to go to the gym. I love working out and going to the gym, but sometimes you notice disturbing things...

- Did you know that you can use a hairdryer to dry your entire body? Yes, you can! As I was towel drying my hair, a woman took the hair dryer provided by the gym and proceeded to blow dry herself off. She was as naked as a jaybird and started humming away as she bended, twisted, turned, and made sure she got every nook and cranny dried off with that hair dryer. I left the gym with my hair still wet and made a mental note to NEVER use that hair dryer.

- I always go into the steam room after I work out. One day "naked yoga lady" enters. I immediately close my eyes and pretend she's not in the room until she does the downward dog and her butt is facing me! I close my eyes really tight and try desperately to wish the image away from my mind. It doesn't work because she stays in that position forever and then you worry that maybe she's keeled over and is stuck in that position. My eyes are still closed and I try to hear her breathing. I really don't feel like checking to see if her chest is moving, so I wait until she moves into another position. She's okay, because she proceeds to do some other weird yoga move that prompts me to leave the steam room quickly.

- I have an extremely keen sense of smell which is not so good when you're working at the gym with a lot of people. For some reason I'm always stuck walking on the treadmill with "garlic man" right next to me. The man reeks of garlic, it oozes out of his skin and he breathes with his mouth open. And guess who gets to breathe it in?

- I was lifting 15 lb hand weights one on each arm doing bicep curls. I felt strong. Then a little old lady whose several inches shorter than me and looks like she could topple over if there was a sudden gust of wind, proceeds to get two 30 lb dumb bells and lifts them effortlessly. I slowly back away from her and continue to lift my weights on the other side of the gym.

- If you stretch with tight pants make sure no one is around you or at least check for little holes before you leave for the gym. It's amazing how loud a tear can sound especially when the tear is right on your butt.

Have a great week everyone and if your ever going to work out at the gym, remember my tips and you'll be okay.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

2009-05-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

- Have you noticed that the older you get time tends to fly by really fast? I looked at our family portrait and realized that we haven't taken one in a very LOOOONG time. Renaissance Man and I keep saying every year that we'll lose weight first before we take a family portrait..... that was 8 years ago! Moe was 9 years old! Come rain or shine, fat or thin, we WILL take that family picture this summer! (I'll just invest in a pair of bodyshaping Spanx)

- How do you get a grim faced teenager to smile? Gather all the dance moves that you learned from the 80's and perform them right in front of your teenager. Set your timer for one minute & when you start performing the "Cabbage Patch", "Window Washer" and a few MC Hammer moves, you'll have them rolling on the floor with laughter before the minute is over! Yes, I will do whatever it takes to get Moe to laugh! Renaissance Man has gotten into the act as well, I have pictures to prove it, but he won't let me post them!

- Never, Ever, let your kids know that you're on a diet. When you eat that large piece of chocolate cake, they look at you with this "innoncent" look and you detect a hint of a smirk when they say, "When you're on a diet, are you supposed to eat that cake?" Come to think of it, maybe it is a good idea to let them know, they become your conscience!

- Every time we move, which has been a lot in the past several years, we are asked to speak at our church. It's a way for other members of the church to get to know your family. We've been in this new ward (church) for nearly a year and have not been asked to speak...and we do not mind! I have a real fear of public speaking. I literally have stomach aches, I throw up, I get migraines, and then I'm so physically exhausted that I'm in bed for an entire day afterwards. The funny thing is that once I start to speak, I'm fine! It's the anticipation that gets me really sick. Tonight, my heart dropped when I noticed on our caller ID, that a member of the bishopric was giving us a call. We let it go to voicemail and Renaissance Man said we should have this message on our voicemail.

"If you're calling to ask us to give a talk at church this Sunday, we believe that you should call someone else. We're really not into public speaking anyway. Have a great day!" Beeeeeep!

It turns out that we don't have to give a talk this Sunday, but Moe does! So of course, we told him that he should give a talk, because it's his duty. Talk about having double standards!

- Blog Awards! It has been a crazy month, especially a crazy week, and it will get crazier. So, there will be even less time to post or read other blogs this summer! I didn't want to forget the awesome blog awards that I received from....

September Mom from My Voice. My View: Thank You!

Lilly from Roy's Progress: Thank You!

Have a great & wonderful week!

I'm a changed woman!

2009-05-21T15:03:00.000-07:00

Renaissance Man was a little annoyed with my last post. He didn't like that I used the words, fart and gassy. He believes that I should be more classy (hey that rhymes with gassy!) and keep those words out of my blog. So, I promised him that I would set a better example for my son Moe. My goal now is to become a more dignified, and sophisticated woman, I will never ever use those words again, instead I will use classier terms like this:

- Anal acoustics

- scented methane

- A turd whistling for the right of way

- Backdoor breeze

- Barking spiders

- Bean blower

- Belch from behind

- Blowing the butt bugle

- Bottom blast

- Bottom burp

I'm a changed woman! I turned a new leaf, no more toilet humor and as long as I live, I will never use the words fart and gassy again!

Blog Fart Friday

2009-05-15T01:34:00.000-07:00

What's a Blog Fart Friday? They are "Crappy ideas that are too short to make a real blog post, but when combined, join forces to make one unified, albeit half assed, post." If you want to become a member of the BFF club, go here.

Here are my farty, fluffer, and gaseous thoughts:

- Renaissance Man worked out of the house all week. He loves it! He wakes up in the morning, takes a shower, and walks a few steps into the extra bedroom that we set up as an office/guest bedroom and starts working. We've been working side to side! RM works on his reports for work and I've been working on my children's stories. He get to work on the nicer big desk with the faster and new laptop and sits on the comfy and cushy office chair. I work on a small contraption of a desk on a laptop that is slower than molasses and sit on a hard plastic chair that makes my bum go very numb.

- Since RM has been working here, he says things that I would never in a million years expect him to say:

- Hey, where's your lipstick?
- Does this pants make my butt look big?
- Do you think a pink shirt will go right with this?

Of course, he tells me later he was joking and likes to see my reaction. Just in case, I'll be hiding my lipstick.

- And then he wears the strangest accessories.

It is going to be boring here when he goes back to work on Monday!

Mother's Day Feast all for ME!!!

2009-05-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

Moe is doing a lot better, he's able to walk on the leg with the injured knee and his attitude and spirit is much better. His friends came to visit him, and there's nothing like getting birthday money from my sister to have him smiling all day! And he loved the birthday wishes and supportive comments he got from my last post. Thank you everyone! Now, let's move on to my Mother's Day.

I love Mother's Day because it is the only day in the year that Renaissance Man and Moe makes a homemade meal for me. It was so nice not to have to plan a meal. When we came home from church, RM asked me what time we should have dinner. I looked at him and said, "I don't care, that's YOUR department." Oh, it felt good to say that without feeling guilty! It was a guilt free day!

I went upstairs, changed into my PJ's (it was only 1pm), took my stash of Mother's Day chocolates, ate to my heart's content while reading a really good book. Meanwhile, I hear kitchen drawers opening & closing, dishes rattling, pots and pans clanging, and I was upstairs resting!

A few hours later, I was presented with Mustard grilled chicken (recipe from Weight watchers) and tortellini with pesto sauce (not a Weight watchers recipe). It was the first time they made the dish and it was delicious! RM did such a great job with the presentation of the meal, I forgot to take a picture of it. Oh, well, there's always next year.

They made one of my favorite desserts, chocolate dipped strawberries.

Before picture.

After Picture - unfortunately most of it went to MY Belly. I'm the only who loves them, so Moe & RM only had one each and I had....over a dozen.

I definitely went over my points with Weight Watchers and it was worth every bite!

A Not So Happy Birthday

2009-05-07T20:27:00.001-07:00

Today Moe turned 17 years old and it will definitely be a birthday that he will never forget. He had spring training for football today and a presentation for scouts right after, so there was no time to do a birthday dinner today. So, we had his birthday dinner last night at his favorite Chinese restaurant and we planned to celebrate his birthday today with just dessert. He wanted raspberry jelly rolls for his birthday cake, not very traditional.

Never had time to bake them because we got a call that his knee went out on him during practice. Renaissance Man came early from work today, which is unusual for him and we hurried to pick him up at the football field and there was Moe with bandages wrapped around his knee and looking frustrated.

He looked at us and said, "Happy Birthday to Me" and then started crying. He kept saying over and over, "Why did this have to happen to me?" Little does he know that I was saying the same thing over and over in my head. And I wanted to cry with him. I knew if I started crying, he would feel bad and try to make me feel better. So, I held it in until now. I'm just letting the tears roll down my face as I type this.

He's a great kid. He works hard. And the darn kid loves football! Why couldn't he love something with less contact like tennis or bowling? He's a great football player, I'm not saying that because he's my son, he's really good. When he was injured last year mid-season, you could tell the team was struggling without him. The pain of not being able to play was a lot greater than the physical pain he endured. And when the season ended, it was 4 long months of having to see him go thru painful physical therapy. The pain never ended and the tears and frustration were endless.

So when the fracture finally healed two months ago, we all hoped (naively) that that would be the end of his injuries. And then his knee buckled under him during a very light drill. Moe is a trooper. He doesn't want to quit football even when we told him that he could, he doesn't have to go through this. He looked at us and with a steely determination in his eyes said, "I will never quit football." Dang it!!!! I just want him to be safe. I'm tired of seeing him get dissapointed. I just want him to be that little boy again.

I want him to be that little boy whose biggest problem of the day was whether to play kick ball or tether ball during recess. I wish I could make life easier for him. If I could take his pain away I would.

I can't take his pain away. I can't wish for him to be that little boy again. And I can't promise him that life would get easier because it doesn't.

My wish for him on his birthday is to continue to love him, support him, and not wish for him to be that little boy. I'm proud of the young man he is today.

Pizza & Peanut Butter Sandwiches!
Happy Birthday Son.

The Old Woman in the Shoe reads Self-Help Books

2009-05-04T16:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun game that Jenners has on her blog. It's called "Genre Mash up." Here were the instructions: Think of two types of books/authors/stories/genres that are wildly different. Then come up with a title of a book that combines the two -- along with a sample paragraph or two.

I love nursery rhymes and my favorite is the "Old Woman in the Shoe." Here is the original rhyme:

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children,
she didn't know what to do;
She gave them some broth without any bread;
Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

Before you read my version, be forewarned: "It is not good." I'm not saying that because I am fishing for compliments, it really is BAD. My brain refuses to cooperate. It is not working! I think it's going through fart mode...blips that produce only air and nothing else. Since I don't know when my brain will become creative again, I decided to go ahead & post it for all the world to see!

Here is my very cheesy and not so great version of a rhyme, with a little help from Suze Orman, Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, and The Consumer's Guide To Getting a Husband.

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe who met Suze Orman who told her what to do. The old woman read the "9 steps to financial Independence" and lives in a mansion in stylish resplendence.

She had so many children, she didn't know what to do; So, she read Dr. Phil, went on the pill, and dealt with her children as best as she could.

She used to give them broth without any bread , now thanks to Rachael Ray, she cooks a better way!

Her children were tired of being whipped into bed. She knew she had to try something else instead. She read the "Consumer's Guide on How to Shop for a Husband" and decided to put a plan into action and married the next door neighbor, Jackson.

The Old Woman who once lived in a shoe, now lives in a mansion, has enough money to send ALL her children to college, is finally on the pill, cooks like a culinary chef, and married the hot guy next door all because she read a few books. THE END

Moral to this Story: Even when you know your writing sucks, write it anyway! Sometimes even bad writing can make people laugh or grimace, or snicker, or cry....

Big Giveaways! And More Big Giveaways!

2009-05-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

Seini, an awesome talented photographer is giving away some really cool prizes on her photography website, check it out! She's giving away not one, not two, but three really cool prizes!

Here they are:

1- Eddie Tapps Photoshop Actions (value $75)

2- Photovision DVD: learning about urban photography with kids, plus more! (value $50)

3- A basket of Victoria Secrets latest spring collection of lotions (value $50)

All you have to do is visit her site and leave a comment. Here's a preview of the pictures on her website.

This picture just makes me want to grab a wedding dress and pose for some wedding pictures!

Hmmm...makes you wonder what he's whispering in her ear. The last time Renaissance Man whispered in my ear, he said, "You have something green stuck in your teeth." Yes, good times.

Too cute for words!

This picture reminds me of our wedding. I looked at Renaissance Man with love & tears in my eyes and.... he crosses his eyes at me! I have the picture to prove it!

Here is proof that when you're gorgeous, dressed to the hilt, and it's a beautiful clear day that no matter where you're picture is taken, it still comes out looking AWESOME! It also helps to have a really good photographer!

This gorgeous little girl holds your fate in her little hands...Cute little Lehua will be drawing the winners names!

I am so proud of the accomplishments that my cousin Seini has made. A wife, mother, talented photographer, A.K.A. "Superwoman Extraordinaire"!

The contest will stop Monday May 4th by Midnight MST and the winner will be announced Tuesday morning. I have also entered the contest. (yes, relatives can enter...don't worry I have done nothing to bribe Seini or her daughter. By the way Seini, doesn't Lehua like ponies? I have some connections....) And may the best man/woman/child win!!

To Blog or Not

2009-05-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

On Mama Kat's writing workshop, the writing prompts are:

4.) Have you thought about shutting down your blog? Why haven't you and what would cause you to make that decision final?

I have read on Jenner's latest post that the average life span of a blog is 6 months. I believe that is when 'Bloggers Burn Out' tends to set in. I started to feel that after having my blog for only two months!

It's time for me to refocus on why I started to blog. I love writing! I developed a love for writing at a very young age. I loved writing stories and I think I was one of the very few students in high school that loved the essay writing assignments, I thrived on them!

I love getting comments, I love visiting other blogs and I love the bloggy friends I have made. Those are just awesome benefits!

However, I am losing sight of the bigger picture. I am spending waaay too much time visiting other sites and not enough time getting my manuscripts out there, which is very time consuming. Starting a blog was a way for me to improve my writing skills, finding ways to become creative and of course, showing off my awesome family!

The past two weeks, I have actually considered shutting down the blog to concentrate on writing more children's books, but realized that the only reason why I have gone back to re-visiting my dream of becoming a published author is because of this blog! I started to let the dream go, until I started blogging.

The creative juices started working, the writers bug started biting again, and the passion for writing was reignited. I know I still need a lot of improvement in the writing department, but for the very first time, I'm starting to believe that I'm a really good writer! Whether you disagree or not, it feels good to finally have some confidence and I owe all of that to blogging!

In order for me to realize that dream of becoming a full fledged author, (and who knows if I'll ever be published, but I'll never know if I don't try, right?) I will be posting only two or three times a week and will do my best to visit your blogs as often as I can.

Reading blogs have become a great addiction, but it's starting to become more of an obsession. You know you are reading way too many blogs when your husband has something important to tell you and you tell him, "Shhhhhh. Can't you see I'm reading what Mother Goose has to say?"

I'll still be blogging, reading, commenting, but it will have to be after I pay attention to Renaissance Man, Moe, laundry, cooking, cleaning, eating, exercising, running errands, and yes, searching for a publisher!

An Exchange of Emails

2009-04-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Renaissance Man was transferring files from his old email account to his new email account and found emails from Moe back in 2001! Moe was only 9 years old and I thought it would be fun to share a few of the emails that he exchanged with his dad:

Friday, May 11, 2001 8:20 PM
From: Moe
Subject: How you doing

Dear daddy,
HOW ARE YOU DOING!Hope you hade a great day.Daddy can you get me a Orange Soda and a chokolet cookie. Did I tell you that I LOVE you......... can we do the bating cages on Wed.

LOVE,
MO

From: DAD
Hi Champ,
Thanks for your email. I'm sorry I missed your email on Friday.
I had a great time with you on Saturday. It was allot of fun shopping for Mom...and thanks for your help in cleaning the house. I'm glad that you are feeling better.
If you are still up for it, we can do the batting cages on Wednesday. Let me know tonight.
Be sure to take your wind breaker when you go to practice. See you on the field.

Love you forever,
Dad - (Your biggest fan).

(Here's another email exchange between Moe and Renaissance Man a year later. Moe's spelling and grammar improved from the previous year!)

Tuesday, August 27, 2002 9:57 AM
From: Moe
Subject: Good morning dad

Good morning daddy hope you have a great day. Dad were not coming up to your work because we want you to get off early so you can come and watch the movie with us. I love you very very very much and I hope you have a great, great, happy, happy day!!!!!

Love your son M.

From: Dad
Hi Champ,

thanks for the nice email. That's not a problem. I am looking forward to the movies this afternoon. I will have a great, great and happy, happy day today. I love you very, very, very much too! I hope you have a wonderful day also.

Love you forever,
Dad.

From: Moe
I love you very very very very very verry much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From: Dad
I love you infinitely!!!!!!!

(The older Moe became, the email exchanges became fewer and fewer and now as a teenager, they don't exchange emails. Now they exchange texts! Moe and RM's relationship has definitely changed since 2002....their relationship is stronger.)

An award, Moe & 8 random things

2009-04-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

Sassy (My bloggy buddy) gave me a friendship blog award! I've seen this award on other people's blogs and was always ~~jealous~~ happy for them! Now I finally get one and I'm supposed to spread the love by giving this award to 8 other bloggers. Continue reading below to see who I chose for this awesome award!

The other day Moe glanced at my blog and noticed the tribute that I wrote about him. He looked shocked at first and then was very pleased. He read what I wrote and was laughing. He said, "Mom, why didn't you tell me that you wrote about me?" I told him that I wanted to give parents out there hope that teenagers can be really ~~frustrating~~ cool kids. He went on to read the comments and it made him feel really good. Moe must have been in a really good mood because he took out the garbage, cleaned up his room, and didn't complain about my cooking. I probably should write a nice tribute about him every week! On a serious note...thank you everyone for writing nice comments about him. Moe has had a rough year and it's nice to see him doing well again.

September Mom tagged me to play 8 things. Here are a few of them:

8 Things That I'm Looking Forward To

- Have my children's book published

- Learn how to swim (I'm think I'm the only Polynesian girl who doesn't!)

- Losing more weight

- Vacation in Greece

- Go back to school

- Getting younger

- Visiting old friends

- Moe finally getting his driver's permit!

8 Things I Wish I Could Do
- Sing in tune

- Visit all the continents in one year

- Parallel park

- Drive like an Indy Car Racer

- Erase all my cellulite

- Eat as much as I want without gaining weight

- Hire a gourmet cook

- Grow money on trees

8 bloggers who I want to pass the Frienship Blog award to....

- September Mom (She's a talented writer & poet. And her posts are always inspirational!)

- The Crazy Coxes (The stories of her family are always fun & entertaining!)

- Sally (I crack up on all her posts! She has a sarcastic wit that is extremely hilarious. One of my favorite posts was a letter she wrote to her gynecologist, something that every woman can relate to!)

- Melinda (She's HILARIOUS! She can turn ordinary, everyday events and make it funny)

-Wendy (She's a nurse, mother of 3, the youngest still a baby and one of the first people to comment on my blog! She is Supermom!)

-Shelle (A talented photographer and I love her writing style. She also happens to be funny as well!)

- Monica (She's one of my good bloggy buddies and is an awesome support on my weight loss blog. Her posts always motivates me!)

-Heatherlyn (I just became a recent reader of her blog & became hooked with the first visit!)

Thanks again Sassy for the cool award!

Whip it Good!

2009-04-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

It's time for Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop! Today's Writing Prompt is:

2.) When is it okay not to listen to the words? Explain about a song you really love that has lame lyrics or lyrics you simply don't understand. (writingfix.com)

I shudder when I look at my pictures of me back in the 80's. Why was my hair so big? Why were there shoulder pads in all my shirts? Why did I wear leg warmers over my jeans? What was I thinking?! And yet, I loved the songs from the 80's, even when I couldn't understand what the lyrics were all about. Remember the nerdy singing group called Devo?

They had one hit called "Whip it Good." Here are part of the lyrics;

Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
Its not too late
To whip it
Into shape
Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
Its not too late
To whip it
Whip it good

(end of lyrics)

I was still in elementary school when "Whip it" came out. At first I thought the song was about a dance move. And then I thought it was sending subliminal messages to all nerds to stand up for their right. Was "Whip it" a metaphor? Devo's one hit wonder still gets some air time on the radio and I was still puzzled over the lyrics. Was I reading too much into it? And then one day the light bulb went on! Of course! I'm soooo stupid!!!! Why didn't I see it before? It's very simple. "Whip it" is about.....

KNEADING BREAD! Duh!!!!

A Tribute to my teenager Moe

2009-04-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have always loved reading Tuesday Tribute posted by other bloggers and decided it's time for me to write a tribute to my teenager Moe. (Tuesday's Tribute is hosted by Angie at "Seven Clown Circus.")

About two years ago, Renaissance Man was unemployed. We told Moe that our budget would be tight and that he had to make do with what we could provide. He stepped up to the plate and earned his own pocket money. We had a stock of energy drinks that was sent to RM from a company wanting to do business with him. Moe sold them during lunch at school and received quite a profit. (not sure if it was against the rules, but his teachers loved the drinks!) He also worked a few hours a week as a catering assistant and collected cans for recycling. He talked the caterer into letting him sell some of the catered foods at parties only if he could get a percentage of what he sold. The caterer agreed and a business deal was struck! RM has since been employed, and Moe retired from his entrepreneurial pursuits. He continues to be frugal with his money and doesn't take anything that we give him for granted.

Moe adores his father. They have a bond that is unbreakable. I wish I could say that for the two beds that they broke while wrestling! They are banned from wrestling in the house.

Moe has always loved playing in the water. Whether it's in the swimming pool, playing with the water hose, or acting silly in the ocean.

When Moe was little he couldn't pronounce Grandma and called my mother "Granna" instead. They're very close and his eyes still light up when he knows his Granna is in town.

Moe will always be a Goofball, but he's MY adorable Goofball.

5 Reason why RM needs his own Blog...NOW!

2009-04-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I was a BFF (Blog Fart Fridays), but posted on a Saturday. This week I couldn't think of any "farty" thing to say and decided to participate "High Five Fridays" hosted by

Angela's Adventures and Minor Mishaps. Fridays seem to be busy days for me, so I'm doing my list on Saturday.

All you have to do is list 5 things that's on your mind. Example, 5 reasons why you should eat that last piece of chocolate, 5 reasons why you shouldn't strangle your psychotic ex-friend and list 5 mental exercises to help you not blow your top with your teenager. I will list "5 reasons why Renaissance Man needs to get his own blog...now!"

1. He keeps checking to see if the post that he wrote on my blog is still getting comments...EVERYDAY!

2. RM wrote one post and seems to think he's an expert blogger.

3. We will be in the middle of a conversation and he would say something that that only HE thinks is funny and tells me that I should blog about what he said or he would always come up with "new and exciting material" for my blog.

4. He saw a segment on Oprah Winfrey that showcased Dooce, the mother of all blogs in which she stated that she makes over $40,000 a month in revenue from advertisement! RM believes that when he starts a blog, he can match her revenue.

5. I don't want to share! Since I started a blogging just a little over a month ago, RM took a polite interest in my new hobby. He listened politely as I read the comments that I received and I would share with him what I wrote. Then he was bitten by the Blog Bug! This blog is my baby and I don't want it to become "our blog."

One day SOON, Renaissance Man will get his own blog. And I will help him start one, so that he can leave my blog alone!

Getting "Picked up" at the Park...by other Moms

2009-04-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

From Mama Kat's Writing Workshop: I chose to write about #5 prompt which is...
"Tell us about that time at the park when that thing happened."

I was a working mom for the first two years of Moe's life. Unfortunately hours were very long and not a lot of time to spend with my little boy. So, on my days off, I would take him to the park. I loved playing with him and my focus was only on Moe. I wasn't interested in meeting other moms. My son and I would go "Park Hopping" and each time, I was approached by desperate moms. I got asked the typical questions and this is what they were:

- Sooo.....do you come by here a lot?

- Are you new? I've never seen you here before?

- Do you want to come to my place after this?

- Want a cookie?

- Do you swing?

- Do you think I can get your number?

- Let's get together for a play date.

I just wanted to be left alone and spend time with my little boy. I had to keep my eyes from rolling when I would see a smiling mom approach me. I've already rehearsed a few lines to let them down gently. I didn't want them to think it was personal. The usual line I would say would be, "Look it's me, it has nothing to do with you. Somewhere out there is another nice mom like yourself."

And then Moe turned 3 and I quit the work force. I became a full fledged stay at home mom and loved it, but really missed the adult interaction. Being a stay at home can be lonely! Where can I meet other moms like me? Of course...the park! I dressed Moe up in trendy play clothes and made sure I looked nice too. And we would go "Park Hopping." I chose parks that had lots of moms and because rejection is hard to take, I picked moms that looked friendly and approachable, and whose kids were about Moe's age. I'm not really good at coming up with original lines, and just use a simple opener....

"Soooo....do you come by here often?"

The All Purpose Leg Mold

2009-04-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

Last football season, Moe fractured his knee during a football game and was in a full custom leg brace for a few months. In order to make the leg brace, they put his entire leg in a mold. The doctor made two leg molds, one for them and one for us take home.

We had a dilemma. What do we do with a 4 foot leg mold made out of rolled fiber glass? Surprisingly we found many uses for it...

It makes for a great handy hat holder.

A tool to retrieve items from very tall cabinets. NO more having to wait for Moe or Renaissance Man to help me. One does wonder why RM places things too high for me to reach.

Fancy Modern Art Work for the fireplace mantel. Andy Warhol would be proud.

To Freak out the neighbors , especially the annoying dog across the street that always takes a crap on our lawn.

That's Renaissance Man.....No Comment.

Discipline Tool for Unruly Teenagers (No one was hurt during this photo shoot, well just a few bruises)

The actual leg brace that Moe wore for 4 long, excruciating months. He's out of the brace ! And his fracture and all the nasty torn knee muscles are healed. Now what do I do with a 4 foot leg brace? Oh, the possiblities....

I'm a BFF!

2009-04-11T10:31:00.000-07:00

I joined the BFF club started by Ravings Mad Housewife. It's supposed to be posted on Fridays, but RM wanted to see how many more comments he could get from his last post! If you have not read RM's post, read here & leave him a comment, but don't you dare feel sorry for him.

BFF means Blog Fart Fridays! Here's a definition by Mad Housewife: noun. Crappy ideas that are too short to make a real blog post, but when combined, join forces to make one unified, albeit half assed, post. see also: memes, surveys.

Here's my BFF:

- Did you know that when you burp with your mouth closed, people can still hear you?! I found that out at a funeral. The mourners didn't appreciate my sound affect and Renaissance Man pretended he didn't know me.

- I used to sing in a Christmas choir. After hearing me sing, the choir director asked if I could just hum. Then I was asked to lip sync, but I couldn't keep sounds from escaping my mouth, so I was "demoted' to ringing hand bells.

- After using the bathroom at work, I noticed a breezy feeling from behind. I went to the mail room to drop off packages and was met with some snickers and a few lecherous looks. Much, much much later, I saw a reflection of myself and noticed the back of my dress was tucked under my pantyhose! I stopped wearing pantyhose and I don't work there anymore.

- I love doing the laundry, but absolutely hate doing the ironing. So, Renaissance man does all the ironing for our family. I would rather wear wrinkled clothes than iron. Renaissance Man once asked me if I would ever iron our clothes. I told him that I would, as soon as...money grows on trees, hell freezes, and when pigs grow wings.

Have a Fabulous Easter Sunday!

A letter of Mercy from H.K.'s husband, Renaissance Man

2009-04-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

This is Renaissance Man, H.K.'s husband. Since I have the next few days off, I thought H.K. should take a break from blogging. It's my turn now.

I'm grateful that H.K. cooks for us. She's a great cook. I'm especially grateful that she works hard for Moe and I to eat healthy. I do have one complaint, actually several:

Why does she keep changing our favorite recipes? Why does she have to put a new "twist" to them? Leave my Cream of Mushroom Chicken alone!

I want my chocolate chip cookies plain! I don't want oatmeal in them. I don't want some fancy dark chocolate chips in there. Please no more gluten free flour. I like my gluten, leave them in there!

Why do you insist on making spaghetti, when you know they give me heart burns? We have been married for 18 years, you should know that by now! I know you love spaghetti, you tell me that all the time. But, don't you feel the slightest remorse when Moe and I are popping antacids like they're candy? I don't care how many times you try different variations of spaghetti, they're all the same, and they still give me heart burns!

I admire that you try new recipes. You have helped to expand both me and Moe's palette. I think we're both good sports for trying them out. Honey, I'm begging you. Pleeaassse if you really love us, leave our favorite recipes alone!

Your loving husband,
Renaissance Man
p.s. What's for dinner?

Renaissance Man...The Bed Maker

2009-04-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

Renaissance Man and I went to bed after 10pm on Friday night, very tired. We had one of those days where everything went wrong. He had a long day at work and I was dealing with car issues and driving Moe to his various activities. So, we were both looking forward to getting some rest, until Renaissance man saw our bed...

RM: "Where's the bed sheets?" (He has this bewildered look on his face, wish I had a camera!)

Me: "Oops, forgot to put it on!"

RM: "You had ALL DAY to put it on."

Me: "I forgot."

RM: "You always forget." "For as long as I have been married to you, you always wait to the very last minute." We always end up making the bed just when we're getting ready to get to bed!" (He looks really irritated at this point.)

Me: "Oh my gosh, you're right!" (I'm laughing really hard by this point, I find everything funny when I'm tired and because we are ALWAYS making the bed right before we sleep)

RM: "It's not funny, and by the way... you're fired."

Yippee!! I can cross off making beds from off my list...now all I have to do is remind him to do it!

(This is how our bed looked like after we made it.... I wish!)

My Picky Eater

2009-04-03T08:53:00.000-07:00

Moe is an EXTREMELY picky eater. He doesn't like to drink hot chocolate. He thinks it's strange to drink liquids that are hot. Moe eats his cereal dry and drinks his milk on the side. He claims to love pepperoni pizza, but takes most of the pepperoni off and scrapes off a lot of the cheese. If a chocolate chip cookie doesn't taste right, he takes the chips out of the cookie!

Moe is also the only kid that I know who is actually allergic to....VEGETABLES! And on top of that, he's allergic to most fruits, especially citrusy fruits. I take him to his allergist every year, hoping that he has grown out of his food allergies. He's developed a tolerance for spinach and lettuce, so we MAKE him eat salads for dinner. His salads consists of only lettuce, since he's allergic to tomatoes and doesn't like to eat avocado and probably won't eat anything else that I put in there anyway.

Here is a conversation we were having as we were eating our salads:

RM:"I love having cucumbers in my salad, but I don't like having carrots in them."

ME: "I don't like having anything crunchy in my salad, unless it's nuts.

Moe: "I don't like having SALAD in my SALAD." (as he struggles to eat the last bite)

Whenever a mom complains to me that their child is a picky eater. I tell them no one can beat my kid in the picky eater department!

An Extremely Teensy Weeny Very Short Prom Story

2009-03-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

Moe's prom was last Saturday. I would love to update you with pictures of his prom (we were only able to squeeze one picture out of him, long story) and write about what happened...except there's no story to tell.

Have you ever heard of this quote - "Mothers of Teenagers Know Why Animals Eat Their Young" That is exactly what I felt like doing to my teenager! I asked him how his prom went and I get a response uttered in monotones. When we ask him to clarify his response, we are accused of not being good listeners. Oh, the drama of having a teenager!

After much cajoling and STRAINING our EARS to understand him, we were able to PIECE this story together;

- "date looked hot in blue"
- " limo came late"
- "deejay rocked."
- "danced a lot...my legs hurt"
- "fun. awesome. great."
- "didn't like my veggies."
- "limo broke down."
- "girl hurled in limo from exhaust fumes"

That's all folks! The SHORTEST prom story every told. My only consolation is when Moe has teenagers of his own!

At least he's smiling in this picture! (Well, more like a grimace)

Converstions that Deflate the Ego

2009-03-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

It's been an interesting two weeks, with visits from friends and relatives from out of town, prom preparation, a few illnesses, and conversations that has left me scratching my head.

1- A Conversation with my former sister-in-law

Me: "You look uncomfortable, is there something wrong?"

Sister in law: "It's just hard to find a good bra, when you have big boobs."

Me: "I'm sorry. That really sucks"

Sister in Law: "Well, you're lucky you don't have that problem. You're really flat."

(OUCH!!)

2 - A Conversation with my mother

Me: "My knees have been killing me. I'm sure if I lose weight I won't have that problem.

Mother: "Honey, I don't think that will fix the problem. You should just accept that you're getting old."

(I guess being in your 30s is really old!)

3- A Conversation with Moe

Me: "How was your scrambled eggs?"

Moe: "It was okay. Grandma makes the best scrambled eggs."

Me: "But, I make the best pasta!"

Moe: "No, not really. Nana makes the best pasta."

Me: "Is there anything that I make that you like?"

Moe: "Hmm..Let me think."

(Needless to say Moe never got around to answering my question.)

4- A Conversation with Renaissance Man as we get into bed

RM: "Hun, do you mind talking to me. I like it when you talk to me before I sleep."

Me: "What would you like to talk about?"

RM: "It doesn't matter. Every time you talk to me, it just puts me to sleep."

(Huh. And to think all this time I thought I was an interesting conversationalist)

5- A Conversation with 2 four year old girls (I teach the 4-5 year old Sunday school class) The Set up: The girls aren't paying attention in class, so I kneel down to their level and say...

Me: "Girls, please pay attention. You can talk after class."

Girl #1 - "What's that smell?"

Girl #2 - "It's her breath! (points at me)

Both girls in unison as they wave their hands in front of their nose: "Peeee Ewwww!"

(In my defense I was sucking on a mint!)

I don't talk to my former sister in law anymore. Not because of that conversation, (long story), but basically she's just not a nice person. My son has recently told me that I make the best chocolate chip cookies. My mother will always be outspoken, I have learned to let it go from one ear out the other. My husband has been kissing my butt all week. And I no longer teach those two little girls, they moved!

So, have you had any interesting conversations that left your ego two sizes smaller?

Hubby's New Name!

2009-03-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hubby needed a new name. Something original. Hubby sounded sooo booooring. And he's far from being a BORING person. Besides, almost EVERYONE in Blog land calls their husband Hubby. Not very original. Hubby needed to have a unique Blog pseudo name.

Of course, I don't want to use his real name, I'm really paranoid like that. You never know if someone wants to track him down and see his gorgeousness and then kidnap him. (is that cheesy enough for you?) Besides, his real name is kind of boring too. (I don't know what his parents were thinking!) I was actually going to ask you in Blog Land to help me give Hubby a new name. As I was writing this post and putting together the pictures, a light bulb came on and I came up with a name that I love! Here's a mini picture story of my husband formerly known as "Hubby."

He's a big fashion plate. He's constantly on the cutting edge of fashion. Whether it's a 4 foot leg mold over his head or a simple baseball hat.

Hubby's really good at finding multiple uses for every day objects. For instance, he's using this leg mold as a back scratcher.

Hubby loves his son. Really he does...just ignore the fact that he's "choking" him.

This is Hubby's "You're a crazy woman, but I love you anyway" look. I always feel so loved when he looks at me like that.

He's a free lovin, kind, funny, passionate, hard working and confident man that is constantly reinventing himself. Hence his new name...Renaissance Man. RM for short. Now isn't that better than Hubby?

A Dental Conspiracy

2009-03-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

Life isn't fair. I floss on a daily basis, sometimes several times a day. I keep dental floss in the downstairs bathroom, one in my purse, and one in our bedroom. I brush my teeth in the mornings and in the evenings. At times, when I feel like my mouth needs to taste fresh, I brush my teeth again.

Hubby and Moe don't believe in flossing, especially Hubby. I try to be a good mother. I remind Moe he should brush his teeth before going to bed, but he rarely does. Hubby almost never brushes his teeth in the evenings. I encourage them to floss and bought the disposable plastic flossers. They're collecting dust, just taking up room in the medicine cabinet.

And then I go to the dental office and they find a few cavities and some tartar buildup! Hubby and Moe have their dental checkups and they hardly have no tartar! Moe has one cavity and the dentist complimented them for keeping their teeth in great condition! And Hubby has no cavities! Hubby believes that brushing your teeth too much wears off the enamel from your teeth, which leaves your teeth susceptible to cavities. He also believes that flossing encourages tartar buildup.

Is there a dental conspiracy? Or is Hubby and Moe flossing and brushing their teeth on the sly? You be the judge.

Just when You THINK you know someone

2009-03-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

One of the posts that I wrote on this blog was Hubby's lack of love for comedies. (see "25 Random things about our family) He NEVER thinks they're funny and in the 18 years of our marriage, I can count on one hand the times he has has laughed at one. When he laughs at a comedy, it's usually a little chuckle that lasts for a nano second.

One of my all time favorite comedy series is "Friends." Hubby's been watching "Friends" reruns with me for the past three days and he LAUGHS at them! And he laughs the same time that I do. What is going on? He laughs long and he laughs hard for a really long time. I've been watching "Friends" for years and NOW he finds them funny? It's become more amusing for me to watch him laugh than watching the program.

This morning before he went to work, he was singing the song "Smelly Cat" which was sung by one of the characters from "Friends". He looked at me and said, "I really like that song." Here are the lyrics:

Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat,
What are they feeding you?
Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat
It's not your fault

They won't take you to the vet
You're obviously not their favorite pet
Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat,
It's not your fault

You may not be a bed of roses
You're not friend to those with noses
I'll miss you before we're done
Or the world will smell as one

Now I can't get the dumb song out of my head and I'm wondering if someone has taken over my husband's body.

Prom Mayhem

2009-03-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

Moe's prom is 2 weeks away and he's in a frenzy. So many decisions for a 17 year old to make:

There are tickets to be purchased.

A tux to be rented. He wants pin stripes on his tuxedo. Big ugly long ones. The kind that Al Capone and his gang used to wear. Moe thinks its "classy." We say it's tacky. We're paying, so we come to a compromise.

Does he go on the party bus where most of his friends are on, but his date can't stand one of the girls that will be on the bus? Or should he be a gracious guy and go on the limo that has fewer of his friends and where his date gets along with everyone?

Moe wants to surprise his date with a gift for going to the prom with him. He's waffling between roses, candy, or heart shaped cookies. I tell him to choose the cheapest one!

There are corsages to choose from. Moe wants to make sure that it matches his dates dress. That's sweet, a little nauseating, but sweet.

The prom is bittersweet. It's fun to see my son get excited and flustered for an occasion that will last for only a few hours, but memories that will last much longer. And the prom is also another reminder that he's home for only one more year and he's off to college. My "little boy" is growing up!

My Son's friend from Camp

2009-03-15T03:00:00.000-07:00

Moe (my teenager) came home excited after spending a day at the local community college. The college hosted a "Career Day" for the high school students. I thought he was excited because he was inspired by some speaker, or saw a career field that he wanted to get into. I was wrong.

"Wow, you look excited! Do you want to share with me what you learned at Career Day?"

"The speakers were pretty boring, I fell asleep." (of course) "But, I met someone really cool!"

"Oh yeah. Tell me about him." (I always assume it's a guy because if it was a GIRL, he would NEVER mention HER to me.)

"Mom, he is really really cool. We're the same age and we talked about everything! We have A LOT in common!

"You should bring him over the house."

"That's going to be a problem...He's in a juvie camp." (jail) "But, he's such a NICE guy mom. The camp let him and a couple of other guys come to Career Day with one of those police officers."

(At this point, I'm in total shock. I should get the Academy Award for pretending to be calm.)

"What did he go in for?"

"He mugged a few people and a he feels really bad about it." "Do you think we can have him come over for dinner?"

"Ummmm. Sure."

Based on that conversation, there is one more thing I know for sure about my son: He's HONEST with us about his friends. I don't know IF or WHEN Moe's friend will be out of "camp." But if he does, I'll just lock the valuables away...just in case.

ABC's of ME

2009-03-13T14:23:00.000-07:00

picture was taken from website www.alphabetbooks.com/abcBl.jpg

Okay, I'm a real COPYCAT. I've seen this done on a couple of blogs. So of course, I have to do it too!

A Mother

Blowing Kisses

Cuddling her "little" son

Defender of dreams

Eagerly waiting...

For a light to appear

Giving love, peace, and order to our

Home

Interested in

Jams and jellies on

Krusteaz waffles and pancakes

Licking wounds

Making them magically disappear

Nodding agreement in an

Offer of truce

Politely refusing

Quotes from my rebellious youth

Regretful of pasts mistakes

Saddened that

Time flies too quickly

Ultimately I crave for a

Vacation in a faraway land

Wondering what will happen next

Xanax I don't need

Youthful enthusiasm is what I seek

Zealously I guard every zany, crazy, and beautiful moments that I call... my life

Pesticide or Flouoride?

2009-03-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a conversation I had with Moe after he came back from our dentist.

"Hey Mom, how much longer do I have to wait before the pesticide in my mouth wears off before I can eat?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know, the pesticide they put in my mouth to prevent cavities."

"Don't you mean fluoride?"

Moe shrugs and says, "Same thing."

Sure they are. One is HARMLESS in the mouth and the other can cause AGONIZING PAIN or worse DEATH. Yup, they are definitely the same thing.

Conversations at the Dinner Table

2009-03-09T13:21:00.000-07:00

Whenever Hubby and Moe talk about sports, I tend to zone out. I try to follow them and contribute to their sports conversation. Sometimes, they're amazed with the information I provide and then there are other times like this...

Hubby : "Moe, did you know that "so and so" didn't sign with the 49ers?"

Moe: "What team did he join?"

Hubby: "The Cardinals"

Me: (I try to bluff my way into this conversation) "Wow! So, he's going to join an East Coast team."

They both respond at the same time.

Hubby: "What?"
Moe: "You obviously don't know what you're talking about."

Me: "I said that "so and so" is going to join the Marlins on the East Coast."

Hubby: "Honey, he joined the Arizona Cardinals."

Me: (shrug my shoulder and pretend not to be embarrassed) "Well, Cardinals and Marlins are the same thing. It's easy to get them confused."

Moe: (rolls his eyes) "Mom. Cardinals are birds and Marlins are fish."

Me: "Oh". (trying to change the subject so they can stop laughing at me) "Does anyone want seconds?"

Their laughter continues and I secretly wish I had laxatives to put in their food.

25 Random Things about Our Family

2009-03-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

I thought I would list "25 Random Things" about my family as an introduction to this blog. I have seen this done on Facebook, MySpace, and other blogs. So I'm being a copycat and thought it would be a great way to introduce my nutty family.

This quote summarizes our family pretty well: " Some family trees bear an enormous crop of nuts." Well that's us, and here are the 25 Random Things about our family:

1. We like to make each other laugh 2. We are movie buffs

3. Moe (my teenage son) and I like comedies, Hubby (my husband) tolerates them.

4. When Hubby and Moe used to played catch at the baseball field, I was the SUCKER that ran after the balls.

5. After church on Sundays, we eat dessert BEFORE the main meal and then eat dessert AFTER the main meal.

6. Hubby and I like to read, Moe glances at books. How he gets good grades in English, I will never know.

7. Hubby does a great chicken dance and does a good impression of a ballet dancer. For some reason the camera is never around during those moments.

8. One sure way to get Moe to laugh is for me to sing to him.

9. After witnessing his parents act silly, Moe looked at me hopefully and asked if he was adopted. He's not.

10. We love working out at the gym...eventually the physical results will show

11. Breakfast is our favorite meal.

12. We love watching superhero cartoons.

13. Moe adores all his Grandmas.

14. Hubby likes to watch chick flicks - "The Notebook" is his favorite.

15. We pray together

16. We read scriptures together

17. I have several different types of laughter, depending on the level of humor.

18. Moe is a great host. One time, he asked me in front of guests, "Mom, did you offer them anything to drink?" He was 9.

19. We love hugs and kisses (Since Moe became a teenager he tolerates them, he's slowly warming up to them again.)

20. We love Musicals. Moe's all time favorite is "Cats" and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".

21. We used to have a Karoake Machine until it mysteriously disapeared. I guess someone didn't want to hear me sing.

22. We love to dance.

23. Hubby and Moe can sing very well, especially when they're singing together. Sadly, I only hum.

24. Hubby makes a mean barbecue.

25. We love each other very much even during the bad days.