Living 2011

My last post of 2011! What a great year it has been.

Love and a happy new year from the Medinas!

remember the time

we love, laugh, sing, fear, cry, hope

living the whole year

(My last 2011 Haiku!)

A random look back through 2011...

December

November

October

September

August

July

June

May

April

March

February

January

I'm so excited I finished my 2011 photo project! But I'm not ready for it to end... so starting tomorrow it will be the 2012 photo project :)

Late Night Movie

I feel a little guilty.  Gorgeous looked so tired last night... but all the girlies had been promised a sleep over so we dumped them on her.  The good news is that none of the girlies like to disappoint Gorgeous so they are really good when with her... the bad news is that they are 3, 6, 9, and 12... that's a lot of energy even if it's all well-behaved energy.

Sooo... my guilt was soon forgotten as we headed to a late night movie. We never get to do that, like never ever.  Mission Impossible at 9:45, score!

It was way busier than I expected, don't these people know it's bed time?  We found seats but I made hubby anxious with my fidgety-ness.  Crowded theater, new space, people.... and then a lady sat right in front of me.

Her pony tail, which was very impressive, flowed way over her seat and into my personal space.  It was alive and kept trying to touch me.  I have an aversion to hair, even my girlies' hair.

Then the smell hit me.  What is that? I was overwhelmed by the scent of smoke.  Hubby couldn't smell it.  I couldn't NOT smell it.  After asking him, "do you smell it yet?" every 15 seconds he finally said that the only thing he could smell was a very strong perfume. It was HER. I know it was.

Fidget, fidget, fidget some more.  "Let's change seats" hubby says.  I don't want to have to get used to a new seat in this crowded theater. He "suggests" changing seats 3 more times while I fidget.

I settle down a bit and decide to use the fabric of my cowl-neck-dress to cover my nose and mouth. OMG, does that bad breath belong to ME? I check to make sure no one else is breathing into my cocoon... nope, it's me.  Why didn't anyone tell me? Why didn't hubby tell me?

Now I have to choose... which is worse? HER perfume or MY breath?

After determining that I would get used to her perfume much faster than I would to my breath I relaxed and enjoyed the show.  Meh movie. Action, some story, that cute guy from that other movie. But nice to watch a movie in a theater.

We get home at about 12:30.  I'm probably asleep by 1:30. Wake up at 10:00am...

Look at those bags and bloodshot eyes!

I feel like a truck ran over me. Like I had been drinking copious amounts of alcohol.  I'd had nothing to drink, no tire tracks across my body...  I'm just too old to go to a late night movie.  I'll have to remember to dump the kids with Gorgeous in-time for a 5:00pm movie next time. Bwahahahaha.

Happy Belated... Birthday, Birthday, Christmas

Tonight we are all together to celebrate everything we were not all together to celebrate before. It makes sense, trust me.

While I have my trusty camera with me I though I'd do a quick write up because Mia is so adorables!

Mia's grandparents gave her and her american baby matching outfits!

(Those are fake glasses.)

Caitlin and Eleanor wanted to take a funky picture.

Peter and Sarah photo bombed it.

Now that everyone is here the festivities will begin!

Open Mic Night

We had a great family outing tonight! Michael's been wanting to play at an open mic night for a while and he found this place, Buon Giorno Coffee House.  It's a really nice place with super nice people.

I was having panic attacks about the whole evening... not because of Michael, I knew he would be great.  But because a)I've never been here; b)there will be people there; c)it's probably a "cool" place; and d)it's not my bedroom.

But I decided I had to "suck it up" and go or I would regret it forever.  And it turned out to be a really nice evening.

Open mic was supposed to start at 8:00 but it didn't start until 8:45... so we had plenty of time to chill.

Hubby ordered some tea (I got some apple cider... yum!)

The girlies shared a huge slice of chocolate cake.

I totally beat Caitlin at 4 in a row!

We all played Uno, so fun! I forgot to mention that hubby's sister Patricia came too... 

the girlies kept giving her +2 cards.

And finally, my handsome hubby at the mic.

He did such a good job! He is totally beating himself up for some mistakes (which I didn't hear) but I think he was fantabulous! (And did I mention handsome?) There were two other guys and they were both really good too.  When hubby was done he came and sat down at the table... I've never seen my Mexican hubby blush before. Adorables!

Can't wait to go see him again.  Now that I've been to the place maybe I won't stress out so much...

I used Siobain's iPod for photos again.  I was too anxious to bring in my camera... I wanted to blend a little... as if. :)

Gift Cards Haiku

Christmas winter cards

gifts of love from our loved ones

burn holes in our pockets

Hubby and the girlies went to spend some gift cards. They hit up Barnes & Noble and ToysRUs... I asked them to take some fun goofy pictures.

They forgot.  So I have two photos to work with... thanks!

Siobain picked up a James Patterson graphic novel at B&N.

Caitlin picked up a PopTropica toy from ToysRUs.

The photos were taken by Siobain on her new iPod Touch with Instagram... so that's kinda fun and different... which is the only thing saving them from trouble.  I ask one small thing... :)

Home Invader

Ug.  When am I going to be better?  I thought I had made so much progress.  I went to one of Michael's friends houses for a visit, I was able to go to the Medina Christmas gathering, and I was even able to go see Les Mis in a huge crowd. I couldn't go to the mall last Friday... but it's the MALL on the eve of Christmas EVE... it would just be crazy!

Tonight when hubby told me that we had electricians at the house I had a major anxiety attack.  Can't come home until they are gone.  No, not even if I just stay in my room.  I know it doesn't make sense.

So I did a quick drive by to pick up the girls - I don't think I stopped the car... I just slowed it down a little so they could get in. And we went off to the book store.

Why can I go to the bookstore?  Why can I go to CVS today but not last Tuesday?  Why am I fine one minute and paralyzed the next?  I don't know.  I really don't know why my "psycho" is inconsistent... but it is what it is. Thank God I have Vera working with me. Baby steps, I am so much better now than I was 8 months ago and I'll keep getting better.

Blah, blah, blah, me, me. me.

Caitlin really wanted a shirt from Les Mis... so we got this one that she can sleep in.

Yes, her smile is forced. Yes, she is wearing hubby's coat.  It's cold in the house and she was not in the mood to take picture.  With this fake smile on her face she is saying through her teeth "Just one picture mommy. Please. Just one. I am smiling.  I'm cold."... all without moving her lips.

I am a pain in the a$$ to me children.  They don't know yet that my photo a day project is going to extend into next year. bwahahahahahahahahaha.

Joyeux Anniversaire Eleanor

Happy Birthday Eleanor!

My third girlie turned SIX today! Wow!  Growing so fast. I have to say, my favorite birthday party so far! We all went to see Les Miserables... well, Katherine couldn't go so they met us afterwards.

This is my sixth time to see les mis.  Sigh.  My very favorite favorite favorite musical of all time.  I was so excited to take my girlies.  We've been listening to the music and I've been telling them the story line leading up to today so that they could follow the story better.

The four girlies at the Windspear Opera House standing with the iconic image of Les Mis.

Eleanor and Caitlin were so excited for the show to start.

Siobain and hubby amused themselves until the show started...

... I don't even ask.

Since we were dressed up I thought we should have a family photo taken.

I don't know why I told Caitlin to hold the empty box.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Gorgeous and the girlies.

Katherine joined us at the restaurant and we sat together.

Eleanor opened her gifts.  She was super excited to get a Harry Potter doll.

This was a wonderful day spent with my whole family.  The best part, for me, was how much Caitlin enjoyed the show.  Siobain wasn't that into it but when I asked Caitlin if she liked it she said "No, I didn't like it. I LOVED it!"

They have made some amazing stage changes since I last saw the show 15 years ago.  Amazing!  And the actors who played Jean Valjean and Javert had such wonderful voices... everyone in the cast was wonderful... and the orchestra too!

Lovely day. Lovely girlie. Happy Birthday Eleanor!

The Third Joyful Mystery

But the angel said, 'Do not be afraid. Look, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the lord.
Luke 2:10-11

And so today we celebrated the birth of Jesus with gifts and love to each other. It was a beautiful day.  Siobain crawled into my bed at 5:45, with the coldest feet ever, and giggled us awake.  I managed to get her to cuddle for 15 minutes before getting out of bed. It is so fun to watch a gift opened and see the excitement it brings.

We had a camera malfunction... 

Siobain is the blur top left and Caitlin is the blur bottom right.

My handsome boy was excited to receive his gifts too.

We attended 9:00 am mass at the convent.  There were only about 20 people and my girlies were the only children.  There was a guest priest and the poor man had a horrible cold.  He was full of joy for the occasion despite his cold and gave my girlies big giggles when he kept sneezing and blowing his nose while singing Joy to the World... it was a little funny.

We were at Gorgeous' house by 10:10 and got to spend a little more time with the cousins. Hubby and the girlies played spoons while I became addicted to Perplexus Epic.

I took a nap in the middle of the day... Santa stayed up late and Mommy got up early :)

We spent the day with Gorgeous and then ate the wonderful meal she prepared.  We are so lucky to have Gorgeous. The girlies and I got home at 9:30 tonight.  Ready to go to sleep with joy in our hearts.

Reindeer get hungry too...

Gorgeous helped the girlies make reindeer snacks before we left tonight. These reindeer are going to have some glittery poo when they get back to the north pole!

Reindeer Snack

4 scoops oatmeal

1 scoop red glitter

1 scoop green glitter

1 scoop gold glitter

shake in bag until nicely mixed

Four bags of reindeer snacks... even Siobain wanted to make some.

The Sebastians are sleeping at Gorgeous' tonight so we got to watch them sprinkle their reindeer snack before we left.

I think the wind caught Mia's and she glittered her face...

My girlies sprinkled theirs when we got home.

I was excited that I was able to capture the glitter in the air for all the girlies.

***

Some pondering... reindeer, a fat jolly man, wish lists... I've struggled with this for years. Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus our savior.  When Siobain was four the commercialism of Christmas really started bothering me. That while celebrating one of the most important things in our life we lie to our children. If I could do it all over again I would have explained that the character of Santa came from a real man, Saint Nicholas, who would give secret gifts... But the man in the red suit doesn't do that today. There are modern day "Saint Nicholas" who give secret gifts and donate time and money to the less fortunate, like we do with the angel tree gifts... and some of them might wear the white-trimmed-red-suit... but mainly they are just wonderful people who give because they can. I feel a rift between the "spirit" of Santa and the modern ho ho ho that children know today. 

So why do I continue to perpetuate Santa? Because parenting is a two person job and hubby felt strongly on Santa's side.  And my children were already swept into the romantic notions. So we try to balance things as much as possible. 

But if I had it to do over again...

It's 11:30 and hubby and I are about to begin the work of Santa for our beautiful girls.

Merry Christmas! Celebrate Jesus' birth by giving your loved ones gifts that bring them joy... even if it is "Santa" delivery them. :)

Christmas Eve

After a fun visit with hubby's family this afternoon we headed over to Gorgeous' house. My sister Sarah and her clan came over too.  We all had such a wonderful time!  Mom made mexican chicken and tacos... delicious!  Dinner was full of laughter, my throat hurt I was laughing so hard at Peter, Sarah's hubby.  He is hi-larious.

The four girlies were so full of excitement.  We finally (after 3000 requests) let them open their presents.

Mia and her castle set.

Eleanor loves her Hedbanz game.

Caitlin received an American Girl pet... SCORE!

 Siobain wanted this EXACT shirt-painting-kit!

The only thing missing from the evening was my 5th girlie, Katherine, and her parents. But we have to share with Jason's side of the family too. I hope they are having as wonderful an evening as we did.

We'll be heading back to Gorgeous'  house after church tomorrow morning and will get to see a bit more of the cousins before they leave to visit with Peter's family.

Lots of love and joy to celebrate the birth of Jesus!

Joy to the World

We are chilling at home enjoying our Christmas Eve morning before we visit with hubby's family. There is laughter and music and noise.  A true celebration.

Hubby has been working with Caitlin on the piano this morning.

Joy to the world,
the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King.

Friday

Kitty and I went to the vet.  She does not have diabetes, so relieved!  She does have a bladder infection.  Medication for 2 weeks and then another trip to the doctor to make sure it was just the bladder and not the kidneys (so still praying!)

Kitty took her medicine so well.

And she is evening purring for me again... (she was mad for a bit.)

Meanwhile...

Hubby took the girlies on their annual holiday light drive by.

They always get chocolate shakes for the ride.

No matter what the temperature is... cold shakes.

Siobain took one picture of some Christmas gnomes for me.

Meanwhile...

I put together this little sampling of the wonder of...

SHOCK TANKS!

A Kitty Prayer

3:30 in the morning. My cat just wet the bed, I think for the first time ever... first time that I remember anyway.

At first I couldn't figure out what had spilled on the bed. There was no color to it and it smelled so sweet (smells like Hawaiian Punch).  Not like urine. Michael was about to leave for work but took a few minutes with me.  He said he could smell a faint urine odor.

Google is a scary thing in the middle of the night.  Sweet urine, yes. Weight loss, now that you mention it. Change in personality, yes, much more active than normal. Hubby said he'd take her to the vet.

I had taken her personality change as a good sign, a mellowing as she aged.

I pray that is what it is. That it is not kidneys or diabetes or leukemia.  Or that she has some minor ailment that is easily remedied. I'm suffering a fair amount of guilt.  Spartacus goes to the doctor quit a bit, a sneeze and I'm ready to take him.  Kitty is Kitty, she's always there ready to purr or nip depending on if she is willing to let us love on her at that moment.  She's an indoor cat so there is very little risk of outside influences on her health.  Just age. 

I've had her for almost 15 years.  She was pregnant with six kittens when I found her (I didn't know it at the time.) Many good people took those kittens for me.  People who couldn't afford it but were cat lovers or Kathleen lovers (in the nonsexual sense) and willing to care and love for a furry friend.

I've never thought myself a "cat person," just a Kitty person. Just my cat.  Just her.

I need her to keep being Kitty, my cat who lives her life with us but with her own set of rules.

Caitlin had gotten into bed with us at some point tonight.  I had to wake her up to change the sheets. What's the matter? Is it time to wake up? No, Kitty wet the bed and I think she isn't feeling well.

Eyes closed and swaying a little in a stand-up sleep "Feel better Kitty" she says... and I pray "feel better Kitty, be okay Kitty, be healthy Kitty."

Be healthy Kitty.

Play Things

Sometimes I see something that reminds me how lucky I am and squeezes my heart.  I was waiting for hubby and the girlies to get home and looked over on my nightstand.

Caitlin's miniature dogs were waiting for her to return. She'd cuddled up on my bed and played with them until she was called away or distracted. My youngest girlie still has play things... I would like that to last as long as possible.

13th Anniversary

Today my hubby and I are celebrating our 13th anniversary.  Time has flown so fast and yet it seems like yesterday that I was a young girl marrying an old old man. tehe.

The girlies are with Gorgeous tonight so hubby and I grabbed dinner and a movie, Sherlock Holmes.  Pretty good.  A fun time. It was in film class, on a roving film shoot, that we fell in love so it is fitting that we celebrate with a movie. (Plus we only get to go to the movies alone a few times a year.)

Hubby still has to get up for work at 3:00am so we are home and cuddled in early. If we could, we'd be on a romantic vacation*...

Me and my handsome hubby.

*I don't know how we would get to said vacation as i am currently not able to fly or drive more than about 2 hours.  But someday soon I'll be able to go places and make my wanderlust-ing-hubby happy.

I'm a lucky girl.

He's a lucky boy.

Milk Duds

I've had the awkwardness of falling out of my dress all day.  Can't keep these milk duds in.  Sigh. I do enjoy Siobain's drawing of me...

An artistic interpretation for sure.

Big eyes.

Large milk duds.

Small waist.

Well, she got the milk duds right.

I will never wear this dress again.  People kept getting distracted... and not in a good way.  More like a car accident about to happen... they hold their breath, say a prayer, know that there is nothing they can do... but can't look away.  I can hear the thoughts in their head as I yank my top up... "Are the milk duds going to pop out? Dear God, please don't show me the milk duds!"