hide n seek

this morning...

me:nani! what are you doing underneath the christmas tree?!
nani:orin's trying to find me. i'm a chrismas present!

and the winner is...

sila's 1st place prize in the turkey trot for 1st grade girls. congratulations sila!!!and the turkey was de-licious:)thanks for running your big heart out sila girl!

{mese also participated in turkey trot. he started out great & in front. then he fell:( but, he shot right back up and kept running:)he ended in 7th place and we're so thrilled:) great job mese!!!}

squish away

nani to luana...

nani: luana! you're so cute, i just want to squish you to pieces!

my heart's duet

he's the wind beneath my wings. he's my better half. he's the air i breathe. he's the song i love to sing. he's the one i want and have always wanted. he's the icing on the cake. he's the filling in an oreo cookie. he's my favorite part of every day. he's the man of my dreams that came true. he's my husband. he's my friend. he's the father of my children. he's the only one i'll ever want and need. he's my knight in shining armor. he's my hero. he's my one & only true love.

happy birthday honey. i love you.

nani yuvonne, age 4

last thursday our nani girl turned 4!!!! she was elated to say the least and she's so excited to be 4 like the rest of her sunbeam classmates at church. nani was my only child that came "on time", just 2 days before her duedate. and she was a tiny little thing, weighing in at 5lbs. 3oz. mason & i didn't even realize just how small she was until shawn & darcy came to visit me in the hospital where shawn says to mason & i, "guys...she's TINY!" i suppose almost getting lost in his elbow should've given us a clue. but something else that stands out in my memory was when i first put her over my shoulder to hold her, she REFUSED to lay her head down! she looked all around her and would not put her head down. i guess she wanted to see exactly where the heck she was. we love that little girl and we can't imagine life without her-happy birthday you little peanut. we love you nani!

4 things we love about nani:
1) she always has something funny to say...(nani to luana) "luana!get up out of my grill!!!"
2) her favorite color is violet.
3) mason's dubbed her "cuddle bunny" because she's quite the cuddler.
4) she's far too creative...she comes up with all sorts of reasons why she can't do anything involving physical labor. (she so didn't get that from me)

happy 4th birthday nani!!!!

mason & melina plus...5

i know it's not 8 but 5 is a great number for us! we're so excited to be adding another little one to our family, due relatively around early june or july. i'm very nauseated:( and very exhausted all day long:( but...i couldn't be happier:) the kids are convinced little tau will be joining our family soon:) we're so grateful to have this blessing in our lives.

watch out

the turkey trot is fast approaching and here at the patterson household, training has already begun!sila will be defending her title of last year's turkey trot 1st place winner for kindergarten girls!(so you can see why practice is in order:) mason started training the kids last week. he takes them down to the track at the old banning high school(nicolet middle school now) and they run, walk, do bleachers, run some more, and do lines. they try and get out to the track 3 times a week and last night i had the joy of watching them work hard...and i ran a bit myself. not too much, but a bit. so, come November everyone better look out for those patterson kids cause they're in it to win it. (and coach/dad really wants 2 turkeys this thanksgiving). GO MESE & SILA!!!

recap

all right patterson fans! it's time for our summer 2010 recap.

we had lots of big plans for summer 2010 and frankly, we did mostly everything we wanted to do-except for visit grandma & grandpa in st. george:( but lucky for us, they came to banning:) we had a B-L-A-S-T!
*twice, and some weeks, three times we visited our local library where the kids got their very own library card...they were tickled! they were even more excited when they found out they could check out 15 books. nice! they entered the library's summer reading program and did wonderfully.
*july was lovely! lots of sun-mostly at the beach and the beach trips lasted throughout august as well.
*visited cabrillo aquamarine museum, san pedro harbor(yummy food), and alpine village(yummy german food and delectable mille feuilles)
*visited idyllwild discovery center and mason took kids on a hike.
*took the kids to knott's berry farm(except for lu)oh how i love me some funnel cake!
*july 13-mese's 8th birthday and he's officially a CUBSCOUT!
*july 31 mese was baptized and what a special day that was for him and all of us!
*aug. 26 kids started school. mese 3rd grade. sila 1st grade. and i began watching orin & brody(nani and luana help of course:)
*aug. 28 our annual banning ward luau...way too much fun!

hope your summer was just as fun!

daily rituals...for some

this morning...

me:nani! did you brush your teeth today?
nani:uh...no.
sila: ewww nani! you have to brush your teeth EVERY DAY!
mese: yeah, you don't want your teeth to turn yellow like DAD'S!
sila: yeah, cuz he NEVER brushes his teeth.
mese: yep.

jackpot

laundry can sometimes be a mundane, annoying, neverending chore. but on days like today, it can be rewarding. hello mr. hamilton! btw: can you guess whose pockets i found all of this in? hint: i didn't give birth to this person.

spring photos

back in the spring, we did our family photo shoot with the talented darcy patterson, my sister in law and her lovely assistant, johanna. here are some of my favorites.

opposite of fun

this morning i went to see the dentist. that's right. i got my weekend off to a great start(note the sarcasm here). i tried a new dr. why, you ask? because my last dentist, well...let's put it this way. mason & i nicknamed her "the butcher". enough said. this new dentist is much nicer,friendlier,gentler, and better than the former. however, upon checking out of his office the receptionist handed me a copy of my "treatment case". boy, do i need a lot of treatments! i need one tooth pulled, 2 fillings, a root canal, and i need to glue the crown on a tooth that came out months ago, but i was too scared to go back to "the butcher". all in all, we'll be starting our savings plan for my pearly whites real soon...like yesterday. have a good weekend everyone!

for now...what do you think?

while i'm still working on my summer 2010 post(it's taking a while), i thought i'd pose a question. i'm currently reading 4 different books and i'd like to know if any of you have read them and what do you think about them. your opinions would be greatly appreciated!
here they are in no particular order:
*eat, nap, play: how to get even more out of your child's day for less
*french women don't get fat:the secret of eating for pleasure
*marry him: the case for settling for mr. good enough
*raising happiness: 10 simple steps for more joyful kids and happier parents
thanks in advance:)

still kicking

hello hello! just wanted to let you know(in case you were wondering) we're still alive and well...just enjoying life, summer, and vacation:) but i've got lots of photos to share and i'll be posting them soon(meaning some time in the next week:) i'm hopeful! hope you're all enjoying a cramazing(my new favorite word right now= crazy + amazing) summer!!!

my first born

mese turned 8 on july 13. 8 is an especially important birthday because mese's being baptized. he's so excited and he's looking forward to seeing all our family and friends come out to support him on his special day. i can hardly control my tears as i'm typing this. i feel in someways mese was our guinea pig-heck, we didn't know exactly how to raise a child and we're still learning. thankfully, children are quite forgiving and we're so blessed beyond measure with the children we have. we're also thankful for friends and family who have constantly supported our growing family through the years. one instance in particular that really helped me when i was a new mother was a phone call i received from grace. mason and i had been married just over a year when mese was born. mason took only 1 day off from work which left me alone with a brand new baby. i remember sitting on the couch, holding mese in my arms and watching mason walk out the door, on his way to work on 3 hrs. of sleep. the door closed. i cried like a baby. i looked down at mese and thought, "what am i going to do? i can't take care of you all by myself. is everything going to be ok?" i kept crying. then later that day, i got a phone call from grace, mason's cousin. i don't know what it was about her phone call that made all the difference for me, but it did. she reassured me that mese's ok and he'll stay that way. baby's are easy, he'll let me know when he wants something...just don't worry. it's going to be o.k. since then, i've never looked back. sure i have my doubts about my own weaknesses of being a mother but, i know as long as i keep trying the do the best i can in raising good children, like grace said, it's going to be o.k. ...and i believe it. happy birthday mese!!! we love you and we're so happy that you work hard to do what's right and be a good example for our family and you're a super big brother to your sisters-they love you too. so, thanks grace. thanks family and friends. and thanks mese for being our sweet guinea pig:) we love you tons!

82

that's how hot it's been in my house this summer. yes, thanks to last year's electric bill of $350, we'll definately be sweating it out a bit this summer. don't worry, we have 2 tower fans in use and there are ceiling fans in all the bedrooms-they're our saving grace. of course, we had to make some exceptions...sundays we keep air on when we get back from church and when we have guests over. so, please don't hesitate to stop by this summer, we will turn the air on for you... we're not that cruel:) happy summer everyone!

it's over

yes, me & bejeweled, family feud(via facebook) are through! they did me wrong, in the way of infecting my poor computer with a nasty(and i mean nasty) virus. so, it's good bye forever to those two. we can no longer be friends. it's harsh, but i need my computer for a lot more important matters than that. it's so nice to be on-line again and thanks to our friend andrew for cleaning our girl up! it's good to be back.

summer...oh how we love thee

or try to anyway. everyone who knows me, knows that i DO NOT like the sun-don't want it on me at any time. i know-i AM samoan and my people are from the sun,right? whatever, i don't like it. i'd much prefer the winter, spring, anything but hot,blazing, make me sweat sun. so, tomorrow starts our first of many beach trips and i have to say...i'm excited! not because i like the sun...oh no, because i like listening to the ocean waves as i sit in my chair under the umbrella sipping a diet coke and snacking on my mango. oh yes...it's summertime at the patterson house and we're loving it.

nani & sila...hula dancers

here are the girls all dolled up ready to perform at the 'walk for a cure' cancer fundraiser this past spring. the girls have been dancing a little while now and LOVIN it.

kinda?

conversation at breakfast this morning.

mese:(speaking to his sisters and cousins) do you know what "sitting on top of the world" means?

kids:no.

mese: it means that your life is great!

me: so mese...are you "sitting on top of the world"?

mese:hmmm...kinda! (as he's stuffing his face with the pancakes-from scratch i just made him with fresh whipped cream & strawberries.)


unbelievable.

luxuries

this morning as we're finishing up breakfast and getting ready for church, i'm in my room and mason and kids are in the kitchen. mese wants some orange juice.

mese: dad, can i have some orange juice?
dad: what?
sila: mese! you can't have orange juice...you got to get a JOB!
mason: (chuckling to himself) that's right son. sila said it right. you want orange juice, you got to get a job!

our children have been taught(mostly by their father) that there are certain luxuries in life that until they are old enough to purchase themselves, they will not be free-loading off of us...i know, it sounds harsh. although i would like to point out that orange juice is a rare occasion in our house(this jug of juice we got from big mese), we do let the kids have a cup-but anything more-no. don't want them to get used to it:) and, looks like sila's getting the gist of what we're saying with the whole job thing too.

i heard it

i don't know about you, but i've always heard of people walking into a place, a store and seeing something that made them think 'i need that' or 'i want that' or 'i have to have it'. no such thing has ever happened to me until now. i think it was the nicely squared bold red box that caught my eye. or maybe it was the larger than life size cherries on the box. whatever it was, i had to have it! cherries & almonds in cereal? how could you go wrong with that combo? and let me tell you, every bite was filled with cherry & almond deliciousness:)

the end

may 4 was the end of our 12 week body-for-life program. here are some things i learned.

*12 weeks is a long time
*i really do like food(i already knew that but realized it again)
*even though i really like food, it's just food.
*water is always good
*exercise is my friend
*running isn't as bad as i thought it was
*i like the way i feel when i'm eating right & exercising

conclusion: it was a good 12 weeks. sure i made plenty of mistakes in the way of eating, but for the most part, it was good because i started something and finished it-something i hadn't done before with food & exercise. so, what's next? i keep working on eating better, exercising, and working hard. AND the biggest and best part of all this? i was able to get myself to where i could take up polynesian dancing again!!! that's such a big plus for me as i just absolutely LOVE it. thanks bill philips!

all in favor

yesterday afternoon,the kids were watching "kung fu panda". i joined them on the couch just as po(the panda)was eating the peaches from the sacred peach tree. the turtle guy talks to him and gives him advice. of course, po is not so sure about his own capabilities and doubts himself. po then looks down at his large belly and shakes it(it's bouncing up & down, up & down...) then he rests his hand on his belly in order to stop the bouncing. the following observation took place.

mese: yeah...that's just like dad's belly.

i look over at mese-half surprised at his comment, half not so surprised at his comment. and i glance at sila's face, her head nodding in full agreement with the above staement.

kids. they're so observant.

monday morning

nani:mom, can i go outside and blow the bubbles?
me:yes, after you pick up everything in your room.
nani:but i need sila's help!
me:you're a big girl, you can do it!

10 minutes later...

nani:mom! can i go blow bubbles now? my room's clean.
me:what?!i have to come and see nani!
nani: yeah, come look mom!
me:WOW NANI! the floor is so clean! where did you put everything?
nani:oh, i shoved everything under my bed...cause that's how i clean my room.

at least she's honest about it.

excuse me!?!

yesterday the kids were discussing mother's day gifts they'd like to give me this year. they started talking about how much money they each had. mese received a 2 dollar bill from his birthday buddy ge(johanna's mom)for his birthday last year and has been saving it.

mese: mom, i have $2 remember? from ge!
me: oh yes, that's right.
mese: yeah, but i'm going to save it for a long time.
me: that's good.
mese: yeah, i'm going to save it til i'm 31.
me: oh? why 31? what's so special about 31?
mese: i'll probably be dead at that time(it's soooooooo old)
me: what!?! you think 31 is old?
mese: oh yeah! i'll probably need a walker then cause my back will be hurting so bad too.

boy, he must think mason and i are dinosaurs! or maybe cats...we must have 9 lives cause we're still alive and well past the ripe old age of 31!

lesson learned

we've noticed lately that when our kids pray, they say the same things over and over again. we told them it's ok to pray for other things besides the usual stuff like family, safety etc. and it's ok to give thanks for other blessings we receive. the lesson being, let's try a little harder to think of others. with that said, mese's request during family prayer this morning was a bit insightful.

mese: "...and bless us(the kids) that we'll listen to mom...so she won't be angry."

wow.

9

last night mason & i went out for dinner to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary. it didn't start out good. we drove out to palm desert, indio, and everything else out there but rancho mirage-we were looking for the darn cheesecake factory in rancho mirage and neither of us could remember just how far down the 111 it was! both of us were hungry & tired so that didn't help. i think after about 2 hrs. of driving i texted carrie and told her this was the worst date ever-emphasize ever. luckily, we found it and had the joy of waiting about 25 mins. for a table. that's ok because right next to it was the rocky mtn. chocolate factory where i purchased appetizers-almond cluster for me and peanut butter bucket for mason with a diet coke of course. the dinner was delicious and then we walked around to look at the shops-wasn't much to look at though. we headed home and i have to say, it turned out to be a lovely evening afterall-bad start, good finish i suppose. i guess it could've been a lot worse,right? anyway, i want to tell you all how much i absolutely love and adore my husband and i'm looking forward to the next 9+ (ok i'll just say it) eternity with him:) happy anniversary honey. i love you.

celebrate!

easter is close upon us and i decided that i'm going to make sugar cookies-for easter and every major holiday. why not? my family enjoys them and the kids love helping me decorate them so why not!:) and so what that they are a bit time consuming and have lots of butter in them, and the frosting is just scrumptious. so there you go. can't wait for independence day-red, white, and blue here i come! ok, maybe mason will get some cookies for father's day-maybe.

no more drama

i'm sure upon reading the title of this post you had no inkling that this would even have to do with my girls:) not sure if anyone else out there encounters similar occurences with their girls(or boys)but as mason likes to put it, our girls are drama!(aka emotional to the most possible extent of the word)last night sila was given specific instructions not to do something(can't remember) and she disobeyed. mason sent her to her room for the rest of the night-to her dismay. she kicked and screamed on the way to her room where she elevated the already intense situation to the...yes,next level.

sila: oohhhhhhhhh!!! i can't even BREATHE!!!!!!!
mom: uh huh...you're allright...you can breathe...
sila: no...i...CAN'T!!! you just want me to DIE!!!

mason and i looked at each other and mason asked me if she had a nap this week to which i replied, "no".
there you go.

today's to do list:
1) nap for sila
2) nap for sila
3) nap for sila
you get the picture.

too much

laundry. i have too much laundry to do. i've been doing a minimum of 3-5 loads a day for the last 3 days and i see no end in sight. what the heck!? maybe i should just give the kids(and mason) 7 pairs of shirts, pants, socks, underwear and call it good.

new record

mese had his second to last basketball game yesterday. score was 40-10,mese's team won. he broke his own record for number of points scored in a single game by shooting 9 baskets for 18 points yesterday! he was so excited-even though he did tell us before the game that his goal would be 13 baskets...what can i say? he's ambitious. GO MESE!!!

halfway mark

tomorrow marks the halfway point of my goal to a better, healthier life. progress? it's been slow but steady. after the first week, the next 3 weeks were rocky and then i kept teetering the week after that. however, i'm happy to say that i haven't done too badly and i'm ready to start anew! i'm enjoying exercise-which i've NEVER experienced before and never thought i would. but i'm feeling optimistic about the next 6 weeks and i know it'll be all right. i have a fabulous support group and i figure it can only get better.

record

today mese scored 16 pts. in his basketball game, winning 26-46. it's a new record for him. this time, he didn't try to shoot a 3 pointer:) GO LIGHTNING!

great

yesterday morning at breakfast...

nani: mom, i'm going to eat all my yogurt so i can have a big belly like you and dad!

great.

unexpected

yesterday luana went in for her 9 month check-up. the kids are on break from school for the week so i had all 4 with me...yeah, i know...fun. luana of course was getting some shots but imagine the utter shock of mese, sila, and nani when i asked about the 2nd dose of h1n1 shots...oh boy, what a treat.i offered each child a crisp, $5 bill if they shed no tears and didn't scream:) When asked who should go first, the vote was unanimous...luana(so sad her bro. and sisters volunteered the one who couldn't fend for herself). She was a trooper and only cried after the 2nd shot while sila cried from the get go...up until she got the actual shot, then no tears at all & no screaming. Mese was brave and shed no tears and didn't scream so he's too is the new owner of $5. Nani on the other hand was terrified. when the nurse put the needle in her leg, she almost kicked the nurse and the h1n1 was squirting all over the place, so it seemed. But the nurse reassured me that it was fine. so, each of the kids got a lollipop and only 2 got $5. moral of the story...start small, now i'm out $10 instead of $2.

1 down...11 to go

this was week 1 on the body for life program and i learned some things about myself that i never thought i'd discover...
1. i CAN run.
2. i CAN go without chocolate(although i'm welcoming it gladly on free days:)
3. i am ENJOYING exercise for the first time in my life.(and i hope it lasts)
it's been a good week for sure.

here we go!

i don't even know if i should do this...what the heck!? today, is day #1 of the next 12 weeks for me(and carrie:) we are doing body 4 life. i'm ready. i'm excited. i'm anxious. i'm hopeful. and it's only day 1!

day 1 highlight: working my upper body and not quitting. yoplait's non-fat berries & cream yogurt...mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

come on day 2!

wow

i was in my room getting ready for the day when i heard...

nani: dad, are you a ninja?
dad: oh yes i am!...oh no....a JEDI! yes, i'm a JEDI!
nani: oh.

oh my! someone is sorely mistaken...

so not good

i was boiling potatoes & eggs for potatoe salad-had tri-tip in crock pot-and started mixing batter for blueberry sour cream poundcake, when i realized it was past time to pick-up mese & sila from school...shoot! i grabbed the girls who had been napping(yeah, not fun) and rushed into garage, into van. unfortunately in my haste, i thought i had cleared the garage door...but i didn't. yes-i hit the garage door...with my van! i got out to see the damage and it looked pretty bad. i called mason at work who, at that moment, was experiencing a mild crisis that he needed to handle just then. well, i convinced him that mine was worse-and i couldn't get the van out to pick up the kids! so, i called carrie to get kids from school while i waited for mason to get home and assess the damage. meanwhile, i texted shawn and he came to my rescue-thankfully. he managed to fix the garage door! it closes and he even put the rail thing at the bottom back on. oh my it could've been so so bad. thanks to shawn for helping!!!

p.s. i will not back out of garage til the garage door is completely open. i will not back out of garage til the garage door is completely open. i will not back out of garage til the garage door is completely open. i will not back out of garage...

50 min. time-out

yep. that's right...50 mins. that's how long i sat,last night in my van, parked in my garage(engine off, of course) while i sent my daughters in for bed. they got themselves ready with pj's on and reluctantly got into their beds while i waited(only a few mins.)for mason to get home with mese from basketball practice to make sure girls were not getting out of their room.oh-you'd think the world was coming to an end!
sila:what? we're not reading scriptures?
nani: what about prayers?
sila: we didn't even get a drink of water dad!
nani: i need some water dad!
poor mason. i'd had it at that point and told him i wasn't coming out of the van until the girls were done crying and whining. so it took them 50 mins. but they did it. they stopped-thank everything!
and yes, we did read scriptures and say prayers. and i was so merciful, i even gave them a drink of water. today's going to be better...i know it.

#7

that's mese's jersey number on his basketball team. t-shirts are baby blue and they call themselves "lightening". they had their first game last saturday and it was AWESOME!they're a good team and they had lots of fun. final score was 32-4 and mese scored 12 pts. mason was sooooooooooooo elated:) the cute thing was, every time after mese made a shot, he'd start running down to the other basket trying ever so hard not to smile(but he couldn't help it)so he'd wipe his face with his hands-i guess trying to wipe the smile off:) it was too cute and mason & i couldn't help but laugh. so, looks like we may have a basketball player in this family after all.
GO LIGHTENING!!!

not letting up

today marlowe came over for a long awaited playdate with nani. these girls are so fun and they're even funner together! i love listening to their take on life and what's happening in their families.

nani: marlowe! we're going to have 5 babies in our family.
marlowe: 5!?
nani: yes, tau is coming, but he's up in heaven with jesus.
marlowe: what?
nani: he's going to come and then there's gonna be 5!

good to know...again.

dixie

today is my mother in law's birthday. there are just way too many good and wonderful things i can say about this woman, but i'll just mention a few.
soon after i had my son mese, my mom left for samoa(so much more drama that goes with that, but it's a whole other story). i had no idea what to do and how to be a good mother.i didn't know what to expect. but dixie was right there, helping me, guiding me, and helped me to see that yes, i was going to make it.
i've never seen our kids so anxious(you'd think they were going to disneyland) as they are when grandma's coming to visit or when we're going to grandma's. my kids LOVE their grandma dixie. in fact, mese wrote a story about how his most favorite place is grandma's:)
and of course, i am married to the most wonderful man i know. although i love my father in law and think he's pretty neat, i can't help but think that my husband is the man he is,largely because of his mother.
so,today i'm especially grateful for dixie. thanks for taking such good care of us and always making me feel loved and welcomed. happy happy birthday, we love you lots!!!

a lot

me: nani, i love you!
nani: i love you too mom.
me: how much?
nani: fourteen eight!

that means a lot in nani's language...she usually says 2 or 4.

Sila Patterson, new Jordans, future Lady Bronco

34

wednesday started out great! mason was the first to wish me happy birthday, then the children all piled in my room to wish me happy birthday(and remind dad that they didn't wrap my presents yet:) so off they all went to wrap them in the kitchen while i waited. they showered me with all of my favorite things: mud mask, lemonhead chapstick, chocolate bar w/hazelnuts, foot scrub and michael buble's latest cd. carrie surprised me with flowers and balloons & she treated me to lunch. erica dropped off treats-and yes, i did share:) i received several texts, phone calls, & messages via facebook with birthday wishes. then nia & daniel watched our kids while mason treated me to sushi...mmmmm. i had a fabulous birthday! thank you to all my wonderful friends & family for making me feel so very special on my birthday-i love you all!

i couldn't resist

anyone who knows nani, knows her infatuation/obsession with flying...yes, flying. one of her favorite songs is "i believe i can fly". anyway, imagine her delight when her cousins gave her some fairy wings along with a headband, for christmas. she was pretty stoked. she wears the wings quite often. anyway, we're getting ready to leave for the park yesterday and nani rushes into the living room with wings attached.

me:nani! you can't wear your wings to the park.
nani:but mom! how am i going to fly?!

could YOU say no?