Car Show

I'm not sure if Mark just wanted a break from building shelves in the garage or if he really wanted to see the latest models, but he suggested we go to the car show at the Convention Center today. After 23+ years, you would think he'd learn that me and cars are a dangerous combo! I fell in love with the Corvette 50th anniversary concept car ... how can you not LOVE this gorgeous carbon fiber masterpiece?!

Kelleigh thought this sporty BMW would be a nice ride to RB High in a couple years ...

We found the boys testing out this cool jeep ...

A Shamu car!

This new Lexus had an interesting color which sort of kept growing on you ...

No, kids, this is not what Mom learned to drive in ...

And some very nice luxury cars ...

Newton's New Home

The custom aquarium we had made for Newton arrived and I spent Wednesday afternoon setting it up. He seems to like all the additional space. Mark has to make a cover for it since he's been known to escape!

Merry Christmas!

We docked the ark ...

... and the sun is trying to stay out. It's not often that we see a rainbow from end to end but this appeared as the first rays came out. (I know ... a wide angle lens would have been a better end product but I was impressed that they "fit" together this well!) It has been a miserably soggy and cold week so am looking forward to some sunshine soon I hope.

2010 Christmas Letter

Dear family and friends,

We continue to enjoy the notes and pictures many of you have sent this holiday season. The years seem to go by so quickly!


Mark, Cindy, and Parents

Mark worked through June at La Costa Canyon High School where he taught AP Calculus, Geometry and Statistics classes. With California’s school budget situation, LCC did not retain any temporary teachers and reassigned many tenured. Fortunately, he had also been doing IT consulting for a start-up firm which he continues to do. He is finishing up a long-term sub assignment at Francis Parker HS which he has loved. How can you not when you have 8-20 students in your class?! He would love to continue there so we’ll see what happens. He remains active with Rancho Bernardo HS as a Foundation member and continues to maintain the football team’s website and is on the chain-gang for home games. He finally gave up his beloved 12 year old Mercedes and has a 2010 Prius which the kids think is very “space age”!

Cindy continues to work at the elementary school a few hours a week, coordinates a martial arts enrichment program for eight elementary schools, handles the admin and website for a local lacrosse organization, helps a friend with his colonial education website, and tries to keep the family’s blog up-to-date. She recently joined a group of professionals who promote mixed martial arts events around the world as Secretary for the corporation. The first event in August was a success and 2011 should be an exciting year as the company promotes events around the world. As time permits, she still enjoys crafts. Mark surprised her over the summer with her beloved Escalade as he was tired of hearing her whine about missing the one she had to surrender to a lease. We figure between the two cars we average decent miles-per-gallon as a family!

Mark’s mom was 91 in July and doing very well. She is healthy, takes care of herself, enjoys her computer and email, loves her Kindle, and looks forward to the dogs’ visits for treats! Cindy's parents are enjoying life in Ft. Myers although we were sad to learn that Dad has bladder cancer and is currently halfway through his treatments.


The Kids – both human and furry

Wow…where do we begin? Ryan’s choices did not improve as we began 2010 resulting in an administrative transfer to a different high school for doing drugs during finals. He chose to not attend classes, failed many courses, and refused to allow the Intensive Outpatient Drug Program he was in for 18 weeks help him. When things began to impact his siblings and our family’s quality of life, not to mention the devastating path he was on, we had to take drastic actions. On June 16th he entered an 18-month residential drug rehab program in the Torrance area. It is a unique program and one we knew would change him if he was willing to accept the help. While sobriety is the main focus, it is a peer pressure based program where they are held accountable by their peers for ALL their actions, they learn how to function in real life by having daily chores, doing their own laundry and ironing, being responsible for meals, how to budget their weekly allowance, coordinate rides to AA meetings, and attend independent study if they are still in school. Families were allowed to visit each Saturday and attend a “family meeting” where the week is reviewed and then the guys can go to coffee, etc. for a couple hours. Each Saturday we visited and quickly saw steady improvement. Mid November the Director talked to us and felt that, due to his age and fact he was very homesick, Ryan needed to come home. It was a little overwhelming but we put in place what would be needed for him to be successful at home – counseling, AA meetings, independent study, part-time job search, etc. On November 21st he was given the conditions of coming home versus staying and he chose to return home. We have welcomed home a young man who is nothing like the one we took in June. Our home remains peaceful, he is 40 pounds thinner, smiles often, appreciates his family, continues working his AA program and soon will have six months sober, continues with independent study, dresses nice, is responsible, role model to his siblings, and has been aggressively job hunting. He knows should he choose to regress that he will return to the program but we are hoping that things will only continue to get better and better.

Connor is in the 8th grade and excited to be in his last year at middle school. His grades continue to be good and he won 2nd place in an Art contest at the Del Mar Fair this summer for a mask he molded and painted. He continues playing on RB’s lacrosse leagues and his passion for football hasn’t ebbed. He can’t wait to put on football gear next year as a Freshman player! He still loves animals and creatures and is lobbying for a bearded dragon lizard. His infectious laugh continues although there are days we would like to put a muzzle on him!

Kelleigh is in the 7th grade and made the Honor Roll this past term which earned her a cell phone. Math continues to be her favorite subject and her love of reading has turned into an obsession. She reads at least one book a day and over 75 this past Summer. She thinks she wants to be an editor so she can read for a living! She still plays the piano but her fabulous teacher moved which made us very sad as she was excelling rapidly with her. In September she broke her wrist running around the pool and had three casts over the course of 8 weeks. And…did we mention she has very definite ideas about what is fashionable?!

In February Shadow began to lose control of his back legs and, after tremendous efforts by the vet, we made the necessary but very sad decision to let him go to doggy heaven. Buddy was very lonely without his brother so in late March Jake joined our family. Jake is a 2 year old lab mix who was taken back from a couple by the Lab Rescue after being left in a crate for 14+ hours a day, abused at some level by a big guy, etc. He is still leery around men but he and Buddy bonded immediately and are inseparable. Buddy was 3 in March, tops 100 pounds, and thinks he is a lap dog! They have their daily routine of games, naps, snacks from Grandma, bones to chew, and no shortage of attention!

We wish all the best to your family in the coming year and hope that you will keep in touch as we enjoy hearing from all of you.

Mark, Cindy, Ryan, Connor, & Kelleigh
Buddy & Jake

A new family member

One of the highlights of Mark's job at Francis Parker was having "Newton" in his classroom. Newton is a HUGE red-eared slider turtle who is very entertaining to watch. Because the kids loved going to the classroom to feed Newton over the breaks, we decided we would get one of our own. When the staff found out that Mark was researching them, they offered to let us adopt him as it was difficult to find anyone willing to come in over the breaks and summer to take care of him. So today we bought his new habitat and had it ready to go for his arrival. He has been busy all evening checking out his new digs and rearranging the rocks on the bottom.

My sister's in town!

My sister came to San Diego on business and spent the weekend with us and is able to come back and spend this evening with us as well. We did a little girls' only shopping despite the massive crowds and, most importantly, got her See's candy! I made her favorite dinner followed by fireside pies in honor of one of our favorite childhood memories. Weather has been absolutely perfect which I think is the first time ever when I've had company come!

Busy weekend!

On Friday night we were excited to meet long-time family friends of Mark and Blanche's, Lloyd and Mary Lou Gillespie. Mark hasn't seen Mary Lou in over 40 years but the visit seemed as if we'd known them forever. Chuck and Mary Lou's dad went to school together so they go back a long way! Was a very fun evening and we look forward to visiting their "ranch" when we're in northern California.

This afternoon a dear friend came down and took a picture of the family so I could get Christmas cards ordered. I'll warn you now that (1) we are DEFINITELY not a photogenic family, (2) yes there was just enough light that we are squinting, and (3) they won't be mailed until the middle of the month! Now I just need to get the letter written to go along with them...

I was productive this weekend so head over to my craft blog and see what I got finished up. Have a few more projects to go but I'm gaining on it. Did get the last of the kids' gifts ordered so think I'm finished on the gift scene. The guys were all busy putting the outside lights up this weekend so we are officially decorated now!

Next weekend my sister will be here so Kelleigh has her mind set on shopping - apparently my sister does too as she told me to bring her with me to the airport so we could head to the mall right away! I'd better wear some comfy shoes. The boys have their heart set on making some "pies" over the firepit which is one of our favorite childhood memories. Naturally, a stop at See's candy is a must!

Tomorrow is the school drill for all three. Hard to believe only two weeks and they are off again. Where do the months go?!

A former neighbor of Mark's parents sent pictures last night of a family of turkeys that walk down their street each afternoon. They have taken up residence in a former playground area and each day take a stroll around the neighborhood. Amazing they haven't landed on someone's dinner table!

It was a busy day as we got Ryan set up with his school and counseling schedules. He'll meet with his teacher - whom we both really liked - each Monday from 9:30-noon. He completed an on-line application for Ralph's so tomorrow I'll take him by to talk to the store manager about any possible openings for part-time work. He came up with a schedule that also included his AA meetings and work-outs so we'll tweek it as the week goes on.

Dad had his first treatment for the bladder cancer this morning and it went well - ten minutes once he got called back - so can't beat that! One down, five to go! I'm also excited that my sister has business in San Diego on 12/13 so she's going to spend the weekend before that with us. Kelleigh has her sights set on lots of shopping...and of course we have to get Aunt Crystol her raspberry creams from See's!

It's hard to believe it's been nearly a week since Ryan came home. I am constantly amazed at how much he has changed over the last five months. He is responsible, helpful, considerate, and enjoying time with his siblings. He has gone to several AA meetings, met up with his sponsor (who is a New Life graduate), met a new guy at church today, and tomorrow will begin his independent study. I pray it just keeps getting better!

This weekend the Christmas decorations got put up. The worst part is always dragging all the things out but I'm always happy when it's done and enjoy the change.

Welcome Home Ryan!

Ryan has been homesick for a while and we have been working with the program Director as well as his counselor about the best time to bring him home. His counselor went up today and, after discussing what life would be like if he returned home versus staying in the program, he chose to give home a try. We are welcoming back a very different young man than the one we took in June. We are very proud of his progress and excited to have him home! We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Exciting phone call

We were excited today to get a call from Ryan's birth-great grandmother who lives in Germany. We had missed a couple of her calls and am so glad Mark was home when she called today. She is putting together a package of pictures for Ryan and told me how the other family members are doing (most of which was sad news). We are happy to be able to share pictures and make up for all the years we weren't in touch and look forward to a relationship with her.

Two weeks ago I took Ryan to get his picture taken for his junior year. He looks great and told us yesterday he is down to 225 lbs. which is amazing given he was over 260 when he got there five months ago. Picture below is he and the kids yesterday and Kelleigh with the guys' pet dog, Leah.

The kids have the week off and Kelleigh gets her cast off tomorrow - hurray! Got the last few things for Thanksgiving dinner today. Need to finish up a couple Christmas gifts since December is around the corner...yikes!

Today was an upsetting day as I talked to both Ryan and his house manager. Ryan admitted to me that he is very, very homesick and wants to come home. The manager is concerned he is not fully committed to the program and he needs to show he is or will be asked to leave. Since this is the program many boys come to when all the others fail, that was very upsetting news. I explained to Ryan that we love him too much to let him come home before he's better. There is no doubt between the holidays and the fact visits are so great since relationships are being healed that he thinks it would stay that way if he came home. Telling him he couldn't was very hard to do as we'd all love for him to be back. Saturday we will talk to him again so please pray that he finds peace and the desire to stay and change.

Cast #3

As you can see, Kelleigh is sporting cast #3. Because her wrist still hurts, she has a short cast for two more weeks. I imagine she'll have a wrist brace after this. At least the pink is nicer than the orange and black one!

I've been busy working on Christmas gifts as I wanted to give as many handmade items this year as I could. It's been productive and a fun way to spend my evenings. Would be so nice to have everything finished by the end of November . . . at least that's what I'm shooting for!

Had a nice visit with Ryan over the weekend. We went to Penney's and got his "junior" year picture taken as his school doesn't offer them for independent study students. Of course every family west of the Mississippi was there with their kids doing Christmas card pictures. It was a test in patience as one mother of a newborn changed her child into 15 different outfits. He looks great and has lost over 25 lbs. I'll post a picture when they arrive.

Friday the kids are off so a friend and I will be working on 50 ladybug baby shower invitations for her daughter. Here is the prototype:

Fortunately I have a machine to cut out the black body and red "shell" but it will still take us a while to assemble them. Her shell lifts up for the shower info. Cute isn't it?!

How did it get to be November already? The kids enjoyed what little bit of trick-or-treating they did last night and helped at a friend's with their haunted house. I'm not sure we even had 30 kids come by as most of them are too old now and no one ever wants to walk up our hill for a piece of candy! The kids were home by 8:00p, ate a couple pieces of candy, and that was that! Kelleigh was very annoyed that folks thought she was a pumpkin and asked me why they had to make her "bun" orange? I told her she should have asked them if they'd ever seen a pumpkin with lettuce and tomatos on them!

Mark and Connor went up yesterday morning to spend the day with Ryan and one of his housemates. They went to lunch at Johnny Rockets then to see the Facebook movie. Ryan was very excited and called me today to tell me what a great time he had. I spent the day working on some Christmas gifts as I'm trying to make as many this year as possible. My motivation is that it will not only force me to do something I enjoy but also be more meaningful to the recipients. Time will tell!

The maids were here this morning so my house is sparkly for a few minutes. Kell is counting down the days until she gets her cast off next Monday. I think I'm more excited than she is as I've seen enough of an orange and black arm!

A Halloween BBQ?

Don't they look delicious?

Soggy San Diego!

As much as we always need rain, I think 2.5 weeks is enough! The sun was out yesterday so I was hopeful we would see it today - we did...for about 15 minutes! Everything should grow rapidly when it decides to be sunny again. The guys did manage to mow the pasture out back as the dogs were starting to disappear it was so high.

Yesterday Kelleigh and I needed to make a stop for some new undergarments for her and she has been wanting and wanting a plaid skirt and fishnet tights. Where she saw this combo to be so locked onto it I don't know! So, once we got the items we needed, she was a woman on a mission. To her credit she found this skirt on sale but the tights more than made up for the savings! She has quite a figure so did look cute in the outfit which had to be worn to school today. It's always an experience shopping with her as some of the things she gravitates to are...let's just say...interesting!

We just returned from a conference with her teacher that she has for two classes. Turns out that she has done the assignments that weren't turned in so now she's to find them so she'll get at least 1/2 credit and get it up to a high B in hopes of turning that into an A. Doing the work and not turning it in is a concept that escapes me... She and Connor both get out at noon every day this week so teachers can hold conferences...lovely.

Saw Ryan this weekend and he's doing better. Still has some consequences for his 'escape conspiracy idea' but overall much more committed to the program. All the boys were going to a Halloween Party that all the young people AA meetings attend at the Crystal Cathedral. It was like watching a group of little kids at Christmas as they all talked about what they were wearing, if they were going to ask a girl to dance, etc. Haven't heard any details of it yet but am sure we will! He has lost a lot of weight and looked really good. I asked him to get a haircut before Saturday so I can take him to get a picture taken for his "junior year picture" as the school doesn't do it.

Kelleigh and I watched "Letters from Julliett" while the guys were at the football game Friday night. If you haven't seen it, it's worth renting but definitely a chick flick!

Great news

Just talked to Dad as he had his post-op appointment this morning. There was cancer in the bladder lining and they will do the BCG treatment beginning the end of November followed by exams every three months. Great news!


BCG for Bladder Cancer Treatment: An Overview

Biological treatment for bladder cancer uses the body's immune system to fight cancer. This is also called biotherapy or immunotherapy. This form of treatment is most often used after transurethral resection (TUR) for superficial bladder cancer. This helps prevent the cancer from coming back.

The doctor may use intravesical biological therapy with bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) solution. This solution contains live, weakened bacteria that stimulate the immune system to kill cancer cells in the bladder. The doctor will use a catheter (a thin, flexible tube) to put the solution in the bladder, and the patient will need to hold the solution in the bladder for about two hours. BCG bladder cancer treatment is usually done once a week for six weeks.

Some "Pinkish" Kids!

Today was Breast Cancer Awareness day at the kid's school so the students were to dress in pink. Took a few stops but we were finally able to find some pink hair spray too!

Dad update - His surgery went well yesterday. The mass in the bladder was malignant so next week they will find out to what extent to see what treatment will follow. The doctor was kind enough to also break up the kidney stone so a second surgery wouldn't be needed. He is sore but doing well. Pray for good news from the pathology report.

Halloween arm

Kelleigh's lovely Halloween cast...

Another new addition

Mark has a new car! Yes...after 12 years he has succumbed to new technology and today a 2010 Prius was delivered (after much ado at the dealership) with all the gadgets. It had just been driven off the truck so doesn't get much newer than that. The 51 mpg will help offset my Escalade's mileage!

Below is my "Cal" boy who had a wonderful time in Berkeley...

Medical updates:

Dad will have surgery on Thursday for a mass in his bladder which originally they thought was a blood clot. Once the pathology report comes back, they will proceed as appropriate. They are not doing anything for the kidney stones at the moment. I thought it would be nice to at least break them up while he was knocked out!

Kelleigh is now sporting a new Halloween cast - orange with black stripes. Lovely. I am so delighted to look at it for another 4 weeks. They still can't determine if her wrist is broken/fractured/whatever but since she is still in pain with it, another cast was needed.

Think that's enough excitement for one day! Did get a call a few minutes ago from Ryan and he reported that he'd had a good day and was feeling better. Since he's never called this late before I was almost afraid to answer the phone... :)

Weekend update

Dad update - he is home and will see a specialist tomorrow as they also found blood in his prostrate. He is quite upset and chances are great he will be hospitalized tomorrow. Please keep him in your prayers.

Ryan update - just finished an emotional conversation with him and he's a much humbler child. I guess three days of solitude and reflection gives you plenty of opportunity to think about right versus wrong. All I can do is hope he learns from it and is more commited as a result.

An Up and Down Weekend

Wow - where do I start?

My Dad is in the ER as I write as he has a blood clot in his bladder and another kidney stone. Very upsetting news. Am waiting on call back from Mom as to what the next step is. The man definitely deserves a break.

Friday Mark and Connor left for their weekend adventure in Berkeley. Given Connor's excitement level for weeks, I wasn't sure he would make it until the day of departure! He did and they left arriving in Berkeley near midnight. They met longtime friends for the Cal vs UCLA game on a beautiful day in the Bay Area. Ate at all the old haunts and enjoyed watching Cal win easily over their rivals. No doubt Connor will be talking about this for days on end. Assuming they took pictures, I will post them when they get home later today. While the boys were away, "the girls" enjoyed an incredibly delicious dinner and evening with friends. It was great!

I didn't go see Ryan yesterday as he's in a lot of trouble and wouldn't have been able to visit with me. We found out Thursday night that he and three other boys were scheming to run away. While it was a hair-brained idea which wouldn't have worked, it was a scheme nonetheless and one that needed dealth with. The two older boys got moved to other houses within the program; Ryan has restrictions and 50K words to write which will keep him busy through tomorrow at least. To add to the drama, one of the boy's family is a friend of ours and he chose to run away. While his departure was short lived, it was upsetting. He did return to the house thanks to the incredible strength his mom showed by telling him she wouldn't come get him or support his decision hence he was on his own if that was his decision. I was sooo proud of her. Ryan will be allowed to call when he's finished his words at which point I will remind him of the privilege and opportunity he's been given and stop with the nonsense.

So...since I wasn't going to see him I painted a bedroom which I'd gotten new bedding for and am thrilled with the end result. Now to clean up the paint supplies, etc....ugh...

Mark is off tomorrow but the kids aren't. Weather is absolutely beautiful so hope to enjoy it a little after a trip to the grocery store. Hope your weekend has been enjoyable.

p.s. Below is a gorgeous Fall arrangement Blanche made - she is so amazing.

October already?

Wow - where did September go? While I'm ready for the Fall season, I am so NOT ready for the holiday season! I saw Ryan on Saturday and he's continuing to do well. All the boys got a flu shot and some weren't feeling so good yesterday as a result. Between the extreme heat and sudden chill, two of them have pneumonia so I reminded him about taking care of himself. All the boys (who were well enough!) went to a hockey game between the Ducks and Red Wings last night. Was the first time he'd seen a hockey game live and he really liked it although seemed surprised at the fact there was a fight! He also began school last week so does work for that daily and meets with the teacher each Thursday.

We enjoyed a little bit of rain today and much cooler weather. Was nice for a change. Mark has a cold which is bad timing since he and Connor are driving up to Berkeley Friday after school for the Cal homecoming game on Saturday. He's been winded a lot lately so had an EKG and was scheduled for a stress test to determine if it's a heart or lung issue. It's certainly not due to lack of cardio workouts as I've never met anyone more fanatical about his workouts!

Tomorrow Shuttermart is installing the shutters for the two bedrooms on the front of the house. Saturday my plan is to paint the small bedroom to match some new bedding I'd ordered. Then we are done for a long time on home improvements!

Hot Pink cast

Kelleigh is the lucky recipient of a hot pink full arm cast which goes well with the 106 degree day. Because of the swelling it has cuts in it to allow for expansion so another ace bandage covers the pink which really annoys her! They re-xrayed her entire arm as she was having more pain in her wrist and fingers than her elbow. While no obvious breaks were seem, he thinks there may be fractures in the growth plates and won't risk it. This cast will be on for two weeks, then more xrays, and possibly be exchanged for a short one. At the moment we can't figure out a way for her to write so I had to write her homework for her. Okay at home but not too handy at school!

My post-op exam resulted in the soft cast being removed but the bandages are still on the incision. He was as unhappy as I am that the tendon is still "snapping" given that is what drove me to have the surgery. He said there was a lot of tissue he had to cut away due to the cortisone shots and long time I'd put up with it. He is still hopeful that in time it will work it's way lose and bring relief. I have the lovely brace to wear and am to take breaks and 'exercise' it. At the moment it's very sore and hurting from him moving it. I felt so nauseous when he removed the cast that I was trying not to faint or throw up. Of course the a/c was out on the 4th and 5th floor of the medical building which didn't help!

Sadly the guy who showed so much interest in the car and for which we made arrangements to meet in Los Alamitos isn't going to buy it now. So annoying. Good test in patience I guess!

Buddy's Visit

Ryan was sooo surprised when Buddy walked in today! I wish I could have captured the joy on his face when he saw him at the end of the hall and as he ran to see him...priceless. Buddy made it clear he would not have anything to do with the puppy at the house but was happy to be petted by anyone who cared to!

Of course Ryan was surprised to see his sister's arm and talked to Mark and I about stopping at the mall so he could get her a belated birthday gift as "he knew just what he wanted to get her". When Mark took them out to get lunch (to bring back), they stopped at the mall and he got her a cute pair of sunglasses. He was so proud of himself and it was sweet to see he was thinking about her.

It was over 100 degrees today and is to be up to 103 tomorrow. Fortunately to start cooling off as the week goes on. Tomorrow's orthopedic appointments will determine if Kelleigh and I are out of luck for any pool time this week!

Another ER visit

Just in time for a heat wave Kelleigh fell today playing at a friend's house and landed very hard on her elbow. I knew we had to make the ER trip as she had tingling in her fingers and pain in her arm. She did indeed fracture her elbow so Monday we will see if she'll stay in her soft cast for a spell or get a hard cast. I have my orthopedic appointment Monday for my post-op so she'll probably just tag along!

Tomorrow we made arrangements to see Ryan since Connor has had lacrosse on Saturdays and will for another 5 weeks. He doesn't know that we are bringing Buddy with us! Will post some pictures of that "reunion" tomorrow!

Spectacular peacock

I received an email with pictures of this albino peacock - they are too beautiful not to share.