Please Say A Prayer For Ollie

My nephew Oliver is going in for heart testing within the hour (Wed around 1pm) that is scary. We think Ollie has Angelman Syndrome which has left him developementally disabled since birth. He has led a relatively healthy life until the last month he has started having episodes which look like seizures. He is being tested for these in the photo below. These tests showed they are not seizures, so they are now focusing on his heart as the culprit for him going through episodes of not getting enough oxygen, turning blue, and have had him in the hospital for over 3 weeks. We hope the test today shows a valve in his heart had not closed properly and then they can immediately fix it. If this is not the case, then they are back to square one. Please say a little prayer for this sweet boy and his family who has been through so much with him. You can read more about Ollie on my sisters new blog Oh What A Life and also my Dad's Eight Summits.

The Inventor of Stupid Clock Turns 16

I can't believe my second child will be getting his license soon. Josh is turning 16 today and will take his driving test next Tuesday. Josh is the most low key, low maintenance child. He has told me repeatedly that he doesn't want or need anything for his birthday. He is quiet by nature, but we recently had fun remembering how this quiet low key kid knew how to get your attention when he wanted. When he was about 3-4 years old he got really mad at me for something and blurted out what in his mind was the equivalent of a 4 letter word. He called me a "stupid clock." We had no idea where this came from or what exactly he thought it meant, but my reaction was the same as if he said something far worse. Well this reaction unfortunately made that phrase stick with him, and whenever he felt like being particularly naughty, he would call people stupid clocks. Chelsea reminded me that once in the car he repeated it over and over and I sat there ignoring him. She yelled out "why aren't you stopping him!" I told her I was counting and that he was at 100! It is true this child is stubborn, but also a really great kid. Our family laughed for years at stupid clock and once for halloween his older cousin dressed up as a stupid clock. Another thing about Josh is that he has always loved playing with water. He used to pull a chair to the sink and run water through pots and pans endlessly (clothing optional). What started out as cleaning out a bowl this weekend I once again caught him playing in the sink at 16 years old and snapped a photo without him knowing. I loved seeing the little boy in him shining through.

at Benihana's celebrating his birthday

Raccoon Visitors

About 6 weeks ago my husband and I were awakened by the sound of an animal on our roof. We are used to hearing crows walking around in the morning but this was definitely a larger animal. We wondered what the heck they were doing and making quite a racket. It happened a few other times and my husband went outside to investigate to see a large raccoon on the roof of our 2 story house. It has been quiet ever since and we figured we had nothing more to worry about. Then our next door neighbor who has a window that looks out to our roof contacted us to take a look at their view.

We were shocked! It looked like a little meteor came down and blasted a hole in our roof. Believe it or not, we have 3 of these holes in our roof in different areas! They are not over attic space and we have investigated the attic and roof and it appears the animals are gone. We are curious what inspired this activity and not happy about our first estimate of $850 to fix the 3 holes. We are way overdue for a new roof but for now will patch it up, cut our trees way back so animals do not have access, and hope they don't come back. Not a fun way to spend money.

Back to School

Every year I can't wait for summer vacation to start, and by the end of the summer I can't wait for school to start. This is the first time in 12 years I will not have a child in elementary school which makes me feel kind of sad that chapter is closed forever. Today is the first day of 7th and 10th grade for my boys. We take a photo every year in front of the fireplace on the first day of school.

I have always laughed at this commercial!

30 Years Of Fun At The Beach

I grew up just a few miles from Newport Beach, California and have really great memories of spending endless summers at the beach with my girlfriends. If you live in or around Newport, it is typical for your "group" to stake their territory at a particular street on the Newport Peninsula. My friends and I claimed 43rd street and spent every summer congregating there together.We have great memories about riding our bikes to 43rd , and then as we got older driving our cars there, every summer between 7th and 12th grades in the 70's and early 80's. These were good times. For my girlfriends 40th birthdays, I had this photo painted of us hanging out on the beach. I take my painting out every summer and have it set on plate stand in my family room signifying the fun of summer days.

For a few summers my family has rented a beach house on the Newport Peninsula which is where we are now. We are with my parents, siblings, and many cousins having fun in the sun the last week before school starts. This summer the beach house we are renting happens to be at the exact spot on 43rd where my friends and I hung out some 30+ years ago. It has brought back so many memories. My long time friend Tricia came down today to spend fun time together. I have known Tricia since the 4th grade when her mom made her invite me, the new girl, to her birthday party after she was impressed with how neat I kept my duffel bag at girl scout camp. (my family will laugh at this)

Here we are with our complete beach setup. In the late 1970's I can tell you 10 things that would be wrong with this photo, not in order of offense, but the major offense is bolded:

1. We are wearing 1 piece bathing suits.

2. We are associated with a pop-up shade device, like an umbrella on steroids.

3. Not only is one of my parents within a 100 yard radius of me, they are sitting under the pop up with me.

4. I am wearing sunscreen.

5. Both of us are wearing a hat of some sort.

6. You can' really see it, but we have used a big quilt to sit on that is quilted in the design of the American Flag. As cool as this is now, this could certainly ostrasize you in high school. (the large cute quilt part)

7. We are under a USC themed item. (my dad went to Stanford and he might have chose to sit 100 yards away from me in the 70's if I sat under this) - although his youngest child ended up being a Trojan so he got over it.

8. My bathing suit was bought along with hamburger meat and laundry detergent at Costco.

9. I am out of contacts so I wore my 12 year old prescription sunglasses that Tricia kindly declined to comment on, but other family members have told me how ugly they are. (I love the honesty of family and don't really care about this stuff anymore- I can see!)
10. We have a cooler on the sand. Depending on what this contained, it could have been accepted.

The great part is that in your 40's you just don't care about this stuff! But sitting today with my good friend it was hard not to think about it all as I looked out at the same ocean I looked at 30+ years ago. The thing that has changed most about this precious spot is me.

Time Flies

Oh the melancholy of the last week. Tomorrow we get on a plane to take our daughter, our first born, to college out of state. It has been a busy time lately making lists and shopping, along with work and the rest of the family. We made a few last minute stops yesterday at our local mall- South Coast Plaza, the mall I have gone to since I was 10. As my daughter and I hit our last few stores for basics like mascara and underwear, I took note of all the moms pushing strollers. It doesn't seem that long ago I was pushing one myself and it hit me how fast these last 18 years have gone by. I told Chelsea I vividly remember the first time I took her to the mall in a stroller facing forward. The stroller seat was positioned so the baby faces you when they are infants so you can keep a constant eye on them. It was a big day when I felt Chelsea was old enough that she could sit up and face forward and see everything coming her way. I told her yesterday that it was a mom's version of Disneyland for me that day. Chelsea loved being pushed around facing forward for the first time, and I loved all the oohs and ahhs I got from strangers at how cute that little girl was. And now, here I am, walking around with my adult child, getting ready to move her out. I know it is a cliche to say- but time flies.

A New Blog And Helping Our Birds Fly

During the last year I have had so many thoughts about the whole college process- the college tours, applications, decisions, and now moving out of state for my daughter. I searched and found a lack of resources for Moms wanting to share ideas on the process so I started a new blog called And Off They Flew. I came up with the name from a combination of loving the 2 childhood books "The Best Nest" and "Are You My Mother". Both deal with mama birds and baby birds, making nests, leaving home, loving your home and the joy of being a Mother. Rather than inundate my Charming Cards blog readers with posts surrounding these topics, I created this new blog, but will occassionally blog about them here at my Charming Cards "nest". So if you have a child in high school or college, I hope you might find my new blog interesting as I try to share as many ideas as I can about applying to college, picking a college, moving to college, dorms, greek life, anything related to this transition. I am far from being a pro at this topic, but just sharing a Mothers thoughts and ideas as I go through the process myself for the first time. My Charming Cards blog will continue on as usual!

Vacation

We got home last night from a fabulous week vacation at Bass Lake, CA. What a fun week filled with outdoor activities including wakeboarding, tubing, cards, crafts, yummy food, happy hour, movies at night, a trip to Yosemite, and lots of laughter. This is our 3rd trip to Bass Lake together as a large group where my parents, siblings and most of our families all attend. Looking back at my photos, I am amazed at how my children have grown since our trip to the same cabin 4 years ago.

Bass Lake 2005

Bass Lake 2009

We had one scary night while we were there. At around 10pm we smelled smoke and the guys playing cards on the deck saw a glow on the lake and some commotion. We walked out to shore and over about 8 cabins to find this scene! A brand new cabin on the lake (85% complete) was fully engulfed in flames. Within a very short time it burned completely to the ground. I have never been so close to a fire like this and we were wondering if we would be evacuated since this cabin is nestled in trees and it seemed so easy to spread. But it was contained and no one was hurt. The likely cause is spontaneous combustion caused by painter's rags that were left on the deck.

The fire department came to our cabin the next day to get copies of our photos and video.

Vacations always go too fast, but the rest and fun memories rejuvenate me and carry me through until the next time.

Graduation

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of end-of-the-school-year festivities including my daughter's high school graduation. It seems like the years from pre-school through high school passed in the blink of an eye. Her impending graduation prompted me to finally take in all of our home movies that were on video camera cassettes and have them put onto DVD's so we can finally view them easily. This has been fun for the whole family and I am so glad we took the time over the years to video tape some special times and even some normal routine days. Watching my children interact as toddlers and hearing their high pitched voices is priceless. When she was 12 we gave her a video camera for her birthday and she has loved looking back at skits she made up with her friends. They are pretty funny.

We leave Sunday for Colorado for a 2 day college orientation and I think it is really going to hit that she will be moving away soon. While this makes me sad, I am so excited for this next chapter for her and the fun she will have as a college student.

first day of preschool

I loved these graduation announcements by Jasmine and Woo. I stamped the envelopes with personalized postage using her senior picture.

I wish everyone an enjoyable summer and some fun family time. Dust off your video cameras and record some fun!

A View At The Top

Today I finally got the visual image of my Dad on the summit of Mt. Everest. I think it is amazing! He talked of the terrible weather he encountered and I thought perhaps the summit photo would be blurred, or snowy. But as you see here it is a great photograph to capture the moment he fulfilled a dream that seamed out of reach. My Dad is a testament to determination and perserverance. We are so proud of him and can't wait until he comes home.



My Mom has been inundated with phone calls from the media and been on the news many times now. This link is the first interview she did, including a small unanticipated part from me.
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-video-everest-climber,0,1688242.worldnowvideo

Pins and Needles

My Dad is possibly just 2 days away from summiting Mt Everest. His family is so excited, yet so nervous. At 67 we think he would be the oldest American to summit and make it down safely. These next two days I have awaited, and also dreaded, since 2 years ago when he came just 100 verticle feet shy of the summit and we knew he would return to Everest until he achieved his goal. Last year was cut short due to illness, but this year so far he is super strong and so positive, which is just so him. His trip reports blog can be followed via http://www.eightsummits.com/pt/blog/. Please keep him in your prayers.

My parents have been married 47 years

Kindergarten Anxiety

Next month we have both a high school senior graduating and a 6th grader finishing elementary school. I am amazed at how fast these years have gone and wish they would slow down a bit. Our 6th grader is so excited to be moving on to Jr High School. Looking back, I can't help but reflect on the stark difference between starting and finishing elementary school for him as Kindergarten had a rough start. He loved pre-school and had no issue with going to school or separating from his parents. We expected an easy transition to Kindergarten like his 2 older siblings. The first day went ok, he wasn't thrilled as you can see in the picture below of us together in the classroom as the parents were about to leave. But the 2nd- 17th day of Kindergarten were TOUGH! He got to school and he started crying and wouldn't let go of me. The teacher had to pry him off me as he went howling into the classroom with all of the parents trying not to look. By the 4th day we decided this was too disruptive to the class and we started taking him to the front office where the office manager or nurse would pry his little fingers off me and let him cool off in the nurses office before he was ready to go to class (1/2 hour to 45 minutes). On more than one occassion I left in tears. We tried having his uncle walk him to school with his cousin, thinking he wouldn't do this in front of them. But as they walked onto the blacktop, my brother in law said he put his arm around Danny's neck and could feel his little heart beating so fast and understood this was true anxiety for Danny. This didn't work either. Finally after over 3 weeks of the nurses office routine, he was able to walk in with the rest of the class.

First grade this went on for just 1 week and was not as intense. When 2nd grade started and he showed the same anxiety, the teacher came up with a great plan to have Danny come to school 20 minutes before everyone else and "help" her with something. So for the first few weeks we went to school early and he helped her hang things on the wall, or staple packets, or whatever she could come up with. This worked great and when he felt confident enough he was able to walk in with the rest of the class. This anxiety shows up from time to time in other small ways, but I will never forget the drama and anxiety (for all of us) that first year of Kindergarten.

This week he had to write a poem for school about a fear he has conquered. This is what he wrote that brought tears to my eyes as I think of how far this little boy has come. Stuff like this makes parenthood so rewarding.

Overcoming School
by Danny

Overcoming my Kindergarten Fear
My kindergarten career
Starting off the new school
I always thought it was so cruel

I will dread that first day
But I must learn the way
I will be doing this for a long time
Completing it will be a big climb

The day finally comes
I wait and feel like crumbs
But I learn I have to do it
Something I’ll never quit

Now I wait for another new school
Now I feel like a fool
I am waiting anxiously for the day
Now a school day I won't want to go away

first day of Kindergarten

a sign of things to come...

Danny now- almost done with 6th grade

The Musical Fountain of Youth

When I was in high school I loved attending concerts with my friends. I had a bulletin board in my room with all of my ticket stubs on it, that I wish so much I hadn't tossed along the way. In the years after college when I was working for a CPA firm, getting married, and having children, I stopped doing this and kind of forgot about how fun it was. Well about 5 years ago I heard Tom Petty and Heartbreakers were touring, and being a big fan in high school, I got tickets and went. I was hooked again! Since then I have seen The Steve Miller Band (several times), Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Elton John, The Rolling Stones (twice), Tom Petty every year, Journey, Bob Dylan with my Dad, Crosby, Stills & Nash (with Young once), Chicago, Jackson Brown, and in my 40's I finally had a coveted back stage pass to see (and meet) The Doobie Brothers. There is something about the music from our youth that can take you back in time. (especially if the band sounds the same). I have found these events to be so much fun. I think everytime I would tell my Mom in the last years I was going to a concert she kind of wondered what I enjoyed about it. If it was part of a mid-life crisis, I really didn't care! Well, she and my Dad went last weekend to see Paul Anka who was a teen heartthrob when she was young. The next day she called to tell me that it was GREAT! My Dad sent an email to the family titled 65 going on 16 that said:

"At the end of a wonderful performance, Paul Anka asked the "all senior" audience to come down to the stage. I looked over and Sharon was gone. I saw her running down the aisle toward the stage, waving for me to follow. So, I did. It was so cute seeing her standing at the stage holding her hand out, trying to touch her teen idol.

The scene reminded me of a photo Sharon showed me after I met her in high school. She was standing with her best friend, Sydney, in front of the Cornell Theatre in Burbank, all of 13-years old. Sharon and Sydney had been waiting in line since 6 am to see Elvis's first movie "Love Me Tender." They were each wearing pants they had made just for the occasion. The pants were black with pink felt lettering running down each leg. The letters on one leg spelled "Elvis," and the letters on the other leg spelled "Presley." I'll never forget that photo.

I will also never forget the image of her at the stage last Saturday night, just being a kid again. I got a bit teary-eyed seeing this, and still do when I think about it. Paul Anka choked up too, and could hardly hold back his tears. These are the childhood memories that we cherish in our gray hairs."

She is in Las Vegas this weekend seeing Donny and Marie with a group of high school friends for her birthday. She gets it!

Blame it on the Cleaning Lady

If your home is anything like mine now, or even the home I grew up in- the cleaning lady/housekeeper unknowingly is given the blame for lots of things. Growing up we had a weekly housekeeper named Mary that was practically part of the family. My Mom still says she is the best housekeeper she has ever had. But even with the highest of accolades and fond feelings for Mary, if anything was ever misplaced or lost, the first thing any of us would say is "where did Mary put my ______?" Most of the time it wasn't her fault but it is tempting to blame the outsider who has an inside to your stuff. We do the same thing to our current housekeeper -Veronica. She has been with us for 18 years, and has stuck with me during times like now when I have to cut back on her schedule. She is usually the one who can find things for me, but doesn't know that when she is not here and someone can't find something they blame it on her. Last night took the cake. I went to bed laughing at what she was accused of. As I was going to bed with a clean house (oh happy day) my 12 year old yelled from his room... "Mom, my Snuggie has a hole in it...I think it was Veronica." I told him he was crazy and the Snuggie is made cheaply overseas. Then my imagination got the best of me as I giggled to myself thinking of how Veronica could have put a hole in the Snuggie. With the help of my sister, I recreated a few thoughts to share.....

vacuuming?

a little too much elbow grease using it to dust?

using it to efficiently clean large areas of the floor?
(like making a snow angel)

or perhaps while making the bed she was so comfy
in it that she fell asleep (like Goldilocks)

My conclusion is - What was he thinking?!! But we were laughing so hard taking these photos that you may hear more from me in the future about improbable uses for the Snuggie.

The Fun of Childhood Birthdays

Observing my son this weekend on his 12th birthday brought back memories of the days when you just LOVED your birthday. From the moment he woke up he had a happy look on his face, almost in disbelief that the day had actually come. While opening his presents he smiled continuously ear to ear. One of the joys of being a parent is seeing your child experience special moments that can be just as enjoyable as when we experienced them ourselves. He opted not to have a party but just his cousins over for cake and ice cream after dinner. One of his favorite gifts was a Snuggie from his cousins! Christmas and birthdays this last year have been smaller and simpler and I am happy to say nothing has been lost.

Told Ya So

Every year our elementary school puts on a school play in March that is a wonderful opportunity for children to perform in a play, maybe just this one time in their life. It is for 5th and 6th grade only and my older 2 had fun performing in Peter Pan (Wendy) and Grease (Kenickie). My youngest is in 6th grade and did not want to participate because it was "too much work". But I made him audition for "Seussical" last November. He got a medium sized role as a Wikersham Brother which is one of a pack of rowdy monkeys. He complained about the many rehearsals in December and January, but stopped complaining in February. As March drew near and the play was coming together, I could tell he was really getting excited. "Tech Week" is the week of the play and the rehearsal schedule is intense with practices until 9pm. All of the teachers cooperate and thankfully gave no homework last week. Even when Danny's group was allowed to go home during tech week, he opted to stay and watch the other cast. The real show was Friday night and today, and he is still at the theatre now handing out programs and working the lights for the alternate cast. He can't get enough of it. I had to ask him this week in the most non-chalant way I could "aren't you glad I made you try out?" He conceded it has been a blast and even admitted he wished he tried harder in the audition to get a bigger part. Here he is "monkeying around" on stage. (front left)

Celebrating 19 Years

Today is my 19th wedding anniversary. That sounds so long. I met Jeff about 22 years ago when he was one of my neighbors in an apartment complex not far from where we live now. He was the guy from Jersey who still uses weird words like "worsh your hands", still calls pizza a "pie", says the word "mozarella" with such a strong roll of the tongue on the L it sounds like he just got off the boat, and for the life of him cannot say the word "Hugh." Danny has a friend named Hugh - but to Jeff he is "You". I like that he still has traces of an accent. Jeff is a great cook , a wonderful Dad, and has been a great husband the last 19 years. I remember 2 pieces of advice that have helped over the years...one from a cousin who told me before we got married - "Don't expect your spouse to change now that you're married. Embrace who you both are." And my sister once reminded me that marriage is made of peaks and valleys..."when you are in a valley remember there is a peak up ahead." I have reflected back at this advice at times over the years. We normally watch our wedding video with our kids on this day and light our anniversary candle, but we no longer have a working VHS player and need to convert it to a DVD before it gets too old to do this. So we will go out for a quiet dinner and hopefully do something extra special next year on the 20th.

Dressing for Formal

This last weekend my freshman and senior children both went to the high school Winter Formal dance. The differences in dressing a boy and a girl for this type of event is pretty significant in our house. It is a girl ask guy dance and our son was asked in November by darling friend of his. I said to him, "I think you will need to wear a tux to that dance." His reply was, "no Mom, I GET to wear a tux to that dance." And I then remembered the only other time he wore a tux. It was 10 years ago when he was 5 at my sister's wedding. He so enjoyed getting dressed up that this is how we found him in his room the morning after the wedding- he got up and put the tux back on!
So we easily picked a tux at a rental shop and he was good to go for the dance and very happy about his duds.

Our daughter on the other hand has a lot of trouble picking out dresses for formals. (generally buying clothes at all).. We had shopped at many stores the last few weeks until she resigned herself that she could borrow from a friend a used dress that was better than anything we could find. So all week she was deciding between 3 borrowed dresses she had in her closet on loan from a friend. Until Friday night, the night before the dance she said she found a dress at a local boutique she liked the best. So we went down and bought it (on sale but expensive). The next morning she shared with me she was not so sure about the dress and would rather save the money and borrow. So we went back to return the dress only to find out all sale items are final. So she was back to the new dress. Then at 4pm the day of the dance she ran out and came back with yet another borrowed dress and said she would sell the new dress on Ebay and wanted to wear the borrowed dress. I bit my tongue and agreed, and she wore the borrowed dress you see below. .....

(brother and sister before meeting up with their dates)

(back/"other side" of dress)

Then at the pre-party that the parents attend she said "Mom, look".... and she showed me the front of the dress had something bugging her skin on the inside.....it was the tag! After shopping, borrowing, buying, borrowing, she ended up wearing her dress backward to Winter Formal!

Tracking Santa

For those of you with children or grandchildren who believe in Santa, I want to share a fun way you can track him all day today. We have done this for years on Christmas Eve day as a fun way to anticipate his arrival! The Norad website tracks his progress all day with videos of where he has been and the path of where he is going.

Charming Cards wishes you and your family a wonderful holiday as we celebrate the birthday of Jesus- Merry Christmas!

Sharing Christmas cards over the years

Phewwwww..... I am finally taking a moment to sigh and feel releived that the rush of this season is over. I know all of my customers have received their holiday cards, all the recent gift purchases are in the mail, and I am relaxing in front of the fire watching a good old movie. Sitting here I watched our daughter peruse through our Giger Family Christmas album we have sitting on our coffee table every holiday season. I have enjoyed keeping this up over the years with some photos of each Christmas starting with our Christmas Card. Enthusiasm over selecting and preparing these cards each year is what got me inspired to start this business back in 2000. (click on book to view contents)

Holiday Programs and the 12th Daily Deal of Christmas

Today I attended my 13th consecutive holiday program at our elementary school. Since this is our last year with a child in elementary school it will be my last unless I go back to watch my nieces and nephews. That thought kept going through my head during the performance today as I wondered how the time could have gone by so fast. It really seems not so long ago that I sat there as a young mom and watched my daughter sing as a kindergartner. Blink...she is now applying to college.

Danny is center front in black pants and a white shirt

After the show I had to take a photo of one of my twin nieces who like their mom is always very fashionable. I keep encouraging my sister to start a blog and share her fashion advice as well as parenting fun. She is a mom of 5 including twins and a disabled son so her life is very full (and yet still full of fashion!). Maybe someday...

The 12th and last daily deal today is 30% off our line of fun chunky notepads by Mudpie Paper. 300 pages make it a substantial chunky pad with cute quality ribbon. It will arrive by Christmas if ordered today.

That finished off our 12 Daily Deals of Christmas!

Christmas Stockings

I have been feeling proud of the way my children have adjusted their holiday gift expectations because of the economy. At any age it is hard not to be aware that times are tough at all economic levels and they have told me they really don't need or expect much this year. (I hope that same attitude is present Christmas morning!) BUT..... my 11 year old made it very clear yesterday when he said "Mom, I hope the bad economy doesn't affect our stockings!" I have to agree that fun filled stuffed stockings was a highlight of Christmas for me and am not surprised my children feel the same way. Items can range from yo-yo's, toothbrushes, candy, concert tickets, magic tricks, stress balls, jewelry, make-up, lotion, underwear, toys, movie passes, surfboard wax, rubiks cubes, chap stick.....the list is endless! Along with an array of random items, we have a tradition of receiving a bell from Santa every year (idea from The Polar Express book) and a dvd movie. My sister's stockings always include a box of pop tarts, and growing up our stockings always had silly string. Share your stocking stories and ideas!

Dove Bars and Weight Loss -An Oxymoron

Wonder what this is?

It looks like my ice maker is producing Dove Bars! Well not really. But this is what I found on Halloween night when my neighbor came by asking to borrow some ice. This scene does not surprise me, nor will it surprise anyone who knows my family, in particular my husband. Ever since we met (over 20 years ago) I have known Jeff to find a different dessert that he focuses on and remains commited to this dessert for several years. He does whatever it takes to keep his own stash of it which can be difficult with 3 children ranging from 11-17. My son's friend Michael just reminded me he has found single Dove Bars behind the frozen food and once inside the frozen waffle box. I once poured out a bag of tater tots and out came a Dove Bar! My husband loves food in general and is a great cook. I think shortly after he gets out of bed he starts thinking about what's for dinner. He is also often talking about his journey to lose weight. His weight has crept up over the years and although he works out diligently, I don't think you can work out enough to equal his passion for food. The other night at dinner my children were giving him tips on what might help him lose weight like "stop hiding Dove Bars", "stop eating the equivalent of an entire meal while cooking", "don't eat chips while sitting at the computer." My 15 year old reminded him of the time when Jeff actually stopped at Carl's Jr on the way home from the gym. Jeff didn't remember this and started to argue it, but Josh had pretty specific details and said his friend Nick still tells this story. Jeff relented and accepted it was likely true. He then proceeded to create a diagram of his weight over the years, with arrows pointing to the periods of weight loss:

While we are proud of him during the downward times, we can't help but see the where the overall trend is:

I just had my husband come review my blog about him and he read it, smiled and said "I'm not sure it's all true, but I guess you can send it." He was eating a bowl of last night's pasta while doing so.

A Smoochy Story

I have to share a funny story about my 3 year old nephew. For reasons unclear to me, we all call him "Smoochy". Smoochy is the youngest of 5 and even though I am his aunt, I honestly think he is one of the cutest kids ever. Because of having 4 olders siblings, along with being extremely coordinated and articulate for his age, he thinks he is about 10. My own children get such a kick out of him and love hearing any stories related to him. Well last week at preschool they made homemade apple juice. After this fun project the teacher went around the room asking the kids what their apple juice tasted like and she posted the answers on the wall. My sister was reading the wall looking for her own son's response and saw that the question and answers looked something like:
My apple juice tasted......

Mary......"Yummy"
Jennifer...."Yucky"
Tommy...."Delicious!"

She got to her son's and it said:
.............."like beer!"


The ironic thing is that my sister and her husband rarely drink alcohol of any kind except for maybe an annual Pina Colada on vacation. Can you imagine seeing that on the wall of your child's preschool!? Needless to say she is expecting the playdates to drop dramatically!

Smoochy relaxing in Hawaii

A 15th Birthday and a Josh Story

My oldest son Josh turned 15 today. It is starting to freak me out how quickly they are growing up. We celebrated by surprising him this morning with a birthday breakfast. I picked up 10 of his friends at 6:30am and brought them back to the house so they could storm into his room and wake him up. We drove to a local Coco's for breakfast and then on to school.

Thinking back tonight about raising Josh reminded me of a cute story when he was little. He has always loved water. It started with standing on a chair and playing in the sink making waterfalls out of pots and pans. He loved water fountains, then pools and waterparks, slip and slides, water balloons and eventually turned into a surfer loving the beach. Well when he was 3 we had a computer game about the Berenstain Bears where you could go from room to room in their house and play (this was very exciting in 1996). Josh loved clicking on the bathroom and making the faucet turn off and on and and fill up the bathtub. Well one day he turned to me while playing this and said "Mom, can you flew me in?" I said, "what?" He said, "Can you flew me in?" I thought he meant "can you scoot me in" so I said "sure." He got excited and told me to wait while while he ran to his room to get his special blanket. He returned holding his blanket, stood on the chair and pressed his forehead to the monitor and said "Ok, I am ready." I suddenly realized he actually thought I might be able to "flew" him into the computer game and let him play with the Berenstain Bears and turn that water on by himself, but this was scary enough to need his blankie! I about melted when I realized his frame of mind and how sweet and innocent he was. To think this same boy will be driving in a year makes me melt all over again.

Oh the simple joys of summer

With summer winding down I have asked my children what they will miss about summer vacation. My 11 year old gave a surprising answer- "lunch from the truck". Everyday a catering truck passes by the street behind us to offer lunch to the construction workers who are building a house on that street. When Danny hears the catchy spanish tune the truck plays to announce it's arrival he says "they're calling my name!" Then he grabs a couple dollars and runs around the corner to purchase 2 spicy chicken tacos for lunch. He is an unlikely customer for them and usually the only child in line. The owner told me when I took this photo "he is our best customer, we will miss him when school starts." He takes after his grandpa with a love for spicy Mexican food which fortunately we have lots of in California. Who needs an ice cream vendor playing nursery songs when you've got Anna's truck of yummy Mexican food!

Next Stop- Kona Village

Tomorrow we leave for Kona Village on the big island of Hawaii. I have been looking forward to this trip since November when we started planning it. We have been going here as a family since I was a teenager and tomorrow my parents, 3 siblings and our children (14 cousins) will enjoy special family time in paradise. Kona Village is a polynesian village style resort where you stay in bungalows (like Gilligans Island) rather than a big hotel. No t.v.'s, computers or cell phones allowed-it is fabulous and I can't wait! I do have help at home holding down the fort and keeping Charming Cards open during this time, just a tad longer processing time for orders. If you have a good book recommendation, please post a comment. I am leaning towards "Water for Elephants" which I heard is really good. Below is a photo of us at Kona Village in the early 80's.
Aloha!

Lori, Dad (the Everest climber), Amy, Me, Dan, Mom

Today's Paper Hits "Home"

As you can tell, my favorite color is pink, except when it is a pink slip! Up until yesterday, my husband and 3800 unlucky other people were employed by IndyMac Bank. While we knew it was coming, the reality of it still packs a punch. The uncertainty about the future is very unsettling but I have faith things will work out. Anyway-to soften the punch, my daughter and I have had plans today to redeem gift certificates we have had for over a year for massages at a swanky local Spa. Hmmmm....laying there having someone rub my back with my husband freshly out of a job seemed paradoxical. It wasn't as relaxing as it could have been but fun to be out with my daughter. Next up- selling the gas guzzling Suburban and the $125 per week fill-ups. I know the economy is tough right now for a lot of people and I look forward to more encouraging newspaper headlines for us all in the future.

Corn on the Cob Cupcakes

A baker I am not, but I was so impressed with this entry in the bake-off contest in our neighborhood's annual July 4th Family Picnic I had to share it (the entry is NOT mine! my favorite recipe book is the Takout Menu Organizer!) These little corn on the cobs are actually mini cupcakes and were so cute it is no wonder they got a prize for the most original entry. They are sitting on corn husks and dotted with yellow jelly beans.

We enjoyed a day complete with a bike parade, old fashioned fire engine rides, a dunk tank, a chili and baking contest, lots of food and games, fireworks, and a fun time with family and friends.

Have a great weekend!