Our Year in Review

I was just watching the Year in Review on GMA - what a year! So much joy for some, so much heartache for others. It's hard to believe when you see all the stories put together, that they all happened in the same year. And I'll admit, the In Memorium always gets me.

It's been quite a year for Team Lua also, full of both joy and heartache. 2009 marked our first full year as a family of 5. How amazing that one little person can change everything at the same time making it feel as though they have been a part of this family forever.

The year started with me finally joining this century (and my appropriate age group) by finally signing up for Facebook. Breaking news, I know ;) But I am addicted to Facebook, so in this house it is pretty important. I even got the hubby to sign up. Somewhere later in the year I signed up for Twitter too, but I've now concluded what I already suspected - I'm not interesting enough to tweet.

March found us upon our oldest's birthday - her 5th birthday. That was a big one for us and I had a really hard time with it. It seemed like such a big number. And yet here we are just a few months out from #6. March didn't end on a great note for us though as my grandfather suffered a stroke the day after his 86 birthday and was hospitalized for the remainder of the month.

April brought us our first real heartache in years as my grandfather passed away in the first week. While at that exact moment, we were expecting it, going into his illness we weren't. My grandmother had been very sick the year prior and we were all so busy with that none of us knew my grandfather wasn't feeling good. And from the time we did find out, things went really fast. I miss him all the time, but am so thankful that we have another guardian angel looking out for us.

In May we had his service and while the remainder of the month was hectic, it was quiet. Mainly filled with family & friends, which is exactly what we needed. Expecially since June was going to be a busy month for us.

June started with Samantha's graduation from preschool. Not a huge milestone to most, but as MY child (and my first born), it was huge for us. That was followed shortly thereafter by the girls' first ballet recital - I'm still amazed by how much they love ballet and how good they are! The kids also went to their first major league baseball game, which of course was to see our faithful SF Giants play. June also marked our last weekend at Sea Ranch, which everybody in our families know was a part of my childhood. But what a send off we gave that house & how blessed I am to have been able to take my own children there! June wrapped up with our vacation to New Mexico, which was wonderful! Oh and the girls took swim lessons and actually learned to swim! Reading back on all of that, I wonder when we actually slept!

July held a major milestone for us - Nacho and I celebrated 10 years of marriage. I can't believe a whole decade has gone by since we said "I do", but I am so proud of us! We also had our 1st annual 4th of July block party - at least I hope it's an annual thing.

August was another busy month for us. Nacho and I both celebrated birthdays - a milestone one for me as I turned 30. I have to be honest though, it doesn't really feel all that different. Maybe because being the mother of 3 had already made me feel old? ;) We celebrated both our birthdays and our anniversary in a week long road trip that took us to Beverly Hills, Las Vegas & Disneyland. It was a world-wind trip, but oh so much fun. Right after we got back, Lexi started her 2nd year of preschool and Sam started kindergarten. We had a school aged child!!

September was another quiet month for us, but a huge one for my brother as he got married. We were all in the wedding (sans Jack), so that held some excitement, especially for the girls! It also was the month where Jack started crawling, giving me 3 mobile children!

October rang in Lexi's 4th birthday and started off the holiday season for us, with Halloween. Halloween isn't a holiday I really love, but the kids do and through them I learn to love it. And besides, it'll probably be the only time I get to dress the baby up as a bear.

November was another quiet but busy month for us. The highlight was going up to my dad's for Thanksgiving. We hadn't been up there for this holiday since Lexi was a month old, so it had been awhile.

December is always a busy month, but even more so for us as it started with Jack's 1st birthday! What, 1 already? That's how I felt leading up to it and even feel a bit today. This month was filled with the usual Christmas parties, holiday shopping, school commitments, etc. Christmas was wonderful and New Years Eve seems to shaping up nicely.

Reading back over this, it seems like our year was jam-packed and I suppose it was. And it some ways it felt like it went on forever, but mostly if feels like it passed in the blink of an eye. What's that saying - the days are long, but the years are short. Nothing is truer in our house. So where are we now? The baby has started taking steps and it won't be long before he is running circles around me. Lexi is excited about finishing up preschool and starting kindergarten. Sam is already looking forward to 1st grade, even though she has accomplished so much already in kindergarten - mainly, but not only, she learned to read! Nacho seems to have found security in his current job (*knock on wood*), which is a nice change from years passed. As for me, I'm still trying to find that balance between woman, wife, mother & daughter. Most days I think I do pretty good job and for that I feel blessed.

All around us this year, we watched marriages crumble (both in public and with our own friends) and families fall apart. We celebrated as new life joined welcoming families and cried as others had to say goodbye. We watched with pride as our children started to spread their wings and secretly rejoiced every time they needed us. But mostly, we came together as a family, more united than ever, determined to stand by each other. We've made a vow to make memories with our children, both big and small, for it has become apparent to us, more this year than any other, how quickly the time is going.

2010 holds a whole slew of possibilities for us. For now, we don't have much planned. We've got a trip to San Diego in June and I'm trying desperately to take the kids to Disneyland again, although that last one might not be a reality. I do know this is the year that I will have 2 school aged children and lots of time to fill. However I will have a very mobile little boy who I'm sure will be more than happy to fill it! Whatever this new year has to offer, I'm looking forward to it. I've got the best team surrounding me and as this blog says "it's not where you go or what you do, but who's beside you that counts."

Merry Christmas from Team Lua

Photo Shoot

Recently a ballet mom friend asked to take a picture of Jack as a test shot outside the ballet studio. It turned out so well, she asked if she could use it in her promotional material in exchange for a much discounted photo shoot. Now that the Christmas cards have been sent, I can share the pictures, which turned out awesome. Here are a select few:

















Ok, admittedly more than a few, but I can't tell you how in love with these pictures I am. They managed to capture the love, the happiness & the goofiness of my family. There is nothing I love more than seeing these people smile - especially when it's their genuine one!

Check back on Christmas Day to see the one we used for our Christmas card. Although the handful of readers I have already got it in the mail.

We're So Lucky

We really are, in so many ways.

But today I'm talking about our neighbors. We seriously have the best neighbors ever. As was proved again last night at the Christmas party. That lasted until almost 2am. I got home way before that though. Like 1am.

It is the first time we've ever been friends with our neighbors and I have to say this a great bunch to have!

Happy 1st Birthday Jonathan!

Exactly one year ago, we were blessed with the birth of our third child, our first son. Jonathan Ignacio was born almost a week early, Dec. 5th at 8:00am weighing in at a whopping 9lbs 5oz! We didn't know the gender going into the delivery and to say I was shocked when Nacho told me it was a boy would be an understatement. I would have bet money that we were having another girl and I was thrilled with that idea. What I have learned in the last year though is that I was meant to be the mother to a son. I love all my children equally, but I have to admit in this house, the old saying is true - little girls have their Dad's wrapped around their little fingers while little boys steal their Mother's hearts.

I don't know how an entire year has gone by. How the little baby boy we brought home from the hospital is now a mobile, funny, talking little boy with his own personality. You'd think this, being the 3rd time around I'd be used to it, but I'm not. When I say I feel like his first year went by in the blink of an eye, I mean it. I have never felt time going so quickly. Which is in itself so ironic because at the same time I feel like he's been a part of our family forever.

And now, Jonathan, this is to you. Thank you for being my son. I can not imagine you not being in my life. You are a wonderful baby - happy and patient. You are a great little brother, who loves anything your sisters do to you. Although you do get the back! You love to explore and now that you're mobile you're always checking something out. Yesterday, the day before your first birthday, you took your first steps! And you can crawl faster than any baby I've seen.

You are by the far one of the sweetest babies I have ever met and I don't say that because you are my son. You are willing to give anybody a smile and you seem to sense when somebody needs some lifting up. You like to cuddle, but you are also ok just doing your own thing. You love to laugh and just like the first time you laughed, your sisters still evoke the loudest, most joyful ones.

You first year being over is bittersweet for me. I am so proud of the little boy you are becoming, but I am so sad to see my baby grow up. Although you still need me for most things, I can see you growing more independent each day. And I know that's a good thing. It means we're raising you to believe in yourself. But as your mom, I like to know I'm needed. I look forward to your second year and all that you will do.

Happy 1st Birthday to my sweet, adorable son. You make my life brighter and I am so honored to be your mom.

Date Night

Not with my husband, although that would have been nice....but with my oldest daughter. Between her full day kindergarten schedule, after school activities and well, the fact that she has two younger siblings, one on one time with her has become scarce. And I feel guilty about it. While she loves having 2, count 'em 2, playtimes at school, there is a downside in that she misses so much of what goes in our day.

Today she had a rehearsal for the Nutcracker, so I decided it would be the perfect time for us to go out to dinner just the two of us. And it was so nice. I loved that we got to talk uninterrupted, she loved that I had all the time in the world to color the kids' menu with her. II wish we could do it more often though. She's the only one of the 3, right now, that I don't get one on one time with regularity. With Jack, I get it three mornings a week while the girls at school and with Lexi I get it on the other 2 days while Sam is at school and Jack naps. But Sam? She's just so busy! I try to stay involved as much as I can - volunteering to help out with her school musical, joining the PTA, even helping out in her classroom. But so far all of those have included bringing one, if not both of her siblings along. And she loves showing them off, especially the baby, but I also know she craves the solo attention. I'm just glad there are still opportunities, even if they are few and far between.

Of course, now Lexi has requested a date to have coffee (hot chocolate) with me so I've got to figure out how to squeeze that in. But I'll find the time because I know all too quickly they won't want to be seen with me. For now, I have figured out a way to help out in Lexi's classroom followed by a field trip with Sam for next week, so I guess I'm doing ok.

It Won't Be Like This For Long

This phase is gonna fly by
So baby just hold on
‘Cause it won't be like this for long

(this is an excerpt from the song by Darius Rucker. If you haven't listened to it, do so because there are no truer words spoken about how quickly these are going by.)

Blessed

That is what I am feeling tonight. I am blessed. As the girls stand on chairs at the counter making home-made tortillas with their Dad and as Jack pulls on the power cord to the laptop I am at this very moment typing on. I am blessed.

The girls had ballet today, which is always a long day for me. As I was driving home, I was thinking of what I was going to put as my status update on Facebook, something funny the girls did today. But that will have to wait. Because when I logged on, I read that a friend from high school had passed away. The truth is I can't claim we were close in recent years because we weren't. We hadn't talked since she graduated high school, 2 years before I did, until we reconnected on Facebook when I joined. Good ol' Facebook. But she was one of those people that you never forget. That even though you may not talk, you wonder what is going on in her life. I joined choir my freshman year (yes, I'm proud to be a choir geek) and she was my section leader. She was so welcoming and warm and to a freshmen who was going through a quite a bit of life changes (on top of starting high school) it was great. I will forever be thankful to her for that.

I don't know the circumstances of her death right now. I don't know if it's something she knew might be coming or if it was a complete blind side. What I do know is that in addition to a lot of friends & family, she left behind an adorable little boy - only 4 years old. And that rips my heart out.

While heaven gained an angel, we lost one. A beautiful, vibrant woman with an infectious smile, a great voice and the ability to make even the most self conscious feel worthy. Desiree, where ever you are tonight, know that you are thought of and missed.

Tonight I know I am blessed. I just tucked my children into bed with giant kisses & I love you's. When I am done typing here, I will go spend some time with my husband. I will try to stop stressing about what I don't have and be grateful for what I do have. Yes, tonight I know I am blessed.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

What, you hadn't heard yet? Well apparently, the Christmas Season is free game any time after Halloween. Just ask the people that live near the girls' school who had their outside decorations up the Monday after Halloween. Or the stores who had stuff out way before Halloween. Regardless, it's here and I'm actually kind of excited about it.

Last Wednesday the girls' were out of school for Veterans Day (which Nacho informs me is now called something else, but for the life of me I can't remember what), so I took them to the movies. As we were leaving the mall to meet up with Nacho, Lexi saw Santa's house. And the next thing I knew she was in line, excited she was the first! Except there was one small problem. Santa wasn't actually there yet, so I told her she couldn't see him. She folded her arms across her chest, pouted to the door and muttered "I just can't handle this." I had to explain to her it's because he hadn't arrived yet, but I still think she believes I'm just that mean. She also couldn't figure out why his house was there if she wasn't. Unfortunately I don't have answers for many of her very logical questions.

We were back down by the mall yesterday so I agreed we could go see Santa, having read he had arrived last Thursday. And I have to say, they have it set up really cute. So we did the pictures, which are neither great nor horrible. But around here, we call that success. It was Jack's nap time, so I thought for sure combined with his stranger anxiety would result in a total meltdown. He wasn't happy, but he didn't cry. The girls tried to smile, but I think they were just biding their time until they got their candy canes. They may have told him what they wanted.





Everybody who has seen the 2nd one loves it and I'll admit there is a cuteness factor to it. However, as their mom I can tell the girls have their "are we done with this yet?" smiles plastered on and Jack's actually looking at Santa like "Dude, what are you looking at?".

They do have a really cute feature this year in that Santa's house produces snow (bubbles). So the girls took turns going up to the speaker thing (I know there is a real word for it, but I'm too lazy to look it up) with the instructions to whisper "I wish for snow" into it. Turn the crank and all of a sudden snow comes out. It was beautiful. And the kids loved it.





They were however slightly disappointed that they weren't giving out candy canes this year. Instead it was a book, which I was quite thrilled with. After all, I've still got Halloween candy I'm trying to get rid of!

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Ok, I do have to make my one Grinch-like comment. In the past they've allowed us to take pictures with our own camera as long as we're willing to buy something. Actually in the past I'm not even sure they've made us buy something, but I always feel like I should. And come on, even I know I can take better pictures than the high school kids they hire. So I ask the photographer if it's ok if I do it and he says yes. All of a sudden, Santa, who has my kids sitting all around him, completely breaks character and starts explaining that no I can't, it's the mall's policy and that I should have come the first night which was free picture day or something. YOU ARE SANTA! STAY SANTA! Seriously. Luckily the kids seemed oblivious to the whole exchange but it left a sour note in my mouth. And that makes me sad because this is the same Santa we've seen since Samantha was born! Oh, and when did the pictures get so freakin' expensive?

Oh one more since I'm on a roll - apparently we've gotten so politically correct, that on the bottom of the printed picture we got WITH SANTA it says "Season's Greetings 2009" instead of "Merry Christmas." WTH?

Picture Perfect

Most of the time if I want pictures done and I'm not taking them myself, I load the Team in the car and head to Sears. And overall I've been very happy with the job they've done. We've gotten very lucky sometimes and gotten somebody who wants to think out side the box and gets some really good shots. But more often than not, it's the standard poses with the same backgrounds and after 3 kids, they all start looking the same.

A mom at ballet is a budding photographer and very good if I do say so myself. So this time I decided to do something different. And it was perfect. It was so much fun - the kids laughed and played and ran around and really enjoyed themselves. She made them all feel so comfortable that by the end of our hour, the girls were climbing all over her and Jack was freely leaving my arms to go to her! We did some studio shots inside her house, but most of them were done outside in a park and I am so excited to see them. I know they'll turn out great!

See, I'm so confident in her work because she's actually has taken Jack's picture before - as a test shot outside the ballet studio. It turned out so well, it's now hanging in her studio and is on her promotional material. Not even a year old and already a model!

My Heartfelt Gratitude

I'd like to take a moment to thank my children, from the bottom of my heart, for all the little things they do to make my life just a tad bit easier.

So first - Samantha, thank you so much for using the last of the toilet paper in my bathroom this morning. And thank you for not telling me, allowing me to discover for myself when I actually had to go.

And speaking of the bathroom, Alexandra, my sweet Lu - thank you for waiting until I had your brother and sister loaded into the car this morning to inform me you had to use the bathroom. Despite the fact that we were already running late and that I had already asked you a half dozen times before we stepped foot into the garage.

Running late - that brings me to Jonathan. My baby. Thank you so much for choosing today to learn to pry the top off your sippy cup. And then proceeding to dump the entire cup of water on yourself. 30 seconds before we had to pick up Samantha from school.

Thank you to all my children for helping me out today. Because you know it's the little things. But hey, life sure would be boring without them, wouldn't it?

Monday Morning

I love Monday mornings. I know,that's odd right? But as a stay at home mom, it's my chance to regroup and get things back in order.

If you stopped by here on any given Sunday night, I probably wouldn't let you in my house. There are toys scattered all over the family room floor, dishes sit rinsed but not washed in the sink, laundry isn't done, beds may or may not be made. What you would find however is a family having fun and not worrying about the small stuff. And I wouldn't change any of that.

So I don't try anymore. I've realized that's what Mondays are for. Sure, we don't get to sleep in, but with kids I don't get to that any of the time. But the girls go off to school, Nacho goes off to work, Jack naps and I have time to put order back into my house. I don't deal well with clutter or mess and it can honestly cause me to feel overwhelmed. But with 3 small children and a husband who isn't bothered by it, I've got to figure out how to deal with it. And so I do.

So come Monday lunchtime, you'd be welcome into my house with open arms!

Moments Like This

I get asked more often than one would think how I do it all. And I never know how to answer it. I don't feel like what I'm doing is that hard. Maybe it's because each and every one of our children were planned, so we had already planned for the changes a new one would bring. Maybe it's because our children are just that easy. Maybe it's because I've found what I've always wanted to be - a mother to these beautiful children and wife to my life partner. Probably all of that combined.

But regardless of all of that, there are still days that are hard. That I question what I could have possibly been thinking. When I question my sanity in even considering the possibility of one more baby. When my children spend more time in time out then they do out of it. When the girls are fighting, the baby is crying and I have no idea what we're having for dinner even though it's 5pm.

And then that moment comes. That moment where it all falls into place and I'm reminded why I do this. Why it's all worth it. The moments that melt my heart over and over again. And it's even more amazing when it comes in a form you never expected. Which is exactly what happened last night.


When my 4 year old quietly walked up to me and whispered in my ear, asking if she could please feed the baby. And then snuggled him like there is no place she's rather be. It honestly brings tears to my eyes.

Here are some more of those moments....

A Day Late & A Dollar Short

I realized I promised to talk about what we did for Halloween, but frankly I just don't feel like it. Probably because I could barely get the kids in from trick-or-treating before being bombarded with Christmas stuff. I love Christmas, but even I find it to be a bit much. Driving home the other day, after school drop off, I saw a house with Christmas decorations on the front lawn. Seriously! And downtown is already putting it's wreaths & banners up. So anyways, Halloween is now a distant memory for me.

And now, I'll be an even more awesome blogger and do this post bullet point style. Because I aim to please.

* Halloween - fun! We took the kids to a Halloween festival at the local Baptist church. And no, we're not Baptist and I'll be honest, I was a bit nervous about that. But it was awesome. They put on a great day, complete with kids' carnival, candy apples, face painting, cake walk, hot dog dinner and the ultimate trunk-or-treat. 65 cars in 20 minutes and the kids' basket were over-runneth (like the word I just made up) with candy. We did take them trick-or-treating around here with our neighbors and my best friend and they had yet another bucket full of candy each. So my great plan to not buy chocolate to hand out has completely back fired because our neighbors buy awesome candy and I now have a houseful of Reese's cups I'm trying desperately not to eat.



Only downside to the night was when we got 4 teenage girl TOTs at 10pm AFTER our lights were off. I answered the door and let my old lady come out as I explained how rude it was of them and that we had babies asleep and didn't they realize our light was off. They all look up and say "oh". Really??

* Jack - So sweet. Just turned 11 months old yesterday, which means we're in the final countdown to his 1st birthday. I just can't believe it. He is pulling up to standing on everything and is starting to cruise. My guess is he'll walking around his birthday. He is as happy as ever!



*Lexi - loving being 4. However already counting down to when she turns 5. Has learned to spell & write her name. Really enjoying school & ballet. Sassy & testing my patience every day. But is starting to show an amazingly sweet side to her.



Sam - just started bringing home books from school to read to us. BECAUSE SHE CAN READ!! I am so proud of her. We butt heads the most, probably because our personalities are so much alike, but we also share a bond unlike any other. That isn't to say I love her more than the other two, but very, very differently. She is thriving in school...and ballet...and looking forward to whatever else I might be nice enough to sign her up for.




So that is what's going on with us. Gearing for the holidays and birthdays and anything else that might come our way.

Happy Halloween

Pictures and story about our day will come soon, I promise. But for now, here is a big shout from Team Lua!

Halloweens of Yesterday

As we get ready to celebrate Jack's first Halloween, I think it's time to take a walk down memory lane. And of course by that, I mean only as far as my first baby's first Halloween ;)



2004 celebrated Samantha's first Halloween. There was nothing more suiting to my little angel than to be angel. We went to my mom's this year, where Sam helped hand out candy to all the trick-or-treaters, which she LOVED. And knowing her Dad well, she hid all the peanut M&Ms under the skirt of her costume.





2005 brought us Halloween in the form a princess and very new, days old little pumpkin. Although, Lexi has now informed me that dressing her in pumpkin pajamas, despite the matchin hat, does NOT constitute a costume. This year we went out trick-or-treating with our friends Megan and Rick and their beautiful daughters Carly & Lydia.



2006 brought the first of what is sure to be many years of Disney Princesses. This year we had a Snow White & Cinderella. It was also the first year we did Boo at the Zoo...and we were lucky enough to be joined by our friend Karen and her daughters Elizabeth & Abigail. This also was the first year in our new house, so we went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood for the very first time.



2007 was our 2nd year doing Boo at the Zoo and materialized a Dorothy and Glinda the Good Witch (which yes, is the recycled princess costume from Sam's 2nd Halloween). By this time the girls were pros at the trick-or-treating stuff, but were still too little to make it much further than the block. Good thing our neighbors love them and always fill their buckets!



2008 was a hard Halloween for us. After attending the girls' first ever school parade, I got a phone call that my grandmother was unresponsive in the emergency room. After much debate back and forth (and MUCH understanding from the girls), Nacho and I finally decided that I needed to be with my grandmother. It was heartbreaking for me to leave the girls, but I also knew I'd never forgive myself if I missed the opporunity to say goodbye. Oh and did I mention I was 8.5 months pregnant? Nacho took the girls trick-or-treating and they seem to have had fun. And the best news, my grandmother is now fine. Well, not fine fine, but not at the point of needing to say goodbye.


So that brings us to this year.....2009.....and my baby's 1st Halloween. You'll have to check back tomorrow to see a picture of them all dressed up and to find out what we did. That is if you care. But I can promise it will be great, since I feel like I have a lot of making up to do for last year.

Nothing Like Last Minute

About a week ago, I emailed Sam's room parent wondering whether they were going to have a Halloween party. Earlier this week, she let me know that yes, there was going to be one, but that she was just going to ask the first 5 parents on her list to bring things and she'd hit the rest of us during the course of the year. No problem.

This morning at drop off, she tells me that there is one mom she's been emailing, calling, etc who hasn't gotten back to her and could I please bring the fruit. Of course I said yes. Which, since I have a baby who's feeling under the weather, meant I called Nacho and told him to pick up some fruit.

Fast-forward to 6:30 tonight. As I am a)making dinner, b) cutting up fruit and veggies for the party tomorrow c)making cupcakes for Nacho's work and d) trying to entertain 3 kids (ok and e) probably snapping at Nacho because I.JUST.NEED.SOME.HELP), the phone rings. It's our room mom and apparently the other mom just got back to her and of course is bringing the fruit. Now, I don't blame our room mom at all. She's got a thankless job and I know I wouldn't want to be the one trying to organize all of this. And if she weren't the one doing it, I would have been the one to sign up and I just don't have the time for it this year. Or the patience.

Guess those kids will be eating LOTS of fruit tomorrow.

Culture & History

Yesterday I got to spend the day at a grown up. After brunch with my crew, I headed off into the world of adults. It was amazing. My grandparents had two extra tickets to the San Francisco Opera and invited my mom and I to come along. I've only been to the opera once before, as a teenager, when even as a music lover, I didn't fully appreciate it. I'm still not an opera lover, but the one I saw yesterday - "The Daughter of the Regiment" was wonderful. It was funny. And clever. And had one of the most amazing singers I've ever heard - Juan Diego Florez.

Not bad on the eyes either, right? But this man hit 6 - count 'em SIX high C's in one song. Amazing I tell you! And we had perfect seats.

As we were driving home, my grandfather asked my mom (who was driving) if it would be ok if we drove through the Presidio. My grandfather retired as the Commander of the Presidio, and my mom spent a lot of her teen years living there on post and he wanted to show me the house they lived in. I had seen it as we would drive by the Presidio on the way to the airport and it sort of had become a joke - "there is the house" as we would drive by at 60mph (or whatever the speed limit actually is there). But this would give me the first chance to see it up close and personal. I have to say the Presidio is beautiful. The best view of the Golden Gate ever. And now that it is no longer a working Army base and instead a National Park, people are free to go in there. Anyways, my grandfather showed me where his office was, where command was, where the Commanding General lived, where he lived, where the golf course is (which I found was very important to him!). My mom showed me where she hung out - sometimes to the suprise of my grandfather! Although not an active base anymore, they have converted barracks and officers' quaters to apartments and houses, so people still live there. As a matter of fact, my grandfather told me that their old house has been occupied continously since they left.

I don't think I have what it takes to be an Army wife (and kuddos to those who do!), but I could feel the sense of community and comradre there, even though it's not a post anymore. I would love to be part of community like that.

I don't know why we've never driven through the Presidio before. It's such a nicer way to get from the city to the Golden Gate and it's so interesting. Maybe someday soon I'll take Nacho & the chicklets and we can explore it some more. Especially now they've opened the Walt Disney Family Museum there!

Disney Princess vs. Raider Nation

Interesting match up? We thought so too. But that what it was when we took the kids to see Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes on Sunday to celebrate Lu's 4th birthday. And I should take the time to mention now that I am a horrible mother for not giving her birthday due recognition here with its own post. She did however have an entire weekend that was all about her, so I hope make up some points there.


Back to the match up. Disney on Ice was held at Oracle Arena at 10:30. The Raiders had a home game RIGHT.NEXT.DOOR at 1pm. And by right next door, I mean they share a parking lot. And if you know nothing else about Raiders fans, it's that they take football seriously. Which means the parking lot opened up at 8am for people to start tailgaiting. And tailgate they did. They were nice enough to open up a back parking lot for the Disney people and bus us in to the front of the arena, but apparently decided getting us back after the show wasn't quite as important. And who knew people liked to pay the parking fee to tailgate and not actually go into the game. Because when we came out they were still tailgaiting, even though kick off had been 30 min. before. So we got to walk our beautiful, sweet, innocent children through the Raider Nation. People this is the kind of stuff I'm talking about:



(in an effort of full disclosure, we didn't actually see anybody who looked like this. Well only one. But I know that they were around)

I'm sure they're very nice people, but frankly they scare me. They were playing the Eagles and I thought about a shout for my friend Christy, but then I remembered I was SCARED!

Anyways, the show was great. I was actually surprised at the quality of it. But I do have to admit, listening to all the music made me want to be back in Disneyland. But really, is there ever a time I don't want to be there?



And I was very proud of my husband, who despite being so close to his team (he's a non-scary Raiders fan), didn't try to escape the Disney Princesses once. That I know of. After waiting 30 minutes to get out of the parking lot after the show, we turned on the Raiders game on the radio. And much to our chagrin they were winning. WHAT?? The Raiders winning. They almost never do that. And much less against the Eagles. We got home in time for the second half, except of course it wasn't televised. Because the Raiders are normally so bad that if they don't sell out a home game, they aren't on TV. But hey, they actually won this one!

And for the record, I am a born & bred true 49ers faithful.

Come and Knock on Our Door

We've been waititng for you.....

We're constantly being told by people, mostly family, they the don't see the kids enough. Yet they ALWAYS expect us to bring the kids to them. It would seem to me, that if they feel they aren't seeing the kids enough that they would make the trip to us. But they don't. They'd rather call and complain. And the excuse I just can not wrap my head around is that we live too far away. Umm, do they not understand that the distance from them to us is the same exact distance from us to them? So why is it not too far for us to drive? And hello, we're the ones with the 3 kids. Yes our decision to have them, but it's far harder for us to pack them all up to go somewhere.

And it's not like we hibernate in our house all the time. We go the family events and birthday parties. And I like to feel we go a lot to just hang out. And if people don't want to come hang out here, that's fine. But then I want them to realize that they are making a choice not to see the kids. So quit complaining about it.

Table Foods

Jack is really getting the hang of table foods. For dinner tonight he had sweet potato fries, cinnamon rolls, pumpkin spice bread & Activia vanilla yogurt. In other words - a dinner consisting of Costco samples.

I'm expecting my mother of the year award in the mail any day now.

Fall Fun

We have a local pumpkin patch that is in a state park and it's only open two weekends a year. One of those weekends always falls on Lu's birthday, which is next weekend, so this weekend was it! It's a great pumpkin patch with crafts for the kids, food, hay rides....and of course pumpkins!

We think Jack may be allergic to hay. Or just plain tired of me trying to get that ever allusive group shot. Because this is what he did EVERY. SINGLE. TIME we put him on the hay stacks.















And y'all thought he never cried ;) Truthfully, I think it was the hay because anytime he was around it his nose turned bright red and his eyes started to water.

He did have some fun times though!












































I never did get that "great" group picture I was after. This is the best we got.















You can see the irritation they have with me in their eyes. Is it my fault they can't all look at the camera AND smile? I think not. And I warned them that I would keep taking the picture until the cooperated. But after about 15 even I gave up.

We did get a nice family picture though
















After the pumpkin patch we headed to Six Flags again. We have season passes, so we've sort of been going when we feel like it, which makes it nice because there is no stress to get everything done. This time of year is also a lot of fun because they have it decorated for Halloween & they have a trick or treat trail for the kids. I'm looking forward to how they decorate it for Christmas. It won't be Disneyland, but it will still be fun.





























And we apparently did all of this at the right time because our weather reports are showing that we're getting hit by a big storm tomorrow, which is supposed to dump rain and bring winds in excess of 60mph to our area. Yeah, I know some other parts of the country are already dealing with snow, but this is California and for us this is BIG!

Heartbreaking

Yesterday was a day full of family fun for Team Lua. A trip to the pumpkin patch followed by an afternoon at Six Flags. I had planned on posting about that today....and I will, but right now I've got something else on my mind.

While we were at the pumpkin patch, I ran into an old friend. I guess friend is the right word....although recently we had drifted apart. We started as best friends in Jr. High, grew apart in high school, but rediscovered our friendship when we shared a class our 2nd year of college. I was with her when she did her final fitting for her wedding dress. She was one of the first to know I was expecting Samantha. We had children, her 1st & my 2nd, a month apart. Circumstances required her to return to full time work, so that added to real estate she had started doing kept her busy. And understandably, the free time she did have she wanted to spend with her husband and son. So in the past few years our friendship has been a few emails here and there, Christmas cards, etc.

We ran into her & her husband a few months ago in Target and found they were expecting again...a baby boy due right around Lexi's birthday. Yesterday I saw her at the pumpkin patch - holding a baby boy, too old to be her's, but not visably pregnant anymore. The baby boy is her nephew. And she told me the heartbreaking news that they had lost their son in her 31st week of pregnancy. For those who haven't recently been pregnant, that is 6 weeks away from term and 9 weeks away from her due date. Apparently he just stopped moving and the autopsy they performed didn't give them any more information. He was born in the middle of August. Two months ago. How I wish I could have been a support to her then, instead of finding out over two months later. All I can do now is offer my support now. After hearing the news yesterday, I thought about where I was at 31 weeks pregnant. Nurseries ready, gearing up for baby showers, looking forward to delivery day which didn't seem that far off. My heart breaks for them. For their baby boy.

Awkward

I mentioned in my last post that a mom of a classmate of Sam's stopped me today. Our conversation went as follows.

Other mom: my son is having a Halloween party a week from Saturday and really would like for Cassie to come.

Me: That's really nice. Except mine is Sam.

OM: *blank stare*


OM: What? Really?

Me: Yep.

OM: Well then, who's Cassie?

Me: She's got the curly hair

OM: Yeah. You sure she's not yours?

Me: Pretty sure.

OM: Oh, well maybe he wants Samantha there too. I don't know exactly what his plans are. He's got the invites with him.

Me: Oh, what is the policy of handing out invites at school. You know, when the whole class isn't invited? (I actually want to know for when Sam needs to do it)

OM: Oh, I don't really know. If we had been on time today I would have asked the teacher.


Really, the kids have been in school for 2 months now and we see eachother EVERY morning. We've even parked in front of her house some mornings. And she doesn't know which child is mine?

It doesn't really matter because Lexi's 4th birthday party is that day, so she couldn't go anyways. But I really, really don't want to see my baby girl come home with hurt feelings because she wasn't invited. Not that seeing the mom this morning would have changed that, but to know she doesn't even know which kids she's inviting to her house. Not encouraging.

Feels Like A Monday

But after I checked the calendar, it really is a Friday, so I guess that's good. But this day needs to turn around. And quick.

I didn't sleep well last night. I don't know why but I hate nights where I toss & turn. And I think I fell into a deep sleep about 10 minutes before the alarm went off. Because that's the way it always works, right?

Then I woke up to the news that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Umm, what??? I'm not normally one to get into political discussions on public boards, blogs - even my own - but this I can't let pass by without comment. What has he possibly done to deserve this award? Especially given than nominations were due in early February, meaning he hadn't even served a full month of his term. I hope the board or whoever hands these out realizes they just made this "honor" on par with any of the entertainment awards. It no longer means anything.

I do have to say, that is refreshing to see the attitude change on Facebook since election day, which everybody knows is the measure of everything. There are a handful of people who are happy by this news, but the majority are walking around like me - saying WTF?

Off my soapbox now and back to reality -which is that I had it so together this morning, that I left my purse at home on the school run this morning. The kids told me not to worry - if I would just stay under the speed limit, I'd be fine ;)

However, by the time we got to school, I was seriously considering selling my kids to gypsies. No alarmists please - I haven't Google.d how to go about that....yet.

Then as I was leaving the school a mom stopped me and even though we see eachother every day and our kids are in the same class, she thought I was the mother to another child. I know Sam likes to act like she doesn't know me when we get to school, but she does acknowledge me enough to say goodbye. Most days.

But now, the baby is napping, the girls at school and I have one glorious hour left to myself. Think it's time to catch up on Grey's.

Run For Our Money

In our experience, easy babies = hell on wheels as toddlers. Samantha was our "hardest" baby, if you could even call her that. I'm sure other parents would laugh at us because in all honestly, she was easy. But in comparison to her sister & brother, she was our hardest. Alexandra was easy. So easy. Unbelievably easy. To the point where I was scared to have another because I was confident we had used up all our good baby genes. And then she got mobile. While she was sweet as ever, she was into everything. Climbing on furniture, jumping off the couch. I even found her standing on the dishwasher door when I stepped away in the middle of loading it.

And now we have Jack. Seriously the EASIEST baby ever. Always happy, always smiling. Even when he's sick and/or teething, he's still happy. How we got so lucky with amazing babies, I'll never know. He's been truly mobile for a little over a week now (he was rolling for a month before that though). In that time he has learned to crawl, get up onto his knees, pull up to standing and get into a sitting position. He loves everything about it. Also, in that time he has managed to...

Get his hand stuck in the VCR - and pull the VCR off the shelf trying to free himself.

(I actually freed him before taking the picture)

He has found computer equipment his father was sure he had hidden well enough to not be played with

He pulls the receiver off the shelf daily.

He's pulled the fireplace door off it's hinges. It had already been tied shut at the top because Lexi was famous for pulling on the doors to. Luckily, the door didn't break.


He is nothing if not helpful though! He climbed over Nacho to "help" take the handles off the fireplace doors.


Obviously, we need to take another look at our baby proofing technique. Because I'm sure he'll manage to find more to get into than his sisters did. However, it was Samantha who managed to figure out how to open the cabinets in 30 seconds after Nacho and I spent all day installing those under the cabinet locks. So who knows?!

Have you ever seen somebody so proud of what he can do?