Ebone and me
Ethan and his little cookie boquet for me
Ethan's mother day card
The inside of Ethan's card
Little Brandon with his mother's day gift (a calender)!
Me and my school babies!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mother's Day First Grade Picnic
On Friday, they had a first grade picnic invite for the Mom's. So, I met little Ethan for a mother-son picnic. So cute!
Ebone and me
Ethan and his little cookie boquet for me
Ethan's mother day card
The inside of Ethan's card
Little Brandon with his mother's day gift (a calender)!
Me and my school babies!
Ebone and me
Ethan and his little cookie boquet for me
Ethan's mother day card
The inside of Ethan's card
Little Brandon with his mother's day gift (a calender)!
Me and my school babies!
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Princess and the Pee-Pee
One of us in the car referred to Maddie this way last night! Whoever said girls are easier to potty train, was lyin' to me. Maddie has the smallest bladder. We are in the car anywhere for 10 minutes and she "has to go pee." At the store, she has to go usually more than once. No easy feat with 2 other toddlers in tow. I have had to resort to putting her in a diaper at times on shopping trips just so I don't get interrupted with bathroom breaks every 2 seconds. Anyway.....the joys of parenthood. I love my little princess, but not all the potty breaks!
Happy Birthday Mom!
We celebrated my Mom's birthday----went to Chuck-A-Rama, then the Bean Museum, then back to their home and backyard. It's beautiful, I know where I gained my love for flowers! Hope you had a Happy Birthday Mom!
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Kid Quotes
Dylan (2) loves Dora. The other day as I was changing his diaper, he said "Abre" for open (referring to his legs). Gotta' love Dora.
When Benjamin (4) would jump in the pool while on vacation, he would say, "1-2-3, Cowabunga!" Have you played that game on the iphone? The little cows jump off a cliff and you try to help them to not all into the water. I guess he was imagining himself as being a little cow jumping into the water.
Even though all my other children call me Mommy, Maddie (3) calls me Mama. I have to say it is so cute.
The other day Benjamin (4) was calling "Mommy, Mommy", so I responded. I was told, "I am not talking to you." Lately, Benjamin, Maddie and Dylan play "house" a lot and Benj calls Maddie, "mommy".
I had to laugh last night, Brandon and I were talking and our kids were playing. All of a sudden, we hear Benjamin (4) playing "camera shoot" with Maddie. He is telling her, "no, move over here," etc. And making "click" sounds for the camera. Brandon and I both looked at each other and laughed. I am sure this comes from watching their Dad take SOOOO many pictures.
Little Ethan (7) was terrified of most of the rides at Disneyland. So, I waited with the four kids outside of the ride, "Tower of Terror" as little Brandon and his Dad went on the ride. Little Brandon came out of the ride alone, without his Dad. Little Ethan asked (seriously), "Did Daddy die?"
Little Brandon told us about a dream he had where Jesus came again. There were angels all around Jesus and since Jesus loves children, all the children were surrounding him. Why don't I have dreams like this?
When Benjamin (4) would jump in the pool while on vacation, he would say, "1-2-3, Cowabunga!" Have you played that game on the iphone? The little cows jump off a cliff and you try to help them to not all into the water. I guess he was imagining himself as being a little cow jumping into the water.
Even though all my other children call me Mommy, Maddie (3) calls me Mama. I have to say it is so cute.
The other day Benjamin (4) was calling "Mommy, Mommy", so I responded. I was told, "I am not talking to you." Lately, Benjamin, Maddie and Dylan play "house" a lot and Benj calls Maddie, "mommy".
I had to laugh last night, Brandon and I were talking and our kids were playing. All of a sudden, we hear Benjamin (4) playing "camera shoot" with Maddie. He is telling her, "no, move over here," etc. And making "click" sounds for the camera. Brandon and I both looked at each other and laughed. I am sure this comes from watching their Dad take SOOOO many pictures.
Little Ethan (7) was terrified of most of the rides at Disneyland. So, I waited with the four kids outside of the ride, "Tower of Terror" as little Brandon and his Dad went on the ride. Little Brandon came out of the ride alone, without his Dad. Little Ethan asked (seriously), "Did Daddy die?"
Little Brandon told us about a dream he had where Jesus came again. There were angels all around Jesus and since Jesus loves children, all the children were surrounding him. Why don't I have dreams like this?
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
About Belle from Beauty and the Beast
So, did Belle just suffer from Stockholm syndrome?
Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in abducted hostages, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger or risk in which they have been placed. The syndrome is named after the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm, in which the bank robbers held bank employees hostage from August 23 to August 28 in 1973. In this case, the victims became emotionally attached to their victimizers, and even defended their captors after they were freed from their six-day ordeal. The term "Stockholm Syndrome" was coined by the criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot, who assisted the police during the robbery, and referred to the syndrome in a news broadcast.(Wikipedia)
It seems a bit of a sick message that she falls in love with her kidnapper.
Maybe I don't want Belle to be Maddie's role model after all. Hmmmmm.
Another deep thought to you brought by the Random Thought Foundation.
Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in abducted hostages, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger or risk in which they have been placed. The syndrome is named after the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm, in which the bank robbers held bank employees hostage from August 23 to August 28 in 1973. In this case, the victims became emotionally attached to their victimizers, and even defended their captors after they were freed from their six-day ordeal. The term "Stockholm Syndrome" was coined by the criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot, who assisted the police during the robbery, and referred to the syndrome in a news broadcast.(Wikipedia)
It seems a bit of a sick message that she falls in love with her kidnapper.
Maybe I don't want Belle to be Maddie's role model after all. Hmmmmm.
Another deep thought to you brought by the Random Thought Foundation.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Disneyland Trip Overview/Thoughts/Suggestions
We were able to get babysitting for two nights (through Fullerton Babysitting Agency). Brandon planned a date for us for one of the nights. He thought it would be so romantic to stroll through Hollywood. Until we got there. Not our type of place. It seemed run-down, dirty, and a bit creepy. We did pass the premiere of Star Trek. We then tried another exit, which was REALLY in the slums; we got to see an arrest, a homeless drunk man yelling at a box, and all the metal doors locking everything up by 7pm in that area. After 2 1/2 hours, we ended up back in Anaheim for a romantic dinner. My husband kept reminding me he took me to a premiere, I got to see an arrest, and a drunk, mentally ill homeless man shouting at boxes. True!
Second night: We took little Brandon on a birthday date to Disneyland. We stayed till midnight and had a blast. I can't believe our baby is almost 9 years old. A fabulous night and hopefully some great memories for little Brandon.
Funny white trash story:
We had two double strollers with us to carry four kids if necessary----which were so necessary for our family! So on Friday, the last day, the wheel breaks off one of the double strollers. But hey, we were OK, we still had one double stroller. And we are a bit embarrassed to admit the white trash side of ourselves. We were at Disneyland with all the strollers lined up on the side----so what are you going to do with five kids and a broken stroller? Uhmmmmm----walk away, leaving the broken stroller in the line of strollers. Or, in other words, donate the stroller to the Disneyland park. I know, so white trash. We had to laugh when we went by later and it was still there. So, if you happen to be at Disneyland and want to pick up our broken double stroller from the lost and found, go for it!!!!
Later that afternoon, our second double stroller lost a wheel. Maybe it was karma. Oops. Luckily, it was our last day at Disney---and luckily, our hotel let us throw it in their dumpster.
We also had our engine light go on the way to California. Of course, it was about 9pm and they just passed a law in California that the Auto Parts stores can't check the codes---even though they still had signs on their windows stating they could. We just wanted to see the code to make sure our engine would not blow up or something. No such luck. Finally one shop told us it was probably nothing and to restart the engine a couple times which we did, and all was fine.
So, we finally arrived at our destination late that night. I had to laugh when little Brandon made a certificate for himself for surviving the drive. I just wondered where my certificate was!!!
Best Things We Did:
-Bringing 2 Double Strollers
-Getting Passes at Costco (You get a pass for 3 days at Disneyland, 1 day at Seaworld, 1 day at the Zoo, 1 day at Universal Studios)---we never used our day at the Zoo or Univeral Studios.
-Getting Hotel Rooms for $59/night 5 blocks from the park so we could walk back and forth from Disney (it was a dive, but fulfilled our needs---like Disney magic, we came home to a clean room every night---sweet, maybe we should live in a cheap hotel)--Carriage Inn (they cannot guarantee connecting rooms until 24 hours before visit---which we HAD to have. We had another place farther away and nicer the first night.
-Buying lots of snacks and drinks at Costco for during the day
-Going this time of year when the park was fairly empty and lines were short (except for Friday)
-Driving all day Saturday/resting Sunday, then spending week at park and leaving on Saturday again, and having another Sunday home to rest.
-Video Players in the Van
-Getting a babysitter for a couple nights (through Fullerton Babysitting Agency---Midge was our lady; a cute little Grandma-ish sitter)
-Goofy's Kitchen
-Jedi Training at Disneyland
-Ariel's Grotto if you want the Disney Princess experience but it is overpriced and not as great (in food and experience as Goofy's Kitchen---but it was fun to have a date with Mommy-daughter date with Maddie)
-We had three days at Disney and did them on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I thought it was great to have some time in between.
-I brought really crappy shoes and paid the price with blisters all over my feet---so bring good shoes if you are going to be walking through parks for a week.
It was a great family adventure!
Second night: We took little Brandon on a birthday date to Disneyland. We stayed till midnight and had a blast. I can't believe our baby is almost 9 years old. A fabulous night and hopefully some great memories for little Brandon.
Funny white trash story:
We had two double strollers with us to carry four kids if necessary----which were so necessary for our family! So on Friday, the last day, the wheel breaks off one of the double strollers. But hey, we were OK, we still had one double stroller. And we are a bit embarrassed to admit the white trash side of ourselves. We were at Disneyland with all the strollers lined up on the side----so what are you going to do with five kids and a broken stroller? Uhmmmmm----walk away, leaving the broken stroller in the line of strollers. Or, in other words, donate the stroller to the Disneyland park. I know, so white trash. We had to laugh when we went by later and it was still there. So, if you happen to be at Disneyland and want to pick up our broken double stroller from the lost and found, go for it!!!!
Later that afternoon, our second double stroller lost a wheel. Maybe it was karma. Oops. Luckily, it was our last day at Disney---and luckily, our hotel let us throw it in their dumpster.
We also had our engine light go on the way to California. Of course, it was about 9pm and they just passed a law in California that the Auto Parts stores can't check the codes---even though they still had signs on their windows stating they could. We just wanted to see the code to make sure our engine would not blow up or something. No such luck. Finally one shop told us it was probably nothing and to restart the engine a couple times which we did, and all was fine.
So, we finally arrived at our destination late that night. I had to laugh when little Brandon made a certificate for himself for surviving the drive. I just wondered where my certificate was!!!
Best Things We Did:
-Bringing 2 Double Strollers
-Getting Passes at Costco (You get a pass for 3 days at Disneyland, 1 day at Seaworld, 1 day at the Zoo, 1 day at Universal Studios)---we never used our day at the Zoo or Univeral Studios.
-Getting Hotel Rooms for $59/night 5 blocks from the park so we could walk back and forth from Disney (it was a dive, but fulfilled our needs---like Disney magic, we came home to a clean room every night---sweet, maybe we should live in a cheap hotel)--Carriage Inn (they cannot guarantee connecting rooms until 24 hours before visit---which we HAD to have. We had another place farther away and nicer the first night.
-Buying lots of snacks and drinks at Costco for during the day
-Going this time of year when the park was fairly empty and lines were short (except for Friday)
-Driving all day Saturday/resting Sunday, then spending week at park and leaving on Saturday again, and having another Sunday home to rest.
-Video Players in the Van
-Getting a babysitter for a couple nights (through Fullerton Babysitting Agency---Midge was our lady; a cute little Grandma-ish sitter)
-Goofy's Kitchen
-Jedi Training at Disneyland
-Ariel's Grotto if you want the Disney Princess experience but it is overpriced and not as great (in food and experience as Goofy's Kitchen---but it was fun to have a date with Mommy-daughter date with Maddie)
-We had three days at Disney and did them on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I thought it was great to have some time in between.
-I brought really crappy shoes and paid the price with blisters all over my feet---so bring good shoes if you are going to be walking through parks for a week.
It was a great family adventure!
Friday, May 01, 2009
Brandon's Birthday Date
It was so fun to go out with little Brandon for his birthday date. We took him out to eat and then stayed at Disneyland till midnight. He loved it, until the walk home. It was great to spend some one-on-one time with him. He is such a good, sweet, little boy. Such a spiritual little guy. I won't tell you about his Jesus dream or we all might start crying. And how is he almost nine years old?
Where we ate they gave him this cute little birthday card with picture since it was his birthday celebration. How cute is that?
Disney at night is magical!
Love the Disney fireworks show on Friday night!
So romantic!
Where we ate they gave him this cute little birthday card with picture since it was his birthday celebration. How cute is that?
Disney at night is magical!
Love the Disney fireworks show on Friday night!
So romantic!
Jedi Training at Disneyland
During the week we enjoyed short lines. That was all over on Friday. The park was open till midnight, and lines were long and it was VERY crowded. We still had a great time!
First thing Friday morning we went to the Jedi Training where they choose out kids to participate in the experience. None of our kids were chosen the first round. So, we went the next time, and luckily, Brandon and Ethan were chosen. (They should have kids wait in line so every child will have a chance.) Benjamin was feeling left out and sad since he wasn't chosen. Poor kid----we bought him a consolation toy to cheer him up. I have to say, the Jedi training was so great. I loved watching the kids have that experience. Fabulous experience. See the videos below of Brandon and Ethan using their Jedi skills!
Choose me, choose me, please!!! 
First thing Friday morning we went to the Jedi Training where they choose out kids to participate in the experience. None of our kids were chosen the first round. So, we went the next time, and luckily, Brandon and Ethan were chosen. (They should have kids wait in line so every child will have a chance.) Benjamin was feeling left out and sad since he wasn't chosen. Poor kid----we bought him a consolation toy to cheer him up. I have to say, the Jedi training was so great. I loved watching the kids have that experience. Fabulous experience. See the videos below of Brandon and Ethan using their Jedi skills!
Choose me, choose me, please!!! 
Our last day at Disneyland
Daddy-daughter time
(p.s. I am so glad her hair has grown)
The boys were getting some attitude.
My sweet baby blowing kisses.
Benj and maddie enjoying a toy.
My handsome Benj
Why doesn't our tree house look like this? Maybe cause we don't have trees involved or Disney money.
Everyone loved some Buzz Lightyear
I love the characters
And then our 2nd double stroller broke, and Maddie (3) and I were stuck for about an hour. It should be the terrible 3's, not the terrible 2's. Keeping her out of the street and occupied for an hour (without her siblings) was quite the task! Mischeivous eyes and grin. Good thing she is so charming.
Maddie enjoyed playing with Benj's storm trooper gun. Like mother, like daughter.
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