Ryan's Graduation

The next big event around here was my brother Ryan's graduation from Cal State Long Beach on Friday, May 29th. He's a math major and will be teaching high school math (and he can have it!)

Ryan had quite the cheering section. Here is Nana, our friend Rod Miller, Maddie, and our friend Lewis Smith from England. Maddie calls Rod and Lewis her "favorite guys"


Ryan the graduate- finally! Within a weeks time he got married, turned 30, and graduated.


Maddie and Uncle Sean


Maddie and Uncle Ryan


Ryan
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The siblings minus JJ, plus Maddie. Sean, Ryan and me.


Sean and Ryan


Mom, Dad, and Ryan


Grandpa and Maddie


The whole gang: Emily,Dad, Maddie, Sean, Jen, Ryan, Nana, Mom, Carla, Rod, Lewis and Aunt Cindy.

Maddie

The other day Maddie came running out to Todd and I, and in her best whining/tattling voice says, "Mooooom, I sneezed and no one said bless you!"
Todd-"Well, bless you then."
Maddie- "Thanks but it's too late now!"

Can you say princess complex???? Boy are we in trouble!

2 months M.I.A.....Ryan and Crystal's wedding

Wow, there's been a lot going on around here! Maybe not here exactly since It's been 2 months since I've posted or even looked at blogs! But I think I've finally gotten my act together and I'm ready to re-enter the world of blogging. So, the first big event that happened since I've posted last was my brother Ryan and Crystal's wedding. They were married at the Hotel Laguna on May 23rd.

Maddie was the flower girl. She's a pro now, twice in 6 months!


Trevor was the Ring Bearer


Todd was a Groomsman along with my brothers Sean(Best Man), and JJ. He also had friends Brandon Lesikar and Logan.

Nate was an Usher, and yes I'm a terrible mom because I didn't get a picture of him- but just piture him in the same exact tux as Trevor and the groomsmen. And then I was....oh wait- I was the ONLY person in my ENTIRE family who was NOT in the wedding. But hey, why should I be? I'm just Ryan's ONLY sister. Don't worry, I'm not bitter at all.....


Crystal and Madison


Uncle Sean and Maddie


Ryan and Crystal


Maddie and Scott- yes, she gets around!


Nathan, Trevor and Maddie the next morning. We spent the night at the hotel.


Sean and Todd decorated the happy couples' car the next morning and also filled the entire inside with balloons.


And yes, those are handcuffs and a ball and chain drawn on the window.

From the mouths of babes....

A conversation with Madison while driving in the car.
Maddie: Mom what month was I born in?
Me: January
Maddie: WOW! My birthday is in January AND I was born in January!

A conversation with Maddie yesterday while in the car with Todd and I.
Todd: Maddie, don't put that hat on because mommy just did your hair and you look pretty.

Maddie: I don't want to be pretty anymore. Everyone always tells me that I'm pretty and cute! I just want to look cool.....

Tonight I'm cooking dinner and Maddie walks in and says, "What's cookin, sweet cheeks?"

Attention All Women!

Hello there ladies! I have a problem, and if you have the same problem then we need to band together! I NEED A GIRLS NIGHT! So, to remedy this, I am hosting a girls night out at my house this Friday about 6PM. I'm going to order dinner from Lascari's, have a chocolate fountain running all night and I'll throw together a little craft for us to do as well. Come for food, laughter, good conversation- and come to save your sanity! Don't let the fact that you don't have a babysitter hold you back! Bring the kids if you have to! I'm hiring a couple of babysitters that will occupy and watch the kids for us! This is an open house- come and go as you need! And if you know any other desperate mothers or women who need a break, bring them along! All are welcome! Come on! Join me! You need this! Do it for yourself and your family! If you could please RSVP to me by tomorrow, I'll know how many people to plan for. Thanks! Hope to see you Friday!

Jen

Easter Fun

The happy Easter attired family.

Grandpa and Maddie hunting for eggs in my Uncle Neil and Aunt Janet's backyard.

Nate and Maddie

Trevor and Nana

Maddie still looking for eggs.

Maddie and Daddy

Me and my boys.

Our 3 little monsters- this picture pretty much sums up each of their personalities. Nate, calm, cooperative, mature. Madison, always ready to pose for a picture, the look of innocence masking the tom-boy inside. Trevor, the clown, always in his own little world doing his own thing.

Trevor the Star

Trevor received the Student of the Month award last week at school. Good job Trev! We love you and are so proud of you and all you do!

Yet another milestone...

Each day it hits me a little harder that I have no babies any more. My little girl is growing up so fast! She has been begging to get her ears pierced for months. I have no problem with her having pierced ears, I've just been too chicken to take her! But I finally sucked it up, put on my big girl pants, and took her. We decided to make an event out of it. I called my mother and sister in-law to come along for support. We all went out to lunch to Alicia's first, Maddie's favorite restaurant. (That's right- Maddie's favorite. I raised my girl right!) We then headed over to the mall to do the deed. Now, we each had our assignments Peggy, Kamryn and I. Kamryn was going to hold Maddie's hand, I was the photographer and Peggy was the cheerleader. I signed the paperwork, Maddie got up on the stool and we were ready to go. We all approved the markings for the placement of the earrings and then assumed our positions. I was watching with the camera ready to catch the moment, and captured the first earring being done. Maddie only flinched and said "ow" and then was ready for the next one. I then look up to my support group and both Kamryn and Peggy have tears rolling down their faces! Thanks guys! Earring #2 hurt a little more. She had a look of shock , and then that slow transformation to the saddest face you've ever seen! I took her in my arms and held her for a few minutes, and then she got down and started shopping for earrings and accessories with Grams and Aunt Kami. Such a brave little girl! Pretty cute too, if I do say so myself!

Getting ready


Ear #1


Ear #2 right before the meltdown. Such a brave girl!


The final result. Not a great picture, but all I got before my camera died.

8 is GREAT!

After years of always putting myself on the back burner, I have decided to declare this year the Year of Jen. I'm going to the dermatologist to get my face cleared up, I chopped my hair, had a physical, got a long overdue PAP, (sorry guys), and I started weight watchers which leads me to the title of this blog. I am proud to say that I now wear a size 8! Maybe not a huge deal to you, my skinny friends, but I haven't been a single digit size since before I was pregnant with Nate. And yes, he's 10 now. I've been a solid size 12 all these years, with a short stint of size 10 after having Trevor. So I'm feeling pretty good. Our bank account isn't feeling so hot because I've been shopping up a storm for smaller clothes, but hey, I'm worth it , right?! College funds smollege funds....

Here are a few quirky facts about me:

- I love the Peeps Easter candy- but they have to be the OG pink or yellow, and a little bit stale. Hey, don't judge!

- I am obsessed with babies and literally crave them to the point where I beg other people to have a baby for me to hold. :)

- When I was first pregnant with Trevor, he actually had a twin which I later miscarried. I look at Trevor and think daily the Lord truly gives you only what you can handle. It exhausts me to think that I almost had 2 Trevors....

- I haven't been able to take off my wedding ring since I was pregnant with Nate. That is my ultimate weight loss goal- to get my ring off!

- I HATE calling people on the phone. In fact, I only agreed to be PTA President because my friend Liza said she would make any phone calls that I needed to make for me. I always worry that I'm disturbing or interrupting the person. That's why I think texting is the most fabulous invention! The other person can answer at their leisure.

- It is extremely hard for me to make good friends that I can actually confide in and count on. Until I met Deanna and Liza, Todd would tease me that if the Little family didn't exist, I would have no friends. Sad but true!

- Jane Austen is my favorite author, and I collect Dr Seuss, Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky books.

- My big dream in life? To hire a cleaning lady to come once a week and just clean my bathroom. Boys are so disgusting!

I'm Baaaaaack!

Wow! It's been a LONG time. I've been in a funk, so overwhelmed with life that I just shut down for a few weeks. I have a zillion e-mails in my inbox to look at, I haven't even looked at all of your blogs in weeks, phone calls to return, Valentine's decorations to take down...yikes! I really need to get with it!

As a lot of you know, my grandmother has been suffering from dementia/alzheimer's for a few years now- actually since Madison was born. She had knee surgery and the anesthesia had some adverse effects, causing memory loss and dementia. The doctors told us that in rare cases it can take up to a year in older patients to recover from the effects of the anesthesia. That wasn't the case with grandma. Instead of getting more lucid, she progressively got worse. It was a rough road- she would think my baby Madison was her daughter Luana who only lived a couple of days, she would constantly think that I was my mom, etc. Then in October, she just stopped eating. She would come over for Sunday dinners and just push the food around on her plate, but wouldn't eat saying food made her sick. From that point on, we watched her wither away. Christmas Eve was the last time she came over. She looked like a skeleton and was so weak. A couple of days later, she fell and was taken to the hospital, and then to an alzemier's care facility. Still not eating, she deteriorated quickly after that, and passed away Saturday, February 28th.

I had the honor of speaking at her funeral and was asked to share the memories that her granchildren and great-grandchildren had of her. I of course being the procrastinator that I am, waited until the night before the services to write my talk. I was struggling because even though we loved each other, grandma and I had always butted heads and "challenged" each other. My brothers Ryan and Sean came over and the 3 of us sat on my bed and laughed and shared stories and memories of grandma until 1am. (Todd was working). After they left, I set to the task of getting everything onto paper. It was as I was writing, tears streaming down my face, that I realized how alike my grandmother and I were. And how much I loved her and would miss her. I am blessed to have had her in my life and my childrens' lives. I will always strive to follow her example of charity, service to others, and unconditional love for all. I know that her mind is clear now, and she is looking down on my family with love and pride.

Funny...Today Maddie came running into my room and asked,"mommy can I ride to church with my favorite Rod and my favorite uncle?" I asked her who her favorite uncle was. She replied,"the one with Rod" Lol! How does it feel to be the second favorite for the first time in your life Sean?!

Mobile Blogging from here.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPod touch]

Oh ya....

Happy Happy 10th birthday last Friday Nate! Mom of the year here! Wow! Double digits. How did this happen?!
My internet is moving as slow as molasses (which apparently moves very slow) so it takes 3 days to upload pictures or even post. Someday I'll get some pictures of JJ and Kristen's wedding on here...

Pink Eye?! Ugh!!!!!!

I am happy to be able to post and report that all 3 kids and myself are still alive. You may think that that is an odd statement, but after the last 4 days it was up in the air. Todd had to work this last weekend, and then the kids had Monday off so I had been solo parenting for 3 days straight. Overall it went relatively smoothly. The kids and I cleaned out the backyard Saturday, (not a small task by any means!) Sunday was church and a family birthday party for Nate and Maddie, and Monday we all got our teeth cleaned at the dentist. Even so, I could not wait for Tuesday so that the boys would have school. I can only take the constant arguing, yelling and nagging for so long! And then as I was getting the kids in bed Monday night, I saw it- the bright red crusty eye on Nate. Noooooooo! I ran and got the drops and then woke him up and gave them to him again 4 hours later hoping it would do the trick so he could go to school. No such luck. Tuesday morning although better, his eye was still pretty red. Bummer. So I got Trevor moving and ready for school all the while thinking to myself if you remove Trevor or Maddie from the mix, you're good to go. Just before we were walking out the door Trevor came to me for his daily inspection before going out into public (he does his own hair and picks out his own clothes- need I say more?). So I looked at his shoes-on the right feet, still in one piece, they're a matching pair, check. Pants- on an 80+ degree day? Sure, why not.They're clean. Shirt- wrinkle free, no stains yet, right side out and not backwards- check. Face- teeth brushed, no milk mustache, check. Doing good. On to hair- oh no, before I get to hair I'm stopped by the BRIGHT RED EYE staring back at me. You have got to be kidding me!!!! Well, I think to myself, at least Todd started work early today so that he'll be home in the early afternoon. Just then the phone rings. It's Todd. He's calling to say he has to work all night. Yippee! Take deep breaths..you can do this...It was war between the 3 of them all morning. I made them watch the Inauguration during which Maddie spilled a full bowl of cereal (yes, with milk) on the rug and floor, Trevor slipped in some milk that didn't get cleaned up off the hardwood floor, flew up and landed on his head, and Nate just pouted and complained about all of the noise. I put myself in time-out in my room at that point. Then my guardian angel, Nana, came to my rescue. She said she'd watch the kids so I could get out by myself and run some errands. Whew! Prayers definitely are answered! I was gone for 3 fabulous hours. I went to Joann's fabrics in search of fabric for curtains and pillows to redecorate my living room. I had no idea what color scheme I wanted or anything. So I spent 3 glorious hours wandering around the store, looking at patterns and each and every piece of fabric there. Ahhhhh. Just what I needed. The tension just melted away. All too soon it was time to go back into the lions den. I had all 3 kids in bed by 7:30- an hour before their usual bedtime. I did it. 4 days straight. Everyone's eyes looked good this morning. Try not to think about the fact that Todd has school on Wednesdays and doesn't get home until 9:30...

Happy Birthday Maddie!

I can't believe my baby is 4! Today has been an eventful day. Maddie decided that she wanted to stay in her pajamas all day, and no bath until tomorrow. She just wanted to color and watch cartoons all day. Grandma and Grandpa left a dozen donuts with 4 one dollar bills taped to the top, as is their "day of birthday" tradition. She wanted popcorn to go with her donuts, so I obliged. I later walked out in the living room to find the popcorn covering the floor. Later, I heard Maddie talking away and came out to see who she was talking to. She had an old cellphone that was still a little charged and was chatting away with the La Habra police dept. Yeah! Just how I wanted to start my day- getting chewed out by a grumpy desk cop! For dinner tonight she requested breakfast for dinner- pancakes, eggs, bacon and hashbrowns to which I say hooray! I don't cook breakfast, that's Todd's department! Happy Birthday my beautiful baby girl! Here are some pics and a movie. The movie is kind of long and sideways, and the color isn't very good because the room was dark. She was begging to dance all night. Getting a mani and pedi with the girls. She got pretty flowers painted on her thumbs and big toes. She was a flower girl in Uncle JJ's wedding Saturday. She's SO tired here!