enjoy them now

I always hated when older moms would look at me wrestling with my 4 little kids and they'd say "Enjoy them now because soon they'll be gone."  It truly irritated me.  


Did they not know how tiring it was to take care of the kids?  


Could they not remember what it felt like to get no sleep and have little bodies constantly hanging from you demanding more food, more of your time, more whatever?


Did they not ever feel like I did when at times I thought "I can't wait until these kids grow up and leave the house."?


Look at these two.  They were trying to be serious but man were they struggling.  Emily couldn't hold it together for more than 2 seconds.  They continued to hit modeling poses and laugh out loud.

I love them!  They were my demanding little babies and disobedient toddlers and now they are all grown up and I am very sad about it.  I think back to all the ladies that said "enjoy them now" and how I hated that phrase but now I wish I had listened more.

I can't believe that they will start to fly the coop in a few short years.  I miss them already!

"it was my happy place"

That was Megan's reply when asked how she liked her first class at a local art school.


Megan loves art.  She has been drawing for as long as I can remember.  She has never had lessons but has read lots of art books, spends lots of time pouring over her cousin's blog and creates away with her pencil and sketch book.  


She has wanted to take a class but has been unable to fit it into her high school schedule.  Just recently however she was lucky enough to have her name drawn as the winner of a free month of art classes at a art school near by.


Tonight was her first night and she LOVED it!


She said she felt a bit intimidated at first by the work of those around her but I think for her first night of class she did great...

This isn't complete yet - she says she has more work to do.  I can't wait to see the finished work.


It is always fun to watch your children be excited about something and art is the something that Megan truly gets excited about (that and turning 16 in less than a month)

overwhelmed

I am overwhelmed by how behind I am on posting.  I have tons of pictures to post but I want to add witty commentary to make it more interesting - therein lies the problem...I'm not witty, have no time to try and fake witty and so I just don't post.


It's boring to look at someone else's pictures and not have an exciting story or funny caption to read but I got nothing.  I have no desire to think or write but I have lots to share.  So you're getting pictures and some sorry little commentary.  That's it.  Don't complain.  You can take it or leave it.


On to the pathetic posting...

our connection to the island

Remember when I mentioned these educational plans for the first day of the teachers strike?


Heading out to the Happiest Place on Earth (which was definitely not our schools that day) turned out to be a brilliant idea.  Disneyland was free of crazy crowds.  We couldn't have had a better day at the park.


We ended up seeing lots of friends from church and school - it seems we weren't the only ones that thought Disneyland was educational.  However the person we were most thrilled to see had a connection to THE island.  Yes, that island...the one with the crazed black smoke running around killing people.  The one with the cool Darhma packaged food.  The island where people say "hey Freckles" and "brutha"


Here is photographic proof of our brush with fame...

Do you recognize him?  If you don't you have some serious issues.  The guy has an action figure even.  Only really famous people have action figures.

We met Dr. Arzt of LOST fame.  So what if  he blows himself up pretty early in the show and we don't see him often.  He does show up in the real world, or is it an alternate reality or is it some spirit world?  I'm too confused.  Whatever world it is he is a teacher at a high school with Benjamin Linus - he helps Ben hack into the school computers.  Now you know who he is.  I knew you'd get it.

Since most of the kids/youth we were with aren't fans of LOST (my girls tried watching it one night but now refuse to even be in the room when we watch it - Megan is creeped out by crazy Claire) they were more impressed when he mentioned he has been on Sunny With a Chance and Wizards of Waverly Place.

olvera street and chinatown

During Spring Break we boarded Metrolink and headed off to Los Angeles to spend the day at Olvera Street and Chinatown.

Lunch was the always yummy taquitos.  When at Olvera Street you must eat these and a churro - it's part of a gringo pack made with the people of Mexico billions of years ago.  Failure to eat these fried golden rolls of love is punishable by time in jail.  I warned you!

At the end of the day we stop for an impromptu photo shoot.  Megan and her friends...

Our family.  Notice anything off?  Take a look at Nathan.

He's sporting these...his big purchase from a gumball machine in Chinatown.  Two mustaches (one ripped in half for eyebrows)  The looks he got from people was hilarious.  

I always love a trip to Olvera Street and this was an especially fun one.

ok so i lied

There was more commentary than I thought there would be.  Not witty but at least there was something to read.

going on strike

While the teachers are away the family plays.  


Since this is what is going on in our district at the moment we are off to Disneyland to brave the cooler temps and rain.


Before you judge me on not sending my kids to school let me mention that the teaching plan during the strike is to group kids by grade (elementary) and last name (middle and high school) and let them work on generic worksheets for hours while a sub tries to keep control.  Not the most worthwhile educational activity.  I realize Disneyland's not either but it will be a heck of a lot more fun.

now accepting donations

Please send cash or checks made payable to Denise Baker so I can get my family here.  The video kills my geeky Harry Potter soul - I so want to go!

queen bee market - let the shopping begin

I have a great friend that I have yet to meet in person but we are in her words "blog bffs"  Mique is the genius behind 30 Handmade Days - a great resource for ideas, ideas and more ideas on anything from crafts, parties, sewing, etc.  If you haven't visited her site, you really should and tell her Denise said hi.  I'm sure you'll love her as much as I do.  

As if Mique wasn't busy enough she is now taking on more and I couldn't be more excited.  I wanted to share with you Mique's newest venture... Queen Bee Market - a hip, modern, and fresh art and gift show in the San Diego area.

Held on Saturday, May 1st, perfectly timed for the week before Mother's Day and beautiful San Diego weather (but really, when isn't it beautiful weather in San Diego?). 

Unlike any other craft fair or boutique, Queen Bee will feature vendors from all over the handmade scene. With purses, jewelry, home decor, children's items, accessories, baby products and more- you won't want to miss out. There's sure to be something for everyone.

In addition to unique products, we'll also be focusing our attention on giving back to the San Diego area. For more information, read what we're up to on our charity page.

You can also visit the the Queen Bee Market blog or check it out on Twitter and Facebook.

For those of you that are interested in selling at the market go and check out the vendor information.  What a great way to get the word out about the products you make.

I'm making plans now to get myself down to San Diego to enjoy some sun and shopping and I'd encourage you to do the same.  It would make a great girls trip!  So pass along the info.  Perhaps I'll even finally get to meet my "blog bff"   See you there Mique!

going bald for a cause

Hi, this is Nathan and Luke Baker and we are going bald.  Our mom is a little sad to see our hair go :) but it's for a good cause.  

Our cousin Talitha has cancer.  You can read about Tali here.  

We wanted to help so we decided to join with St Baldricks and have our head shaved to show support to those that have cancer and to raise money to help fight cancer.  We are each trying to raise $500.  If you can help us that would be great.  If you don't have the money right now, that's ok too.  Please just say a prayer for Tali and her family - that would be a big help too.

You can check out our websites.  For Nathan go here and for Luke go here.  You can read more about Tali and other kids fighting cancer on our site and there is also a place to make a donation.

You can forward this on to anyone you think would be interested in helping.  We hope that we can get lots of us together to help fight cancer and help lots of kids feel better.

Thank you a lot

Nathan and Luke

i'm a fan...

of my husband!

Derek is 40 today.  Wow, 40!  It doesn't seem like that long ago when I met an 18 yr old Derek at an Angels game.  "Time flies when you're having fun" seems to really apply here.

There were no big plans to mark this milestone.  We had dinner with a few friends Friday night and will have Sunday dinner tonight with some family.  It's all very simple but I hope Derek knows that the kids and I love him and wish him the best birthday ever!

Happy birthday old man!  And Derek if you are reading this do NOT publicly say on this blog in a month "happy birthday old lady"  Yes, there is such thing as a double standard and it most definitely applies here - you have been married long enough to know that :)

We love you!  Happy Birthday!

california cousins + arizona cousins in the snow = lots of cold kids

In January we headed out with our Arizona cousins for a day of fun in snow.  Not sure how well we handled the cold but we still had a great time together.

Our outfits were hodge podge vogue - thrown together with bits and pieces of borrowed snow gear. Vans and converse were worn by many instead of snow boots with very fashionable plastic sacks used to keep out the wet, cold snow. Still not sure they were a success - we had lots of wet, cold feet.

We were grateful that Derek's boss offered up her cabin for the day.  It allowed us a warm place to hang out and place to make (& eat) warm food to ward off the chill.

Big thanks to our Arizona cousins for suggesting such a great outing.

we just finished roadshows

Don't pass out...yes, I am posting to our blog.  


I have lots to share and not a bit of desire to do it but now I'm just starting to feel guilty that our life is passing us by with no record.


All I can muster tonight are these few pictures of roadshow with a very short commentary.


Megan and Emily did great in their numbers.


I was surprised by the number of youth we have in our ward.  When you see them all up there on stage you realize how many youth we have.


I'm grateful for not only a big group of youth but a big group of GREAT youth for my kids to associate with.


And finally, right blue and gold eyeshadow only works when you are on stage.

gratitude

I've been keeping up on Talitha's progress thru her blog when I came across this post by Tali's dad, William.  They are words we should all try to live by made especially more powerful spoken by a man that is struggling with a young daughter battling cancer.

I loved what he wrote and wanted to share...

Where do people come up with all the weird names for the different chemotherapy drugs? My brother Evan is a Neurologist and he says they actually do market testing to determine what people will respond to best. I can't imagine anybody "marketing" chemo. If they do, they probably didn't do much market testing with Cytoxan. I mean, what does that word sound like to you? We know that chemo can be toxic to the system but they didn't even try to hide that fact with Cy"toxin".


Oh well. Too many medical terms, processes, and lists of possible side effects running through my head.


(I asked the nurse if we could get college credit towards a nursing degree for all this time spent in the hospital helping. She said that quite a few parents actually do get nurse certified because they do get so involved with the long term care in situations like this. Wow.)


Received a forwarded email from a friend of mine who is serving a two year mission for the LDS Church in the Dominican Republic. From time to time they have conferences with visiting leaders of the Church who help inspire them to do their best to bring people to Christ. During one of these conferences the visiting leader, David Bednar, opened up the meeting for any of the missionaries to ask questions. My friend raised his hand and asked the question, "How have you personally been able to put more trust in the Lord?" [This is something I'm trying to learn how to do so I read on with heightened interest.]


The answer my friend reported was very interesting to me: (1) serving His children, and (2) seeing the Lord 'touching' you or others in your life.


But the part that hit me the strongest was what this leader said directly to my friend while looking him in the eyes: "remember everytime the Lord has touched you and that will give you the patience and diligence you need in your life." [Isn't that amazing advice?!]


There's such an enabling power in Gratitude, isn't there? When we remember all that God has done for us, we have a grateful heart and have power to see the best in ourselves and others. And we want to be better and do better and help others along the way. But when we forget God's hand in our life--everything from the oxygen we breathe to the times He has helped us through the scrapes big and small--that's when we become blind to everything good. In our state of forgetful blindness we panic, fear, blame, and are miserable.


I've kept a journal for over 22 years now. There's a lot of travel-log type stuff I've written along the way that can bore you to tears but fortunately, there's also been a lot of writing about very special experiences with my family and children and life's endeavors that clearly demonstrate and help me remember the countless times God has been there for me and for those I care deeply about. The evidence I've accumulated over the years just from my life about the Lord's hand all around where I can see it and witness it personally literally fills handwritten books on my shelf at home.


Our lives on this earth don't begin with mortal birth and don't end with what we call physical death. It's not always easy keeping this perspective when you feel pain in the moment. But when I do remember, that's when I feel peace, hope, love, gratitude and so many other virtuous emotions that help to keep me sain through the deep trials that can come to each of us in life.


Let's all keep going with as much gratitude and remembering as we can muster. There's so much good we can all do in this world if we will.


Thank you all for your prayers and faith on our behalf. You have lifted our burdens and made them light.

all thoughts and prayers welcomed

This is my cousin's youngest daughter Talitha (Tali). Please visit here to read her story or here to read updates on her condition.

Please remember little Tali and her family in your prayers. If you feel so inclined leave a message of support on Tali's blog - I am sure the well wishes will be appreciated by the family.

A fund has been set up to help with the escalating medical costs. You can read more about it here. William and Audrey would never ask for the help but any little bit of help from those able to give would be appreciated by their family (and the rest of us - their extended family)

5 am - really?

I'm angry at Santa - is that a bad thing?

Our kids had saved money to buy Disneyland passes and Santa decided to make up the difference for Christmas. It all seemed good until this morning when the alarm went off at 5 am. 5 am ?!?!?! Where is the humanity?

We are now eating breakfast and heading out the door to be at the park early for a "magic morning". Magic morning my foot! We get in the park before the gates open for an hour of Disney magic before the crowds convene on the happiest place on earth. Although it all sounded good yesterday during daylight hours it is now seeming like an evil plan formulated by the fat guy in the red suit and a well known mouse - I think they are trying to make me spend more money by letting me into the park earlier. I wonder what Santa's cut is in this whole deal.

In a nutshell...

I miss my warm comfy bed

My stomach is feeling yucky from a serious lack of sleep last night

I hate Disneyland (for the moment at least)

Santa's on my naughty list

and...my kids better appreciate this or else!

i'm back - year in review

We have finally gotten over most of our illness and general yuckiness. Emily has a pretty nasty cold but she manages to muddle through the day with the help of cough medicine. My test results all came back negative which should be a good thing but I still feel horribly tired and worn down so I'm headed back to meet with my doctor to discuss my ailments.

I'm not feeling much like blogging these days but then I feel a bit sad when I think about all the things I am not writing about and what will be missing from my blog books when they are printed. To jump start my desire to blog I found this year in review idea over at Jill's blog - Creativity, Musings and Such which she found from someone that found the idea here. I'm going to give it a try. Anyone want to join in?

December 1 Trip. What was your best trip in 2009?

December 2 Restaurant moment. Share the best restaurant experience you had this year. Who was there? What made it amazing? What taste stands out in your mind?

December 3 Article. What's an article that you read that blew you away? That you shared with all your friends. That you Delicious'd and reference throughout the year.

December 4 Book. What book - fiction or non - touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies?

December 5 Night out. Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one that rocked your world? Who was there? What was the highlight of the night?

December 6 Workshop or conference. Was there a conference or workshop you attended that was especially beneficial? Where was it? What did you learn?

December 7 Blog find of the year. That gem of a blog you can't believe you didn't know about until this year.

December 8 Moment of peace. An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind? How did you get there?

December 9 Challenge. Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you?

December 10 Album of the year. What's rocking your world?

December 11 The best place. A coffee shop? A pub? A retreat center? A cubicle? A nook?

December 12 New food. You're now in love with Lebanese food and you didn't even know what it was in January of this year.

December 13 What's the best change you made to the place you live?

December 14 Rush. When did you get your best rush of the year?

December 15 Best packaging. Did your headphones come in a sweet case? See a bottle of tea in another country that stood off the shelves?

December 16 Tea of the year. I can taste my favorite tea right now. What's yours?

December 17 Word or phrase. A word that encapsulates your year. "2009 was _____."

December 18 Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year?

December 19 Car ride. What did you see? How did it smell? Did you eat anything as you drove there? Who were you with?

December 20 New person. She came into your life and turned it upside down. He went out of his way to provide incredible customer service. Who is your unsung hero of 2009?

December 21 Project. What did you start this year that you're proud of?

December 22 Startup. What's a business that you found this year that you love? Who thought it up? What makes it special?

December 23 Web tool. It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn't live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.

December 24 Learning experience. What was a lesson you learned this year that changed you?

December 25 Gift. What's a gift you gave yourself this year that has kept on giving?

December 26 Insight or aha! moment. What was your epiphany of the year?

December 27 Social web moment. Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? Did you discover Twitter?

December 28 Stationery. When you touch the paper, your heart melts. The ink flows from the pen. What was your stationery find of the year?

December 29 Laugh. What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?

December 30 Ad. What advertisement made you think this year?

December 31 Resolution you wish you'd stuck with. (You know, there's always next year...)

a not so wicked witch

I have been trying to download this picture forever - blogger has issues (but then again, don't we all?)

Emily was off to our churches youth Halloween party last night as a witch. SHe had a great time and looked good too.
Excuse the mantle decor that is falling off and one of my boys dirty socks. Hopefully Emily's smile is enough to distract you from all of that.

not done but close

Megan and Em are off to another Halloween party/dance tonight at church so I had to get Meg's Jane (of Volturi fame ) costume done. Unfortunately I didn't get it finished but it was ok for the evening.

I never hemmed the sleeves so they are just rolled up (hence the uneven sleeves in the picture - that will be fixed) I also need to make a few adjustments and clean up the edges around her neck but other than that It's mostly done and I'm pleased with how it came out.
The contacts are sweet and way creepy. Megan's eyes make this costume.
I need to get some pictures with the hood on because I like how it looks. When Meg gets all made up for Halloween we'll get more pictures.

curse you halloween costumes!

Yes, I love Halloween - we are all very aware of that but the costumes, the dreaded costumes...

After some stressful days wondering how I would get 4 costumes done along with a bunch of other stuff I have going on the kids all decided to use costumes out of the costume box or in Nate's case a simple diy costume - bless you sweet children! Unfortunately there wasn't much for Megan in the box except her Ravenclaw Hogwarts uniform which she was happy to wear. I on the other hand let the "your not a very good mom" guilt trip enter my head and decided she needed to have a costume she hadn't worn before. I don't mind costumes being worn more than once I just prefer that a new kid get to wear it.

I tell myself that I only have to make one costume and I'll pick something easy. Here are the pictures we used for inspiration...

Jane Volturi, of New Moon fame. How hard can it be, I ask myself. Simple black cloak, tights. mary janes and some great black make-up. I can handle this - yeah, right!

It is now 2:23 in the am on Wednesday as I type this. Megan needs the costume tonight (she actually could have used it last night/Tuesday -(she and Emily went to a Halloween party/dance at the neighboring LDS Stake Building) but lucky for me she was willing to go as a nerd so I could work on the Jane costume. Well, remember what time it is? Yes, I'm still not finished with the costume. It is mostly done but I still need to add trim, hem it and accessorize - will it ever end?!?!? Not tonight it won't - I have to get to bed.

So look for pictures tomorrow of the dreaded Jane costume. This costume thing is making me so crazy I'm wishing a vampire would head my way, bite me and get me out of this mess. Why, why must I love Halloween so much?