New Years Holidays

Well, the holidays are over & the kids are going back to school now.
We had a fun restful New year's holiday. On the 31st the kids stayed up until 12:00, I didn't think they could, but they did. We had snacks & chocolate cake & I drank a whole pot of mulled wine since I'm the only one who drinks around here. Good times!
Our family tradition is to sit & watch all the videos we took of the kids when they were babies. We have about 14 hours worth so we spread the viewing out over a few evenings.
We went to parks & played soccer, Kiki practiced rollerblading & Carole played with her remote control car she got for Christmas. We went shopping & ate out a few times, cooked yummy meals in & played scrabble & poker with candies.
The hardest thing about going back to school is having to get up early again & it's freezing cold. Can't wait for spring.

NYEve eve dinner

Kids making sushi.

My year in a nut shell! (courtesy of internet)

January - Took new scarf back to store because it was too tight.

February - Fired from pharmacy job for failing to print labels.....Helllloooo!!!.....bottles won't fit in typewriter!!!

March - Got really excited.....finished jigsaw puzzle in 6 months....box said "2-4 years!"

April - Trapped on escalator for hours.....power went out!!!

May - Tried to make Kool Aid....! .Wrong instructions....8 cups of water won't fit into those little packets!!!

June - Tried to go water skiing.....couldn't find a lake with a slope.

July - Lost breast stroke swimming competition.....learned later, the other swimmers cheated, they used their arms!!!

August - Got locked out of my car in rain storm.....car swamped because soft-top was open.

September - The capital of California is "C".....isn't it???

October - Hate M &M's.....they are so hard to peel.

November - Baked turkey for 4 1/2 days. Instructions said 1 hour per pound and I weigh 108!!!

December - Couldn't call 911....."duh".....there's no "eleven" button on the stupid phone!!! What a year!!

Christmas Day

the finished product

We sort of gauded out our tree with all the ornaments we could find. And we actually put presents under the tree this year. Usually we're too busy for that & do our present buying at New Year holidays.
Kiki wrapped Caroles hula-hoop in blue tinsel.

Our tree

Here are the girls decorating our new tree. (We finally bought a big one, it's not real, but you can't really get a real one here unless you are prepared to trade your arms & legs & internal organs for one, or you drive about 10 hours to Niigata & chop one down hoping you won't get arrested.)

Merry Christmas All

Wishing you all a happy christmas.

Thanks guys

Thanks everyone for the cards, emails, presents & calls on my birthday.
I love you!
I had a good birthday dinner with Mac & the girls. We ate in because Leila came down with C. Pox that evening.
Our birthday family tradition is pizza & sushi. This time Mac also bought dessert pastries.
It feels kinda weird turning 30 when you are a girl, but it was bound to happen one day.

Backstage pics of the girls

Until I get some photos of the kids on stage here are some I took backstage.

Where can a buy a youth potion?

So everyone, today I am 30, wondering what kind of age defying stunts I can pull to prove to myself that I'm still 18:
Pigtails?
Mini skirts?
Stay up all night talking & drinking?
But no. I will get ready for work trying to find an outfit that hides the curves I have accumulated, work, have dinner with the kids, & go to bed early smearing on the anti-wrinkle eye cream I have fallen in love with. Ah.
And maybe one day I will say with a toothless grin, "Gee, I was so young & beautiful when I was 30".

Chicken Pox girl.

Kiki came down with Chicken Pox last week & has been resting at home. She had a very mild case with no fever or cold. She & Leila have been playing all day in their PJ's & having a good time.
As you can see Kiki doesn't look very sick & has been eating & playing all day. The doctor said she can go back to school tomorrow. Argh! I was just enjoying not having to go out in the early mornings.

Dad's Birthday soon

I know D doesn't even read this blog but anyway I can't just not write anything about his birthday. It's on the 3rd but I'll be working so I'm posting this early.
It was great having D & M over for a visit earlier this year. I was touched that D played with the kids so much.
Anyway, hope Dad has a nice birthday. rar! (Inside joke)

We love you, Grandpa Buddy.

Carole's 7th Birthday.

Carole invited her whole class to her party at our house. Surprisingly most of them showed up, some even with their little brothers & sisters.
I was glad we had bought a huge cake from COSTCO or we wouldn't have had enough.
The kids all brought lots of cute little presents & Carole was busy helping to serve everyone. The kids had fun decorating their own cake slices with toppings & sprinkles, chocolates, etc.
Here is Carole's new bike that Daddy got for her birthday.

Pictures of Carole

A little flash back....

Today is Carole's birthday so I thought I'd write about the day she was born.

Julie had arrived from Europe a few days before my due date to help me with the baby. And "why", you may ask, "does a new mom need help with a baby when it's her first child"? Well, the reason is the band volunteered me to sing for the many booked Christmas shows knowing full well that I would still be a post pardum mom. (--And they were cunning too because I had no experience with this, & couldn't flatly refuse like I would have if I'd had a baby before. "What!!! You want me to sing a rock song while I'm wearing a dozen 'napkins' & my face is still puffy & none of mine or even my husband's clothes fit me? Are you out of your mind?")

Anyway come my due date, I hadn't started any contractions & I was determined to not have an overdue baby (impatience being my middle name). SOLUTION: Being the true women we are, Juls & I hit the town for a full day of shopping. We got stuff for the baby, but not really because I didn't know if it was going to be a girl or a boy, & we got stuff for us & a few warm clothes for Julie. I remember being kind of worried that I would suddenly give birth on the bus or at the mall having not really noticed that I was having contractions for all the strenuous walking we were doing.

I WAS WRONG!!! When labor starts, YOU REALLY KNOW. A contraction is definitely an unmistakable thing.
I started my contractions early the next morning at around 5:00am. I guess we ended up at the clinic at around 2pm with A.Claire & my friend Sunny who was there to "assist" with the birth.
Sunny shows up with a nice little lunch bag (for her) with all these goodies like Camembert cheese & crackers & juices & sat there eating them talking about how delicious they were while I was starving (because you can't eat when you're in labor or YOU WILL THROW UP!!) & I was staring at all the little dots on the ceiling going "fhu, fhu, fhu, fhu, fhuuuuuuuuuu (repeat ad nauseam)" or what ever kind of breathing came to mind.

Sunny was quite talkative it kept my mind off of the hours & hours of labor & in retrospect, I think it is better having a very talkative friend with you that no one at all, like with Leila's birth. I especially appreciate her perfect comment about my thigh's --what every fat (pregnant) mom loves to hear--" WOW! Your legs really got huge, didn't they?" HAHA! (Sunny knows I love her.)

Anyway, Julie & Mac came later, they had to bring some things I needed from the house & my pillow because I'm sorry but I do not like Japanese bean pillows. When they finally arrived I was almost a ready to push. When Mac came in I was so embarrassed about the physical "state" I was in & the strange screams coming out of my mouth so I told him to wait in the hall. Julie was there & it must've been pretty traumatizing because afterward she said she didn't really want to have a baby for a long time.

Baby was coming out but the doctor wasn't around & the nurse had to have him present for the delivery of the head because of some law or something. She kept ringing him to get his arse up stairs & was actually holding the baby's head in while we waited. Finally he casually strolls in & out comes the baby GIRL!
Mac came in & looked at the baby while the placenta came out after which Mac loudly said "liver, anyone?" Eyuw!
She was so cute, & her eyes reminded me of Mac's & she was so quiet & still. She looked around all evening & the rest of the night too, not sleeping much.

A few days later we brought her home & she was our little Christmas bundle of Love & we were so mushy & googoogaga over her.