The plague, Big Bear, Happy Bday Elizabeth

Two weeks ago, I thought I was gonna die. Okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic. You know what?! I'm NOT being dramatic in the least! I had pneumonia and I swear I thought death was right around the corner! And to top that...four out of six of the kids were also sick w/ coughs and fevers as high as 102 degrees. Thank God for my Nina who graciously took the 2 healthy ones out of the house for the weekend.

Happy Birthday Papa

So we celebrated my own father's birthday about 2 weeks ago. I'm a little behind in blogging.

Mental Note To Self

If you wanna go to the beach to see tidepools, you MUST go during LOW tide.

Happy 4th!

Our annual photo taken on the front lawn.

Couldn't decide which one I liked better, lol.

We spent the day swimming.

Mejia Madness - A Peek Into Our Week

I thought I'd do something different this week. I was playing around with a video editing program that I didn't even know we owned. Check out our chaotic week and try not to laugh too hard!

Stop and Smell the Roses

Wow! What a week this was! From Monday to Friday we were on the go. I think the only time I sat down was in the car while we were on the road driving to our next destination!!!! We started the week off with Matthew graduating from kindergarten and Elizabeth receiving an Excellent Reader award.

When Life Gives You Lemons

When life gives you lemons, do not throw them in your neighbor's face!

We just got a treadmill. I used to have one then I sold it. I quickly regretted it and just bought another one. Now if I can only locate some motivation to get my butt on it. I know it's there somewhere. I just gotta find it.

Megan had a dr. appt yesterday. The day before her appt. Matthew kept teasing her about getting shots and of course she freaked out until she was distracted with whatever was going on in the room at the time. The next day we arrived at the dr. Just her and I. It was a scheduled annual check-up and I really didn't expect any shots to be given. That is until the nurse reminded us that we were behind 4 immunizations!!!  Oh yeah, I seemed to have forgotten that I was one of those wacko delayed immunization believers. At least I am when I forget to schedule shots, haha. Anyhow, this upset me because I had just got done telling her she didn't need shots. I don't want my child to lose her trust in me thinking I lied to her. We made the best of it and I promised her an ice cream cone afterwards which she gladly ate up. Her personality has blossomed lately. Some of the stuff that comes out of her mouth leaves me in disbelief. You'd swear she was a ten year old, not three.

Anyhow. during our visit the nurse asked if she was allergic to any medications. Out of habit, I instinctly said "no". But then I immediately remembered she was, I corrected myself. The funny part was, it initiated a conversation about her medical ID bracelet. This is how it went:

Random Stuff

This week was the start of Teacher Appreciation Week. Each day of the week has a theme with it. Today, was bring your teacher a flower. Rather than bring real flowers, because I figured all of the other students would do that, we made flower pens. If the teachers are anything like me,

Sarah Graduates

My cousin,

Sarah,

 graduated from University of LaVerne this past weekend.

Wordless Wednesday

Or alternately titled... "Boys will be Boys"

So I'm about 3 weeks behind in posting...

But this one post is very important to me so although it's late, it still holds its value.
 Happy Birthday, Papa Bear.

Without you, the Great Big Mejia Family wouldn't have been possible :p

Without you, I would have never learned the important lesson that the world will still continue to turn even if a child falls asleep without brushing his teeth, with sticky hands, a dirty face, and/or mismatched clothes. 

Without you, I would never know what true love is.

Without you, I'd be walking through this hectic, chaotic life all alone.

Without you, I'd have nobody to build me the many things on my Honey Do List. Things like this new project!!!!

I couldn't have found a better partner!

Happy Birthday, Papa Bear!

A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip. ~
Author Unknown

Father Daughter Dance- 2011

This year's Father Daughter Dance had a sock hop theme. Mama whipped up some poodle skirts. I found a pattern online and seeing that I was not in a sewing mood, I put it off til the last possible minute. Boy, was I surprised when the skirts took only about 15 minutes each to make. I was procrastinating for nothing. I felt like a fool! The best part is... they cost me only $12 total to make.

In the days leading up to the dance, the girls were so giddy. Especially, Emily. On the day she received the flyer, I picked the kids up after school and she ran as fast as she possibly could up to the car holding the hot pink paper and shouting out, "This is it! This is it! This is the day DADDY's been waiting for!!!!! "

What on earth was she talking about?!!!

Daddy?!!!

Judging by the past conversations about this long awaited day and the look on her face, I think this is the day that EMILY's been waiting for. But I wasn't gonna bust her chops!

"You bet your bottom dollar that this is the day your daddy's been waiting for. We gotta call him at work as soon as we get home. He's gonna be soooooo excited!"

Once we got home, Emily decided to write him a letter instead. She left it out for daddy to find when he got home from work. Being the mommy that I am, I called daddy up and gave him fair warning that he MUST be on the lookout for an important memo!

Here's what it read:

To: Daddy     From: Emily
Dear Daddy, We have ben (been) waiting for this day. The year went by so fast. Open this note and you will be exided (excited) just like me. I hope you like it. And I hope we can go.

Who could say no to that! Daddy worked his charm on the boss and was given some time off to attend this very important event. When he asked Brianna if she was coming too because after all, this is her last year in elementary school and she would never get to do this with him again, her reply was, "no thanks, dad." He tried putting the guilt on her but it wasn't working. Apparently this just isn't cool anymore when you're a 6th grader. Elizabeth was in between wanting to go with daddy and being embarrassed. She told daddy that she would go but only because her friends were going! Poor Daddy. He's losing his little ladies already. But alas, he still has Emily (for hopefully awhile longer) and Megan too!

Can you tell by this pic here that Emily still loves her daddy. Ahem (Brianna, if you're reading this.) Ahem.

Somebody was getting a little jealous and didn't want to share his daddy.

Gotta give Ben some love too!

 Don't worry Ben, just wait for our Mommy/Son dance. We'll make daddy jealous!

I LOVE daddy's face in this one! 

You didn't think that was the end, did you? You know me better than that! Of course, I waited a half hour before sneaking over to the school and stealing a sneak peak of daddy with his girls. I was very stealthy and hid behind some of the extra large daddies that were there. I didn't take any physical pics of them together only some mental ones. I wouldn't want the girls to find out later and get mad.

But I did get a few pics of the decor.

They had a blast and Emily   Daddy was overjoyed that the day finally arrived! 

The Adventures of DangerBoy!

Okay, I got all the kids down and it's only 7:17pm! YESSSSSS-- they are DOWN. Down as in down for bed! Can you believe it? I barely can!!!  I bet you're wondering how on earth I managed to get my crew of six monkeys down before 8 o'clock. Ask me. You know you want to.

Okay, you don't have to twist my arm. I'll tell you. But, shhhh... don't tell the kids. They'll be sooo mad at me.

Promise? Pinky Promise? Cross you heart? Okay, good. You're sooo gonna love this!!!!

I set all the clocks in the whole house forward 45 minutes.

WHAT?!!!

You think that's wrong?!!

Is tricking my children into bed at such an early hour just so I can maintain my sanity have some peace and quiet all to myself wrong?  I guess it is kinda cruel. But what they don't know won't hurt them, right? It helps that it's winter right now too. There's no daylight out. It's gonna be awfully hard to keep this lie going come summer. I guess I'll just have to enjoy it while I can (insert evil laugh----muuuuahhhhhh!). But seriously, help me out here. I'm trying to make myself feel better about doing this! Besides, daddy works nights and I have all the responsibilities of homework, cheer, karate, dinner, cleanup, oh and safety too (that's a whole nuther story I'll tell you about in a bit) all on poor lil 'ol me. So the question is...why didn't I think about this sooner???!!!



The reason I needed them down so early is because I have so much CRAP to do!!!! I'm overwhelmed. Luckily, cheer practice got canceled today. As sad as I was that it was canceled (I say that sarcastically), I managed to get some really important stuff done (like laundry) that ordinarily would have been pushed back to the end of my day. I also saved some time by making them a quick dinner. Hot dogs, fries, and fruit cups. Every kid likes that which meant no complaints or long fights with a certain particular, picky child ahem* cough*Elizabeth to eat her food. I had just enough hot dogs to feed each of the six kids and myself until I remembered that I had an extra mouth to feed because Elizabeth brought a friend home from school today. I can't make that child watch us all eat in front of her. That would be wrong. Wronger than tricking your kids. So being the kind person that I am (and the fact that I remembered I had just bought some Snickers Ice Cream Bars today at Target... Did you know Target sold those?... I didn't!... But as soon as I saw them I threw a box [thought about taking 3 boxes] into the cart)...but, I digress.... Remembering those Snickers Bars in the garage freezer, I grudgingly gave up my hot dog to the poor starving friend of my dear Elizabeth.

I could hear those Snickers Bars calling my name the whole time I was serving the kids their dinner. They wouldn't stop screaming for me even while the kids were brushing their teeth. So that's when I did it... that's when the idea hit me to set the clocks forward almost a whole hour.

One hour closer to my ice cream dinner.

Then, while they were getting their PJ's on, I heard those damn Snickers yell out, "if you don't eat me right now, I'll tell the kids that I'm in here."

I called out to the Snickers, "SHUTUP! Those darn kids are gonna hear you. They don't know you're in there yet!"

But apparently, they didn't listen. The screaming got louder and louder until I just couldn't take it anymore. I caved. I yelled at the kids to get upstairs, "Go upstairs. Go NOW. And STAY UP THERE. And while you're up there, keep an eye on Ben too." I used the excuse that I had to clean the kitchen. But we both know that 'clean the kitchen' was really code for 'sneak into the garage and grab myself my long awaited dinner.' I admit it. I'm not going to lie. I ate my ice cream bar inside the downstairs closet. I hid in between all the hanging coats, the basket full of diapers, a vacuum cleaner (I think the vacuum was jealous), and five umbrellas. I made sure to keep the lights off so that I couldn't accidentally be discovered by any of those six kids. Sometimes they like to sneak downstairs even after I tell them to stay up there. So I made sure to really stay hidden until each and every last bite of that caramel goodness was gone. And I will also admit that I almost thought about grabbing myself another one. Almost.

Anyways, that's what I ate for dinner.

Now where was I before I went off on that tangent about dinner? Oh.....yes... I have sooo much CRAP to get done tonight. I really do need to clean my kitchen and that's not code for anything. I have to keep at the dent I've made in the mountains of laundry we have right now. And I have to sew some poodle skirts for the Father/Daughter Sock Hop Dance next week.

Sigh. Such is life with six kids and no daddy home. I'm not feeling sorry for myself. Really, I'm not. Okay, maybe just a little.

Anyways. Back to the chores.

Sigh!

But, blogging is sooo much more entertaining. Don't you think? Plus, it doesn't take as much energy cuz the only thing moving is my fingers. I just don't have the energy in me to move anything else right now. Besides, I got some stuff to catch you up on. The chores are there and they aren't going anywhere, right?

Still blogging.

Just blogging.

Heyyyyy... that reminds me of the part in the movie, Nemo. "Just keep swimming blogging, just keep swimming  blogging... I love that movie! Don't you remember the part where Dory says to.... okay ... I know.. I know...I watch too many kid movies... Nevermind.


Hmmmm.... what else can we talk about since I just seemed to have made up my mind to blog instead of clean, launder, or sew. That's your fault cuz I know you're reading this. I definitely would be doing chores instead of blogging if I knew this blog wasn't getting read. See... it's your fault.

Oh, yes I know what we can talk about! Actually, I'll do the talking (or typing, rather). Because I'd like to tell you a story. A story I named-- The Adventures of DangerBoy! Daddy likes the name-- Destruct-O-Boy better, so I'll entertain you by alternating between the two names. You pick whichever one you want, I really don't care. Just pay attention to my story, okay?

Ready? Got your popcorn? Okay, here we go....

Once upon a time, there lived an adorable *wink*  little boy who loved to climb (hmmm, bet you know exactly which kid this is about). He loved heights. He loved danger. He feared nothing. (I bet you know where this is going too...) So anyways, this boy we'll call, DangerBoy, went to an amusement park we'll call Knotts Berry Farm to enjoy the day with his family and watch his three eldest sisters compete in a State Cheer Competition which just so happened to be held at the same park. Now, while Desctruct-O-Boy's mommy went into the competition auditorium to collect his three cheer sisters and to bring them down to where DangerBoy himself, his daddy and other siblings were waiting, Destruct-O-Boy decided to see what kind of trouble he could get into. What's new, right?! Apparently, Dangerboy found some trouble lurking in a nearby trashcan. (or just maybe... there were ice cream bars in there calling his name, Beeeeennnnnnn. Okay, probably not. That only happens to me.) Where was I.... there was trouble lurking in the trash can and DangerBoy decided to see what it was all about. Daddy happened to turn his back for one quick second. DangerBoy knew this was his only chance. WHOOOOSHHH!!!! As speedy as a lightning bolt, Destruct-O-Boy darted to the can and pulled himself up with all his might.

Now, here's where the story gets good.

Are you listening????

DangerBoy didn't make it into the can as planned. Not even a little bit. Instead, the not bolted to the ground fiberglass trashcan came toppling down onto DangerBoy's beautiful untouched, unmarked face.

DUN. DUN. DUN.

Did this stop him? Well, yes... for the moment.

DangerBoy's daddy ran over to the can as fast as he possibly could to rescue the trouble seeking boy. He pulled the can off DangerBoy's body expecting a bruise or maybe just a frightened little expression on his face. But instead... Daddy was met with an ugly laceration and a large amount of blood pooling onto Dangerboy's little babyface. Unscarred he was no more. Because of that incident, DangerBoy's face will forever be evidence of his day wrestling with the big, red can.

As you can imagine, Destruct-O-Boy's mommy was quite shocked when she arrived down in the food court to see Daddy holding a cloth to DangerBoy's forehead and staring back at her with an 'OH SH*T, YOU'RE SO GONNA KILL ME FOR NOT WATCHING HIM' look on his face. Now so many thoughts were going thru DangerBoys momma's head at that very moment. And yes, she will admit, that was definitely one of them. But she was a remarkable, young woman and an honorable wife. In those few seconds of seeing her bloody son, she decided that because of this little boy's hyperactivity, surely, this was something that could have happened in her care as well. She desired to be the most enviable marriage partner and to not mention anything to Destruct-O-Boy's father about those horrible 'how could you' thoughts that entered her mind for a millisecond. Instead, she concentrated on what's more important at the moment, which was not passing out everytime his daddy moved the cloth to check the bleeding.

Both his momma and Knott's associates called 9-1-1. And very shortly after, daddy and Destruct-O-Boy were wisked via ambulance to the nearest hospital. It was there, at that very hospital, where DangerBoy woo'ed the hearts of a nurse, or two, maaaaybe even three, all the while braving his injury and being stitched up 7x.

Wow!

WHAT. A. DAY!

Sadly, Destruct-O-Boy only got to take a spin on ONE whole ride before his trashcan debacle. And Sadly, because of his rambunctiousness, the plans to spend the rest of the day after competition riding all the amusement park rides as a family never happened. Rather, the lovely three cheer girls won their trophies (1st place in cheer and 2nd for Hip Hop) and the bandaged up DangerBoy and his family went on their merry way home.

DangerBoy lived the rest of his life with the female attracting scar across his face. In fact, the very next day he was searching for the next adventure to tackle. Joyfully though, he and the rest of his family lived happily ever after.

To Be Continued...

(pics will be posted later)
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Ahhh....I hope you enjoyed this non-fictional story. Yes, this just happened this past weekend. I'd post some pictures but it's getting awfully late and..... sigh.......back to reality. Or at least my reality. It seems that just as I guessed they would, just now, four of those disobeying children seemed to have found their way out of their nice warm beds. I hear much laughter up there as they entertain themselves in the upstairs hallway, thinking that mommy is too busy or too tired to even care. HA! I'll show them! Those darn kids should be in bed sleeping, cuz it's 9:45 10:45 already! I just screamed up there, "just wait til I tell your father you're still awake." But I only heard 1 pair of feet go running. Those darn kids are getting too smart! I bet that one pair of running feet was from the youngest of the four. That child hasn't lived long enough to know that mommy doesn't usually follow thru with her little threats. So, unfortunately, I'm sorry, but you will have to excuse me now while I go spank my kids, pull out my hair, and maybe eat another Snickers Bar tuck my sweet lil angels back into their fluffy warm beds.



Goodnight. Sweet Dreams, Bloggy Readers.

Meet Hillary

I'd like you to meet someone pretty special. This is my cousin, Hillary. She's a BEAUTIFUL young college student who has overcome some pretty amazing trials sent her way. Like most typical teenagers, Hillary worried about her studies, sports and her social life. Something distracted her though. Something in addition to normal high school issues. Something got in her way of just being a 'normal' kid. At 14, she was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer. Imagine dealing with this at fourteen years old! All the while going to school and trying to keep up with tests and assignments and basketball and volleyball and friends and just every day teenager stuff. Imagine that. Really imagine how little "normalcy" she had being interrupted by doctor appointments and hospital stays. Chemotherapy and the like. Because that was her life. And despite all of the yuckiness that goes along with this disease, she didn't falter. She didn't stumble. She was so brave and she fought so long and so hard. In my book, she's famous. Google her and you will see. You will see what an extraordinary woman she has become. She can sing, play the guitar, and can speak Chinese. Hello!!!! Do you know anyone like that?!

With God's amazing grace, she won her battle with cancer and because of it has become the strong woman she is today.

I'm so very proud of her. I'm so proud to tell people that I not only know her, but (even better) we are related. Her story is truly one of hope for those who may be experiencing the same or similar circumstances. I'd like to say that she gets her brains from her father's side of the family (obviously, that's how we are related) and that smart kids just seem to run in our blood. But... (there's always a but)... but, unfortunately I think this is not the case with her. Because Hillary is different. She's just so very different. She's not your typical college kid you'd meet on the street. She is a hero of sorts. A role model for me and also for my children. She stands out in a crowd.

After her fight with cancer, she mentioned that one of the things she learned through it all was to "enjoy the time you have here and now because you never know when things will be going wrong. And the other thing is you need to give back in life. Now I want to leave the world a little better than when I came in."  Ummmm.... Hello AGAIN!!!!!......I don't know about you, but there's not many teenagers I know who have the wisdom and insight that this girl has!

What I admire most about her is that she knows what she wants in life and she goes after it, all the while jumping over the hurdles thrown her way. As a child, her dream was to grow up and become a doctor.  Something got in her way BIG TIME. And instead of easily giving up like I probably would have, she weathered the storm. ONE. DAY. AT. A. TIME. And when the storm was all over she was left weak. But weakness was piddly compared to what she had just been through. Did she take time to recoup and gain her strength back? Perhaps. I can only hope so. But when she felt better she stood up and accepted her next challenge.

So the next time I'm feeling sorry for myself or the next time I find myself acting selfish and bitter because something didn't turn out the way I planned it (case in point: my 911 call, or my bidding wars over a house), I will remember her story. I will remind myself that life is not easy. Life is full of struggles and hardships. Sometimes God throws us a curve ball. But that shouldn't stop me (or us) from fighting for our dreams. I want my children to know this too. They read this blog very often. So children- Take Note: Sometimes we fall on our own and other times we're pushed down. But when you are faced with hardship, please remember Hillary. Hillary stood up. Hillary brushed herself off. Hillary accepted the challenge sent her way and even fought through it with a "bring it on" type of attitude. My beautiful children- sometimes we'll win and other times we may lose. But when we win.... remember.... give the glory to God. Thank Him for what He has done in your life and what it has taught you. Take your experience with you and continue on your journey. Fight for your dreams. It will be worth it. And remember those who helped you along the way. Let that touch you and encourage you to pay it forward, give back to others. I pray that you, my children, will never have to experience such an ordeal as hers. But... if you do... remember, I will be there to help you every step of the way and to remind you of Hillary's bravery and determination.

I'm happy to share that Hillary was just accepted into medical school!

Hillary, congratulations. I am sooo very honored to be your cousin. You are an inconceivably amazing woman. And you deserve this more than any other person I know.

Vivian on Valentine's Day

My sister in law called me up and asked me to shoot a few pics of my niece, Vivian. Knowing that Vivian is much like Emily and loves clothes, fashion, and shopping.... what better place to take her than Victoria Gardens (an outdoor mall)! Here are my favorite shots of the day...

Sarah & Ryan

In a secret little place where I often long to go but can never seem to find the time, lies a hidden gem of a park. It’s only a stone’s throw from our house and the perfect little spot for little boys to look for frogs, little girls to write in the sand, or for boyfriends and girlfriends to get lost in each other’s arms. I wish I took my kids here more often. It’s a dreamy little place for lovers, or a little boy’s perfect playground, or ‘just the right spot’ for a family to picnic and pretend that they are miles away from home. I don’t even want to really blog about it because I don’t want others to discover it. It won’t be the same if we go next time and ‘others’ have found it out!

I managed to sneak in a little photo shoot for my cousin Sarah and her boyfriend Ryan. It was a little thank you for all the free babysitting she does for me! You two are cute together, and I love the ‘tale’ behind your romance! It reminds me of the innocent childhood love of that little girl and little boy on all of those cards you see in Hallmark.

Ryan, you survived! It wasn’t that bad, was it? Sarah, I loved taking your pics and can’ t wait to do it again someday.

Grand Canyon Or Bust...

A surprise trip to the Grand Canyon and the Polar Express was just what we needed to get into the Christmas spirit. We had the trip planned for a few short weeks and surprised the kids early one morning by waking them up and having them get into the fully packed van. They thought we were going to the store. But after one hour turned into two and two turned into three, they eventually got the idea that this was no quick trip. But with Sir Speedy daddy at the wheel, we did get there in about 5 hours. Here are the kids outside the cabin we stayed in. We made good friends with the grandchildless lady in the campground office (who fell in love with all the kids) and the maintenance worker who had to fix the doorknob that mommy broke and the heater that Megan broke. Speaking of heaters.... the last night we were there was 14 degrees and windy! But I digress. By the end of the weekend they felt like family to us!  

After checking out our cabin we headed on over to a new attraction in Williams, Az. Bearizona! The kids love animals so this was probably more memorable than the hole in the ground we call the Grand Canyon! But I'll pretend that's not the case!

Sunday morning when we woke up and opened the cabin door, we found a blanket of white snow had fallen while we slept. How exciting that was for all of us! We hopped in the van and headed on over to check out the Grand Canyon. I couldn't wait for Elizabeth to see it because not too long ago she did a report about it and even made a life-like model. She asked me afterwards when and if we would ever take her there, so I was excited to see her reaction. But after watching this video, I think Emily enjoyed it more!

It started snowing on us. Can you see the snowflakes in this pic of Ben?

I'd like to show you pics of the Polar Express Train ride but we didn't bring the camera with the built in flash. But, maybe it's better that way. Better left to your imagination. Better left to what only your brain brings to life when I describe how truly phenomenal it was. Because I honestly don't think that any pics we could have taken would do it justice. It's something that had to be lived and experienced by you alone. If I had to describe it, I'd say that it was like the book and movie- The Polar Express - come to life. It felt like the train took us to another world. Take your most favorite, cherished childish dream, and imagine it REAL. Imagine it really coming to life. Imagine walking through it and smelling the cookies that were baked and the hot cocoa sipped just like in the movie. Imagine feeling and touching the snow, moments before boarding the train. The same white snow that lies miles ahead in the "North Pole". Imagine wiping the vapor on the windows of the train to get a clearer picture of Santa standing there waving back at you as he held is belly and yelled out in his deepest, happiest, "ho, ho, ho." Cause that's what happened to us that night. I think I can speak for bothy daddy and I when I say that even we felt like little kids again. Kids that woke up in the middle of the night and boarded a train full of mystery and powers unimaginable. I'm so very glad that daddy and I  our kids got to experience this. I hope it preserves their innocence, stirs up their imagination, sustains their Christmas spirits, encourages them to believe in magic, and curbs their desires to want to grow up and be adults. I was a kid again if only for a mere 55 minutes. Sigh....

If I could use only 1 word to describe this whole trip, it would be ~MAGICAL~.