Farewell 2009

2009. . . what another exciting year to say goodbye to, only to revisit in memory~

The year started with the girls and I being in Florida enjoying the warm weather, we went back two months later to re-visit that warm weather and that time to visit Disney with Derek and his family.

The year also saw Derek and I get married :)-- visit Las Vegas twice, once on our honeymoon and then again with two of my favorite peeps in the world, Me-Me and Mikey.

My babies turned 4 and 7 this year! Abigayle enjoyed her first root-canal compliments of candy and sugary drinks! Amelia was put on a lovely diet of Miralax for habitual constipation and has not had any problems since (trust me, this is a point worth noting as it was a big part of our year with a few emergency room visits).

We went fishing on a charter boat and caught LOTS of big fish, we raised a "capatatiller" from worm to beautiful Monarch, named her Teresa, and cried when we let her go (with the promise she'd come back in the spring to say "hello"), we added a beautiful new family member named Francine Von Fluffy Bottom who is a white Himalayan, I discovered my new love of Botox and Latisse, Derek and I were welcomed into an awesome small group, Amelia got her hair cut very short, the family went horseback riding, I went back to school and can not wait to be writing this next year and say I GRADUATED college!!!!!!

Our sewer pipes broke and we went two days with very frequent trips to Me-Me's and Mikeys --thanks guys, HOLLA!!! Amelia, at 4 years old weened herself of her nightly bubba and moved up to a sippy cup (hmmmmm. . . . .no comment!) We hosted our first family Christmas for the Ortiz side, Abigayle went to the WINGS program in the summer, I was asked to be on the school board and definetly accepted.

I was told this past year by my doctor that I am maternally mature and if I'm going to have more babies "get to it", Amelia moved up to a big-girl bed (that was a sad day), We enjoyed a summer with our new "blow-up" pool which helped Abigayle learn to swim underwater, and did I mention We got married???

What a great year! I'm sure I could write on and on but I won't, I'm just thankful for another year filled with wonderful memories and spending it with the most wonderful people on Earth and thanking God daily for it :)

Abigayle in the front seat

So, I don't think I'm violating any laws here as I've let my oldest daughter Abigayle ride to school in the front seat of my car the past week. The airbag turns off if the seat doesn't register enough weight and the seat belt adjusts to her height so with all the safety issues covered here goes~

It is has been an amazingly insightful week for me as I've enjoyed a co-pilot every morning. I think Abigayle has felt almost on par with me as she has sat cross legged sipping her morning "milk" and listening to NPR-- which eventually turned into a request for Hannah Montana.

I was informed on the first day that Miley doesn't really want to be Hannah any more because she's getting older now and Hannah is kind of for little kids.

The second day I was informed that certain toys are for babies and she doesn't really need to play with those anymore (She killed me with that one)-- I responded with "You know Abigayle, Mommy played with dolls and my little ponies and strawberry shortcakes until she was in 6th grade"-- a moment of silence-- "YOU DID????!!!!"

The third day I watched her rock out and when I say rock out, I mean ROCK OUT to Hannah Montana-- hair wiping around, window down, music blaring-- and I just smiled and enjoyed :)

Today I heard about hurt feelings and misunderstanding and I had to explain "life" in a soft mommy sort of way-- which was taken very well. . .

Thank you Abigayle for such an interesting week, I will treasure it forever :)

5 years ago. . .

Five years ago today I had to say goodbye to one of the loves of my life, a true loyal companion. I had to ultimately make one of the hardest decisions of my life-- I had to say goodbye to my 19 year old precious, loving cat Whitten. He was a handsome fella, and for so many years I would fall asleep at night to the sound of his soft purring in my ear-- this is the cat that when I was in the last months of pregnancy and getting up 4 to 5 times a night to pee would climb out of bed with me and sit next to the toilet and wait and then patter back to bed with me only to repeat an hour and a half later.

It isn't too often that such a deep, emotional love is shared with someone who has never even spoke a single word to you -- but the love I felt for my Whitten was as much as I feel for my children and his passing was so very difficult. Driving home from the vet without him in my lap, knowing I would never hold him again was agonizing. As we pulled back in the driveway, which was covered with snow my breathe was literally taken away-- there on the dormant rose bushes was a full bloomed yellow rose that had not been there when we left-- it was a last gift from my buddy and I know it was his way of telling me that the choice I made was the right one-- as he had been in so much pain the few weeks prior. He was no longer able to eat or drink on his own and I had to feed him with an eye dropper, he needed help getting into the litter box and getting out, he had went from a hefty 18 lbs to a mere 12.

Five years later I still cry when I think of him, he was not just a cat or a pet, he was a family member, a friend, a love and I still miss him. I can't wait to get to Heaven and hear him purr again and hold him in my arms.

Love you Whitten~

I think I have a few vacuums in my life that do nothing but suck energy from me-- I don't need vacuum's~

I have so many things to be thankful for and happy about yet a few certain things that actually should help identify who I am as a person leave me exhausted and unhappy.

Change is always good, it opens new doors that you wouldn't have seen if you had never closed another door, so here's to closing doors and pulling the plug on the vacuums. :)

As I get older, I think time has more value and if things make me unhappy, unproductive, unsatisfied what is the point of hanging on? Close and unplug~

To the future husbands of my daughters

Well. .. . you are probably only about 4 to 7 years old right now, which makes it a perfect time to hone you into a wonderful God fearing, woman respecting, chivalrous gentleman.

I have been praying for you for a while now, even though I don't know you. I pray that everyday you get to spend with my daughter you treat her as if she is a princess-- because , she is! I pray that you hold doors open for her, that you respect her, that you defend her honor, that you support her dreams and ambitions, and most importantly share her love of God.

I know that someday when I do meet you I will be impressed because I have faith that right now God is molding you into a wonderful soul, full of love and kindness. I also have faith that your parents are instilling in you morals, integrity, an appreciation for telling the truth, and honorable examples of dealing with emotions.

And woe to me if by accident my daughters are veered off their path temporarily, I will be here to love, protect and encourage and kick some butt until you come along :)

Defending the "CoUgAR"

I have to laugh, am I really a "cougar"? Being the "older" lady that I am with my 25 year old husband in tow? I had a reality check this summer when a pleasant lady, who I might add, was obviously vision- impaired, knocked on my door and offered to take my children to her house for "bible"study" because my "son" had told her the day before that it might be okay.

HOLD UP! First off, weird lady-- I do not have a son!-- oh ,you know ,the tall blonde boy? You mean my Fiance??? GULP. . no expression and secondly, WHY would I let some stranger take the fruits of my loins to her house, UN-supervised????? Okay, question my prioritization here. . both were equally disturbing!

So, in true cougaress fashion I made a little appointment with a small needle filled with what I like to call "the fountain of youth", while at this appointment I figured what the heck a little jar of "defy all gravity" might help too! and maybe I'll start lighfting a little weight to ,uh. . bring back to place what gravity has "shifted"

That young boy mentioned earlier, now my husband, thinks I'm crazy. Crazy would be me thinking that I'm going to age gracefully! I will, and I repeat, will fight mother nature! See what I'm doing now is called "prevention" it can't form if you don't allow it to-- a wrinkle that is!

So here I am, paralyzed forehead, grey roots dyed, eyelash regrowth serum applied, limbs aching from lifting a two pound dumb-bell waiting for my next big "idea" on looking more youthful when a message is sent from above. . "dear Marsha, you don't have to do it all! All those things that are prematurely aging you can be applied to "the boy" to expedite his maturity. . " Well slap me and call me Susan -- that is a perfect idea!

So I have said to my dear Derek. . .you look awesome when your face is sunburned-just awesome! You look cool when you smoke! I love it when you inhale a Big Burger Challenge at Pints and Quarts! Did I mention how hot you look with a sunburn?


After all we're in this together right???

I miss summer

Oh warm weather, where have you gone? Actually were you ever here?

Really, this summer was quite ridiculous. I can count on one hand the number of "Peg Bundy Sundays " I hosted . (This is a day, not necessary Sunday, that one spends the entirety outside, bathing suit clad-- occasionally optional, yes Marci I'm talking about you!--eating hot dogs off the grill, drinking lemonade,sitting in a lawn chair with one's feet in a kiddie pool and listening to Kid Rock sing "All summer long") . In fact ,only one Saturday comes to mind that the girls and I woke up, put on our suits and spent the whole day in the backyard "catching a tan" as Abigayle likes to call it. What a fun day! The sun was like a torch and the moods were delightful-- I'd like a repeat please!