My mom

Passed away this afternoon. I'm really going to miss her. I wish my kids would have had a chance to know her better and her them.

It turns out she had advanced stage 4 lung cancer. She wasn't one to complain so who knows how much pain she was in and how long the pain was there. She isn't in pain any more. Now she's with all the people she loved that went ahead of her.

I'm glad she didn't suffer. I'm glad she went peacefully the way she would have wanted. I'm glad I was her daughter and she was my mom. I hope I can instill much of her in my own daughter.

I will really miss her but I'm happy for where she is because I know it's somewhere great.

My Mom...

is going to be mad when she finds out I put this out here but she's on my mind so here I go...

She's sick. In the hospital. We know she has pneumonia. She also has a mass or fluid of some type on her lung. They did a few x-rays and an ultrasound today but didn't get the answers they need so tomorrow they're putting a camera down her throat, into her lung so they can get a look at what's going on. The idea of this scares the daylights out of me.

Her and Paul both quit smoking three days ago and starting using "the patch". I'm VERY proud of both of them. My mom was 12 or 13 when she started smoking and I think Paul was even younger so it's been a long time. I found out they quit because Stef told Paul my moms heart rate was erratic while I was on the phone with him. He told Stef to make sure the MD knows my moms wearing "the patch". I NEVER, NEVER, NEVER thought I'd hear the words "your mom is going to stop smoking". She's ALWAYS been determined to keep it up and thinks all the 'non smoking hype' is a bunch of crap. After Stef went to talk to the MD I asked Paul what "Patch" he was talking about and he said "the nicotine one!". I started laughing and said "you mean to tell me she couldn't even go to the hospital without worrying about a cigarette?" He said "no, I told her a few days ago if she'd quit smoking, I'd quit smoking so we're both wearing the patch now". I'VE PRAYED FOR THOSE WORDS!!

Anyways, after they do the camera thing I believe the plan is to drain the fluid and biopsy it. I'm very stressed about the risk of lung cancer but thankful that a genetic disposition isn't there making this a greater possibility. My dad had skin cancer, the 'easy' kind to get rid of, but other then that we've all been cancer free.

Please keep my mom in your thoughts and prayers. It is my hope that she recovers quickly, is able to stay away from 'death sticks' and comes to visit me! She use to come when we lived in Denver but this is an extra hour on a plane, which is too far for her to go without a smoke... or WAS too far in the past anyways!

A "Peachy" weekend!

We had a good weekend. It was busy but good! Yesterday we went to a Kids Day America event at our local middle school. We walked with the kids thinking there wouldn't be many people there. WOW were we wrong!! The whole gym was packed.. so much we could hardly walk! I ended up volunteering for a couple hours with the MASH Coalition, a local non-profit organization I've been volunteering for over the past year. I couldn't help but find myself in my "happy place" while I was there. I'm a volunteer by nature and love that I have the time and opportunity to contribute to our community. I volunteered with the Anoka County Attorney's office for 6 years prior to moving from Minnesota. I also volunteered with a couple of the homeless shelters on and off over the years. My favorite was working with the kids in a transitional housing shelter as a volunteer chaperon with my church's youth group. I never found anything that was a good fit while I was living in Colorado. I really missed it though and am glad to have the opportunity to do something I really enjoy! Hopefully I'll be able to instill the importance of giving to the two D's.

WOW... there's a tangent I didn't mean to take!

This weekend was a "Bountiful Basket" weekend (http://bountifulbaskets.org). They had a last minute offering of Peaches so a friend of mine surprised us with a box. I spent the day today peeling and making things with peaches. I made peach crisp (turned out more like peach cobbler though. Laynie was really excited for it until she noticed I tossed some raspberries in). I also made home-made peach ice cream with my new Kitchen Aid ice cream maker attachment (YUM, YUM!!). David made us all some peach smoothies, which Dominick SLAMMED and asked for more! Then I made peach puree for some peach sorbet and I froze 24 cups of peaches!! David came into the kitchen and made the comment about us being "peached out" before we know it! OH YEAH.. I also made 7 jars of peach jam! mmm mmm mmmm the lil' jars are popping as we're talking!

I got my hair done yesterday too. I decided to try 'dark' for a change. I'm REALLY happy with how it turned out. I've FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY after 2 and a half years living down here found someone I've liked enough to go back to. Laynie kept looking at me today and said "your hair is so pretty. it's so dark." I ended up pulling it into 2 'pig tails' because I couldn't find my pony holder (it was left in my truck) so I took 2 of Laynies. She thought it was really cute that I wore my hair like I've done hers so many times... hehe... I NEVER would have gone out in public with it like this but it was kind of fun for the day!

Nick "Pre-School"

We signed Nick up for a mommy/daddy and me preschool class. I wasn't sure how it was going to go but we're having a BLAST so far! Each class has a theme so we do projects based on that theme for the first half hour or so. Last nights class was the letter "B" and "CIRCLE". The last part of the class we do circle time. During this time we sit in a circle with all the other kids and parents and Miss Erin reads a book and we sing songs. Last nights book was about School Buses. Nick LOVES buses.. of any type so he was ELATED about the book. Here are a few pictures!!

One of the other parents commented that Nick was going to be a class president someday because he's so social! He's one of the funniest kids I've ever known!

Slide Pictures

So.. I just put some new pictures up. It's been a while and what a chore it was! Both kids are parked in front of Sponge Bob, which is outlawed in our house. Most of the pictures are self explanatory so I'm not going to say much expect ENJOY! I need to get the kids doing something constructive! RIGHT NOW!!

New Slide Show

We have a ..... FIVE YEAR OLD ....

Technically not yet but close enough! Hard to believe she's already FIVE. How did so much time pass so quickly?! All she asked for is "Camping and Smores". I remember the day we found out she was a girl and I STRESSED thinking she wouldn't fit into our "lifestyle" because we liked to camp and hike and watch sports. Not only does she fit in but she IS our lifestyle!

We're still getting used to kindergarten and trying to get a routine in place. She's still going half days, I heard through the grapevine (eaves dropping on other moms talking during drop off) that the timeline for all day is Christmas. She goes for the morning session, which would be a HUGE problem for us but isn't thanks to Dominick " up with the sun", and make sure everyone else is too. I've been getting up early to walk with a friend, it's nice to get the time to myself before I start the daily run. I'm usually asleep by 9 lately and it's a little after 10 now. My mind is fuzzy -- probably cause David and I are now parents of a 5 year old and a 2 year old. I hardly remember life without kids... which is okay because they're the greatest thing I've been blessed with!

Dalaynie's first week of kindergarten is over and behind us. It went really well and she seems to really like it. Some of the things she told me about this week;

• on the first day I asked her what she did and she said "ate a snack and played". That was it!
• she told us about her new "short haired friend" who's name she can't remember. This same little girl told her about a woman who threw a real baby in the garbage. She was in a major state of disbelief about this and just couldn't understand why someone would do such a thing. Apparently her short haired friend saw it on the news or something.
• she told me she wished kindergarten could be learning and playing as opposed to just learning. Then she said she's so excited about learning but hasn't really learned anything yet.
• Thursday we stopped by our friends to see their new house. When we were leaving their subdivision she pointed at an American flag and said 'Hey, we're suppose to say the Pledge of Allegiance when we see one of those". I asked her what she was talking about and she said "The FLAG, mom!". I told her it was too bad she didn't know the Pledge and she promptly recited it word for word! I made her come home and show David because I hadn't worked on it with her and he was out of town all week. She told him and he had her call and leave a message for grandma and grandpa with it!
• she told me about a little girl that got her card changed from green to yellow (it's their discipline thing). I asked if the girl cried and she told me she didn't. I asked if she would cry if her card was changed and she said her card would never be changed because she listens to her teacher.
• She was going to take a nap with me but decided to take her uniform off. She said "ahhhhhh, I can't wait to get out of this MONKEY SUIT". I had to ask her what she said because I didn't think I heard her right. It was a good laugh for both of us!

SO... the first week was a breeze. I'm still a little concerned about whole day kindergarten though because she came home and slept every day but Wednesday. She had piano lessons Wednesday afternoon though so by the time we were finished with our drive to Sprouts (think Whole Foods, just smaller), lunch, getting Nick to nap and homework there wasn't much time for a nap. I'm hoping as we get a couple more weeks under our belt she'll adjust and not need to nap. Considering she has Erickson blood, napping will be something that follows her through her lifetime!

Dominick and I did well without her home. He missed her like crazy and spent a couple minutes each day looking for her. He did a lot better with dropping her off then I expected. Typically when we leave her somewhere he cries and cries for her. It's really fun when it happens in the grocery store and Laynie is just in the kid area.

Anyways, I'd LOVE to post some pictures but am still having problems with the cord for one camera and finding the cord for the other camera. I'm going to go BUY another camera, maybe tomorrow~

TTFN

WOOO HOOOOO First Day and NO TEARS!

YEAH... we made it through the first day of kindergarten with no tears from Laynie, mommy, daddy or Nick! I think this is a HUGE accomplishment considering how stressed I've had myself over all this. I'm not sure if I have myself convinced it was just preschool or if the half days to start are a blessing in disguise!

Anyways, our day went like this:

Laynie snuck in our bed at some point last night. My alarm went off at 6:30 so I jiggled her and told her it was time to get up. She asked about the time so I told her it was "Six Three Zero". She said "Let's just sleep until Six Four Zero" (she doesn't leap out of bed to greet the day like her dad!). I let her sleep another 9 minutes, I needed it too. Then we got up and got our day going. I made eggs and toast for breakfast and all went smoothly. Until we realized Molly puked on the floor in the hallway. Needless to say, we rushed out of here in our typical "frenzied state".

We got to school and David, Nick and I walked Laynie to the courtyard where her teachers 'cone' is. I stayed in line while they did the flag ceremony and said the Pledge of Allegiance. She needs to have it memorized by the end of September. I'm pretty sure we'll have it by the end of the week!

The classes then walked to the classrooms, hers was second to go. She got to her room, turned around for a photo op with David then headed into class. That was that... simple and easy! I walked away feeling really excited for her, with a peace in my heart that we made the best choice for her.

When I picked her up she was at the end of her class line. She saw me and smiled HUGE. I asked how her day was and she said "It was GREAT. I had a LOT of fun. My teacher is SOOO nice!". I asked what she did and she said she played on the playground and had a snack. Later in the evening she showed me something with her hands and mouth that she said she'll do when she's in line. She puts her hands behind her back, like a tail and her mouth is puckered shut. Pretty cute!

This afternoon and evening we did her homework. It's an easy week for us as she already knows the phonograms for the week (o, c, a and d) as well as the spelling words (at, on, in, so, ten, tan, tin and ton). We spent about half hour reading. We went to the library last week and she picked the books "My Oh My A Butterfly" and "Animal Lives/ Whales". She's been reading 5-6 pages of My Oh My A Butterfly to me each night. When she's done I reread it from the start to where she left off. I was going to read the whole book to her but she's got such a good memory I was worried she'd memorize then not really read it on her days. SO.. I have her read a her pages then I start from the beginning and read to where she stopped. I guess it's like reading a chapter book.. but in Dr. Suess form! Our deal was she'd read the butterfly book to me (I get the weebie geebies just thinking about them.. YUK!) and I read the whale book to her.

Anyways.. my laptop battery is about out. I'll post pictures in the next day or so!

TTFN!

"MEET THE TEACHER"

We went to "Meet the Teacher" night Friday night for Laynie. I'm still having a hard time with the concept my kid is old enough for REAL school but am trying REALLY hard to keep that from being obvious to her. 36 hours from now she'll be sitting in her little desk and I'll be at playgroup with Nick, probably BAWLING my eyes out. Luckily, I have a new friend that's been through this that will be there to lean on!

I can't figure out how to get space between the pictures for captions so I'll just type them out here:

Picture 1: Finding her desk. She actually passed it a few times, which surprised us a little because she's been able to recognize her first time for at least 2 years. Her teacher wrote "Dalaynie G" so when we pointed out her desk she said "I'm not Dalaynie G, I'm Dalaynie P". I would have CRAPPED my pants if there really was another kid with her same name, same spelling in her class. On this note, kids don't have names like we did when we were young (David, John, Joe, Jenny, Mary, Chris...etc)

Picture 2: Standing by her desk. I'm not sure why she didn't look happier in this picture. Probably because we had already been there a while and I went to find my friend, Joanna, so I could use her camera for a few pictures.

Picture 3: Sitting in her desk. When we first got there Nick planted himself in the desk next to her and wasn't so happy about getting up. I had a quick flash of him starting kindergarten but quickly booted it from my brain. We're not going there yet........

Picture 4: By the calender. Can you tell she's a princess?

Picture 5: By the "building character" poster. For some reason I REALLY like this poster and needed a picture of her by it. I look at so many of the young adults in our society and can't help but wonder what type of parents they had.

Picture 6: Like 5. I actually took this one first then moved in for a closer picture of the poster. I like how the star is right above her head in this one though... like my dad is there watching out for her...

Picture 7: With her buddy, Laine. He's starting early kindergarten and their classes are right next to each other. I'm sure they'll have LOTS of fun at recess together! There is also a little irony in her friend Laine.... I'm VERY good friends with his mom, Joanna. We're both from the mid-west and our kids are only 9 days apart! So... Johnna/Joanna.. Dalaynie "Laynie"/Laine.. Minnesota/Iowa.. September 13/September 4.

I went to a John Edward show this weekend with my friend, Jen & her mom and friend. It was fun. I'm still a little skeptical but it was REALLY entertaining. In case you wonder who the heck John Edward is, he's the guy who "channels" dead people. He has the tv show "Crossing Over" that airs on WE (Womens Entertainment.. I think).

Here's his website http://www.johnedward.net/JOHN_EDWARD_2008/JE_home.html

I'll post more about this another time as I really want to keep this post to just Laynie and her first day of school...

TTFN!

Here we go on the quick slide to the first day of kindergarten. Dalaynie is so ready.. I'm still not! We're headed off school supply shopping this morning. Of course, I put it off and have missed all the great sales.. maybe next year will be better!

On a happy note, she was suppose to start full days but her school isn't ready yet so she'll start half days for the first few weeks. I think it will be a great way to transition in. Her teacher is teaching the "morning session" so we'll be up and out the door by 7:40 each morning.. should be interesting to say the least considering the only one in our house that's a morning person these days is Dominick!

The way they're going to be teaching for the first few weeks is interesting. The teachers will be sharing rooms -- 2 to each room. Laynie's teacher will teach her morning class and the afternoon teacher will be in the room as an "observer/aid" along with an actual teachers aid. In the afternoon Laynie's teacher will be the "observer/aid" so each class will have the students (average about 25 last I heard) and 3 adults!

We went to San Diego this past weekend with Vic, Mar and family! It was REALLY nice but not nearly as relaxing as we all anticipated. Vic & Mar rented a beach house right on Mission Beach and invited us to come along.. The views were AMAZING but both David & I agreed it just wouldn't be for us. I guess we're still mountain/country type people! The hustle & bustle of the big city is just too much!

While we were there we went to Lego land. It was fun and we checked it off our 'list of things to do' while living in Arizona. We were there about 7 hours and only made our way through about a third of the park. I never really imagined what someone could do with a bucket of legos if given the chance. I'm sure they're next thing our house will be over run with!

Dominick is still as funny/busy as can be. I bought a "Shark Cordless Sweeper" a few weeks ago. Found a GREAT deal on Amazon and figured I'd give it a try because no matter how hard I try I can never get all the little junk off my kitchen floor because of the tile/grout. Anyways, Dominick is OBSESSED with the shark.

Yesterday I was blow drying my hair and turned to see him busy 'sweeping' the bathroom floor. The kid has HUNDREDS of toys to play with here so I try to encourage toys over cleaning supplies. SO -- I took the sweeper from him and put it in the closet, out of sight.. out of mind is what I figured. I turned around just in time to catch him in the bathroom with the toilet brush 'cleaning' the seat and the wall with the toilet water. Luckily, we're not a "share the flush" type of family so the water was clean. In the time it took me to wipe it all down, with my friend Clorox he got into the closet to the sweeper. BUT he was smart enough to vacate the room and head for the kitchen. I went to find him and there he was BIG SMILE sweeping the kitchen floor. SOOO... I took the sweeper away again, in spite of our new trick of TEMPER TANTRUM and put it back into the closet. I came back out through to the bedroom (said bathroom and closet are connected) to find my laundry basket dumped and all the clothing spread... now if I could just teach him to sort darks and lights I'd be set. In the big scheme of things I figure he's going to end up a neat freak that makes some woman really happy or really crazy down the road.

OH.. and all this was about 5 minutes of my day yesterday as we were trying to RUN out of the house to reading time at the library. Which, every other SAHM in Maricopa took their kids to yesterday as well... ugh!

Easy Living... Explained!

I LOVE this poem! I read it for the first time when I lived with my sister and her family in Alaska. It was carved into a coffee table a friend of theirs had. I printed it and when I had my first "grown up job" working with a few crabby middle aged women who spent the majority of their time hating their jobs and judging everyone but themselves I printed it and gave each a copy. I told them they'd probably all be happier people if they tried to live like this poem says you should. They use to tease me about being young and naive.

I found a poster copy if it several years ago and had it framed. It use to hang in our "guest bedroom" but now it's with the rest of the pictures we don't have places for in our garage. Maybe I'll find somewhere to hang it today.....

Anyways -- I thought I'd share so if you haven't read it before -- enjoy!

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Desiderata

-- written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s --


Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Off to the start of another big week. Stinky Nick turns TWO on Thursday... how the heck did this happen so fast?? It sure doesn't feel like it's been two years since I was laying in a bed in Banner Desert hoping and praying he'd wait until August 28th. Really, I wanted him to wait until September 1st so I wouldn't be stuck with the ugly Peridot in my mothers ring but I suppose that's a whole another blog subject! Plus, he's worth the ugly peridot!!

Laynie starts kindergarten in a couple weeks. Our district started classes yesterday. We got a call from the school in our district in our boundaries saying she was absent today. I'm not sure how they got our information as we never registered her at that school. Either way I need to call and let them know not to expect her this school year. The fact that I get two more weeks with her home is the biggest benefit to taking the charter route for her. Hopefully it won't turn out to be the "biggest" benefit.... I'm having doubts again about having her start this year. I have myself so hung up on having her be on the older end of her class. I remember back in school it seemed like the kids that were better adjusted, happier, more confident were the older ones. I have a March birthday and always hated the fact that my birthday was one of the last... and I was only half way past the cut off where I went to school. Hopefully it won't ever be an issue for her and if it is, we'll blame it on David...haha.

I should be sleeping right now but I'm wide awake. It could be because I kept thinking about the granola we bought from Sprouts. I got up and had a bowl so hopefully I'll doze off quickly. Or it could be because I found some new "walking buddies" since my last one is pregnant and not feeling so hot right now. These gals start walking at 5:30 and go about the same difference JH and I use to. They're all training for the PF Changs half marathon. I'm tempted to try it... walking mostly, of course. They need to commit to raise $1300 to join though. I don't like fundraising and don't think David would be too happy with me if I said he'd just pay it. Anyways, because I know I need to be up early I'm having a hard time falling asleep. Silly me!

We had a little boy in our community pass away a couple weeks ago from a "Wilms Tumor". It's a form of kidney cancer.. I think childhood. He was only 8. I read a little bit of his parents Caring Bridge site and found myself REALLY pondering they're courage & ability to do what really was best for their CHILD. I think all parents want to do what's best but sometimes their own selfishness gets in the way. He went for surgery and the MD's said his tumor was inoperable. His parents chose to stop treatment and just make him comfortable. I would like the think if I was in the same situation I'd do the same. Then again I think my own selfish needs would get in the way and I'd try to drag things out, just to keep my child here with me.

I remember when my uncle George passed away. He was 62 (or maybe 64). My Grandma Donna was still alive. When Father Reiser went to lower his casket my Grandma FREAKED out. She was in a wheelchair.. she wheeled herself up and threw herself on him and didn't want to let him go. I was sitting by my mom and dad and heard my mom comment to my dad "I wonder if it's harder to lose a child as an infant or as an adult". I REALLY hope she never finds out the answer to this question but it REALLY gave me a perspective on things my mom dealt with but never talked about. My mom lost a few babies within days of birth for various reasons. She also miscarried several times. I ask her about them but she never says much. When I experienced my own miscarriage we asked her to come help take care of Laynie. She apologized over and over but said she just couldn't do it. It was too much emotionally for her.

Our neighbors moved today. Laynie was sad because her friend moved away. They had a 9 year old girl and a 5 year old boy. They played over here a few times the last couple weeks. Now that they're gone I'm wishing I'd have let them play here a little more. I REALLY try to live my life so in the end I can look back without regrets. Hopefully their situation won't be one of those.

On a REALLY nice note a MOMS Club friend of mine (I'm so thankful for the friendships I've made from MOMS Club. I've had the chance to get to know so many women I probably never would have.).. anyways, back to my friend. She took her FIVE kids out for lunch one day last week BY HERSELF (this is in caps because I took the two D's to lunch at Ikea not long ago and won't repeat that again for a long, long time). OHH.. it's also noteworthy to say she's due in January with number 6... which I think she should have found out the gender of today..... and better let me know..... ). Anyways, she posted on our MOMS Club forum that she was eating and kept making eye contact with another woman in the restaurant. She said she felt moved to talk to her (she doesn't get moved to talk to anyone that looks at her like I do I don't think) but never got the chance. She said the woman went up to her and told her how blessed she is with all her kids and gives her $20. She had free meal coupons for the kiddos (Coupon Queen here forgot to ask her where she got those...) so she turned around, paid for her meal and left the rest as a tip!! She said she was a little bugged at the waitress because she was being a little crabby but ended up thinking maybe the waitress was having personal issues or had some type of crisis going on so she thought maybe the $ would do something to make her day better. Most of us would have been so consumed by the fact that we didn't get the perky service we expected that we would have left a much lower tip. I know that's exactly what I did when I went for my "spa day" with my friend Heather who came to visit. I can't change what happened in the past but it's definitely something I'll think about in the future before I rush to judge why someone treated me poorly.

Wow.. this took a turn on me. I guess I had more on my mind then I thought. I was going to come on and just post a bit then head to sleep... not so.

I have just one more thing.. the Olympics are on. For some reason I wasn't excited this year. I think it's just another way of saying "haha we're better then YOU". Why not celebrate ALL the athletes that get this far. BUT last night I caught the end of Phelps swim team victory over France. I'm now hooked on watching him swim. We watched one of the races tonight (see how far removed I am. In the past I'd have been able to say exactly which it was...). He's FAST!! Laynie said "yeah, he's a good swimmer" I asked if she thought he could swim faster then her and she responded quickly with "NO". Then she wanted to show us how fast she could run..... silly girl!

OHHH... and on sports am I the only one that missed the memo that preseason football was starting this past weekend?? There's another thing I use to be sooo passionate about that I shrug my shoulders and dismiss as a big nothing. I sure wish I could find David tickets to the Cardinals/Cowboys game though.....

Okay, I think my mind is now clear and ready for sleep.

TTFN

Just a Quickie

I'm not very good at blogging is what I've decided. I think about stuff I could write almost everyday but when I get on the computer I think "I don't want to blog without a picture to post". I think that to myself.. I don't actually SAY it so I'm not sure it belongs in quotes...

Anyways -- If we don't have a camera that's on the fritz we have a laptop that doesn't recognize the USB ports since we took the long drive to north Phoenix to have the "Toshiba Glitch" fixed. We also lost our mini camcorder on the airplane on the way to Texas.. this is a HUGE bummer because we've had soo many "Dominick" moments that would be worthy of a quick clip.

So.. kids are doing great. Laynie's going to be starting kindergarten soon (GULP..). She missed the cut off by 13 days but we went ahead and had her tested to start kindergarten. We were worried she'd be bored in "early kindergarten" or if we had her wait until next year to start. Now I'm worried she's going to be stressed out. I say "I" rather then "we" because David thinks she's going to do great... along with everyone else that knows her.

Dominick is a HOOT. He's talking more and more and more and more each day. We're at the phase where he asks for the same thing over and over until he gets what he wants. I think he said "milk, please" more then 30 times the other day. Funny thing is his little voice stays so sweet each and every time.

Everyone who knows Laynie knows she's a singing fool. I think we've got the same "singing spirit" in Dominick. The sad thing for us is that he's so bad he's good. Laynie has a necklace her cousins sent that you push a button and it "sings" the Ariel song from Little Mermaid. It's a little pearl necklace with a seashell on it.... Anyways, Dominick started making some strange noise that coincided with the necklace being pushed. Didn't take us but a few times to figure out he's trying to sing like it. In the past couple weeks Laynies been singing "Hallelujah" song from Church. In the past week or so Dominick has been "singing" it. He's SOOO cute but sooo off key! If our video camera was here I could take a clip of him.

Both kids are into "jokes" lately. I think it started with the jokes on the Popsicle sticks. Here's how Nick's jokes go:

Nick: Knock Knock
Me: Who's there
Nick: nena (code for banana)
Me: banana who?
Nick: NNEEENNNAAAA hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

This takes place at least 20 times/day with anyone that will play. When Laynie does it she says "Banana" three times then on the forth it's "Orange" and the "orange you glad I didn't say Banana".

I can't think of anything else right now. OH.. except Dominick got his first haircut in Texas. I'll post the pictures soon. I was just looking at them and realized I don't have any "post cut" shots. I need to load them to our desktop then I can pull them here to share.

TTFN!

Insomnia....

What a bummer of a thing. I'm up tonight after having fallen asleep about FOUR hours ago and sleeping for about a half hour... urgh!

I miss my dad. We're coming to the 12 anniversary of his death.. Yes, TWELVE years and for some reason this one seems to sting the most. Or the most that I can remember anyways. I typically get a little crabby/irritated about this time but usually it takes until "the day" for me to realize what's got me. This year it started a little earlier (in Church as a matter of fact- If I feel like it I'll post a little "Laynie story") and has been a little harder. I think maybe because I'm homesick.. REALLY homesick and I miss my mom. I know the day will come when she'll be with him and I'll be here trying to figure out a way to cope. Rather then wait for that time I sit and stress myself about it.... because it's something I can control, you know. (bit of sarcasm).

In the big scheme of things I'm glad I was blessed with a dad I miss dearly and a mom I talk on the phone to almost every day.

So.. my Church story... We were at my new nieces baptism (will post pictures soon...) and the communion song was "Be Not Afraid"... It's been one of my favorite songs since I was a little girl. For some reason I was in full on tears within about 10 seconds of the choir starting. I was so overwhelmed with thoughts of my dad and how I much I miss him and how I wish he could see my life and meet David and our kids.

When I was a little girl he use to take my sisters and I to Fort Snelling Cemetery where my grandfather is buried. We would stand at his grave and my dad would talk about each of us kids. He would say I talked alot and was really smart, Heather was a soccer star and Stephanie was smart and funny. We would say a couple prayers then we'd go about the rest of our day. Last time I was in Minnesota I stopped by Fort Snelling Cemetery, where my dad is buried, with the kids. I trotted out with Dominick and Dalaynie. I told my dad how Laynie is such a great kid and Nick is our miracle baby. I also told him about David and how great he is and what a good fit we are. I didn't know what else to say so I just stood there kind of awkward... I said a couple prayers then I took the kids and went back to the car. It's a shame he didn't get to meet them. He got such a kick out of my nephews and nieces.... When he first died I took my nephew, Tommy, out to his grave. (My dad and Tommy had some sort of "soul sister" thing... they just loved to hang out together, my dad thought he was the most amazing kid and wasn't shy in bragging about him). I told Tommy if I ever had kids he'd have to tell them what a great grandfather they had. I told him I wanted him to tell them all about him, from the perspective of a grandchild because the opportunity for them was lost. He told me I reminded him of my dad. I asked him how and he said "Sometimes you chew on your lip like him". Tommy was 11 and I was amazed that he had the insight to think of that. Every now and then I catch Laynie chewing on her lip and think of Tommy and my dad and that day.

Anyways, back to the Church... I went up for communion and when we got back to our seats Laynie leaned over and told me "Mommy, I don't like spicy food much either". I said "WHAT?" and she said "I don't like spicy food either". I wasn't sure what she was talking about so I figured A) she was nervous because I was upset and was saying something to make me feel better or B) she thought the communion was spicy and made my eyes water... I hadn't fully swallowed it and kind of coughed a bit and when I did a little flew out of my mouth and landed on my dress. I didn't have tissue so I scooped it up and tossed it back in my mouth (did I just admit that?!!). This happened just in time for the choir to finish the song, or the part in the song anyways and my beautiful child to sit back and bellow out "Did you just eat a booger???"

A couple hours later I received a big reminder of my dad and ended up with a big smile and sign of relief. Some day maybe I'll post my "ironic dad" moments... Okay.. I'll post a couple now considering I'm thinking of them.

My dad was a smoker. I HATED it. We use to fight PHYSICALLY over cigarettes. I'd walk through the kitchen and if he was lighting up I'd flick the cancer stick out of his mouth. I'd blow out flames. I'd take them and run. It was something we did for at least the last 10 years of his life. I HATED THEM and still do! Anyways, the first time I went to his grave there was a cigarette butt right on top of it. He's buried in a National Cemetery -- where they groom the lawns obsessively. I figured my brother or sister must have been out there but they both said nope. I took it as my dad's way of letting me know he won. It was right smack in the middle of the plot. During an especially hard time in my life I found a McDonald's Monopoly pull off game piece on the bumper, near the trunk of my car. I was surprised it was there because it had rained a couple hours before I went outside and it was windy. The playing piece was one of the railroad pieces. My dad loved trains and worked for the Burlington Northern. I've had dreams, very vivid dreams, of my dad.

So... I guess the long story short here is that I miss my dad and I'm crabby because of it. I miss my mom too but luckily I can pick up the phone and say hi to her. I think I'll wait a few more hours though....

Good Night and God Bless!

PIANO LESSONS!!

HOW did I forget this!!!

DALAYNIE started piano lessons today!! I forgot my camera so her new teacher was nice enough to take this of her. Next week I'll bring mine along and get a few pictures!

Figured it out....

I've been wondering for a while how one adds music to their blog and I've finally figured it out... Of course, it took a friend to help me out but that's what friends are for... right?!

Hard to believe it's already almost Friday and another week has gone by! BUSY, BUSY for us. My laptop had some password glitch happen to it so David called Toshiba to find out how to fix it. Lucky for me it wasn't a virus or worm, I never would have heard the end of it! I had to take it to the "big city" to be fixed by a Toshiba Authorized Dealer. I called and talked to one of the employees and he said considering I was driving so far I could drop it off and they'd fix it while I waited. "Yeah, that's not going to work" is what I responded, not with MY son anyways! We got to the store and because it's a computer shop they have bars on the windows and doors. I bet the computer tech Dominick would be on the bars within about 2 minutes. Sure enough... I won! I grabbed him and was standing at the counter and Laynie told the guy in her cute little girl voice "Yeah, my brother is just a terror. We had to move our tables out of the living room because he loves to climb". Both techs thought she was funny.

Anyways, I told Laynie we should go to the mall and eat lunch and wander around. Her idea was to go to the Science Center. I decided her idea was better considering we have our annual pass so getting in is free and it's been a while since we were there. This is the first time we've gone that she's actually paid attention to things. She was so cute in the planetarium... she was participating in the presentation by the speaker and laughing with the crowd. That lasted all of 8 minutes with Dominick so unfortunately I had to take them both out. Laynie was a good sport about it though. I can't wait to get back there with her again! They both seemed to have fun although it was sure hard with both of them and Nick being the age he is. I'm not sure I'll brave a trip back without another adult for a while.

It's really late though and I need to be up in less then 5 hours to go on my 3.8 mile "brisk walk" with my friend, Judit. David and I joined weight watchers 10 weeks ago. I'm down about 13 lbs and David probably hit 20 this week!! I've already made arrangements with our new favorite photographer (www.paulastillerphotography.com) to come do family pictures once we hit our goal weights (about 10 lbs for me and 15 for David!).

Okay... for real now! Good Night!

PS I'll post Science Center pictures as soon as I figure out how to get my computer to recognize my camera again! URGH... Technology!

Check out my Slide Show!

First week without Preschool....

We're coming to the end of our first week without preschool and it's been awesome for Nick and I to have Laynie home with us. Of course, we may not feel this way in a few more weeks but heck... we'll enjoy while we can!

David and I took the kids to Rawhide, "an 1880's Western Town", about a half hour from home on Sunday. It was a lot of fun. I'm adding to my list of things I always said I'd never do if I had kids.... Here's a sample list:

-If I had a boy I'd never let him have long hair
-My kids will never play with guns
-My girl will always have matching, CLEAN clothing (she picks her own outfits these days.. most days we're good but every now and then -- not so much)
-My girl will never leave the house without her hair combed

I have a lot more then this but I think I hear movement from Nick's room so I want to get a few pictures posted... If I do it right the proof of "long boy hair" and "play with guns" will show themselves!

WHICH... I've come to the conclusion that the gun thing MUST be ingrained in boys. The kids were playing with a couple little boys at Rawhide (ages 3 & 7). They were brothers and both had play rifles (I think that's the kind of gun anyways?!). Dominick spotted one and went to it "GIN, GIN, GIN, GIN" (hard G though.. NOT jin but rhymes with jin but has same starting sound as GUN - can you tell I've got an early reader here?!).

SOOOOOOO... yesterday we went to a movie in the morning (Veggie Tales - The Heros that did Nothing),came home ate lunch and napped. In the afternoon our friends came over to swim for a while. I got a couple good pictures I'll post. Nick has a BLAST in the pool. We thought we were in for a struggle with him this summer as he SCREAMED the first bunch of times he was in the water like he was being beat (great with the neighbors 10 feet from us....). Now he stands by the sliding glass door and screams to go swim. Laynie is "just Laynie" in the pool. She still does the big pink jump and is a swimming fool....

I was going to load photos but I'm going to do a slide show instead because I've just got too many. Don't know if I'll get it done this morning.. will try for later if the kids get up!

CAACKAAAHHH!!

Here's a little video of Stinky Nick I took a bit ago. We had Laynie's pre-school graduation last night so I have a few videos and pictures to post from that... Today was her last day. She's a little stressed about not getting to see her teacher until next year (mental note to self: prepare her for that before the last day of school. Or even just mention that the "last day of school" means she won't see her teacher again until the next school year). I didn't help by taking her to the store to pick a present for her friends birthday party tonight. I don't remember the last time she cried in a store but it happened today. Then we came home and she had another tantrum. I'm pretty sure she's sleeping now as she's been banished to her room and all is quiet in there... Anyways.. enjoy the video!