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.