My Baby

Okay, the date on the picture is incorrect. I took this picture of Lulu thoroughly enjoying the fresh air now that I can finally open the windows due to the much cooler weather that October brings SoCal. The more Lulu grows up the more I love her. She is still a ham but totally fun and loving. I will update my blog once I get her Halloween costume. I am considering using the same one from last year. We will see.

Summer night with the kiddos

While I was on break, my sisters kids came over to spend the night with me at my condo. It is hard to entertain three children when you do not have any children of your own. So, of course, I let the pool do the entertaining for me.

Here is Tyler with his new blond hair. He gets to do this during the summer. I think it also has something to do with him and his buddies making it to all stars.

Here is Maddie and Katie getting ready to enjoy the summer evening.

Katie who will be in the sixth grade this fall was quite happy because I had my teacher manuals at home for planning. She is so studious that she took out her notepad and started writing down vocabulary words she will be learning and she even began to read the stories she will see in the upcoming months. It was a fun night for me and I love the fact that I borrow them for the night and return them once I am tired!

Skin cancer

My father was a PE teacher in Riverside for more than 30 years. With all of his time in the outdoors on the job he has been fighting skin cancer for as long as I can remember. It is common practice for him to get some form of surgery on some part of his body. He is now vigilant about wearing sun screen and expects the same from me as one of the things I got from him is his fair skin. The damage has been done on my dads part, but I do hope that I have not given myself this same sentence in my own life. In this picture you can see the simularities between me and my dad where our skin is concerned. Very red and very damaged! I hope that if you read this it changes how you take care of your skin!

Once a month I get together with a few of my friends and we have lunch at Nordstrom and after we all get pedicures. It always makes for a wonderful day. Today Katie was able to bring Allie. She is getting cuter by the day and I swear she could not look more like a doll. Here she is being as adorable as ever

This is a picture of Julie Navarro and myself. Julie and I became friends when we both started working at Jefferson at the same time. She taught first while I was with the sixth graders. DBA Baby!

Also friends I met at Jefferson. it just so happens that Katie and Kelly are sister and worked at the same school. I was fortunate enough to work on the same team as Katie and from this I also got to know Kelly quite well. Now, out of the four of us, Kelly and I are the only ones who still work together, yet at a different school now.

This was taken on Easter Sunday at my moms house. Katie and Maddie are the lights of my life along with their older brother Tyler. Madison turns six years old this upcoming week. She is getting too old too quickly.

Of course I had to throw in a pic of one of my animals. This is my devilish cat Marley.

Palm Springs

Last week the whole family headed to Palm Desert for the kids spring break. The weather was beautiful, the food was amazing, and everyone had a great time.


Here is my mom, my sister Kelli, Katie, and Madison enjoying the warm night. Big change from the 40 degree nighttime weather we have become accustomed to at home.
This is my nephew Tyler. He is the ultimate sports fanatic, so this is him in front of the TV watching some sort of game.

This is what Maddie looks like when you send her outside to eat her drumstick.

Lulu off track

Since going off track Lulu has become quite attached and needy. I feel bad for when I have to leave her again for the whole day. She is also adopting some old behaviors this month, such as going to the bathroom in the house. I don't know what is going on. Here she is searching for some trouble to get into

Lulu loves to lay on my side so I can rub her tummy. She is just a bit spoiled. BTW, who knew my nose would look so enormous from this angle.

Most of my friends have young children and I am lucky enough to be a part of their lives in one way or another. I absolutely love spending time with all of these kids and think all my friends are great mothers.

This first picture is of Rubie Navarro. She is the daughter of a good friend of mine Julie, whom I was lucky enough to meet in my first year of teaching. We no longer teach at the same school, but I am fortunate that I still keep in touch with her. Rubie has designated me as "the green one". The things that come out of her mouth crack me up.


This is a picture of Gabriella (Ella) Leyva. She is the daughter of Lisa Muller who I credit in getting me my job in Corona Norco. When Lisa went on maternity leave with Ella, I was the one who took over in her classroom. This led to me getting hired the very next school year. I spend alot of time with Lisa and Ella and I feel like one of the family because we are now neighbors. I sometimes find myself bragging about Ella like she was my niece or some other family member.

This one is my actual niece Madison (Maddie). This girl is the life of any party. She will soon follow in her sisters shoes. Maddie loves dancing for Kane Dance Academy also. When she is ten, I fully expect that she will have her own solo for competition.

This is Irelyn Potter. Irelyn has a twin named Miley but unfortunately I was not able to get a pic of Miley on this day. Some might think I am biased towards Irelyn and that is why I do not have Miley's picture, but not true. I do really love them both the same. They are so much fun and I am so fortunate in that I have been able to watch them grow and develop over the year. Just a year ago, they were born prematurely and we all know how scary that can be. Now, they are perfectly healthy and gorgeous as ever.