Tuesday Ten: Ten Things I would do if I won the lottery

1. Move out of LA and buy a house/ranch somewhere else. Maybe Sedona...or the coast of Maine.

2. Not work anymore, do volunteer work. Something with kids.

3. Have a housecleaner that also does laundry. LOLOL. I hate doing laundry.

4. Buy a nice RV and go travel around.

5. Take my girls to Europe on the big tour.

6. Move my parents and Paul's parents over here so they can stop bitching, but not too close to us. No walking distance.lolol

7. Have horses, Paul loves to ride horses, and so do I ( just haven't done it in a while), and we would love to have some horses for the kids. They would be in heaven.

8. Make sure that each of the girlies have a nice college fund.

9. Buy a vacation home on Sylt (island in the North Sea off Germany)

10. Take a vacation without the kids in Bora Bora.

Five years ago today

I was on the way to the hospital, and Mackie was born in the afternoon. I can't believe it has been this long. My baby is growing up fast. LOLOL.

I will always remember how scared we were because her official due date wasn't until Aug. 8, so she was pretty much a month early. But she was fine. She has been pretty amazing ever since. Potty trained herself at 2 because she didn't want to wear diapers anymore, and I had a hard time finding underwear for her because she was little. LOLOL. She also started talking much faster than the other 2, we had full on discussions with a 2 year old. At 3 years she called Sidney "pathetic" and used in the the right way too. LOLOL. She also can throw major tantrums, you can see the little lips quiver...watch out.

And she certainly knows how to deal with her sisters. She can hold her own and has no bproblem retaliating.

Happy Birthday Baby!!

Heat

Growing up in Germany, I liked nothing better to go on vacation somewhere where the sun was shining all the time and it was hot. Now I hate. If I would pick a vacation now, it probably would be Alaska. LOLOL.

I can't stand the heat anymore. I think this year we had like 3 inches of rain. For the past weeks, it has been continuously over 100 degrees. Just going outside is miserable. As soon as it gets over 90, I don't like it. Unless I'm at a nice resort, by the pool, with a gorgeous guy serving drinks. LOLOL.

It makes the whole day hard, on the 4th of July we couldn't even eat outside because it was too hot. I took the kids to the park on Saturday, and we didn't stay too long because of the heat. Even though it was all in the shade. Even the poor dogs don't want to go outside. I really would love to have 4 seasons again. Darn, my kids get excited when it rains because it's so rare.

And a little snow for Christmas would be great too.

Tuesday Ten: Ten things that brighten my day

1. Knowing I don't have to get up with the alarmclock and go to work. I like to just lounge around for a while and not have to deal with getting everybody ready.

2. No traffic. I hate sitting in traffic, so when I have a clear path I'm in a good mood already.

3. My "mom friends". Seriously, talking about the every day stuff makes the day a little easier.

4. Mackie: For being a little "mini adult" and such a little smartass.

5. Brenna: For being the most loving and not selfish kid I know. (Eventhough she can be a major PITA.LOL)

6. Sidney: For being a "mini-me." I can see a lot of myself in her. Good and bad. LOLOL.

7. My dogs. They are always happy to see me. :)

8. A good glass of wine. And I mean good... not the box kind. Some of my fav. right now are Meridian wines, Sonoma Cutrer (which I usually can't afford) and Turning Leaf.

9. Being able to sit outside in the morning before anybody is up. Now granted, that rarely happens, but it's so peaceful.

10. Good music. When I hear certain songs on the radio or CD I sing along (and not very good) and it puts me in a better mood.

Bad words

Last night we are sitting in our lovely air conditioned house and watching Iceage 2, when I hear out of Brenna's mouth. "You are full of shit" No, not to me, but to her sister. Nice talk for my lovely angel. Well, they all know the consequences for cuss word, yep, she got soap in her mouth. I don't think she will be saying that word in a while. She was screaming her pretty head off.

I will let certain word slide....like stupid or "Sidney you are a ding-dong," but I draw the line at that one.

So hopefully she learned her lesson.

Tuesday Ten: Ten things about summer

1. I don't have to get 3 girls ready for school....yeahhhhhhhhhhh

2. Remembering my summers as a kid. A lot of them were spent with my grandparent.

3. High electricity bills.LOL. We run the air almost 24/7.

4. I don't like summer very much in LA, it's too hot.

5. BBQing a lot, eventhough we basically BBQ all year round.

6. Letting the kids play in the water outside, they get such a kick out of it.

7. Drinking ice cold beer, nothing better in the summer.

8. Wearing flip flops every day. I'm lucky, I can even wear them to work.

9. Icecream, I love love love icecream any day of the year, but it's even better in the summer.

10. Not having to worry about homework and lunches.

Babies

No, not the cute cuddly kind. MEN. I swear to god I've had it after this weekend. DH did something to his right ankle and it's all swollen and inflammed. He get's this like once a year. But you would think he just has been diagnosed with cancer. MAN, I'm still struggling with the nerve stuff in my left arm and I'm still going to Physical Therapy. But of course anything he has is ten times worse.

Throw the mood from hell on top of it and you got a great combination for a horrible weekend. ARGHHHHHHHHHH.............why are men such babies?

Kindy graduation

Yesterday Brenna graduated from Kindergarten. Off to first grade. She is all excited. I really liked her teacher. He did a great job keeping her busy so she wouldn't get into too much trouble. LOL. Seeing her there yesterday, I remembered back when she was born. She was so tiny, and look at her now. Even my last baby is starting Kindergarten this fall.

Tuesday Ten: Ten Things I did today

1. Got three girls ready in the morning.

2. Dressed Brenna for her Kindy graduation today, she wore the same dress that Sidney wore to her Kindy graduation 2 years ago. Mackie will wear it next year too.

3. Dropped Mackie off at the sitter.

4. Went to work.

5. Left at 10:15 to drive to Brenna's graduation.

6. Stopped at a flower shop and got her some roses and a grad ballon.

7. Attended the graduation and listen to them sing 3 or 4 songs. Too cute.

8. Took pictures that I can't download until tonite. :)

9. Gave both teachers a "Best Teacher Award" and a Barnes & Nobles GC.

10. Went back to work. (all this happened before 1 pm. LOL)

Father's day weekend

It was a fun weekend. The kids made some really cute things for father's day in school. Brenna made something with her footprints and a saying how she is trying to step into his footsteps. Awwwww, it made me tear up. And Sidney also did some artwork and wrote about daddy. Mackie and Mommy got Daddy a tent. Yes, he wanted a tent. So he can take off on the weekends and go camping with the girls. Mommy doesn't do well in a tent, since it doesn't have air conditioning. LOLOL.

Sidney went to a pool birthday party on Saturday and she had a great time. One of the boys gave the birthday girl flowers, it was too cute. :) Afterwards we were going out for dinner but we got too lazy so we just BBQ'd some steaks and had them with corn and salad. Sunday morning I made a big breakfast. Actually it's more like brunch since we don't eat til about 10:30. I try to do it every Sunday so we can have one breakfast together as a family at least. This time I made fried garlic potatoes, bacon, maple sausages, chorizo and eggs.

Did I mention lately that I hate LA? It's way too hot again, it was close to 100 degrees this weekend and I can't stand it. I don't know what we would do without the A/C.

Tuesday Ten: Ten things that have made you the unique and quirky person you are today

1. My parents, and unfortunately not in a good way for most of the things. Especially my mother. Her own insecurities got transferred onto me, and I'm the only child. You can figure out the rest.

2. My kids. In my twenties I didn't even know if I wanted kids. Now I have 3 girls. I also always was afraid of childbirth and dreaded pregnancy in my twenties. When I got pg for the first time I actually didn't mind it at all. Granted, I had 3 pretty good pregnancies and seeing your baby girl for the first time wipes anything else out.

3. My husband. In a good and bad way. We will be married ten years this year and I did figure out that you do have to compromise and that no marriage is perfect. While we do get into heated arguments since we both have a temper, I also know that I can always count on him no matter how much he complains. LOL. Especially in a crisis situation.

4. My move to America. This one is a biggie. I'm now speaking a different language than I did in my childhood. I spoke only german for 22 years. Now I think and dream in english.

5. Always working. From when I was 16 I always worked. Over here, I had my own apartment and supported myself way before marriage. While I would like to spent more time at home, I think it would be hard for me not to be working.

6. My grandparents. I have to say that they probably were the only people that loved me unconditionally. I really miss them and wish they could have met the girls.

7. Dealing with depression. Another biggie. It's hard to admit it, even harder to have to take medication every day. I think I finally came to terms with it eventhough I still haven't admitted it to my mom. She still believes that depressed people belong in a nut house. LOL.

8. Growing up an only child. I liked it for the most part, I always had lots of friends. But I hated having all the attention from my parents. LOLOL. I hate it to this day.

9. The computer. It's funny but true. It allows me to have friendship over the internet (which Paul still doesn't quite get.lol), and keep in touch with people in Germany. With some of the women here I have been emailing and talking for the past 8 years. That's a long time.

10. Not having any family around here. We basically adopted our sitters family. Her daughter and husband are the kids godparents and really love them like their own child. We have adjusted, but it's hard at times not to have anybody around. You get creative. LOL

Finally some pictures of the newly painted bedroom

The room is painted in 3 different colors. Darkest one behind the bed, then a little darker for the ceiling and then lighter for the other walls. I also did the curtains. We had vertical blinds before and I hated them. I'm much happier with the curtains.

Weight

ARghhhhh, I hate this topic. Seriously...until I was in my mid twenties I never even thought about my weight. When I got married at 30 I was a size 6 and thought I was too big. Yeah right....little did I know.

Got pregnant with Sidney and had her at 31 and still was able to bounce back pretty fast. No problem, then had Brenna at 33 and Mackie at 35. That's it. The end of a normal figure for me. My body was never the same, the two last ones were c-sections and it seems like I kept part of them in my midsection, there is a tummy I never had before. Where did that come from?

If I fit into a size 10 now I'm a happy camper, NOT FAIR. I want my body back, the one I had at 25. Ok, fine....so I am 40 now but still. My big problem is that I don't like to exercise. Taking the kids to soccer practice should count in my opinion. I really really need to start doing something before I won't be able to move anymore.

Of course lovely husband is not a big help, every time I vow to eat better or just have a salad for dinner, something comes up. Last night he didn't want to cook (he is the cook in the family) and ordered Pizza. Now living at my house you would know that it is indeed a rare occasion that happens maybe twice a year. We usually eat pretty healthy and don't do a lot of junk food. Soooooooooo, I had 3 slices of pizza last night. Not exactly diet food.

It's just a neverending circle that seems to creep up on me. I need to get a handle on it somehow.

Tuesday Ten: 10 things I whine about

1. Money, money and money. Yes, it could be much worse, but it would be nice to NOT have to think about it EVER. To just be able to buy something without having to plan it.

2. My mother. Oh boy, this is a big one. I really really wish I had a normal mother.LOLOL

3. Whining......yes, this is a big one. " MOOOM, she is mean to me" "MOOM she got icecream and I didn't, it's not fair"

4. Siblings fighting. I'm so tired of living with 3 supposedly human girls who fight like animals.

5. My weight. Enough said.

6. Not having any free time. I'm usually never EVER alone in our house. Somebody is always there with me. Last Sunday DH took the girls on a walk and I had the house to myself for 2 hours. WEIRD!!

7. High gas prices. I love love love my Excursion, but I have to mortgage my house to fill up the tank.

8. Not winning the lottery. It would make my life so much easier.

9. DH...when I go to bed at night after work, dinner and homework and laundry, I'm tired and just want to read for half an hour. Me bending down is not considered foreplay and NO I don't want to have sex every day. REALLY.

10. Not having a second bathroom. With 3 girls, it's insane. We probably will add on, but at this point I'm seriously considering a chamber pot (is that the right name???LOLOL)

The weekend

I took the girls to see Shrek 3 and I have to say that I liked it. So did the girls, eventhough Mackie fell asleep the last 15 minutes. LOL. The part I liked the most? Seeing the Princesses kick some butt. Seriously..........I like it because they were not the poor little girls having to be rescued by the big strong male. LOLOL.

We also finally caught the possum that was eating all the cat food at night. Paul sat a trap and he caught it Saturday night and then went with the girls on Sunday to release it in the mountains so he/she can live happily ever after in the forest. Of course Friday night Fiona (one of the cats) got caught in the trap and we had to free her in the morning. Stupid cat. LOL.

Also watched about 3 episodes of "Deadliest Catch", I'm hooked on it.

Favorite toy

The favorite toy right now at my house? What would it be? The Gameboy? Or any other expensive crap? NOOOOOOO.....it's a plunger. Yes, you heard right, a bathroom plunger.

We just redid our bathroom and my kids have discovered the plunger. They fell in love with it I guess. They fight over who gets to play with it. I just don't get it. It's the most amazing thing. Who could have guessed?

Here they have a room full of TV and DVDs and Gameboy games and they play with a plunger. Whatever.......

When I was young

This is a picture from my elementary school days. Oh my god, I was so young. LOLOL. I'm in the bottom row, second from the right.

What is really sad is that I can't even recall everybodys name anymore. I still can come up with probably half of the names. Makes you wonder where everybody is at this point. What happened to our dreams and hopes???

Tuesday Ten: Ten Books I read lately that I liked

My long weekend

I will kill them, yes I really contemplated it, but don't want to spent the rest of my life in jail. Kidding aside, here is what happened. They broke Brenna's bed, and for once Brenna was not involved. Mackie was the one jumping up and down on it, and it finally broke. After we told them for the millionth time....NO JUMPING ON THE BED.

The beds were not the sturdiest anyway, but still. I warned them before, so now the 2 younger ones only have one bed in their room, so they can either sleep together in one bed or one sleeps on the floor. I don't care.....I will let them sweat it out for at least a month before I even think of buying a new bed.

I swear...boys could not be worse.

Banging my head against the wall

Brenna is really testing my patience. Ok, so I don't have any patience left. Sometimes I just don't know how to handle her anymore. She can be so stubborn. Like yesterday. I came home around 6:30, they were playing outside. Fine, asked them if they did their homework. Of course not....why would I expect that hubby actually would remind them? So Sidney sits down and does her homework. Brenna asks me to sit down with her and help her, which I don't mind. So we sit down and she has 3 pages to do for Kindergarten. One is basic subtraction. 3-1=? She tells me the right answer but then proceeds to just fool around on the paper, writes the number the wrong way, erases it, writes it again, erases it, so this goes on a few times. I remind her a couple of times " Brenna, you need to do it nicely, otherwise I will just take it away and you won't get credit for it."

Guess what....yep, I ended up taking it away and she went to school without homework today, which doesn't seem to bother her that much. She was upset last night, but man...........I just lost it, I'm pulling my hair out. Was I ever that stubborn? At that age? Not one of my prouder mommy moments I have to admit. Why can't I just be serene and calm and talk quietly to her? Yeah right.........................