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I am a wife, a mom, an occupational therapist and a photographer.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

146. Unknown Injury

Nicholas went to work with Allan today; they had made an appointment to go to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store in Northridge to get Nicholas' phone fixed (it's falling apart!), Allan's iPod fixed and Anthony's iPod fixed. Turns out, they don't fix anything, they just either replace them if it's still under "Apple Care" or you can get another one for 50% off. So, Nicholas is getting a new iPhone for free and the two iPods will be replace at 50% of the cost of a new one. It's not a bad deal considering that Anthony's iPod is over 4 years old!
Then in the afternoon, Allan took Nicholas to the doctor to have that "lump" on his thigh checked out. Good news is, it's not a hernia. Bad news is, they took a bunch of X-rays and the doctor still doesn't know what it is. Could be a cyst, calcification from a previous injury, an enlarged lymph node, etc. He will review the X-rays carefully and is supposed to call me tomorrow to discuss what to do next. In the meantime, he didn't say that Nicholas could not play any sports so he will try to go to Cross Country practice tomorrow.
Hopefully we can figure this out quickly and I cross my fingers that it's nothing serious!

Monday, May 30, 2011

145. Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day to all! I hope everyone had a great day. Ours was great! We spent the afternoon among good friends, enjoying good food and good company. The Scagliones and the Moultons came over for a BBQ. While the adults sat in the shade, sipping some Mike's Hard Lemonades, the kids had a great time playing hide and seek and having "water balloons" fights.
Our three families get together at least 4 times a year; New Year's Eve, Memorial Day, 4th of July and Thanksgiving. We truly enjoy each other's company and the kids always have a blast! And today was no different...

144. Wii

Nicholas and Anthony played for a few hours on the Wii yesterday. They enjoy playing many games but I prefer the ones where they actually have to move around (even if it's just standing up and pretend to stretch a bow and an arrow). The game is set up in the family room and it has been a problem; I can't watch tv when I want to, because they want to play and they can't always play because it's the main tv. We discussed moving the game upstairs in the playroom. The problem with this solution is that I am afraid they would fight constantly over the game. Plus, they are so loud when they play that doing anything else would be impossible anyways. So for now, it is staying in the family room. This way I can monitor how much they are playing, who is playing it, and I can remind them to be a little more quiet!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

143. Long Weekend

Saturday... First day of a long weekend! No volleyball games, no soccer, nothing to do other than spend some quality time with the family and friends. The boys went to the beach, and Nicholas came back injured. Possibly a hernia! Need to make a doctor's appointment for him for early next week.
Since Christina can't go to the beach until her cast comes off, we went shopping and watched a movie at home. Spent some quality time with my girl!
More R&R planned for tomorrow; maybe go for a hike with the family, but other than that, nothing! It's nice to be able to just sit, relax, read a good book and not worry about all sorts of things! Wish we had more long weekends like that!

Friday, May 27, 2011

142. Doodles

Anthony loves to doodle! 
His favorite subjects to doodle are probably dragons. 
Although I have also seen doodles of Pokemon characters, sharks, and other animals.
Here are two of his latest creations:



Notice how he signs even his doodles...

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

140. The Viking Vibratos!

Allan and myself went to see Christina's musical performance at school this morning.
It was a performance from all the 3rd and 4th graders with a few 2nd graders.
There was over 80 kids there, all fighting for space on a tiny stage!
I tried to video tape her performance but for most songs, all you can see of Christina are her eyes!
Only one video clip is worth showing... even though you kind of have to find her!
Hint: she is wearing a light blue t-shirt and she is the one with a blue cast!


Tuesday, May 24, 2011

139. Photowalks

Last year, I started a "52 photowalks" project. The idea was to go for a walk or hike in or around Santa Clarita and take photos at the same time. I love landscape photography, but I'm not very good at it. I thought that such a project would help me develop an eye for taking better landscape pictures. I think I did 5 or maybe 6 photowalks and then stopped. I got bored of taking pictures without people in them!
Then, this weekend, I went hiking with Christina and gave it a try, once again.
I took photos of the creek/water, flowers, trees, etc. When I look at a scenery, I think: "it's beautiful"... But somehow, I seem to always fail to capture the entire beauty of it. But I am reminded of one of Anthony's favorite quote from Thomas H. Palmer:

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again
Don't give up too easily, persistence pays off in the end.

138. Untitled

The end of the school year is coming soon... too soon!
Although, I am looking forward to Summer time;
No lunch to make, no water bottles to refill, no more worrying about homework...
That means I get at least 1/2 hour more sleep every morning (if Rocky lets me sleep!).

Monday, May 23, 2011

137. Soccer, Soccer and more Soccer!

Yesterday was another busy day with lots of soccer events! Anthony had a semi-private soccer training session in the morning. He came back tired but happy. He really likes this trainer and his trainer knows how to get the best out of him. Something we have been struggling with for years! Unfortunately, this trainer doesn't coach Anthony's age group anymore.
In the afternoon, Nicholas had a scrimmage at Central Park. That was painful to watch... The boys lost by 4 or 5. I stopped counting after 3. But it's not the loss that was painful but how the coach and the players handled it; The coach yelled the whole game and the boys ignored him and at the end, it's like they didn't even care! This is Nicholas' second year with this coach and while last year had it's ups and downs, overall it was pretty good. Nicholas learned a lot. But this year, the team is at a stand still and I think that this coach has given us everything he can give. Unfortunately, he doesn't see it that way!
On a lighter note, Christina's team was invited to the SCV Blue Heat opening game. They got to walk on the field with the players and played a scrimmage at half time against another AYSO U10 team. Christina had a great time despite the fact that she couldn't play due to her broken arm!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

136. Snake

I had a busy day, today; Anthony and I had 4 volleyball games this morning. He played great (as usual) and we both had a lot of fun. I also went hiking with Christina at Placerita Park. We didn't go for a long hike. But I wanted to get her some exercise and since she is not aloud to do much because of her cast, I thought hiking would be perfect.
We went on the "Heritage Trail", saw the "Oak of the Golden Dreams" and other historic stuff. We continued on to the "Botany Trail" where we saw lots of flowers, lizards, squirrels and birds. And somewhere down the trail we saw three of the biggest black crows I have ever seen. They were huge and we obviously disturbed whatever they were doing (probably eating some dead creature on the path). But what ever it was that we interrupted, we will never know because at the same moment, Christina started to scream and says that she saw a big snake! I didn't see anything but heard whatever creature we scared. We quickly turned around and backtracked to the Nature Center.
When we got back home, we watched "All The Right Moves" a fun movie about a girl playing soccer and trying to make it on to the National Team. And now, I am watching a soccer game with Allan and Nicholas. But truth be told, I am exhausted and will probably fall asleep on the couch before the end of the game! Hopefully, Rocky will let me sleep in a little tomorrow morning...

Friday, May 20, 2011

135. Cast

As promised, here are some photos of Christina with her cast.
We went to the orthopedist today for a follow up appointment; took some X-Rays and everything looks good. Assuming there are no complications, she should get it off in 4 weeks. Just in time for summer fun!




Thursday, May 19, 2011

134. Self Portrait 4

I'm really out of ideas... So time to try the Self Portraits again!
I don't like how I look in front of the camera; I'm not very photogenic!
I guess I truly captured the essence of me!

133. More Awards

Last night was Nicholas' Spring Sports Banquet. Having participated in Track, Nicholas naturally attended the award ceremony. Once again, he received a "Scholar Athletic Award" for maintaining a grade point average of or above 3.5. The first two times he received this award, I was upset because instead of addressing the certificate to Nicholas Devantier, it was addressed to Nick Devantier. So I made sure that Nicholas talked to his coaches before this Banquet.
And this time, he received a certificate bearing his full name. Yay! Well almost yay!. He also received a Certificate of Participation addressed to Nick Devantier for his participation in the Junior Varsity Track! That's two mistakes on one certificate; his name, and the fact that he was on the Frosh Team! Well, I guess one out of two is more than none... Hopefully, by next year, they will get it and address all his awards to Nicholas Devantier!
As for Nicholas, he is glad that school is almost over. It's been a busy year filled with excitement. But he is also tired and needs a break. Hang in there, son. Only one more week of school...

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

132. Algebra

We received this letter from La Mesa Junior High School; Anthony scored well on the placement test and therefore will be taking Algebra 1 next year. It's hard to believe that Anthony is graduating from Elementary school and moving on to Middle School! What happened to my sweet, easy going, baby boy!

Monday, May 16, 2011

131. Citrus Cup

This past weekend, Anthony got to play in a tournament, with the SCV Magic team he has been practicing with since January. The tournament was in Riverside and it was a very poorly organized tournament; They almost didn't play their second game because the other team didn't show up. The schedule had been changed at the last minute and apparently, a lot of teams didn't check. Fortunately, another team from the same age division but from a different pool also didn't have an opponent! So they ended up playing a "friendly" against that team.
Then on Sunday morning, after an hour and a half drive, we find out that again, the team we were supposed to play wasn't there. But since that team was a local team, they were able to get their players to show up and the boys were able to play!
I have been to many tournaments since Nicholas joined a tournament team in AYSO. But I had never been to such a poorly organized competition! You can be sure that we will never go back to this tournament again!

130. Technical Difficulties


I have been having some technical difficulties... My photo editing software is causing some trouble! Spend the whole weekend (in between soccer games) trying to fix it and in my last attempt, my computer started to act up! Time to call the experts!
I think I mentioned earlier that Christina's soccer team had a soccer tournament this weekend at the same time as Anthony was having a tournament. I ended up going with Anthony while Allan went with Christina. Anthony's team lost their first two games and tied the last one. They didn't qualify for the playoffs.
But Christina's team won their first two games on Saturday and lost the third one but qualified to play for third place. They lost the Finals but ended up in 4th place! The girls were very happy about the result and all the parents were very proud.
P.S. I couldn't take a photo since I wasn't there so I asked Allan to take one... When I noted that you can't see one of the girls, he replied: "this is why you are the photographer and not me!"
At least you can see Christina clearly and you can see her cast!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

129. What a week!

First, Blogger has been having some technical difficulties and I wasn't able to post for the last two days! It's OK though because I was having some major creative difficulties! It's getting harder to find things that are interesting for me to photograph. I was having "photographer's block". But then, on Thursday night, something major happened... Christina broke her wrist in practice.
She went to soccer practice with Allan. They were gone for about 25 minutes when I got a call from Allan saying that Christina hurt herself pretty bad at practice. Now, with Christina, you never know how serious it is because of her Drama Queen act! But when I saw her arm, I could tell it was broken right away!
So we went to the Urgent Care to get some X-Rays and sure enough, she has a fracture of the distal radius (the bigger bone in the forearm). They put a splint on and bandaged her pretty good and sent us home to wait for a referral to the orthopedist.
Good thing our Medical Group is pretty good... at 8:05 AM the next morning I got a call asking when we wanted to go see the orthopedist. So yesterday, we went and got a cast on (see next post for photo). 
She is doing fine, not in pain. She will have the cast on for 5 weeks and the doctor doesn't want her to do any physical activity for at least the first week to make sure that the bones are healing in the proper alignment. Unfortunately, 5 weeks means that her soccer season is over! I guess a little break won't kill her!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

128. Oups!

I realized today, that I forgot to post a photo for yesterday. It's not that I didn't have time, I just forgot! So I will have to post twice in one day, sometime this week. However, today was difficult to find the time or the subject to photograph. I thought I would have time to take some photos during Christina's soccer practice, but later remembered that Anthony has music lesson at the same time. Not to mention that I had to make dinner early so Nicholas could eat before his soccer practice.
So I picked up a couple of pine cones at the park where I dropped off Christina for her practice. I took a few shots in between feeding the dogs and cooking dinner and came up with this one.

Monday, May 9, 2011

127. Mother's Day


I took this video of the kids today, to wish my mom a Happy Mother's Day.
I find it very interesting that you can see all three kids' personality reflected in this video;
Nicholas, serious and to the point,
Christina, reflecting on her past experiences,
and Anthony, always the comic relief!
I hope all the moms I know out there had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

126. Volleyball

Today was Anthony's first volleyball games! We signed him up for USYVL (United States Youth Volleyball League) a while back and I signed up to be the coach. It's a recreational league where the kids are taught the basic skills of volleyball in a friendly environment. Both Allan and myself played volleyball in a co-ed rec. league before we had kids and we both loved it! Since Anthony is on the fence with soccer, we thought that maybe volleyball would be a good sport to take up. So today, he played 4 games and says that he had fun!

The White Outs!



He still has a lot to learn, but he is definitely one of the better players on the "court". Let's hope he continues to enjoy this sport!

125. Alternative Fuel

Allan came back from Germany today. He was gone for 4 days for a business trip. This was also our first dinner together in a week. And the kids were very chatty! I mentioned, in passing, that gas prices should go down as the the price of oil has dropped a  lot in the last 2 days. That comment got the ball rolling... Allan stated that we really should try harder to find efficient alternative fuel and Nicholas started to mention some of the alternative fuel he has learned in his Environmental Science class. He and Allan debated the pros and cons of each source while Christina kept talking about inventing "hover cars" that would use magnets! Anthony tried to reason with her that it would only work to keep the cars up above the ground but you would still need a motor and fuel to propel the car. It was an interesting conversation... And I realized that my kids are growing up! They can now engage in a serious topic like debating the pros and cons of alternative fuel with an adult. They are smart and creative and I love to hear what they have to say about the environment. After all, they are the future! It's good that they have an opinion and can come up with a few ideas (even though they sound a little crazy!).

Thursday, May 5, 2011

124. High School Volleyball

The boys and I went to see a High School volleyball game this afternoon; the Hart High Indians were visiting the GVHS Grizzlies. Nicholas and Anthony's good friend Dominic plays for the Grizzlies.
Nicholas and I wanted to go see him play for a while but could never do it because of schedule conflict. I also wanted Anthony to watch a High School volleyball game... See what it's all about and feel the excitement. He said it was pretty cool. Who knows? Maybe when he gets to High School, volleyball could be a good sport for him to try out for.
In the meantime, he has his first volleyball game this coming Saturday. We are both looking forward to it. From what I have seen during practices, it should be fun!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

123. Teachers appreciation Week

This week is Teachers Appreciation Week at Valley View Community School.
The PTA sent a letter with a detailed schedule of what to bring to your teacher.
Monday was bring a flower or flowers from your garden
Tuesday was bring a fruit
Today was bring a homemade card
I'm not sure what tomorrow is
But I know that Friday is bring a small present day.
All great ideas... If you only have one teacher, plenty of time to think about it or if your kids remind you!
Each year, I end up doing the same thing... At the last minute, I get a gift card for each teacher that the kids bring on Friday.
This year, I went a step further and made Thank You cards.
The only problem is that Christina has two teachers. One teaches Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the other on Thursday and Friday. So I already missed one of them and she well get her card/gift late!
Oh! Well! It's the thought that counts... Right?


122. Last Track Meet

Well, it's over! Nicholas participated in his last Track Meet of the season... Foothill League Prelim. He ran the 3200m. He was one of 4 Frosh (Freshmen/ Sophomore combined) from his school who was invited. He was #16 seed and ran an OK race, finishing in 11:20 minutes. His Personal Record for this season is 10:55 min.
Let's just say that the conditions were not ideal... All the athletes left school at 11:00 AM for the meet. But Nicholas didn't run until 7:00 PM. He spent the day in the hot sun, cheering his team mates. He just wasn't prepared for that either... He only packed a small lunch (pasta) and had no money with him to buy anything else to eat. Needless to say that when came time to race, he was already tired, hungry and hot! I'm not trying to make excuses for him. All the other runners were in the same boat! But all things considered, he did well.
I think he is also tired and needs a break... He hasn't stopped since Winter Break was over. And between school work, running practices and soccer, he is exhausted. Allan was complaining that in his last few soccer games, Nicholas hasn't been playing that well. I had to remind him that he shouldn't be complaining about a few so so games. Nicholas is a straight "A" student taking all AP and Honors classes. He has participated in 3 different sports at school: Cross Country, Soccer and Track and is still playing Club Soccer on top of all that! It is way more than most kids his age! And I am VERY proud of him!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

121. Sub Sandwich

We had dinner at "Jersey Mikes" tonight... With Allan out of town and all the kids' activities, I have a feeling that we will be eating out more than once this week. But last night, we went to Jersey Mikes because it was a fundraiser for Golden Valley's Track & Field Team. The sandwiches are pretty good there, but it's more expansive than "Subways". We like Subways a lot, and in the summer, when we go to the beach, we get our sandwiches from there. Plus with a $5 footlong sandwich, you can't beat that!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

120. May

May is already here! Nicholas counted the days until he is done school: 25 days! He already finished STAR testing which is the State testing that all kids from Grade 2 and above take. Tomorrow, he is scheduled to take is first Advanced Placement test: AP Environmental Science. If he does well, and passes the test, he could use his score for college credit! 
Anthony's first volleyball game is next Saturday; we are both looking forward to it! When I asked him if he likes volleyball so far, he gave me the "thumbs up" sign. He also has a concert scheduled for May 15th. He will be performing a piano piece and a guitar solo.
Christina played her third and last game for this weekend's tournament this morning and both myself and Allan were proud of the way she played. She played smart and played hard all the way to the end of the game (they were once again without subs). And despite loosing 2-0, all the girls were happy.

119. No Subs

So proud of Christina and her soccer team, the "Green & White Dynamite".
They had to play two games yesterday, without subs.
That means two full games with only water breaks!
They played well, they played as a team, and they played hard til the end!
Way to go girls!