Swimming Part Deux.

Haley began swim classes when she was 6 months old. It was probably a little too early, but I was so excited to be a mom and just thought that's what Mom's do...so I signed her up! Subsequently, she has always LOVED the water....

We had to wait longer with Lexi because she had such chronic ear infections, I was always afraid to get her in the water. So up until now, she has had very little water time. Side bar...getting tubes in her ears was the absolute best thing we have ever done! She is doing great with them! And we have been sleeping through the night (as opposed to getting up 2-3x a night with her) since the day she got tubes! So, YEAH TUBES.

Anyway...with her tube success, I decided to sign her up for a parent & me swim class. Daddy took her for her first class and she loved it. Some of the activities were: singing songs with swim motions, blowing bubbles in the water, kicking, jumping, and floating. Her favorite part was blowing bubbles. I didn't get to go to the class, but when she came home, we headed to our pool and she showed me all of her tricks. She kept blowing bubbles and saying "teacher"...which I assume means the teacher taught her that.

Here are some pics that Grandma Connie took of her first class.

Our budding swimmer...waiting for class to begin.



Until next time....

Conversation over G-Strings.

So Haley and I walked to the store today. I needed new bras. We made our way to the Lingerie section. There were a bunch of unmentionables on the floor. I thought asking Haley to pick them up would keep her busy. Until she discovered a G-String.

H: What's this mommy?
K: Oh...that's underwear that some people wear.
H: Huh? But their bottoms would hang out.
K: (giggling and trying to hide it) I know, that's crazy huh?
H: hmmm...I don't think those are underwear. It is not polite to let your bottom hang out.
K: You are probably right.

Brilliant.

Strong words.

“Next to the word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. It controls our thoughts, mind, hearts, and spirits….a person who does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God…does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs.”
-MARTIN LUTHER

Singing her Prayers.

Haley has taken to singing her prayers. It started because of a blessing song they learned in school. I complimented her on how lovely it was, and now she sings EVERY prayer. It is very sweet, albeit quite time consuming (not that praying is a bad thing). But a typical prayer now lasts 3-4 minutes because there are several stanzas. Lexi is so tired of it at mealtime, that she starts eating halfway through with disregard to the reverent singing prayer in the background. It can also be awkward at Cheesecake Factory when Granddad starts to pray, but Haley volunteers her prayer and then sings as quietly as a mouse, so we must all stretch and lean in to hear the divine wisdom coming from her.

Here was last night's prayer...sung to the tune of...well, whatever Haley has going on in her mind...

Thank you God for our friends.
(repeat 3x)

Thank you God for our family.
(repeat 3x)

Lord there are people who don't have homes or food...please take care of them...and help us to be kind to one another so they can have food (hold out food for a long extended time.)

And please help us make good choices and thank you for this day.

Thank you God for our friends that play outside on their bikes....

Amen.

Then she looks up with a big smile as if to say "how was that one mom?" So I'm not quite sure if the prayers are for me or God. But they are sweet just the same.

Precious Friends....

These are my friends...JD & Celeste Cunningham and their son Colin. I worked with JD in Vegas. He married Celeste several months after I met him, and we have been friends ever since. We have been through SO much together. Late night conversations, long hours of serving at the church, nights out in Vegas, LOTS of chips & salsa, a trip to Florida, having babies, losing a best friend, COUNTLESS moves, new jobs, Disney days and the list goes on....

JD & Celeste moved to California a year ago. They live in Simi Valley which isn't super close, but we still find time to connect. Today they called to see if we could meet at Disney, but unfortunately, Haley took a turn for the worst this afternoon and was "grounded" from those kinds of fun activities. And instead of driving home, they asked if they could drive down to see us.

Inspired by my dad's blog about sitting around and having conversation, I went and got a Strawberry Pie (MY FAVORITE) at Polly's, put on a pot of coffee, and was looking forward to good conversation with our friends.

Do you know what JD & Celeste are like? They are like your favorite t-shirt AND your favorite pair of sweats that are fresh out of the dryer and ready for you to wear. You know the ones...they are so cozy and just feel like "home." That is how it feels when we are with them.

We took the 2 minute tour of our tiny abode, and then sat on the couch for hours in conversation. No emails, no blogs, no cell phones....face to face conversation...of the best kind. It was just what I needed.

Busy Summer Days.

I feel like we are settled enough to start having some fun. So yesterday, my friend from college (Sara Emmerson), was visiting from Chicago, and we decided to meet at Disneyland. It took some work to get out of the house, but we finally made it. We parked in some random parking lot that looks like it is close to Disneyland, but actually took about 20 minutes to walk to the gate.

We met up with Sara at California Adventure, and of course, the kids hit it off right away. She has a little boy named Lincoln who is ADORABLE. Haley and Lexi took turns holding his hand all day. We had fun showing them some attractions that they hadn't yet seen. And we got to experience Toy Story Mania together for the first time. I must say, it was AWESOME! 2 thumbs up! More than I thought it would be! In other words...we really, really enjoyed it. We waited 45 minutes for it...but time goes by fast when you have good friends to talk to! :o) Sara had to leave by 2, but I decided to stick it out. I took the kids over to the water area...put their suits on and they played in the sprinklers. Lexi had enough and decided to take a nap in the stroller, while Haley played for another hour by herself. It was fun for her and relaxing for me.

We came home and I made a picnic dinner...inspired by the fact that we have no kitchen floors, and our dining room table is smushed into our refrigerator...another story entirely....but anyway, we headed outside and had a great dinner. We have a greenbelt in front of our house which is perfect for picnics!

Today, Haley went to school and I took Lexi to Summer Kids Movies. The Regal Cinemas by our house shows free movies for kids on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and today we thought we'd try it. It was Veggie Tales 'Jonah' movie. I didn't know how Lexi would do since the only movie she had been to before was when she was 6 weeks old, and she slept through the entire thing. But Curtis wants to take her to see WALL-E with us on Friday, so I thought we'd try this first. It went really well for about 30 minutes, and then she was restless. At an hour in, she packed up her popcorn, told me she was "all done". and said "BYE-BYE Jonah." So I took my cue, and we headed out. Hmmmm....I'm not sure about Wall-E.

Regardless....we are having a good time together.

Lesson Learned

Riding home in the car last night from church, I said "Hey girls, what did you learn at church tonight?" I thought Haley would respond, but Lexi chimed in with "Crackers & Toys."

Perfect.

Thank you Matt.

For our fresh out of the ocean sushi dinner. You have made a very stressful day have a happy ending.

Much love.

Is it bad...

when you pass a gas station and the price is $4.53 and you say, "oh, that's a good deal" ?

Update

We are officially out of the old house. All that remains are boxes that we must pick up and trash...and a garden hose for my parents. I just sent Curtis and Haley to a movie so I can unpack. So I should probably get off the computer now.

Playing Tetris

I'm still here. Just busy. Life is full of boxes. We are playing tetris with everything we own right now...trying to figure out what goes where....what won't fit....what will be passed on. I had 2 yard sales last month. I filled up my van yesterday with things to take to goodwill. I have given stuff away. And I still have TOO much. I think that says a lot about me and about what I think I NEED. This has been a good lesson for me. Albeit, a frustrating one...but a good one.

The most important thing is the kids. And they are happy. They like their "new house." They like Baby Jack (our next door neighbor who is 1 month older than Lex, but about 15 pounds smaller...) They like their "front yard"...which is a communal greenbelt. Haley likes her fancy room (it has wood floors) and being the only person in the house with a ceiling fan. They like having a pool, and are BEGGING to swim in it...we just haven't had a chance yet.

We have to be out of our other house by tomorrow. Many trips have been made. Boxing up stuff, bringing it over, attempting to find a spot, and then going back for more. It is an exhausting process, and I will be SO glad when it is done.

Many thanks to Shannon & Jeremy who brought over a cargo van and helped us move on Father's Day (they lovingly volunteered since the rest of the world was actually CELEBRATING Father's day), and to Jon Michell for helping Curtis and bringing us dinner, and to Gina for letting us borrow him, and to my parents who have spent countless hours helping us (my dad is at the old house right now cleaning it...), to Curtis' parents for watching the kids (moving with kids takes about 3x as much time as moving without), to the Bakers who are coming over tonight to help, and to Brandon & Dave for bringing more stuff over today.
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

We are blessed.

Similar Feelings

When I found out I was pregnant with Haley, I was elated. I dreamed about what it would be like to see her, touch her, hold her, hear her laugh, and watch her grow. As time went on, I realized that I would actually have to deliver her, and then I was nervous, even scared. At 9 months, the fear gave way to the joy that it would be to not only have her here with us, but to not have to be carrying around an extra 30 pounds every day. I was exhausted. Tired. Achy. I was just done. I think God designed that on purpose. He knew our bodies would wear out and that our fear would be diminished by the joy of what was coming next.

I am feeling the same way now. And no, I am not pregnant.

But we are getting ready to move. And if you read this blog often, you know it is to a smaller place and a lot of adjustments are having to be made. It has made me nervous, scared, and even sad. But as I was lying in bed last night (I got to bed at 2am)...so exhausted...so tired...so achy....I started thinking, "I just can't wait until we are moved into our new house." I didn't care how small it was....I didn't care about the pain, both physical and mental, that it was going to be....I just wanted to be there. Snuggled up with the family, on the couch, in our new house, starting our new life. And it was then that I realized that I had felt those same feelings four years ago, before the birth of Haley.

So today we begin our move. I'm not scared. My fear is diminished by the joy of what is coming next.

Let's do this.

1st Hat of the Day.

Update on the Seal.

The Seal was Haley. The seal is Haley. She is a mess. I thought it was just a bad case of the croop. She was up all night. LITERALLY. She would sleep for an hour then wake up barking. Oh, it wasn't fun.

So we used 2 humidifiers. Took her outside to breathe cold air. Wrapped her up in blankets and put her in front of the freezer. Tried a steam/sauna thing in the bathroom. All the while Curtis kept telling me "She is going to the doctor in the morning."

I thought it was croop. I didn't think they would see her.

I called the doctor. And they said since she still had labored breathing to bring her in. I did at 9:45. I walked in and talked to the nurse for approximately 42 seconds. She said, "I'll be right back" and brought the doctor in. She proceeded to do a breathing treatment, which didn't work. So she got 2 injections of steroids. It was not pretty. That was followed by another breathing treatment. We left at 12 with instructions to watch her and if it gets worse, we are to go to the ER. Smashing.

But the good news is...She is doing a bit better. I was sent home with a breathing machine that I have to give her treatments with every 2-3 hours as well as steroids and antibiotics. I took her to McDonalds for lunch. She wasn't hungry. If you know my daughter, that's how you know she's sick. But I did get her to eat a yogurt parfait. It only took 45 minutes.

Unfortunately, She still sounds like a seal.

Not a fan of doing laundry?

Here's a tip...

Sell your washer and dryer.

It may not be the right choice for everyone. But we decided to give it a try. As of 9am this morning, we are washer and dryerless. They now belong to a sweet Hispanic couple that live in Fullerton.

And we will now see how long we can live amongst piles of clothes.

My precious Seal.

My poor daughter has the croop. You know...the cough that sounds like a seal. It's 10:23...Curtis just had to take her outside to get some cold air. He's an awesome daddy.

It is better to have had a garage than to never have had a garage at all...

That is a quote from the wise sage, Billy Baker.

We are moving on Monday. A move that I encouraged. A move that I wanted to happen. A move that I am now filled with anxiety about and a lot of that has to do with the fact that we are losing our yard and our garage. And to that Billy said, "hey...it's better to have had a garage than to never have had a garage at all." Wise words. But if I never had a garage, then I wouldn't know what I am losing. So I don't know Billy, I guess I'm torn.

We are moving from our house to a condo. It's a big adjustment but hey, it saves us $700 a month. That's a lot of money. Maybe now we can fill our gas tank with that savings! :o)

In the meantime...we are still trying to sell our house in San Clemente. A house that is now selling for 200k less than we bought it for. (Since someone else in the community listed theirs for that much under the market value). But what are we to do? I have mourned the loss of that house greatly. But I am ready to move on to what is next for us.

We also got rid of our Vue today. RIP. We bought that car years ago knowing that we wanted to start a family. It was our first family car. But it is getting old. Repairs needed to happen. And our friend Chris Cox just lost his Vue due to the faulty transmissions that they put in these. So we got rid of it in the nick of time. Oh, and also in case our credit gets tanked with this San Clemente house....we wanted to get a car now while we still have excellent credit. So, Curtis is cruising around town in a cute little Honda Civic which just happens to have good gas mileage too.

So there is a lot of excitement going on...lots of emotions. Lots of packing and trying to sell stuff on Craigs list and you know...celebrating Father's Day and taking care of sick children all at the same time.

But it's good. God is good. Life is good. We have each other and that is the most important thing.

POPCORN HEAD...

I told you Lexi likes hats...but this is ridiculous! She is running around the house screaming 'POPCORN HEAD!'

Cancerous Pots and Pans

Have you read those reports about Teflon and Non-Stick Cookware being dangerous and possibly causing cancer? We've been worried about that for some time since we have Circulon Cookware. Curtis got rid of one of our pans long ago...and I just put our other pots and pans up on Craigs List. (Not that I'm trying to give someone else cancer...but other people don't seem to be as concerned as we are.)

Anyway...I found this news story this morning... it makes me even more glad to get rid of our cookware.

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=1289732n


Anyone have any good non-cancer causing cookware they could recommend?

The Secret Life of Bees

I'm going through stuff (getting ready to move) and discovered a copy of 'The Secret Life of Bees.' Would anyone be interested in reading it? It's a great book...I'll mail it to you if you're interested....or hand it to you if you live close by.

LAKERS VS. CELTICS

BRING IT.

Jim Caviezel

I am so blessed to be at my church...in this season...in the midst of all that God is doing. He's up to something big....I love being a part of it. I'm really excited for this weekend. Actor, Jim Caviezel is doing an interview with our Pastor. He's going to talk about what it's like to be a Christ-Follower in Hollywood...his family...his opportunity to potray Christ in 'The Passion of the Christ', and so much more.

If you live nearby...or if you want to make the drive from wherever you are...come join us this weekend...it will be worth it.

Jim will be at all 3 services. Saturday at 6pm and Sunday at 9 & 10:30

For more info, you can check out our church website at www.FCCHB.com

Slithering Snakes and the One Armed Man.

I hate them (snakes...not one-armed men). I've always known that. My daughter, who has no fear of them went to a party where they had pythons. She let it wrap around her body. I might have passed out if I had been there.

So these people that bring pythons to parties...they have a store here in town. She enjoyed the python experience so much, we loaded up the car one day to go check out all the other amphibians. This is not my cup of tea. I much rather go to a puppy store and look at all the fluffy animals. Not scaly, slimy ones. But I am a mom. And this is what we do.

I don't think I knew what kind of fear I had of snakes until I walked into the "snake room". Luckily, it was quite large and I was able to sit at the back of the room while Curtis and the girls were peering into the snakes cages. I was seriously nauseous...my hands were clammy...I thought I would have to leave. But I stuck it out.

We have since had several adventures to this store. I feel like each time I go, I become more brave. I have even stood in the same room (though I was covering my eyes) when they fed rabbits to the snakes and mice to the smaller ones. Yeah, it's quite an adventure.

But the girls love it. And we always buy a bowl of worms so they can feed the turtles and the fish before we go.

So let's get to today's events... I don't quite know if Haley is still sick from the Hand/Foot/Mouth deal...blisters were supposed to come and they have never appeared...she has no fever...and she is running around full of energy. I didn't want to chance it though, so I thought we'd just go to this "amphibian store" for an outing and check out all those slimy creatures.

I was doing okay. Even made it through the snake room alright. Then I noticed that the owner was walking through the store and he didn't have an arm. Granted, he could have lost it in Vietnam, a car accident, or a multitude of different ways...but all my mind could think of was that somehow a snake was involved. I then had horrible fears of one of the cages coming loose and a snake killing us all. I was forming escape plans in my mind...you know...trying to remember everything I've ever seen on one of those Adventure/National Geographic shows. Seriously people...the one armed man (bless his soul) did me in. I'm not sure I can go back.

Off The Wagon.

I bought a White Chocolate Mocha today. I thought I deserved one. I worked out extra hard this morning. And I have a long day ahead of me. Besides, it makes me more creative and today is our creative meeting day.

Back to the coffee...It's delicious. Everything I remember it being and more.

In fact, it is so good, I was suspicious. I just took off the coffee collar and there is not a "non-fat milk" marking. Dang. So now it is even more fattening. And you know what? Even more delicious.

I need a support group.

The Year of Strange Diseases.

So, we have now been blessed with Hand/Foot/Mouth Disease.

We had a great night last night. Went to the park, then decided to take the kids out for ice cream. On the way there, Haley started acting funny and said she was sick. OF course, she still wanted ice cream. But the second that was over, she was shivering and just asking to go home and go to bed. CLUE #1. So we get her home and put her in bed. "Can I have a bowl by my bed in case I throw up? " CLUE #2 Fever. CLUE #3.

Luckily, I had an appointment already scheduled for today (with our new doctor that I LOVE), and she does in fact of HFM Disease.

She asked to go home and go to bed. So sad.

So what is a mom to do? Enjoy some comfort food...I made a soy hot dog (don't make fun of me Gina).. Baked some French Fries...poured a Diet Coke....and turned on the View.

yummy. yummy. yummy.

So...my Father in Law made a bet with me almost a year ago.

My bet - Obama WILL be the Democratic Candidate.
His bet - Obama would NOT be the Democratic Candidate.

My Prize - A Lobster Dinner.
His Prize - A Steak Dinner.

Guess what's for dinner people?????

The Chicken (Part 3)

Read the other 2 posts first.

I got over the gizzard and the goo when I tasted how good the chicken was. Seriously. It was good.

That being said, I don't want to stick my hand inside another chicken anytime soon.

The Chicken (part 2)

If you haven't read the post below. Read it first. Then come back to this.

Okay... so I am done making my chicken Kosher (soaking it in Kosher Salt and water). So after the soaking process, I was instructed to rinse it off and dry it.

Pause.

So, have you ever held a whole chicken in your hands? I know all of you cooks out there have. So maybe I am just coming off extremely naive. But here's the thing. I don't not eat meat because for the sake of the animal (although I am an animal lover)...the real reason is I have problems digesting it. However, holding that little chicken in my hands is making me rethink a few things. It's just so real. I mean...little legs...little wings...AAGh...I feel awful.

Unless this chicken is just the best tasting meal I've ever had tonight, I'm for sure not buying the whole chicken again. It's too gross and just too sad. It's back to the chicken breasts where there is no emotional conflict or gizzards involved. Or...it's giving up chicken altogether.

Dissecting a Chicken.

I am one step, hear that, ONE step away from completely becoming a vegetarian. I barely eat red meat (literally maybe 5x a year.) i eat a lot of fish and I eat a fair amount of chicken. Add to that some cheese and nuts, and that's how I get my protein.

But yesterday, I went grocery shopping and bought a whole chicken. I decided I wanted to experiment and try to cook it. So, I go online to look for the tastiest recipe. On all these recipies, I was instructed to "remove gizzards." Hmmm...What is a gizzard, I wonder. So I put my hand inside the chicken to find out. OH MY GOSH! I almost threw up in my mouth. It is a gooey-jello like substance. So gross. I was pulling it out and making throw-up sounds simultaneously.

So the bird is now soaking in water....and I am trying to recover. I just went online to learn what a gizzard is. Apparently it is the stomach of the bird. Nice. So then I go to look for a picture to attach it to this blog so you could have the pleasure of looking at what my hands were all over, and I found out that people EAT the gizzards... fried, on skewers, and the list goes on.

Yeah, this is too much for me. My stomach (or should I say gizzard) is still upset. I hope I can enjoy my dinner.

Help Me Understand...

I never watched this show with the exception of the occasional 30 minute syndicated version that is on late at night after Friends or something. So I never got caught up in the hype.

Apparently it is a big deal.

So Curtis and I went out on a date Friday night. We went to see Iron Man. I walked up to get the tix while Curtis got us a table at the restaurant. Every show for this movie was sold out and lines were forming for the next showing (40 minutes away.) People...there were women of all ages dressed as their favorite SITC characters. Which is fine I guess if you are young and look really good in skimpy clothes. This, however, is not such a good idea if you are 50+ wearing skimpy dresses with bows, large flowers, and bright colored heels. My advice to these women is to find friends who will tell you the truth.

And another thing...who can enjoy a movie dressed up all fancy with heels on? First of all, the theaters are like 20 degrees. Put a sweater on. I'm quite certain to fit into those dresses, more than half the crowd was wearing spanx. Seriously. Isn't it more fun to wear jeans and just let it all hang out while you enjoy a big buttery tub of popcorn? That is what the movies are about people. Instead, I stood in line to get my big buttery tub of popcorn with 100 women that looked like they were going to prom, giggling, and half-drunk from the cosmos they just drank who were ordering diet cokes and water. Boring.

I'm just thankful that to see that the fans of Iron Man were not into dressing up as their favorite characters. An Iron Suit would not have been comfortable at all.