My 20 year class reunion was last night. I himmed and hawed about going and finally relented. Tommy did not want to go. He had the perfect out with Pudgie's massive ear infection and Binky still working on her vertigo subsiding. I did not want to go without him. He finally gave in and we met Susan and Melissa for an evening of the "unknown." I am not sure what I expected from my reunion but it really did not live up to any expectations. I am just glad I got to hold hands with the love of my life and hang with Susan and Melissa laughing until someones panties came off.
Last night I realized:
*20 years flew by in the blink of my eye
*I was able to sit with two "old" friends and laugh like time has stood still.
*They are both seriously, two of the most beautiful women, inside and out, that I have ever met and still have the privilege of knowing!
*Women took their husbands, men conveniently "forgot" their wives, jackasses I tell you....
*The "HOT" guys from high school ~ WHAT THE HELL KIND OF TASTE DID I HAVE BACK THEN?
*The "PRETTY" girls ~ pretty much......all have "slow" metabolisms now! (Is that kinder Tommy?)
*Some people never change... thankfully, some finally did
*I paid too much to sit and reminisce
*With the exception of Susan and Melissa, I can go another 20 without seeing these people again
*I married a lot later than 95% of my classmates
*I waited even longer than most to have kids... some have 20 year olds and one has a set of 21 year old twins!
*I am one of the very few that have been married only one time.... and then stayed married. One woman had 5 hubby's under her belt!!
*My class consists mainly of: Cops, firefighters, or criminals... sad, I know!
*There are a lot of people that really never grow up
*Once again, tonight showed me how lucky I am for the family I have and the life I live
Sunday, October 25, 2009
1989
Friday, October 23, 2009
~THE SPLENDOR RECAP~
I can't find words to describe the amazing vacation we had. Tommy and I had time together, alone, with each child individually, in pairs, and in triplicate. It was the best time ever. We have discovered numerous things about ourselves this trip:
Each and every person in this family sucks at cruising at some point in time
BEFORE: It is Pudgie. He had a horrible breakdown as we were walking the gangway onto the ship the first day and for about 20 minutes after we had boarded. He was awesome after that until Cabo when we boarded the small boat and with it being next to the Splendor he feared we were going to be squished!
DURING: It is my two biggest boys. Jax suffered the most. 4 out of 7 days he got some type of sea sickness. Never, "too bad," but enough to make him lay down one afternoon. Tommy does not do well in tropical storms. Especially after he has eaten breakfast.
AFTER: Binky and I get vertigo after a cruise. So far it has lasted 5 1/2 days and has only subsided a little for me. She has been living with a constant headache since we got home but new medication should fix it today. I was literally unable to stand up the first two days we were home. Tommy and Jax love this feeling on land.
Our entire family agrees that 24 hour room service ROCKS!
I am the only one who could really appreciate 24 hour maid service
I could sleep 24 hours a day on a boat because of the rocking. But only on the balcony with the fresh sea air blowing on me
Brinkley could too if it weren't for the fact that she has to explore every nook and cranny a ship has... even "crew only" areas. (That's my girl!!)
Jax can bargain anyone down on anything.....even stuff he refuses to buy afterwards!
Pudgie is lost without his big brother by his side
It scares me to death how people fall in love with Brinkley and remember who she is after meeting her one time..... and then commenting on her over and over again to me, in the strangest of places...Cabo, a casino, on a beach in Mazatlan, waiting for a cheesburger......
The jewelry Brinkley and I share is so unique people from all over the world offer to buy it because they have, "never seen something like that before!"
Brinkley is my dare devil "off" land. Parasailing was a breeze for her. Jet ski riding freaked her out to the verge of tears for fear of sharks. Zip lining is on our, "things to do list," next time we take this trip!
Tommy and I overpacked. Rephrase.. I overpacked myself, the kids and then Tommy!
We all hate humidity!
The beach is all three crumb-snatchers favorite place on earth to play
I still hate sand, no matter how beautiful the water or area
Jax can sniff out 14kt gold charms if they are within a mile of him!
Pudgie thinks the salt from a margarita is "sgusting" (disgusting) and I have to agree!
Jax loves virgin pina coladas
Jax and Binky are much more aware of the price of things since they had to pick and choose what they could buy, with their own money, on this trip!
Jax understands what it really means to: "want" or "need"
We all realize how fortunate we are to HAVE
No matter where we are, my kids still love to snuggle at night.... even if the three of them are on a twin bed!
A waterslide, on the top of a ship, can be kinda freaky to ride down while in the middle of the ocean
I can't trust anyone to launder my clothes right. I paid to have our laundry done on the ship, only to have it smell like chemicals... so I had to re-wash 13 loads of clean laundry when we got home!
I had no problem letting Jax and Brinkley wander the Splendor together without adult supervision. Tommy had a difficult time warming up to this......and never really got over it!
Talking dirty to slot machines makes people think you are crazy.....even your own husband....until you win over $1500.00 from that "pretty girl...that's right baby...show me the money!!" It probably didn't help I was fondeling it too...
RAIN ON A CRUISE SHIP IS SEXY
Kissing my husband on that cruise ship, in the rain, EVEN SEXIER!
THIS IS THE FIRST OF MANY CRUISES THIS FAMILY IS PLANNING TO TAKE!!!
FINALLY:
No matter where we go on vacation as a family, there is still no place like home! (I just wish the maid would come leave little mints on my pillow! Is that really too much to ask?)
BRING ON CABO~
DAY SIX WAS ONTO CABO SAN LUCAS!
Once again, we debarked the ship with no real plans. We were all pretty tired from Mazatlan so we slept in too late to go to the beach, which devastated the kids. We chose to do a glass bottom boat ride and on to some shopping. All in all, we were some what dis-satisfied with Cabo. The only reason I say this is because we did not have enough time there. It was evil hot and even more so humid. I think that if we had 10 hours of play time here, we would have fallen madly in love with the beautiful water and phenomenal beaches we saw!! 
Once back on the ship, it was nap time for all and then on to parties in the Camp Carnival kids areas! This was quite the hit, since Jax and Binky were allowed out until 3:30 in the morning! So while Pudgie and the kids had fun doing things like this......
Mommy and Daddy had fun in the casino winning this...
One more day and night at sea (with another tropical storm) and we were more than ready to head home.
You know it is a small world when your new found friend on a cruise to a foreign country lives almost next door to your Grammie!!!
We are all fighting off vertigo, ear infections and overtiredness still, but would not trade this vacation for anything in the world!!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Still Cruisin'
MAZATLAN!
With only the beach and sun on our minds for today, we quickly got off the ship and headed to Pancho's Restaurant. This is the most famous restaurant in Mazatlan and Tommy found out why when he and my Mom shared the Coconut Shrimp. We spent the entire day on the beach.
Brinkley and I did this together.
Then Tommy and Jax did this:
While Binky and I did this....
Pudgie was content on the beach with his shovel and bucket but loved playing tag with the waves until he got knocked on his tushie at one point. He went right back in yelling at the waves and shaking his little fist. Gotta love this kids spunk.
The vendors were never ending on the beach and finally became annoying to the point that it was time to leave.
There is a really funny story behind this mask, that yes, we did bring home...so if you want to know it, just ask, but I refuse to post it on here!! (Ahem Tommy!)We ate lunch at Pancho's, where everyone actually ate their real mexican food, Tommy and Jax fell in love with their coconut shrip that tasted like cinnabon cream over shrip...magnificent, we found an amazing jewelry shop for me and Binky to buy our one of a kind treasures from Mazatlan at, and we made it back to the safety of the ship in one tired piece.
I must say, Tommy was not the happiest man in the world with the wanna be taxies we squished into and rode to and from the beach in. No windows, no seatbelts, two kids on my lap, and everyone yelling with laughter did not make for a happy camper of a POLICEMAN Daddy, but there was little we could really do about it so he bit his tongue and watched his kiddos laugh with glee at all the sights!!
(Shawni, I had to nab this photo from your blog because we did not take an actual photo of the taxi's!! I hope you don't mind!!)Thankfully, no one got sunburned during our 7 hours on the beach and we all found Mazatlan to be amazing!
ONTO OUR NEXT STOP ~ CABO SAN LUCAS!!
Cruisin' Part Deux
It will seriously take me forever to post about this vacation. I have 627 photos to go through, vertigo to somehow deal with, a Pudgie boy who is congested and piles and piles of laundry that somehow procreated on board that fabulous ship we sailed on.
I have to start out by saying that this family is seriously FORTUNATE. Tommy works his tail off for the things we have and the standard of life we live. This trip surely showed our kids how privileged they are to have a house with a/c, let alone running water in it. Jax was the one that was most aware of surroundings but Brinkley noticed little things. The most notable was the little girl that I tried desperately to photograph, sleeping on top of a car. She was maybe 5. Brinkley immediately worried for her. Then she wondered if she even had a bed to sleep in. "Be thankful little girl," was all I could even choke out of my mouth as we drove by her in our air conditioned suburban.
Our FIRST DAY at sea was breath taking. The kids wandered non-stop with us. Exploring Carnival Cruise Lines newest ship, 'The Splendor', became Jax and Brinkley's main form of entertainment for the entire week. I know most will be in shock, but we let the two of them go out, alone, but together, when ever they wanted to. Jax is big enough to protect his little munchkin of a sister and Brinkley is mean enough to hold her own. Dinner was casual and we just enjoyed learning all we could about the ship.
DAY TWO brought on all kinds of fun. Tommy's birthday was the main event and then hitting the schacuzzi (as Binky calls it) was next on our list. Pudgie fell in love with the water slide on the top deck and Jax was amazed that he could amble up to the bar, give them his sail and sign card and get a virgin pina colada whenever he wanted to. (NOTE TO SELF: Do not ever tell your children they are signers with free reign on a sail and sign card aboard a cruise ship!!!)
Later that night, we were slipped notes under our door. A tropical storm was unavoidable and the ship would be hit with some serious weather.
DAY THREE brought on the storm. The waves were amazing to watch slamming against the massive ship and feeling the rocking of the boat lulled me to sleep on the balcony off and on during the day. I absolutely loved it, right along with Brinkley. Tommy and Jax... not so much. Dramamine and their beds became their buddies for the afternoon. The sway of the boat was the best thing to me... until we finished our cruise and the earth was still rocking on dry land. That is a whole other story for Brinkley and I to tell.
DAY FOUR took us to:
PUERTO VALLARTA~
We opted out of every ship excursion even though I had saved for almost 10 different ones. We took the advice of many and just exited the boat to find the local tours for 1/10 the cost of the ships prices! We drove through downtown, to flea markets, old town, to the Tequila factory where they gave us samples of REAL tequila that has not been Americanized. This stuff was delicious and I can't gag Tequila down for dollars I tell you! Off to the set of Predator to eat and watch zip liners and see the pools from the waterfalls. Jax's favorite part was when he would get his free gold charms in each port to add to his collection Grampie Frank has started for him. I bought him a beautiful 18kt gold dog tag as a token of being such an amazing son and brother while we were there. A little more shopping and we were set to re-board our ship and get into the cool a/c of the Splendor. I have to say, it was really funny to see the parking lot of ships when we were docked. My kids and I will probably never really understand how those ginormous puppies float! We were over an hour and a half late leaving port. We watched with curiosity as they off-loaded a person from the ship into a waiting ambulance. Off and sailing we were... on our way to Mazatlan.
MORE TO COME FROM OUR NEXT STOP!!!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Cruisin'
Monday, October 12, 2009
A LOVE LETTER
It is officially your birthday today. I know we are loving every second we are sharing right now. 100% family time and then some. I am sure we are eating til our tummys hurt and then eating some more. Hopefully we are playing until we are out of breath and then resting like there is no tomorrow.
I am sure that there is sunshine galore. I am sure wherever we go you are lacing your fingers with mine as we walk the decks of the Splendor.
I am sure all three of our babies are having a blast. They, undoubtely, are making friends one after the other.
I am sure our shopping is getting out of control and someone has gotten sunburned.
I can take bets as to how many people are staring at Brinkley's pink and blue hair.
I have no doubt in my mind that we are loving life like never before.
And I know, no matter where we are, I am loving you!
Happy Official Birthday Day!
Love,
DeAnna
Friday, October 9, 2009
~EMBARKING~
My mom made a list of spelling words for Jax. He was distraught, to say the least, that he had to look them up to find out what the heck they meant.
There must have been 30 words.
I thought it was pretty cool. Even if it is fall break, learning about our trip is beyond important.
So we are "embarking" on our trip and I am sure he will love watching "tug boats" off the "bow" or the "stern" or "port side."
Because once we get to sailing....it is all about the water slides, food and fun on that baby!! And we already know the definitions to those words!!!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Lies~
I wrote about how songs take me back, instantly, here . It happened again this morning, at the most inopportune time for me. I was getting my nails done, after the dentist. I was not exactly a, "happy camper," you might guess.
Sarah McLachlan's, "In the Arms of the Angels," came on. It was a flash. And I started to get tears.
Al.
Tommy asked for him, in his moment of weakness and sheer confusion when I was in the trauma room. Many stood stunned and confused?
He was my partner in crime. My back up and my friend. My 3L16 while I was his 3L17. We worked our asses off Wednesday through Friday, mid watch 11:00AM to 9:00 PM so we could fluff off all day Saturday when it was slow.
We used to tour model homes in between calls. We would look at how they were decorated and get ideas. We were both building new houses at the same time. He would talk about Nieko, his Shiba Inu puppy he was training and I would talk about the color of my new leather couch. We rambled about our loves. Mine, Tommy. His, Gracie. We we inseparable until I moved beats and tested for motors.
I remember one afternoon we met at Chaparral Suites after I was a day motor. He wanted me to show him what we had to learn during motor school. I did the circle in the square between parking spaces. He rode motorcycles and wanted to try. Of course I would never let someone do that, that was not certified....;) (He never did get that bike to do a circle in the square!!) I loved Al. He was like the brother I never had and the partner that would never let me get hurt on duty.
He was the first person to teach me about, "The Body for Life." And how to smile through anything. God how I loved him. He was one guy that Tommy never questioned his intentions behind our friendship. Al was a stand up guy and Tommy loved him too!
Al died when I was almost 5 months pregnant with Brinkley. A random freak motocross accident on the track. They buried him in his police uniform. It was him. It was fitting. He loved being a cop. And he was a great cop.
For years, anyone who knew about this, asked me if I had any kind of, "out of body experience?" I lied. I lied to everyone who asked and anytime they asked I held back the tears by biting my cheeks, hard. I didn't want to talk about that with family, friends, or just random people, let alone shed tears in front of them. I lied often and I lied well about it.
Not exactly the thing I am most proud of in life.
Today, it hit me. Hard.
I did have that, "experience," or I, "saw something," or however some may describe it. I just never talked about it or told anyone...not even Tommy, which is strange because although Al had died nearly a year before I tried to, Tommy asked for Al in that trauma room when I was dying.
In the blink of an eye I was back there. Remembering. Reliving it all, as I was sitting at my nail salon.
I heard the drill again, I heard the nurses and I heard Dr. Wachtel. It was all the same...
but this time I let it finish.
The song was playing from Al's funeral on the radio while the drill was whirring away on my nails. I felt frozen to my memory of Al.. but it was not his funeral we were at. It was my trauma room.....
and he was there. He was holding my hand. Smiling. I wanted to leave with him. He stood firm. It was hours it seemed. No words. A smile and holding hands and then I finally turned to leave.
The next time I woke up, I was looking at a Priest, my Dad and Tommy.
I am not proud of the fact that I have lied about this for almost 8 years but it was something I could not bear to discuss with anyone.
It was mine.
A memory, a moment, a chance encounter that saved my life. Today, I am thankful for that second chance Al. So much more that I can express.
I am also thankful for my Dr. and friend who is giving me the courage to open up about this through the faith he is instilling in me everytime I visit him and he prays for me!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
~BIRTHDAY MONTH~
Dear Tommy,
This is officially our 11th birthday of yours that we will be spending together. I am amazed every single day how each and every day is going by faster and faster than the last.
I must say that this year, while our most exciting yet, has also been our most trying. It has made us grow and change in ways that only keeps us going and makes this crazy thing called marriage so much stronger than ever!!
We have come into our own over the course of the birthdays we have celebrated together and I love all the traditions we have started because of this life we lead.
Thank you for introducing me to the infamous, "Birthday Month!" I think this is the greatest gift ever. The fact that we are a family of 5 makes our year so much fun. No matter what we do to celebrate, we always have a blast doing it! I think this year, your birthday month TRUMPS everyone elses birthday but I love that Jaxi and I finally really surprised you tonight. I think that we may have watch connoisseur #2 on our hands when Jax saw this baby!
Not only do I Love You more than words can explain, but your three little crumb snatchers do, as well. You make every morning amazing, especially Sunday breakfast when I am sleeping in. Then there are the days that we have a few minutes of alone adult time, that you make unforgettable.
Here's to many, many more birthday months together. (along with an amazing few remaing weeks of this one as well!!!)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
All my Love,
DeAnna
Saturday, October 3, 2009
~ IT'S ALL JUST STUFF ~
What would you take if you literally had seconds to get out of your house?
I had never ever once thought about that until an hour ago when Southwest Gas advised us to evacuate our house immediately. IMMEDIATELY. Do not touch the microwave, light switches, anything electrical....JUST EVACUATE THE HOUSE, NOW! (Just a not so funny side note... I literally had just finished microwaving last night's Oregano's leftovers, turned on the kitchen lights, and Jax was happily playing his XBOX 360 via remote..... all the while I was on my cell phone texting. Nothing at all like living dangrously through electricity!! SHEESH!)
A crew was quickly dispatched to our address. So we sat anxiously waiting... outside, together.
Boy did I feel like a triple grade A ass. My garage has been smelling gross all week. I thought it was the garbage can and the food all the neighborhood kids had been throwing into it. I washed it out three times but that didn't help. I kept looking for a dead animal, wrappers from something... anything... I just couldn't figure out what the smell was. I literally thought nothing of it because I have had kids in and out of my garage all week since the weather was changing. I seriously thought I had a dead mouse, somewhere.
Then it hit Tommy and I both, at exactly the same time, like a brick, this morning when we took my truck to get new window tint.
Eggs. Rotten Eggs.
Our entire house, not just the garage anymore, was smelling like rotten eggs.
We quickly got the kids and Dozer out of the house and waited...... and that was when the reality of STUFF set in with our kids.
"Mom, what about my necklace? What if our house explodes and I lose my necklace? My T.V.? My this and that." It went on and on. We calmly explained priorities to the kids and with Jax, our smarter than smart guy, we explained home owner's insurance.
We literally scurried out of the house with clothes on our backs and I grabbed my purse so I had my debit card, just in case, ....... and we waited and waited.
Tommy and I were not really that worried... at least I don't think he was. Maybe I was a little, but I just laughed a lot as to not worry the crumb-snatchers. They were consumed with eating all the ice-cream Tommy had grabbed for them. You see, gas scares me. The thought of explosions and fire just freak me out, especially when it comes to my house.
The kiddies were slightly freaked and we had to explain that, "STUFF IS STUFF. IT IS ALL REPLACEABLE!" Even though some stuff really is not. I didn't care. Pictures, computers, clothes, toys... nothing mattered to me at that point, except 3 munchies and their father. (Brinkley was hysterical we left her cat inside. We justified it by saying the garage door was open, there was a breeze and no chance of electrical sparks from switches since we were all outside. Then I thought about the A/C units turning on, but did not even mention that!)
My kids were outside and we were together and yep.... we actually had a gas leak that they fixed immediately. Thank you Southwest Gas man.
No harm no foul, even if my house still stinks, now I know...and so do the kids.....
STUFF IS STUFF AND I HAD NO PROBLEM LEAVING EVERY SINGLE THING BEHIND.......
even my diamonds.................
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