Rachael...Extraordinaire!

When I became a mother, I had no idea that "Mother" was the only thing that would really define who I was. Not that it is a bad thing...I'm just one that likes to have the word "Extraordinaire" tacked on to anything I do. To be Extraordinaire, one needs to be outstanding or remarkable in a particular capacity. Though I may not be "Mom...Extraordinaire", I can definitely tack that word onto many aspects of what I do as a mother, but honestly, this is all beside my point(I really just wanted to tack the word "Extraordinaire" to this blog).

I wanted to come up with a list of things about me. Positive, Negative, Embarrassing, Awesome, Funny...and maybe a little Interesting. It's hard to remember that the mom who is taking care of everyone else actually is a person with a past, a passion, dreams, and skeletons in the closet. A mom has, had, and will have a life again. So here's a little list all about me...(hopefully it doesn't take me hours or phone calls to particular people to come up with the list).

1. My name is spelled RachAel...with an A. No, it's not like the Rachel from the bible although it is pronounced the same way. Racial and Rochelle are two totally different names and I will not answer to either of them. I will always forgive my mother-in-law, who even after 13 years of marriage to her son, still spells my name like the Rachel of Old.

2. My cooking is off the hook! I make the meanest Grilled Cheese Sandwiches around...

3. I sang the National Anthem as well as the Canadian Anthem at Arco Arena for a Roller Hockey game shortly after I graduated from High School. I guess I sounded OK, I did have to try out for the part.

4. Used to sing "Your Mama's on Crack Rock" when I was a kid, and after watching the video for that song recently and actually listened to the words, I couldn't believe my Mama, let me listen to it!

5. I knew I was going to marry my husband when I was 14 years old...of course, I was going to marry all the cute guys I knew!

6. I sucked my thumb until I was 12 years old. As a result, I will now have to fork out a mini fortune to un-buck my teeth.

7. I still sleep with a blanket...it's not a special one, anything silky will do. At the same time I developed my unruly thumb sucking habit, I also obtained a "rub the silky material between two fingers" habit. I get some of my best thinking done while hanging out with my blanky!

8. I'm ambidextrous. I write and bat while playing ball left handed, I also wear a watch (If I wear one at all), on my left side. Everything else I do with my right. I eat with both hands and even though I write on paper with my left hand, I prefer to write on a chalk board (or the like) with my right hand.

9. I'm a Facebook junkie

10. Cannot stand to talk on the telephone. Texting or email is my preferred communication route.

11. I have no sense of style...whatsoever...I don't even own hairspray.

12. I am a middle child (#3 of 5) and I show the classic "middle child syndrome" signs.

13. I love watching Survivor but know my limits and will never try out...Big Brother on the other hand...Totally!

14. I can probably make you believe anything I say. I once got a co-worker to believe I was a topless singer in a bar.... I quickly filled him in that I was actually Mormon and would NEVER have enough guts to remove my top while singing in a bar or even want to for that matter, I quickly let him know before our lunch break was over that I was not telling him the truth before he could go start that fabulous rumor about me.

15. I am a plant killer...not on purpose though...ask the tomatoes in my back yard...oh, wait, nevermind... they're dead.

16. I think my kids are smarter than all the other kids their age, but know you don't want to hear the details about it.

17. Used to think I knew everything...turns out I don't.

18. Takes 5 minute showers most days because it's just another chore to mark off my daily list (and I don't want my house to burn down since child supervision is not existant during this time).

19. One day I'm going to go to NYC to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway...now if I could only get enough courage to get on a plane to get there.

20. I can quote more than enough lines from Phantom of the Opera...I can sing Opera too, but you'll probably never hear me since I don't do it in public.

21. I love to scrapbook (digitally mostly). I love photography, all kinds of crafts, organization, cleanliness, short socks, Converse, long shorts, Twilight, sugar cookies, sushi, diet Pepsi (and actually knew a girl in middle school named Pepsi after the soft drink). I don't like folding laundry, cooking, alarm clocks, most TV shows, and shopping.

22. Instead of complaining...I just do. It's easier that way!

23. I used to be very outgoing, now I just sit back and observe...One can learn a lot while watching people and their doings...sometimes I get annoyed when I am people watching and someone bothers me...even on dates with my husband.

24. I am a total emotional eater. Happy, Sad, Excited, Bored...you name it, I'll eat. I even have the girlish figure to prove this.

25. When someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always answered without a doubt "A Mom". And it's the best job in the world!

ONE MORE:

I used to watch my sister in law give her baby coke and couldn't believe she would do it. I wonder how many people think the same of me now that Carly gets a good amount of diet pepsi in her system.

Kid Quote

Malia: "You guys better be quiet or you'll get 100 checkmarks."

Ethan: "Uh, there's no such thing as THAT many checkmarks."

Malia: "Ok, 50 then!"

See...I Told You!

I told you I love vampires...





I have the cutest one living in my house!

Gettin' Hitched!

It seems as if there's either a ton of stuff happening, or nothing at all. October has proved to be a month of many happenings, but for now, I'd like to share one special one...

This is my little brother Jake:



Isn't he a handsome one?

Recently, I read his facebook page that had a note to his lady that said "I was thinking if you don't have any plans this weekend, we should totally get married. Yes?" and her reply was "I think my schedule is clear. Let's get hitched!" So...On October 17th, he made this lovely lady a Mrs:



Isn't she gorgeous? (BTW, the wedding was planned...just want to make that clear, for those of you who are delusional and think you could pull a wedding off like this in a weekend)











(These awesome photos were from their wedding photographers and my photographer idols, Chris and Jen Stewart of www.JenStewartPhotography.com)

It was an honor for me to be asked to be a bridesmaid and though I cannot speak for Patrick, I'm sure he was honored to be asked as a groomsmen.



And Ethan learned what a ring bearer was. He says when asked what a ring bearer is: "I bring the ring to Uncle Jake and then he puts the ring on Aunt Sarah's finger." He was a handsome son of a gun:



The day was absolutely amazing! And the rain didn't even bring it down. It was such a fun filled relaxing day/night. I don't know if anyone was actually stressed out about the day, but if there was, it didn't show. Everything ran smoothly and seemed just perfect.

One of the highlights of the evening (especially if you ask Malia) was the photo booth. I guess it's a new trend for I have seen these types of pictures around a lot lately, but this was the first that I actually got to experience the process. It's an actual Photobooth like the kind you would see at an amusement park that spits out 4 photos of you and whoever is in it with you... What a great souvenir, and trust me, I have a lot of them (most of them containing a certain 8 year old). These are just a few, when Jake and Sarah get the CD, I'll probably dedicate an entire post to the memory of the "Photobooth". Picture of a picture (I need a new scanner), kind of cruddy, but you get the point.









Since it was a school night and I inherited an extra child for the night (what's another kid anyway?), we headed out a little early, but not before watching Ethan break dance on the dance floor and twirl his cousin Rylie in a manly manner. All the kids enjoyed the dance floor which was shared by some crazy guy dancing disgustingly with my dad's girlfriend and other various women. I ran into him in the elevator before we left...he was gay...Ha!

The rehearsal and luncheon happened the day before. I was able to send the two older girls off to their soccer games with friends who were willing to keep them until late in the afternoon. The wedding was at the Citizen Hotel in downtown Sacramento. It's a very 1940ish style hotel with political type artwork adorning the place. Perfect for both Jake and Sarah's style. I really fell in love with the lobby. It had a study feel. Books all around and dim lights. Rich red and gold colors. Calming and soothing really.







Rehearsal lasted less than an hour and the pastor did a fine job of keeping everybody entertained with his witty remarks as he did the day of the wedding also. A big thank you to my sister in law Kelli, who watched Carly while Patrick, Ethan, and I rehearsed our parts, but even a BIGGER thank you for her watching all four kids and getting them dressed AND watched them during the ceremony on the actual wedding day. I think that act alone has confirmed her feelings about having just one child and being ok with it :-)



After rehearsal, we headed over to the Embassy Suites where a special luncheon was provided. The food was amazing:





the company was good, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen presents were off the hook! (did I just write that?)

The ladies got awesome bracelets and scarves from Sarah and though I'm not a person who wears jewelry, I LOVE my bracelet! The scarf is cute too :-)



I hadn't seen Jake for quite some time before the wedding...possibly because he was busy painting the children of all the groomsmen and other various paintings as his "thank you" to the men in his line. Just check out this kid's talent...absolutely AMAZING!

















Although the gift was actually for Patrick, I benefited as well. Jake's quote to me "Sorry I made your kids look like vampires." Apparently he hasn't read my blog, because if he did, he would know that I LOVE vampires...

RAYA:



This is the picture he used as a reference:



MALIA:



And the picture for reference:



ETHAN:



Reference:



and CARLY:



Reference:



Ethan couldn't have been any happier when he opened up a rad Star Wars t-shirt and BLUE light saber. That definitely made being a ring bearer even more awesome!



The weekend was great. I'm so excited to have another amazing sister. The only problem is...how to differentiate between Sarah, my biological sister, and Sarah, my new sister...I guess what's been working with the kids is calling her "The New Aunt Sarah"! Welcome to the family Sarah...I'm sure it won't be too long, before you look like this:

(No, I am not implying that she is already pregnant and this was a shotgun wedding. 1. Jake would be an awesome dad, I've seen how he is with my kids and 2. Sarah has mentioned to me that she would welcome children real soon. So people, let's clear that rumor to be right up now. Thanks!

Apple Milk?

Our family ventured out to Apple Hill yesterday. As to be expected it was crowded. It was probably the most crowded that we've ever seen. So much so, that we hit a few farms and went home. The kids enjoyed our short adventure. We...

found a small pumpkin patch:







and even though our sisters could, no matter how hard we tried, we just couldn't smile normally:









We ran through a hay maze:





And played with Daddy:





We saw farm animals in love:



And weeds flowers on the nature trail:



We played on old tractors:



And for whatever reason, decided to dance:





We found cool places to stop for photos:



And wondered what possibly could have happened for a sign like this to be posted:



Even though we didn't get our faces painted or ride the ponies, we had a blast! And lucky for us, we ate apple donuts and we got apple pie and apple cider to enjoy the next day. On the way home, we discussed everything apple including apple milk. We also watched Scooby Doo:



And drew until we got carsick:





And though the days events were exciting...some of us didn't quite make it home awake:


(Patrick wouldn't let me post the picture of him sleeping while driving. Somehow he thinks it would be incriminating...)