to great grandma pung:

click the play (triangle) button:

this september...

i will have to check this out! not only was it a great book, but harvard hottie's (actual character name) lookin' *fantastically* familiar!!!


20/20

oh-kaaaay...saw fantastic 4 last night and was pleasantly surprised to learn that of all the things broken lately, my eyesight has remained in tact. mmmm-hmmm {smiling, eyebrows raised and nodding head} :

confirmed...

this shade of blue really *does* make a girl's heart skip a beat and grin with pleasure! :) definitely helping to lift me out of my funk....{wink}

the hobbit among us

no, she didn't have a second breakfast. she had two birthday parties! wait a minute...she actually trumped frodo. she had *three* bday celebrations: one at school, one at mcdonalds and one with nonna and nonni. wow! here's her mega cake. she loved it. almost too pretty to eat! thanks aunty meredith, for indulging my favorite hobbit on earth!

not just another penguin movie

took tay to see surf's up yesterday. we thought it was a great movie! i liked it better than shrek the third, to be honest. at first i didn't think it was going to be good-the trailer wasn't all that great and let's face it; *another* penguin movie?! but, it turned out to be pretty funny and i just loved hearing surfing music again! they even had a funky rendition of queen liliuokalani's "aloha oe"!!! it was cool. chicken joe is the actor that played napoleon dynamite...i kept picturing his face every time the chicken talked. he was awesome!!! even if you don't have kids, go see it. the adult humor was pretty funny, i think there were more adult laughs during the movie than kid ones! :)

i love you fifty-nine.

so tay's had this thing these last several months, where she quantifies her love for you by saying she loves you and then giving it a number. in the early stages she told me "i love you five", which for a then 3-year-old, i'm guessing was lots. then she said "i love you lots mama. i love you six." every now and then she would work her way up the number line (sometimes even skipping over some numbers) and then last night we hit an all time high. we had been on the 20's and last night i told her i loved her lots. she then replied, "i love you 59 mama." just the best feeling ever.

"once I had a handle on life, but it broke."

saw this quote on the internet tonight and smiled when i read it...despite all that's happened and what's to come. thought to myself, "hmm, that's *so* me."

taylor and i had our very first *officially* proclaimed "mama and taytay day" today. first tay got a haircut and then we did a little shopping. grammy sent her some $ for her birthday with instructions to get a new movie, and tay picked pocahontas. mama picked up a few scrapbooking stickers (whopping total of $10. i think that's the cheapest scrapbooking bill in a LONG time). then it was time to go to the theater for shrek the third and lunch. tay was super excited about this...hot dogs and popcorn in the theater!!! oh boy! then we did a little more shopping (nothing outrageous...money's tight now-a-days) around the mall next to the theater. had a soft pretzel and lemonade by the fountain and then headed home. what a wonderful day!

peace and quiet

ahhh....forgot what it is like. love that all i hear is the striking of the computer keys and the hum of my computer. no noggin playing in the background or tay screeching that she has to go potty because she waited too long (she's at daycare). even kai's asleep on the floor breathing so soundly. the last 4 months have been so "noisy", literally and metaphorically. and even if this quiet sound and feeling only lasts a few more minutes, i am so thankful for a pause this morning because i really needed it. my struggles these last months have taken so much energy and will. so much thought and tears behind closed doors. so much patience and understanding of others. so much pretending. i am exhausted and relieved that summer vacation is upon me.

4 is a big deal

tay's bday celebration all day today!!! started off the day with mama's pancakes and bacon. had a party at mcdonalds (as requested by the birthday girl) and then opened family presents at home. a very happy day for a girl who's now 4 and has been telling her mama all day of the many things that she can do now that she's hit the big 4!