Slice and Dice

*Warning*
There are some graphic bloody Photos below please read at your own risk

On Tuesday night - Danielle had quite a bit of homework to complete, so instead of going out to dinner with Dana and the boys we decided to stay in and have Chinese food. I just got home and Dana just arrived when Danielle screamed "MOM!" in that tone that just makes every mothers heart sink. She comes running down the stairs with blood gushing out of her hand.I look at it and O.M.G. It is cut bad and it is cut deep. I wrap a paper towel around it and Dana was grabbing ice when Danielle says to me, "Mommy I can't feel my Fingers." Dana and I both just stopped for like half a second, and then just continued on trying in to comfort her. I called my uncle who is an Doctor and told him to meet me at the ER. I found out from Danielle that the lid of  her fish tank cracked in her hands and sliced her fingers. Meanwhile, as we are trying to get out the door, Lily is running around the house HYSTERICAL! Screaming there is BLOOD!! MY SISSY! Oh the drama....Well to make a long story short, she needed 6 stitches, and she might have cut a tendon in her pinky finger. We will know for sure in a week when the swelling goes down. Life is never a dull moment that is for sure!!!

Before the Stitches

All Nice and Sewn up

Such a brave girl!!



It was so scary to see my baby in so much pain. I wanted to freak out so bad, but as all Mom's know we just can't. We have to be the brave ones to comfort our kids. Danielle's Dad has nick named her Slice and Dice and that is going to stick for a while. :)

The Girls Skating

Enjoy These videos of my girls doing what they love.

Weekend Events

-Danielle and Lily had some ice skating this week. It was such a long weekend. I am very happy to be done with it though.  

-Lily is obsessed with  Christmas. She if a firm believer in Santa. I tried a couple months ago to come "Clean" with her on Santa, and she FREAKED out and called me a liar. O.M.G. I am in trouble. Now she is into this "Elf on a Shelf" doll. All the kids at school have one and she "asked Santa" for it and she did appear at her dad's house. What this elf does is sit on a shelf and report to Santa on her behavior every night. So the next morning she is in a new spot. She is not allowed to touch the elf or the magic will disappear. This means every single NIGHT I have to move this little thing to new spot. I am going to forget one night I just know it.

-I feel like I am screwing up Danielle. She seems to always be in trouble, my dad called me to complain that I while I allowed Danielle to do her homework in his office this weekend, she trashed it. Left crumbs everywhere and started going through his things. It is so embarrassing to get a call from your father saying that he is mad at your kid.  I should have double checked his office, but I was in a hurry, and again I expect too much of her. Or do I? Shouldn't she know to not touch other people things? Oh she is in trouble today.

-Maybe I am not screwing Danielle up to much because I did an email from one of the girls mothers who Danielle was unkind to thanking me for having Danielle write to her daughter. 

-I have one weekend off from skating and then next weekend we are back at it again in full force.

-Oh I found out that all the Christmas cards I got printed, the main photo, Jacks w"thingy" is hanging out!!! I will see when I get the card just how bad it is. It is very funny though. 

Family Time

Once Matt and I got married, I wanted to do a Christmas Card photo. Last year we didn't have the energy to do it. We had JUST gotten married and Matt hates his photo being taken, and I didn't have the heart to ask more of him since he was such a trooper for the wedding photos. This year, I made it happen. I arranged for my BFF to come over to the house with her brand spanking new camera and take pictures of us at the house. I wanted to have Morgan be in the photos, but she is so out of control it was not going to happen. Jack made the cut and behaved like a perfect gentleman. He was very confused as to what was going on, but the shots turned out amazing.

I already have the cards being made and I am so excited to send them out. We are also very busy with the holiday skating season. The girls are in so many events, that I am worried about my time management.

In sad news, my grandma fell 3 weeks ago and broke her hip. She needed 3 pins to put it back in place. My life yet again revolves around visiting her. My Grandpa wants a constant vigil at her beside. The whole family is doing the best the can. I am hoping she will be home for Christmas. I try to not think to far in advance and do one day at a time.

I hope you enjoy these photos because we had a BLAST taking them.

Being a Mom of a Pre Teen is not fun...

Danielle is 11. She is a pre teen. Being a parent of a pre teen is not easy. There is drama. LOTS of drama. Two weeks ago there was some drama at school and some of it involved her. It all started with Disneyland. There was a school trip for all the middle schoolers to go together and the kids got to arrange the small groups they wanted to be with for the day. Why the KIDS got to select the group is beyond me. So of course there were hurt feelings and tons of drama. I was very disappointed in my daughter for the way she handled things, but she is 11. I should have expected her to handle things like an adult, but I did. I made her write apology letters to the girls who she hurt but I think the damage was already done.

I wish girls would not be so mean. I wish I had better experience with this sort of thing and be able to guide her better through these times. I know there will be more trying times once we get into high school, but hopefully I will learn so I can be a better parent to Lily.

Tis the Season for Ice Skating

Well...We are in full competition mode. It is so draining physically on the whole family. Yesterday, my FAVORITE  day of the week, was spent being at an ice rink from 9:45 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. In that time I did 6 girls hair and some make up and watched my little Lily take first place!! I am so proud of her!! Here is some photos of my baby:

Regionals are just around the corner too...Followed by the Holiday shows and whatnot. Booo. I love watching my girls skate, but sometimes I am just too tired to even deal with it.

I love my animals and I talk about them a lot of my blog so here are some recent photos of my  "other" Children. :)

Look at that face she is FULL of trouble!!

Jacks was trying to hide

Ginny cat on her "Invisible Hammock"

On another note...Since I have started this blog - I never imagined people would read what I have to say or would even care. But since I started the blog I have had over 1,000 views!!! Most shocking is from all over the world! Someone from Saudi Arabia has viewed the blog and a BUNCH of people from Denmark and Malaysia too!! Lily and Danielle are the stars of the blog because my entries on their birthday got the highest page views. Thank you to all my readers!! I am still in shock you care what I say. Please continue reading!!!

Sunday

I love Sundays. They are my one day to spend alone with my husband. We can do whatever we want. We usually sleep in till 8ish and then go out to eat. This weekend we went out to breakfast with his Mom and Step dad. After breakfast we ran a couple errands to come home and then I got a glorious 45 min nap on our new sofa. It was a perfect day for me to rest after Saturday. I had the pleasure of working a wedding this past weekend for an amazing client. Everything went perfectly and I am pretty sure I have gained a new friend from it.

Sunday was 9.11 and of course I didn't forget. On Saturday night Matty and I watched a Dateline special about the 10th anniversary. By the time it was over I was in tears. It is amazing how watching the horror  again can bring back up all those emotions. I was 20 at the time and I was watching the news thinking that it was an accident. Until, the second plane hit. I watched it live on TV and I just remember how scared I was. We all were scared. By the time the towers fell I was in the office working, but of course no work was being done. We all cried in the office watching them fall. My dad had us shut down the office at 1:00 because lets face it, no one was going to plan a wedding on that day. That day changed everything for us as a country. Danielle was too little to even remember it, and Lily was not born. Now that they are older I tried to explain it to them, but I don't think they will ever comprehend it fully. All I do know is that I will never ever forget.

Skating Season Has Started....

Well...It's that time of year when the girls compete in skating. Danielle had one competition yesterday and she did very well. Here are some of the best photos I got:

Next week both girls compete on Sunday, followed by Regionals for Danielle in October. We have been so freaking busy with school and skating. Our plates are full. Danielle's homework is extremly over whelming. We have been up till 9:30 every night finishing it and then we get up by 5:00 a.m. to go to the rink. Yuck.


Matt and I have both been working out, and I know I lost some weight which makes me extremly happy and more confident.

Dogs are doing well...Jacks is of course perfect and Morgan well...She is crazy. I am sooo over the puppy stage. I can hardly wait for her to grow the Eff up.

Matty's Cousin is getting Married in October down in Laguna and Matt made reservations for us to stay at the Ritz! O.M.G!!!!!!!! I have never ever stayed in a Ritz! I am really looking forward to our little getaway.

Today 9.10.11 marks the 6 year anniversary of my dear Friends/ Family wedding. Mark and Dana - You guys came a family on this day, but WE also became family too. I love you both and know that family is not defined by blood. You are my family and we love dearly!!!

School Has Started!!

Holy cow...I did not blog once in the month of August!!  It was a very busy time for us and school has started!! Lily has started second grade and Danielle is in sixth! O.M.G.When did they grow up??? Wasnt it just yesterday that Lily was born?? It is true that when you blink they are grown up. Next thing you know Danielle will be in college and Lily will be in High School....Well here is their first day of School Photo:

Oh and yes I have been busy playing with their hair...Lily lets me play wayyyy more then Danielle does:

This one is one of my favorites!!



My wonderful step mom invited Danielle and I to see Taylor Swift in concert last weekend, and it was AMAZING!! Taylor is such a good performer. It was such a wonderful night.



Danielle is getting ready for Regionals with Skating and I am so proud of her. She has worked her little butt off getting prepared for it. I also hope that I start blogging more becaue well....I really enjoy it!!

The Big Three O....

I turned 30. I never thought that I would being perfectly honest. It was just a large number that was so far away I never thought I would reach it. I started to get worried about hitting 30 when I turned 25. 25 was the perfect age. I was a couple years past 21 to and 5 years away from 30. If I could stop time it would be for sure at 25. However, I cannot stop time, and I did turn 30.

When the dreaded day came, it wasn't horrible. It really was just like any other day. I didn't feel 30. I still don't. I still feel like a child. I still feel sometimes lost in this world. I looked back on what I thought I would be if I did turn 30, and I guess I am where I thought I would be. Married with kids. I wish that I would have done more with my life, but I made choices at 18 that made my life turn out the way it did. You know what??? That is ok. I love my life, I love my kids, I love my husband and my family. My 20's were very hard but I am going to enjoy my 30's. I am hoping that Matty and I have a baby sometime soon. Oh god....my 40's...Well...we will see how my 30's go.

1 Year Anniversary

Well, Matty and I have made it one year into our marriage. What a year it has been, I thought I would share the story of how we met.

Matt and I apparently went to school together when we were in Kindergarten and First Grade however we do not remember each other. I went back to the same school for my senior year, but I was not there for very long because well...I was pregnant with Danielle so I dropped out and I did homeschooling to get my diploma. Matt had no idea who I was, but I knew who HE was. He was the football star, very popular and extremly handsome. Flashword a few years, and we  met again when I was 24 at Saddle Ranch Chop House in Universal Studios. I was with a girlfriend who had attended Highschool with him and she knew the group of guys he was with. I was nervous because I did not know they guys very well...but anyways my first impression of Matt was well..."This guy is an asshole." He was stand offish and just seemed into himself. Hahah I was wrong...but he asked me to be his Myspace friend a couple days later and one random day we started chatting over IM. Now I did have a boyfriend at the time but I was looking for a way out. Matt was my way out. I ended the relationship with the other guy and moved on to Matt. I didnt think that Matt was going to be my husband, but I needed someone for a bit. I fell head over heels MADLY in love with him. Matt was loving, kind and good to me. He treated me like a princess and he still does to this day. Our relationship is not perfect in any way, but that is what makes it work for us. We have a deep respect for each other and I am so blessed to have found a man that not only loves me, but my children too. He gives us everything we could possibly want or need and does it with out asking for anything in return other then love.

Our wedding day was wonderful. It was hot as hell but everything went just the way I had planned it. Here are some photos:

My Lovely Bridal Party

My Amazing Siblings

Matty and I being models

My Shoes!!!! I LOVE THEM!!

The Vows..

First Kiss!!

Our First Family Photo

I can honestly say that I love my husband more today than I did the day I married him. I love him more because of the hard times this year has brought us. Struggling to pay bills, learning to live with each other and loosing Mylee. All of those hard times has brought us closer to each other. I am so blessed to have him.

A short Posting

I dreamt of Mylee last night. I havent cried over her in a while, but I find myself missing her today. It is really amazing how an animal can come into your life for such a short time and take such a huge part of your heart when they leave.

Lily Cathryn Hamel

Tomorrow is Lily's Birthday so this post is dedicated to her......Lily's pregnancy was very easy, but very difficult at the same time. Oh I felt fine with her physically, but emotionally I was a mess. I was going through a divorce while being pregnant. Again, I never ever would have made it without my family and most importantly Danielle. They all gave me a reason to get up every day and move forward.

The day before she was born, my cousin/sister took me out to see the Notebook. Tracy and I cried our eyes out and then got cold stone ice cream. I felt some contractions, but nothing too uncomfortable. Well 2 big ones woke me up in the middle of the night not painful but enough for me to call my OB in the morning. She told me to come in the office. Now, I was BARELY 37 weeks, but I was not worried because I knew she was going to come early. Anyways I went to see my Doctor and after an exam shes said pack your bags your are going to Labor and Delivery!! My brother Kenny was living with me at the time and took me home to get my stuff and off we went. We made all the calls to the family, got admitted and waited. While we were waiting this woman in the room next me let out a blood curdling scream and Kenny looked at me like he was scared out of his mind for me. I wasn't too worried since I had done this before.

We didn't have to wait too long for Lily to arrive only about 5 1/2 hrs. Lily Cathryn was born at 5:58 p.m. weighing in at 5 pounds 15 ounces. She was so perfect. I never knew that my heart could grow so big! She was just as perfect as Danielle being the most wonderful baby a parent could ask for. Danielle helped me so much during the first few months.  Lily was a real live doll to her and we were so happy. We all slept in the same bed together and enjoyed Lily finally being with us. Here of course are some photos:

Here is Lily around 1 1/2

Lily's First day of School

Lily, you came into my life when times were dark. You brightened up my world. You are the princess and your sister and I adore you. You have such a caring and loving heart. Your sense of humor gives your sister and I so much joy. I can't wait to see what great things you will accomplish in life. I am so proud to be your mommy.

Updates and My New Thing

So....I haven't blogged in a while..Here is my excuse and it is a bad one: I can't blog anymore at work, (They have Internet restrictions) and by the time I get home, I am freaking tired. Lame. I know. But here are some little updates.

-My grandma is home from her rehab home and is not doing well. We hired a live in nurse and after day 5 she quit. We have hired a new nurse and I am going to give her 4 days tops till she also quits. My Grandma is a very difficult person and patient. Who ever takes care of her has to seriously be an angel.

-Danielle and Lily competed this weekend in ice skating and did very well. Danielle did a group performance and they WON!! Like a big time award. They get huge trophy to display at our home rink with their photo. I am one proud mama.

-We had our first BBQ this weekend with our friends and it was wonderful to see everyone.

-MY NEW THING: Doing the girls hair.
 I have always been pretty good at styling hair. I use to braid the manes and tails of the horses I showed, and that made doing human hair easy. But I found on YouTube an amazing blogger who has 4 little girls and she got tired of doing the same hairstyles on her girls. So she got creative, and started showing us other mom's some fun "do's" for our own little girls. I have never had so much fun with my girls. We have had a blast looking at this sweet ladies videos and seeing what style they wanted me to try. Here are some photos:

This one is my favorite!! I can hardly wait to do this style on Valentine's Day!

Danielle loved her Hippy Braid

Tonight I tried a reverse french braid and I am looking forward to trying that one out on them!!

-My garden is growing and I am happy to report that my strawberries are yummy and sweet.

-My BFF Jessica asked for her birthday party that we dress up and make a funny video to TLC's "No Scrubs" We had the best time ever. Here is a photo trying to bring out my inner "Left Eye"

-Summer has started and I need to work out. It is bathing suit season and I need to get rid of this excess jiggle I feel when I am walking.

-Fourth of July is coming it is my all time favorite holiday. I can hardly WAIT!!!



Some hard times and some not hard times

About 2 weeks ago my grandma fell. After much drama and hospital stays, we now know that she has broken her butt. Broke Butt Grandma is what my Uncle is calling her. Due to her broken ass she needs 24/7  care. My Grandpa is not able to do it so she is an a rehab home near to all of the family. I plan my days around her. Making sure that I see her at least once a day for about an hour. It is hard on all of us but I am really hoping that she pulls through and we can get past this. It is really hard to see my Grandma down like this. She was always so active and full of life. It also has me thinking about growing old and I am scared shitless of it. Not the dying part - but being so..dependent on others. To not be able to go to the bathroom on my own...I really hope that I wont ever have to deal with that. That I just pass away in my sleep. I do not want to be a burden on my kids. Ok enough of this on to much lighter news:

I was able to go shopping last week and get some much needed work clothes. Yayy! Retail therepy was amazing.

Danielle had her 5th grade graduation and I am now the parent of a Junior High Student. Wow. She is not a baby anymore. She is a young lady and I am so blessed to be a part of her life.

I saw the Hangover 2 and it was everything I had hoped for and then some.

As I am writing this, my sweet Little Morgan is curled up next to me. When she is good like this it just melts my heart.

Here are some photos of that I am very late in posting but better late then never!!

Matty with Danielle at Disneyland 

Matty and Morgan (I LOVE THIS PHOTO!)

My Jacky

Seriously when did she get this big?

She is so adorable