i feel the earth move under my feet...

a teachable moment and a reminder in the form of a 5.4 earthquake arrived today. of course, where we are, far from the epicenter, no biggie. still, the lessons remain, prepare and have a family plan. mooklettes need to know to sit tight, whether at home or school...

a growing obsession

okay- thomas is certainly not new to me, as i have logged many a happy moment with the pbs show, but when our other kids were little, they had a wooden railway other than thomas (sue me, we were poor!)

now,thanks to some stealthy activity at the clearance aisle of target, we are the proud owners of a thomas set (that works with our old one!) and a train table- all at scandously discounted prices.

it has already paid for itself, too- c. was up sick during the night and the only thing that made her happy was to play with "my thomas"- at 2 am, you can do anything you want sweety!

along with these wonderful turn of events, i have now won my first ever two items off of ebay (shameless, i know), combed the factory websites for discounts (found!), and discovered a local close out sale, where tomorrow I will mercilessly interrogate the shop owner as to what stock he has left. oh yeah, also joined a chat forum on the subject, but don't tell anyone, because that is embarrassing...

regular life

home from the beach to 116 degree weather and a freezer door left open- all food in both fridge and freeze spoiled...ahhhh life :) things on my mind this afternoon...
-the stench in the house-YUCK
-trying diligently to lose weight and gaining it instead
-going to my 20 year reunion with my best friend
-unpacking- YUCK,again
-missing j.t.- he's with his grandma&papa
-a little girl who is about to be 2- a bittersweet moment, that's for sure
-kayaking with kath at the end of the week

broken heart?? part deux

back from the ultrasound- not as much fun as when there's a mooklette hiding in there! they didn't rush me off to the OR, so i'm guessing not much will come from this...

what becomes of a broken heart???

hopefully it isn't broken- but the dr. saw something they didn't like on a routine EKG, so i have been on a holter monitor for 24 hours and will have a sonogram later today. as many of you know, my dad has heart disease, so i do try to take care of myself. neeedless to say- this has thrown me for a bit of a loop...however, i don't think anything will come of it, but it explains why i am so distracted, of late!

peace- j.

a summer storm...

when you live in the desert- you really appreciate days without sun and the exceedingly rare rain. last night we were treated to a summer storm with thunder and lightning- it was really great! today we got a break from the sunshine with a cloud cover that has been around all day- BLISS!

we here at mooklettes are feeling exceedingly lazy- still housework is getting done, meals are being prepared and some of us are getting really good at rock band!

from our carmel getaway...

a little breather

just needed a couple of weeks off to go enjoy real life! the mr. and i headed back to the scene of our honeymoon 17 years ago...pics to follow.

congrats to the krebs family on their new son!

off to teach at university tonight- more later....

gratitude

on friday, it was time to wrap up another school year- kiss those kiddos good-bye and head out to a well deserved celebration. my entire family was brought up short by the sudden passing of tim russert. an all too visible reminder that we can be called home at any moment, no matter how much we prepare or how deeply we love- we will be going home.

my family and i have a deep sense of gratitude toward tim russert because he provided a true-life example of what it means to be a good man, a good Catholic and a good American. to fulfill each of those roles it takes shouldering responsibility and living hopefully. each demand that you question, question, question and that you have faith in God and in your fellow man.

as we celebrated father's day and our anniversary, we reflected on tim russert's passing and the example he set in the pure joy he had for his family and friends. we, too, feel blessed and in awe at having a front row seat as our children grow and mature. we are thrilled to have so many to share our everyday events with. we are thankful for our parents and the gifts they bestowed upon us.

i think that tim russert leaves an enormous legacy for his friends, his family and all of us; and that it is remarkable that one person can so impact our lives in the most powerful of ways- by his example.

(photo credit: AP, Alex Wong)