Another amazing year for the Walkers! Wow, where do we start? Thankfully, Facebook has kept us all up to date, but here is a little update on how each of us is doing:

First, we introduce our newest family member, Shadow! He turned one in November. He is a sweet, yet super wild lab/pit mix puppy. Despite a few flaws and a rough start with some rescue pup-type health problems, we got him all fixed up and he is a perfectly imperfect addition to our active family. Shadow loves to play fetch, bark at other dogs, pee when you pet or talk to him, and chew stuff he isn’t supposed to.

Nicolas just turned 11 and is in the fifth grade. He is an honor roll student, which is awesome! He has adjusted extremely well and continues to make new friends. He started swim team this fall, but said he wanted to return to football, so we will be doing that next year! He is also getting the technology bug, texting and what not; we are doing our best to keep that in check! Nicolas is amazing on rollerblades and ice skates, and mommy is working hard to convince him to play ice hockey. I am not kidding; he is ridiculously good on skates. Stay tuned!!! We are very proud of Nicolas; he is sweet, smart, friendly, and very funny. And don’t tell anyone (hehe) he still loves to be snuggled and tucked into bed every night (which I am sure is short-lived, but we will take it for now!).

Madison turned 10 last month and she is in 4^th grade. She has adjusted extremely well to the move, made a lot of friends and is a friend to everyone she meets. She is a straight A student and we think that is pretty impressive. She is an avid reader and takes after her mom in that she is not into anything sci-fi, just the “real-life, girly stuff”. This fall, she started swim team and improved very fast. While the kids (and mom) decided to take the winter off from swim team, she did say she would like to return in the spring and maybe try water polo (to mom’s delight!!! Oh yeah, and maybe soccer-uh, ok, maybe). Madison is very smart, kind, competitive, and quite an athlete; she is just an amazing little girl!

Evan is 7 and in the 2^nd grade. Evan is slowly warming up to CA. His transition has been a little more difficult, although he is doing well. He is extremely smart (all A’s), and a voracious learner. Evan is a speed reader and I can’t believe how fast he finishes a book. He loves the Beast Quest series right now, but reads everything Nicolas and Madison read (and even faster J, shh). Evan is quite the techie too these days. He helps me with my computer and my ipod, which is just crazy! He also joined the swim team and he is fast!!! He caught on very quickly and I really hope he continues in the spring. Evan loves to go fishing and mountain biking with daddy, and we enjoying watching him blossom. While a challenge at times, he really is a very interesting, sweet, introverted, and fun-loving kid. He definitely adds some spice to our lives!

Malory will be 5 next month and she is still our spunky little miss independence and quite the fashionista. Malory loves to play with stuffed animals, ride her bike, and control the Wii. She is being homeschooled for preschool this year. It is fun and she is learning a lot. This year, Malory mastered three under water summersaults, riding without training wheels, and ice skating. She is very active, but really loves to sit and play “house” and “dogs”. It is interesting to see the twins’ differences and similarities. They are both very close, best buddies most of the time, and I still melt when I see them holding hands (which is quite often).

Bryce will also be 5 next month and he is still our little snuggle bug. The “Wookie” as he is also known around here, is a true little boy, (but, still a bit of a “mommy’s boy”)! He loves boy stuff, bikes, anything with wheels, legos, video games, and going fast. He is a whiz with the computer, the Wii, and the Nintendo DS; I wonder where he gets that from? J Bryce is also homeschooled with mommy this year. He is learning a lot too and I think they will do just fine in Kindergarten next year. Mommy will then have all five in school, and is not sure if that is good or bad!

Ted is still working as the Director of Operations for Alere, a medical device company in Livermore, CA (hence, the move to CA). He is enjoying some of the CA outdoor activities like fishing, camping, and some mountain biking and he is excited about the upcoming snowboard season. He is a very busy daddy, doing an excellent job of juggling his career and familial obligations. We are all proud of his hard work on both fronts!

Aubri is busy taking care of the family, making sure the move was as smooth as possible. She has been focused on getting everyone plugged-in here in CA and will be actively looking for a counseling job out here in CA in January, for which she is very excited!

I am still in awe that we packed up and moved our family of 7, plus our dog, to California this year. We live about 45 minutes east of San Francisco. We are enjoying many things about this move, but still miss our Florida family and friends very much. Thankfully, we have met some wonderful people out here who have made this move much easier for us all, and mom and Gary have come out three times already, which was wonderful. So, to make this move fun, we decided to make sure we see and do a lot on this coast. Since our arrival this summer we have been busy; we have camped four times- twice to Yosemite which is absolutely gorgeous, have taken a few trips into San Francisco, gone to the beach, drove up to Mount Diablo, Muir Woods, Big Tree State Park (awesome), and visited a handful of other beautiful west coast destinations. We also traveled to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving, which was wonderful. There is nothing more important than family! We very excited about snow ski season and will definitely be hitting Tahoe and some other ski spots in the next few months. Our adventures continue….

We wish you all a wonderful holiday and a prosperous and adventurous New Year! With Love, The Walkers 2011

11-1-11

What a fantastic date! It is all number 1's, in case you didn't notice. Number 1! Like the huge, foam fingers held high at sporting events! Such a positive date, indeed. Happy November 1st everyone!

I have neglected this blog, again.

So I am really into the holiday spirit this year, despite being 2875 miles away from the most important people outside of my immediate family. Yesterday was a fantabulous Halloween. My mom and step-dad flew out for the week and were able to be here with the kids to enjoy the night. We had a great holiday and I am looking forward to more! November is busy, Thanksgiving, Nicolas' birthday, Madison's birthday! Lots of celebrating! Then Christmas!!

Blog Slacker!

Well, since I am now a Facebook addict, I have really slacked on this blog. I use FB as my blog, but I am going to try and keep this one alive, well on life support anyway. There is much to update, kind of like me starting to scrapbook (and as my friend S.Hill says, "crapbook"), it is daunting when you start, where do you start, beginning, end....work back from today....who knows. I think I will start with today. Good.

So, I am sitting in my new living room in Tracy, CA. We moved here about three weeks ago for Ted's job. It is going O.K. so far. Mostly just moving in work right now. The house is adorable, the neighborhood OK. The kids have made some friends right off the bat, which is wonderful. I am actually enjoying the challenge of squeezing 3884 sqft of stuff into 2052 sqft. Our motto for the year, "Living with less and having more." I didn't make that up, I think it is a book or something.

Anyway, I am a little depressed. I miss my friends and family, and I miss my cul-de-sac. I miss our pool, I miss.....well lots of things. I really miss my job. Yes, that was an entire year of missed blogging. My last entry was that I was going to get a job, and I did. Two actually. I loved them both!!! I am not working now, well, you know what I mean. I am at home the the kids. It is nice sometimes, but definitely not my thing anymore, especially since last year of working. I will look again in January 2012. My "job" is to get this family settled into CA, school, dr's, dentists, orthodontists,....all that crap. Plus, the twins have one more year home before Kindergarten. Sooo, I think I am going to homeschool prek for them. It is crazy expensive to send both of them. They are pretty smart anyway.

We have a dog now, Shadow. He is a rescue pup, some kind of black lab/pit mix. We are enjoying him a lot, except when he pees on us. He does that a lot when he is excited.

A New Year!

Day two of 2010, and this year is looking good already. We had a wonderful time celebrating in the cul-de-sac with our neighbors and their families. Life is good, it is getting better and we are all pretty darned happy right now. As I have quoted before, from the movie Parenthood, I too prefer the rollercoaster, the carosel just makes me dizzy.

Of course, I resolve, every year! This one is going to really happen. A lifestyle change, a healthier way to live....I AM going to loose weight. I am heavier than I have ever been and while I can still run 3 miles without blinking or stopping, I am overweight. I am also getting a job, employment. I need a better life balance. I did the SAHM mom thing for almost 10 years, it is my time to grow and my time to make a difference. I am also not going to curse anymore, I had a terrible potty mouth and I am stopping now! I am going to do it!!!

Happy New Year!!

Happy Birthday Evan!

Monday is Evan's fifth birthday. He is my little love, my pleaser with a personality! He has many faces and many names, of which, "Hootie" I use most. Evan is the first to come into my room in the morning, groggy from his slumber, thumb in mouth, wet pull-up on, and gives me a hug and a kiss. He needs this every morning, Ineed it every morning. It is like our little exchange that gets us both up and ready for the day. He is going to be an amazing husband someday (if that is what he chooses)! He is asleep on my floor right now next to my bed, having a nap as he has a cold. I just heard him cough, ahh, such a little nugget. I just adore him! I love them all, but this is just my little tribute to the little guy that makes my morning every morning!

Happy Birthday, Hootie-Ba!! Mommy loves you soooo much!

Evan's interests this year: Webkinz, Nintendo DS, Computer games, riding his bike and scooter, vanilla milk, and drawing.

Serving Size Seven

Yesterday, we drove to Orlando to pick up Ted's transcripts from UCF. He is going to pursue some academic advancement, in what area I am not certain and neither is he. However, he needed his transcript and a co-ed told him it would take two weeks by mail or he could pick them up in two days. So we never need a major excuse to drive to my favorite place-O-town, picked up the kids early from school and off we went! While there, we decide to eat dinner at one of our favorite spots, Boston's Fish House. Fried fish, clams, oysters, shrimp, hell they could fry my napkin and I would eat and love it! Not only am I attracted to the most delicious fried Haddock, I love the casual atmosphere. With five children younger than 8, two of them twin two-year-olds-from-hell, we really appreciate (well, we only frequent outside seating eateries now anyway) the outside dining. So, we ate and loved it, the kids devoured the shrimp basket and ate a mound of fish and fries and rice-carb loaders (they are all great eaters.....which is where this post is heading....the cost to feed seven good eaters!!!). On the two-hour drive home, the kids were finally settled and sort of quiet and Ted asked me how much I though dinner cost. I replied, "I bet it was nearly $48.00".....and he laughed, loudly I might add. Of course I then ask, "well how much then", and the pricing game ensued, and I wasn't really in the mood for games, just get to the point. So he then informs me that our dinner at Boston's, where we sat outside, ate from plastic, red baskets lined with checkerboard paper and filled with fried food including french fries, some seasoned rice, clams, oysters, shrimp, two dinner plates of haddock and SEVEN drinks, was .......are you ready.....$98.00.....WTF!!!! It was eye-opening, jaw-dropping, and for our meager living even while employed (at which time we are NOT employed nor bringing in any money other than unemployment), was waaaay more than I thought and just a hint of what life will be like to take our family of seven out to eat dinner at a middle of the road establishment. After I checked the receipt, while driving 70 mph, in the dark, on the Turnpike, I then started doing the math in my head at how much just a visit to McDonald's cost us- for seven "real" meals when the kids are a bit older, at rougly $5.50 a pop, a quick drive-thru at the Golden Arches is going to be about $40, and that is just for lunch!

So, the moral of this story is that if you like the idea of a big family, one with more than three kiddos, do the math. It is expensive! They don't all eat four goldfish and a half sippy of milk for long.

Throw me a bone already!!!

Today I am a bundle of undesirable emotions: nervous, anxious, angry, worried...and a little lovey (this weather, the cool air and warm sunshine do it to me every time). Mostly, the unwanted emotions stem from my immediate family's current situations: jobless, bills to pay without money coming in, marital repair, mothering that is a constant "job", and just taking care of my house. I am finding myself going down this path of "why me" and doing some comparative justification, you know, that "so and so does this or doesn't do this" kind of garbage. I am just in a negative mood. I don't like it, and I am the only one who can change that, so why and the heck do I keep typing....just to vent and journal, there is some healing about putting one's thoughts and feelings down on paper (or a screen) for myself and anyone else to read, that brings a first awareness and step to a better attitude. So start cheering up woman~!

My life has not been easy this past year, but you know what, whose has...not to call out any of my beloved friends, but there was a lot of hand-holding and wet shoulders from my circle. Lots of support given and taken, lots of services provided in love and compassion, and a lot of generalized anxiety disorder going around combined with some depression and overwhelm...so I guess it is now my turn. I am truly glad my peeps have overcome their life slumps, I also feel good that I helped them through some of their crap (literally and figuratively). It is just time for a little "break" for me, something in my control and something just plain old GOOD to happen here at the Walker house. Hold each other tight this weekend!

Studying

After some unfortunate events last year and some semi-dissatisfaction with my current "job" as a stay-at-home mom, I am going back to work! I have some classes to take and some internship and supervision to complete but I am giving myself two years to get back on the wagon of wage earning. You see, the truth is I am very unbalanced right now in my life. Most of my time is spent mothering, the rest cleaning, then some shuttling, and a bunch of other "selfish and insignificant" stuff. I have wanted to get back to the helping profession for a couple of years, but the logistics and the cost of childcare curbed that. I really have given of my life to this family for the past 10 years. While it is rewarding in and of itself and I am so thankful and grateful that I got to do it "my way", I have felt a void and have wanted to do more, for me and for others who could benefit from my genuine compassion. I am excited (and a little nervous as I have never had to juggle being a "working mother".). So, I am studying now to become refreshed with some counseling theory, techniques, human growth and development, research...lots of counseling stuff. It is really a lot of fun to hit the books again. I'd love to go back to school even, that process of learning and the excitement and energy of being around the eager learners charged with idealism and raw passion....it is a feeling that I would like experience again. I was never strong academically, just barely got by in middle and high schools. Undergrad was also a bit of a struggle, I played a little too much in the beginning, was a varsity rower so that took some time and energy away from the books, and I didn't always like the courses I "had" to take, but as I entered grad school, it really got fun. Again, I never excelled like some of the other brains in my program, but I loved the process and embraced every step. I would be a phenomenal student now! Funny how life can be sometimes, it seems to get more meaningful for me as I get older and more experienced. I think I will make a great helping professional, when I get back in the game!

Nicolas with afro

I love this picture....we hit the post-Halloween sale at Walmart and picked up some less than wanted wigs, the afro apparently was not a big hit this year, we bought several. So as we were driving home, Nicolas put on his wig, I nearly peed my pants when I saw him in my rearview mirror. He is so funny! I love him so much

A new year, hopefully a better one!!

So here we all are, staring into the new year. It is no secret that 2008 has been a difficult year for me. I am really going to focus this year on me. I have some personal and professional goals and I am going to do my best to achieve them. The end of this past year, 11/05 to be exact, left me with some emotional trauma and life-as-I-know-it altering information. So, the only thing I can do is be the best me possible and be prepared for anything!! I have been pretty comfy in my role as mommy and wifey the past 10 years, not really realizing how dependent I am on others, Ted really. I am going to change all of that and make sure I can stand on my own two feet, with 10 other little feet next to me!! Wow, sounds daunting, but I need to make it happen. Wish me luck! Happy New Me!

Blog Wars

So my husband started a blog last week. I think it is his way of venting about parenthood, it seemed to be sparked as a result of him being home day in and day out since 9/22/08, when he lost his job. The blog is quite negative, yet it is a truthful, heartfelt, and humorous (only if you have at least 5 kids in 6 years like us) spew of his feelings about life, kids, family, and marriage. I am hoping for a cheerful entry soon. I started my blog when I was on bed rest nearly 3 years ago, but it never really got off the ground, then I started Facebooking, I don't think that is actually a verb, but I am using it as such, so that kept me current with friends and family. Now, since Ted is blogging and has removed himself from FB for some inappropriate chatting, yeah that is an entirely different topic, one I am working the guts to get to write about soon, I am now blogging myself. Maybe just for me, as my own therapy, but also for the one or maybe two people that may read this and find some life parallel that helps them out. Life can be messy, we certainly don't sugarcoat things around here. I am fairly guilty about hanging my dirty laundry out in unwanted areas, but hey, that is just me. I have a tough time with filtering info and I enjoy learning about others' lives, and I think there are a few other gems out there like me. Maybe it is you, if so, leave me a comment and say "hi". We have only a short time on this earth and it has always been my goal and passion to be a positive and giving contributor to as many people as possible. This is just another way to make that happen! Happy Blogging to you all and keep reading. It will get juicier, messier, goofier....well, just fuller-I can guarantee no surface b.s. and total honesty. While it is not really a competition or a "war" as my blog title indicates, I will simply offer my perspective on my family life, which may contradict or support Ted's blog. You can see for yourself.

Chrismas 2008

Another beautiful Christmas. The kids had a fantastic morning, their energy and excitement was felt throughtout the house at an undesirable start time. Nicolas woke first at 6:03am, Madison was soon to follow and Evan straggled out of bed around 6:25am, the babies got up soon after. Grandma and Grandpa were snug in their bed at the Gainesville Hilton at that time, where they stay every time they are up to visit together. They came over just at 8am for the opening of presents and some yummy breakfast casserole, the presents were opened first. That hour and a half was brutal for the kids, and towards the end I thought Nicolas would actually explode from the temptation of the surprises in his pile-o-gifts. This year we tried to slow the onslaught of paper tearing and present inspecting down a bit, and while it worked, the morning still went too fast for me. The babies surprised me this year and actually "got it" and could open their own presents, the bigs helped out a bit too. It reminded me of Halloween, the babies would go to one house and get a piece of candy, and eat it without any interest in any other houses until that piece was completely eaten. Same with the presents, they would open one and play with it until they were "bored" and then move on to another. So cute! The bigs are still believers, not even a mention of any doubt this year, which we did have last year, very interesting. I love that magic! We all had a fairly relaxed and thoroughly wonderful morning, and the afternoon was pretty quiet, just played with the new stuff and hung around for some quality family time. It was nice. I am already looking forward to next year, I think it will be even better!

New Adventure

Well, d-day came on Friday. Ted's last day of work. Yup, we are now officially unemployed. It is scary, but exciting. The truth is, I have wanted to leave this town for a while. Ted never plugged in here, we are not football fans, we don't participate in the Gator festivities that take over the town. Not that this is a bad place, heck it was rated the top city in the country to live a couple of years ago, but it has just never felt like home to either of us. So, while I cried for a few minutes, had a short panic attack, and thought my heart would truly stop beating as my chest started to feel tight, I regrouped with some breathing and took the high road with positive thoughts of a new city in mind. I will always have my friends, no matter where we or they live, so that was another saving grace for me. So it is off to the races for us. Ted will start the job hunt this week. He is crazy smart, dedicated to a fault, and a true gem of an employee. I really hope he finds what HE wants versus what he needs. We'll kee you posted.

Re-entry

In the beginning....well I started this blog when I was on bedrest with the twins, two years ago. It just never came to fruition, then I had the twins and life just got a little harried. So now that I have all of this free time (yeah, right) I though I would get it started, again.