Rachel's b-day

So this is what Rachel is doing for her b-day. I am getting off easy once again. For the last 3 years we have been in California for Rachel's b-day. It just so happens that her b-day is during fall break which means she always gets jipped out of a party. It 's one of those things "We will have one when we get back home" and it never happens. I forget, she forgets, blah, blah, blah. So this year she hit me up for this concert. Score! If anyone wants to join us get a ticket and hop on board. We will get some eats after the show.

Tickets for this one-time only event are on sale now. The show isscheduled for Oct. 12. The Jonas Brothers -- featuring brothers Kevin, Joe and Nick -- will be the music headliners for Yamaguchi's annual Friends and Family ice show,which features Olympic and world-class skaters and their children. The showwill be nationally televised on NBC-TV at a date to be announced.

My Chefs!

Are these the 2 cutiest cooks in the world or what? How do you like the aprons? It makes cooking fun at our house! lolo My brother and wife are to blame for these cute little things. My kids think they are funny and when Marc and I joke around and put them on they always are like "Please can you not wear those things. They are totally embarrassing".

I've got a teenager

Excuse me but how did this happen? I now have a teenager. My sweet little Abby turned 13 today. What's up with that? I still feel like I'm 28 (that's how old I was when I had her. You do the math) I picked out the name Abby when I was about 17 years old. I used to work at a daycare center and there was this little girl "Abby" that was as cute as can be. She stole my heart and was one of my favs at the daycare. I decided later that I wanted my own Abby. I remember bugging Marc for a baby. The old clock started ticking. Marc was going to be starting law school and he did not have kids on his mind. To shut me up he said okay we will try for 1 month. If you get preggo great, if not you have to wait until I start my 2nd year of law school. Boy, talk about pressure. I had to be on target, there was no messing up this 1 month window. Marc was serious. Well, Abby didn't let me down. I got pregnant during that 1 month period. Marc about freaked out but it was a good thing. I had Abby 3 weeks into Marc's 1st year of law school. Oh, happy times! Stressed out student and hormonal new mom. Lucky I loved you Abby because it was a CRAZY time for me and your dad. You are such a great kid, oops I mean YOUNG ADULT.

Here are 13 things I love about you:
1. You are sweet and thoughtful
2. You are fun to hang out with
3. You listen to good music - the kind I like
4. You are a great basketball player
5. You are a really good sister
6. You love ice-cream
7. You are pretty
8. I like the clothes you wear
9. You are friendly to the underdog
10. You take your grades seriously and don't slack - or should I say you take dad's threats of bad grades seriously
11. You love to laugh
12. You are good at playing instruments
11. You love to shop
12. You appreciate a good pedicure
13. You love your family and make sure all of us know that.

I'm glad I got an ABBY!
11.

You have permission to shoot me

This is what I spent all morning making. You ask why? Well, me, my sister and another lady are in charge of family dinner nights for the school. What is that? You organize with a restaurant to have your school come eat there and they will in return donate a profit from that night to your school. So, we set it up at Wildflower bread company. They are even going to let the teachers serve the food to our families. How great is that? Well, I guess not very great because I had a heck of a time getting staff to sign up. I honestly don't blame them, but I thought I would try. So when the sign up sheet wasn't filling up I promised a treat personally from me for their help. Help arrived. Thanks Mrs. Czarniecki! So, in return I spent my morning doing something nice for the staff who is doing something nice for me and the school. I made this home made carmel corn. This stuff is AWESOME!!!! But is it worth the trouble? For me the answer would be a big fat NO! The downside of making this treat for me was : Popping my own popcorn. ( I felt like I was Mrs. Cleaver), Burning 2 of my fingers, cleaning the sticky pans, and having it take 2 hours to make. So I give you permission to shoot me if I ever say "Hey, I got this really great recipe do you want me to make some?"

Shocker Factor

It worked. After an hour of being told how mean I was they got hungry. 8:00 they were being served dinner with a smile. I was so happy I found something that worked. I got what I wanted and they ate.

Amelia turns 9

I'm a bit on the late side getting this post done. My little Amelia (mimi)turned 9 on September 6th. Oh, I still remember going into labor with her. We were staying at my sister's house getting ready to move into our new house. I start getting the labor pain around 7:00 at night. My sister, brother David, Abby and Josh just kept starring at me while I paced around the house. Marc and his sisters were at my new house putting it together. My sister in laws unpacked my boxes and set up my kitchen. (still feel grateful for that one). Anyways, I knew that Amelia would be coming soon so I wanted to get Josh to bed before I left for the hospital. I am laying on my sister/husbands bed and my water breaks all over their nice bed. Oh, I felt teriable. High tailed it to the hospital and had a mesierable delievery. Amelia was born at 6:41 am. Even though it was a hard process getting her here she was the easiest baby out of all of them. Amelia has grown up to be such a beautiful girl. Here are 9 things I love about my 9 year old:
1. She is so concerned with how other people are feeling. Wants them to be happy. (Well, everyone but her sibilings. lolo)
2. She is always willing to help me no matter what.
3. She loves to cook with her dad. I think that is so sweet.
4. She is a great dancer and has such a passion for it. I admire that.
5. She loves to shop, and has a great sense of fashion.
6. She is so much like me.
7. She loves to have fun and can get a party going.
8. She is very sensative.
9. She loves her family and makes it a point for us all to know that.

MIMI YOU ROCK

Grandpa????

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Josh put this mask on at the store. He looked so funny. Lilly went up to him and said "Hi Grandpa". The way she said it disturbed me. She said it like it was really Grandpa. Could she really be that clueless? Let's hope not

Walking with Dino's

I got to go hang out with Josh, my sister and her son Wyatt last night. It was so fun to have some time with just Josh. He is a great date. He was so happy to be with me. He did a great job of making me feel like a million bucks. I had spent all day in the ER with Abby for the 3rd time this week so I was feeling kind of down. Abby is fine. The cysts are just really painful and one of them is leaking blood and causing extra pain. Anyways, back to my sweet Josh. We had bought these tickets to see Walking with the Dinosaurs clear back in July. It was a long time waiting for this fun filled night. We didn't really know what to expect. Look at the picture of the man by the Dino. That gives you a better idea of how big these things were. It was a really cool show. It was fun to have time with Josh. I just love him so much!

Food handlers card

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Abby

It started Thursday when Abby got home from school. She had a really bad stomach ache. Not the throw up kind. She went to bed woke up in the night with cramps and doubled over. Gave her medicine and laid with her. She got up went to school. Still didn't feel great, but didn't want to miss school because of the homework factor. Off and on all weekend of cramps. She was at basketball tryouts Sunday morning and 15 minutes into the practice she just about fainted. She was as white as a ghost, shaking, and couldn't see. Of course of all weekends Marc was out of town. I loaded up the kids and we headed to the ER. My brother lives close to the hospital so I dropped off all of the other kids at his house. My sister-in-law was so happy to see them. She loves kids and girls because she doesn't have a girl. They dealt with my crew while Abby and I went to the hospital. Blood work, cat scans, x-rays and 9 hours later they say she has 2 cysts on her ovaries but it still could be appendix. Okay so what do I do? Give her pain meds and wait and see how she is tomorrow. Marc had hopped on a plane to come home. My sister had picked up my kids from my brothers and was playing mom to them. She did homework with them, made treats for Amelia's class for her b-day, bathed the kids, washed hair, went to the store, packed lunches for the next day, and was still standing when we got home 9 hours later. Does this girl ROCK or what? Anyway, Monday - Abby was still in pain. Took her to her pediatrician. He sends her back to the ER. Worried about appendix. 8 hours spent at ER. Cat scans, blood work, ultra sound. Doctor says"Give her pain meds and watch her". Okay, what is the deal here? We go to the OBYGN Tuesday. They do an ultra sound then send up to see a surgeon. He said the reason she is in so much pain is that one of the cysts is leaking blood and that is causing the pain. Your abdominal wall does not like to have blood touch it. It can cause tremendous pain. Said to watch her, and she should start to feel better. She is feeling better today. Pretty crazy. Is she going to have these every month? Just have to wait and see.

Mom's house

My brother has been in town from Austin visiting for the last week. It has been great having him around. We call him our Manny (male version of a nanny). It has been so great having an extra hand to help with homework, keep Lilly busy and tuck the kids in bed at night. While he has been here we took a day trip to see my mom and step dad in Payson. They finally finished building their "Dream house" and have moved in. Let me tell you these pictures don't do justice to being there. The first picture is the loft. Look at the ceiling. Is that crazy or what? It is beautiful.

This is the fire place in the family room.

I couldn't fit the whole house in the picture because of all the beautiful trees in front of the house.

This is the kitchen. I would even cook if mine looked like this.

The red thing to the side is their refrigerator. It is so cool. It looks like a piece of furniture. I am so happy that they are retired and living their dream.