there's a new earth momma on the rise.

i always wanted a sister
someone to
shop with,
bake with,
laugh with,
cry with,
share clothes with,
see movies with,
fight with,
eventually leave my kids with...
you get the point.

when i was a teenager
my dad hired a new assistant
she started to stay with us when my parents traveled.
well, she had a daughter
several years younger than me.
at first she pretty much hated me (i have no idea why *wink*)
until i saved the day by remaking a valentines cake after her cake came out
tasting a lot like chicken.
and then she realized that i was pretty awesome. (*wink again*)
and that was our breakthrough,
right there in the kitchen.
from that point on she let me pretend like she was my sister
and drag her around shopping
and to the movies
and supported me through
my teenage life crisis(s)
and she eventually started baking REALLY good cookies
and my brothers started to like her better than me
so i totally had to put her in her place a few times.
but you know, whatever.

so i guess you're wondering if i have a point
and i do,
but first i want to tell you that she is a giver
she is the most loving, giving person i've ever met.
when I had my babies she pulled out all the stops,
and i knew she loved my babies almost as much as i did.
and she gave the best gifts
the softest blankets,
the cutest stuffed animals.
she's very creative and cute.
and when alexandria was 4 she bought her these
hot pink flare pants with a rhinestone belt
and alexandria wore them pretty much everyday for a year.

when we lived in jax. she always helped me with the kids
and wouldn't even complain if matthew
cried for the whole time i was gone,
my kids love her almost as much as i do.

she grew up and fell in love
so we all thought about it
and decided to let her get married to daniel.
who just happens to be an amazing person too.
they bought a beautiful historical home,
then they had the most beautiful wedding
and my dad married them
even thought he wouldn't do my wedding
but you know, whatever.

sooo, my point is...
she's going to have a baby!
and i'm super excited
because she's been waiting a long time for this
and she's taken care of everybody else
and now it's her turn!

her name is kelly and she's going to be a great mommy!

menu

roast chicken and stuffing (yes, chicken)
mashed potatoes and gravy
sweet potato casserole
jacki's corn casserole
green beans with almonds
rolls
pumpkin pie

burning down the (coffee) house

so today at work we had to call 911 because we could smell
an electrical wire burning under the espresso machine.
we had to evacuate the store
and within about 12 seconds there were
3 firetrucks
and about 20 firefighters there.

so the firefighters came in and said they could only smell coffee
which is hilarious because after working there so long i can no longer smell the coffee
but we were totally overwhelmed by the smell of smoke.

so while they were looking things over barista j. and i were sitting outside.
several customers walked right past us and tried to enter the store
like there was nothing going on.
seriously, not even noticing the huge engines
and dozens of firefighters...
it's like they would have walked right into a blazing inferno
just to get their white mocha.

"we are closed" i would say with a very disappointing look on my face.
and my barista j. would just yell "no, closed" as people would get out of their cars.
it was interesting just how oblivious people were.
j. said the most hilarious thing ever
something along the lines of how much she was enjoying telling
the customers "no" because we are always having to tell them yes
I mean she REALLY enjoyed it.
we both threw our head back in laughter
and enjoyed the fleeting moments of freedom together.

it was all over too soon
it ended up being the refrigerator wires.
we all felt pretty horrible after a few hours of those fumes...
i still have a headache.
i'm just praying that our bodies will
naturally detox from the toxic fumes
we inhaled today.

and now, the song in my head...

"my house is out of the ordinary
that's right, don't want to hurt nobody
some things sure can sweep me off my feet
burning down the house..."

talking heads

separate

matthew told me it's time to "separate" for Christmas.
after a few minutes i realized he meant decorate...

i do kinda feel like decorating early this year.

yay for the holidays!

lunch time.

today is the thanksgiving feast at the kid's school.
i've gone the last two years AND eaten the cafeteria food
mostly for memory sake...it tastes just the same as
cafeteria lunch when i was a kid...somethings never change.
today though i'm going to pass on the food.

there's something about being in the lunch room
and seeing the pecking order of the kids
the cool kids, fat kids, weird kids, quiet kids,
the kindergartners that still look a little lost.
watching the special need children
giving so much effort just to complete a small task,
i just want to scoop each one of them up for a huge hug.

being it's the few minutes of the day when the kids are not micromanaged,
i watch as they throw away entire trays of food, unopened milks,
sandwiches that never stood a chance to be eaten.


the lunchroom is a strange place
full of life, laughter, rejection, and questionable government issued food.
somethings never change.

venting.

so the kids are feeling better-ish
they all stayed home from school today.
they've really been troopers considering
they've been confined to the house for a week.

they've all taken turns having various symptoms.
including my personal favorites...
fever induced delirium and all night coughing.
even gunther had an emergency trip
to the vet this week for a severe allergic reaction.

carlos and i are now feeling under-the-weather
and i am also feeling drained/overwhelmed.
life doesn't stop to give moms a chance to recover from such troubles
and with no family nearby to help
well, i'm a mess.

but being the chronic overcomer that i am
i will get over it...
venting always helps right?

thankful.

yesterday matt and i ran a few errands
first stop was starbucks to get a cup of my new favorite
thanksgiving blend...
it's a mixture of two of my favorites
guatemala antigua and sumatra
actually i got a tall eggnog 2 raw sugar misto since the
aforementioned thanksgiving blend compliments fall spices.
it was really good.

when matt and i were leaving i saw one of my regular customers
and we said hello.
in the car matt asked me a few questions...it went something like this:

matt: is he your friend?
me: he's a customer.
matt: but he's your friend right?
me: yeah, i guess he's my friend because i see him most everyday and we talk.
matt: what is his name?
me: i think his name is stan.
matt: is his real name stanley?
me: I don't know.
matt: WELL...when you asked him to be your friend did he say
"hi, my name is stanley, but you can call me stan"?

then i remembered when you are in kindergarten you ask people to be your friend.
i hope everyone matthew asks to be his friend says yes.

and because the season is all about giving
the first person to leave a comment gets
a pound of my new favorite coffee.
i will mail it if you're not local but it has to be in the U.S.

*starbucks partners are not eliglible for this offer.

dancing trees & and the flu.

last year i wrote this about my back yard.

we're enjoying it again this fall...
it seems that everyone likes being outside
when the breeze is blowing
and the leaves are flying around like snow.

it's our 4th year here and i'm still amazed by the colors.
there is no dramatic changing of the seasons in florida.

the boys aren't feeling well
abraham slept for about 36 hours
waking only to drink sprite and take medicine.
matthew is now feeling ill...
it's pretty heartbreaking.
but this stuff works wonders!

decision 08. the way i see it.

now that the election is over
i feel like talking about it
before, i was at too much of a loss
too conflicted...
who/what are we supposed to believe?
campaign promises?
smear tactics?
internet rumors?
it all seemed pointless to me.
i think it all came down to obama's composure
and confidence vs. mccain's deer-in-the headlights look and
his frustration over not being able to get his words out.
basically obama is a rockstar
mccain is a grandpa...
that's how it seemed to me.

did the right man win?
i honestly don't know.
it is impossible to know
because I can't see into the future.
i was totally freaked out at the thought of al gore
becoming president but i don't feel that way about obama.
afterall all i do not put my trust in man
but in a God who sees all things and is sovereign.

one thing is for sure...
i was proud to tell my children
that the first african american man was elected president
because that my friends is awesome.

issues aside,
i'm proud for the history that was made yesterday.

"we hold these truths to be self evident that all men were created equal..."

p.s. it was fun (and stressful but mostly fun)
to serve free coffee to all the voters yesterday.
I have NEVER been so non-stop busy at work the line was HUGE all day!
To steal michelle's word it was epic!
I enjoyed the high energy and excitement in the air,
it was like americans were awakened to what a privilege voting truly is.
I commend companies like starbucks, krispy-kreme, chick-fil-a
and ben & jerry's who gave away free stuff just for voting.