I've reached 100

This is my 100th post! Yay!



Anyway...I am back from San Diego. Landed Tuesday night around 7 pm local time and was home around 8:30. Glad to be back, did not miss the heat though.



Here is a recap:



Ended up staying at our friends' house for the remainder of the trip. Kinda hard with all of us in one small room. Especially with kids who generally wake around 4-5 am. Better than at a house that could have been broken into, though!


On Friday went to Legoland. It was okay. Not a lot of rides. And not too much that Grace could do. The best thing happened though. Waiting in line, we were approached by a family and they asked if we were in line to buy tickets. Said yes. They said they had a free ticket we could have. Awesome, since adult tickets were $70. Still waiting in line, were approached by a mom and her kids. She asked if we were in line to buy tickets. Again, said yes. She had coupons that would allow her to get us in as her guests, since she had season passes. Score. Can you believe that? It really was great when you consider that we arrived there just after 10 am and left around 1 pm. Headed to Balboa Park, to take Frankin to the Air and Space Museum. Grace was sleeping when we got there, so I stayed in the car with her and napped as well. About an hour later, she woke up. Then drove to another part of Balboa Park and went to the Museum of Photographic Arts. Very small museum, but some amazing photographs of India. And one really great image of Georgia O'Keefe. Then walked to the fountain at the one end of the park and back to the car. After Balboa Park, headed to La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya) to see the Children's Pool at La Jolla Cove. It is a small area of the public beach that was intended for small children and their families, donated to La Jolla in 1934. Well, the harbor seals have taken over. Now the water and the sand in the small cove are considered toxic to the public. It was really neat to see the seals just hanging out. Apparently, there are some people that feel the seals should not be there and want the beach back. They have been clubbing and shooting the seals. There is an organization that is helping to keep the seals there. I made a donation and Franklin got a shirt and Grace got a harbor seal stuffed animal. Funny thing about the stuffed seal though, she wanted to cut the whiskers off and pull out its "nails". So much for my little animal lover!! Then headed to our rental house. It was that night/morning that we had the attempted break-in. Seriously, who has that happen on vacation. Well, we found out that the area where we were renting was full of drug addicts and has lots of break-ins. Great, wish that someone had told us.



Saturday morning after packing everything up, went back to the same Denny's as Friday morning. After breakfast went to the Ocean Beach police station, which oddly enough is at the beach, to get a copy of the police report in order to get a refund on the rental house. Then headed to the zoo. It was nice. Kinda crowded. The kids liked petting the goats, and looking at the reptiles. There were two otters that were completely into letting me take pictures of them. Loved it. Saw some monkeys, apes, etc. Headed to lunch. Great food. After lunch the kids were pretty tired, so we headed back to our friends house. Franklin was asleep in the car, I didn't want to move him-didn't want him to wake up, so again I stayed in the car while he slept. Just put the seat back and slept myself. Thank goodness that California has virtually no humidity and was in the low 70's. Could you imagine trying to sleep in your car here? No way. After Franklin woke up, the kids played. We then headed to downtown San Diego to go to the Maritime Museum. There was a exhibition of Edward Steichen photos that I wanted to see there. The paid admission for the Maritime Museum included 3 other boats and a Russian submarine that you can tour. After touring the photo exhibition, we headed to the other boats and the sub. The sub is not easy to get through. It was interesting seeing everything labeled in Russian. One of the ships was the Star of India. It was built in 1863. A very pretty ship. Very elegant. Then it was off to dinner at the Elephant & Castle. Watched the US Open finish up while eating dinner. The kids did well considering how long dinner took. It also helped that I had packed some yarn and noodles for them to construct necklaces out of! Then back home and off to bed.



Sunday morning the guys left for the US Open. The kids and I joined our friend and her kid at Sea World. We saw the Penguins and rode one Elmo ride before eating lunch. Her daughter would not eat her lunch so we left. Grace feel asleep on the way back to their house, so I left her with our friend. I took Franklin to a free museum in their town that had about 30 retired Marine fighter jets and helicopters. One of the helicopters there was used during the evacuation of Siagon during the Vietnam War and was the one to rescue the Ambassador. That one was open and Franklin and I were able to go inside and learn more about it. Like that the cockpit was painted a matte black paint so that the enemy could not see them coming. We got to see a Corsair-one of Franklin's favorite planes. Franklin wanted his picture taken in front of each plane. It was really cute. After seeing the planes, it was off to the gift shop. I let him pick some planes and then he saw a bomber jacket. It was really cute. So I let him get it. He was so proud of it that he wanted to wear it right away. I let him. He calls himself Pilot Franklin! After naps, my friend and I wanted to take the kids to the mall for dinner. This particular mall was 30 minutes away. As soon as we got there, the guys called to say that they were back at the stadium from the open (were they had to catch the shuttle) and wanted to get together for dinner. They were not willing to drive the 30 minutes to meet us, so we turned around and headed back to meet them for dinner. After dinner, it was off to bed.

Monday morning we went to see the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier. They give you headphones and a receiver for an audio tour. Franklin wasn't old enough to have his own, so I let him use the headphones from mine and kept the receiver around my neck. It proved to be a great way for him to not run ahead of me! After doing the tour, Franklin went on a flight simulator and I took Grace for a snack. At about noonish or so I was done with the aircraft carrier. Took the kids back to La Jolla to go to the beach. They loved splashing around in the water and looking for rocks. The water was not too cold. Got some great photos of them splashing around in the Pacific Ocean. Tried to take them back to the seal beach but were not able to find parking. Headed back to our friends house. Let the kids play. I packed everything up. Off to bed.

Tuesday morning got the car packed up and were on the road by 6:50 am CA time. Took the kids for pancakes on the way to the airport. Good thing because we would not be able to get off the plane in Denver, and there was no food available for purchase. I had bought a hot dog and yogurt right before getting on the plane for the kids. They ate that while waiting for the rest of the people to get on the plane in Denver. I am so glad that I bought that food for them.

Glad to be home. I will try and post some photos from the trip later today. I got home just in time for my period to start. TMI, I know. But how much would it have sucked for it to have started on the plane.

Enjoy the rainy, drizzily day.

Cathy

good intentions...bad things

I had good intentions of posting today all about Legoland and including some pics. But alas, that is not what I can post about right now.

It is 5:30 am here in Ocean Beach, California. I have been up for about an hour now. Why...did the kids wake up? No. Someone was trying to break into the house that we are renting. The person(s) were outside the bedroom window. Tried to tell myself that it was an animal-maybe a mountain lion. It sounded large. There was more rustling. Thought that maybe it was a bum trying to find a spot to sleep. Then came some banging. I told Filic to call the police. He went into the front room and called. But they heard him and started to throw rocks at the window. At which point I went into the front room. Then the person(s) was on the roof. Ran towards the front of the house, circled around. And then ran towards the back of the house and away by the time that the police showed up. Needless to say, I could not go back to sleep. I am in the midst of getting all of our things packed up. The plan is to either find a hotel that has a room available (the US Open is in town, so there are not many hotels in the area with availabilty) or stay with our friends here (but they only have one guest room and two other people staying with them). There is no way to stay here. The person(s) who were here, are angry now. I fear for our safety. Thankfully, the kids slept through the whole thing. That is the last thing that I need, them being afraid to sleep. I have already started to pack things up. I want to be out of here as soon as possible.

Heading to the zoo today. And maybe Sea World. The rumor is that there is an opportunity to feed the emperor penguins at one of these locations if you answer the trivia question correctly. I really want to win!!! Who knows what else will be in store for today.

Stay tuned for the next chapter of Ocean Beach Vacation...

Cathy

greetings from san diego

What a long day we had yesterday. We were out of the house headed to the airport by 8:30 am FL time. We got our luggage and car seats checked in and then headed over to the I mall. I had a bracelet from the lucky jeans store that just broke last weekend that I needed to take back. When it came time to get on the plane, we were some of the last ones and no one was willing to move so we could sit together. Thank goodness franklin had a seat of his own. We finally were able to get two seats together for franklin and I. Grace was with filic about 10 rows up. She was screaming, so I went and got her. So for take off I had both kids and did until franklin had to go to the bathroom. Franklin did really well on the flight. He watched the shows that I had put on my ipod. He colored. Had a snack. He fell asleep right before we landed, which was a blessing because there was quite a bit of turbulance. We switched planes in denver. And finally got to san diego 7:30 FL time. Grace and I grabbed the bags and her carseat while the two men went to take care of the rental car. I must have appeared like a damsel in distress because every man that saw me with the stroller, bags and car seat wanted to help out. I would decline politefully, and tell them that this is nothing. I would tell them that I usually have two kids and two car seats!

Once we were all at the rental car agency we headed to ocean beach to drop off our bags and then it was off to dinner. After dinner we picked up some milk etc. By the time we got the kids to bed it was midnight FL time. And surprising they were well behaved.

They were up at 4 am CA time today. We went for breakfast at Denny's and then took them to the beach. We are in the car almost to legoland right now and the two kids are asleep and have been for awhile. I have never been to legoland, but evetone says that it is amzing and a must see. I will let you know.

For now, I leave you. I will try to update my blog often. By the way, I am typing this post out on my cell phone!

I don't want to pack

I so don't want to pack for San Diego. I have the kids mostly packed at this point. I have their back packs for the plane mostly packed as well. I am finishing the laundry and then I will be able to finish gathering what I need. The problem is that I am tired, and want to just veg out in front of the tv watching Two and a half Men.

I heard the funniest/oddest version of Bad Day by Daniel Powter. I heard this on the XM kids channel, it was Alvin and the Chipmunks singing it!! How odd. The kids thought it was hilarious though. I was playing it up and trying to sing like one of the chipmunks myself. And dancing around. They love it when I do this.

Speaking of music there are several songs that I am addicted to right now. They are:

Into the Mystic by Van Morrison
Trouble by Dave Matthews Band
My Girl by The Temptations
Beautiful Day by U2
there are some more, but the titles escape me right now.

There is a country song that I love right now too. It is:

Just got started loving you by James Otto

It is almost 9, I need to get my suitcase packed so I can get to bed. I may end up staying up pretty late tonight.

I hope you all have a great weekend. I will try to post something from San Diego.

Cathy

I am so

exhausted! I have been volunteering at my friend Jessi's church and their Vacation Bible School program this week. I volunteer so that both Franklin and Grace are able to attend. We did this for the week last summer too. Her church does such a great job. I always loved VBS when I was a kid. Because I spent the majority of the summer with my grandparents on the other coast I was able to do two different VBS weeks. Loved it! Anyway, I was under the impression that I was just going to be an extra body in one of the rooms. Not the case. I am leading the talks, activities in the theatre. After the opening ceremonies each morning, the groups rotate stations. The station where I am is called Cinema. We show a short video (5-7 minutes) that is part of a series, it picks up each day where the previous day left off. Then I talk about the video and get the kids to talk/think about the message. We do an experiment or a game and then it is usually time for them to rotate to the next station. My last group leaves the room at 11:30. I go and pick up Franklin and Grace from their teachers and head home.

I am just exhausted. I am leaving for San Diego on Thursday morning for 6 days. The kids are really excited to go on a plane. I am dreading the packing that I have to do tomorrow afternoon. Blah.

I will write more tomorrow. Right now, it is off to bed for me.

Good night,
Cathy

I've been a busy little bee

We were in need of a enclosure for our trash cans to keep the racoons out.
Here is the area that I started with. I had to remove two star jasmine plants.
I even dug up the roots.








Here are two of the posts that I put in. I used a post hole digger to
dig 2 foot holes for the 4 x 4's.









Here are the 4 4x4's in the ground and the first lattice nailed in.









Here is everything almost done. Both lattice's are up on the sides. I built the front part
on the driveway and moved it over. I need to finish the front and install the hinges. I also
need to trim the top foot or so off the lattice on the sides. I am going to borrow my friends
jigsaw today to get that finished.







I am feeling great about myself that I was able to build this. And I did it while watching 3 kids! I only ended up with one blister. The only other time I built something was a dog house. I was about 13 or 14 at the time, and my mom and I decided to try and build a dog house. Needless to say, my dad rebuilt the dog house. Well, my Dad saw this last night and was really impressed with my work. And to think that I did it all by myself without the input of anyone!





Here is a picture of the wood all piled up before I started:





Here is a picture of Franklin with the wood:


He was very excited about this project. A very big helper. That hammer that you see in the
picture is plastic. But he ran right inside and brought it out because he wanted to help. After
this was taken he lost the hammer and we still can not find it!

take a look at this

here is the website for this retreat: www.creativephotographyretreat.com

My friend Kim is going to the one in CA in August. But there is another one in Conneticut in October, that I think I will try and go to. The courses they are offering sound fun. I love to learn new things.

Cathy

why God created children

WHY GOD CREATED CHILDREN
(AND IN THE PROCESS GRANDCHILDREN)

To those of us who have children in our lives, whether they are our own,
grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or students...
here is something to make you chuckle.

Whenever your children are out of control,
you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence
did not extend to His own children.

After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve.
And the first thing he said was "DON'T!"
"Don't what?" Adam replied.
"Don't eat the forbidden fruit." God said.
"Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit? Hey Eve..we have forbidden fruit!!!!!"
"No Way!"
"Yes, way!"
"Do NOT eat the fruit!" said God.
"Why"
"Because I am your Father and I said so!" God replied, wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making elephants. A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was ticked!
"Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?" God asked.
"Uh huh," Adam replied.
"Then why did you?" said the Father.
"I don't know," said Eve.
"She started it!" Adam said
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"DID NOT!"
Having had it with the two of them,
God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.

BUT THERE IS REASSURANCE IN THE STORY!
If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself. If God had trouble raising children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT!
1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.
2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.
3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.
4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have saidin the first place.
5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.
6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.
7. Just when you redecorate their room into a nice TV room, they show up with boxes, suitcases and large dogs, to move back home.

ADVICE FOR THE DAY:
Be nice to your kids. They will choose your nursing home one day.

AND FINALLY: IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION AND YOU GET A HEADACHE, DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE: "TAKE TWO ASPIRIN" AND "KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN!!!!

What is love...

What is Love?

A group of professional people posted this question to a group of 4 to 8 year olds. What does love mean?"
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think.

When my grandma got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandpa does it for her now all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love. Rebecca- age 8

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouths. Billy- age 4

Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving Cologne and they go out and smell each other. Kari- age 5

Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French Fries without making them give you any of theirs. Chrissy- age 6

Love is what makes you smile when you're tired. Terri- age 4

Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK. Danny- age 7

Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My mommy and daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss. Emily- age 8

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. Bobby-age 7

If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate. Nikka- age 6

Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday. Noelle- age 7

Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well. Tommy- age 6

During my piano recital, I was on stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore. Cindy- age 8

My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night. Clare- age 6

Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken. Elaine- age 5

Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford. Chris- age 7

Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day. Mary Ann- age 4

You really shouldn't say "I LOVE YOU" unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget. Jessica- age 8

And the winner was a 4 year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly man who had just lost his wife. When the child saw the man cry, the little boy went over into the man's yard and climbed on top of the man's lap and just sat there. When the boy's mother asked him what he'd said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

can you guess who this is

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than
500 employees and has the following statistics:

29 have been accused of spousal abuse

7 have been arrested for fraud

19 have been accused of writing bad checks

117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses

3 have done time for assault

71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit

14 have been arrested on drug-related charges

8 have been arrested for shoplifting

21 are currently defendants in lawsuits

84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this is?

Give up yet?


It's the 535 members of the United States Congress.

The same group that cranksout hundreds of new laws each
year designed to keep the rest of us in line.

photo prenuer

If you are at all interested in the business side of photography, you have to check out this blog.

http://blogs.photopreneur.com/

There are great articles about niche markets. I have learned a lot from this site. Sadly, I have not put any of it to use yet. I will though. Right now, too much information is not a bad thing.

Cathy

Iraq

Most of you who know me well, know that I am pretty liberal when it comes to politics. And how I feel about the war in Iraq. My older brother is going over to Iraq for two years. He is in Jacksonville right now for 3 weeks for the first part of his training. He will be home for July and August and then leaves again September 1st for a month of training. He will be home one day and then is deployed on October 1st.

I am in denial right now. I don't know anyone else who has a close family member over there. I was able to shut myself off about the war and not really think about it everyday. But all that is changing. My brother has a little girl, named Samantha who is only a year old. She won't even remember him by the time he comes home. I am helping him to find a good day care for her, so that I can be on the list to pick her up. I told him that I would take pictures of her all the time and email them to him so that he knows how she is growing and changing. Plus, this is how I am dealing with the situation. I have found the one small thing to focus on.

I can't even begin to imagine how I will feel come October. For now, I am just going to find Samantha a great day care, have some family/generational photos done and pray. I am going to ask all of you to pray for my brother, Eric, to keep him safe.

Cathy

Yankee or Dixie

Go to this site and see if you are a Yankee or a Dixie. I am 48% Yankee. Interesting to me considering that I was born in the South. It was Jacksonville, however. Even though most people don't consider Florida the South.


http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/yankee_dixie_quiz.html

Have fun and post your results....

Cathy

Before I was a Mom...

Before I was a Mom -

I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.
I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Spit on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
And I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held down a screaming child
So that doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was ok.
I had never known the warmth,
The joy,
The love,
The heartache,
The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.