Already???

still wrapping my head around it....he's 2. BIG. Two is waving goodbye to toddler. No, not graduating but lookin more and more like 3 blinks and college. EEK~ 

He loves his breakfast ASAP in am. OR ELSE!

See my airplane

spoon?

So, we couldn't celebrate. Not an offical birthday party. Daddy had work, all day, all weekend....but good work. So instead of having a single mom party(bah HUMbug), our party of 5 went out to play

! Boston's gift was an annual family pass to MYMuseum in Monterey. Really it's the best of his worlds, play + my bro & sissys=Boston's favorite anything! 

This is his favorite part. It is quite hard to take an impressive picture but here's the run down....

Balls all over the floor, picked up by lil guys & put in a cylinder then churned up, with a wheel, roll down through shoots, then seperated into conveyor belts into bins then rolled into another hole where another wheel churns them up to a slot that falls into a tube on the ceiling that rolls them to a grid high above a tractor with a rope that eager "farmers" pull to have the balls drop on to the floor again.....repeat. Several times. Get sweaty, hear chuckles of glee as balls fall from the sky. Perfect.

Then there's golf. Balls in holes. Putting, pushing, even dropping in allowed. After all it's a kid zone, then the "par" balls make their way to a hole in the wall below to get gather up for another round. Fun. 

Inside the play house dinner/ lunch/ snack/ breakfast/ tea/ spying/ cooking/ eating (plastic spaghetti) 

is served. 

Splendid.

There is also a random create with bizarre items zone. Parker made a portrait of the birthday boy-cute & creative. What more can you ask for?

Ahhhh, the theater. Costumes, cameras, an audience, backstage, sound effects & much more. Delightful. 

There were many more things including wildlife underground, treehouse, boat, firetruck with turn-outs, ambulance with patient, hospital emerency surgery (think OPERATION game large) workbench house, giant bubble machine that fills you inside!! So much fun to be had. 

Especially a lil guy that makes the rest of us grateful he is here. Even if he is 2 & growing.....

BFF's.....

whatda do when your best pal lives miles away?................

HAVE LUNCH HALFWAY! 

Madeline & Bella are exactly 12 days apart. Planned no, well not by us- divinely YES! These girls scamper off for hours of uninterupted play and oblivious to anyone else. They are sweet... like candy corn sweet. I love that. 

So here is their birthday compromise, neither could make each others party this year for the first time since 2-:(

We met in the middle, I surprise mine, she told hers. Smitten that's what they were- like peas in a pod seperated. 

She LOVED her present, it's a JO-JO, no it's a horse webkinz she quickly named Madeline (like I said sweet like candy). The bag contained girl-loot of all sorts, lip gloss, princess stamp, calendar (yes mom more for you to do :)

a lil purse, all Bella stuff. 

Madeline scored a princess tiara with earrings that I fix every 5 minutes (yes more for mom to do) She loves them, then the kicker of them all, a phone. No not just any phone, a pink, heart, princess, fancy phone that already has frequent flyer miles built up (in 3 days)

Irresistible that's what they are.........and they are 5.

Getting Crafty Around Here....

Valentine...won't you be mine??? 

OK, so we've been getting our "crafty on" in these parts...must be started by BEING COOPED UP! But really, I'll take the excuse to make somethin with the kids. So, here you go....

These are Madeline's.... She picked out Candy Braclets & how exactly is she suppose to write her name on a spot made for the name Mo?? So, we added a paper folded, stamped To: With Love From:    added an apple -cause it's cute! Stapled it on-Viola! 

Then there was Ms. Abbie's, wish I had saved one....Won't you BEE MINE ! So fun, it has lots of heart punches made into other things. The head/wings/stinger & heart (DUH) all made of hearts. Of course it's not complete without a oH So FUN treat for your classmates to cheer for!!! FUN DIP!

I especially love the lil eyes peering up at me from the bucket...."send me send me, won't you bee mine"!

Here's the lot of them, sad but true, Kenz didn't get to make any this year.... Junior Highers get no parties, no valentines, no nada. Next year we're gonna REBEL and make them anyway-we both decided it's just too :( not to!

Parker's were simple!! What every boy loves to make without a wimper-AIRPLANES! I remember when he first got into them (sorry rainforest!) Buckets of them! So, then crafty made the banner out of the plane with the valentine message------ A no-no at the airport, but fun for teachers "YOUR THE BOMB"!

Here's the loot, ready to go, chocolate treat wrapped for teachers, baskets for delivery, dress in red & know you will always Be Mine-love, Mom

Going Green for Christmas!

Let's just get out there & say it...this year has been a doozy. However, that's not what goes in a Christmas letter, RIGHT! And when we get right down to it, despite the spite that 08 could bring, we are exceptionally blessed. 

So here's the wrap up....

Our kids have grown (this is nothing new but still seems to amaze all who see them). If your struggling to remember-the final score is 3 girls/2 boys = "Yes, we're done". (We get asked THAT ALOT)

Boston turned one in April at a round 26 lbs. but has since 

slowed down. He walked at 16 months, late but considering he had rolled over & learned to eat with a fork/spoon at the same time (13 mo.) who cares what's normal! He adds more to each of our lives that we could have ever predicted. He's slow on words too (ball, mama,

 dada, moo, gogo, thank you & signs please and more) but makes his wishes known just fine! We call him Chooch. 

Mackenzie turned 12 in Oct and loves all things with 4 legs, measured by "hands". Middle School transition has gone well, as shown by her 4.0 & playing volleyball and basketball. On top of riding 3 days a week. She's incredible & wonderful. 

Abbie is well....have you read Fancy Nancy books? 

They are practically a unauthorized biography!

 In fact that is what she was for Halloween &

 she 

managed to stay "in character" all day! She's a big 

help & loves what Spreckels life has to offer..

..friends, walking to school, riding bikes and the 

ever-lasting play date. She's sweet as pie!

Madeline fondly said like My-Yiyine.  She wakes first, fetches the paper & waits for the fun to begin. She dances and loves to play school although she doesn't like to go. On the lake, she's the first to plunge of the deck with the cutest cannonball you've ever imagined. Going to work with Daddy is her kinda day, although really anything with Daddy is. 

Parker big man on campus. He's in 4th grade, turning 10 in a few weeks & his big news has been braces. So far so good, can't wait to see that smile! He has been swimming this fall, and starts baseball in the spring. However, his new title of "Best Brother in the World"- is without a doubt his greatest quality. He adores & loves his lil bro, just like you'd expect from a boy that prayed for a year & half to get one. Its more precious that plutonium. 

That leaves T&A, no A&T...either way, we look at things as lessons learned & every day is a chance to begin again. God has been faithful and we are full of faith that 09 is gonna ROCK! 

A few other fun highlights are Todd's column in The Monterey Herald & 1645 River Road. Here's the links incase that intrigues you. 

montereyherald.com/toddfisher

1645riverroad.com

From each of the 7, we wish you a fantastic '09 & a truly Merry CHRISTmas. After all in the big picture aren't we all truly blessed? 

A Star is born....

This girl loves to dance...so much that dance was part of her teacher conference. Something like this "She's a joy in class but sometimes hard to pin down, she dances through the room when we're doing classwork." Humm, not a bad way to lead life, dance through it!

Makeup, quite possibly her favorite part was the makeup & dressing room....she was assigned a drawer to put her stuff in, she had blush, lip gloss and powder...she was lovin every minute of it. Which is good because she had rehearsals that lasted for HOURS!! 

She made a beautiful flower, in Nutcracker Sweets. She's always loved being on stage and now we know, a star was born.

November 4th 2008

Make the day count!

------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Our home has had discussions, had differences & today we took our opportunity to VOTE!
I have said, more than ANYTHING the chance to choose, the belief that we are each seen as individuals, free, truly free to be & believe what we choose.
This is what I am pround to be AMERICAN.



Here we are dropping off our ballots, I still like the act of voting, on voting day. But must say the drive by is SWEET!




Then there was the reward (oh, not legal in CA?) Arrest me- with my tall starbucks reward :) along with my "I voted" sticker...

Not a tidy one among em...

Sad to say, I think I've gotta fire the housekeeper. She stinks!
And what's worse, she's all we've got. Clearly it's a job most aren't cut out for, for not a one of the folks for which she works seems to have the DNA of Martha (aka TIDY101). The dishes are piled, the laundry close to done today but bitterly behind for tomorrow, the attendance at the grocery store remains incontestably ridiculous and our vacuum cleaner knows it is depend on it like your favorite jeans. This is the quality of life in a family of 7, it's messy.

At this moment, the chummy ones are gathered around a fire munching on dinner, elated to have dessert (love that fruit counts as dessert) and discussing the day. Who saw who at recess, when is your next game, why isn't there a playground at middle school (oh my dear, there is. Its just not fun to play there-the playground is shaky ground....). To say the least the quality of live is immeasurable.

So many will tell me how much they miss it. Hard to imagine, in a day when going to the bathroom is interupted and sometime challenged for hours. But I can see the point. It doesn't seems to slow a bit, and too many times the daily invades the moments. So today and hopefully more, but today I will choose to see the moments. Choose to listen to the chatter and actually listen, its precious when they sound like best friends catching up from their day. I'll rejoice that I made a mess in the kitchen because I made their dinner (and dessert :) sent them to bed cozy from the fire, loved and well fed. Today was messy, tomorrow messier and currently "looking for a housekeeper".

I've been known to say....

Don't wish a day away.... This is my advice when the perpetual "Mom, I can't wait until next"blah blah blah" so I can have "yada yada yada". UGH! 

But today I listened to dreaded songs... seriously dreaded songs, the ones that make a mom drop tears on the spot- "Stealing Cinderella" (never heard it? if you have a lil girl-warning DO NOT FIND IT) it will cause a flood. Rascal Flats "My Wish for You"-seriously, I lost it at a wedding 3 weeks ago watching the darling Cassie dance with her Daddy. 

Anyway, all this to say I love my girls, being the mom of 3 girls-each different-but still mine to lead & teach & cherish...jeez-O who thought I was qualified???? They are wonderful amazing people, i am thrilled to share my day with. & I know better than to Wish a Day Away but I got to thinkin about our annual trip to SF for the Nutcracker & I CAN'T WAIT!! (that may qualify as wish a day away;( 

So here are a couple pics from years past..   Mackenzie & I have been doing this since she was 3. She turns 12 in 3 weeks. Ooo, that was painful  

So it's a long tradition when the girls turned 3 they got to join the trip, of course last year was Madeline's first & being that Mackenzie had trained Abbie, it was Abbie's turn to train. They get beyond excited, we drive up, shop (Abbie's favorite part-Nordstrom shoe dept-Lord help us all), stay in a girl-y B&B, eat out, have cocoa before bed (Madeline's favorite part), wake up & walk down to breakfast in our robes, get dressed up, take a taxi (Kenzie's favorite part), go to the Nutcracker and BE GIRLY GIRLS . Truly this is the stuff I live for!

I'll try to follow my own advice, but I can't wait...

The End & A Beginning....

.....Summer is over, yep it's true DARN! 

Aren't their faces so sweet! Jeez-O I love them so! 

First day of school + great kids= SUCCESS!

I missed them TERRIBLY, but made it thru thanks in part to Maddie & Boston, still my @ home buddies, and thanks to a friend in the same shoes to BOO-HOO with....

Parker-4th grade

Abbie-2nd grade

Mackenzie- MIDDLE SCHOOL!!! All I can say is it went great, she loved it & wow is there a big (HUGE)difference between a 6th grader and an 8th grader.....WHOA!

Our 5....More fun (and mess) than I able to describe.

Madeline had fun playing dress up all by herself while they were at school. Around 11:45 she promptly declared- "I think I want to go pick them up now!" me too kiddo...me too. 

Then there is Ms. Mackenzie, can you stand it she's so wonderful!

5' 3"+ yikes! (we are leaning in but no slouching happening, she's right there with us!!) Glad we had the summer to relax & play, she's gonna have to work hard this year. 6 classes, and homeroom, and school dances-OH MY!

...and so it goes.

Time that is.... It's August. Not that I have any beef with August but it means soon, I have to hand my kids over and gone are the days with all of them home. I know, I know I will get used to it and before I know it we all will be back in they rhythm, see that's just the problem. The rhythm is gonna getcha! (Go Gloria!) I sincerely love having them home to play, adventure and be kids. It's my favorite. They are my favorite (all of them, no favorites, just favorite). 

Ok, enough boo-hooing...I'll save that for Aug 20. School Starts, so sad. 

I also know just how long it has been since I posted new. Mostly because it's like talking to myself. I don't think anyone ever reads this, but I could be wrong. If I am let

 me know! Here we are on July 4th....that's a month ago already! Here in Spreckels, 4th is a town like no other. Banners, flags, parade, park decked out, people fill every nook & cranny to celebrate the old fashion way. Gotta love that. & we always take a family picture on the porch. Gotta love that too. 

Here we are last year...quite a difference I'd say. Oh, I love this picture. It was our first family picture with all of us together..finally a complete family picture. Boston was only 2 1/2 months, oh how I miss that little stage. He is big & overloads of FUN but nothing sweeter than little. 

I am excited to say that Todd is home OH so much more than ever before, every one of us loves it, family means busy, but good. He is also getting to dabble in restaurant. Yes I said the word. It's only every other friday. Now that I can take! And he loves it! That's the best part. 

It's intimate, he plates every dish, it's his style, and a creative outlet that he has missed. ALL GOOD!

So thankful.....