Stress and then a little more stress...

It all started last week when my grandpa was complaining of chest pains. His doctor sent him to see a heart specialist. That doctor ran some tests and then wanted to talk to my grandpa later that afternoon. The doctor found plaque around his heart and he was going to schedule him to have it removed on Monday morning. Well Sunday night came around and my grandpa had a "slight" heart attack. My parents called the paramedics and he was taken to the er. On Monday morning, he had his procedure and the doctor found that he had one artery 100% blocked, second one was 95% blocked and the third one was 90% blocked. It was so bad that his blood was re-routing itself. The doctor then scheduled him for open heart surgery on Friday morning. I saw my grandpa twice in the hospital. I just feel so bad for him.

To make things a little more stressful for me, Zac got a fever of 101 on Thursday evening. I took him to Urgent Care and they tested him for flu but it was negative. They gave him some medicine which he threw up as we were trying to give it to him. On Friday night, his fever reached 103, so I took him back to Urgent Care. They didn't retest him but they gave him new meds. Apparently the doctor didn't believe me when I said that he throws up when given meds, so she decided to try it. She was warned. They still don't know what's wrong with him but that his fever goes up and then responds to the tylenol. Luckily, I have been able to put the tylenol in grape juice for him.

My grandpa is still in the ICU and he is still disoriented but all of his vitals are looking good. Hopefully he will be out of the ICU tomorrow.

Out with the old, in with the new

Washer and dryer that is. Last week we got a new washer and dryer after doing some researching and comparing of prices. We had had our old ones for about eight years now and the repairman told me it was gonna cost around $300 to fix my old one. Well that was just what I needed to hear to go and search for a new set. I bought the new set at Sears and got interest free for a year. Also because I bought the wild cherry set, I got the pedestals for free. That was quite the savings right there. The new set arrived on Friday afternoon and I was able to do three loads by the evening. I was hoping to do more but I had to read the instruction manual first! My husband was super excited to use them as well. He did three loads while I was gone this weekend! He of course loves the color as well! With out further ado, here is the before and after...


Now if there was only a way to motivate me to put the clothes away in a timely manner!

Halloween was fun!

This year we carved/decorated our pumpkins the night before Halloween. It was a great family experience. Zeke had a great time with his pumpkin. He carved all of it but the mouth. He asked me to help him with that. Oh and daddy got to help clean out the seeds. Since Zac had such a small pumpkin, he painted his!




On Halloween, we went to a kids party in the afternoon and then they trick or treated at just a few houses before it got too dark. I am happy to say that I am glad my kids don't like to stay out that long. Zeke made a cute Mario and Zac made a cute Yoda.



Neither my husband nor I are really big fans of Halloween but I did enjoy going to the pumpkin patch, carving our pumpkins and seeing the boys in their costumes. Zeke is already trying to figure out what he is gonna be next year!

Pumpkin Farm

Last week we took the boys to the Pumpkin Farm not far from our town. I really enjoy taking them every year. Before I know it they will be too big and not want to go anymore. While we were there, we went through the maize maze, rode on the train and went in search of the great pumpkin! The four of us had a great time. Here are a few of the pics from the afternoon:









Sorry for being such a bad blogger but I have been keeping myself busy for work! Wanna make some extra money for the holidays! I will try to post a little more frequently than I have been.

Feeling bad

I am feeling badly for Zeke today cuz he has the flu but thankfully not too bad. He was told by his doctor that he has to be quarantined for a week. That means, no soccer, no school (that one he liked), no playing with other kiddos and having to stay in his room quite a bit. I am trying to decide what to do about Zac. Luckily he had a flu shot and seems to be doing fine other than his nasty cough due to allergies. Zac wants soo badly to play with Zeke but he can't and he doesn't understand why not. As of now, I am fine with the two of them playing together and I will keep a very watchful eye on Zac's behavior. Poor Zeke! I hate it when he gets sick. He tends to look so out of it. I am just glad that we caught this flu before it got out of hand.

I know, I'm obsessed...

I am starting to realize with the help of my husband that I am OBSESSED with David Cook. Yeah, I admit it. Isn't that the first step? I went and saw him at our State Fair in Sacramento and then two weeks later I saw him in San Francisco and then two days later I saw him in San Diego. And now in a couple of months, I am hoping to see him in Fresno. I just don't know how to explain it but there is something about him and his voice. I was even more excited when I saw him in San Diego and he didn't have an opening act so he got to play longer and tell a little about each of the songs that he played. I also caught one of his guitar picks and I got to meet him!!!! OMG, that was so great!!! Here are a few of the pictures of my obsession!

A few firsts for us...

Last Monday started school for us in this crazy household. Zeke started third grade which was strange for me. He is getting so big, I can't stand it. He survived his first week just fine. It definitely helps that he has the same teacher he had for first grade.

Another first for us is that Herschel is teaching a 1-2 combo this year. It will be his biggest challenge in teaching for him so far. He says he has a great group of kids and he can't wait to see what the year brings for him.
And our final first in the house is that Zac is now out of his crib and in a big boy bed. I think he really likes it. He has adjusted to it nicely, thank goodness. For the most part, we have all been staying pretty busy around here. Soccer is going to be starting this week and I can't wait to see how that is gonna be. It is always so much fun watching all those kiddos on Saturdays. Looking forward to watching Zeke grow during this sport. I love watching him play goalie. He's a cutie. That's it for now!

Hiatus...

So sorry for the hiatus but we were traveling again. This time we were in the state of Illinois. We went to visit my husband's family. Talk about having a good time; we extended our time and when we did have to leave, it was so difficult. To keep the busy vacation simple, we went to two baseball games at Wrigleyfield. So glad that the Cubbies won both of those as well. The boys loved the games and Zeke got a ball from one of the pitchers. Herschel was more stoked about that than Zeke, I think. We went to the Shedd Aquarium, Navy Pier and walked around downtown Chicago. We got to spend time with his family and had a blast! It was great listening to stories and just enjoying their company. I will post pictures soon. I am still so tired and I am trying to get caught up around here before school starts in 10 days!!! Total craziness around here!!!

The heat makes you do crazy things...

On Friday night, we had some friends come over and we were out back playing ladder ball. The boys were the ones mainly playing. I was out there when I noticed that one of the guys was in a tank top and his boxer briefs. Not quite sure what was going on but it didn't bother me at all. Later on, another one of the guys appears out of nowhere wearing his tank top and boxer briefs. I noticed a trend starting. So, being the crazy girl that I am, I went into the house and came out to the backyard wearing my tank top and boy undies. Don't question my parenting but even our kiddo joined in on the matching outfits. Way too much fun for a Friday night! Well I won't keep you any longer without the pics...



We did a few relay races, some cartwheels and played red light, green light. Thanks for looking and sorry for the lack of posting lately. Summer always seems to get away from me in a hurry!

Traveling fools

This past week my husband and I went with my bro and sis-in-law to Santa Cruz and Capitola. We went for three days and didn't have the kiddos. It was a very relaxing time. We went to Capitola to have dinner the first night and to walk around. The next day, we walked around downtown Santa Cruz and then we went to the Boardwalk and the boys went in the water. It was highly entertaining watching them body surf. Our last day was spent at the beach in Capitola. My sis-in-law and I watched the boys go in the ocean again and then we all played a little volleyball. None of us wanted to go home because we had such a relaxing time.

Hersh and I on the pier.

The cute and colorful houses you can rent.

My brother and sister-in-law walking on the beach.

The brothers body surfing. I know they had a great time out there!

As for today, I have done some laundry and we cleaned out our pantry and refrigerator. It looks so much nicer and now I know exactly what I need to get from the store.

4th of July Fun...

There is always lots of fun to be had on 4th of July at my inlaw's house. The kiddos swim, we bbq, watch fireworks and have lots of laughs all day. I think we all had a ton of fun. Kuddos this year to my nephew that bought "The big box" of fireworks for grandpa to enjoy. It goes to show that he really is growing up. Also, since he is growing up, we had him light all of the fireworks. Now that was entertaining in and of itself. I'm surprised he didn't catch on fire. The firework show was a lot of fun. I felt bad for Zac because he was wanting to watch fireworks all week long and then yesterday, he wanted to go inside cuz he was scared. Oh well maybe he will enjoy them next year. Well here are a few fun photos from the day.

Zeke having fun in the pool with uncle Fred.

Zac having fun playing in the backyard.

I'm enjoying some yummy s'mores thanks to my sis-in-law.

I think he's too big! A big kid that is.

Some of the fireworks we lit.

I told him he had to make it a good photo cuz my battery was dying. I think he did a good job of that.

Watching Zeke play with sparklers. Sparklers are my fave. Well I hope everyone else had a great 4th as well. Thanks for looking.

Took a slight detour...

to Disneyland. We surprised Zeke last Monday when we woke him and his brother up bright and early to get in the car. We didn't tell him where we were going. He was trying to figure it out and he did guess correctly we just didn't tell him until we got there. So for the past week, we were enjoying the southern summer sun (which is much cooler than this one by about 20 degrees). We wandered around Disneyland and California Adventure and had a great time with the kiddos. I think they really enjoyed it as well. I was able to get Zeke to go on Thunder Mountain with me despite the fact that he didn't think he could do it. I was proud of him and I think he secretly liked it a little. We had breakfast with the characters which was a lot of fun for all of us except Zac. He was a little apprehensive when it came to meeting the characters. I don't blame him, some of them do look a little weird. I loved the new Toy Story Mania ride. I also enjoyed going on Space Mountain and the "teapups" as Zac calls them. We all enjoyed the week a lot, but of course, we are happy to be home again (for now). Here are a few photos from the week.








Well here are just a few of the photos. I took a ton but I can't post them all! Hope you enjoy!

Happy Father's Day!!!

Yesterday we celebrated Father's day with my dad and grandpa. Hersch made dinner for everyone. It was enjoyed by all. He made some very yummy t-bone steaks. We washed and cleaned out the car and I watched my dad play baseball with my kiddos; something he enjoys very much. Today we are headed over to my in-laws house for a bbq. We will be celebrating with the rest of the fathers in the family.
As for my husband: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!! I love you and I couldn't raise these crazy kiddos without you!


I hope all of the fathers out there have a great day!

Minor accident in the house...

happened last week on our way to Target. I was driving and I hear Zac say "uh oh". I look back to discover that his tag had come off of his blankie. Now I was worried he was going to have a major meltdown in the store but luckily he was just content to hold on to the tag.

This was him at home walking around with his tag.

Once we got home from the store, Zac came up to me and said "fix it please". So here he is showing me where to reattach his tag to his blankie.

Here I am diligently working to get his tag reattached. I used my embroidery thread for scrapbooking to reattach his tag since I needed some thicker thread. He should consider himself very lucky that mommy parted with it.

He was waiting so patiently for me to finish.

Once again, his blankie was whole. I don't know how long it's going to last but it works for now. I tried to stitch it a lot to keep it on there for awhile.