Life in November

I've decided that a blogging hiatus is more of a pain than it's worth because of the catch up. But truly, I needed to sleep sometime during the past 6 weeks, so blogging took a backseat to

{L i f e}

Life as a momma...cuddles & dates with the girls

including hopping on my bed to make pop bead jewelry first thing in the morn...

special lunch dates with mom & dad

even magic tricks by Izzie

big cuddles just because...

Life with mind-of-her-own-Viviana

Still tries to change her own diapers yet refuses to just go in the toilet.

I know, I know. More than disgusting. She tried to clean it up herself but made a bigger mess in the process. Her sniffer must not work properly.

"my i-touch"

We teach 'em to be self-reliant really early

(or just maybe mom didn't put enough pb on it so she had to help herself)

Dreaming of Dora, I'm sure.

Watching Dora

Yes, they dress themselves when they're not in public.

Wearing her sister's underwear in an experimental way...

Her latest break-dancing-esque move

Instead of playing with toys she sorts shoes

I came in the room one day to find Vivie had done this all by herself.

Life with a middle schooler

yes, that IS our middle schooler... they had a 'drive-in' movie for an activity at church

Bray starred in a play for his drama class

Life as a soccer mom

STAR defender

and numerous ankle injuries... go figure.

Monson was the 'life blood' of the team

Life as mom of four busy body girls...

don't be alarmed... she didn't sleep outside like others in our fam.

She was just playing mommie to her babies.

Peek-a-boo or scary Vivie ready to rob a bank, you decide.

Life as the Queen of Projects

making hair accessories is a necessity

(We made them for an adoption fundraiser so of course we had to add to our own collection)

new Craigslist find makeover part 1

Now, imagine the chairs & table top painted black...

that's somewhere on my to-do list.

LOVE the robin egg blue antique find:)

antique bookcase icky oak

turned fabulously chic

Life as the Griswalds...

An RV adventure fit for a huge family

The week of Thanksgiving not only did all the kids (minus Vivs) take turns passing around the lovely swine flu (confirmed), we embarked on a huge adventure far far away at Vail Lake (6 miles up the road). Super fun campground complete with water slides, pool, miniature golf, restaurant, and GRASSY sites! Good times...

... and the adventure continued at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point,

our new favorite beach camping

skipping rocks

Seriously. I love California. Beach weather in November. Pinch me.

I'm in heaven...

give me a book, a chair, & prop me up in front of the ocean &

I'm a happy momma

The PNW Menzie Fam joined us half way into our adventure...

we LOVE when our PNW Menzie gang comes to visit!!! We failed to take a pic of all of us together, but we have great memories...

kindergarten cousins Lexie & Luke

jump roping on the beach

burying crazy kids

x 3

nights by the campfire eating all sorts of goodies

finger-lickin' good.

movie night in the RV

handsome Mark & Lukers sporting headlamps

Pops came for a few hours to play with the gang

Best buds Aunt Tallie & Kenz sporting twinner shirts

(a little aunt spoilin')

Come back again soon so we can do it again~!

Life pretending to be a photographer

Tallie & Hank

My nephews aren't quite the posers that my kids are,

but they make me laugh

Life remembering our many blessings

Pops joined us for Thanksgiving, and we love it that he has decided to be healthy, happy, and involved. We forgot to take pics of our actual Thanksgiving.

I heard different noises coming from upstairs and peeked in the girls' room to find Pops playing along with my girly girls. The girls were in heaven to find a new playmate to share their barbies with.

Pops told a 'Quiet Man Story'... it was a childhood fave & my kids loved it too.

and Mimi's Cafe saved the day once again! LOVE that tradition... bring it all home & pop it in the oven... wallaa! Thanksgiving feast!~

And this is how I felt when November was all over:

stay tuned for our even busier December.

'Sassy-fras'

My Lexie Lulu...

She's sassy, she's quick, and she's funny... the kind of funny that makes you belly laugh. She imitates people, she uses different voices, she is bossy bossy bossy especially with her daddy...he stands NO CHANCE with four daughters that have bigger-than-life personalities. And she's growing up way too fast. Her daddy nicknamed her 'Sassafras'-- it suits her purrrfectly.

We had hilly streets in San Elijo Hills...not really conducive to the novice bike-rider. Now that we're on 'stable' ground, she's two-wheelin' it around town.

She was sick of waiting for someone to help her. So she took it into her own hands and strapped on her gear & headed out to teach herself. Her favorite pass-time is now riding a two-wheeler.

She doesn't love soccer as much as we thought she would, but it was fun watching her strut around the field (#6) and stand with her arms folded waiting for who-knows-what. She was great at running after the ball, was always on the scene, in the right place at the right time, but mostly yielded to her teammates to go for the big kick--- a confidence thing, I suppose. She announced tonight after her last practice that she's DONE with soccer. Forever. {giggle giggle}. One less thing for me to do!

To my friends, with {lOvE}.

You can't imagine how important you are to me.

Moving always comes with its own set of challenges and thank heavens we've only had to do it a handful of times. I have a bestie who deals with this every couple years and it has become a bittersweet battle for her. As a result, she has many fabulous friends ALL over North America. I don't have to move around that often, but I think our latest circumstances made this transition a bit more interesting and an overall difficult challenge for me.

I've loved the poem below since I read it years ago... it just puts things into perspective. Moving comes with its own set of challenges... and with some friends, you keep contact for a while and then one day it may fizzle. Sometimes, it's really for no particular reason. With other people you may not speak for eons and then you get together and pick up where you left off as if not even a day had passed. I have learned that friends come and go, and your life goes on. It's been tough this time around to have to leave my network of friends and attempt to rebuild. I miss the day-to-day interactions in a tight-knit community.

I'm thankful for my friendships that have bloomed for a specific reason, or for a particular season, and I'm especially grateful for those I've met along the way that are in it for a lifetime. It's fun to look back and see that I still have friendships with people I met when I was the tender age of five. I'm thankful for each one of you, in near and far places from every phase of my life!

I especially enjoyed having a handful of my San Marcos friends come meet me for lunch at a beautiful Temecula Winery last week. I'm always up for good company, amazing scenery, and yummy food!

Love you all.

(and please ignore the terrible lighting that looks like heads are cut off, etc.)

It was a short and sweet little lunch---let's do it again soon.

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

When you figure out which one it is,

you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,

it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.

They have come to assist you through a difficulty;

to provide you with guidance and support;

to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.

They may seem like a godsend, and they are.

They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,

this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.

Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.

Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.

What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.

The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,

because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.

They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.

They may teach you something you have never done.

They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.

Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;

things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.

Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,

and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

— Unknown

Warm Fuzzies

When I returned home from running errands today I found this little treat:

What a lovely surprise... and just as lovely... the house wasn't even totally destroyed! I'm thankful for children who surprise me & show their loving and caring sides now and then when it's not even Mother's Day!

I feel loved & appreciated today and it's a wonderful feeling. They are quickly learning that they'll catch more {mommie good moods} with honey than with vinegar.

Today I'm thankful to be the mom of my six children. I'm thankful for the warm fuzzies my kids took the time to surprise me with. Maybe tomorrow they'll get a warm fuzzy after school that looks and tastes like homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Pure Glee

Six-kid pile-up! ...Or five kids and a Dad. I don't know where Vivs was when the laughter & subsequent tackle broke out. The kids {love} wrestling with Daddy and usually someone inevitably gets hurt as they hurl themselves onto each other in perfect glee to tickle Daddy to death...

I'm thankful the kids have a Dad that will get down at their level (or is willing to be tackled down to their level) and play with them until it hurts!

Tough Love

I'm sick of being the nag.

I'm sick of the lack of response when I call them down to do their jobs.

I'm sick of being known as The Sheriff.

I'm sick of the antagonizing that goes on daily. Multiple times daily.

I'm sick of the overall disrespect and OUTBURSTS!

I'm sick of feeling like the bad mom after yelling at my kids for their actions because it's the only way they'll listen!

Curt sings an impromptu song accompanied by his swift guitar skills (hehehehe) to explain these outbursts and family quirks... it's quite hilarious if you've been lucky enough to witness it.

So we threaten our children. We threaten them into submission.

Sometimes, it's the only thing that works. And they've learned that these are NOT idle threats.

(for the older ones, that is... the younger ones are just perfect as can be & we're hoping... really we're praying they don't end up demented and overly influenced by the negative behavior of these pre-teens and that we're better parents having learned our lessons with the first three. We can hope, can't we? hahaha)

We thought the first would be Monson or McKenzie. We were certain. I guess we're all human because Brayden was first to earn a night in the garage for repeatedly antagonizing Lexie.

He earned himself a night sleeping in the garage. It's cold for Cali standards so it was no party. And I'm certain that there's a couple of rat families nesting out there not to mention spiders of all shapes and sizes. But he had a good attitude... he knew he deserved what came to him and that ultimately he choose his punishment because of his actions. The kids know that if they show disrespect, if they are the cause of great contention in our home that they have chosen to spend a night in the garage to think about what it means to be a member of this family and how they can change their behavior to contribute positively in our home. It's our way of showing forth love in an effort to maintain some order.

Really, it's done out of love.

At 1 am we felt Bray had paid his price and had sufficient time to think, so we allowed him to come inside (mostly because he had a good attitude about it).

So in this season of gratitude... this time to reflect upon our blessings, I'm thankful that we all have the power to change and to become better people. Heaven knows I have a ton to work on as a parent. I'm just glad I'm not the one that has to sleep in the garage.

Truly, we do have good kids. But if we let these behaviors continue, we'd be terrible parents. And we've started getting all the kids in bed by 8... WORLD of difference.

Sleep is lovely on so many levels!

A Trick and Lots of Treats

Cute pumpkins, Cute costumes, Cute kiddos

Do my witches look familiar? below: 2008, above: 2009

home by 7:30 ... Happy Momma

funny story... (The Trick) Brayden stayed home to 'man' the house and hand out candy. He decided to dress all spooky and try to scare the kids. So he gets under my car in the driveway (he has this grand plan in his head). It backfired with his first trick-or-treaters. A whole bunch of teenagers came and he tried to scare them--but then couldn't get out from under the car fast enough as they took the WHOLE big 5 lb. bowl of 'the good' candy and dumped it ALL into their bags. Bad teenagers. Nice, plan, Bray..nice. So all we had left inside to hand out was the sucky lollipops. Where is the humanity with teens? Seriously. I'm sure they laughed about the boy under the car all night long.