Sundays In My City ~ LAX

Today brought us to the LAX airport. I picked a night-time pic to post, it is so much more cool looking at night with the lights lit up, they change colors!

Encounter Restaurant

Head on over to Unknown Mami for more Sundays In My City and check out all the cool and different places around the world!

FF (Friday Fragments)

My lovely Banana Bread

I saw both of these movies! I have not finished the book of New Moon, I know what was I thinking by cheating and seeing the movie, well I couldn't wait! We (me and my hubby) love vampire movies and such, so we just wanted to watch Twilight one night and then New Moon the next....so I am still reading it, LOVE IT!

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Hubby is on a business trip. Hate it when he goes, but love it when he comes back. We all seem to need the short time away, only 4.5 days, easy peasy!

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My daughter, Kylie, got her Progress Report Card: A- in Earth Science, A- in English 1, B- in Geometry, A- in Health, A in PE and B+ in Spanish 2! I am sooooooooooooooooooooo proud of her! Kudos to YOU KYLIE!

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Working on Serena keeping her hands to herself when she gets mad. She like to thump her brother when he ummmm takes things from her, which he does on purpose...so she has been spending a lot of much needed time in her room. I just can't justify spanking her, when she hits him. It wouldn't be a good punishment, so I am hoping this works better.

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Did you see Dancing with the Stars this week? Come on, I know Kate Gosselin has to generate some type of income to care for her kids, I get that....but man she sucked! and I read that the shows staff are waiting for her to get the boot, apparently she is always late for hair and make-up....and I really thought Shannen Doherty was going to be bad!

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Just a quick shout out to 24~ Love Keifer Sutherland~I think I have mentioned this before on FF, I am boring that way! j/k but I do have a horrible memory, so if I am repeating myself, just ignore, LOL

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Love Costco!

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Hate it when people drive and talk on their cell phones, with no headset!

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Love the look on my neighbors almost 3 yr old daughter when I handed over a VHS movie, Cinderella! The girl has never seen it!

Ok enough of this randomness! Head on over to Mrs. 4444's and see everyone else's FF's!

Happy Anniversary of Baptizm

Serena got a Portal Prayer book from church last night. For those of you not familiar, a Portal Prayer book is a small paper bound book that has daily devotions in it. Hers has April 1st to June 30th, 2010. So, we aren't quite ready to use it.

Brandon got jealous, as usual. So, I grabbed the other book we have for the months of January to March. We have not been reading from these, but we should. We read the ARCH Books at night.

So I went to today's date, March 25th and started to read it to the kids: "What will occur in nine months? Christmas! March 25th is the anniversary of Jesus' miraculous conception in the womb of the virgin Mary."

Wow! What a profound statement!

It made me think back and remember when I got Hayden and Kylie baptized, it was this date, March 25th, 2001!

I wanted it to be a date I would remember. This date in our church history is a wonderful one.

Then I get to thinking how close Christmas really is!

Sunday ~ A Day at the Beach

This is sand going under the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) and to the water on the other side

Here is a face someone drew on the wall

Serena soaking wet!

Hayden, Kylie and Serena...Brandon was not yet used to the water

Kylie and Serena

Hayden and Brandon. Hayden is showing Brandon the water

all my children

We were originally going to go hiking in Sycamore Canyon and I will say it just didn't work out like we had thought. First, we had to walk a ways facing traffic and it wasn't the safest place for us or the kids. Then, Ponch got bit up from bugs and he has a business trip planned this week, so he didn't want to go to that with huge bug bites on him. I swear they love him! I didn't get one bite and neither did any of the kids, go figure.

So, we decided to go to the beach instead of just going home. We had so much fun, it was worth it that hiking was not in our plans for the day. All the kids and Ponch took their shoes and socks off and went into the water. I was being a stick-in-the-mud and didn't participate, but I had fun anyways. Being in the middle of March or rather almost the end of March, I knew the water was going to be cold.

This was just an awesome day, sand in my van and all the wet clothes and shoes! We all were so tired when we got home...so I didn't get any help cleaning out the van. But that is ok. It was still so worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat! I love my family and to see them all together playing, laughing and having fun made my day. This would have been my entry for Sundays In My City but I was too tired to do anything after all the cleaning and laundry!

Saturday ~ Family Day Hike

This is what we did over the weekend. We have gone hiking to this place many times. The last time we went was last year in August. It was hot, very hot and we took the little ones and had a blast. This time, since all the rain we have had, everything was green and in bloom, tons of different flowers, yellow, purple, just beautiful!

Happy St. Patty's Day !!!

Need I say more?

FF (Friday Fragments) plants, shoes and spoons!

This is my plant that I started from a baby...It was a piece of a plant from Farmer's Market that I found on a walk with the kids....it was just a few leaves and I stuck it in water and now look at it! That piece on the right....it was on the bottom and Brandon ran it over with a toy and I stuck it in water....it has a long root and I just planted it! Stay tuned on more pics of my baby plant.

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This is my cool shoe, Airwalks....aren't they cool??? Love my purple sock??? They glow in the dark......now doncha love them??? LOL

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My sister wanted me to share this with anyone with infants who are ready to eat solids, she loves it and can feed both her twins at the same time!

Boon Squirt Baby Food Dispensing Spoon

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Do you ever think "they" are after you....especially after you bust your 4.5 yr old for being a sass mouth and you send her outside in the backyard because she is yelling at the top of her lungs and you have a kid napping in the bedroom, and you hear a helicopter....flying around, like "they" are looking for you!!!!!

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I am happy to report that Brandon is sleeping in his bed in the room he shares with his sister! This is a HUGE deal, so I may have already told you... :) but I am extremely happy about this, now if they could just get to sleep in a timely manner LOL but I am going to work on that when Daddy is out of town!

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One more thing: the weather outside is beautiful! In the upper 60's today and is supposed to be in the 70's on Monday! I am taking the kids on a much needed walk today!

Now hop on over to MRs. 4444's and see what others have on their minds!

Brought to you today by:

Interesting Reading

Have to share this story: My oldest (17) goes to school where kids that have been in trouble get to go when they no longer (for whatever reason) get to go to our local high schools.

That being said, our city's finest, frequent the school, (for whatever reason). My son's friend, (who is only 15 and he has a bad stutter and he has a few mental things going on, his mom is not around, his dad used to beat him and he has scars all over his body from the abuse, he is in a home for teens) was at school the other day and tossed a package of Ranch near a cop.

Ok he shouldn't have tossed anything at the cop, I get that...but then what proceeded to happen is just BS. The cop basically beat the crap outta this kid, broke his nose and hand-cuffed him and had 2 other cops come over to hold him down!

Did I mention the kid is about 5 ft 9 inches and 110 lbs? and the cop is shorter then this but way bigger! This is no way for a cop to treat a kid, if you think someone is going to hit you, and your a cop, you block the punch right???? RIGHT!

Well, this cop did not and acted like an idiot, in my opinion.

My son and tons of other kids witnessed this police brutality....so he and 3 others (he convinced 2 of the 3) wrote statements on what they saw and turned it in to the school. This bothered him A LOT.

I have seen the cop that did this and I have had a chance to deal with him last summer when he decided to stop me while pushing the stroller with my youngest and my oldest son was with me, we were on a walk to the video place...he was a jerk then so I am sure he was a jerk now!

I told my son the best thing he can do is pray for his friend and the situation and that I would pray, too.

Will you please say a prayer for this kid and the situation?

Thanks.

Update on Enrolling Serena

Ok, so I took all those papers and the dentist one and her shot records and our water bill and TV bill (they want proof of residency...) and when I got there the lady behind the counter asked for Serena's birth certificate! I had completely forgotten it when I was going over all the paperwork.

She says to me, "Well, I can't accept her paperwork without her birth certificate.."

I tell her, "No problem, I will go home and get it."

She looks at me and then at Brandon who is climbing around the stroller at this point and is backwards standing up laughing and carrying on like a normal 2 yr old does, and says "Well, you can come back another day if you want...There was another lady with 2 kids too and she wanted to come back another day."

I was floored to say the least! Who did this bitch think she was? Telling me to come back another day because I have 2 kids? One sitting in the chair reading a book and the other climbing out of the stroller????? I told her again I would go home and get the birth cert and be back in about 20 minutes.....OH THE NERVE OF SOME PEOPLE!!!!! I really wanted to rip into her....but I didn't I kept my composure and left and went home to get her birth certificate.

I figure I better be cool until at least the first day of school or after before I go bonkers on the lady in the office. I think she was just the secretary or maybe the health nurse, I dunno who she was but she sure had nerve talking to me the way she did!

Enrolling a kid in Kindergarten is no easy task!

I am enrolling Serena into Kindergarten for the Fall! I am so excited for her and nervous at the same time. So, I call the district to see what school she will be going to and I get the name and call them to find out about registration. They tell me I can download the pages from the Internet....I was like ummm I don't have a printer....so they tell me I can come down the week of March 1st thru the 5th to get the paperwork and then fill it out and return it the following week, this week March 8th thru the 12th.....I go and pick up the paperwork, let me tell you...it is a 15 page packet, I kid you not!!!! only 5 of them are information pages and the rest you fill out.

The first form is a Student Enrollment Form, they as you the usual stuff, students name, address and parents names and where they work....blah, blah blah

This page is from the Permanent Health History paper....they are seriously asking about when she was born?! They want birth height and weight and type of delivery....ok since when does this have any bearing on enrolling for school???? NONE WHAT SO EVER, if you ask me!

This is from the Oral Health Assessment Form, which is new to me. Apparently you have to take your kid to the dentist and they have to fill this one out.....one of the informational letters I got in my wonderful packet was this..."Dental decay is the most chronic childhood disease, more common than both asthma and obesity, affecting nearly two-thirds of California's children by the time they reach third grade. Remember your child is not healthy and ready for school if he or she has poor dental health." Man times have really changed!

This was the most decent of them all, the immunizations they need, or rather are required for school entry....Serena is going to need some shots to get current according to this.

Another paper I received was the Overflow Disclaimer Letter, which lets you know that students new to the area will be placed at their neighborhood schools on a space available basis. Wonderful, now she might not even go here???

Then there is the Residence Verification Form, to be sure you are living where you say you are.

Ethnic/Language Group Designation Form and the Home Language Survey.

Kindergarten Student Information Form, which is to asses how much your kid knows.

oh and then need a Report of Health Examination for School Entry which is to be filled out by the pediatrician or general practitioner...

UUFDA! I have signed my name so much for all these papers I feel like I am buying a new car!

But at least my baby will be starting school in September....now I just have to prepare her for it, that I am going to leave her there for ummm 4 hours....the kid is so attached to me it is not even funny. She goes everywhere with me and if I do leave her home, when I get back she is telling me she was looking for me...wish me luck! or better yet say a prayer, we are going to need them!

They Grow So Fast

Just feeling....nostalgic ? today, is that even the right word? I am (sigh) just thinking back to when the kids (even my big ones, but I don't have any pics of them on the computer when they were babies, we didn't have digital back then!) were all small, and when life was so much more simple...they just played all day or would nap or fight or whatever and it wasn't like any major decisions needed to be made in regards to them, they were just babies and all was fine...

*Pic #1: Brandon when he was just a baby in the hospital. Born August 4th, 2007 and just 6 lbs 11 oz, he was such a small bean!

Pic #2: Kylie, me, Serena and Brandon in the hospital. Look how young Kylie and Serena are!

Pic #3: Serena and Brandon. She got the Elmo and Cookie Monster from Daddy when Brandon was born, and she put them in his car seat, to share! We still have those dudes!

Pic #4: Serena holding Brandon. She was so happy and proud to be a big sister! At just 2 when he was born, she was awesome!

Pic #5: Brandon at 1 yr and 9 months, in his sweater vest, just like his Dad!

Pic #6: Brandon close to 2 yrs, playing at a party for his cousin.

Pic #7: Brandon was a monkey for Halloween!

Pic #8: Serena serious about picking her pumpkin.

Pic #9: Brandon and Serena at the pumpkin patch.

Pic #10: Brandon and Serena playing together at a friends for a BBQ.

Pic #11: Serena with her cake when she turned 3. She still loves the Disney Princesses!

I Got a Crown, Now What?

I wrote about having to get a crown, here. So, today was the wonderful day I got to go back to get my crown...

On my way home, I was thinking of doing a post on it, but then I realized it was going to be a negative thing, just me complaining, since I generally don't like going to the dentist. I have a great dentist and hygienist, they are nice and gentle, not rough. I generally have had a wonderful experience at the dentist and today was no exception. I just don't like my mouth to be messed with, since I have never had anything done to it, except braces when I was a kid and then my usual every 6 month cleanings...

So, after thinking about all the negative stuff I could complain about, I started thinking about all the positive things, all the things I should be grateful for, all the things that God has provided me, that I usually just take for granted...

My family ~ I still have both my parents and one grandma! How lucky is that? Most people my age don't have a grandparent still alive. I know my husbands grandparents had passed away when he was still a kid. I have my in-laws and they are wonderful people. They are both alive and doing well, they are healthy and thriving, soon to be in their 80's. I have one sister and she is healthy and married and doing well. I have my children, and they are all healthy. What more could I ask for? I read an e-mail from a friend of mine. It was about her friends son, he has some kind of tumor that they think is cancer and he needs a surgery that they don't do often and they have to slice him from his neck all the way to his stomach....I prayed for that family.

Blogs I read ~ Yes, I am happy I have blogs of fellow women in all kinds of different places, of all different nationalities and with different upbringings, that I can get a peek into their lives and imagine life in their shoes. Sometimes, it is hard to read the blogs with the children who are sick and need chemo treatments. So personal and so touching. There are blogs that I read that just make me laugh, and some times I need it.

God ~ I am so grateful I have God in my life and in my children's life. I really think I am lucky to be where I am in my late 30's, healthy (most of the time, LOL ok maybe only during the warm months and then I still seem to be snotty!) and to know that God has always been by my side, no matter what. Even during the times when I was not even thinking of him, just myself, like when I went thru my divorce... I am glad I pray and believe in the power of prayer.

Food, shelter and clothing. Yes, I am grateful for these things. I am always telling Serena to eat her crust whenever she eats a sammy, since there are starving children. She doesn't understand that there are children out there who don't have food to eat, they don't have a choice of what they get to eat...and when they do get food they just eat it, they don't complain, because they are hungry. Shelter, I am grateful I have a roof over my head, once again, thanks to my parents. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be where I am today.

Life is good. It could always be worse. But today I am grateful for all these things and more. Like being able to see, smell, feel, touch, taste and hear. I also thank God that Brandon can hear out of one ear, and that he is not deaf in both ears. That took me a long time to come to terms with. I thought I had done a complete post on his hearing or rather lack of. I did not. In a nutshell, he has what is called auditory neuropothy in the left ear. Meaning, he can hear what is like static when tuning in a radio station that doesn't want to come in. Some days he can hear better and other days not so good. We don't know what days are good or bad until he can communicate more and tell us. So far, he is progressing very normally. He has had no difficulties with learning or motor skills. He has a teacher that comes to the house one time a month, has since he was 2.5 months old and so far no learning disabilities. I am thinking he may have some issues when he starts school, he will have to sit on the "hearing" side so he can hear the teacher and he won't be able to chit chat during class or he will miss what the teacher is saying. The only time he has experienced an issue is in noisy places. He looks lost. But, other then that, he is fine. Again, I thank God he can hear out of one ear.


Life is good! :)