Disneyland Momma

The last couple of weeks have been so much fun!  Here is a re-cap!

Hubby & I snuk away for a night out on the town while my friend Jewels took care of the kidlets!  SWA had an employee special at the Palazzo so we stayed there super cheap and got 2 for 1 tickets to Blue Man Group!  It was rockin' - especially since they were overbooked and upgraded us to a 2000 sq foot suite (that's as big as my HOUSE, people!) complete with a baby grand piano (I really should practice more so I can play in those situations - cuz you know they happen all the time…..)  and a pool table (I really should practice that too, a shark I am not!)  We had such a great time and stayed out half the night and acted like newly-weds!  It was so much fun and oh-so-indulgant!  Yipee! I love me some couple time with my man!

I took Bella on a trip to Disneyland! Yes!  Just Bella & me!  It was so fun to spend time with her and be silly, crazy, giddy for a few days!

The purpose of the trip is actually to spend time talking about what I like to call the "Sex, Drugs & Rock-n-Roll" conversation we all have to have with our kids.  About four years ago, my pastor's wife (who is one of my parenting mentors) told me how she had taken her daughter on a Disney Cruise for a few days and had the above referenced talk and how wonderful it was to spend time talking and making good memories one-on-one BEFORE the hormones and boy-craziness hits that we call Junior High!  So she made me promise I would take my kids on a trip (and Hubby would take our son) to do the same.  Shortly after that conversation, I was at a Marriage Conference called Weekend to Remember when I saw a display for a program like Pastor's Wife had described called Passport to Purity  - Perfect!  I bought it and saved it for a year when Rose was getting ready to start Middle School.  She had chosen to go to Six Flaggs Magic Mountain and we rode roller coasters (and I got my brains mushed) for three fun filled days!  So Bella has been planning her Passport to Purity trip for the last three years!  

Some things I loved about my Mommy / Daughter trip with Bella:

• Bella planned for weeks which rides we would go on and in what order 
• As soon as we arrived at our room in the hotel, she unpacked her bag, arranged her cosmetics, potions & lotions and turned down the bed
• I was able to spoil her rotten and buy her gifts and treats and not feel a bit guilty! 
• It was a  once in a lifetime weekend and I lived fully in the moment
• We skipped through Disneyland and acted like 11 year olds
• We ate chicken strips and fries (her very favorite) every single day, most days twice a day
• We played in the ocean, splashing and drinking too much salt water and getting sand everywhere, including all over the rental car
• I left her gifts on her pillow (bracelets, books, bookmarks, cd's) to shower her with love
• I got to visit my birth-place and the beaches I always heard my older siblings talk about surfing at when we lived in California
• I got to see my daughters love for her siblings as she carefully and thoughtfully picked out gifts for all of them
• We had the best conversations about the purpose of life, love and discussed her hopes and dreams

I love you, my Bella!  

Since I'm in the mode of the Disneyland Fairytale -

May all your dreams come true!  

Birthday Madness

Fred is six (6!) and Rose is fourteen (14!)..... wow how time goes by in the blink of an eye.  Seems like Rose was just turning six, and now she's getting ready to start high school. 

I decided to make our birthday celebrations a little less of a production this year (to save sweet moola and teach contentment) so our parties were low key and no-stress!  Fred hung out at his favorite park with his buddies, and Rose went to the movies with friends (sans parents or siblings, eeekkk) and then hung at her favorite park with her buddies (sans parents or siblings, eeekkk)..... I laugh at the differences AND the similarities in their choices of party venues!  giggle giggle

Enjoy the pics of days gone by!

Her love of reading begins...

Rose turning 1 and diggin in!

Halloween 1998 cheering on Momma's school!

Halloween 1999 - she wore that bunny costume every day for at least a year!

Jelly Belly 2001

Seaworld 2004

chilling with friends 2006

We met Josh Groban 2007 (He has pretty teeth!)

becoming a photographer 2008

......and now.....

a beautiful, smart, talented, crazy silly

wonderful daughter that I am blessed with.

I love you, little one
________________________________________

Now Fred's pics of days gone by

our little man (aka squirt) arrives!

My 2 fav men! 

Yes, his thumb is always in his mouth!

It was in his mouth during ultra-sounds and

went back in right after birth! 

I'll be a sad momma when he stops....

2007 with his "Adventure hat" he wore everywhere

Halloween 2008 whudduya mean I can't eat it all now?

Summer 2009 

2010 Fred & his little dudes

Oh how I love you Little Man,

you are already reading and have your own little life.....

but you will always be your momma's boy!

Cookie me cookies!

Happiness is coming home from a long day of work to:

• a house bustling with happy kids and husband
• eating yummy tater-tots
• and warm home-made heart shaped sugar cookies
• frosted with melted chocolate chips
• cooked and baked by your teenage daughter
• without your knowledge or request! 

 

Double Digits, Baby!

Bella is 11!  So hard to believe, but oh, we are so blessed to have her in our lives!  We had a nice low-key birthday party at home and she and Rose had their best friends spend the night (who are sisters as well!)  She got super spoiled this year, which is fun to do because I always feel she gets slighted because her birthday is five days after Christmas.  So I had a ton of fun spoiling her sweet little self this year!

She got Nascar gear, Lego's (lots and lots of Lego's), movies,  and clothes, clothes, clothes!  She is most definately a tween as you can tell by her gifts!  She also made her own cake for the first time, which is a milestone in itself!

My camera is being a bit grumpy, so I will have to post pictures later.  For now, here is a few of my favorites of my little Southern Belle!

Just being our silly selves!

Oh, she loved that little girl in the mirror!

Always smiling!

Great America in San Jose

Easter 2002 - Whaddya mean I've had enough Chocolate?

2003 - A ballerina needs her beauty sleep!

2003 - her self titled "Salon of Relaxation Salon" was a booming business!

2004 - First day of Kindergarten

2005 - Such a good big sissy!

2006 - My all-time favorite!

Love you, my little one! 

Phantom of the Opera

For Christmas we gave Rose & Bella tickets to see Phantom of the Opera!  This was my mostest favorite-est gift ever!  (I know those aren't real words, but real words do not describe my excitement, people!) 

Phantom of the Opera holds a very special place in my heart for several reasons:

• I was introduced to Andrew Lloyd Weber music by my Father & Smother.  I remember listening to the stories of Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cats, Starlight Express, Jesus Christ Super Star, etc. from Anne in her Texas drawl while playing card games and drinking starbucks.  Not to mention that the music was always streaming in every room of their California house that my father had wired his coolio stereo system into!
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was the first Andrew Lloyd Weber musical that I saw on-stage.  It was in Wichita, Kansas where we lived at the time, it was put on by a youth drama company.  I loved it!  I knew all the songs, because of course Father & Smother had given me most of the CD's as presents over the years! 
• Hubby and I saw Phantom of the Opera three years ago and really enjoyed the music.  I must admit, I knew every word of the songs, but the storyline did disturb me a bit.  People who were there to see it were dressed up as the Phantom, complete with mask and cape!  It made me a little uncomfortable how obsessed people were when I realized the Phantom is a sick-o! 

• The movie came out when I was pregnant with LaLa.... I remember this because I didn't see it in theatres; I watched it on video in my truck ~ I was doing the extended gestational diabetes test at the lab because I had failed the first one.  They had told me I could leave between blood draws and come back and I didn't have the energy to run errands, so I sat in the truck and watched the movie in between sticks!  (There's a random side-story for ya!)
• I have been reading the "Classics" this past year, and the Phantom of the Opera is one of the best books that I read.  The movie / play cannot portray the backstory of the Phantom in two hours the way that a book can.  It makes you see the Phantom as a terribly wounded person who was never treated with an ounce of love or affection.  Good Read.
• The movie is Bella's VERY FAVORITE movie ever!  This is the child who loved to watch ballets over and over and over.  We watch the movie together at least once a month and she sings every word every time!  Rose & Bella have been begging to see it on stage for a couple of years now.  What a perfect gift!

The music was amazing, Rose loved that we got to look down in the pit after it was over.  Music is her LIFE and she plays piano, french horn & a little guitar.  She loved that there were four french horn players in the orchestra and she has mentioned several times that she would love to play french horn professionally.  What a job that would be!    Bella kept singing, and I had to ask her to stop a couple of times!  We had the most amazing seats, too!  Center Stage right under the chandellier and I am not saying any more because I don't want to ruin it if you haven't seen it live!  There is a HUGE suprise and we were in the perfect spot for some excitement! 

That was so much fun and it was such a pleasure to share that with the girls.   Rose posted on her Facebook status that "seeing Phantom was the Best Christmas Present EVER!!!" I hope to instill in them a life long love for music and the arts.  What a way to start!

P.S.  We just found out that Gerard Butler plays the Phantom in the movie and he sings every note!  Did you know this?  We have seen the movie at least 50 times and never realized it until we were finished watching it right before Christmas and I noticed it on the credits!!  That's another reason I love Phantom! ;)

Gobble Gobble

Thanksgiving Day!  I love this holiday!  It means a long weekend at home, lotsa leftovers and naps!  Hubby is home this year, too ~ Yay!

My girls are complete opposites of each other.  Rose doesn't care to cook, doesn't care about decor and would stay in her PJ's all day everyday if she could and Bella loves to cook and decorate and dress up.  So guess who helped prepare Thanksgiving Dinner, that's right, my 10 year old Bella!  They had the funniest conversation about what Thanksgiving will be like when they are grown up and have their own homes, here it is:

Momma:  Someday you two will have to cook Thanksgiving for me and I will just come to your house and eat!
Bella:  I'll prepare a Thanksgiving Feast for you Momma!
Rose:  Not me, I just wanna eat it! I'm too lazy to cook all day.
Bella:  I'll have the fancy plates and wine glasses and the table will be all decked out and beautiful!
Rose:  I'd have to order food in and serve it on paper plates.
Bella:  OK then, I will cook dinner for everyone and then we can go to your house for dessert!
Rose:  I'll serve Ice Cream and pie, but Bella, you have to bring the pie!

Love them. My only request is that they don't live to far away from me when they are grown up.  Is around the corner too much to ask?

Trick or Treat my Pretties

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year... what a great time to have fun, dress up, eat candy!  Yummy!

• Rose was too old to care about carving pumpkins :(
• Bella carved her own pumpkin :)
• Little Man and LaLa made carving pumpkins very fun :) :)
• Trick or Treating with 4 kids gets you lots and lots and lots of CANDY!!

Rose the Candy Cane Witch

Bella the Zombie Southern Belle

Little Man as Darth Vader

LaLa as Snow White

 

LaLa originally wanted to be Princess Leah - which I loved (Darth Vadar and Princess Leah - how cute!), but she changed her mind after I bought the Snow White DVD.  Bella was going to be a cute Southern Belle but decided at the last minute to add the zombie part (I think it's because she loves to play with the makeup!).  And I can't tell you how many times Rose changed in and out of her costume; adding leggings, shorts, changing her mind, then changing back again.... Little Man; however, never once changed his mind on his costume!

It was a great evening with lots of laughs and sugar all around!  Come to think of it, we will all be on a sugar high for at least a week!

Happy Harvest!

Oh, My Minnions ~ you may serve me now!

Princess LaLa is the big FOUR!
We went to a bbq at our Pastor's house and it turned into a shin-dig for LaLa!  She was in heaven and a true princess enjoying all the attention and love from everyone!

I was soooo excited to give LaLa her presents this year!  I got her "Bitty Twins" by American Girl!  These dolls are a BIG deal in our house!  Rose is too old for them now, but Bella and LaLa sure love to play with her old ones and theirs.  Many, many, many happy hours have been spent in our home combing hair, changing clothes and pretending with these beautiful dollies and I couldn't wait to give LaLa her very own babies to love!  The fun thing about this gift was the fact that they were twins!!  You can get boy/girl combinations and customize to hair / eye color (although a little dissappointing that the brown hair boy only had brown eyes and the blonde boy had blue eyes - I guess they don't get enough orders for boy dolls? I had to settle for a brown eyed boy which took the little man about 0.1 seconds to point out that the boy doll didn't have blue eyes.  oh well....).

Little man and LaLa are only 15 months apart, which qualifies them to be called "Irish Twins".  They really are like twins, so close in age and best friends forever!  LaLa thinks she is going to marry little Man and gets so upset when I tell her it isn't gonna happen!  They are little partners in crime!  So I thought it would be soooo adorable to get LaLa a set of twins to play with! 

In true Princess LaLa fashion, she promptly named the babies after herself & her brother! 

Little girl, I love you so much 

You are the little bonus baby God knew I would adore! 

You are my sunshine, my silly willy, picadilly, alligator stare..... you are my ice cream sandwich, my watermelon gum, my soda pop, my lollipop, my yummy yummy yum! (borrowed from our favorite book "You're my little Love Bug" by Heidi Weimer)

  Our family is complete!  September 6, 2005

LaLa made quite the entrance, didn't wait for the Dr to arrive and was delivered by the Nurse!

She's 1!

at her first b-day party, begging food from sissy! 

LaLa sneakin' some frosting from her Magenta Cake for her 2nd Bday!

She's 3 and a true Barbie Princess!

(Love Bella covering brother's mouth!)

It was so hot, the icing melted off the cake - gotta love the 110 degree September days!

The cutest scrunchie face EVER!!

and this is how I remember MY bitty twins!