Happy Birthday Tuesday

Happy 11th Birthday Dolly!

All Star Surprise

We thought that we were done at TABB and then we got an All Star email letting us know that Marsh had made the Bronco Blue team and Timmy was asked to be a coach.

My favorite part (or the part I love to laugh at the most) of PONY All Stars is that the Manager and Coaches must dress in full baseball uniform. Lol!  Too funny.  I've never seen Timmy in person in a baseball uniform.
Here, 4 your viewing pleasure:

Our All Star experience is over now but, we had a ton of fun.  Our coach was great (he's Marshmellows travelball coach too) all the boys learned a ton.  It was 5 weeks of intense baseball. Practice was pretty much everyday that we weren't playing.  I was very busy.

Here are a few pictures from our sanction tourney:

And, it's over.

It really hasn't sunk in yet. When Tyler finished at TABB, I cried.  It hit me hard.  I think because I've had so many conflicted feelings during Marshmellow's last years at TABB, it might be the reason I don't have the same feelings as with Tyler.  I was ready to be done I think.  It is time to move on and and I am so happy.

We met so many nice people and have made some very good life long friends.  The Lord sent me my BFF Kim right when I needed her. (Ok, so now I'm crying. Haha)  Both Marsh and Tyler have friends that have extended beyond just being at the field too.  Timmy has a great job thanks to connections made at TABB.  I am just so thankful for it all.

I will miss my good friend Jessica and her wonderfully run snackbar but, my waistline won't. Lol!

Daisy

Do you see this face?  This is her "I want you to pay attention to me" face.  What you don't see in this picture is a ratty flat volleyball in my lap.  She's waiting for me to throw it.  This is also the face she uses when she wants to E-A-T or go O-U-T-S-I-D-E.  You have to spell around her, like you do with your kids when they are too young to spell.  God forbid you mention food or going outside around her when you have no intention of doing either of the two things mentioned.  Haha.  The bad thing is, she's learning how to spell. Now even if you spell the two words and she knows you're talking about her, her butt/tail starts wagging fast and you get this:

She gets closer and starts "talking" to you.  Just think Chewbacca from Star Wars and you got it.

Quick to Honk, Slow to Help

I sometimes walk Tuesday to school.  We walk a long a very busy street for a short period of time.  Today, on my way back, there was a white suburban in the middle of the busy intersection and people were honking at it.  When I got closer, I saw that it was out of gas and the driver and her passenger were trying as hard as they could to push the suburban to the gas station on one of the corners. I saw ONE man get out of his car to help them. One.

How hard would it have been to get out of the car to help these poor ladies instead of sit behind the wheel of your car and honk at them?  I know we're all busy, that we have places to be but, how different would our world be if we could get out of our own way every once in awhile and help one another.

Yesterday, Tuesday and I saw a squirrel get hit by a car.  Now, our area is overrun with squirrels and we see them dead by the side of the road all the time but, we have never seen one killed before our eyes.  It was incredibly sad and the poor squirrel was still alive but, I knew it was just a matter of time before he too ended up on the side of the road......dead.  We were on our way to get Marshmellow at school ( I too have places to be) so, I told Tuesday that after we got Marsh we would go back to see how he was.  I was quietly hoping he would be out of his misery by the time we got back.  Sure enough, we found him by the side of the road and he was dead.  I carefully put him in a plastic bag and we brought him home to give him a proper burial. Marshy dug the hole and we each tossed a little dirt over him before Marsh filled the hole.  Just that small act of kindness, in my eyes, makes a difference and taught the kids that even the smallest act is appreciated.

I hope that I can pass this along to my kids.  We should never be TOO BUSY to help others.  It's easy and in most circumstances, costs nothing.

Picture Time!!

SHS Baseball 2011

The Requisite Goof-off Picture 

Easter 2011

What Social Life?

Baseball season is upon us and so is the part where we are never home.  This week alone, if it weren't for the rain, we'd have a game last night (Marsh), Batting Practice tonight (Marsh), Games Wednesday (Tyler & Travis), Games Thursday (Tyler, Travis and Marsh), Game Saturday (Tyler & Travis).  Whew!

Now, luckily, I don't go to Travis' games because he doesn't actually play with the Varsity team but, he does travel with them.  So far, I've been able to do both Tyler and Marshmellow's game without too much overlap but, now that Timmy is working, it's going to get harder.  I will probably have to take Timmy to work in order to get Marsh to his games on time and then leave him in order to pick up Tim and get back to the game.  Tyler and Travis are covered because they have the bus to get to and from the games and we have wonderful friends who will give them a ride home if need be.  It sure takes a lot of gas though, all that back and forth.  Oh well.  It's totally worth it.

Did I Tell You The Good News?

Timmy is now working.

Tuesday's Best Day Ever!

The boys were all gone/busy today so Tuesday and I walked across the street to the Mall.  I had promised Tuesday after Christmas to buy her a sweatshirt from a trendy store like Abercrombie or Hollister.  We scoured the websites in the clearance sections but never could decide on one.  Besides, why pay shipping when we could just walk across the street.

We had a nice time.  We walked through the entire mall and into several stores.  Our first stop was Bath and Body Works.  We got some small body washes and lotions.  Tuesday also got a new hand sanitizer.  She's obsessed with them.  I think she has four now.  It was cheap and it made us happy.  Score 1 for Tuesday.

Next we stopped in at Justice.  I do not buy clothes from that store.  Some of the clothes are a little too trendy and sometimes a little too grown up looking for my little girl.  Not to mention expensive.  What I do buy there though is underwear.  They had a good deal.  Buy 4 get 4 free and I had a 40% off coupon.  Another good deal.  Score 2 for Tuesday.

We tried Aeropostale and American Eagle for her sweatshirt with no luck.  When we walked into Hollister, I knew we were going to be successful. She found the one she wanted pretty much right away.  She bee-lined for the ugly green ones.  Haha!  Anyway, she got this one:

She was super happy.  I mean, the happiest I've seen her in a long time.  And, another good deal $25.  That's a great price for that store.  Score 3 for Tuesday.

And finally, I got bangs cut on Friday.  I've tried having bangs so many time and every time I regret having them cut as soon as it's done.  This time is different.  I had them cut different and they are perfect.  So, Tuesday has never had bangs.  I see so many little girls with bangs and along with my own history with them I decided not to do them for her.  Well, being so happy with my own bangs today, when she asked if she could have some cut I told her I'd think about it.  Tonight at about 5pm, my mom cut Tuesday some bangs.

Excuse the low quality pic.  Isn't she so cute?  Or if you want it from her own mouth, "I look awesome!"  Seriously, she said that.  So, score 4 for Tuesday.

Her best day to date.

Travis' 10th Diabetes Birthday

It was 10 years ago today that Tim, Travis and I walked into Millers Children's Hospital in Long Beach to begin our hospital stay and Diabetes "training".

Early the day before, I took Travis to doctor and requested a blood sugar test.  I knew he had diabetes.  I had spent the last two and a half weeks watching him drink a Capri Sun, go out to play for a few minutes, and then come in to go to the bathroom, over and over again.  I'm pretty sure he had had a couple of nighttime accidents as well.  I happened to hear the symptoms of diabetes on the radio about a month before all this happened.  I watched Travis and I knew.

Luckily for Travis, Dr. Pang wanted us to go to the hospital right away but, I convinced him to allow us to wait until the next morning.  Tuesday was just 3 months old at the time and I had to make arrangements for the rest of the kids to be taken care of for the three days we were to be at Millers.

I remember at first Timmy blamed me for letting this happen.  I love candy and let the kids enjoy candy more than I should have.  The nurses put him in his place pretty quickly and told us that it's just not possible.  I also remember being pretty calm but completely overwhelmed at the same time.  They gave us so much information.  I still feel guilty for some of the feelings that I had during that stay.  I just remember thinking that I had FOUR children and why oh why did I have to do this too.  It was going to be so much more work.  And then I would look at skinny little Travis and cry and smile while he slept so peacefully.

Poor Travis (he was 4 at the time) cried every time they came in to check his blood sugar and give him insulin.  They showed me how to test his blood and how to properly give injections.  By the second day Travis was loving the food part of having Diabetes.  Haha.  He got breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack.  He was pretty much eating every two hours.

And then after the third day, they discharged us and sent us home with our newly diabetic son.  I don't know how I made it through that first year with my sanity but, here we are 10 years later and it's become so much a part of our life that it's like breathing.

Tuesday's New Bike

Every Christmas my Grama and Grampa Aguinaga give the kids $100.  Usually, I make the kids hold onto the money for things they truly need instead of frivolous things they *want*.  This year I let the boys finally buy the PS3 they've been dreaming of for the past three years.  They are super happy.

Tuesday always chooses well with her money.  Last year she bought a new comforter set for her bed.  This year, she didn't know what she wanted.  Kaleley got a new bike for Christmas and Grama Sue suggested that Tuesday buy a new bike with her Christmas money.  That was smart.  I knew Tuesday wanted a new bike, I just hadn't thought of using her money on that.  So today, Mom, Tuesday, and I searched the internet for the perfect bike.  Mom ended up with the winner.  Tuesday and I went to Toys R Us and bought the bike.  It was a little more than she had $$ for so, Grama Sue pitched in an extra $40. (Thanks Grama!)

I love how excited Tuesday gets when she buys something on her own and it's something she *really* wants.  She was all smiles and we listened to happy music in the car to and from TRU.

Grampa Tony built the bike and off she went.

It's definitely a big girls bike and should last her more than a few years.  It's a way bigger bike than she's used to and it took a little while before she gained the confidence she needed to be comfortable but, by the end of the day she's a pro at her new bike.  Good Buy Tuesday.  Enjoy your bike.

I Love Love Love My Dorcas

When the boys were younger, I tortured them with a couple viewings of Seven Brides For Seven Brothers.  I love that movie.  Contrary to what they will most likely tell you, they liked it.  Of course their favorite part was when they found out one of the "brides" name was Dorcas.  I mean they died laughing.  Since then anyway, I've been calling Tyler, Dorcas.  Like I call Trevor, Marshmellow, I call Tyler, Dorcas. (whew, that was a lot of commas)  I think when I call him that, most people think I am calling him Dorkus.  I guess in a way I am.  The name has kind of evolved over the years and it really is just a term of endearment now.

I don't get many pictures of Dorcas other than on the baseball field so, when this opportunity came up, I took it. A few weeks ago, Tyler and I were working at the SHS Baseball Programs Christmas tree day and I asked my friend Laurie to make Tyler take a picture with me.  See, Laurie and I have each others backs and then I made her son take a picture with her.  I've always been a little bit jealous of those moms that have sons who have no shame in showing public love for their mommies.  I do not have one of those sons.  I know he loves me a ton but, God forbid anyone knows it.  Haha!  Anyway, here is the picture we *made* him take.  I will say that he was a good enough son to smile in the picture after I squeezed him and said, "PRETEND YOU LIKE ME!!!"  LOL!!!

Look at him!  Isn't he soooo cute?

I *Loooovvve* Text Messaging

I do. Really!

I've been having a nice conversation with three of my friends tonight and I didn't have to open my mouth once! I'm not a great conversationalist to begin with and tend to articulate my thoughts better by writing them down so, the whole text message thing works wonders for me.

Awesome.

Halloween 2010

Who knew my son wore his Halloween costume to school on the first day?  LOL!

Here's to another year of my lack of creativity and free costumes. Yay Me!

Another Year. Another Candle. {sigh}

Today is National Stillbirth/Infant Loss and Miscarriage Rememberance day. No matter what your timezone at 7pm tonight, citizens all over the US will be lighting candles to remember the smallest of the small.

My candle is lit for my Brother and Janna's baby girl Faith and their baby boy Noah who were lost through miscarriage.

Hugs to anyone who has felt a loss such as this.

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

I came home from AZ with this meal in my back pocket, thanks to the "Best Mom in the World" Yvonne Williamson.  My family loves this meal.  It's perfect for the nights that we have Bulldog practice because the boys don't get home until close to 8pm and that is just a lame time to try to have a fresh cooked meal prepared.  With this, the meat is done and the sandwich can be put together in a matter of minutes.

Ingredients/Supplies:
Beef Roast (Any beef roast will do.  You chose the size that works for your family)
Au Jus packaged mix
Demi Baguettes (basically a sandwich roll.  I buy mine at Costco.  They're from La Brea Bakery)
Butter
Provolone Cheese (or any other cheese you prefer)
Salt and Pepper


Start off by searing the roast on all sides and season with salt and pepper.

While the roast is searing, mix the Au Jus seasoning with water in the crock pot.  You're gonna look at it and think, "that is not enough" but, trust me it is.  I use one pack of seasoning with 3 cups of water.  When the roast is ready, put that bad boy in the crock pot, set the temp to low and walk away for at least 8hrs.

After 8hrs, not only will your house smell delicious but, the roast will be ready to shred.

Done in Slow Cooker

Go ahead and take the roast out of the crock pot and put it on a platter.  Shred the roast.  I use forks.

The meat will shred easily.  When done, transfer meat back into crock pot.  Turn the temperature to Warm.  And, you're done.  But make sure you kick the dog out of the kitchen while doing this or this is what will happen:

What about me?

I like to cook my roast over night and shred in the morning.  That way, I can enjoy a sandwich during the day by myself.  This is the time I lock Daisy outside. Haha!

Here's the rest:

Turn on your broiler and get out a cookie sheet.  Slice the Demi Baguettes in half lengthwise and butter.  Slip in the broiler just until lightly toasted.  Pile some shredded roast on the flat side and top with a slice of Povolone.

Try to ignore the super old cookie sheet! {blush}

 Put the sandwhich back in the broiler for a couple more minutes and there you go.

Can you say delicious?  Slice the sandwich in half and serve with a nice bowl of au jus on the side for dipping.

It may not be Phillippe's but, it's as good as it gets in the Ebersole House.  Enjoy.

The Birds and the Bees. Ebersole Style

It's so funny,  I was just talking to Mom and Dad about how much fun Tim and I had when the boys were little and the things we told them about babies.

 I remember we told Tyler that that window full of babies at the hospital is really just like a store for babies and you just go there and choose the one you want.  We told him that when we had Travis.  I think we fed him that one for a long time.  Of course, he believed us.  I never had any intention of telling my 18month old the truth about where babies come from so, why not have a little fun.

When I was pregnant with Trevor, I spent a lot of time watching A Baby Story on TLC.  Travis loved that show.  I fully assumed that because of that show, he would have a better understand than Tyler about where babies come from.  Sadly, in the end he also believed the story about the "store" at the hospital.  Haha!!  Good times!  However, he was wise to the fact that babies come out of your feet!  That was the best part.

By the time Tuesday came around the story of the hospital "baby store" was fact in our house and to this day that's how we refer to it.  Yeah, the kids are well old enough to know better and I know they do but, it's just more fun this way.

This is in total contrast to the way my sister-in-law Janna does things (as referenced in this post on her blog: Janna's version of the birds and the bees.

Am I A Bad Mother?

I spend some time on an internet message board a few times during the day and I love some of the women I've met there.  There is one thread completely dedicated to the reality show Big Brother that has turned into just a group of women that enjoy talking to one another.

There's also some political talk and I have learned so much and had my eyes opened to things I may never have thought of.  I try not to open my mouth on those threads because I feel very ignorant.  There's one of these political ladies I plan on having brunch with sometime this month.  I'm really looking forward to it.

Yesterday, there was a thread about some neighbors of one of the ladies.  She was venting about how they choose to spend heir money while they have 7 people crammed into a two bedroom townhouse.  Mostly, it was a bout the lack of parental control these people had over their children and their bedtime.  I completely agreed with her about that but, when she likened the cramming to child abuse, I spoke up.

We all know that we are a family of six and we live in an apartment sized house with one bathroom.  I mentioned this in the thread and that the four kids shared *one* bedroom.  The original poster was very sweet and apologized and that her real beef was win the sleep routines of these children.

However; there was another poster who regularly goes out of her way to stir the pot.  She took offense with my living arrangements and started a brand new post solely dedicated to me. *fun*  It was titled:

"Is four kids in one small bedroom okay?"

Most of the posters thought that it was okay and this is the way things were done "in the old days" and that now a days we have a sense of entitlement with regards to our private space (i.e. having your own bedroom). I never really thought about it that way but when I do it makes a lot of sense.

I had my own room from the age of 5 until I got married.  When I was younger and had my own room, my brother had the bigger room and it had two twin beds in it.  I would regularly stay in there with him.  We were best friends (at least I thought we were.  Were we Brad?) and had a ball.  When we got older, I started spending more time in my own room.  That time spent meant more time that I didn't spend with my family.  Which also meant the more I could hide from them.

When we moved to this house 10 years ago, the kids were obviously 10 years younger and Tuesday hadn't arrived quiet yet.  At first, Tyler, Travis, and Trevor shared the Master Bedroom with two twin beds and one toddler bed.  When Tuesday was finally old enough, we got two sets of bunk beds for the room.

They all have their moments of frustration with each other but, for the most part they seem rather content.  We spend a lot of time *together* because our house isn't that big and there's really nowhere else to go.  Haha. I'm positive that it's bonded us and I don't regret any part of it.  If that makes me a bad mom?  Then, so be it.

The Best Birth Control Ever!

LOL!!  Just kidding.....sort of.

We invited Nathan to spend a couple days with us early this week.  Two days, two nights to be exact.  We had so much fun with him here.  And he was such a good boy!  Especially, since we hopped him up on candy and sugary juice!

By the way, he chose his own candy and juice from the Dollar Tree.  See that juice Brad?  Does it bring back memories?

I let him do so many "fun" things.  I didn't make him eat everything off his plate at lunch and dinner.  I let him play outside until way past dark.  Travis taught him how to snipe army men with the Nerf guns.

I let him shoot Nerf bullets on the ceiling.  Travis and Nathan shot the dog.

On Tuesday, he stayed in his PJs until after lunch.

He did cry the first night when he realized that he wasn't going home to his Mommy.  Oh yeah, I also let him watch as much tv as he wanted until he fell asleep.  Hahahahahaha!

Tyler is his best friend.  And he "was" Tyler's best friend until Wednesday morning when Nathan jumped up and down on Tyler when it was time to wake up in the morning.  Tyler is not a morning person.  It was too funny.

Anyway, we loved having him but, my days as a little kid mom are gone and I will happily wave at them as I run away as fast as I can.

Haven't Seen Me In A While?

Ha!  You can't even see the layers of sweat all over me.  Not more than 30 minutes before this picture was taken me clothes were soaked, literally, with sweat.  Gross!

Marshmellow and our Bulldogs played in a one day tournament yesterday in Whittier.  It was 101 in the shade!  I sat in the sun.  It was pretty hot.  The boys (they're 12 and under) played like troopers.  If it was 101 in the shade I can only imagine what it was like to play in that.

Anyway, I realize that not only do I not take as many pictures of the kids anymore as I should, I also don't allow my own picture to be taken very often.  So, yesterday I asked my friend Jill to take this picture of Tuesday and I.

By the way, did I mention that my dolly turned 10 on the 23rd?  It's official then.  All of my children are in their double digits.  She had a good birthday.  She got a Build A Bear from the family, a jewelry making set and Build A Bear gift card from Uncle Brads family, and a nice card w/ $40 in it from Grama Joyce and Papa Jim.  With the gift card from Uncle Brad and Aunt Janna, she bought herself another Build A Bear.  And like always, she got to pick what she wanted for dinner.  We had McDonalds.

Then, on Friday night, my parents took Tuesday for her "day".  She got to spend the night, go to Hometown Buffet for dinner (she loves that place) and then on Saturday, to the L.A. County Fair.  They didn't get home until 9:00pm?  I don't remember exactly now.  She had a great time.  I don't think she'd ever been before.  My dad took some great pictures.  As soon as I get them from him, I'll post a few.

So, that's the story for now.