Feed Jake

Jake Ray Marcoccia

03/04/1995-07/07/07

Rest In Peace

Tag, you're it!

Renee and Jen tagged so...These are the rules…. each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment. So, time for my 7 random facts:

1. In my dreams I am still my highschool weight. For reals, every dream, even the ones in Spanish. I'm talking less than 100 pounds skinny.

2. I am a complete and total nerd, and I’m ok with that.

3. My name is Bat Bogey Hexer on the Leaky Cauldron, a Harry Potter message board. (back to the nerd thing)... Oh, and I still feel Snape has to be good, but I'll be finding out for sure later this month. yeah!

4. I never let my kids go to bed without hearing at least one good belly laugh a day. I figure that when they grow up, no matter how crazy times could be, we could always find laughter.

5. I’m a cat person with no cats, but 2 dogs.

6. I took 6 years of French, but Je ne parle Francais. (I don’t speak French) Maybe because 4 years of those lessons were taught by Mr. Fong.

7. I wish I could that dance where girls make their butts jiggle up and down without moving the rest much. I know it’s a knee thing, but whatever, wish I could do it.

So if your read this, consider yourself tagged. Just about all the bloggers I know have already been tagged because I took so long to do this.

To Do, Or Not To Do

I've been double tagged, I know, I know. Just buried in work and summer fun. I'll respond to the tag on my next post. For now I will leave you with the summer To Do list we have going on. More like save face on all my parenting faux paus:

Learn to play guitar.

Well start lessons anyway, and they have. Lesson #2 was today. They have graduated from Hot Cross Buns and Mary Had a Little Lamb to Old McDonald, on the 2nd lesson. I was told within the 1st 5 minutes of Austin's lesson that he is a "Natural". Natural at what, I still don't know.

Learn how to swim.

Yes, bad mom and dad have 6 year olds with no swimming capabilites. They took lessons one year, but still, no can do. Last year Austin had the broken arm all summer. Hunter, well Hunter just doesn't want to do it. So we signed them up for semi-private lessons. Hopefully this will work out for some basics. They start the class 07/02.

Learn to tie shoes.

In the world of velcro straps and Vans slip ons I have failed to teach my kids how to tie their shoes. Being that they will now be big 1st graders, I believe it is time they learned. Or more like time for me to take the time to teach them how. Anyone have any good teaching tips, or silly rhymes to make it happen?

Read everyday.

Any favorite titles for 6 year olds? I've been reading to them the A to Z Mysteries. That and Nate the Great were their 1st "chapter books", other than the bible, which Austin read all the time. Austin could read them, but to hold Hunter's attention, I'm reading them. It's great watching them trying to solve the mystery before they really know it will end. Then they both have to read me a book of choice. The school library is open every Thursday and they check out up to 2 books and get to take the AR reading tests for raffle tickets. They're not quite ready for Harry Potter, but ready for something more adventurous than Go Dog Go.

Do something fun away from the house every week.

Yes, bad mom, totally need to be remind myself of that. Between work and life, I seem to forget to get the kids out of the house and be adventurous. The good thing about working from home is no need for a sitter, I'm home all day with the kids. The bad thing about working from home is I'm always at work. It's so hard to tear myself away when I know work is just right there needing to be done. So far we went to Disneyland and we went to Santa Cruz. Although they were both during the 1st week of vacation, I gave myself credit for 2 weeks of gettaways. I know, I cheated, but we had unexpected impromtu partay at the house on Saturday with a butt-load of kids destroying my home, so I think we can count that as a day at the zoo. Plan to get to San Francisco and hit the Exploratorium before the summer is up. Plus a train ride from Lodi to Sacramento and the Train Museum, since we have annual membership and have only gone once this year.

Teach Hunter how to ride 2 wheel bike.

He has no interest to do it, and no trust in Mike and I teaching him. He's never trusted us if there was the slightest possibility of bodily harm. Even if I threaten bodily harm. Ummm, I would never do that, but then again, you never know. I love riding my bike and so does Austin, but it really cramps our style to wait for Mr. 4 wheeler peddaling a la stiff backed Alice behind us. And not having any sidewalks in the neighborhood, but rocky asphalt, it just seems safer for him to ride 2 wheels. I think Maryann will get a "crash" course this summer, too. They can both lay in bed and heal together from all the "ooops I didn't mean to let go" accidents that come their way.

Well, that is my To Do list for the summer. Yes, it all revolves around the boys. I do have other things that I want to tackle personally, but that can wait until fall. Right now, I just want them to have a really great 1st summer vacation. Next year's To Do list will just be a chore list. Trying to figure my way around some of the child labor laws, but that's the nice thing about being in the country, no one can hear you screaming for help.

So what are your plans for the summer?

Got Disney?

Got Sun...

Got Game...

Got Hats...

Got Princess...

Got Rockin'..

Got Wet..

Got Pins..

Got Silly..

Got Treasure...

Got Autographs...

Got Candy...

Got Excited..

Got Goofy...
Got Tired...

GOT DISNEY!

Summer's Here

Made it through Kindergarten Promotion performance:

Competed in Kindergarten Olympics:

Successfully began summer vacation:

Now what are you going to do?


We're going to Disneyland.
Be back next week.

Mo-Hogs and Chicks

So what do you do the 1st time your son requests a hairstyle? You let him do it? Oh yes, you do. Austin for months has been cutting his hair short, save for the bangs, so he can gel them up. So GQ. Hunter, really hasn't cared what his hair looks like. Until now. It started as a joke, but as soon as he saw it in the mirror he said "Don't change a thing!" WE talked him in to letting us clean it up, but alas, the Mo-Hog is here to stay.

Monday conversation at school between Hunter and a little girl in the class.

Girl: So Hunter, why did you get a Mohawk?

Hunter: Because the chicks dig it. (not really, but in essence, yes)

Real Hunter: So the girls will love me, do you love me?

Girl: Uh, NO! (In the whole what-EVAH tone)

Shortly after it was snack time/recess, and who do you think sat together to eat? Litlle miss No-No couldn't get any closer to Hunter without sitting on his lap. Yup, I'm breeding stud-muffins. All the chicks dig those bad boys, even the kindy-garden ones.

Long winded

What does your family do for entertainment? Mine, well, we wash clothes. Simple pleasures. I always like washing and folding the clothes before, I just hate putting clothes away. I know there is a previous post about how I love unfinished projects. Anywhoooo..... Washing clothes is so much more entertaining now, especially since the windows are the perfect height for little boys. Don't you just love these things. You can find me sitting in a chair in the laundry room just washing the clothes tumble. LOVE IT! Like I said, simple pleaures.







So the boys are at the perfect age to begin chores. Today Hunter learned to sort the laundry, and we loaded the washer together. Woo Hoo! It was a good time. He had a lot of fun tossing clothes in to piles. I have forgotten how even a menial task can actually be made fun. Austin was busy with dad rinsing out soda cans and milk and juice containers to put in the recycling buckets. Not that there was a lot, but enough for a little be good to your planet talk. He was more intrigued with the idea that we get to make money off our garbage.

I've been a terrible recycler. It has always made me feel guilty that I threw the stuff away. Cans we always recycled, but bottles and plastic and paper just made it's way to the big trash bin. It was hard with the boys when they were little, when I had little time to even clean myself, let alone properly clean my home. So if it was done, it was in the trash. Many a guilty days. Now, the boys are in recycle training and so excited because they get the cash, and when they're psyched about a getting a nickle, this is like hitting the lotto for them.


And speaking of recycled paper, I've been having some guilt about all the scrap stuff that just sits in my room. At least a rainforest full of paper sits there unused. Audrey's PTA is holding a fair at the school, and one thing they are raffling is a scrapbooking basket. So, on National Scrapbook Day (yes, there really is a day for us) while so many obsessed scrappers are out there making use of their goods, I will be cleaning up my scraproom, and finding stuff to donate to Audrey's PTA group. Lucky me, I should see her for lunch tomorrow because she is in Sac at a PTA conference, but returns to LA tomorrow. I was supposed to meet for dinner yesterday, but I have an allergy induced sinus infection.


One thing is for sure I'm not getting rid of my Bam Pop paper. It's making it's way on so many of my layouts! I did this one of Hunter for IDOS. Yes, I know, another terrible scan. I think I just need a larger scanner so I don't have to do the whole photomerge stich deal. I just suck at it. Anyway, I just love the BamPop paper, and just cut away and use little pieces on about every layout I do. So obsessed. Even the label strip makes it on my layouts. I think this is the second time I used the little strip under a picture instead of tossing it.

Hunter is such a dreamer. So cool to have captured that look in a picture.

Little man is about to lose his 1st tooth. Bottom left tooth is loose as a goose (whatever that means-do geese have loose bowel habits or are they an easy catch for a little sexy fowl play?). The other front bottom tooth is getting lose as well. He's so excited about the prospect of a tooth fairy visit and being able to to turn in his teeth for money. They're growing up ===fast. (those equal signs were supposed to remind you of speedy smoke trails behind a fast moving object. I guess if I had to explain it, I'm assuming others are not quite the match for my dorkiness).


By now you're thinking "No kidding about the long winded!" But that wasn't really my point with the title of the post. Well, sorta, because I haven't blogged in a while and had a lot to say. But really it was a clue to where I just came back from. I'll give you a hint:




or even a better hint is:



Love the do's in the wind. The only things keeping my hair from looking like the bride of frankenstein is all the wax I put in my hair, and that little blue felt barrett. Did you get it already? THE WINDY CITY????? Chicago, Baby! Absolutley loved it. Loved the cleanliness, the friendliness, and the floweriness, and the foodliness, and drinkliness, architechtureness and the story of Elliott Ness with all the mobster heiness of Al Caponess. Very cool city. Gained 4 pounds in 4 days, with non-stop walking. Ofcourse a lot of non-stop drinking and eating, but you know. Gotta go back some day. So much to do, see and eat. If I had to move anywhere, that is where I would move. LOVED IT!

So, what have you been up to?