Friday, December 30, 2005

Happy Birthday!


Happy Happy Birthday to my darling husband Joe! Yay! Another year older, and oh, what exciting things lay in store for him this year. :-) Having 2 kids, working part time and life make it hard for me to spend a lot of alone time with him, but I HOPE he knows how much he means to me. Today we drove around together for a few hours doing some comps for his appraisals. It was fun, just the two of us. Tomorrow night we are going out to a New Year's Eve Party. We need to go out more together. Joe, if you are reading this, a big I LOVE YOU goes your way.... xoxoxoxo.....THANKS for being the greatest husband and daddy! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Christmas Pics



OK, I had to post some Christmas Eve Pix. Yes, Coop is a cutie! Yes, the window is open! Can you believe it has been in the 60's here...very warm for this area now. We had just finished the Christmas Eve festivities at our house. Spencer was a bit wound up. So exciting!
That's it. ;-) Vicki, I really think you should do your blog...you'll think of something to say, it doesn't have to be that exciting all the time, it's just interesting to get a slice of life from someone else's perspective. Go for it! Anyone else????? It's free at blogger.com.

EDIT...I misspelled Anna Quindlen's name

OK, sorry...it's Anna QUINDLEN and it appears in her book, A Short Guide To a Happy Life. :-)

Anna Quidlin rocks!

This is an excerpt from an author, Anna Quidlin. I TOTALLY stole this from another blog, but I don't think any of you read the other person's blog, and I found it very inspiring, so I copied it here. :-) Anyway, here it is....



I am a novelist.  My work is human nature.  Real life is all I know.

Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work.

You will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has.  There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree; there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living.  But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life.

Your particular life.  Your entire life.  Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car or at the computer.  Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart.  Not just your bank account, but your soul.

People don't talk about soul very much anymore.  It's so much easier to craft a resume than craft a spirit.  But a resume is cold comfort on a winter night, or when your sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you've gotten back the test results and they're not so good.

Here is my resume:

I am a good mother to three children.  I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent.  I no longer consider myself the center of the universe.  I show up.  I listen.  I try to laugh.  I am a good friend to my husband.  I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say.

I am a good friend to my friends, and they to me.  Without them there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cutout.  But I call them on the phone, and I meet them for lunch.

I would be rotten, or at best mediocre, at my job if these things were not true.  You cannot really be first rate at your work, if your work is all you are.

So, here is what I wanted to tell you today:  Get a life.  A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house.  Do you think you'd care so much for those things if you blew an aneurysm one day, or found a lump in your breast?

Get a life in which you notice the smell of the salt water pushing itself on a breeze over Seaside Heights, a life in which you stop and watch how a red tailed hawk circles over the water, or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger.

Get a life in which you are not alone.  Find people you love, and who love you.  And remember that love is not leisure, it is work.  Pick up the phone, send an email, write a letter.

Get a life in which you are generous.  And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted.  Care so deeply about the goodness that you want to spread it around.  Take money you would have spent on beers and give it to charity.  Work in a soup kitchen.  Be a Big Brother or Sister.

It is so easy to exist instead of to live.  I learned to live many years ago.  I learned to love the journey, not the destination.  I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get.

I learned to look at all the good in the world and to try to give some of it back, because I believe in it, completely and utterly.  And I tried to do that in part, by telling others what I learned.  By telling them this:

Consider the lilies of the field.

Look at the fuzz on a baby's ear.

Read in the backyard with the sun on your face.

Learn to be happy.

And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion, as it ought to be lived.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Merry Christmas!

Merry Merry Christmas...hope you enjoyed yours! And took the time to reflect on this being Jesus' birthday...
We have been sooo busy, sorry I have not posted! First, I got bumped off our laptop b/c Joe's work hinted he should not be going online with his computer b/c he connects to the system there and the whole virus issue...soooo, it's onto the mac, but I don't save my pix to the mac, so I can't post any pix right now...:-( I may sneak onto the laptop anyway...shhh...don't tell!
Then, we had family in town...YAY! Jenny & Justin, Meg & Jenn, & Grandpa. We had everyone over for Christmas Eve and it was a great time. Food, fun, gifts, even ended the night with some MTV reality show watching...somehow we ended up watching TV at 11 PM, laughing together. BUT it was with FAMILY, which makes me happy. :-)
On Christmas Day, we headed over to Joe's parents' house. It was a madhouse with the cousins and piles of gifts. We had Brian's famous pancakes afterwards at Michelle & Brian's house. My boys all took long naps that afternoon while I started to put away the gifts. What a mess! A FUN mess!
Now my sisters have left town, so sad. Spencer walked into the room where Jenny & Justin had been staying and saw the empty mattress and said, "I'm sad." He sat on the mattress looking glum. Poor guy. He was also sick over the holidays, complete with a nice throwing up incident in the car on the way to family portraits on Christmas Eve. We ended up still getting them taken, but he sat on Grandpa's lap very serious looking, not the laughing, joyful, exuberant kid he is!
Last night we had a bunch of friends come over for dinner, the "Merced Gang". The original group is Steph, Chip, Ryan, Brian, Joe & me. Now we have added Chip's wife Vicki and Brian's wife Kelli. (Ryan and his wife Jillian were not in town.) Only Joe and I live in Merced now. the others are in LA, SF, and Tennessee. It's always a fun time to be together. We have so many crazy memories! :-)
OK, better go, I should be finishing some cleaning, hitting the grocery store, etc. etc...I brought the boys to their babysitter's house today so i could get some stuff done. Spencer was so excited to go to "work". He loves to play with the kids.
Looking forward to hearing about everyone's holidays!

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Christmas cards

Oooh, I love this time of year and all the Christmas cards I receive. I LOVE the picture ones, too. Got the cutest one yesterday from my friend Niki of her twin 8 month old boys sitting on the beach in Hawaii. TOO CUTE! I need to take our pic tomorrow. I think I may just do the boys instead of a family pic. It's hard to get us all together and Spence is in the can't sit still mode still....will it ever end? He is one busy boy, I tell you! So funny. He says, "What are you doing?" now, and loves to ask that question all the time. He is very excited to see Santa, but I wonder how he'll react. Last year it was tears. I asked him, "What do you want Santa to bring you?" He answered, "Presents!" I love my little man.
Cooper is now 6 months and getting bigger. he weighs 3 pounds less than Spence at the same age, but is 3/4 of an inch taller. The family giant?
Off to bed, have MOPS tomorrow. Tonight I added another ornament to the "memory tree". My AAUW group met for dinner and an ornament exchange. It's fun to get out and be with the gals once in a while.
Congrats to Robin on the news that her new baby-to-be is a precious girl! :-) Justin will be a great big brother!
Brian, you and your family have a safe trip to California in a week. We can't wait to see you! My grandpa arrives tomorrow from AZ! YAY! Jenny & Justin and Meg will be home next week!

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Oh Christmas Tree



These pics are Coop adding his ornament and Spence with his Auntie Judy!
I think I have decided to rename our Christmas tree the Memory Tree. This yea I have been doing a lot of thinking about our ornaments. I have come to realize they are one of my most precious treasures. When I was little, my mom started collecting ornaments for me each year. She also saved the ones I made in school. Now that I have my own family, I am doing the same thing. Each year we are buying special ornaments. This year we added Spencer's Elmo one (a favorite character from this year), Cooper' s new baby 2005 one, a Our New House 2005 one. My mom has begun giving the boys an ornament each year now, too. Every year as we put up the ornaments I am reminded of memories and the special people who gave me the ornaments. I think it has to be one of my favorite nights of the year. We have special traditons on the order we put them up, too. My beautiful memory tree....

OK, on another note, I have decided to start EBAY-ing. I have my first auction up, baby clothes. We'll see how it goes...I have a lot to sell! Books, baby clothes, things around the house. Check me out! :-)

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Just sitting here...

Just sitting here, listening to Depeche, checking out the blogs...whatcha doing???
So, we got our tree!!! Yay! It looks great right in front of the window. It's so fun, the tree up and the house lights up, twinkling, and we have a lit Christmas tree decoration thing-y right nect to the front door and a wreath on the front door (yep, I found one I liked!). Our house looks so festive, I'll post a pic! Joe has swiped our digital camera for his appraisal pics, so I am not quite sure were the pics are right now....I'll check before I post this....
We also had a great time visiting with my family, my mom's cousin Judy and her husband Jim came out to Cali for a conference in San Francisco. They have been here for the last few days. Spencer adores Auntie Judy! He is NOT shy around those he knows, but sometimes can be a little shy around new people. he warmed up to Auntie Judy right away (I am sure the fact that she brought him a present helped! LOL!)! He even posed with her for pictures, something I cannot get him to do!!!!
Oh, "Precious" just came on...my favorite Depeche Mode song right now....rocks! Listen to it! It's sad b/c it's about Martin's divorce and its effects on his kids.
OK, sidenote aside....we really enjoyed having Auntie Judy and Uncle Jim here. You don't realize how much you miss your family until you see them. I wanted to cry when they left. I HOPE I see them again soon. Don't you think we should have a Kecseg family reunion???
Speaking of family, Aunt Emese...thanks for your package for the boys! Spence immediately went into the family room to read his new book. He loves it! I know you said you read my blog, so I thought I'd post this shout out to you before I get the thank you in the mail! I MISS YOU!!! I hope you are feeling OK. I have been thinking about you a lot! Hugs>>>>>
Cold weather is here...I had to scrape off my car window this morning...yikes.....

Friday, December 02, 2005

Family

Yay! So tomorrow my Auntie Judy & Uncle Jim are coming in from Chicago for a visit! I am so excited to see them again. I hadn't seen that side of the family in many years, but this year I get to see them 2 times in one year...now if the others would just get out here, too...
So excited about this Christmas time, as if you hadn't noticed...heehee...but reading ali edwards' blog gets me inspired...check out aliedwards.typepad.com soooo cool! I really want to start journaling more. I keep a journal for the boys. I was pretty regular for Spence until he turned 2, and trying to keep up with the Coop. Then I have another one to jot down stuff about them and Joe and our family to remember. So many things I don't want to forget...like Spence loving to get a "family kiss!" when Joe, Spence, and I give each other a kiss at the same time, and how Spence happily ate his dinner tonight wearing his tie from Aunt Jenny's wedding. He didn't want to take it off! I would love to read my grandmother's journal, my mom's journal from when she was younger, so i really want to document our life for future generations. I think scrapbooking is doing that, too. OK, said my piece, get some paper and go! What do YOU want to remember????

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Go see Brian Ferguson!!!


OK, so Brian hopped on the blog ride...heeeheee....go see him at http://fergusonfam.blogspot.com
He's an awesome guy, the friendliest guy and has 4 beautiful children. We miss them terribly since they moved to Tennesee last summer. Looking forward to them coming home soon!!!

Sorry no pic of Brian...send me one again, Brian, and I can add your kiddos...this pic is of Spence and his best friend, Jake, his cousin.

Mops today (Mothers of Preschoolers)...Spencer loves going! Every morning he says, "Mops? Margo's?" Margo is his babysitter. He enjoys going b/c he loves to play with the kids. Ask him what he does, and he says, "I play with kids. I play with cars. I play with Evan, Emma, Ya-ya. I eat. I go night night on the floor!" He loves the routine Margo has created for him. As soon as lunch is over, he gets his pillow and blanket and goes to his spot on the floor. Don't you dare try to lay in his spot, either. He'll let you know..."Uh-oh! Uh-oh!" he says. He is becoming a chatterbox, I love it! We have the best conversations in the car. He likes to point out what he sees and remembers directions very well. he knows where the donut shop is, daddy's work, mommy's work (any school he sees actually), the way to his cousins' house, his grandparents' houses. He has an awesome memory...which is good, most of the time....;-)
OK, better go, just popping out brownies for treat day at school tomorrow.
Did you hear? Jennifer and Ben Affleck had a baby girl this afternoon, Violet! I can't help it, I am addicted to www.celebrity-babies.com....