Boo!!!

So this is my 36th Halloween...how scary is that? I used to love dressing up as a little girl-except for some reason Mom always made me wear a t-shirt under whatever costume I was wearing so I wouldn't get cold. Kind of ruined whatever sexy you were trying to pull off! Yes, I was trying to look sexy way back around age 4 or so. I'm still trying. It's not working out too well. Anyway, the kids are having a blast celebrating. Hailey and a cute group of friends are running around the neighborhood. They all came over here to get ready and eat pizza. Notice the general lack of sluttiness among this group of 8th graders. I'm so proud. Most girls their age run around looking like hookers. Now THAT is scary! Spencer went trick-or-treating sans parents for the first time this year. He's a ladies' man for Halloween-oh, and also a doctor. Jake and Sammy trick-or-treated with the Taotaffa kids (thank Wally). I'm now trying to pull the "turn the lights off and pretend we're not home anymore" trick...even though it's only 8:30. What can I say? I'm sick of getting up every 2 minutes! Happy Halloweenigs!!!

Dorkiness-Averted!!!

Thanks to an unfortunate "Fantastic Sam's...Just a Trim Please!" episode you may have noticed in recent posts that my gorgeous sons have been bearing a striking resemblance to "Dumb and Dumber" and "The Little Dutch Boy". Luckily, thanks to our lovely Dayna....she was able to salvage what was left of their beautiful hair...dorkiness averted. At least until the next time Matt's decides to "save money" on haircuts!

Happy HalloWeenigs!

'Tis the season to act silly and eat WAY too much candy. My kids keep telling me to please stop. Meet my little lovelies...the fairy, the surgeon (Dr. McWeenig-Urology), the skeleton, and of course, Princess Sleeping Beauty. They got to dress up Saturday night for our ward's "Trunk or Treat" and had a blast going from car to car and getting A LOT of candy. The other pictures are of the pumpkin patch Matt took them to (hay and I don't mix). Notice the lovely hair my children are sporting because Matt took them on a "Mom's Sleep-In Day". Can you say lucky me?!? Matt says to ignore what looks like a pumpkin hiding in his shirt 'cause he was "just standing funny". We're looking forward to the "real" Halloween...stay posted for more pictures-Hailey is planning a costume change and it's sure to be fabulous!

Happy Birthday Hailey!

Amid all the fires and chaos yesterday, we celebrated a pretty momentous occasion in our family. Hailey, our oldest, turned 13. I can't believe we have a teenager. Hailey is such a wonderful first child and came into the world 13 years ago (two and a half week early) kicking and screaming...VERY LOUDLY. She hasn't slowed (or quieted) down since. Grandma made a big breakfast...complete with a candle stuck in her waffle and we tried to make the best evacuee birthday we could! I think all is well because she got to spend a couple hours at the mall with Mom and Grandma, which is always a hit with Hailey. Happy Birthday Hailey. No one could ask for a better first child. We love you. By the way, we returned home last night to clearing skies. All is well with us.

Wishing for some Clean Air!

On Tuesday afternoon, I started wheezing really bad and grabbed the kids and our 72 hour kits and headed up to my moms in San Juan Capistrano. The kids are going a little stir crazy, but we're all safe and together. Hopefully our house will still be there when we go back! Things are looking okay, but it's hard to get accurate info up here. I'll keep posting on what's going on.

Fire, Fire, Everywhere!!!

What a crazy day! At around 2:00 this morning we were awoken by our neighbor letting us know the ridge behind our house was on fire. These horrible Santa Ana's have created conditions perfect for all the fires in San Diego. We were evacuated at 5:00 this morning, but decided to stay and wait till we could "see" more imminent danger. Most of our ward ended up at the chapel in the middle of the night. We are okay and holding tight with our 72 hour kits ready and waiting by the door. The boys slept thru the entire drama last night. This morning Jakey woke up and started getting ready for school! I think they inherited the calm gene from their daddy who was actually out gardening most of the day. Matt checked out the fires with the neighbors last night and then went back to sleep. At least one of us can stay calm. Hopefully these winds won't whip up again tonight and we can get a full nights sleep to deal with four kids with major "cabin fever" from school being closed.

The Great Social Experiment

To the great dismay of those whose daily highlight is to read my blog, I have been out of comission for this week and unable to blog. I'm actually on a business trip in Atlanta and Matt is home taking care of the kids. I'm sure I'll have fabulous details on how it all went when I get home. Try not to miss me too much.

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful

Yes, I know I'm totally pretty. Every couple of months Rachel and I get to ditch the mom thing and spend an afternoon in Orange County getting pretty. My hairdresser (the lovely Dayna) is the one thing I can't give up in Orange County after four years in San Marcos. She just makes me too beautiful! I'm thinking if I'm ever rich I'd love someone to wash and style my hair for me everyday...that, and a a daily massage and I'd be in Heaven!!! By the way Rachel, you are the supreme poser...and I love you for it!

10 Reasons Why I Love a Rainy Saturday

1. Waking up at 2:30 in the morning to the sound of rain
2. It makes my hubbie feel romantic
3. Soccer games are cancelled
4. I get to go to the gym ('cause no soccer games of course)
5. A NAP!
6. Cuddling on the couch with hubbie watching "The Office"
7. Kids snuggly in their jammies all day
8. a LONG nap
9. Doing Laundry feels cozy (yes, I know I'm weird)
10. Curling up with a good book!

Sorry Girls...He's All Mine!!!

I just had to give a "shout out" to my own personal handyman. In the last month he's stained the driveway, built a "built-in" desk for the kids' computer, and painted the threshold on the front door. He can fix anything and I love it! If only I could get him to aim straight in the bathroom he'd be the perfect man. Actually, I think he's pretty perfect as he is. Yes Rachel, I know I'm "blog-stealing"!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like...Halloween!

I LOVE HALLOWEEN! Not the candy (okay, I like the candy a little), not the kid's costumes, or the teenagers ringing my doorbell at 11:00 on a school night...I love decorating for Halloween. It's a close second to Christmas. The pics are for you Mom.

"Conference Report" 2007

Sammy-Samantha is now six and has just started first grade. She is still the spoiled “baby” of the family. It makes me laugh when I think about what I expected of Hailey at her age…and a little sad. Is it just part of parenthood that we ruin our first and lastborn? Sammy is a beautiful little girl with long sandy blonde hair and the prettiest little face. She is learning to read and is coming along slowly but surely. She is in a Brownie Troop with lots of really nice girls from our neighborhood. The move from Kindergarten to 1st Grade has been a fun adjustment for Sammy. The first few weeks she would come home very tired, but she seems to be doing great now. Sammy makes us laugh on a daily basis and we couldn’t imagine our home without her. Jacob-Jake is getting so big. He’s almost nine and it shows! He’s still my little lover though. I gets lots of hugs and a kiss on the cheek before school. Jake is very social and has a lot of friends. He seems to get along well with lots of personalities (must be a middle child thing!) Jake has an extensive collection of stuffed teddy bears-all of which have names and personalities. I can’t believe he is in 3rd grade already. Jake also has a very sensitive side and always wants to be doing the right thing. He has a horrible habit lately of losing EVERYTHING, and gets really upset when he can’t find it. Just like when he was a baby, Jake loves his routine and to just be a part of our family. Spencer-Wow. Spencer has changed so much in this past year. I was so worried about him starting middle school, but its been a wonderful experience for him so far. He has a fun group of friends he hangs out with and he even went to his first school dance a few weeks ago. He now mows the lawn for us every weekend and babysits for us too. He loves to draw floor plans and elevations for his dream houses. They are amazing. He wants to be an architect when he grows up. Spencer is doing so well in school, we just got a progress report and he got a 3.8! Good job Spenc. We love that cute smile and his excitement for life. Hailey- Hailey will be a teenager in a couple of weeks and it shows!!! She is so fun to be with and loves to hang out with her friends. She is also very emotional and sometimes hates her parents for all the rules we have in our family. So I guess she’s a teenager already. She is developing a strong testimony and we are so grateful for the church and all her wonderful leaders who teach and guide her. She is a serious soccer star and is so fun to watch on the field. Yesterday at her game, I turned to Matt and said, “can you believe that’s our baby girl?” She is so tall and beautiful. What an amazing experience to watch your children discover who they are. Allison-Besides doing the “mom” thing…which I love, this past year has seen a lot of changes for me and a lot of adjustments. I work for LifeStyle 20 hours a week and I’m still adjusting to having kids in school and a “real job” for the first time in my life. I love working though and being able to help support my family. My other “job”, is serving in the Temple once a month. I cherish this time to spend a morning serving and reflecting on things I don’t have the opportunity to on in daily life. I am also getting close to accomplishing my goal of reading the entire Standard Works and the Book of Mormon twice this year. It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve seen a real change in my life and my daily focus. I’ve also given up Diet Coke! That REALLY wasn’t easy! Matt-Matt just got a certificate in the mail for working five years at his present job. We both couldn’t believe it had been five years already. Time flies. He still travels a lot and gets to eat out way too much. We miss him whenever he’s gone. Matt is also doing a “chubby buddy” challenge with some guys in our ward. They are competing for a new set of golf clubs or something. So far he has lost 17 pounds and he looks fabulous! Matt is such a great husband and father and we are so lucky to have him. He takes care of our family and our home so well. He takes such pride in his yard and is always working on a new project. Our family has been continuously blessed this year and we are grateful for all our experiences and our trials. Most of all, we are grateful for each other and the love we have in our home.

Super Scout

Wednesday night at Pack Meeting, Jake received his Wolf Badge-4 months early! Jake has worked so hard and we're really proud of him. He loves being a scout and almost won best-dressed Scout this time. I think that might only happen if he cuts his hair! Jake loves being a Scout and following in his brother's footsteps. He especially can't wait till he's old enough to go camping with his dad and "man up". We kept teasing Spencer about how Scout Camp this summer really "manned him up". Last month we were in the car and Jake was upset and crying about something. We asked him why he was being such a boob and he said,"I don't know, I think Dad needs to take me camping so I can 'man up'!" Too cute.

Foot Fetishes-Blogger Style

Apparently blogspot doesn't like picture of feet on blogs. Maybe its to keep those with foot fetishes from having a heyday. Whatever the reason, they keep putting an error code on my blog whenever I try to post or repost the picture. Anyway, for those of you who missed it...Hailey's feet are now bigger than mine and we got pedicures to celebrate.

Teddy-Our Psycho Hamster

Meet Teddy...our super psychotic hamster. A hamster is about the only pet we can have in our house because of my horrific allergies. Believe me, we've tried...please don't get my children started on the subject. Anyway, we thought we were living with a perfectly mild-mannered, well-behaved, and admittedly cute little hamster. WE WERE WRONG! It all started last weekend when Jake came into our room crying because Teddy was missing. Following a serious lecture in which no one would admit to leaving Teddy out of his cage, we told the kids to be on the lookout. At the same time, Matt realized that he was probably wrong for yelling at Sammy for running in the dining room with her "cleats"-because the cleat marks were probably, in actuality, little hamster feet. After a long weekend of hamster tracks (and deposits) all over the house-at least I'm HOPING they were from the hamster-we had all but given up. The next morning Hailey came in my room (WAKING ME UP!-will they never learn?) and told me Teddy had been crawling on her last night and was now safely back in his cage. I went upstairs to get the kids ready for school and Jake started making up "stories" about how Teddy could get out of his cage. As I was lecturing my youngest son on not making things up, Lo and behold-Teddy got out right in front of my eyes! Yes, our psycho little hamster figured out how to unlatch the cage by biting and pushing on the door at the same time. GENIUS! Teddy has since resisted our attempts to keep him in his cage, even pushing aside a large stack of books. He loves his night wanderings (I think he may have a thing for one of my Halloween witches). Maybe he doesn't like being "played with" by four loud children, or maybe he doesn't like to be bathed (hey, NOTHING lives in my house without getting bathed regularly), maybe he wants better dinners. Who knows. For now, he's safely in his cage and my carpet will, hopefully, stay hamster track free for the night!