Jan 31

WHAT?! January is over?! Where was I during the last half of the month?! Oh yeah…I was sick. It wasn’t your ordinary cold either….no….it was the “shivering with fever for four days, headaches, cold sweats & body aches, sleepless or delirious dream filled nights, hacking coughs, labored breathing, congested sinuses & runny nose (at the same time), bedridden and cry for your mommy” kind.

I caught the “walking pneumonia” virus that I heard has been running rampant lately. Though there was nothing I could take for it, I’ve been popping fever reducers, mucous relief tablets, sinus tablets, vitamins, and squirting nasal spray up my nose all day long for days. In the last 12 days, I’ve gone through 4 boxes of tissue!!!

It’s been nearly two weeks, and I’m just beginning to feel better….much better actually…although you couldn’t tell by talking to me. I still sound horrible. On the bright side, I’ve lost some weight and my skin looks better with the amount of sleep I’ve been getting and the extra water intake. :grin:

Just thought I’d share…in case you were wondering. Sadly, I think after my hiatus last year, I’ve lost all my readers. *sigh*

Jan 13

Another fun weekend came to an end. We got to hang out with lots of friends, accomplished errands and laundry, ate lots of yummy food, hung out with the in-laws, and relaxed at home with the kiddies:

Friday night we had dinner with Kimi, Aaron, and the boys at Go Roma (my new favorite eatery - kid friendly, fast and delicious food at great prices) at The District. Our friends lived over on the next street in our community, but moved to NorCal over the summer for Aaron’s work. They kept the house here and come back often, but we have not had the chance to meet up with them in almost a years time. It was great catching up. Kimi misses SoCal as much as I miss NorCal….how wonderful it would be if we could switch places. :wink: After dinner, we walked around and grabbed some sweet treats at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

grace’s bday dinner

Saturday night I went out with friends to celebrate Grace’s belated birthday. We went to Zov’s Bistro in Tustin, and had an amazing meal. It was an evening of leisure and abundant dining, wine and cocktails, shared stories, lots of laughs, and good times.

grace and peg

After leaving Zov’s, and unable to find a place to go for coffee/tea (aside from Denny’s or IHOP), we found ourselves at Honda-Ya for Round Two. HAHAHAHA! We were not quite ready to call it a night and just wanted a place to sit and have some hot tea….but we ended up ordering seafood salad, spicy tuna rolls, and yakitori skewers (shitake, beef, spicy wing, bacon wrapped okra, and meatball). :shock: :oops: :lol:
We finally went home around midnight. Yeah, it was pretty awesome!

summer and ashlyn

Sunday was relaxing. We slept in, had a late lunch, went grocery shopping, hit up Home Depot, hung out with the in-laws, watched TV, had dinner, and geeked out in front of the laptop, and watched more TV. hehehe

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Jan 08

family shot

The holidays are over and we’re back to school. Our winter-break, surprisingly, felt longer than it was. We had spent the first four days of our break with my family in NorCal (driving back on Christmas night)….four gloriously fun, relaxing, and gluttonous days that went by much too quickly. Had we stayed longer, I’m sure the remainder of our winter-break would have flown by.

The last two weeks have been filled with time with my family, my in-laws, relatives, friends, lots of food, and tons of gifts!!! Needless to say, my kiddies were spoiled with an over-abundance of clothing and toys this Christmas. Ashlyn must have told everyone in the world that she wanted a guitar, because she got 4! hahaha Summer, who rarely asks for anything, got so much stuff that she’ll never have to ask for anything ever again.

I wonder if I’m the only one who does this, but I only let my kids open up and play with some of the toys they got. The rest, I’ll store away to open up at a later date. They lack excitement, desire, and appreciation when they get to open up everything. I remember after Ashlyn opened up ALL her gifts at her 2nd birthday, she had that look of: “that’s it?…what else can I open?” :oops: So now after they unwrap all their gifts, I let them select some and put the rest away. With the amount they both get at Christmases and birthdays, my storage space is turning into one huge toy store and I’m quickly running out of room. I’m not even kidding.
I’m trying my hardest not to raise spoiled children, but the truth is…they are spoiled. Aric and I give them what we never had as children, and our parents give them what they couldn’t give us as children. *sigh*

Anyhow, Ashlyn is lovin’ her guitars, Hannah Montana Concert Stage, her MP3 player, and Jonas Brothers CD. Summer’s having a blast with her Fisher Price digital camera, Gymnastics Divas Barbies, Disney Princess Dollhouse, and Crayola Color Explosion Board. Spoiled, I tell ya!

Click here for more holiday pictures.

ashlyn and summer

As much as I love the holidays, I’m relieved it’s over. We rang in the New Year with our usual group at James and Grace’s. My poor hubby was sick (possible food poisoning from Taco Hell from lunch) that night and spent the whole evening sleeping it off on the couch. New Years Day was spent taking down our tree and decorations, cleaning up, and hanging out with my niece and her bf.

Aric and I have been watching movies lately - “I am Legend” and “No country for old men”, and “The Water Horse” with the kiddies. I love it!

The kiddies are getting back into the swing of things at school…as am I. :wink:

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Jan 01

2007 was a blessed year…full of laughter, love, growth, and amazing memories. After struggling with depression for the past few years, and the pain of my grandmother’s passing (in early 2007), I have found some healing, happiness, and peace within. I finally feel emotionally and mentally strong, healthy, and whole again. My outlook has been brighter than it has been in a long time. And if that wasn’t enough, physically, I had lost some weight and feel more energetic! *YAY!*
My husband, children, family, and friends have all contributed to getting me where I am today. *sniff* I am really lucky.

Highlights of 2007:
- my kiddies first visit to the snow
- a much needed hiatus
- Amanda & Christel’s return from Iraq
- Summer’s 3rd birthday
- Ashlyn’s Kindergarten promotion
- John & Angela’s wedding
- summer-break in NorCal
- an unforgettable Japan/Taiwan vacation with family
- Summer starts preschool
- Ashlyn starts 1st Grade
- getting a paycheck again (after all these years!)
- Cookie joins our family
- Ashlyn’s 5th birthday
- Sarah’s 30th Birthday in Napa
- 2 engagements
- 3 other weddings
- 15 births (9 boys, 6 girls)!!!
- 6 pregnancies announced (so far)

My top 10 resolutions for 2008
1. keeping in better touch with friends via phone
2. spend less/save $$$
3. exercise
4. blog more
5. blog more about Summer
6. respond to emails promptly
7. take more pictures
8. go to bed earlier
9. take my vitamins
10. nag the kiddies and hubby less (haha!)

Wishing you all the very best for a happy, healthy, safe, and prosperous 2008!

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Dec 25

kiddies and santa

Let the bells ring
let the choir sing
I wanna hear the sound
Somewhere out there
there’s something we share
It’s where our love is found
So if you can’t be with me now
I know that if we sing somehow
we’ll be together
Wishing that everyday was like Christmas

-Everlife
Everyday is Christmas [from “Radio Disney Jingle Jams”]

xmas 2007
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!