Batman's Dirty Little Secret

Bet you didn't know that Batman likes to pick his nose when nobody is looking!

The Reason For My Absence

It's been awhile since I've posted. Some of you have even emailed me asking if all was okay. Thank you for those emails. I appreciate your concern.

Yes, I've been absent in blogland. And yes, there is a reason for this.

You see... not all is great at the moment. Most of you know that besides my full-time mommy job, I also hold down another full time job. One that I don't like to talk about too much because it does not define me. Nor is it what this blog is all about. I am first and foremost a mom. And this blog is all about the adventures of the Great Big Mejia Family. It is not about work or careers. But sometimes the two get jumbled up and one weaves into the other. In other words, sometimes my work affects my family. It's rare; but it happens. As hard as I try to leave work at the workplace, it doesn't always stay there. It follows me home and in some circumstances leaves me feeling very sad. Hence, my non(blog)existence lately.

You see...
I am a 911 operator.
Or police dispatcher.
Whatever you may wish to call it.
We have many names, different titles, but our role is all the same.
We help save lives.
Sometimes some lives cannot be saved.
I understand that this is a sad part of our humanity. Yet, it still bothers me.
I'm trained to handle critical calls, possibly deal with death, and to accept it.
BUT. SOMETIMES. IT'S. HARD.
Really. Hard.

Hopefully, I will one day be able to blog (or just tell you) more about this later.
In more detail.
But that will have to wait.

I'll be back to myself and my more frequent blogging in no time at all.
I promise.
In the meantime,
I'm learning to accept the fact that...
Sometimes those who help others, need help too.

12 Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

a santa hat wearing juicy bay..beee!

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

a notable mommy melting heart specialty! 

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

a colicky toddler as grumpy as can be!

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

two sticky hands n some eyelashes to stir some jealousy!

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

another pathetic grum-py baaaay-by!

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love sent to me..

a wacky eyed glare as goofy as can be!

On the 7th day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

some lips that's meant for kissing mommy!

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

his crabby person-a-lity!

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

a booger diving ex-tre-mity!

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

his new favorite ac-ti-vi-ty!

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

a sneeze to make him entertainingly dizzy.

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

a smile worth a gazillion pe-nnies!!!

Wordless Wednesday



This should be a CRIME!!! If the suspect is a baby, is that forgivable? Will he still make it into heaven?



Do You See What I See?

It didn't finally hit me until earlier this week when I was face to face with my mother listening to her talk about whatever it was she was talking about at that moment. But, I was soooo relieved when I finally figured it out because it was truly driving me mad! Finally, I solved the puzzle as to who the future Princess, Kate Middleton, reminds me of.

She's a younger version of my mother!!! I see it! Do you?






(By the way, I just LOVE these older pics of my mom. They bring a smile to my face.
She looks so happy and carefree. And her clothes are sooo hip and vintage.)

    

In the middle of our conversation, I yelled out, "It's YOU!", that's who she reminds me of. "You have a very strong resemblance to Kate Middleton!"

It was bugging me but I finally figured it out.

She laughed at me; doesn't agree at all. But check it out for yourself. Here are some pics of my mother around the same age. Call me crazy, but I really see it. Do you see what I see?

Well, I say... if Kate Middleton wants to know what she'll look like when she becomes a Nana one day, someone please direct her over to this here blog, will ya?!

On a side note.... There's a horrible stomach flu working its way through our family. It started with Emily, then me. Megan was next, then Ben. Matthew had it 2 days ago. Today, I got a text from Sarah who babysat on Wednesday. Guess who she's kissing today? It's not Ryan. It's the same object Brianna and Elizabeth are listening to their echos yelling back at them from while their faces are planted in it. THE TOILET BOWL. What's worse, Nana was babysitting!!! Sorry Nana! If you deserve any title at all, it's definitely NOT the future princess. Instead... we crown you Queen. Queen Nana of the Sickies. You will always have a throne to sit on in this house. (And I don't mean the toilet, But yes, there's that too!) That's way better than some odd nobody chic, getting lucky and striking it filthy rich by marrying some Prince. Pshhh!!! Puulllease. Who needs the Prince of Wales when you could have these six kids to clean up after! Queen Nana is totally more honorable than a prince's wife! The Future Princess, Kate Middleton, has nothing on you!!! 

Oh, and daddy is the ONLY one in this house who has not gotten sick! Something tells me he may be the next victim! 

(cue the music....DUN. DUN. DUN!!! )

To Be Continued...

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~.

Emily Update and Halloween Videos

Emily's surgery was a breeze for her and mommy. Thanks everyone for your prayers and support. Thanks to Nana and Nina for holding down the fort and Uncle Joseph for keeping mom and dad company at the hospital. I've never seen a child so excited to undergo a surgical procedure, but Emily was. Perhaps it was because she was the focus of attention for the day. It was HER day. While driving to the hospital, I glanced over at her expecting to see some signs of nervousness, rather, she was applying lip gloss and checking herself out in the mirror. She was totally "getting ready" for the doctors. I sometimes wonder where this child came from because I rarely wear makeup and I'm perfectly happy wearing jeans, an old t-shirt and my Vans. But Emily loves being all glammed out. I love that about her!

She is recovering nicely. In fact, she's doing so amazing that I'm starting to think they didn't really take out the tonsils or adenoids! She had a very loose tooth right before surgery, when she woke up after surgery she found her tooth in a container sitting next to her pillow. Also, inside the container was a dollar. I guess the tooth fairy can fly into operating rooms too! We are thanking Jesus that she is doing as well as she is. She even made it to cheer practice today!

 The kids are in bed and before I join them, I thought I'd post 2 quick videos from Halloween.I don't want to move on to another holiday without completing my Halloween posts.