Clutter

Here I am, It is Thursday morning, my older girls are in school, Emma is watching a Barbie movie (those are kind of creepy) and I am deciding that my blog needs attention. So here is a list of things that are cluttering my congested mind.

• Potty training Emma, this is the third attempt.
• Working with Julianna on her schoolwork. Kinder for half a day is worthless.
• Laundry, laundry, laundry....I think it grows and multiplies by itself.
• My ticket. It makes me ill when I think about how expensive it is.
• Disneyland expires next month. If we do the "give a day" thing we can use towards renewal, but then there is that dang ticket to pay for!
• I have another photography gig this month. I love taking pictures, but I always get so nervous the weeks leading up to it. I know I just need to have more confidence in myself.
• The grocery game is getting fun. $170 worth of groceries at Vons this week for $110....not too shabby.
• How do we teach our girls the importance of selflessness? They have a playroom full of toys and lack for nothing. It is one of my biggest fears, raising selfish children.
• I actually read the World Vision magazine that I get every month and it made me cry. I think that we forget the poverty and sadness in the world as we live our cushy little lives. To think that there are 7 and 8 year olds raising their younger siblings, living in straw huts and eating one small potato per day. Sometimes I feel like we are simply not doing enough.
• I often think about adoption. Matthew isn't sold on the deal, so I will pray.
• We are going to Israel in May with the Coffman's, and a 2 day stop in NYC. It will be an amazing trip with great friends.

I told you it was cluttered......but I feel better now.

Merry Christmas and Goodnight

It is so hard to believe that another Christmas has come and gone.....where oh where does the time go? The girls loved everything that came with the season this year, and Emma being a bit older, was really able to enjoy it (as you can see from her expression above after getting a new toothbrush)! After my mom suffered a heart attack 3 days before Christmas, we had to re-arrange things a bit. This year we spent Christmas day with good friends, as they too were without family, and we had a great time feasting and mostly watching the Chargers win. Go Chargers! Then on Sunday with my mom released and on the mend, we hosted our family Christmas. This was the first time it was at our house and thus, so was the cooking. I felt like an adult and a crazy person all at once. I think it was a success (or at least everyone is lying to me). Kudos to my awesome hubby who took charge of cooking the prime rib and our broccoli dish. It was a successful day and a wonderful season. Merry Christmas my family.

The McNeill Family.........

The Knight Family.......

The Best Family........

The Lopez Family.......

Applebees and Magic

Have you ever made a mistake as a mom that really, truly broke your heart? I did just last week. It started with a phone call from Victoria's teacher, to tell me that she was getting the "Shining Star" award. She told me when the assembly was and I mentioned it to Matthew, but as I'm sure you can see where this story is going, I failed to write it down. As I picked her up from school on the day of, she was bursting with joy. She told me she "had to show me something that I might be surprised about." Right then it hit me. I had missed the assembly. I had forgotten! I told her that mommy had just forgot, and that I was so sorry. She smiled, and told me it was "okay." So as I held back my own tears, I listened to her tell me how the assembly went. Get out your tissues now. She said, "every time the principal gets ready to call names, I close my eyes, and cross my fingers hoping that it will be me. And it worked today because she called my name. Then I went up to get my award, and I crossed my fingers again, hoping that you guys were there to see me." At this point, I wanted to curl up into a ball and sob. It was the most horrible feeling that I have had as a mother thus far. Although she told me it was "okay", I certainly didn't think that it was. She continued to be her chatty self driving home, and while I was half listening and half trying to think of a way to make it up to her, I had a brilliant idea. Applebees! For some bizzare reason our kids love Applebees. We hardly ever go, so it is a mystery to us. Anyways, her Shining Star award just happened to come with a free kid's meal coupon for Applebees.....perfect. Well, last night was our Applebees night. We sat at a small table for two (this she noticed and thought was so fun), she chose her meal carefully, ordered it herself and was especially excited about the Sierra Mist (soda is not a regular event for us). We ate, we talked and I sat in wonder at how grown up she seemed. There is something to be said about alone time with each kid. You notice things that are not normally seen when you aren't trying to keep the toddler from throwing her drink on the floor or shoving ketchup up her nose. She told me all about school, her class and her friends. She asked me things like when did I know I wanted to marry daddy (and there was no way I could tell her the real age, so I stuck with 19), and what did I want to be when I grew up. She had funny, quirky facial expressions at times, especially when she decided that everyone that lives in San Diego should only root for the Chargers (makes sense to me). We ended the evening with a $1.99 cheesecake sundae to share and as the waitress took her coupon and doted on her achievement, she grinned from ear to ear, and so did I. It was a magical evening with my special girl.