sick

The kids and I have been sick and all I really need is a good night of sleep. I hope I get it tonight.

my sister's baby

Catherine
11-25-08
2:52AM
8lbs 4oz
18.5 inches

LA

I just drove up to LA because my sister is in labor, kind of. It was a quick 2ish hour drive, no traffic. I am going to stay here until tomorrow and if she does not have the baby I guess I will just come home. Not sure yet what I am going to do.

Soccer Party

Saturday was the last soccer game of the season. They played a great game and ended the season with just one loss. Porter really had a fun season and learned a lot from the coach and teammates. After the game we had pizza and cupcakes, then Coach Jim handed out trophies.

5 years

Jason and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary with dinner at the the Farm House Cafe. The food was really good and we had a nice time. After dinner we went over to the Red Fox Room where we met some friends, then to a few more bars. We rode our bikes all over and it was just a really fun night.
11-22-2003, County Clerks Office, 11 weeks pregnant with Porter

Porter

Liesl

Bobble Head Liesl

Scary Liesl

Princess Liesl

sorry

Yesterdays post was kind of lame, come on do you really want to see a picture of my light? I just did not have anything else to say and wanted to get back to my latest TV addiction 90210. I was working on a knitting project too, so I am not just vegging out and doing nothing. My TV addiction is getting really bad with all the new shows on, I just can't help myself. I don't watch TV during the day, so I tell myself it is okay. Tonight is the finale of ANTM and I am going to watch it right after this. Some things going on in my life that I am thinking about right now. My friend had a baby girl this week and I am anxious to hear all about it. My sister was due with her baby on Monday and anytime she calls I think it is the call to come up. I can't wait! Jason and I are celebrating our 5th anniversary on Saturday unless she is in labor. Porter's last soccer game and party are on Saturday. Kidical Mass is on Saturday, just too many things, so Shauna don't have your baby on Saturday, not going to work for us. Just kidding. Alright I am of to watch my shows.

old and new

This light came with the house and Jason never liked it, so when my parents offered us a new one we took it.

Our lovely new light.

tact

Growing up I was always a little odd. I got along fine with people, but I had very few really close friends. I was not one of those people who others are drawn to and want to be around with a magnetic personality. I was the person who asked the inappropriate questions and never knew when to stop. I always knew I was odd, but could not put my finger on what it was until I met Jason. One night after a few months of dating he told me that I had no tact. It really hit me and it was like a light went off and I finally realized what it was I was lacking. Since that night I have been working on it and I am better, but not as good as I want to be. Shoot, I just sent off a ranting email that I should have just deleted, so yeah I have some work to do. Anyway, I was inspired by Julia to look at my old yearbooks and I came across this one message that I have to share. This was in my junior year annual and written by my sister's senior year boyfriend.

Natalie,
I am really glad I met you this year. I've gotta say that you are a very straightforward person. You say thing how you see them, and you don't kiss any ass. I like that in a person. This summer, let's me and you and a bunch of friends go out to the river and drink cases of beer with your dad (just kidding Mr Carlson). Shauna can stay home if she can't handle the intense party. I know this sounds trite, but lets definitely do something over the summer.

Love Peter M.

PS
you can come up to UCLA and party when Shauna comes up.

He also left his phone number and drawing of an MGD can, my drink of choice back then apparently.

What he said was true about me and thankfully I have been able to control myself more as I have aged and made an effort to do so. My friends and family still know if they want an honest opinion I give it and can't lie very well.

go san diego

from sd urban blog, biggest prop 8 protest in nation.

siblings

sad/happy

Today was the funeral for my Great Aunt Molly up in LA. We had to wake up early and that was a little rough on the kids, but we made it there on time. The service was beautiful, nice and the kids did as well as I hoped they would. The graveside service was at Rose Hills and my aunts ashes along with my uncles were buried together right next to my grandma. It was the first time we had been there since my grandma dies, so it was nice to see her headstone and just be there. My grandpa and other family is buried there and I wish I had looked it up before so we could have visited their sites too. After the services we went to my cousins house for food and to hang out. It was a nice happy time and it was a nice.
Liesl and Miranda by their great aunt and great grandma's grave.

Hi Ho Cherry-o

I remember playing this game as a kid, so when we were at the store the other day looking for games we bought it. The kids love it and want to play it all the time.

Just stop by

Growing up we never just stopped by a friends house and we never had people just stop by ours. I would never just show up unannounced to a friends house, I would feel so uncomfortable. Okay wait, I have gone to a neighbors house and asked if they wanted to walk to the park with me, but never to invite myself in. In high school we almost always went home right after school and did not just hang out with friends. In some ways I am still a little uncomfortable with the whole hanging out thing. I always am nervous about staying longer than I should, like I will not know when the host wants me to leave. I have gotten better especially with my close friends, but I still need some work. My mom grew up with a large extended family close by and she lived with her mom and grandpa. On the weekends she told me that all of her aunts, uncles and cousins would come over to see her grandpa, so she was used to people just stopping by. I asked her why we never did it and she said that she did once and the friend made her feel so uncomfortable she never did it again. I would not mind if someone just stopped by my house, but I guess I would probably prefer they call and say they are in the area and make sure it is okay. I have a really hard time asking someone if I can come over, it is just so not natural to me. I wish I could do it and will work on it in the future. How do you pick up the phone and say "Hi can I come over" without feeling uncomfortable and like it is inappropriate?

Protect Marriage

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Imagination Movers

Last weekend Jason put the Disney channel on for the kids. It was the first time they watched it in a while and Porter found a new show, Imagination Movers. It reminds me of the Wiggles, but much better.

ballet girl

Liesl starts a ballet/tap class next week, so I went and bought her a leotard today. The ballet slippers and tap shoes were hand me downs from a friend and today was the first time I put them on her.

Admiring herself

long day

soccer game, party, party, concert.
1:37AM
time for bed

MNO

Just got home from a moms night out and I am tired. It was a fun, mellow, nice way to end the week. Tomorrow is filled with back to back activities, it will be fun, but my brain hurts just thinking about it all.

sick

All of a sudden this evening I am not feeling well. The kids both have runny noses and Jason was sick last week, so I guess it is my turn. I just hope it is not the puke virus that has been going around the playgroup.

Madonna

Last night three friends and I went to see Madonna live in concert. The night was so awesome, fun and one I will never forget. We started out at Altitude Sky Bar for a drink and to check out the view of the park. We wanted some food, so we went to the restaurant downstairs, but they were full, so we went across the street to Rockin Baja. Rockin Baja was under staffed and said it would be a 45 min wait, so we asked to use the restroom. While we were in the restroom, Val sat down at a table and got us some menus. The margaritas were great and the appetizers were tasty. After we ate we made our way over to Petco Park for the show. In the stadium I asked a worker to help us find our seats and he asked us if we wanted to go down to the floor. We were thrilled and excited to be on the floor. I think that we were in our seats for 2 seconds before we started to make our way to the front. There was a lot of security, but we did get close and at the end Madonna told everyone to get closer, so they let us pass. It was just amazing to see her perform live, I am so happy I was able to go. After the concert we made our way over to a bar called Red Circle. We showed our ticket stub from the concert and got in for free. We danced our pants off for a few more hours until our ride picked us up a little after 2AM. There are so many great pictures of the night, some I can share and some I can't. Here are a few.

Goodbye

This morning my Great Aunt Molly passed away at home with her two sons and sister by her side. Aunt Molly was diagnosed with liver cancer this past spring and decided to go naturally without treatment. The last time I saw her was on June 14th when she was down for my sister's wedding and she looked great. My parents visited her quite a few times since then and told me about her deteriorating condition. I chose not to see her and now I am really sad I didn't visit. I wanted to hold on to my last memory of her siting at the table at my parent's house eating cookies with me. Aunt Molly was such a loving, kind, generous and sweet person. She will be missed.

a regular

When I used to manage a store for my parent's I had a lot of "regulars". You know customers who came in a few times a week, talked to me, brought me food, gave me gifts for my birthday or Christmas, told me their whole life story, kept me up to date with their wedding plans, brought their kids in to meet me when they finally were able to emigrate from the Philippines, you get the picture. It was a weird position to be in because they were my customer, I could not walk away from a conversation and had to pretend to be interested. I used to talk to these people and some of them I was genuinely interested in what they had to say, but not all of them. I am not a "regular" anywhere, but Jason is. Jason has a coffee shop he goes to every day, they will make his drink before he even orders it. I wish I was a "regular" somewhere. I guess I kind of am at Whole Foods because I recognize the cashiers, but I only talk to my old roommate if I get in her line. Anyway, maybe I will try and be more friendly and find a coffee shop to go to once or twice a week.

cousins

My sister and her family came down from LA last night, so we had a fun time this weekend. It had been a few week since they came down, so the kids were really happy to see their cousins. I did not grow up with cousins around and it is really fun to see the bond my kids have with theirs. I think that because my sister and I are close, our kids are close. Anyway, we had a great weekend with them and are anxious to meet the new member of their family.

Halloween 2008

Halloween day we got up and went to Golden Hill for a playgroup party. The kids had so much fun running around and playing with their friends.
I am amazed at how much the playgroup has grown over the years.

Halloween night did not start out very well. I started a load of laundry and went outside to carve pumpkins. Liesl came up to me and said something about the toilet, so I walked towards the bathroom and heard the water spilling out of the toilet and backing up into the bathtub. It was so gross and not what I wanted to deal with right before my mom, dad and friends were coming over. I got it all cleaned up and had a plumber out today, but we have a sewer problem. My friends came over and passed out the candy while we took the kids trick-or-treating. It was fun and the kids were really cute.
When we got home I let the kids eat as much candy as they wanted, then bagged it up and took it over the the neighbors house. We then got the kids in their pajamas and took them to the front porch to see what the Great Pumpkin left for them.
In other news, today is day one for NaBloPoMo!