MGC Disney Trip

Disclaimer---MCG stands for Mean Girls Club.  That nickname was given to us years ago and it stuck.  We don't care...we like it, we own it, deal with it.

This Disney trip has been in the making for a while.  It has been planned for a while and seemed like it would never get here. This was the Locke Family's first visit and we were so glad we were there to watch their kids get excited and enjoy this place as much as we do.  Lynn and Jason had always said if they go, they wanted us to take them so that we could show them around and such.  I hope we didn't disappoint.   We had so much fun.  Three families...four days...tons of craziness.

Nothing like a 1:30am wake up call.  Don't they look tired? 

Again, isn't this the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?  Best. Marriage. Ever.

First ride of the day! We had to send it to Auntie Noelle.  Toy Story Manier!

PARTY OF 15!!!!!!!!  Right after we all met up for the first time.  So exciting!!! 

Second ride together!!  (The first one was Goofy's Sky School and the only memory I took away from that was Lynn's mom Diana screaming at the top of her lungs the entire time and me laughing hysterically trying to watch her since they were behind us.)   

Diana and Kirsten!  So darling.  Diana was a trooper!  She just got back from a trip to Paris and she just went with the flow.  It was so great to have her on the trip.

Matt's first ride on California Screaming!  Jason too.  I cannot ride this ride anymore.  I don't know who I am kidding when I think I can ride this.  Every time I get off I say that I am never going do ride it again, and then I cave to peer pressure and not wanting to look like a wimp in front of my nine year old. 

View from our room...this never gets old.

First night in the park.  It's Halloween Time!!!  And it's time to test out my new phone's camera night settings.

Halloween Time!

 

Practicing the panoramic!  Work in progress, people.

Late night driving on Autopia! 

My driving partners.  Me, Colson and Ryan.  Love these two!

Night ride to the Haunter Mansion. 

The Haunted Mansion at Halloween makes the Haunted Mansion non-Halloween look like a joke.

Let me tell you how much the Locke's and Guido's were troopers that first day.  The Sunday that we got there was the only day the park was open late until midnight and we told them to pace themselves and rest well because we were shutting the place down.  It was the only night they would be able to see fireworks and Fantasmic.  

I'm not going to lie...kind of became obsessed with taking pictures at night.

 

 

New Starbucks on Main Street. 

The next day we started out early.  With the park only being open until 8:00pm, we had to make good use of our time.

Before we got on Radiator Springs.

 

The Three Amigos!

Freaks!  (Cute freaks)

I love this picture...Colson trying to make Vinnie smile.

Anthony and I swapping pics.

Bumper cars with Dad.

 

This is just funny.  She is just funny.

Mrs. Locke leading a game of Simon Says while we wait for our ride back.  A cast member asked if we were family and we answered no.  She said, I can tell because they are all getting along.

The kids....and Kelly.

Jedi training.  Dillon was picked and loved it, but unfortunately Camden and Colson were not.  Oh well, this is excuse enough for them to have to come back.

Getting better...

 

Dinner at the House of Blues on our last night. 

BFF's

Cars Land at night.

Alright, last one.  I think it turned out pretty good. 

This is my absolute favorite picture of the trip.  How do you not love this little love bug who is laying in his stroller periodically sticking out his tongue to lick his ice cream cone, while being pushed around.  This friends...is the life.

 

Last morning.  Nothing like being in line at 6:55am!!  Someone needs to break Rich's alarm clock.

Solo Screaming!  He went from being terrified to going on it to wanting to ride it alone...since neither Rich or I would go on it.

The boys and Leah on RS for the last time.

Last ride of the trip.  They all still love each other.

Five minutes after we got in the car to head home.  To be completely honest, I was out cold after taking this. 

 

So, there it is.  Hopefully the first of many MGC trips to the Mouse's House!  When we get back all of the group pics that we ordered, I will share those too.



Bag Lady

Okay, truth time.  I may have a small obsession with bags.  Not so much purses, but bags.  I can't stop buying them.  I feel I need them, all of them, and each one serves a purpose that the others can't always help with.  Should I clean some out and get rid of them?  Of course.  This really isn't a question.  But every time I think about getting rid of some, I have a justification for each of them staying and more importantly...going out and getting them more friends.  I. Can't. Stop.

Last week I got a new bag from a co-worker's daughter, who was selling them for a fundraiser.  She comes and sees me every year and every year I tell myself that I am "helping out for a good cause".  Truth be told, if she hasn't come to see me by November, I seek her out and ask if Rich has somehow gotten to her and forbid her from coming to see me.  I would not put it past him.  And if I may add this small tidbit of information, I also view my bags as a strong force of estrogen in a testosterone filled household.  I kind of feel like if I am in charge of snacks and drinks for one of the boys' teams, then I should be able to carry them out in a brightly floral bag if I want to.  Not everything in this house needs to be in a form of blue or green.  It's just a small reminder that a girl is still living in this house.

The other night, a day or so after "the new bag" had made its "No, I'm not new" debut, Rich said-- "Tell me you didn't buy a new bag."  Me-- "I didn't buy a new bag."  Rich-- "The bag you used the other day looked new.  Did you buy a new bag?"  Me-- "I'm confused.  You just told me to tell you I didn't buy a new one...so, what exactly are you trying to get me to say?"  Rich sighing,-- "Heather."  Me sighing,-- "Rich?"  Rich-- "Stop buying bags!!!  We don't need anymore!!!  You have plenty and you don't use all of the ones you have now!  Stop buying bags!!!"  Me-- "Yeah, I can't promise that.  But I hear you and I respect your position on the subject." 

Here is just the collection from the pantry.  This does not include my bedroom or the boys' rooms.  And since he claims he never reads this blog...I'll assume you are all Team Heather on this and not out me.

A couple other happenings at the Marini Household include the beginning of Ryan's flag football season.  Don't confuse this with the soccer season that he is still in the middle of, we just added this one to make sure all of our Saturday's are filled up at some type of field.  He is super excited though, he is playing with his good friends from school.  One of his best little buddies is Tyler Franklin, and his dad is the head varsity football coach for Tokay.  It's understood that everything they do is purple related, I get that, we just continue to tell Ryan---just remember you bleed red, we are Flames for life.
Don't get any ideas.

A little excited that he is on his Uncle Mike's favorite team.

 

Pick 6. 

And I love that Tyler's sister Gabby is on the team! 

 

And we are officially on vacation.  Did I mention that???  Seriously, the fastest first quarter of school in history.  Here is Matt getting an award for the first quarter.  He has worked really hard this quarter, harder than he has ever had to work, and we are super proud of how he is doing.  He no longer comes to see me for part of the day, so we are back to the occasional, low attention "S'up" we share when passing in the halls.  This was a good decision for a number of reasons, but most of all I can go back to using him when talking about things in class.  It was hard to talk about him in the middle of class and the kids not give him a bad time.  So now we, the kids in my class and myself, have a deal--what happens in Room 12, stays in Room 12.  Also, he was correcting me occasionally when I misspoke and called me on it several times...that little shit.

And it's hockey season again!!!  The other night we headed to our first game of the new season.  It was fun to be back in the Tank again!

Can anyone tell I got a new phone???  Aren't the pics a little better???  I am in love and I am no longer attached to my charge cord.  It's like a whole new life.  I seriously can't tell you how happy this makes me feel.  Oh, I got new tires on my car---equally as exciting by the way....

And finally, Mike and Stacy and the kids came down a few weekends ago and we did something pretty amazing.  I can't share with you now, but I will when I get the nod of approval from Stacy.  It was Rad with a capital R and that is all I am saying.

Happy Fall Everyone!!!!!!!!

Fifth Grade Findings

I have been teaching fifth grade for over ten years now.  You would think during that time I would have heard EVERYTHING by now.  Not the case.  I was sitting at my desk the other day, probably correcting or something, when I over heard a conversation that took place from the group that sits in front of me.  But first...back story.

The mornings in my classroom are like my sanctuary.  It is the only quiet time of the day where I can sit, get work done, and just "be" without anyone talking to me or bothering me.  I sit at my desk, sipping my coffee and plan out the day.  I used to use this time to have my breakfast too.  I would make whatever I was having at home and then bring it to school and eat at my desk with my coffee.  Again---pure bliss.  The problem I was facing with my morning routine was that I was starving around 11:30.  I would usually have breakfast about 7:15, and then by 11:30-12:00, I was ready for lunch.  Not possible with my schedule.  My kids' lunch time is at 12:30, and by the time I drop them off and go heat up my lunch, I usually don't eat until 12:45. Eating at 7:15 and then waiting until 12:45 was not cutting it.  So, I decided that I would start eating at my prep which is pretty much every day at 9:30.  This was totally doable. I would bring my oatmeal and make it at my prep and then it wouldn't seem so long until lunch.  This has been my morning routine for quite a while now.  And every now and then the kids will see me eat my oatmeal if I was running late or had yard duty and they were totally cool with it.  It's oatmeal--it's not like I was having a plate of French toast in front of them.  Believe me, they don't care.

So, about a week ago I had one of those crazy mornings where I was running around frantic and it seemed like I wasn't getting anything done.  No prep in the morning, yard duty for first recess, and a million little things piling up.  Not to mention a kid appearing at my side every minute or two to ask a question.  I was frazzled.  I was moody with a little bit of cranky added to the top of that.  So I am sitting at my desk and I just said..."Okay, listen.  I need five minutes.  I need five minutes to myself to collect my thoughts and deal with what is on my desk right now.  Don't come up to my desk for the next five minutes unless you are on fire or you notice your friend is on fire.  PLEASE...JUST GIVE ME FIVE MINUTES!"  Long pause, kids looking around at each other with looks on their faces and then all of a sudden, from the group sitting in front of my desk I hear... "I don't think she has had her oatmeal yet, has she?"

Awkward.

I did start laughing and looked up at them and said quietly, "No, no I haven't, and so ignore me while I eat this granola bar in front of you."  Luckily, they laughed and all was well.  No need to put out the Bat Sign that Meanie Marini went nuts again!



***And side note....the handsome little fella who resides at my house and who is also in the fifth grade, has started doing his hair again.  Like, can't leave the house until it is done and done right.  I don't know what to make of this.  Is this for him???  Someone else???  A little of both????  These are questions I have to strategically ask in a way that won't seem like I am prying.  Because you know me, I can't let this go.  Character flaw through and through.  I'm simply practicing my interrogation techniques with these mediocre incidents so that I can crash and burn now with my approach, therefore I am a master when he enters high school.

Football Saturday!

Okay, here are a couple of pics from Saturday's game.  They are not clear at all, but I had to represent my boy in some way.  He did so well on Saturday!  Interception returned for a touchdown!!!!  We were so proud of him and I was screaming cheering as he ran down the field!  I of course have no pictures or video of that, because it would have been ruined by my high pitching screaming..not to mention my jumping up and down and him probably not even showing up on the screen.

He's the one in the middle shielding his eyes.

Kick off!! 

Mouth-guard filled post game victory smiles.

RRRRRUUUUDDDDEEEEEE!

My girlfriend Kelly is one of the funniest people I know.  Today's title is for her, for two reasons: One, she told me that I am slacking on the blog and it was unacceptable.  And two, she has coined the phrase "Rude" that we all use pretty frequently now in a very "Kelly" way to show our displeasure about certain things.  So yeah, in response to her nagging me that there is no new posts, this is for her....

RUDE!

Okay, so last weekend we kicked off Fall Sports Craziness.  Matthew is playing flag football and Ryan started soccer.  Matthew's game was at 9:00, and Ryan's at 10:00...this is not how we are supposed to start a new season of sports.  And they practice on the same night, not at the same time, but of course one ends when the other one needs to be at his and so we have had to rely on friends to help out.  It take a village people...it takes a village.

I have no pictures of Matthew's game.  And I feel bad about that, so I will make up for it this weekend.  I took some at Ryan's game on my phone and they are okay, but not great.  There was a bit of a crisis situation this weekend when I asked Rich to make sure our camera was charged for the games and it turns out that something is wrong with it and it is not working.  This is not okay with me.  Not having my camera working is right up there with my phone going for a swim.  No bueno.  We are leaving for vacation in October and it needs to be fixed by then.  I can't do a vacation with no camera because I have never gone on a vacation without at camera and I don't plan on starting now.  I live with it around my neck and I will feel off the entire trip if it is not there.  And...AND...There is a caravan of us heading to the Mouse's House and the Locke's are FINALLY TAKING THEIR KIDS TO DISNEYLAND and I plan on capturing it all on film.  Having a broken camera is not an option.  (That's the sentence you'll hear if you stop by my house and stay for a few hours because every few hours I repeat it to my husband...just in case he wasn't listening all the other times.)

And speaking of phones taking bad pictures, we are due for an upgrade.  This can't come at a better time.  I hate my phone.  It can't hold power and I feel like a phone with no power dictates the rest of my day and how I feel.  For our anniversary Richard and Sharon took us to see Jerry Seinfeld in Stockton...he was FABULOUS!!!!  Just beyond funny.  However, the funniest part of the night was when he talked about cell phones and charging and how it basically ruled your day to day life.  If you had a full charge...the world was wonderful and life could carry on.  If you were running a low or almost dead charge...your life was almost over and your could not function at all.  Nail on head.  Rich and I were laughing so  hard because it summed me up in a nice little box with a pretty little bow on top.  We have narrowed down the phone choice to two different phones.  My only requirement was that it had a good camera and can hold a charge for longer that one hour and thirty-seven minutes.  That's it, that is all I care about.  He wants me to watch all of the reviews and listen to what the CNET techies...and let's be honest, they have NO life...have to say and make my decision based on how they think the phone "flows".  When I heard one had a 13 pixel camera and the other had a 10, as far as I was concerned the discussion was over.  I made up my mind months ago and it HASN'T CHANGED.  I have never met someone who will research something for months and only own it for two years.  So, if you run into me and I am in a good mood and peppy and pleasant...I either have a new phone or I have just walked away from an outlet after staring at my phone gain bars by the hour. 

First game of the year.  He was the only one on his team to score the goals!

Staring down an opponent is a necessity at this age, right?

This boy could not be happier about playing goalie.  He is defense driven and now that his age group has an actual goalie...he is in heaven.

We lost the game 4-2, which is fine.  However, no goals were scored while this dude had the gloves on.

I've got this!

So, I forgot I had a blog.

Hi.  Yeah, kind of forgot about this whole blog thing for a while.  It was kind of nice, kind of like finishing school and knowing that you have no homework for the summer.  With summer comes craziness.  There was fourth of July fun (that I was not part of ), there was sister and family visiting from out of state (I was very much a part of that), a sisters weekend to celebrate a 40th, and the start of school for me and the boys.  We have been busy and I now that we have a routine again, I remembered this used to be part of a routine and so I am back.  Hello again.

July always seems so jam packed.  After we get out of school, there is usually nothing going on in June...just waiting for July to show up.  In July there is the 4th, my sister visits, and usually a trip to LV in there somewhere.  This 4th was the second in a row that I did not travel with the family down to Fresno.  I stayed home and read, watched movies, read, cleaned some closets, and read some more.  I told Rich that I will say it once, and then deny this ever came out of my mouth---I was bored.  It was quiet.  Too quiet.  Like, the world was my oyster and I could do whatever I wanted and did nothing because I didn't know what to do.  Does that makes sense?  I went and worked in my classroom.  I mean talk about really living it up, I was almost unstoppable with all of my nothingness.  The boys had the time of their life.  Matthew got to work at the fireworks stand and earned some money and that basically cemented the next twenty or so years of his life.  I will have to one day tell his girlfriend or wife that celebrating the 4th is not something you will ever do as a couple or family because he is a lifer now.  She and I better like each other because apparently we will be off somewhere drinking and celebrating together. 

My sister always comes to visit us in July.  It's tradition.  It is as expected as starting a new school year.  This year Greg joined her, which he hasn't done in a few years, and was uncle extraordinaire for two weeks straight.  I would get these texts that said, "It's Uncle Greg.  What are they doing?  Can I come and get them?" and five minutes later they were running out the door to do anything and everything they could.  The boys had the best time and they probably brought him just to the brink of wearing him out. 

The annual cousin picture in our backyard.  Again, it's tradition!  This picture just makes me smile.

Love!

Pre-picture torture!

Noelle and I were able to sneak away for Lynn's 40th birthday up in Reno.  So much fun...too much fun.  Did you know that chocolate martini's come in several various styles?  I found this out, the fun way.  We had a great time and it was nice for the two of us to get away...from the hubbies and the kiddies. 

Ahhh...just us girls.

MCG...nuff' said.

On to the new school year....

I have to admit I was apprehensive about starting this school year and at the same time, also a little excited.  Matthew is now in the fifth grade and not only that, he is with me for part of the day.  There is such a mixture of emotions that comes with this because I have never been in a situation where I was both a teacher and a mother at the same time in the same room.  And let's not kid ourselves, it is day four...this could end ugly and if it does, I will be totally honest and tell you in great detail how I probably scarred this kid for life.  But until then, things are okay so far. 

I think I am kind of lucky because most parents don't get to see the "school kid".  Because there is a difference.  The kid who lives with you is a completely different child than the one that walks through a classroom door each day.  I know this from experience.  You are all familiar with Ryan, he is the six year old that lives in this house and who makes me want to drink my dinner some nights.  He is a completely different kid at school and this is a blessing.  I am lucky because I am getting a glimpse of both Matthew's.  Do I think he will totally let me in and see the real school Matthew?  No.  But that is why I have Kim, my grade level partner and his homeroom teacher, to tell me everything else.  I also think it is interesting for him to see me.  Because there are two me's too.  There is the mom me, and then there is the teacher me.  He did tell me the other day that I treat the kids in class like him.  I asked him what he meant by that and he said that I expect a lot of them too.   Ding ding ding!!!

On Monday, you could hear a pin drop in my room as the kids who were switching to me walked in.  It was like everyone wanted to know how I would act, how he would act and they were just waiting to see what we would do.  As the kids stood there, I asked each of them their names and gave them seating assignments.  It was just by coincidence that Matt was the last kid in.  I got to him and said, "I'm sorry...your name, please?"  The class started laughing and Matt just smiled.  I said, "Gosh you look so familiar.  It's crazy, but you almost look like the kid who was sitting across from me at breakfast this morning." He smiled again and I took a deep breath.  Here we go.

It took me thirteen times of him raising his hand that day before I called on him.  It was like I was trying too hard not to call on him and then I realized that he was probably like...Dude, is she ever going to call on me???   We'll get there.  It will take a while, but we will get there.  On Tuesday I felt like I was breathing normal again, so that was a good sign. 

There is that conflict of interest that is always in the back of my mind.  No other kids in my class have parents at home who have the entire fifth grade curriculum memorized and I understand and respect the fact that I can't overstep any boundaries with him this year.  I tell parents that this is such an important year and the focus of independence really needs to take the front seat for this year so that they can build the work ethic, time management, and personal responsibility aspect of being a good student.  Having said that, yesterday there was a difficult math lesson that I had taught and I just wanted someone to look at his work to see if he got the general concept of the lesson .  Enter his father.  I told Matt to have Rich take a look at the paper and if something needed to be corrected, Rich would tell him which one and then Matt could try to work it out again.  So, I am sitting there correcting papers and I hear Rich read the instructions like three times in a row.  I look up and say, "Which one are you looking at?  Want me to explain it?"  So I did, I explained what the questioned wanted and told Rich to read what Matt put and see if it was okay.  And then it happened....the WORST thing that could have been said.  Rich says, "Okay, I guess they want you to write this out in word form, like using words to write the numbers instead of just writing the numbers.  I don't know why you need to do this, you are never going to write numbers like this when you grow up.  It's pointless."  Now just sit there and soak that in....how well do you think that went over???  So, yeah....we are going to have to find a back-up homework checker.

First day of school pics taken by Rich...he's fired.  We have no in front of the school pics that are just of the boys.  The only ones he took there was someone else in them.  And he didn't get Matt in front of his classroom.  By the time I caught up with him and said give me the camera, the bell rang.  Again, he's fired.

This is what first and fifth grade looks like.

Ready to roll for first grade!