The Tucker Clan

The Park

2012-02-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

Am I alone when I say that I strongly dislike the park? Not only do I dislike it, but I'm pretty sure it brings on anxiety that I never experience in any other day to day situations. The park is never age appropriate to meet the needs of all of my children. It's dirty. It's in public with no bathroom or sink readily available. But the worst part about the park is the other children! I barely have control over my own with out these strange kids interfering! Nevertheless, I go to the park. I have too. I'm a parent. And I love these kids!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-12T19:07:00.000-08:00

It's 2012 and I've fallen behind as usual. But of course Christmas was wonderful as always. Lots of fun, family, food, and food, and more food. This video and this moment is my favorite of the season. Enjoy!

Firsts

2011-12-24T08:24:00.000-08:00

Again we were gifted with free tickets (this time thanks to Oma) to another amusement park called Knott's Berry Farm. In a nutshell Knott's has Camp Snoopy with a few ~~dinky~~ rides for small children and a ton of ginormous, insanely awesome, roller coasters. Eric and I politely took turns riding these with Sara and Zac. Luke happily rode along in his stroller just happy to be with the group and then there was Claire. Let's just say that Knott's is not a place for a 5 year old who actually likes roller coasters. She wasn't tall enough for any of them! It was so sad! But she and Luke did get on a few fun rides and overall the day was great.

The best part was having Sara along with us. She is always helpful and unbelievably tolerant of the constant attention from her siblings. She turned 13 on the 11th and her maturity is way beyond that. We nicknamed her Sara Texterson for the trip. Apparently we took 3 other people along for the day. She texts when she walks, in line, in the car, and when she is eating. It's amazing though how she can still stay involved in the conversation. A true gift. This trip to Knott's marked a milestone for Sara. Her first upside down roller coaster!

It took lots of convincing but she did it. I must point out that as roller coasters go, the silver bullet is incredible!

Rookies

2011-12-16T16:19:00.000-08:00

I'd say 99.9% of our friends are the proud holders of a Disneyland season pass. They go for the day, for lunch, after school, for dinner, or just for a parade. Not Eric and me. We went once when we were dating and approximately 3 times since. So when free tickets were handed our way, we couldn't resist. The Christmas decorations are unbelievable and seeing things through Luke's eyes for his first trip are moments to never forget. It was truly a spectacular day! I do need to note a few things we learned: Make sure your stroller has appropriate storage space for the 15 sweatshirts and water bottles, take a second stroller for the dramatic female 5-year old and for more storage space, pack a lunch and/or dinner to save yourself $200, bring blankets for warmth and to save your spot for the parade, fast passes are the only way to ride rides, charge your cell phone prior to entering the park, bring a camera if said cell phone battery dies, and finally, don't leave the car overhead light on all day because your battery will die. Thankfully Disneyland is a well oiled machine and we had our battery jumped and running in less than 20 minutes. The kids were home and in bed by 8:00. A perfect day.

Writer

2011-12-07T18:04:00.001-08:00

At Zac's conference the other day Mrs. Felton told me that Zac has developed a "writer's voice." I think this is what she meant by that. I found this in his backpack on a piece of scratch paper. I think that means he did this during his free time. Awesome.

Proud Mom

2011-12-02T19:13:00.001-08:00

Recently my sister-in-law wrote a blog entry I could really relate to. Sometimes, especially lately, I find it difficult to see "the bright side." If you know me well, this is very out of my character. In fact, knowing that I am acting out of character only frustrates me more.

Today I woke up with a head ache and began the inner negative talk. You know like, "Of course I have a head ache," and "Why should I have one good day this week?" and "Poor me."

I know. So drama!

After I dropped the kids off at school I went for a haircut where my hairdresser spoiled me with a head and neck massage. Seeing some light. I went to Target and decided to use the Starbucks gift card withering away in my purse for some peppermint hot chocolate to sip while I shopped. Light getting brighter. Went home to have lunch delivered by my parents and even had time to clean the house a bit. Even brighter now. Then I headed to Condit to pick up the kids and attend their parent conferences. Claire got a glowing report with a perfect report card (if you exclude the "P" for progress under "self control." It's genetic.) Now I'm smiling as I walk. We move on to Zac's conference where he gets his best report yet and I'm told how kind and helpful he is to his friends. As a reward I took the kids to the ~~very strategically planned for sucker parents like me~~ book fair. The kids each picked a book.

Love this!

We left to pick up Luke in time to witness him leading a group of friends around the playground in an intense game of scream and chase. Pass the sunglasses, the brightness has returned.

Thankful for Me

2011-11-22T10:26:00.001-08:00

I am not often very impressed with myself, but for Zac's birthday this year I was awesome. Birthdays always stress me out because I worry about money, time, and the worst part, the guest list. So I did a lot of self coaching, told myself to "Chill out, he's only 8" and made some decisions. Only boys, only 7, at our house, legos. It was great! One box of legos for each kid, pizza, cake, presents and done! 2 hours of fun. It was perfect for an 8 year old boy like on other.

I also managed to be team parent for both Zac and Claire's soccer teams this year. I admit, I didn't quite think that one through. But with Eric's help, we pulled it off. We finished this weekend with two games that, thankfully, didn't overlap, and two team parties. I was gifted with flowers and a Starbucks gift card. A girl always enjoys flowers!

We began our Thanksgiving celebration with school parties at Condit on Friday. Claire's class were the controversial Native Americans while with the other classes were the equally controversial Pilgrims. RoRo joined me to see and hear (yes you could here her over everyone) Claire sing, then move to the playground to give a "Pilgrim" a handmade necklace and enjoy a peaceful meal together. Mom and I hung out long enough to appear helpful then ditched the "feast" to have one of our own at Euro Cafe. I came back in time for Zac's pie party. When I walked in I immediately noticed he was the only kid who tucked his napkin in his shirt like a bib. Gotta love him! The parents and teachers got a kick out of it. Of course he loves the attention. I have no idea where he gets that from!?

Sunday we enjoyed our annual meal at church. I happily overate as I plan to do the entire week, guilt free. I thought I should document that for when, come Monday, I am crying when I can't button my favorite jeans. :)

Halloween

2011-11-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

A few of my favorite Halloween moments for 2011:

Eric and I started off the holiday at a grown-ups only party. We laughed so hard our stomachs hurt! Our costumes were fun and easy. I had to show the kids a YouTube video so they would know who we were. I felt old! I also wondered what I ever liked about Popeye the Sailor Man. It was creepy!

We opted out of the dramatic pumpkin patch adventure and went back to our neighborhood parking lot patch. We were the only people there, we took Porsche, Zac jumped on a bouncer, the kids picked a pumpkin, we took some photos, they each got a piece of candy and we left. 20 minutes tops. The "Butch" in me loved it! I know you are jealous Mark. ;)

We went home to carve. Zac ran the show, Claire helped, and Luke refused to touch the thing. He kept signing "all done" and made the yucky face. It worked out well!

Zac was first to show off his costume at his Halloween piano recital. He played Witches Rock dressed as Luigi. Well done Zac!

Sunday the kids dressed up for church and we hit the Early Childhood Center's Spooktacular afterward. More fun and photo opportunities with Luke's school pals and the Tucker cousins.

Finally Monday came and somehow I got the kids all dressed for their school parties, including myself for mine. I was done with Halloween by 9:00 a.m. (Thanks Butch and RoRo for being a Condit parent that day!) But trick-or-treating commenced at sundown. We cruised our neighborhood intent on getting the kids to bed on time to spare all of the poor teachers who had to teach them the following day. Zac gets the prize for etiquette (no walking on lawns, back up from the door, don't grab, say "thank you."). He was very frustrated with the non-etiquette displayed by his siblings. It's got to be tough to be the oldest. I wouldn't know. :) Claire gets the prize for being the proudest of herself because she felt pretty darn awesome in the almost inappropriate bunny costume. I must document that I am not, at this point, concerned about her self esteem! Finally, Luke gets the prize for being SO FLIPPING CUTE! He ran the entire time to keep up with his siblings, his light-up Toy Story boots flashing all the way, and by the sixth house he finally attempted to say "Trick-or-Treat!" It was darn clear and it made my night!

The kids were showered and in bed by 8:00. Yup. I am proud of that! :)

New Start

2011-10-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

September brought many new beginnings for the Tucker Clan. Claire learned to ride her bike without training wheels. I didn't have the patience for her but thankfully Eric did. The kids began their new classes with ease. It was more of a shock to my system and our child care providers, aka Butch and RoRo.

Luke began speech therapy and has been diagnosed as "severely delayed." Severe is my new least favorite word. Somehow between soccer, piano, ballet, and an Orf music class, we squeeze in the 3, 1-hour sessions of speech and play therapy a week. I am hoping that this early intervention will work miracles by April! :/

I have a new principal at Vista who is young and full of new ideas. It is exciting but challenging. It feels a bit like my first year of teaching without all of the scariness! Eric began his third year at Claremont High and I am please to say is doing great. He is a site representative for the teachers union so he can keep us in the know about our shaky future in education. To be continued...

So if all of this isn't enough we decided to add her to our schedule.

Porsche, 3 months

The kids and Eric started working on me a few weeks ago. I caved way earlier then I intended. But I am so glad. So far she is amazingly sweet, smart, and just good!

All Done

2011-08-16T15:21:00.000-07:00

I am not very motivated to write anything exciting here. Not to say my posts are ever very exciting but, you know what I mean. I just think the picture of Luke on the potty is getting old.

We are very close to the end of summer here. Soccer has resumed, Eric and I have begun to reclaim our class rooms, and the happy summer mommy I once was is fading. Sara already started 7th grade, Zac will begin 2nd, and Claire-bear starts Kindergarten! OH and we can't forget that Luke J. will be in the Busy Bee's starting September. We already stopped by for a visit and used their toddler sized potty. He thought that was great! He had to wave at them as we left.

So good-bye summer! You weren't too hot or too busy, just good. Looking forward to a new school year!

Holding Strong

2011-08-01T12:46:00.001-07:00

We have completed week 1 of operation potty train Luke. I wish I could say it has been a complete success but #2 has proven to be a challenge. If we turn our back for one second he decides he should just let it go. On the floor. Ewwww! But he's got the main idea and gets pretty excited to check out every public restroom available. Here is a pic of Eric this morning, working hard to promote a poop! Note the Clorox and baby wipes in arms reach.

My past experience is what is keeping me sane because I know that soon (hopefully REALLY soon) he will get it. Right?

Dallas

2011-07-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

It's been one day since our return from Dallas, Texas. I think we have finally recovered from what I would call a whirlwind, extremely hot, family excursion.
Thanks to my Aunt Mary, my entire family was able to gather together in Dallas to honor my cousin James and his new family for their one year wedding anniversary. I saw some cousins for the first time in 11 years. Too long! The trip was packed with family events from a barbecue, a formal reception, to a baptism then brunch. I don't feel like I was able to talk with and enjoy any of these people enough. But I'm not sure if any amount of time would be enough. I absolutely LOVE being with my Kansas and Texas clan!

Some highlights include an evening walk with the kids in 100+ degree weather. You can tell by the red faces how hot it was!

The roof top pool at the Hilton provided hours of entertainment for everyone. The adults especially enjoyed the phone you picked up and magically drinks would arrive. Here is Luke and Thomas enjoying a shade break by the window. You can see how high up the pool is.

Serious cousin bonding time for my and Mark's kids. So much so that tears were shed by one 7 year old who shall remain nameless. I watched Andrew sulk down the hallway with his head bowed upon saying good bye. Ugh! Heartbreaking!

We got to dress up for the occasion. Something my family almost never does. In fact, my boys wore ties for the first time! Highlight of this evening was the dance show our kids put on. Zac and Andrew paired up, Thomas and Claire did some sort of slam dance routine, and Luke just wanted to feel the music alone. And wow did he feel it! You had to be there. It was hysterical! We (Susan and I) were also smart enough to cut it short and call it a night so perhaps the adults could enjoy the live music and the dance floor as well!

We managed a quick tour of Dallas that included a stroll through Dealey Plaza where JFK was shot, a drive through Butch's Alma Mater, SMU, and a hilarious glass elevator ride for the kids. Eric took this pic when we thought we were going to go up in this building. But for security reasons we couldn't. The elevator wasn't quite as high, but I assure you I am not complaining!

It's hard to pick a favorite part of the trip, but seeing my twin cousin, lovingly nick-named MC (Middle Claire), takes a top spot!

Connections

2011-07-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

Zac and I had a play date the other day with a small group of his friends from school and their moms. I too have become friends with these women and enjoy them all so much. That night I lay awake "solving the problems of the world" as my mom would say. It was then that it occurred to me how rich, unique, and special these relationships are. We all have the obvious in common: our kids, their siblings, school, soccer, etc. We talk about our husbands, clothes, and the T.V. shows we watch. The usual girlie chit chat. But what's even more obvious that I never quite realized before is how different we are. The host is Peruvian and speaks Spanish. Another is Chinese, speaks Mandarin, and was raised in New Zealand. My closest friend of the group is Hawaiian and married to a Japanese man. Then the other woman is middle eastern who speaks Arabic. Then there's me! (Wow I need to learn another language.) I have gotten to know these women over a 2 year period and not once have I thought about how amazingly cool this mosaic is.

Now I have made other connections with moms and dads at Zac's school that will always remain what I call "surface" friendships. On the 4th of July I had this conversation with a fellow school mom during Claremont's Memorial Park celebration. After small talk about how our summer has been going I asked if they were going to the 4th of July parade?

Mom: No. It just keeps getting weirder and weirder every year.

Me: (Head tilted with a quizzical look.) Really? (Knowing what was coming but hoping to not hear it.)

Mom: Yeah. Those liberals you know, they just...(eyes rolling and a giggle).

Me: (A smart ass giggle) Yeah. Those liberals!

Surface relationship sealed!

Now those of you who know me well are thinking, "Maria! Just because she isn't a liberal doesn't mean you can't be friends." And I agree. (Although admittedly I really like a good progressive. ;)) It's just that it was assumed that I would jump on board with her bigoted comment. We may look alike, but that doesn't mean we think alike!

So Far

2011-07-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

Quick summer catch up...

Father's day was spent at Peterson Automotive Museum. Dad and Eric were in heaven. I chased Luke.

We saw an advanced screening of Car's 2. Here is what Luke did until dad picked him up. Guess he wasn't quite ready for his first movie.

Swimming lessons commenced. Zac was the youngest in his class with kids up to 11 and 12 years old. I am so proud of him. He worked so hard! They had to swim for 30 minutes without stopping, do all of the various strokes including butterfly, and perform some life saving tasks. It was a little painful to watch. But he was a champ. Claire passed level 2...again. We don't need to push Claire. She is happy taking things slow! I must say, her teacher was especially amazing this session! ;)

A little inside joke among the poolside moms. She even lied about her age. She told him she was 6!

This picture I had to post because Zac is standing over my shoulder and asked me too. It is pretty cute.

Every summer I am reminded how hard it is to be a stay at home parent. I so admire all of the mom's who can do it without complete emotional break downs on a daily basis. Although I appreciate this time with my kids and I am doing my best to savor each moment, I am struggling to hold on to what little sanity I have left. And it's only July 1st. Ugh!

Consideration

2011-06-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

Last time Sara visited I thought she was ignoring me when I came into her bedroom asking her a question and she was clearly awake not answering me. I began to get angry but as I got close to her I realized she had her earphones in and was listening to her ipod. My bad.

This visit she was considerate enough to think of me so I wouldn't be offended.

I love the developing sense of humor that comes with maturity. Awesome!

First Recital

2011-06-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

Claire was busy this week. Saturday afternoon she had her first ballet recital, the Ragdoll Wedding. Somehow I was named "class coordinator" which is HI-larious for those of you who know me well. Part of this job entailed coordinating a basket for the raffle. With some advice from the nice mom's in the class and my mom, I braved Wal-mart and created a "family fun night" basket that wasn't really a basket because I filled up a popcorn bowl with movie tickets, DVD's, a few games, popcorn, and candy. It cost $93 total and with 10 kids in the class I thought it was perfect. Until of course I dropped it off and set in down next to baskets the size of a toilet. Another flash back to college when I would proudly hang my hard work on the wall and then the rest of the class would show up and suddenly I wasn't so proud. (I got a C in that class by the way. Who get's a C in art???!) Oh well. It was my first attempt and a young kid ended up winning it so I figure he was excited.

Anyway, I spent the recital back stage with Claire which was really fun actually. I loved helping all the little girls and boys stay pretty and mildy calm. Claire was just so anxious to get out on that stage. And when she did it was adorable! She was all smiles and I was on the side of the stage all tears. We, I mean she, can't wait to do it again next year!

Thank you to:
Lisa for teaching me how to put Claire's hair in a bun.
Mom for going an hour early to save seats.
Diana for going to the photo shoot and buying the pictures.
Eric for braving a 2 1/2 hour show with the remaining 3 kids!

The Graduate

2011-06-16T12:36:00.001-07:00

Claire Elizabeth was a super star today at her graduation from the Early Childhood Center. I was far more prepared this time after experiencing Zac's in 2008. So sorry to all those first borns out there. I am more relaxed with each child. It's great!

Thanks to dad, who stopped by the church early to save 8 seats, we had a great view. Lisa, Allie, and Zoe came as well as Sara. Zac giggled through the http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifwhole show and screamed loud when Claire went up to the microphone to announce that she can clean her room all by herself. (Hmmm. I haven't witnessed this amazing skill!) Luke was transfixed and sat still in my lap the entire time. Butch and RoRo also enjoyed the performance that ended with RoRo crying along with every other grandparent. It was hilarious!

Now I know that I am extremely bias but Claire was really good! She knew every word to every poem and song and projected her voice beautifully. They did a dance to a song by Happy Crowd and I'm telling you, she rocked out! The teachers told me afterword that she always did it right, but with the audience today she really went all out. That's my girl!

Almost every picture we took was blurry but Eric did get one video of Brown Bear, Brown Bear with sign language. Enjoy!

A Glimpse

2011-05-31T18:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Memorial Day. I admit that I have been a little out of it lately with all of the end of the school year happenings that when I drove to church on Sunday and noticed a few houses with flags waving I thought to myself, "Wow, they are decorating really early for the 4th!" Maybe I shouldn't have admitted that. But it's so me!

I got up early yesterday and Luke and I went to Target for two things. This was the first.

Just a glimpse of his future as soon as I have a week to kill. He was pretty excited but I'm not sure he is ready for what's to come.

The second thing we got was this.

It really wasn't that warm and the kids were purple. Actually purple! But they had a blast. The cousins came over later and joined in the fun. I hope this is just a small taste of a fun summer to come!

"My Tooth!"

2011-05-29T15:55:00.001-07:00

It was about 2 weeks ago when I happened to notice that Claire had a permanent tooth at about complete development on her bottom row. Sorry second child! I was further stunned to realize her baby tooth in front was extremely loose! Sorry again oh middle child! Sure enough after lots of Claire drama and tears it fell out while eating ice cream. Yes, it was THAT loose! She was thrilled and surprised at how painless it was. The tooth fairy was not confident in his skills to retrieve a tooth from a very light sleeper, but he was successful. She is very proud and will show any and everyone her missing tooth.

Bus 1997 - 2011

2011-05-02T12:16:00.001-07:00

13 1/2 years ago I rescued Bus who had already been rescued from sure death. A friend of mine worked at Stater Bros. and while throwing out trash heard a faint scratching sound. Sure enough 3 female puppies, still wet from birth, were thrown away in a box. He found a home for all three girls. One home being that of a friend of mine who happened to live in a house with 5 other guys all around 20 years old. NOT the best place for a tiny puppy. After the boys bottle fed her and she grew to be a fluffy ball of busy-ness, the cuteness wore off and no one had time for her. But I did! Then I met Eric. All in the same week.

She was literally a puff ball of energy. She could jump to your eye level and run faster than any dog I knew. She pulled me on roller blades and my bike. She love to climb rocks with us at Big Bear and go exploring. She even climbed our tree in the back yard. She chased birds every day and had her fair share of possum hunting. She escaped over our 6 foot fence a few times, cruised the neighborhood a few more. But she always came home. She was very devoted! And she could bark. A lot! One of my favorite memories is when Eric bought her a gigantic bone that really was bigger than her. She loved it so much she didn't want to put it down. But she still had to bark. She would be up in the window with the bone in her mouth basically blowing air out around the bone in an attempt to bark. It gives me a giggle to think of it.

I think Bus loved our kids a little more than she simply tolerated them. Especially Luke. He would hug her just a little to hard every day and she would just look at me as if to say, "HELP!" We always said she tried hard to fight the Chow within. They aren't known for their sweet dispositions.

Bus has been a part of every moment in my life with Eric. When we broke up, got back together, moved in together, got married, welcomed Sara into our lives, experienced two other dogs, college, new jobs, and the birth of Zachary, Claire, and Luke.

She was an easy dog in the sense that she never demanded much. She was always healthy, never smelled, and barely shed. As dogs go I think she was pretty awesome.

A few weeks ago she did start to smell and her hair began falling out in chunks. She started drinking excessively and eating less. We dreaded what was to come. Sure enough she had a tumor on her tongue. I should have known when her watch dogging stopped. She couldn't bark without pain.

Thursday night I looked at her and thanked her for being such a "good dog." Eric took her to the vet the next day and stayed with her to the end.

It's pretty quiet without her. Even with the kids running around. We keep thinking we hear her or see her running in the yard. But we also feel a sense of peace because she was in pain and she isn't anymore.

Eric came home with orange roses in honor of our orange doggy. The kids helped plant it in our back yard and Zac made a cross. We may not always be here but hopefully the roses will just like Bus' spirit.

Pure Joy

2011-04-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

Luke J.'s birthday celebration began early in the morning when he and I came out of the bedroom to be genuinely surprised by two kids hiding around the corner. For all our birthdays I decorate the kid's chair with a special sign and a balloon. Well, I dropped the ball on this one Luke. Sorry. But fortunately I have a very sensitive and creative 7 year old who did it for me, completely on his own, before we all woke up. He even included Claire by allowing her to color on one spot. So generous of him! ;)

We continued the celebration at Corona Del Mar State Beach. It was a beautiful day with lots of digging, burying, shell collecting, tide pool perusing, and Aunt Michy-B time!

For dinner we dug up a gift certificate to Olive Garden and enjoyed an over priced, delicious meal where we also found out they do NOT sing for birthdays but we were welcome to purchase dessert.

Friday night we had the family over for hot dogs (Luke's favorite) and dirt cake (cake that looks like dirt but tastes like heaven). The cousins had a wonderful time playing in the gorgeous weather we are currently enjoying.

We are thinking this video could win some sort of award. Not only for Luke's role in it, but the adults in the background. You may need to listen twice. Some background: I had been singing Happy Birthday to Luke all day and every time he would shake his head and grab at me to stop. It was funny. But this is even funnier!

The night ended with gift opening which was perhaps the most delightful experience for me. Here's a kid who doesn't talk at all but uses sounds and an inflection in his voice to communicate exactly what he is feeling. He opened every gift with a loud "aaahhhh",a huge smile, and a proud showing of the present in hand. Luke spends the majority of his life at least a little bit sick. I think a runny nose and a cough is the norm for him. But you would never know based on his personality. He emits a pure joy from him that is much more contagious than any of his illnesses. These last 2 years have been exhausting, a huge learning curve, but most definitely blessed.

Growing Up!

2011-04-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

In preparation for Luke's big day on Thursday, he's turning 2, we did this.

He took his first nap afterword in his "big boy" bed. It went great! I am hoping and praying that the potty will soon be just as exciting!

*I changed my blog background to look birthday celebration-ish since April brings a ridiculous amount of birthdays in this family. I know it's a tad obnoxious but I'm in that kind of mood.:)

Woops!

2011-04-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

Our intention was to take a little off the back. But when your baby responds to haircuts similar to the way a cat does to a bath,

the little off the back turns out like this.

It's About Time!

2011-03-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

I can't miss the opportunity to post about Zac's latest achievement since the main point of this blog is to document our lives, or as my sister-in-law puts it, a virtual baby book.

Some background- Zac's track record at Condit Elementary hasn't been that great. In Kindergarten he visited the principal a couple of times and then again at the beginning of first grade. I love Condit, but honestly they are extremely strict. I promise that I am not excusing his behavior but let me give you one example. After lunch he took a spork from the cafeteria out recess and was using it as a sling shot with some friends. I know! Totally creative! ;) Then the kicker was that it was "all his idea." I know! He's a leader! Anyway, his report cards were glowing except for the citizenship category and he missed a Popsicle party because he had 2 tickets and only kids with 1 ticket or less got to go. The worst was when he told me that he just wasn't one of those kids who gets awards. UGH! So you can imagine my surprise and utter delight when we received a letter from Condit letting us know that our son was selected to receive the "Soaring Condor Award" that means he has gone above and beyond in both citizenship as well as academics. On top of that his teacher has been raving about his change in behavior and we received a stunning report card. Relief as well as pride are only two of the ways I feel about this! Way to go Zac!

Cheating

2011-03-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

I have been in a such a funk since Mark, Susan, Andrew, and Thomas left. We had such a great visit and when reality hit Thursday morning I wasn't quite prepared. I think today the light is beginning to shine again. I'm sure my husband and all near me will be grateful! When we went to my parent's house last night for dinner, Luke walked back to the bedrooms (that are cleaned of all Henderson visit evidence) putting out his hands, palms up, as if to ask, "Where'd they go?"

Yes I am feeling less crummy but, I am still going to cheat and provide a link to the best recap of our time spent together. I will add that I am so touched by the immediate connection my kids have with Andrew and Thomas every time we see them. It broke my heart to see Zac cry upon saying good bye. Claire is just wondering when we are going to move to Kansas and have a house with stairs. Oh and she wants to see the dog that licks a lot! Maybe someday, although Andrew told us we really shouldn't move to Kansas because there is "way more to do in California!"

Griffith Park is still way fun when it's closed!

Can't Wait

2011-03-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

I am skipping ahead here but this is too good not to share immediately. Mark, Susan, Andrew, and Thomas are here. The fun has begun!

Free Entertainment

2011-03-08T14:48:00.001-08:00

Ours neighbors across the street are adding on to their house. We are on week two of construction with the street lined with trucks and lots of workers milling around, not to mention the Porto potty in the front yard that Zac finds quite amusing. Rather than a nuisance, this has worked in our favor. It has provided my children with hours of free entertainment.

I finally got sick of standing in the doorway with Luke when the front loader was digging and dumping and thought I should just get him a chair. He sat there for at least 30 minutes.

Here they are today before school watching Claire's favorite choice of truck, the mixer.

My only irritation to this is that Luke now periodically goes to the front door with a toy truck in hand crying "Out!" All. Day.

But I do feel this is better than what he has been trying to bring in the house lately.

Funny

2011-03-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

For two weeks we are studying penguins in my first grade classroom. On Friday I had a few minutes before the kids went home so I thought it would be great to show them some of the movie The March of the Penguins. (If you haven't seen it, you should. Although admittedly I only made it to the part where the father's are huddled together freezing. Sometimes nature can be a bit too hard for me to handle.) My kids are gathered on the carpet mesmerized. We got to the part where the march begins and you see hundreds of penguins in a line, waddling on the ice. Then of course they have to show you the one penguin in the back, struggling, that isn't going to make it. I begin to see looks of panic and concern on my students' faces.

Me - That penguin isn't going to make it with the rest of the group. He is going to die.

Girl - Why?

Me - Well it's just like people. Some people live to be very old, and some people don't.

Silence.

A different girl - Just like Michael Jackson.

Silence

Boy - Yeah. Because of those pills.

Snow?

2011-02-27T15:46:00.000-08:00

Californians have been quite anxious this past week looking toward Saturday (yesterday) when we would actually have snowfall. All of us with fancy droid phones thought it was pretty neat to see the snowflakes falling across the screen adding to our anticipation. Well yesterday came and it was COLD. But it was also beautiful. Where there weren't clouds there was crystal blue sky. At about 9 a.m. we could see a very dark cloud coming our way. My dad called and said it was hailing at his house and sure enough it started hailing while on the phone together. Sara and Zac ran out to feel the ice that we so rarely get, Claire was content watching from the window, and I battled to keep Luke in my arms. It was cool. Not snow, but still cool!

Unfortunately for Sara, it snowed in Burbank where she lives. She got off the phone with her mom and was in tears. Apparently it snowed enough that it stayed on the ground and dusted everything white. And Sara missed it. Damn. Not what you want to happen when she is already not visiting regularly and our weekend happened to be pretty dull.

Dull except for Claire's party finally happening!! Here is a quick recap of the fun illustrated in pictures.

Here I am. Solo parenting since Eric was in Washington D.C. for work. Claire is wearing the present I bought her not really as a bribe but something to sweeten the fact that a gymnastics party was NOT the original plan.

The kids got to hula hoop, jump rope, jump on the trampoline, do obstacle courses, a pinata and more.

This is how Zac and Sara looked the entire weekend. They were a little too cool for the five year old gymnastics, but they were still helpful.

Here is the amazing Barbie cake that Oma made! Wow!

Here is Claire with the Barbie after all of the cake was eaten off around her. Thanks to the help from my wonderful family, we pulled it off!

Where was Luke? I'm sure my mom will blog about that soon. :)

My Helper

2011-02-23T12:59:00.001-08:00

This is what happens when you ask your 7 year old to "organize" the doll house.

When I began rolling on the floor with laughter he seemed genuinely confused. When I told him what I was laughing at he asked, "What? She's bathing and you can't have your pants up on the toilet!" Then he started to laugh too. He is home on day 2 with a low fever and headache. It has been really nice to have him around!

Claire Bear

2011-02-20T15:36:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow Claire turns 5! I am starting to panic a little because I still call her baby and, I hate to admit, I treat her much younger than I remember treating Zac at 5. I worry a bit that I am being sexist and I am doing permanent damage to Claire. But I also realize that birth order truly impacts parenting and leaves a lasting effect on kids, not necessarily damage. I have no real research to back up this statement other than personal experience. When I am with my parents and brother, I immediately regress into my little sister/baby status. I think the best way to describe Claire is put best by my mother. She is very self possessed!

Things I love about Claire:

She has to wear a "poofy" dress and if it isn't "poofy." Then we have to wear the "poofy" skirt underneath the dress to make it, well, "poofy."

She puts a "y" at the end of every word. i.e. Uppy, milky, huggy... (Something I plan to remedy before Kindergarten but remains a little cute right now.)

The more sparkles, the happier she is.

When I tell her she's smart and beautiful she says, "I know."

When she is hungry she can eat more than anybody in the house but can easily stop in the middle of a dessert if she's not.

She giggles and laughs a lot!

She loves music and loves to dance. Her latest favorite is (it's hard to announce publicly) Justin Bieber. Yep. Nothing can be done.

She loves her friends!

I can take her anywhere and she wouldn't mind if I left her there. (Can be concerning as well!)

She climbs trees and keeps up with the boys even in her "poofy" dress!

Things I love not so much but must be noted:

Claire has a glare where she drops her head but looks up at you with her eyes and pouts out her enormous lips.

Every injury requires a dramatic episode and a limp even if it was her arm.

She cries at the doctor and dentist as if she is being tortured.

When she is tired she cries quite a bit and insists that we all don't like her. (Which in turn makes us laugh so she cries harder. Sorry Claire.)

We planned an outdoor birthday celebration yesterday with a princess castle bounce house/slide combination. Usually a safe choice since this is California. But it rained and it was really cold. So we postponed the party and hope to do it next weekend. When we told Claire I was prepared for tears or at least some sadness. She could have cared less! Love that girl! :)

Basketball, Birthdays, Ballet, and Best friends

2011-01-29T18:15:00.000-08:00

Last weekend when we celebrated Oma's birthday, Sara and I ventured to Glass and Bead to make a necklace for her. It was hysterical! As Sara put it, "There were many blond moments." But the result was a beautiful necklace that Oma loved. Happy Birthday Oma!

When we celebrated with Butch we did the usual Sunday tradition of "Noodle Night" and topped it off with a cake that the kids and I made. Sara (a perfectionist like her father) was very depressed because we didn't wait long enough to put on the frosting. We documented her feelings on the tragedy.

But it tasted great!

Happy Birthday dad!

Claire got promoted at ballet this month. I have to admit I am SO FREAKING PROUD! The teacher asked her to be in the class with Kindergartners, first, and second graders! She fits right in and is actually challenged. More importantly, she loves it! She will be in her first recital in June which is quite a production. Stay tuned!

Zac started basketball. Good thing since he has been claiming it as his favorite sport for quite a while now. Now he will find out for sure. He is having a blast with his best friend Kyle.

Another of Zac's good friends, Drew, came over for a play date today. They had a great time! Claire really wanted to get in on the action.

His parents were due to arrive at 12:30. At 12:33 I see Drew laying face down in the backyard crying. I felt some relief when there was no blood and a bit more relief when he barely cried and got right up to get some ice. He just got a good bump right in the middle of his forehead after falling from the tree swing. My play date nightmare come true! Thank goodness I have known his parents since Jr. High and they promise they will allow him over again some time.

Trust

2011-01-25T10:13:00.000-08:00

Sara visited this weekend to help celebrate Oma's 59th birthday and Butch's 72nd! We hadn't seen her since Christmas and she had lots to fill us in on. Like her sprained ankle and an ER visit. The sprained ankle was just Sara falling over herself and the ER visit was another Sara being Sara. Apparently she sat down on the couch and felt a sharp prick but didn't think much of it. As time passed she realized the pain was increasing. Eventually she said she began to scream especially after she realized she had sat on a pencil and it was deep within her leg. Don't worry. They got it out at the ER and put her on some drugs to ensure there would be no infection. It's ok. We laughed too and apparently so did her mom! :)
I have to note Saturday morning as a big event for us and Sara. We left her home alone with Luke J. for the first time. First I asked her about it casually to see how quickly and easily she would answer. Her response was immediate with a "Sure!" And I was just fine about it until I called Butch on my way out. I told him Sara was baby sitting for the first time and I mentioned a teeny bit of worry and his response is, "Yeah. I would worry too." Super comforting pastor. Thanks! But she survived and seemed to really enjoy it. When I got home I found this on the counter.

So sweet. Love her!

Cheese!

2011-01-17T07:12:00.000-08:00

It's beautiful right now in California. Perfect for a three day weekend in honor of MLK Jr. We took advantage and spent the evening outside. Yes I had to threaten to take away various hand held devices first, but once outside they were great!
Our concern for Luke's not talking is very real yet we are pretty sure he is attempting some words. Here is some extremely snotty, dirty video footage from our back yard fun.

Happy weekend all!

Back to Reality

2011-01-06T18:34:00.000-08:00

Monday school resumed, but I didn't start teaching again until today. I feel worked. I am crossed eyed and kind of dizzy actually. Hmmm. Amazing how 2 weeks can alter your stamina.

Anyway, I came back to Vista today after a break in that occurred over the holiday. It was worse than I first heard and they are quite sure that it was former students. So sad. There was a camera stolen from my class and a lap top from another. Lots of vandalism and a huge mess. But the worst thing that happened was that they killed the bearded dragon that lived next door to me in the other first grade. They poured cleaner into her cage and of course she didn't survive. An awful person vandalizes and steals, but I think it takes some one with serious issues to harm a helpless living thing. RIP Buzz. The Claremont police department are actually buying a new one for us. Very nice.

A few favorite moments from my day: A former student of mine that comes from an extremely dysfunctional family saw me and literally lit up with the best smile and gave me a big hug. Another dysfunctional student that is new this year and in the fourth grade has taken a liking to me told me he was going to come see me at recess every day to help me out. At a parent meeting after school a very funny, outspoken, African-America mom told me that her son listens to me and my partner well. She reminded me that he doesn't respond to any of the sweet "honey" or "baby" talk. He needs the "black momma" not to be confused with "mommy." I started laughing and she was very serious. She asked me if I put that in my notes and I said, "definitely."

I have days where I feel like teaching isn't the job for me. It can be so draining and sometimes not fulfilling. But then you have a day like this one and it's as if your fire has been lit once again and you have the energy to last a while longer. At least until tomorrow.;)

1-1-11

2011-01-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

We celebrated last night with the Tucker cousins at 9:00 (midnight in New York!) and were in bed by 10. My idea of a perfect night!

My first day of the new year consisted of sleeping until 8 (thank you Eric), taking down Christmas decorations, playing the Wii and loosing terribly to Zac, changing Claire's outfit a few times, and helping Luke find and collect all of the pacifiers we found and collected yesterday.

Me: Zac, will you take this present next door?
Zac: No thanks. I don't really know how to go to people's houses. (pause) Unless it's Halloween.

Claire: Some day I will get married. But first a boy has to find me. And I can't marry Zac or Luke.

Luke:

Yeah. Still not talking. Fingers crossed he will soon!

Snow

2010-12-30T16:16:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning we packed up the kids and the car and headed up to Big Bear to stay at Eric's family cabin "Tucker Inn." The forecast said sunny, then snow, then sunny. Perfect! And it was. We arrived to sunny skies and plenty of snow to play in. When we woke up on Wednesday it was snowing. And it just kept snowing. All day in fact! I don't think I have been in falling snow since high school or maybe once during my short stay at KU. Anyway, it snowed! The kids did it all: snowball fights, snowman building, and sledding. All in our yard! Very convenient since we had to give Luke limited snow moments in between breathing treatments. All he wanted to do was eat some snow, then go inside and play by the fire. Inside the cabin we enjoyed a warm fire, hot chocolate, a great dinner grilled by Eric, movies, and card games. We had to build quite an elaborate gate blockade on the stairs for Luke. But once he went to sleep, Zac and Claire had a blast sliding down the stairs on their cute butts. Something I remember doing in my childhood home in Kansas. Totally not safe but we were exposing the kids to new things this trip. :) Thanks Gary and Diana for allowing us to crash and play!

*I want to point out a few things in this video that will surely get my brother and sister-in-law giggling at our California-ness. My kids are wearing jeans, Claire's jacket is cloth, Zac's jacket is broken, Eric has no gloves, and it's probably just funny that the whole thing is an event and worth video taping! Hey. They got gloves and snow boots. That was a miracle. Thanks to Zappos overnight shipping! ")

Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T07:59:00.000-08:00

Four celebrations later and we are done. Christmas began with a gathering at our house to open presents with Sara. All the kids got to open 2 presents. One was from Oma that contained the traditional Christmas p.j.'s.

Christmas Eve we went to church for the kid's service. Claire was excited to see her girl pals dressed in their Christmas best just like her. Zac sang in the children's choir and also participated in a living acrostic poem. He was the letter 'R' in Merry. It was pretty cute. Luke decided church should remain in the morning hour and cried and fussed throughout the service. The best moment was when he took a bite out of a candle. I mean, a giant bite where he had to chew for a while to get it down. And yes of course I tried to get it out but he is 20 months old with a full set of teeth. I'll show you the bruise on my finger later. We also attempted and failed to eat dinner out at a local Chinese restaurant. That ended with Eric and Luke in the car while I stayed inside with Z and C boxing up the food. It tasted just as good at home. :)

Christmas morning was awesome. Santa left one present unopened for each kid. A guitar for Zac, a furreal dog for Claire, and an automatic ATV for Luke. It was so great how Luke knew which gift was for him. He doesn't get Santa, but he got that there was one spectacular new toy waiting just for him! Butch and Roro came for breakfast at 9:00 and actually stayed until 11:21! A new record!

Christmas dinner was at Oma and Opa's house where we enjoyed more present opening and a fabulous dinner! Thank you Oma for helping make Christmas fabulous for my family!

Finally our last celebration was yesterday morning where we pretended it was Christmas morning all over again at Butch and Roro's house. Some highlights were the delicious breakfast, mom crying about EVERY gift from a singing snowman to a good legitimate cry over a beautiful necklace dad surprised her with, about 100 pictures taken to get "just my head and the necklace," and finally a family walk up to Eric's classroom to feed the tortoises. I think the best gift was a recordable book of the Night Before Christmas by Butch. Very cool.

Christmas is a lot of work, but so worth it. Every year I think about how much I loved the season as a child but never realized the backstage preparations that went on. So I am publicly thanking you mom and dad for all your hard work. And even you Mark for not spoiling it because being 11 years older, you totally could have! Love you all!

Ice Skating

2010-12-23T18:32:00.001-08:00

Zac has been begging to ice skate ever since we passed by a rink outside of the Nokia theater a few weeks ago. Eric and I promised him that we would take him over winter break and Claire promised she would NOT be going. She insisted that Oma will watch her and Luke. NO skating until she is 7! So today we went. Sara is here and we thought it was a perfect time.

Here are our first moments on the ice. This provided me with a good side splitting laugh!

I soon realized a few things. First, I am not as young as I used to be. Second, I have a definite case of mom anxiety. It didn't help that many of the other kids Zac's age were outfitted with helmets. I decided Eric needed to take charge of Zac, then Sara and I can stumble in circles together. Side note: Sara text messaged me the other day that she is a little "iffy" the first time on the ice, but after about 5 minutes it's as if she was "born to skate." Not so much this time. We did notice her skates were a little loose and after a good tightening it helped her get the hang of it. She was a great partner!

I lasted about an hour and then took a seat. Here is Zac's progress. I am very impressed at his will. He did not want to take a break. He was certainly determined. A good quality no doubt!

We have even promised to do it again. It was a cheap and fun way to exercise and play together. But ask me again tomorrow when I can't move my legs. My outlook may change.

Ode to Bus

2010-12-23T09:28:00.000-08:00

Here is the world's most (in my opinion) tolerant dog. She has endured being thrown in a dumpster at birth, living in a house with all boys who paid no attention to her, surviving numerous attacks by other dogs, Sara, Zac, Claire, and now the worst EVER...

LUKE J.!

He means well. Dogs appear to be his favorite thing ever (next to Elmo). He just pets a little too hard, pulls hair a little too much, and steals her food - all the time.

Get a Grip

2010-12-18T16:02:00.000-08:00

I am a bit concerned about my emotional stability as of late. It seems that I get teary eyed at least once a day. Here is a list of a few of the moments that have moved me in the past 7 days. Some legitimate, others concerning.

The kick-line at the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular.

The song Where Are You Christmas playing on the radio.

At the movie theater at least three times during the latest Harry Potter movie.

When Zac walked up the sidewalk to school blowing kisses at me.

When we got home from seeing the Pulminoligist with Luke.

At an announcement my principal made over the intercom at my school.

When a coworker gave me chocolate.

When Claire came to work with me and ran out to the playground with my first graders without a care as to where and what I was doing.

That darn Children's Hospital Commercial with Jennifer Aniston.

When my job share partner told me she wants to work full time.

At the end of Polar Express when that Josh Groban song plays.

The next day when I told some one that my job share partner wants to go full time.

When my students sang at our annual Winter Sing.

When Luke hugged his little friend at school before we went home.

When I simply thought about Bus getting old.

When we sang Christmas carols at my work Christmas party.

When Claire woke up with fever.

When Zac behaved himself beautifully at the Nativity Scene rehearsal.

Looking at my hair in the mirror and realizing I will NEVER get an appointment before Christmas.

I'm sure I have forgotten a few. But this emotional state is getting ridiculous. And no mother. I am NOT pregnant! ;)

First Piano Recital!

2010-12-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

Well we endured a few sleepless nights, some anxiety, and a very nervous tummy. But don't worry, I am okay now. Oh, and Zac was great! He admitted a few nerves this morning and I could see it in his eyes before his name was introduced, but he did it! I am so proud of us, I mean, him! He didn't miss a note. Believe me, I KNOW!

She's 12!

2010-12-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

It is very hard to believe that Sara is turning 12! She is way mature beyond the age of 12, but I can't believe that much time has passed. Just the other day we went to the park and Claire was rocking back and forth on a toy with her hair swinging back and forth. It was a total Sara flashback. It just doesn't seem that long ago that she was rocking on that same horse with the same blond hair bobbing all around her!

Last night we celebrated with a family gathering at our house. As always Sara was thrilled and so thankful of every gift. Either she is an academy award winning actress or she is the most grateful child in the world! I love it! Next weekend she is having a slumber party with 9 girls attending. Wow! I can only imagine the kind of sleep that Jennifer, Mike, and little sister Jude will NOT be getting that night!

Sara: I just know 12 is going to be a great year. I can just feel it! My mom said it was a hard year for her, but it won't be for me.

Me:(Thinking back to my 12th year. One of my WORST years ever!) Yeah. 12 can be challenging. (Thinking back to puberty, Jr. High, braces, friendships crashing and burning. Oh what good times.) But I'm sure it'll be great for you. (Praying my voice sounded optimistic!)

Anyone else have fun 12 year old memories to share? :)

Luke

2010-11-10T11:48:00.000-08:00

I just put my precious little man down for nap, so I thought this would be a great time for some baby blogging.

Favorites -

Luke J. is the sweetest, most loving guy. He waves at everyone and even things. When you take him out of the stroller, he waves good-bye to it. Same thing with the grocery cart, the car, his trike, whatever! When someone he knows comes over, he runs to them pointing and lets out a high pitched sound like, "Aaahhh!" He hugs constantly and without prompting. He dances to any song, even commercials on T.V. He has fallen in love with Elmo and his favorite animal is a dog. Both of these need to be in view for him to survive his new breathing treatment with a special mask that doesn't allow for his other big love- the pacifier! Zac and Claire can get frustrated with him when he knocks over their toys or destroys their games, as siblings do. But they too have fallen victim to his smiles and hugs. He is irresistible!

Challenges -

But he also screams like you are trying to kill him at the barber shop. He has numerous medical issues, beginning with large birth weight, jaundice, webbed tongue, asthma (the worst!), non-allergic rhinitis, ear tubes, and now a tube that has moved and has resulted in an ear infection. Oh, and he doesn't get fevers. So you're never sure if he is really sick. As of yesterday he won't pose for a school picture. I dressed him up and plopped him down in front of the camera only to have him lunge toward me, red-faced and screaming. His teacher thought she would have the magic touch and tried without me this morning. Nope. Oh, well. His fabulous smile and winning personality definitely make up for all the challenges!

The latest excitement is his graduation from the top seat in the grocery cart to the cool car with his big sister!

Celebrations

2010-11-07T06:49:00.000-08:00

Sara came Friday night to celebrate Zachary's birthday with us. The kids haven't seen her since Eric's birthday on Oct. 1. I was outside with the kids and suddenly Sara is streaking past me to get to her siblings. This is what happened next.

Saturday we ventured on to Laser Island for Zac's birthday. We sent Claire to cousin Allie's house (thanks Aunt Lisa and Uncle Chad) and Butch and RoRo got Luke J.. Best plan ever! The party was crazy, exciting, chaos! Oma made another amazing cake and was able to help manage the mayhem and Eric was incredible, playing with the kids and handing out silly bandz. Zac has some really great friends. I am so proud of him!
We finished the evening at home with the family. It was fabulous!

But, I think my favorite Zac birthday moment was a special email sent from uncle Mark.

The caption was, "Getting big." I know. I peed myself! Oh, and Zac thought it was hilarious!

Z is 7!

2010-11-04T16:58:00.000-07:00

A big happy birthday to my first born! Last night Eric and I reminisced about driving to the hospital is supposed labor only to be turned away and how I made him stop for milk and bananas at Stater Brothers. I remember sitting in the car waiting and fogging up the windows while laboring in the car. Sure enough we were back at the hospital only a few hours later. Ouch it hurt!

Yesterday I took treats to Zac's classroom since I had to teach today. This year I volunteer once a week in Room 16 so I get to know the kids a little bit. It is so fun to be in there and to witness him in his element. I know I am blessed to have that opportunity because so many parents can't. They sang a very loud happy birthday to him and only two kids refused my store bought cookies. Yeah. No baking for me. I love Zac's teacher because she too has 3 children and can totally relate to my world and took my cookies with no judgement. She is great!

Today we surprised him with the traditional decorated chair and a pogo stick. I came home from work today and he is already an expert jumper. Thanks grandpa Butch!

He has requested pizza for dinner. Score for me! Saturday is the birthday party at Laser Island. Stay tuned for what is sure to be fun tails from that event!

Happy Happy Birthday Buddy!

Halloween

2010-11-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

Last night before we ventured out for candy, Zac and Claire were busy playing. Claire was pretending to give me a pedicure and Zac found every hair accessory available to put in my hair. It was actually quite fun and it was like a mini foot and head massage. When I told them that I felt loved Zac said, "You are loved mommy." Claire said, "We do love you!" and then hugged me.
I later told Eric to help me remember that moment when they are telling me how mean I am in the morning when I won't let them eat candy before school.

Halloween memories-
Claire spiking fever the night before only to find out she has strep throat today.
Luke wearing Zac's Dinosaur costume from when he was 2 since it was too chilly to be Scooby.
Zac telling Claire it is rude to walk through some one's lawn as he walked around it.
Eric's brilliant idea of pulling the kids in a wagon and Luke in the stroller.
Luke walking to a stranger's door reaching out for candy before it is even offered and after I say he doesn't need any.
Zac and Claire saying all of their lines correctly: Trick or Treat? Thank you! and Happy Halloween!

Getting Old - er

2010-10-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

Eric and I (especially I) were really excited to get an invite out with friends to visit a local restaurant for their late night Halloween Party. Every year I want to dress up fancy, do the couples outfit, and party. So we did!

Yes. We are a bit geeky.

Caesar and his Roman Empress stayed out until 12:30 a.m. When did that become WAY TOO LATE? I am hurting so incredibly bad today that I can't wait for bedtime. My muscles ache and my eyes are blood shot.
Tonight we walked by a Halloween store and saw that on Monday all costumes go on sale 50% off. We are so there. Hopefully by next year we will be ready to do it again.

Catch Up!

2010-10-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

I think it is obvious by my lack of blogging that I am a bit busy. It seems as though every day is a balancing act and I am always playing catch up. I know I am NOT alone so that makes me feel better! So here is my catch up blog.

Claire no longer fears soccer. She scored a record 5 goals in her game today!
She is a super star in her ballet class which doesn't thrill me at all (heavy sarcasm here).

Zac scored 2 goals but when asked he tells people he plays basketball. He started piano lessons and absolutely LOVES it. He actually reads the music and translates it to his fingers. Who knew!? His birthday is rapidly approaching and I just mailed the invites today. I can't wait until he doesn't want to invite every person he knows. Birthdays shouldn't be this stressful and they really shouldn't put you in greater debt! I'm afraid, and have confirmed this after talking with his teacher, that he has inherited my social wit.

Luke has warmed up to preschool but is the most thrilled when we come to pick him up. I know this since he sprints to the door waving madly at all who can see him. He gives the best hugs and is the cutest dancer. He passed all of his milestones at his 18 month doctor appointment. Oh, except for the needs to know 7 words. I asked if barking and neighing count? Not so much.

We went to the Cal Poly Pumpkin patch and endured the crowds and misty weather. We came home a bit dirty but with a great load of pumpkins lovingly picked by each kid.

We dressed the kids for the annual Village Venture in Claremont today for their Halloween parade. Jengo Fet, Southern Belle, and Scooby Doo were a hit!

By the way, Bus (loyal chow mix about 13 years old) is still alive and well. Just wanted to document that. :)

Ouch

2010-09-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

Right now I am enjoying the sounds of the lawnmower being pushed through my back yard by grandpa Butch and my coughing, asthmatic son who is on a stool watching through the glass door. I am hunched in my computer chair so I don't hurt the sutures in my belly button and burst my newly repaired hernia. Ahhh. So relaxing!

Tonight we are all heading to the LA County fair to ride in the Claremont Day Parade with our own honored "hero" Roro. She is so excited and I know I will be once my entire crew finally manages to arrive on time. She has only asked me 314 times what time we will get there so no pressure. I am really looking forward to some good, greasy fair food and to celebrate my cool mom!

New School Year

2010-09-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

Last week was the start of a new school year for the Tucker family. Eric and I somehow managed to get our classrooms ready a few weeks prior without ending our marriage. Shwew! It helps that I am a morning person and he is an evening person. We just rotated.

Now the other morning person in the family started the big first grade! But not like his usual self he was slow to wake up that morning. Probably because the night before, at his first piano lesson, he was holding his ear and complaining of pain. I knew it was swimmer's ear since there were no other symptoms. So I dosed him up with some ear drops that were Luke's and gave him some Motrin and then prayed that the morning would be brighter. Nope! A few more drops and more Motrin and he was up and ready for school. (If it was contagious I wouldn't have sent him! I promise!) Butch was the lucky first day dropper offer and was able to get Zac to Condit on time and even snapped some photos. We found out the Friday before that Zac got the teacher we were hoping for and one of his best friends is in his class. So perfect! Now if he can just control that charming clownish behavior he inherited from someone...

As for my late night child, princess Claire, the Early Childhood center was closed for its annual 2 weeks. But she did have her first soccer practice! It was super great until the coach had the girls play a game where the coach was a "monster" who was going to take the ball away. Tears. Next game. You have to kick the ball every time you get squirted in the face with a water bottle. More tears. Last game. Cowboys and Indians (Yeah. Super politically correct!) where the "Indians" run while the "Cowboys" try to hit the "Indians" with the ball. Massive tears and we are done. Good times. We'll try again next week. Then ballet started Thursday. Oops. Missed it. Sorry Claire. You will never know until you are old enough to read this blog. :)

16 month old awesome guy, Luke, is as adventurous as ever. He has a few more bumps on his forehead, some new sounds that he uses to convey meaning (no words :/), he's only run into the street once, and we almost lost him at the soccer field. Other than that he is the sweetest, happiest, lovable baby. Big milestone - we have cut pacifier time down to sleep time. Yay! His big day is next Wednesday when he begins his stint at the Early Childhood Center. We (this includes child care providers Butch and Roro) can't wait!

We saw Sara last weekend who had already begun her middle school years. Because of this big change in her world she has decided to visit us a little less for now. I only cried for one night and know that all will be well. It was only a matter of time. Thank goodness for text messaging. She's really talented at that!

I'm Back

2010-08-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday my brother and his family flew in for a visit. They are due to leave here in about 1 hour. I often wait until my extremely intelligent and witty sister-in-law blogs about the trip to save me the trouble. But I thought I would try to be impressive and get a very big head start!

In the last six days my children and their cousins have done more swimming than we have accomplished the entire summer. Sara, Zac, and Andrew (the big kids) took over the big pool while Thomas and Claire turned the spa into a baby pool. It was fabulous! Only a few times did we have to pry the "big kids" out of the spa to restore calm and peace. Luke happily climbed, fell, ate sand, fell, and played every day. Thankfully there were many other adults to keep an eye on that busy baby!

Friday we woke up early, put on our Be Good To People shirts and traveled to Sea World. It was so worth the early wake up call and the 2 hour drive to watch the looks of awe and joy on our kid's faces. Highlights on that trip were the water rides with wet shivering kids who could care less, Eric and Sara sitting 2 rows away from Shamu and getting completely drenched, a very witty Sea Lion show, Shamu necklaces for the kids, and Luke pointing and smiling at the Orca whales sailing out of the water.

Saturday was RoRo's 70th birthday. We had a yummy lunch at P.F. Changs, splashed the kids in the fountain at Victoria Gardens, drove 30 minutes to Yogurtland and came home for more swimming. After dinner we all gathered around to sing and celebrate RoRo. She was pretty excited when she opened up her present to find an ipad. Happy Birthday mom!

Sunday, after more swimming, Eric and I got to spend an evening out with Mark and Susan!! Kid. Free. We saw a movie then devoured a teppan dinner. So fun! I am officially declaring this tradition since we have now accomplished this task three times the last three visits. Well done us!

Monday we boarded a train (Butch's idea! I know. Shocking. Even to him!)to Olvera Street and enjoyed lunch and some shopping. Actually we browsed while slapping hands and voicing threats to the children who wanted to buy everything within reach. I am so glad we didn't come home with a mini guitar! Oh, and we had a celebrity encounter. Ed Begley, Jr. Cool!

Today the swimming stopped. Much to the disappointment of my children. They are currently asking to go swim tonight. I think we may give Butch and RoRo a well deserved break from the chaos. I'm sure as we speak Butch is caressing his spa and balancing chemicals that were surely thrown way off this weekend. Worth every minute!

P.S. Thank you my devoted readers that I didn't know existed. Stalk me anytime! ;)

A Break

2010-07-06T19:56:00.000-07:00

I think I am going to take a small blog break. Some one super helpful pointed out that I have a lot of spelling and grammatical mistakes. I guess I will start writing again when I am not sleep deprived and/or don't have a 1 year old crying at my knee. But I also know that only 2 people read this and I think you both will still love me even with allll my spllinng erers. It don't bother you. Rite? ;)

I can't find any pictures of myself that properly illustrate this post. But I found one of Zac that does! :)

Wacky Wednesday. AYSO Soccer Camp.

The Beginning

2010-06-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

I have just completed my fifth day of summer. School ended last Thursday as did the complete chaos.

I finished "checking out" of my class room today and when I asked my principal if I should turn in my key he said, "No!" I guess we can look at that as a good thing. Unfortunately he has very little, if any, impact on my fate in the district. But for now I've got my key and my bearded dragon isn't moving to my parent's garage, but staying in Room 3 for now.

Eric attended his old school's graduation and had a very warm reception of course. He finally felt contented enough in Claremont (heavy sigh of relief insert here) to go back to visit San Dimas. At Claremont's graduation ceremony he was asked by quite a few students (including the valedictorian) to hand them their diploma. Pretty cool for a first year teacher!

Zac completed Kindergarten with flying colors and is so excited to be a first grader. Claire is super excited to be almost a Kindergartner. She is a crack up!

Luke got his first bee sting today and survived. Wouldn't you know it, I stepped inside to use the facilities and when I returned Zac was yelling, "Luke got stung by a bee!" UGH! According to Zac, who by the way is being my very best stay at home and run errands buddy, the bee landed in the water table and Luke picked it up. Flash back to Zac at two years old except exchange water table for baby blow up pool.

Summer vacation is off to a great start! I have just a few goals to accomplish. Most are completely unrealistic, but aren't they always? I'll let you know when I loose 15lbs. and completely reorganize the house. ;)

Bubble Man

2010-06-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

Back in April, during Spring Break, Eric and I took Zac and Claire to the Discovery Science Center. While there we saw a show with the amazing bubble man, Fan Yang. It was really cool for the kids and admittedly quite fascinating for the adults as well. It was a full production with colored strobe lights, techno music, and choreographed bubble art! Apparently it really struck a chord with Eric. He was truly inspired.

Sunshine

2010-05-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

Today the sun is shining and things are looking brighter around this house! Here is what we are doing today on this lovely Sunday. (Yeah. Not church. Guilt.)

In the weeks before today we have battled the stomach flu (Happy Mother's Day to me!), completed a masters thesis (Eric), received a final notice of "Nonreemployment" (me), prepared for Open House (mine), and fought another asthma attack/pneumonia (Luke) - scariest episode yet! Once again without the help of family we wouldn't survive it at all! There are days, and I know at least one person reading this can bond;), that I don't think I can manage it all. I am amazed my friendships, and marriage have persevered with only a little reparable damage!

A few extras -

*Eric is not nonreemployed (my new favorite not real word). He got an intent to rehire letter. Yay!

*Claire - (throwing up) I feel like I'm going to cry. Me - It's ok to cry, you are really sick and it is no fun! Claire - OK... Waaaaahhhhhh!!!

*Zac - (After I told him I can't go to an event at his school.) I want my Butchy to go!

*Sara "graduated" from 5th grade. She is now an official Junior High kid! She is so excited!

*As I type this, Luke is running around the house, in a diaper, with a pacifier in his mouth, and a hand full of my tampons. I think it's a step up from the pooper scooper.

2 in 1!

2010-05-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

The new improved Pooper Scooper! As always it will help rid your yard of giant, fly attracting, piles of dog (and tortoise) poop! But now, the new improved Pooper Scooper will provide hours of entertainment to 12 - 13 month old boys! The rake in one hand, the scoop in the other. Drag them around the yard and bang them on the ground. There is just too much fun to be had!

Hillarious!

2010-05-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

Claire and I went to a birthday party today for two male twins. It was a super hero party and Batman came! Claire was terrified! But being the good girl she is, she so wanted to cooperate and do what Batman asked of her. For the first game she stood in line, just like he asked, she shouted "yes", just like he asked, all the while wiping the tears from her eyes.

The second game they brought out a parachute and Claire relaxed and had a great time. His cape touched her once and she thought that was soooo funny!

The third game required the kids to gather on the grass with Batman. His assistant turned on the Batman theme song so I thought it was a perfect time to get some video footage. I have always wanted a video like this. I hope to send it in to AFV. I'm sure you have seen it before, just not with Claire in it.

Now watch it again and you can see the moment she looks back at Batman and quickly decides to get the heck out!

Don't worry. She isn't too scarred. She worked up enough courage to give him a hi-five before he left back to his Bat cave.

Ballet Update

2010-04-28T15:32:00.001-07:00

Thankfully I didn't mention to Claire on the way to ballet anything about the galloping. Since the teacher didn't ask them to gallop at all! :/ I kept waiting to hear the music, watching through the tiny window to see Claire's excitement. It never happened. But, there was another little dance that the teacher always held Claire's hand for that she did all by herself this week. (Did I mention Claire is the youngest in this class?) The teacher praised her and Claire beamed.

As we are leaving ballet and walking to the car, Claire gallops all the way. Just in time, her teacher opens the door and sees her. It was perfect! Her teacher got excited and praised her once again. Shew!! No esteem damage today!

April

2010-04-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

April is by far the busiest month for my family. I have such guilt that I haven't found time to blog about Luke's first birthday until now!

We had the best celebration ever. We all wore Notre Dame gear for the football themed event and Eric happily shared his many jerseys with family and friends. We devoured lots of yummy appetizers and beer. Eric played the longest game of football ever attempted in our back yard. Although Luke had no clue what was going on I think he enjoyed himself!

Now that he is an official 1 year old he is busy walking everywhere, pointing and saying, "Mmm!" It sounds like he's also saying "Mama" but I will admit it could just be babble. He loves to hug and he gives giant, open mouthed kisses. He thinks pulling his brother and sister's hair is really funny. It wasn't as cute when he tried to do it at church school to another baby! So we are working on that one! He is easily entertained by things like opening and closing doors and cupboards, water splashing, and always singing! He is quick to eat any disgusting item within reach. More than my other kids ever did. This includes a lot of dirt and sand. Thank God for the magical-keep my mouth busy-jewel also know as the pacifier. Most of all he is adorable and incredibly smart! It has amazed me, after having each one of my kids, how it feels like they were always there. It has been the fastest, most challenging, at times overwhelming, and most fabulous year of our lives! Yay Luke J.!

Zac had a few milestones this month. The first being a second trip to the Principal's office. Yes. The second. In the same month. Awesome! The first was no big deal. He and his best buddy were caught playing the infamous game, "If you don't like the smell of a flower then punch me in the stomach." When I asked Zac how it felt to be sent to the Principal's office he replied, "It smelled good." Yikes!
The second trip began with a spitting on the arm activity and sand that somehow evolved into a spit on your privates game. Oh the joys of 6 year old boys! The other 2 boys and their mothers (who thank goodness are so ultra cool!), Zac, (Luke) and I were pulled into the classroom with their teacher after school. She closed the doors and suddenly it felt a bit hot and stuffy-ish in there. After a humiliating talking to where my son, "the boss," only embarrassed me 3 times to be exact we quickly walked to the car where I could safely close the doors for my official chewing out. After no TV for a week and no Wii for the weekend we are back on track. I pray. The positive lesson we got from this was that Zac has great leadership potential. He speaks up for himself and isn't intimidated by authority. (Not positive the last one is a good thing.) So Eric and I now see our mission. How do we foster these skills in a positive way? Please email with any suggestions. :)

His second milestone was that he was one of 4 Kindergartners and the first in his class to complete 25 miles in the 100 mile club. He was presented a special shirt at an assembly and proudly wears it every Monday when they run. So cool!

Claire's accomplishments this month are skipping and galloping. She started her "real ballet" at the Village Dance Arts. She was mortified the first day when everyone could skip except her. All she could do was gallop. (It also didn't help that I thought she wasn't allowed to wear a skirt and all the other girls came in with ridiculously fancy ballet skirts. Aaww the joys of parenting and the guilt!) So we went home and she got it that night. I so wish I had a camera for the look on her face when it clicked! The next week at ballet she proudly showed off her new skill. But then the teacher put on a different song and asked the kids to gallop. Suddenly all Claire could do was skip! Now here we are 3 weeks later and we've go the gallop skill back. Tomorrow she will have the chance to show it off. When you are 4, these things are BIG! To be continued...

Spring Break 2

2010-04-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

A few hours after my last post our plans changed. Upon taking a closer look at our Disneyland ticket stubs we realized that we couldn't go unless we paid a lot of money! This realization came after the kids had picked out their Disney outfits and were sound asleep. So you can imagine how I felt when Zac ran into the bathroom at 6:30 in the morning dressed in his Lightening McQueen shirt and announced, "I'm ready!" Yeah. Just stab me in the heart already! I hugged him and told him my mistake. At first he groaned, "Aaahh!" But then he says, "It's ok." When I told Claire she said, "That's ok. We already went there anyway." Yes they are amazing but it helped that Eric and I quickly revamped plans to the Discovery Science Center. We had the best day! Last time we went the kids were too young to really enjoy it. We left Luke with RoRo and the four of us had a stellar day. Shew! That was close!

The rest of the break was great. Yesterday was back to reality, oh, and my birthday. I've been a mom for 6 years now and it still disappoints me that my kids don't treat me differently on my birthday and completely take care of themselves. I guess I have a few years before I receive that gift! But mostly it was a pretty good day. I dragged myself to the gym so I could enjoy eating on my birthday since that is one of my favorite things to do. Mom, Luke, and I enjoyed a fabulous lunch with a surprise scone topped with a candle for dessert. (Thanks nice Indian woman who owns Deli V!) Eric grocery shopped for me as my birthday gift. Doesn't sound extravagant but if you knew how much I loathed shopping you would understand. We ended the evening with take in Sushi and ice cream. Before bed I was sitting on the couch with Claire and she said, "Mommy, we didn't sing happy birthday to you." She proceeded to sing it quietly in my ear, then again when I tucked her into bed. Wow, I love that kid!

Tomorrow is Luke J.'s first birthday. Today he had his doctor appointment where I found out he is almost 25lbs, which is only the 75%, but 29 inches, which is the 98%. A big, super cute, dude. He got 3 shots and screamed for a long time since I forgot the pacifier! A BIG mistake that will never happen again!

I have to share this video with you. Be honest. Is he brilliant or just developmentally on target?

Spring Break

2010-04-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

Aah Spring! Our Spring Break officially began today since yesterday it was 48 degrees and pouring rain. Today the sun is out and it is absolutely beautiful! While running errands this morning, on an impulse, I purchased two hula hoops. I had no idea how entertaining that impulse would be! Nor did I know the hidden talents of Zachary.

Tomorrow we are off to Disneyland to make use of the 2 for 1 offer we got when my brother's family was here. Yay! I hope we will have at least half as much fun as we had he last trip!

I Love Easter!

2010-04-04T17:39:00.000-07:00

Yes I am here. It has been well over a month since my last post. I will blame it on report cards, more illness, a busy new walking baby, and a REALLY slow computer.

Here is a short but sweet entry to say that I love Easter. Despite running around like a mad woman to get everyone dressed in their special outfits I picked out and to make it to church on time, I still love Easter! Last year I was 2 days from labor so I noted how much better I felt this year. I am considerably smaller although just as tired!

The usuals came to our house for yummy food and to bask in the joy of cousins running amok. The Easter bunny delivered super cute coordinated bathing suits for the kids (gosh she, I mean he, is good!) and way too much candy! The afternoon welcomed a late nap (only I was disturbed by the earthquake) and now lazy playing in front of a movie. Love it!

Claire Turns 4!

2010-02-20T15:28:00.001-08:00

As any parent knows, time goes way too fast when it comes to your children growing up. I still refer to Claire as "baby." I guess now that she is officially 4 years old and she has a baby brother, I should call her something else. Nah. She is still my baby girl.

We celebrated today with her first big girl birthday party. She invited a few friends from school and Cinderella was the main event. I knew Claire was excited when she woke up and immediately put on the new dress we bought her for the party. The deal was sealed when I saw her face when Cinderella arrived. Yep. I got teary. I wasn't alone. I think Oma, RoRo, and Aunt Lisa all got teary more than once! RoRo lost it during the princess dance. I got teary every time Claire reached out to touch Cinderella telling her she likes her dress, her hair, her headband, her everything. Oma barely made it through the finale when Cinderella told the kids she hoped all of their dreams came true and sang the "Dream is a Dream" song. It was beautiful! Even Zac stopped and was wide eyed to hear Cinderella's beautiful voice. The 4 boys we invited spent the majority of their time playing outside while all of the girls enjoyed princess time. But all in all it was a success!

This video gives you a great insite to the event. Make sure you watch untill the end to see Zac being...Zac.

Happy Birthday to the most unique, creative, kind, caring, smart, and beautiful girl in the world! We love you!

Our Future

2010-02-15T15:17:00.000-08:00

Everyone is well aware that California is in pretty bad shape, especially in the area of education. Last Thursday the Superintendent of CUSD (Eric and my employer) made the rounds, informing all teachers of the impending doom.

The optimist in me believes that Eric and I will be exactly where we are next year. But I am also able to run all of the other possibilities through my mind. One of those senerios being that we are both jobless, we sell the house, and move. Yeah, maybe with mom and dad. Wouldn't that be fabulous? ;)

Anyway, just for fun, I came home to the kids and asked them if they would like to move somewhere new?

Me: We would have to leave our school, Oma and Opa, Chad and Lisa, Butch and RoRo, our friends, and our church.

Zac: Awwww. I don't want to leave our church. (pause) But I do hate choir.

Zac: Oh! I do want to live where Andrew lives!! But there are tornadoes. I don't like those!

Later that night during dinner.

Eric: Wouldn't it be fun to move to another country? (Eric and I are beginning to think we may be socialists and should move to Canada, but that's another post.)

Zac: I want to live in AFRICA!!! Oh, but they don't have any food.

Zac: No, I want to live in China 'cause they have really good pasta!

Eric: (spits out his drink)

Claire: I LOVE PASTA!!!!

Our fate will be known in a few short weeks. Cross your fingers...and toes...and well anything you can!

Henderson Visit

2010-02-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

My brother Mark and his family came to visit last Thursday. After all the yucky weather we have had I prayed that it would clear up in time for their arrival and our planned trip to Disneyland. Well, prayers were answered and beautiful it was! It took about 3-5 seconds for the cousins to greet each other then run off to play as if no time had passed. It wasn't long before the big boys, Andrew and Zac, were off creating "mischief of one kind and then another," and Thomas and Claire busied themselves with the amazing ability to take turns and share without any help from others.

We dove right in and whisked everyone off to Disneyland the next morning. We have been waiting for just the right time when everyone was old enough to really enjoy it (aside from Luke of course). Thanks to the advice of my other sister-in-law,Lisa, and fabulous timing, we had a spectacular day! We had front row seats to the most interactive parade I have ever seen! Andrew and Zac attempted a Conga line, Claire and Thomas played a drum and gave hi-fives to every dancer who came close enough. We rode countless rides. Much to our surprise, Claire was fearless and rode EVERYTHING. Yeah, roller coasters! I still can't believe it. Dumbo was a special favorite to my adorable nephew Thomas who isn't a fan of loud and dark and FYI, every Disney ride has loud and dark, except Dumbo of course. Andrew announced at one point that this was the best day of his life. And Zac, who sometimes can't admit how wonderful something is, proclaimed his love for Disney as well! After one roller coaster in particular both Zac and Claire (yes I'm documenting it)shouted "Jesus!" They took the words right out of my mouth!

The next day we wasted no time in getting the Henderson's over to our house for 2 reasons. My kids were dying for them to come and to get away from RoRo who came down with the stomach flu. (Hugest bummer!) I lost track of how many hours the kids played, Mark computered (a new word created just for him), and
Susan and I sat and enjoyed. The boys climbed trees, Thomas and Claire compromised; princesses then monsters. Luke crawled and explored, soaking it all in. No doubt he's anxious to get in on the action!

Sunday we went down town without still sick RoRo and Butch who wasn't feeling well either. We had a yummy lunch and finished with yogurt and some unplanned water play. Sara joined us so we were able to get the "all the grandchildren" picture for RoRo.

Sunday night we grabbed our awesome babysitter and her boyfriend to bravely come to our house and watch 5 kids. (I think her comment when we got home was something about the fact that she really watched 6 kids since her boyfriend was there!) Mark, Susan, Eric, and I enjoyed sushi, beer, and fun storytelling. We have been able to do this the last 2 trips and I think it needs to be tradition. My official declaration!

Our last day together involved a very productive trip to the mall. By productive I mean outfits! We divided and conquered: H&M and Borders, then a meeting at the food court.

Sadly the trip had to end with another family member down (of course it was Claire) and tears had by all.

Great memories were made and I look forward to future adventures! Was that too cheesy?!

Click here for Susan's recount of the trip.

Questions and Answers

2010-01-15T18:39:00.000-08:00

I teach first grade. It's a really fun/funny age. Sometimes I find myself answering questions they never prepared me for during my teacher ed program. These are only answers. You can guess the questions.

No, I am younger than Martin Luther King.
No they didn't have video games when he was alive but, yes, they had food.
No I didn't mean to do my hair funny today.
Yes you have to do work today.
No, sticking out your tongue once is just as bad as sticking it out 3 times.
No. A sofa is a couch.
Yes it could be a bed too.
No you can't eat money. It's pretty dirty.
No I don't mean to walk that way. My back just hurts.

I'm so entertained all the time! These were just this week... and I work part time! :) Love them all!

2009-12-29T14:46:00.000-08:00

December has been an incredibly busy, fun, stressful, and exciting month with so many fun events and celebrations. Sara, Zac, Claire and I went to a Christmas musical with Oma, Aunt Lisa, and Allie. It ended with the kids going up on stage to see Santa and receive a candy cane. It was so cute and really put me in the Christmas spirit.

Every year our church does what I call mini-nativity scene recreation. One lucky family is chosen based on the baby born closest to Dec. 1 to be the Holy Family. I thought after missing it by 2 weeks when Zac was born we were in the clear. Apparently not. So this year baby Jesus was a bouncing baby 8 month old with 3 older siblings. (And Eric as a pretty hot looking Joseph! Ow!) We are quite a progressive church. Last year Jesus was twins with 2 moms.

For this occasion Luke got his first hair cut. The mullet had to go!

We also got to celebrate Sara's 11th birthday. If you remember from a previous entry she was in negotiations with her parents for a cell phone. I am thrilled to say she won and has unlimited texting privileges. Yes! We celebrated with all the family at Oma's with another one of her beautiful homemade cake creations.

The Sunday before Christmas Eric and I gifted ourselves with a babysitter and a night out. The wonderful sitter arrived with fresh baked cookies and all the fixings for the kids to decorate while we went out. Wow! However we were punished for this indulgence when we came home to Claire screaming in pain, sick yet again. After a three hour visit to the doctor that involved blood tests, x-rays, and a thorough head to toenail examination we were sent home with yet another round of antibiotics with the hopes of a peaceful Christmas. The next evening we got a phone call from an on call doctor letting us know that a bacteria had shown up in her blood culture but it was yet to be identified and she indeed has mono. Seriously? Great! That explains the 33 visits to the doctor the past month. Fast forward to today, the bacteria was just a contaminant and the mono is over and really not as scary as we thought. But let me publicly apologize to every person Claire has come into contact with in the last month, i.e. the Early Childhood Center.

Our first of 4 Christmas celebrations began on Wednesday the 23rd with Sara. The family all came to our house for a brunch and mini-present opening.

Our second celebration was Christmas morning. Santa was very good to us as always! Zac got the G.I. Joe he asked for, Claire got her ballerina dress and slippers, and Luke got a super cool tricycle he had no idea he wanted! All of us got the Wii. I'll let you know how good that is when I actually get to play it. Butch and RoRo joined us for breakfast. They arrived at 9:00 a.m. and left at 9:33 a.m. - Butch style. ;)

Celebration number 3 was at Oma and Opa's house Christmas night. We ate fabulous food, played with cousins, and had so much fun opening presents yet again!

Our 4th and final celebration was the day after Christmas at Butch and RoRo's for breakfast and the last bit of presents. It was all so exhausting but so fun! I was sad it had to end.

To make me feel better, we got a sitter again. This time we double dated with 2 of our great friends. The whole event was orchestrated by Eric and began here.

Yes. Rock climbing. I was hoping that it would be the hobby I never knew I wanted to take up but I was wrong. Never-the-less it was fun, especially watching Eric. He gets so jazzed about sharing things he loves with friends. I was anxious to get to the great pub he mentioned that was up the street!

The next day we packed up the kids and went up to Big Bear to stay at Oma and Opa's cabin. After sitting in RI-DONK-U-LOUS traffic, we arrived to a beautiful snow filled town. Zac loved it and didn't mind that we didn't have boots for his poor feet. Claire declared she does NOT like snow, walked around in it for about 15 minutes, and wouldn't touch it since she had a band aid on her thumb and could NOT put on gloves. Luke stayed nice and warm in the cabin...which was wise since we had to leave unexpectedly the next day when he spiked a fever of 102.

Thursday we are going to see Disney on Ice with RoRo (her Christmas present) and January 14th Luke gets to visit the ENT Doctor. The fun never ends around here!

Despite the stress of all the sickness we have endured the last month, Eric and I feel so lucky and thankful for every person in our lives and every minute we get to spend with them. Thanks to all for a Merry Christmas and here's to a Happy New Year!

'Tis The Season!

2009-12-16T18:43:00.000-08:00

Need I say more?

Things that made me smile BIG today!

2009-12-09T18:19:00.000-08:00

We are at the dinner table and Zac is swaying side to side. He gets close enough to Claire that she turns and kisses his cheek. He stops, puts his arm around her and says, "That was sweet," then kisses her back!

And this.

Luke's Baptism

2009-12-07T14:57:00.000-08:00

The last couple of weeks have been a blur of sleepless nights, surgery, urgent care waiting rooms, thermometers, Tylenol, snot, tissue, humidifiers, co-pays, soar throats, albuterol, hydro-cortazoan cream, Neosporin, and a lot more snot. In between all of that fun we managed to celebrate a beautiful Thanksgiving at Chad and Lisa's house, decorate our house for Christmas, go out to dinner for Chad's birthday, and then yesterday, celebrate Luke and cousin Zoe's baptism. Dad made a guest appearance in robe and all to lay his hands on their heads and make them official. Zoe wasn't too sure about this virtual stranger holding her and putting a wet hand on her head. I think for a 20 month old, she handled it quite well. Luke only needed to be plugged with the pacifier once after I tried to wipe his snotty nose before the actual baptism. Eric told me afterward that when I handed Luke to dad, Luke made a face like, "Hey. I know this guy!" That look on Luke's face almost made Eric loose it. I got teary when it hit me that this was it. No more baptisms for us. This is the last time dad will do this for Eric and me. Wow. Last time's are poignant.

Sara

2009-11-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

One of the coolest kids I know, Sara, recently got a personal email address. This has opened up a new communication with her that I am really enjoying. Sara will be 11 years old in a few weeks and is already a teen in so many ways. She told me she is currently in negotiation for a cell phone! The best part of emailing with Sara is not what she writes in the actual email, although the words are always a fancy font with lots of animation, but her subject lines. Here are just a few:

Booya
Sup
Hey Hey
Sooo
im ready!

Love it!

In Case You Didn't Know...

2009-11-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

Claire: I'm in charge of this WHOLE WORLD!

Zac: Actually Claire, God is.

Have to share...

2009-11-15T16:11:00.000-08:00

Claire

As I am buckling Claire in her car seat the other day she asks me about my wedding ring.

Me: Daddy gave it to me when we got married.

Claire: But you're not married.

Me: Yes we are. Daddy and I had a wedding where I got to wear a pretty dress and all of our friends and family came to celebrate.

Claire: You are not married because you're a prisoner.

Me: A what??

Claire: You're a prisoner.

Me: (curious) How am I a prisoner?

Claire: Because you have to work and teach students. You are a prisoner.

Me: I'm a prisoner because I work?

Claire: If you are married you don't have to work any more and you aren't a prisoner any more.

Ummmm. Too many Disney movies perhaps?

Luke

I am home alone with Luke attempting to do house work. I put him in the living room in front of his baby gym with toys dangling from it and pop in the best babysitter ever...Baby Einstein.

A few minutes pass and I peek in to check on him. Luke has completely knocked the over the gym and plugged himself with a pacifier. His eyes were glued to the T.V.
Awesome. Back to work for me!

Happy 6th Zac!

2009-11-13T18:23:00.001-08:00

Birthdays. Fun, but admittedly lots of work!

There are so many issues when it comes to a November birthday baby. Here we are at the beginning of the year at a new school and it's time to make the invite list to the party. I have yet to receive a "Condit Caller" (phone book) so what to do? Invite the whole Kindergarten? Sorry. We are on a tight budget here. Especially since Zac's choice of venue (Pump It Up) charges for each kid over the planned amount. Zac made his list of friends and I spent the following 2 weeks secretly introducing myself to parents and passing them the invite praying that a child who wasn't invited didn't see. (By the way - never doing that again!)

The official celebration began last Wednesday when I went to Zac's class to share the home made brownies I made per his request. His teacher, Ms. Thompson, put a crown on his head and hugged him 6 times for each year. The kids snarfed down the yummies and were all so polite and thankful. I think he has made some really good friends. Shwooh! What a relief!

He came home that afternoon to receive his new (huge) bike (with hand breaks...yikes) and a well timed package from the Henderson crew in Kansas. We went to dinner at Pizza and Stuff and finished off the night with ice cream at Bert & Rocky's. Awesome!

Sunday the birthday party time had arrived. Everyone except 2 people on the list made it! (I feel some sort of personal achievement.) It was so much fun and I didn't have to do anything! With a baby at home and an overworked husband that was the best! The kids jumped and climbed until they were wet with sweat! There were only a few bumped heads and 2 ice packs needed but mostly tons of fun. New friends and old had a blast and spoiled Zac with such well thought out gifts. As I type, he is creating a masterpiece with one of the art activities RoRo gave him. We just ate the last bit of Oma's cake that was created to perfection, as always, and I have finally organized all of the gifts. Thank you notes here we come!

Because of all this celebration I hardly had time to reflect on the 6 years it has been since Zac entered this world. But the other night I lay awake for a while thinking. I thought about the third night of Zac's life when the chaos of a new baby had begun to settle. It was the middle of the night and I remember looking down at him in the bassinet. I can see it so clearly. I was suddenly hit with an overwhelming sense of love that has forever changed my life. Happy Birthday Zachary!

Chef Mom

2009-11-03T19:26:00.001-08:00

Most of my motherly duties I quite enjoy. But packing school lunches isn't one of them. I find that I look forward to when Zac's school is serving chicken nuggets or corn dogs. But Claire's school doesn't provide lunch so...today I thought I'd get a little creative and NOT pack a sandwich. I thought a plethora of choices would be a very satisfying lunch. Wouldn't you love yogurt, cheese, a nutri-grain bar, fruit, and milk?

Claire: Mom? Am I going to school tomorrow?

Me: Yes, of course.

Claire: Am I eating lunch?

Me: Yes.

Claire: Then pack me a SANDWICH! (Picture a fist pound on the table per syllable.)

Me: OK. What kind of sandwich?

Claire: Peanut butter and jelly...like always! (Fist pound, eye rolling, every word sort of sounded like, "Duh you idiot!")

Point made.

A Thank You Note

2009-11-01T08:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Tylenol and Motrin,

The last few weeks, since I threw my back out, have been trying. But you, the great FEVER REDUCERs/PAIN RELIEVERS have been there through it all. You may not have relieved one bit of my pain, yet the simple act of taking you made me feel as though I was doing... something.

You were there for me when we were camping last Sunday morning after I had been up all night listening to those precious 20-somethings drink beer, smoke pot, and philosophize around the campfire. All. Night. You were there on Monday morning approximately 3:00 a.m. when Claire had 103.6 temperature and chills. Then again you were there for her every 3 hours until, well, today. You were there for Zac when he woke up the morning of his school's costume parade and Kindergarten performance when his temperature was 102.7 and every 3 hours or so since. Then finally you were there for Luke's first fever last night on Halloween.

Yes, these times are hard. But thanks to you both (and Eric, Butch, RoRo, Oma, and Opa) we have persevered.

Love always,
Maria

P.S. Eric is off to the store to buy more of you. See you soon.

What A Difference A Year Makes!

2009-09-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

I knew there was a difference on the way to soccer practice a week or two before school started. When we pulled up to the field Zac looked at me and said, "Mommy, on the way here I started getting upset but I told myself that I can do it and now I'm not sad anymore!"
Trying not to laugh out loud (or do a back flip)I smile and tell him how proud he makes me. Of course I also picked up the cell phone to call and ask Eric if he had given Zac some sort of "give your self a pep-talk" pep-talk. He didn't. Hmmmm...
Now he has made up a song to the tune of "Na Na Na Na. Na Na Na Na. Hey Hey Hey. Good-bye." He sings, "We can do it. We can do it. Oh yeah-ah. We can do it." I think the "we" is referring to Claire since he insists she sings along.

Real Kindergarten is going well. Since I teach in the same district I knew there was no way I could take Zac on his first day. My biggest challenge was getting 3 kids and myself out the door and to our various locations. I barely had time to think. It wasn't until I stepped foot on to Vista property and all of Zac's friends (who are now my students) start yelling, "Where's Zac?" My heart ached and the tears sprung. Did we make the right decision? These kids are so sweet and they were such good friends to Zac. He could do first grade, maybe? I know all the teachers here so well and it is fun to see him... Ok, flash forward to today and I am happy with our choice. Grandpa Butch is doing a great job walking with Zac to school. Perhaps even a better job than me since Zac scolded me for not waiting where Butch waits. He is making new friends already, probably the one's he'll have for life.
No longer is he a Vista Viking but a Condit Condor.

Claire has moved up in the world of preschool to the Rainbow Room and she goes every day. I was a little concerned that she would start liking school a little less because of the new schedule but boy was I wrong! No matter what time I show up it seems to be too early for her. She is kind enough to smile and hug me but is in NO hurry to leave and let's me know it. She's our little independent woman already!

Luke J. is 5 months old now. He likes to roll around. He is close to sitting up on his own but still does the occasional tip. No longer can you hold him while you eat at the table because he is in the "grab everything in reach" stage. Cereal and food are his new treats. He appears to hate it when the first bite enters his mouth. He makes a face as if you just stuck a big piece of dog poo in his mouth! But soon he is mouth open, ready for more! He got his first cold last week which called for a trip to Urgent Care on Saturday. I experienced my first breathing treatment and a puffer sent home. Despite his rattled breathing he still sleeps all night and gives anyone who will look his way a huge, full body movement, grin. Oh, and we can't forget his first tooth. Finally a reason for all this drooling!

Pastor Emeritus

2009-09-20T15:44:00.000-07:00

Dad got Emeritized today. (Yep. Not a word. I made it up.) During the service today he was recognized with a nice ceremony acknowledging him as Pastor Emeritus immediately following the sermon. In the sermon Pastor Rob talked about a group he participated in early in his career where pastors got together and rather than talk and support one another they all tried to "one up" the other. So when dad was asked to speak he said, "I was going to talk about my book entitled, Humility and How I Achieved It, but I won't." As always, the congregation got a good laugh. I am always so impressed at his ability to say something witty yet appropriate and then follow it up with something sentimental. I guess after 50+ years of public speaking you get pretty good at it. Finally they gave him a beautiful plaque and honored him with a tearful standing ovation. I say it's about time! Go dad!

Go Mom!

2009-09-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

The other night we enjoyed a family meal at Oma and Opa's house. Claire was in the play room with Zac and her cousin Allie. They all had pretend microphones and Allie was in full performance mode; dancing, singing, and shaking her hips. I wanted to get in on the action so I started dancing and chanting, "Go Allie! Go Allie!" Not wanting to leave the other's out I yelled, "Go Zac! Go Claire!" Unamused at my attempt to be cool, Claire simply says, "I'm not Go-ing."

Best Family Gathering EVER

2009-08-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

Now that we have been home from Kansas for a little over a week now, my post vacation blues are lifting. I always seem to need a few days to recover from being with Mark, Susan, and the kids. Every time we are together takes right off from where we left things. It's as if we live down the street rather than hundreds of miles from each other. When I tell people that ALL (11) of us stayed under one roof (or as Mark would say, "Susan's house") they can't believe it. I know. They are saints!

Now I do suffer a little from blog envy. Susan is a spectacular writer and always manages to have me laughing, crying, or both in her blog. I am so glad that she was able to recap every day of our trip here.

Since we have been home Zac is now a Pokemon addict thanks to his cool cousin Andrew. Claire wants to pretend our living room is a basement since that is where she and Thomas had the most fun. Eric has added more Jayhawk items to his wardrobe and continues to look online for affordable housing in Lawrence. Luke has no memory of the trip but will surely enjoy the photos taken of him patiently riding along in his car seat. :) Me? Well like I told Susan I was inspired by her very organized and beautifully decorated home. I started with my kitchen. Last night I used an ice cream scooper and a crystal serving dish I didn't know I owned. Thanks Susan!

We're Done!

2009-07-23T13:21:00.001-07:00

Today was the last day of swimming lessons! YEA! If you think I am excited, you are right!
Here is my list of reasons why swimming lessons are fun and not-so-fun:

NOT
wet bathing suits
50SPF greasy sunscreen
allergy to sunscreen
goggles that are too loose
goggles that are too tight
allergy to goggles that are too tight
wet towels
lost shoes
heavy bags that don't fit in the stroller
3 month old in the hot stroller in the hot sun
screaming like you are being tortured (Claire)
crying like mom will never return (Zac)
fighting other mothers for the 4 chairs actually in the shade

FUN
cute bathing suits on cuter kids
laughter
big accomplishments
smiles and waves
wet hugs
sno-cones
splashing in the baby pool with family
making friends
great looking swim teachers ;)
boat ride for the last lesson
memories

We are very proud of Zachary for passing Level 4 and very proud of Claire for not passing Level 1 but surviving it! :)

Summer

2009-07-16T20:24:00.001-07:00

Summer is flying by at break neck speed. I fear that all of the big plans I made will never happen. Home organization, baby book, etc. But none the less I am enjoying every second (crickets, bees, and the like.) Eric is teaching summer school but is home early enough to hang out with the family. Zac tried a Golf Camp for a week and reluctantly enjoyed it. Claire has enjoyed some short days at preschool and coming with me to the Claremont Club so I can get this Luke weight off! During all of this we have had fun seeing Sara in between all of her travels and summer camps, spending time with friends, the kids have spent quality time with Oma (even an overnight!, and Luke J. goes along with all of it. Such a good boy! (20lbs. now at 3 months! Yikes!)

Last weekend we went to San Clemente beach with Butch and RoRo. We are so lucky to be able to join them in a beautiful beach house that their very generous friends open up to us. Since Eric is teaching summer school we only spent a short weekend there but had a blast. I actually sat at the beach for longer than a 2 hour stretch of time courtesy of an easy up, helpful husband and parents, and well behaved children. I loved it.

Claire wanted NOTHING to do with the ocean and made sure she didn't get within 20 feet of the water line. But she so loved digging in the sand and making sand castles.

Zac is a great ocean explorer. He has enough of an appreciation for the ocean and all of its mystery to be cautious. Makes supervision much easier.

Butch was able to sit on the beach for a total of 2 minutes. I lost count of his trips up and down the hill from the beach to the beach house and how many times he called me or mom on his cell phone. Try calling him now. He will answer no matter where he is: bike riding, mowing the lawn, driving, important meeting, church...

RoRo was extremely helpful holding Luke and digging with Claire while Zac played in the water. She too likes to use her cell phone. :)

Eric played a lot with Zac in the water then regressed a bit when he decided to do some body boarding that he hasn't attempted since high school. Don't worry, he survived. He even gave Zac some lessons.

Luke enjoyed some quality shade time in this fancy tent courtesy of Aunt Rachy.

The biggest news of the summer is Eric's new job! He will be teaching at Claremont High School in the fall. Although he was very content at his current school, the move is great for his professional growth and for our family. Yay! We are all very proud of him!

Now we are enduring swimming lessons. Zac is a champion swimmer. Claire? Well let's just say that I now know what sheer terror sounds like. We'll save that for another post!

In 2 weeks we are all off to Kansas. We can't wait!

Break Dancer

2009-07-12T17:08:00.001-07:00

I was enjoying a little Black Eyed Peas, "Boom Boom Pow", when Zac ran out of his room in his "break dancing clothes." I think he's got potential!

Pest Control 2

2009-07-03T16:04:00.000-07:00

Now that the crickets have all been found (probably) you would think that I could relax. But no. Not a chance.

There I was (yesterday) sitting happy and content with Luke in my arms, Claire to my side, and my rambunctious 5 year old playing outside when my peace was destroyed. (Yes I am being dramatic.) When Zac comes running in the back door out of breath.

Zac: Mom! You won't believe this. I was checking on my pumpkins and I saw a HUGE bee hive.

Me: (Not believing my son who is typically full of...it) Uh, huh. Close the door. You are letting in the hot air.

Zac: Mom, I'm SERIOUS! It's in the Oak...wait, what is that tree called?

Me: The Mulberry tree.

Zac: Yeah. It's in the Mulberry tree. Come see, come see!

Me: Are you telling the truth Zac? What does it look like?

Zac: Big and brown with lots of bees. Come and see!

Me: Fine.

I walk out and see nothing. Zac pulls me to the north side of the yard and stops. I still see nothing. Zac points to his pumpkin patch and tells me to stand right there.

Then I see it.

Seriously? Why me? Makes you want to throw up a little, doesn't it?

Yes it is still there with apparently no plans on leaving. Of course we don't want to kill them so we are hoping they will do their thing and leave.

FYI - Spraying them with water doesn't work.

Pest Control

2009-07-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

The three kids and I came home today after a full morning of play, swimming, and lunch ready for a well deserved nap. I get Luke into his crib, Zac contained in the living room and walk with Claire to her room to sleep. She immediately starts crying about something "brown moving!" I roll my eyes irritated and then realize that the "brown moving" really is. It's a giant cricket. I call Zac who immediately runs in to save the day. I walk with him to the living room to put the cricket back in the OPEN bag of crickets sitting next to the computer...

Flashback to last night.

Me: Eric. The bag of crickets is open.

Eric: Well they need air.

Me: Can't they get out.

Eric: They won't get out.

Me: (Heavy sigh and eye rolling.)

Back to today.
Zac puts the giant "brown moving" back in the OPEN bag. We go back to Claire's room where she is on top of the bunk bed pointing at the other 2 crickets. Zac once again came to the rescue and Claire went to sleep.
Zac and I spent the next 45 minutes collecting crickets from the boys room, my shower, the bathroom, the hallway, and the living room. We had to leave the 2 giant sized crickets up on the ceiling since neither of us could reach (and we tried). Zac only washed his hands 3 times during the hunt. I only screamed and jumped 3 times.
Satisfied with our work we finally laid down to rest... But first we had to get another 2 crickets.

Eric is home. He has found a few more crickets that we missed. 2 are still on the ceiling. And as I sit here typing, the bag of these beautiful pests, is leaning against the computer screen.

Lost Tooth

2009-06-20T16:38:00.000-07:00

Zac is a "story teller." That is our nice way of saying that he is full of --it, most of the time. I like to think he's...imaginative. Anyway, because of this trait, we often have difficulty believing him. Shocking, I know. So when he told us he had a loose tooth, well, we didn't believe him. Wednesday I decided to take a look at this "loose tooth." Oops. He was telling the truth! In fact it was so loose that it was bleeding a bit. At dinner time he was super dramatic about how he just couldn't eat anything. We tried to convince him to pull it out but he was not having any of that! Soon Zac and Eric started playing around like dads and kids do. Eric began poking Zac in the lips, teasing him. Suddenly Zac turns away with eyes as big as saucers. Sure enough he spits out the tooth! Feel free to try that with your child. It was effortless and apparently painless! Yay Zac
!

Fake Kindergarten

2009-06-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

The school year has come to an end. That means Zac's first year of "fun pretend Kindergarten" is over so he can go to "real Kindergarten" next year.;) The celebrations began a couple of weeks ago at Vista's annual Multicultural Day. Zac's classroom studied the Caribbean. He painted fish, made a shell necklace, a drum, maracas, learned a dance, and much more. The children put on a short play called Hey! Get Off Our Train where Zac played a tiger. He did great reciting his memorized line. The last day of school was quite eventful. After his successful run as a tiger, Zac got to push his performance skills even further. He performed a group dance at the school's talent show. This is called folklorico. I later thanked the mom who coordinated the dance for teaching my little "white boy" such a fabulous dance! You can see more pics on Picasa. Zac's whole class performed the Macarena. I got the last bit on video. Here you will get to see a glimpse of our son being a clown (and he is not alone if you check out his friends). I have no idea where he gets that from!

The end of the day Zac's teachers put on a recognition ceremony. All of the parents piled into the classroom with various recording devices in tow. When it was your child's turn, you were given permission to stand up and take the token shot. Here's ours.

I was not alone as I sat there with tears in my eyes. Mine for different reasons than the others. I feel so lucky that Zac got to experience what I believe to be the best Kindergarten program around with three of the best teachers/friends I know. He will be my only child to attend Vista, where I teach, and I am so glad we got that experience. Making the decision to move him was a hard one! But now I am anxious to find out what it is like to just be mom.

By Luke J.

2009-06-08T17:47:00.001-07:00

Today I am 8 weeks old! I have decided that my family is pretty cool. I'm giving them a few smiles here and there and I make cute little "talking" noises that gets them pretty excited. I've spent the last few nights in my crib and I only wake my mom up once. She seems to like that a lot!

Besides eating, my favorite time of day is bath time. I never cry, even when my mom accidentally makes the water too hot, oh, and too cold that one time. I can't wait until I can get these arms to splash the water out of the tub the way my big bro and sis do!

Speaking of them...they are pretty great. Claire is always telling me what a "good baby" I am and she loves to shove the pacifier in my mouth even when mom says not too. Zac is always kissing my head, rocking my car seat, and shaking really loud toys in my face even when mom says not too.

Dad likes to walk me around the back yard. He uses lots of big words about the plants and wildlife that I don't quite comprehend. Maybe someday. I love being outside with him!

Car rides aren't my favorite. The dumb shade makes it so I can't see anything and I always have gas and my tummy hurts. I've decided that screaming through the entire ride at the top of my lungs is the only way to get me out of that thing!

All in all life is good. I can't wait for what's next!

Suffer through the video and you will finally see me smile. My mom asks that no one teases her about the narration!

The Moby Wrap

2009-06-07T11:36:00.000-07:00

I went to the Village which is Claremont's down town with my friend Iona recently. We went into a trendy new baby shop and soon realized we would buy nothing there because it was too pricey. I soon spotted these baby carrier's that I had seen around town (the Moby) that cost $70 (too much). The owner came over and asked if I wanted to try one on. Since Luke was with me I thought, "why not!" After she trained me in the elaborate art of the wrap, we put Luke in. It was so great! My enormous baby felt light and it was really comfortable unlike my other carrier I had at home. She pointed me toward the non-organic fabric Moby's for only $39! I was sold! When choosing a color the owner informed me that Brad Pitt was seen wearing a black one...a good way to get the husband to wear it.

Twins aren't they! ;)

Great Grandma

2009-05-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

Although I am still suffering from blog phobia, I thought it important to share a special moment.
My children's only living Great Grandparent, Mily Tucker, has been living quite close to us for the past few years. She is 83 years old and has quite a legacy of Tucker children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Two of her daughters are moving her closer to them about an hour away. My mother-in-law,Diana, has been her main caregiver and decided to throw her a little going away party. Great Grandma's request was a pic with all of her great grandkids. Only a handful, ranging in age from newborn to 10 years, could come on short notice. All of us were expecting a photo shoot from hell (to be blunt). We were wrong. The kids were all smiles and happily posed for quite a few shots. (Maybe the promise of cake after the picture helped?) My favorite picture is of Mily with her newest great grandchild Luke.

Writer's Block?

2009-05-23T15:24:00.001-07:00

I have one minute to write and apologize to my 1 maybe 2 loyal readers (mom and Susan...thanks). I have many fabulous anecdotes I would love to blog, but can't seem to find the time or the words. Hopefully I will be back to normal soon. I have a good excuse right? :)

2 Weeks Old

2009-04-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

It was 2 weeks ago that we added the newest member to the Tucker Clan and it has been a whirlwind. Life is now beginning to take on it's new normalcy which involves slight changes to bedtime, mealtime, bath time, playtime, and car loading and unloading routines. Nothing too traumatic so far. I only had one "breakdown" last week when I wasn't able to get the nap I was so looking forward to. I actually cried while speaking to Zac. Oh how I wish I had a camera for the look on his face!
Luke hasn't had any big milestones yet but he is already showing signs of his intelligence(of course). He really is such a good baby. He sleeps, poops, and eats like a champ! I don't know how I got so lucky all 3 times??

He had his first play date. (Eliza Rain, 2 months)

He finally met his big sis Sara.

He went to see Zac sing at the Claremont Shop and Dine event.

He even made it to Claire's ballet class and his first birthday party for his friend Amira who turned 1 year! He has been very busy!

I can do without this Swine Flu scare. I feel like I shouldn't go anywhere or touch anyone and that Zac and Claire should be locked up. But that isn't realistic. Life must go on. I am just doing my duty by keeping the Purell Hand Sanitizer company in business during these hard economic times. :)

Luke Jacob Tucker

2009-04-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

He's here!
As I sat in bed Monday night enjoying one of my favorite shows, Dancing with the Stars, I had my first contraction. Actually my first contraction that didn't feel like the ones I had been feeling since December. I got up and straightened my hair just in case. As they progressed I put in my contacts. Then later I added a light foundation so I wouldn't look too hiteous in pics. ;) At about 11:30 (8 minutes apart) I decided to go tell Eric that it may be time.
We got to the hospital at 12:30, April 14th to find out I was about 4-5cm dilated. Mom and Dad rushed out because I had been warned about how quickly the third delivery would go. Well 11 hours later, after lots of pain, misery, and tears, all 9 pounds, 15 ounces, and 23 inches of Luke arrived.

A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words

2009-04-06T19:06:00.001-07:00

Here I am in January.

Here I am today at exactly 39 weeks.

1cm dilated, constant contractions, but still no baby.

Isn't it time yet?

2009-03-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

Wednesday I got out the dreaded breast pump. Zac was coloring at the table and watching me out of the corner of his eyes. I turned it on and was testing out all the parts when he finally asked, "What is that?" I explained and his reply was, "I'm glad I'm not a girl!"

Thursday Claire and I pull up to mom and dad's house and as I'm getting out of the car I cringe as a contraction begins. Claire says, "Oh. You're having a contraction mommy?"

Friday night Sara is here. Immediately at 8:00 I announce that it is time for bed! (I had been counting the minutes). Sara looks at the clock and says, "At 8:00?" Eric, who has had it with a grumpy wife, simply says, "Yep!"

Please let this baby come soon! We are very ready!

Fooled Again!

2009-03-21T15:29:00.000-07:00

After my first week off of work I am feeling rested, both mentally and physically, and admittedly a teensy bit bored. But today was everything except boring.
Claire started her first ballet class this morning. I found a cheap, 8 week program through the city for 3 and 4 year olds. It was perfect! She was so excited once we got there and she figured out what was going on. She was one of the littlest girls but was a great listener. She followed the teacher and had the best time! And yes, the "Homer tongue" was in full view when concentration was essential!

After lunch I took Sara with me to what I thought was a meeting for All Our Children International, a nonprofit that I am on the board of, but really walked into a surprise baby shower in my honor. One of my best friends, Rachael, is the president of the NGO and totally fooled me! I thought it was strange when I pulled up and saw my friend Iona and her new baby. I just figured that Rachael invited her to be a part of today's meeting. I was seriously that clueless!
I so enjoyed seeing my mom, mother-in-law, and all of my good friends (who I have now learned are fabulous liars!) come together to help celebrate. I got a ton of diapers and other adorable baby things that only get me more excited to meet this new family member! I can't believe that I have been completely surprised two times now by the very people I told to NOT do anything for me. And why is it that both times I chose to wear a sweatshirt and jeans that day?

Got Jesus?

2009-03-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

Last night Eric and I took the kids to see the Watoto Children's Choir from Uganda, Africa at the church. Spectacular doesn't quite explain it and I wish I had photos to share. The children ranged in age from 7 to about 12 and they have been orphaned by AIDS. They train for 6 months and travel in the US to raise money for their new homes (among other things) that were created by a reverend and his wife. The children were so beautiful and the music and dancing were so much fun. The program also displayed video footage of tragic things happening in their country as well as more hopeful. Needless to say, Eric and I took turns weeping. Zac and Claire were riveted and appeared to really enjoy it.
A few of the children spoke and when they did they told that they no longer suffer because of Jesus. "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." They really spoke and sang a lot about Jesus! Eric and I feel like we don't really need to go to church for a good 5 or 6 months because we got more Jesus in the 1 1/2 hours we were there than we have in a long time.
My favorite part of the night was when Claire turned to me and asked, "Who's Jesus?" All I could say was, "I'll tell you later."

2009-03-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

Lately I haven't been quite myself. My aches and pains have been wearing on me, work is difficult because of the horrific situation we are in because of the budget crisis, and I did I mention my aches and pains. ;) Admittedly I could really use a little perking up.
Yesterday I reluctantly made my way toward the regular Wednesday staff meeting at my school. When I opened the door I found all of my co-workers standing in front of me, throwing balloons, and yelling "surprise!" I was truly that. I walked in the room and saw posters saying congrats to me and the baby, a yummy cake, more balloons, and an extravagant gift or two. It is overwhelming to me that amidst economic stress, report cards due, parent conferences, and just life, these fabulous people took a moment to celebrate me and my growing family.
(Especially when I told them not too! =) )
So perked up I am! Loved I feel! I only have a few more days at work per the request of my doctor (and my body) and I can't wait to meet this baby.
Thanks to my fabulous friends at the best school in town!

Sweet Boy

2009-03-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

Recently we decided that Zac can have the choice whether to take a nap or not (but he still has to have "quiet time"). He has always been a great sleeper but had begun to take shorter and shorter naps. Since I am extremely pregnant I was afraid that this change would put a damper on my nap routine. Last week I fell asleep on the couch while Zac quietly colored at the table. Since I am such a light sleeper the next day I decided to lay in my bed while he played quietly. He didn't disturb me at all. I realized that I have got a pretty good deal here! All I need is about half and hour and he is responsible enough to play alone for that time. Today I asked him if he wanted a nap and of course he said no. He just wanted to play with his snakes. I slept for about an hour (oops!) and when I woke up this is what I found.

When he woke up I asked if he had a good nap. He was quick to inform me that he didn't take a nap and that he only closed his eyes for a little while. When I inquired about the one sock he told me that he was half man, half werewolf. He is such a sweet boy!