no good answers

...so everyone knows that bud was in the hospital - and the best guess so far is that he had another stroke. the left side of his face is not functioning properly - but we can only hope that he recovers the use of those muscles. meanwhile, it appears that we need to help and encourage him to make some changes in his lifestyle... anyone with good suggestions on how to facilitate this - please share.

entertaining grandma

even without the bouncy seat i kick in rhythm ...and chew on my fingers

i like company

dora and boots share bathtime - along with an elephant, two whales, two fish, an octopus and assorted cups ..and lots of bubbles which necessitated water to run to give all animals a shower

missing daddy

can't you tell how sweet i am by the expression on my face? can you even imagine that face having a temper?



nayeli was a perfect little angel and took it upon herself to share with little sister all her secrets.











unsubstantiated rumor has it that pizza dinners were had to ease the pain of missing daddy while he is off to SL






so mommy talked to daddy first - and i thought he was calling me!



karyna resorted to eating the closest plastic toy- mom wouldn't let her share the fun of pizza - is this blatant favoritism for the oldest child?? tsk tsk

the highlight of everything...

okay - so this is what makes my day bright -


babysitting -







basically hanging out with the best kids in the whole world.



could anything be better than this? no kids anywhere can compare...

and they are all perfect...

more seriously...

Today I went to church and I went to work both. I wish I had only gone to church. I went in to work for two reasons. First, because I needed to catch up work because of missing while Bud was in the hospital, but secondly I went in to check up on student workers. I wish I hadn't. I find as the day draws to a close that I am infinitely depressed by what I see at work. My attitude towards the rest of the week is far from positive. If there is a bright note, however, it is that I have come to appreciate even more than usual, the work ethic and values of my own family more. Thanks to all of you for that.

more golden moments

i want to remember what they were DOING when under the table - a nice movie would do that!! hint hint to all my kids with movie cameras!

wishful thinking

can you imagine ever forgetting moments like these?

I wish I had a movie camera. Now before anyone takes that so seriously that they think I am ASKING for one,

let me explain. I don't want one - i want my KIDS to USE theirs! I have been watching the grandkids a lot lately.

I am totally enamored of all their personality quirks, their speech patterns and even their fashion choices. But they are changing so quickly and I am afraid I will forget these moments! When Austin actually talks to piglet puppet as if he is real, and when he BECOMES tarzan and jumps from couch to chair to window…When Nayeli runs on her toes and tries to jump, and when she clenches her teeth or sings baby,baby, baby at the top of her lungs. When Karyna traverses every room on her back looking as if she is going to break her neck, or when she laughs out loud at Nayeli, or gives her own stare-down – which she does. When Reagan talks non-stop with her own language or almost kicks herself out of the bouncy seat and when she laughs and looks in mirrors. I may forget. And I don’t want to. I want them to be able to ‘see’ themselves when they are older. I remember specific gestures, traits and habits of Nick, Molly and Katie from when they were young. I can tell them what they were like – but how nice it would have been to have a video now to show Nick that he really DID watch TV on his head and run stiff legged. I wish Molly could SEE herself climbing out of the crib and yard and that Katie could see herself actually telling Nick and Molly what to do – and see how fast she was even really young. Get out the camera more often – the kids are changing daily! Although each step is fun and funny, I don't want to forget ANY -i hope we can save more of these memories.

just thinking

sometimes i just sit and think heavy thoughts...

somebody better listen to me...

austin, nayeli and karyna just wait...

imagination is everything

If you look closely enough on the left you will see that Austin is really sliding down tree branches in the jungle...tarzan style. no sooner did bob leave than austin turned into tarzan.











Nayeli, on the other hand, declined the supporting role of jane and opted instead to understudy for the role of cinderella.

break dancing 101

i can barely watch her move across the floor this way, but this REALLY is how she moves! karyna pushes herself along on her head while arching her back.

hot date on a saturday night

when no one else would come over for a visit, wyck came to the rescue. we practiced basketball in the kitchen until the kitchen sink became the hoop and the dishwater splooshed all over the floor. from bball we moved on to car racing........... i won.

da da and ma ma are a laugh a minute

i would love to take credit for this great big smile, but actually mom and dad were busy jumping up and down and dancing for baby R. for a clear picture of what this means, go back in time and remember katie dancing for austin and nayeli to distract them whenever they needed it. yeah... it is still the same dancing.

even grandpa likes it

dora the explorer captures the imagination of everyone it appears. even grandpa is glued to the tv set - probably can't wait to sing the backpack song. at this point they had just yelled at swiper the fox.

new friends

what do you think Karyna is thinking now? Austin is obviously thrilled to sit next to her - but I don't think Karyna shares the same excitement. her name, according to Austin is either baby karyna or just baby. he wanted her to appreciate spiderman and spent more than a little time trying to tell her how to shoot webs from her wrists.

thanks to bob

for making my van safer - i was getting a little nervous about the RED brake notice on my dashboard - sometime i will ask him to show me where the brake fluid actually goes - maybe he can teach me to add it myself - although hopefully it does not require filling anytime again in the near future- and i will take his advice and get an oil change soon - anyone recommend a place for good prices and short time commitment?

the sun still shines

even though our pipes are still somewhat frozen (there was a tiny trickle this morning) and our washing machine is leaking. i want to let the sunshine into the house to brighten our february days, but the stinking temperature is still so cold and our windows leak air, so i have extra blankets, etc. covering our windows - giving the impression of a cave. if i wanted to be a bear this would be nice, but life is moving forward and hibernation is not an option.

i was looking over my calendar this morning and realized that it is filling up too quickly. in my quest for some organization in my life i have 'scheduled' more than i planned.

anyone up for a mid-winter cleaning of my upstairs rooms? i am not shooting for organized perfection, but just for entrance possibility. as of now you have to climb over two fans, three boxes, garbage bags of clothes and piles of gift bags - putting life and limb at risk with every move. i believe nick came close to that broken limb experience - or worse - when he tried to navigate down the stairs carrying a high chair. luckily none of the little ones were in the vicinity as the heavy and large chair came tumbling down ahead of and without him. so.......if you become bored and want to spend some saturday or sunday going through boxes and bags i will welcome all - and possibly feed?

reason for writing

............ my memory may fail, and i might need reminders.