fun day for them, relaxing for me!!!!

My in-laws took everyone minus M* and me on the Polar Express train yesterday! M*s got her days and nights flipped, so I took the day took the day to pamper Chloe and me!! I even ate a hot meal at Taco Del Mar, YUM! Unfortunately, the manicure my mom treated me did not survive 😔 Should have left the cleaning to Dane! 😅

Emma's ticket

Pinknose

 Incase anyone wonders why we dyed our MALE cat pink.....

We kept the one
Ragdoll with the soft fur. 

The last time Grandma watched our critters (beach vacay). She got confused about which cat was the outdoor cat. So she tried to push our VERY ANXIOUS Siamese out the back door!!! Since then, she has tried to build trust with our brat Sunny. 

This time around, Grandma has a cataract! So she has to close one eye to see the world, and she's not planning on getting it fixed until after her next cruise at the end of December! So, the kids are having fun deciding what to do about Pinknose when we go to Disneyland. 4 critters to take care of! One funny was to capture a skunk (we have a black cat). Another plan was to innovate a mini cow (Sam calls the dog a cow because she's black/white and sometimes stinks). Dane and I think we'll make do with a big funny poster and stick it to the front door. But with this family, who knows!! 

Feelings at Dads funeral. (draft still working on it)

 I haven't posted since my dads death. I often do this on my blog... retreat, post then retreat again. It's my decision I don't have to write, no one expects me to. Yet.. it pulls me back. I feel a pull to write This pull doesn't connect me to others as I don't allow comments. It's more of a pull to write in a space that others and experience and feel what they feel. I often look back at old family videos and feel an intense love! But those same videos won't feel a inch of love from those who don't have connection to us. BECAUSE we're all becoming disconnected,,  more so now then ever. 

Sam and his raspy voice

How Sam got his raspy voice...

"First, you gotta love this picture! We were at one of Christian's soccer games, and if you look closely, you can see where M* cut some of his hair with the clippers. I took him to have an evaluation with a speech therapist because he has always had this cute, raspy voice. After the evaluation, the therapist turned to me and said, "I can tell you exactly why his voice is so raspy. He's extremely intelligent and projects his voice loudly to ensure being heard."

Christian the graduate... created in Canva!

 

Thanksgiving 2021

Emma last night making some MORE lefsa. The whole extended family made it except for M* and Auntie Lolo. Next year perhaps! 

Tomboy no more?

Not me!!! This salon visit cost us about 100 bucks!! 

Christian's food truck lunch order ;) with idk.. either a bunny or a Kahuna sketch. 

Some spooky stuff

Published!

Emma's first choir recital!

Emma started a new school this year. I am so thankful to my parents who are graciously funding her new Christian school!

Boomer Gazette #7

Boomer Gazette 

When it comes to the saying “21 days to make a habit” I feel like when it comes to ME

with my purse and a cell phone, it’s gonna take several months :) Please be patient!!

Last Week's Highlights 

• Sam and Micheal hung out together and did a lot of walking. 

• Emma played her first-ever successful prank on Sam while I was driving, Sam did not find it funny.

• OMSI with Emma. M* was not happy we left without her. A mix up in communication :( 

• Emma hit her head at school on the playground equipment :( OUCH!!!

• Emma got to ride Waylon & Grandma got to go! Unfortunately, she had a headache the entire time.

• Mom took ANOTHER covid test at Walgreens. This counts as #4!

• Grandma & Grandpa went to the beach… we did not watch Carly this time. 

• Blogged some more!

• Disney on Ice!!!

• Happy 45th Bday DAD/Dane!! I love you more than my heart can ever beat. 

This Week PSA’s

• Ga-Ga is to take Emma for new shoes (she wants me to go along too so we

can pick out good walking shoes for Disneyland.

• Christian DMV

• CAIS PTO mtg at the Wild Hare @ (TIME)

• Christian lunch w/ Grandma

• Pie pick up at 3 pm (date to follow)

• Emma's music program at 3 pm (date to follow)

• Walk with K* (NEW weight loss friend)

This week’s menu    

Sat - Meatless/Sale meat - Fried chicken tenders

Mashed Potatoes w/ brown gravy 

Corn

Sun- (Usually Ga-Ga’s) - Dad/Danes' Bday day ALL DAY LONG -

“love you more than my heart could ever beat”!!

Meal for M* - We’ll bring something back and/or 

 Something nutritious / HIGH CAL

Mon - Breakfast for Dinner 

Scrambled eggs w/ cheese 

On hand - Bacon

French Toast 

On hand - Hash Browns                           

Tues - Mexican - Beef Enchiladas 

Mexican Rice

Refried Beans w/ cream cheese

Wed -  New Recipe  - To Die for Fettuccine

Thur - New Nationality - Beef Stroganoff Meatballs over Egg Noodles

(Allrecipes Five star/change sauce to my own w/ onion soup)

Corn

Fri - Fend for yourself night - Buy Friday deals at Safeway (get next night dinner)

E - Top ramen
S - Totino's Pizza

M - ? Something nutricus / HIGH CAL 

C - California pizza

Sat - Meatless/Sale meat - Mystery Dinner ;)

45!!!

 

Veteran's Day!!

 Better late than never!!

Mommy daughter day at OMSI

As you can see, it's sometimes hard to carve out time for some one-on-one time. But it's so important, as they crave my undivided attention. 

My favorite dino...Sabertooth tiger!

For my BFF Sarah! When I met her, she looked just like this!

 

Blast from the past!

 

Me, Nicole, Natalie, Mary, and De-De. 

Finding this gem today packs a lot of memories I buried. My entire outfit was one I hated but wore because Grandma bought it for me. I don't think I ever wore it to school. You see, every year my Grandma would buy my back-to-school clothes (something my family was always grateful for I assume because they didn't have the money to do so). This particular year I remember my Grandma asked me if I would like to live with her (my parents had recently gotten a divorce), she said all the great things about living in Utah like I would be able to attend another year in Jr. High before highschool (like that would change my mind). Anywho... my main goal when shopping was to fit in! Note: Utah clothes are VERY different than California clothes (California was usually a couple of years before the rest of the states in regards to fashion). When shopping I came across a Guess bag (Guess was a popular brand back in the day). I asked my Grandma to buy me the bag as I thought it would help me fit in. See in the picture that pink bag? That is not the Guess bag I asked for. Nope, that day Grandma decided to teach me a lesson. Instead of paying $20 for something name-brand, she taught me to make it myself. That pink bag was my first sewing lesson. I was upset, yet sucked it up. Being me was a hard thing to do growing up in a world that didn't understand or care to ask what I needed or wanted. However, I am grateful for the memories with my cousins and the lesson on how to sew.

Emma and Waylon

 

This little POA (small horse) has fallen in love with our Emma! They are doing great learning together each time they ride. He's only been at her lessons for about a month but has a lot of talent! The trainer calls Emma her prodigy! What higher compliment could you get!? 

OCD, no it isn’t about being a “neat freak”. #ocdrecovery

(istock photo)

I now often wonder if my parenting has directly impacted my son's diagnosis of OCD. Let me walk you back in time... When he was a little guy, he'd help me clean (cleaning is fun when you're a kid, LOL). For example, I'll use cleaning the bathroom. A place where he'll often get stuck while doing OCD compulsions. We'd clean the floor, my side would be spotless, his side well... "Good job, but let's get it just a little bit cleaner." Fast forward to years of perfectionism while in deep despair, he was diagnosed with severe OCD.
How does one get categorized with severe rather than run-of-the-mill OCD? I didn't know either! It's a point system in the DSM(the big book of what's mentally wrong w/ people). The more time spent on compulsions that disrupt your life, the higher you're categorized. My son would spend 3 or more HOURS stuck in that bathroom every night torturing himself! And if his compulsions got him stuck in the middle of the day, keep in mind we have ONE bathroom! But hey! We got to know our neighbors quite well LOL. Thinking back, I really should have used that time to drop seeds of Jesus in their living rooms while waiting for little Emma to pee. ;)
Today we're in a better place thanks to medication and a lot of weekly therapy. It didn't go so smoothly at first, as you can imagine. There were a lot of tears, both his and mine. I am also thankful for my amazing husband, who often had to take charge and Papa bear him to make it to those early therapy appointments. Imagine staying up all night with compulsions, only to have to turn around after just drifting off to sleep to attend a much HATED ERP (exposure and response therapy ((think torture and do nothing about it)).
I'll end this post on a funny note because the picture of our messy lives isn't always just doom and gloom. During one ERP session, the therapist took him into the neighborhood of a downtown city block. The goal was to touch as many germy gross objects and not wash hands for half the day. I know gross, but the chances of getting sick were low, and it was more important to get his life back than to worry about getting sick. Towards the end of the walk, she instructed him to touch a dumpster. As he reached out... OUT POPPED A HOMELESS DUDE! He didn't expect to get two exposures in one!!!

It’s like you have two brains – a rational brain and an irrational brain. And they’re constantly fighting.

– Emilie Ford 

Fat Cat Kahuna

 

See Chloe giving Kahuna a jump scare. Every time Kahuna would pull food out of the bag with his claws a few bits would fall on the floor to give Chloe a little treat! 

You will be missed Murphy!

Last night our beloved pet rabbit Murphy passed away. He was THE BEST, most chill rabbit ever!! R.I.P. our little cotton ball. See ya on the other side!