HELLO!!!

So you may be wondering where we have been and what is my problem getting this blog updated for the past year. Well the main reason is because exactly one year ago I went back to school!!! Yes, it's the crazy truth but as you may know this has been what I have wanted to do, finish what I started twelve years ago! So, many things had to go-- the blog update being one of them. This now explains why there was not a long family letter this year in the Christmas card, not many emails or fun packages and letters in the mail, don't worry-- it is not that I do not think of everyone often-- All my spare time has been very occupied with school.

So I am soooo close to finishing and wanted to just explain myself! Hope you all can understand this crazy mother of five mother voluteering full time in school cub scout leader running around with my newborn life. Oh, and yes I will make a post about our newest addition... AJ he's two monthes... :)

Isabelle got a HAIRCUT!!!

Yes it's true. It's all gone the beautiful long curls that were reaching the lower part of her back are now CHOPPED!!
We have been talking about it for a long time that this summer we would cut her hair but after coming home from Spring break we decided now was the time. Boy were her classmates surprised!
It's been a great opportunity for her to learn how to care for herself as now she gets ready by herself, brushing her hair and teeth and getting dressed every morning. It is a great help, verses the half hour hair treatments every morning before school :)

A MOUNTAIN LION!!!!!!

Oh my what to do when you husband runs past saying get everyone inside and stay there and runs out the door?!!
Okay we quickly obey but why? Right in front of our house there is a small green belt type area a hill covered in remember posion oak and beautiful trees, etc... Well today there was a MOUNTAIN LION!! It was a small young one, a teenager trying to find his ground, well that was not going to be my front yard! So we called fish and game and took a lot of pictures! These are the best of all the blurry ones so no comments on I put up the blurry ones...
WOW! First a fox, coyotes, turkey's, squirrels, cranes, other birds,and now a mountain lion!!!...and we live in the city!

AUNT MELI and UNCLE JOSH!!

It was so fun Uncle Josh and Aunt Meli came all the way from Boston to be at Kaden's baptism! It was wonderful! We met little baby Ava


and we had so much fun with cousin Vinny!




Oh course we had so much fun having Mother and Sister time! A friend suggest going to this great fun place we indulged for breakfast together! It's called the Mad Hatter in El Dorado Hills and is quaint,great prices, and excellant food! Meli was so used to East coast pricing she had to order two things just becasue she could. We had a very filling breakfast and had a great time just being together. Thanks for visiting guys!

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa from Arizona came and boy was it fun! We had alot of fun--it was Grandma's spring break so we had to make it fun :) In Old Town Sacramento they have these really fun horse carriage rides around the town. Yes with Grandma and Grandpa we get to indulge in the extra things we wouldn't normally do!
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

KADEN IS 8!!

Kaden is eight and he could hardly wait! He is so darling and was so cute. We had family around us and is was a beautiful day!
Thanks for being such a great example buddy!

Leaves of three, let them be!

Recently my daughter has come in contact with poison oak. The vial plant has been the talk for century’s even the native Indians warned the newly American people to avoid this monstrous plant. It has been recorded in journals of early explores of their weeks of misery caused by coming in contact with these plants. Yet even with warnings and understandings of all these facts, people yearly get in contact with this beastly three leaved plant that inflicts great misery upon children, and yes adults. My daughter has been my sons adventure buddy for quite some time now and they have developed a great love for the wild land in front of our home. This great hill of greenness, lovely placed trees and brushes a plenty was a great place to explore, and fun to be had. Until the dreaded beastly of a plant called the poison oak came in contact with my daughter arm. I was reading a lovely book, actually a suspense thriller-just in time for my Valentine’s book club meeting, as my two adventure driven children where happily playing and trying to conquer this great hill in front. The baby was riding her bike in the street, I mean, on the sidewalk and the other was eating fruit snacks nurturing her cavities and watching some Barbie movie inside. When much to my disturbance, my daughter comes to me complaining that a branch has scratched her arm and it was hurting. There was several scratches present and I told her that “scratches happen when you are having fun and that must mean that the hill was really cool if it gave her a cool scratch like that.” So off she ran off and decided to ride her bike instead. If I had only know that little devil of a scratch was from a poison oak plant I would have ran her to the hose and immediately rinsed it off, because now I have read like 100 times and I quote from web MD “Initial treatment consists of washing the area with water immediately after contact with the plants. Within the first ten minutes of coming in contact with the plant the oils from the poison oak have not yet penetrated the skin and you will not have a reaction.” NICE! Yes I told her to go and play and it was cool that she got scraps!! Nice! I didn’t put my book down oh no… sent her away to be later effected by the oils of this monstrosity of a plant as the rash came into full force 4 days later!!!! I again quote “Most poison ivy, oak, and sumac rashes develop within 8 to 48 hours after touching urushiol, but they can take as long as 15 days to form. The rash usually takes more than a week to show up the first time you get urushiol on your skin.”
So we are crazy now, full blown rash all over the little cutties body much to my sure grin and now the topic is “Is she contagious?” I have had her a play dates, park days, libraries, joy school and not to mention all around the house… So is she contagious or not? Upon first research, no. Once the oil- urushiol, has absorbed into the skin and now is washed off, yes off of clothes, body, or anything that could have come into contact- it is gone. Just now it is raking havic in your body and causing an unsightly and very unpleasant reaction. Okay great. But now the sores are weeping and causing blister like oozing gross sorry. So is it now contagious?
We played it safe and stayed away for church and friends this weekend and articles were found that said: “If your child has a rash, he or she should not be in contact with other children or pregnant women. Most viral rashes are contagious, especially if a fever is present.” So yes? It is contagious? Yet tonight after much deliberation… The verdict is out that, and I quote :

“The rash is not contagious. You cannot catch or spread the rash after it appears, even if you touch it or the blister fluid, because the urushiol will already be absorbed into or washed off the skin. Sometimes people mistakenly believe that the rash is spreading because it appears later on different parts of the body. But the rash only appears where urushiol has come in contact with the skin. So either the rash is still developing from earlier contact or you have touched something that still has urushiol on it. The chemical can remain active for at least one year and sometimes much longer. Therefore, exposed objects or pets should be thoroughly cleaned with water after contact with the plants.

Contrary to common belief, scratching or spontaneous oozing of the rash and blisters will not cause them to spread because urushiol is not present in the blister fluid. If the chemical has not been completely washed off the skin, touching the affected areas and then another part of the body can transfer the chemical and thus the rash. Similarly, the rash cannot be passed between persons, unless urushiol is still present on the skin of the affected individual.”

In summary, poison oak is not contagious after it has been washed off the infected areas and is properly cleaned. Blisters and the spontaneous oozing cannot spread the rash to others or other parts of the body. It will be a long lasting event I’m getting ready for this to end in up to three weeks. However, I can now go to bed. Joy school at my home can still happen. My life can resume. My little angel who has been nearly drowned (twice), lost (and found), survived a fall from a very high tree(with stitches), will now survive the infestation to her little body of poison oak and the horrific rash plaguing her body. May I watch this child most carefully and have no other tales to tell. Good night…

P.S. Readers beware: “Admittedly, avoiding these plants can be difficult. Poison ivy and poison oak grow almost everywhere, in backyards as well as in woods and pastures, although neither poison oak nor poison ivy grow at elevations above 4,000 feet. Wearing long sleeves, long pants, and gloves will help protect against exposure in heavily wooded areas. And remember leaves of three let them be!

TWILIGHT!!!

Did you go? Oh my I loved this one! Thanks to a great group of mammas that all went Opening weekend to stand in line amongest all the teenie boppers we had a great time. Okay I know you are probebly mixed and have no idea what I am seriously saying but I am admitting I am a Twilight fan. Read the book it is defiently better than the movie, however it is such a great story. I had so such fun reading it I anticipated the movie to be a low budget wonder and... it was... well yes, just that! It was a little cheesey but I never felt like I wanted to leave, get my money back for being affended, yes it happens so frequently I rarely go to the theater anymore. However the story is so much fun who could not want to bask in the beauty of vampires get twisted up in the vampire hates or loves human story and be so totally twisted up with Bella and her teenage mind throwing games? So what was your opinion? We had mixed reviews in our crowd of adults mommas that were so fun to see the show with Thanks guys!! All in all I'm going back with my hubby...:)

Earrings!

After what felt like "MY WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE I'VE BEEN WAITING" Isabelle got her ears pierced!! We've been working on our Dad to let her get her ears pierced and he said 'oh okay how about when you are six.' Well six rolled around and he still thought that she was too young and wanted to keep her that way. I have to admit right before she was going to have them pierced I had this plung like feeling in my gut that we were changing her appearance forever. It was a wierd sensation I nearly yelled "Wait let's wait a week or year or how about never?" Her face told me she too was having doubts for maybe a split second waiting for the anticpated pierce. As you can see it only lasted momentarily as was all returned to smiles over lunch at Panda Express. She is so excited today we just changed her earings to a new pair she got on her birthday, "Thanks Grandma!"

Isabelle's Princess Party

Fun Birthday Isabelle had. She is quite the party planner and really fun to try to meet all the expectations on how this would be the best day ever. We did have to delete going to France with Grandpa for the afternoon, hey I haven't even been to France with my Dad yet, so all in all it was a fabulous birthday.