Thought I forgot about you........;)

Why so long in between posts...LIFE!

Last time I posted we had just returned from WDW. This was at the beginning of last summer. So whats been happening:

Kid Front: Tried Beach Volleyball last summer and loved it. Plans on playing again this summer. Played JV volleyball again in 10th grade. Started again. Won MVP at the team banquet. Such a proud mom. Got her permit to drive. It took a little longer than expected but she currently driving me around and giving me lots of grey hair. She should get her license right before school starts. Good timing for me. Her uncle gave her a car. It's not the prettiest but "puff" is a running car and it's all hers. Still playing competitive volleyball and having fun.

Foster Parent front: We had the twins until Nov. '13. It was a fight to let them go as they were just moved to another home. Their social worker is TERRIBLE and she and I did not get along, because I called her out on her job ALOT! However they are doing great. We are in touch with their new foster mom and see them about once a month. They are amazing kids and I was blessed to have them in my home. After the difficulty with the social worker (west county sucks) I took a small break to re-group and decide whether I wanted to continue. The kid and I had a chat and decided that we would continue. So as soon as I turned myself "on" again we had a brother and sister placed with us. Not twins this time but sweet kids. They have been here since Dec. '13 and will probably stay thru July at the earliest. Of course, I hope that their parents get their crap together and can get their kids back, but they are happy here and as the little girl says all the time, she's "safe". Breaks your heart!

Mom Front: Just living life! Taking care of my kid and my fosters. Not really watching my weight as I should but WTF. I am actively trying, well kinda, and hope to have a few lbs shed by the summer. Just for health reasons not for vanity. I've had quite a bit of car issues and wish that I had better finances to buy a new one now, but the plan still remains to wait until the kid is a senior or in college. On the finance front I am doing quite well paying off the bills. I recently noticed that I had made a nice little dent. It's refreshing to know that the belt tightening is working.

Vacation Front: This was the first year we haven't done a turkey or spring break trip. All because our schedules were not synced up this year. So I planned an Aulani trip for July 2014. We are very excited to return to our "home". The kid gets to bring a friend and she is so excited too. Once again I did miles for the airlines and timeshare for the stay so basically the vacation is costing me about $150. Woohoo. I will rent a car again and do all of the touristy things I didn't do last time. We will hike Diamond Head and check out Waikiki and hike to my favorite waterfall. Along with pearl harbor and pineapple. AND this time I'm getting shave ice in Haleiwa. I never do and I should. It's on the things to do list. Plus I rented a cabana like a fancy person. I'm excited about that as well.

The animals are good. Cookie is sleeping next to me and maddie is probably keeping my bed warm. Family and friends are doing well also. I had a cousin who got engaged and another who had a baby boy. We don't see them as often as we should. Attribute it to my laziness. We also had a suite for P!NK and Miley. One paid, one free both fun.

Happy Spring. Next update will probably be after the next aulani trip.

What's new in our world!

My baby has finished her freshman year in High school. It's just going by so fast. She hit a bump at the end of year and learned a valuable lesson about homework and grades. Hopefully she will remember as she enters her sophomore year.

winners get t-shirts!

She finished her club season strong. It was a new club for us and as with all of her club teams, it just gets frustrating that all players aren't in it 100%. We have talked about her needing to move up to a 1's team but even my peanut doesn't have that commitment level, yet. She's more of a 1 1/2 LOL. She is working on it. She is already doing conditioning for HS volleyball and has every intention on making AND playing on varsity next year. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out. To that level she has decided to end her competitive soccer playing. It was a tough decision but in the end I believe it's the right one. She loves volleyball and really likes soccer. I hope that she trys out for HS soccer to keep up her skills but if not, she can just concentrate on homework.

Love these girls. Last comp. soccer game. Go explosion!

We ended the school year with a family vacation to Walt Disney World with Uncle Andrew and his GF Ciara and Aunt Stacey and her family Dan, David and Ashley. It was a fun trip with alot of walking and rides, shows, rain and heat...and oh the humidity!

Dinosaur!

Epcot Mr. Dos XX

Dan, Steph, Ash, Stacey on brokedown test track. David is hidden but there too!

Ciara, Andrew and Tay last night in magic kingdom

A fun time had by all at WDW. I'll go again in another 5 years LOL. Next time for a little longer. Need more time for relaxing inbetween. 3 park days, 1 pool day, 3 park days and I want to see more of florida.

We came home to our little ones that were left behind. That's right, I became a foster parent this past year and while I have had some guests they only stay for a little bit. But currently we have twins that have been with us for over 2 months. They were unable to make the trip with us so they stayed behind with my friend and foster parent. I made it up to them with a new experience for the kids. These kids have never been in school before so they both started 1st grade, albeit late in the year, but they had so much fun! They love going to a classroom each day and made new friends. They really had never been socialized with other kids so it was amazing to see how they grew. Currently they are attending a summer day camp where they can swim, rock climb, ride horses, hike, canoe etc. It's amazing to see their reactions on a daily basis. It's also sad to think that they couldn't experience this at their home. But we keep our fingers crossed that their mommy will do what she needs to do so they can go home. They miss their mommy alot and I want them to be happy. I have come to realize that the kids I take care of are always going to go back to a messed up situation. But that is their life. I can only hope that I show them a glimmer of what can be if you work hard.

While tay went off to oregon with her dad for a vacation, one of the amazing things I got to do this summer was take the kids to a special camp for limb deficient children and their siblings as one of my current foster kids is missing an arm. It was so awesome to see their reaction to meeting other children and adults who are missing parts of their bodies. I spent 4 days in awe of these people and on the verge of happy tears watching the kids do so many things they didn't think they could! After camp, we were so close to Disneyland, that I couldn't pass up taking the kids to their first trip to disney. They loved it but I forgot how hard 6 year olds were in the happiest place on earth! I'm just glad they were like tay and didn't ask for alot of stuff. The one thing my daughter is good at is waiting until the end and hitting me up for one thing. She has gotten more expensive as she's gotten older but it comes with the territory.

Hope you all have a great summer!!

First quarter report 2013

The first quarter of 2013 has been busy. Much busier than I would like but hey, it's keeping me on my toes.

Volleyball is going strong for tay. I am happy we switched clubs but wish that more families on the team would take it seriously. It's super frustrating to see 75% of the girls work their butts off and watch 25% not having a care. What sucks more is the 25% have talent that if they put their minds to it, they would be unstoppable.
School is going well, could be better but not terrible. It's definately eye opening to have her in public school this year.
Soccer is going strong again as well. We are in a holding pattern with soccer and volleyball. She wants to play both but time is not allowing it. Volleyball seems to be winning out but it's not year round. I wish volleyball had a summer league like they do in socal.
We are gettting very close to our WDW trip. Planning is in full swing. My sister is going overboard but it's very cute. I'm sure it will be exciting for her little ones. I love seeing disney thru the eyes of kids.
Tay and I are officially foster parents and while we have gotten many calls, we have only had one child join our home. She is adorable but oh my gosh, I forgot how hard it is to have a little kid again. It is definatley eye opening and heartbreaking at the same time. The hardest thing is working with DCFS. I guess i'll get used to it, but ugh!

Happy Easter to all. Hope the bunny brings you lots of chocolate!

Happy Holidays, how time flies....

Merry Christmas everyone! Tonight I sit at my house and pondered about the year that has just ended. So many wonderful and exciting things happened along with some let downs and incompleted tasks.

We all spend this time reflecting and wondering how we can make a difference in the new year. This time I'm just going to try to enjoy my year. Who cares about all of the little things that make us feel bad. Like not excercising or making bad food choices. Let's all embrace the things that make us happy. So to that end, I'm going to list some of the things that made me smile this year....

My daughter...really enough said!
My friends who have survived cancer and finished chemo/radiation this year.
My friends who are having babies...all boys too. Can't wait until May!
Disney (all things disney)
TV. thats right I said it. It's my cheap entertainment.
Vacations - there are never enough!

I am looking forward to watching tay play volleyball for her new team. She gets to travel this year to a few new places and is looking forward to the challenge. I am hopeful that she will keep up her grades while maintaining her social skills. Maintaing the social doesn't seem to be a challenge to her. :) I am hopeful that tay will try track this spring. Keep up her running for soccer. I am looking forward to our Disneyworld trip in June. We get to travel with Aunts and Uncles and their families.

Finally, I am hopeful the money tree I planted will bear lots of fruit this new year! This past year was a bust. LOL

I wish a happy, healthy new years to you and yours for 2013.

A new beginning..

Since tay started HS, I thought I should start a new adventure. I'm not sharing what it is yet, but hopefully you'll be able to tell soon. Day 1 went well, Day 2 is underfoot. i'm up for this exciting new challenge. Every one think good thoughts!

HIgh School has begun Oh Mmmm Gee!

Well my little boo has started High School this week. It was a very emotional week for her mommy. It's the end of an era of my daughter being with me everyday. But, being the mom that I am I took my vacation this week so I could volunteer at her high school. I think it helped me calm my nerves a bit.

Tay has settled in to high school. She's getting used to the routine. She has her locker squared away and has been hanging out with some soccer friends and some volleyball friends. However, none of them are in her classes. So she must make some new friends. She says she likes her classes so far. She loves her english and spanish teacher. I'm just thankful that her schedule is fine since there are a ton of kids with scheduling issues. I volunteered in the scheduling department and couldn't believe the numbers but they are all getting worked out.

On the plus side, my little freshie tried out for volleyball this week. While I had no concerns that she would make freshman, she was thrilled when the list came out and she made JV!! It was such an honor to make a higher level team. I just hope she can keep up with the skill level that JV will need. So far she is enjoying practice alot. She has a couple of jr. and sophmore girls that she has connected with so all is well.

Soccer is going well. We are still developing with all the new players and haven't won a game this season, but it's still preseason and we are playing gold and silver teams to our little bronze. I was very proud of my girl last sunday. She is a mid and had a shot and took it. Scored the only goal for her team in the game and the only goal her team made in the tournament. Her coach was shocked and impressed too. She really stepped up and had a great game. I had gotten her a jamba juice before and told the guy to put some energy in it...I should have paid attention to what he added. It clearly helped.

My job is getting ready to start our 50th year of education! We are having a blowout bbq party next week. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again. Another school year beginning. I love seeing the kids until about mid september..then I'm looking forward to june LOL

Have a great School year!

Slacker, I am

Happy Summer! Long time between updates. Life is busy around here. So let's see where did we leave off.... High School: So after many sleepless night, we have chosen a local Charter high school for tay. She got into 2 privates and got transfers into 2 publics. The privates did not give me enough financial aid to continue to allow me to eat. LOL So we chose public. The school is transitioning from a public to a charter this year. So far so good. I have joined the operations committee at her new school and am helping to make decisions on the basic running of the school. It's been very informational for me. Tay has already gotten involved in sports at school. Yes they start very early. While try outs aren't until August, she is practicing twice a week for volleyball.

Volleyball: Tay had a great season this year with competitive volleyball. Her team finished 20th overall out of 184 teams. It was such a confidence booster. She really came into her own in vb this year. While she still struggles playing the position she wants (middle) due to her height disadvantage, she did her best. It does look like she'll be playing back row in high school. Which is fine with her.



Soccer: A season that struggled a little last year. Tay lost her spirit in the spring. However it's a new year and she is trying to work with a relatively new team. They lost 5 players and picked up 7 new ones. It's definately challenging to figure it out. Her coach is starting to recognize that teamwork and trust extended beyond the soccer field. Something we've been saying all along. Hopefully these team fun dinners and events will help the girls build that trust they need. It would be nice if we had a back-up goalie too though....We had a terrbile tournament in Santa Maria but it was great for team building and trust. After the tournament tay and I along with another girl and her mom went to the dunes to play around before we drove home.

Middle School: Tay ended middle school with a fabulous graduation and

Jag sports award

dinner/dance. We are very proud that tay won the conveted sports award. Not only does she get a plaque for the house but her name will be placed on a perpetual plaque at school. Always leaving our mark somewhere! She had a good crowd come and watch her graduate too. Including her Grandma and Grandpa from Palm Springs. It was so thoughtful of them to travel up for this event.

I felt like a bad hostess though to all my family and friends. They all travelled for her event and since I was one of the committee members, I was dealing with so many issues that day. We had a little dramz behind the scenes but the event overall went off without a hitch.

For the summer, I am keeping my kid busy with a JOB...thats right a JOB. So between vacations and camps she is working. She's not making any money but she is getting practical experience that she can use in the future. This will most likely be her last "camp" summer anyways. So far so good. They tell me she is working hard and they enjoy having her around. She has already secured employement for next summer..of which she'll be paid a smaill stipend. It's as a Jr. counselor so she half camper half counselor. It still gives her the luxury to come and go. The following year she would have to be available for the better part of the summer and truly get paid. Which at that point she would need it to pay for her gas. Oh, I just can't believe how old my child is getting. Well she's not a child anymore. She's my height, beautiful young woman. UGH! Now that she's heading into highschool I have to worry about the worst thing...BOYS! Crap. On the vacation front, I am getting ready to book our next trip. I can't believe it's almost 11 months away. We are headed to the world with my brother and sister and their families. It will be nice to spend some quality time with my siblings and niece and nephew. I am booking a 2 bedroom condo thru my time share. So we will all drive each other crazy LOL. I haven't been to a park with little kids in a LONG time. I hope my patience holds out. The good thing about the world is there is alcohol everywhere and I'm not driving. HA! After we finish our disney trip, tay and I will head down to port canaveral for a week long cruise on the new fantasy ship. I can't wait to test out the new ship. Hopefully my finances will stay on track. I have managed to make some major financial adjustments. Now to use them to their best advantage. Still working out some plans but it looks like I could make some major dents in my finances and still take care of everything else. That would be nice. I'd really like to go back to europe with tay before she graduates high school. We shall see. I'm also worried about the college debt so I'd like to get as ahead of the game as possible. I also have a lofty goal to drop some pounds. It seems I always have this goal but i've decided to do it slow and sure. I'd like to drop 20lbs a year over the next 4 years. That will put me at a weight I can date at LOL. No vacations for us this summer. Tay just got back from a trip with her dad to see her gma/pa in so cal but otherwise we are just working and trying to get ready for high school. I'll take a day here and there but otherwise, nada. I hope you all have a great summer. Get out and get sun. Enjoy the weather!

Me at Oso Flaco Lake Dunes entrance