European Shoulder Bag

Charlie was packing up his church backpack with his folders for his almost all day Sunday meetings. I watched as he picked up his wallet and put it in his pants pocket. I asked why the pocket, why not put it in the backpack. I was informed that the backpack is a "tool bag not a purse."

It's a Hard Knock Life

I put Annie on for the kids. This was their conversation.

Emma- Wow, those girls are great dancers and great singers.
Mia- And they are great cleaners too.

Zip, Zip, Zooray!

I thought I would post some pictures of my in-laws zip line that runs the side of their hill. It is a little scary. Charlie and my brother-in-law rode it. I was about to take a ride until I noticed one of the eye hooks coming apart. Hopefully it will be replaced soon and I will get up the courage to ride it.

Hercules Hercules

Today I had a conversation with Mia. It was probably a little past due. She just keeps growing and growing. She is really strong too. There have been several times that she has played too rough with older kids who then complain about getting hurt by a four-year old. I usually don't feel too concerned, especially when they are 11 or older. But the other day at lunch a little petite kid took a piece of paper from Mia and Mia grabbed her arm. The girl dropped the paper and cried because Mia had hurt her. I figured it was time for our talk.
I asked her to look at my face so we could talk. I said that I wasn't sure if she had noticed that she is a lot taller than the other kids her age, and it isn't bad, it is good, but she is also really strong. I notice her eyes wander so I tried another tactic. I told her she is like Hercules, really strong. I say Hercules used to break things and hurt people on accident, so he had to learn to control his strength. She seemed to get it. We will see if it helps. I want her to be gentle, but I don't want to give her a complex.
I was talking to my older sister recently about this. I was bigger and taller than her growing up. Our mom always pointed it out to us. My sister resented it and always felt like a little shrimp, even now. I said I always felt like a giant oaf. The funny thing is we are only about two inches apart now, yet we still feel that way. I know Mom didn't mean to give us a complex, so I am trying to make it seem cool to Mia to be so tall. I also try not to talk about it in front of Emma. We will see how it turns out. They will both probably be blogging about the complex I gave them in 25 years.

Older Than I Thought

Justin, Emma and Mia really like commercials. They especially like the mini infomercials. They are always telling me we need to send in our gold, get bump-its, snuggies, pillow pets, and refinance our house. Recently, Justin saw a new commercial and told me it was exactly what I needed.

The stair lift for elderly or handicap people. I pointed out that I am not old and we don't have stairs. The next time he saw the commercial he said we better get it for Grandpa, because he will be needing it soon. Uh, nope, he doesn't need it either. Grandpa surfs regularly and just built a zip line on the side of his hill. I don't think a stair lift is in the near future.

All Grown Up

I took Mia to the store to pick up a few things I needed to get. I listed off the things we needed.
Mia said something like this, "I am older now. I will get this, you go get that. I can go by myself. I am old. It is fine, Mom."

Dear Barbie,

Leave $2 million in non sequential bills in a briefcase under the corner bus stop bench and we will return Ken in mostly one piece.

Wow, my girls are messed up!

Emma's Head Bop

Thursday Emma told me that she likes to hang upside down from the monkey bars at school. She is afraid that she will fall, land on her head and die. Then Friday I get a call from the school saying Emma has fallen off the monkey bars and I need to come pick her up because she is really upset and won't calm down. I get to the school and Emma is sitting on the bed. The nurse tells me that Emma is okay, but is just really upset. I explain Emma's fear to the nurse as Emma cries. The nurse tells me that she has conducted a neurological exam. I suppress a smile and nod. The neurological exam consisted of looking at Emma's pupils and watching her take a drink of water. Yes, very sophisticated.
Emma can't remember how or where she got hurt. I think that is weird, but not too much so. Then she asks for her backpack. She can't remember if she had her snack at recess. She looks in her lunch pail and says she hadn't eaten anything. A minute later she wants to look in her lunch pail because she isn't sure if she had her snack at recess. She looks in her lunch pail and says she hadn't eaten anything. A few minutes later she does it again. I start to freak out. A few minutes later she asks how her backpack got in the car. Then she repeatedly tells me that her back hurts on one side. I tell her she just told me that and she can't remember. I call the doctor and am told to take her to the ER. Do I know where it is? Why, yes I do, unfortunately.
Emma has a concussion and her short term memory has begun to come back. One funny-ish note, the ER doctor was the same doctor from when I took Mia this summer for cutting her finger. He didn't remember me, but tells me he doesn't let his kids go on the monkey bars. Really?! What a shock from the guy who doesn't let his kid go in the ocean or near a pool.

Definitions According to Mia

Mia- Famous means you will be tall and you will get married.

What Have I Done?

Married a model, that's what. Well, technically I didn't marry a model. He became one after we were married. Charlie was featured in a full page ad in a mountain bike catalog. This is from his mountain biking trip with his friends to Sedona in April. His friend is a photographer and took the picture.

Today is Charlie's birthday. What do you get for your birthday when you won't tell people what you want and you get excited about suggestions only to change your mind a few days before your birthday? Not much. The kids gave him slippers and his favorite treats: Nutter Butters and dark chocolate reese's peanut butter cups. I tried getting him some shoes he had pointed out last month that he liked. I was at the mall last week and saw them. They were even on sale, so I asked the salesperson for his size. She got them then asked if I would like to try them on. Uh, no... Do I look like I wear men's dress shoes? I gave him the shoes this morning and they weren't the exact ones he wanted. Oops. I guess we will have to go back. He did get his traditional nasty birthday breakfast of chirizo and eggs. I will only get chirizo for his birthday and father's day. That stuff is just wrong. The kids all wrapped their presents for Charlie and got him cards. Emma made a card. Justin and Mia got musical cards. Justin's was hamsters singing "da, da, do, do, do, do, do..." and Mia's was my personal favorite. It was a Disney card that wished happy birthday to "a princess" and played the theme music for Sleeping Beauty. Justin double wrapped his gift. He put it in a box, wrapped it in aluminum foil, then in wrapping paper. It has been a great morning and I hope a great day. Our parents are coming over for dinner and cake tonight. He gets more favorites: tritip, twice baked potatoes, garlic bread, IBC rootbeer, and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Mmmm. Now we can agree on birthday food. Charlie's mom is bringing his favorite ice cream... vanilla. When I first asked him what his favorite ice cream was years ago he said vanilla. I didn't believe him. I asked what he would get if he were at Baskin Robbins. Vanilla. Wow, this is why he says his tastes are simple.

Where's a Walker When You Need One?

Mia and I walked through the mall and they are already setting up for Christmas. We saw Santa's house and Mia looked in the window and waved excitedly to him. This is a big change for her. Two years ago she slept under her bed the week of Christmas so he couldn't find her. She thought he was Santa CLAWS and last year when she saw him at the mall she ran backwards into a pillar and fell down crying. I commented to her about the change and she told me that she is four now. She is only scared of Santa when she was three. I add when she was two. She says that she wasn't scared when she was one because she was in my tummy then. I tell her when she was in my tummy and when she was born then turned one, two, three, and now four. She asked for three more birthdays really soon. I said she will be old then. Her reply was "Yes, Mom, I will be like you!"

I almost forgot, last week Mia told me that Poop is another word for Mom. Gee, Mia, I love you too.

Burnin' Down the House

Monday Emma dug through the Halloween container and put on a swimsuit, batman mask and cape. Then she attached the edges of the cape to her wrists with rubber bands. Charlie was on a business trip and Justin had scouts and baseball. (Emma wore her outfit to pick up Justin from baseball.) When we got home I decided to take it easy and just have flautas for dinner. I was heating them up in the toaster oven when suddenly the toaster burst into flames. I turned off the toaster and unplugged it. Flames grew. Emma danced around me screaming that there was a fire. I went to the garage for the fire extinguisher, but the garage lights went out. I went back to the kitchen. The fire was bigger. Emma still danced around in her costume. I suddenly found the situation very entertaining. I stifled a laugh and debated dousing the flames with salt or flour. Instead I grabbed large oven mitts, opened the back door and set it down outside on the patio. End of story... I have a new toaster. I really like having a toaster oven for reheating pizza or other food that I want crispy, but I miss having a pop up toaster too. Solution? A 2-in-1 toaster. Justin said he doesn't like our new toaster, he loves it. He is really excited that the toast actually pops up out of the toaster a little. As long as it doesn't burn down the house I will be happy.

Halloween 2009 and The World According to Mia

This year was a pretty laid back Halloween. Mia wanted to be the same thing as last year. Justin wanted to just wear dark clothes with his devil mask he has had for years. Emma put a little more thought into her costume. She has almost every princess dress, except Ariel and Belle. So she decided to be Belle so that should could get another dress. Any guesses what she will want to be next year?

A couple of days ago Mia and Emma had this conversation.

Mia: Emma, the lion's den is called Lea Tarps.

Emma: What?

Mia: What is lion's den called?

Mom: La Brea Tar Pits.

Mia: See, Emma.

Emma: That's NOT what you said.

Mia: Yeah, tar pits.

Sometimes I wonder what goes on in kid's heads. Now I think that there isn't much in there yet. It is like a big incomprehensible jumble. Mia came up to me and said "I have a confession... A human that makes a joke. Then the human says the joke. That's it. No more. Then you watch a movie that has a confession with a human in the movie that says what a confession is. That is what a confession is. Bye-bye. Giggle, giggle."

I hope that clears up the meaning of confession for you. She is like a walking dictionary.

Deja Vu

Once my father-in-law asked if we had any refried beans. I looked and said no. He said that was okay, he had just found some baked beans and made himself a burrito. This is typical to me. He is a no fuss guy. He wanted food and found some. The details didn't really matter. It was close enough for him. Emma reminded me of this the other day. She asked me for a burrito. I was busy helping Justin so it took me a few minutes to get to the kitchen. When I got there Emma told me never mind, she had gotten it herself. She made a burrito with a tortilla, a piece of string cheese, and Honeynut Cheerios.

Love It

Emma came up to me the other day and said in a stuffy, adult voice "here's my card." This is what it said.

Emma.Elizabeth.Hibbits.ww.com

11 Years and Counting

I can't believe it has been 11 years since we were married. Two weeks ago was our anniversary. We got to go to the Magic Castle with some friends. It was amazing and so much fun. I have been so blessed in my life. I can not say enough how much I love my family. I am so excited to see what else is in store for us. Here's looking forward to many more years to come!

Thanks Ashley, for taking our pictures. You are fantastic! Whitebalance Photography.

Charlie, Charlie, Charlie

Charlie is so funny to me sometimes. You may not think this is very funny, but it really makes me laugh. He comes up with things that he thinks are rational and normal, but really are not. For example, a few years ago Charlie worked at a place that would have big catered meetings. He would eat at the meetings and thought that all that food was going to waste. He told me he wanted to bring Tupperware to work to be able to save it and bring it home. This pains me even to think about it now. I was mortified that the thought had even occurred to him. I forbid him from ever doing it and even called my sister so that he could hear from another source that this was not "normal" office behavior.

Normally we do dinner and a movie with the kids on Friday nights. We rent a movie and get take-out. We all look forward to Fridays and love our little tradition. We will pop popcorn and have little containers for everyone. Last weekend we took the kids to the theatre. We talked about getting popcorn, but Charlie hates when we get a huge tub of popcorn and little trays to pour it in to share. Then he had an epiphany. We could bring our popcorn containers from home! I looked at him incredulously and asked if he was serious about us each carrying in a big popcorn container that say "popcorn" on it. Oh, Charlie.

Here are some pictures of Justin at baseball. Such a little cutie. Go Cardinals!! So far undefeated.

The Imagination of Mr. Muscles

I love conversations with the kids. Today was a real treat. It can be hard for me because we switch subjects so quickly, sometimes without me knowing. Justin and I filled up a 5 gallon water bottle today. It is really heavy, but Justin informed me that he thought he could handle it because he "had been lifting weights." Then we start talking about baseball and suddenly he asks what the worst thing that could happen would be. I say that he could swing really hard and miss and hit the catcher in the head and kill him. That would be the worst thing that could happen. He tells me "no. The worst thing would be if you climbed into the trash can and didn't realize that it was trash day and there was all sorts of poop in the trash with you. Cat poop and baby poop. Then the trash man would pick you up and put you in the trash truck that was also full of poop. By the time you got to the dump you would be dead. That would be worse."

Kids, Kids, Kids

Yesterday I took Justin to sell popcorn for scouts outside of a local market. I told the girls to get shoes on and get in the car. I should have checked, but I didn't. We got to the store across town only to realize Mia was barefoot. I ended up holding this very tall and solid kid for about 20 minutes waiting outside of the store for other people to show up, set up the table and display, and fill out a form. We returned home for a couple hours then headed back. I told the girls again to get shoes on then come out so I could inspect them this time. Emma came out in a leotard and sandals. Okay, I guess. Mia comes out in Maryjane's and underwear. That's it. At least she did follow directions this time. I guess I need to be more thorough in my instructions: shoes and clothing.

Justin is playing baseball for the first time ever. He played soccer for a couple seasons, then BMX, now baseball. I had told him when he was younger that baseball was off limits because it is too long and boring to watch. (Yes, rotten mother.) He didn't care until this last year when all of his friends played. Charlie and Justin convinced me that he could try it out and so I signed him up. I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised. It is actually fun to watch... as long as Charlie is there to help with the girls or take them. I was worried that Justin would be way behind the other kids because most of them have played for years now. Well, Justin is doing really well. He hits and makes it on base just about every time. I may be a little biased, but he is good and very handsome in his uniform.

Justin was getting something out of the car the other day and came inside screaming and bleeding. He said he was eating a tic tac and it hit his tooth wrong and made it loose and almost fall out. I was somewhat dubious of his story. I concluded that he had had a loose tooth, but didn't notice because it is held in place by his retainer. He bit a tic tac and it moved the tooth enough to make it bleed. I went out to the car and found at least 8 tic tacs Justin had spit out in the garage. I asked Justin how many he had had in his mouth at the time and he said maybe a couple. I told him how many I counted and he got this guilty grin on his face.

100th Post!! Little Manipulator

Me: Mia, turn down the T.V.
Mia: Mom, I don't know how to because I'm four years old.

Mia's In Preschool

Mia loves preschool. She is back at Miss Alison's, who she loves. Mia is such a sweetie. I really love this kid. She always is holding my face in her hands and trying to give me fishy kisses on my nose. She and Emma have been playing together so much too. They still fight pretty hard, but get along much more. Emma is almost 2 1/2 years older, but Mia has grown so much in the last 8 months that they are sharing some clothes now, which they love. Mia will save things for Emma during the day and tell Emma "Emma, you're the BEST!" I love it.

Mia finally got her bike for her birthday. I tried getting it earlier, but couldn't decide on one, then they didn't have the one I finally picked and we started the process over again. Finally, I just took her to the store and she picked out this one. She loves it and loves to show it to everyone.

A few weeks ago Emma got up to go to the bathroom during the night and went back to bed, but laid down in Mia's bed instead. At first she laid on top of Mia with her arms and legs wrapped around her, but by the time I grabbed the camera and came back this is how they were.

More School

Emma still doesn't like school. Everyday she says it was the worst day of her life. I think this means her life is pretty good. She says first grade is hot and really long. She said they don't have a trash can in the cafeteria so she puts her trash in her pockets until after school. Then week two she still didn't like it because she wasn't making friends. I suggested that she go up to some kids and introduce herself and ask if they want to play. She said "that is not how I do it. I walk around like this (scowling with arms crossed) and wait for them to come up to me to play."
It is a shocker that that didn't work for her. Justin and I gave her tips on how to make friends. Then she didn't like school because a couple different boys keep telling her they are in love with her, then they chase her around. She said one boy keeps making lovey faces at her so she makes mean faces at him to try to make him not like her. She cracks me up.
Today she said that it was a horrible day because they forced her to exercise, which made her very tired. It is starting to cool down, so hopefully school will seem a little more pleasant to her.

First Day of School

I am always excited when school starts. I love the structure and the extra time to get things done. I am back in school too, so I really need the study time. I will admit that I am a little sad to see them growing up so fast and it does scare me a little to hand them over to the school. I'm not sure what was with the lighting in some of these pictures. Justin looks like a vampire from Twilight.

Justin came home from school and basically told me a mini biography of his teacher. He seems to

like her. I don't know his new teacher so I asked what she looked like to see if I would recognize her. He said she has brown hair and "the only thing I can remember is that she is skinnier than you." Charlie stifled a laugh and told Justin that Mom is not an enemy you want to make.

Emma said that she doesn't like first grade. Her teacher doesn't look like the other teachers. I said it was cool because her teacher looks like a grandma. Emma didn't have a comment on that. She said that a boy in her class came up to her and told her he was in love with her. I asked why and she said she thinks he likes her clothes. Then she says that she thought that maybe she loved him back. I asked why and she said that it is because she is not very smart. I laughed and told her she is smart. I asked what his name is and she didn't know. I asked if they played together and she said no. I asked if he tried to kiss her and she wasn't sure. I stopped and asked if she kissed the boy and she said "no. I don't do kissing."

Mia is really excited to start preschool again in a couple weeks... and so am I.

End of Summer '09

I have tried really hard this year to make summer special for my kids. This meant lots of time with cousins, lots of trips to the movie theatre, beach days, library, pottery, ballet lessons, guitar lessons, scout day-camp, swimming and camping. The kids said it was the best summer ever! It was pretty good.



These three are trouble.

Justin and Malachi

We finished off the summer camping in Pismo Beach with Charlie's mom, sister and her family. The kids love camping in the trailer and LOVE to spend time with their cousins and Nana. Here are some highlights.

Tio and DJ up a tree.

Mia and Daddy up a tree.

This little guy has me wrapped around his pudgy little finger.

We found this wild savage beast in the bushes. She cleans up pretty nice.

I love this one of Mia and DJ. DJ put on Mia's headband. This is the pose they did, complete with Mia showing a peanut between her teeth. Too cute!

Sophia and Sarah. Power to the people. I kept trying to get a smiling picture of Sophia, but this is the face I got every time.

Something looks wrong here...

Oh, it is just Mia with her clothes on backwards.

Charlie and his little sister.

Oh Ken...

...What have my girls reduced you to?

Memories

I finally found where Charlie stored the old photos, but when Emma was born all the pictures are in a different format and won't load on here.

Justin and Kitty. She still thinks he is hers. She would attack us and cry really loud if we ever let him cry.

Justin decided he was ready for school. This is his pig that made unpleasant noises. He pulled the whoopi thing out of his mouth and they would both suck on his fingers.

Christmas 2004 Justin and Emma. How does a 1 1/2 year old have so much hair?!

Emma at 2 or 3.My little Mia.