G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S

My Glamour Girl

So I blew it yesterday with my daughter. I signed her up for a gymnatics class on Tuesdays at 10am. Well, yesterday I don't know what I was thinking but I was thinking her class was at 10:30 and showed up just as the class was ending. Needless to say, she was absolutely devastated. So in order to calm her down I promised I would take her up to Paint A Dream so she could paint some dishes. She liked that idea so we headed up to the mall (after a stop at Target) and painted. She loves to paint and so this was completely cathartic for her.

After the painting, she wanted to go walk the mall and - get this- "look at jewelry." I kid you not that's what she said. In fact her exact words were, "Mom. Let's got look at jewelry." as she took my hand and led me to Ben Bridge. Well, we had walked through Ben Bridge before and she liked the sparkly glitter, but wasn't completely thrilled so I said, "You want to look at jewelry? I've got the perfect place for you." And took her over to Claire's Boutique.

We walked through the door and I swear she had died and gone to heaven. She gasped and said, "Mom! Look!" and ran over to the wall covered with colorful costume jewelry. She proceeded to pick out her favorites and put it on. Oh My Gosh!!! It was so adorable!!! I couldn't believe how thrilled she was with everything. She was so excited that as I took her through the store she would give me big hugs and twirl every so often. She even broke out a "You're the best mom ever!" and gave me big hugs. Mmmmmm..... it was wonderful. I ended up just sitting on the floor and watched her indulge herself. It was priceless.

My Husband Is A Stud

My husband was actually home for date night tonight. Our usual date nights consist of dinner and a movie and tonight wasn't any different now that we actually have some movies to choose from. Anyway, our original plan was to see "Lakeview Terrace" with Samuel Jackson as the bad cop/neighbor. But it turned out that we got our dates mixed up and realized the movie doesn't come out until next weekend. So I suggested seeing "The Women" and since Mike couldn't remember the last chick flick we had seen together, he conceded. I really didn't mean to torture him. Afterall, date night is meant for both of us not just one or the other, but it turns out it was a bit of a torture...



When we walked into the theater it was filled with women. I'm not kidding there was not one other man there. As we're walking up the stairs to our usual spot some woman in the back yells out, "Look! There's a man!" a small applaud broke through the theater. I couldn't help but raise my arms and shake them as if I had a won a victory. Then another woman says, "That's a good man!" Yeah. I was proud.



As we were waiting for the movie to start I kept looking for other couples to walk in but not a one came in. I truly felt bad for my husband. But he took it like a man.



At the end of the movie we waited for everyone to leave and noticed that there was one other man there. So, it turned out that Mike wasn't the ONLY man in a theater of about 150 women. Although, I have to say that my husband was definately the more studly of the two.



As for my dad....
I heard from my sister that my dad had an angioplasty and had some plaque build up cleared out of one of his arteries. Apparently he knew what had brought on the attack and was able to get to the hospital before it turned into a major attack. It wasn't as serious as I was expecting so that's good. Thank you all for your concern and support. It's so nice to know that I'm not alone in this! Love you all!

Heart Attack

My father had a heart attack this morning. I was on the way back from dropping Robert off at school and I get the phone call. My sister, Maria, in Oregon called me. My mom called her.

Maria said that he had felt it coming on and asked to be driven to the hospital. That's so like my dad. He got thrown off a horse years ago and suffered with amnesia from the accident. He couldn't remember his wife or his children but knew that he had amnesia from his own symptoms and called the ER and told them what they needed to do once he got there.

I don't know anything right now other than they are keeping him over night for testing. They want to know how bad it was, where it originated and what damage, if any, there is.

Wierd. My dad shouldn't be having a heart attack. He still goes to the gym for heaven sakes. He takes all the right precautions and he takes care of himself over all. I figure his body is just getting tired.

I have peace that all is going to be okay and yet I'm scared.....

What Were You Doing?

I was reading my friend Lori's blog on what she was doing the day the World Trade Center came down and it got me thinking about what I was doing....

I had just gotten up and was getting ready for work (no kids at the time). I turn on the TV to the Today show and hear Matt Lauer talking about a plane flying into the one of the towers of the World Trade Center. At this point, nobody thought this was an attack. I was kinda half way interested and was more interested in what I was going to wear for the day. Suddenly I hear Matt Lauer say, "Oh My God! We're under attack!" (I'll never forget those words). I looked up just in time to see the 2nd plane hit the 2nd tower.... That's when all hell broke loose.

Everything from this point forward was a blur. The phone rang (no cell phone then). It was Mike telling me not to ask questions that our country was under attack and to just get to the office as soon as possible. He would be there shortly (he was on the way to the court house downtown LA when he heard the news). While he's talking I'm watching the towers crumble to the ground and all the people on TV running around in hysterics. It was like everything was moving in slow motion and I'm listening to my husband giving me instructions with my jaw dropped. I had to sit down.

I did as I was told. And as I was driving to the office my heart was pounding so fast and so hard and all I could think of was, "Is my husband going to have to go to war?" Even though he was no longer in the Air Force I couldn't help think that he was going to be asked to come back for this. I WAS SCARED TO DEATH.

That's all I can remember. Probably because I was consumed with, "Is my husband going to war? Is my husband going to war?" Even though he assured me over and over and over again that he wasn't going to be asked back that it didn't work that way.

Then I heard about the airplanes that had been hijacked and the pentagon being hit. I was sick to my stomach and my heart broke. I actually cried when I heard about the plane that went down over Pennsylvania and the heroic acts of the passengers that brought the plane down. I still tear up when I think about that one. They knew they were going to die, but had to do it anyway -- Totally something my husband would do.

Seven years later....My heart still aches and the tears still come. I'm sadden when I hear about those who don't fully understand the magnitude of that day and how it changed our lives forever. And yet, the fight for freedom still continues.....

On a lighter note, I'd like to give a shout out to my two girlfriends, Julianna and Pam (Julianna's birthday was yesterday. Pam's is today)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRLS!

My Little Elf

Lately Carly has been taking her pink tights and putting it on her head like a hat. She thinks it's funny and so do I. I tell her she looks like one of Santa's little elves with her "stocking cap" on. She is so cute!

Saturday

We had a great Saturday.

Mike was called away so it was just me and the kids. The morning was so nice and peaceful. The kids were content just hanging out in their rooms doing whatever so I took the opportunity to finish up my Prop 8 phone calls. I was so proud of myself 'cuz I finished them all in an hour and a 1/2. Yeah! Robert did his homework and then we took the dogs to the beach. I heard there was an off leash dog beach up in Santa Barbara so I thought it would be fun to take a road trip up there.

We made it to Santa Barbara, but I don't know what happened because the place we ended up was just an off leash nature reserve which was no big deal and it wasn't enclosed so I was constantly stressed about losing one of the dogs. However, we found a little gully that Carly got stuck in. Here's what she looked like when we came out of there:

I couldn't help but laugh.

Since the Santa Barbara Off Leash Beach was a bust we headed back home. We hit McDonald's on the way back and for the first time in about 20 years I had a Big Mac. I don't know what I was thinking but I was craving something fat and sloppy. And it was disgusting. I won't do that again.

On the way back we stopped at a private beach just outside of Ventura and had a blast. Robert was able to play in the water:

Carly played in the sand:

And the doggies had a blast:

We had a great time. After a while we headed back home. All in all it was a lot of fun. I really love hanging out with the kids. They make me laugh and I just love every moment with them.

Always making memories.......

The Truth Is In The Trees

Could it be? Already? Isn't it a little early for fall here in California? I mean, doesn't it really turn fall around late October or even November around here?

Well. Check out what I saw in the trees this morning.....

Maybe I'm just in denial, but I swear it's too early for this. Fall leaves???? Really????? It's only September and, the truth be said, I still have to go to the beach some more!

Carly's Masterpiece

Beautiful isn't it?

Close Up

ARRRRGH!!!!!

First Day of Kindergarten

It wasn't so bad. Robert woke up early, got dressed, did his hair and was ready to go by 6:30 AM! Crazy kid. Of course, I wasn't even near ready, but managed to roll out of bed by 7 and get a few things done like get dress, make the beds and eat breakfast (Robert, of course, had already eaten breakfast). We did manage to get in scripture study before leaving by 8. So all and all the first day of having a schedule went pretty good.

We stopped by the office to pick up Mike so he could be a part of this momentus occasion and headed off to school. Robert was too pre-occupied to think about anything else. He didn't want to talk about anything because he was too jacked up to get to school.

Once we got there we headed straight to class and he immediately sat down with a group of boys who were playing some kind of flashcard game. My son. Not a shy bone in his body. We were able to snap a couple of pics before he shooed me off. But then that was that. I was expecting a little more emotion, but nothing. He just couldn't wait to get me out of there. I did manage to sneak in a kiss and a "Remember who you are" but I don't think he noticed any of it. Although, his eagerness certainly did make the transition go easier so it wasn't as hard as I expected. However, I have to say that it sure is quiet around here without him.

Summer's Over

It's official. Summer is over. Robert starts school tomorrow. I'm really sad . We have had so much fun this summer and now it's over. But Robert is so excited! He's so excited to be staying the whole day with his friends and to learn how to read and write. And because he's so excited I can't help but be excited for him (allbeit, reluctantly). I'm just going to miss him.

I asked Robert what his favorite part of the summer was and he said, "Hanging out at the beach with the boys."

I don't blame him. It's been a blast!!!!