the christmas train made its first stop

all pictures shamelessly stolen from tiffer

(now whenever i talk about my sister you can picture her inside her pretty house [the second home she has purchased- i am so proud of her], lounging on her cute red sectional, feet on her big leather ottoman, diet coke in hand, and computer in lap.)

1 interstate, 595 miles, and 1 white-knuckle driven snow storm later, our christmas train safely arrived at its first stop: aunt tiffs house. the kids ripped through some of the gifts she had collected for them: cute cloths, well-written picture books, and educational games. have i ever mentioned how nice it is to have a generous older sister with such good taste!?

happy birthday to our crazy grandma

blog, meet crazy grandma. her tendency to do things like pole dance in a new york subway car is why brian took to calling her by such a name. on her birthday (or the day after) lets examine a few reasons why we wouldn't have her any other way-

• she use to enjoy toiletpapering more than the teenagers she escorted
• she can fix plumbing, hang 2nd story x-mas lights, & hedge a lawn
• she takes things in stride
  
• she travels to cali every april so brian & i can get away for our anniversary
  

• she can't stand seeing her grandbabies in trouble
• she never missed a soccer game, tennis match, or dance recitle
• she only wears pants that contain multiple sets of pockets
• she keeps a post-it in her wallet that reads 'dr. pepper is poison, don't buy any today'
  

• 'dead gum' is her chosen curse of frustration
• she loves where she came from
  
• she does yoga in a room heated to 110 degrees
  
• she should have a license plate frame that says 'i'd rather be on an airplane'

to my mom, i love that you are so full of life. i love that you have remained such an active force in our lives from so far away. i love the memories of being raised by you.
i love you.

sunny so-cal

a few years ago we were debating whether buying a house in utah was the right move for our family. for me, there were many complicated factors involved. for brian, the problem was simple and solitary: it snows there.

our home 12/2008

pan to the week before christmas when our house looked like this. when we purchased in the foothills we were given fair warning about the wind, but snow! i have been assured by neighbors that this only happens once a year. phew- i thought we were going to have to move again. i do realize that my family in utah and my cousin karen in iowa (who went caroling in -4 degree temperatures) are totally laughing at me right now.

the snow fell just before we left for our early morning drive to utah. the white stretched from our door step to vegas. we stopped for a potty break and the girls couldn't resist a little play time in the cold fluffy whiteness.

the babies, who don't like being cold, opted to wait in the car.

i like him!

i blame the wii

g-ma glo & her sweet tenant bob playing wii tennis

for my lack of sleep and sore right arm. crazy grandma (hater of all things television/computer/video games) shocked the pants off her children with a fabulous family christmas gift: a nintendo wii.

when playing the wii some can kick butt with just a flick of their wrist (tiff, brian, ryan, james), while others uncontrollably jump and flail around like fools (me, mom, katy, geneve). see above.

the wii was enjoyed in my moms living room this weekend by everyone from miley (age 3) to uncle reed (age 73). katrice and mia played many a game of competitive bowling, while the rest of us were enthralled in mixed doubles tennis matches. brian admonished me for trying to sneak the wii into the back of the suburban with the rest of our loot. he wisely pointed out that the wii wouldn't be nearly as much fun at our house, it was all the wonderful people we shared it with that made the game a hit.

a very happy christmas to you!

12/2006

5 things i learned at the dr.'s office today

the picture we e-mailed dr. liu late last night

1. miley's ears are infected
2. levi's right ear is infected (it must have been jealous of the left ear that was infected last week)
3. mia has an ear infection, an eye infection, probably bronchitis, and possibly pneumonia
4. levi's fall onto the floor jack didn't fracture his skull
5. we have the worlds greatest pediatrician (okay- so i knew that one long before today)

the stinkeye

this is what we affectionately call the stinkeye. levi offers me this look whenever he's asked to do something he doesn't want to (eat, stop jumping on the counter tops, hand over the knife, etc.). it's alarming how early mr. trouble pants mastered such an expression.

luckily, if you give him the look right back, he brakes out in an uncontrollable smile. i tell ya- if that child wasn't so cute...

opening night & always

11/2008 me & christa opening night

6 freeways and 1 hour later i was back. back where it all began. back with the people that feel like home.

i was lucky enough to attend the opening night of west side story with christa and her mom cathy in orange county a few weeks back. this was no ordinary musical- it was christa's masters thesis. designing the 185 costumes for the cast had been her life for months, and it was beautiful. the dresses were to die for. as was her outfit- a smashing green number, huge earrings, and 6 inch shiny black sling backs.

walking into the theater, the three of us couldn't get two feet without being bombarded by enthusiastic well-wishers. all of whom offered big hugs to the designer and comments to cathy and i about what a hard working, talented girl we had- we just nodded our heads in agreement. we know. we watched the wonderful production together- pointing, whispering, and being all around terrible audience members.

christa is having a rough week and i want her to know that she makes me glow with pride to be by her side. opening night & always.

the giving of thanks

thanksgiving 2008- click to enlarge

i reluctantly changed my 'be thankful' to 'be merry'- i love being thankful and i'm so not ready to be merry. just as mia pointed out while running around town this afternoon- "everyone except us are getting ready for christmas." so true.

in less than three short weeks these suggies will be celebrating the season in the snow, but for today i'm enjoying my gratitude tree and pretending christmas isn't around the corner. our tree is full of colorful paper leaves covered with the handwriting of our loved ones. i could fill a forest with my leaves of gratitude this season, but i will only bore you with a small family sampling-

mia- books, flowers, bugs, & love
miley- lip gloss, glass slippers, & auntie tweece
levi- electric outlets, light switches, & power tools
brian- diet coke
me- silly people willing to drive 700 miles, sleep on air mattresses, & deal with screaming kids so we can be together on the holidays.

as is their custom brian and tiff mocked my sentimental traditions (it's ok- we all know they're a couple of super secret huge hearted sapps).

miley absolutely loves having her aunt tiff around- miley's quiet (she gets that from me) and tiff always takes the time to really listen to what our cute little church mouse has to say. glo mom christened my kitchen with yummy miley family recipes and katrice kept everyone laughing.

we stuffed months of memories into three short days, and that is something to be grateful for.

a very happy thanksgiving to you!

1991
john, katrice, mom, dad, tiff, & mio

feeling the love

11/2007 another beauty courtesy of my gal chelsea

a heart-felt thanks to all of you who made my birthday so great- in person, online, over the phone, & through the mail. i'm overwhelmed- ya'll keep makin me cry. i'll spend my 27th year striving to be the person you see through your wonderfully rosy colored glasses.

much love,
marisa

27 years ago today

1982 glo mom & baby me

27 years ago today the glo mom gave birth to me in the same orange county hospital where i would later deliver mia. like mia, i was brought into this world by the gentle hands of a mid-wife. a mid-wife that my mother thought had a beautiful name- marisa.

i like it too.

swirly head stinker butt

easter 2007

mia's chatty (just like her father i tell ya). the chatter has progressed since she's been in kindergarten. she's constantly pointing out sets, patterns, similarities, and differences.

during lunch she flipped her golden tresses saying that "some of us have blond hair", then shifting her attention to levi observed that others have "swirly hair". "swirly head stinker butt" she chuckled. this being just one of the many nicknames she has coined for her baby bro .

swirly head stinker butt is sick today. he hasn't even been able to keep water down, but he's still running. always running. get better soon little man!

tell me 5 things

i don't normally respond to tags, but i do enjoy reading them and would love for this to be a more interactive experience. respond any way you'd like- on your blog, in the comments, or in an e-mail, just tell me 5 things about you...

5 things i've done today

1. cleaned poo that wasn't in a diaper


2. washed the same load of towels for the third time


3. talked to christa, crazy grandma, & g-ma c


4. watched the kids play in the heat


5. been told by my 3 year old that my hair looks angry
   

5 things i haven't done today

1. written an 8 page research paper on a classic greek tragedy


2. chores


3. yelled (quite the accomplishment)


4. showered


5. cried (also quite the accomplishment)

5 things i heart about authoring a blog

1. reconnecting with people (like my sweet cuz karen)


2. bragging about my loved ones


3. making my mom happy cry (easily accomplished)
   
4. knowing that brian checks in on it everyday


5. writing with a lot of parenthesis

5 things i heart about reading blogs

1. the stephanie neilson story (worth reading!)


2. being inspired by strangers


3. staying up to date with the comings and goings of those i care about


4. seeing how others live


5. it's a fabulous thing to do while your kids are napping and you're avoiding housework / homework

pretending i was there

katrice had her annual bowling birthday bash this weekend. she looks forward to said event all year- i have no doubt that during the car ride home she was counting down the days until her next fiesta. everyone turned out to help her celebrate- her bus driver, teacher, aids, classmates, & the fam.

blog, meet the fam- uncle reed, glo mom, cute new cuz-in-law james, cuz katy, birthday girl, cuz cassandra, cuz geneve, aunt dot, cuz des, & aunt adline. did you get all that? good- there'll be a quiz later.

cuz katy (who also wrote about the b-day bash) & cuz geneve started blogs- yeah!

wade showing john who's boss.

strike!
this handsome gentleman is the special olympics gold medalist in bowling- go david!

youthful glo (brownie points) with my grown-up baby bro.
seriously though- isn't my ma a fox!

lookin good little fam.

i was very happy that someone had seen to waxing katrice's unibrow in my absence.
this is my favorite picture- my sisters- i love them!

(cute photos courtesy of tiff and her mad picture taking skills- thank you!)

20 years ago today

1989

20 years ago today a lincoln town car parked in the anaheim kiaser structure and unloaded 3 anxious siblings. 20 years ago today those children each selected a toy from the trunk of the town car and followed their dad through opening hospital doors. 20 years ago today i felt the croaking vibrations of the stuffed green frog in my hands as i rocked it back and forth during the long elevator ride. 20 years ago today- i met katrice.

2007

she's all grown up now, but she still has that frog and i will always have that memory. the memory of the day our lives were changed, the day we were completed. thank you katrice for bringing our family 20 years of laughter, light, and love.

dancing in the disneyland high school musical parade 2008

so today let's all enjoy a happy slice of katrice pie. below is her favorite song from her very favorite movie. it is imposable for her to hold still while watching this, so please feel free to shake it!

this ones for you silly goose- happy burgay!

castoff

levi loving his dino
we haven't been near any ships, but levi did get his cast sawed off. his arm didn't look as bad as i thought it would. i was relieved that his lizard-like skin wasn't covered in mold (the little monster dove head first into the hammond's spa a few days after we had his arm casted). his skinny little forearm is still a wee bit crooked, but the doctor assures me that it will correct itself in time.

strange thing is, i miss the cast. it smelled like feet and made bath time a nightmare, but it suited him.

how we roll

levi sporting his 'i voted' sticker

this morning we braved the rain and headed out to our designated voting destination. during the short car drive i did my usual threats, bribes, and pleas for good behavior. this conversation followed my rant-

mia: mom, i get to pick the next president!
miley: (before i had a chance to respond) no mia! only grown-ups get to vote.
mia: no! i saw barack obama (pronounced correctly) on tv and he told me kids can vote too.

apparently emotionally charged political opinions don't stop with mommy. walking into the library flanked by one kiddo on foot and two more in the stroller got me some sideways glances. sorry people- this is how we roll. with the exception of levi pulling the cardboard voting booth over on me, the kids did great.

when my vote had been cast, the nice volunteer man gave stickers to each of the kids. i politely remind him that i needed a sticker too. once outside i made good on my car ride promise by letting the girls get soaking wet in the rain puddles.

more than anything- i hope tomorrow brings us a united america.

a happy home halloween

little mermaid 5, abby cadabby 3, and baby ninja 1
we have always lived in condo complexes (not trick-or-treat friendly), so on halloween we would load our costumed clan and drive to friend's neighborhoods for candy. this year was a wonderful first- we walked our street, mingled with friendly neighbors, and passed out loads of sweets to the spooky bell ringers.

this halloween marked another first- moms complete loss of costume choice. mia's mermaid pick turned out beautiful, but i had to do some serious manipulating before she would discard the ugly seashell headband that came with the costume in exchange for the adorable flower i made for her hair.

there is no manipulating miley however. her strength of mind will serve her well in the future, but it tends to make parenting more difficult. just before this picture was taken, my little sesame street fairy tried to turn me into a frog with her trusty magic wand. something tells me she didn't want her picture taken.

baby ninja, who seems less and less like a baby every day, didn't slow down long enough to get his picture taken. his big sisters had taught him some cool moves and he was busy running through the house screaming "ha-yah!" he loved trick-or-treating and successfully charmed all the neighbors into giving him more than one piece of candy.

good thursday

i had a good thursday. no- it was great!

the cake mia's teach had made for the luncheon
first- the monkeys and i attended a lunch party thrown by mia's kindergarten teacher. she had delivered notes to all of the adults who volunteer in her classroom, inviting them (and their kids) to a lunch in their honor. the company was good and the babies weren't horrible.

as i surveyed the table i was struck by the fact that only 3 of the 13 guests had children in the class. the majority of those in attendance didn't have any relation to the 5 year-olds they spend so much of their time helping. i was so moved. there really are good people in this world!

frankenstein, abby cadabby, and our blond little mirmaid

then- to alleviate my guilt for not having found the time to carve pumpkins, we went home and everyone made a trick-or-treat bag to match their costume. mia loves being crafty, girl after my own heart, wrapping the paper mermaid hair around a pen to make it curl was her idea. she kept reminding her little sis that "when it comes to glue, a little dab will do," but miley went crazy with the elmers anyway.

late night giggles

finally- daddy came home. it's been 2 weeks since he's had a day off and almost that long since he's had a night off. we were a tiny bit happy to see him. i made dinner and we put the man cub to bed (he refuses to go to sleep without a smooch from every member of the family). the sisters stayed up hours past their bed-time laughing so hard that it hurt. they roughed around enjoying the kind of play that only their daddy provides them.

i soaked in as much of the joyful noise as i could, knowing that life would be buzzing again first thing in the morning.

a birthday wish for my dad

hoping this day brings you a bit of camouflage, a pretty riffle, a tall glass of crown, and some hearty laughter with pop. today, even more than usual, i am feeling your influence, seeking your counsel, and craving your presence.

miss and love. kiss and hug.

my helpful hubby

happy halloween! bri-guy and the miss 2 years ago

I do 7+ loads of laundry a week. It is not entirely unlike me to putter out at the end of my shift leaving the last load lingering in the dryer. This morning, like the 3 before it, brian ventured to the garage to retrieve a clean pair of socks and underwear.

today is laundry day again. yeah! when it's all done, i think i shall return the delicates to the dryer. i'm curious to see how many more trips he'll make to the garage before utilizing the empty basket sitting next to the dryer and bring the lingering load back in.

the one and only pictureless post

this is my first pictureless post. i did this intentionally. i just want people to focus on what i have to say (please don't take offense- i love ya'll!). i hate using this venue to discuss such serious matters, but this seems to be the outlet of choice for spreading information like wild fire.

i have been upset that the LDS church, which i have always respected (and still do), has chosen to affiliate, support, and fund the misleading Yes on 8 campaign. i know people who are tele-marketing and door knocking, pushing the Yes campaign's inaccurate fear-driven information on anyone that will listen. there are 2 major misconceptions about prop.8 that a little bit of research can clear up.

1- if prop.8 fails our children will be taught about gay marriage in school. this is not true. california superintendent of schools jack o'connell and the california teachers association have come out strong to debunk this allegation. please see these orange county register and la times articles for more information.

2- if prop.8 fails churches will loose their tax-exempt status. this is also not true. there is paragraph after paragraph of legislation protecting religious freedoms. when gay marriage was legalized great efforts were taken to ensure that religious institutions would not have to change any of their policies or practices. their rights are being respected. click here for additional information.

prop.8 does nothing to protect religious freedoms or change what our children are taught in school. the only thing prop. 8 does is make it illegal for gay couples to enjoy the same rights and freedoms that heterosexual couples always have.

i for one can not wait for november 4th to come and go, so i can delete these posts and stop waisting my time thinking about stupid politics!

lady killer in a cast

levi had his arm casted the morning after the break- brian's 32nd b-day. he'll have it on for another 3 weeks before being downgraded to a brace.

the cast doesn't hold him back (at all!). he digs having daddy doodle on his arm. he's eating rather well with his left hand and as usual refuses to let anyone help him do anything. he quickly discovered the benefits of having a casted arm- weapon against the sisters and loud noise maker.

little lady killer.

come and gone

me & the glo mom 10/2008

g-ma glo and auntie tweece have come and gone. as usual they left us far better than they found us- the house is squeaky clean, the laundry's done, boxes are unpacked, the pantry is full, laughter enjoyed, date nights had, and i'm relaxed. life is good.

knowing that we will be seeing them twice more before the new year made their departure easier, but the goodbye always hurts. i'm usually okay until mom gives me a hug and refuses to let go. then the tears come. watching her car pull out of my driveway and disappear around the corner rips my heart out. at the end of one of her month long stays a few summers ago she got up before the sun and snuck out the door while everyone was sleeping to avoid the goodbye.

to my mom- thank you! please come back soon- the monkeys miss their "crazy gama" and i can't keep this place strait much longer.

miss and love. kiss and hug.

a family kitchen

before

after

it's still missing a few things (baseboards, quarter rounds, a bar stool, & some paint), but for blogging purposes lets call the fully functional kitchen complete. as you may recall our fabulous friends hung the cabinets and the resident stud did pretty much everything else. my pictures don't due it justice.

when we bought the house this space was being used as a combo kitchen/dining room and there were 3 separate living areas. now we have a kitchen, a dining room, a toy room, and a living room with dark laminate wood flooring running throughout.

we added an island. yeah storage!

brian cashed in a favor for the back splash. stinky came up one sunday morning to lay the tile, and drove back monday morning to grout it. thanks stink!

one of the problems we faced when doing the kitchen was that it had never been wired for a garbage disposal. there was no switch. brian mounted and wired a switch under the sink that can be accessed through the tilt shelf- clever clever.

pantry pull-outs- the greatest thing since sliced bread.

trash anyone? the process was exhausting, but so worth it. the kitchen is open, bright, and easy to clean. thanks to everyone who had a hand in it- we love it and you!