Me-me-me-me-me...Meme

I just got my first meme from a fun blogger named Lisa over at Left Coast Cowboys

Here are "the rules":

1.Link to the person who tagged you.
2.Post the rules on your blog.
3.Write six random things about yourself.
4.Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5.Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6.Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

I am totally up for the challenge, but I am a little confused...

Being that I am sorta new to this whole blogging thing, I am not totally hip to the etiquette (I mean, is it okay for me to just go ahead and tag other bloggers?..what if they don't like meme's?..should I let them know first?..what if I don't even know 6 other bloggers?..) I guess the best thing for me to do is to just go ahead do it.

I can post my "6 things" then tag some bloggers that I know, and hope I don't get out casted... right? (crosses fingers) Here goes...

6 Random Facts About Me:

1. I always sit on the left side of my couch. I don't know why, but the left side of my couch, nearest the wall, has become my favorite spot in my house. Unfortunately, this spot isn't as comfortable as it was when I adopted it, what with the deflation of the cushions due to my ever growing backside and a large (single pane) window that lets a draft in... the spot is not the best, but it is mine...

2. I don't know how to drive in the snow. I'm sure that sounds completely lame to those of you who live in colder climates, but I grew up in Southern California and there really was no reason for me to learn. Actually, I have only been to the snow a handful of times and unless it snows here on the beach, I may not see it again for a long time...

3. At the very beginning of my pregnancy with Momo I had this insatiable craving for lasagna with tortilla chips. I thought about this food combo all day and relished the moment I got home, microwaved a box of frozen lasagna and finally sat down to scoop the lasagna with tortilla chips..WEIRD! Funny thing is, that within about 3 or 4 weeks, my tastes changed and for the rest of my pregnancy I loathed the smell of marinara sauce...smelling it would send me into a fit of nausea and vomiting and thinking about it wasn't much better.

4. I don't really like this particular meme because it is too random...I don't like semi-structured things...either give me rules and structure, or let me do what I want!

5. I have only received 3 Christmas cards so far this year...that seems really low. I guess I shouldn't complain considering I haven't sent my cards out yet, but I sure I hope I get more than 3...

6. I really miss that magical Christmas feeling I had as a kid. You know, that anticipation that builds and builds and on Christmas morning you feel as though you are just going to burst...I miss that and I hope I can create it for my kids at least for a few more years...

Okay, all done! Here are the people I am tagging for this meme, some are public, others private and one is my dad (who really needs some motivation to "get writing"...maybe this will be it) I hope you’ll all stop by their blogs (if you can) and see what you think!

Coach J at Hey Coach J A self proclaimed "professional crazy person" who is a much more than your typical mommy blogger

Frank at Frank's Blog (this is my dad's blog...he's in need of blogging motivation)

Karen atBrian and Karen's blog (this one is private, but I wanted to tag Karen anyhow>


Erika at Erika Jean a very funny "un-employed college graduate...who really needs to find a real job"

Lynilu at Never Ending Journey who has some fantastic posts about old memories & present thoughts.

Eden at Fussy I'm kinda embarrassed to tag Eden as she is a "big time" blogger (and founder of Nablopomo) and I don't know if she does meme's. *remember, I don't really know blogger etiquette... so I hope I don't offend...just in case, here's a pic of Eden's son Jackson and my Momo about 2 years ago (maybe this'll soften her to my meme)

Anyhow, I really did think about contacting the bloggers that I tagged, to ask if they would be okay with participating in a meme. Then I thought about what the person who tagged me, said about this whole meme/tag process:

"... it’s not really tag unless someone sneaks up behind you and screams, 'TAG YOU’RE IT!' really, really loudly in your ear"...

So that's what I did, don't be mad okay, just write fast and tag someone else!

A Real Tear Jerker...

I spoke with a very dear friend mine today, I'll call my friend "Super-mom" (because she is a fantastic mom to 3 of my favorite kids - aside from my own). In fact, her oldest daughter is one of Momo's oldest and "bestest" friends from back when they were toddlers AND I cared for her 2nd born from the time he was about 6 months until he went off to preschool...

Anyhow, Super-mom has a husband who was deployed to Iraq last May. It was a real shocker to everyone when he got his orders, partly because he is a reservist and partly (I guess) because no one is ever really prepared for the news that a loved one is going to a war-zone FOR A YEAR!

So, Super-mom's husband has been gone for about the last 7 months and the whole family misses him, something terrible. Today, Super-mom took the kids to visit Santa and take some pictures. The kids weren't too excited because as the Holidays approach, they are missing their dad even more and as the time wears on, the missing seems to be harder and harder to handle.

Super-mom told me that her 8 year old son (the one I used to take care of) told Santa that the only thing he wanted was for his daddy to come home. It was painful for me to imagine this little guy, sitting on Santa's lap, looking into his eyes and wondering if...

Super-mom then told me that her youngest (who is about 4) listed a few fun things she wanted then added that, she too, really just wanted her daddy to come home.

The oldest (Momo's BFF) was last to talk to Santa. She kept telling Santa that she didn't really want anything (typical 11 year old, not sure about whether or not she wanted to indulge in the whole Santa thing) but after some prodding she told him that actually, all she really wanted was for her dad to come home.

Super-mom said Santa was really touched... as were his elves...I think everyone was teary eyed at the sight of these three children sitting with Santa and wishing beyond all wishes that their daddy could come home.

It was just about this time that one of Santa's elves told Santa that he had a very special UPS delivery outside, and could he please come out to get it. Santa got up, and told Super-mom and the kids to please wait a moment while he retrieved his special delivery.

Santa was gone for a minute or so, and when he came back in he brought with him...

Super-mom's husband and the Daddy who was so lovingly missed and wished for! The kids were flabbergasted and broke down in sobs and squeals and hugs and love and Santa's magic.

You see, Super-mom found out (just a day or two ago) that her lovely husband had been granted a 15 day "release" to spend Christmas with his family and she planned the very best reunion that I am sure her children (and Santa) will remember forever...

X-mas Photos...Sans Beach

So...my camera has finally seen it's last days...

This is the main reason that I only post old photos...I don't have any new ones! **Hint to "He who must not be named"... if you read this, a new camera is at the TOP of my X-mas list!)

Shameless begging for gifts aside, I was able to get some new photos of the kids, for our X-mas cards this year. As I mentioned in my last post, I had hoped to get the kids photographed on the beach, but since my dad was the photographer (and I didn't want to drag my very busy parents to the beach for a photo session) we settled for their front and back yard.

Despite having to take photos with foliage instead of sand and waves, we got some cute & festive shots. Here's one of Mango, Momo and R. Kelley (note the short, shorts and ugg boots on Momo):
It really is amazing how a photo captures just how much our kids are growing! They seem so much older in these pics than the in the photos from the last post which were taken in 2006 (I think).

Jeez...am I a bad mom that I don't know when those old X-mas pictures were taken? Sometimes it's hard to keep track of all this stuff! Kids are a lot of work, and keeping track of their growth is even harder! I generally do a good job of this stuff but at times, I feel like this:
On days like that, we call Mango and Momo "the neighbor kids" and we ask them why they are in our house then we tell them to go home.

Anyways, back to the X-mas photos. This was one of the contenders for our X-mas cards, but I didn't like the way Mango was sitting and the fact that we could see the bottom of their shoes, it just didn't flow well:
So, we went back outside for a re-do, and this is what we got: and...drumroll...
I loved it!!! This weirdo mom thought that this was one of the best pics our weirdo kids took! Needless to say, this pic made it onto our X-mas cards!

So, you see, I can be pretty sure that these weirdo kids are mine...simply because they are just about as weird as me...

Bottom of shoes- OUT
Gimpy looking kids - IN...totally IN

Christmas in California

A few years back I took my kids to the beach a few blocks from our house in an attempt to take the quintessential "Christmas in California" photo.

Here is the photo that I used for our Christmas cards that year:
I chose this one because both of the kids had Santa hats on and I thought the sky was absolutely amazing.


This one was a close second, but the Santa hats in the first photo won out.


I also like this one a lot. I think it totally captures Momo's spirit. She is naturally funny, always up to some sort of mischeif and frequently adding a perfect punch line to a situation:

This one captures Mango's spirit...He often seems to look right through the camera... into your soul...with eyes that say "I'm too sexy for this beach"...


I was thinking about doing another round of beach photos this year to add to our X-mas cards. I wish I had done it earlier this week because the weather was in the mid 70's and I would have loved the have the kids wear their swim suits with Santa hats...maybe even playing in the water or building a sand castle...

Unfortunately, today was the last of the "good weather" and we are now bracing ourselves for a weekend with "high's in the 50's"... (I know this sounds downright idiotic to those of you who live in truly cold weather) but 50 degree weather in our California beach town is enough to cause a mild panic and the occasional "STORM WATCH" breaking news report... As if that's not enough, as soon as the the minions feel a slight nip in the air, they clad themselves in various weird outfits such as:

-mittens, turtle necks & miniskirts
-Ugg boots, hoodies & super short shorts
-cozy scarves, comfy jeans and teeny, tiny tank tops

Us California beach folk are weird!

Go To Bed...

"Go To Bed" - Three simple words that are:

A. Whispered gently into my kids ears as I tuck them in

B. Spoken softly into a dimly lit room, as I close the door at exactly the right angle (to let just enough light in from the hallway)

C. Yelled up the stairs (20 minutes after lovingly tucking-in said children) at, at least one of the kids, who is making way too much noise to really be asleep

D. Hollered at the top of my lungs (sometime around midnight, when I am still awake, but way too tired and preoccupied with the internet to have better judgement) at one of my kids (who by this time are usually asleep) due to some "creaky-ness" in my house

Like Funky Without the "F"

My daughter is obsessed with my brother. They are 11 years apart in age, and she loves him somethin' special...

Ever since she could talk she has called him "uncle" or "Unkie" (like funky without the "f"). She talks about him constantly, looks up to him like a god and tells me on a daily basis how much she misses him...

You see, my brother (her Unkie) moved away for college about 4 years ago. He usually lives about 5 hours away (which is not too bad) but right now he is living in Prague (which is really, really far away)...

Here's a pic of Momo and her Unkie waiting for a train in Japan


Here they are, deep in conversation about what to eat.
Like I said, this girl of mine loves her Unkie. If he is around, she is stuck to his side...The poor guy can't breathe.

Kinda of like this...
See that look in her eyes...that's the Unkie look. She's been doing that since she was about 1 year old...

And let me tell you, my brother is probably the best 23 year old uncle in the world. He is always engaged in whatever Momo likes, he'll take the time to hang out with her and he pretty much always puts up with her excessive "cuddliness".

He's a really good sport. Even at the end of the day, during an extremely hot and humid Japanese summer, while sitting in a toy store that too many adults (and no kids) are shopping at. Like this one:

Occasionally (or better yet, rarely) someone else can get a spot next to Unkie. Somehow (in the next pic) I was able to finagle my way next to my brother.

But that never lasts too long...Momo always finds her spot, right back where she belongs, next to her Unkie...

We love you Unkie...and can't wait until you come home!

Undercover...

So...as I mentioned a few posts back, my daughter caught wind of my blogging adventures and just yesterday she asked me if she could take a look.
I though about it for a second and this is what happened:

Me: "Sure, but I am not changing anything and you may not like what you see!"
My daughter: "Whatever mom...I just want to look"

So, she looked. Overall she enjoyed the posts and at one point she even said that she liked my writing. Her only qualm came when I was reading one of the posts and I said her name. The kid looked at me in wide eyed disbelief and said:

"MOM...you used my REAL name...UGHHH, that's so creepy...I thought you said we shouldn't use real name on the internet..."

To which I had only one good reply (other than to bang myself over the head like an idiot):

"You're right_ _ _ _ I shouldn't use your real names, my mistake, I'll change it"

You see, I my kids are 14 and 11...a teen and a tween. Totally immersed in the technology saturated culture and I really want them to be safe when using the internet, text messaging, IM'ing etc...

Not that I don't think they will be safe...I mean, my son has four eyes, fuzzy dice and a laser gun and my daughter sports a batman mask and a mean aim... but what can I say, I'm a concerned mom!

Anyhow in an effort to practice what I preach (and watch my kids backs) I have decided to go back and use nicknames for them and my hubby (and anyone else I start to blog about on a regular basis)

Here's the lowdown:

My daughter will be referred to as "Momo"...If you don't know why, see here

My son will be referred to as "Mango"...

Don't ask why...it's an endearing nickname he has acquired based on the SNL character shown in the video below. If you know us, you will get it:

My hubby will be lovingly referred to as "He, who shall not be named" because, well, he doesn't want to blogged about he definitely does not want to be named.

My mom's dog...I will probably still refer to him by his real name (which is Milo) but in some cases I might have to call him "R. Kelly" click here to see why.

Hope you can keep up with (and enjoy) our new identities!!!