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Monday, October 30, 2006 More of this
Part 1: The Birth of You
Were you a planned baby?: No, I was a pleasant surprise Were you the first?: No Who was present at your birth?: My mom, and probably my dad. Were your parents married when you were born?: yes What is your birthdate?: Friday, April 13, 1979 Part 2: The Family Are you parents married or divorced? They were married until my dad passed away. Legally, they're not married anymore. An only child?: no If you have siblings are you oldest, middle, or youngest? middle What are your sibling's names? Jay, Heidi, Louis, Isaac, Taleisha, Lucas, Chelsie Which parent do you get along with best? My mom. It wasn't that I didn't get along with my dad. We just didn't have the same relationship that I had with my mom. What do you fight about? I was never one to fight with my parents Do you have step parents?: no Part 3: The Friends Do you have more than one best friend? yes What do you like to do when you are together? hang out and have fun Do you share the same interests? some Which friend can you tell anything to? Tracey and Frank Part 4: Your Personality How high/low is your self esteem?: Fairly low Do you get depressed about things easily? no Are you an extrovert (outgoing) or an introvert (reserved)? introvert Are you happy? sometimes Do you live life to the fullest? not yet Part 5: Appearance Are you comfortable with the way you look? No Describe your hair?: long, wavy, layered How do you dress? I dress like a mom...whatever is comfy that I won't mind getting dirty Part 6: The Past Were you a strange child? no What did you used to love that you no longer do?: Fishing, camping Do you have the same friends? Some, not most though Was there anything in your past that was traumatizing? My dad passing away was pretty terrible Part 7: The Future What is your ambition? to raise my children to be successful, happy adults and for them to be able to say of me what I can say of my parents, "I know how I want to raise my children by the way my parents raised me." Are you scared of growing old?: no Do you want to get married?: I already am Part 8: The Outdoors Do you prefer indoors or outdoors?: out Favorite season?: spring Do you like walking in the rain? No. I hate the rain. Part 9: Food Are you a vegetarian?: yes What is your favorite food?: sushi (yeah, I know it's not vegetarian...whatever.) What food makes you want to gag? asparagus, liver What is your favorite dessert? creme brulee What is your favorite restaurant? I don't currently have one. Are you a fussy eater?: No Part 10: Relationships and Love Are you single or taken?: Married Do you believe in love at first sight?: yes Part 11: Experiences What was one of your greatest experiences? Being blessed with five incredible children What was one of the worst? watching my dad die Have you ever thought you were going to die? no 1. Where were you 1 hour ago? doing dishes 2. Who will be your next kiss? Drake...he's the only person in the house still awake, so he wins by default 3. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? The clothes on Caitlin's stuffed animal 4. When was the last time you went to the mall? A while ago 5. Are you wearing socks right now? no...I almost never wear socks and you will NEVER find me wearing socks in the house 6. When was the last time you went out of the state? When I was in college 7. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? nope 8. What was the last thing you had to drink? this nasty pumpkin/banana smoothie thing 9. What are you wearing right now? blue jeans, 3/4 sleeved, black, v neck, ribbed sweater 10. What was your last purchase? soy milk, diapers, pumpkin pie spice, venti passion iced tea, venti pumpkin spice latte (There's a Starbucks in my Albertsons and you can buy up to three grocery items there along with your drinks lol) 11. Last food you ate? split pea soup...yum! 12. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Caitlin 13. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? No 14. Do you have a pet? Not me, personally. My kids do, though. 15. What's the last sporting event you watched? some football game and some baseball game, at the same time. (I was at a pizza place that had both games playing on seperate tv's) 16. What is your favorite class? When I was in school, it was anything that had to do with math. 17. If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be? snuggled up in bed 18. Last thing purchased online? clothes for Sera 19. How old are your parents? My mom is 51 and my dad would be 55 20. What's your favorite soup? Cream of mushroom 21. Do you miss anyone? yes 23. What were/are your plans for the day? parent/teacher conference, playing with the kids, cleaning the house 24. Who is the last person you messaged on myspace? Tracey 25. Ever go to camp? every summer from the age of 12 to 18. 26. Were you an honor roll student in school? yes...until I became a slacker 27. What do you know about the future? That I don't know anything about it 28. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne? No, I just smell this good naturally. Okay, so I never wear perfume. 30. Where is/are your best friend[s] located? multiple places 31. Do you have a tan? No, I'm currently so white it's scary. 32. How old do you want to be when you have kids?? I'm thinking 19 was a good age. Oh wait, no it wasn't. DO NOT HAVE KIDS WHEN YOU'RE NINETEEN!!!!! It worked out well for me...she's awesome...but I wouldn't do it again. 33. Do you collect anything? apparently I collect kids 34. Do you have any tattoos or piercings? just my ears 35. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw? are there people who haven't? 36. How do you like your soda? in a bottle 37. Do you like hot sauce? yes 38. Last time you took a shower? last night 39. Who do you like? almost everyone 40. What is your mood? blah 41. Are you someone's best friend? yes 42. What's the last TV show you watched? Desperate Housewives...last week sometime. STOP THE PRESSES!!!!
Ahem *taps the mic* Is this thing on? *tap tap tap* Ladies and gentleman, I have an announcement to make.
SERA IS WALKING!!! Yes folks, you heard correctly. My precious little Sera is officially a toddler. As of just a couple of days ago, she is no longer crawling. I was absolutely AMAZED at how quickly she started walking as soon as she put her mind to it. She went from tentatively taking some steps if she thought she could make it from one place to the next without falling, to just going for it, and getting right back up when she fell down in just two days. I am so grateful for every day that I am allowed to witness the lives of these precious little miracles that I have been blessed with.
Saturday, October 28, 2006 How fun!
Tonight, I came across an incredible site. The Toy Maker is full of fun paper crafts you can do with your kids (or by yourself if you really wanted to lol) Now I'm feeling the pull to get new printer cables so I can actually print these things out. The kids and I would have such a blast doing this. I've been trying to find some things for Cole, Ethan and I to do together while the girls are at school. I think I just may have found it!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006 Some food for thought
"It is never too late to become who you might have been."
Monday, October 23, 2006 WOOHOOOOO!!!!
So, my mother in law came to visit last week. She stayed with us one night, then we drove her up to L.A. and we visited with family that lives up there and she stayed up there with her sister until she came back down to San Diego, stayed another night with us, then flew back home to Hawaii. All in all, it was an incredible visit. We were able to see Drake's grandmother, who we haven't seen in many years, as well as his aunt, uncle and cousins.
Drake's mom seemed very impressed with the effort I have been putting into losing weight and actually gave me some money to go out and buy a new outfit! Now I just have to decide if I'm going to buy the outfit now, or wait until I've lost some more weight. Drake suggested I buy the sweater that I've been oogling at for a while.  It's from J Crew and is cashmere. However, with a $140 price tag, it's just not something I would spend my own money on. I'm VERY tempted to buy it though. With my luck, however, the first time I wore it, one of the kids would puke or poop on it. lol I'll probably just use the money to buy myself a couple new pairs of jeans and a shirt or two. I think that would be money better spent than on a sweater that I would be too afraid to actually wear. lol Isn't it beautiful though...and it's oh so soft and yummy.I got new sheets!!!! Yes, this is blahg worthy. :P Another little known fact about me. I'm a sheet snob. I think there are very few things in life that compare to sleeping on a bed with high quality bedding. There is no joy quite like that of laying your head on a nice pillow case, sprawling your body out on a nice fitted sheet, and snuggling up under an incredible flat sheet and really nice comforter. Really...it makes me happy just thinking about it. lol One of my favorite things on a cold night is to wash my sheets, pull them straight out of the dryer, put them on my bed and just be warm and comfy. I love the smell of newly washed sheets. Honestly, if I had to choose between sleeping with my husband or sleeping with really nice, high TC, Egyptian cotton, freshly laundered sheets, hubby might just get the boot. lol I need a new pillow though. I'm thinking of getting a King sized, goose down pillow. I LOVE goose down bedding. I SO badly want a goose down comforter. Sadly, Drake is allergic. :( He'll probably throw a fit over the pillow and I'll be forced to choose between him and the pillow. I hope he doesn't mind sleeping on the couch. :( lol Monday, October 16, 2006
So, convincing Drake to go veg was SO much easier than I thought it would be. I said, "Hey honey, how do you feel about going vegetarian?" He said, "Okay," and that was that. Too easy, right? Of course it was. Apparently he thought he was agreeing to eating vegetarian meals every once in a while. When I told him that no meat would be prepared in our home again, he recanted his okay of a vegetarian lifestyle. I told him that I would compromise and if he wanted meat, he could cook it himself. That was a no go.
I took the girls to the store and bought next weeks food. I told them we were going vegetarian. They literally CRIED...tears and everything! "But I LOOOOOOOVE meat!!! No more McDonalds? No more ribs? What are we going to eat??!?!??!" *sigh Caitlin is on a hunger strike until I cook her meat. lol (Although, we went out for dinner with family last night and they had ham and pinapple pizza. I told them they could eat meat, I just wouldn't be preparing it for them.) Drake says there's no way he's giving up cheese. I told him he could do the shopping then because I won't be buying cheese anymore. Yesterday I made this incredible (if I do say so myself) zucchini and bean soup. Everyone LOVED it...except Caitlin, who refused to eat it due to her hunger strike. Tonight I'm making a tofu curry. YUM! I think I'm going to do some "raw" days. There's no way I could go 100% raw. Raw is basically just like it sounds...you don't cook anything. Heating up food takes away a lot of the nutrients, so eating raw is actually REALLY good for you. I'm not crazy enough to go fully raw, but I'm hoping to incorporate a few raw days a week into my diet. I have a recipe for a raw lasagna that looks really good! Anyone have a food processor or a blender they want to give me? I could really use one. lol I want to start off each day with a kale smoothie, but currently don't have the means to make them. :( Oh, and Drake said he'll skip breakfast if it's a kale smoothie. :P Friday, October 13, 2006 "Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
So, I'm thinking of making the switch over to vegetarianism...possibly veganism. I KNOW I'm cutting out all dairy. The family shouldn't have a problem with that. lol Drake, Emma and Sera all have problems with dairy anyways, so eliminating dairy from their diets should only improve things for them.
I've been researching it quite a bit and really do feel that it is healthier for my family to eliminate most, if not all meats. I suppose the question is: How far do I want to take this? I'm thinking of possibly not eliminating fish just because it has so many health beneifits. Do I want to eliminate eggs as well? The plan is to continue to allow the children to choose the way they want to eat. I just won't be preparing meat dishes at home. If they want to eat meat at school or at friend's homes, that is their choice. It just won't be an option at home. I know Caitlin will embrace vegetarianism. She's wanted to in the past, but because I was unwilling to cook her seperate meals and wouldn't let her eat nothing but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, she was forced to eat meat or starve. lol I think Drake will be okay with it. He'll still have lunch at work, which is usually Indian food, a big burger...or whatever. So, it will basically be Sera, Cole, Ethan and me that will be going completely veg (unless I choose to include fish...which I'm still undecided on, but am leaning towards) because those kids rely completely on the food I prepare for them, whereas the older girls eat school lunches, eat at friend's homes, etc. I will probably slowing integrate our new way of eating into my home. We have SO much meat in the freezer right now because I just recently did all of the shopping for the month. lol So, I'll probably do a veg meal every other night until all of the meat is gone, but I will make a veg meal for myself each night because as of about five minutes from now (when I finish my cup of coffee with cream in it lol) I will be completely veg...unless I choose to include fish, which I'm still undecided on. lol Chances are I'll choose to have the kids be ovo-veg...and still allow eggs for bread and such, because eliminating eggs from their diet just limits them so much and they may just refuse to eat. lol However, for myself I'll be going completely vegan. (Or pesco vegetarian if I eat fish) This is all going to be on a trial basis. In a few months I'll reevaluate my choice and decide, what if anything, should be added back into our diets. I'm hoping to find that this way of eating will leave us all healthier, give us more energy, and not be as difficult as I'm anticipating it to be. lol Thursday, October 12, 2006 Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong. ~Richard Armour
Oh yay, election time must be coming up. I swear at least once a day I get a message on my answering machine in regards to how awful the democratic candidate is and what s/he's doing wrong, etc. For once, you know what I'd like to hear? What the other candidate plans to do right. Truth be told, I have no idea how I ended up on the republican phone list. Seriously...it kinda makes me giggle that they're trying so hard.
Now, I'm not saying I'm a democrat. I'm actually registered as an independant. I want to leave my options open ;) However, at the moment, the thought of me voting republican is laughable. I actually voted for Bush in 2000. 2004...now that's a different story. You know how it goes..."Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." A little known fact about me: I LOVE politics. I love discussing politics. I have very strong opinions on many things and do my best to keep abreast of the latest political going ons. That being said, I rarely discuss my views with others because I've found that most people are pretty much set in their ways and political discussions seem to lead to nothing more than hurt feelings, party bashing and absolutely no progress. I'm not one to argue when nothing is going to come of it. So, where do I fall along party lines? I feel it should come as no shock to most that I fall to the left...very far to the left. lol Many people seem to complain that the democratic party keeps choosing candidates that are so far left that it keeps them from getting elected because there are so many moderate liberals. As for me, I don't want a wishy washy liberal. I want someone strong in their convictions, pushing the "liberal agenda." ;) However, there are issues that I fall so far right on, that I cannot, in good conscience, register as a democrat. So, I'm one of the swing votes...the independant voter. You'll very rarely find me voting republican though. Sometimes, if I'm in a good mood, I'll throw my vote away and vote one of the other parties. lol (usually libertarian) Growing up, I considered myself a republican. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why my dad always voted democratic. There were certain issues that were just so cut and dry to me that I felt I HAD to be a republican. (Yes, I considered myself a member of a certain party, even at the ages of 4 and 5. I've always been fond of politics. lol) In my highschool government class, I argued the conservative side until I was blue in the face. However, the more I thought about it and the more I learned, the more I realized that politics weren't so cut and dry. That sometimes you have to give a little to get a lot. Acceptable losses, perhaps? Falling to either side is going to make me compromise things I feel strongly about. I think what it basically came down to was, "Which side, do I feel, is better for life as a whole?" Yep, that swung me pretty far left. I think Bill Clinton was an awesome president. (He's not exactly going to win husband of the year, but his personal life, as long as it doesn't affect the way he runs the country, doesn't concern me) I think Bush sucks. I will vote for Hillary if she runs in 2008. Hell, I'll probably vote almost any democrat for president because I'm just so upset with the current state of the republican party. If you can find me a fairly moderate republican who doesn't think that God speaks to him and tells him how to run the country, I may actually vote for him. I like to keep my church and state seperate, thank you very much. Like I said...I keep my options open though. So, there you have it...me in a political nutshell, without actually going into any issues. lol Now, if you want to talk specific issues...do you have a few hours? ;) Tuesday, October 10, 2006 Beauty... when you look into a woman's eyes and see what is in her heart. ~Nate Dircks
My girls got their school photos back today. Here they are in all their beauty:
Emma:  Caitlin:  Caitlin actually took retake pictures because we had forgotten it was picture day and didn't do her hair, but we got the original photo she took, which I still think she looks beautiful in. She wants me to call and get her second set of pictures though. First thoughts
First thing that comes to mind, finish it... Don't think just type
************************************************ 1. Love is ..... difficult 2. I am... enamoured with my children 3. My best friend... lives far away 4. I sleep... on my side 5. You can never.... have too much love in your life 6. I can't stand.... liars 7. I love when... my babies kiss me for no reason. 8. I miss... my friends. 9. I would love to.... go to Greece 10. My job.... is neverending. 11. I think people... are generally good. 12. Flowers... sometimes smell gross. 13. Relationships are.. difficult. 14. Money can.. buy some nice alternatives to happiness. 15. I'm scared.. of hurting people that I love. 16. One of my favorite smells... is the air right after it rains. 17. The ocean.. scares me. 18. Movies are.. best watched while cuddling on the couch under a blanket. 19. My best friend is a... incredible person. (Although, it should have been "is AN") 20. My parents.. have (had) the relationship I want to have one day. 21. I drink.. water...lots and lots of water. 22. My cell phone... is a piece of crap. It doesn't ring. Sometimes it doesn't even buzz when a call comes in. 23. Myspace is... full of odd people 24. Who is on your mind... Cole. He has the flu :( 25. I hate when... my kids are sick. 26. Television shows... are a fun way to waste time. 27. My shoes... are in my closet. I almost never wear them. 28. I wear... clothes. 29. I need... money. lol 30. I hope one day.. I'll be able to look back at my life and feel like I accomplished the things I wanted to accomplish and that life for others is a bit better because I was part of their life. Sunday, October 08, 2006 Guys don't make passes at girl's who wear glasses
*Sigh So I think I need a new pair of glasses. This prescription just isn't cutting it anymore. Things look the same with the glasses as they did before I got glasses. Without the glasses...well, let's just say that you should get off the street if you ever see me in the car without my glasses on. I can barely read the computer screen without them on.
So, I suppose it's off to the optometrist as soon as I can make an appointment. (And yet, really, I've realized for months that these glasses just weren't cutting it and have yet to make an appointment) My glasses were only supposed to be used when I read and when I'm on the computer. I'm farsighted. Reading gives me a headache when I don't wear my glasses. Sadly, since getting glasses, life gives me a headache when I don't wear my glasses. It's amazing how much worse my vision has gotten since getting glasses. I guess my eyes have just gotten used to not having to work to see clearly and have gotten lazy. So, the question is...do I get new frames or not? Drake HATED my glasses when I first got them. Black plastic frames?!?!?! He tried and tried and tried to talk me out of them. Everytime he saw me in them, he'd just shake his head. I think, over time, he got used to them though. He now says he can't picture me in different frames. I don't think he'd mind terribly though if I switched frames. I was thinking of maybe getting rimless frames. I just feel like those really aren't me, though. Originally, when I first found out I needed glasses, I wanted black, plastic, cat eye frames. I still kinda want those. lol Something like this:  Are those not the cutest? I think Drake would freak though...and really, I don't have to look at myself as much as he does.These are my current glasses (except mine are black) :  I think they work well for me, but there's something to be said about change to shake things up a bit. lol *sigh Decisions...decisions...decisions...
Thursday, October 05, 2006 ABC's of me (because I KNOW you care!) A - Available: no B - Best Feature: ummmm...yeah, I'll have to get back to you on that one
G-Gummy Bears or Worms: worms
J - Jewelry: I don't wear any. I'll wear a necklace if I dress up.
M - Meat: salmon or raw tuna
O - One wish: that my children will lead long, happy, fulfilled lives P - Perfectionist?: at times Q - Quick or Slow?: depends on what you're talking about R - Reason to smile: family
U - Unpredictable: sometimes
Monday, October 02, 2006 Nothing new to report
I really have nothing to write about. I just feel like I haven't written anything of substance lately, so I felt I should write, no matter how mundane and boring the entry ends up being. lol Yeah, you're the one reading it. :P
How about an update on the fam? That's always good for a snore. lol Drake: He's working...a lot. He has a project due (well, it's past due) which means long hours and many days. He didn't go in this weekend, and I know that hurt him. The kids asked him to stay home though, so he did. I'm hoping that when we move he won't have to work as much. He won't take a job that doesn't pay at least $10K more than he's making now though, so chances are, he'll be working more than ever. Ick. You do what you have to do to support the family though. With a wife that stays home and five kids, you can't afford to be picky about your hours. At least he's not going away anymore. That was SO hard on the kids. I'm grateful that his current project doesn't require traveling. However, his current project is almost done. Who knows what his next project will entail though. Caitlin: She's loving third grade. She has a very nice teacher and surrounds herself with good friends. She's a "Hawk Leader." It's basically student government. She's in charge of keeping order in the lunch room during the first grade lunch period, and for keeping order on the playground during some recess'. She recently got her green belt in tae kwon do. She's so thrilled! She totally kicks butt. Lately she has become obsessed with doing her hair. She's all about clips and headbands. Her favorite lately is to do her hair the same way I do mine. lol Thankfully, it takes all of fifteen seconds to do it that way. I think it looks better on her than it does on me. lol Emma: She is so happy to be back in school. She LOVES to learn and soaks everything up as soon as she learns it. She has a constant thirst for knowledge and when she's done with her homework each day, she'll sit down and write herself out more problems to solve. Unfortunately, she's been going through a lot of issues with friends. She takes everything VERY personally and it just tears her apart when her friends are angry with her, if she gets in trouble, if her friend is upset, etc. She's learning the dynamics of female friendships, which can be SO hard at times. Girls can be so evil. :( She, too, recently advanced to green belt in tae kwon do. She LOVES her classes and adores her teacher. Cole: He's just happy hanging out at home with Mommy, Ethan and Sera. His favorite thing to do is just cuddle up on the couch with me and watch a movie. However, when he's not being cuddly, he's jumping off of furniture, breaking things, hitting things or people, throwing things around, screaming at the top of his lungs, etc. It's like night and day with him. It's a bit crazy, but I adore that boy. He's CONSTANTLY on me though. While I don't usually have issues with personal space, sometimes I just like not to be climbed on. Cole just doesn't get that. Every time I'm within eyesight, he feels the need to hold me, climb on me, sit on my lap, lay his head in my lap, hold my arm, etc. I love it, but hate it at the same time. I guess I just get touched out at times. Ethan is the same way though. So is Drake, for that matter. lol I guess it's a boy thing in my household. lol Cole just got his yellow belt, second degree. He's doing SO much better than I ever thought he could. He's really into it and does really well with it. Ethan: Well, what can I say about Ethan? He's quite the little character. He is the happiest boy you will EVER meet. Seriously. It is very rare that he doesn't have a HUGE smile on his face. His life is full of constant motion. He's always up and rearing to go. He's such a little ball of sunshine. He absolutely ADORES his baby sister. He's so good with her. He's constantly giving her toys, sharing his food, playing with her, showing her how to do things, coloring with her, stuff like that. I think he would just sit and play with her all day if he could. His favorite thing to say these days is, "That was FUN, Mommy!" He says that whenever he falls, bumps his head, falls off of something, jumps off of something, etc. It's all so much fun. lol Sera: I am constantly amazed by this little girl and the the things she knows and understands. She's created her own little version of sign language to communicate with us the things she wants. She doesn't talk much yet, but knows the important things. She can say "diaper" when she needs to be changed, "water bottle" when she wants water, "cup" when she wants milk, "Dad" when she wants...well, dad lol, "Mom" when she wants pretty much anything else. LOL Oh, and she says "nigh nigh" when she's tired and wants to go to bed. Today, she showed her first sign of understanding compassion. Emma was crying about getting in trouble at school. Sera came up to her, looked at her, saw that she was crying, and gave her a BIG hug. She just stood there, hugging Emma until Emma stopped crying. Emma asked me, "Why is she hugging me? This is weird." LOL I told her that Sera was just trying to make her feel better. Sera let go, gave her a kiss and smiled at her. It was all very sweet. Watching my children grow has been the most incredible experience of my life. To see them go from these tiny little babies who don't do anything but eat, scream and poop to these understanding, thoughtful, amazing little humans just brings me so much joy. It's especially nice that I can say that I had a hand in it all. Katie: I'm pretty much just doing the same old thing. Taking care of the kids, taking care of the house, doing the things that moms do. I recently got back into my diet. Ugh...can I tell you how much I hate dieting? More especially, how much I hate exercising? lol I suppose it's good for me though. *sigh lol It seems to be working though. I've lost twelve pounds in the past 9 days. GO ME! lol So, there you have it. My life in a nutshell. I told you I really had nothing of substance to post about. lol |
