Year in Review?!

I cannot believe it has been a year since I posted on this blog, but considering this blog has any posts at all should be considered a success for those of you who know me well ;-)

Another school year has begun, with Joey unbelievably entering sixth grade and Rachel already tackling third.

Both kiddos play outdoor soccer and are on great teams, but they practice in two different places 15 minutes away from each other at the same time. It's a challenge, but we make it happen! Saturdays are nothing but soccer (and huge Jeff breakfasts as always).

Rachel is very active in her Girl Scout troop. Of course, it would be hard to pretend otherwise, as I am her fearless leader! It's so much fun coaching Rach and 12 of her friends through Girl Scouts. This is their second year of brownies and the girls just love spending time and working and learning together. Our focus is on water conservation this year and we plan to build a rain garden at school as our "Take Action" project. Fun fun!

Joey is in choir and plays the french horn in band as he did last year. He enjoys spending time with his two closest friends, Alex and Ryan, and these guys are frequent guests in our home. They ride bikes and rip-sticks, play video games, and act out battle scenes in hopes of landing a Nerf commercial. Sigh.

Noah is almost three! I can't even believe it. He is very bright and eager, and uses words like "actually" in normal conversation. He loves cars and trucks and playing outside. His favorite activity is taking evening walks with daddy in his "truck." (This is a fisher price buggy with a push handle and a POLICE sticker on the back.)

Molly just turned one and I can't believe I didn't post pictures of it on here. They're not even on facebook yet, so you know I'm not really with it! Busy time of year. We had family and close friends over to celebrate and Molly devoured a giant cupcake (as big as her head) covered in pink frosting. Yum! She really played the camera once she discovered we wanted her to ham it up! It was a wonderful birthday, complete with Weeble Wobbles, new clothes, books, and a stuffed Tigger.

Jeff and I are finally officially getting married! We're having a small, fun celebration... a masquerade ball at the place where we met! We just got our wedding masks yesterday and they are gorgeous!

It seems there should be more to tell, but my time is required elsewhere. I'll try to post pictures soon!

Babies

I really do believe you think time flies... but you don't even know what that means until you have kids. I cannot believe my little baby boy is almost eleven years old, can you? It seems like just yesterday my neighbor offered to bring over a clean trash can to use for timeouts when Joey screamed so loud it interrupted her television watching... Ahh... sometimes it is good that time flies! Here are some recent pics of the kiddos. Enjoy!

Joey helps Noah figure out Duplos.

Guitar Hero, anyone?

Molly and Noah
Remember Joey's "cute face?" This reminds me a lot of him at that age!
This, by the way, is Molly's "pick me up before I cry" face.



Grandpa came over for dinner, bearing gifts for the kiddos.
Not the best photo, but the only one I got of them all together.
Noah was all love all evening long, wanting to sit right next to Great Grandpa.


Rachel and I had fun playing with her hair and makeup.
I made her pose for a few photos ;-)

Molly Grace is Finally Here!

Molly Grace Calderon

August 18, 2009 6:37 AM

9 lbs, 12.5 oz 21 1/2 inches

After 5 weeks of labor I was finally induced on Monday, August 17th at 8 pm. That happened to be Jeff's birthday, but my stubborn little Leo baby just wouldn't be born on her daddy's birthday. So at 6:37 AM on Grandpa's birthday, she made her sweet appearance!

Although I dutifully took my laptop to the hospital so I could blog about Miss Molly immediately, here I am 9 days later finally getting to it. My labor was pretty easy - 9 hours (half the time of my other 3!) of fairly mild contractions. Over the previous 5 weeks I had dilated to 4+, so I was pretty much halfway there when the pitocin got started. About one hour of the scary ones at the end, and then - 2 pushes - and there she was, our beautiful baby girl.

The day Molly was born also happened to be Joey and Rachel's first day of school. My good friend Jerri sent cookies and her mother over to take care of business! "Grandma Johnny" spent the night and sent the kiddos off for their first day, and when they got home Jeff brought everyone up to see their new baby sister.

Noah was a little scared at first and wanted to leave the room, but quickly changed his mind and fell in love with his baby. Joey and Rachel thought she was quite cute. Of course, Jeff and I were completely in love with her the moment we laid eyes on her!

So far, Molly still has blue eyes. Her hair is dark brown. She looks so much like Noah, but everything is just a little smaller - her eyes, nose, and mouth are petite versions of big brother.

We're settling into a routine here at home, and Molly is nursing about every two hours, with 4 hour stretches during the night. She is content and alert most of the day.

Thank you, everyone, for your well wishes and prayers. We're all doing great!

Come visit our pretty princess!!!

Baby Molly Grace Update

Molly Grace is due August 3rd... however... she apparantly does not have a calendar in her current dwelling! I spent a long weekend in labor (Saturday night contractions were less than 5 minutes apart for several hours) and finally got some sleep last night, when contractions slowed down. I'm still having them regularly, about every 15 minutes, but nothing is screaming the need to get to a delivery room... yet!

After 3 very long labors, we've decided we're not going to the hospital until I can see this baby's head! I just don't want to lay in a hospital bed for 12 hours while they continue pumping pitocin into my body to "speed things along." So I am taking it easy and trying to stay off of my feet as much as possible with a 20 month old crazy monkey! Joey and Rachel are huge helpers in the morning, and Jeff is going in to work extremely early so he's getting home around noon or 1:00. Noah takes his 3 hour afternoon nap and Jeff holds down the fort so I can rest. I've got it pretty good, I think!

We've been super blessed with gifts for this baby. When Noah turned a year old we sold or gave away everything except his crib, which he still sleeps in. This pregnancy took us by (among other types) financial surprise! Marri invited many of our friends to a baby shower, and though the shower didn't work out (oops... float trip weekend), our friends brought us many many gifts that we truly needed. We started out with no clothing and now have more clothes than a new baby could possibly wear! Marri, Mom, Kerri, and Sarah, gifted us some much needed items at our fun "baby dinner" at the Blue Koi.

We've been given a carseat, highchair, and baby swing, and a random stranger gave us a beautiful crib that happens to match Rachel's furniture exactly. (Molly and Rachel will share a room). I posted an ad on Craig's List to trade baby's first birthday cake for baby items, and in these trades we acquired an exersaucer, clothing, cash, toddler carseat, toys, snugli, blankets, a couple's massage, and other items. I couldn't believe the response to my post - it was very exciting and fun to make cakes for baby items!

Jeff sold some things on ebay and used the paypal money to buy matching bedding for Rachel and Molly. We think it's perfect - sweet enough for a baby and grown up enough for a 7 year old going on 13.

All we need for Molly now is a supply of diapers, baby wipes, little tiny socks, a double stroller, and a few other small things we probably won't realize we need until she arrives. I'm updating our baby registry today. We thank God every day for the generosity and love of our friends and family!

We'll keep you informed... she could be here any day now!!!

Bling, Bling, I Got The Ring!!

Well, Jeff and I are officially engaged!

I told him I wouldn't marry him until I had a proper proposal... I had no idea he was working on this! So one fabulous Tuesday I was really worried the baby was coming early, and had a million things on my mind, and Jeff swooped in and promised he'd always be by my side, be my best friend, and work through everything with me forever.

He gave me this beautiful ring, which won't go on my fat pregnant finger! So it is my pinky bling for another month or so and I love it. I'm starting a new trend with the pinky bling.

We plan to be legally married soon, and have a fun destination ceremony next summer.

Can't give you any details yet, but it involves a yacht and lighthouses...

We'll keep you posted!

School's Out!!! ... sort of...

Well, here it is, the beloved summer vacation. Hours and hours of "I'm bored!" ringing through the house. Well, that was the first day. Joey and Rachel are now very good at finding things to do without our help, since we usually come up with things like, "Oh, the kitchen floor grout needs to be scrubbed!" or "Have I taught you how to clean a toilet yet?"

Joey was invited to attend summer school this year. I remember summer school as the thing you would have to go to if you flunked a class in high school, but here in Lee's Summit, 80% of the kids go. I think it must be because it is free and a good substitute for childcare. This year there weren't enough teachers available, so they had to limit who gets to go. Joey was invited to attend and was seriously dreading it. Yesterday was the first day. It went like this.

"Mom, is it my regular bus stop?" Yes, but a different bus number.
"What do I need to take?" I have no idea. They didn't send a list. A backpack and a pencil sounds good.
"What's for lunch?" Pepperoni pizza, your favorite.
"Okay. See ya." Don't slam the door!! I mean, I love you! Have a nice day!

2:00 comes and goes and no Joey... where could he be? Maybe the bus is late. The phone rings - he missed the bus. So I go pick him up and the conversation in the car goes like this:
"Sorry, Mom, I got a little mixed up." That happens, no big deal.
"Okay, summer school is really fun." Oh? Do you like your teacher?
"Yeah, she's really cool. And funny." Great! Tell me about your first day.
"Well, we work in teams and we got to name our team the Stars!" Great!
"We only get one recess but it's for a whole half hour!" Woo-hoo!
"It's better than real school." So you think you'll go back tomorrow?
"Oh, yeah! That's fun!" (Phew)

Rachel's summer is pretty easy going. She has a good friend in our neighborhood - just 5 houses up the street. She and Maycee play together almost every day, and for the most part they are quiet when they play in the house and follow the rules when playing outside. Except two days ago. It went something like this:
"Mom!!! Mom!! Look what we found! We found real live fossils in the creek!!" Wow - that's great - wait, in the CREEK?? You guys were in the CREEK???
"Yeah, but Kaylee went with us." Hold on, you were in the CREEK??

...it's a good thing Jeff was here because all I could think of was "You were in the CREEK???"

Let's face it, if my brother Mike and I were Joey and Rachel and had a creek behind our house, we would have been in it all the time. But I don't think, at 7, I would have been allowed to go by myself... and the 8 year old sister Kaylee isn't exactly a responsible stand-in for a big brother.

In the kids' defense, the creek behind our house is fairly irresistable. First of all, we have a slide built into the hill that drops into the creek. Once you get down there, it's a magical world. There are so many trees - it's enchanting. You can't see any houses. There are huge boulders to climb. Turtles and bullfrogs abound. They did try to bring home turtles. All I could think of was salmonella... back to the creek went the scared turtles. I guess I'm not such a fun mom!

Ahh, little Noah. He is such a little sweetie. But he is a fat little sweetie. So I told Jeff he needed something to play on in the backyard. 2 hours later we have a Step 2 Climb and Slide in our backyard. Don't you just love Craigslist?? We have a daily trip out to the backyard - which is aerobic in itself - to climb up the tower and go down the slide over and over and over again...

Noah also loves to go for a walk. He stays on the sidewalk and he goes really fast! It's great exercise for mom on those days when I just want to sit on the couch. You can't say no to that little face standing by the door holding his shoes saying "please???"

Remember how much fun it was to go to the city pool all summer? Although I own a really cute maternity bathing suit, I don't exactly want to wear it. But the kids want to go to the pool. So I have to get it in my head that no one cares that I am a fat pregnant lady at the pool. Not today, though! It's raining cats and dogs! Saved by the weather, at least for today!

We don't have any big summer plans. Oh, except for adding another member to our family. Which I suppose is a pretty big summer plan, although it means mom sits inside in the air conditioning while everyone else goes outside to escape the arctic air.

I think I may put a big piece of plywood out back, cover it with chicken wire, and let the kids attach things they find to it. Maybe I'll let them take pictures with disposable cameras of all of their adventures, too. It will be the summer mom let us explore and be children. After all, "If you never let anything happen to them, nothing will ever happen to them!" -Dory, a quote from Finding Nemo

Looking forward to posting more as the summer adventures continue!

Hey everyone!

We promise to really give this blog thing a shot. And we promise to read your blog, too, as often as possible!

I guess we'll start by filling you in on life in general, starting with the kids.

Joey

Joey turned 10 in January and is in 4th grade - unbelievable to me, as I remember that being the year of the first boyfriend. Scary. We rented a limo and surprised him by picking him up from school, along with 4 of his friends, his little sister, and his aunt Sarah. The kids knew we were picking them up from school to have a party, but you should have seen their faces when they walked out and saw the limo!! It was great - we all had a very good time and the kids loved being delivered home by limousine after dinner.Joey in maroon giving thumbs up

Joey played the violin this year, but has decided to try band next year. He would like to play every instrument there is! Joey is really good at math and science, and is currently studying the Oregon Trail in school. He is a doctor and has 2 children and a wife, and a good day at school is when someone got hurt on the trail and he had to fix them. We did not play any sports this year; trying to concentrate on a really tough year of school, but Joey likes all sports, and is particularly good at basketball. Of course, he's getting really good at Guitar Hero - is that a sport? It can get pretty aerobic...


Rachel
Rachel just turned 7 last week and is in 1st grade, preparing to graduate high school next year. She's a total braniac... if we could only channel all of that brain power! Rach loves to read and does so fluently at a 5th grade level, though she can pick up anything and read it. She loves nature and bugs and climbing trees and putting holes in all of her pants, yet she wants to be a ballerina...

For Rachel's birthday, we hosted a luau for her and 9 of her friends. We played pass the pineapple and one guest was extremely delighted to actually win the real pineapple!

Noah

Noah just turned one and a half. He has 10 teeth and we're working on 14. He loves to play with his big brother and sister, and totally knows how to manipulate them.

Noah loves music and recognizes tempo - you should see him dance! He follows commands such as "Shake your booty!" and "Get jiggy with it!" Very cute. He likes to bang out a beat on anything that resonates, especially metal. He sings along (usually Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, which is the only song he knows). Noah is definitely Daddy's Boy.

Baby

Baby #4 is due August 3rd, but our bet is she will be early. We have decided (after much, much thought) to name her Molly Grace. We finally decided on Molly but couldn't come up with a middle name. I was actually driving Jeff crazy trying to pick a middle name when he sent me to the store to get cheese. I had, after all, ignored 3 requests to stop spitting middle names at him until he had a chance to absorb the first 300! Wouldn't you know, the cashier at the store was Grace. I came home and suggested it and here we are. Molly Grace Calderon. How sweet is that?

Jeff

Jeff plays pool on a league on Thursday nights, which is a very much anticipated event for both of us each week. It is the only time we go out, and it's a lot of fun. I learned how to keep score and so I feel as though I have a purpose. Who knew they don't need cheerleaders for pool?! LOL. We have a lot of friends through the pool league, and even though it's competitive, all of the players on all of the teams are great and everyone gets along well. Jeff's team was in first place until the second place team swooped in and tied the 3rd place team for 1st! This week is the last match of the session, so his team has to really kick butt to have a chance of getting 1st or 2nd back. No worries - they finished 2nd last season. Sorry, I don't have an adorable picture of Jeff playing pool to post here!

Christina

I have a new hobby. It all started with one of the pool team members having a birthday. Well, I decided he needed a pool table cake, and there you go. I made a replica of a Valley pool table in cake. No, I had never picked up an icing bag and decorated anything before. It went nuts from there, making cake for everyone. Now I'm getting paid to make cakes for people I don't even know after offering to trade baby's first birthday cakes for baby gear on Craigslist.

This one was 6 monkeys sitting around a palm tree (also made of cake). It was for a birthday party for 6 kids, and the cake easily fed 80 people. Fun.

This one was for Joey's 4th grade classes. It depicts a student who has fallen asleep atop his books and study guide after studying relentlessly for the MAP test. He holds the completed MAP (Missouri Assessment something or other) in one hand, and a congratulations cake sits beside him.

Fun stuff. If you ever need a cake, just give me a call. The wilder the better - I'm having a lot of fun with this!!

Family Time

We have lots of fun together. Friday is always movie night - we either buy a pay-per-view movie, rent a redbox, or just watch something great on cable. Jeff makes pizza or sometimes he surprises us - like last week he went to Rosedale and brought home barbecue for everyone. We eat, watch a movie, make popcorn or dessert, and just generally try to instill a sense of togetherness that hopefully the kids will grow old with. We want them to know that no matter what, home is always the place where you're loved the most and that you can just be yourself.

We all love cooking. Rachel particularly enjoys picking up the recipe cards in the produce section of the grocery store and making main dishes. Like the tomatillo chicken enchiladas she chose a while back. Oh, that was so great! Joey prefers desserts. His favorite google search is "best chocolate cake ever." We try to let the kids cook or bake a lot. Noah even gets in on it. He really enjoys making bread with me. Especially when it's chocolate chip banana. We leave hard-core meat cooking to Jeff, though. He's the only one who doesn't screw it up. If you want to ruin a $10 steak, give it to me. I'll be glad to overcook it for you. He makes it taste like a 5 star restaurant.

Saturday mornings are the best. Jeff loves breakfast, and we love that he loves to make it. It's sausage and/or bacon, eggs, incredibly awesome potatoes, toast and/or tortillas... every weekend. How great is that? Sometimes I get to make breakfast, and when I do it is usually biscuits and gravy or pancakes - two things I despised growing up. I have perfected the made from scratch biscuit and rockin' sausage gravy. I have found the perfect recipe for pancakes and am now skilled at the technique of cooking them. I still don't put syrup on mine, though. Yuck.

I think you're caught up on us individually and as a whole!!! I'll try to post again next week...