Can you say Pandemic?

The word itself is scary, but I am learning to live with it. Sophia is fresh from the Dr's office and the good news is that she is not a statistic of swine flu. The bad news is she is a 4 1/2 year old that weighs 32 lbs and is fighting a really nasty virus. The hidden blessing in my week is that I work for a company that takes illness quite seriously and because of the swine flu scare I am not permitted to return to any US Prudential location this week. Oh well . . . For now, pandemic is our friend. Ed was in charge of the fevered patient earlier in the week while I was on-site for a meeting and I'm taking it from here.

I am doing my very best to work as hard as I need to right now while tending to the Princess. Work is hectic and my patience is thin. Thank goodness for the talking laptop that came to us for Christmas. My sidekick can work now, too.

We've got some Super Hero popsicles and the Disney Channel. I feel like we're going to be OK. Please pray that she doesn't find the energy to dig in her room for her High School Musical microphone :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday, Stacy Brooke! Have a great day.

We love you so much

Flashback Friday

Summer 2004

Mmmm - this could be one of my favorite memories ever. The photo was taken on my first trip to California. I came to San Diego to visit Ed after we met in Florida and we drove to Orange County so I could meet his family. I was so nervous to meet them, but I guess it must have worked out OK.

The hammock was on his parent's back patio and 15 years later it's still one of our favorite spots, even after a few facelifts!! (The patio, not us!) My life has never been the same since that summer and how lucky I am that's true.

Lesson Learned

Inhale . . . exhale . . . I realized late this afternoon that I had wasted almost a whole day of my life directing negative energy at something that I can't change. While I was at home TRYING to work and TRYING to make progress with a rental car, the entire world was passing me by. Not a big deal really, but the world just outside my front door is amazing!!! It was hot and sunny and picture postcard perfect today in San Clemente. People travel here from all over the world to see what I see every day of my life. I am so blessed and let myself forget it for a short time.

San Clemente Pier Sunset

I am still completely bewildered by my current automobile situation, but it's not going to change. I did get a rental car, I am safe at home with my husband whose business trip was miraculously cancelled at the perfect time and everyone is clean, tucked in and prayed for. There's nothing else I want or need. Please forgive me my bad attitude!

Are you serious??!?!

I think all the time that my life is way too good to be true, and sometimes it just is. I sold my car last week and had to share a car with Ed for several days. That's a lot of work for our family. I commute, we've got kids; it was a hassle. The problem was that I HATE car dealerships and absolutely did not want to have to go to one to buy a new car. Ridiculous, I know, but sadly true. So the amazing man I married took over that transaction and I had a beautiful, brand new car waiting in the driveway for me when I got home on Saturday evening. Thank you, E!!! Too good to be true, right? Right!

My brand new car was towed away today after someone hit me at a traffic light. Not a serious accident, but the car couldn't be driven because the fender was hitting the tire. This is where I say "are you serious?" That could not have just happened to me. I was sitting in traffic minding my own business and someone turned right into me. I have driven the car three times since Saturday and now it's gone. There's part of me that wants to cry, part of me that thinks I should crack up laughing and part of me that is just completely bewildered. Not sure if you remember this, but almost exactly three years ago when I got my station wagon someone backed in to me in a parking lot and my brand new car went away then, too.



I am fortunate, please let me say. I am not hurt in any way and neither was the other driver. We both called our insurance companies right away (right after I added this car to my policy!!) and he and his insurance company have accepted full responsibility for the accident. They paid to tow my car back to the dealership who has a full Toyota certified collision center. Neither of my children were in the car. All very good things! I will pick up a rental car this afternoon and life will go back to normal. I have many, many blessings but good luck with new cars is not one of them. Maybe my week will get better from here!
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AFTERNOON UPDATE

To avoid smashing something in my house or telling someone on the telephone to go to hell, I will rant here. The insurance company for the "gentleman" that hit me is covering the cost of a rental car. That's great. The part they failed to mention was that they would cover the cost of a freakin' clown car. Not driving that. So my first phone call was back to the insurance company to let them know that I would need something comparable to the car that they towed away this morning. They fidgeted slightly and then approved me for a standard size car. Not quite comparable, but might do a better job of fitting my 7 and 4 year olds in the backseat. Fine. The other slight glitch is that there are no rental car agencies in South Orange County that have a car that size available. I have now spent more than an hour trying to track down a damn rental car so I can pick up my kids from school. I am on the verge . . . Please pray for the next person that I get on the phone. Might not be pretty!!!

Flashback Friday - Summer 2007

1307 South Ola Vista has undergone quite a transformation since we moved in 6 years ago. It’s still not a grand palace, but we love it so much and are so grateful to have found our place in the world.

Our remodel “officially” began in October 2006 and ended at Christmas 2008. Not so great for a while, but in hindsight soooooo worth it. These photos remind me of how much I did NOT want to be going through the mess and inconvenience of a remodel on a budget. What girl wants to live with a Porta Potty in their driveway and their laundry room in a makeshift shed outside? Please!!!! But, even with plywood walls and mattresses on the floor, we had two healthy, laughing kids who thought it was amazing to live in a construction site and we had a roof over our heads the entire time. In times like these that may be all you can ask for. We are truly blessed to have so much more!

If you're lucky enough to be at the beach . . . you're lucky enough!

Flashback Friday

I love this idea - I couldn't wait to look for an old picture for this week's post. I am dying to find something really old and terrific, but our digital files only go back to 2004 when Sophia was born. How perfect.

June 30, 2004

This is the first time Max met his little sister. Moments like these literally only happen once in a lifetime. Ed & I talk all the time about whether or not it would be the right thing to add someone else to our family (the answer right now is NO) but looking at these photos and remembering these moments almost makes me want to give it a whirl!! Almost . . .

Vacation!!

I love vacation! Spring Break is definitely a little different now than it used to be, but bliss comes in all different forms as a parent. Max is on Spring Break for TWO weeks and I am thrilled that I have the vacation time and the ability to spend a week with him right now. We have done nothing spectacular and we love it! We took our first spin of the season in the golf cart on Monday and had an easy afternoon at the park followed by a slurpee stop ; ) I'm not sure anyone got dressed before lunch yesterday and we went to the airport last night and picked up my Mom. The kids are headed to the movies with their Nana tonight while Ed and I take a big trip to Target and Home Depot -woo hoo! I am loving my time off and making every effort not to be in a hurry. That is HARD WORK for me because I swear if I let myself I could make a list of 200 things that need to be done before I head back to the office. For now, I am not even thinking about it. I am living life with my kids and loving every minute of it.

Please standby . . . technical difficulties

Aaaaaah, WTF!!!! I was proofing my spiffy new blog template and my last post and see the odd header for Pyzam. I am tired and too lazy to fix it now. Please forgive me if you can't sleep tonight because it's making you crazy, too. Tomorrow it will be good as new.

Spring Spruce Up

I was inspired today by a variety of things to get back on track with our blog. I added a new template, updated my playlist (hope you like it, TT!) and added some other fun features. Blogging is a temporary addiction for me. I love looking at friends of friends sites through their links and have gotten some good inspiration and love to read other people's stories. I am just around the corner from being able to resume my obsession with Facebook, but I don't regret for a second giving it up for Lent. First and foremost, because it was genuinely a sacrifice. I literally itch sometimes just to log in and catch up and it's a good and soulful reminder to me of the sacrifices that God has made for all of us. Surely I can give up my social networking for 60 days.

March is an unbelievable month for us and I couldn't be happier that it's over. Ed and I both have our annual BIG events for our companies and they are literally back to back. I like to think that I am not married to my career, but that only means that I have a very demanding lover in the month of March.

Prudential Real Estate finished their Annual Sales Convention just on Wednesday and our little team of meeting planners pulled off the impossible one more time. This year marked the 6th time I have had the opportunity to work on this meeting for Pru and every year is a little easier in some ways, and much harder in others. The past 8 days especially bittersweet for me. When the company had layoffs during Christmas I knew that we would lose half of our team. Their last day was today. Less than 48 hours after they worked a 90 hour week with me. I admire them all so much for sticking it out and giving it their all, literally until the last moment. Saying goodbye this afternoon was not easy for me.

But in happier news, I am on Spring Break!!!!! Well, Max is on Spring Break and I am joining him. His sister is also on a little break and his Nana arrives on Tuesday to join in the fun. We have no hard and fast plans but for me to be on vacation for the next 10 ten days leaves me with an incredible feeling of contentment. I'm sure we'll go to Disneyland, have some ice cream, try to sleep late . . . I truly don't care. Just the prospect of the "unplannedness" of it all makes me giddy.

We are hosting the Montoya/Abrams/Pratt/McCarthy/Dabalack/Anderson gangs for Easter Sunday next weekend and I am looking forward to having everyone together. My mom has some fantastic ideas for centerpieces and table decor, I love to have an excuse to plant new flowers and just love more than anything for everyone to be in the same place at the same time.

I hope Spring is bringing for you a sense of renewal and hope. I am superficially praying for warm, sunny weather and a few quiet moments to give Thanks for all I love. The hustle of the last week only makes me more grateful for the peace and love I have to come home to.

"LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."
Psalm 16:5-8

Flashback Fridays

This is a cute idea from my good friend, and extra special cousin-in-law, Summer. My flashback is in honor of how much I love her and her family and everytime I see our sweet kidlets together, I smile.

This is December 2004 from left to right ~ Max, almost 3, Aaron almost 1, Isabella just turned 3 and Sophia 6 monthes. It's much harder to get them all in the same place at the same time now, but they are just as cute!!