poor thing

ugg... I thought we had made it this far in the clear. No one had been sick for weeks, then all of a sudden, Celia can't stop coughing. Yuck. Send up your prayers that it doesn't take long for her to get better - cuz everything is just that much nicer, and easier when you're healthy.

I think we may have pushed her a little bit - maybe with school, violin, swimming lessons, musical theatre, birthday parties, music class.... wow. Poor kids never get a chance to just chill out.

But she's ok - and happy - when she's not having a coughing fit.

And Rosey Cakes is ok. Hopefully she doesn't get the bug. She's extra cute though. I think she may fulfill what was my ultimate life long dream of becoming a comedian. She is seriously one funny lady. If you have had the chance to hang out with this young little funny one in the past week, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Her mannerisms, expressions, and choice of words all fall into one category. Funny.

Despite the sickies - we've had such a fun past few weeks. I had to leave my Saturday job for other opportunities that arose. My Fall Music with Sara class is done till January. My Brand class is also done till then... so for awhile- I'll enjoy everything - and especially enjoy how much nicer everything else is, and how much easier everything else seems.... when the dishes are done. (for now)

Celia started swim class. They just threw the child in the water... (did I mention that in the last blog?) Effie was too shy, so I'm forced to go with her now to Mommy and Me swimming - which is cool, but after swimming in a salt water pool all summer, it wasn't fun swimming in chlorine.

Celia has memorized all her Musical theatre lines and it's a riot. Effie has memorized them too. Their best buddies moved outta town, so that was the excitement for the whole week before. They left behind a gas grill that has proven to be a wonderful, soul healing addition to our family. Grilled veggies and meats make for a happy home with happy and bountiful leftovers that keep everyone in a good mood.

We made it to the Fesitval of Lights again last night for the first time this year. Don't know if the cold played a roll in Celia's illness - but she was warm and bundled from head to toe... and the walk... was... long. But FUN!

Effie has been blessed with outings with her Nina... shopping, movies, and Santa. She raved about her day all night. She told her Nina (Lety) that a woman's shawl would "definitely look great on my Dad". Luckily, Lety didn't take her advice and buy it for him. Her Santa pics are too cute with her cutesey wootsy little chin on top of her other cutesy wootsy chin.

And let me not forget to mention her "confession with Santa". The man asked her if she had been good and she went off to tell him sadly that she "broke Celia's 101 Dalmatian's Dvd", and thats what she needed for Christmas to get her a new one. Man - she's gotten the guilt complex already without having experienced CCD yet! Hahahaha.

I can't stand how cute they are. I still am boggled by the idea of making real humans... and every time I look at my own, and I can't believe how great my little humans are.

I'm gonna enjoy the fact that it's 9:22pm, and no one is awake, and there's no laundry to fold, and that there are no dishes to do. I may just watch a movie. I may just have some cereal in peace. I don't know. The possibilities are a select few, but right now they all sound good to me. Crawling into bed early with my 3 warm humans doesn't sound too bad either.

Would Rather

Would rather blog than do the big big pile of dishes... and I don't know about where you live, but it's like we are living in a sand storm. All that debris from the fires that blew around stinks, and there's so much dust, and so much dirt outside that it's giving me extra work to do around here. Oh well.

And the dishes man... I don't talk about them much anymore, but I don't get where they came from. Oh yeah. Now I remember. Effie took out every pot and pan and utensil she could find to make some kind of a potion yesterday with water. At least it wasn't the kind she makes with parmesan cheese, paprika, flour, salt, sugar, and an entire bottle of chocolate syrup. At least she won't drink the potions.

So after a LONG week of:

Thanksgiving dinner once.
Thanksgiving dinner twice.
Pre-wedding party (Yeah Neal and Jasleen!)
Wedding ceremony.
Wedding reception.
Thanksgiving baking.
Monica's birthday.
My birthday.
My almost last day of work.
My vacation from work.
Celia's first violin lesson.
Effie and Celia's first swim lesson.
Birthday parties.
Moving friends.
Moving friend's leftover stuff.
Work.
Writing songs for Celia's class.
Visiting.
Not visiting.
Cleaning up.
More cleaning up.
Broken/clogged plumbing.
Getting plumbing fixed.
Not finding piojos.
More work.

Yeah, so after a week of all that - plus more... and more that I can't think of, I'm so drained that I don't want to do those dishes. All I want to do is write this out so that it's official - and that everyone knows I'm busy. I think I like to sound busier than I really am, but ... if I sit and think about it for more than 4 seconds, I always conclude that yes - I am really freaking busy. But I don't mind. I like it. And I like being ok with it. But honestly, I prefer not-busy - to busy. For sure.

Ok. Enough rambles... how are you guys? Where are you all at? I haven't seen many of you in a long long time?! Well, let me tell you how exciting I was today to see Celia jump into a pool. Her first swim lesson was a success - (for her) and she overcame her fear of water in her eyes or on her face, and jumped twice into a pool, and even let the swim instructor toss her into the water. It was so cool. I mean - I haven't had many of those "I'm so proud of my big kid" moments, but I definitely had one of those. The reason I haven't had many - is cuz my kids are so small, and usually have only small victories - like Effie saying sentences with 16 words. Small victory? Ok. Maybe big.

And Rosey Cheeks is fast asleep, after telling her over and over again the story of a Sneaky Weasel. Or as she would say "A stowee of da Sneekee Weeso" So Cute.
She was sure a handful today. Lots of tears. Lots of whining. Lots of sadness. Poor Effie. I think she knows that she's a big girl now, and that being a girl means you whine and want everyone to know when you feel bad. She just can't suck it up! But thinking back, her big sister had many moments like Effie is now having, and Effie isn't even half as emo as her sister was. We never had terrible twos.... just kinda tiring threes. Oh Effie Rose. You are the cutest wootest... still.

Ok everyone. I'm gonna go. My eyelids are falling and it's only 9pm. I'm gonna put on the radio and listen to something awful that I would be embarrassed about listening to if you walked in the room. Wish me luck. The pile is enormous. Until the next one.

parents

So last Sunday (yesterday) my folks had their 35th Wedding Anniversary. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not much of a "gift giver". I like giving gifts, getting gifts, sharing gifts, but I didn't get my parents anything. (Sorry) But I would like this to be somewhat of an "ode" to them, because, you know what? I really do like them... A lot.

I never thought about parents as much as I do now, now that I am one. Before - my folks were - well, my folks. Always will and always have loved them. Of course when I was 15 I knew more than them. And now that I'm a parent myself - it's all different.

Apparently the point of being a parent - is to hopefully be a better parent than your own right? It may not always be easy to do. But my folks and I have discussed this before. As a parent, you take the best from your own parents, use it, discard the not-so-great-, and move forward, do better, and try your best.

I have to admit - that the reason I am the way I am, is mostly due to the fact that I did have great parents. (and still do) Let me share some of my favorite child rearing practices my parents took part in.

They: (either my mother or father or both)
Took us to Disneyland a lot. (thank you)
Didn't keep too close an eye on us. (thank you)
Let us have unlimited TV access. (I don't know if I should thank you on that one)
Taught me to "Make nice"
Made sure things were nice and tidy. (or pristine for that matter)
Made me ham and eggs, just the way I liked em.
Took us out. A lot.
Let me take ballet.
Let me play piano.
Let me wear cowboy boots for a very long time.
Got us front row seats. (thanks mom)
Taught me to pray.
Took me to parties. (thanks mom)
Let me play outside alone.
They didn't let me have a dog.
Then... they let me have a dog.
I got to eat a lot of sugar. Lots and lots of sugar. (thanks for the cavities)
Took many pictures. So many pictures in fact, that it's hard to forget things. (Good thing they are all things worth remembering)

Of course there's more. And my mom and dad are both very different, and did many different things for me and my sister. I'm glad they are different, and don't think alike, cuz then things wouldn't have been so interesting.

It was always fun to say I had a saint for a mom, and a heathen for a father. Maybe I wouldn't say he's much of a heathen these days though, maybe more of a... well, I'll just say he's a nice guy.

So, my point is... I'm glad they're still here. I'm glad my kids have them too. I'm glad they get to read books to my kids, and play super friends with them, and that they don't have to work their butts off anymore - at least not in an office. I'm glad that they can still drive. I'm glad they can still kind of see and hear (somewhat), because my kids are definitely worth looking at and listening to. I'm glad that I had kids - more than anything because I think there comes a point in time where you start to forget what it is to be a kid. And even though those memories of being a kid are so vivid, you can't really feel them anymore. Then, you have a baby, have to raise a kid, and it brings it all back. You relive the fun, the feeling that you can do no wrong, and you get to watch these tiny humans smile and laugh, and all you want to do is protect them and help them enjoy the time in their life that goes by too quickly. You try to spare them any pain, because you know by now, most things are just NBD. So you have fun. Cuz it's all that matters. Fun... well... to me at least... fun matters. It may not be everything - and sure things get serious. People get rude. Parents get weird. We get mad. Kids get sad. People die. Friends move. Boys stink. Girls cry. You know... all that fun stuff. But as I always tell my buddies... we can't control what happens to us, but we can control how we handle what comes our way. So, it's much more fun... to have fun.

Happy 35th Anniversary Mom and Dad. It's fun to have fun. So go out today and have some fun with each other. I love you.

So Cute

I mean ... Effie is so cute. Even today Celia said "Mom! I'm CUTE!!! But.... Effie is REALLLLLLYYYY cute." She's so right.

Effie squints her eyes when she talks, and scrunches her cheeks because she's so serious and adamant about what she has to say.

She calls my folks "Yamma and Yampa".

She makes specific requests to wear her: Batgirl Ballerina Dress. Heart Tights. Bella wand. Pink Cape. Tap shoes 3 sizes too big without laces. Red headband.

When she wakes me up in the morning, she shuts her eyes real tight and smiles so big. That's it. She just sticks her big toothy smiley face in mine, until she jumps up and shakes the dust outta the curtains to announce the sun rise. She is so sweet. She holds Celia's hand till she wakes up, and if Effie wakes her up, she's always happy and says "Awwww....Effie... I love you!". (But if I wake her up for school she says "I'm too cozy and still sleepy")

Effie dances on the chair if she likes her food, and throws her hands up then alternates - right hand up, then right hand down with left hand up, and so on.

When we play hide and go seek, if you are hiding with Effie, she'll always give away the hiding spot. She says "we're hiding in the... i.e. shower!" She always blows a cover.

Lately she says things like "Do you think my yamma misses me?" "Can we watch da mobie I was cwaywing for in the morning?" "Did I alwedy have my's Birtday take?"

I mean... I can't stand it. The 9 and a half pound little big child I gave birth to that caused me so much trauma for 16 hours happens to be such a cutey. I am actually glad I rarely recall the day I expelled that child from my womb because it was so horrendous. But I have to admit... with the bad comes the good, cuz Thank Jesus in heaven, Effie is an angel from above. And now she's an even cuter wuter little angel cuz I chopped her bangs a nice inch above her bushy eyebrows, and now you can see even more of my cutest wootest wittle big baby.

Halloweens

Halloween seemed to last a lifetime this year. We had:

One kid's Halloween Party. - Fun - except that I creeped some parents out with my get-up.
My brother's Halloween Party. - Fun - He was a great Elvis
School Halloween Parade - Cute
Music Class Halloween Party - Fun - except that I creeped some kids out with my get-up.
Dreamworks Halloween Party - Nice - good food - and I went as a tree.
Q-Family Halloween Party - Fun! (Even had a clown partner!)
Treak Or Treating - Tiring - and Fun
Harmony/Glenn Halloween Party - FUN! Frankenstein and his bride were the hosts!

So, as you can see we had a lot of Fun - as always - and I'm glad I don't have to paint my face for awhile now! And I don't have to try to force Effie into a costume! We can relax for awhile - that is until Friday when I start freaking out about Effie's Birthday party right?

And I started music classes at Celia's school. Now I get to see all the little kids she talks about all the time. And I get to see what kind of little trouble makers they are. They are definitely a rowdy bunch of 5 year olds - which makes me happy. Celia is the little miss perfect one, trying very hard not to do anything outta place. Poor kid. I hope she loosens up a bit! I keep telling her that I spent most of 1st and 2nd grade in the "Thinking Chair" and that it was NBD - so to just relax.

So here are the 3 funny quotes of the day:

We fixed up Celia and Effie's bedroom today while my folks played SuperFriends with them and when Effie got back she noticed that her shoe rack was on top of her cardboard house - then when she went to look for her shoes, she saw them in a new place and said "Oh! My shoes are in anothers direction nows!"

Then in the evening while I was putting away laundry, I could hear Alex and the girls watching YouTube clips, then I heard Celia scream "I LOVE this singer SO much! What's his name again?"
Then Alex responded - "Sammy Davis Jr"
The funny part is that he was not joking. Here's the clip she so loved in case you are curious as to how funny this child is, and how funny Alex is. Not that the song or singer is funny, but what 5 year old today loves SDJ? I guess Celia.



Then while we were taking a walk in the dark tonight - and the chasing game was never ending, and the duck duck goose outside the liquor store was more fun than you'd think - Effie kept running and saying "Nah nah nah - You can'ts catch me! Runs runs as fast as you tan - you tan't tatch me I'm da Shingerbread mans!" I love my little Shingerbread man. She's so so so so cute.

Thank you everyone for all the Halloween fun. There is a lot lot lot going on right now, and it's all fun, manageable, and life is wonderful. I hope you are all happy too. Disneyland on Tuesday for Goo Goos' 3rd birthday. See you there?

Mucho

There's always so much going on. And that's a good thing.... I'm sure.
The weekend was good. Real good. I'm a bit tired of one of my jobs, and every night before I have to go to it, I get cranky, complain, then say I'm gonna quit. Then I go, have fun, remember I'm not too bad at what I do, and go on from there. So whatever with that.

Celia had a day off Friday, and we stayed busy, took a late walk, and did a long music class that lasted over an hour. Saturday we made it to the beach. It had been over a year (I think, if I'm not over-exaggerating which I can tend to do) since we'd gone. And it was so so so wonderful. Effie was in a constant state of euphoria the entire time, and I had a perty good time myself.

Every time we go to the beach, I remember my parents' complaints about sand. Well... yeah, sand can be gross and get in your butt, all over your car, all over our stuff, in your hair, and is messy, but it is definitely worth the hassle to see your kids have fun. Right? Maybe my folks didn't think so, cuz they didn't take us to the beach much - they left it to my brother to take me (thank you Freddy, and don't worry mom and dad, I don't hold it against you). But that's ok, cuz now I can go whenever I want, and deal with the sand however I like right?

But something funny happens at the beach. It doesn't happen to me a lot, or in many places, but it seems that when you're at the ocean, things kind of slow down, and moments kind of just... well... they almost stop. (One other place this happens to me at is when I walk over a freeway over-pass) Maybe it happens by the sea cuz the beach is so far away from my kitchen sink and dirty dishes, or maybe cuz the beach is so immense that it makes you feel so teeny tiny. I don't know, but I like that feeling, and even though it made me sad that I kept my kids away from such a great place for so long, I was still so happy I was there.

Effie was a madwoman when it came to the waves. She wanted to literally sit underneath them. When she saw all the bubbles she'd freak out and scream screams of joy, and she could care less that it was cold. In fact, she'll only let me rinse her in the bathtub if I put on cold water. While Celia was shivering, Effie was perfectly fine. She's a cold blooded Virgo that little Effie. And hot headed too. Is that a Virgo trait? Ha. Alex scooped out a little lagoon for them, and Effie would run down the slope of sand and just jump right into it. When we got there, Celia was terrified of the waves, but as soon as we got into the water, she held my hand, and was almost as happy as Effie. It really was so much fun, and even worth the 90 minutes of traffic we had to deal with on the way home. Whatever to that too.

And today we did the carousel, and a 60 minute wait for the medium paced pony rides at Griffith Park. (not at all worth the wait) We had to listen to parents yell at their kids the entire time, who don't know how to stand still for an hour. Parents are lame. I can't even stand still for an hour. I kept telling Celia we could just come back during the week when no one was around, and she kept saying to me: "NBD mom. NBD" (No Big Deal) It's our new thing around here. Any time someone starts to complain about something, someone ends up saying NBD. It works. Really it does. Just try it. When you get pissed, or tired, or stressed out, just think to yourself "NBD. NBD". There is always something worse than what you're going through.

After we did the park stuff, we got to enjoy Tony's birthday, and an evening of story telling by the Q sisters. I was just happy to listen for a change, and not have to be the one telling Effie the never ending stories for once. Thank you ladies.

And it's late. 12:50am to be exact. And I better go. At least the beans and the carnita are cookin, so I don't have to starve for too long tomorrow. And... (too much and... I know) tomorrow is my last day as a Spanish teacher for awhile. Yeahoo!
See you kids around. Again, if you have any costume suggestions for me - or costumes to give me... holler.

Adios amiguitos y amiguitas.

Yodleyhee

Hoo...

How's it going everyone? Do you still read this blog? Well... I still write it.

Today I woke up late, long story, but I remembered my dream that Alex had to walk miles in the snow with prisoners, and that I was going to the beach, and stopped at a salt water taffy place that sold deep friend hot dogs in the shape of ice cream cones. Weird.

And today, we had a long date day, cuz the kids were with the Horlicks, playing Super Friends and eating chicken, and taking a ducky. So we left the eastside, as we cruised around in the LA overcast - which we used to do a lot as youngins, and ended up at St. Vincent's as usual. Didn't get much, except a Wonder Woman costume too small for me. On the way there we passed a bar, and some East Los vatos were hanging out, and I thought... what a life those guys have. They get to chill out at a grungy bar all day, and kick it with the same old vatos all day, then Alex said, they were lucky cuz they probably go home to a nice hot bowl of caldo from their wives who let them hang out at the bar all day. Ha. Sometimes (at least to me) Alex can be the funniest man in the world. I mean, not that that last comment was that funny, but for reals, he is quite the funny one.

So Celia has begun school anxiety. She's really nervous about us getting her to school late. As of Monday she had been tardy twice. Once on the second day of school when mom and dad were just figuring the whole drive to school thing, and I was able to walk her right to her class, and the second time on Monday when Alex got Celia to the gate as they were closing it on her. So yesterday she told me "Mom. I don't want to get to school on time. I don't want to get to school late. I want to get to school early so I can get in line with my friends." Ok - fair enough.

So this morning, my alarm clock died! I mean really died. I woke up. Saw sunlight. Bad sign. Cuz Celia always wakes up when it's still a little dark. I asked Alex: "What day is it today". He said "Tuesday". I said "S#$t". I had big plans to wake Celia up early, so as not to rush. That didn't work. So, I got her up calmly. Did all the morning stuff calmly. And got her in the car calmly. Then I broke the news to her.

It went well. She didn't get upset, cuz I told her I had a note for the teacher to explain the tardy, and I'd take her to the office, etc, etc. She was a brave one, and the day ended up ok. The other morning fiasco was that there was chicken nuggets in the cafeteria today, and she wanted them, but insisted on taking her lunch box as well, so I had to write another note to ensure that she would get in the nuggets line even though she wanted to take a lunch box. (She ate the nuggets, even though she said they were a little too brown). The last time I sent her to the cafeteria, she took her lunch box with her, never got in line cuz she was too scared, and ended up eating some carrots and water for lunch. Ugg.

The other thing is that she has become a little miss I have to be good all the time. I've tried to explain to her that her mother was less than perfect, and sat in a "Thinking Chair' for most of 1st and 2nd grade, but she needs to have a "green card" everyday. No... not that kind of green card - the one they give in Kindergarten if you are good everyday. Yellow means warning, and let's not even get into what red would mean or blue ... cuz that's not gonna happen. But she was so afraid of the yellow card, that she held in potty way too long. No accidents - just a melt down when I picked her up from school. She said she had her hand raised for too long, it was un-noticed, and the teacher never saw her. Which meant, she was suffering in silence. I told the child that when you gotta go you gotta go. Listen to your body, and she said she would NEVER get out of her seat without permission no matter what. (I'm gonna have to talk to the teach about that one) It was a tough one to explain, but she wants to be so good it's funny to me. (I never seemed to care about that kind of stuff - but maybe it's an oldest child thing, cuz from what I remember, my sister was a pretty good student - minus during second grade when she had a wack teacher).

Anyhow. We can't forget the other child. She does exist you know, even though she was born second. My Effiekins. The goo goos is the funniest thing. I've been recounting to many people how we turned the lights off on Sunday and she went frantic throwing her hands in all our faces, saying "I can'ts see Mom. I can'ts see you Dads. I can't finds you Celia!!!! I'm BLIND!".

She also has a new thing about stories. Well, she's always loved us to tell her stories, but she's really into stories all day long. Whenever there is a moment of silence, you can expect Effie to say "Tells me dat storys about when Batman and Robin got their chonies on fire by Captains Colds", or "Tells me dats storys of when Effie wents to the forest of feewings, and she was with the Care Bears". Or "Tells me a stories of when I was a baby in yours tummy". I mean, you can't just tell her a story. It has to be the one she suggests, like "Tells me da storys of when Minnie walks to the forests and the wolfs has to learn to makes her a apples pie."

So cute. I know I've said it before. But the child is too cute. All day. Every day. All the time. And if you are not seeing her, or spending time with her, you are missing out, cuz this cutest thing in the world won't be cute for long. Before you know it she'll be 13 years old and not cute. So here's your chance! Hurry! Before she can properly pronounce a K or a T! Get her while she's CUTE!

So, I gotta go. It's 11:43. Still have lessons to plan, and dishes to not do cuz it's now Alex's job. Good night!