The Always Opinionated Taylor

The media and 4th of July

2011-07-02T16:18:00.000-07:00

http://www.bbc.com/travel/gallery/20110701-the-fourth-of-july-back-in-the-day

So I'm on foxnews just a bit ago and I caught on to the 4th of july theme post after newspost. and I started thinking.. oh, ya, cause I'm on fox, I bet if I go to CNN there won't be one damn thing on the 4th.. those godless morons hate this country! lo and behold I was right. Not ONE ding dong dang mention of it! so then I think to go on msnbc and wonder if they do mention the 4th it will be something lame. well lo and behold I was right again.. they did mention it, a post about the science of fireworks!!!! hahahahaahahahahaahaha are you kidding me? NO! So then I think, "I wouldn't be surprised if BBC has something on the 4th! I bet they do" so I go to them and bam! right on one of the scrolling top three stories is a post about the 4th with "Happy Birthday America." how sweet, they thought of us. Even another COUNTRY has taken the time to say something. I can't wait to see how LAME CNN's news is going to be on monday.

Is this a coincidence? I don't think so.. is it because I'm incredibly intuitive and always right?.. well yes, but besides that. The point is there is no surprise here... I don't know how evident it needs to be that these people hate this country. notice the common thread of liberals.. pro socialists, godless, think they are smarter than you, elitist, ashamed of our country/unpatriotic, pro baby killing, disillusioned by an idealistic fantasy of world peace (hahahaha morons are always duped by democrats' peace promises.. they are the only ones that fall for it! lmao the politicians know better) and the list goes on.

Now let's watch the godless socialist european countries implode... starting with Greece.. Spain is next. just a matter of time with us. Too long with peace creates the inevitable false sense of security/liberal mentality mentioned above, which eventually leads to revolution after everyone has nothing in an attempt to supply everyone with everything... and the cycle will continue. Been happening for thousands of years. Stand with God and you will naturally value correct ideals founded on correct principles. without him you are left to the wiles of man.

May Day 2011

2011-05-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday was May Day at Koloa Elementary.. it was a fun day.. well it started out that way. Here's Joey's class admiring Sofia. Poor Jed is feeling left out :(

Here's the 3rd grade performance.

Here's the cuteness..

There's that crinkle nose again..

Jed had some fun times..

Stealing peoples' toys..

Then meltdown..

After meltdown....

after meltdown... here is insists the big boys play basketball with him and loses it when he can't understand why they won't..

Which eventually lead to a temper tantrum that had him flying across the grass, tripping and smacking his face on a curb, giving him this black eye and scrape. Ugh.. needless to say we had to leave early.. I had to take Joey out and bring him home.. he said it ruined his day :( bummer. That is how disruptive and incessent this kid can be. Oh well.. what are you going to do? poor guy.

Cute pic with my kids

2011-05-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

LOVE my KitchenAid Pro Mixer!!!

2011-05-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

Robin, I love this as much as you love your camera... LOL. I don't know how I survived without it.. I got it for Mother's Day and have used it already for so many things.. batches of cookies, cupcakes, candied walnuts, whipped butter, etc etc.. LOVE IT. This baby is solid.. Love any kitchen gadget.. Joe knows how to make me happy :)

Sofia Grass Shoot 10 mos

2011-05-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

Here's some pics of her in our yard I took yesterday..

Love her little "crinkle nose"... adorable.

hehe.. she's thinking, "I'm going to eat this leaf.. and no one is going to stop me."

Sofia My Love

2011-05-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

Beautiful.

She'll be 10 months old in 4 days.. words cannot describe how much I love this girl. I have never had a baby nor could I have imagined having a baby who loves me so much and so completely. My boys love me tons but Sofia is just a momma's girl... she crushes me every day. She wants to just be with me all the time. She sits there from across the room and looks at me with those beautiful eyes and smiles and starts crawling towards me. Whenever she's in my arms she's just content and happy with no ambitions... She only tolerates (and I say tolerates kindly) letting people hold her for only quick moments and just looks at me as if to say, "why?" LOL and pushes to be back in my arms.

I love dancing and singing to her and she loves it. She wakes in the morning and before she even opens her eyes she smiles... She's got such a great personality.. so sweet and lovely and proper. She's is so much more than I could have dreamed of.. just crazy about my love and her Daddy is too :) She loves when he gets home from work.. She looks at him smiling and so excitedly and immediately goes for him.. if he passes by without picking her up immediately she will look at me broken hearted.. she's so sweet. He picks her up and she's so happy and grabs his face. Aww little girls.

Sofia at 9 mos... just a sweetie pie.

Always camera ready :)

Here she is waking up in the morning... immediately smiles.

Then crawls towards me...

Then gets shy...

Love my baby girl.

And love my kids!!! Can't wait to have more :)

Note to my Friends and Family on the Nuclear Threat

2011-03-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

Is there? Isn't there? What I know for sure is we KNOW nothing for sure. I've been telling friends and family on the mainland to get Iodide as soon as possible.... not to wait till the authorities tell you to. Once that happens, it will be too late. Now, the Surgeon General said to buy it as a precautionary measure. Really? You think?? What a concept. However, I'm glad she said it because to be honest I think she is the only authority in the US being somewhat honest. Why is the government trying to tell us it's not important... and why might I ask is the government instructing doctors not to prescribe it when requested by patients??? You think they might be trying to ration supplies? This could be why.

Potassium Iodide flying off the shelves. Now, you can still but 32.5 mg tablets last time I looked on Amazon. Pay for expedited shipping... Adults need 130 mg per day. Here's info on how much to take. Remember NOT to take it until the authorities tell you... keep yourself updated on information regularly.. this is the best defense. My friend in Escondido was able to order it through her local GNC store that would arrive on Thursday, so that's an option. Keep calling around.

Just in: situation only worsening with 4th reactor fire and radiation leaking directly into the air. Read this!

Now we KNOW that this could easily effect us.. Not only because of Chernobyl, but because of the fact that 2/3 of LA's coal in the atmosphere is from CHINA. Take note people.

Now, I don't want to cause alarm.. but my friend Heidi said they just talked to a friend in Germany, and supposedly there and all over Europe, they are saying there is a very serious threat of nuclear contamination to CA and the US west coast. Why is Europe taking this more seriously and we just have our heads in the sand??? Well, two reasons. One is probably because they don't want to cause panic and mayhem and looting.. which is a good thing and a bad thing. Good because it might cause panic and mayhem and looting (those stupid Americans) and bad because, like, we need to know! The 2nd is because Americans have this eerie way of reacting to things... it's like they really don't believe anything could ever really happen to them. Just lost in there little world and life.. well, things happen.

Do we panic?... HECK NO! Do we get prepared and stay educated? YES. After that, it's God's will. So what will be will be... no reason to panic when you are prepared. Did God throw down magic floatie rafts to Noah and his family??? NO. He had him PREPARE by building a boat. Hello people. Prepared = peace and not prepared = panic. Aka; Noah floating safely in a boat, at peace, and the wicked drowning, panicked.

The way we look at it is human nature is weird and stupid. We think of the movie, Titanic. Remember those fruitcakes getting irritated with having to put on a life vest, sipping cocktails, listening to classical music while the ship was about to go under?? Well, we are like Rose and Frank... eyes opened and ready to get in the safety boats with our life vests on!

Joe and I will ALWAYS error on the side of caution... it's better to error on the side of caution each and every time than to error on the side of tragedy once.

Pray for the Japanese!

Centipedes in my HOUSE!!!!!

2010-03-11T10:32:00.001-08:00

EWWWWWWW!!!!

So I was minding my business FINALLY getting around to my American Idol last night with my sister and Aunt in my room when I see a ten inch CENTIPEDE stroll up my hallway into my room! EWWW sucker was HUGE! I freaked out and yelled to get Joe while keeping a frantic eye on him.. I knew we couldn't lose him. As Joe was coming up the hallway he retreated under my aunt's bed in the next room. We searched everywhere! We could not find him.. Tore up the bed, cleaned everything out.. everything we could think of. We even cut the bottom lining of the box-spring mattress! Now he's in the house somewhere and it's just a matter of time for him to come out.. he could even be hiding in the walls, who knows.

Read these stories: the comment stories in particular.. this is why I can't be in the house nor can my baby or Joey... I for one cannot get a shot of epinephrine, obviously! Since we didn't find the guy at all the exterminators have to come in and spray the inside of the house, something they wouldn't do unless a centipede was already in because I'm pregnant.. They still didn't want to spray but since I have a baby they need to and told me I need to stay somewhere for the day... We'll be leaving in a few hours. WHAT A PAIN IN MY ASS! Then she tells me that when we return he will be coming out into the house to die some. "Just shake out your blankets and sheets and towels for the next few days, you know, that kind of thing." what?!! nightmare. This is why I knew we couldn't lost him last night.

In Waimea Joe caught a sucker as big as the one in our house last night.. he cut it in half, guy was still going nuts, so he cut the halves in half! The four of them were still alive like ever.. attacking and crawling all over each other. It was a disgusting sight. I took pics.. It took them about 4 hours to die!!!

Point: Centipedes are HARD to kill!

Crazy about skincare!

2010-02-26T11:34:00.000-08:00

Since I turned 18 I came to the conclusion that aging is inevitable.. and that no matter how young I was, it was NOT going to last forever. So from that point on I've been crazy about aging myself, especially where skin is concerned!

I just took this pic today, no makeup or concealer with a little mascara. I have moisturizer and lip balm on. I'm not sure how to compare my skin to other 27/28 year olds but I think it's okay. All I know is what I've believed since I was 18 and that is prevention is key! While other girls were tanning in the sun like nobody's business, I was wearing SPF 50 and hats. Today you won't catch me at the beach without a hat. My Mom told me not to make the same mistake she did and I took it to heart.

I've also searched for and used good moisturizers and eye creams religiously and over the years have developed (and learned by beauticians, estheticians, articles, etc) a set of rules that I try and live by and believe in. I thought I'd share them with you :)

A. Suncare

Here's the most important tip for being in the sun - don't get any!!! This is something that many celebrities lives by. Tan your body once in a while but not like a nut. I do but when it comes to my face down to my decolletage you better believe it's covered girlfriends! My husband loves a tan look and face but I say, "Sorry honey, You'll thank me when I'm older!" haha

SPF isn't enough unless you're in the water... you need a hat. Baseball caps, as cute as they are aren't good enough. You need a wide rimmed hat- they cover not only the bottom of your face and sides but your chest and neck.. sensitive areas that wrinkle easy in older age. Have fun with these hats.. they're cute and with glasses on you will look like Jackie O. I keep one always in the back of my car under the glass so it's out of the way. I also wear one while gardening. Joe makes fun of me and says I look like I'm going to the races, "Pooh pooh" I always say.. "and have fun with your wrinkles. "

If you go swimming, even if you are wearing waterproof sunscreen, try and take a second to reapply real quick. They actually suggest that anyway.

WEAR SUNGLASSES as much as you can outside and driving! Glasses prevent you from squinting which causes unnecessary creases over time while also protecting your eyes.

Lastly, when you want a tan face, it's best to go with a self tanner that is healthy for the skin and builds up over time, not a tanner that you smear on and wash off. Yuck. Also, great ways to have some color is a good bronzed mineral powder by Bare Minerals or others and/or tinted moisturizers. The best is Kiehl's Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15. Don't worry about the price too much, it lasts forever and is amazing. Your face will glow. This would be for low-maintenance people- a great daily moisturizer and a hint of color. Boom. Almost every make-up artist uses Kiehl's moisturizer as a base.

B. Healthcare

There are only a few things I'm going to mention before I go to internal care, which mainly focuses on what you put in your body.

1. Sleep

I cannot emphasize enough how important sleep is to your health, as well as your looks. There is nothing you can do that will more immediately make you look aged than lack of sleep. It will show in your face quickly and over time age you more and more rapidly. Why? Because your body is not getting a chance to recuperate and heal itself. Whether we are aware of it or not, because of toxins entering our bodies in various ways, our body are in a constant state of healing. While we sleep our bodies are able to channel the majority of our energy to this healing. Lack of sleep not only shows up in your face and depleted energy but we will find that we will get more easily sick with various infections, both internal and external, viruses, disease, etc. Do not underestimate sleep.

I know that with kids it can be hard to get adequate sleep. But with kids everything is hard. It really just has to do with your priorities. If it's important to you, you can find a way. Get creative; sleep when the kids sleep or nap, etc. When you are tired, your body is telling you it needs to sleep. Listen to your body, it knows best. And when you are tired constantly for too long periods, you should start to think you may need to change some things around. When Joey was born, he had a reflux problem... this caused him to projectile vomit after every feeding for 3 months. Needless, to say for the first 6 weeks or so I literally didn't get ANY sleep.. no exaggeration. I was paranoid and schitzo and beyond comprehension. I remember my Mother visiting one day and took a look at me.. her eyes widened and she said, "Taylor! You have aged literally 7 years!" She was right.. my eyes were blood shot and green and dark underneath and my skin looked aged. I will never forget how lack of sleep had that major effect on my appearance.

If your body is able to heal and repair itself as it should, your face will be well rested and refreshed. Bottom line. Where do you think the term Beauty Sleep came from???

2. De-Stress

Stress shows in your face and life can be hectic.. find what relaxes you and try and take the time out to give it to yourself as regularly as possible. Whether it be meditation, yoga, reading a book while taking a bath, taking a walk alone, mani-pedis, whatever! Just try and do it for yourself. Any form of TV is hectic on the brain so I hope that isn't your form of relaxation. In fact, keep the TV watching to a minimum and you'll find that chaotic energy running through your house will diminish.

3. Weight Gain

Yo-yo dieting is very hard on your skin. Gaining and losing weight, especially RAPIDLY stretches out your skin and stresses it. Put simply, you lose elasticity. Try and maintain a healthy weight for you and stick to it. Go with a good sensible diet and exercise regimen that you can stick to. It's really that simple. You should do that anyway.

C. Internal Care

Taking care of what's inside manifests on the outside my friends. This is crucial and should not be overlooked when taking precautions with aging.

1. Supplements

You should regularly take at least Vitamin C & E supplements. These are strong antioxidants that will work from the inside out. Multivitamins in addition are good of course.

Some sort of anti-oxidant drink like those Mona-Vie drinks are always a good idea. I just use an Acai drink from Costco... These are great because it's potent and easy to get in your daily antioxidants. Pay attention to the ORAC units.. look for 3500 per serving. ORAC is the measurement for antioxidant levels in a food. The more you can get into your body, the better. Let me go over what happens real quick so you can understand why it's so important. Toxins are basically unstable molecules called free-radicals- they are unstable because they are missing a hydrogen atom. This instability causes them to search for hydrogen atoms anywhere they can find in your body. This is called the Oxidation-Reduction Reaction or the REDOX Reaction. Another word for it is AGING! Once the free-radical is successful, the molecule they took that atom from is now itself unstable. Once that cell reproduces it will do so as a degenerate cell.

Enough accumulated cells like these grouped together and this causes disease and cancer. But well before this the process is simply aging you (or turning over your cells), both naturally and prematurely, depending on how you take care of your body. This is why I always refer to foods high in antioxidants as anti-aging foods. (At least I was able to remember something from school!)

Here's a good ORAC Value site.

2. HYDRATE

Drink tons of water.. I think everyone knows how vital this is to your health and well-being, but also for our looks. Lack of hydration shows up in your face for sure. Hydrating also makes it possible for your skin to renew and look rejuvenated and supple.

Try and avoid sugary drinks or sodas... stick to water as much as possible.. does more harm and you may neglect drinking all the water you need.

3. Don't Smoke or Drink

Yeah, that's right I said don't smoke or drink. Smoking is such an obvious common sense thing for most people so I don't think I need to explain too much here... don't make yourself look ugly please. Smoking makes you look downright UGLY. Pock marks, pigmentation, bad teeth and breath, the whole enchilada. Like, don't be stupid.

Drinking for some reason just isn't as easy for people to get. Let me tell you that drinking rapidly ages you more than anything else, right up there with smoking and drugs. Nothing is worse. When people claim to eat healthy and organically but drink I just laugh to myself. Like who do they think they are kidding? Not me. I am educated enough to know that toxins are toxins are toxins. Whether they are coming from McDonald's crap food or Doritos or Diet Coke or a gin and tonic, they mean the same thing on a molecular level to your aging.. just in a MUCH higher potency. Bad fats and cholesterol are a different story that targets other health issues. We are talking about aging here. Even if you drink, eating healthy is still an important part of life for a myriad of other reasons, but I feel it's important to address drinking here so you aren't under any kind of assumption that you are taking care of internal care with respects to aging... only doing the opposite. Alcohol is pure poison, pure toxic. You're better off eating junkity junk foods.. they will never add up to the damages alcohol will do to your face!

Do you know what is happening when you drink? When you drink, alcohol is running through your entire blood stream as you know, wreaking havoc. Being buzzed means the alcohol or toxins or unstable molecules are literally aging you all over. That is essentially what is happening. It is oxidizing your body.

A few years ago when I was 25 I met a few girls at a get together.. after a few minutes we realized that we all went to Newport Harbor High School. I didn't know them and I am usually pretty good with age, I estimated they were about 30 and thought they might have graduated in 95'. When they told me they graduated in 2000 with ME, I couldn't believe it! They easily looked 30. They were normal girls, definitely didn't get into any drugs, had good jobs and didn't smoke. They only thing that was different between us was the years of casual/social drinking they had on their side.. it all adds up baby. Even just a few drinks a week will add up in the years to come. Eat all the anti-aging food you want, you can't undo (fight off with food) what alcohol does to your body.

There have been two times in my life I lost my mind and went on a silly partying rampage. I did nothing that is out of the ordinary - just social drinking. They both lasted just three months and at the end of both of them I noticed a HUGE different in my face from before I started drinking. Needless to say I freaked out.. I couldn't believe what I saw and what I was doing to my body! I did major damage control and was able to fight off the lines around my eyes.. boy am I happy I was able to notice that. Huge difference.

Don't give me the "But I drink a glass of wine for my heart and anti-oxidants." Save it for someone stupid. Yes, the antioxidants in the wine are good for you but it doesn't change the ALCOHOL also contained in the wine.. still oxidizing, aging you in the process... Obviously.

I have to say I enjoy the comments I get about looking young for my age, even though I'm only 27 (28 in a few months).. and I attribute a lot of it to NOT drinking. Do your youth a favor and keep it by not putting poison in your body. Don't be fooled by beautiful partying celebrities.. you better believe they REGULARLY get botox, vitamin and collagen injections as well as face work. They also spend A LOT of money on professional facials.

4. Diet

Food is so important... here's another awesome reason to eat healthy- it keeps you looking young! (As long as you're not drinking). Foods high in anti-oxidants as I have already noted, will help your body stay young by fighting off what ages you. You will feel better and look better as a result. Go and check out this site or another one like it to remember the foods that are best for you. I used to bring baggies of an antioxidant medley to work with me every day. They were of red and blue berries, prunes, grapes and red bell peppers. I just snacked on them at my desk.

Organic is the way to go! Anything that is artificial or refined or chemically is in some way or another toxic. It's really that simple.. I don't think I need to explain much here. If in the ingredients are things you can't pronounce, skip it. Skip refined flours and sugars and breads and pastas.. stick to whole wheat. White means refined and bleached. By now honestly I think the majority of people are pretty well educated to know what is healthy and what is junk!

Eat healthy fruits and veggies.. fresh is best! The more the merrier.

D. SkinCare

Aaahhh, what you've probably been waiting for! My favorite.. I love my products! I'm going to go over the best regimen to prevent professional and expensive sessions. I'm not going to push products as much as I'm going to give an outline to guide you. This will be categorized with the key steps for a beautiful face.

1. Exfoliating

Exfoliating is VERY important. This is too often overlooked. It refines your face and scrubs off dead skin cells to rejuvenate your cells and stimulate renewal. There are two forms that both need to be used. Do not use either form of exfoliation while you are using any Retinol or Retin-A products.

a. Chemical peels - some peels might say "fruit enzyme" peel and that's okay.. it's all (glycolic) acid. You want this! Rule of thumb is you never want to use a peel that is used over night or for any period of time over 10 minutes. You are looking for something that tingles a little (even itches slightly) and needs to be washed off in about 3 minutes. Anything more doesn't WORK. Some peels can be used every other day and some should only be used once a week. Either is okay as long as the time period doesn't last over 10 minutes. If you don't feel anything when the product is on, use it up and move on to another product. You want to feel something. After at least a few times using this you should see a noticeable result.. skin should be a little glowy and/or smoother complexion.

I use Peter Thomas Roth Unwrinkle Peel Pads. These are great pads I can use every other day.

I've also used L'Oreal Glycolic Anti-aging Peel Kit and it works awesome. I was highly impressed, can't find it here on Kauai. You will save money with this one (should be able to find it at any pharmacy type store). You can use it every two or three months. I'm gonna order this and use it every three months with the Peter Thomas Roth pads in between.

b. Microdermabrasion - Oooh.. this is good. Great news is you don't need to pay for $200 sessions. Neutrogena Microdermabrasion At Home Kit is amazing. 5 times using this equals one professional use. You use this initially for 5 days in a row then every other day or as much as you like. This really works! I've used this for years and swear by it. It really makes a noticeable difference. (I've seen it for cheaper than Amazon at Walmart and those stores so I don't know what to say about that.) Use this on your hands, neck and decolletage as well.

c. Daily Scrubs - Find a daily face wash/scrub that you like and use it in the morning. I use Philosophy Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash.. Best I've ever used. By far. One bottle has lasted me about 7 months.

2. Daily Regimen

a. Face Wash

This is easy.. Find a wash you like that is clean and makes your face feel fresh and pure when rinsed. The best I've ever used is Philosophy Purity Made Simple. Just luxurious. This bottle will last me over 7 months.. haven't finished it yet. Goes a long way. Wash at night and use your scrub in the morning.

Do NOT use any astringents.. they dry out your face which is the worst thing you can do, unless you want wrinkles. They are damaging more than anything.. if you need to balance your ph out cause you're breaking out, astringents will put you in a never ending cycle. Instead, try and find the right products that aren't causing breakouts and work with your skin tone. If you do break out once in a while, the best skin clearing medication is The Body Shop's Tea Tree Blemish Night Fade Lotion... Zaps em'. Toners are a waste of money.. skip them.

b. Moisturizing

This is absolutely KEY! Your skin MUST be hydrated at all times!!!

In the morning use your daily moisturizer with an SPF 15 at least. Daily moisturizer should be a moisturizer primarily and you don't need to think of it as a treatment. This should keep you hydrated all day, which is key. Do not ever skip out on your daily moisturizer. There are many good ones out there but I use Olay Regenerist UV Cream SPF 25. Olay has the least expensive for the best anti-aging products.

Night time moisturizer should be thicker, like a cream. If you have any treatment-like products that you like to use, night is the time, under your cream. I use Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream.

Key: Try and find a moisturizer or cream with collagen and elastin it. Very important to prevent and repair aging skin.

Truly there are so many moisturizers and creams out there these days that do a wonderful job. But if you are going to go with something besides Olay, you will need to go with a higher line to beat or meet the effects. My friend just told me that she's been using Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Extreme and that she's seen real results fast with it.

Now I'm nuts about moisturizing and in addition to my anti-aging serum, my organic coconut oil and my cream, I use Replens... yes that's right, the 'long lasting personal lubricant' on my face! I smear that stuff on top of my cream like no one's business. Now where did I get this crazy idea you say? Oprah, like 5 years ago.. it was a special with women in their 50's who looked amazing with no work done. The most beautiful woman of them all was 50 (she looked a great 40) and was suggested by her dermatologist to use Replens since she was 20. She swore by it and I can honestly say that it works. It leaves a thick layer on your face but for some odd reason it doesn't break you out ever. It's so thick. Because of that layer, it's not for everyone but what this product is essentially is high concentrations of plain moisturizing ingredients.. nothing more. Just in case, I called a friend who worked at a dermatologists office and went through every single ingredient with her - all harmless and unweird.

c. Serums

A good anti-aging serum is one thing you should spend money on. I use one by a line called SkinMedica. A high line used by a lot of estheticians. Another good line is Perricone MD. Philosophy and other well known high lines like Estee Lauder and others will also have great serums. Check ratings online before you commit. If you will absolutely not fork out for one, Garnier and Olay both have good ones. If you can afford to use the higher line product in the morning and evening, great, if not, use it at night and a less expensive one like Olay in the morning under your moisturizer.

Key: If you can, try and find a serum with hyaluronic acid.. the best moisturizing ingredient out there. Epicuren has one! Moisture Surge it's called. And Peter Thomas Roth has one.

I use SkinMedica TNS Recovery Complex. I get it on eBay for $100. This little bottle you see here gets rid of fine lines.. they use this amazing patented stuff called Nutricel MD. Wow. I use it at night and Olay in the am. SkinMedica is a wonderful line.. all of their products are great! You really can't go wrong. I just use this one cause I don't want to spend so much money. I'm going to use this in conjunction with a hyaluronic acid serum.

d. Antioxidants

For the face, this is also important.. try and find either a product that contains vitamins C and E or get an oil. Philosophy is all over this. They have a Vitamin C Powder you mix with whatever you want. They also have omega oils (I really liked this stuff) for the face.. I use both of these, not regularly though, and use organic coconut oil that I put in an oil vial that was used up. Coconut oil is wonderful for anti-aging!!!

e. Masks

Use a good hydrating mask once a week. I use Peter Thomas Roth Super Rish Moisture Mask.

In addition, if you like you can use other kinds of mask that you may like. There are so many types; refining, clarifying, detoxing, etc. Detoxing might be a good idea but I really don't see the need for others.

f. Eyes

Apply eye cream as if your life depended on it day and night... like it is nobody's business! Just smear that baby on!!! I don't have a favorite here.. right now I'm just using the Olay Regenerist eye cream. Read reviews for the best products.. there are a lot of good eye creams out there. If you have the dough, use SkinMedica or Perricone MD.

g. Lips

Lips are important too cause if you let them go dry and chapped and never use sunscreen you will find little wrinkles at the top edge of your lips before you know it. Use a long lasting balm at night and one with an SPF during the day. Or just use the day one at night if it lasts, that's what I do. If you do this regularly, you shouldn't have to reapply during the day.

So let's recap your skincare regimen:

1. Exfoliate regularly

2. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize

3. Invest in a good anti-aging serum

4. Use antioxidants

5. Use SUNSCREAN and cover your face in the sun!

6. Use a daily scrub and clean face wash

7. Don't forget EYES and lips

SOME DONTS:

Do not use products such as Strivectin SD that miraculously work wonders instantly... this also applies to "line fillers". Soon after applying Strivectin SD and others like it, your skin will look noticeably smoother, supple and filled out, even getting rid of wrinkles. So what's the problem? It's very temporary.. lasts only a while so this might be a good idea for an event where you want to look really good. But essentially what is happening is your skin is getting filled in and stretching out, causing your skin to lose elasticity. Over a period of time, not long, you will only make your wrinkles worse!

Do not use cheap cheap products.. you are wasting your money honey. I promise you. PROMISE. I know it makes you feel good at the cash register but it ain't doing squat so save your $8 for something that will actually work.

Don't use all natural products.... um, real sorry to break it to you but they don't work!

Watch out for an ingredient called Mineral Oil. It tells you the product is very cheap and will most definitely break you out.

Boy, I hope someone read this.

Don't be overwhelmed by this list.. I've accumulated these things over a period of time and a lot of bad purchases. The best thing to do is start somewhere.. just choose what you think will best suit your needs and start with that one thing.. then build up slowly over time.

Top Performer of 2009!I

2010-02-10T19:59:00.000-08:00

I'm so proud of my husband... 2009 was hard for a lot of people and Joe was able to rise above a lot of negativity through it all. We have so much to be thankful for and I'm so thankful to Joe for working so hard for our family.. and to God for making it possible and his grace. For the award ceremony at his site, he took EVERY SINGLE sales award, number 1. Joe put a lot of hours into work... hard work and good attitude pays off. It's that simple.

Today he brought home this framed letter from the president of Marriott.

Hopefully if you want to read it you can if you click on it.

Proud of my Hubby... he deserves this credit!

Jed Walking at 10 mos...

2009-08-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

My Little Missionary

2009-07-31T16:04:00.000-07:00

My little guy is such a good little missionary. He's always had this sort of natural conviction of God I noticed since he could talk.

When we were in CA this last time in May, we were out to dinner with my Aunt and her husband (catholic). He started to ask some questions about the church and tells us that my aunt doesn't really tell him anything. Joey was sitting next to him and picked up on our conversation. He steps right in without hesitation and says, "Well, this is the deal. Joseph Smith asked God which Church was true and God told him they were all wrong and that He would raise His true church on the through him. Then God had him translate the Book of Mormon so we would know it is true when you read it." I was just sitting across the table in shock! For one thing, we never told him that story so he picked it all up in primary. And another thing, I don't think 50% of members could articulate that story so quick and accurately. Well then!

The other day, we were sitting at the beach eating a snow-cone. Joey tells me how sad he was that his friend, Ethan, doesn't believe in God. I was like, "Really? That's sad." I wasn't really focused cause I was feeding the baby but then I heard, "..and then I went and prayed." I was like, come again? "what?" he said, "I prayed." "what did you pray for?" He said, "I prayed that Ethan and his family would believe in God."............. I wanted to die. This is my only desire for my children, that they will walk in faith, seek righteous desires, being mindful of God and find favor with Him. Of course I wouldn't want my kid to be a bum on the street or a crazy person, but there really isn't anything more I desire of my children. To me, it's the only thing that matters. If nothing else, I want for my boys to be servants of God. Of course, their life is theirs and there are no certainties. When we got to the car, I asked him why he prayed for them. He goes, "well, for one thing I wouldn't want to be his friend if he doesn't." LOL... I about died. I said, "Of course you should be friends with him, but do you want them to feel the love you have felt from God?" he goes, "yes, and I want them to one day be able to go to the temple." OH MY GOODNESS....

I know it seems we talk a lot about these things in the home but the truth is we don't. He comes up with these ideas on his own. Which is why it's so impressive to me. We say prayers and read our scriptures (not as consistently I'm afraid as we should) and other than church and his occasional question, that's about it.

One day when he was just about to turn 4 years old in CA, I picked him up from preschool and I noticed he was seemed very depressed holding up his face in his hand and looking out the window. I said, "what is the matter honey?" He said, "Jason doesn't believe in GOD." Very upset about it... "I was talking about God and he said that he doesn't believe in God. How can someone not believe in God?? How?" He gave me this unbelieving look on his face and was very distraught over it. I explained to him that he will meet many people throughout his life that won't share his beliefs and that's apart of this life. We all have the right to choose right from wrong, truth from lies. He understood but was still pretty upset about this new and crazy notion of 'not believing in God.' How sweet and innocent.

One day he wanted to talk about what you do in life.. what the plans are. This was at the same age. Very interesting I thought for a nearly 4 year old to contemplate these things. So I went over school, mission if he chooses, college, marriage, etc. So he went over it with me so he could understand it... he mentioned his Mission with a little excitement in his voice. I said, "Joey, if you faithfully go on your mission, Mom, Dad and God will be very proud of you." He thought about it for a moment and goes, "I'll Make you all proud." and looks out the window. I wanted to melt. Luckily he has a military-minded Dad who teaches him that sense of duty to God and Country which is necessary.

When we were sealed in the San Diego Temple... I'll never forget the reverence in which Joey came into the sealing room with the Baby. Dressed in white and so beautiful and quiet. He kneeled at the altar with a beyond his years countenance about him. It was as if he just 'knew'. I was absolutely in awe. I don't think I will ever see that again! haha... Later when Joe asked him what his favorite time in California was (including tons of fun things, Disneyland and seeing his cousins and friends) he said, "Well, the Temple." like.. .of course. Joe asked him what it was about the temple and he said, "The prayer that was said." I wanted to die when Joe told me this.. because I wasn't even paying attention to the prayer(not to say I wasn't paying attention or that the prayer was boring, but I was emotionally pretty overwhelmed) .. and here's this little 6 year old listening so attently.

Just so proud...

Why I'm always waiting for a call!

2009-06-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

Oh, you have to click on the pics to see them.

This is why... I get so worried when he goes surfing! I hate the summer cause there's a south shore swell during the summer and that's where Joe works. He doesn't even have to go out of the way to get in danger... these waves are literally outside his office! No joke.

It also doesn't help that he had a realistic dream the other night that he died surfing! And also came home a week ago completely gashed on his side when a wave slammed him into a reef. He was lucky it wasn't his head! He actually rode a wave after that to get out of the ocean! And did it deter him? no, he was back in the water the next morning all bandaged up from his armpit to his butt! I can't tell you how many times I've had to open him up to tweeze out some reef particles (they KILL you until they come out) and bandaged him up. He has scars all over.

So far, I have to admit I'm a little relieved Joey is not ready to go out...

But, I'm glad he gets to do something he loves. Proud of you honey!

The 3 Single Most Important Things...

2009-02-13T13:36:00.000-08:00

The single most important thing you can have in this life is a family. This is ultimately one of the greatest purposes of life... to build a family under God and carry on with them through eternity, only made possible through the Atonement of Christ.

The single most important thing you can be in this life is a Disciple of Christ. Being a true disciple is by following Him, sharing His teachings with others, loving Him and others more than we love ourselves, seeking for righteousness and serving others. Christianity is LOVE in action Charity is the pure love of Christ.

The single most important thing you can believe in the life is in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That He died for us and loves us to no end. That only because of His infinite, atoning sacrifice, can we be made whole and return to live with Him again in our Father's kingdom. He is our Creator and Author of the Universe. Nothing gets to the Father but by and through Him. To even pray to the Father we must do so in his name - To utter his very name is the power to borrow from the atonement to come before God as sinners in prayer. How miraculous!

There are simply no more important things than these.

This is my favorite song: Here are the lyrics and the music in on the following attachment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRo8PW7--cs&feature=related

Kissee kissee

2009-01-16T13:03:00.001-08:00

Dang he's cute.. I just needed an excuse to post more pics of him.. hehe!

Today a little girl tried to kiss him and apparently Joey told her to 'back off', which I believe cause that is so his personality! Girls are always after him so he just has this 'too cool for school' attitude with them - which makes them want him more. Of course I asked him a bunch of questions just to make sure that he wasn't the one trying anything funny. You can never be too sure. I pulled all the stops but it was just a "NO". He said he didn't want to cause he already likes a girl.. ah, how cute of him to be faithful! lol

Once I knew he was mellow, I told him that the next time a girl tries to kiss him he shouldn't hurt her feeling by saying things like, "back off!" He should just say politely, "I don't want to because I think we are too young to be kissing."

Joey just rolled his eyes and goes, "chh, you are so akward, Mom."

haha.... I couldn't help but laugh! He just cracks me up.

Get your preschooler or kindergartner to read!

2009-01-16T12:37:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post this a long time ago so just decided to do so now... I would want to know!

I had Joey reading at 4, not bad but I wanted him to be reading at 3. So, how do you get your kid to read early?

Read!

and read some more to them. You should be reading every night to them since infancy. Get them involved in and excited about the story! Get engaged as you read - do the voices, emphasize, the whole pinata!

Joey still loves me to read to him, no matter how big he thinks he is! hehe This is the single most important thing you can do for your child's early education.

When you have that down and are ready to begin teaching, HANDS DOWN get the Bob Books!!! I absolutely swear by these... they are the best beginner books I could find. I think there are 5 sets (of 12 mini books). I think Joey only needed to go through 3 sets and he was on to Dr. Seuss books and on from there. The books are short so they feel a sense of accomplishment rather than frustration rather quickly. They progress perfectly... not too quick. Joey got through the first book without being able to read a word before that the first night!

I'm telling you, as long as you think your kid is ready and they know the alphabet, they can begin to read. Without all the lessons! I didn't even go through one lesson with Joey - he just knew the sounds of the letters, and boom. It's that easy with these books!

P90X!

2009-01-15T00:11:00.000-08:00

Wow... this program works! I only just started on Monday morning but wow, I can really feel the difference! Check it out... If you ever watch TV late at night you might have seen the infomercial.. I know, infomercial! But this works!

http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/p90x.do?code=GOOGLE_SEM_P90X&gclid=CI60neuQkJgCFRFWagod7hudnQ

Since Monday morning to this (Wednesday) morning, I have lost nearly 4 pounds from diet and this exercise and can feel it working everywhere on my body!!!

If you ask for before and after pics, you don't know me... I took the pics with my work out partner but hell will freeze over before anyone sees the 'before' pics! You can see the after pics either during the three months or at the end. hehe

Jed is 3 Months!

2009-01-14T21:26:00.000-08:00

okay, so my pics are out of whack and I'm too tired to take the time to make it pretty.. so just figure it out.. thanks.

Well.. he turned three months on the 7th. He is getting so big! He is now 25 inches long (90th percentile) and 13.4 lbs. (50th percentile).

He is a very happy and content baby. So loving and sweet and smiles all the time! Seeing him smile at me fills me with so much joy I really cannot express. He wakes up happy, even if he's woken up too early and he's happy really anytime during the day. For some reason, he smiles every time I change his diaper.. and I mean every time! He looks at me and gives me this bashful smile and starts to giggle.. He's been doing this as soon as he could smile. He has never ever cried during a diaper change.. even as a newborn.

This is hard to believe but he never cries.. he's such a good baby I feel so blessed and lucky to be his Mom!! He has cried since he was born literally a handful of times and only because he was hungry in the back seat and I couldn't get to him in time. He didn't even cry during his circumcision! The doctor couldn't believe it.

His favorite things are to get his diaper changed, smile, giggle and play with his brother... He loves his big brother, Joey!! read books, stand and sit up as much as he can on his own and for as long as he can - He's so proud and feels like he's such a big boy, you can see on his face- he has ideas! He's gonna do something! haha. He is so strong and stands up so well... He holds his head up like a pro and has been for a long time. When he was two days old he tried so hard to hold up his head, and kept trying and trying until he became more and more steady. So determined. He loves to smile at strangers and loves to talk! Boy, he is a talker.. he can just talk for hours... about this and about that.. such a good conversationalist. As long as you're talking to him, he'll talk! So cute.

He is already teething! crazy.... he just gnaws on everything, especially his fist. Sometimes I think he's hungry, but no, he just wants to suck. Drools and drool caughs all the time.. but it's so cute.

Some things he's beginning to do is laugh - he's trying real hard to laugh. He's more at a giggle but really close. I can't wait to hear that full blown laugh! Also, he is getting real good focusing on something and reaching for it and grabbing it. He tries real hard and is now getting it. What is kinda funny is that he's not too good at holding onto a rattle and shaking it for very long, which is what is normal for his age - but he is reaching for something and is able to grab it, which is actually quite advanced (they usually make sweeping motions at the objects trying to get them at this point).

I love my little guy.. I feel like the luckiest mom in the world :))

New Years 2008

2009-01-02T14:53:00.000-08:00

This New Years we spent at the Marriott Waiohai, also Joe's work. They had a nice prime rib buffet. We had Jed in his new little Skate or Cry outfit from a skate shop. So cute!

I don't know what Joey was doing in this picture.

Jed loves his Daddy!

After dinner, we walked down to the beach (still on the property) and enjoyed the fireworks. Jed absolutely loved them and couldn't take his eyes off them. His little body would get all excited and shake at the noise and lights.

Joe was able to hold real still and take these photos. Amazing! The fireworks were right in front of us.

So this is what New Year's in Hawaii looks like?! It was a gorgeous scene.

Joey was quick to find some kids with sparklers on the beach afterwards and snag a few! Had a blast.

And Jed liked watching his big brother too!

Cool photo Joe took.
When we came home, we watched the countdown with Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Pickler (I really hate our culture sometimes!) on our TV and I broke out the Martinelli's. We're gettin' crazy!

Literally, Joey passed out on the couch in the LAST three seconds of the countdown!! Haha.

What an awesome year this has been and a neat first New Year's Eve with our little Jed~!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-29T01:47:00.000-08:00

This Christmas has been truly blessed. Our family is together, happy and healthy! What more could we wish for. This year has been an especially blessed one. I found out I was pregnant in February and had my beautiful, precious little Jed Maxime' on October 7th. What a blessing he has been. I cannot describe the overwhelming love I feel when I hold him! Nothing makes me happier than seeing his little face light up with excitement when he sees us and smiles! Being a Mother is such a remarkable gift. He loves his brother, boy does he! He is the most excited about Joey. He talks to Joey and smiles and coos the most around him. I love seeing them together. I know he recognizes him.

Joey, Jed and I were able to visit California and see all our family and friends! It was a great time. Joe flew over for the Thanksgiving weekend, which we spent with my family. I was also in my Aunt Susan't wedding on John Wayne's Wild Goose Yacht on November 29th. What a blast it was. So beautiful!

This year, Joey has started school in the 1st grade. He is doing very well and his teacher, Mr. Gomez, is already starting an advanced program for him and a few other students to participate in. Joey is so smart and witty and talented it blows my mind. His favorite things to do are drive me up the wall, watch Total Drama Island on Cartoon Network, draw, draw and draw some more (he is amazing), karate, play soccer and with his legos. Some things he participated in this year was swimming, karate, soccer and the beach. For the new year, in addition we are getting him into piano lessons (if we find a good piano here), theater and hopefully a swim team. What fun!

Joe has been working very hard. In addition to all the activies he is involved with in Joey's life and the Church (he is now the Cub Scout Master for our ward) he enjoys the gym as often as possible and surf! He cannot get enough of surfing!! I am glad he has such a fun hobby to be involved in. This year he also received his Melchizedek Priesthood. I am so happy for him.

This year has been a bit of an exhausting one for me. I was working full time through my pregnancy (thank goodness I had an understanding office and boss who didn't mind when I passed out on his couch when he went out of the office. Haha!) and swelled up like a balloon!!! gross. Despite having a semi-difficult pregnancy (can we say wearing ridiculously thick tights with grandma Dr. Scholls sandals throughout my entire pregnancy during the summer in ridiculous heat and humidity!!!!!!) and a life-changing labor (I asked to die - I doubt I will ever cry from pain again in life), I couldn't ask for anything more from this year. I have an amazing husband and children. For the next year, I plan on getting in amazing shape. Yes, look out for my blog in hopefully 3 months when I should be done with my program! I can't wait. Other than that, I want to progress mentally and spiritually so I can improve myself as a Mother and Wife. Joe and I are planning our temple marriage to be sealed together with our kids. I can't wait. We haven't decided on the temple yet.

Below are some pics of our Christmas together:

Christmas Eve. Unfortunately when this dinner looked the best, my camera wouldn't work. When it finally decided to, this is what it looked like. I cooked my husband's favorite meal - roast. I dare say it is pretty incredible.

Followed by homemade apple pie - served with natural vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. By the way, you cannot get the same amazingness with store bought desserts. Just isn't the same!

Here's my amazing little guy! I can't stand it.

Dessert left over for Santa!
And Santa's Thank You card to Joey.
Here's Joey reading Santa's note.
Here I am wishing I was still sleeping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Opening presents.

Joe's funky toys he finds for him.
After presents, I make my Christmas morning breakfast. Eggs with sausage, onion, mushrooms and cheese, french toast, spicy grilled potatoes with peppers, onion and bell pepper, orange juice and (turkey) bacon and sausage. During the day I play my all-time favorite movie, The Sound of Music and have a relaxed day.

This is directly after breakfast! He just passed out!

To end the day, we saw Marley & Me and cried. So cute.

My Awesome Husband!

2008-08-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a moment to express my appreciation to my husband. I can't say what a wonderful companion and father he has been. Aside from being a great provider, he is always there to support and love me unconditionally. I'm just gonna list some of the things he does for us and his efforts.

- Wakes up extra early to get Joey ready for school every morning. He fixes him an awesome breakfast of eggs and the works, irons his own clothes, gets Joey dressed, teeth brushed, hair done and school things ready to go... so all I have to do it get myself ready and out the door. I have been super tired during this pregnancy so every minute of extra sleep is a god-send. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this!! He even does this for me on his day off and for church!

- Let's me spend all I want on skin care products, clothes, etc for my pregnancy and beyond.

- Is understanding when I come home aching and tired from work and just don't have it in me to make dinner or do housework. He's been really great at pitching in around the house and makes his own dinner most of the time.

- Takes me out to dinner a lot so I don't have to worry about it! And he takes me anywhere I want!

- Paints my toes!

- Does housework on his days off like laundry and sweeping, etc! (I never would've imagined this some years back!) He hates laundry.

- He's a scout leader.

- He teaches Sunday School to 11 & 12 year old boys... Those kids love him!

- He's Joey's soccer coach. This is 2 to 3 times a week!

- Takes Joey snorkeling, biking, swimming, etc on his days off and when he can, after work. He's such a great dad!

- Drives Joey after work whenever he can to karate which is 25 minutes away from work and 45 minutes away from home. He is absolutely committed to his children.

- Pitches in with (okay does most of) the shopping for groceries and for the home- Costco, K-Mart (we are limited here!), etc. This has been a HUGE help. I'm ready to turn in at 5- when I get off work!

- Is so thoughtful about me and the things I like - He is always thinking of us.

- Always thinking of Joey and looking for things for him online... Takes so much time and care in Joey's clothes and making him look stellar! Joey is a lucky kid.

- Much, much more!

What can I say? He is a great head of our home and is my perfect husband. I am so grateful to him for all he does and being so amazing... God has truly blessed our family. I am a lucky woman.

I love you honey!

24 Week Prego Pics

2008-07-06T16:39:00.000-07:00

16 Weeks left to go here! Again, huge.

Prego and the Maid of Honor

2008-07-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

Here I am at Heidi's Weddinng on June 6th. 20 weeks. I AM HUGE!

I was like Bride-zilla for Heidi! Running around like crazy and trying to make sure everything went smoothly amongst all the incompetance. I can get crazy. I will post the wedding later. Let's just say my feet were killing me!

19.5 Weeks Pics

2008-07-06T16:05:00.000-07:00

Here I am at almost 20 weeks (almost 5 mos) and I can easily pass for 7! This is us in a shop at the Marriott in Lihue. I needed a dress for dinner that night so I tried some on here.

Joey just loves my belly!

Here we are by this giant fish sculpture on the property. This is the dress I ended up with.

13 Weeks

2008-07-06T15:44:00.000-07:00

Yuck! Is all I can say.... but what are you going to do??? I get pretty big quickly when I'm pregnant. I am already showing in this pic and still in my FIRST TRIMESTER!

18 Week Prego Pics

2008-07-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

Here I am at 18.5 weeks which is just into the second trimester (about 4 mos). As you can see, I am already getting very big! I can easily pass for 6 mos here... crazy.

People were (have been) constantly guessing I am way ahead in my pregnancy. Everyone I work with swears I have 2 in there! haha...

Karate

2008-06-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

We just signed up Joey for Karate yesterday. I could not believe how on top of it he was! Wow.. I was sitting there so giddy and proud of him. This was his first day ever. He was completely focused and serious and yelled out all the commands... just like a little soldier.

The Sensei came up to us afterward and praised him for being the best first lesson he has ever taught! He and the other instructor were so impressed. They said that most kids have a hard time answering questions on demand or are unsure of themselves and they'll just stare back... When he asked him if he was smart, Joey goes, "Yes, Sir!" and when he asked him if he could do something, Joey said, "I'll try!"

The Sensei said that he is going to go slow with him because he thinks he can be good. My little guy.

This reminds me... the other day, Joey was asking me about making money, then asked me what happens if you are an adult and you don't have money? I immediately told him, "Joey, you never have to worry about that. You will always be successful."

Whatnot's by Joey

2008-06-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

~At a restaurant with my Mother he was tired, out of nowhere! "Can we please just get the check and get out of this joint??!!"

~I wanted to see Narnia. Joey, "Mom, you know that movie is rated 'L' right?" "Joey, there is no rating 'L'." "It is rated 'L' Mom... because it's LAME and I don't want to see it." Where does he come up with this stuff.

~At another restaurant.. and I guess him just being done. He goes, "Okay, I'm tired, I've just eaten my entree' and so now we will need the check." and looks up at the waitress filling our water right then, as if to say, hint hint. She looks down startled, "Okay." And I said, No, that's fine.. don't listen to him. Man is he demanding.

~Genuinely, "Mom, I'm really very sorry you have to clean up this mess I just made." haha... yeah.. right.

~"You know how the gum ends up in my hair or clothes?? Magically! It's just there." With a sweeping motion he makes with his hands and a look that says, 'that's just the way it is.'

Aspirations

2008-06-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

Saturday Night we had the missionaries over for dinner. I asked one of them how much longer he had on his mission, since I knew he had been out for quite some time.
Missionary, "4 weeks."
Joey, "What are you going to be after this?"
Which by the way, I thought was some pretty advanced insight for a 5 year old. It might be difficult to understand this if you don't have kids.
Missionary, "Oh, I'm not sure... I have to figure it out. I have no idea."
Joey, puzzled by this, "You don't know what you want to do?? Well, I know what I want to do! I'm going to make movies." very matter of fact might I add.

Joe and I had our ideas for him.. we finally came to the idea of an astronaut, which I know sounds funny, but I love science and he is definitely smart enough. Joe wanted this cause he wants him to be a pilot... But Joey had other ideas.

Here's the ticker. Some of you who know Joe might think he got this idea from him... oh, you are wrong. He has come up with this on his own... kind of evolved. From 3, he saw books as scripts. At 2, he preferred to carry around pictures of his super heroes over the actual super hero figures themselves. I saw his admiration grow for images and photography to movies at a very young age. He appreciates them, memorizes lines, familiarizes the actors and can always identify them from other movies he has seen. And for some reason, he never wants to see a movie twice... ever.

I know I am bragging here.. but hey, this is the beauty of being a mother. It's the best... But seriously, he is pretty impressive to me. When something will happen, he will want to draw it all with a short script below the pics... He wants to put it all down as a story.

The other day, I walked through his dim room and he had these little people figures standing next to his wall with different color lights shining straight on them that projected their shadows on the baseboard... He said, "Mom, look. This is how you film people moving without moving them yourself." and moved the lights to make it look like them were walking along (by their shadows). I was like, "huh, I don't think I could've thought about that."
I feel like we are holding him back by not giving him all his tools... I swear this kid needs like a studio! Especially with his art work... wait till I post about that!

May Day School Speech

2008-06-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

May 23rd, 2008. I had no idea Joey was a little speaker. Nor was I told he was going to speak at an event in front of the entire school, staff and parents!! I was told his May Day celebration was going to start at 9:30 and I had to leave work, had a hard time finding parking and was maybe 3 minutes late! I don't know when they started but when I showed up, the Kindergardeners were all done, song and all. As I was trying to figure everything out, a teacher came up to me praising Joey for the great job he did reading for the Kindergarden class in front of the entire school! I was floored!!! WHAT??!! I can't believe I missed that :( .. soo bummed. Well, at least she took pictures of him and said he did such a good job and went up there like a big boy... also that he was chosen to read because he is the only one who can read the way he can. So proud of my little boy. This is why I read to him every day!!

Here's the funny thing. When I dropped him off at school.. he freaked out when he saw the school being set up. I said, "What on earth is the matter?" "It's May Day and we have to HULA! Oh, I don't want to." and started whining and complaining. I said, "it's not a big deal, just go along with it." All the grades put on their own performance.

Then when I found out that he was speaking I naturally thought he was freaking cause he was nervous to give the talk. But when we asked him about that, he goes, "NO, not at all! I didn't care about that. I just didn't want to sing! It's so stupid!!" haha... he always makes me laugh.
You know how little kids and toddlers in groups will clap their hands and sing along in activities (like with Barney or in Library readings)?? Joey has never been one to do that. Ever!.. I always wondered if he just didnt' get it.. but then I realized in his own little head, he just figured it was silly and was always looking around at everyone like they were crazy. He just refused to go along with it no matter how hard I prodded..

Here are some pics of the celebration. Don't ask me what May Day is... Have no idea... something about aloha?

Ew. But hey it's us.

Picky Eater? I don't think so!

2008-06-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

Raising a picky eater is just not an option for me. I NEVER complained about my food and always ate everything on my plate. Especially, to me, a man must eat like a man... and therefore raising a picky boy does nothing for them.
At dinner time at home, he actually starts WITH his veggies (asparagus, broccoli, etc.) and moves from there. I have been quite pleased as he doesn't even know "ew, this looks gross.. I can't eat that". However I didn't quite expect this from my kid.
Joey's food choices crack me up. Let's just say he prefers the more sophisticated choice. No joke, he even seems offended when he is handed a kid's menu. He just gives you and the choices this snobby disappointed look. I still try though because I don't like that...
He has been eating crab, sushi, calamari and more since he was 3. Escargot, sashimi and caviar since he was 4- perhaps even younger.

The other day at an Italian restaurant he wanted to leave once he heard the kid's choices, but when he heard the specials from the waiter, he insisted on going with the steamers. The waiter didn't think we were seriously ordering that at first. haha... little does he know the first thing Joey asks for in a French restaurant is escargot.. and eats them like candy! When he brought them out, he said that the chef was like, "this is for a KID?" It was a huge bowl... Joe didn't take one and in no time at all, they were all eaten properly with the fork-- he even dipped bread in the sauce afterwards... The staff were all watching.

Here's a pic of him at Genkei Sushi 2 days ago eating fish eggs, plain... and plain octopus legs on rice... NO flavor, nothing. I had to take a picture with my phone... he makes me laugh.

Where do babies come from?

2008-05-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

How do you tell a 5 year old where babies come from? I was always told by professionals and books to be honest and age appropriate about it. So up till now, I have told Joey the basics... He has watched a video (that did not show nudity or the birth of course) about the developing baby in utero to birth. He was educated that the sperm from the Dad fertilizes the egg from the Mom and on from there.

One thing you have to understand about Joey is he can tell when you aren't giving him the facts and he is scary inquisitive! As you can tell, I don't have any other options but to be honest. Besides, I don't believe in the alternative.

LUCKILY, he has not made the connection as to HOW it all happens in the first place.. haha!! Last night was the first time he asked. I think my heart stopped and I just laid there frozen, not knowing what to say. "Mom, how does the baby get inside the mom in the beginning?"
Ummmm.... finally I thought, "From the Dad." Scared out of my mind what would come next he goes...

"OH Yeah, the sperm!"
"Right." I said...
I can breathe!... he still didn't make the connection and to avoid the chance of him asking, I quickly changed the subject.
So far it has been diverted, but for the time being I will get educated as to what a child should know and how they should be told.

Whew! but his reply cracks me up.... too much!

IT'S A BOY!

2008-05-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

Boy is it a BOY! Unbelievable! I cannot express how much I 'knew' it was a girl... I don't know what to think! Dreams, feelings, you name it- I had them!!!

BUT, there was the penis- there was no escaping it! He kept flashing us.. it was like he was trying to say something.

His name is Jed Maxime Prado. Jed means 'God's Beloved' and Maxime (a french boy's name) is pronounced 'Mahcseem'- but Joe says "Maxim-ae"... I don't mind either way.

Here's his profile pics: The 2nd one looks as if he's about to suck his thumb. So cute! One of these pics was taken right before he scratched his face! It was amazing to see how animated they are so young.

This is the best one of him flasing us! LOOK at his butt cheeks! SO cute!!!... then again, I am the Mom.
"And here it is again Mom, just in case you didn't see the first five times!"
This one you can't see as clearly- it looks like an arrow pointing to the right! This cracks me up.

Wow... was I surprised! I am so happy for my little guy though, and glad Joey has a little brother to look up to him.

Joey is so sweet... everytime he sees me or passes by, he comes up and lifts up my shirt and kisses the baby.. "Hello Baby Brother!- my little baby brother in the womb." and kisses him all over... it's so cute!

This guy is nuts... he wouldn't sit still for a second! We were lucky to get those pics of his profile. At one point, we went to look at his face and he had his fists up by his head and started punching the sac like it was a punching bag- like crazy, over and over! His little face was squished while he was doing it as if he was frustrated... it was the funniest thing. He seems to be like, "GET ME OUT! I'm DONE!!!" He's a lot like Joey that way.

I'm pregnant!

2008-05-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

Here's my littlest guy at 8 weeks- like a pea in a pod :)

Old news now... But boy was I relieved! I thought it would never happen.... at 5:45 on February 22nd, at about the 10th time I went to the bathroom since I fell asleep, I finally took a test. I was 16 days late so I thought it was about time :P (I didn't want to take a test earlier cause I was terrified of being confronted with a negative sign again)
Except for the frequent bathroom trips and sore and growing chest, I didn't have any symptoms to speak of...

I was 6 weeks at the time and my due date is October 15... Joey's Birthday is October 13th! I wonder how close they are going to be... funny.

We are ecstatic!

Sing a long

2008-05-18T04:06:00.000-07:00

This is what I have sung to Joey since he was born... Not bored, just want to share this with you.

It goes a little something like this:

"Heeee's myyyy little schnookum woo, little schnookum poo, little schnookum woo woo woo woo bear.

Heeee's myyyy little pookum poo, little pookum woo, little schnookie woo, poo poo poo bear.

Heeee's just a schnookuuuuuum, he's a poookuuuuuuuum, he's just a little little little little wookuuuuum. He's my little guy... the littlest guy in the wide world.

The wiiide woooooooorld...." and then I change it up a bit.. mm,k?

it's late.

Obama Fights for Partial Birth Abortion Updated

2008-05-18T01:54:00.000-07:00

I wrote this to my Mom a bit ago and I feel it's important enough to add to my blog. I don't prefer to talk about it and would rather not have this negativity on my site but I feel a moral obligation to spread the word.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing."

- Edmund Burke

If you look back in history, you can see the truthfulness of this statement in nearly every abominable thing that has occured. In fact, what frustrates me the most about this world, is for the an otherwise 'good person' to sit there and read this (YES YOU) and think... 'Oh, that is terrible... Oh, well.' I know it is hard to speak up against what is popular, what Hollywood is about and Obama happens to be that right now. It is almost never easy to do the right thing, nevertheless- grow some balls and speak up!

((By the way, my Mother, who is a serious liberal and avid supporter of Obama wrote back and thanked me for giving her this information and told me she would pass this on- a satisfaction she has never given me before.))

HOWEVER, this is not an issue of liberal vs conservative or left vs right or democrat vs republican, so get that dumb crap out of your head before you proceed! Most democrats are against this issue as most people.. I pray for the souls who aren't- actually, to be honest, I really don't care what happens to them.

I really believe Barack Obama is evil, and actually for a very simple reason. Before I learned about this, I never really cared about him. He just seemed pretty cool to me and I didn't have any reason not to like him. Of course his political beliefs were completey opposite from mine, but so are half the country's- no reason not to like someone. Now, I get anxiety seeing his stupid ugly face on TV and have to turn the channel. This man is not what he seems- You must look at his actions and what he really stands for! Unfortunately, since this is now a nearly godless nation and the devil and Oprah are working for him, he will probably be elected.

You are probably rolling your eyes and wondering what this is all about and why he is so evil... this is about Partial Birth Abortion- I won't go into it cause I can't but this is killing a healthy, full term baby while he/she is being born. If you aren't outraged that this even exists or if you aren't exactly sure what this is about, I suggest you get educated and google it (without images if possible) It is worse than you can imagine. Even if you believe that killing (conventionally I guess) an unborn child is harmless because of a woman's 'right' (pains me to say that), what you couldn't possibly imagine people doing in your wildest dreams is a reality today.

SO, drum roll please...

Not only is Obama pro-choice (I'm not even going to get into that discussion) but he is passionately and is AGGRESSIVELY ACTIVE on abortion rights and making partial birth abortion legal again. Aggressively ACTIVE!!!! ACTIVE. This is the worst evil imaginable, the most horrifying it gets. Sure he is pre-occupied with other things right now, BUT he has vowed and if elected, you can sit and watch this happen.

But don't take my word for it. Read for yourself.

I have highlighted my words in purple so you can tell what is what.

This website, click here, is directly from pro-choice.org... they are elated to have leaders on their side and have quoted him. Please take note that the last quote about the Supreme Court's decision is regarding the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act... He is outspoken against it..... what a winner!

************************************************************************************ This is an article that I think is pretty good. Make sure you read the second page as well... not that long. This is especially important cause it outlines his exact positions and when he ruled for what in the Senate. You can google them individually if you want.

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This is his quote regarding PBA again on his website... to see the many comments by his disgusted x-followers, you have to log in real quick. I had to to post my own comment.. you can read it at the bottom... ooh, I am good. I also commented this in orange as a reply to someone else's:

Obama and I do disagree on this. Something about the violence required to do this bothers me.But he has my vote because I know this is simply a wedge issue that the other side likes to use and discount issues I consider much more important because it affects even more lives in my opinion and has greater effect on humanity.
The other side does not want to deal with these issues: unjust wars and evil political machinations, poverty, misuse of power, destruction of the environment.
So they stick to the abortion issue. But for me, it's just one issue and I've had enough discussions with people to know that many who support abortion rights do not support abortion.They just believe that those who are against it shouldn't be able to impose on the rest of us.
I personally would never do it or be part of it unless under extremely rare conditions.
So, having said that, I would say that abortion is not a make or break issue for me. No single issue is. I judge Obama based on the totality of his postions and I'm impressed and fully support him more than any other candidate so far.

By Taylor from Koloa, HI Today at 6:08 pm EDT

Wow... you are an idiot. Anyone who thinks a man who is passionately working to make the gruesome killing of full term babies legal on the stance it is for the 'women's rights!!??' is a decent human being and deserving of our votes because of other common grounds is clearly missing one too many screws.

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This is good.. read.

Why Jesus would not vote for Barack Obama
Posted: July 19, 20061:00 am Eastern
By Jill Stanek© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com

In February 2004, U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama's wife, Michelle, sent a fund-raising letter with the "alarming news" that "right-wing politicians" had passed a law stopping doctors from stabbing half-born babies in the neck with scissors, suctioning out their brains and crushing their skulls. Michelle called partial-birth abortion "a legitimate medical procedure," and wouldn't supporters please pay $150 to attend a luncheon for her husband, who would fight against "cynical ploy[s]" to stop it? But that's not why Obama's opponent Alan Keyes said Jesus Christ wouldn't vote for him. Obama recalled Keyes' statement in a recent USA Today opinion piece but omitted his reasoning. I know his reasoning, because I was there. As a nurse at an Illinois hospital in 1999, I discovered babies were being aborted alive and shelved to die in soiled utility rooms. I discovered infanticide. Legislation was presented on the federal level and in various states called the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. It stated all live-born babies were guaranteed the same constitutional right to equal protection, whether or not they were wanted. BAIPA sailed through the U.S. Senate by unanimous vote. Even Sens. Clinton, Kennedy and Kerry agreed a mother's right to "choose" stopped at her baby's delivery. The bill also passed overwhelmingly in the House. NARAL went neutral on it. Abortion enthusiasts publicly agreed that fighting BAIPA would appear extreme. President Bush signed BAIPA into law in 2002.

But in Illinois, the state version of BAIPA repeatedly failed, thanks in large part to then-state Sen. Barack Obama. It only passed in 2005, after Obama left. I testified in 2001 and 2002 before a committee of which Obama was a member. Obama articulately worried that legislation protecting live aborted babies might infringe on women's rights or abortionists' rights. Obama's clinical discourse, his lack of mercy, shocked me. I was naive back then. Obama voted against the measure, twice. It ultimately failed. In 2003, as chairman of the next Senate committee to which BAIPA was sent, Obama stopped it from even getting a hearing, shelving it to die much like babies were still being shelved to die in Illinois hospitals and abortion clinics. (As chair of that same committee, Obama once abruptly ended a hearing early, right before Scott and Janet Willis, the parents of six children killed as a result of Illinois' drivers licenses for bribes scandal, were to testify in favor of Choose Life license plate legislation. I was there for that one, too. The Willises had traveled three hours. Reporters filled the room. Obama stalled. He later killed the bill when no one was around.) So, the reason Keyes said Jesus Christ wouldn't vote for Barack Obama was because of Obama's fanatical support of abortion to the point of condoning infanticide. I have framed on my wall a Chicago Sun-Times cartoon published during the campaign. Obama is holding a sign with "LIVE BIRTH ABORTION" on it. God is reaching down from heaven to a baby in front of Obama, and the baby is reaching up to God. Obama is yelling at God, "You keep out of this!"

In his USA Today opinion piece, Obama admitted being "nagged" by the Jesus-wouldn't-vote-for-him statement, but only because he wished he'd given a different comeback. Obama insinuated opposition to abortion is based only on religion, lecturing pro-lifers like me to "explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all." I don't recall mentioning religion when I testified against live-birth abortion. I only recall describing a live aborted baby I held in a hospital soiled utility room until he died, and a live aborted baby who was accidentally thrown into the trash. Neither do I recall religion being brought into the partial-birth abortion ban debate. I recall comparisons made to U.S. laws ensuring animals being killed are treated humanely. I recall testimony that late-term babies feel excruciating pain while being aborted. Obama stated pro-life proposals must be "amenable to reason." OK, Sen. Obama, let's reason. Explain why you support abortion for whatever rationale, at whatever gestation, by whatever means. Explain why you support infanticide, if banning it might interfere with abortion. Then, since you brought it up, explain how, despite all that, you

think Jesus should vote for you, either now or in the hereafter, particularly given His statement,

"It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around the neck than to face the punishment in store for harming one of these little ones."

Jill Stanek fought to stop "live-birth abortion" after witnessing one as a registered nurse at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill. In 2002, President Bush asked Jill to attend his signing of the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. In January 2003, World Magazine named Jill one of the 30 most prominent pro-life leaders of the past 30 years. To learn more, visit Jill's blog, Pro-life Pulse.

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This is his wife's letter to followers. This is disgusting!

Obama's fundraising letter using the "so-called" partial birth abortion ban How liberal is Barack Obama? His wife used the ban on partial birth abortion (sucking the brains out of half-delivered babies) as a scare tactic and fundraising ploy:From: email-list@obamaforillinois.comSent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 7:41 AMSubject: A Message from Michelle ObamaFebruary 17, 2004

Dear Friends:We have all been concerned lately with the rise of conservatism in this country, especially as it relates to women. You?ve read the alarming news about the Justice Department?s request for hospitals to turn over the private medical records of dozens of patients. This cynical ploy is designed to intimidate a group of physicians and force them to drop their lawsuit seeking to have the so-called partial birth abortion ban ruled unconstitutional.The fact remains, with no provision to protect the health of the mother, this ban on a legitimate medical procedure is clearly unconstitutional and must be overturned. Attorney General Ashcroft and president bush believe so zealously in their cause that the privacy rights of patients are under assault. They believe we have no federal right to privacy when it concerns our medical histories.On March 16th, we have a chance to nominate a candidate who will be tireless in the fight to protect women. It isn?t simply about the right to choose, or privacy rights. It is about pay equity, about ending domestic violence, promoting health care around the world, and letting doctors decide treatment options, not federal judges.It goes without saying that we must win back the U.S. Senate and hold our ground as a check against the right-wing executive branch. Illinois will be a key battleground and your vote is critical.My husband has stood up for women time and again, and I am proud of his record. He understands that casting a vote on the floor of the Senate takes greater courage than issuing a position paper. Oftentimes, a well intentioned law is in fact a flawed law. That?s why it is critical we nominate someone who has faced these tough choices. That?s why nominating an experienced legislator is so important in this race. It takes courage to cast a vote.Who among the Democrats running has a proven record? Who among the candidates running for the Senate in Illinois has stood up to the right wing politicians and voted against their agenda? Who can we count on to keep the Bush/Ashcroft team from appointing the Supreme Court Justice that will vote against Roe v. Wade?Please join me in sending a message of unity and strength by attending the Women for Obama Luncheon on February 23rd at the Hyatt Regency. Lunch costs $150 and includes remarks from our friends the Reverend Willie Barrow and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. To reserve your seat please call the campaign office headquarters at 312-427-6400 or log on to the Obama for Illinois Website.I urge you to stand with me and support my husband at this event. You know the stakes have never been higher and we can?t depend on untested amateurs and administrators in this fight. Barack is a fighter and he will be a champion we can be proud of.

Thanks you so much for all of your support.

Michelle Obama

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This is just a news article about different opinions from politicians and other leaders. I highlighted Obama's in Orange so you can find it. I can't express to you the outrage I feel when I read the statements from the opposers of this bill. I'm sorry! how often does a Doctor have to take a saw to full term baby's head and kill them in order to save a woman??? Sorry.. this is used as an abortion option plain and simple. When you make even the scariest of things legal, you can bet there will be 9 balls out there who will opt for it.

Supreme Court's Decision to Uphold Partial Birth Abortion Ban Gives Bush VictoryWednesday,

April 18, 2007 By Melissa Drosjack

The Supreme Court handed a victory to the Bush administration and abortion opponents on Wednesday with its decision to uphold a 2003 federal law that bans partial birth abortions.The decision enforces the law that prohibits the procedure of partially extracting a fetus 20 weeks or older intact from a woman's uterus and then crushing or cutting its skull before it is fully delivered."This is the most significant upholding of any restriction on abortion ever by the Supreme Court," said Stephen Wermiel, who teaches constitutional law at American University.Click here to read the Supreme Court's ruling.President Bush's appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito gave the bench a more conservative leaning and helped push through the 5-4 ruling on the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, law experts say. Roberts and Alito sided with the majority opinion.(Story continues below)StoriesSupreme Court Upholds Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act Supreme Court to Take on Second Abortion Case Court Ruling The ruling could also ignite abortion opponents to push for more. States now might feel they have a positive reception by the Supreme Court to ban or restrict other abortion procedures since Wednesday's decision signals a possible shift in the direction of the court on the issue, said Paul Rothstein, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and an expert on the Supreme Court."It indicates that the new conservative members of the court have had their influence and it will stimulate states to feel that they have a favorable ear on the Supreme Court if they want to regulate abortions more and ban certain kinds of abortions," Rothstein said."It will encourage states to attempt to regulate or ban [abortion] and test out the Supreme Court to see how far it is willing to go," he added.Twenty-six states have bans on partial birth abortions that apply throughout pregnancy, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The court's decision to uphold the federal law creates a nationwide ban."This basically makes it a federal crime, effective immediately," Wermiel said.The president hailed the decision in a statement released shortly after the ruling."The Supreme Court's decision is an affirmation of the progress we have made in the past six years in protecting human dignity and upholding the sanctity of life," Bush said. "We will continue to work for the day when every child is welcomed in life and protected in law."Wednesday's decision not only affects the abortion debate, it also demonstrates the importance of the president's ability to appoint justices to the Supreme Court, said Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard and a FOX News political contributor."I think politically, this reminds everyone of how important Supreme Court appointments are. The next president, of course, will have one or two almost certainly," Kristol said.Out on the campaign trail, a few Republican 2008 White House hopefuls were quick to declare their support for the court's decision."Today, our nation's highest court reaffirmed the value of life in America by upholding a ban on a practice that offends basic human decency. This decision represents a step forward in protecting the weakest and most innocent among us," former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney said in a statement.Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani also said he agreed with the decision.But abortion rights supporters did not see the decision as a victory."I am extremely concerned that this ruling will embolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict a woman's right to choose, and that the conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade, which is established federal law and a matter of equal rights for women," said 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama."Today's partisan decision by the Supreme Court is a frightening and dangerous step towards criminalizing the very constitutional freedoms that previous courts have upheld for generations," said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., in a statement. "The decision does not reflect the best interest of a woman's health and safety, said Planned Parenthood Federation of America Deputy Director of Litigation and Law Eve Gartner."Today the court took away an important option for doctors who seek to provide the best and safest care to their patients. This ruling tells women that politicians, not doctors, will make their health care decisions for them," Gartner said in a statement."Today's decision is alarming," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in the court's dissenting opinion.There could be future lawsuits from claims that the federal law interferes with their right to choose an abortion, Wermiel said."The court is saying there is nothing wrong with this law as a general matter. If it interferes, [plaintiffs] can bring a lawsuit somewhere down the road," he said.Wermiel added that the ruling also demonstrates the strict constructionist outlook of the court's newest leader."I think it's [Roberts'] way of narrowing the role of the court. The court ought to be issuing more limited decisions when the court is considering the validity of legislation," Wermiel said.This decision marks the first time for the court to ban a specific procedure in abortion, which Bush said in 2003 causes a "violent end" to life.

"For years, a terrible form of violence has been directed against children who are inches from birth, while the law looked the other way. Today, at last, the American people and our government have confronted the violence and come to the defense of the innocent child," Bush said at the bill's signing.

NOT IF OBAMA HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!

I actually believe that most of the weight of this abomination in the end will lie on the shoulders of the leaders and politicians that made it possible. If deep down they think they are exempt from accountability as it was not something they personally did, they have another thing coming to them.

I don't have to hope he goes to hell.. but may he feel the pain of every helpless baby being torn apart and skulls being drilled into... seeing it, being involved and feeling it over and over and over again.

AND if this man is made President, and you knew this information prior to supporting him, I fear this will be on your conscience as well.... as we sit by and watch countless babies being killed in this gruesome way- all because of this man!

If you are one that would rather see this happen than to see McCain being in office because you are eating Obama's bull shit "Bush's third term" propoganda- seriously, that is sad and I don't even know what to think. All I can say is do your research. The only thing common between the two is his support of the war. Cause, imagine this for a second, he DOESN'T want to give into terrorists... wow, crazy thought. We all know that not only would the Iraqi streets be open wide for more terror on women and children (remember Afghanistan with the taliban?) but it would be the home base for these groups against the free world. Period. They have even said that!! Liberals will be the end of us.

Nobody likes war! No One! It's horrible, but there has never a time in the history of the homosapiens when war did not exist. It is a part of mankind- it will NEVER not exist. Idiots.

Democrats stand for the weakest way. Remember that... people are tired of war or just lost in space (hippies and other liberals) and the easiest way to appease the people is to get out. I'm going to write a blog on this.

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I hope this has opened someone's eyes, as it did my Mother...

This is real! This is serious! And this will happen very soon when this man is in office if the American people just sit comfy in there homes and look the other way.

Do not be fooled by this man. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Polygi Women

2008-05-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

Here's what I want to do when I see these polygamists (in order of urgency):

1. Slap them... no more whining!
2. Mess up their hair... real bad.
3. Pluck their eyebrows... hold it- HOLD IT!
4. Leave them with a wonderbra....

ooh.

Create a Birth Plan

2008-05-16T17:11:00.000-07:00

This is great... very easy. You might need to sign in. Just click on your preferences and print out. Then go over it with your Doctor to make sure both you and he/she are aware of what you want and what you have the freedom to do in the facility. This just might make you realize that your chosen facility may not be right for your family. That's okay!

Create my Birth Plan!

If this is your first time having a baby, please know now not to be worried about seeming pushy and demanding. TRUST ME! If you go in to deliver unprepared- YOU will be the one bullied around and your needs and preferences will be overlooked.

Take my word for it and don't let it happen to you. This is your baby and your special moment.

Fertility Problems?

2008-05-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

It might be partly due to your diet... Read this article from a Newsweek issue that came out in December, 2007. I'm not saying this is a miracle fix or that it will work for you- all I'm saying is that I adjusted my diet in every way to conform to their suggestions and was pregnant (after 4 years of trying!) 30 days later. I at least suggest reading it.

It is 9 pages long so print it out... worth reading every sentence. OR, feel free to buy the book to get the whole shabang (but I felt that the article was enough):

I know how frustrating it can be to see that same damn negative sign over and over again- I would've done anything and the least I could do was change my diet around a bit...

All I can say is:

Stay positive no matter what! (I know that is hard when you are disappointed)

Eat plenty

Exercise

Stay hydrated

.... and have fun trying!

Joey's Bike Story

2008-05-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

January, 2005

When ambition meets independence in a 5 year old, it's not always good news for the parents. For anyone who knows Joey well, this will not surprise you:

When we got Joey's first big-boy (racing/dirt) bike last year, we were really excited when he was riding on his own the second day (after his training bike a few times). Since then, he's gotten a little too comfortable with his riding.

Last night, I was on my way out the door to go jogging on the beach, when I saw Joey with his helmet on and tying his shoes. He said excitedly, "I'm going to the store to get some candy!" "oh, good for you" I said, happy for him to go with his Dad, then headed out. By the way, he knows he's not allowed to go past the end of the driveway on his bike.

When I returned, Joe told me after I left, he didn't see Joey in the house and decided to look outside to see if he was with me. He kind of knew I didn't take him anywhere, so he decided to look down the street. He walked to the end and saw his little bike with his helmet on top outside of the corner grocery store- He then knew he wasn't with me. He rushed inside, and there he was chatting with some customers, waiting in line to pay for the 2 candy bars in his hands! Joe was relieved and scared at the same time at his level of comfort away from home.

Needless to say, we reminded Joey that he is not 12! He is 5! so start acting like it!.... he shrugged his shoulders and said, "okay" without concern. What do you do??

When a child hands a cashier $30 to pay for 2 candy bars, it's kind of an indication he is entirely too young to be there on his own! ha ha

Update: A few months ago, I was saying how I would like some bananas for a shake. Joey says, "Mom, don't worry, I will get you some bananas!" I thought, how cute. I'm not sure why these things don't register with me yet. I went about my business and just a few minutes later noticed Joey was not in the house. I walk to the end of the driveway hoping he learned his lesson from last time... and what do I see? Joey's singing and riding back to the driveway with a bunch of bananas in a bag hanging from his handle bars! EEK! I can't keep up with this kid.

DUDE!

2008-05-15T13:41:00.000-07:00

I was talking to Joe about Beverly last night.. and Joey heard the word Grandma and die... he goes:

" I wish my great great great great great great Grandma was still here :(................................

to give me MONEY! Dude I'm running out of MONEY!"just like that..... where does he come up with this???

crazy.

When my mom was here, after spending the first full day with him.. when we got home, she goes "okay, he's gone from calling me Grandma to Jenny to Dude in one day." I kid you not.

he is a funny kid. he calls me dude every day.

DUI Stop- Hilarious

2008-05-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

My Little Litigator

2008-05-14T22:48:00.000-07:00

I received a letter from Joey's teacher telling me of an incident in the cafeteria with another student. Apparently Joey asked for a friend to share his juice at which he refused. Joey seemed to be pretty upset by this and so decided to smash the kid's juice box and pour it in his lap. Hmm... I was pretty taken back. I went to talk to the teacher about this and called his dad. Joe told me that when he got home we would sit him down and have a talk. Joe and I had it down... this would be our first time to formally reprimand him. We discussed how we would approach it, what we would say and what his punishment would be.

Boy we're we in for a treat!

Joe got home and we started off as planned. However, as soon as we uttered what happened without question the tables were quickly turned as we found ourselves struggling to stay in control of this disciplinary action that turned into a conversation into a debate. It kinda went like this: (mind you this is a 5 year old!)

Parents: Joey, we were told by your teacher that you smashed a kid's drink and poured it in his lap.

Joey: Who saw it?

P: It doesn't matter who saw it, the point is it happened and that can't be tolerated.

J: But how do you know it happened? WHO? Who saw it???

P: (I didn't know) The lunchlady.

J: That's impossible. The lunchlady is at the end of the cafeteria and could not have possibly seen us from over there. (he goes into explain how many rows of lunch tables there are and where she stands.) So who saw it?

P: It doesn't matter, it could've been anyone walking by.. One of the school guards. We aren't discussing IF you did it. We know it happened and that can't happen again.

J: But HOW do you know? There are no guards walking around in the cafeteria....

He goes on talking and talking emphatically and busts out with this entire presentation of exactly what happened with who said what, how they were seated at the table and how the tables are arranged, complete with exhibits and how the juice "tipped" over onto his lap- you name it! My head was spinning... By this time Joe started to believe him.. (We had a debate about that later) and by the time it was finally over, we were so mentally exhausted, we just wanted to get out of the conversation. I don't even think he was punished!

I don't think I know a kid like this... I don't think we understand what we are in for. All I know is that he is smarter and faster than me, I can't keep up with him and if anyone thought I was argumentative, please try getting into a debate with my son!

Eyes in the Back of My Head

2008-05-13T18:05:00.003-07:00

I have always told Joey that I always know what is going on... this must be instilled in him at a young age so he doesn't think he can get away with things. I told him I have eyes in the back of my head and am all knowing when it pertains to him... haha. This has never sat comfortably with him and often asks how this is possible.. "it's just what moms do" I say. I'm going to be a crazy Mom when my kids are teens.

The other day I restricted him to his room to clean it before he can play outside. After some time of silence, I finally went in his room and saw he was missing. He must have sneeked out of the side door... When I finally found him he told me that he sneeked out and played with his guys in the yard and needed to get them from outside...
Then turned around and emphatically said with his little attitude,
"AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, I LEARNED THAT - YOU - DO - NOT- HAVE - EYES - IN - THE - BACK - OF- YOUR - HEAD!"

haha... he cracks me up!

No More Spelling out loud

2008-05-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

Joe and I have gotten away with spelling out words to eachother in front of Joey we don't want him to hear for quite some time.... No more.

Lately as he becomes a stronger and stronger reader, we've had to spell out half the word and hope he doesn't get it, or spell it out fast and low... We were in the car the other day discussing parties and raising teens. I randomly asked Joe what his mom thought about him (and I spelled this out real fast and low) d-r-i-n-k-i-n-g... Immedeiately, Joey in the back shreiked "Drinking!!? Dad you were drinking!!??"

UGH! we can't get anything past him! and I mean anything... then when we lie and tell him that's not what we meant, it doesn't matter what it is about, he will not believe us. He hates to be patronized and is NEVER naive.

Cutest Joey Stories

2008-05-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

3.5 yrs.
Joey- "I hate girls.. they're stupid."
Mom- "Yeah, well girls rule and boys drool, don't you know."
Joey- "what?" Mom- "Girls rule and boys drool... it's common knowledge."
Joey, after some thought- "yeah, well boys Rock n Roll and girls are stinky" haha!
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3.5 yrs.
I took Joey to visit his Dad in Park City.. the day I left, Joe told him that they would be taking me to the airport.
Joey- "why?" Joe- "cause she's gonna go home to CA."
Joey, with a serious look on his face- "well, I'll get her!" Joe- "How are you gonna get to CA?"
Joey, with absolute conviciton- "well, I'll put on my spiderman suit and fly there with my spiderman webs" This is how a 3 year old gets things done in his head...
Then, when they drop me off, I tell him that I'm there to go home for a while... he gets quiet and withdrawn and folds his arms, looks down then says, "well I'll get you with my webs."... I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I think I did a bit of both.
Then I guess later the next week he randomly mentioned me and said, "Im gonna put on my superman suit and fly to CA and get my mom!!!"
My hero!... what a little man.
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3.5 yrs
I was visiting him up in Park City during his stay and I took him to Apline Park (the slopes in the winter) and we went on the Apline Slides... It's long and fast and fun.. and can be dangerous if you're not careful. Joey of course wasn't afraid at all. So there are like 2 pairs of 2 slides and you start at the same time as another person in your pair.. so you can compete if you want... anyway, I never said anything to Joey and we go hauling down this thing... I can tell the girl going down was going fast as well and the feeling of competition sort of came over us... Of course we won but still I acted like nothing and didn't say anything.
When we stopped, Joey got out and put his hands on his hips and said, "SEE, I told you we would win!!" haha.. the girl just laughed. He is a natural competitor.
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3.5 yrs
I went to pick him up from my Aunts.. they were walking back from the park. Joey had 2 flowers in his hand and gave one to me. I asked him if he was going to give the other to my Aunt, he went to then stopped himself... turned to me and took the one from my hand and gave it to her and gave the other to me. She looked down and noticed hers was withered and said, "oh, you give her the nice one and me the brown one, huh?" and Joey said with a very proud smile on his face, "yeah, cause she's my mom."
can you stand it? cause I can't.
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4 yrs.
He loves this song called 'baseball cap' by Faithless.. it goes, "oh, smack, there goes my baseball cap. its gone gone gone gone gone, I can't get it back." anyway, Joey gets thinking about things more than the average Joe I would say. He is concerned about the baseball cap and how seems gone forever. He asks me where it went and I told him it flew away. where? he asks. just gone, I say. "well, howabout someone in a airballoon sees it as it flies by in the wind and catches it?! then its not gone, see."
I say, Yes, that sounds very logical- that's what happens to it. Joey is satisfied and sits back in his car seat with a smile.
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3.5 yrs
His memory scares me.
We were eating at the Daily Grill the other day and I asked him if he wanted some of my soup. He asked me if it had a lot of vegetables in it. I told him there were a lot of tomatoes. He says, "well, actually a tomato isn't a vegetable it is a fruit" very matter of factly. I asked him who told him that, he said his Dad.. so I asked Joe how long ago he mentioned this.. he said he told him once over 4 months prior. like, that is crazy cause our minds forget information that isn't reinforced after 3.
We were in Riteaid the other day down the lotion isle and he randomly points to the Goldbond creams and says, well, that's for itches. I picked this up cause no one has ever used it on him in his life and they don't carry it at his school. I asked him where he learned it and he said TV. I couldn't believe it... Insane, think of all the information we are bombarded with all day with everything around us (ads and the internet, etc.) and to on que recall a specific piece of info from a random commercial.
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3 yrs.
He wants to be a director.. he is pretty creative and he loves to take pics and set things up.. he even has his own camcorder. He was describing to my mom about one of his favorite books and saying how great it is... he was like, "yeah, it needs to be made into a movie." okay! I just think that is way advanced cause nobody gave him that idea.. he actually saw a book/story as a screenplay. He has big ideas.
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3.5 yrs.
Joey is concerned with others... I told him that he should pray for others and be thankful for what he has as he is tremendously blessed, most others dont have the things he has. He wanted to know like what. I told him that a lot of children don't have food to eat, etc. He wanted to know where they sleep... he was very upset about this and will often randomly ask why. I try and answer as best I can but the answers aren't good enough for him. He really thinks about things a lot- never thinks of things lightly and brings it up on his own. I told him we will start to send money to some or one of these children ... he seemed happy about that.
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4 yrs.
We were at my aunts the other night doing homework and Joey comes upstairs and shows me money she just gave him... 3 5s. Oh brother! Later before we left I asked her if she gave them to him and asked her not to do that. She said it was fine and she told me about it. She told him he could have 3 bills out of a BUNCH of 1s and a few 5s. So what does Joey do- he immediately separates the 1s from the 5s without hesitation and takes 3 5s!
LOL.. I told her never to underestimate him.. he is on top of EVERYTHING

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5yrs.

Joey and I have been argueing over the lyrics to that 'baseball cap' song for about 1.5 years! It says, "oh, smack...." and repeats similar lines throughout the song. I thought they said "oh, smack" throughout the song and Joey thinks the guy in the beginning says "oh, smack" and the girl in the rest of the song says, "oh, smash." I'm like oh, brother, Joey just listen to Mommy I think I know... they wouldn't change that word. Finally the other day I said, "enough. I'm gonna go into work today and check the lyrics online and be done with it"

So after I picked him up from school, I had to admit to him he was right this whole time. See Mom, I told you!

The funny thing about Joey is he has this crazy memory.. he has like memorized my entire ipod and sings all the words... even to complicated songs I have been listening to for years and haven't gotten them down! He even remembers all these lines and songs to movies and always knows what's going on... he freaks me out sometimes.

5/13/08

Wedding

2008-05-13T15:29:00.000-07:00

I love my little pookum! Can you stand it???

Heidi Heid Heids, Me and Joey- What would I do without her!

Joe's Brother, Jorge. So glad he could make it :)

View more pics here.

So I was married... again on September 7th, this time in the year 2007. It was a beautiful day, simple and serene with only my best friend, Heidi, my Grandparents and Brother in Law, Jorge- and of course our beautiful son, Joey!

I will never forget. We were married on the cliff rock over the South Shore of Poipu, Kauai. The beach is called Shipwreck's and it is at the Hyatt... beautiful property! I came up with my Grandpa escorting me along the cliff as the sun was just beginning to set. The sax musician was playing our request, "At Last"... I couldn't have asked for a nicer- everything! It came together beautifully. Our bishop, Bishop Barino married us in a short and touching ceremony. I cried, and the music continued afterwards.

We ate at the Tidalwaves Restaurant on the Hyatt property. It is surrounded by a huge Koi pond just next to the ocean. The fish are swimming all around you and the embiance is unbeatable. We stayed that night in a suite with an ocean view and watched fireworks just over the ocean in front of us! It was a remarkable time...