Girl Trip 2010

My sisters, Melanie and Emily and my sister-in-law Erica and I took a 3 night cruise down to Ensenada, Mexico a couple of weekends ago. We had a great time! Lots of laughter, making a new friend, Joseph, the elevator boy, avoiding the Wang Sisters, eating, eating, and eating.
Our first day we had a fitness evaluation, I learned the my body was 'highly toxic', but since I don't drink coffee, alcohol, smoke, or take drugs, I would hate to know what the level above 'highly' might be (they were just trying to sell us stuff). On Saturday, our 'Fun Day at Sea' we learned country line dancing, played family feud, and saw whales. On Sunday in Ensenada we took a tour and learned how to make authentic Mexican food, then did a little shopping for all kinds of Mexican stuff.

At night we headed to the Kaoroke lounge and sang a long with the people who were brave enough to actually get on stage, alas, they ended the open Mike right as we were getting our courage up to go.
The trip was the perfect length, just enough time to still enjoy each other and not long enough to get very homesick.
I missed Ruth, Stefanie, Mallory, and Jodi who were not able to make it. We're thinking a spa retreat for our next girls trip, probably in 2012.
Good Times!

My Very Favorite Fishbein

I have a Fishbein and she is my very favorite one.

I have known my favorite Fishbein for more than 23 years, longer than anyone besides my siblings and parents. She is my friend who no matter the length of time we pick back up as if there hasn't been a lapse at all. There is a special camaraderie that is born from having that much of a history that can't be duplicated. It's even more special than a 'best' friend relationship, think Diana Barry and Anne Shirley. I am grateful that I can always be a little bit more affectionate with her than with most other friends and it isn't weird at all.

While life has given me the easier road most of the time (I say that not out of haughtiness, but of simple truth), I am grateful that she is able to offer advice on very tender matters from her experiences. While her trials are not easy for her, they have assuaged my sadness to a manageable state. I am grateful to her for that.

If you don't know my Fishbein, you should be sad you don't because she is special. I think she is awesome and one of my most admired heroes.

Thank you, my Fishbein.

3

Happy Birthday M!

You are 3 today, and I am so happy to be your mom. You have an infectious smile, you love to make me laugh. You are persistant, smart, funny, hugable, energetic, and tough. Thank you for picking me as your mother. I am content with you in my family, and grateful that you have stayed my baby for so long. Your dad adores you and your brother is your forever best friend.

I love you.

Grateful

Today I am feeling grateful for:

Feeling the wind on bare toes.

The regenerative properties of skin.

A fantastic park 1 block from the beach where kids can play for hours non-stop.

Wood puzzles + a two-year-old.

Questions answered through dreams.

Cuddle time with a 6-year-old.

Croquet and tag.

Random

I love climbing in to bed when the sheets are cold, it feels so clean and refreshing.

Dinner prayer with M:
"Mom, you say it. Mom, say 'Heavenly Father'"
A breif pause by mom.
M, "Ready, set, go".
I couldn't help it, I just put my head down on my arms and laughed for a long time, not the best reverence example out there, but it was great.

E, A, M, Matt and Roger when camping last night. This morning E tripped near the fire and fell into the coals. He's got 2nd degree burns on both palms and most of his fingers. Went to urgent care today and they said he might have to see a burn specialist. He wishes it had never happened. But he is enjoying being waited on my his mom.

If you haven't tried the Yummy Lemonade Chicken posted in my recipe blog (thank you to Jackie for giving me the recipe), you absolutely must do it as soon as possible.

Our garden is doing great. So far we've harvested spinach. We can't wait to eat our strawberries, cucumber, eggplant, zucchini, butternut squash, radishes, carrots, lettuce, bell peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, broccoli, artichoke, chives, onions, garlic, peas, watermelon, honeydew, cantalope, and lots and lots of herbs.

I can't wait for my cruise with my favorite girls in the world, only 27 more days!

I am grateful for Allegra.

I had a dream about kittens, it was wonderful.

I have to step up my workouts, I think I've hit a plateau, now I gotta give it a little more juice.

A's work schedule for April is a good one, lots of good days off, Sunday is the one I am especially glad about, it's no fun to go to church alone.

Scissors that aren't sharp are not worth much.

THAT mom

Maybe it was the head cold compounded by allergies.

Maybe it was the fact that it is an 'El Nino Year'.

Maybe it was that I was hungry.

Maybe it was the hormones that come with certain female occurances.

Maybe it was that I need new shoes.

Maybe it was the sight of my six-year-old son being pinned by a four-year-old girl and not being able to get out that made my vision tunnel and me shout across the mat: "Get out and flip her over!"

Yes, friend, I have become THAT mom.

I have never categorized myself as a competitive person, but we've signed E up for Jui Jitsu classes, and quite honestly, it's painful to watch my non-agressive child underneath a little girl. Picture a girl in pig tails sitting on top of him, biting her fingenails, waving to her friends, putting as little effort into the activity as possible.

Don't get me wrong, it's not the fact that she is a girl that turned my periforal vision black, and my voice to boom so that every other parent in the room stopped their conversation with the neighbors and their heads to whip around and look at THAT mom.

Apparently I am that mom who gets in a coach's face when her T-baller is called out when he was obviously safe, apparently I am that mom who insists that her pee-wee footballer be the starting QB, apparently I am that mom who loses control when her she sees 4-7 year old wrestling matches going unfavorably in her son's direction.

I mean honestly, it's just a wrestling match between a Kindergartner and a Pre-Schooler, breathe, Alicia, breathe.

Sigh...

Now I miss Arizona even more!

It was so fun to visit my friends. I knew I missed them, but not how much I miss them until I saw them again. I need to make visiting there a regular practice, there were so many people that I didn't get to spend much time with, I hope that next time I'll be able to stay longer and visit.

My house is being well kept by our renters, so that makes me happy, but it was very weird to be standing in MY house and not my house. I was sure I would cry, but I didn't.

Sigh...

Cute and Easy

I can't take all the credit for these, I saw them in a magazine and when E said he wanted to make his own Valentines I thought these would be perfect. They were super easy, and all the kids at school like them. The original has the wrapper off, but I figured when handing them out at school, for sanitary purposes it was best to leave the wrapper on. All in all, I was dreading making Valentines but these changed my mind. I had E cut out the hearts, we had some that were red and some that were pink, I'm sure it would have been even cuter with Valentine themed scrap paper. I punched a hole in the narrow end of the hearts, layered three hearts together to make the flower shape and taped them together, lining up the holes. Poked a hole in the tape and pushed the lolipop through. They were super simple!

Thoughts on a Tuesday Afternoon

I came down from a nap yesterday and this is what I found on the counter:



What a sweet boy I have!

I go to the gym and there is a lady who gravity has not been kind too, she really needs to start showering with the shower curtain closed.

I'm excited to go to Phoenix this weekend, but also nervous about seeing my house. My homesickness has been high lately, and I think I'm going to be sad to see my house, which I love, with someone else living in it.

I need new shoes, perhaps on the way back from Phoenix we'll stop at the outlet stores in Cabazon and get me some.

We met our financial goal for the month of January, that makes me very happy.

I need to start cutting out heart shapes for E's school Valentines, but I can think of a few other things that I would rather do.

Poor M, I took him to get new shoes, he'd been wearing a size 7, when they measured his feet they said he needs an 8 1/2! He never complained when I put his shoes on him, I didn't know they were that bad off.

Sprouts finally opened in my neighborhood! I am so excited to have this store close by. Opening day was a madhouse, but people were courteous and friendly, which made the craziness tolerable.