Sis turns 3!

Although I didn't forget that Sis' birthday was coming up, in the rush and stress of a new semester, it somehow slipped my mind that I had a birthday party planned that I needed to execute until about three days before (because it is physically impossible for me to NOT throw a party for a birthday). I had been planning a rainbow party for her and with a lot of help from Britny (chopping and assembling food) we turned out a pretty fun day.

 The boys woke Sis up at the crack of dawn to open her presents.

 The first thing she opened was her new Cinderella dress and shoes and then it didn't really matter what was in the other packages. The boys were happy to open her other presents for her.

The boys helped make the rainbow tie dye cupcakes.

And Junior suprised me with an addition to the party decorations: "You rock, 3 year old princess" 

 Rainbow food (and pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches)

 Rainbow Slushies

 We ate...

 We opened presents...

We blew out candles and dined on rainbow cake until we were sick.

And THAT'S how you turn three around here.



Easter 2012

Sis' favorite activity ever! She dyed all her eggs in about 3 minutes flat. No coloring, no decorating, just dip the egg in each color about 10 times.

Probably the first Indiana Jones themed easter egg ever.

Planting jelly beans with the neighbors the night before easter, so they can grow into lollipops when the Easter Bunny passes through.

Ta Da!

Junior is an early bird every morning. Bubba is an early bird when it is worth his while....

...Sis doesn't care if there are baskets of candy or a tree full of unwrapped presents. She refuses to get going until she has had a cuddle on the couch, a sippy of milk and an episode of Kipper the Dog (on my phone.) Notice the candy on the couch right next to her that she wouldn't touch?

She got into it by the time the hunt headed outside though :-)

By the time I dragged them away from the candy and into their Sunday/Easter clothes, I had no energy left to try to get them all smiling and looking at the camera at the same time. This works :-)

As a completely unrelated picture, this is Junior's outfit on 'nerd day' for school the following week. He was really proud of what he pulled together, and I couldn't resist sharing :-)

Catching Up/Treading Water/Worst Family Historian Ever...!

I don't usually get hung up on the whole 'I haven't blogged in awhile, so sorry..." thing, as long as nothing is going on (or, as is sometimes the case, if I can't think of anything nice to say about what is going on ;-) but things (nice things) have been happening over the last few months and it just turns out that I need a few more hours in the day, or days in the week to live my life AND record it.

I am in school at the moment and for right now, let's just leave it at sometimes I am kicking school's butt and sometimes it is kicking mine. Right now, I am getting a beating (which is why I am backed up to March on updating here.) Since this blog is primarily a record of our family, I don't want to have large gaps in it. Partly because I am pretty sure that the antics of my little family is what will keep me warm in my old age, because also because I am pretty sure that my kids will only remember my school years as the time when I was always swearing at the computer, feeding them cereal and mac and cheese for dinner and hustling them to bed so I could get going on homework.

I am trying to keep some amount of balance though, so while my school is a huge priority and time suck for me right now, it is not all I have been (or should be) doing. I need to remind myself of that some times.

So, my three little ducks, here is some proof that I focused on you as well as school during the last 6 months.

The leprechaun trap we set up the night before St. Patrick's Day. We did not catch Lucky the Leprechaun, but he did leave a fairly lame treasure hunt that he found on pinterest at the last minute. The treasure was chocolate gold coins and Junior was kind of disappointed. If only they were real, he could finally afford the $200 Indiana Jones Lego set he has been dreaming about for a year.

 Our original leprechaun trap (which was designed by Junior, by the way) inspired him to get a little more creative. He spent an afternoon building a far more elaborate one that I had to take pictures of in three stages. First, Lucky was supposed follow the trail of lucky charms marshmallows set out by Junior/Indiana Jones. Next he would ride the roller coaster, which presumably would make him so dizzy that he would not notice the trap at the end of it.

 If that failed, he was supposed to climb the ladder into the pool and sail the boat across, which would put him in the lego room (purpose unknown, other than he thought it looked cool).

 After the lego room, he would climb the stairs to the black and then gray platforms, where hopefully he would fall through the hole into the chamber below. If that didn't work, the shamrock at the end would attract Lucky into a cage with a gold piece in it and he would be caught.

By the end of this demonstration, I was actually kind of sorry that Lucky wasn't real after all, because Junior gets an A++ for ingenuity. For the record, Lucky did leave a pretty substantial pile of chocolate/gold at the end of the obstacle course. Bubba and Sis were thrilled (they are my kids for sure!)

Green food. This is how I do my Irish ancestors proud!

Coming up: Easter and Sis' 3rd Birthday.

Junior Gets Baptized...

Saturday, March 3rd was Junior's baptism day (something we do in our church when children turn 8). I had been both looking forward to this day and dreading it for a really long time. On the one hand, I was so proud of my boy and so astonished that he is already 8 years old (and so love having an excuse to throw a party...) On the other hand, the day came with other stresses, such as the first meeting between my family and my ex since he left, as well as the potential painful/awkward presence of the DLS. No one wanted to do anything that would make the day anything but awesome for Junior, but there was no doubt that there was major potential for tension even with best behavior all around. In the end, the day was really lovely. "She" wasn't there, opposing parties shook hands and spoke pleasantly and the baptism and confirmation were really spiritual and sweet. Right now, Junior just remembers his baptism as the day when "he had to go to church and it WASN'T EVEN SUNDAY!!" I, however, will remember it as a day of blessings and a hundred tender mercies. I had been really worried...
My favorite part was that Junior's great grandpa (j's grandpa) came up from California to baptize and confirm my boy. G-pa Bob (and G-ma Barbara) are two of my favorite people in the world. In the short decade I have known them, I have found so much to admire about the kind of people they choose to be, the tremendous faith they have and the love you just can't help but feel when you are around them. I treasure the emails and messages of love and support they have sent me over the last few years and I felt very strongly prompted to ask G-pa Bob to participate in the baptism right from the start. We are lucky enough to have lots of great men on both sides of the family who would gladly step in for something like this, but it was extremely special that both of them could make the trip to be a part of this day.

Regardless of the end of my marriage, I am constantly grateful that my in-laws and the extended family are the kind of people that they are. I loved them before my divorce, but possibly even more since. They have been active and outspoken about remaining family and in athese last few years of adjustment and painful change, their love and support along with that of my own family has been my greatest source of stability. The total loss of the company of my in-laws would have been a particularly bitter side-effect of this divorce because I genuinely enjoy them and would really have missed them.  I love that I can share days like this or birthday parties or playdates with cousins without awkwardness and that my kids don't have to divide their time among the extended family as much. I come from an incredible family and I am thankful that I had married into one as well. While I often don't feel like the luckiest girl, I do know that I am one of the most blessed.

It was still too early in the morning for Sis. Her interest in sleep is how I am 100% sure she is my daughter. There was literal kicking and screaming going on when I tried to put her dress on (and then later on, kicking and screaming again when she had to take it off for bed.)

The Three (extremely good looking) Amigos.

Junior is rocking the new suit his dad bought for him. I might have gotten a little teary when I saw how grown up he looked in it...

Disneyland Part 2

As I looked through my pictures of this trip, I realized that I didn't get as many as I thought I would of the boys or of all three kids together. Our group dynamic has changed a lot since we first started going. On our first trip it was four adults to three kids and over the years we have lost an adult and added four more kids. For this trip, Bek and I corralled the littlest ones while the big kids all went on the bigger rides with Uncle D. When we were all together, it was a little like herding cats and we just wanted to make sure we didn't lose anyone. The camera stayed tucked away most of the time. Either way, I came away with enough reminders of what a fantastic trip it was. We are all still talking about it and it was certainly something I couldn't have managed without our own personal fairy godmother. As always, the churros were yummy, the company was amazing and the memories are treasures. The boys are already talking about 'next time.' I'll think about that when I have recovered from the drive.

That's the plan...

Sis and cousin N waiting in line at the Princess Fair. I bought Sis a set of small Princess figurines which she carried everywhere and played with when she was bored. Best. Purchase. Ever!!

Princess Ariel, Princess Lulu, Princess N and Princess Sis.

Very shy at first...

Still not too sure. I think it mostly amazed her to see the Princesses in real life size.

On a trip several years ago, Bubba was a far more nervous kid, who happened to love Captain Hook. He would make the hook sign with his finger whenever something in the Park made him nervous because it made him feel braver. He loves to hear that story and he asked me to take this picture as a re-creation of one he and junior were in before. I look at the two and can't believe how much he has grown.

We love our cousins! Disneyland wouldn't be the same without them!!

When I first found out that Sis was a girl, my first thought was that it would be so fun to take her to see the Princesses when she was old enough. And then I was nervous that she would be a tomboy and wouldn't care. No worries though. Sis and the Princesses were one of the best parts of this particular trip. I am so glad that I was able to see her light up at Disneyland at this age. Kids this age are definitely harder to chase, but they really lose the magic the older they get. Bubba spent most of this trip reminding me that the characters were all just people in costumes (*sigh).

Moments from eating the most amazing Monte Cristos, garlic fries and Cajun sauce. I have dreams about that meal...

Dancing Cousins. These two were a huge hit with each other even though N is closer to Bubba's age.

Walking little G to Snow White's wishing well while waiting for the parade to start. She was just thrilled to be out of the stroller.

Cubby and Bubba keeping an eye out for pirates.

Junior's souvenir was an Indiana Jones set. He was brave enough to go on the Indiana Jones ride three times, which was impressive since his initial reaction when I asked what he thought was that he really liked it, but he never wanted to go on it again. Uncle D talked him into it though and by the third day, it was all he wanted to do.

'Til next time...

Disneyland Part 1

In February, I finally got to do something I have always wanted to do. I secretly planned and prepared for a Disneyland trip and didn't say anything to the kids until the morning we left. They had been at J's for a few days and I decorated the front door with their Mickey ears, lanyard and pins and a note that told them to get in the car because we were leaving for Disneyland. I can't even begin to describe how hard it was to keep it a secret. In the past, we have always made such a big deal about preparing to go with countdown paper chains, looking up the different rides on youtube and talking endlessly about what we would do when we got there. I almost spilled the beans accidently about a dozen times a day. Good thing my kids don't listen to me ;-)


I spent the month before the trip gathering things for inidividual car kits for the kids with white boards, books, dvd's and candy. I packed the car the night before and put each kids kit on their seat so we could just literally get into the car and go. I have done the solo drive to CA more than once, and while the kids have become a little easier to entertain as they have grown, they also remember how boring it is to be in the car for hours on end. I am happy to say that they were all super troopers and despite a little wooziness from Junior who was just getting over the flu, we made it to Las Vegas in record time. Unfortunately, I managed to catch Junior's bug, which hit me shortly after arriving in Vegas (fortunately). I spent an awesome night throwing up and trying to sleep in between so that I didn't drive us all off the road the next day. It is just not a night in Vegas unless someone in the family throws up. I just need to accept that :-)

I slept in the next morning and emerged shaky, but fortunately no longer puking. After we settled in the car, Junior thoughtfully rummaged around until he found an empty bag for me in case I needed it. The poor kid has thrown up in a bag in the car more than once...


Our room this time was set up with an awesome kids room. I wish I had gotten another picture, but it had Disney pictures on the walls, Disney themed bedding and a TV that showed only the Disney channel. It was a handy place to corral all the kids and their cousins during down time. The boys took turns sleeping on the top bunk and Sis did a fabulous job sleeping in the 'big girl bed' on the bottom.


We usually try to start with the Character Breakfast in the park on the first morning. Aside from being really good food, it is worth every single penny to get so many of the character meet and greets out of the way before heading out into the park. Then when we see other people waiting in long lines around the park to see a character, we can smirk inside a little and then walk on to Star Tours for the third time in a row.


Little Cousin G felt her ipod was far more entertaining than Alice, who came over to say hello...


...but the Mad Hatter got her full attention!


The seven cousins (honestly, it felt like twice as many at any given time, didn't it Bek? :-)


Lu introduces New Minnie to Vintage Minnie


My twins! They are such good buddies.


Bubba, Cubby and Junior. These three were inseperable. It was really fun to watch, especially since the combination of three usually backfires and causes fights and people feeling left out. It was perfect.


All Bubba has talked about for months is getting to fight Darth Vader like Junior did a few years ago. We were really excited that he got picked to participate in the Jedi training show and he got to be the first one to take on the dark side. After this, Cubby used his souvenir money to buy flashing light sabers for himself and my boys. He and Bubba put on a light saber show every evening on the grass in front of the hotel to the amusement of all the park guests walking by.


My princess with a churro in front of her castle. Three of my favorite things!