Have you ever...........

Waited tables?  I served food from the time I was 20 to 27 and I loved it.  That job fit me so well  I think the stars were aligned.  The restaurant was awesome, my co-workers crazy and fun, atmosphere happy, food delectable and the pay was great.  I worked in downtown San Jose when everyone was working at Dot Coms and throwing money around like they were millionaires (oh yeah, they were).

I loved it so much I talked Glenn into joining me.  After attending classes all day he would tend bar all night.  We were young, newly married and full of energy.  Eventually he graduated with his degree and I got so pregnant I had to quit my happy little restaurant home to create a new home for my baby.  I tell Emry how she actually waited tables with me.  I was 7 months pregnant when I quit.

The restaurant cooked a lot of crazy good food and I may have stumbled upon a top secret recipe binder and accidentally memorized some of the recipes.  Possibly.

I fancy myself a gourmet chef.  And by chef I mean sometimes I make really good food along with the nachos and peanut butter bananas.  When I had company for dinner tonight I thought a really good chef would make their own marshmallows for smore's right?

And their own graham crackers.  Don't think I am an over achiever, remember I waited tables for 7 years?

 Not anymore though.  Now I am a trophy wife who eats bon bon's and shops all day.  And by bon bon's I mean the leftover crusts from grilled cheese sandwiches and by shopping I mean the Walmart variety.

Did I mention my angelic children?

And by angelic I mean.........................

Bad Words

 When I was 8 years old I was sick on the last day of school.  The last day of school!  This is the day there are games and parties.  Parents brought in cookies and cake and soda.  Soda!  I was so bummed.  In bed all day feeling miserable, and not just because I was sick.  I was fuming mad I had to miss out on all of the festivities.

When all my siblings arrived home from school they, along with my mom, gathered around me  to see the surprise my sweet sister Margo had brought me.  She had wrapped a big ol' oatmeal cookie in a napkin and kept it intact all the way home from school.  You'd think I would have given her a big  hug.  You'd think wrong.  My greedy little hands snatched up that cookie ready to demolish it in 2 seconds until I realized it had raisins in it.  Raisins!

I remember vividly I did not say "no thank you", I did not say "thanks so much" and then give it to the dog.  I said a new word I had recently heard, the F word.  I remember a collective gasp, wide eyes and everyone froze.  I didn't know what I was saying, but by the look on everyone's face it wasn't good and I prepared my bum for a whoopin.

As memories go I can't remember what happened next.  I am sure my mom talked to me in depth about appropriate language, as well she should have.

I like raisins now, but my kids don't, so I usually omit them in baked goods.  My kids are great eaters so I have to give them some slack because I know their tastes will change as they get older.

Thankfully I never used that word again.  My parents did not tolerate swearing and not to sound like a Pollyanna (although I absolutely love that movie)  it hurts my ears to hear foul language.  I don't like it at all.  When I hear girls boast about their 'sailor mouth' I kinda cringe. 
So here's a delicious Zucchini Cake sans raisins.  Heaven forbid you should share it with someone who doesn't like them.

 Now I know the proper way to thank people for the nice things they do for me.  So from the bottom of my heart Shauna, thank you for the recipe.

Lila Glenn turns 9!!

I remember like it was yesterday the day Lila was born. It was a Saturday and I just knew she was coming soon, I literally could feel it.  So of course I did what any expectant mom would do when she knew her time was almost up, I gave myself a pedicure.

Glenn, Emry & I were just hanging out in our little apartment because I didn't feel like going anywhere or doing anything.  It was exhausting trying to keep a 2 yr. old busy and I was beat.  Come about noon my water broke & off we all went to the hospital.

Lila came so quick I thought I might just give birth in the car.  I remember getting upset with Glenn when he stopped at red lights.  The pain was strong and babies don't wait for stoplights.  Luckily we made it to the hospital in time so Glenn didn't have to deliver his own child. 

 Emry was actually 2 weeks shy of 2yrs when Lila was born.  She went around calling her bay-Lila meaning baby Lila.

 Lila was as sweet and calm as Emry was wild and rambunctious. 

Lila was playing in the backyard and decided this comfy cozy piece of concrete on the side of the house made for a good bed.  I don't freak out often but it did give me a scare when I called and called and looked and looked and couldn't find her.  When I did my heart melted.

2005 3yrs.  We turned off the girls bedroom light because it was time to go to sleep, Lila called out "I can't see my boo eyes!" (blue eyes).  Glenn & I burst out laughing.  We had to call Lila out on that one and tell her that even with the lights on, she  "couldn't see her boo eyes!"

I think this picture is so sweet.  I wonder what Lila is thinking. "Mom has a new baby now, does she have time for me, does she still love me?  I hope she's still my mommy".

I love this picture of Lila.  Sweet, happy, messy haired and playing with her siblings.

2006 4yrs  Lila received some candy canes at Christmas.  She opened the first one and it broke.  She opened the next one and it broke too.  She then said "I got 2 broken candy canes and now I got a broken heart".

2006  Lila saw a poster of a lost dog, turned to me and said "If I get lost, I wait for mommy".

2007  "Mommy I love you more than pony heaven, and that is the highest heaven".

2008  6yrs. Lila thought a man was her friends dad and I told her he wasn't.  She then said "Who was he?  Her uncle or a dignitary?"  She said she learned the word from one of her books on tape.

ANIMAL LOVER EXTRAORDINAIRE!!!!!

Lila bought all this pet shop loot for $3 at a garage sale!  Lila loves everything girly, especially little things like pet shops.

I've known since I was 13 that I would name one of my daughter's Lila.  I fell in love with the name while reading the "Sweet Valley High" books.  Her middle name is Glenn after her dad.  We love her so much.  She is sweet and responsible.  My one child who I can count on to obey me the first time I ask.  Lila you are a living doll who is playful and kind, mischievous and curious, fun and spirited, thoughtful and brave.  We love you so much.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY  to our big 9 year old.

Yeah x 3

Lila turns 9 on Wednesday November 9.  On Friday evening I let her invite 6 friends over for a 'spa party'.  I love planning adult parties, kid parties, not so much.  But I had to grin and bear it for my sweet girl.

This party cost right under $50.  Invitations were homemade.  Entertainment was in the form of games, dancing, and my right hand girl Emry and her friends giving treatments and makeovers to all the girls.  The main cost was in food and party favors.

I learned a long time ago not to stress about kid parties.  Why would I put time, energy & money into decorations when I have Emry doing this awesome decor to the island.  I am not sure what it means or how it goes along with the spa theme, but I really don't care.  It kept my kids busy and they liked it.  Now why would you scour Pinterest when you could just come to my little ol blog and see creations like this? 

The girls who made this party possible, Valerie, Emry & Evelyn.

 Party favors included lotion, nail polish, spa socks, an eye mask and a loofah.

And what birthday party would be complete without a saxophone performance.  Thanks Emry, it's a wrap.
(that is her friend Evelyn's sax, we don't play musical instruments in this house.   I think our ability to decorate for a party more than makes up for what we lack in musical talent).

PARTY #2 was Saturday night.  I invited some friends over to celebrate Jeannette's RD status.

I thought I'd be somewhat clever and put a 'Registered Dietician' spin on all the food.  Everything was
labeled listing the nutritious health benefits.

Mom, Jeannette & Dad

A party's not a party without the kids.

I saw a this idea in a magazine for a chocolate sampler bucket and thought I'd use it.

Brutus was nervous with all our guests and stayed by my side the whole night.  OK fine I held him all night.  I do love that dog.  I am pathetic I know.

PARTY #3 was Sunday night for my niece Kylee.  She turned 14!!

Kiera Roberts, Lila & Emry Wallwork, Kylee Roberts

Jeannette made the most scrumptious dinner of braised short ribs over a mashed up mixture of potatoes, turnips & sweet potatoes with roasted vegetables.

Cake of course. 

We partied all weekend long.  Glenn wouldn't exactly classify this as partying as there were kids involved each time.  But there was also lots of chocolate and I put on makeup 2 days in a row, so to me, that's a party.

Blessed

 My family is feeling God's love pouring down as my brother Ty received a lung transplant last night.  He was born with Cystic Fibrosis 44 years ago and was misdiagnosed for many years.  It wasn't until he was 21 and my mom had her last baby Tommy, who had CF, that Ty was correctly diagnosed.

Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease that causes mucus to build up and clog some of the organs of  the body, particularly the lungs and pancreas.  This mucus makes breathing extremely hard and also blocks the digestive track from  absorbing important nutrients.

His lung capacity was getting so low he was finally put on the transplant list.  He was called in to the hospital last night along with another patient.  They were both prepped and when the donor lung was deemed worthy, the best recipient would receive it.

Last night that was Ty!!!!!

This is not a cure all as he still has CF cells all throughout his body, but his quality of life will greatly improve and he will probably be able to breath like the rest of us for the first time in his life.

     Ty, Jeannette, Margo, Aaron, Mom, Dad, Adam, Kyle, Marie, Nielsen   2009

Tommy is not in this picture because at 3 months he died of complications from CF.  He would be 24. 

There is so much we can't control, but also so much we can.  Ty loves sports and even though you'd think by the way he was breathing that he just ran a marathon instead of to 1st base, it didn't stop him from playing. He loved refereeing for Texas high school football games and even though he would have to hook up and do breathing treatments in between calling plays, it didn't stop him from doing what he loved.

His recovery will be difficult as his body adjusts to this new set of lungs, but we are all ecstatic and so thankful for this miraculous blessing.  We are also extremely grateful for the choice this donor made to donate his organs.

And in other news......................

She passed!!!!!  Oh yes she did.  It is a great day for my family.  So much good news at once.

I could not be prouder of my big sister.  Studying in between taking her kids to the park and making them dinner.  Reading textbooks at the pool all summer.  Getting hand me down books from friends and garage sales to study.  She is A-mazing.   We all love you and are so proud of you Netty.

I know this life will bring more trials and heartache.  But for today I will rejoice with my family in all our good fortune.  We won life's lottery today.  Life is good and God is great!


If you missed it:
Jeannette
The Internship

White Kids can Jump

Lila has been asking for the past year to play basketball.  I am not sure where this desire came from as we don't usually hang around shooting hoops.  Also, Lila is so short,  I didn't really think basketball was a good fit.   I thought she would forget about it but she never did.  I finally looked up a class at the Rec.Center and decided I might as well sign Ethan up too. 

You can tell by Lila's face that she is all business and there to learn.  They had 2 instructors that were good ball players & great with the kids.

At the end they played a game and Ethan actually made a shot.  In a real basketball hoop, not lowered or anything.  I couldn't believe it.  I was so proud of both kids as they really tried their best and listened and put into practice what the coaches taught them.

After dinner I took the kids to McDonalds as Emry has been asking every day to redeem a coupon for a free ice cream.  Not kidding,  Every. Day.  The coupon was expiring that day so off we went.  Of course we all had to get one.......

 That's my kids idea of 'smiling for the camera'.