2010 is nearing the end?!?!?!?!

I cannot believe yet another year has gone by, this is just crazy! I cannot believe I have 4 year olds, I cannot believe I survived Microbiology (and actually LOVED it!!!!!). So now over my "christmas break" (man do I love being a student sometimes!) I will be filling out Nursing Program applications to EVERY school on this side of the state of WA :). Ought to be a fun few days! I'll be doing that, giving my house a DEEP clean, catching up on client cases for DAFCF (http://www.dafcf.org/) and spending some one on one time with each of the kids by giving them their own special day.

Cassie and Ryland have both had their "special weekend's" with Nana and Grandaddy where they get to go ALL BY THEMSELVES and have to share NOTHING with a sibling :). Tristans is this weekend and he is super excited for it.

They are so thrilled and excited for christmas. Cassie wants a puppy on a leash (she saw it at

walmart... yes, I shop there sometimes :P) and the boys want hot wheels... fun stuff. I'm so proud of cassie-bear, she didn't cry at ALL when we saw santa this year- and she hasn't stopped asking if I'm so proud of her for not crying- silly little lady.

Their daycare had a photo guy come and take candid pictures of all the kids at daycare and their auntie was nice enough to get them for us!!! Those are the pictures that are at the top of this post, I can't believe how fast they are growing!

Hope everyone is doing well and I hope you have an amazing holiday season!!!!

it's been an adventure

So it's been like 6 months since I've done an update.... I'll try and make it brief :).

The kids are SO big and SO smart. They know their abc's and can count to 20. They all know how to write the first letter of their name, and Tristan is really excelling in writing out all his letters and numbers. He begs me all the time to practice them lol. They are still in Daycare at mark's sister's center, which is a big montessori (sp?) school and it's been great for them as far as education and challenging them mentally. Cassie is a little artist, and she is just the sweetest most loving little girl EVER!! (bias much?) Definately more like her dad than like my fiesty ol self LOL. Those boys are much more like me, but boy do they look like their dad!

Tristan got moved to a Pre K room about 3 months ago because the boys were at eachothers throats, ALL DAY LONG! (now they know how some of my saturday's go LOL). They have really thrived being separated and are doing so well with it. Then about 3 weeks ago they moved Cassie to the other pre K room, so now they are all in their own rooms. Ry was very sad at first and cried the first two days Cassie wasn't with him, but now he's over it and really enjoys his own attention and not having to compete with his siblings.

They are so smart and so funny, and Ryland continues to be the comedian of the group. He had me laughing so hard the other day, here's how the convo went:
RYLAND: "Mommy, why do girls have hyenas?"
ME: "What? Why do girls have what? Hyenas like on Lion King?"
RYLAND: "Noooo mommy, not Lion King. The girls have the hyena's like I have a penis. Why do they have heyenas?"
bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, laughing so hard I'm crying, nearly peeing my pants...hyenas. I have the funniest little boy EVER!

As for me...I've finished my first year as a reservist in the US Navy and it's been quite UNeventful :) and I am most grateful for that! I've got one more year and then I'm FREEEEEEE. But all in all, I'm so thankful for the opportunities it has provided me and I still stay in contact with many friends I've made throughout the years.

I'm still in school, working on my last prerequisite to get into the nursing program. I did apply for winter quarter, but it's HIGHLY unlikely I'll be selected because I didn't have this class completed. Plus it is so unbelievable competitive, that even when I do finish this class, it might take a few attempts to get in. That is something I'm NOT looking forward to :(. School is keeping me busy, microbiology is kicking my butt but I am enjoying my labs so much. And public speaking, um, let's just say there is a lot of busy work (unnecessary in my opinion), but such is life.

DAFCF (www.dafcf.org) is doing great, I've got a bunch of clients and still have yet to lose a case (knock on wood!!!) and I enjoy doing it so much. I really wish that I could do it full time, as a job. Over winter break I'm going to take some time into researching grants again and see if I can't find something I missed the last time I looked. I find myself looking forward to tackling the challenge of some of these cases, I even dream about it LOL.

Some of you probably noticed the man in two of the pictures I posted the other day :). That's Phil, we've been dating for about 6 months now and he's an amazing guy. The kids think he's great and he even went to our little mini family reunion in September to Sunriver Oregon. He fit right in and my cousins Ryan and Cory and my uncle David now have a new golfing buddy. The picture with cassie in my arms is at their 4th birthday party (that's right, I said 4th!!!!!) and the one in the dress and tie is at a fundraising auction from last weekend that his company was a part of. It was a fun night, lots of laughter. Plus, what woman doesn't LOVE an excuse to get dressed up!?!?!?!?

Hope everyone is doing well and thanks for checking in!!

For Jennifer :)

It's been a looooooooooong time since I've updated, tooooo long! Hopefully I'll have some time to post a breif update when I get home tonight after the kiddos get to bed...provided I finish my microbiology and public speaking homework :)

In the meantime, Jennifer, these pictures are especially for you since I know you've been asking me to post them for forever. Sorry :(

LOOOOOOOOOONNNNG time

Sorry it's been so darn long since I've written. I took the kids out last week to a show in the city where I live. It was some local bands and Blake Lewis from American Idol (I went to Highschool with him, and he's still really good friends with a friend of mine). It was an all ages music and entertainment thingy and the kids had a BLAST!! I got a few brief seconds of video, sorry it so dark though. They did a lot of dancing that night and were asleep in their beds before I even made it downstairs LOL!

They are so smart, it just amazes me how fast they are growing. They are in 3T clothes already, size 8 shoes...almost ready to move to the "big kid's" small shoes. I just can't believe it. They are all potty trained both day and night time. All three of them can count to 15 and say their alphabet. Cassie is drawing smiley faces and trying SOOOO hard to learn how to write her name. Tristan is more and more becoming a mommy's boy, his favorite line lately is, "I love you mommy. I like you mommy. I'm so happy with you mommy". He's such a sweetie! Ry is still our sensitive one who gets his feelings hurt if you loook at him the wrong way. He's the independent one too, likes to go off and do things on his own. And Cassie....we'll shes the boss. The boys pretty much do what she tells them. She's also very very much a girl (totally opposite of me as a kid!) and will cry if she doesn't get to wear a dress and "Pretty shoes". I can't believe they came into our lives over 3 years ago, it just doesn't seem possible.

Here are a few funny things I've written down that the kids have said lately, they keep me laughing and loving live, that's for sure!!!

My Three year olds played the "why" game with me this morning for 15 minutes. I'm more mentally exhausted than after a hard day at school and work. Do you know how much thinking and creativity it takes to provide them with an answer that finally satisifies all their why's?????

Outsmarted by a three year old?!?!?! "Tristan, sit down right now or I'm going to spank your bottom!" "Mommy, you can't, we don't touch other peoples bottoms". Darn kid, got me there...

So when the kids showed up at my mom's door in their costumes she sang "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat" and Ryland promptly walked in the house, walked over to her, got down on his hands and knees and SMELLED HER FEET!!! LOL this kid keeps me laughing!

My brilliant son Ry said to me this morning as I was getting out of the shower: "Oh good girl mama, you wash your bum bum? You wash it so it don't be a stinky bum bum!? Good girl!

Cousin Ricki: "What name do you like to go by, Cassie or Cassandra? Cassie: "I like Cassie Cassandra is my trouble name"

Tristan: "Don't touch Ryland's penis, ok, you don't touch someone else's penis" Ryland: "Yeah, don't touch my penis" Cassie: "ok boys, don't touch the peanuts" LOL out of the mouth of babes

And here are some recent pictures :)

Kitty Kitty

Last night I had to do something very difficult. You see, Mizykitty hasn't been eating or using the litter box for over a week now. Took her to the vet on Tuesday and her liver function was really high, she was diagnosed with fatty liver disease and the only way to treat it is to get her to start eating again so her body can process all that fat instead of letting it build up in her liver. Vet wanted to keep her for a week and tube feed her, which would be more than I could afford. So she gave me the option of taking her home and force feeding her to see if I could get anywhere with that. Two days later still hadn't gotten her to eat anything, and she just looked miserable, acted miserable and then I got a call from the doctor telling me her liver functions were too high to even consider giving a good prognosis even if I DID get her to start eating again. That her liver was so damaged it's irreparable. So the kids and I said goodbye to her one last time and sent her off to go to heaven.

As we were leaving Tristan said to me, "Your a naughty girl mommy, I don't like you" and I told him it wasn't nice to tell people you don't like them, and asked why I was naughty. He told me, "You are mean to leave mizykitty at the doctor". I asked if he'd like another kitty and he said yes, so off we were to get a new kitty.

We've ended up with 2 of them, brothers. They are cute and sweet as can be, and are SO good with the kids, totally tolerable of the kids picking them up and toting them around the house. Here are some pictures

Did the Puyallup...

Chelsey and I took the kids to the Puyallup fair a few weekends ago and they had a blast!!! Here are some pictures...

First cleaning at the dentist!!!

I took the kids today to a pediatric dentist near alderwood mall, what an AMAZING office!!! The kids ALL had a great time, got their teeth cleaned and flossed and a flouride treatment.

I'm so proud of them, here are some pictures to prove it!!

Family pictures

www.photographicjourneys.net

Click on Proofs

Password is julie

Dirt Bikes and Rally Cars

This update's for you Tommie!!!!!

Ok, so this weekend has been so much fun and it isn't even over yet!!!

I met up with my friend Jaci today, who I haven't seen since I was 17 when we had a falling out over some money (BTW, NEVER borrow money from friends, or lend it for that matter!!!!). So anyways, I drove up to her place in the Sammamish area to check out their rally this weekend. I took the kids with me, thought they'd enjoy checking everyting out and roaming the property.
I thought it would be a quick "hi" and "bye" and that was it, but the kids wanted to stay so I though I'd give it a shot.

They had a BLAST. Here are just a few of the (too) many pictures that I took