Back in the saddle again...

Well, WE HAVE LANDED. Finally back home and settling into a new routine for the school year. Yes, I am indeed the proud mama of a kindergartner. More on that to follow...
We had an incredible visit with my family in Maryland.

It started out on a VERY busy note, with lots of parties and get-togethers and ended on a quiet note of family dinners and time by the pool. My (big, LOL) little brother and his girlfriend, Jada, were already visiting when we arrived and we enjoyed a fun 4 days with them before they headed back to Florida to jump back into the daily grind.
They arrived in Maryland after a week in the tropics (cancun, I think.) I don't think I've ever
known my brother
to have nothing to do for an entire week, plus 5 more days at the end. It was wonderful to see him relaxed and he and Jada having such a great time. Makes me long a little bit for those carefree days of vacations sans children. Oh, who am I kidding, I'd give my left arm to have a week in the caribbean with my hubby while some else wipes butts and makes lunch and commands clean-up/bedtime! Someday... of course, I'll have to go in a wheelchair by the time I can get there. LOL
Staying with my sister and her bunch was GREAT! The kids had a smashingly good time, fought very little and overall, actually listened to Sam, Terry and I. YES, my brother-in-law was in residence!! The girls and I were overjoyed to finally get to see Terry after a year and 1/2.


Charley was especially interested in her "unca terry." I think it helped the girls to have Terry around as they adjusted to missing thier dad. Sadly, he had to leave mid visit for a yet another mission, but he'll hopefully return home in mid-september.
Sam and I spent the majority of our time applying sunscreen, sitting by the pool, visiting the
waterpark and feeding our children
ice cream and popsicles. We managed to cram in a day visit to Alexandria for fish pedicures (yes, you read that right), shopping and good food. Haley joined the big girls and we had a banner day. (Save for my nausea bout mid afternoon. :-)

I managed to also carve out some time to go a-visitin'. I drove over to Fredericksburg for the day to visit Michelle and her brood (the headley six) and Cassie and her new little pup (the boys were at camp and dan was working). The following week, I undertook a jaunt to Purcellville (A-dorable Virginia town) to visit Kristina and her kiddos.


(I actually got to see Tom too, for about 30 minutes at 11 pm!) That visit was hampered a bit by Charley, who decided to spend most of the night awake. JEEPERS. THAT was fun. Certain that she was suffering from an ear infection, I took her to the urgent care doc in Purcellville, only to discover that she was getting her 2 year molars and that I had a raging sinus infection that needed antibiotics. Overall, though, our visit was great and the kids had wonderful time. I also got to spend some time with my childhood pal Desma and her snuggable son Liam. Kristina, Desma, Liam and I went to a great dinner, followed by ice cream at our favorite childhood treat spot, Twin Kiss. (Sadly, twin kiss has lost some of it's charm as it's new owners have taken over and changed a few things...like charging fifty cents for colored sprinkles and only using banana PIECES in banana splits, ugh.)


As for those who popped in on us... Aunt Connie made her yearly weekend appearance and spent time relaxing, snacking and playing with the kids. I'm so grateful that she willingly comes to us every summer, and this summer in particular, as she just went back to a hectic work schedule after a summer spent recovering from hip surgery. YOU ROCK, AUNT CONNIE!



Paige and Mary popped over several times with their broods and we got to also celebrate the one year anniversary of Paige's amazing school... Paige's of Time, for early childhood education. What an amazing year she has had and we are SO proud of her accomplishment!

In summation:
Here are my top ten favorite moments of the clan mac summer jaunt 2008... (in no particular order!)

1. Watching my Dad act like a goofball while he takes Charley swimming, laughing, blowing bubbles, jumping in and splashing.

2. Seeing all my girls (Sam's and mine) snuggled up together on the couches watching the boob tube and goofing around.



3. Sticking my feet in a tank full of fish, then capturing my mom, sam and haley on camera as they stuck theirs in!


4. Seeing old friends after too long and catching up on all things past, present and future.
5. The waterpark with the munchkins!

6. Feeling my babies move for the first time!


7. Hanging out at my Mom and Dad's and eating all the good food they always fill our bellies with.


8. Dinner at Mimi's with Auntie Re, Uncle Jim, Sam and our clans.

9. Chaos at Gilligan's as we attempted to eat dinner with 6 children, Sam, me and my parents in a noisy bar surrounded by drunks as it poured outside, followed by Eva getting in the expedition and asking Haley, "where the hell are my shoes?" (note to self, stop using "where the hell...)



10. A lazy afternoon at Mama Mohler's with my mom, my mama, my chitlins and old friends.

oh and #11. Seeing my girls riding on horses for the first time and LOVING every minute of it! (Thanks Laura and papa mohler!)

So, I guess that's the summer adventure 2008 for the clan mac. Stay tuned for highlights from Nana's visit, the first day of school and my ultrasound...

love,
tiff

Love across the miles...

Since my love is so far away on his big day, I'm posting this free for all the world to see. Please take time and add to my rhyme, with birthday wishes and hugs or kisses.

A birthday rhyme to pass the time...

On August 11, 1969
The stork dropped you just in time
For one day sooner or one day late
We might not have had our first date
As you might have taken a different route
One with less patience for my sweet pout!
So in honor of your life
I'll give you no strife
Just bring you smiles
across the miles...

Today is your day
You'll spend it with pay
We hope you have fun
And your work is all done
But if it is not
And it is really hot
Just remember that we
Are singing with glee
to celebrate your birth
with a whole ton of mirth!

Birthday wishes from everyone!
From Eva:
Happy Birthday, I hope your birthday is fun! Are you going to have any cake? Daddy, I miss you and I hope you send another video. It's okay if you don't have lots of time, you can send a really short one. I miss you Daddy and I Love you. Bye.

From Charley:
Daddy, Miss you! Happy Birthday!

From JoJo:
Hi. Call me when you get home and I love you and Happy Birthday! You rock!

From Ivy:
Happy Birthday and I miss you!

From Haley:
Happy Birthday and I love you!! Be Safe!

From Sam:
I hope you are doing well and keeping cool somehow. There is not a day that has gone by that I do not think of you and know this must be very hard for you. You are such a wonderful father and your children are so amazing. They are doing well and having fun with their cousins and I truly hope that you know how much you are loved and missed on your birthday. Please take care and stay safe. Love, your favorite sister in law, Samantha XOXOXOXO

From Me:
Today will be bittersweet for us, as we think of you and celebrate you all day. We love you so much and are with you every moment of today in spirit. Today is so special to me, because is marks the day you came into this world and without you in this world, there would be no us, no mini-macs and no twin macs. I can't imagine a life where I'm not married to you! What a wonderful day this is and I thank God every day for bringing us together and for every blessing we have. I'm holding all your gifts and desserts in reserve and we'll have a heck of a shindig when you come home. I Love You so much! Happy Birthday!

Love,
tiffers and the clan mac

Tell me, tell me, what do you see?

How many babies are growing in me?

TWO!! Two precious little gifts from God. I know it's a little hard to see in the pics, but I accidentally forgot the really clear pics at home. :-(

Although some of you already know our exciting news, we have waited until I cleared at least 4 ultrasounds and the 12 week mark to announce it to the FREE WORLD!! Today I heard and saw my little beans again on a visit to my hometown OB, Dr. Aron, who said they look great! They are due to arrive sometime in late january. Please pray that my hubby will bet to be here for the birth, as he is not scheduled to arrive home until mid february. I'm currently scheduling visits, so please feel free to let me know if you're a glutton for punishment and want to drop in to help me in my chaos after the birth!

Rapidly expanding Mom of a lot of kids....
Love,
Tiff

Home at last...

Well, the home of my childhood. After seeing Charles off on tuesday, I spent 2 days madly packing and sorting, then headed to San Diego to spend the night with my cousin Becca and Aunt Deb before departing for MD VERY EARLY on Thursday. We had an uneventful flight and arrived here safely on Thursday evening.


The past few days have been a whirlwind of bbq's, get-togethers and lots of swimming for the little ones. Thankfully it has kept me distracted from the fact that my hubby is gone for 7 months. I got here and immediately thought that I just did not want to leave. I still feel that way, but I have to think about the impact of moving back here on my girls and me. I'm still considering it, but will wait and give it much thought and prayer.


The support of my friends and family in the last few weeks has been amazing. I don't know how I would have made it through those first few days of Charles' departure without Aunt Deb, Uncle Ted, Bec, Mom & Dad, Mark and Jada, and Sam and her crew. It has been so grounding and supportive in the last few days to see all of my extended family and friends. Every time I am here, I am reminded of why this is and will always be my home and my favorite place in the world to be. (Texas with my most fabulous in-laws and friends is my other favorite place!)


Today is set to be a relaxing one with my immediate family and my Auntie Re and Uncle Jim, poolside at my parents. It's a much needed day of rest and family time.


Thanks to each every one of you who has been supportive and caring in this time. It reminds me of how much love my family recieves every day and makes me incredibly grateful.


Love to all,


Tiff & co.

Times, they are a-changin...

We've been quiet here, just focusing on family as we prepare for Charles' upcoming departure. I don't know if it's really hit any of us yet, or even how we prepare for such a long separation. What do I tell my girls? Eva knows, but I know she doesn't understand the length of time. And I worry about her. She is such a Daddy's girl! How will she cope when her most favorite person isn't here to cuddle her, comfort her and make her laugh? What about Charley? Who is too young to understand, but will cry for her daddy nonetheless? And then there's me. I feel like someone is going to cut half of me off and take it away. THIS family is a unit, one that needs all of it's parts to work right. I'm just scared I'll screw it up or not do things right or just not be able to fill the part of both parents.
The one thing I know for sure is this.
God never gives us more than we can handle, so he must think I am one heck of a strong woman. And I guess if he thinks it, I can too. Just give me a few more tears and a lot of hugs and I'll get through it.
Pray for my husband, that the Lord surround him with armor to keep him safe and bring him home to our family.

Tiffany

Long Lost Blogger...

found again in the midst of chaos reigning on the sunny coast of CA.

Seriously, we've been so busy with block leave, trips to Palm Desert (courtesy of my most generous Uncle Mike and Barbara THANKS!,) projects around the house, briefings and cramming in time with my AWESOME friend Nicole (who is moving in a week,) that blogging has gotten shoved under the rug.

I'll just dive right in to an update on my midgets. Hmmm, where to jump off with Charley? SHE IS TWO. In every stinking sense of the word. She purports to understand me when I'm telling her what she wants to hear, but looks at me in the most evil manner when I'm telling her No. She then proceeds with whatever it is she was doing that she's not supposed to and just keeps on grinning. I have several choice words to describe this, but have decided that I don't want to add curse words to Charley's vocabulary of Fart, Poop and other body/potty words, so I'll keep those to myself. By the way, when she says Fart, she says it boston style, with a slurred R and it is HYSTERICAL. I hate to admit it, but I've been known to encourage her use of the word. Oops, mommy blooper. She is currently picking out most of her own clothes, so my sister Sam and my Mom will now be doubly embarassed by the appearance of my little street urchins. And I am often guilty of forgetting to brush thier hair before we leave, so suffice it to say that I now keep hair stuff in the glove box. (My sister would throttle me if she caught me with unmatched AND ungroomed children, so I try to just go for unmatching.) Which reminds me of the time I let Joey pick out her own clothes one Christmas season when Sam was at work. Now that was a look I'd loved to photograph! That could be why Sam won't let me get the kids dressed anymore. ANYWAY, back to my clan mac comedy.

So, Charley has also decided to use my counter height table/chairs as launching pads for her circus act. WHY, oh WHY, did none of you good people remind me that child #2 is always evil and a climber and talk me out of said counter height table/chairs? LOSERS. And finally, Charley has decided that big slobbery kisses and many hugs are the theme of every day. So, in the end, she redeems herself.

As for my Eva...oh the drama of being 5. I sincerely hope this is not a prelude to teen years. My pal angi said it is unfortunately a prep year for the drama of being 6. I don't know if I can take 6, so she might be moving in with Grandparents or my sister or her aunt connie or... Just Kidding! She is her usual adorable self most of the time, but Mr. Hyde rears his ugly head at random moments during the day and I am forced to confront the monster. The fits are usually in relation to either not getting her way or having to clean up and involve sassy backtalk, jumping up and down, stomping and flapping of hands. IT'S GREAT. I am going to videotape this and play it back to her and then maybe she'll stop out of sheer embarassment. Or not. She is truly growing up, though and while it's so great to see her blossoming, I do lament the loss of my baby. Boy, the first day of Kindergarten may require xanax or valium or a lot of alchohol. Oops, can't do that, the hubby won't be here, so I have to stay sober for the other little midget I have to watch like a hawk.

Well, I don't know how much real info about my midgets you've gleaned from this, but it sure was great to blog it all out! I'll post plenty of pics with inane comments and you can piece it all together from there.

Stay tuned for more the clan mac...

Love,
Tiff

Tea Time...

I'd love a spot of tea, please.

      What is exploding from my little head?  

I have now been attacked and encircled by a furry thing...

These crumpets are delicious!

                  I'm off the the derby!

I think they put giggle juice in here!

              Lovely ladies lunching lazily...

The princess will take her tea now.

Help....I can't see my tea!    

What a lovely lunch we had with Nana and our dear friends Nancy & Holly.  The Posh Peasant Tea Room in San Clemente treated us like the queens we are in our minds and served us the most amazing lunch and tea!  Thank you Nancy & Holly for celebrating Nana's visit with us!  

          

Mother's Day with Nana & Grandpa!

What happens when you let your kids play with body crayons...

Is these lovely self portraits.  

Moments to create...

Much soap and elbow grease to erase!  

Charley Anne has turned 2...

and would have loved to celebrate with you!

The party here was loads of fun

Even without the bright shine of sun!

We munched on lots of fruity treats

The new bouncy toy was really neat!

Wagon rides and aloha tunes

The party ended way too soon!

We could have hula'ed the whole day through

Maybe next year that's what we'll do!

Pineapple cupcakes, jello squares

Flower lei's floating through the air!

Browse our images and you will see

The day we celebrated with glee!

Happy 2nd Birthday Charley Cupcake!

We love you!!!

Mommy, Daddy and Eva

Peace at last...

after a day the tidy bowl man claimed for his own... suffice it to say I had to order replacement parts for Charley's BROKEN crib... etc...etc... and the list goes on, I headed out for a date with myself this evening. I am THE BEST DATE EVER. I took myself to get a wax, eat dinner, do a bit of shopping at Trader Joe's (I'm addicted to shopping there. It's TOTALLY okay to spend money on great food, cuz we'll eat it!), window shop in downtown and READ the entire time I ate my dinner.
I needed some peace and I got it.
Screw you tidy bowl man!
luv,
tiffers
p.s. tami, you are the only loser left on my list. i got emails from the other losers. i suppose i could email you, but then you would win and I WANT TO WIN. LOL MISS YA! oops, i forgot. angi is STILL a loser too. geez, the whole move to turkey and not having ANY of her stuff could possibly be why i haven't heard from her. HMMMMM. i need a phone number.... :-)

I don't wanna grow up...

My conversation with Eva the other day while driving home.

Eva: "Mommy, if I eat a lot, does it mean I'll grow up to be a adult?"
Me: "Um, yes honey. If you eat good food, you'll grow up healthy and strong."
Eva: "I don't want to eat any more food. I'll just drink water so I can stay a little kid."
Me: "Well, why don't you want to grow up?"
Eva: "I want to stay a kid so I can have lots of fun, cuz kids have more fun that adults."

Um. So what do I say to that? Gee, Eva. You're right. Stay little FOREVER! Please?


My conversations with Charley.

Charley: "I want cracker."
Me: "Not right now Charley, we're getting ready for dinner."
Charley: "I want cracker."
Me: "No, Charley. Mommy is making dinner."
Charley throws crackers on the floor and begins throwing all the magnets off the fridge, then decides that she needs to be held while I am preparing dinner and attempting to get Charles and Eva to help me out. HA. I am not holding her and now she is screaming, pulling on my pants and...
Charley: "I want mommy. I want mommy. MOMMY. MOMMY. MOMMY."
By now her face is bright red and splotchy, huge tears are spilling off her cheeks and I feel like a goober.

Ah, motherhood. Joy personified.

Other conversations with Charley consist of my asking questions of any type and Charley responding as follows...

"No."

OH, how I love age 2.

With love from the scullery maid/chauffeur/seamstress/personal shopper/short order cook/etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...
Tiff

or we could use the tom tom...

So, tonight I sang to Evie, as requested. We keep a missal and catholic hymn book in her room, which she loves to pick random songs from for me to sing. This is especially lovely when I have no idea how the song goes and my sight reading is quite horrific after years away from formal singing groups. Tonight, however, we picked a song familiar from mass and my butchering wasn't too bad. When I finished, she asked me why we sang "Christ be our light..." and so, of course, I attempted to explain that the song was telling us that Christ in our life was a light to help us to find our right path/way in the world. So my sweet little Evie looks at me and says, quite matter of factly...
"or we could use the Tom-Tom."
Enough said.

Out of the mouths of 5 year olds.
Which reminds of the time my niece Haley asked, after grace at the dinner table, why we say Amen instead of Agirls.

I LOVE CHILDREN!!
Tiff

Blessed...

My midgets with Derby, our former cat. (LONG story.)

are we. After months of agonizing and a lot of little prayers sent to St. Anthony (finder of lost things,) my Kindermusik stuff has reappeared! It seems that in the sadness and chaos that ensued after the loss of the baby, we left it at Our Lady of Fatima School. They kindly stored it until I happened to remember that is where I left it! I certainly hope this means our tide has turned. I do mostly feel like my karma has lived with the Tidy Bowl man since we got here. I am officially requesting prayers that we somehow manage to get more scholarship money for Eva to go to Our Lady of Fatima Parish School. Right now, it's just out of our reach, but we are hopeful and positive that things WILL work out. I realized when it became out of our reach, that it was even more important to our family than I thought, for reasons that are very personal, but very deep and spiritual for me.

On another note. I am a blog loser. Still can't seem to get on a good pic downloading/blog posting schedule. I'll download and post pics this weekend. I am, however, hyper organized first thing in the morning and have taken to setting out the breakfast for the girls, making the bed, doing laundry and straightening the kitchen and making airline reservations, all before 7 am. What the HELL is wrong with me? I should be sleeping. Jeepers.
Speaking of jeepers... JODI, call me back you loser.
And speaking of losers... angi, annie, and tami... CALL ME. I don't even have Angi's phone number. Jeez. like she moved to turkey or something.
AND... one more thing. my great pal Ali and her family are awaiting news/orders for her husband Paul to rejoin the USMC, so say a prayer that they get good news and of course, end up here! (I already have their house picked out. It's on my street.)

FINALLY, if someone knows where I can get an adjustable dress form for children, PLEASE let me know. I might actually get some sewing done if I had one.

Off to figure out WHY on earth Charley is playing in her roon 3 hours after I put her to bed. Oh, did I mention she was sick yesterday? Fever, rash, vomiting. Ah, the joys of mommyhood. I did, however, REALLY secretly enjoy all the cuddles I got. I'm sure that makes me a cruddy mom, but I'll take extra baby snuggles any way I can get 'em.

Love to all,
Tiff

Eva is only 5 once...

and I should enjoy it. Before I can blink, she'll be 6, then 10, then 25, then... i can't even think about it!
After yet ANOTHER night of power struggles, angry words, punishments and overall aggravation over dinner, I am reevaluating my plan of attack. See, here is my problem. I'm viewing this dinner ISSUE as something I must attack. Well, the dinner I make is for my child, one of the people I love most in the world, not for my enemy, for the love of pete. So attacking it is probably the wrong way of thinking.
Eva is the world's SLOWEST eater. Yes, Sam, she may even have Ivy beat. She automatically finds something wrong with her dinner every night, takes forever to eat it, nibbling off itty bitty bird bites at a time, then alternately chewing and storing them in her cheek like a hamster, all the while fidgeting, talking, going to the bathroom, asking a million questions and essentially turning dinner in the Mac household into a marathon that sucks the ENTIRE evening dry. Interspersed are complaints of tiredness, questions about what privilege she will lose if she doesn't eat, temper tantrums if we try to make her eat and questions about why Charley always finishes first. BECAUSE she ACTUALLY EATS HER FOOD.
So, here's my plan. My child will not starve. I will serve her dinner and give her 25 minutes to eat it. IF she finishes, great. IF NOT, fine too. She won't get any snacks or such later on. 25 minutes. I will not nag, I will not help, I will not yell, I will not bribe. 25 minutes. That's it. Because I want to enjoy 5. and 6 and 1o and 25.
You heard it here. I wrote it so I can't change my mind.
and here is what i want to say to my daughters every night for the rest of their lives.

' "The LORD bless you and keep you;

the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;

the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace." '

I have my peace. My family.
Talk about lucky.
Tiff