LA Cancer Challenge!!

Dear Friends:

For the second year in a row, our family will be walking in the 11th Annual LA Cancer Challenge 5K/10K on Sunday, October 26, 2008 at the VA in West LA. WE WANT YOU TO JOIN US! We will not just be walking for ourselves, but also in memory of our Mom, Grammy, Grammy-Gram, and your friend, Karen Brubaker! We will be raising money for the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Research (Federal Tax ID #954640311).

This walk is special to us because it not only raises money to fight this horrible disease, but it also happens in October. October is the same month that Karen lost her battle two years ago and earned her wings! We hope to earn funds to help support the doctors and scientists at the Hirshberg Pancreatic Cancer Center in their mission to find a cure for pancreatic cancer. Currently, pancreatic cancer is the fourth-ranked cause of cancer related death in the US amongst both men and women. Despite this, the federal government invests less money in pancreatic cancer than in any other leading cancer. Participating in this race is very important to us. We hope you will walk with us and/or make a donation to sponsor us as we help support the Hirshberg Foundation's research efforts. Any amount you can give will be greatly appreciated. All donations are tax deductible and a receipt will be mailed to you.

We will have custom, team t-shirts to wear at the walk. If you are interested in a t-shirt, whether you intend to walk or not, please contact us at lacirogina@verizon.net with your preferred sizes by October 3rd. Thank you in advance for your consideration and support of the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research.

Follow This Link on the top right of my sidebar to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Hirshberg Foundation For Pancreatic Cancer Research

Sincerely,

HEART OF AN ANGEL

Jan, Dana, and Laci

A Day of Pure Fun!

Yesterday, Grandpa & Grandma took Mackenzi to see Playhouse Disney Live on Stage! She had SO much fun! I'm sure they had fun spending the day with her too! They picked her up around noon and didn't get home until 7:15!! They went down to the beach for a bit, then it was off to Long Beach for the show. After the show, they went to dinner! Wendy said that she was singing and dancing the whole time! They even spoiled her with souvenirs! She got a June doll (from Little Einsteins) and a Rocket cup! She called us when the show was over to tell us all about it! She told Daddy that she wants to go again! We'll see...it's supposed to be coming around again soon...she may get lucky! Thanks Rick and Wendy...she had such a good time!!!

The Joy of POOPING!

A good poop can turn your day right side up! I mean, really...a good poop can put a smile on a 2 year old's face! It's pretty pathetic when a poopy diaper is the highlight of your day! Okay, maybe not pathetic...but only a mom can feel this joy! My day started at 4:30, yes that's AM! When Quinn decided to wake me from my slumber with beautiful, sweet SCREAMING! UGH! So, I go in there and check on him, and he has poop! While I'm changing him, Jace wakes up! So I'm trying to hide from Jace, while changing Quinn. I finish and put Quinn back to bed! He is quiet for about 20 minutes and starts screaming again.

Matt went surfing this morning with his bud, Dusty. So he left at 5:00a.m. At 5:15, I go in and get Quinn and bring him in bed with me. This backfires in my face. He thinks it's time to play, especially when Miss Constipated comes to my room about 5:20. UGH! So we all get up! I was trying to hold Quinn off on eating his bottle, to get it closer to the regular feeding time (7:00) but that just didn't work...So I woke Jace up and fed them their bottles at 6:15. Now, I have two fussy boys who went down for an early nap at 7:45.

Meanwhile, Mackenzi (AKA: Miss Constipated) is crying...ALL MORNING...because her butt hurts. Poor girl hasn't pooped in a few days and is DYING! I talked to my mom and she told me how to do a homemade enema...so we did it...and IT WORKED! Finally, after 4 hours of crying, she pooped! Ready for TMI: the size of a baseball...okay maybe a bit smaller...like a large plum! Poor girl...since then she's done some more business! Finally, relief! Needless to say, we've had a very long, rough morning at my house!

The good news is that we get to go to a wedding this evening...KIDLESS! So I get some adult time!! YEAH!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday! My family came over to our house to celebrate! Matt barbecued, Dana made potato salad, Stephanie brought chips and dip. It was all delicious! We had a great time. The highlight of the night....what else? Of course , it was singing "Happy Birthday". Mom gathered all the kids to help her out! Here's mom opening presents...Singing "Happy Birthday"...

The songs almost over...Braeden's already blowing...

One, Two, Three...BLOW!!!!!!!!!

I hope you had a great birthday Mom! You are loved by so many...especially us!!!!!

Tennis Anyone?

I was going through the boy's clothes to wash the outfits that will now fit them. I came across a cute little outfit that I got from my baby shower. It's a little long sleeved, long pants jumpsuit. It's really cute, with a bear playing baseball on it. I went to take the tags off and saw that these visors were hooked to it. My first thought was, "wow...that's funny that it has a visor and not a baseball cap". Then I giggled and thought I'd try it on them. HA HA HA! Jace looks like a doof...the hat is obviously too small for him. Quinn looks like a tennis player! Sometimes I don't know what baby designers are thinking....such a cute outfit, with such a dorky hat! Oh well! If anyone has an infant that wants to play tennis...let me know, I have some visors you can borrow!

One of the many reasons I want a laptop...

This morning, after all the kids were fed and busily playing in the front room/watching Little Einsteins, I decided to hop on the computer and check out some blogs and my email. It's actually a little thing I do every morning. Keep in mind that the computer is in my room and the kids are in the front room. I'm sitting here for MAYBE 3 minutes and I hear that Kenzi is outside with Hurley...great! So, I close everything out and head towards the kids. NO ONE is in the family room, so I look outside. This is what I find...

STINKERS! They are getting just too mobile...especially when their sissy leads the way with a WIDE OPEN back door! As you can see from the pictures, they were all having a blast outside, even Hurley! This is why I need a Laptop! I can sit on the couch or the floor NEXT TO my stinkers while I check my addictions online! Okay, so maybe you're thinking that I should only give in to my "Fixes" when the kids are asleep...but naptime is SOOO far away! I will just make sure the back door is LOCKED while I'm out of the room so my stinkers don't go on a field trip without me!

Rogina Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Rogina Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Dynasty - Family search

Rogina Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Fruit Salad...Yummy, Yummy!

Yes, they're weird. Yes, their songs are annoyingly catchy. Yes, Mackenzi loves them. Yes, you guessed it right, I'm talking (once again) about the Wiggles. She loves the song Fruit Salad and she loves fruit. So today I decided to make some fruit salad (Wiggles Style) for her lunch. She had a good time helping, although I don't know if it counts as helping if she's eating the fruit faster than I can cut it up! Never the less, she enjoyed every bit of it, as you can see from the blackberries on her teeth! YUMMY, YUMMY!

CRASH...BONK...WHAAAA!

Crash...bonk...whaa?!?! You might be wondering,"What does that mean?". That was the theme for our morning at our house...the soundtrack perhaps! Many things factored into this morning theme...

1. The boys didn't nap good for their 1st nap of the day...only about an hour, instead of 2 or so.
2. They're learning how to pull themselves up onto things, but aren't yet stable.
3. They like to be together, right next to each other...too close to each other.

So, in this cute picture, they are so proud of themselves because they both pulled themselves up to play with this activity table. This was Jace's 1st time EVER pulling himself up! The problem is that right after I snapped this photo, Quinn (the one who is leaning) fell down and knocked Jace down with him...just like dominoes. They were BOTH SCREAMING! Poor guys...this happened about 2 more times on different toys...so I decided that it was NAPTIME...AGAIN! They're supposed to be eating their 2nd bottle of the day, instead they are snoozing away! Poor guys! I bet they'll have a bruise or 2 by the time the day is over!

Silly boys!

A Fantastic Weekend!

We had a great weekend! It was busy with parties! On Friday night, we went to Huntington Beach for a bonfire for Greg's birthday (Dana's bro-in-law). On Sunday we went to Dusty's b-day bash! We walked to the park and let the kids play! Jace, Quinn, Gavin, and Lincoln all had the same shirts on! Emily and I didn't even plan it! Her boys are doing so great! They're getting bigger each day!!!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Drive thru windows are AMAZING in my opinion! ESPECIALLY since I have three little munchkins. I frequently drive through any local fast food to pick up a soda. I love soda, what can I say! Also, maybe 2 times a week, when we are out, we'll pick up something for lunch or dinner. If I go ANYWHERE, Mackenzi is usually with me. Whether Matt is home or not, if I'm running an errand, she goes with me! It is very, VERY rare that I'm alone. Needless to say, Mackenzi is no stranger to fast food drive thru windows.

This morning, I was pulling thru Starbucks. Keep in mind that it was only 9:00 and my little girl had already had pancakes, milk, grapes, and pretzels for a snack. Mackenzi asked, "Mommy, whatchooo getting?" I told her, "Mommy needs some coffee this morning". She sat quietly, until we got up to the little box to order. As I started ordering my coffee, she started YELLING, "I WANT, UM....A QUESADILLA AND SOME MILK....THANK YOUUUUUUU!!!". I was laughing so hard as I ordered my drink. I then tell her that they don't have food here...just coffee. She quietly replies with a "OH". I get my coffee from the nice lady and as I pull away she yells "THEN I NEED A HAMBURGER". I laugh again, telling her they don't have hamburgers either...she replies, "Wheres the french fries though?". OH this little girl of mine...she keeps me smiling every day! I guess we may have to cut down on our fast food runs...too much of a good thing? What do you think? :)

A Taste of a New Season!

Yesterday was such a BEAUTIFUL day! I couldn't believe how nice it was. I opened ALL the windows in the house! It felt so good to feel the cool breeze and fresh air throughout our house. This was the first time we haven't ran our air conditioner all day in all of summer. Yesterday afternoon, I took the boy's jumperoos outside on our shady patio. Kenzi was busy playing, the boys were busy jumping and I was busy lounging in a chair. We stayed outside for almost 2 hours. It was so nice! When Matt got home from work, we decided to go to Victoria Gardens and go to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. We ate outside on the patio, it was SO CHILLY that I had to walk down to Children's Place and buy the boys some footsie-jammies. I ate dinner with goose-bumps. I wasn't complaining though. Kenzi didn't complain at all either, I had some jammies for her just in case, but she didn't need them. I guess the change in weather was welcomed by her too! When we got home and put the kids to bed, there was a touch (a small touch, but a touch) of cold in the air, so I decided to take a warm bubble bath. I relaxed in the tub for over an hour reading a book that I've been working on for a couple of months. There aren't too many chances to read around these parts! I am very excited to enjoy the new season coming upon us. I know that fall usually brings warmer weather...but the advantage to fall is that the nights get cool and the days stay hot. That sounds perfect to me! I'm ready for cool nights, sweaters, and blankets. I'm ready for fall decorations, pumpkins, candy corn, and colorful leaves (even if it's only on the decorations). I'm ready for the new season...I'm ready for FALL!!!!!

The Bathtime Trio

It is so much fun now that Jace & Quinn can take baths with Kenzi. They all love it...Mommy included! Like always, Jace is the Chill-man. He just takes it all in. He enjoys the toys and likes to splash in the water. Quinn on the other hand is usually giving Mommy a heart attack. He squirms around, crawls around, and falls into the water...usually face first. He is constantly flipping around trying to catch his breath! He is definitely a slippery snake! Mackenzi loves to have them in the tub with her. She likes to help me clean them, pour water on them (I keep having to remind her to only pour it on their tummys and backs...not their heads), and splash with them! It's really cute! Jace

Quinn checking out the water

My Baby Boys!

Fair Time Fun Time

I LOVE THE FAIR! Every year I cannot wait to go. I love everything about it...the shopping, the food, the scenery, the people watching, and of course, always running into people you know! This year was no different. We went on Saturday afternoon. We did a little shopping, well browsing. We ate our all time favorite fair food, cheesy chips and hot dog on a stick. We took a pic in the photo booth (that was unsuccessful, I must say. Squeezing 2 adults and 3 fussy children in was not easy). It was pretty cool, Matt's fam was there, as well as my fam. So, first we met up with the Rogina's and watched some horse racing. Rick let kenzi pick the horse, she wanted the yellow of course. It WON!!!! He gave her a bit of the winnings for her piggy bank. Then we met up with Dana's fam and my mom. We walked through the gardens, rode the big yellow slide and ate! It was so much fun! I love that LA County Fair!!!

This one was taken before she saw the big animals. She used to LOVE any animal. She was so scared of all the animals. She started crying and said "I need to go to my house". Poor girl...needless to say, our trip to the farm area was short lived.









One of the exhibits had snow to play with. Mackenzi was so excited. She loved making snowballs and throwing them on the ground. There was a place to sled and she really wanted to. Daddy didn't want to wait in line, so he talked her into eating an ice cream instead. Fair trade, I think!



The boys were asleep when we got there and luckily they stayed asleep for awhile. Naps=happy babies!! Quinn was up first...nothing new with them!




Braeden going down the Big Yellow Slide all by himself on ride #2. Kenzi went on it too, but we didn't get any pics. :(






We tried to get Kenzi to pose with Kels for this one, but she was too scared of the fish! :(


A loving moment between Kenz and Kels.

ARRRR ...I'm a pirate!

Yesterday, while I was at a bridal shower, Matt took the kids over to his parent's. Matt was feeding the boys when he realized that Mackenzi was missing. Everyone was searching the house looking for her. Matt was so nervous that she had gotten into something, or worse, was hurt. He ran upstairs towards his parent's room when he saw her coming down the stairs...looking like a pirate! He said he wanted to be mad at her (for going upstairs by herself...an obvious no-no) but it was all he could do not to laugh when he saw her. He asked her what she was doing and she said..."I put on Grandma's make-up". Obviously! Grandma told her that she doesn't look pretty, she looks like a pirate. To this, she replied, "ARRRRRRRRRRRR" in her best pirate voice! She's a stinker all right. Yep, she definitely needs to be watched, especially when at Grandma's house...that make-up of hers is just too hard to resist!

Did You Stand Up 2 Cancer??

Did anyone watch Stand Up 2 Cancer last night! I had been wanting to watch it, but forgot it was on. Luckily, I was changing channels at the right time...right at 8 and saw the whole thing. I think it was an awesome program to raise money for Cancer research. Cancer is a deadly beast that effects everyone. Everyone knows someone that has cancer, survived cancer, or lost their battle to cancer. The statistics last night were heartbreaking. Every MINUTE, EVERY MINUTE someone dies from cancer. The last thought of the night was let's stand up for the 60 people that have died while this broadcast was taking place. SO SAD...SO DEADLY! Lance Armstrong stated "Every two days, it's like 9-11 all over again"...that's how many people die from cancer. WOW! Shocking! Cancer is heart breaking...no matter who is effected by it....but, especially children. I lost it last night when the stars were reading the dialog from Cancer patients and their families. When the man (I can't remember his name) read the dialog from the father and he said that his son died from Cancer. He felt his heart beat for the first time when he was born...and had his hand on his son's chest when he died, he felt his heart beat for the last time....I LOST IT! I was crying so hard. I couldn't even see the darn T.V. It makes me feel so fortunate that I haven't had to see any children that I know...personally know, die from cancer. I have been effected though. As most of you know, my Grandma lost her battle with Pancreatic Cancer almost 2 years ago come October. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. Watching Cancer take it's toll on a body is devastating! Losing her was even harder. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of her at least twice...if not more! She was the best grandma ever...I am so lucky that she was mine. Anyone that knew her was better because of it! She definitely left her footprint on many souls... There are other people whom I knew that lost their battle with cancer as well. The youngest person that I knew was our good friend's brother, Ryan Ware. He lost his battle to brain cancer almost a year ago, come October. He was a fun, happy go lucky, but don't mess with me or my family, kind of guy! I am so happy that I knew him!
Cancer is horrible. It is a non-discriminating killer. It doesn't care who it gets... I had chills last night when the doctors said that they "think the cure for cancer...all types...is within reach in the next 20 years. But, if all the doctors, researchers and oncologists work together, it could be in about 3 years". WOW! Wouldn't that be great. I know that they have already found ways to treat and cure certain types of cancer. Hopefully for my kids and grandchildren, cancer wont be a killing beast. There will be a vaccine that will be given so that they wont have to suffer like so many before!

The last quote I leave you with is this, said by a doctor on the show last night..."You know when it's about to rain and the weather forecasters have said there is a 100% chance that it will rain? You can feel it...it's going to happen any second. You are just waiting for that moment. That's how the doctors feel about a cure for cancer...we can just feel it!" I say...bring on the rain!!!!!!!!

http://www.su2c.standup2cancer.org/

Oh, How I WISH!

Have you ever felt like you are living in a house that is always picked up but never CLEAN? That's how I constantly feel! Our house is always picked up. Things are always (well, almost always) where they belong. The dishes are ALWAYS done,, it's always dusted, laundry is NEVER left laying around. You get the picture. This is because my husband has taught me some good habits (for those of you that don't know my Matt very well, he is VERY PARTICULAR...this took some adjustment on both of our parts when we first got married). Anyways...Our house is always clean, but never clean! I feel like it always needs to be vacuumed and swept (I do it daily, but it's not enough) thanks to our beloved pup Hurley! The baseboards need to be scrubbed...not a task I want to do, but need to do! Well, today I was cleaning the kitchen and scrubbing counters when I realized that the cupboards desperately needed to be cleaned from normal kitchen grime! The last time I SCRUBBED them was when I was nesting before the boys were born. Gross, I know. So...I was scrubbing the kitchen cabinets and mopping the floor, I had a thought....

Wouldn't it be GREAT...not great, but SUPERB if we lived in the land of THE JETSON'S?!?! I'm sure we would all love a ROSIE that could zip around and clean & cook for us! Things would be done so quickly. It would be great. If we couldn't have our very own Rosie, Mr. George Jetson would surely come up with a self cleaning kitchen. You would simply pour some soap on the ground...shut the doors and push start! The kitchen would be DEEP CLEANED in about 20 minutes! AHHHH, that would be great. Bathrooms would be done the same way! What a nice thought huh?!?

Since I am not married to George Jetson, and we do not live where ever the Jetson's lived...I guess I'll just clean the house the old fashioned way...even though I hate it! BLAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Summertime Fun!

Yesterday, I decided to let the boys and Kenzi play in the kiddy pool in our backyard! I didn't know If the boys would be able to sit with out freaking me out too much! But, they did. They had a blast splashing and playing in the water. Quinn kept trying to climb out. Jace, the chill-man, was content either sitting or laying on his tummy chasing toys! Kenzi was such a big girl! She didn't splash them and she played so nicely too! We actually out there for awhile, about 45 minutes (that's a long time for short attention spans). They're water babies...all 3 of them!

Quinn is on the left...Jace is on the right

Jace is laying down...Quinn is sitting up

Mackenzi is painting the ground

Jace is on the left...Quinn is on the right

Look at those flinstone feet! Poor kids get that from their mama

UMMM....Excuse ME?

Two days ago, Quinn crawled over to the bouncy chair and pulled himself up to take a better look at the waterfall! He was so proud of himself. I told Matt that we need to lower his crib, it was only a matter of time until he can do it in the crib!
Yesterday, when I went in to get the boys up from their 1st nap of the day, this is what I saw...
MR. QUINN was looking at me through the slats as I opened the door. What a big boy!
That afternoon, the boys were taking their 2nd nap of the day. I heard crying so I went in to see who was awake! Little did I know, it was not crying at all...it was LAUGHING! Quinn was laughing at Jace...and Jace was laughing back! This is what I saw this time...
UM...EXCUSE ME! Can someone please tell my 6 month old that he is NOT that big yet!?! He was so proud of himself. Jace looked pretty happy too! He was laying on his belly, stretching his neck and looking at Quinn. They are so darn cute...and getting so big! Mackenzi definitely wasn't this mobile at such a young age...It's kind of hard to believe that they're already crawling and pulling themselves up! I don't think of Quinn being "that big" yet...but I guess he is!

My Boys!

This was taken a few weeks ago at my mom's house. Jace & Quinn were totally enjoying themselves in the pool. They were kicking their legs and having a great time! They're water babies, that's for sure!

Two of Their Favorite Things

If there is ONE thing that the boys love...it's JUMPING!! We bought a jumper, but one was simply not enough! Dana let us borrow her jumper so that the "Bobo Brothers" could jump at the same time! They love, love, LOVE to jump! They get so excited, especially when Mackenzi stands in front of them and jumps at the same time! This is just one thing that I get to enjoy every day of my life! I am so lucky to hear these sweet giggles daily!

***WARNING*** I apologize in advance...my voice is very loud and annoying in the video. You need to have your volume on to hear the boys...but, that means you have to suffer through my voice as well! SORRY!!!! :) I took this with my phone...so the quality isn't the best. I'll try to get a good one with my camera!

Labor Day Weekend!

We had a WONDERFUL weekend! We went to Balboa Beach to spend the weekend with Matt's family at their beach condo. The weather was GREAT! It was pretty warm, but not hot like at home. The kids enjoyed themselves...except for night time. For some reason, when we are away from home, they sleep like CRAP! The 1st night, Mackenzi slept great...the 2nd night...like CRAP! All three of them were up all night long. Oh well! Maybe one day, when we go away for the night, we can enjoy a good night's rest, as well as have fun during the day! Our day will come!
We went on a LONG bike ride again. The boys cried at first as we buckled them in the bike trailer. But, as soon as Matt started peddling, they were fast asleep! They played in sand for the first time...Jace LOVED to eat it! YUCK! Kenzi held a sand crab for the first time! She didn't want to until I pulled the camera out...then she grabbed it and smiled! She's such a ham!
Yesterday, Mom, Dana, Kev, and the kids came over for a BBQ. It was YUMMY! We had a great time hanging out, watching T.V., and playing with the kids. We had a great Labor Day weekend...hopefully you did too!!!!!