Nicholas artwork

This came home in Nicholas's homework folder tonight.
Had to share...

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Artwork compliments of Isabella Butticci!!

I did it!!! :-)

Sunday morning, a group of my friends and I competed in the Shamrock'n Half marathon in Sacramento. They all ran the entire race but I competed on a relay team. My relay partner ran the first 7 miles on flat surface and I ran the last 6 that had some hills. It was a cloudy cold morning but it was perfect for running. Everyone finished in "rockstar" time and my team placed 66th out of 178 all female relay teams. Yeah us!
At the final stretch, we entered a Triple A baseball stadium. We came in around the bullpen area and the finish line was between third base and home plate. What an amazing way to finish such a long run! Your image in the big screen, your name called as you cross the finish line, hundreds and hundreds of people cheering but the best part for me???
My cheering section!! It doesn't get any better than finishing my first (longest) run and hearing my friends and especially my kids yelling for me! *sniffle*
How CUTE are they?!?!

Just when you think...

My list of things for this weekend is the longest that it has been in a while. I feel completely overwhelmed but I have to stop myself mid-stress and remember that somehow everything will get done. The problem is, just when I think that I can't fit another single thing in, something happens to prove me wrong and the list keeps getting longer.

Case in point...Nicholas has his last basketball game at 11:00, Isabella has a birthday party from 10-12 (thank you Meg for taking her), the kids and I are driving to Sacramento (2 hours) in the afternoon, spending the night, and watching Mommy run in a race with her friends Sunday morning. Rush back home for a family birthday party plus meet the newest cousin. Did I mention that this will all be without Jeff who is working all weekend? Don't forget all of the normal house stuff (laundry, groceries, clean for business on Monday, blah, blah)!

That being said, Isabella got a fabulous idea Friday night 4:30ish.

I: Mom, can I get my hair cut up to my shoulders?

M: Sure! I can't go right now because I'm working but we will.

I: Can we go tonight?

M: It will probably have to wait until next weekend. We have so much to do before our trip.

She seemed satisfied with my answer, handed over the scissors that she was holding, and went outside to play. Five minutes goes by, she's coming in the house sad, and after asking what was wrong, she answered...

I: I want to cut my hair up to my shoulders. (persistant little brat)

M: OK Bella, we will. It just can't be right now. (slight irritation)

I: But I already started!!! :-)

And started she did!! *sigh*

Little did I know but at that moment I was proven wrong. I did have time in my night for a trip to the haircut store. Add that to the list, then cross it off!! :-)

The initial cut...long on one side, not so much on the other!

The haircut store fixing what (a happy) Isabella started!!

The final "do"....Super CUTE!!

Hookie

Nicholas and Isabella played hookie from school today and went fishing with Daddy. Nicholas caught one and actually got it to the boat. Isabella caught 2 but both got away before they got captured. She said "I didn't know what to do." :-)
The first catch of the season...rainbow trout!

Side note: Five minutes after this picture, Jeff gutted the fish and got it ready to eat. Nicholas flipped out and was sad. :-( He wasn't ready for the fish to die and he wanted to keep it in his 10 gallon tank.

Mix Rain and Sunshine

This beautiful rainbow showed up right above the house.

Rain, rain, go away

I know there is a difference between East Coast bad weather and West Coast bad weather. For everyone from the East Coast who is about to read this....STOP now! My West Coast friends, read on! :-)

A bad weather day for us in CA consists of nothing more than a bunch of rain. My children have been bothering me lately to buy them an umbrella. Well, I finally caved and as my luck would have it, that week was filled with nothing but sunny days. Because we had the ever-tempting umbrellas in sight, that week was filled with LOTS of umbrella etiquette. We don't open them in the house, we only open them on rainy days, umbrellas are not toys, the safest distance between two umbrellas so a sibling doesn't get poked, blah blah. And "STOP asking me for them!!"

Lucky for me, my children are not good at breaking the rules and being secretive. I could hear the laughs and squeals as they thought they were pulling a fast one on me and opening the umbrellas in their rooms. This resulted in me, confiscating umbrellas, and then listening to screams of unhappiness.

Late one night, my luck changed when I heard pouring down rain hitting the window. They were getting ready for bed and unwinding for the night but I yelled for the kids and shipped their little bodies outside in the rain with new umbrellas in tow. Bare feet, no jacket, I didn't care.

I became cool again!!! :-)

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Nicholas is really into drawing right now. He was getting in the habit of "messing up" (in his mind) so he would take the entire picture, crumble it up, and throw it away. While in Disneyland, I used Mr. Walt Disney"s claim to fame to my benefit and made up my own story....

While creating Mickey Mouse, Mr. Disney probably made a lot of "mistakes" but he didn't start over. He just fixed what he thought was wrong; therefore, saving the parts that he worked so hard on. By doing this, he was able to create a lot more characters that we saw at the park. (Do little white lies count?)

Nicholas bought into my story, got right up, went to the table and drew the most incredible picture of Mickey Mouse that brought tears to my eyes. (It's in the trailer and I'll post it as soon as I can retrieve it). He really has turned into quite a little artist! We have a lot less "mess ups" and a lot more amazing artowrk for our walls!

In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, here is Nicholas's interpretation of The Cat In The Hat.....

Picasso? No

Butticci? Yes

The Many (Painted) Faces of Gabby

While in Legoland and waiting for her older brother and sister to ride the roller coaster (again), Gabby got her face painted. She sat in my lap for 10 minutes while the nice lady painted a "princess face" on her. They say money can't but happiness?? Well, this 10 dollars was well spent!! :-)

President's Week

The kids and I had an entire week off in Feb so Jeffrey cashed in some vacation time and we took the kids to their first trip to Disneyland. We packed the trailer and after Nicholas's basketball game on Valentines Day, we loaded everyone in the truck and drove to LA. Traffic was heavy the closer we got so our approx 4 hour drive ended up taking 6. The kids traveled well but were definitely ready to get out of the car! Thank goodness for portable DVD players and a few movies!

Some highlights...

Getting to meet Mickey Mouse

Gabriella loved the carousel. Nicholas and Isabella preferred the roller coasters but they pacified Gabby when it was her turn.

Bike race

More pictures from the race!
Gabriella riding her tricycle...
Isabella having helmet issues

Nicholas going full speed ahead

Pee Wee Classic

The kids rode their bikes in the Annual bike race held here in town. Each child brings their own bike and helmet and rides the same course as the pros. The race is literally 2 sides of a block but they love it! This is Nicholas's 4th year and he still tries to go as fast as he can. Isabella is just happy to finish; although, this year she finished 4th in her group. This was Gabby's first year and she rode her tricycle while Jeff walked beside her. A fun time was had by all!!! :-)

Watching the pros ride by....
My own little pros...