Catching up

Wow, so much has happened that I wonder if I'll be able to fit it all in.

School has started for the kids. Nicholas in the 3rd grade, Isabella in the second grade, and Gabriella in her last year of pre-school (she calls it Pretty-K and not Pre-K). In my opinion, she's right so who am I to correct her :-)

School wise, everyone is doing well, adjusting to the schedule and homework. Now, Nicholas has a little more adjusting to do. Last week his teacher passed away due to very unfortunate circumstances, and hopefully in another week he'll have a new teacher that has some very big shoes to fill. In the mean time, his class has been given the perfect answer to their prayers with a sub that has a giant heart and a very calming soul. I have to remember to write her a note telling her how much I appreciate all of her efforts the last 2 weeks. I'm sure it hasn't been easy for her. (Note to self:)

Soccer has also started for Nick. He's had 2 games so far, both loses, but he is playing pretty well. Jeff and I missed the first game because we were in Vegas with the CHP Softball tournament but Nicholas scored the first goal of the season. Games are every Saturday and we all look forward to watching him. To me, it is so exciting to cheer him on from the sidelines. Sometimes it's hard for me to take pictures because I'm too busy yelling and watching :-) Next year, both girls have decided that they want to play so the 2011 season could be very hectic...and entertaining!

So, right now, we are busy! Busy with school, work, and 3 children that keep growing up!!

First day of school: Aug 16, 2010

Summertime

My poor blog has been neglected for so long :-( I'm just happy that it doesn't yell at me for leaving it alone. I promise when school starts back and a more routine schedule is in place, I'll devote more time to keeping it updated. For now....
We have been enjoying our summer. Staying up late, sleeping in, visiting family in WV, somedays doing nothing, somedays being full. Everyone is growing, healthy, and enjoying the last couple weeks before school starts.
Fifteen more days to swim, go camping, hang out with friends, BBQ, and relax!

Here's to the summer of 2010 :-)

My Splurge

Weekends around here have changed a little bit. Instead of spending all weekend inside doing paperwork, laundry, cleaning, or getting ready for the next week, I am now spending a little more time outside. This super fun reason is why!!!!


A few months ago, I had a moment where I was literally scrubbing a toilet when Jeff (out on his boat with Nicholas) called to see how things were going with "us girls." I found myself frustrated

that he was on the boat, enjoying the sunshine, with Nicholas while I (we) was stuck inside. I wasn't mad that he was outside doing something fun....I was mad that I wasn't.
So started the search for my "something fun!" Years ago, I owned a Jeep Wrangler but it isn't the most practical car when three children are small. Now that Gabby is the only one in a booster seat, the urge was coming back...full throttle!!! After searching Craig's list and coming up either empty handed or skeptical, we drove to a dealership in Tracy one night just to see what was on the lot. That's when we found her....
WE DROVE HER HOME THAT NIGHT :-)
We have all been having fun with her ever since! Even small trips to the grocery store are a little more exciting!
So, when you can't find us on the weekends, we'll be out, the top down, hats on our heads, on a joyride. The toilets can wait :-)

Spring Break

What a busy yet relaxing Spring Break we had this year. I had so much envisioned that I wanted to accomplish (some of it was) but mostly, we hung out as a family and enjoyed our time together.

Our break started on Good Friday and as Gabby says, "The girls were with the girls and the boys are with the boys!" The girls and I went and had our nails done while the boys did some work on Daddy's new boat but we all met up for lunch and spent the rest of that day cleaning around the house.

Sat had a little more cleaning, some packing and errands, AND it was Jeff's birthday. Jeff ended up taking Isabella to Urgent Care for a buldging ear drum but luckily she told us in time for a RX to be filled before closing time and Easter sunday. We had a nice taco dinner for Jeffrey, cooked by his Mom, and the kids fulfilled his request for a carrot cake.

Singing Happy Birthday!!! Note the candles?? That's was Gabby's job :-)

As dinner was being prepared, everyone took time to color eggs. Grandma Carol, Papa, and Grandma Rose all participated and we ended up with a group of GREAT LOOKING eggs that turned into deviled eggs Easter morning :-)


Sunday, of course was Easter. The children woke up to baskets, went to Grandma and Papa's for breakfast, came home to pack the trailer, and back to Grandma's for dinner and an Easter Egg hunt. I'm currently trying to figure out how to make this fun little game more enjoyable for Gabby since her brother and sister are considerably faster than her. They ran circles around her and gobbled them all up even though there was a number limit to how many they could hunt for. As an adult would point out an egg to Gabby, one of the other two would grab it and put it in her basket. I'm not real sure how many she actually hunted but not once did she complain! She found one under the tree and upon picking it up, told Isabella that she found it for her. At any rate, fun was had by all!!!

Bright and early Monday morning, we loaded up the kids in the truck and headed to Pismo beach for the week. Beautiful weather, sunshine, sand, they love it! Grandma, Papa, and Grandma Rose joined us for the first part of the week but decided to stay in a hotel downtown. Their days were spent with us on the beach watching the kids ride their quads, walking along the water, looking for shells, and relaxing but their nights were spent quietly in their rooms. Loved having them! The rest of the week, we played. A beautiful 4 days at the beach, came home a day early due to wind, and spent the weekend getting ready for everyone to head back to school and work. A great Spring Break in the memory book!!!

Now, only 8 more weeks of school until SUMMER!!! Let the countdown begin!!!

More pictures from the beach...

Digging for sand crabs

Downtown Pismo for lunch

The kids on their bikes :-)

Saddest face EVER!

Friday night, one week ago, myself and some other friends were at the kid's school helping to set up for a fundraiser. It was a major event, our first pancake breakfast complete with the Easter bunny, major event.
I called Jeffrey thinking that he could bring the kids to the school so they could play with a few other children that were there while the parents set up. Order pizza for the kids and let them entertain each other so we could get some work done! GREAT IDEA!!!
WELL... turns out, not so much.
The kids got out of the car and Nicholas took off for the double doors trying to make his way to the Multipurpose Room. He tripped on the cement and went face first into a cement flowerbed. He has a pretty good gash on his head that forced Jeffrey and I to go back and forth between stitches or butterfly bandaid. Luckily, a real doctor walked through the door a few minutes later and determined that super glue (of all things) and a bandaid would do the trick.
Nicholas resisted at first but finally laid down on a cot while Dr. Sabow literally glued his head back together. He said it would fully heal in about 21 days. We are at day 6 and I'm amazed at how well it is healing. He'll probably have a scar above his eye and half of his eye brow will need to grow back but for now, we keep neosporin and a HUGE bandaid on his head.
No signs of this face lately but this picture was from Friday night, right after being fixed up. It really was The Saddest Face ever!!!

OUCH
*sniffle*

Peter Cottontail

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend Gabriella's Spring Luncheon at preschool. Sometimes it's more feasible for Jeff to go or my programs for my daycare children fall on the same day but this year, I got lucky! :-)

Gabby sat with her friends, sang songs about the 5 little ducks, a bunny sitting on a hill, but her favorite was Peter Cottontail. There was a beautiful luncheon afterwards but I had to leave to get back to work. We both made our to-go plates and I brought my little bunny home with me. We had some quiet time just the two of us while the daycare children slept. Well, not really quiet. We colored, built a bunny tower, read bunny books, and curled up on my bed and watched Monsters vs. Aliens for 20 minutes. Not an appropriate Easter movie, I know but a favorite of hers right now. (It was the only way to get some downtime!!!) She loves being able to come home early but the entire playtime? She INSISTED that I call her Peter Cottontail.

How could I resist???

Concentrating on building her bunny tower.
A completed bunny tower. Built in on the first try :-)

Sunshine

Gabriella brought home a piece of her artwork from school that she painted this week.

This is her version of a ray of sunshine.....

And this is mine....
I love your painting Gabby! And I love you!

Happy Friday everyone! :-)

Go enjoy your sunshine!

The O'Butticci's

St. Patricks' Day this year was different. Sure, the children ate their Lucky Charms for breakfast and donned their green attire, but most of the day was spent in school. So, after school and work, we went over to Grandma and Papa's house for some corned beef, cabbage, green livations, dessert, and family.

There was Guiness, green wine, green Sprite, and green gin and tonic to start. Next came the corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, and rolls. Finally, dessert was a choice of green jello and whipped cream with green sprinkles, brownies, cookies, green ice cream, or a mixture of all of the above.

All of it made for a great night of O'family (Jenni and Lucas are in from WA/Randy on Skype from Japan), O'food (yummy), O'conversation (some of it Blarney), some O'laughs, and pretty good O'pictures!

Steve and Carol having cocktails....
Jeffrey and Grandma Rose enjoying their green drinks.....

Jeffrey and I before dinner.....

The cousins playing before dinner time.....

The kids enjoying their dinner.....

Isabella's chance

Conversation this morning...

I: Mom, did you know that Johnny Appleseed's home is the whole world?
M: Yes I did. Are you learning about that in school?
I: Uh huh. I wish my home could be the whole world.
M: Your home is the whole world. That's why you help take care of it.
I: I wish I had a chance to live with Grandma Cheyann. (what you and I think is left field, she can reason out. My guess is that, to her, Grandma Cheyann lives on the other side of the world.)
M: Well, let's call her and ask her.

I picked up the phone to call Mom at work and told her that Isabella needed to speak to her. Isabella told Grandma Cheyann that she wanted a chance to live with her.

My Mom: Isabella, I think that is wonderful. Is your Mom ok with that??
I: (holds the phone away from her ear and whispers) Mom, are you ok with that?
Me: Yes, I'm ok with that.
I: BEAMS from ear to ear. :-)
My Mom: You and your mom discuss it and let me know when I'm supposed to pick you up at the airport.
I: OK! Here's my mom!

Isabella runs away to finish playing outside with Nicholas before we have to leave for school while Mom and I just laugh on the phone. This child is a crack up!
Now, it's time to help her pack!!!
(jk)

My crazy, imaginative, creative, funny, sweet little girl......

One of my favorite pictures of us. (Taken by another parent who reminded me that I need to get in the pictures too. I tend to forget that part!) :-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It's almost 8:15, everyone should be ready for school and dressed in green, backpacks ready and by the door, waiting for the signal from me (usually a slightly louder than normal "let's go") to head out the door and get in the car. This morning, one was still brushing her teeth while the other 2 were outside riding bikes and playing tetherball.

I finally manage to gather them together to try to take a picture. There is complaining and running away because a fight insued about who was going to be in the middle. I promised to take a series of pictures with each child in the middle. (Little do they know that it worked to my benefit because I got to snap more photos. BUT I played their game without ratting myself out.)


Nicholas leprechan in the middle....
Isabella leprechan in the middle....

And lastly, Gabriella leprechan in the middle...

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone from our happy little leprechans to yours!!!

Nicholas's team picture

Nicholas's basketball picture has finally arrived! Wished I could've posted his and Isabella's together but his was MIA for a while.
He had a wonderful season this year. Fabulous coaches, great teammates, and although he's definitely not the next Michael Jordan, he did great. He had games where he shot and couldn't miss, other games where he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and games that were in between. Most importantly, he had a great time!!
Next year, we move up to the next level where they actually keep score. For the competitiveness in this child, it could be a good thing or a bad thing. Guess we'll just have to wait and see!! :-)

Shamrock Half Marathon

We did it! Year 2 of the Shamrock N Half Marathon!!! Yeah us!!!

Jeff, the kids and I left Saturday afternoon, grabbed lunch, and headed to Sacramento. The weather there was downright COLD, I had worries about the daylight savings time since I was the first runner of our relay, but everything went better than planned. Race day, the weather was chilly to begin but warmed up to be a beautiful day.

The kids had fun at dinner with their friends, watched a movie before bed, woke up early for breakfast and braved the cold to be a great cheering section.

My cheerleaders bright and early on Sunday morning!!

Jeffrey and I pre-race. So happy Jeffrey came with me this year! Maybe next year he'll run!!!
(doubtful but maybe) :-)

My relay partner, Julie! Out of 183 all female relay teams, she and I came in 135th. Great race for us! Well, this race really is one of my favorites. Great scenery, great friends, the kids always have fun, and it's so nice to get away although it seems to go by so quickly. Our official time for 13.1 miles was 2:37.32. I completed my 7 mile leg in 1:20. Pretty good for me! I'll take it! Yeah us!

Busy Weekend

Tonight after all of the daycare children go home and the family (ours and extended) have finished our dinner, the children will head off to sleep and I will be busy organizing and packing for our weekend. Some weekends seem to slip by without a single thing planned and other weekends seem to have so much packed in them that I wonder how it will all get done. This will be a busy one for us.

Saturday will start with a short workout for me and then rushing to make Isabella's last cheerleading event for the season. Her game starts at 9:00 with Nicholas's last basketball game starting at 10:00. Both of them have enjoyed playing and cheerleading so much. With 2 children in 2 different events and sometimes at 2 different venues, Saturday mornnings have been pretty full. Although the season seemed so long, now that it has come down to the last games, I'm sad to see it end, as are the children.

After cheering on the kids one last time, it's home to have lunch and pack the car for our 2 hour drive to Sacramento. Sunday morning I'm running in the Shamrock N Half Marathon. :-) Last year I competed as the second part of a relay team, running 6 somewhat hilly miles and this year I'm the starting leg, 7 miles hopefully flat. This is one of my most favorite races of the year. A group of friends make the drive, check into our hotel, enjoy a great family dinner Sat night, and run early Sunday morning. The children cheer us on donning their Shamrock shirts, shamrock tattoos, (this year I bought Shamrock headbands) and the adults compete. This year all of the adults will complete the full half marathon...13.1 miles...except for Julie and I who are doing it is a relay. I'm already so excited!!!

Immediately after the race, it's back to the hotel to shower, then back to the finish line to cheer on my friends. Around noon, it's back in the car to head home because the children have an awards ceremony at 2:30 for the end-of-the-year Upward Basketball and Cheerleading.

I'm tired already and I haven't even begun to pack. Busy busy weekend!!! I can't wait to update with photos!!

I don't have Nicholas's Upward picture but here's my Cheerific Cheerleader....

Dear Blog

Dear Blog,

So many times I have thought about you. I want to write to you, write on you, tell you funny stories, and post pictures but time just gets away from me. :-(

I reread you today and realized how nice it is having you in my life to remind me of things that I would have otherwise forgotten. You will someday be something that I can look back on and something that my children can turn to for memories. For that reason alone, I am going to REALLY TRY to visit you more often and post something, no matter how trivial or silly.

Now, that being said, I know that I have said it before but I would like to recommit myself to you. I value you and the memories you hold. Those from the past and those that are yet to be created.

Let's start today!!!

This is our family at Lake Tahoe, CA. We decided to take a trip over President's Week while the kids were out of school. The most recent picture of all of us together. :-)
(Thank you Chris for taking it)!!!

My girls

For anyone that knows me, I have wanted a sister my ENTIRE life. I often tease my Mother that my first word was "sister" but she never listened. As fate would have it, the cards did not fall in my favor. I have 2 brothers, one that I am amazingly close to and one that I sometimes wish things were different, but have always longed for that sister bond.

I recall Mom giving me the news that she was marrying Tom and, aside from her happiness, I was hoping that he had girls and I would have a step-sister. Fate again did not work in my favor as he has 2 boys.

Years later, I was blessed with my own 2 girls. How was I to foster a "sisterly" bond between the two that I had always longed for?? Well, for the last few years, I have concentrated on just the brother-sister-sibling-all-getting-along bond. Little did I know that the bond between them would have nothing to do with me but everything to do with them and it would work on their own timeframe.

Don't get me wrong. All three of them have their moments when they need to be separated and they need a break from each other, moments where they all are getting along perfectly and I just sit back and watch it happen, moments where Gabby is the odd man out because she is the youngest, and moments where Nicholas is the odd man out because he's a boy.

I am extremely lucky when I get to witness some of the sweetest moments between my kids. Helping each other, reading another one a book, just playing nicely, whatever it may be. Last weekend was one of those moments. At Papa'sbirthday party, Nicholas was surrounded by a ton of boy cousins and my girls , when they weren't playing with the girl cousins, spent a lot of time together. I was able to snap a few pictures of Gabby sitting on Isabella's lap while Isabella fed her. They were pretending that Bella was the Mommy and Gabby was the baby.

Precious....the moment and my girls!!!

Sisterly love...

Happy New Year 2010

Happy New Year to everyone!

Our year has been busy and family filled so far. We started off New Years Eve with a big family dinner of fried fish, potatoes, salad, and veggies complete with Grandma Rose, Grandma and Papa, Aunt Jana, Aunt Jenni, Uncle Randy, and Baby Lucas...and the 5 of us, of course. We watched the ball drop in Times Square at 9:00 (midnight East Coast time), celebrated with the kids, then proceeded to put them in bed. Nothing like ringing in the New Year 3 hours early!! :-)

New Years Day was spent at Steve and Carol's where we had a big party for Steve's 60th birthday. Extended cousins, great food, lots of family, champagne toast, TONS of pictures, and a boatload of fun! The kids came home exhausted and filthy dirty from playing outside the entire day.

Jan 3 marked another Anniversary for me and Jeffrey. Thirteen years and still counting :-)

Now it's time to settle back into our routines and get back to a schedule. After two weeks off, maybe now, we'll get some rest!
Happy New Year to all of you! May 2010 bring you happiness!

The Butticci Clan at Steve's birthday....

Happy Anniversary Jeffrey!! Love you!