Catching up...

I have been a blogging slacker. SLACKER. I am getting started on my Christmas cards and that usually includes a family letter. And that includes an update. And there is a LOT to update.

So this post, is an update, Christmas card style!

Harmony: This girl is busy from sun up to sun down. Band. Reading. Writing. Drawing. Hanging out with friends. She has had so many fun opportunities lately! Playing in the half time show at a UCLA game, going to the Disney studios to learn about art...and of course there are all the band competitions, football games, dances, hanging out with friends, movies, sleepovers...her schedule is tough to keep up with!

Ethan: is getting to be as busy as his sister. He too, is a band geek. With Ben & I having absolutely no musical abilities, we find this odd! I have loved to see him progress in his playing. He took up the baritone last year and has worked his way up, in a little over a year, from beginning band to advanced. He has totally shot up and now towers over me, which he loves to tease me about. He, has a lot of the same talents & interests as Harmony. Reading, writing, drawing & music.

After a year, Connor gave up on the band life! He decided to do something different and it is much more up his alley...yearbook! He has loved walking around the school with his "press pass", taking pictures and using the computer to design pages. He is a "techie" kid and loves anything to do with electronics. Of course he still loves Legos, and designs detailed bases. Mason considers Connor to be his personal slave, and Connor is too sweet to say no!

Ivan: This kid is...fun. He worked hard to prove that he could be safe while riding his bike to school. He has done a great job (even though it still scares me) and loves the freedom of riding back and forth. He has had his struggles at school but we have been working through them. He still loves Legos, pirates and playing video games. He had a rough Thanksgiving break, as his best friend moved. We all took it hard, and were sad to see them go!

Mason had an interesting start to kindergarten...a few of the boys decided to use their scissors to cut each others clothing, lunch bags, back packs etc. Mason ended up with a hole cut into his favorite hat, 2 shirts, and his backpack strap cut. Luckily the kids learned their lesson and we are no longer dealing with it! Mason is, just like his Dad and brothers, a Lego kid. He also loves playing at the park. He is learning to read & write and it is fun to see him learn & grow.

Ben & I are trying to keep up with the kiddos. It is hard to believe how time has passed & how the kids have grown and changed. Ben still travels quite a bit for work. We are currently waiting on our newest set of orders, which will most likely be in San Diego.

So there you have it. Our life in a nut shell.

Forced family fun

Our family has been pulled in 20 different locations lately.

We have been so busy and have hardly had any time together. At least, fun quality time instead of, "we have to get this,this, this and this done" time.

The usual fall back for us is a movie night. However, with Harmony having really different interests then the boys, the two older boys wanting to watch things that the two younger can't. So, movie night has become increasingly harder.

Same thing with going to a movie.

Thanks to a Groupon offer, we decided on a round of mini golf and an arcade. We hit up Golf -n- Stuff in Ventura.

I am not the best at mini golf, but it sure is fun. We had a blast going to each hole. We didn't keep score which made it more fun, since there was no competing at all. A lot of members of our family do not deal well with competition.

After the golfing we hit up the sweaty, hot and stinky arcade. Ben, Mason and I played a tough round of air hockey, Harmony loved the dance games, Ethan and Connor not only danced but also played Star Wars games. Ivan held onto his tokens until the very last minute. Then used them on Mario Kart.

We were all starving so we hit up Five Guys. We had never tried it before but had heard good things. While the price was steep, we really enjoyed it! Huge yummy burgers and fries. Of course, Mason just wanted a hot dog. Sigh.

It was so nice to spend time together. I enjoyed watching the kids laugh, play, work together, sit together, talk and just be.

I know it sounds dorky or cliché or...whatever. But I love my family & love spending time with them!

the Lego movie

After a long busy week, our family loves to relax and have a family movie night. We usually have a rotation, so that everyone gets a turn.

However, since Tuesday, Ivan & Mason have chosen. Although they haven't just chosen at night....it is more like morning, noon and night.

The movie of choice? The Lego Movie. It has been playing non stop.

Last night, Ben & I sat down with Mason & Ivan to watch it. Again. For the 11th time.

I have gone through movie obsessions with all of my kids....

*Elmo in Grouchland
*Hercules
*Toy Story Movies (all of them)
*Cars
*Frozen
*Harry Potter (ok that is me, lol)
*Star Wars
*Indiana Jones
*the Lorax

Who knows how long this newest obsession will last...but for now, everything is AWESOME!

Safe & Sound

Being a parent is TOUGH.

There was a time when my biggest safety concern had to do with covering electrical outlets, making sure car seats were installed correctly and that bath water wasn't too hot.

But as they have grown up, other safety concerns have surfaced.

I find myself wishing to go back to that time. I want life to be easy.

I don't want to be scared for my children. Or my children's friends.

One of my children has been threatened in a way that I have no control over. I have anxiety for them and our family.

 All I can do is pray. Have faith and hope.

I know that this is not the most...specific...but for a variety of reasons, I just can't.

Know that we are being cautious. Know that we have a small handle on the situation. Life is so topsy-turvy.

We are praying, having faith and hoping for the best. We invite all of our family & friends to do the same.

my blogging history...

A loooong time ago, my family lived in Virginia. Across the country from any family. I started a blog, this blog to be exact, so that our family could keep up with our lives. My husband while deployed, was able to view pictures & read the stories behind what our kids were up too.

Then our family received orders to go to Guam. This blog became even more essential as we were even further from friends and family.

Around this time, I discovered other types of blogs beyond family ones. Homemaking, cooking, organizing, bento...and I wanted to be just like these bloggers that I admired.

I created another blog, Martha Wannabe (as in Martha Stewart) where I shared meal plans, participated in blog challenges, shared recipes and anything homemaker-y.

I tried very hard to keep up with both. I did not succeed.

Slowly this family blog was put on the back burner.

Once our family moved to California, I was able to coupon again. I was getting lots and lots of questions and loved sharing my "scores". So I started another blog, California Clippin' and later to California Cheap Chick.

This past year has been so incredibly busy. Sometimes it is even hard to contemplate how we got through it.

While talking to a friend the other day, I realized just how burnt out I really was/am. I am tired of trying to "keep up with the Jones's blogging style". Would it fun to be an insanely popular blogger? Sure.

But honestly, I just want to be...a Mom again. Not someone who is trying to keep up with others. I feel like the stories of mine and my families life has been limited to a quick facebook post. Our lives can't be described in 20 words.


I want simple. I don't want to worry about sharing my posts on every social media platform in hopes of new readers & comments.

Simplicity. Family life. Success and failures. Family life. Simplicity. MariesHecticLife 2.0

after a month...

(Connor and Khalil)

(look at all those boys! Poor,poor Harmony!)

it was time for these cousins to say goodbye. We enjoyed getting to know Khalil and Wyatt over the time that we were at Mom's. I was laughing as Khalil gave Connor a kiss goodbye, and Connor replied, " A hug is enough." (: Gotta love kids!

Since my brother Tom, and his family live in Maine, and we have been on Guam, it had actually been a few years since I saw my *little* brother. It was good to hang out with him also.

abc's of being home

(entering the Discovery Center)


(Discovery Center)


(happy to be reunited again!)


(lots of rain!)


(cousins eating pizza at Spooky's)



A- airport to pick Ben up!

B- boys! Lots of them! Brothers, Uncles, Grandpa's, cousins...

C- cousins. The kids have had a blast playing with their cousins!

D- Discovery Center in The Dalles

E- entertainment. There is never a dull moment around here

F- family time

G- getting to know Grandparents again

H-hanging out

I- Ice cream from Dairy Queen.

J-jumping on Aunt Amy's trampoline

K-Kennedy relatives

L-lego tables

M- movies before bed

N-naps for Mom!

O- overindulged by Grandparents

P- playing outside without sweating

Q- quiet? Only when the kids are asleep...and sometimes not then!

R- rain, rain and more rain!

S- sweatshirts

T- Turner relatives

U- uniforms are non-existent

V- value meals that are actually cheap

W- waiting to go to California

X- hmmm...sorry I am not that clever (:

Y- yawning

Z-zzz's, and a lot of them as we are still gettng used to the time difference

CALIFORNIA...here we come!

For those who don't follow us on Facebook, we finally recieved our orders! We were very excited. For those who aren't military, you can do all the planning you want, but until you have those official orders, NOTHING is set in stone. Now the busy-ness begins. Purging, packing, getting passports, planning pack outs, cleaning...There is a huge list of what we have to do.

We had made some plans and were thrown a little when we received Ben's deployment schedule. He is now leaving before Christmas :( and will be doing quite a bit of training before that. We aren't sure how much we will see him after June.

The bright side is that we will be HOME. We can't wait to spend time with everyone.

We have enjoyed our time on Guam and will miss our friends here. Right now are feelings are very bitter sweet. I think that is where Shakespeare came up with, "parting is such sweet sorrow."

Quicky update

(pretty intimdating huh?)
Ahh...Monday morning and the kids are back in school. Mason is playing in his bouncy toy and Astro is asleep. The house is quiet...I LOVE IT! I am not sure who came up with Christmas break but it obviously was not a Mom! (:

I am going to be off the computer today as I need to do some repair from having all 7 of us home for two weeks. But I thought I would do a quick update.

Ben gets to start studying for his next test. He has two left and if he passes all of them, he will be able to get his Architects license! Exciting stuff. He was dissapointed that the Ducks lost but I think he was happy they made it as far as they did!

Harmony is starting out the new year with a new teacher. Her previous homeroom teacher moved to Germany with her family over the holiday. Hopefully it will go well. She also starts piano lessons this week!

Ethan was so excited to go back to school. 10 minutes before the bus came however, he decided to heat up some pancakes. He missed the bus and had to ride the "Mommy bus" with Ivan. Ivan loved having him!

Connor was not as eager to go back. That kid could sleep all day if you let him! He and Ethan have been fighting non stop though so I know they are ready for a break from each other!

Ivan was up in the middle of the night crying because he wet the bed. :( He was so upset with himself. He has done so well and so I know he was bummed. He was very excited to go see his teachers again, even though he kept saying, " just 10 more minutes Mom!" and would go back to sleep!

Mason is the big man and is the proud owner of a new high chair! He has been munching away on squash, carrots, applesauce etc. Of course he has the diapers to prove it! I am calling today to get his 6 month check up! He has grown so fast!

Me? Well I have so many goals/resolutions and thoughts swirling. However, I haven't got them to all make sense and be cohesive...yet.

And there you have it!

Sept. 17, 2003

**************UPDATE*******************UPDATE***********
According to our local news, we are now on a tsunami watch also. They are already opening up shelters across the island. As all of you as my witnesses, I will never again ignore the prophet's counsel to get a food supply and 72 hour kits. As soon as this passes, you better believe that I am getting my emergency preparedness kit READY!

Step back in time with me for a moment...

The weather was bright and sunny. The humidity was relatively low.Not a cloud in the sky. Nice beautiful day in Norfolk, VA. My sister Susan and her family were visiting. It was also Harmony's first week of pre-school.

Sept. 18, 2003...Hurricane Isabel hit. Power lines were down. Trees were knocked down and floating down the street. Rain and strong winds. Our family sat in a 100 yr old home, and watched as the water poured from the sky.The wind gusts were so strong that our gate was knocked over. Huge limbs were literally floating down the street. We were one of the lucky ones that didn't even lose power. It was a crazy storm.

The weather yesterday (our Tuesday) was bright and sunny. White puffy clouds in the blue sky. By afternoon, it had started to turn a little grey and windy.

The storm has now changed direction and we are expecting to get hit early tomorrow morning. There are also two storms coming up right behind this one.

I spent Monday fighting the crowds at the commissary and gas station. But I feel that I have everything I need. We have batteries, candles, canned food, water,paper products, clothes etc.

Our home is made of solid concrete. Ben describes it as " a concrete bunker". We honestly don't believe that we will suffer any damage. We figure we will lose power and that is about it.

As for now, our kids have a half day today. We will find out today if school will be in session for the rest of the week.

Although we don't feel like anything will happen, we ask you to please keep us and our family and friends in your prayers. Guam hasn't seen a typhoon in a long time and it looks like we are going to get hit.

Not to alarm anyone but, with the loss of power, we also lose our phones and internet. So if that happens, we will not have a way to get a hold of you. We will keep you posted as much as we can. We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers!