David Stitzer, Come On Down.... You Are the Next Star Helper....

Tonight was the sock hop, but today, David was Star Helper in school. He was the student who got to ring the bell to start the day, got to count out the coins representing how many days they have been in class (57), got to choose what activity he wanted to do first, be the line leader in and out of break-time, and bring in an item and give clues for the rest of the class to guess what it was. We had the letter J, so we brought Jelly Beans. Rose had J last year too, so when he got it, I knew we would do the same thing. We made little snack bags with jelly beans to share...which is always a fan favorite if you can pull off a sweet treat giveaway. He was a hit! Dave can be the stand back kid....the last in line for anything, the kid who stands back and lets others do things first....so it's always a good day when he gets to be the guy who is first and does special things. Oh, and the best part was that I was in class today with him and got to see him in all his glory. He is such a sweet, caring, and special boy. I think I love you!

Let's Go To the Hop, Oh Baby, Let's Go To the Hop!

A few days ago:

Me: "Rose, I think I'm going to make you a poodle skirt for the Sock Hop."
Rose: (looks at me for a few seconds, perplexed) "That means sewing."
Me: "Yes, it does."
Rose: Waits a few seconds, again, perplexed..... "Why don't you ask Ani's Mom? (a girl in class,) She knows how to sew..."

Tonight was the Sock Hop at Midland Elementary. Rose went last year with Owen & Madeline, Lexie & Tyler and had a great time. This year I had toyed with the idea of making Rose a poodle skirt for the occasion. I figured she would get good use out of it for a few years, and a few days ago I decided to give it a try. I used to sew when I was a teenager, and have done a few things every once in a while for someone who asks.... ok, that really means when my friend Bob needs something, I will do it for him.... costumes or window treatments mostly. Anyway, I decided to pull out the old sewing machine and give it a go. I went and bought some fabric, a poodle patch and a few other necessary items, Googled how to make a poodle skirt, and went at it. After a little trial and error, I think I came up with a pretty good skirt! So good in fact, I decided to make one for Madeline just a few hours before the dance started. Miraculously, I managed to pull it off and surprise her. It wasn't identical to Rose's, but close, and pretty darn cute. She and Rose both loved them!

After a few obligatory (whiny) (...HEY, I carried you in my WOMB and gave BIRTH TO YOU.... LET ME TAKE A FREAKING PICTURE OF YOU!) photos, off we went to the Sock Hop. David opted to stay home with Andy, Rose hitched a ride with Aunt Karen and Joey and I met them there. We walked in and found ourselves lost in a sea of pink poodle skirts. Why didn't I think to make her in a pair of shiny black lycra pants like Sandra Dee wore when she goes bad in Grease? It would have been a whole lot easier to find her, and a lot more original, but I want Rose to remain a little girl for as long as I can. The dance was a lot of fun.... but tell me, did they used to play 'Thriller' at sock shops of yesteryear? And hey, I learned a new dance tonight....the Cuban Slide. And you might be wondering, did I dress up? Why Yes... Yes I did. I added a little embellishment to a sweater, rolled up my jeans and put on my saddle shoes... yes, I own real saddle shoes. I think this might be the second time I have ever worn them in the 25 years I have owned them, but you can't get rid of them..... you never know when you are going to need them! I think Karen borrowed them last year..... or maybe it was my brown pair. Yes, I really do own 2 pair of saddle shoes. I am a closet geek.... but my closet geekiness pays off sometimes, like tonight. Ok, maybe just a geek, not even closet.

It's been fun to pull out the sewing machine. It's a side of me Andy and the kids have never seen. Before I became a wife and Mom (aka. back when I had real free time of my very own) I used to be pretty crafty and artsy. Now I have NO time for that, and these loved ones of mine have no idea I can do that sort of stuff. I am Wonder Woman, they just haven't realized it yet! Oh, but they will..... I think next I will whip up a Super Mom costume, complete with white Go-Go boots. Oh, and Joey was FASCINATED with the sewing machine. He was all over that thing..... wanted to know what every button and knob does, how it works.... and sat right next to me as I sewed. Very fun for me! Maybe you will see him someday on Project Runway.

Here are my beauties.......

Ani & Valora (Rose's class) Rose & Lexie

Lexie, next door neighbor Cameron, Rose

Glory Days

Ok, so I won't do a play-by-play of the day and game... JETS / Colts last Sunday. Short story is the Colts won. However, the highlight of the day was seeing Andy don his high school JETS jersey. I would love to see a picture of him in it when he was 17. Instead, I got the 40-something version in person..... It was supposed to bring the JETS some luck, but perhaps it just needs to go away. Oh, and he wasn't shaving again until they lost, so the beard is now gone. And for those interested, Andy was on great behavior. He watched the game upstairs in solitude on the bed. He didn't throw anything or burn his jersey (perhaps he should have). There is always next year. Now we get to look forward to baseball season!

Let's PARTY!

Just a quick note and pictures from Madeline and Owen's birthday party. It rained and rained ALL last week, and looked like it might not let up for the outdoor bouncy party....but the gods smiled down and the sun shone through and it turned out to be a beautiful day. O & M had a great time with so many good friends from school, and plenty of family too. Most all the parents from school stayed for the party, so it really could have been an awkward day with a bunch of people you don't really know, but in the end, everyone got on well and had a great time. (It didn't hurt when the first bottle of beer was cracked open....)


There is a boy named Leighton in O & M's class who likes Rose. This was a bone of contention for quite some time before the party because he was going to attend. Rose is completely mortified that he likes her. He is a cute boy and all he really ever does is say HI to Rose, and perhaps shoves her a little every once in a while to declare his love. A day or two before the party Rose said "Mom, you have to do my hair different for the party." Why Rose? "So Leighton doesn't recognize me!" Well, it turns out that Leighton apparently also likes another girl in his class. When I was taking pictures of everyone, he asked me if I would take one of just him and Alexa, the other woman. He proceeded to put his arm around her and ham it up for the camera. (Alexa was duly mortified, but giggly!) I guess I don't need to be all that concerned about the his love (like) for Rose. (although when I met his parents and told them who I was, in unison they said OH.... You're ROSE'S Mom....we are Leighton's parents.) She must get talked about at home, I guess. Happy Birthday Owen and Madeling! (Leighton is the boy here with Owen)

That's MY Emily

So today after school, David and I made a bunch of new Mii's on the Wii. In case you have been in a cave, a Mii (me) is an animated person on the Wii (we) game unit. You walk through steps, pick their hairstyle and color, skin color, how tall they are, how skinny (or not) they are, etc. These people show up in various games you play. It's fun to hear the kids yell, "there's Mommy...there's Daddy, Joey, David, Rose, Lexie, Madeline...Owen, Aunt Karen.... you name it. Tonight Rose came home after roaming the neighborhood and decided to make some of her cousins into Mii's. She and David were looking at who the new Mii's were... people we knew, and some we made up, like Creepy Guy and Maury.... and she saw someone and asked "who's that?" David replies, "that's MY Emily".......

These ARE NOT Emily..... she is very cute! But, can you guess who they are?

Is It Just Me?

Ok, I never even watch the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, but now that tonight is his last night, I am both sad it's ending and compelled to watch. Is it just me? Whenever I hear a show is ending, or someone is leaving a cast of a show, even if I have never watched it, I just get sad. Maybe it's because I always know that if I wanted to, I COULD tune in and watch.....but I never do. So what is it, Guiding Light, or some other LONG running pioneer soap is ending, or did end, and even though I never watch it EVER, it saddens me. Odd..... but depressing, none-the-less. Don't know that I will make it up till Conan comes on........ 11 PM is LATE! I know, I'm screwed up.

Well I Love a Rainy Night, I Love a Rainy Night, I Love to Hear The Thunder, Watch the Lightning When It Lights Up the Sky....

Showers washed all my cares away, I wake up to a sunny day... 'Cos I LOVE A RAINY NIGHT! Don't you just LOVE that Eddie Rabbit song? Anyway, as you probably all know, California is FINALLY getting some real rain all this week. It's WONDERFUL! It's been pretty much hard downpours and lots of strong wind the entire week. Andy emailed me about an hour ago and said it was starting to rain again at work. It was sunny here, but with plenty of dark clouds. So he said to look Northwest, that it was on it's way here. Sure enough, maybe half an hour later it started to rain, then it just let loose..... and MAJOR hail came down. YEAH! Having actual winter weather is the best! About 3 minutes before the downpour and hail, Rose and Lexie left here to go play at Jessie's house down the street. I watched them go down the street....they were maybe half way when the sky opened up and their shrieks were clear as a bell from here. It was pretty funny. Of course they had no umbrellas. I had told them to go before it started to rain.... guess I told them that 5 minutes too late. Oh well, nothing like running in the rain when you are a kid!

After the rain stopped the sun came right out so we rushed out to look for rainbows and were not dissapointed! It was a double, but by the time I ran in to get the camera, it was back to a single. Nice! It was the second one Joey and I saw today. Now hopefully the rain will stop for tomorrow. Owen and Madeline are having a party at their house for their birthday. Hope they have a rainy day back-up plan......



















Look close for the hail.

Happy 7th Birthday, Madeline & Owen!

I can't believe it's already been a year, but today the twins turn 7! I swear I JUST did the entry about them turning 6. It seems like such a short time ago when neither Karen or I even had kids. Then Karen & Mike had the twins, and along came Rose, David & Joey. It all happened so fast, and suddenly it's been 7 years.

I am so grateful to have them live so close and have them such a big part of our lives. They feel like they are my kids too.....but they have it better because I don't yell at them! They are so close to all my kids, almost like siblings. It's been fun to watch them grow up so far. Owen LOVES anything sports and Madeline has gotten quite good at gymnastics and is a great artist too. They are both great, fun kids, and I sure do love them. Happy Birthday!