Raising Bailey

I GOT IT!

2009-01-28T15:18:00.001-08:00

HA HA! I got Project 365. And I intend on working on it EVERY DAY!

Not!

I would love to work on a scrapbook every day but realistically, that's not gonna happen. So It's going to be Project 600 or something crazy like that. It's ok, I love it still and I am going to keep up with it.

I swear!

Obcessed

2009-01-10T20:48:00.000-08:00

Ok so I really love to scrapbook. I was reading my December subscription of Creating Keepsakes magazine (which I leaf through the first go-round, then read the articles the second time, then earmark the layouts I like and tear them out to archive them in a binder.

Anyway... in this month's kit of the month is a Project 365. It's a total challenge to do something for every single day of the year, but it'll be like a diary. I love the idea because I really need something to keep me scrapping and busy.

Too bad the website is completely SOLD OUT of the kits after just a day of being available. So now I'm going eBay. Keeping fingers crossed!

YES I am obcessed.

Next Big Purchase

2008-12-27T20:18:00.000-08:00

Santa didn't quite get the hint this year that I wanted an $800 camera. Ok maybe he did and he just ignored me and got me something else that's equally special. I will just have to save up for my Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 Megapixel SLR.

I love my point and shoot camera and it does its job, but I think I'm ready for my photographic artist in me to emerge. I can only do so much with my little Sony and I really try to make my photos as artistic as I can. My subjects never stay still unless they are just tangible things.

The best price for this guy is $800 anywhere I looked. Even eBay. I've done my research and this is the camera that will give me the photos I want. Of course, I will have to invest in the lens also but that's ok. One day I will have time to take some lessons from someone who actually knows how to take good photos for a living without costing me an arm and a leg... like this camera will. LOL.

Christmas

2008-12-26T09:26:00.000-08:00

This year was much different than all the other years obviously. It felt like any other weekend at home except we get to open presents! It was a weird feeling not having to get up early and drive to the valley to be with family. It was also weird that it's not as cold as we're used to, however it did rain.

Chris tried to go to the grocery store to get more veggies to make breakfast with but guess what?? Nothing is open! Walgreens was the only store that was open and only for a few hours.

Here are some photos from Christmas morning.

Girls and shoes!

2008-12-26T09:08:00.000-08:00

Bailey loves new shoes, just like her mommy! Or any girl for that matter. lol.

New Photos

2008-12-02T20:58:00.001-08:00

Homework Time!

Bailey showing me her latest boo boo. It's a daily thing.

Reese and his monkey.

Bailey loves her daddy. This is one of my favorite photos of the two of them. Deserves a frame for sure. :-)

The Alphabet Song

2008-11-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to MEEEEEEEEE!

2008-10-12T22:27:00.001-07:00

Well I am officially 34 as of 8:10pm tonight.

I am 34. Happily married to a wonderful man. I have 2 beautiful children who are healthy, well-behaved, and loving human beings. We share a beautiful home in a great town in a new and exciting state. I have a great job with room for advancement. I am surrounded by people who cares.

I am very lucky.

New photos

2008-09-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

Bailey had her first haircut ever. I had to cut her bangs. They were in her eyes and she would try to swipe them out of the way, but at times her hands are icky so she would end up having icky hair in her eyes.
She's also starting to learn how to color. Or something.

Reese puts up with her antics... and he loves it.
And Chris is still into his poker.
So yeah nothing much has changed besides our location. lol.

I miss....

2008-09-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

Kobe Sushi in Santa Clara
http://www.kobesushi.com/

All the Vietnamese Pho restaurants we had in San Jose

Dusita Thai
http://www.dusitathaicuisine.com/index.html

Korean BBQ

Blue Mermaid
http://www.bluemermaidsf.com/index.html

King Eggroll

Gloria's Burritos

Amato's Cheesesteaks

Happi House

Fun with Daddy

2008-08-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

This is what they do while Reese is busy doing homework.

I guess you can see a little bit of our house in this video. This is the family room where all the hanging out take place every day. We haven't put any pictures up yet so the walls are kinda bare. In the opening where they're biking from is the 'formal living room' which we don't really know what to do with yet. Lots of toys in there so we might just make it a play room for the kids. Our bedroom is through the opening next to the tv. We also have a den next to our master bedroom. The kids rooms are right out from the kitchen.

The house is mostly tiled flooring. The carpeting we have are only in the bedrooms.

Ok that's all for now! More later!

Arizona vs. California

2008-08-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

Ok I am a victim of creating lists and comparing things.

1. The heat.

Ok so it's not a surprise that it's 110+ here all the time. At night the temp only drops to the high 80's. Our A/C is on 24/7. It's sort of like when it's winter in northern CA. The heat gets turned off during the day but it comes back on when you get home. It's our A/C here. We turn it to 82 when we leave in the morning, which means it doesn't kick on at all. Our power bill is going to be about $200/month. Small price to pay if you think about it... because it beats putting up with 115 degree indoors!

2. Helmet law.

Apparently there is none here in Arizona. It kinda scares me when I see motorcyclists here riding on the freeway with no helmet. I mean... why wouldn't you want to wear a helmet??

3. HOV lane.

It's High Occupancy Vehicle lane here in AZ. It's a double solid white lines that you can move in and out of at anytime and there's no breaks. No one told me this and here I thought you're trapped in the lane until there's a break in the lines like in LA. durrr...

4. Where are the Rice Rockets?

I am going to risk sounding really really racist right now, but there are no rice rockets here! It's kinda nice because you're not dodging (or them dodging you) stupid little cars all the time like back home. It's probably because there is hardly any asians here.

5. The friendly people

I don't know what it is but people here are so much more friendly and nice. Not saying people in the bay area aren't friendly... they're just more stand-off-ish. I don't know. People here are so much more approachable and warm. Easier to talk to.

6. Our little dinky town

I never thought I would say this but we love our dinky town of Maricopa. We definitely live in the 'Tracy' of Arizona. We're a half hour (no traffic) outside of Phoenix and the only way you can get to our town is on a 2 lane road through an indian reservation. It's 20 miles from the next town with a hospital. lol. If we ever have an medical emergency... lord help us.

7. Peet's? Starbucks? Where are you?

There is one Starbucks in our town, yes ONE Starbucks and it's inside the grocery store. Which means it's not the quick in and out like I'm used to. And Peet's? These people have never heard of it. I guess we'll have to get our fix when we come home again. But I did find a Tully's coffee and they make KILLER iced mocha's.

You're in our thoughts....

2008-08-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

In the recent events - even captured by the media... one of our good friends has had a run-in with the law. We know he's in a lot of trouble and probably won't see the light of day for a while.

We just want him to know that our thoughts and prayers are with him and his wife.

If you ever need an escape, come on down.

First week in our new home

2008-08-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

Ok here are some more photos of our place with furniture and stuff in it. Settling in if you will. Some of the rooms have really weird angles so I couldn't get a good picture. Like Reese's room for example. If I took a picture from the door, I would just get him and his bed. He's happy in his new room though with all his toys, Xbox, and TV.

Here's Bailey in her "Big Girl Bed" with her entourage of stuffed animals.

Our master bath with a stand up shower and open oval tub. Which the kids mostly use because it's big and fun!

Our walk-in closet in the master. That's all my clothes on that side, Chris has the other side, but his clothes are mostly folded shirts and he goes to work in shorts! So his pants are just hung up collecting dust now.

Our bedroom. With the TV that used to be in the living room at our old place. I am going to paint the nightstands black to match the bed and the dressers.

Our (messy) kitchen. I really try to keep it less cluttered, but for now, things are still finding where they belong so that's what it looks like.

Our family room in the back of the house behind the kitchen. That's where we hang out. We actually have a formal living room that we don't really know what to do with. I think we're going to make it a play room for the kids instead.

That's all for now! More in a few days!

Invading Arizona

2008-08-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

So here's a little bit of our first day in our house in AZ. It sure is hot down here in the desert. We now live in a little town way far away from the closest suburb city to Phoenix. But we're not so far that we can't drive into Phoenix to work/play. I love it. This little house is perfect for us. In a neighborhood where it's safe for Reese to go ride his bike on the street without us being too worried that something might happen. Here are some pictures of the house BEFORE the movers got there. I swear, I took these pictures... then an hour later the movers showed up with our stuff. More pictures tomorrow.

Our garage with my car parked in it. My car now has a 'home' :)

Our master bedroom. Chris put his big TV in it at first but it's now in the living room.

The kitchen with all our random stuff on the island. I was hijacking internet for a couple of days before we called for cable/internet/phone. The fridge is stainless steel and I can't put any of my magnets on it!! How am I supposed to keep up with what's happening if I can't post it on my fridge!!??

Front of the house. No grass... it doesn't grow down here. Well it does, but it's too high maintenance to grow.

Our family room. Bailey had a great time running around the house when it was still empty yelling just to hear herself echo. lol. Yes, that's all tile. That's how they do it here. Carpeting only in the bedrooms. We have to consider buying a few area rugs.

Ok that's all for now. More tomorrow.

T-Minus 7 days to Arizona

2008-07-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

Everytime I think about updating this blog I get busy doing something else to really hunker down and write something interesting in here. bleh.

So here we are seven days before we move to Arizona. I haven't quite packed much stuff. More cleaning than packing I would say. I've been putting baby stuff on Craigslist to see if I can sell off some of her things we don't use anymore.

Reese is excited about moving, but he's mostly sad to lose his friends. We have been talking with him about his new school and our new house. But when you're 8 and having to leave the home you've always known, it's traumatic no matter how you look at it.

Bailey has had her birthday bash and Reese wanted to go to Chuck e Cheese to celebrate with his friends. My job is coming to an end this next week on Tuesday. I have a couple of interviews set up at the beginning of August in Phoenix. I can't even think about the month of August right now... I think I'm stuck in July 2008 because this was THE end of our time in California.

Speaking of moving out of California. Our good friends Lisa and Roy and their son Andrew are also moving out of the state. They are going to Tennessee within about 6 months and totally looking forward to it. I am really gonna miss them once we're all in different states. Bailey is surely going to miss her 'An-noo'.

I will take picture of our progress in moving and post them in a couple of days.

The aftermath

2008-06-25T00:12:00.000-07:00

Who ever invented the whole themed party thing should be shot. What ever happened to the simple cake and ice-cream get-togethers? Plain and simple, just have some friends over to celebrate your birthday. Now a days you have to send out annoucements like it's a wedding... then you gotta pick a theme to tie it all together... then you gotta list out the shopping list for everything you're going to need because if you don't budget it right, you're doomed financially.

I am a victim of the perfect themed party for my kids. I know, I shouldn't bitch if I do exactly what I complain about. .. but when I get started, I really don't leave myself much of a choice. Kids like the commercialized charactors. For Bailey right now it's all about Elmo and sometimes Dora and Teletubbies. But Elmo has always been the one to capture her heart. So it's the little red monster it is for her second birthday.

The banner across the living room

The cake

The table setting, paper plates, cups

The party goodies for the kids to take home

And then when she opened some of the gifts... MORE Elmo!

Gotta love it. Here are some photos. Happy birthday baby!

Bailey turned 2

2008-06-20T12:37:00.001-07:00

I can't believe she's 2 years old now. It's amazing how fast time really flies by when you're busy. Yesterday was her birthday, Reese and I woke her up by singing the birthday song to her. All she wanted was for us to turn on her Dora on TV. What have I done? She's already addicted to TV. lol.

Today was her 24 month check up. The next one will be in a year and there are no more shots until she enters kindergarten. I asked the doc about moving to AZ and what should we do to prepare both the kids. She recommends just keeping them hydrated and use plenty of sunscreen. She also said that we shouldn't make major changes while in the midst of moving. i.e. don't try to potty train her or take her off the bottle while adjusting to the big move. It will be trauma enough having to learn new lifestyle of not playing outside during the daylight hours most days.

Bailey now (6/08)

Bailey one year ago (6/07)

Bailey two years ago (6/06)

Tomorrow is her party at our house. Complete with a jumphouse and games. I will post pictures next week!

A day at the beach

2008-06-01T23:12:00.001-07:00

Harbor Beach, Santa Cruz

This past weekend I took the kids to Santa Cruz. I knew it would be one of if not the last time they will see the Pacific Ocean for a good long time. Phoenix will be a great place to live, but it's a good 5 hours away from the water front.

Bailey had the greatest time in 'big sand box' as she called it.

The water was cold and it was way too windy for me, but the kids braved it. All they need are the simple things... to see the big bath tub called the Pacific Ocean, to dig a hole as far as they can go in the sand, to fun along the beach until they're out of energy.

Bailey was fascinated by the water, more than anything the tides. She loved the big bubbles that touched her feet everytime the water came back up. Reese just wanted to run into the ocean. At one point he ran in and back and tripped on the sand and fell. He swallowed some sea water and was surprised it was so salty.

We were lucky enough to have some friends who lived so close to Harbor Beach. As close as 2 blocks away. Parking is a pain there for visitors because there used to be a problem with people randomly parking infront of residence blocking drive ways during peak beach season. Our friends gave us a parking pass so we can park in front of their house for the day.

It was a fun and particularly emotional for me to go to Harbor Beach. Chris and I shared a lot of time there together in the past 4 years. It will always be a special place in our hearts... and now it's special for our kids too...

At first she wasn't quite sure about the big bath tub called the Pacific

It wasn't long before they both headed towards the water

She was mad the water and bubbles made her pants all wet. But she didn't stay mad, she ran right back into the water.

From looking at this picture you wouldn't have guessed it was freezing cold. They didn't care!

She didn't like digging the sand at all, can you tell?

Bailey had a full on conversation with this seagull. She called it her 'birdie' and wanted it to come to us. The bird stood there for a good long time yacking back. I suspect it might have thought we had food to throw at it. The conversation was long enough for me to watch for a bit, get the camera out and took this picture.

Vegas Trip - Day 3

2008-04-29T12:18:00.001-07:00

By day 3 our feet were killing us... Chris's knees were about to explode. We've seen everything we wanted to see, spent all the money we wanted to spend, drank all the alcohol our bodies can handle. lol.

Today we had breakfast with some friends who went to Vagas for 'the wedding' at the MGM Grand. They had a cool lion cage there where you can walk through when the exhibit is open. Then we walked down to the M&M world just down the street.

I was actually disappointed in the place, I really thought it would be a 'WORLD' of M&M's... I guess I expected more of an amusement park type of attraction there rather than just a store full of gadgets and random candies. We bought a few things for the kids while we were in the store though.

After that we walked down to the Hawaiian Marketplace and bought a few things. It's an outdoor vending floor where you can set up a kiosk and sell whatever. Most tourists are willing to pay $25 for a t-shirt you'll only wear to sleep. So this is where you'd provide the city of Las Vegas with their stash of cash. As I walked around to see what I can buy at this market, Chris found a walk-up bar where he bought a 50 oz hurricane of Pina Colata. Well I don't know if it was 50 oz but it sure looked like it!

And after that... things were just a bit of a blur really. lol. We went down to the Venetian and walked around the shops. Really wanted to do the gondela ride, but the line was like Disneyland long so we decided against it. Although it would probably be really romantic... but with all those people just looking at us riding in a plastic boat down a manmade river inside a casino under a fake sky... is kinda weird.

Vegas - Pros and Cons

2008-04-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

The pros are obvious so I guess I'm just listing the cons...

1) There are panhandlers everywhere. I guess that's just a given in any big city. It just hits a little harder there since a lot of people come to Vegas with hopes of winning big or making it in the entertainment business.

2) One of those panhandlers was a young girl with a stroller and baby sleeping inside. This was like 11pm and she was out on the bridge asking for change. That image of the girl with her baby burned in my head and hit me right in the gut since at one point in my life I thought I'd be in her shoes when Reese was about 3-4 months old.

ok... pause... where's the kleenex

ok.... where was I

3) Those damn card snappers!! Those guys standing at every corner and every 10 feet as you're walking down the strip. I think they're snapping stripper cards at you to try to get you to take them. Chris wanted to take his room key and snap them in the face! lol.

4) I really missed the kids.

Vegas Trip - Day 2

2008-04-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

Ok... let's see if I can remember it all. We did have a couple of those hurricane drinks walking down the strip going through different hotels. lol.

So after we got back from Hoover Dam, our bus took us all over town dropping off people at their respective hotels. But since we're staying at the end of the strip, we're the last to be dropped off. We got tired of going round and round with the bus and decided to get off at Ceasar's Palace.

We found Bobby Flay's restaurant the Mesa Grill inside Ceasars and ate there. There was a dress code but the food was reasonably priced. The restaurant itself wasn't as big and fancy as I thought it might have been. The food was excellent to say the least... very Bobby Flay style.

Of course we walked around the forum shops after we ate. Chris wanted to find where the poker rooms were at every hotel we stop at so we did that too. I couldn't resist granting him that little wish. After all, he didn't plan on playing at all while we're in Vegas. We really wanted to spend every minute together. He's such a good hubby.

After Ceasar's everything just kinda blended together. We walked into the Bellagio and took time walking around inside the hotel. Chris mentioned last week that he wanted to show me the glass ceiling in the hotel. I was thinking, how great can it be? It's just glass, right? When I saw it, I was blown away.

This piece of art work is called "Fiori de Como". These 2,000 blown glass flowers were individually hand made by Dale Chihuly. World famous glass sculptor who has his work displayed all over museums, schools, hotels, and exhibits everywhere. I am especially impressed by this because I love multi-colored art work like this. My bridal bouquet was made from individual seed beads of all different colors. This in a small scale would have been a perfect representation of our wedding.

We also visited the Bellagio's Conservatory Gardens. A small area inside the hotel where they have exhibits of the season's florals. It is absolutely brilliant and breathtaking. Right now the display is called "Spring Celebration"

From the Bellagio Conservatory website: To ensure the Conservatory & Botanical Gardens maintain magnificence 365 days a year, 140 expert horticulturists theatrically arrange gazebos, bridges, ponds, and water features uniquely for each season.

These adorable lady bug and snail are made from all roses and other botanicals.

These glass flowers are see throughout the garden. They are enormous, probably 6 to 8 feet diameter each.

After that Chris and I just made our way down the strip towards our hotel. We stop at random places to see shops and picked up souvenirs. Mostly checking out poker rooms though. If he can't play, he can at least enjoy the sound of people playing with their chips at the table. lol.

For dinner that night we walked into the Luxor to check it out. We didn't really find anything too spectacular there. Parts of the hotel was under construction so it wasn't really appealing to us to stay there. The inside infrastructure of the hotel I had never seen so I at least wanted to check that out.

Here are some random photos from our hotel and the walk down the strip. There were a ton of people with babies ... never a good idea to bring kids to Las Vegas. To us, it's an adult playground and where parents go to take some time off from home life. Having kids in Vegas is really hard to find things to do. Where can they go, really?

Vegas Trip - Hoover Dam

2008-04-27T21:28:00.000-07:00

Chris and I made our way to Las Vegas this weekend and had a great time. Although we weren't part of the wedding of the century anymore - we still went anyway. It was a well needed trip for both of us and we cherished every moment we had together. This trip was even more special due to the fact that we live in different states right now.

So.... where do I start... at the beginning I guess.....

We met at the Las Vegas airport. Chris came from Phoenix and I came from SFO. It was like a little deja vu for us. Like a blind date or something... "Meet me at baggage claim carrosel #14"

We stayed at the Excalibur Hotel on the south end of the strip. We could see the Luxor and the New York New York from our room window on the 19th floor. Of course... the room was an upgrade from our 16th floor room that we never got into since the key wouldn't work... 3 times. We finally asked for a different room and they accommodated. The room was in the recently renovated part of the hotel. It came with a 42" flat panel tv, marble bathroom counter top, sleek chrome knobs, faux suade bedspread & headboard, walk-in shower (although showerhead was still crappy an low pressure) all and all it was a nice room.

Our room was on the 19th floor and at the end of the hall way, so it took 20 minutes to get down to the casino no matter what.

Ok so we got in really late Thursday night and by the time we checked in and got settled it was already 10pm. We didn't want to waste any time so we took off to have somewhat of a dinner. We just walked across the street to the NY and ate at first restaurant that looked decent. Some random Italian place on the bottom floor of the hotel. The server was obviously at the end of his shift plus the fact that he's probably been waiting tables all his life made him a little quick with us. He literally dropped our calamari on the table and started walking away before we blinked.

While we sat and ate our dinner it hit me ... I'm tired as hell. Chris wanted to go check out other things, but I really wanted to hit the hay. We had to get up to take the tour to Hoover in the morning anyway.

Friday morning we woke up really early... too damn early for being on vacation! 6:45am to be in the lobby for the tour bus to pick us up by 7:45.

So Hoover Dam is only about a half hour away from the strip, makes for a nice short bus ride.

We took the half day tour as supposed to their 8 hour tour with the visit to the chocolate factory since we only had a couple of days in Vegas, we didn't want to spend a whole day away from the strip, which was where we really wanted to be.

We paid $3 more to take the tour down to see the Hydroelectric generators inside the dam itself. It was very cool to see something that was built in the 1930's worked 365 days a year all this time. I appreciated it and was more impressed with it since my area of work relates to the inner workings of this structure. The generators for this dam is 700 times the size of anything we work on. What's even more amazing is that the 7 of 8 working units are super quiet. We walked into the chambers and you can hear the tour guide speak to the group without using an amplified system.

Then we went down one more floor to experience the tunnel and the diversion pipelines which takes the water from the lake through the generators and then out the other side to the river. You can feel the water thundering through the pipe as you stand there listening to the tour guide. It's also very cold under there... they said it was probably 500 feet down from the top of the dam or where the road was. Walking along the tunnel you can see water damage and where the leaks were. Pretty scary since all you can think of is having all that water in the lake come bursting through the walls while we're in the tunnel.

After the tour down stairs we went up to walk along the top of the dam. There are a bunch of monuments and things to see for historical values. It's an amazing engineering marvel to build such a massive structure for its time.

In the movie "Fools Rush In" there was a line on the road separating the state of Nevada and Arizona but apparently when we got there, it wasn't there! Although there was a plaque that designated the split so ... good enough for me! Chris and I walked into the state of Arizona and then we turned around. Now I can say that I was in AZ for 5 minutes!

This is Chris standing on the top of the dam facing Lake Mead. Look at that water line... it's receded over the past 10 years or so. A disturbing pattern with all reservoirs and dams around here really.

We found someone nice to take a picture of us on the top of the dam. Proof that I was actually there too!!

This picture was taken from the top of the dam on the other side of the street. Standing on the ledge looking down was quite scary, good thing we didn't have vertigo!

Bailey Talk

2008-04-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

Enjoy! Turn up the sound, the end is the best part!

Paper Dolls

2008-04-14T15:05:00.001-07:00

I remember being 9 or 10 years old and by myself with my parents. Bored to tears because we lived in Thailand where we had no TV during the day time (local channels come on at 4pm and there's no such thing as cable, only satellite TV and we didn't have that at our house). During the time off from school, I guess that would be 'summer' here, I would sit at home and draw, paint, sew, by myself.

One of my favorite things to do during those years was making paper dolls and creating paper clothes for them. I guess that's where I got the idea that I wanted to design clothes for a living at such a young age. I would read my mom's fashion magazines and mimic the clothes the models would wear and make them my own styles. My paper dolls were one dementional and that just wasn't as fun. So I asked my mom if she would teach me how to sew, she kept telling me yes she will but she never did. My aunt, mom's sister, who was only 10 years older than me offered to teach me how to hand stitch since that's all she knew how to do. I made tiny little clothes for my handmade doll that looked exactly like me.... long black hair.. pale skin (compared to all the Thai kids I went to school with). I made her clothes that I wanted to wear when I grew up.

My mom never really paid attention to what I was doing except that I made a mess in my room. I was so proud of my work, every piece or creation I made I showed my dad. He was proud of me too. Although I don't know if my dad could relate to my ideas, but he went with it. He even bought me a basket to put all my stuff into so I don't have it all over my room and he wouldn't have to listen to her complain about my messyness.

One day I came home from a neighbor's house to discover that my basket was gone. My mom and my aunt decided to give it away. I cried for days probably even weeks. Heck, it still hurts when I think about it. My dad was so mad at my mom and her sister for doing that. Although to this day I still don't believe that they 'gave it away'. More like threw it away.

I never looked at my mom or my aunt the same again. I don't know what their intensions were or what they were trying to do... was it a joke? Was it to let me know they didn't like my room messy? Was it jealousy?

My dad told me to just start over and he'll get me another doll to make clothes for. I told him no because I don't want the same thing to happen again. Eventhough he said it wouldn't, he's not home with me all day to deal with the daily things that go on in the house with my mom and her crazy family. My dad speaks English... my mom and I are the only 2 people in the house who can communicate with him... even my mom had a hard time.

Needless to say, my mom and I don't really have a good relationship. We have a relationship, but one that's not really a close mother-daughter bond. Never have and it's too late now.

I made a promise to myself that my daughter and I will have the relationship that my mom and I didn't have. I want her to actually come to me when she needs me. I couldn't do that with my mom, she would instantly deny my needs or judge me. I learned from it, I grew from it, I don't dwell on it. I think my mom is suffering the loss of times with me now.

So... when I was at Barnes & Noble yesterday and saw a magazine dedicated to paperdolls next to the scrapbooking section of the newstand. All of the above was what ran through my head and I felt the need to write it down.

Bridezilla

2008-04-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

READ FROM THE BOTTOM.

For those of you who already know the saga. I'm sure this is nothing new. I just want to have a record of what was said and how I am feeling right now about the whole thing. This isn't the first incident of her selfishness. This is just what put me over the edge.

The straw? ... was when she told me not to use my kids as an excuse. That's it, she's cut off. Never again will I ever be friends with someone so self absorbed.

I was so blind. And now I see.
____________________________

Fine - my address 2464 S Bascom Avenue #4 Campbell, CA 95008
On Fri, Apr 4, 2008 at 11:06 AM, Kanika Clavejo <kglend@yahoo.com> wrote:
Lisa,

I knew you would flip out like this. So here's where I am. I didn't 'lie' to you like you're accusing me of doing. At the time I told you I would take care of it, I thought that I could. I have always been able to do things like this simultaneously. Now, not so much.

My kids are everything to me, when you have your own, you will understand how difficult life gets.

Yes, I know my wedding was a big deal to me, But I did not put pressure on you as you are (were) to me.

I can't deal with you anymore so we'll just cut it off right here. I will send you your half of the dress $. Have fun at your wedding and life in general.
- Kanika

P.S. Please stop trash talking me to our mutual friends, it does come back to me and Chris.
----- Original Message ----From: Lisa Dryden <renegadepeach@gmail.com>
To: Kanika Clavejo <kglend@yahoo.com>Sent: Friday, April 4, 2008 9:21:38 AMSubject: Re: Girls night?
I know you're having issues. If you remember when YOU got married everything everywhere was about your wedding!

The main thing about having some sort of bachelorette thing is that you kept on saying that you've got it going which was a total lie. If you would have just told me that you couldn't or haven't done anything it would have been totally cool!! Don't worry about it Lolita is already working on the evite. We figured it all out yesterday when she was shocked that nothing was being done.

Stop using your kids as an excuse. I understand that its hard. Thats why whenever I've asked for help with something I've tried to let you pick the time and I've been more than flexible. I even paid for 1/2 your dress. . . the shower was $150 with the cheese, the wine, the fondue, the chocolate fondue. Usually brides don't pay for the shower at all. I was being nice and understanding and trying to help out but then I realized that we were paying for about 80% of the whole thing and it would have been better to just save the money and buy what we needed instead of feeding the whole crew.

I just wish you would have been more up front. You knew back in January when we talked that this was a chance of happening. I wish then you would have just said that you couldn't do everything that a normal bridesmaid would. I would have been ok with it. Instead I end up feeling guilty all of the time for even talking about my wedding. Damn right I'm going to focus on me and my wedding. Every single bride does. Including you!!! It's a good thing. All brides are supposed to!

I feel bad that you're having to deal with Chris being away. I've told you that all of the time so I don't know why you say I'm not sympathetic. If the wedding really is too much of a big deal then feel free to use that weekend for you and Chris as well. I really don't want to put you out. I mean have you even picked up your dress yet? You realize its in 3 weeks right?

I'm just tired of trying to go out of my way to be understanding and nice and then accused of not being so.
On Fri, Apr 4, 2008 at 12:07 AM, Kanika Clavejo <kglend@yahoo.com> wrote:
Lisa,

I know that I told you a while ago that I would plan something for your bachelorette. Unfortunately, since then, my life has taken a sharp left turn. You are aware of this, yet you do not choose to acknowledge or empathize with my situation. I don't expect you to understand what it's like to be a single mom of two kids with two different schedules and my husband not being here to help.

Right now, my focus is on our family's new direction in life - literally. In a couple of months' time our family will be on the move to Arizona. Again, you know this. I am personally having a hard time with this. I can't explain to you exactly how, but it's taken everything that I have inside of me to accept that we're leaving my 'home'. Chris and I have had fights about it. Never have I talked to anyone about our personal battles because it's not anyone's concerns but ours. We chose to do this, so we are suffering the brief depression of not being together.

Needless to say, you feel like I don't care about you and your wedding anymore. That's not the case. I feel like I've reached my limit in life at the moment. Everything that wasn't a big deal before.... now it is to me. I have been redirecting my focus to me and my kids 100% when it used to be that I could do 10 things at once.

I talked to Chris about this already and I was in tears. Not sure why, but right now, obviously I can't handle any pressure... big or small. Chris can't be here to comfort me on a whim... that in itself... overwhelms.

Again, I don't expect you to understand how I feel at this moment. I don't expect anyone to. But I need you to do me a favor ... stop and think about something other than yourself and your wedding every once in a while. You will see what's going on around you. For example, one - read the paragraphs above again. And two - money isn't everything. If you stress less about money and how much of it you don't have and that you actually need, you might see a brighter side of life.

By the way, I know you spent $100 on the food for your shower. I am going to take the high road and not say how much time and money I spent on your shower.. but it was well over $100. No one knows this, because I have not once complained about it. This might come as a shock, but money is tight for us as well. Complaining about it isn't going to make it grow on trees.

I know that something is being planned for your bachelorette. My weekends are being spent with my husband now. So have fun and I will see you in Vegas. - Kanika
----- Original Message ----From: Lisa Dryden <renegadepeach@gmail.com>To: Lolita Tabatura <ltabujara@hotmail.com>; Kanika Clavejo <kglend@yahoo.com>Sent: Wednesday, April 2, 2008 5:39:18 PMSubject: Girls night?
Hey,

So I guess I thought that someone was planning something for a bachelorette night or something right? I haven't been told a date at all . . . my calendar is getting crazy full. Should I just assume that we're not doing a girls night out anymore since its 4/2 already and nothing has been planned?

I only have a couple of free days at all between now and the wedding so I guess its probably best anyways right? :(

One more day

2008-03-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Chris leaves for Tempe, Arizona. He starts his new job on Monday at 7am. I am having a hard time with the situation. I don't want to be without him. There was never a time when him and I are apart for more than 3 days. Even then it was difficult.

I am definitely not looking forward to being a single mom for the next 4 months. Chris will be coming home to see us on random weekends, but that will be far in between for me.

The kids and I will be here until Reese is done with school and we celebrate his 8th birthday in July with his friends and our family here.

I have already told people here at work and it's a shock. People don't leave this company unless they move out of state or Pete fire them. The guys (and gals) here have been calling and wishing us well. Eventhough I'm still here til July. It will come soon enough though.

I think Pete has a plan as to what he wants to do with the structure of the office here once I leave. It's been quite unclear as to who does what or just too much overlap and lack of communication. I think we all know what needs to be done, we just need to do it. So far, Pete has the right idea, but he's really bad at expressing his thoughts and executing it to us. I understand what he's trying to do. Someone else is in denial though and will not cooporate.

Right now, I'm looking around the Chandler/Gilbert, AZ area for construction firms I can hopefully get into. Wish me luck! God knows I'll never find Anderson Pacific down there.

Take one for the road

2008-03-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

It's official.

Chris got his offer letter to go to Jabil in Tempe, AZ. His first day on the job is March 24, 08.

What does that mean for me and the kids?

Chris will be there for the next month or so to 'try things out' and make sure it's the right choice for us before we all pack up and leave the state of California.

I'd never thought we'd say this... or at least me anyway. I can't imagine us ever buying a home here in the Silicon Valley or anywhere else in this area. I'm quite tired of people here being superficial and me trying to keep up with the trends. One of the things I remember from living in Minnesota for that one year was the fact that life was really simple there. The girls I worked with didn't care that their hair weren't highlighted every 8 weeks or had the best make-up brand on their faces or wear clothes with a certain brand name.

Hopefully that's what makes this move better. No more competing with the world and just live our lives and raise our kids.

The heat is one thing I'm not really looking forward to, but that's not a big concern. We can always install A/C.

I don't want to leave my job. Chris knows this. But I have to keep in mind that will be the only thing I am sacrificing because there would be no way I'd get my job back if we decide to come back here. (Ok there is a chance because Pete likes me).

I will miss my friends but it's not a long drive to see them or just a short flight. Chris said he'd make sure I come see my friends. He's the best hubby.

Anyway.....

More update later...

Directions

2008-02-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

So it's true when they say sometimes life takes you in different directions, eventhough you aren't really prepared to make the move.

A few years back, say 1999. I met someone who I eventually had Reese with, who took me to the state of Minnesota to start a new life together. On a whim. There was where I gave birth to Reese and realized that I had to do some growing up really fast. Becoming an adult in a hurry in a place where I knew no one and nothing about life and not to mention doing it with someone who's extremely selfish... was extremely difficult to say the least.

There was where I went through more of an emotional rollercoaster than I could imagine. Until one day I realized that I couldn't do it on my own anymore and called for help to come home to CA.

This time, however, is much different.

I am married to the love of my life. We are financially stable. We have a beautiful family and a good solid relationship. I am (we are) adults now and able to rationalize and plan things accordingly.

With that said...

Chris's long time friend Greg recently made a career move to Tempe, Arizona for a six figure salary job that he's enjoying (so far). He's been calling Chris every day to convince him to make the move. See... here's the thing with Greg, he doesn't have a family of 4 to worry about. He doesn't own a home (neither do we, but still), his move is just for himself and his career. Chris is really excited about getting this offer from Greg's new company and making the move to AZ.

I am still not convinced.

Sorry baby if you're reading this. I'm not saying you're making anything up or getting excited for nothing.

Moving to another state still scares me. I have deep wounds from the last time I did this and I don't want that to happen again. This time I am more prepared mentally and making plans way ahead of time. Listing everything that needs to be done and preparing for how the kids might take it. I am telling friends and family (last time I just picked up and left). Of course, my mom and dad aren't around anymore, so that's not such a heavy weight on my mind in that aspect.

Right now, how it's going to work for us, if it's happening at all... is Chris would go out there first and start with the job. Feel it out and see if he's going to hang with it (not that he will have a choice, they are paying him a lot of money to coax him to come out). I will stay behind and let Reese finish second grade here and get things in order. That would leave about 3-4 months.

I've been actively looking for places to live and jobs for me. Cost of living is definitely cheaper down there, but it's also 150 degree heat in the summer. At the same time though, no one is going to pay me the salary that I make here. That's just reality. So... we might break even.

I will miss my friends, Renegades, the family I have left here.

BUT... we'll be closer to VEGAS!

lol

Video

2008-01-28T21:18:00.000-08:00

For everyone who doesn't believe us when we say that she really does talk... a lot! Here's a little video we took tonight. Oh yeah... she also had her first major accident... rammed her head into the corner of her new bedframe... as you can see in the video.

Pictures

2008-01-27T23:11:00.000-08:00

Ok so everyone has been asking for Christmas pictures. It just dawned on me when I uploaded our camera that all the opening of presents pictures were on other people's cameras. All we have are other random pictures. So ... here are some new pictures... well sort of. lol.

Bailey likes to jump in bed with Reese at night because it MUST be more fun when he goes to bed, Right??

Angel face... Most of the time. :-)

Piggy tails. Even if there's hardly any hair to make them with.

Look I can brush my own teef!

And feed myself some eggs!

Crazies

2008-01-16T13:16:00.001-08:00

Ok so Chris and I have been dealing with some crazy family members lately. You're all probably wondering why I've made my blog private.

My mother and father in laws are going through a pretty bitter divorce. My father in law is a little crazy ... as in needing medication crazy. Most of you already knew that since you're all in Renegades with Chris and I and have known his father since the beginning of time. He's been on medication for Bi-Polar for years. I think Chris said since 1999. But who knows when his conditions really began.

Anyway... here's the Reader's Digest version of it:

Mom and dad hadn't gotten along for a while. Dad doesn't take his meds and goes off the deep end. He loses his job, can't get another job. We all know how hard it is to find a job when you're really looking hard and you're well in the head. Mom works hard trying to keep up with the mortgage and all their bills. Little sister is still young and living at home at the time so she's struggling to understand what's going on with her family.

Mom and dad separates. She got her own rental after they sold their house. Dad moved to Stockton with his mom and sisters. They are filipino, they all either live together or really close by.

Side note: That side of the family has been in denial of his condition this entire time. Now that he's there, they are convinced that God will help him find his way. Not doctors, or pills.

I really don't know what the Clavejo side of the family is doing to help him along. So far whatever they are doing isn't really taking affect on his condition. The rest of us are afraid to be around him, sad to say.

Fast forward to last week.

Mom tells me he's been lurking around her house leaving her messages and saying mean things to her. He tells her that he found her address through my blog. Well... the only thing I have said on here is that she moved to Manteca. I'm sure he did his research and found her somehow. He'a also been threatening me - yes me, personally - about some of the things I have said on my blog regarding his family. I will really have to look back and read what I wrote to see what I said to offend him.

He's also not happy that I (really it's more Chris than I) haven't brought Bailey to Stockton so the family can see her. To me, I feel that the road goes both ways. They can call us to say they want to come see us or that we need to go out there. I don't call them because I don't know any of them well. Chris? You ALL know he doesn't call anyone.

I undertand that Bailey is his first and so far only grand daughter. But we have asked him on many occasions to try to be well and get better and he hasn't. So... this is the price that he has to pay... Bailey will not get to see her grand father until things change.

It's really unfortunate, but it is what it is.

Thanks for reading. I will be putting some Christmas pictures up here soon. :-)

Guess who has pigtails???

2007-11-29T16:28:00.000-08:00

Well it took us a good half hour of wrestling and struggle with Bailey to get 2 rubberbands in her hair. We took these pictures real quick because a minute later, she pulled them off.

Watching TV

View from the top

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-11-25T18:53:00.000-08:00

First of all... I never liked this holiday. I didn't grow up with it, so when we moved here, it was thrown at me as a major American holiday. I didn't understand its history and they why's or what it was about until recently. Even then, I still don't appreciate it fully.

This year is a little different than any other year.

My dad has been gone for 2 years now and my mom moved to Florida. It just dawned on me that 2007, I'm officially parent-less for the holidays.

Well... I am a parent of 2 kids now. So it's my turn to make every holiday more special than the last one for them. My parents never really did that for me so I want our kids to appreciate everything they have.

Happy Thanksgiving!

One Bad Day

2007-11-21T08:42:00.000-08:00

I was in a fender bender yesterday. I rear-ended an SUV and did some damage to my car. It's not drivable at all so we'll see if it's worth fixing. The SUV I hit had practically no damage.

We were on our way to pick up Reese from school (Bailey and I). From San Tomas turning right onto Williams where there's usually no cars. Well... this time there were cars backed up to the intersection of San Tomas and Williams. Bailey was screaming for me to take her cup so I turned to get it. And right then was when I hit the SUV.

No one got hurt. Bailey had a cut on her lip from the cup jamming into her face. My neck and back are sore, but I am ok. This was my first accident EVER... so I'm still shaken up by it.

Needless to say, other than not having a car, I won't be driving for a while.

The Daily Grind

2007-11-16T22:59:00.000-08:00

I haven't really talked about life at work on here at all.

Things are good on my little corner of the office. I am thankful for everything I have there and how much people really do appreciate my contributions to the company. Recently it was time for our annual raises, of which I was very nicely compensated. There is still everyday drama. The drama that seems to only come from one person.

My Mondays aren't dreadful and Fridays usually come too soon.

So overall, things are pretty good. We'll see what this coming year brings me. More new things and bigger accomplishments probably.

Restaurant no-more

2007-11-15T22:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Chris and I met a friend at the Red Robin in Rivermark. This came after we met with a potential new daycare provider for Bailey. Not that that made any difference but keep in mind that by the time we went to Red Robin, it was 7pm. It's late for our family to have dinner by now and it's approaching Bailey's bedtime.

We get our seat. The waiter brought us drinks. And right then, it was over.

Bailey wanted to play with my glass of coke, the ice in it was her ultimate goal. The straw was in the way so she threw it out of my reach. Not to mention she didn't like the booster seat they gave her. She took a piece of ice then realized it's been soaking in Coke. So now she wants to drink my drink. I took it away from her and she threw a tantrum.

Chris took her outside to distract her while I place our orders.

They came back inside when we got the chicken wings. Of course she wanted some of those. I gave her a celery stick dipped in ranch. mmmmmm... that kept her for a while, but damn, that coke is still sitting there calling her name.

She tried to climb on the table to get to the coke or anything else she's not supposed to touch. The second I'd say no, she screamed.

Finally, I ate my burger in 2.5 seconds flat... grabbed our stuff and took her outside. Chris stayed behind and ate his food with Reese.

In the meantime, Reese just sat there watching the tv show I downloaded on my iPod the entire time without a peep. I couldn't help to think that he was just like Bailey at one point in his life and it was over before I knew it. I have to keep that in mind and repeat to myself - Someday we will be able to eat in a restaurant again - over and over.

On a different note: PROJECT RUNWAY is back on! Season 4 baby!!!

Uh.... really??

2007-11-06T11:52:00.000-08:00

This morning I strolled into my Starbucks just like I do everyday for my daily iced mocha.

I stand in line as the person infront of me place her order. The cashier told her what the total of her purchase was $4 something.

The girl hands her a $100 bill.

Starbucks girl: Um... Do you have something smaller than that?
Customer girl: No.
Starbucks girl: Well... I can't break that. We put all the $20's into a safe when we get them. We're not supposed to take anything bigger than a $20.
Customer girl: Get a key and open it
Starbucks girl: The person with the key isn't here right now. I can't break your $100. Do you have anything smaller?
Customer girl: No. Well, then my coffee is free, isn't it.

Starbucks girl just stood there, didn't know what the heck to do.

Customer girl put her $100 away, walked around to the end of the bar and grabbed her Latte and left.

Another customer behind me said outloud so she could hear "Well that's one way to get free coffee"

Happy Halloween!

2007-11-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

Of course Jeff P took all the pictures last night when we went trick or treating with the kids.

The 2 boys, Reese and Derek would go up to 3 houses by the time she gets to 1. She would stand there and talk to people and ask for 'cookie'. Because everything that comes in individual packages are cookies to her. The boys would take off to the next house and she'd barely make it down the the door steps by the time they get to the second or third houses. It's ok she's only a toddler.. those guys are expert trick or treaters now.

At one point in time she had a sucker in her hand with the wrapper off. For about 10 minutes she was sucking on it and then it disappeared. Oh yeah, it's on the back of her head stuck to her hair.

I guess I have to expect that on Halloween night.

Will post pictures later. Here's one of her in her costume.

Get in, lock the door, and stay home for a while

2007-10-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days that just continue to get worse as the day goes on??

Yesterday was that day for me and Chris. Thank goodness the kids were with his mom. Let me try to recall the day I would rather forget.

3:00am - At least I thought it was 3am. The house phone rings. Are you kidding?? Who the hell is calling us at these hours. I barely opened my eyes and figured if they really need to talk to us, they can call my cell phone which is sitting next to me.

4:30am - The house phone rings again. And again, I ignore it. Chris is sound asleep, he heard the phone but didn't bother to open his eyes. The baby twitched a little but it didn't wake her up.

8:00am - We finally get up and get going for the day by this time. I took a look at the caller ID and it says City of Santa Clara. Hmm... my first thought was that my office's alarm was going off last night and they tried to call everyone on the list until someone answers. One of the stray cats in the yard probably tripped the alarm.

8:30am - Chris goes off to rehersal at Independence and I was going to do a little laundry, jump in the shower and we'd go drop the kids off with his mom around lunch time in Pleasanton.

I put my 6 quarters in the washer and they are stuck. No laundry for us today.

9:30am - I'm talking to LLMM on the phone and the other line beeps. I looked at the ID and it said Bad Boys Bail Bonds.

.... ok WTF

I jumped off the phone with LLMM and jumped on the other line. A family member had been arrested and now needed to be bailed out. I called Chris, he's freaking out. No one else is answering their phones today apparently. Chris left rehearsal early to go take care of the situation and he eventually came home with no answers.

Side note: Did I mention it's our 2nd wedding anniversary weekend and we're pawning the kids to Chris' mom and going to enjoy a ridiculously expensive but worth every penny dinner at Benihana's tonight?

Several phone calls later things are still in shambles and we leave for Concord as planned for today. We get to Pleasanton where we meet Chris' mom half way (she lives in Manteca now and we're on our way to Concord). She pulls up as Chris and I are composing what to tell her about this particular family member who's still sitting in custody IF she doesn't already know.

..... and she had no idea. We made some phone calls to people Chris and I didn't have numbers to and finds out that things are now semi-ok and the family member is now free. This person has a lot of explaining to do. Especially to Chris' mom.

She takes the kids regardless of how she's feeling. She didn't have to but she wanted to. The need for pleasant distraction of having a 7 year old and a 16 month old in your care for a day.

Our phones stopped ringing and we're on our way to concord.

3:00pm - We get to DVC and the kids aren't there yet. Apparently there was some issue with the bus and one had to turn around to go back to the school. Chris gets out to go meet the other staff members and I take off to get some snacks and find one particular item that 4 stores in a 1 mile radius didn't have. But oh yeah... 7-11 directly across the street from DVC had it. DUH!

5:30pm - The Indy kids perform their show spectucularly as they should. Too bad it's not under lights. They get great reception from the audience regardless.

Immediately after they performed, Chris and I were leaving to go have our ridiculously delicious yet expensive anniversary dinner at Benihana. As we pulled out of the driveway of DVC parking lot, Chris noticed we came out the 'in' way. It was too late to back out since it would have been up hill and no one was coming or going anyway. We got about 30 feet from the entrance Chris uttered "ah shit". Sirens and lights behind us.

Is that for us?

Yes.

Damn.

We pulled over. I'm reading the program from the band show and had to think for a second if we had anything in the car that we should be worried about. Nope we don't.

Chris had all the documentation for the police officer. The only thing he did wrong was coming out of the 'In' way. Oh yeah... and his license is expired.

And for that... the nice police officer asked us to step out of the car and proceeded to search inside and patted him down. He didn't search me but he did ask me if I 'had' anything on me. What does that mean? Illegal substance? Packing a gun, knife, nail file? No I don't have anything. If I did, I wouldn't admit it since you're not going to search me.

Thank GOD we didn't have anything.

By the end of this stupid ordeal... the car gets towed to an impound yard and Chris will have to come back with a good license to get his car out. To concord.

7:00pm - We go back into the band show inside DVC on foot... found our friends... told them what happened and established who's taking us home. That was the easy part. But dammit we're hungry!

We stayed at the show watching a few bands with our friends eating snacks the kids were selling which made us even more hungry for food with substance.

9:00pm - We finally leave the show site with our good friend Harry and Kelly in her car not too far behind us. We made a unanimous decision to eat at Denny's. Benihana vs. Denny's. Well at least we avoided spending an arm and a leg and our first born. We leave the restaurant shortly after we finished our comparable fried food but cheap dinner.

10:30pm - We're still on the road just over the Sunol Grade on 680 and I'm in and out of sleep in the back seat. Suddenly I'm awaken with Harry and Chris discussing the fact that he's stepping on the gas and there's no response.

OMG.... wouldn't you know it. We are OUT OF GAS.

I called Kelly since she's about 5 minutes behind us and she had to pull over to laugh. She stopped to help us get some gas and we were on our way.

We finally get home around 11:00pm.

Get in, lock the door, don't come back out until it's safe to do so.

Old pictures

2007-10-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to our mailbox to retrieve our mail that's been sitting in there for about a week. Lots of useless ads and some bills and a note card from my mom.

I think it's finally hit her that we're 3000 miles away and she's no longer 'home'. She misses her grandkids pretty badly and I don't blame her. She moved to Florida for good reasons. But she also sacrificed a lot of her past life.

In the envelope she sent there were a bunch of odd dimensioned photos of our us. Me, my mom, my dad, a few of me and my friends from Thailand when we lived there. One of my passport photos my dad took.

There were 2 photos in particular that caught my attention. They were polaroid pictures of me when I was about Bailey's age now. I did a double take and my jaw dropped to the floor. The image infront of me appeared exactly the same as my daughter's now. The thin hair, rolls in the neck, big eyes, unibrow, and that serious 'thinking' look on her face.

But she really does look like her dad to the T.

I will have to scan those photos somehow without damaging them and post on here.

My new hair

2007-10-25T10:44:00.000-07:00

Well not new hair. Just new color job. I finally broke down and got highlights.

Her Eyes

2007-10-24T22:24:00.000-07:00

Chris says this song reminds him of me and it makes him smile everytime he hears it.

Pat Monahan - HER EYES

She's not afraid; she just likes to use her night light
When she gets paid, true religion gets it all If they fit right.
She's a little bit manic, completely organic
Doesn't panic for the most part.

She's old enough to know, and young enough not to say no
To any chance that she gets for home plate tickets to see the Mets.
Like everybody, she's in over her head, Dreads Feds, Grateful Dead, and doesn't take meds.

She's a Gemini Capricorn Thinks all men are addicted to porn.
I don't agree with her half the time, But, damn I'm glad she's mine.

Her eyes, that's where hope lies.
That's where blue skies Meet the sunrise.
Her eyes, that's where I go When I go home.

She got the kinda strength that every man wishes he had.
She loved Michael Jackson up until he made Bad.
Tells me that she lives about a hundred lives, Scares me to death when she thinks and drives, Says cowboy hats make her look fat, and I'm so glad she's mine.

She doesn't know the word 'impossible'
Don't care where I've been and doesn't care where we're goin' to.
She takes me as I am, and that ain't easy.
She's beautiful. So beautiful.
And sometimes I think she's truly crazy. And I love it.

Her eyes, that's where hope lies.
That's where blue skies Always meet the sunrise.
Her eyes, that's where I go When I go home.

She's not afraidshe just likes to use her night light.

Why why why...

2007-10-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

Why can't Bailey sleep?? She kept waking up last night for no reason. Wake up, cry, go back to sleep.... wake up, cry, go back to sleep. I should just give up sleep altogether. UGH!

It's a wonder who I can function during the day anymore. Maybe my body is just so used to it now it really doesn't matter anymore.

So.... it's almost Halloween and Reese still can't figure out what he wants to be this year yet. Maybe he will once I take him to the costume shop. He's got a party at the Y on Thursday, so I should take him soon.

Bailey will be a fluffy pink flamingo

Videos

2007-10-22T15:35:00.001-07:00

Ok I just figured out how to post videos on here.

Bailey's first steps - This was back in April of 2007

Bouncing Bailey

I can't imagine her being embarrassed by this picture in 15 years, can you?

October 22, 2007

2007-10-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

Ok lots of things to update...

Let's see...

Our little precious monkey girl still doesn't sleep through the night. Not on a regular basis. And it's doing a number on my sanity. She can sleep through 4 out of 7 nights a week. That's it. Those nights are usually clumped together. Then she will wake up 3-4 nights in a row. We have already tried all the tricks of the trade. Seriously. Nothing seems to be working. We first blamed it on teeth... then she would leak through her diaper so she wakes up wet and irritated... Her teeth are all in like they should be now... and we switched to nighttime diapers (duh) so she's not waking up soaked anymore.

Yeah... I still hear "... Manna?" at 3am.

That's the other thing. She doesn't say "Mommy" ... I think I heard her call me that once. That's it just one time. When she's really tired and whiny. I want her to say it when she's happy and calling me because she wants to. I guess that will come with time.

Bailey says simple words and understands a lot of things you tell her now. She has total common sense. She will pick out shoes from her shoe basket and they'd be a matching pair. And then she will put them down to try to put them on, always the correct foot in the correct shoe. When we change her diaper, she walks her soiled diaper to the garbage can. Can't open the can, but she will put it on the top of the lid and go about her day.

She's starting to play like a girl. She takes her baby dolls and line them up and tuck them in like she's putting them to bed. I caught her trying to diaper a doll yesterday. It was cute and funny. She did get frustrated because it wouldn't stay on the doll. I guess we'll have to look into investing in a play kitchen or doll house soon.

___________________________________________

In other news...

Our good boy Reese has been suspended from school. Today he's not allowed to be at school because he punched another kid in class.

Apperently the kid said something about me that was pretty naughty. So when he got up from his seat, Reese punched him in the ribs.

The principal of the school called me to let me know what happened and that he's suspended. She also told me that she knows Reese pretty well and this is out of his charactor. Reese knows what he did was wrong and he felt horrible about it. On the one hand I can't imagine my kid punching someone like that. On the other hand I'm kinda glad he did what he did and is getting the punishment that is harsh. He knows that being suspended from school is the ultimate worse. That's what the 'bad' kids get.

Hopefully this is the last and only phone call like that I'm going to receive from the principal.

________________________________________

Chris is doing well with his work. So far nothing has changed with his job but you never know what's going to happen tomorrow.

He's also the visual tech guy at Independence High School. My alma mater and Chris marched in the band. No, he didn't attend the school, but Mr. M let him march in the band back in the day. He takes a lot of pride in teaching and those kids are really lucky to have him. Yes he does talk, marching is his passion and he's been eager to teach for a long time.

________________________________________

Speaking of teaching. I've also been helping out a colorguard. My good friend Lolita teaches a little band out in Ceres, CA at Central Valley HS. Brand new school, brand new band. She's also very passionate about what she does and I am proud of what she has accomplished in just a year's time. I am honored to be there with her and to help with her group of kids.

We have big plans for the winter program. It's really too bad that the school is 2 hours away from me and I can't be there all the time. But they are willing to work hard and they really do put their heart and soul into everything they do. Just like Lolita. I think they will do fine.

_________________________________________

I am trying to make Christmas cards. Yes Christmas cards. I figured if I start now, I will actually send them out in time for Christmas. We need to go take family pictures for the holidays. Although we have to wait til after Thanksgiving. The baby doesn't look the same from month to month. You laugh, but it's true!!

What else...

Oh yeah... I've decided not to march Renegades. At least not for another few years. It's not fair for the kids that both parents aren't available during the summer weekends. Reese wanted to be in baseball this year and we couldn't put him in because we actually want to be there for his games on Saturdays. It was impossible. The baby will have her own schedule also. We might put her into swim lessons or something. The local YMCA has a lot to offer.

Although I'm not marching anymore, I will continue to be involved with the corps. They are setting up committees so us alumni and other supporters of the corps maybe able to do to help. Without people doing all the hardwork in the background, there wouldn't be a corps on the field. I will do my best to try to help.

I have mentioned this to Chris before, but if there's a hole in June, I might be persuaded to fill it. Don't know until we get there. It's not fair to do that to people who were there all season though. I did it in 2003, that was HARD WORK!! Plus I have mommy brain now anyway. That means you don't remember things as well as you used to before babies. Shut up Kathy. lol.

Here's a little video of Bailey laughing. It's the most perfect sound any parent hears. It's true, ask a parent.

Ok... that's all for today.

Another year another dollar

2007-10-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my birthday... again. Why does it seem like I just had a birthday not too long ago?

The weather is getting chilly... leaves are turning autumn colors. Well not really because we live in northern California, but in some areas it really does look like Fall is creeping up on us.

It was so windy the other night that the neighbor's backyard gate was slamming against its post all night. Looks like mother nature can't decide whether to cry or to smile.

______________________

Chris and I are doing well. Chris's job is currently going through a blender of change. Not is job perse... his entire building where he works. My job is here... it never changes. I don't mind that at all. So... because of Chris's current position at work... we might come to a major crossroad in life soon. It might take us to eat some real pulled pork bbq on a daily basis.

This comes at a time when I'm excelling at my job finally. Things are going well here and I'm 'needed' in many aspects.

Will update more later.

Appreciating my friends

2007-10-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

I wanted to note these thoughts before I forget.

Recently I came to a realization that I really appreciate my friends.

Kelly reminded me that I have a birthday coming up and rearranged her schedule of a busy weekend so we can all have dinner together that night. I hadn't even thought about it. Much less remembered that it's coming up soon. My own mother hasn't called me on my birthday for a few years now. Every now and then I will get a 'make-up' call later in the week. Sidenote: I am her only child... how hard is it to remember?

Suzanne brought some pajamas from her daughter's closet for Bailey. I'm also the first person she tells things at work when there's something going on in her personal life. We confide in one another through the work week just to amuse ourselves because our colleagues are loonies.

I got a message from Tiffany on MySpace today saying she misses me. I really miss her and her picturesque quirkyness too.

Tonight I just found discovered the fact that my good friend Lee has my blog as a 'Blogs of Note' blog on his blog. (how many times can I say the word 'blog' in that sentence?) All I can say is DURRR! I had no idea. Chris says it's been there for months, even a year now. I had no idea I was getting such advertisement. I would have been updating this thing more often for sure.

I talk to Lisamomeesa nearly every single day. She's one person I can tell anything to and she will have something to say that's just as vibrant in personal thoughts or even more opinionated. To me, that's totally not a bad thing. I love her for being exactly that. Colorful.

Jojo keeps things real and me grounded. In life, in thoughts, all around. I can't imagine not having her to confide my random moments to. Having her in my life is like having a big sister I always wanted. Except this one doesn't go through my closet.

My bestest friend in the world Chris. Our anniversary is coming up soon.

What do I get him this year?

Some recent pictures

2007-10-02T12:41:00.001-07:00

I will update this blog with a wrap up of our NY trip very soon. Definitely before I forget all the details!!

Random Reese Conversation

2007-09-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

So coming home from Mars after a long camp weekend a few weeks ago. I had Reese and Derek in the car. It was non-stop chatter. Which was great because I was so tired and they kept me company. Derek is a smart cookie. No lie.

Reese: Mom, why do they call it the "Big Ass halt"
(he's referring to a part in our show during Jazz Police where everyone parks and blows, or spin)
Me: Well that's not a good word to use, it's an adult word so you shouldn't say it. But it's a part of our show that we all know.
Derek: Well, sometimes adults make bad choices.
Me: Yes... yes we do.

Oh Geez

2007-08-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a month since I last wrote something in here. How much do I suck?

Our laptop at home has a virus. Neither one of us have the time or energy to take it to Geek Squad or ask someone techy. Bleh. To post at work (like I'm doing right now) is pretty much impossible. I can't stop long enough to think about personal stuff anymore here. Too many tasks too many responsibilities. Which is okay. I love being busy here, I like feeling wanted, needed by these guys.

We leave for DCA Championship week in Rochester, NY with the Renegades next week. Wednesday night to be exact. I can't believe it's here already. This season just FLEW by. I guess that's what happens when you have a good time with friends and not stress out. 2005 was not a good year for me personally... I was way stressed and couldn't wait for it to all be over.

Bailey is getting smarter by the day. She sits and reads a book with us at night. We sing to her and she makes hand motions. She points to the fridge and says 'melk? melk?' when she watns milk. She takes her dirty diaper to the garbage herself. The kitchen sink is now too small for her to bathe in. I'm kinda sad about that really. She's grown so much right before our eyes.

She found her belly button recently.

The only thing that annoys me is that she doesn't have a sleep pattern. We spoil her in that department because we dont' have a set bedtime ourselves. She winds down when she feels tired enough. We don't put her in her crib and let her cry like they advise you to do in those parenting magazines. Chris and I rock her to sleep and it works most nights. Last night though, she fell asleep too early, around 8pm. She woke up at midnight when WE were trying to go to bed. I picked her up out of the crib, she wanted to play. I swear she walked around in the dark living room for an hour while I nodded in and out of sleep. She finally came to me and laid on my chest and fell asleep. Girl! I can't do this all the time!

Ok 2 things that annoys me. Bailey doesn't let me eat. Drives me crazy. She wants what I'm having, but wont' sit in her highchair to eat it. I give it to her and she wants to walk around and eat on the go. What are you so busy doing that you cant' sit in the chair and eat??

She runs everywhere. No more walking, that's old. She's in a hurry... all the time!

Reese's first day of second grade was yesterday. He's been so excited to start school again. So far so good. We bought some new school clothes since he's grown out of everything we have from last year. I do have to go get boxes for his old clothes to make room for new ones. We had a little shopping spree at Target for school supplies last night. I forgot what that was like!

Chris has decided he now wants to start teaching visual at Indy with Dave. Ok baby, what ever you want to do, I will support you. Just know that I will have to go see Lo in Ceres after NY. lol.

This is all for now, gotta get back to work.

Life's little disappointments

2007-07-24T22:38:00.000-07:00

Today I got to work... late as usual. But I am there and happy to be there.

Today I also came to a realization that there are people out there who take others for granted. I used to look forward to coming in to work. Working with a good boss, nice people, and one of my bestest friends. It's only been in the recent months that I have been feeling like I have to drag my feet in the mud to walk into the office. I really don't want to be talked at, starred at, and pick up someone else's slack all the time.

I am disappointed and I am taking it personally. It was my job after all that isn't getting done.

It's not that I *have* to pick up the slack. In fact, I probably shouldn't.. that way others will see I am too busy with my own stuff to take on someone else's job.

However... all of the above is only about 20% of what pisses me off day to day. It's the attitude... the non-stop chatter... the refusal to take on new tasks ... the dress as you please days (my favorite is the black too-small camisole top) ... the 7 times a day 15 minute smoke breaks PLUS one hour lunch everyday ... the cell phone conversation inside the office after the boss leaves ... the phone ettiquette, or lack there of ... oh and there's so much more.

And for the cherry on top... today there was a message on the voicemail letting us know of the absence providing no reason whatsoever... that was left last night at 10pm. <-- sidebar: this is not the first time, it's probably the 4th or 5th time.

Tomorrow ... hopefully will be a better day. Hopefully with one less.

I am a raging bitch about this. Maybe I'm just a little more dedicated than some. I feel my job is not to be taken for granted and it's been a priveledge to be employed there.

Maybe it's just me.

2007 Renegades

2007-07-21T22:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend 7/21 & 7/22 we have off. I cleaned our house top to bottom, caught up on laundry, cooked some good meals, and went for some retail therapy by myself.

I love our schedule this year. Practically no stress on members. We have deserving weekends off every once in a while. Our shows ALWAYS kick ass. The show is an awesome production so far.

Next week when we go back to TI, we get the remaining 6 coffins to complete our visual effect.

Chris and I just got back from our LA tour. My mom was here to take care of our kids while we're gone so I spent no time worrying about them to death. I knew they were in good hands. Chris' mom came by to take the kids out of my mom's hands Saturday evening and then again Sunday. They all had a great time together.

When we went to LA, we spent Thursday preparing and traveling. Once we got down there, we called James and Lisa for a rondezvous in Santa Monica. Great food at Yankee Doodle bar. Everything else was closed by then so we came back to the hotel for a nightcap. Friday we lounged around all day, switched hotels, went to rehearsal and then had LMS in the dark. Something about the school's transformer blown out and we lost power and had to perform outdoors. Whatever, the guard didn't do anything but be there to support.

That night we partied with friends and witnessed some random drunk people waltz in and out of our hotel room. No really, that really happened. Chris is somehow James' bestman! I wonder if he remembers saying that to him. Or if he rememebered being in our room in the first place. I managed to piss a dude off because I ruined his whole tour due to the fact that I wouldn't let his stanky ass hang out in our room like he was doing last year with Chris (I wasn't on tour with Chris, so last year's rookies think they can come and go with him when they wanted) Think again suckers! Thank God Carlie was there... she would have kicked this dude's ass with her pinky.

We had some shows in between all the fun times. It's hot down there for sure. After Sunday's show, I flew home on the earliest Southwest flight I could get on. Got home around 8:30pm. Chris and Co. got home around 2:30am driving.

Monday morning we were back to normal lives.

Fun times nonetheless. I love this season of Renegades. I am not stressed out, the show is not so complicated that I kill myself trying to perfect it. Real life isn't getting in the way and vice versa.

www.renegades.org

I don't really know how to end this except to watch this neat video put together by Lee Rudnicki and wife Rumiko.

http://drumlaw80.blogspot.com/2007/07/renegades-la-tour-2007-rated-pg-due-to.html

Something to say

2007-07-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

I have none now that I'm sitting here trying to compose something. While I'm driving and can't write, however... I can think of a million things.

Let's see... what's been going on.

Bailey is 13 months old going on about 2 years old. She's got all kinds of spunk and personality. What a little sponge she really is too. You tell her someting once and she has it engraved in her brain forever. Although she still doesn't sleep through the night. That's about the only thing she's got going on that I just wish would change already.

Also, she's been on her feet walking and running since she was 10 months old.

Reese is having a good summer so far. We sent him to summer school, which took place at Anderson Elementary. It's already over, just 4 weeks long. This weekend he left with our next door neighbor and their kids to go camping. He called last night and the first thing he said was "Mom, we are in the woods! There's a lake here but I can't see it." I'm sure he's having all kinds of fun.

My mom is moving in with us July 31st. Which is also Reese's 7th birthday.

She is driving me insane and she's not even living here yet. Her listening skills just aren't there and it just frustrates me very much. I can't understand how someone can be so inconsiderate and not realize it.

Chris' mom is moving also. She is finally going to be in her own home with an empty nest. I know she is really looking forward to it. I am looking forward to seeing her happy, but a little far from us. It's ok, we will still see her often.

My life at work has been a lot of the same. I am unhappy with the environment, but I am happy with the job itself.

......

Next post will be Renegades related and some pictures.

June 19, 2007

2007-06-19T12:45:00.001-07:00

Today is Bailey Taylor's first birthday.

You count the days, the weeks, the months... and now a year. It has gone by with lightening speed. She's becoming a little lady as supposed to a baby. I hope she becomes whoever she is destined to be.

Happy birthday baby.

I love you.

June 19, 2006

June 19, 2007

I am dreaming again

2007-06-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

I can't explain how refreshing the last couple of days have been. Bailey is finally sleeping through the night. The little bugger.

No more getting up between the hours of midnight and 5am every night/morning. She just started sleeping through the night 3 nights ago. And it's been so nice. No more waking up on either the recliner or the couch with a tweaked back or thinking "I JUST laid down!".

My body was so used to waking up at odd hours that I would wake up, look over at her crib. She's still snoring with her butt up in the air and hands tucked in. Ok, she's still sleeping, good. The alarm goes off... wow, was that all night that she slept.... again?

We are in the midst of switching from formula to cow milk. So that might have something to do with it. She's doing half and half right now and it's been ok. Adjusting in the beginning was rough, her stomach made a lot of noise and she rejected it. But we are doing it gradually now (mommy's sorry) so she's taking it much better.

Bailey eats everything you hand to her. Yesterday she was walking around with the same piece of chicken nugget for a half hour just nibbling on it. I know, already feeding my kid fast food. But that was a snack though, she already had her dinner.

This kid already knows how to throw a tantrum. If she doesn't get what she wants, oh watch out. She throws herself on the floor complete with arched back, flailing arms and legs, the whole nine. BUT it takes one little distraction for her to stop. Like if someone walks into the room or if you hand her a toy.

Who ever made up the term "Terrible Twos" ... they are wrong.

Anyway...

My mother has agreed to take both the kids this weekend while we're at rehearsal on Saturday only. And she emphisizes.. NOT OVERNIGHT. She just doesn't care for Bailey all that much. Only Reese. Sad, really. But you know what, I really expected it from her.

That's all for today.

The best toys aren't toys at all...

2007-05-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

A list of some of Bailey's "toys"

The blind string.
Because when she pulls on it and lets it go, the blinds hit the window sill and makes this crashing sound that's so entertaining to an 11 month old.

Mommy's shoes.
Because she leaves them laying by the front door and if she puts them on, it means she's leaving. So I will take them and hide them in random places around the house.

The cooking utincils.
When you bang them against anything, they make NOISE!

Mommy's wallet.
There's treasures and things I'm not supposed to play with in there.

Doors.
Open, close, open, close, open, close... what could be more fun!

Plastic bags from anywhere.
I take them away... that's what motivates her to get them back.

Straws.
At the risk of poking the roof of my mouth, I still like to run around with it.

My boxes of craft tools.
Because mommy keep saying no and they look like so much fun!

She also bangs on our computer keyboards, tv screen, and remote controls are apparently her new bestfriends.

This is the girl . . .

2007-05-25T22:55:00.000-07:00

This is the girl who learned how to throw a tantrum one week ago.

This is the girl who tricked her brother into looking the other way while she snags his school snack right out of his backpack.

This is the girl who learned how to walk at 10 months old.

This is the girl who stays up til all hours of the night because she doesn't want to miss anything.

This is the girl who captured her parents' hearts from day 1 . . .

Change is good

2007-05-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

The other day I was in Starbucks and I saw the cashier changes her hair style about once a week. If you have the patience and the means to do that... more power to you. I thought to myself... maybe it's time for me for a hairstyle change for me too.

So I asked Chris if he'd mind me changing my look a little. Add some hair to my forehead region. I want bangs again. The girl looked good and she has the same face shape as I do. I had bangs most of my life until a couple of years ago.

Ok 5 years ago.

So I looked up some cute styles.

Printed out some pictures.

Walked into SuperCuts and got me a cute set of bangs.

Here's to change!

American Idol

2007-05-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

Now that it's over... I can freely write about it. Not that I couldn't before, just didn't want to write prematurely.

So last night Jordin won. I think America picked the right Idol. As they always do, in my opinion. However, this year I predicted the wrong winner. I had an inkling that Melinda would win. I had a theory, you see. There are two criterias all of the past American Idol winners had in common. All of them are from the south and all of them have never been on the bottom two.

Kelly - Texas

Ruben - Alabama

Fantasia - North Carolina

Carrie - Oklahoma

Taylor - Alabama

Jordin - Arizona.... ??

Melinda hails from Nashville. In my book she was already a default winner. When she came out last night with the Winans. My first thought was that's where she belonged.

Oh well.

I do have to say that Jordin has an amazing voice and she will be successful regardless. Blake will have a career also, just in a different genre. Just like Taylor and Katharine McPhee. Love her music, but Taylor was a shoe-in.

Last night I did miss almost the first hour of the program because I thought it came on at 9pm like it usually does. Oops. We turned it on right where Blake was beatboxing with Doug-e-fresh. That's pretty cool. The African Children's choir made me cry. I don't know why. They were adorable! Sanjaya had to sing... again. I muted the tv.

Ryan Seacrest annoys the crap out of me.

Kelly Clarkson IS American Idol.

Gladys Knight made my night with the girls singing Midnight Train to Georgia. If I remember correctly, LaKeisha sang it in the beginning of the season back when top 12 were still around.

Love my girl Gina Glockson. She will also be fine. Reminds me a lot of Amy Lee... infact, she sang Call me when you're sober in the beginning and nailed it. Love that song.

Carrie Underwood - this girl is in a class of her own. What an amazing voice and performer. Humble as can be. Too bad she's country. I can handle about 2 seconds of country music and then I'd have to strangle someone.

I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking to myself while watching Bette Midler perform Wings Beneath My Wings - She's horrible! What a mess that was. Did she think it was a joke? I guess you have to see it to know what I'm referring to. I know very little about music and I knew she was out of tune. Cracking everywhere. It was actually painful to watch.

Ok ... I have to get to work. Much to do and not enough time.

Tonight So You Think You Can Dance STARTS!!

Why...

2007-05-23T22:42:00.000-07:00

Why do I have to beg for help? I'm talking about the daily grind. Help at home is not an issue.

There is available and capable hands... yet I get nothing. I was told once before that they refuse new information for one. Not only that, but the help doesn't seem to like being there in the first place. There have been times when my knowledge of previous duties were needed eventhough I was sick as a dog and really could use a day off to rest. But no... I can't ... we're short-handed. Isn't that a bitch?

There are so many things I want to say... and I already have to the powers-that-be... yet more chances are given. For some reason, I thought we're into doing serious business. I guess I'm a fool for assuming things should be done properly.

I am going to sound like a real bitch for complaining but here goes...

I seriously thought about taking breaks to compare how much I don't get done (not to mention covering for whomever) 10-15 minute breaks 5-6 times a day. PLUS the one hour lunch outside of the office I already get. Obviously, there is too much to do in one day for me to be able to pull something like that. The man in the corner office would raise an eyebrow and question my commitments. True, I would never jeopardize my 7 years of tenure. On the other hand, this exact schedule goes on every day.

Dressing appropriately. Come on. Like I said on the above paragraph. Could have swarn we're in business to be professional and present ourselves as such. Flip-flops, camisole tank tops, and denim cropped pants every single day is sloppy. It's really too bad we don't have a written in stone dress code.

Speaking of things written in stone. 7 years ago I was told from day one that I needed to be there during the hours of 8am to 5pm Monday thru Friday, no more, no less. And there's no leaving on days we're bidding for projects. It's stressful on the estimators as it is without having to answer the phones, fetching their own faxes, and simultaneously working on other projects and troubleshooting field issues. Now that I'm in the shoes of an estimator, I understand how important my role used to be. The role was handed to someone who could careless.

The attitude. The moodiness. The self-inflicted injuries. The less than professional way of handling multiple tasks.

It was inevitable that I'd end up pouring it all in here. I am pissed off and I can't handle it anymore.

VT

2007-04-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

I took this from my friend Lisa's blog, but I figured she wouldn't mind.

Logic

2007-04-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

Why is it so easy for a psychotic murderer to buy a gun or guns ...

yet...

I have to sign my soul to the devil and give my first born to get my baby some Sudafed at the Longs Pharmacy?

The Unknown

2007-04-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

When you were a little kid, were you ever curious of what's behind that one door in your house that you were never allowed to open?

Chris, Reese and I shower in our bathroom every day. Anytime someone is in there taking a shower, Bailey sits right outside the door waiting for something to happen or someone to allow her in. She's not to go in there because she pulls the toilet paper roll until it's empty, not to mention there's a toilet in there. Icky.

How frustrating must it be to not be able to talk or communicate efficiently to say what you want or need from your parents. How do you satisfy your curiosity when they just won't let you go into the bathroom?

I know she wants to go outside and play with her brother.

Now that she can walk... soon she will be able to do just that.

Update

2007-04-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

It's been a while! Work has been busy, posting anything at home is nearly impossible. So... I have a few minutes right now to write.

Let's see what's been going on around here...

Reese is now riding a 2 wheel bicycle thanks to his friend Sarah for helping him out. She's a kid down the street that goes to the Y after school. She's older, 3rd grader. Loves playing with Reese. Little tomboy-ish. That's ok, she's got good manners and make good dicisions. She sort of watches over Reese when they play together, like a big sister would. Her mom is great too.

What else is going on with Reese... OH YEAH... little man decided to WALK to school by himself yesterday.

BIG NO NO.

He thought he missed the bus when infact he was way too early and no one was out there yet. He decided he'd just walk to school by himself. When he told us he did that, Chris and both freaked out... there's a major intersection of Williams and Boynton he had to cross. He said there was plenty of people crossing with him so he wasn't scared. I'm really surprised he wasn't picked up by SJPD... a little too young to be walking to school by himself. He did have his backpack, school uniform on so he looked official.

Now that we're done freaking out....

Chris said he's old enough to figure it out .. and the fact that we ALL used to pull that crap on our parents when we were younger. I am really proud of him for being a problem solver and not scared to just take initiative. He thought he missed the bus, so he said ok, I guess I'm walking.

Anyway...

The other big news. Bailey is WALKING!!

Yes, she's taking a few steps on her own now. Wabbly steps, but that's how they start, right? She would take her steps, fall to her knees and just crawl to where she needs to go. It's much faster! She is trying to keep up with her brother afterall. I will post pictures another day.

Oh if I was running my own business....

2007-03-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

My Visual DNA

2007-03-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

The concept of time

2007-03-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I realized I was becoming my mother and my mother is becoming ... something other than herself.

Our neighbor's daughter goes to Reese's school but she's in the third grade. She likes to play with Reese and Reese likes to play with her.

Yesterday I stayed home with Bailey so later in the afternoon when it was time to pick up Reese I decided to walk to the school for some exercise. Besides, it was a beautiful day, might as well take advantage of it. As I got to Reese's school, Sarah, the girl he plays with asked if Reese can come over and play at her house. I said that's fine, but he has homework to do so it would only be for a little while.

Reese, Bailey (in the stroller) and I walked home only to find our neighbor and her daughter, Sarah at our door step waiting for us. She starts talking to me about her day, Sarah's day, the plants, her landlord, her job... what am I, your bestfriend?? Reese and Sarah have now taken off to their house and I'm stuck with this lady at my door. I tried to cut off the conversation to tell her to send Reese home by 7. She made a comment about how strict I was.

Ok, now I'm irritated.

Then I started thinking about it. I'm only strict because Reese has a routine he keeps up with every day. Going out to play at someone else's home is not in the routine, not part of our day. But it is part of being a kid.

At that moment I caught myself thinking ... am I really strict? I thought of what my mom would have done and she wouldn't have let me go to someone else's house when I have homework and chores to do. I told Sarah's mom, yeah I try to keep him on a schedule so he knows what to expect and doesn't go off his daily routine too much.

Then I look at her family - complete chaos. Hmm... reminding myself that I'm doing things exactly the way my mom did and I now appreciate her strictness upon me growing up.

Reese came home at 7 - totally wound up from playing with friends outside. It took a little while to get him to come down to earth and join us for dinner then homework then shower. He had to skip playtime before bed because he used that time with Sarah.

He realized this morning that time is a precious thing. He told me that he will make time for sister tonight because he didn't get to be with her last night at all.

I'm thinking to myself... wow, let's see if you say that when you're 16 and she's 10 and you have to drive her to school and where ever else she wants to go.

Winding down

2007-03-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm sitting in my office with a few piles of still to get through for this week and thinking about random things that have nothing to do with work at the moment. Let's see if I can recap everything ...

Renegades camp this weekend was great. The hornline got through our ballad and we got more work to the show as well as cleaning the parts we already know. Next camp we should be getting drill to go with all this great work and music we have. Our poor hornline hardly is a full hornline at this point. We have more members in the guard than we do in the horns right now. Bizzarre, but good from our perspective. Drums are doing well, need a couple more people, but still.

I have to say that our friends John and Carolyn have been a godsend to us. Carolyn have had Bailey (and sometimes Reese) whenever we have camps. I am grateful for their generosity and their willingness to give at times we need them. Thank you guys! Chris and I owe you some margaritas!

Bailey woke up with a rash on her back this morning. I called her doctor and she said it might just be dry skin. The bumps are not red or irritating her at all. So we will just have to keep an eye on it and make sure these bumps don't get infected and become problematic.

Other than that... nothing exciting happened this week. I love my boring life. :-)

Some new pictures

2007-03-04T16:14:00.000-08:00

The little boy is Lisa and Roy's little Andrew.

"I wub my bwa-der"

It's March?

2007-03-01T16:57:00.001-08:00

WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO FEBRUARY???

90 Questions

2007-02-28T21:59:00.000-08:00

I love these, can't you tell?? This one is from Lolita, the FBI agent.

90. First off, what is your name?
Kanika

89. What did you do last night?
Took the kids to the mall in search of a red shirt for Chris

88. Do you have a same sex best friend that you can talk to 24/7?
Kelly

87. Do you have any siblings?
None from my mom and dad. However I have 4 half siblings

86. Where are you exactly?
On our couch

85. Favorite color(s)?
Pink (love pink/brown combo)

84. What does the 7th message in your [cell] text inbox say?
lol (from Chris)

83. Who sits beside you in you favorite class?
Not currently attending school

82. Who sits to the left?
Bailey's new teddy bear, Beary

81. Where is your dad right now?
Watching over me.

80. Do you have any kids?
Yes, 2

79. Who is the 5th person you got a missed call from?
Lisa Johnson

78. Closest black object?
The remote

77. Closest silver object?
The other remote

76. Have you ever jumped a fence for any reason?
Yes

75. Sing in the shower?
No

74. Do you own any pets?
No

73. How does your hair look right now?
Pulled back and greasy

72. Last time you listened to country music?
I hear it on someone else's radio at work

71. ?

70. If you could kill someone, who would it be?
Too many names to mention.... ha ha

69. What are your fears?
Not being able to provide for my children. Health scares. Growing old.

68. What do you hear right now?
My husband babbling about poker

67. How many drugs are in ur system right now?
Tylenol cold and sinus

66. What is the profit ratio for Macy's 2006 statement?
Hm... I would know this if I was still in school.

65. What are you wearing?
Pink stripe shirt, blue plaid pajama pants, white socks

64. When was the last time you pretended to be an animal?
When I was reading a zoo animal book to Bailey earlier today

63. Do you sing?
In the car, yeah

62. Screamo or Country?
What the hell is Screamo?

61. Rock or Rap?
Rock

60. Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate

59. Who did you last call?
The boss

58. Who last called you?
My husband

57. What jewelry do you wear daily?
My earrings, my wedding band/engagement ring

56. What are you doing now?
This survey, watch TV

55. Who was the last person you said I love you too?
My husband

54. Would you die for someone?
Yes

53. If so, who?
Chris and our kids

52. Are you cold right now?
Yes

51. What do you smell right now?
Nothing, I have a cold.

50. Do you have to pee right now?
No

49. What did you dream about last night?
Not sure. I was up with Bailey 3-4 times last night.

48. What are you doing tomorrow?
Work

47. If an ex wanted you back, what would you say?
ha ha.

>> I have no idea what happened to questions 45 & 46

44. Bedsheet color?
Beige

42. Carpet or wood in your room?
Carpet

41. Bad rumor about yourself that you've heard?
Too many to mention. People talk out of their asses

38. Can you do a cartwheel?
Yes

37.What's your favorite candle scent?
Vanilla

36. Ever gone a whole day without eating?
Heck no

35. America or Canada?
USA

34. What makes you mad?
Today? People who power trip. There are others I'm too tired to mention

33. What if you found out you were adopted?
It'd be kinda weird, but it would explain a lot

32. Jeans or Sweatpants?
Both

29. Do you have socks on?
Yeah - Hanes

28. Do you own any big sunglasses?
Yes

27. Have you ever cried so hard you puked?
Yes

26. Last concert you attended?
Saw Garbage at the Fillmore

25. Last vacation you went on?
Pacific Grove for our 1 year anniversary

24. Have you ever gone streaking?
No

23. Have you skinny dipped?
No

22. Person who posted this before you?
Lolita

21. Anything bothering you right now?
Yes

20. Miss anyone?
Yes, my dad

19. Favorite TV show?
Too many to mention

18. Do you like 80s movies?
Yes

17. Are you scared of the dark?
No

16. Last two numbers in your cell phone number?
Chris's cell & Marcia

15. What kinda music do you like?
Pop, anything I can sing to

14. Are you a crazy stalker?
No

13. Best city you've visited?
New Orleans

12. Been to London?
No

10. Favorite subject at school?
Trend Analysis & Textiles <-- 2 different classes

9. Been to college?
Yes

7. Favorite time of day?
Dinner

6. Ever licked someones cheek?
Yes, I'm about to lick my husband's sleeping face

5. Watch all Spiderman movies?
Just the first one

4. What's on your TV right now?
Poker

3. What are you looking forward to?
Cleaning up and getting in bed

2. Ever gotten lost in the dark?
No - that would be freaky

1. Do you snore/talk/walk in your sleep?
Apparently I talk sometimes

Survey from Lisa

2007-02-20T21:43:00.000-08:00

This one is from Lisa D

HOW MUCH HAVE YOU CHANGED IN 10 YEARS? 1997 - 2007
10 Years ago.................
1.) How old were you?: 22
2.) Where did you go to school? FIDM, San Francisco
3.) Where did you work?: The Men's Wearhouse - Corporate Office
4.) Where did you live? Fremont, CA
5.) Where did you hang out?: No time to hang out. Worked 8 hours a day, school, and homework
6). Did you wear glasses?: No
7.) Who was your best friend?: Kelly Garcia
8.) Who was your regular-person crush?: Had a boyfriend
9.) How many tattoos did you have?: 0
10.) How many piercings did you have?: 2
11.) What car did you drive?: 95 Ford
12.) Had you been to a real party yet?: A couple
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: In a relationship

5 YEARS AGO............................................................
1.) How old were you?: 27
2.) Where did you go to school?: Same as above
3.) Where did you work?: Anderson Pacific Construction
4.) Where did you live?: San Jose, CA
5.) Where did you hang out?: Home with Reese
6.) Did you wear glasses?: No
7.) Who was your best friend?: Kelly Garcia
8.) How many tattoos did you have?: 0
9.) How many piercings did you have?: 2
10.) What car did you drive? Ford Taurus POS
11.) Had you been to a real party yet?: Oh yeah
12.) Had your heart broken?: Yes
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: Single mom

NOW ..........................................................................................
1.) How old are you?: 32
2.) Where do you work?: Anderson Pacific Construction
3.) Where do you live?: Different place in San Jose, CA
4.) Do you wear glasses?: No, but I probably should
5.) Who are your best friends? Kelly Garcia & Christopher Clavejo
6.) Do you talk to your old friends?: Yes
7.) How many piercings do you have?: Still 2
8.) How many tattoos?: 0
9.) What kind of car do you have?: 98 VW Golf
10.) Had you been to a real party yet?: Uh, yeah
11.) Has your heart been broken?: Yeah but I'm over it
12.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: Happily married with children

Really long survey from Veronica

2007-02-20T20:12:00.000-08:00

Thanks V!

Single or Taken: Taken
Happy about that: Very much so
Eye color: Brown
Shoe size: 8.5 - 9
Height: 5’7”
What are you wearing right now?: Pink Alaska shirt, blue plaid flannel pajama pants, white socks
Best place to go for a date: Date? ______________________________________________

FAVORITES
Kind of pants: Flannel pj pants
Number: 7 I would say
Animal: Dog
Drink (non alcoholic): Frappuccino from Starbucks, Freddo from Peets
Sport: Bowling
Month: May
Juice: Cranberry
__________________________________________

Have You Ever...
Bungee Jumped?: That would be a NO
Made yourself throw-up?: No
Gone skinny dipping?: No
Eaten a hot dog?: Yes
Loved someone so much it made you cry?: of course
Played truth or dare?: Yes
Been on a plane?: Yes
Came close to dying?: When I almost got run over by a drunk cowboy when Saddle Rack was in San Jose
Been in a sauna?: Yes
Been in a hot tub?: Yes
Swam in the ocean? I learned to swim in the ocean
Fell asleep in school?: Yeah
Ran away?: No - never had a reason to
Broken someone's heart?: Yes
Cried when someone died?: Absolutely
Cried in school?: Yes
Fell off your chair?: Yes
___________________________________
What is...
Your good luck charm? Don't think I have a lucky charm
New favorite song?: Call me when you're sober - Evanescence
What is besides you?: The remotes, bottle of water, Bailey's empty bottle
What kind of shampoo/conditioner do you use? Redken All Soft Shampoo & Conditioner
____________________________________
Ever Had..
Chicken pox: No
Sore Throat: Got one right now
Stitches: Yes
Broken nose: No, not yet
__________________________________________
Do You...
Believe in love at first sight?: Yes
Believe in long distance relationships?: No
Like school?: Yes - life is about learning something new all the time
_________________________________________
Question??
Who was the last person that called you?: Lisa Dryden
Who makes you smile the most?: My kids and Chris
Who knows you the best? Chris and Kelly
____________________________________________
Do you like filling these out?: Yes they are fun
Do you wear contact lenses or glasses?: No, but I probably should
Do you like yourself?: Most days
Are you kidding?: About what?
Do you get along with your family?: Yes
______________________________________________
Are You...
Obsessive Compulsive?: Yes - only with certain things - I live on 'routine' and 'rituals' - man, do I need therapy?
Suicidal?: Um, no - What kind of question is that??
______________________________________________
Final Questions:
Hated someone in your family?: No
Gotten any awards?: Yes, but nothing major
What car/truck do you wish to have?: Toyota Hylander Hybrid
Good driver?: I'd like to think so, my husband might say otherwise. :-P
Good Singer?: Bailey thinks I'm GREAT!
Have a lava lamp?: No
What was your last dream about?: Bailey being sick and crying for me - then I woke up because she's crying in her crib and she's sick
When you last showered: This morning
Scary or Funny Movies? Funny and Suspense flicks
Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate
Rootbeer or Dr.Pepper? Dr. Pepper
Skiing or Boarding? Neither
Summer or winter? Summer
Silver or Gold? Silver
Diamond or pearl? Love the Prince song
Sprite or 7up? Neither
Coffee or sweet tea? Coffee
Phone or in person? Person
Are you oldest? Compared to whom?____________________________________________
Today did you...Buy something: Yes, had to go grocery shopping for dinner
Get sick? Got sick over the weekend
Talked to an ex? God no
Miss someone? Yes, my dad, all the time
_______________________________________________
Last person who....
Slept in your bed? Chris
Saw/heard you cry? Chris
Made you cry? The show SuperNanny - recently single dad with 4 kids who miss their mom dearly
Went to the movies with? Reese and Derek - we saw Cars on opening day
____________________________________________
Ever been in a fight with your pet? No
Been to Mexico? No
Been to Europe? No
____________________________________________________
Random.....
Favorite sports to watch? None
Piercing/Tattoos? Just my ears pierced, no tattoos
What are you most scared of right now? Chris's recent unhappiness with his job and is considering a major career change
Who do you really hate? No one important enough to mention
Do you have a job? Yes
Have you ever been in a "mosh-pit"? No
Whats the first things you notice about the opposite sex (visual)? Posture and personal style - I don't know why. Bad posture tells you a lot about a person, and also their style.
Your Favorite Food? Anything Chris makes for me
Ever get so drunk you don't remember the night before? No - do I sound like a party pooper with this question or what?
Hair color? Dark brown
Aim? No
Butter, Plain or Salted popcorn? Buttered and salted
Dogs or cats? Dog
Favorite Flower? Gerbera Daisies
How many pillows do you sleep with? 1

Holy long survey!

Valentines Day 2007

2007-02-14T21:19:00.000-08:00

4 married women in my office...

...the one who just filed for divorce gets a bouquet of red roses delivered to her from an expensive florist.

...the rest of us? We ate cupcakes... brought by the one who's not married.

hmmm....

Random Thoughts

2007-02-13T19:52:00.000-08:00

I have come to the realization that I'm not really good at updating this thing. I can't really do it at work anymore. My responsibilities there quadrupled since I came back from maternity leave. There are way too many distractions that I can't keep coming back and forth from working to blogging constantly. That and I can't exactly say... "don't bother me, I'm blogging on the clock"

So many things to write about.... some highlights:

A friend whose husband left her a month ago has pushed his way back into her life, her home, her heart. She was ready, with divorce papers in one hand and a pen in the other.
I experienced a first grade classroom first hand on Monday. Man, I was exhausted by the time I left the class.
Renegades.
Bailey and Reese.
Reality TV shows update.

On that note... I will update this thing on Thursday when I'm 'working from home'.

Wink wink.

More New Pictures

2007-02-02T15:37:00.000-08:00

She's going to hate me for posting nakie pictures of her. :-) But she's so cute!

Some new pictures of Bailey

2007-02-02T10:47:00.000-08:00

Petpeeves

2007-01-26T15:45:00.000-08:00

I have just a few petpeeves that I can think of today. And I feel I have to write them down because you never know... when I get older and wiser later on in life, I might find these amusing.

Peeve #1

I can't sit on a warm toilet seat. There's just something about that that just creeps me out.

Peeve #2

When the cashier at Starbucks assumes the person behind you is with you and proceed to take his order because he is standing so close to you.

Peeve #3

When the cashier at the grocery store make comments about what you're buying.

Peeve #4

When you're trying to put your change away and the cashier is already taking the next order after you and you haven't left the register yet.

Peeve #5

When exiting the freeway, do not STOP at the end of the exit! I will run your ass over!

Peeve #6

Unless your name is Chris Clavejo...when my IM status say busy, don't start chatting with me. I am really busy.

That's all for today....

Autobiography

2007-01-22T11:26:00.000-08:00

Taken from Olyvia's blog. Love ya!!

1.Where did you take your picture?
Our wedding day 10/29/05 Pacific Grove, CA.

2.What exactly are you wearing right now?
Red long sleeves, cargo pants and boots

3.What is your current problem?
Awaiting results of my last Gyno visit.

4.What makes you most happy?
My kids, my wonderful husband, my job, and reality TV.

5.What's the name of the song that you're listening to?
No music in this office today. Someone is grumpy.

6.Any celeb you would marry?
I'm married, but if I wasn't, it would be Dave Matthews.

7.Name someone with the same birthday as you?
Kirk Cameron.

8.Ever sang in front of a large audience?
Nope. And you don't want me to. Really.

10.Do you still watch kiddy movies or kiddie TV shows?
Yep... when you got kids you know all about Elmo and Dora and Thomas the tank engine.

11. Do you speak any other languages?
Thai. Not really, but I do understand it.

12.Has anyone you've been really close to passed away?
My daddy.

13.Do you ever watch MTV?
Yes, Real World, My SuperSweet 16, Etc.

14.What's something that really annoys you?
Oh if I can name them on a public blog.... lol.

Chapter 1: Basics
1. Name: Kanika
2. Nickname: Makika (Created by Lisamomeesa) and whatever Chris calls me.
3. Current location: Santa Clara at my office.
4. Eye color: Brown

Chapter 2: Family
1. Do you live with your parents: No, but my kids live with me though :-)
2. Do you get along with your parent(s): My mom, yes. My dad is watching over me.
3. Are you parents married/seperated/divorced: Mom is widowed.
4. Do you have any Siblings: Not from my mom and dad. I have 4 half siblings from my dad's first marraige.

Chapter 3: Favorites
1. Ice Cream: Chocolate
2. Season: spring
3. Shampoo/conditioner: Redken All Soft line alternating with Head n Shoulders.

Chapter 4: Do You..
1. Dance in the shower: nope - I usually run through my day's to-do's in the shower.
2. Write on your hand: no - I keep a notebook in my purse so I don't write on my hand.
3. Call people back: If I have to.
4. Believe in love: Absolutely.
5. Sleep on a certain side of the bed: Yes, because my husband makes me. :-)
6. Have Any obessions: Scrapbooking

Chapter 5: Have You...
1. Broken a bone: Yes, a toe.
2. Sprained stuff: Yes, ankles, wrists, neck.
3. Had physical therapy: Yes, when I broke my toe.
4. Gotten stitches: Yes, after an epesiodomy - shout out to all the moms out there - woot!
5. Taken painkillers: Who hasn't?
6. Gone SCUBA diving or snorkeling: No
8. Thrown up at the dentist: No
9. Sworn in front of your parents: Yes... my dad was a sailor.
10. Had detention: Nope
11. Been sent to the principal's office: Nope
12. Been called a hoe: Again, who hasn't?

Chaper 6: Who/What was the last
1. Movie(s) you saw: Um... no idea. It was while I was pregnant, I know that.
2 Person to text you: Carolyn with a cute picture of Bailey.
3. Person to call you?: Chris
4. Person who hugged you: Reese - before he left for school this morning.
5. Person you tackled: Must have been Chris, he would be the only one to tackle me
6. Thing you touched: My soup
7. Thing you ate: Wok Stock & Barrel Soup from Yan Can
8. Thing you drank: Cherry Coke
9. Thing you said: There's only one pair of chopsticks for all this food??
10. Friends you consider really close to you: Ton of people
11. Friends you miss the most that have moved: Veronica Nickel
12. Do you have OCD?: Yes - and now my son has it too
13. Who was the last person you spent more than 1 hour chatting with?: Chris - Well I was chatting and he was listening.
14. What was the first school you went to?: A preschool in Bangkok, Thailand.
15. Do you miss your hometown?: No
16. Whos your favorite sibling?: Me
17. Are you in love at the moment?: Yes.... I love my hubby. :-)

The day that Justice was done....

2007-01-18T08:23:00.000-08:00

It all began on Tuesday January 16th. First day back to school for Reese after a 3 day weekend.

I started feeling sick so I left work around 2pm to go home to rest. As I was shutting my eyes... the phone rings. I thought about not picking it up because I saw the number was from the office. Should I? .... yeah I really should.

"Hey Kanika, Reese's after school program just called, he has a major nosebleed, some playground accident or something"

Ok... I'm around the corner from his school since I was home. I threw on some non-pajama clothes real quick and bolted right over. In the mean time, my headache is still pounding out of my forehead and my eyes are completely bugged out. C'mon, Advil Cold & Sinus... start working... anytime now.

I get to the school and headed right over to the YMCA room. 2 new staff members greeted me with "Are you Reese's mom?". Where are the regular staff members? Oh, they are out with the flu today. Normally, Veronica and Andres know us and they know who should play with whom... but ok whatever. Where's my son?

They escorted me out to the playground... in the meantime Susan, the acting YMCA manager is telling me "Oh, Reese was so brave, he did really good under the circumstances".

WHAT??? what happened???

I see a pool of blood on the playground floor and a trail of blood leading from the playground to the boys restroom. He's in there, I can hear him crying. Another male YMCA staff member calls for him from the door. Reese comes out with another staff member who was trying to console him and cleaning him.

I can't even begin to tell you the rage that came over me when I saw my son step out of that restroom with a wad of blood soaked papertowel over his face. He is crying so hard his eyes are swollen. He tells me that his head hurts and he doesn't want a black eye. At this point I'm still not clear as to what happened.

A minute later, a YMCA staff member (who's a regular) comes to me to tell me that this kid Anthony pushed Reese and he fell and hit his head on the concrete part of the playground. Reese, on the other hand, tells a different story. HE tells me that Anthony picked him up by his jacket, swung him around and when he let go, he landed on the concrete head first. His nose started to bleed instantly and his head was scraped up pretty good.

Side note: We sit down and have dinner as a family everynight. And whenever Reese gets hurt, this Anthony kid's name comes up. Reese seems to always be on the receiving end of his rage. Maybe he's not the only kid, but why does it have to be MY kid?

Ok, WHERE is this Anthony kid?

The YMCA staff who was assisting Reese calls Anthony over to us. Little cocky kid. He said "What?"

.... excuse me?

I crouched down to his level and began to tell him things that I shouldn't have said at the time. There was no filter between my brain and my mouth at that moment in time. Today as I sit here writing this, I can't believe I had said the things that I said to this kid. I think I almost threatened him. Maybe I did. I was on fire. You would be too.

Another YMCA staff member saw what was happening and told me this was inappropriate that I was doing and removed Anthony form the scene. What I'm doing is inappropriate? What he did to my kid was way out of line. YOU need to handle it properly. If not, I will. I told her she needs to call his mother and I will sit in the room and wait for her to come. I want to have a word with her.

Reese, a staff member, and myself then walked into the room where some of the older kids were doing homework. Of course, this was a huge comotion and all the kids wanted to see the kid with the nosebleed and the cracked head. At the time, Reese wasn't interested in the attention he was getting. He was more embarrassed than anything.

Half hour goes by and another little girl comes into the room crying. "Anthony just punched my face and now my teeth hurt" .... holy crap, this kid is out of control!

His mother shows up finally. A staff member talks to her outside and gives her 2 pieces of papers to sign. Apparently they are incident reports. She signs them like she signs one every day. Not just that, but she wasn't about to stop and listen to what they had to say to her. She gathered her 2 kids and was about to leave when I walked up. I presented her my son and she could careless. I went about my little speech about how Reese seems to always be on the receiving end of Anthony's tantrums and that she should do something about it. Her response to me?

"Okay"

And she walked out the door with her two kids and never looked back.

You can imagine my rage right then. I wanted to pick something up and throw it at her. How can a parent let their kids be so uncontrollable that you just stop caring? If you're not going to teach your kids right from wrong, don't have any kids at all.

That night as we got in the house, Reese headed straight to the shower. His clothes went right into the wash. I didn't want to see any evidence of this day ever again. I think this hurt me emotionally more than it hurt Reese. He was hurt physically but now he's scarred for life. I tell him that if someone bullies you, don't just take it. Tell an adult, tell someone of authority about it. No one is going to call you a tattletale of a woosie. If they swing at you, it's ok to swing back. Some of you may not agree with me on this, but I dont' really want another day like this anymore. He needs to be able to defend himself. Reese is such a passive kid, he's gentle and will never hurt anyone... not even a bug.

He told me that night before he went to bed that he doesn't want to go to school anymore. He's scared. I would be too if some crazy kid keep coming after me.

Yesterday... Wednesday January 17 ... towards the end of the day I get a phone call from Anderson School. Not the YMCA people.

The assistant to the Principal tells me that Anthony has been expelled from Anderson School due to his behavior. They have had too many incidents with this kid that this was the last straw. Not only was Anthony expelled, but his sister also. She was a third grader at the school and she has her own issues with behavioral problems in class. But ultimately, the rule is that if one kid gets kicked out, the siblings who attend the same school in the district also get expelled.

I can't begin to express how relieved I am.

Reese is especially happy because now he's not afraid to go to school.

He tells me "Mom, if I see Anthony again, I'm going to kick his butt!"

Ok, now you're bold and brave? I think that's a little justice in my little world. It's just really sad that it takes my kid almost getting a concussion for them to finally do something about it.

Update coming soon

2007-01-15T13:16:00.000-08:00

As soon as I can find my camera to post some new pictures...

This weekend we went to Gianna's 1st birthday party. Gianna is my good friend Suzanne's daughter. Some very interesting things happened while we were there, I will have to re-cap when I can post pictures.

And.... it's been absolutely FREEZING the last few days! Can't wait til we get out of this cold snap here. Might as well just snow!

Today was my good friend Lisa's little 3 month old son's first day at daycare. The same daycare that my little Bailey goes to. She and Roy were there this morning when we got there. While Lisa was having separation anxiety, I basically just threw Bailey into Gladys's arms and gave her the run-down of her morning and ran out the door. lol.

And oh yeah..... Bailey started crawling yesterday. I will have pictures later this evening to post.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Staaaaaaaaaaaar......

2007-01-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

After about 10 minutes of Bailey screaming and me crying I finally went in to the room and picked her up. She hyperventalated for a minute while I whisper Twinkle little star in her ear. She slowly took some deep breaths, her little body loosened up as she rested her head on my shoulder. I let her weight pull her gently down to my chest where she sighed her last awake sigh of the night and fell asleep.

It was a horrible experience to go through as a parent. Chris wasn't home to endure it but he will tonight. We'll see how he does... I just know that he won't be able to tolerate the screaming as long as I did though. I did cry.... so we'll see.

5 more minutes...

2007-01-07T22:16:00.000-08:00

Tonight I am putting Bailey to bed and hoping she will go to sleep on her own.

So far the screaming is carrying on for about 5 minutes.

... and it's tearing my heart out.

She's screaming so hard that her voice is cracking and I can hear her throat going dry.

Poor little baby... I have to do this so you can go to bed on your own. We can't hold you all the time babygirl.... especially all night long like we have been doing.

My name is Bailey and I am cute

2007-01-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

And that brother of mine isn't bad looking either...

Happy New Year 2007!

2007-01-01T21:59:00.000-08:00

Look Ma'! I can sit up!

T'was the day after Christmas....

2006-12-26T08:26:00.000-08:00

We made it over the Christmas weekend and it was a time to remember.

Let me explain....

Chris and I started out this weekend not nearly as chaotic as the past few years eventhough we both waited til the last minute to shop. We planned our shopping trips out pretty well considering we're out one car and towing 2 kids.

We split up our shopping list in thirds and he got the 'difficult' 1/3 since they are mostly his family members anyway. The 2/3 I shopped for in about 2 days... make that evenings. Stores stay open later during the holidays just for consumers like us to spend our hard earned money and commercialize Christmas even more.

Chris and I had a lengthy conversation about that on the way home from Manteca Saturday night. Whatever happened to the spirit of Christmas. Whatever happened to the religious side of it. Now it's about retail. Do most kids even know that it has something to do with Jesus? To be honest, I didn't even know that until the 9th grade. (moved to the US in the 7th grade)

Looking back to the time before my parents and I moved to the US from Thailand, we never celebrated Christmas. We're buddhists. We lived in a land where New Years were more important because it signifies years past and another year of prosperity and newness to come. Most Asian cultures make a big deal of New Years than any other holidays. i.e. Chinese New Year for example.

Anyway.... back to our family...

Reese decided he wanted to stay up for Santa to make sure that he brought him his Heelies he wanted. He didn't make it that far when he fell asleep.

We made sure it was the very last thing he opened. He put them on right away and headed outside. Too bad he doesn't quite know how to 'ride' them yet.

Other than those, he got plenty of toys and things to keep his mind occupied for the next 3 months or so. Thank goodness I asked for him to get a winter coat for school. I'm going to plaster his name all over it and chain it to his waist so he doesn't lose it at school.

Baby girl got a ton of clothes, toys, and an airplane. No, I'm not kidding, she got a ride-along airplane. Too bad she can't sit up or stand up yet. She'd really enjoy the thing. Maybe in a few months she'll realize that it's fun.

She also got a few other random toys and things to keep her occupied for a while. There's a doll that she got that's really sensitive to the touch. Every time she touches it, it speaks or sings. She squeezes it a lot, and it says 'hug me!' over and over. Chris finally said 'what do you think she's doing??' lol.

Bailey also got her 2 front teeth for Christmas. They cut through her gums on Christmas eve. Nevertheless... it was unbarable to be with her the last few days. Thank God for big brother who can make her laugh at the drop of a hat. I honestly don't remember Reese's teething experience to be this bad. It probably was, I just blocked it out of my mind.

Anyway.... I am sitting at work so I guess I should get some work done today.

One tired mom - retired

2006-12-21T12:04:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that I shopped til I dropped last night. Literally.

Chris stayed home with the kids so I can do my shopping marathon last night and maybe again tonight. It was insane. I got 80% of my list bought and now I have to wrap.

Reese got his heelies from Santa. Hopefully he likes them. Crossing my fingers.

Today I have to hit one more store to get gift baskets for friends who I don't know what to buy for. Gotta love random baskets of stuff. I love receiving those too.

I got home at around 11pm last night and Bailey was still awake. Thanks babe! At least she slept really good through the night.

What rejected color crayon are you?

2006-12-21T12:03:00.000-08:00

You are

http://www.blogthings.com/rejectedcrayonquiz/">What Rejected Crayon Are You?

Bailey is 6 months old today!!

2006-12-19T16:47:00.000-08:00

Our little baby girl turned 6 months old today.

I can't believe it.

She's teething now too... which is a horrible experience for a little one to go through. Good thing is only about a weeks worth of ordeal for them. I can see her little teeth poking through. Thank God for Oragel and Tylenol.

Lists...

2006-12-15T19:33:00.000-08:00

I just realized that my life is dictated by lists...

List of things to do at home... vacuum (every other day now that the baby is crawling), dishes, laundry (never ending project it seems), clean the bathrooms - didn't I JUST clean the bathrooms? That's what I get for living with boys.

Shopping list (Christmas) - What day is it today? Geez.... I'm cutting it close!

Shopping list (grocery store) - No matter how complete my grocery list is... I'm bound to forget ONE thing or two.

The 8-5 t0 do list at work... this is what keeps me employed...

There's a notebook that I keep at work of my week to week 'stuff' there. Each week gets 2 pages, I write down things I didn't finish from last week that still need done with check boxes on the left of it. I write phone conversations and messages on the lines following the to do list. Any post-it notes from co-workers go in there so they don't clutter up my space. Things get put in piles by priority on my desk so I get to them accordingly. When you look at my work space, it doesn't seem like I'm too terribly busy because it's never a mess of stuff everywhere and I'm never stressed out. Only if people knew what the heck I have going on in my little book. I guess you can call it a diary but I don't write in it after the fact.

I don't have an in-box because I don't think it serves me a purpose in life. Anything that comes 'in' needs attention obviously so I get to it. If I can't do it right that minute, it will be done in a little while.

I don't do the same job I did for 5 and a half years before I left on maternity leave. Well, I'm only supposed to do it once a week. And that's payroll day. But it's worked out that I'm doing what ever I can to help out the front side of the office and still doing my new job efficiently.

I love it, I really do.

That only means that I am the only person in the office who can do project admin., payroll, a/p, and general admin stuff up front. Not to mention I'm getting to do estimating too, which isn't all that difficult. I just have to keep doing it so I can get to know vendors and their prices and learn how to negotiate. I have a feeling that my counterpart likes to feel more important than she really is and not giving me all the information I need to do my job. That's ok, I'm smart enough to know what she's hiding. You can't keep things under wraps for long with me sitting next to you... even if your monitor is faced away from me.

And then there's the list of personal goals.

List of places Chris and I will eventually visit in our lifetime together.

List of things we want our kids to acheive at certain ages.

List of things to do before I crawl into bed tonight.......

It's year two thousand what?

2006-12-13T21:23:00.000-08:00

Ok so I have no idea where this year flew off to.

Last year I wrote a year end wrap up of events and sent it out to friends and family before Jan. 1. and it seems like I JUST DID THAT! Now it's time to write another one? I don't even remember what happened yesterday!

I didn't keep a very good calendar of events this year so I will just omit the letter. We did send out a family photo card. That's pretty good, right?

It's December 13 and I have one gift so far. Not good. I guess it's shopping marathon coming up this week and next. It's ok, it's not like I've never done that before.

We do have to get a tree sometime this week though, given that I'm throwing a little party this weekend. Oh yeah, how about some cleaning too! That might be good huh? I really want to decorate so it'll be good.

Little B is almost 6 months old. She has her check up appointment this Friday... shots and all. She's eating a lot and sleeping longer every night. I can't wait to see how much she weighs and how tall she is now.

Why...

2006-12-12T12:22:00.000-08:00

Why do baby clothes come with pockets?

Why do people become assholes on the road when it starts to rain?

Why isn't my bestfriend married yet?

Why do cars breakdown at the most inopportune time?

2007 Renegades

2006-12-11T13:55:00.000-08:00

Here's to an excellent upcoming year Renegades.

I spent Friday night pondering possibilities of marhing without my husband this year. My mind was already made up to be in the guard and my body is ready to lose the excess poundage. Chris on the other hand was still sitting on the fence tetering on whether or not he wants to put his knees through an 8th year of beating on a concrete field week after week. His pact of SopBoys fell apart last year when one found love (eventhough it didn't fall apart when Chris and I got together). Now #2 is looking to get off the fence and join the homefront because he can't stop being bitter about the past. But I do understand his point and I can relate to it.

The new staff has lots to offer us as a colorguard this year. First, the promise of always being there for us. Second, the promise of putting the best guard the Renegades has ever fielded out there.

I am proud to be a part of this year's corps.

After all that.... I am so sore!!

It's been a while

2006-12-08T08:44:00.000-08:00

Wow.... Thanksgiving is gone and Christmas is fast approaching. It's been unreal how fast time flies.

Let me see if I can recap....

The whole month of November was pretty much a whirlwind. My mother-in-law and her house full moved into a new apartment in Santa Clara. Her house she was renting was being sold by the broker who was renting it to her. They were in a mad rush to move out by Oct 31st. We drove by there yesterday and there was still empty and the for-sale sign is still on the front yard. The yard has grown in and has random bald spots where her potted plants used to be. Now she doesn't have a garden to grow her veggies at her new place. Such as life I guess.

Since mom moved to a smaller apartment and grandma moved to Manteca... Thanksgiving was at our house this year. I think it will continue to be at our house. Maybe Christmas will be here too, who knows. I love to entertain, especially with family. They don't care that there are crumbs on the floor and judge how clean my spare bathroom needs to be.

My parents weren't the entertaining type. They are pack rats and our house didn't have space for us to walk let alone try to have people over. They didn't have friends anyway. My dad was too sick to be social and my mom was busy taking care of him. Now that she's independent and live on her own, she goes places with her friends.

I had no idea family functions can be so much fun until Chris came into my life. Until a couple of years ago the holidays include all of about 3 people maybe 4. My parents and Reese. And now that I'm married into his family, there are so many people to think about. I love it.

All and all Thanksgiving at our house turned out to be the best we've ever had. Everyone brought something to share and all I had to make was the stuffing and the artichoke dip. Gotta have the infamous artichoke dip.

Next up....

CHRISTMAS!

Reese told me he wants to meet Santa when he comes drop off his Heelies. I told him I could take him to the mall to meet Santa. He asked me if he lives at the mall. I said nah... he just goes there to visit little kids and ask them what they want him to bring them. He said no, he can wait til Christmas eve to meet him.

Baby girl is going to be spoiled. That's all there is to it. As if she isn't spoiled already.

Speaking of baby girl... she's starting to scoot around on her belly. She does the backwards thing really well on her hands and knees. She's been doing that for the last couple of weeks or so. Getting on all 4's and rock back and forth. Pretty soon she will discover that if she moves her hands and knees forward she can go get that toy in front of her.

I guess it's about time I start my Christmas shopping this year huh? I know what I am getting people, I just have to get in the car and go to the mall. ugh. That's the worst part... Maybe I can get someone to drop me off at the mall one day and get it all done all at once. What a great idea!

2006-10-29T22:12:00.000-08:00

Oct. 29, 2005

And............. Oct. 29, 2006

Oh how I treasure sleep

2006-10-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up with Bailey at 5am with a huge headache brewing. It got worse and worse through the day and I'm convinced it's exhaustion. I haven't really slept since Bailey was born and I knew it would catch up to me sooner or later.

Never have I felt so tired......

Random guilty pleasures....

2006-10-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

Reality TV:
Ok.... there was a moment in time when I thought I wasn't going to get addicted to reality TV. But now there are so many shows on that you can't help but to pick something to watch. It's almost like having instant gratification because in a few weeks the show is over. Or some of them, they are one episode at a time type deal. Some of my favorites?
Survivor: One of my favorite ever. I have watched that show since day one of season one episode one. I didn't think Aras's win was fair... I thought Terry should have won. The naked gay guy won fair and square. The porn star had his stratagy figured out from the getgo. This season is a little early to predict anything yet. We shall see. I am hoping for Yule (think that's his name) the young asian guy who found the immunity idol on exile island on the SECOND episode. He's a hopeful for sure.
The Amazing Race: One day Chris and I are going on this show. That's right! Seriously, we are. We feel that we can do it and be at least in the top few people to finish. We are smart enough, intuitive enough, patient enough, and definitely competitive enough. It is the most fair reality show competition on tv. You finish last, you are out of the competition. No voting, no tribal counsel, no back stabbing.... ok there is some backstabbing going on, but all in the eye of the competitor. Although, if your car breaks down and we pass you up, we will pick you up for karma's sake. lol. This season, I am rooting for the father/daughter team. They are adorable ... and how many of us can say that we've done the Amazing Race with our dads?
America's Next Top Model: I don't know why, I just love that show.
Wife Swap and SuperNanny: That's just a GIVEN!! Gotta love Wife Swap because you're just ASKING for drama when you put total opposites in every household every week. Super Nanny I watch because everytime I watch that show I thank my lucky stars of how well behaved and wonderful our Reese is and that we are doing a good job at being parents. Although there have been many things that I have taken from this show and applied it to our lives with Reese.
Airline: How is Southwest Airline still in business?
Flavor of Love: This is just a show that I watch to fulfill my inner ghettoness.
American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance?: These two shows are in the same genre I think. I love watching the first 2-3 episodes when they try out everyone on earth who can sing/dance or not. It's funny to see all these people make a fool of themselves on national TV. And then if you watch it that far along, you might as well watch the whole dang season and get it over with. I usually predict the winner from the first few episodes, but the last 'Dance', I had no idea that Benji would be the winner. But I knew Taylor Hicks was a given from day 1.
Inked and Miami Ink: Just love the retail drama about them. I can totally run both those stores. That and I wouldn't mind working for Ami James and Carey Hart. Really.
Project Runway: If I knew how to sew, I would totally do this show. Except that I don't think I can stand NYC for that long. But they do send you to exotic locales. Again, last season, I knew Cloe would win and this season I am hoping that Micheal Knight will win. Although he has made 2 very disappointing gowns so far. Everyone has had their bad days though. I just hope that Laura doesn't come up with 12 babydoll, plunging neckline dresses. Uli doesn't make all long flowing summer dresses. And I hope that Jeffrey doesn't win period. He's arrogant and tactless. He doesn't really deserve it.
Parental Control: That show is just funny!

And all the competition shows on Food Network. Cakes, Sugar Show Pieces, Cookies, BBQ, etc.

I'm sure I have missed some shows but these are some favorites. We still watch some of America's Funniest Videos. There are episodes that you just curl up laughing at. Tears rolling down your cheeks funny.

Anywho.....

Laugh baby... laugh!

2006-09-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we got Bailey to chuckle while playing with her in bed. It's the sweetest sound when you can get a baby to laugh. She laughs, then spits. It's gross, but it's the cutest thing since she's my kid!!

We also took her in to take her 3 month pictures yesterday. Our friends Jen and Chuck are trying launch a photography business so I thought I'd use them for her pictures. And then again for her 6 month photos because I want the shots to be consistent. When we get the cd, I will post on here!

Raising Bailey

I GOT IT!

Obcessed

Next Big Purchase

Christmas

Girls and shoes!

New Photos

The Alphabet Song

Happy Birthday to MEEEEEEEEE!

New photos

I miss....

Fun with Daddy

Arizona vs. California

You're in our thoughts....

First week in our new home

Invading Arizona

T-Minus 7 days to Arizona

The aftermath

Bailey turned 2

A day at the beach

Vegas Trip - Day 3

Vegas - Pros and Cons

Vegas Trip - Day 2

Vegas Trip - Hoover Dam

Bailey Talk

Paper Dolls

Bridezilla

One more day

Take one for the road

Directions

Video

Pictures

Crazies

Guess who has pigtails???

Thanksgiving 2007

One Bad Day

The Daily Grind

Restaurant no-more

Uh.... really??

Happy Halloween!

Get in, lock the door, and stay home for a while

Old pictures

My new hair

Her Eyes

Why why why...

Videos

October 22, 2007

Another year another dollar

Appreciating my friends

Some recent pictures

Random Reese Conversation

Oh Geez

Life's little disappointments

2007 Renegades

Something to say

June 19, 2007

I am dreaming again

The best toys aren't toys at all...

This is the girl . . .

Change is good

American Idol

Why...

VT

Logic

The Unknown

Update

Oh if I was running my own business....

My Visual DNA

The concept of time

Winding down

Some new pictures

It's March?

90 Questions

Tags

Survey from Lisa

Really long survey from Veronica

Valentines Day 2007

Random Thoughts

More New Pictures

Some new pictures of Bailey