Lists

Our world is surrounded by lists these days. Grocery lists, list for Target (every other day), list of things to pack, list of people to call. I even have a list of lists I have to make. Sometimes it's such hard work going on vacation that it doesn't seem worth it. Bobby and I worked on our packing list last night. When you have to pack for five people, there are a lot of things you could forget. And by you, I mean me. I will do all the packing for this family. It's one of those things I don't think I can let go of. You know, I like the clothes to sort of go together. And Bobby has made it clear that he could wear the same thing all week long. Not if I can help it.


This morning I was working on a list and Sofia was sitting next to me working on her own list. She spent about fifteen minutes scribbling, doodling, being very serious. She made the tiniest marks on the paper and lots of circles. And she kept saying "a", "b", "c". Then she told me what she wrote, "apple", "Andrew", "Fia". Meanwhile, Jordan is working on putting together his bionicle - Kardas. Andrew is at preschool this morning. It's water day, so he went to school in his swimsuit. This afternoon I have to take Sofia to the eye doctor. She will be checked for the same thing Jordan has. There is a 25% chance that siblings could have it too. She will have her eyes dilated, so we will be there for 2 hours! I will let you guys know the results later.

Important Reader Information

I received this email yesterday in response to my post. I thought I would share it with you:

On 6/18/07 5:14 PM, "Mitas, Robert" wrote:

> Dear Blog Operator,
>
> I am not usually one to complain, but I saw your latest blog and I have to
> lodge a formal protest. I had the unfortunate circumstance of scrolling down
> and being flashed and blinded by the bright white man in the pool. His
> unnatural radiance is a danger to society. Even though his luminous power is
> diluted under the water, it can still cause harm to others.
>
> I encourage you to remove the post lest you accidentally, and permanently,
> blind other unsuspecting viewers.
>
> Thank you in advance for paying prompt attention to my dilemma.
>
> Sincerely,
> Robert Mitas

And here is my reply:

Dear Robert Mitas,

I am sorry to hear of your unfortunate discovery. Please keep in mind that I take great care in ensuring the safety of my readers, both with my written comments as well as the visual items. After careful review of all of the photographs from that event I felt that the chosen photo was the least damaging, precisely because of the fact that most of the "whiteness", and quite frankly, furriness, was concealed underneath the water. I therefore deemed that it would be acceptable to post said photo.

Unfortunately, for you, I have decided not to remove the post, as the other subjects are so darn cute that they draw the viewers attention away from the light and in fact appear to be more glowing and radiant because of it. Also keep in mind that humor is a wonderful way to grab the viewers attention.

I hope that this meets with your approval. Please refer any further comments to the management at itsMYblog@aol.com

Thank you and please keep reading,
Blog Operator

This is the kind of thing that goes on around here.

HAPPY WEEKEND

What fun we had. First of all, Bobby's softball team won their first game of the season on Friday. Actually, it's the first win in two years. Bobby has only been playing this year so I told him he was the lucky charm ; ).
Saturday we headed to Brea to celebrate birthdays, graduations and an engagement. Congratulations to everyone. We also celebrated an early Father's Day. Grandpa Ed even shaved for the occasion. We posed for some family pics, had some lunch and enjoyed being together.
Bobby and Jordan took off to catch the blimp. That's right, the Goodyear Blimp. Bob won an auction at the CHA dinner dance for a blimp ride, so he took Jordan. Wow, they had a great time. Well, except for the part where they almost didn't make it because of terrible traffic getting there and Jordan throwing up in the car. They managed to make it 2 minutes before the blimp took off and Bob was waiting with a t-shirt he bought at the drugstore for Jordan to change into. But besides that it was a good time.

Yesterday was a Father's Day celebration with Bob in the morning for breakfast and hanging out at home. Then a pool party in the afternoon with my parents and brothers. Hamburgers, hot dogs and a berry cobbler, yummy! All of the cousins got in the pool and splashed for hours. Even Sofia didn't want to get out of the pool. Andrew is working really hard on building his confidence in the pool. He can swim, he just panics and tries to swim too far or too fast. He is signed up for another round of lessons later this summer.

The houseboat trip is now just 5 days away. We leave on Friday and get on the boat on Saturday. Looking forward to some family time, reading, playing games and just plain relaxing. We hear it will be hot, so not really looking forward to that. This week it's all about getting ready; packing, more laundry, haircuts and a trip to Target for some water toys. Jordan has a sleepover tonight at CHA. We won that one at the auction too. His teacher and the aid are hosting a sleepover in their classroom for 4 kids. They will swim (she's also a lifeguard), have pizza, watch a movie, play games, have breakfast, and I guess somewhere in between they will sleep. Sounds like fun, huh?

I'll try to post one more time before we head out. Till then, have a good week.

Summer Sizzle

Yesterday we went to Weekday Preschool's Fundraiser. It's always so much fun. It's a fair with games, pony rides, entertainment and food. The kids had fun watching the puppeteer, bouncing in the bouncy house and playing with playdough. I was busy looking at the silent auction. So many cool items. I ended up with a gardening basket full of goodies. They raffled off a beach umbrella for each class with the kids handprints on them, so cute, but we didn't win. Bobby got to hang out with the kids and loved playing with the playdough. It can be total chaos keeping track of your kids with all of the other kids running around. We managed to bring them all home though. The school makes great money with this event and we get to have fun with our friends and the wonderful staff.

This week is Jordan's last week of school and Andrew's first week of vacation. Costco, Trader Joe's, and laundry are on today's to-do list. Getting ready for the trip. And now it looks like we are heading to Ensenada when we get back from the houseboat for my cousin's Quinceanera. It should be a lot of fun.

Changes

Yesterday, I had one of those days where I found myself having to choose whose activities I was going to attend. Jordan had his heritage presentation at 9, Andrew starts school at 9. I volunteer in the cafe at 12, Andrew got out of school at 12!! So I dropped Andrew off early, 8:30, and headed to Jordan's school for his presentation. It was the funniest thing. We practiced and practiced at home, good eye contact, memorized his speech, talked to the audience. But when it came time to standing in front of his classmates and parents he read the speech from his paper, never looked up and read as fast as he could. I wanted to say to him "slow down and relax", but I couldn't. In the end I asked him how he felt and he said he thought he did great!! And he did. They had an International celebration afterwards with food from all different cultures; cookies, cakes, taquitos, rice, fruit. It was yummy and fun to watch the kids share part of who they are with us.


I had to cancel at the cafe. They were having a school wide pizza party but I just couldn't make it. So I headed to the preschool to pick up Andrew. It was his last day of school and I could feel the tears coming the moment I walked in the door. The kids were sitting on the rug listening to someone share what they brought. Then the teacher started telling them how much she has enjoyed being their teacher and she started crying. She told each of them that she loved them and would miss them. Tears are streaming down my face. I look around and see that the other moms are crying too. The kids all held hands and sang their goodbye song, for the last time. I'm still crying. They each got a hug from their teachers and we left.

I absolutely love the teachers at Weekday. They have helped us get through some difficult stages. But they also gave us so much love and support. I truly had that feeling of Andrew being safe and cared for. Andrew had different personalities at school, crazy sometimes, funny, life of the party sometimes, and anxious and sensitive other times. They accepted each of those sides of him; they encouraged his sense of humor, asked him to be serious when he had to be, secure and confident when he needed to be, and comforted him when they saw he needed it. I could never thank them enough for being such great teachers to my little boy. And the best part, he will be going to Summer School there and they will still be his teachers. All that crying for nothing! : )

And of course I had to show a cute picture of Sofia, just because.

Summer is here!!

It's that time of year. Andrew has started swim classes. We are winding down the school year, Andrew's last day of pre-school is Wenesday. Jordan is working on his last school project, a family heritage presentation that he will do on Wednesday. Sofia is going wild whenever she sees a pool, an ice cream cone or a popsicle. And playdates are turning into pool parites.

These last few days we have been busy with end of the year parties, helping with the preschools big Summer Fundraiser, doing snack for the last time at Andrew's school and getting ready for the Houseboat trip which is 18 days away. Yes, we get daily reminders from Bobby with the countdown. Everyone is excited.

Still working on trying to make this blog more creative. But I can't figure out how to change the banner. I also want to add links within the blog to articles or pictures that I think are interesting. I want to add a link to some of our favorite family pictures too. Just letting you know I'm working on some changes.

Bye for now!