Rock On!

I had no idea how fun this could be! Donovan's been dying to go over and play with his Padrinos' guitar. So we did! ... and the drums and a tiny bit of singing too! Nina Kristie put on Band Hero and Rock Band and showed us how much fun can be had. Bianca showed us why she'll never be the next American Idol, while the rest of us took turns playing instruments. Of course, the guitar was the favorite.

Sydney was hilarious... pausing the concert to get the right wardrobe. Apparently we didn't make enough money for the good stuff, but there was plenty of pink attire at the thrift store, thank goodness. The look was complete and we were on with the show. Sing it sister!!

Thanks for having us over to rock out with you all. We can't wait to do it again!

A Cozy Christmas

The presents under our tree weren't nearly as abundant as years past, but the kids are enjoying the stuff they did get. Santa picked out some favorites. We spent Christmas Eve at Rudy's parents and had Christmas Day dinner here in our home. It was cozy. We want to thank all of our family for the gifts the kids received. It was pretty chaotic opening gifts in a flurry. THEY don't even know what they received from who.

My best presents, my kids.

You want me to sit between them???

Cousin Alex spent the night. Don't they look like they're having fun?

BBBBBaby, It's CHILLY outside!

Yes, chilly. I think Donovan picked that word up from his Dad. "Mom, I need a jacket.... It's CHILL-WEE outside!" he'd say. So everytime I try to use the word "cold", he has to correct me... it's not cold, it's chill-wee.

On one of those non-school days before Christmas last week, the kids were.... well... needing to get out of the house. We bundled up and went to the park for some cold playtime.

Swinging in the sun... still cold.

Dominic takes a break to empty out his shoe.

Devin, all smiles as usual.

Donovan's lips are taking a beating during this dryness.

With the holidays approaching once again, it seems at times we can never get caught up to where we want to be. Although this past year has been rough with a few bumps setting us back, I am truly thankful to have a roof over our heads and warmth in our home. I am blessed with an awesome family nearby and can't be thankful enough for my 3 Wild Ones....

Merry Christmas to All!

Thanks Mom for capturing these faces!

Goodbye to a Good Friend

Tilly's Sir Frederic
4/23/96 ~ 12/12/09

May you rest in peace, dear Fred. We miss you so much already!

A Playdate in Pajamas...

What is more perfect than a cozy, warm home and a coffee mug filled with coffee???

Answer: A playdate in a cozy, warm home IN PAJAMAS and a HUGE coffee mug filled with coffee AND PUMPKIN SPICE CREAMER!!! Oh yeah!!!

Thanks to Cousin Luke and his mom for having us over this past week to test out the birthday gifts and allowing us to invade your home for a couple hours.

It's come to this...

Furlough Fridays, pay cuts and one-income households seem to be the norm for us Californians. Grandma always said, "Nothing goes to waste in this house!"

Andrew and Luke

Happy Birthday to two Fantastic Boys!

Life is Good....

.... on Baskin Robbins' $1 Scoop Tuesdays!

Everybody Jump!

What a blast! My kids are WORN OUT! Due to mis-communications and the inability to play indoor soccer tonight, we went next door instead (Sky High Trampoline) and blew off some steam. I wish I could do this more often!

T-Day and B-Days

Happy Birthday Mom and Rudy
and
Happy Thanksgiving, too!
Phew!

My Goofy, Giggly Ganders

When Dad has the remote, the kids resort to our room to watch TV. No doubt will I go in there and find laundry scattered, kids climbing bed posts and the ceiling fan pulls messed with. After yelling at them (mostly one) I grabbed the camera for some brotherly love moments. Yeah right!...

Caca - Doodie - Poo!

I know, it's a CRAPPY title for a blog post, but it got your attention, right? I thought it was fitting, as this post involves chickens and ROOSTERS... get it? Oh, and sure, there was lots of POOP!

Last week's playdate was at The Village Park in Fair Oaks, where they hold The Chicken Festival each year. I've never been, but it certainly seems appropriate to have one there. As soon as I put the car in "park", these 2-legged birds came jaunting across the lawn to check us out. I'm not sure why the chicken crossed the road NOR do I know why they crossed the lawn in such hurried pace to see my exciting crew. Donovan was a bit turned-off by these beaked creatures, as he isn't too fond of the geese we've run into at times. He got used to the chickens after realizing he was taller than them and a good swift kick could back them away - not that he'd do such a thing! We had more fun watching the chickens peck at each other and the roosters crowing, than the boys did at the play structures (perhaps because it was occupied by the chickens?) There were quite a few large chickens that dominated the "coop", and there was one that stood out amongst the others. We call him ... The Funky Chicken. It was quite a pest, always at your feet attempting to snatch whatever the boys were snacking on. His behavior was probably due to his abnormalty... a mis-aligned beak!! Very strange. It was a nice morning, and one of the very last outings we may get before the wetter weather arrives. We've had lots of fun times with the boys.

The Funky Chicken

This is how he rolls...

Donovan's three favorite items this week - his gloves, trike and his brother's helmet. While at the park yesterday, Donovan was eyeing the skateboarders over on the ramps. After doing a few laps around the park and waiting for the "professionals" to leave, Donovan needed to try the slick surface for himself. Somehow I foresee elbow and kneepads in this kid's future!

Oh the candy...

Here are my trick-or-treaters. These guys (minus Devin) were marathoners on Halloween night. Starting out at 6:30 pm, they didn't get home until 8:15 pm. They, of course, were excited to tear through the door, while Dad came along dragging the "transfer cases" of candy the boys had collected. Just how far could one go in this neighborhood? Does anyone have any good recipes that use funsize Snickers, Milky Way, M&Ms, etc.? We're loaded!

Never knowing what to expect, we decided to purchase just one bag of 150 pieces of candy. We had 53 trick-or-treaters, some too young, and one grandma (that probably has no teeth for it!) I've been working on the Almond Joys, religiously, and am sure to get this holiday weight gain off to a great start before Thanksgiving!

Friday's TREATS and a few dog TRICKS!

We had a great Friday. After dropping Dominic off at school in costume, the other boys and I joined Papa Gertie for breakfast (his TREAT). Then, I TREATED Gertie (the dog) to a trip to the dog park. See what a great auntie I am? I got the better end of the deal, didn't I? We had a blast at the dog park... I suppose Gertie did too! Devin was a bit upset that I wouldn't let him get down and muddy with the other dogs, but he did well in his stroller for the little while we were there (He did try to offer a shoe to the dogs, but I caught it before it hit the mud).

Gertie, in full stride.

A Dirty Gertie!

After dropping off Papa and "Dirty", we were off to pick up The Red Power Ranger from school. We arrived as the class was finishing up their party and were ready to be dismissed for the weekend. Let the sugar high begin!

The entire 2nd Grade, in disguise.

photo by Grandma Gertie.

Jackson, Dominic and Dillon (in case you couldn't tell).

Mrs. Davis and Dominic.

Finally, as if we already had enough fun for the day, Daddy left work early and invited us all on a trip to Apple Hill - nothing like waiting until the day before Halloween to go! We made it and enjoyed all of it. There were hardly any crowds; lots of people, but not too crazy. After visiting our favorite spots, the drive home was wonderful and I now have a nice apple/cinnamon smell in my car. Yum! (Sorry Gertie, no offense!)

And now, I rest. 9:00 soccer game is going to be a killer! Better yet... dragging two boys with me to a Moms in Motion workout is going to be grand at 6:00 in the morning!

It's Cousin Vinny's Birthday!

... and he couldn't have PICKED a better day!!!

Our nephew/godson turned THREE today! Seems hardly possible, yet seems like he should be 5! Our Vinny-monster has surpassed most of his cousins on the height and weight chart, but we know that will come in handy for his future Football or Wrestling career. It was an outstanding day for a birthday, as rumor has it, there will be some fall-like weather coming to our area soon. Perhaps this was the last hurrah as far as good outdoor weekend fun?

And yesterday, we took the boys to Safetyville for their Halloween Haunt. It was much too warm for Devin to wear his monkey costume, but the other two wore their Power Ranger costumes and would rather live in them all the time! The cousins, Supergirl and Sleeping Beauty, arrived before us and joined us for some games and a picture to two. Everyone got tons of loot and will be satisfied with the pre-Halloween sugar high for awhile.

Donovan, Sydney, Peyton, Dominic

Here's Devin: not in his monkey costume,
but monkeying around at Vinny's birthday.

Well, shiver me timbers!

With the unusual wet and windy storm we had last week, we were lucky to have everything still standing upright and no damage to structures. Living on a cul-de-sac does have its disadvantages: we get all the crap blown to our house from up the street. Oh well.

On Sunday, our tree came down... by chainsaw. With roots destroying the sprinklers and mow strips and also growing closer to the driveway, it was time for it to go. There must have been some prime bird property in that tree since we have an entire section of sidewalk COVERED with bird poop. It was gross and I hated seeing my kids run through it all the time. So poop no more!

Happy to get his work boots on, Donovan helped Daddy and his friend be lumberjacks for a few hours.

Dad is up a tree.

Reporting for duty!

In the thick of it.

Working hard.

Devin supervises.A view from our side gate/driveway. Tree was at left.