Oh... The weather outside is frightful...

(sing-a-long now...)

But the fire is so delightful... and since we've no place to go... Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Um... NO!

Here, in Southern California, it has been raining for a week (or more). "We" are not used to such rain. If we truly wanted this type of weather, we'd live in... let's say Oregon or Washington? Um, yeah... Not going to happen. But, it kind of feels like that right now. So ya know...The "S" Word (SNOW) wouldn't even close to work for us.

Seriously, it hasn't let up for a couple of days. (My prissy poodle-mix [much as I L-O-V-E, love her] won't go outside for her walks and has to literally be picked up and put on the grass for her to take a... [you know what].) And our streets are flooding. Our county (and surrounding counties) have been declared disaster areas.

That's ok for people who are used to this. They know how to adapt, but SoCali people? uh, no... They don't know how to drive in this stuff. There are accidents everywhere, which makes that a disaster in itself.

Now insert the wind. Trees are being torn out by their roots with the top-heaviness of the their rain-trodden limbs. (See? They're not used to it either!) And much of our housing (good ol' track homes) are cheaply made, so we don't have double panes. (This means we hear the wind whistling ALL. NIGHT. LONG.)

I so long for days like this!

Can you tell I'm "just" a tad crabby? uh, yeah... add in the kids are all on vacation, starting to fight/argue... and we're ALL going crazily insane cooped up in the house, cuz you know... I am still working on Christmas stuff... such a procrastinator...

Another Rainy Day...

So many of us are saying, "Who says it doesn't rain in California?" As, we were rained on last week and so far... a couple of days this week. This week, however, has been littered with tornado warnings, lots of thunder and lightening, and small amounts of hail. Very rare for us, but should make a nice trip to Big Bear... hopefully sometime soon.


Miss Marissa has been such a joy to my heart and sometimes... oh such a pain. Today, we went through massive dramatics to get her dressed to go to class. She doesn't want to wear anything but her "old" clothes and flip-flops. Well, guess what? Who should win this war? Me! She seriously needs to wear other things than the same exact thing every day. No one wants to wash that much!


She is seriously into the tattling stage. AND it totally gets on my nerves!!! Today, she tattled that another little girl "punched" her. Ok... I get it if a kid is getting hurt, but this was nothing. The poor little girl was only rocking back and forth, on her knees, and happened to bump into our little Missy. Seriously? NO BIG DEAL! And then add the older girls (Miss Marissa's sisters)... they are getting to be just as bad. Is this ever going to end? I presumed that as the girls got older, they would "mature"... But, they seem to be regressing into a younger age and showing their lack of maturity. Yikes!


Trying to get an almost five-year-old to act her age is extremely difficult, especially when you have older siblings around that are definitely acting like teenagers. I would love it if respect and kindness once more found a place in my home. But, unfortunately, it seems to be infiltrating into the heart and mind of my little one. It makes me really sad. I hate to punish the older kids for something all of their friends are allowed to do, but hey! I gotta get control of the situation and nip this in the bud before it gets any worse. What they don't realize is how hurtful it is. I'm sure they won't want to be treated that way from their future children... if they ever have any...


On a different note... my "wonderful" husband (although he does have his faults!) surprised me with tickets to see the Eagles in concert at the Hollywood Bowl in April. This should be a blast... especially since I though the concert-going portion of our lives was over. Move over! There is a "New Kid in Town!" Maybe he's changing for the better.


Different topic... if any of you Californians out there have done your state taxes yet... have you seen the dramatic changes in the exemption amounts? It completely bites the big one! Last year, we were able to deduct $309 (or something like that) per dependent. This year, it is a measly $98 (same as standard deduction per filer). Whoa! So... needless to say, this year we owe as to the previous years, where we had a little or none coming back. I really don't care for that. But... we all have to help with the bailout. We all took cuts somewhere, and hikes (in prices) elsewhere... did the big boys up north all get jacked, too?

The rain is still pouring (as is California's money going... where?), so it's time to enjoy some comfort food... tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches... Mmm... mmm... good (think the Campbell's slogan of yesteryear, if you don't get it).

Another Rant!

So... I had the rental, right? I needed to go to a water polo game in Riverside. No worries. I picked up my daughter at school and had to check in at the security station (you can't "just" take kids from a school). I rolled down the window... and it only rolled back up 1/2 of the way. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, however, it is rainy weather here.

So... I grabbed a piece of plastic to put on the window once I got it parked and FROZE the whole way there (1/2 hour). My kids were okay, as I put the heat on SUPER high. But... then I got caught in a hail storm, and it was bouncing into the car. I even got pics of the hail inside the van, on my window! Sucks the big one! Anyway, the plastic worked while the car was parked, and I slid into a dry driver's seat.

Then I got a call that my car was ready. Yeah! To get my own car back... (in dreamy, eyes glazing trance)... So after dropping the kids off at home (I knew it wouldn't be super easy at the dealership... I have that kind of experience...), I zoomed over. It took another 1/2 hour to process the rental back in. The sales clerk gave me a free upgrade and full tank of gas the "next time I rent a car." After all this experience, I'm not sure I'll EVER be back.

Then I had to walk outside (almost a block) in 42 degree weather (that's really cold for us!) with a wind chill factor of (put # here, as I don't know, but it was strong and super cold!) to the dealership. They only took about 10 minutes. I was rather impressed. So, the warranty insurance is now out $1400+, and I have a like-new car!

Woohoo! Boy am I spoiled and very grateful for what I have. I love having all my little perks of my van back! We love it; we LOVE it! Toodles for now! lisa

A Birthday for Marissa and a COLD Swim Meet for the Rest

Marissa turned 3 today! Yeah! She was snoozing next to Juan this morning and kept rolling over to cuddle with him. He would move her and seconds later, she'd be right there on his shoulder. When she woke up slightly, he told her, "Happy Birthday, baby." She said, "Tank you." (without the "th" sound) and promptly started snoring on his shoulder. Too cute for words...

This morning was off. It was supposed to be raining all through the morning, but it was beautiful and sun shiny, but cold. Off to Redlands for a swim meet. Both Stacy and Rey were competing today. Rey shaved 10 seconds (that is a lot) off her 100 backstroke time, and Stacy forgot to check her time. Both girls appeared to do well their first race. Stacy was nervous, as since she just a birthday, as well, she "aged up" into another level (older girls). Rey will continue at the 13-14 level for another year.

It was a small group at the meet, only 4 families out of the whole team (another group of younger kids had already swam in the morning, but many other families forewent this meet). So, we stayed together and we all cheered on each kid during the events until...

The sky started darkening, the wind picked up, and it started to sprinkle. Then it started to pound. Like little nails, almost with the feel of hale; it was really cold! Finally, the sky poured out. It pelted the deck, and the swimming stopped. Did someone see lightening? I don't know. The referees blew their whistles, and the next heat mounted the blocks, ready to go. Stacy and Rey were going to swim one more event, but the rain started coming down even harder, and they changed their mind, as did almost everyone else. Two other families left at the same time as us, needing to get out of there. What can I say? We are all wimps. I can do a lot, but cold and wet is not one of them. (Well... maybe Marissa can... she loved it!)
So, we ran to my house, changed clothes, and went out to dinner. After all, it was Marissa's birthday, and she kept asking for a cake. Mimi's Cafe is a favorite place of ours, serving excellent food with excellent service. Marissa got her cake and a song, and we got to relax for a little bit. (By the way... I did get some more chicken soup there - Cream of Chicken Soup!)

The movies was next. We saw Enchanted again. Marissa asked for it, and it wouldn't hurt us to relax for another 2 hours. She still laughed and smiled for the movie, and wants to go see it again tomorrow. She came home singing the songs from the movie. She has only seen it twice, but has really picked up on the lyrics... Yikes! Help me... just kidding. It was a great movie, and we will probably buy it the day it comes out on DVD.

As for me... I'm feeling better today. We'll see how I feel after I sleep off the chill. Today was exhausting, and since I wasn't totally up to par, I'm not sure how much I drained out of me. It's time to hit the beddy-by... I have a lot to do tomorrow. Onward! (And thanks for all of your comments!) Toodles for now! lisa