Merry Christmas From the Mielke Family

It is hard to believe that it is already the close of another year. As many people do at this time of year I spend a lot of time reminiscing of Christmases past.

1996

Our first Christmas Picture

1997

1998

1999

this is the day that we came home from the hospital with John Jr. I marched my brand new baby out into a cow pasture so that I could get our Christmas cards out. This shot was a accident. I set the timer and he started to cry. I liked it even though you could not really see him.

2000

2001

I am pregnant with Ben in this one...a long distance silhouette was my best angle. You should have seen me running back and forth to set the timmer!

2002
this is one of my favorites

2003

And so it begins...are they hugging or choking?

2004

2005

Note the cast on Ben's leg.

2006

2007

2008

2009

Lulu is sooooo lovely!

Maybe John and I will be in next years.....

I'm Not Afraid of No Ghost!

The boys were quite a hit at the Halloween Party this year and held on to the best costume title for the fifth year in a row.

Sequoia Trip

We took a trip to the Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park and had so much fun! We drove completely through the park stopping to explore several times. We went on the Crystal Cave tour. It was amazing! Truly one of the most bizarre and beautiful things that I have ever seen. But if you ask the boys what what we saw their memories have been completely erased of the anything before we saw the BEAR! We brought a pick nick lunch. When we arrives at the visitors center we were advised to remove all things with any smell and put them into a bear box each time we got out of the car. It was a pain but worth it once we saw the bear. Next time we will be more prepared.

Cooling off

No, we did not take a tropical vacation, that is Morro Bay waters my boys are out in without wetsuits! They have not lost their minds nor are doing an experiment on hypothermia. It was 90 degrees out! The frigid water was a much needed relief from the disgusting temperatures. Lulu was even diving in.

Wizards and Frampas!

I finally was able to get this edited. I can't believe he was so little!

Time Flies When Your Having Fun

Could it really be almost over? (can you see the glimmer in my eyes?) Summer vacations has come to a close and I am finally taking a moment to post some pictures of what we have been up to.

Bumper boats at Boomers. WET FUN!

Our 4th of July tradition.......Mohawks!

a sleepy summer morning.... I wonder how long this will last?

Our new kitten Sylvia. I had a moment of psychosis at the farmers market. In incendences like this I can not be held accountable for my actions.

Butterflies Alive an the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum.

We had a great time with Grandma and Uncle Craig checking out all the beautiful butterflies but all John could talk about was the owl vomit that we found at the gift shop!

Bull Riding at the Mid State Fair! Fun but HOT!

I have to say that the one thing that I did not think that I would enjoy that much was my favorite adventure of the summer. The boys and I went out for a fishing trip on our friend charter boat. We had a blast, the boys caught 14 Rock Cod and 2 Sand Dabs. We even saw a whale. That's the rock you can see in the background as we were leaving the harbor.

Santa Maria Raceway

We met Becca and family down there. It was so much fun watching the boys enjoy it as much as I do. Blake (Becca's 1 year old) was in heaven until he lost his race car under the bleachers just before the National Anthem! Let's just say that he is very patriotic. He could be heard by all singing his own rendition. All the boys had a great time messing with their earplugs and waiting for the next crash. It brought back lots of fun memories when by brother Rick brought us as kids.

Peace and Quiet

We set up an old tent in the back yard for a camp out of sorts. The boys stayed in it and played for two days. They ate in the tent, read in the tent, fought in the tent and roughed it (note the orange extension cord no need to be uncivilized) all out of ear shot. They liked it out there so much I might turn their room into the office/guest room that I have always dreamed of. Happy Summer to me!

Ahhhhhh Summer!

We are in the third week of summer vacation and nearly every day seems to involve water either at the beach, tide pools or the pool somehow. Today we learned that lulu can swim! She miss-judged the depth of a tide pool and jumped right as a wave hit. She did not seem to hate it as bad as I expected. She surfaced tail wagging an ready for the next one. She also dug a lovely hole and did a little sun bathing while the boys checked out the tide pools and caves under the jetty. I sat in my beach chair, ate a whole bag of yummy cherries and read a magazine. Fun was had by all.

Yesterday we met my friend and her boys at the beach for a little boogie boarding. I had planned to just help the boys out in the waves but quickly found my self begging for a turn from the boys. I forget how fun it is to be out in the water. I may be sitting on the beach a little less and in the water a little more now.

I Fired the Tooth Fairy

Last week John Jr lost one of his last molars. This molar came out with quite a commotion. The school called me to tell me that John had a broken tooth and that I needed to pick him up. I checked him over as thoroughly as I could stand ( I am extremely dentally sensitive) and decided to call his dentist. After much unneeded distress (mostly mine) we were told he had just lost a molar and that it was totally normal. John then went on and on about how the tooth fairy should really pay out good for this one and so on. All this talk from a 9 1/2 year old boy about fairies and tooth money left a bad taste in my mouth. So when John went to bed with tooth tucked safely under the pillow and ready to count his loot in the morning I lay awake agonizing over how old was too old to believe in the tooth fairy and if we were to let tooth fairies go do we have to let Santa go as well? Am I forcing him to grow up before he is ready, Am I keeping him to young for my own selfishness, How would Ben take it, and why the heck I am I laying awake thinking about the tooth fairy when I could be sound asleep.

As morning came I resisted to desire to abandon my plan and let him go to school and tell all his friends that the tooth fairy came to visit him last night or.....end this chapter of innocent bliss in the lives of my little babies, somehow sending them into manhood with this new knowledge of the deceit and that I have led them to believe in a tiny being that collects teeth while they sleep.

I braced myself for a mutiny of sorts

I went to my wallet where I store the 2 dollar bills that the tooth fairy brings and told the boys that I was the one sneaking the money under their pillows and that I saved the 2 dollar bills from when I worked at the bank and that I thought they were getting old enough to not need the tooth fairy anymore and so on.... while they just looked at me in a blank stair of discomfort. I sighed and braced myself for tears, disbelief and sheer distrust but their response was not at all what I expected...hours of lost sleep and distress of how this could affect their delicate physiques and it all went down like this...

Ben :" cool, can I have my teeth back !"

John " are we still going to have breakfast?"

They sure don't get their mental stability from me!

Road Trip To Arizona

1550 miles

100+ Degrees

35 family members

23 bug bites

20 minutes in traffic

10 thrift stores

6 pieces of luggage

5 days

4 bloody noses

3 divorce threats (2 from me 1 from John)

2 heat rashes

1 bottle of Ibuprofen

0 bathrooms

= a Family Reunion never to be forgotten!

12 years of ........

It seems that every year as our anniversary grows close John and I start this little drill. It goes something like this, "I can't believe that I have put up with this (what ever is pertinent)for 12 years. " 12 years of forgetting his pajamas in the washing machine at 9pm, 12 years of cover stealing, 12 years of my hair all over everything, 12 years of watching Cops every Saturday night....I'm sure you get the idea. So its that time again...the best 12 years of my life!

I would not say that we are lucky, I don't think that luck has anything do do with it. We are both very different people from very different backgrounds. What we do have in common is a very serious stubborn streak. In 12 years we have both grown a lot (both physically and emotionally) and have learned to respect each other even in the most trying times. John has known me when I was at my best(sometime before pregnancy) and at my worst (pretty much everything after pregnancy) He stopped asking me if I have PMS after an argument and just getting me a bucket ice cream instead, has lovingly looked the other way when I threatened all things horrible to the boys for getting orange Cheetos goo all over the couch, and he tells me I look nice in the first outfit I try on even though he knows that I will try on many more before I am ready. I barely notice that he makes pig noises when I eat, accept that if the world ends when he is napping it is in every ones best interest to just leave him behind and he will wake up when he is ready, and that he likes dry pajamas (preferably ones that he did not dry himself).

We did not learn all this wisdom the first year we were together, nor do we have it all figured out yet. Luckily we get lots of practice hashing out the little stuff, like that it is not if, but how many thrift stores we will go to when on vacation or if we should eat at Taco de Mexico or The Hofbrou for dinner. We even argue over who gets to be institutionalized first (the first one to go actually wins that one). No one has ever accused us of being the most mature or adoring couple but where we lack in affection we make up in commitment and sarcasm.

John is my best friend, he knows me better than I know myself and I would never trade his bad attitude or love of Jerry Springer for mushy romance and candle lit dinners. I know that he must feel the same about me when he comes home from a long day at work to the ground zero we call our happy home of unfinished housework, children at the brink of meltdown, delusional wife and no sign of dinner, he still pulls in the driveway and comes inside with a smile even though he should just keep on driving.

Happy Anniversary John, I cant wait until we are complaining about 50 years of .........

One Big Backyard

Time after time friends and relatives try to convince us to leave the Central Coast to make roots in areas that have better opportunities and the cost of living is less. I admit that at times it is discouraging to live in a place where we may never afford a house of our own, have a top paying job or even be in close proximity to a department store. With all of the negatives that staying here offers, the positives are absolutely, by far, more important to me.

Where else can run into friends and neighbors around every corner, send my kids to a school where the teachers taught me, be able to walk just about anywhere I need to go, never get stuck in traffic (especially important if I am the passenger), wear flip flops in December, a hoodie in June, and see the ocean every day.

I am far to committed to my Morro Bay ways to change without resistance. I don't like warm, stagnant water (anything over 50 degrees), any temperature fluctuation that is not in the 60's, strawberries and barbecue that are from anywhere other than Santa Maria, and 3,4,or more lane freeways. I do like tri-tip, thick wet foggy days, leaving my front door open, and long walks on the beach.

Today, after the boys finished their homework, we went down the the beach to get out of the house. I regret not doing it everyday. This has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth and it is so easy to get caught up in the day to day grind and not get out and enjoy it. I do not mind living in a house that is only slightly larger than most garages, camping instead of going on lavish vacations, and doing with out the latest cell phone on the market. Just living here is worth it!

I guess that I am just a small town, California kind of girl. Not such a bad deal if you ask me.

_________Up for Auction: Three Handsome Boys _________
Ebay Seller: mom-on-the-edge

Starting Bid: $1.00

Time Remaining: 10 hours 45 minutes

Payment: PayPal only

Shipping: Local Pick Up only

Item Condition: Lightly Used

Item Description:

Up for sale today is a 3pc. lot of pre-owned boys. The first item in the lot is a lager size husband in red hair with freckles and beard. He falls asleep in front of the TV, makes strange noises, plays to rough, needs lots of attention, and makes me laugh. The second item in the lot is a size medium son in blond that collects reptile skins, comes with a large alligator lizard that bites and about a million Lego's to step on in the middle of the night, but always thinks of others first. The third item is a smaller size son in brown hair, full of energy and defiance, broken bones are mostly healed and shows no permanent damage from multiple head injury's will test your last nerve and then melt you heart with a smile. All are a bit smelly and showing signs of wear, prone to burping, farting and other inappropriate and embarrassing behavior.

Conditions of Sale: all items are sold as is and no Returns!








Happy April Fools Day!

Playing catch-up

I realize that I have been out of touch with many of you for several years or just plain lazy about sending pictures of the boys and returning phone calls. It not that I don't want to share it just that for the past 9 years if I look away for even a second someone either gets hurt, hurts someone else, destroys something, or more often that not all of the above. So here is what we have been up to....

John and I are quickly coming up on our 12th anniversary(if anyone talks to him before April 19 he could probably use some reminding). I never believed it when people would tell me that time goes by faster as you get older, but what can I say, I must be getting older faster these days. John is working for the city of Morro Bay in the water department. My favorite part of his job other than the stability and benefits is that he has every other Friday off. That means that we get to spend an entire day alone. At first it was a very odd feeling, but we got adjusted pretty quick.

John Jr. is 9 years old and in the 3rd grade. He is completely obsessed with anything cold blooded and is planning on being a herpetologist when he grows up. (that is a reptile biologist) His best friend is his cousin Timmy and even though he lives 2500 miles away and they only see each other once or twice a year he talks like he lives around the corner. He is constantly plotting our next trip to Tennessee.

Ben is almost 7 and keeps me on my toes! Trouble is his middle name, and he will find it around every corner. He loves rock and roll and anything by Weird Al Yankovic (so not my doing). Still the baby of the family he can beat the tar out of his brother one minute then want to snuggle with me the next. I am still trying to figure him out.

Both boys love the ocean, the frigid water does not scare them off at all. If your lips are not blue you have not been in long enough!!

The daughter that I never had is a beautiful Basset/Lab mix that I adore. She sleeps in her crate, was completely potty trained at 5 months and understands the word no! We finally figured it out with this one. Third time is a charm.

I stay at home. By that I mean I run around taking boys to school, forgotten homework to school, answering phone calls from the school, volunteering at the school and then back to the school to pick them up, do homework and all over again. John and I are now Den Leaders of Cub Scout troop 345. Scouting is a bunch of fun and we are learning more and more everyday. Just so it is clear...I will never post a picture of me in the lovely uniform ...NEVER.

If all my friends jumped off a bridge I would probably do it too...

I have always been a follower. I was the one to wait and see how that new hair cut looked on my twin sister before I would commit to cutting my own. I have been dragging my feet about joining any of those networking sites and decided to finally give in by starting a blog. I am terrible about keeping in touch with family and friends even though they are constantly in my thoughts. It seems like all my concentration these days goes to keeping my two quickly growing boys and husband out of the emergency room (not always successfully). We are always just an adventure away from the next broken bone or other bloody injury. You would think that they would be growing out of all that risky behavior by now, after all John (Sr.) is almost 35.

I will be adding some pictures and keeping everyone up to date on the happenings in the Mielke household and hope that you all enjoy a peek into our little world.