Jayden's 1st Communion

Yesterday (Sunday, April 27, 2008) Jayden received his 1st Holy Communion. We had been preparing for it for the last couple of months. It was a very special day for him. We are so proud that he was able to receive Jesus' body and blood.

It rained on and off all day, but I was able to take a couple dozen pictures on our front porch. Unfortunately, NO pics were allowed during the Mass. Also, NO Bibles, rosaries, prayer books, or etc were allowed while processing into the Church. The Church was PACKED. People were even standing up on the balcony. I have NEVER seen so many people for a 1st Communion. It was beautiful, BUT it made me miss my family back at home. Also, seats were assigned. Unfortunately, I was not able to see Jayden processing in or singing because, well, I am vertically challenged. BUT, we received Communion as a family, so I was right next to him as he received the Body and Blood of Christ. It truly was beautiful. I (WE) are SO proud on him. Dom and I received communion as well. Jason and Kayla were blessed. It was SO cute because she walked right up to the Priest thinking that she was going to "eat" also. lol

After Mass, Professional pics were taken. We also took a picture of Jayden with Father Kurt who said Mass, as well as Father James (Jayden's "favorite" Priest). After pics, we went to dinner. Then we headed home for cake and presents.

In celebration of the Communicants, the Church paid for the 2nd graders to go bowling, eat pizza and then watch a movie at school. Jason took the day off, to hang out with Jayden at the bowling alley. Jayden said that yesterday and today were the best days of his life.

Her are a few pics. When we get the professional ones, I will post.

Jayden REALLY thinks he is a little stud. lol

I LOVE this kid!




















OH and this pics shows Kayla's mood for the day!

PEEPS!

So, yesterday, I picked up the kids from school. As Dom was telling me about her day, I heard "PEEP, PEEP, PEEP!" I looked in my mirror, to see my little princess giggling.

ME: "Kayla, did you pass gas?"

KAYLA:" NO, my butt burped!"

I almost had to pull over I laughed so hard. Naturally, Jayden started cracking up, since he heard some of his favorite words...PASS GAS, BUTT and BURP! My little princess has a burping butt. lol

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!!

GREEN.............growing up this was my dad's favorite color. When we moved to 516 Rollingwood, he put dark green carpet in his bedroom with 2 different green wallpapers (YES, WALLPAPER, obviously this was in the early 80's). Most people probably cringed at the idea of a GREEN room but it worked. Jason hates the color green. He has always said that only TWO things should be GREEN....trees and money. Yet, he loves my green eyes. Not sure if that means he sees me as "earthy" or EXPENSIVE. I will take either one. lol Some of my favorite things are green.....my eyes (only physical attribute that I actually like), peas (YES, I LOVE PEAS), money (DUH). Okay, I guess there really are not too many things that are green that I like. lol Everything else that is green makes ME sneeze or cringe....grass, snakes, frogs, lizards...EEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

BUT THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO GREEN THAN JUST THE COLOR!

We are looking at GREEN in a whole new way. EVERYONE is trying to "GO GREEN". It is in EVERY magazine, on EVERY channel, in EVERY store. All of a sudden it is HIP to be a "tree hugger". More and More people are trying to make eco-friendly changes and choices. Changes that will not only help our world TODAY, but TOMORROW as well.

A lot of people use the excuse that one PERSON will NOT make a difference. That one GENERATION will NOT make a difference. OR say "why should I, I won't be around in 60 or 70's years?" If EVERY SINGLE person that made those comments actually started making a conscious effort to make one or two small changes (whether it be changing to eco-friendly light bulbs, recycling, putting a filter on their sink instead of plastic water bottles, getting rid of disposal diapers, picking up trash on the street, buying organic, etc.........it will make a WORLD of DIFFERENCE. They may NOT be here in 100 years, but their children and grandchild WILL. Right there is enough reason for me.

Unlike MOST hip things and fads, hopefully this will be one that will stay cool FOREVER.

SO let's celebrate EARTH, NOT just for ONE day but EVERYDAY. We can celebrate her by preserving and protecting her. She has been nice enough to let us live here, let's be respectful and thank her by our actions!

THERE ARE A GAZILLION SITES FOR MORE INFO ON "GOING GREEN". HERE ARE JUST A COUPLE! JUST GOOGLE..GOING GREEN, EARTH DAY, ECO -FRIENDLY, etc!

FOR MORE WAYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE:

http://www.nature.org/earthday/

http://www.thegreenguide.com/


FUN STUFF FOR KIDS
http://holidays.kaboose.com/earth-day/

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb

AS SEEN ON TV!

SO, how often are you watching tv when an "AS SEEN ON TV" commercial comes across your screen? And how many times do you "think" that you MUST HAVE that item? And how many times do you call that 800 number or run to your local Super-Walmart (OMG, can you believe I just said that???? obviously I live in a small town with no Target) just to spend $39.99 and have that "must have" item break or fall apart???

Come on....Admit it! You know you have a drawer....a closet.....maybe even a GARAGE full of "AS SEEN ON TV" items that you used once...YES ONCE!

Well, we have our share. Besides our Ped-Eggs, we have been gimmicked and suckered into SO many different MUST HAVE products. My kids are always pausing "live tv" just to show me what will make our lives SO much easier (yes, rolling eyes here). Whether it be a new can opener, grater, glow in the dark heated toilet seat with surround sound (yeah, I made that one up.....hmmmmmm????), we are always adding something new to our "As Seen On TV" collection.

Well, this weekend, Jason decided to take Jayden fishing. Wait....back track...In case you didn't know, Jayden has a VERY short attention span (like someone else I know). If there is not much activity or things are too quiet for 2 minutes, he gets quite antsy. He needs to be moving constantly. Seriously, he is NOT happy unless he is LITERALLY bouncing off the walls, throwing things, yelling, jumping, dancing, kicking, screaming, sitting on his head spinning around...you get the picture. So, OBVIOUSLY, fishing is the IDEAL sport for him................NOT!!!! Ever since we moved here, Jason has tried to get Jayden to sit and fish with him. BUT, it lasts all of 1.9 seconds. Someone gets frustrated....okay, they BOTH get frustrated. Jayden ends up playing with worms while Jason fishes alone. So, back to this weekend. Jason decides to run to the Super-Walmart (VOMIT) to pick up some fishing gear. They come home with some gear. In their stash is this.....


A ROCKET FISHING ROD!!

OMG, WTH???? ANOTHER TV gimmick. Another $40 down the drain. I already see it, it breaks as it hits the water. NO not at the 30 feet it is suppose to shoot, but at 4 inches. I am poed. What's new?? Dom rolls her eyes, there goes two more Boden shirts. OH WELL, do what women love to do...humor the men. Instead of sitting outside and watch the two "men" cuss at a toy that "I KNOW" is going to break, I start cleaning the kitchen.......

WAIT...STOP....Jason is running down the stairs of the deck. OMG, Please do not let Jayden have shot himself 30 feet into our pond. I run to the window. HOLY CRAP, they are fighting with a huge catfish. Jason was NOT prepared...no net...they lost it. WOW!! Not even 30 seconds and Jayden had almost caught a fish. He is stoked. Jason is sweating. I am still rolling my eyes. It won't happen again. Next time it will break.

WAIT STOP.......here we go again. Same thing...Jason is running down the stairs (NOW, I am laughing, this thing might be worth it watching him run down the stairs). They have a net.... they will GET that thing. HOLY WOW, it is on land. Jayden is beyond stocked. All I hear is "Get the camera!"Get the scale??measuring tape?? whatever that thing is. 25 inches 6.5 lbs!!! Bigger than Dom when she was born. He did it! He caught his first fish ALL BY HIMSELF!!!! (yeah, he has caught a couple bluegill, but nothing compared to this guy.





OKAY...day two! A gorgeous day for painting the deck and playing with the neighbors. NO fishing. Well, maybe one more cast before mom yells at me to come inside. HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!! EVEN BIGGER! 26 inches 8 lbs! YEAH BABY!!!!!





So another AS SEEN IT ON TV purchase thrown in the garage? NO WAY! Unlike our catfish, the rocket rod is definitely a KEEPER. I can care less if it breaks tomorrow. All I know is that Jason spent one of the best $40 bucks that he has spent in a long time. The smiles, the cheers, the dad/son time, the big ole' ugly catfish, the confidence Jayden gained, his new found love of fishing....all thanks to a tv commercial for a "must have" toy. If only all commercials could do what that one did.

FEET!

I DESPISE feet! Probably one of the things that I hate more than anything. Seriously, they make me cringe. Just the thought makes me want to throw up. For as long as I can remember I have hated feet. I think I have a serious phobia of feet. Hmmm.....that makes me want to google. BRB! lol


Okay...back! Sorry, I had to go check to see if there was an actual word for the fear of feet. PODOPHOBIA. Okay, makes sense.

So, as I was saying. Plain and simply, feet disgust me. Everything about them....the way they look, the nails, the hair, the dry dead skin (PRE Ped-egg, lmbo), the calluses, the in-grown nails (dh), the SMELL.......LORD THE SMELL! I could go on and on and on.

I can NOT look at feet, touch feet.....NADA! Don't you dare try to put your feet near me. AND LORD, FORBID you try to get Freaky! It AIN'T HAPPENING................EVER!!!

I TOTALLY do NOT understand how some people can get aroused by feet. While googling (yes, another addiction), I found forums and websites decicated to feet fetishes. WHAT THE HELL???? (if I am offending anyone because of their love of feet, I apologize, lol) I seriously need to wash my eyes out. UGH!

Y'all may be thinking, this is something personal. That I have disgusting looking feet, therefore I am taking it out on all the feet of the world. I am not going to lie, my feet are NOT pretty, BUT..............................NEITHER ARE YOURS!!!

When Kayla was a couple of months old, I had to go to the post office. Since I had a ton of packages to mail, I put her carrier in her carseat dragged her along with me. We lived in Fresno. It was hot. She had NO socks on. As I was leaving two VERY nice, attractive well-to-do women start ooohing and aaahing over Kayla.

NO WAIT, STOP! WTH??? One of the ladies starts to touch Kaylas feet....her toes. Okay, NOT sure if I am in shock that a stranger is touching my baby OR that a stranger...ANYONE is actually touching.......................FEET! Okay, hyperventilating now, she starts to kiss my child's feet. Her friend apologizes for her "I am sorry, but my weirdo feet loving (okay,not her words) LOVES babies feet" I am still in shock, NOTHING comes out of my mouth. I can NOT even move to stop her. The weirdo foot freak, looks at me, kisses them again and says, " really, I am sorry, but I love little feet, I MISS little feet, CHERISH little feet!" They walk away. Okay, what just happened? Should I call the cops? That was NOT normal, that was NOT okay??? RIGHT??? Again, what happened? Why did that happen?? Let's just forget it ever happened....kay???

NOPE! I could NOT forget! STILL, I can NOT forget!

Feet!?!?!?!?!? Cherish them?!?!?!?!?

7 or 8 months later, those little feet take their first steps.

1 year after that, those little feet are running up and down the hard wood floors.

At 7 am before anyone is awake, I sit at my computer downstairs in my office. 8 am, I hear them. Little feet! Running across the hard wood floors. "Mommy, where are you?" I hear the words, but they are NOTHING like the music that I just heard. Little feet!

NOTHING, NOTHING compares to LITTLE FEET! They are BEAUTIFUL! The sound is harmonious, yet almost undescribable.

BUT, they do NOT last forever. They get bigger. The steps get louder and harder. They are no longer little steps, no longer little feet. They are now loud, monstrous stomps. No longer that beautiful music.

Some days, I sit (and yes, cry, y'all know me SO well) because my 3 pair of little feet are not so little any more. They are getting bigger, drier, uglier,hairier and YES, stinkier

They do NOT last forever. The pitter-patter of little feet.........are like music.........WERE like music.

CHERISH LITTLE FEET! They are so beautiful! Little feet........one of my favorite things.

I MISS LITTLE FEET!

CHERISH LITTLE FEET!

KAYLA'S PLAYROOM

SO, after months of trying to get this room together, it is about 90% complete. I still have the closet to arrange and pics for the yellow and pink walls. The sad part is, Kaylas bedroom is STILL full of toys. UGH, we need to have a garage sale..........SOON!

NOW, if ONLY I could get the girl to play in there. UGH!

Out of the Mouths of Babes!

The things that come out of the mouths of babes, some are hilarious, some are truly sweetest as can be. Others are down right shocking and embarassing (more for us adults than them). Their words can be so innocent and other times well beyond their years. Everyday my kids say something that makes me smile or drop my jaw. For as long as I can remember my dad has been telling me to "Write everything down!" But as always, I have failed to listen. Just as he regrets not writing down his kids famous words, I too regret it. There have been so many things that I should have written down, so many memories that I will never have again, so many laughs that I can not remember. Even though there are hundreds of qwerky little sayings that one of my kids have said, there are very few that I can actually recall. This makes me so sad. Luckily Jason has written down some of Dom's most memorable quotes. He has a little notebook that he keeps hidden. He threatens to read it at her wedding. Well, after almost 14 years, I am finally going to start keeping track of what comes out of my kids mouths.

So, check back often to see some priceless quotes from the Smith crew!

To start things off....as always Kayla educates me on a daily basis.

On the way to school:

Kayla: "Mom, monsters are made of bones!"

Moi: "Really? that is interesting!"

Kayla: "Yep! and ghost are made out of ghost costumes!"

Moi: "WOW, you sure are smart!"

Kayla: "Yep!"

Moi: "SO, what are people made out of?"

Kayla: "Mom, people are made out of bones, blood, body and love!"

Moi: " Oh yeah, how could I forget?"

Kayla: "Because you are a mom and moms don't go to school!"

THE MOM SONG!!

There are some days when I TRULY believe that NO ONE on this planet knows what I am going through. YES, there are millions and zillions of moms out there. However, on some days, I feel like I am the only one going through whatever it is that I am going through at that moment. On many of those days, I feel like the crappiest mom on the planet. I feel as I am doing EVERYTHING wrong. I also feel as if I say the SAME things OVER......and OVER.......and OVER.......AND OVER AGAIN!! YET, NO ONE is listening. By the end of those days I am in tears.

YET, every once in a while I feel like someone else"GETS IT".

Today, I came across "THE MOM SONG" on youtube. I seriously laughed my butt off because I have said EVERYTHING in that song.....MORE than once.

It is SOOOO nice when another mom is on the SAME page as me. However, I do feel sorry for her. lmbo

ENJOY!!

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Can I do this? Should I do this? Blog that is! I am so NOT computer savy. I am NOT articulate either. My hand writing sucks....wait, we are typing....right??? (see what I mean) Gosh, until a few months ago I did not know what a blog was. LOL Computers are NOT my thing. I can upload pictures. I can download songs to my ipod. I can copy and paste. I can pay bills. I can sell on ebay. And MOST importantly I can shop online. Besides that I am clueless. Kayla can do more on the computer than I can.

So then…WHY? Why even try? Well, plain and simple, I miss my family back home AND I love showing off my family here. Also, I need to regain my sanity. I can only have so many conversations about 8th grade girls and what is "cool" (dom), butts, penis and boobs (jayden) and princesses and playhouse Disney (kayla). I figure blogging might be a great outlet, someplace for adult conversation....okay well maybe an excuse for me talking to myself. I figure if someone,.......anyone reads my blog, that technically, it would NOT be talking to myself...RIGHT??? Humor me....agree, make me feel normal. thanks! :)

After chatting with some online friends, they encouraged me to start. Okay, after seeing how cool their blogspots were, I thought I would give it a try. They walked me through it, well, at least pointed me in the right direction. So, here I am trying something new that I hope others will enjoy.

Please be kind and patient, as I am a VERY SLOW learner.

So, there ya go…..my first blog. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!