These are a Few of My Favorite Things Right Now

* Having time off after Christmas to lounge around and be super lazy!

* Watching my boys play with their new toys.

* Cuddling up and watching movies with the kids.

* Popcorn and hot chocolate after the kids go to bed!

* More time to scrapbook.

* Helping the boys make the bunk bed into a fort that they have played in all day. As I type, both boys are asleep in the fort. How cute!

* Spending more of my time in my jammies than my regular clothes.

* Snacking on the delicious holiday treats and not caring about the calories until I go back to work!

* Playing board games and listening to music with my family.

* Shopping at any time of the day!

Mini Mafia

C'mon! Aren't they the cutest little guys! Friday night we went to a family Christmas party at our friend Donise's house. The day before we had to buy Jaxon a nice outfit to wear to a play in Walnut Creek. Mason had to have one too, so I made them promise they would wear them to the party that night as well. They were so excited to dress up that they wanted to sleep in the outfits. Jaxon was heard saying "I could get used to this!" when he was getting dressed. Too funny!!!

'Tis the Season

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, .......perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
It sounded like footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled there in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

'What are you doing?' I asked without fear,'
Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!
'For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
Then he sighed and he said 'Its really all right ,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.'

'It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask ........or beg or implore me
I'm proud to stand..... like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,'
Then he sighed, 'That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.
'My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures; he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... An American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother....
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.'

'So go back inside,' he said, 'harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right.'
'But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
'Give you money,' I asked, 'or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son.'
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
'Just show us you love us and never forget.

And when we come home, either standing or dead,
Honor the ones who have fought and have bled,
That's payment enough, and with that we will trust
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us!'

Happy December!!!

My favorite season has officially begun! I am a sucker for the holidays as it forces me to slow down a bit and focus on the things that really matter, like shopping, crafting, and eating. Just kidding! Although those are some of my favorite things as well, I truly love this time of year as we all make a conscious effort to be thankful for our blessings and take the time to show each other we care. There does seem to be a kindness in the air amidst the hustle and bustle of the chaotic shopping sprees and a rush to fit it all in. So as you go about your everyday life, and try to fit in all the extras that the holidays require, remember to take the time to breathe, take it all in, and make some amazing memories. In the end, that's all we have! Take care and enjoy. Oh, and beware, I do tend to get uncharacteristically sentimental during this time of year. You have been warned!

Rocky Coast, North Pole, Deep Sea

All in one weekend we went to hit the rocks in Monterey, took a train to the North Pole, and dove under water to visit the fish. For years we have made a point to visit Monterey atleast twice a year. We usually go after the holidays, but last year we found Holiday Lights at Bonfante Gardens in Gilroy and now we are making it a tradition to go much earlier than usual. So we packed up and headed out early Saturday morning. We arrived in time to climb the rocks on the coast, but the tide was so high that we couldn't go out as far as we are used to. The city was so crowded we couldn't find parking so we changed our plans to go to the Aquarium and went to the wharf for chowder bowls. Yum! After checking into our hotel in Gilroy, we bundled up and headed for Gilroy Gardens. One of the highlights of the night was writing a letter to Santa. Other highlights included a train ride, driving the cars, lots of rides, hot chocolate, and getting to wear our hats and gloves! Sunday we went to our favorite place...the Aquarium. Mason's favorite thing was the sharks and Jaxon loved it all! Of course, my favorite remains the Jellyfish. Very cool!

Third Time is NOT a Charm

ok, I am sick of being sick! I have just suffered through the third weekend of having a cold. I'm actually not convinced it's a cold and perhaps some Fall allergies. Makes no difference what it is, it's making me crazy! I am too tired to go anywhere and not tired anought to actually sleep. So I'm doing a lot of hanging around the house. Not getting a lot done. Just resting through the weekends just to make it through my crazy work weeks. Now it's off to bed becuase I walked ot the park with the kids today and boy am I whooped! Ha!

Family News

Not only did Holly and Tim get engaged this month, they also moved into their first home. Here are pics from the engagement day and also the House warming party.

Soccer Season is Finally Over!!!

Jaxon played an awesome season this year. He is really getting control of the ball and puts in so much effort. We had both of the boys' soccer parties over the past week. I did get a cute shot of Coach Daddy and Jaxon, but I left my camera home for Mason's party (gasp!). However, here are pictures of Mason's last game. The first one is what Mason usually looks like on the field, and the next one is Mason coming off after playing a bit more than usual. Although we all have a fun time during soccer season, I am definately glad it's over. Now the boys want to try baseball. Ugh!

A Little Bit of This and That

Jaxon lost another tooth and now has a Jack-O-Lantern look that fits perfect for this time of year. Mason has learned (with the help of big brother) to climb trees. One Saturday he climbed up so far that he was frozen with fear and couldn't get down. Shawn and I couldn't climb the tree because the branches were so close together. We had to calm him down and talk him through it. I was ready to call the fire department!

Happy Halloween!

We just returned from our 3rd annual Trick-or-Treat around the block in our neighborhood. I know this sounds like no big deal, but in a family as big as ours, every single holiday is spent driving around from house to house so all the grandparents can enjoy the kids. Well, when we moved into our house in Oakley, we decided that this ould be OUR family holiday. So this is the night that we come home and spend the whole night in one place. It's so fun to walk around the neighborhood and not feel rushed to get somewhere else.

They boys dressed up as a Ninja and The Thing from Fantastic 4. Jaxon wore his mask most of the time, but Mason wouldn't wear it for longer than 5 minutes. I did manage to get one picture of each of them in their full costumes. I hope everyone had a fabulous night!!!

BIG NEWS

Well, I checked Holly's blog and if she aint gonna blog it, I will! Tim asked Holly to marry him this weekend! Wahoo! Looks like a trip to Mexico is in our future. They are going to have a destination wedding and that means one thing to me...Vacation! So Tim called my sister Michelle Friday night and guilted her into coming up for their big move into their house. Michelle wasn't going for it, so he had to clue her in. Then she called and guilted me in and we went up to help her celebrate moving into their new place. So we walk in and suprise them with beer for their new home and they surprised us with the bling of her ring! Wowzer, it's a beauty! So anyways, congrats to my baby sister Holly and my future brother-in-law Tim!

Where Have I Been???

Now that school is back in, I can't seem to find two extra minutes to blog. We have either Karate and/or soccer Monday through Thursday and two soccer games on Saturdays. Marissa and I scrapbooked last weekend, which has been the highlight of my week. Work is chaotic as I travel back and forth to two sites. This week I was off both of my campuses for two days of training to work with new teachers. I am enjoying the experience of Coaching, but I truly feel lost outside of the classroom. I need to go back next year for my own sanity.

My sister Holly is moving into her new house this weekend. I may have to pop up there to check it out, even though she said she didn't need any more help. You never know how much stuff you have until you have to pack it up and move it! I am so excited for her and Tim. They are going to really enjoy their first home.

We are surviving the puppy, although I tend to doubt my decision to take her home almost every day. I question if I can keep it up, but I'm giving it my best effort. It'll get better I'm sure.

Dog Days

Today I spent the day cleaning out the dog run, trying to get Maisie to do her thing on the grass rather than my carpet, and getting her used to her crate in the hopes that she will soon sleep in it all night. I feel like I just had another baby! Luckily she is such a good tempered pup that it'll all be worth the effort. She is so much fun to be around and she never barks or growls. She is always happy and ready to play with anyone who is willing.

Tonight we went to my dad's house for dinner. Maisie had a blast playing with their dad, Tiffany. I think Tiff was glad when we left so she could take a break.

Soccer Mania!

It's A Girl!

I finally got my baby girl! We were lucky enough to adopt a new puppy this week. It took us by surprise, and she's a lot of work, but we are happy to introduce you to Maisie Pearl. She is a Western Highland White Terrier and she's 5 months old. She is completely opposite of what we thought we wanted, but she is a perfect fit for our family. She is such a good girl. She never barks or growls and LOVES to play with people and other dogs. She is adjusting well to her new home and we are working on potty training!!! Wish us luck!!

So Long to Summer

Well, we all went back to school this week and things haven't been the same in our house ever since. Jaxon started 2nd Grade and is in Mrs. Tompkin's class. I don't know who go the better deal- me because she's my best friend, or him because she's an amazing teacher. It will be an awesome year! Jaxon is also thrilled to stay after school and play with the other teachers' kids. He feels like big stuff and gets a chance to hang out with his buddies Kaleigh and Addie.

On our last night of summer we celebrated with Ice Cream Sundaes. It was a nice way to end the season and begin a new school year!

A little of this, a little of that.

How to eat a smore.




















Wish my feet were here right now.

















I'm pretty sure Cancun doesn't look like this right now, with the hurricane and all, but it'll always look like this to me.















Cheesy grin you just gotta love!!!








I can't possibly believe that it's been over two weeks since I've posted. Thes have probably been the most layed back of the whole summer, so I guess I just have to blame it on laziness. Mason is still in Preschool two days a week. Between both boys we have soccer four nights a week and karate twice a week, plus 2 soccer games each Saturday. So I guess we have been busy. I went back to work yesterday. I'm trying to plan, prepare and organize some things for the beginning of the year. I am doing 1 and a half Staff Development says between my two schools. I have a love/hate relationship with presenting to my teachers. I love doing them, but hate preparing for them. Yet, somehow I love preparing for them as well. I am utterly confusing, I know.





I haven't posted pictures in a while, but here are some of my favorites from the past.

Karma

Yesterday, at this exact time, I was moping around Big Trees National Park for two reasons. First, I couldn't find my camera. Gasp! This has to be a scrapbookers nightmare. I am in a freakin' forest, with the most amazing photo opportunities, and I CAN"T FIND MY CAMERA!!! The horror...of having to...enjoy a beautiful day...without any way of capturing it on film. It was tough. So I decided to suck it up and look at it as a gift. I could actually enjoy the great outdoors and my family, without having to fight for someone to look at me and smile. This is torture for my entire family. They were thrilled to have me without having to pose for pictures. Fine, great, I was having fun with nature and watching my kids climb enormous trees and walk through tree tunnells and stand inside the trunk of a tree. Whatever, I'll get over it (not on your life). So then I notice it's getting a little sunny in this here tree forest. So I reach up on my head to grab my sunglasses (the only nice, expensive pair I've ever owned) and THEY ARE GONE!!! Somewhere along one of the trails I had dropped them and not noticed. So I turn around and retrace every single step in that damn forest. I stopped at every spot I had bent down to "be one with nature-(without taking any photos of it) and every spot I have stopped to show the boys up close (without taking any photos of it) and they were completely gone. So of course, I'm thinking "someone in this place is looking awefully cute right about now with my super cute sunglasses." I'm also thinking, maybe someone like me found them and will turn them in. Please, please, please. So we head to the Visitor's center...no luck. Fine, I give myself an attitude adjustment. There are bigger things in life that can go wrong (although right about then I couldn't think of many). So we truck along and walk more trails and enjoys this beautiful place on earth (without taking any photos and squinting just a little). Then we head to the car and eat lunch. I grab around the front pocket of my beach bag, looking for some chapstick and I FIND MY CAMERA!!! Yeehaw! So as we are leaving I make Shawn stop and we pose the kids in front of some stupid bear carved out of wood just so we can say we were here. I stop in one last time to the visitors center but still no glasses. That's ok, I would rather have my camera, I say to myself. The pictures on that are irreplaceable. So off we go, out of the park. As we drive throught the gates, I ask Shawn to stop and ask if anyone turned in glasses. You better believe, she comes around the corner with MY SUNGLASSES!!! I started crying and preaching to the kids about Karma and how lucky I am that an honest person found my glasses. Jaxon's shouting "Tears of Joy" in the back seat and Shawn and Mason are just staring blankly like "what the heck is wrong with these two". And all I can think is, see...if you put out good stuff, good stuff comes back to you. It's Karma Baby! And Good Karma at that!

Top Ten Tuesday

Well I still have 2 hours left in this Tuesday, so here goes...

Top Ten Things I Should Not Have Eaten/Drank Today

10. Two cups of coffee for breakfast
9. Chips and Salsa with lunch
8. Handful of M&M's
7. Vanilla Diet Pepsi
6. Hot Dog for dinner
5. BBQ chips with my hot dog
4. Strawberries (only because they made my tongue itchy)
3. Couple of bites of brownies with my coffee.
2. Couple of bites of brownies after lunch.
1. Handfulls of brownies after dinner!!!


I see a theme of caffiene and chocolate in my day. So bad, yet so darn good! Oh well, we'll see if I can eat better tomorrow. (Probably not!)

Oh, we're actually supposed to play with the toys in this house?

Power Rangers to the Rescue

Jax in the box. Jaxon does Pantomime in his talent show, along with magic, dancing, and jumping tricks.
The audience asks for autographs from the performer, who is suddenly called "James".

Firefighter and his fire dog.

Aint Got the Power

"Let me tell you 'bout the night the lights went out in Georgia..." ok, been singing that one all day except substituting day for night and Oakley for Georgia. This stir crazy mommy was shut in with her two boys from 8:30-11:30am with NO POWER. That's right folks. Could I leave-NO, garage door opener is elextric...could I pop in a movie-NO...could we make waffles, which is the only thing they wanted to eat-NO...could I check my email-NO!!!!!!!! What's a girl to do with all that time on her hands? Well a little talent show, a little coloring, a little dress up, a little singing, a little whining, and a meal of crackers and cheese. Not bad! So the power came back on around 11:30, stayed on for 2 minutes, went off for another 20 and has remained on since then. What a relief, now let's watch some tv already!!!

Pictures aren't posting. I'll try again later.

Career in a Box

ok, here it is. My classroom in boxes. Funny thing is, this isn't half of it. I have stuff in my office at school and in a huge rolling cabinet in a closet at DVE. Sad to see it all sitting there and no one using it. That's ok...the plan is to be back in the classroom NEXT year. It'll be GREAT in '08! That's my slogan and I'm sticking to it.

Top Ten Tuesday

Here's a list of 10 reasons I haven't been to the gym lately...

10. I hate working out.
9. It's much more fun to sleep in every day.
8. My new time schedule is 9am-Midnight.
7. I already went on my trip so who cares what I look like.
6. I'm learning to love my body.
5. I hate working out.
5. Drinking Diet Coke all day gives me as much energy as working out does.
4. It's hot in the gym, even at 6:00 AM.
3. There are only certain times when sweating is fun...in Mexico and in bed.
2. It's tough to get up, work out, come home and have no where to go all day.
1. I hate working out!!!

Having stated my case, I know I will be better off if I just get up and go. However, I'd like to know how many teachers are getting up this summer to go to the gym??? Summer is for being lazy, right? Who's with me? I'll keep you posted on how it all goes.

Weekend Wrap Up

There was lots of scrapbooking and lots of swimming in our weekend. I spent over 12 hours scrapbooking with Marissa on Saturday. The boys were at my mom's so I had some extra time to stay up late Saturday night. So I put in some extra time with my pages when I came home from It's Scrapbook Time. I slept in on Sunday (a nice treat) and then headed over to my mom's house to swim with the boys. My sister came over for lunch and we all hung out by the pool for the afternoon. Shawn even came over for a while to swim. Like I said, swimming is about all we do these days! We are having a blast!

This is Summer

ok, these were taken last week but it pretty much sums up our days for the past week. We have been swimming at my mom's house every day this week. Mason is finally out of his water wings and swims around the perimeter of the pool, close to the wall for security. He is so proud to swim in the deep end. Give us a few more days and he'll be going across the pool. He has to do it on his own. Any time I ask if he wants to try something he says no. Then 10 minutes later he'll try it when he thinks no one is paying attention. Just like a man...has to think it's HIS idea!

My mommy of the year award didn't arrive yet. However I do feel redeemed by the fact that we have been outdoors every single afternoon for hours AND I finally ordered Jaxon's sparring gear for Karate. It's $125 so I was holding out. That's some serious scrapbook money!!! So next Thursday, he spars. I'll post photos. I'm sure it'll be a hoot!

Happy Friday!!!!!!!!!!

Mommy of the Year

I've been nominated for the Best Mommy of the Year award. Here's why... I have been up for exactly 2 hours. My boys have been up for 3 1/2 hours. They have been playing Lego Star Wars on GameCube for approximately 3 hours. They did take a break to eat their microwaved Jimmy Dean mini sausage muffins. Then quickly returned to the dark side to battle the Emporer. Whatever! Other than open a package, press a few buttons, and pour some milk, all I have done is sit on the computer and talk on the phone.

So, when the award arrives at my house, I will post pictures of it. I'm sure it will be a beauty. But hey, I probably won't answer the door because that would mean getting off the computer.

I have 25 minutes 'til noon. Then I'll officially start my day. I may or may not make lunch, go to Target, and take the boys swimming at my mom's house. We'll see if the eveil computer forces let me go. Man are they strong!!!


While searching for a cute graphic to post I came across this site. Made me laugh. Enjoy!
http://www.worknwoman.com/worknmom/badmommyclub.html

3 M Day

Mason, Mommy and Marian kept quite busy today. We hit the free 10am show at the movie theater. We tried to see Flushed Away but it was full by the time we got there. So we grabbed some popcorn and a soda/slurpee (yes, even at 10am) and headed in to see Clifford the Big Red Dog. We ventured over to Target after that, where the 3 items I needed quickly turned into 15 items. Funny how that happens! The 3 of us had lunch at Straw Hat Pizza and then came home to play some GameCube (Marian and Mason, not me). When we took Marian home we swam for a bit and Mommy took a nap in the shade while they jumped on the trampoline. Where was Jaxon??? Again, Mr. Socal had plans at his Nani's house. They swam in their pool and went out on the boat. My poor boys. They never have anything fun to do!

Scraptacular Day

I took Jaxon to a Mommy and Me scrapbook class at our local scrapbook store. He always like to scrap and make cards at home so this was perfect for him. His favorite part of the class was using the paper trimmer. He made a summer accordian book that is all set to put photos in. I'm such a proud scrap-momma!

Thank you Marissa for recommending this class for us. We had such a fun time scrappin' with you and Kaleigh!

No Dog Dog-on-it!

We headed out this morning in hopes of adopting Marley, a black lab we found online at the Sacramento SPCA. Unfortunately, he is only suitable for children over 10 years old and we couldn't adopt him. Seems the "you may make the final decision on the behavior of a dog for your family" rule isn't really a rule. His tag said "no exceptions" and that was final. Boo Hoo. So we spent the day searching shelters in Sacramento, thanks to Holly and Tim, but still didn't have any luck. We now know better what we are looking for, so that was a good thing. There were many labs today, just not available for different reasons. So the search for the next addition to the Culcasi household will continue. I see more shelter visits in our near future!And if you know me very well, you will know how big of a deal that is. Ha!

Regardless of coming home empty handed, we still had a great day. We had lunch with Tim and Holly and we even got to see their new house! Well, the model of it, as it won't be built until September!!!! It is adorable and all shiny and new and modern. So perfect for them! So happy for them too!

What's up???

Well I guess I haven't been so good at blogging lately. I'm going to give it my best shot to do it much more often. Today is day four at Pirate camp for Jaxon. He goes from 9am-2pm. So that leaves Mason and I to find things to do to make the time pass quickly before brother comes home. Today we've been home all day and man it it tough!!! Mason get bored easily which means I've had an earfull of whining and boy am I sick of it! Ahhh! So we're off to Carl's Jr. as that is where he prefers to spend some time today. Plus that gives me some time with my scrapbook magaizines. Getting ready to crop tomorrow night with Marissa. That's always fun!!!
Peace out!

Missing Mexico

As the kids fight and whine on this holiday, I can't help but miss our Mixican hide-away a bit. I'll just close my eyes and imagine myself back in this beautiful place.

Back in the USA

We're back from Cancun! Had some travel problems due to the weather, so we spent a day in Dallas unexpectedly. Still trying to recover and get used to CA time. Bags are still packed and pictures still haven't been downloaded. Lots to do. Blog more later.

What did you do all day?

Don't you love that question? Well the answer is a little of this, and a little of that. And the next thing you know it's time for dinner. So here is a little view onto our days at home. In between meals and snacks, we play Hullabaloo and we dress up.