Category Archives: Uncategorized

January 12, 2016 · 4:45 pm

Bound and determined in 2016……

I started blogging back in 2008 (pre Little Girl) to chronicle my family’s adventures since my scrapbooks were becoming wonderful glass coasters and dust bunny catchers.  I never succeeded with scrapbooking although I sure did try.  I bought books and paper and stickers and doodads and you name it.  The problem really centered around the fact that  I rarely ever “developed” the photos I would take.  Remember those days…taking pictures without knowing how they looked, taking the roll in and then waiting (most likely impatiently) for them to be ready 4 days later.  Of course, then 24 hour photo developing hit the streets and wow we would pay the premium for that speed!  You’d pick your pictures up and most likely you splurged on doubles since you were hopeful you would at least get one good shot of something….weren’t  those the days…but I digress.  So back to scrapbboking and pictures.  Without pictures what good was a scrapbook?  So you can see why that phenomenon didn’t last long with me.  But blogs. Online.Through my laptop. Pictures are downloaded directly from the source to the blog. POW.  I was in business. (not literally, I have never made a cent from anything  I have written)  I knew I could write a blog.  

So it all began back in 2008.  I was doing okay for a while, then fell off the blogging earth. Started again and did some supposedly new fangled things to my blog and ended up losing a year or 2 or 3 of good anecdotes and stories.  So as much as I wanted to chronicle life through my blog, if you looked at my submissions, it would give off the impression I flew to Mars with no internet for years considering all the pockets of nothingness.  So here I am…2016 and I am determined to write. Not only on this blog but I have always dreamed of writing a book. A children’s book. I have had the storyline in my head for at least 10 years…its time to get something written.  

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March 2, 2011 · 8:57 am

Wordless Wednesday- Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Suddenly they heard a loud bump- or was it a thump?

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February 27, 2011 · 5:25 pm

Little Girl, ears and head, oh my!

Saturday began for me at 3:00am while I was patiently trying to pacify Little Girl as she seemed to struggle with some issue.  The previous week had been a “cold” week for us, both big kids had gotten them, Little Girl had one and then seemed to maybe get another….I think ears when she gets a cold.  None of my kids are the ear-infection-prone-needing-tubes type kids but when a rare cold comes calling an ear infection could be close behind.  So anyway….I do finally get her back to sleep, crawl into bed myself and as the real morning approaches I tell Dad, I’m taking Little Girl down to the medical center at 8 when they open so I can be back in plenty of time to prepare for The Boy’s birthday party, remember my last post?

Ok, so I get to the medical center a bit after 8 to see that they really open at 9.  Do you hate when you do that? I drive by the sign the other day, I swore it said 8 otherwise why would I think it did, or plan to go at 8, I mean where wold I make that up.  No, I am sure they did not switch the sign on me but it was a bummer nonetheless. Off to kill time at the grocery store nearby, we have a party later, right so I must need some extra snacks or waters or candy or grapes or toilet paper….

Head to medical center, get in relatively quickly although by the time I walk in at 9:01am, I am 4th in line. go figure. Yep, double ear infection, that will be $30 for you being a smart Mom and now back to the same grocery store for the “bubble gum treats”.  Little Girl by this time is super cranky with a full diaper and wants not part of those treats before we set off home. Fine, when we get home we’ll change that diaper and get you those treats and off to a nap you go…so I thought.

Get home, Dad is getting birthday party stuff ready…remember there’s a party later.  I sit down for a moment, Little Girl sees the Dad….”da-da”…running toward him and splat.  Just like that. She falls forehead first into the brick ledge sitting thing for the fireplace. You know the fireplaces that 1st time parents wrap with foam or pool noodles? the exact same type of fireplace thingie I had wrapped for Big Girl some 7 years ago…..yep you guessed it, not wrapped now.

I swoop her up and state, Dad “she’s hurt bad.” He jumps off his ladder, runs to the kitchen, grabs a towel, presses it on her head and states “emergency room, now, it’s deep, she needs stitches.”

Within 15 seconds, the family of 5 is in the minivan headed to the emergency room about 18 minutes away.  On a side note, why I can’t get everyone in the car in 15 seconds on a normal day is beyond me.  Little Girl is crying, Dad still has that towel smashed on her head and I am racing down a 10 mile corridor that is typically lined with tourists on a relatively nice Saturday (when it was suppose to snow! haha).

Our first emergency room experience in this wonderful town we live in, was phenomenal. Quick to check in, quick to get in. Big kids were set up with a movie in the waiting room (where they were the only ones) My kids go to school with the emergency room nurse’s kids….small town, remember? and they talked about the Friday;s field trip…..Meanwhile Little Girl was a trooper, shot to the little head for numbing and 3 stitches later she was good to go with a snoopy bandaid and all.

Our ride home was short and sweet and party planning ensued (again).  With that still full diaper and no dose of antibiotics, Little Girl napped.  2 hours later, woke up to a house full of people and was ready to party (once she got that diaper changed and a dose of antibiotics plus a little headache relief treats)!

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February 25, 2011 · 7:23 pm

Our 14th Birthday Party

Tomorrow will mark our family’s 14th Birthday celebration. No one here is turning 14.  We have 3 children (remember?). Big Girl has had 7 birthday parties, The Boy has had 5 birthday parties and Little Girl has had 1 birthday party all over the past 7 years.  Tomorrow will be The Boy’s 6th Birthday party and will bring our total to 14.

I am not sure why I always figured the kids would have a birthday party every year. It might be because I had one every year as a child. (remember I am an only child) As I have seen over the years, not all children had a party each yer, some go to Disneyland for a weekend, some get to pick one friend and go to the movies, but for us as of today, our tradition is party. We don’t go all out with the horses and the clowns, although I have been known to hire Dora the Explorer for an afternoon, but we play and enjoy friendships.

This may all change as the kids get older and they no longer want Mom and Dad organizing their parties with cake, ice cream, balloons and pinatas but for now I will enjoy every moment of our 14 Birthday party!

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February 23, 2011 · 6:11 pm

Wordless Wednesday- and he’s 6, just like that!

From this:

To this:

Happy 6th Birthday to The Boy! We love you!

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February 17, 2011 · 4:43 pm

Other various duties as assigned

When I worked in the big business world (otherwise known as a Bank), we had job descriptions for each of our positions. As the person who wrote several of these from scratch for various positions there was a line I always added at the end under duties. This line read “you will be expected to perform other various duties as assigned”.

If I was to write a job description for my current job (which is Mom in case anyone forgot), you would find that same line at the bottom or maybe even at the top.

Take my today. I planned to drop big kids off at school, go to the tire store for 2 new tires, take Little Girl to gymnastics, come home for her to nap then my sweet friend was going to come over to help me “find some decorative style here at this house.”

BUT, instead I am writing this post quickly as The Boy sits on the couch all curled under blankies watching Scooby Doo complaining of a tummy ache and Little Girl takes a nap in her room about 3 hours too early.  No tire store, no gymnastics, no nap at the right time and NO friend coming over to “find some decorative style here at this house”.

So today, I am performing other various duties as assigned. Is your day going as planned or are you also performing other duties as assigned?

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February 16, 2011 · 8:19 pm

Wordless Wednesday- It’s that boy again!

The Boy will be 6 one week from today.  I still cannot believe it.

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February 15, 2011 · 4:43 pm

Post Valentine’s Day Mommy Guilt

I can not be the only Mother out there who feels a bit of guilt on this day after Valentine’s Day.

I send my 2 kids off to school on Valentine’s Day with their valentines.  The valentines that we bought at our local K-Mart (yes, we do not even have a Target local to us). You know the kind, little rectangle, fold it over, write the names, put the sticker in the little slits and then seal it with a heart sticker. You all know which ones I mean, you can see them at any large retail chain, generic, impersonal, totally run of the mill.  You can have them too for $2.99 a box.

And then, my kids come home from school with the sweetest, little, handmade valentines.  Their friends drew on them, they wrote special little messages, some baked cookies, some made play dough, 1 even painted the nicest little wooden heart.  And, I feel terrible. I feel like I should have made more of a fuss over the sweet little holiday, worked with my kids to create something unique, something fun that screamed effort.

But alas, I did not. Tell me I am not alone?

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February 14, 2011 · 4:02 pm

The Wife of a Winemaker on this Valentine’s Day

On this wonderful Valentine’s Day, in the name of love, I thought I would share with you a little insight to my life with my Husband.

I have often been asked what it is like to be married to a winemaker?  My first reaction is, well I know no different.  Over 10 years ago, Dad and I got married, he was a winemaker then and is one now.  I have never been married before, so by deduction I have only been married to a winemaker and know no different.

There are a few perks though as the wife of a winemaker.

1) There is always an endless supply of wine in the house, garage, basement, outdoor fridge, ice box, cabinet, closet and refrigerator.

2) When people come over you always have something to offer them to drink. (unless of course they are under 21) You don’t have to worry at the grocery store about what beverage to buy for dinner that night.

3) I have never used a cork screw myself, Dad has a degree in cork screw manipulation.

4) If a recipe calls for wine, you are never  forced to use the kids’ grape juice.

5) I always have a handy present to give someone. (unless of course they are under 21)

6) Wine bottles do make pretty decorations as do decanters, glasses and wine bottle coasters.

7) It makes it easy for people to give us a gift, you always can use another cork screw, right?

8) As a winemaker, Dad gets paid to concoct, which spills over to his ability to cook at home.  He makes some great dishes just by adding a little of this and a little of that.

9) I always know what the weather is going to be like because Dad tracks it on over a zillion different sites so he knows what to expect that day in regards to grape maturation or whatever it is be cares about in regard to the weather.

10) The biggest perk is getting to be the wife of the best Winemaker out there.

Happy Valentine’s Day to my Winemaker, I love you.

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February 11, 2011 · 11:55 pm

Saying goodbye to an old friend

You can spend so much time with someone or something and start to forget their flaws.  Their slow responses, their lack of interest in what you are trying to accomplish, their interest in doing something else at the exact time you want to be doing something completely different, the fact that they completely stop talking to you and then just shut down.  Problem is, the flaws are still there and they will eventually completely take over the relationship. You can do nothing to restore your faith in them and they can doing nothing to restore your hard work.  Yes, I said goodbye to my wonderful Dell laptop of over 7 years yesterday.

I finally had to admit that the friendship was strained and had little to offer.  This was hard for me.  I remember buying that Dell from a QVC infocommercial late at night during the Summer of 2004.   That trusty laptop was there when I made the birth announcements for my 2 youngest children, it provided me countless birthday party invitations, it holds picture perfect memories of the past 7 years, it was like my silent partner as I ran my online business, it worked and it worked hard but it was time.

Time to let it rest.  Thank you my Dell laptop, I will miss you.

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