**NEWS ALERT**

It has finally happened.

I am the mother of a teenager! I'm excited and I'm sad. Excited for all the wonderful conversations and memories we're going to have. Sad for all the past "little girl" conversations that are gone. Isabelle is a talker. I miss her small, rough voice. She had such a harsh sounding voice when she was little that I even took her to the doctors. He said it was just vocal abuse from all her screaming (the good kind) and loud talking.

She hasn't changed. She's still loud. Actually, she's the loudest of all my kids.

She's also the second mommy in this home. Reaching this milestone is exciting but I wish I could slow down the years.

Happy 13th Birthday to my first born! I love you and look forward to watching you blossom into a beautiful woman of God.

*** Happy Birthday, Blair!!! We were watching an old video from Belle's 1st bday and there you were! She got so excited to see you and said you haven't changed a bit. Enjoy your 25th bday! ;-) ***

Friday's Random Thoughts

I've been at the pool everyday these past 2 weeks. Summer swim season is now in full gear. And I'm a sight ... a sweating Shamu watching on the sidelines! Still, better to be pregnant where baby can have a controlled environment rather than left behind at home and unable to watch the kids swim.

This year Catherine (age 4) is taking lessons and hoping to make the swim team. We'll see.

Co-op is finally done. YEAH!! I have my Thursdays back.

Many changes going on here in our household .......

Isabelle is growing up before my very eyes! She's "developing" into a young lady. She loves talking on the phone with her girlfriends, having as many sleep overs as she can manipulate, and sharing books. She's latched onto the Percy Jackson series. She's on book 4 and hopes to get her books signed by the author (who lives here in San Antonio) in a week. I've become a chauffeur!

Anna also has a best friend that she loves to write letters to ..... even though she sees her everyday!

Sophia made her First Communion 2 weeks ago! She's still glowing. We went to mass every day for a week after her special day. This week we've managed to make it twice.

The kids have made such strong friendships and are thriving. Life is busy! A good busy! A tired busy!

Veronica has become a handful. She specializes in climbing, tearing book pages and writing on herself with markers. Also, she is being eaten alive with mosquitos. Poor baby is scratching and has a swollen eye from a bite in the vicinity. She doesn't look very photogenic right now. ;-)

I have yet to bring down baby boy clothes. Don't know why. I haven't bought anything either.

Well, gotta go. My dear friend and her large brood are visiting from "the woods" this weekend. Gotta go roll some enchiladas!!!

Half Day Friday's

Fridays have become our lightest school day, for many reasons. Mostly because its so close to the weekend and we prefer to start our weekends early! And so, I only assign math and have them finish any assignments from the week.

It is now noon and all subjects are done. Lunch has been eaten and baby is down for her nap.

What have the children decided to do with their spare time?

Play school!!! LOL!!

Isabelle is teaching Texas history using her notes and book from a co-op class she took a few years ago. Her students include Anna, Sophia & a reluctant Kolbe (who wanted to learn about sharks instead of Texans). Isabelle's school is not a democracy. She chose the subject and has decided to teach using the lecture method. LOL!

So far school has been in session for over 15 mins. and nobody has dropped out. Not bad! I see a future homeschooler in my Belle!

** UPDATE **
Sophia is Belle's first drop out. Sophia has declared it "boring."
Kolbe is on the verge of quitting. Anna is hanging in there.

Merry Christmas

Boy, have I neglected my poor little blog!!

This month we've been battling stomach viruses, coughs, stuffy noses, vommitting, and laundry chaos! This leaves little time for blogging!

Christmas Eve was celebrated with my dad's traditional Puerto Rican dinner. Two days later my mom-in-law made her authentic Gumbo.

In looking back over the year I've noticed that its definitely been a transition year with Baby Veronica. I often feel I'm barely keeping my head above the laundry, dishes, and school work.

At the beginning of December we (Belle, Craig, and I) made an important decision to discontinue club swimming. The commitment was M-F and Sat mornings. She was missing out on family time and it was just too demanding (in my not so humble opinion) and taking the place of valuable family time. I also didn't like some of the "locker room talk" like 6th graders having boyfriends, etc. Craig and I weren't ready for uninformed and perhaps even amoral adolescents to teach our dd about the facts of life.

She really hated the stress of doing school just to have to eat dinner early and go swim. Only to arrive home in time to sleep.

So we stopped the madness. But I'll admit I feel a little bit about taking her out of a sport she was good at. She has no regrets so I'm following her lead and keep reminding myself she's still a little girl, too young for so much stress.

I'm hoping to emerge from all the chaos of sick kids and laundry backlog. Even on healthy days I struggle to keep up. I've contemplated throwing it all out and jsu starting over! LOL!

Also, besides the kids' coughing and stuffy noses, I've been battling nausea. You know, the kind that lasts 12-14 weeks and is contracted from loving husbands!!!

In August, please God, another baby will grace this house and add laundry of its own!!!! The kids are happy and Kolbe has fervently started praying for a brother.

God is good!! My holiness will be found in the laundry and little babies! ;-)

And so, that's why I've been missing from my little blog.

(I knew when we bought the 12 passenger van that seats would quickly start filling!!!)

Great Swim Meet

I just got back from Austin an hour ago. Isabelle swam her best Long Course ever! She dropped 10 seconds on both her 100 freestyle and 50 backstroke. And she dropped 3.5 seconds on her 50 breast. WOOHOO!!

I am so happy for her. It was such a confident booster when she came out of the water to find she had dropped 10 seconds on her freestyle. That definitely set the tone for her attitude the rest of the day.

Craig is always telling her to get "Your head in the game!" Today I think she really felt great and feels better about herself. She's been feeling a little down lately that she's been unable to drop her times.

I went online and searched about a bit and found some great articles and power point presentations from ....... The Woodlands Swim Team!!!! LOL!! Isabelle says she did everything they said and she's convinced it made a difference. The biggest piece of advice that helped: "Eat to train, don't train to eat!!" I could take that to heart, too! ;-)

I also bought her some teen vitamins with iron. And have been keeping up with her asthma medicine. We tend to get lax when she's feeling better.

Yeah Isabelle!!! I'm so happy for you today!

Sick Days = No School = ORGANIZING!!

This week was not a fun one. We were/are all sick. It started Sunday night with Isabelle being more tired than normal. Monday morning she woke up with a fever and body aches. I thought I was "sluggish" from staying up late to watch the Duggars. Turns out I was getting sick! :-/

One by one every one fell to the "mystery" virus of fevers, headaches, body aches and tiredness. All the kids missed swimming, piano, some choir and co-op. Even Craig got sick.

Obviously, school was cancelled.

I'm used to the kind of sickness that requires pails and towels. ;-) This time, all everyone did was sleep. At times, the entire house was quiet in the middle of the day. Even parents slept along with the sick kiddos.

Friday is now here and my house is starting to come back to life. We're still feeling under the weather but doing better.

As proof that I'm on the mend, here's what I did today (as the girls were showering after taking an early morning nap) .....

ORGANIZING & CLEANING!!!!

One of my favorite pastimes (I also like rearranging furniture every 3-5 months!) LOL!!

Today I worked on the girls' room. Isabelle, Anna & Sophia share a room (by choice). I moved all their dolls (Barbie, Cabbage Patch & Our Generation) into their room and out of the playroom. I will be turning the playroom into a little girls' room for Catherine & Veronica.

Its come to my attention that I haven't really given a "tour" of my home. I hope to do that in the upcoming weeks & months.

Hopefully, we'll paint rooms this summer. Until then, ignore the wall colors!! ;-)

Enjoy the tour!

Anna's bed

Isabelle & Sophia's bed
doll & altar area

porcelain doll collection

Barbie area

Cabbage Patch & Our Generation doll area

Belle's shoes

I just LOVE clean & organized rooms! I get a natural high after organizing a room or closet! If I ever stop homeschooling, its because I gave into my OCD like nature. Nothing disorganizes a home faster than my six kiddos! LOL!

Next up ... the little girls' room. Give me a week or so!!

More Swimming Video Clips

Being the proud momma that I am (and seeing how swimming is taking up much of our summer time), I thought I'd share more video clips. Here are Sophia and Isabelle each swimming the 25 yd freestyle. My camera died before I could record their other events .... bummer!!

Again, apologies for my loud, annoying cheering. I just can't help myself! I'm convinced that my cheering helps push them across the water!! LOL!! Isabelle says she can hear me (how could she not) and that it helps her not give up at the end.

Sophia's 25 yd freestyle
Notice Sophia's ready position ..... or the lack of one!?! LOL!

Isabelle's 25 yd freestyle

Bella Swimming

Here are some clips of Bella's swimming this past weekend.

25 yd Breaststroke: Notice how she speeds up at the end and catches up!!!! Exciting stuff!!

25 yd Butterfly: This is turning out to be her favorite stroke. Her one habit that drives me ABSOLUTELY NUTS is when she looks to see the next lane swimmers. I've tried explaining that it slows her down and to just focus on herself. She used to look all the time. Now she's down to peeking once. I figure its probably normal, but still!! LOL!

She swam a total of 5 events. I didn't have enough memory to record the relays and I forgot to record her backstroke until she was already half ways down the lane. OOPS! ;-)

Weekend in Pictures

This past Saturday Isabelle had TWO swim meets, one in the morning and another in the evening.

Getting ready for the 100 IM. She was nervous and I think that adrenaline helps her! LOL!

Swimming the breaststroke.


The morning meet was for our neighborhood team. She placed as follows:

1st in 100 yd. freestyle
1st in 100 yd IM (25 yds. each in bttrfly, back, breast, freestyle)
2nd in 100 yd freestyle relay (swam with three other girls)
2nd in 25 yd freestyle
3rd in 25 yd backstroke (silently contested by Craig. He swears her lane timers weren't on the ball. He thinks she really placed 2nd. But he didn't say anything. ;-)

The second meet was at Palo Alto and she was more concerned about beating her own times. Those meets are HUGE!! This was her first long course meet. She's still getting used to long course.

Isabelle waiting for her 1st event.

Doesn't she look like she's in "the zone"?!? If only I could get that kind of focus during her schoolwork. She honestly lives for piano and swimming. School is something she does on the side. LOL!

Isabelle about to push off for her 100 yd backstroke.

Swimming 100 yd freestyle.

Another shot of her in the freestyle.

At the end of the Palo Alto meet, there was much clapping and hollering because Josh Davis was swimming!! Apparently he's trying to qualify for a future Olympics?!? That's the rumor anyways.

He was amazing to watch and I wished I'd had my video camera. It was unreal. He swam as if he had battery operated arms!! In fact, in the middle of his swim, his body suit split in half!! He signed one of Isabelle's swim caps and I took a quick picture. Again, I had my zoom lens on so I had to scoot way back (almost falling in the pool) just to squeeze both their heads in. He's VERY tall!! LOL!

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This Saturday Sophia and Isabelle will be swimming for the neighborhood team in the morning. Anna refuses to compete and we have told her she doesn't have to swim in any meets. But she must practice with the team. I really want her to improve her swimming skills and have decided this is our family sport. This is the compromise we have worked out. Afterall, I've read the Swimming Parent's Ten Commandments and plan to live by them!! LOL!

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One last link: Here is Isabelle pictured with her swim club at the beginning of the year. She loves her coaches! She also swims under Coach Marcy for both our neighborhood team AND at her swim club for long course this year.

On Wednesdays the male coaches get together (after swim practice) to play water polo. Her coach sports a tiny pink speedo that makes Isabelle giggle. LOL!! Actually, it makes all the moms giggle!!!

Isabelle practicing piano

Here's a short video from Isabelle's piano practice this morning. She first plays "Happy Farmer" followed by "A Short Story." Ever since she started playing piano, back in the 1st grade, she's always loved and looked forward to the day she could play "Happy Farmer."

Her piano teacher likes to joke that Isabelle's rendition should be called the "Hurried Farmer" because she tends to play at warp speed. Her teacher affectionately calls Belle her stallion because its really hard to slow down her "enthusiastic" piano playing.

In fact, a few weeks ago her teacher played the "Happy Farmer" VERY FAST!!! She had Isabelle imagine this poor little farmer who was being pulled by his horse and dropping seeds everywhere and not doing as good a job as he could. She was screaming like a crazy farmer the whole time she played it. Isabelle was laughing so hard she almost had tears!! It made an impression and she has slowed down ....... somewhat. ;-/ ENJOY!!

*Remember, this is just a practice session and not a polished performance. Belle wanted me to add that.

Birthday Girl Practicing Piano

Here's Isabelle practicing Ecossaise and Short Story from the piano Suzuki Book 2.

Suzuki Piano Workshop 2008

This past weekend we drove to San Marcos for the annual Suzuki Piano Workshop. Each day the girls had a master lesson with a Master Suzuki Piano teacher. They each took a drumming class, eurhythmics, Music in Motion dancing, a recital performance, observed the master teachers perform and attended the chamber orchestra recital. It was a very busy but enjoyable weekend. This is Isabelle's 3rd year and Anna's 2nd year attending. They always fly in the same teachers every year so the girls have become close to their teachers. Their favorite class every year is Eurythmics.

Here are some video clips from Anna's favorite class, Eurhythmics, Isabelle's recital performance, and their dance class. My favorite part, besides watching Isabelle play (Anna was too anxious to perform) was listening to the master teachers perform. Eight teachers in all, most with their Ph.D's in music performance, made for a very exciting recital!!! Unfortunately, my camera died or I would have recorded them too!!

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Here is Anna's class singing along with their teacher, David Brown.

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Here they are working on learning note values. Prior to the flashcards, they were going around the room. If he played half notes they took slow giant steps. Quarter notes were walking. Eighth notes were jogging and sixteenth notes were fast running. Dotted eighth notes were skipping. Anna has just finished doing a slow run which is eightteenth notes.

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Below is Isabelle performing "Musette" by Anonymous.

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Finally, here is a clip from their Motion in Music dance class. They were learning various types of dances. This was a very fun class since parents were allowed to participate. I didn't know they'd be helping me exercise over the weekend!!

Swim Meet Results

Isabelle did great. She didn't place but that was to be expected. This meet included kids from other cities who have been swimming longer than her. But we've started a log where she can record her times. Right now her goal is to beat her own best times.

This weekend she swam the 50 m butterfly, 100 m backstroke, and the 100 m freestyle for the first time. She beat her own times in the 50 m backstroke and freestyle.

She swam the 50m butterfly for the first time this weekend. She was VERY nervous. Now, nervous for Isabelle isn't the same kind of nervous as other people. She doesn't get scared and doesn't back out. She worries more about how well she's going to do. She didn't want to come in last. I think she inherited my competitive gene.

Well, she didn't come in last. *sigh of relief*

In fact, she was swimming wonderfully!! Her arms were coming out of the water. Some kids get disqualified for doing strokes under water. Her legs were wonderful, no flutter kicks. She was approaching the wall when she made a BIG mistake. She started a new stroke with her arms when she stopped half way and touched the wall. She DID touch the wall with both hands (another common DQ), but she was disqualified for not finishing her arm strokes. It would have been better had she just kept her arms in front of her and touched the wall. Or had she just completed the stroke and touched the outside of the pool.

Now she knows. But was bummed to be disqualified at the very end.

The nice thing is the judges are VERY sweet. They go up to each child and explain why they are DQ'd and then pat them on the head with a good job.

We have finally found her sport. She loves swimming and hates to miss practice. We've tried ballet, tap, gymnastics, and taekwondo. And although she had wonderful experiences, I think she liked her teachers more than the sport itself. She never minded missing those practices.

But swimming is a whole 'nother story. She craves getting in the water everyday. And she LOVES to swim against her teammates, neighborhood kids, father, etc. The head coach at the aquatic center loves her spirit and dedication.

Quick Hello

Just wanted to quickly say that the haircut is working! No regrets. I have to say that after my last posting I was VERY regretful about chopping her mane.

But I've grown to love it. And the fact that she seems to be cleaner. LOL!!

Isabelle had a swim meet today and swam very good. She is swimming the butterfly for the first time tomorrow and is rather nervous. She was ALMOST disqualified in the 100 breaststroke because the judge "thought" he might have seen her flutter kick. But he wasn't sure so he left her alone. I'm so glad. She would have been DQ'd during the first 25m.

Also, I ran into my college roommate today at mass. We went to evening mass across town and she spotted us toward the end. She ended up marrying a guy from my history classes. He was the 2nd smartest person in my class. We had an unspoken competition about our grades. You know who was the smartest, right?! LOL!

The only thing he could beat me at was geography. So, of course I told him that Isabelle was a whiz at geography. He just smiled at me and started quizzing her. Isabelle did me proud and got all the capitals right!

*In case you're wondering, he asked for the capitals of Kentucky, Idaho, and Maine.

KID QUOTE OF THE DAY

Isabelle: "Mom, when I get a chance I'm going to run for either queen or president 'cuz I have a few things I want to change in the world."

Me: "Oh, really? What?"

Isabelle: "First, I would make all movies without violence or bad things. Then I would make things only modest. And I would bring back the Mousekateers so I could join them."

* Yesterday I found an old B&W video of the Mickey Mouseketeers at the homeschooling store. My kids love them and can't believe they no longer exist. I think I'm going to search Ebay for more of these videos. I get nostalgic for the good old days even though I wasn't alive then. Why did it have to change so much??

Bluebonnets

Every year we take pictures of the children in Bluebonnets. These are our favorite pictures!!! Every year we drive back to the same Texas hillside! We've been taking these pictures since Isabelle was four. Its beautiful to see other families following this same tradition. You can even tell how recently another family has visited the same spot by the flattened circle among the flowers. We're always careful to follow the already-made paths among the bluebonnets so as not to ruin them for future visitors.

Law Breaker

We once told Isabelle and Anna that it was illegal to pick Bluebonnets since they were the state flower. We really thought this was so at the time. Well, they haven't forgotten. You can imagine the screaming that ensued when Catherine decided to break the law!