Cute Coco

Coco!

Receiving Military Service Flag

James Receiving Military Service Flag at my father's burial service.

Dad's Burial in Iowa

Military Burial in Iowa.
So many family and friends came.

Lewis & Clark museum Sioux City, Iowa

6/22/06

Missouri Valley, Iowa

Put your sticks down for a good picture.

Ok now show your sticks.

Derek

Beer Can Chicken

I went to a Dinner Making place and one of the dishes was Beer Can Chicken.

You flavor the chicken with dried spices and then open a beer can (which they sent one home with us) place the open cavity of the chicken over the upright beer can, and bake in the oven.

Here it is..................

It was very tasty and moist. But it did have a slight beer taste which I didn't like.

I've heard that there's a recipe for chicken with Coke for the glaze. Maybe a coke can next time? BUT I prefer Pepsi and that's what we buy........ we'll see.

Geoff's Marathon

Here's Geoff running his EIGHTH San Diego Rock 'n Roll Marathon. We wait for him around the 22nd mile near Sea World and here he comes.
Quick hugs, pictures and he changes his t-shirt.
There he goes - only 4.6 more miles to go! I don't know how he does it.
The crane (in the picture) takes pictures of all of the participants going by.

Mother's Day = Dooney

My gift for Mother's Day!!!

A Dooney & Bourke.

YEAH!

Books Leading me to Homeschool

The best books that helped me know God was calling me to homeschool:

New Puppy - Coconut

After returning from Iowa and seeing my cousin's puppy I spent all week looking for a Bichon Frise puppy.
I also asked about poodles when I called if they didn't have a Bichon.
Since I could only find male bichons, and we want a female, I decided on a female apricot poodle.
Here she is......... Coconut, Coco for short!

Funeral Day

Today was the funeral for my Dad. Immaculata Church, San Diego, CA.

Goodbye

My dad passed into the Arms of Jesus & Mary today.
Surrounded by all of us to say goodbye and good journey to Heaven.

Cinnamon Dolce Latte - Happy Birthday to Me!

All I want for my birthday is a Cinnamon Dolce Latte and a Starbucks gift card.
They are easy to mail........ hint, hint.........

Besides, at my age, I need the caffiene, and the "free" trip to Starbucks is a reward in itself.

It's my birthday, it's my birthday...............

Update on caring for my father.

My dad had 2 brothers from NJ and OR visit last weekend.
It was really great they were able to visit. It was extrememly sad of course about my dad, and visiting him was so emotional and taxing.
It was great for me because those are the 2 uncles I know the least. (Dad has 5 brothers) So we had a lot of catching up to do to learn about their lives and families.
My cousin D and her son J (19) also came with their dad. D was a super guest that helped me around the house so much. You hardly knew they were here. I think my house was cleaner because she was here! The kids, especially K, adored J. He is a wonderful young man.

I was OK when the 3 left for Oregon on Monday morning. The rush of it all and getting to the airport.
But Tuesday morning when dropping off J, I just had a terrible time saying goodbye.
He was so nice and helpful with talking about my dad.
He was very grateful for all G & I do to take care of my dad.
I was quite emotional all day after he left. I think it was so nice to have other people here and around who cared about my dad, wanted to visit him and talk about him.
When he left I felt all alone again.

But my dad is doing a bit better. He saw the neurologist on Thursday. She was surprised to hear how poorly he was doing and sort of wanted to see for herself. So it was a difficult morning.
Luckily the VA transported him for me and I met him at the hospital. Unfortunately, when I arrived he was covered in vomit. He did it in the van and they just left him sitting here in the waiting room.
(He left the nursing home @ 8 a.m. and I arrived at the waiting room @ 930)Finally after me trying to clean him up going back and forth to the bathroom (all the time keeping a eye on Derek) A nurse finally came to help us and wheeled him to a back room where we stripped
him down and cleaned him up and the wheelchair.
His Dr. was surprised to see how poorly he is doing. He was not able to do the verbal commands for touching and reaching that she always tests him with. He is not able to communicate how he is doing.
She is lowering his Sinemet medication and will be increasing the Seroquel over the next couple weeks.
She will call the nurses in 2 weeks and he has another appt. with her on Feb 9th
She orderd an EEG to make sure he did not have a seizure or stroke. (I don't know when that will be). She is concered about his lack of movement in his arms, and not being able to follow her commands to reach out and touch her finger and tap his heels.

I called our priest and he made a visit to dad yesterday. I was there and Fr. Matt gave him the Sacrament of the Sick. I will be meeting with Fr. Matt again on the 26th to go over the questions I have about the illness progressing, decisions about his care and about funeral things. I want to be prepared and do the right things according to the church.

Dad looked better yesterday. He got a haircut in the morning before I arrived. When we (me & Derek) arrived he was in physical therapy. He was tired but we were able to sit with him until Fr. Matt arrived. After the priest it was time for his lunch, so we left for our lunch also.

They take good care of him there. They keep him clean and his clothes and bed clean.
I spent the time there ( 1030 - 1230) checking in with B - a nurse and discussing his care, eating, weightloss and therapy. She is working on getting him a larger wheelchair.
And we are all in agreement that he should get a feeding tube inserted in his stomach that can give him extra nourishment and water in the night to supplement his daytime eating.
We are just waiting for the nursing home Dr. to come and see him - hopefully that will be Monday - to approve it and authorize it. Then we will see about him getting the tube inserted - probably at the VA hospital, and hopefully within the next week.
They weighed him on Tuesday and he was 130 lbs. He lost over 6 lbs last week.
He has lost 30 lbs. since July 20th.

Kate at Waikiki pool

Derek in the sand

Hanama Bay

Sandplay with new friends

Dino museum hawaii

Look What we Created!

Our own Dinosaur!!

Tidepool hawaii 12-3

dooney & bourke

I sigh at the thought of this purse.............


is it OK to covet a purse?

It's only $295 on QVC.......hint, hint,.... Santa........
A Dooney was one of my first big purchases in college.

A weekend of babysitting 4 kids paid for a Dooney.

I'm ready for another one.

I think all these years of my own children will earn me one!

Happy Thanksgiving!

mustard pancakes on PBS - great new show

Another cute show that's new.

It is on High Definition PBS channel 711 for us.

http://www.mustardpancakes.com/


http://kidstvmovies.about.com/od/tvshowreview1/fr/mprev.htm

Carpets cleaned & Boardwalk after school

The carpet cleaners did an awesome job. The carpets look new again. NF Carpet Care @ 619-286-6530

When I picked up the kids we went to Target to get the birthday present for J's friend's party tomorrow afternoon.

Then we went to the Boardwalk. www.boardwalk-parkway.com
We had ride tickets left from the birthday parties there on saturday.

Plus I'm planning on having D & K's birthday party there in a couple weeks and want to see what the palce is like on a Thursday afternoon....... it is completely empty!
We try the pizza buffet and buy some tokens. The kids had a lot of fun.

starbucks drink for today..... Mocha Frappuccino

after running around all day...... it's a stop at Starbucks drive thru for Mocha frappuccino.

J is going with a birthday party afterschool so this is also a special treat for K who is feeling left out. She's ordering a Mint-Chip chocolate and D's getting chocolate milk.

new favorite kid show = Little Einsteins

http://disney.go.com/disneychannel/playhouse/littleeinsteins/index.html

Our new favorite show.
We rarely watch the disney channel, but we've been watching these shows over and over .... thanks to the DVR.
D really enjoys them..... he likes the rocket and the adventures.
So far the whales & ocean one is his favorite, but he likes the eagle & chinese dragons episodes too.\

ALOHA oy, ALOHA oy

goin to hawaii....... goin to hawaii......

Yeahooo!! we have actually paid for reservations to Hawaii in Dec for 12 days!!!!
The kids are going to miss school.......but O well...

Ihilani...... here we come...... http://www.ihilani.com/pflash/

Last year I was in the shallows of the lagoon with the kids splashing around me and I just wanted to stay there in that moment the rest of my life!! The sun, sand, water, serenity. OH la la.

It's great we'll be there for K's 6th birthday. FUN.

Halloween costume preview.....

We arrived home late .... 8:40 p.m. to find the disneystore box full of Halloween costumes on the doorstep.
Everyone had to try theirs on.... even Tinkerbell --------------- o boy.. she needs a bath!

Jesus=The Bread of Life

Soul Scents weekly devotionals.Feel free to pass them on to your friends. Free subscriptionis available at: http://www.soulscents.us/signup.htm

"Jesus replied, I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Mewill never be hungry, and he who believes in and cleaves toand trusts in and relies on Me will never thirst any more(at any time)." John 6:35 (Amp)

When Jesus says He is the bread of life, He is inviting usto feast on Him. He wants to be our family, our sense ofhome. He wants to be our life. We feast on Jesus by invitingHis constant presence into our life, by focusing on Himinstead of trying to fill our hunger with other people orthings.Feasting on Jesus means we believe in Him, cleave to Him,trust Him and rely on Him. He isn't just a snack. He's thenutrition that fills us. He is provision for all our needs.He is love to our hungry souls. And, unlike me, He neverruns out of the energy to provide the bread we need. Infact, He says He is so nourishing that we will never behungry again.

There have been plenty of times my heart has felthungry. But what I'm discovering is that the more I rely onJesus-the more He becomes the very thing that sustains me,the less my heart rumbles and growls. The more at peace Ifeel. He satisfies my hunger to be completely and deeplyloved, and no one can take that away from me.

"Father, in Your awesome, mystical way, fill my every hungerpang. Be my every meal. Help me to rest in Your presence andprovision instead of turning to people or things that don'tsatisfy."~Paula Moldenhauer

A quiet, calm day

I'm happy to report.............
It is a quiet, calm, normal day.
No emergencies, injuries, nothing broken.

Sisterchicks Down Under - read the book!

Finished Sisterchicks Down Under.
I liked it better than the first one {on the loose}.

just take a number and get in line....................

I just can't even say enough is enough.
Is this a test???
Can there be more problems in life? Problems .... Just take a number and get in line.....>>>

So I'm spending all morning trying to solve my missing wallet problem, with drivers license and credit cards. Thank goodness they didn't get any money out of my atm or my visa, and I don't think they tried to use my other card ..... we worried they would try to buy GAS! since they had the cards and my zip code.
NEXT the school calls and K has a hurting ear and I have to go pick her up.
Since D was barfing on Sunday I figured she has an ear infection. Plus she had been swimming and that ususally gives her some kind of ailment, usually it is her eyes, afterward.
But I pick her up and she is happy and skipping. I'm not acting the sensitive mother...... how can she be sick and skipping to the car???
I tell her--- you are sick, if you are leaving school, you must go home to bed.
As I find the eardrops and consider if I need to take her to the Dr. for ear infection.... I ask her to change her clothes and take the earrings out so she will be comfortable.
{background..... a few days ago she put in my blue topaz earrings. Her ears were pierced in March and we waited the 6 months for her to wear dangly earrings. She had those in a few days and then switched to the blue topaz ones,,,, I think it was last wednesday.}
I want her to lie down for 20 minutes with the drops in her ears and no earrings.
She says she can't take one of them out. She is moaning in pain.
I come and check and find that the tiny BACK of the earring is INSIDE of her earlobe!!!
It is a very tiny back and.....It has worked its way inside the hole and is inside the earlobe, you can't even see it!

I try to take it out.... she is screaming..... I get a nervous stomach hearing her scream with the pain... so I stop and call the Dr. They can actually get us in today... a Monday. I do try my mom and our friend who is a nurse, but they are not answering.

So we are off to the Dr. It is a fight to get her into the car. She is wailing and I have to drag her to the car. Then I BRIBE her with STARBUCKs. There's a store off the lobby of the clinic. She stops screaming and we actually make it in there without any more screaming.

The Dr. is squeamish trying to get it out and finally just does it quick while I hold her down.
I ask her how she made it through medical school if she is squeamish??????????????
I wanted to be a Dr...... but I was squeamish working as a Candy Striper in The Emergency room as a teenager.... so I gave up my dream..... Oh there are so many questions in life.

Then the back is out, it is covered in blood. The Dr. puts it in a specimen cup......K thinks it is cool..... she wants to take it to school and show everyone???? She's going to be a Dr. I bet!

We make it back to pick up J. He has lost his other front top tooth and tells the story of it coming out and blood everywhere on his desk at school. I'm more concerned about it on his white uniform shirt.... but there is none.
I ask K to choose between Starbucks & Foster Freeze. WE all go to Foster Freeze for anything they want on the way home. French Fries for all. J gets his first Root Beer float. He's been wondering about one for a couple weeks.
K an oreo blizzard; D an m&m blizzard; & Reese's pb cup blizzard for me.

DID I Mention that I whacked the side rear view mirror of the Yukon on the garage on the way out and shattered the mirror in it>>>>>>>>>>>

Will it ever end???? NO????? Take a number!!

if your wallet is stolen or lost.... notify Experian.com

yes my wallet was stolen or lost at the mall friday night.
Sadly I didn't figure it out until I'm in the checkout lane at Lowes. But I had other credit cards and ID so they let me pay for my 3 ceiling fans and check out.
I hoped and prayed my wallet was just fallen out and still in the car.... but it was not.
I checked my ATM records online at home and saw 4 attempts to use it.
Called to close that account and the other 2 cards that were in there.
I can't get a DMV appointment to replace my drivers license until 10/24?????

Put a FREEZE on your credit at http://www.experian.com/consumer/index.html
if you lose your informaiton or suspect fraud.

the baby is sick

Don't you hate it when the baby is throwing up and there is nothing you can do.
You can't even explain it to them or let them know it will be over soon.
Poor D. he's not a baby, at 35 months, but, he was struggling so hard to understand what was going on with his body this morning when he was throwing up over 3 different episodes.
But he took a good nap, actually fell asleep exhausted.... and woke up with a good appetite and feeling much better in the late afternoon.

G bought the Robots movie yesterday, so we've been watching it over and over and over.......
until the end showed scenes from Ice Age 2 ..... so we had to dig out Ice Age and watch that.

GO PADRES! GO CHARGERS!!!

Buzz Lightyear Dog costume

Today I'm ordering the Halloween costumes.
D wants to be Stitch. K = Kim Possible as a cheerleader. J= Jack Sparrow, Pirate!

I was looking around and just laughed so hard seeing this dog costume, I'm getting it for Tinkerbell (our bichon frise).

Resale shopping, IKEA & Toys R Us

Went up to Descanso today to see K's Antique & re-sale shop. The trip was to look at the recliners she as found for my dad. There were 3. I chose a really nice plaid lazy boy.
I was thrilled to also get a white wicker headboard for k's room and a darling little antique bedside table for her too. It is pale yellow, crackle finish. I haven't decided if we'll repaint it or leave as is. It is quite distressed and fits perfectly in the current Shabby Chic decor theme.

When G got home I went out for some alone time and went to IKEA to get some more ideas for K's room and the boys too. I made it out of there with a list and didn't spend any money. YEAH!

But then headed for Toys R Us.... They're having buy 2 get one free on the Imaginext toys D want's for his birthday (10-30). So he'll be getting a LOT of dinosaurs!
And 3 My first Leap pad games.

Loose Front Teeth.... keep ToothFairy on alert!!

J's top front teeth are very loose!
I wanted to take a BEFORE 9/26/05
picture so we can see what they look like and then add the after picture.



Lost Top Right 9/28

Lost Top Left 10/3

starbucks drink for today..... Caramel Frappuccino

Actually arrived early to the Dr office @ 8 for 8:30 appt. San diego traffic wasn't too bad for a Monday morning.
Had to have my 5 stiches removed from where he scraped out the area from my basal cancerous mole on my shoulder. (no more cancer found & it is healing well)

So I had to hit the Starbucks in the building --- it was only a matter of time..... before the appt or after {of course I'm addicted to starbucks}.

This reminds me of the blog entry comment @ www.fallible.com on August 18, 2005
In her comments section where Michael suggests we all will be getting "Star Tattoos" so that you just show your barcode tattoo to the barrista (hey that goes together!) and they know your name, reduce your $$ account, and your "regular" order.
HA!

Target obessed

You know you are obessed with Target when you wake up Sunday morning just to look at their Ad in the Sunday paper.
G got it first and proudly announed it was Dollar Week! sale. Even the DH is obsessed!

I had to check out the website for the My First Leappad Books on sale for $10
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_12/602-8634023-6491009?%5Fencoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B0002EVPWQ

Found a funny blog: Slave to Target http://slavetotarget.blogspot.com/
Red Cart Romance and Red Hot shopper comment on shopping experiences and the sale ad.

Did you know you can find recipes at Target.com? Check out 30 minute meals
http://recipes.target.com/default.aspx

K get's to wear dangling earrings

It's been 6 months. K wanted to wear dangling earrings.
So I made her a pair of starfish earrings just like mine.

training them young ..... carwashers

K & D "washing" grandma's car.

I took this pciture with my camera phone. WATCH OUT......

this was so easy..... to take the picture.... and email it straight to my blog.... this could definetely become addicting!!

cross bracelet I made

Worked on this bracelet this morning. Had to make all the jumprings and attach the crosses to the chain.

I love it! It looks great, sounds pretty and is very lightweight.