New Year

 Happy New Year! 

Today I am hanging with my favorite (and only) grandson while his parents move into their new house. Shout out to Donvan and his family for making this happen for them. They finally have a place for their little family to call home. 

We had breakfast and watched Encanto. Charlie and Rowan both love this movie. As does Michelle, but she was helping Carolynn clean and pack.

For Christmas, Carolynn got me this great cookbook. 

The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook

I love it. Today I decided to try out a recipe from it. I made clam chowder from New Orleans Square in Disneyland park. I even served it in a bread bowl. We listed to the sounds of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride while we made it. Rowan sang "Yo Ho, Yo Ho!" It was easy to make and fun. And most importantly delicious. 

#Thankskoda

Carolynn got a dog. It is a husky and german shepherd mix. I am not a fan. Carolynn told me she was going to take care of this dog. But she works and goes to school. And Koda does crazy stuff. So we created a hash tag just for her.

#thankskoda

Koda ate one of my plants. Thanks Koda.

Koda pees everywhere. Thanks Koda.

Koda eats all the plastic ware. Thanks Koda.

I tried to let Koda in but she peed all over the threshold and on my foot. I needed clean socks. Thanks Koda.

Koda some how managed to get on the table but can't seem to figure out how to get off. Now I have to go outside in the freezing cold to rescue her. Thanks Koda.

I forgot what this herb is, because the sign is missing/eaten. Thanks Koda.

Koda just licked me up the nose. Thanks Koda.

We found Koda's collar... She ate it. Thanks Koda.

(FYI... She also ate Drizella's collar some how.)

I was trying to take a picture. Thanks Koda.

Thanks Koda. Thanks Carolynn.

Dogs...

My Little Chef

My little Carolynn has been quite the chef lately.

One night, while I was at work she made some kind of carrot curry soup. I didn't try it. I was at work.

On another night, while David and I were at Disneyland with Michelle, she made, for her and Catherine, some kind of barbecued portabello quessadillas. They looked yummy. She was going to save me one, but she missed.

Then she made this fabulous Orecchiette Pasta with Chicken in a Creamy Rosemary Lemon Sauce.

She used twice as much chicken as it called for and she put in all the rosemary at once.

It was delicious. There were no leftovers. We are making it again.

Hopefully we can get some more of her fabulous cooking around here.

Hint, hint...

A New Year

6 years ago I started a new job that would forever change the ideas I had of what I was going to do with my life. I was excited to begin and learn. Excited about the opportunities it was bringing to my family.

6 years can really change things.

I still have the same job. I no longer am excited. I am usually frustrated by the whole thing. I used to care about my coworkers and now I find a lot of them are no better than inmates themselves. I don’t see good in people. I see inmates.

Not too long ago, I decided to go ahead and try and remove that awful negative part of my existence. Nope, I am not going to get a new job. This one does still provide for my family and provides a lot of great benefits. I just am choosing to not focus on my work.

It made me laugh, because it made me think of it like a call girl and “you are just a paycheck to me”.

It’s just a paycheck.

This is not my life; this is how I pay for my life.

And truthfully, I have a pretty awesome life.

Wordless Wednesday

Carolynn's 18th Birthday
April 21, 2014
Apple Valley, California

Class of 2014

I am pretty sure she was just born. I clearly recall changing her diapers. There is no way I have gotten that old.

But my baby graduated high school.

Yep.

It doesn’t even seem possible.

But there she is.

They held her graduation at Maverick’s stadium. They didn’t drag it out with a lot of long speeches and stuff.

And before you knew…

A high school graduate.

We took her out to dinner at the only place still open that late… Denny’s.

She is already enrolled in college.

Look out world. Here she comes.

Disney Graduate

Ever since Carolynn entered high school, all she could talk about was how she couldn’t wait for Grad Night at Disneyland. For those of you unfamiliar with this, Grad Night is an overnight trip to Disneyland complete with rides and food and no tourists.

When I was a kid, Disneyland was the only place you could do Grad Night. Now Six Flags offers a similar thing.

Carolynn’s school opted for Six Flags. It was cheaper.

She was quite disappointed. She had really wanted to go to Disneyland. After all, it is the Happiest Place on Earth. And we really are quite the Disney family. So, for Carolynn’s graduation, we got annual passports and we went to Disneyland.

Carolynn brought her boyfriend Josh. So we didn’t see her much.

She found us so she could eat. We ate at the Rainforest Café. David bought her an official Disneyland graduation hat. She wore it at her real graduation. She and Josh got official Disneyland buttons for graduates. She had a great time.

And since we got annual passes… We are already looking forward to our next Disney adventure.

Days Of Wine And Bacon

They say you shouldn't cook with a wine you won’t drink. I don’t drink wine. So where does that leave me? Buying the cheapest wine I find, that is where.

I found this pork chop recipe a few months ago and it has been a hit around here. Pintrest… is there anything it can’t do?

It calls for white wine.

I was going to make it a few weeks ago and I was out of white wine. Around the same time, Carolynn wanted me to make her and Michelle’s favorite, bacon fried rice. We were also out of bacon. So I ask David to pick up those two items on his way home one day.

He picks up the girls from school and heads over to the Winco. He picks up a $2.97 bottle of white wine and a pound of bacon. Quite the combo; Less than $6 purchase.

He takes it up and the cashier won’t ring it up for him. He shows his ID. Okay, he looks young. Good for him. But he has his ID so no big deal… Or so you would think.

But the checker won’t sell him the wine. She insinuates that David is buying this wine to give to Carolynn and Catherine who are with him. Because they are under aged and he looks like the kind of guy who buys $2.97 bottles of wine for minors. Or so he can get them drunk and take advantage of them. Whatever.

The manager is called and basically tells him the same thing. He tries telling them that they are his kids but no one is buying that. We just cook with it. They aren’t buying that either. They eventually let him make his purchase, after making him feel like a creepy child predator first.

I know a lot of dumb criminals.

But in this case…

If you are planning on buying alcohol for minors, why would you bring them with you? Why would you make the purchase in broad daylight at a large market? And why would you buy a cheap bottle of white wine? And why would you need bacon?

Bacon…

Sick

Everyone got sick.

Catherine had it. She was in her room coughing and sniffling and falling asleep at 2:00 in the afternoon.

David had it. He was in bed coughing and blowing his nose feeling miserable for days.

I had it. Coughing for days. Endless tissues. Nyquil to the rescue.

Michelle had it. Snot running down her face, humidifier in her room constantly. Lots of wiping. Lots of naps. Lots of cuddles.

Somehow though, Carolynn is fine.

I want her immunity.

Wordless Wednesday

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Shaver Lake, California
January 1, 2013

That's What Big Sisters Are For

Last night when I was getting ready for work, David was sick. He had been sick all day. But when David is sick, he also goes into denial. He was coughing and had a sore throat and just felt like crap. But he was fine.

So I get him some Nyquil, some vitamin C and some throat drops. He doesn't take any of it. He is fine.

But he is avoiding the baby.

But he is not sick.

Finally, he admits it and I try and get him to take some medicine. But he still won't. He is afraid he won't hear the baby a night if he takes the medicine.

Carolynn is drafted to take care of the baby at night. David sleeps on the couch and Carolynn goes and sleeps in my bed with the baby in the bassinet next to her. I went off to work. Carolynn could handle it.

According to Carolynn's report....

The baby woke up around 3:00AM. Carolynn got up and fixed her a bottle and fed her. Then she tucked her back in.

Around 4:00AM, she heard a lot of diaper related sounds coming from the baby's bed. So she got up and found the baby was exploded. So off to the baby's room for a change of diaper and some fresh jammies. Then tuck in time again.

Of course, Michelle had other plans and spent some time playing a fun game of “Spit The Binky”. Michelle spits her binky out then starts fussing, and when Carolynn looked in at her, she smiled and giggled. Carolynn gave her back her binky. Then repeat. Again. And again.

Finally she was out.

Until about 7:00AM. That is when Michelle woke up. And was ready to go. So Carolynn got up and got her changed and turned on some cartoons.

When I got home, I found them both in Michelle's room. Disney Jr. was on TV. The baby was asleep in her chair. And Carolynn was passed out on the floor.

Irony

So it's Labor Day.

I am not laboring. Not even a little. Not even a hint of labor. At 42 weeks into a 40 week process...

You could say I am a little frustrated.

You would think I would have expected this. Catherine was due on Labor Day. She was born on the 21st after they had to induce her too.

Apparently Tony Stark designed my uterus.

I have wasted two weeks of my maternity leave. Which sucks since I won't have more baby time. But was good because I think the stress of worrying I would go into labor at work, the general stress of working in a prison, the heat and the exhaustion are what sent me into the false labor that made me go on maternity leave in the first place. This has been a nice break.

It would have been even nicer with a baby.

Tomorrow the girls go back to school. After a year of home school, Catherine is ready to go back. They both have back packs full of supplies, books and brand new lunch sacks. Carolynn got her hair cut and then dyed it. She meant to die it like an auburn brown but it came out more purple maroon.

David has been back in school a week now.

And tomorrow night I check into the hospital and I don't check out again until I have a baby.

And then....

We begin a new chapter.

Until then....

Wordless Wednesday

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I can't even believe how many of us there are!!!!
July 2011
Apple Valley, California
Picture Taken By My Cousin Wendy

A Loss Of A Friend

Approximately two weeks after we purchased David's new car, I found someone online who was selling a dresser/changing table. They only wanted $40 for it. What a bargain! So Carolynn and I went to get it. We took my car, as it wouldn't have fit in David's. We drove out to the ladies house, right behind my friend Adrienne's house. The seller and her hubby loaded it up in the car, we paid her the $40 and off we went happy with our purchase.



Things really went down hill from there.

Not too far away, we were stopped at a stoplight. Then BAM! SMASH!





Some lady hit us. Hard. The back window shattered. The sun roof flew open. We were pushed into the car in front of us. It scared the heck out of me and Carolynn. I get out of the car and tell Carolynn to dial 911. My whole back end is smashed. My front end is a bit tweaked too. The lady who hit us is a mess. Her whole front end was smashed. Her air bags had deployed. She seemed disoriented. The man in the car in front of me was fine. His 1984 Oldsmobile barely had a scratch.



We move our cars to the side and I tell the police where we are. A very nice officer comes and we all exchange information. Despite the damage, my car is still drivable. So the guy in the Oldsmobile and I drive on home. The lady and the officer wait for a tow.

I took the car to the collision center a few days later. I couldn't wait to get my car fixed and back.

But there was bad news.

The car was totaled. The frame was bent. It would never drive again.

WHAT?

It was my car. And it was gone. Luckily I had insurance and the money they gave me was really a blessing.

But my car is gone.

It seems silly, but I don't own a car now. (Technically, I own David's but it's his car.) It makes me sad.

I have the worst luck with cars.

Like An Adult

When this year started, we had three cars. We had our old truck. Okay, so it was old and leaked oil. And it wouldn't pass smog. But we had it. We had the loser cruiser. It was running fine, but needed new tires. Then at Christmas, my ex-husband gave us a car for Carolynn. It began falling apart almost immediately. But we had it. It even ran occasionally.



But when we found out about the baby....

Well, David driving his old truck wasn't going to cut it. No back seat for the car seat. And I really couldn't have my teenaged daughter driving a car that was unreliable. So...



This is David's new car. We traded the broken down car we got from my ex-husband for it. (And for those of you wondering, he was fine with that. He didn't want Carolynn driving something unsafe either.) And we gave Carolynn the truck....

Which has since finally passed smog and had the oil leak repaired. YAY!

Anyway, back to David's car.

It's a 2010 Honda Civic. It's his first car. Well, second, but the first car he ever bought.

His first grown up car.

He really wanted a Hummer or an FJ Cruiser, but he got realistic. And he almost got a Kia. But the Honda was a good choice. He can drive the girls around in that. It gets great gas mileage. We drove it up to my dad's in Fresno and it did great.

We sure are moving on up around here. New house, new car, new baby...

33.3333333

We have officially made it through the first part of this baby journey. In just 6 short months, the little bundle of joy will arrive. We are getting ready.

Well, in all of our own special ways.

We get the keys to our new, bigger house on Thursday. After a long process. We were supposed to move in last week, but the house was not ready. It still had a broken window, among other things that were supposed to be repaired. But they told me today it is going to be ready in time. Keep your fingers crossed.

The girls are super excited. Carolynn can't wait to get started decorating the nursery. Catherine is excited about not being the littlest any more.

David has been amazing. No matter what I need, even if it is ice cream at midnight, he is on it. Though the morning sickness has really been minimal compared to both of the girls, if you find me tossing me cookies, you can find David standing right there with tissues and water. He is my hero.

I am doing pretty good. Working is hard. I have never been pregnant and had to work before. But my work is being surprisingly wonderful about this. My assignment this quarter had been in a rather dangerous area. Without me even asking, they offered to move me some place safer. And they have been being great about it. In a few weeks, when the next quarter begins, I am assigned to minimum security women. About as safe as I get.

Like I said before, the morning sickness has been minimal. I only threw up about half a dozen times over all. However, I was nauseous a lot of days. And certain smells made me want to run and hide. (Peanut butter one day, corn flakes another) My little baby bump is just starting to show. I am tired a lot.

I will try and do better at keeping this up. They say the second trimester is easier....

Under Attack

Day 6- From A Low Angle

Auld Lang Syne

Okay, so I missed. I didn't do every day in December. Sorry. I made it through most of it. And now it's over. Tomorrow brings a new year. And for a new year.... Let's give this a try...

I got this from Red Lotus Mama who got from Razing Mayhem who got it from Pintrest...

Anyways, I think I will try it.

Starting tomorrow.

Tonight, Carolynn has her boyfriend Artie visiting. They are playing games and eating food. And waiting for the New Year. I am determined to make it.

A Christmas Carolynn

*************************
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

It's Christmas Time In The City

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Christmas At Town Hall
Apple Valley, California
December 2011

*************************
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes- How they twinkled! His dimples- How merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!