crashed and burned

So, my November thankful post experiment crashed and burned. Big surprise! If you knew what life was like right now I hope you'd understand and not judge. It's just CRAP! Without all my drama to cloud things, here's the things I am most grateful for:
1. my family...all of 'em. Especially the ones that love and support me even when I'm CRAP. I am missing my far away family right now....I could really use a hug....send me one from far away will ya? I am super bummed that I can't have everyone over like I use to. I don't have any room to put overnight guests now! Major downer!
2. the gospel. SO necessary.
3. the beach. It's very theraputic. I go down there almost every day just to get a fresh breath of air.
4. my friends. Near and far, I couldn't do anything with out ya.
5. life. I struggled with weather to list this one or not. Because you know, sometimes life is really hard, and sometimes I wonder if it'd be easier without it or if you just have to take your same crap with you. Either way, someday I'll be stronger for all this CRAP, so... I'm even thankful for life. Without it I wouldn't be able to enjoy the other four things listed.

Wednesday

Yesterday was a nice easy vacation day. Slept in, no one bothered me. We went to my mom's house in the afternoon and hung out. It was nice and relaxing. We played a game, chatted, Mom made us all dinner, and Holly made chocolate chip cookies. For this, I am thankful.

Mary Meppy Melon

TUESDAY
Mary's b-day was yesterday and today she is the subject of my thankful posts. I love my baby sis for so many reasons and have posted them before. But now, I look up to her. (not just height wise) After her epic battle last year, she has proven to be optimistic, tenacious, motivated, full of endurance, a self starter, and above all-a fighter. Don't tell her she can't do something. She'll do it just to prove you wrong (it's a strong trait in our family). Right now the the thing that is impressing me the most is her optimism. I like to think that I use to be like her, but in recent years that has changed. When I am around Mary, I think some of that rubs off on me. I feel better, younger, and always have a good time. Who else could convince me to play spoons with the twist that the loser gets shot with an airsoft gun? My bruises are just now going away (I defiantely lost more than everyone else). I am so thankful for my baby sis, Mary Meppy Melon:)

Monday

Today I am grateful that I didn't hear "Are you up yet?!?" this morning. Not even one time.

If you get this, then you know how this made today a good day.

The Weekend

Busy weekend. Had to think hard about what I was grateful for. I think that says something for my frame of mind. Especially considering how blessed I am. There is the ususal list of family, home, food, etc.; but I want this to be something unique about each day. Still, it shouldn't be hard, but for some reason it's not coming easy. Man, my head is screwed up! I don't have health insurance til Dec1, so that won't be medically fixed anytime soon........ this is going the wrong direction.:(

Okay, start over. Saturday I was thankful for my sweet daughter, Rebekah. After doing her mountain of dishes, she stuck around and helped me core, peel, and slice TONS of apples for the apple crisp I had to make. I had to make enough for 50 people for a church function on Sunday night. It took us 4 hours, and she helped the whole time, even with my quick temper, without being asked. It is so nice to have a 14 year old daughter without the usual teenage attitude! I am sure it won't last forever that way, but for now..... I am SO grateful for her. I call her a little MIT (Mom-in-Training) and she has surpassed my ability, a long time ago!

On Sunday I was thankful for the cute girls that came over on Saturday night. Two of the girls from church, Eric's age, came over and asked if Rebekah was here. She was out to dinner and a movie with a friend of hers. They stayed and just chatted for a long time. I ended up feeding them and then we watched a movie. I love impromptu movie nights! It was fun to chat and laugh with them. I hope they were as entertained as I was. When Rebekah came home she was a little surprised to see her mom and two girls watching a movie.... but when Eric came home and saw two of his friends 'hanging out' with his mom; that face was priceless. (the movie had ended by then).

When I look at my small 'list' of things I am grateful for each day, they are pretty simple. Not sure what that says about me yet.

The Oven

I know it's a stretch, but, today I am grateful that my oven is fixed. Since we moved in, everything in the oven has gone wrong. Crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside-but not in a good way. Cupcakes were misshapen, cakes were crooked, cookies were disasterous. The home warranty people came out and fixed it. Hooray! I made brownies the same night and they were perfection. Whew.... I thought I lost my touch or something.

Now if we can get the dishwasher working right...........

The Husband

Of course the husband is always tops on my grateful list. But today, especially. Eric texted me this morning to tell me that a new Sonic opened in Vista. HOORAY! That is enough to be grateful.... but Jay took the afternoon off to go to Sonic with me and then the beach. He surfed, I read while sipping my Route 44 Diet Coke. The ocean does something to my psyche (spelling?). I am now so nice and relaxed and stress-free now. I love the husband and am so grateful for him! The list of why is long and extremely cheesy, so I'll spare you that:)

bike helmets

Ahhhh, the bike helmet. Today I am grateful for this wonderful piece of foam and plastic because it saved me from yet another concussion. While I love my road bike, I seem to crash a lot.... and that I do not like. Before I became a 'roadie', I would have never been caught dead in a helmet. Bad hair, dorky lookin', etc. However, I now swear by the helmet. I have clipless pedals, which basically means that my bike shoes are attached to the pedal. When you stop, you have to clip your shoe out of the pedal by twisting your ankle and yanking. The bottom of the bike shoe is slick, so if you try to pedal while not clipped in, your foot is gonna slip right off. This contraption gets some getting use to. It took me about a month..... and a lot of falls. Now it's no problem (it's been almost 2 years I think), but... every once in a while something wacky happens and boom-I'm on the pavement again.

Today I went out for a ride with Jay (the 2nd ride since we moved here.... and he forced me to go-I was SO not in the mood). It's REALLY hilly around here. Really, really hilly. We had to stop at a stoplight. Okay, no problem. When the light turned green, I started to go but before I got my foot clipped in, I started to slow WAY down.... uh oh. The street was going uphill and I didn't have enough momentum and couldn't downstroke again and before I know it, in slow-mo, I was tipping over. Landed on my knee and wrist first (as usual) then the noggin. In the middle of the street! SO lame. SOOOOOOO lame.

Anyway, today I am grateful for bike helmets. I'm dingy enough these days without concussions to make it worse. Sheesh.

(Oh, and Holly-yes, I know I was suppose to be running, and if I had been running I wouldn't have this problem. However, I was in a mood and we're lucky I even left the house. I can hardly walk up these damn hills, let alone run up them. Can you tell I'm a little frustrated!!!!!

Friends

Today I am thankful for FRIENDS. Near and far, new and old. This particular category of friends includes family members who are also friends.....like sisters, my mom, cousins. You know who you are. You probably read my blog:)

Leaving my AZ friends & family network proved much harder than anticipated. I miss them and am thankful for them every day. I am so glad that I had a friend here already when we moved in. My good friend Kami is just 9 miles away, and is such a comfort to me. I have been very blessed to make new friends who have proved to 'have my back' already. Thank you, thank you, thank you! (I guess I'm also thankful for my big mouth:) My CA family-friends of my mom, Holly, Mary, and now Heidi have proved invaluable. I NEED them, and am SO grateful for them. I have reconnected with old friends and hope to renew some old friendships with more family. This network building stuff is hard work!, but so necessary for my mental well-being. It is taking a freaking village to raise my kids, so the more in my network the better.

Without rambling further..... I am grateful for my friends, all of you.

November = Giving Thanks

I am going to copy my sister, Julianne's idea from last year and post something I am thankful for each day in November. My attitude is pretty crappy lately and hopefully this will help turn my frown upside down and get me ready for the quickly approaching holidays.

November 1st (yesterday)
I am thankful for medicine. Lots of it. Excedrin Migraine to be exact. The spook-alley on my parent's street was AWESOME, but the strobe lights left me in pain the next morning. SO thankful for my meds:)

November 2nd (today)
I am thankful for Diet Coke. Yep. Silly, I know. But really, sometimes that's what it takes to get the job done. It's a Monday afterall, and I am truly, from the bottom of my heart, no kidding, seriously, SO thankful for my evil nectar. I happen to consider it part of my meds:)

Happy November, all! Give Thanks!

Yikes!

It's been a month since my last post? Oops. Just remember that I hate September, it is always a super hard month for me...but now it's over and I can hopefully start being productive again. I have some pics to post in the next couple of days but I'll do a little fill in for now.

Eric turned 16 over the summer, and finished his Eagle Project two days before he was able to get his license. Hence, he is a licensed driver now. At first (ok, still) it was a little scary, but it is really nice having another driver. I don't have to drive to early morning seminary! WooHoo! The down side is that he gets lost A LOT. The gas bill is not fun. He had his Eagle Board of Review two days before we moved, so now we are just waiting for the paper to come in the mail, making it really official, and so we can plan the Court of Honor. He is loving his surf PE class and has straight A's! (that NEVER happened in AZ) It is a wonderful transformation that's happened over the kid and I just pray that it lasts:)

Bekah is still adjusting but is doing well. Impecable grades and cross country times that are improving each week make for a happy girl. The way that Math classes are set up here, in 8th grade, it's Algebra. Well, in AZ it's a year behind that. So, she's in Algebra having never taken Pre-Algebra. We are really proud of her. We is doing great because of all the hard work she is putting into it.

David turns 13 this week. He is a little beach bum. He goes almost every day with either Eric or Jay or both, and gets really mad when he can't go for one reason or another. He's getting really good at surfing. He's still himself....perfect grades, the cleanest room in the house, etc.... but is suffering from 'teenager dumb'. The symptoms of this are hard to put into words. This kid that has always been smart, lots of common sense...like a mini adult-is SO a teenager. He asks stupid questions, forgets what you told him 2 minutes ago, is clumsy, etc. We love him to pieces, despite this 'setback'. He makes me laugh every day. Last night we had the CA family over for dinner for a little party for David. It was the first party we've had in the new house. I think it went well:) We got some more stuff put away because people were coming over, so that was good. On Wednesday, David's actual b-day, I am taking him to Disneyland with my mom, Holly and Grady, and Mary. He is super-excited to not have to go to school on his birthday! I told you.... teenager all the way.

Jay is working his buns off, but like I said, goes to the beach daily. It is keeping him centered and grounded. He is happy and content. He is the Varsity Scout leader in our new ward and seems to be having a good time with that. It's basically just having fun with the 14-15 year old boys once a week. Last week they did Jiu Jitsu...everyone had a blast.

I am struggling, still. I miss my network of friends (Julianne, you're included in that:). I love the weather, our new house, being closer to the CA family. But I am lonely during the day. Especially when Jay is out of town. I have made friends, but not the kind that you can call up and go for a coke or go shopping with, etc. I know it will take time. Overall, it's good. My friend Kami is close by so that helps. I am the Activities Committee Chairman at church (I know!) and am nervous about how the first party will go (Christmas). I'm going to do a Christmas in Bethlehem kind of thing. Still, 300 people that I don't really know? Talk about intimidating! Oh! You're not gonna believe this one...my cousin Heidi talked me into doing a 1/2 marathon with her in May. THEN my sister Holly talked me into doing a 1/2 marathon with her in March! I can't believe I agreed! 13 miles?! Seriously! I SUCK at running. This is going to be interesting, to say the least. SO, in March I'll be running in Moab, UT with Holly (and hopefully Mary) for FSA (Families Supporting Adoption) and in May I'll be running with Heidi in Laguna Hills, CA. I'm going to have to throw in a couple of triathlons just so I can add the two sports that I don't suck at (swimming and biking) into the training mix. Wish me luck! And if you can.....join me! (hint, hint, Julianne)

The Best Day of the Year

Ah, the first day of school. For me, it's better than Christmas. Today was the first quiet day I've had to myself in 3 1/2 months! While I do love my little darlings with all my heart, I really, really, really look forward to school. Today was a total treat. Jay is out of town, so our annual breakfast date is postponed until Friday. Instead, I came home and took a nap. A good long one, guilt-free. Then I treated myself to lunch, ALONE, and went and got a mani-pedi. SO needed. I may have let a moan slip out while the nice little Vietnamese lady massaged my feet and calves. By then it was time to pick up Eric (2:30), so the peace and quiet was over for the day. But guess what? Tomorrow I get peace and quiet again! I may clean and unpack tomorrow. Unless something better comes my way. Hey, it's like summer vaca for me now (at least til Friday when Jay comes home).

In the last week, we did NO unpacking whatsoever. We went to the beach, Sea World, the beach, Sea World again, and more times to the beach. I swept up a week's worth of sand off my floors today, and let's just say that it could have weighted down a small punching bag. Oh well.

I don't want my AZ friends to think that life is a total beach, so I'll gripe a little. It has been HOT. Not AZ hot, but humid and very warm (85-90), making for hot in the house without a/c, trouble sleeping hot. Two nights ago I was still up at 3:00 and got up and sat in front of the open bedroom window, wondering why I was so sweaty. There was no breeze-the air was stifling and damp. I just sat there and waited for a little bit of air movement. Since Jay is in AZ this week, he said he turned down the a/c in his hotel room and slept really well. I had 3 hours of sleep last night, due to insomnia, the heat, and no hubby in bed.

Anyway.........yeah for schedules, routine, and peace and quiet!

All settled?

hahahaha! That would be a good one. We've been here for two weeks. The important stuff is settled and put away. The rest is.... not so much. We'll get there, but for now we are enjoying the beautiful weather, being outside, and exploring our new digs. The kids are settling nicely. They all have friends and social lives that are better than the ones we left. There is definately a higher power guiding our family right now, and I am very thankful. The troubles we had have been traded for new ones, and I'm okay with that. We are in a good place.

Here's a quick rundown of what we've been up to:
-moved out of AZ.... lots of help and lots of tears. friends and family are extremely missed.

-moved into CA.... lots of help and no tears. family, old friends, and new friends are very appreciated.

-met my cousin, Heidi (whom I hadn't seen in 9 years!), at the beach. it was so good to hang out and realize how similar we are!

-hanging out and dinner with the Banks. old friends...so much comfort.

-kids have been to two movie nights, played 'fugitive' all over the neighborhood with the ward kids, and the older two have been to two dances.

-Jay's been back to Phx and I survived my first 4 day stint alone with the kids.

-HUGE amounts of $$$$ have been spent. food, more food, stocking up at Costco, school clothes, shoes, new bedding, etc, etc.

-went to OC a couple of times to see family... this last Saturday we were there for Holly's family's big day.

-went to a luau. AWESOME food and entertainment. (including my Bekah doing a hula!)

-we've also been to the beach... A LOT. almost every day!

-Eric tried out Water Polo for the first time. decided that coming into a new sport like that as a junior when all the freshmen have been playing for 4 years is probably not a good idea.

-Jay's parents have been down our way a couple of times to help put things away and help paint the boy's rooms. first big projects are done.

Well, that's what comes to mind. My camera charger is still MIA and the battery is dead, so, pics will have to follow. I guess you'll all know when I get more unpacked, huh?

Summer in Pics

Here are some more summer pics.... in no particular order because I am too lazy to re-order them after spending 30 minutes bringing them into blogger one at a freakin' time.

One of the several times we were in Carlsbad over the summer for like 2 days at a time, I think this was Memorial Day... in the pic above, Jay is cracking up because a wave just got us while we were waiting for whichever kid to snap the pic.

We went to the beach with Holly and Grady, Mary, my Mom, Tracy and her girls. Look at all the 'moms' it takes to put suntan lotion on Grady. hahaha.

Rebekah spent a little time with Holly and Grady after Girl's Camp. I think it was the single biggest self-esteem booster for her EVER, because Grady likes HER. Will let her hold him and help take care of him. She ate it up.

A boy and his dog.... gross.

Bek and David posing in some impromptu 'shade" with Fritz.

David finally grew taller than Aunt Jennifer. A true 'milestone' in his life.:)

See that guy in the top left corner? Yeah.... he jumped off that cliff into the water below. This is at Blue Ridge Resevoir here is AZ, on his first High Adventure Trip. The second one was in Lake Powell, where he did more cliff jumping, with our new ward in Carlsbad.

Jay LOVES Paradise Bakery and our friends over there made an awesome giant cookie for him on Father's Day.

David and his friend Gage both made the All-Star team and got Home Run trophies.

One of the times Jay's Dad, Grandpa Johnny, came to visit, he left a pair of pants and his hat. Eric thought it would be funny to dress up like him....see if he noticed. Yep.... and Eric thought it was SO funny.

This is the cake and flowers that Jay and the kids made for me for Mother's Day. YUMMY! Also in the background is proof that our house use to be a home before it all got boxed up. We have been living in a 'house' since early June.... and are eager to turn our new place into a 'home'.
It sounds dumb, but living in a 'house' and not a 'home' for the past couple of months has really taken a toll. It's like you don't feel right or something. I don't know..... just sayin'.

More pics later.......gotta go pack some more:(

FINALLY CLOSED

After the longest escrow in the history of man, the purchase of the Carlsbad house is finally finished. We should be moving August 7th. Just in case anyone is thinking of refinancing or purchasing a home, do NOT use Trust One Mortgage in Irvine, CA. The WORST customer service, professionalism, know-how, etc. This company is a prime example of why the mortgage industry is not going to recover for quite some time.

I've been a total slacker in the blog department lately, mostly because I don't want to just be negative and bitching all the time. There have been some fun times mixed in with this summer of hell. Here's some photos:

4th of July weekend, my Mom and Mary came to visit. This is Rebekah and Patrick. I just love little Patrick (Jimmy's 2nd boy) and want to hug him soooo bad, but he just loves his mama and rarely lets anyone else get any lovin'. Maybe one day;)

Mary and Jimmy. A rare photo of Jimmy smiling;) Mary is the only person who can ever get Jimmy to pose for a photo. Isn't my baby sis gorgeous! And my kid bro is pretty handsome, too. I love it when we get to see him and his fam.

James (Jimmy's 1st boy) and Aunt Mary. I use to watch James on Fridays when he was a baby. He turns 4 this weekend! He has the best sense of humor and always makes me laugh. I am going to miss my AZ family soooo much. Now that the move is final and the date is coming, I can't even think of my nephews (and their parents) without tearing up.

My mom and Rebekah talking Patrick into playing with Colby.

Mary doing the bitter-beer face under water. Maybe it's because Eric's armpit was so close to her face! eeeew!

We celebrated Colby's 2nd b-day while some of the fam was together. He's such a cheese! His brothers are close by, making sure he can blow out those candles!

Chicken in the pool. Christian and Eric beat Chase and Mary, only because Eric cheated with a leg swipe under water. Typical.

Hope you all are surviving summer............

Changes, Mayhem, and General Crap

We have been super busy and super stressed over here. Nothing has gone as planned, and life continues to throw it's curve-balls. However, I wanted to do a quick update. Anyone who tells you that the loan market or the economy is improving is just wishing and full of crap. Our loan was suppose to close by June 1st.... it's still not done with. The mtg co just keeps asking for more and more stupid crap and it's driving me CRAZY. The sellers in Carlsbad also need at least 2 weeks to move out from the close date, which means we don't know what day we're moving because of all of it. After 3 weeks of listing on craigslist, we finally got a renter for our AZ house on Saturday. They're suppose to come sign the lease on Wednesday.

David has been to scout camp, and also just made the All-Star team. So, baseball season is extended until at least July 8th. We hope to move the 9th so David can go to scout camp with our new CA church group. However, if their baseball team advances in the playoffs past the 8th, we will have one ticked off kid and aren't sure how we're gonna deal with that.

Eric went on a canoe trip with our church group and had tons of fun, especially cliff diving. If there were moms there, I'm sure the 60 foot jump wouldn't have happened. However, my little devil loved every second of the concussion (my guess) causing jump. I think we've turned a big corner with him over the last week. I think he's my kid again.

Rebekah is looking forward to girl's camp next week and otherwise is tired of doing chores and lets that be known daily. She's a great help though. Last week she had to have her gum repaired by laser and was NOT happy.

Tomorrow I have dental implant surgery (scary, super nervous). That's all I want to say about that.

My Own Mountain

During these crappy economic times, it's really easy to think that someone else's problems aren't as bad as yours. I just want to send a fair caution out there..... I promise you that you don't know exactly what is on that other person's path. What their mountain of crap is. Chances are, if you knew, you really would NOT want to trade places. We all have our own personal mountain of crap to overcome. I believe that "mountain of crap" is custom made for each one of us. We're not gonna get one that is beyond our limits. It may seem that way, but in the end we'll find that we did it. The trick is to find out what you can learn from your path and to just take one step at a time and overcome it, hoping that there is a valley before the next mountain. I think that everyone has felt the economic crap on some level, some have it extreme. Others have teenagers who keep them up at night worried to death, causing them to relocate their lives, others have little kids zapping every source of energy from them, still others find themselves starting over in mid-life, and many other various situations.... some of us have more than a couple of these. Please... let's not judge each other and their mountain. Just be supportive, lend a helping hand when we can, a shoulder to cry on when needed, and prayers that times will get better for everyone soon.

For Rent

Glendale, AZ. Beautiful Bellair home for rent. $1400/month, 2600 sq. ft., 4 bed/3 bath, park-like backyard. Available for July 4 move in. Must see!

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/apa/1197104165.html

Goodbye, Elementary School

David graduated from 6th grade today. Got medals for being on the honor roll every quarter since 3rd grade. So proud. As you can see from the photo, I showed up sans makeup. At least I was showered and dressed. 15, the photographer, needs to be fired. This was the best one of the bunch. Sheesh. Anyway, for us, this marks the end of E's and S's for things like citizenship and art. Did I ever tell you about the time David got an S in Music? The kid doesn't like anything less than an A (or an E in this case). HE actually went to the teacher and asked her WHY? She changed it after he pointed out that he always participates and has good behavior. I thought it was hilarious.

Another thing that happened at "promotion"/"graduation"/whatever. After I snapped a few shots of David and his BFF, Ben, Jay jokingly told David to go hug a girl. He DID! Without hesitation, he walked right up to the girl of his choice, she shouted "David" and fell into his arms... he had a grin from ear to ear. Now, you may think this is funny or cute. After the escapades of 15 recently, I do NOT think this is remotely comical and definately not cute. Now I am worried about this one, too! Crap! (Do you think David would care if I posted the pics?)

We got our official move in date today. We load the truck on July 2nd and the wheels are rollin' for CA on the 3rd!

Again?!!!? Seriously!???!

It's official. I am H.U.G.E. My butt is freakin' gigantic! I think I have 3 chins now. I won't even start on the "mom-pouch" or back fat. It's really quite disgusting. I am horrified. I let this happen again? Seriously! This is so crappy.

The last couple of months have been sooooo stressful and traumatic. A different kind than dealing with bi-polar. This kind hits you inside of your heart, breaks it, and then beats you all up inside. When this kind of trauma occurs, I eat. Carbs. Lots of them. Chocolate. Lots of it. Ice Cream. By the pint. Diet Coke. By the gallons. The last time a vegetable saw the inside of my mouth was Friday when I had Pei Wei add some veggies to my Honey Seared Chicken and Brown Rice. Before that, I can't recall exactly. Does lettuce and tomato on a hamburger count?

I tried to get dressed this morning in something other than jeans. (it's gonna be 106 today). I have no.thing. to wear. Seriously! Everything is too small.....like can't even zip it up too small. Shirts-forget it.... unless you're into the snowman look. I have one blouse I can wear. ONE. Everything else is either workout pants (draw-string waist) or huge t-shirts...the ones I supposedly swore off. So.....look like a total slouch or a snowman. Nice choices.

You'd think that since I identified the problem, I could fix it. Start watching what I'm eating, take a long walk at 2am when it's finally cooled off. But, alas, No. My insides are still on high alert for more trauma, plus we're moving, plus now my husband works at home (whole other post). And... well, I'm lazy. Too much stress just zaps my will to do just about anything. This may call for an intervention of the "Kami" variety. That's not gonna happen til we are in CA, so until then, I guess I'll just wear my fat pants (2 pairs of jeans) and go buy some tents for tops. Damnit.

My Princess Turns 14

Monday, May 18th, 2009

14 years ago today, my little princess didn't want to come out on the doctor's time table. She's like that. She does things her way and in her own time. I screamed the whole time she was fighting to get here. Definately the most painful labor of the 3. She has been a delight since. She has a heart of gold and the sweetest spirit around. I love my princess, Bekah! Happy Birthday, sweetie! Mommy loves you:)

New House

I am going to be learning the art of making a smaller house look bigger... and the art of throwing TONS of stuff out in order to fit into the smaller house. However, it is 104 in Phoenix today and I am dreaming of th 70 degree weather waiting for me. Plus soooooo excited to redecorate! Here are pics of the new house and the description.

This 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 1977 sq ft cul-de-sac home will be a ‘joy’ to spend time in and around. The home has been cared for and upgraded with an eye for pleasing touches. Refreshing paint colors and warm wood floors greet you in each room as you move through the ground floor. The entry is accented with custom tile reminiscent of an Arizona palate. The bedroom downstairs can easily be used for either an office or a guest bedroom. The Bay windows give this room and other rooms a feel of space and an interesting ‘opening’ to the attractive outdoor surroundings. The dining area is elegant with a 2-story ceiling and a pane glass chandelier. The family room also features a Bay window; it frames the low maintenance back yard featuring a pergola covered patio and generous grass area. The kitchen is very special with newly remodeled wood cabinets, some with framed glass displays, and with Corian counters and tile flooring. This opens to the family room with its cozy brick fireplace, wood floors and custom paint. The roomy master bedroom has a vaulted ceiling, Bay windows and a master bath with newly refinished vanity cabinets. Appealing carpet runs through the upstairs bedrooms, all fitted with wood blinds and custom paint. You are steps from a large grass covered common area park and you are close to award-winning schools, the Calavera Nature Preserve, the Calavera Community Center, shopping, the freeways (I5 and Hwy78) and the beach!

I'm off to the movies for a mid-day date with my hubby, so I'll post more later. I thought I'd at least give a start:) If you have any tips on making a smaller space look large, I'd love to hear them. If we happen to have any "stuff" that you'd want, also let me know. Chances are, we're getting rid of it.

It's Finally Happening!

It's almost official...........we're moving to Carlsbad, CA this summer! We chose a smaller, older house, 3 miles from the beach in Calavara Hills. We are sooooooooo excited, but also starting to feel the sadness we'll feel when we leave our friends and family here in AZ. We have lived here for so long and our friends here truly feel like family. Of course, our new location will surely tempt some of those friends to come and visit:) I'm not going to get teary or sentimental yet because we'll still be here for a few months (prob beginning of July-after Bekah's girl's camp w/ the church). Still, so excited to not be sweating to death in July, August, September, and October!

In other happenings.... none. One of my children has recently broken my heart and we are trying to regroup. This combined with moving our office this week, opening a CA office, renting out our AZ house, the packing that must be done, the fixing up that must be done, etc.............. I'm in a very grumpy mood. 'nough said.

Her First Race

This is for my friend JoLynn...

Good Luck this weekend on your first race! I'll be thinking of you!

Best Body

My lovely egotistical son, 15, won the best body contest for the sophmore class. And if that didn't inflate his head enough, they had an assembly where the "best bodies" from each class competed to see who was the hottest....in front of the entire student body (2,500!). To prepare, he ate nothing but protein for 3 days, didn't drink very much, and did TONS of pushups in order to make sure he was properly "jacked". He laid out in the sun to make sure he was properly tanned. He ripped his shirt off and played the whole thing up. (I so wanted to show up and video tape it....I played it cool and spared his embarrassment) HE WON! 15 has the hottest body of all the Skyhawks. His complete elation was dampered by me not letting him "hang out" all of Friday, doing whatever he wanted. I made him go to work. Poor Mr. Hot Body. He has to make money. Boo Hoo. Nevermind the fact that no mom in her right mind would let a 15 year old go hang out all day, doing whatever they wanted, not telling said parents the essential who/what/where/when. Especially after winning such a contest. Don't get me wrong, I am excited for him (yes, I remember my biggest flirt days), but I also need to make sure he stays on the straight-n-narrow (or at least as close to it as possible - I'm being realistic here). Can you believe it? Where did this kid come from?

The First of The Last

Little League games. This is our last season. (assuming middle schools in CA have baseball teams; in AZ, 6th grade is usually it for LL) I thought I would be sad. Jay is. I'm NOT. For the past eight years, we have been at the LL field at least two nights a week (sometimes four, when Eric was playing, too) from March thru June, right in the busiest time of year for our business, too. I think it's ok that I'm tired of it, right?
Last night was the first game of David's last season. It was freezing. It was long. Our team, the White Socks, got their socks handed to them on a platter. u.g.l.y. I hope it's not a sign of the rest of the season, because David will probably need a pacemaker by the time he's 13 if it is. That and anti-anxiety medicine.

Old School

15 went and broke his phone AGAIN. 4th time in a year. I think he does it on purpose. This time I think it's because he found out that I still have the gps tracker on there. You know, to make sure he's where he's suppose to be, without having to have a stake out. Unfortunately, he broke it two days after the warranty. That means it's an insurance claim and a $50 deductible. Sorry, Charlie.... I'm not paying up this time. Which also means, I'll be going old school in my tracking. As always, even more than before, I am relying on my network of mom spies to let me know if 15 is not where he's suppose to be or doing something he's not suppose to. You can find me a parking lot, with my shades on, listening to some tunes, sipping a Diet Coke...watching to see if 15 is going to seminary or just hanging out behind Walgreens. I should probably get a new hat, too. He'll recognize the Diet Coke hat anywhere. Darn it, I love that hat.

Help Me Heal

Okay, this episode has lasted WAY too long, but I'm on the road to recovery. I think this is the worst I've ever had. Jay definately agrees. Anyway, in dealing with this bipolar crap and trying to figure out what is me and what is the disorder, I have a favor to ask. Tell me what a couple of my personality traits are. Good ones and a couple not so good ones will be fine, too. Holly-don't tell me I've always been bossy. I KNOW! I've been trying to change that for YEARS.
When you're sitting in "the pit", it's hard to see other people's perspectives and to remember who you are-without side effects and symptoms. Give me something to shoot for! thanks.

spring break

This week the kids had spring break. My kids have been fairly busy with helping Jay in the office, going to the movies, jumping on the trampoline with friends, playing with Fritz, tv, oh-so-beloved chores, and more tv. The weather has been so nice lately and I know it won't be for long so I keep telling the kids to go outside! This lovely ill-timed week off of school culminates Friday with the first day of spring. Here is AZ, that usually means it's gonna be too hot to go outside much, so take advantage of each day under 90. Seriously, we have 4 seasons: summer, end of summer, kindof winter, and spring. Summer lasts at least 6 months. End of summer goes until Thanksgiving, kindof winter lasts until the end of January, and spring is from Feb-mid-March. After mid March, if you have a day that is under 90, get your hiney outside and take advantage. It's not going to be long before 100 hits. I HATE AZ SUMMERS. I don't think I have it in me to endure another one. By September I am soooooo anxious and depressed. This time it took until March to pull out of it! and summer's here again! yuck.

Nothin's New

This week I've had dr appts resulting in me still being a walking side effect. David's had baseball practice. Eric's had baseball practice and games (hasn't played-coach issues). Rebekah's been trying to play mom. Jay's been working his fingers to the bone. Nothing new. I think Eric may drop baseball and go into off'-season wrestling. His team still practices a couple times a week and goes to tournaments. That's about it. You know what, that's a lot of nothin for as tired as I am. love side effects. just love 'em. NOT

Teenage Babies

PITA1 is still sick.......wah wah. His allergies have made him sick. This means that he can't go to baseball because he is too tired. He doesn't feel good.

PITA3 is still on the DL. Pulled groin muscle makes for a VERY angry 12 year old. No physical activity means extremely grumpy dude. WAh Wah, he can't go play baseball or football and can't go run. All he can do is sit around and watch tv, play xbox or wii or gameboy, watch movies, play with the dog (as long as he's not running). He has to miss a second little league practice today and it's all I've heard about since 12:30. Of course the kids had a 1/2 day, so it's even more hours that he can't go play.

Teenagers that are sick/injured are just as whinny about it as toddlers. They're just bigger, right?

It's been a weird couple of weeks. Here's an update. Warning: I'm still a little drug-headed so this may come off as even more confusing.
My sweetheart turned 39 on Valentine's Day. We took the long weekend off and went to SoCal to see Grady, visit Jay's mom & dad, go to Ruby's (of course), and take a deep breath of the ocean air before the full brunt of tax season hits. Jay's mom is doing much better now that chemo is over and she's about 1/2way through with radiation. Grady is just as adorable as the pics I see and such a charmer-that kid-I'm tellin ya, he could ask me for anything and smile and he'd get his way.
..anyway.... while we did have a nice relaxing couple of days, Jay's Grandma died that weekend too. We headed home for Jay to prepare the eulogy and me to practice the 3 hymns I know so I could play the piano at the funeral the next weekend. We were back in the car 4 days later, back to SoCal, I think the car drove itself. All went well and the funeral was very nice. The drive home seemed extra long. (BTW, during these cross-desert trips, Eric got his first experience at driving 80 mph... hahahahah) In between all this Jay had bronchitis, Rebekah got cut from the jr high softball team (very traumatic), Eric's been coughing up major lung-butter, I've had to go back to the head doc for a med check, breathe, plus regular life. Today I was at the pediatrician's TWICE. Something that hasn't been done in YEARS at our house. It turns out that Eric's cough is just allergies, so he has to take claritin and shoot some saline up his snoot. David pulled his groin muscle today playing football at recess, so at 5:00 we were back at the doc to make sure it wasn't a hernia (major trauma). It's just a pulled muscle but it's bad enough that he can't play baseball next week, so he's REALLY ticked.
Life at our house is never stand-still. There is always chaos and a lot of the time there is drama/trauma too. When was the last time that everyone at your house was home in time for dinner, which was homemade, sat at the dinner table, had a nice conversation without anyone yelling or accusing someone of being "stupid" (or gay, or lame, or...whatever), and then you all just had a nice relaxing evening at home? No one had to be anywhere in particular, homework got done, watched a little tv together, everyone went to bed on time with a smile on their face and a happy feeling in their heart. HAHAHAHAHA. never. at least not that I can remember.

Teen Dance Conversations

The annual Valentine's Day dance was last night. Our church holds one every year for kids 12-18 from all around the area. (In Mormon speak: the stake, aka about 4 high schools area worth) This is the text conversation I had with my 12 year old boy...who was not excited about the dance.
12: (an hour into the dance, only 30 min left) There is so many ugly people here and they have only played one slow song.
M: Just be a nice guy. If you don't find your loser this time, it will be okay:) Tough it out!
12: I just danced
12: What time is this thing suppose to be over?
12: Her hand was so sweaty.
12: ok, it's over.
Doesn't that just take you back to the day? Sweaty hands, nerves, I wouldn't repeat it again for all the money in the world.
It might also help you to understand the above conversation a little if you know our family "rules" when it comes to a dance. The boys WILL dance with at least one "loserish" girl (their term, I just said someone who no one else has or probably will dance with) and they must say yes to all dance requests. The girls WILL say yes to all dance requests (unless they ask for more than 1). 12, being the A type personality, black and white - no gray area, rule following guy was all worried. First, how embarassing. I mean, really! Second, that the only slow dance he'd have to dance with a weirdo. After picking up the kids, 13 informed on her little brother. His 'loser' wasn't even ugly and not very loser-y. 12's comeback: her hands were all sweaty and her hand kept slipping. I asked big 15 who he danced with. It turns out that he disobeyed. (surprise!) The first slow song, he asked a girl to dance who no one else was dancing with. She just happened to be HOT (his words).
Does anyone else have these "rules" for their kids and dances?

Testing a Slideshow

My attention span is about 5 minutes these days. I'm trying to figure out this photoshop stuff. This is a test....and only a test:)

WooHoo! It kinda worked. Only my crazy boys would actually go surfing over Thanksgiving. Brrrrrrr. You'd think they were from Wisconsin or something. Nope, just the desert. And anytime they can jump in the ocean they will.

Lack of Photos

For Christmas, Jay got me this digital scrapbooking program along with Adobe photoshop. Well, I'm still trying to figure it out...apparently it takes more than 5 minutes at a time. go figure. One of these days I'll post some pics, I promise. In the meantime, does anyone have any digital scrapbooking tips?

Reconfigured

I went to my head doc today and my meds are all being reconfigured. He warned that it'll be a rocky couple of weeks. Great. But, he also said that there are lots of meds out there that I haven't tried and there is no reason to feel like I'll never get better. (which is how I feel... my life will always be this roller-coaster of depression and 'functioning well') (it also made me think... super. this might not work and we have to start again.. yipee) I have watched every single TV special, read at least 10 books on Bipolar/Depression. I have read article after article. I have tried, and tried, and tried some more. This sucks so bad. It is so hard to not be lazy. It is so hard to just keep trying to get better. It's just so draining. It takes all I can do to just get by...do the bare minimum. I don't want to air out too much of my laundry here, but I just want to yell a huge ARGGHHHHHHHHHHH! Remember that old commercial.... "Calgon, Take Me Away!"

He passed!!!!!

Eric took his driver's permit test today and PASSED. First time. He said that all of his friends had to take it at least twice, so, he's even more stoaked. I feel old... but really excited for him at the same time. If you find yourself driving anywhere near my neighborhood, BEWARE. Wish me patience. We're gonna need it.

***THIS JUST IN: We've been out for "lessons" twice and there have been no fender-benders, crashes, yelling, or tears. Lots of laughing, but mostly smooth sailing. I only slammed on the "imaginary brake" a couple of times:) I have purposely NOT yelled what my Dad yelled to me on our first "lesson". "Holy Crap! You're gonna kill us all!" My goal is "drama free".

Proud, Frustrated, and Opinionated

These are the mommy feelings of the week.

I am so proud of Eric and how good is he doing right now. It's like a light went on in his head and all the nagging about how grades count and the attitude you portray at practice counts, and sometimes you need to just give things a chance.... all that crap....now it's clicking. He's doing great in school, great in wrestling-one of the team leaders, and is one of the captains of the football team for next year. I think he's finally coming into his own. However, I am a realist and recognize that he is still a teenager and more pitfalls are to come, but for right now-I am so proud of the guy he's turning into.

The frustration comes from my lovely daughter. The mom vs. teenage daughter crap has officially begun. I kinda feel sorry for her future kids. She's gonna be a NAG. Man... it's like she's second guessing how I run the house, how I parent, like she's MY mom. What's up with that? If I'm not home when she gets home, I immediately get a text asking me where I am and when I'm coming home. The other day I was on my way to Costco and she texted me to see if I remembered the list and that we needed milk. Well, I of course had the list, and knew that we needed milk-she's the one that wrote it on there! Besides, we ALWAYS need milk. (6-8 gallons a week). While I don't like to be on the receiving end of her mommy-in-training-ness, I am proud to see that she is learning how to manage a household. She is extremely caring and wants to know where everyone is all the time because she has a natural nurturing sense. It's just kind of weird to have someone vying for my position as queen on the house:) So, I may be frustrated with her growing up, I am proud too.

I am opinionated about LOTS of things. This week I am especially irritated with the sport of wrestling. Granted, I hate the sport-but it is good for my boys. That's a whole other vent session - I think I've done that one before. Anyway, wrestling is primarily a boys sport where they try and pin each other using leverage, throws, blah blah blah. Occasionally, we see girls at tournaments. At first I was like...well, if they really want to and are willing to be treated as equal and such then hey, go for it. Then my son had to wrestle a girl at the conference championships. This particular girl has been wrestling with the boys since she was 4 and her Dad has been one of the head coaches for their school for the past 5 years. She has no problem being one of the boys. Good for her. However, when 12 year old girls and 12 year old boys wrestle, it's gonna be awkward. See... she's got boobs. And 12 year old boys are taught not to touch girls in certain places. If he were to get her into a particular hold, his face would be right next to the other place that boys aren't suppose to touch. This all makes the boy very nervous. So, long opinionated story kinda-short.... David took 2nd place in the Middle School Conference Championships. Granted, he's in 6th grade and middle school is 7th and 8th grade. He took it pretty well, we just don't want to talk about it anymore. Little League try-outs are this weekend. That's a fine place for the girls to play the same sport with the boys. I just don't think that skin-tight spandex trying to pin someone of the other sex to the ground is appropriate. I think David would have DIED if he accidentally touched her somewhere he wasn't suppose to. He has a sister, he has no fear of hurting a girl...just those places....creepy....poor guy. I am really proud of how he handled the whole situation.

Well, that's the weekly rant. I am extremely proud of my kids. They are turning out quite nicely, thank you. I am frustrated by them growing up. I am a REALLY opinionated mom.

Broken Hearts

My friend gave birth to her 5th child a couple of weeks ago. This baby boy was born 2 months premature and had Down Syndrome. After a 13 day stay in the hospital and a surgery on his gut, things seemed to be going nicely. He suddenly developed heart problems and an infection and passed away less than 24 hours later. Last night we paid our respects and showed our support for the family and watched Karl's two older brothers and two older sisters grieve for their lost brother. The youngest sister is just 4. Her eyes and cheeks were all red from the tears. I watched the four surviving children each try to touch their mother in comfort as her shoulders shook with tears and loss. My heart is broken for my friend and her family.

17 & counting

no...not the TV show 17 kids and counting (although I do love that show). But Jay and I have been MARRIED for 17 years! Wow, one more year and it'll equal the amount of time that I lived with my parents! Jay had to teach a church class last Sunday (the day of our anniv), and he relished the opportunity to tell everyone how long we've been married and the fact that it's been the best 5 years of his life. hahahaha. NOT! That is such a stupid joke and if I was there I would have totally rolled my eyes. Just like I am doing now just thinking about it.
Anyway, not to be too cheesy (Holly might gag), but I do love my hubby and am so grateful that he loves me back and puts up with all my many imperfections. I guess if he can put up with all my crap then the least I can do is put up with his occasional stupid jokes.

$187.99

That's what it costs to have the Sears repairman come out for 30 minutes. He fixed my dryer and put it back together after my hubby took it apart, trying to fix it himself. I think that's some serious coin for a repairman...so if anyone is looking for a new career-there's my suggestion. As for the dryer, the only thing wrong with it was the front drum seal was stuck....and Jay took the whole damn thing apart trying to find out what was wrong with it. Jay's not even peeved at me for breaking it......of course, that's because I would NEVER admit to him that it was my fault. For all of you impatient people out there that want your bedding washed and dried asap so you can put it back on your bed in the next 2 hours - your mattress cover, sheet set, pillow cases, comforter, and blanket do not all fit in at the same time. That much stuff in the dryer will probably knock the drum out of balance-causing some seal or something to get stuck. Just a head's up.:)
Have a good weekend!

laundry dilema

My dryer is broken. I have MOUNDS of laundry piling up. Should I take it to the (gasp!) laundromat? The repair-guy can't get here until Friday. I'm such a spoiled suburban mom. Oh, it's cold and rainy so hanging the laundry out to dry won't do. Besides, I don't have a laundry line - who does? AND, I am the one who broke the dryer. I tried putting all my bedding into it. (sheets, mattress cover, comforter, pillow cases- I'm a genius) Impatience led to major frustration........ and probably a bill that my husband will be extremely irritated with. Oops.

Holiday Chaos

In that chaotic world that is my house, 1/2 of my Christmas card didn't go out. I know this because I saw them at the bottom of the trash can with beef stew all over them. Mind you, I never take the trash out. That's a kid's job. So, I was doing one of them a favor, too. Of course, "no one" did it. Anyway, here's the stat sheet that went out with the pic. The pics were ones already posted on the blog-just of the kids.

2008 Williams’ Family Stats

David: 6th Grade, 12 years old
Spring Little League Baseball
Nominated and chosen for All-Star Team
Fall Baseball
Wrestling for the Jr. High’s Varsity Team
Honor Roll
Deacon at Church

Rebekah: 7th Grade, 13 years old
Jr. High Cross Country Team
Class President at church
Babysitter extraordinaire
Summer Girl’s Camp
School Spelling Bee finalist
Excellent MIT (mom in training……..chef, coach, support staff, etc)
Re-starting piano lessons

Eric: 10th Grade, 15 years old
Spring High School Baseball
Summer Football Camp
Summer Wrestling Camp
JV Football
JV Wrestling
Teacher at church

Shaunee:
NAMI’s 5K race
Spring Splash n Dash (swim/run race in Tempe)
SheRox Triathlon
See all of the above

Jay:
Family business continues to grow
Head coach, support staff, and trainer for all of the above
The backbone of all that is sane and stable

Other:
We thought we were going to be adding a move to our stat sheet, but with the economy getting worse and worse all the time, it’s not gonna make it. Maybe after Eric’s done with High School?
We adopted a puppy at the beginning of December. He’s a 10 week old cockapoo named Fritz and he's keeping us all on our toes. He’s already been slated as Shaunee’s plyometrics trainer starting in January.