So I had another birthday this week and it kind of stunk because I had the flu, and sick as I was I still had to take care of two little girls who also had the flu. Yea birthdays! But as bad as my day was, there are others who had it worse. So to cheer my self up here is a list of other people who had a worse December 18th than I did :)

People Who Died on December 18th (various years)

• 2006 - Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani author, journalist and political activist
• 2006 - Mike Dickin, British radio broadcaster
• 2006 - Ruth Bernhard, American photographer (1905)
• 2006 - Joseph Barbera, American cartoonist
• 2005 - Alan Voorhees, American engineer and urban planner
• 2004 - Anthony Sampson, British journalist and biographer
• 2002 - Wayne Owens, former U.S. Congressman (D-UT)
• 2002 - Ray Hnatyshyn, Governor-General of Canada
• 2001 - Dimitris Dragatakis, Greek composer
• 2001 - Gilbert Bécaud, French singer
• 2000 - Kirsty MacColl, British singer and songwriter
• 1999 - Robert Bresson, French film director
• 1998 - Lev Demin, cosmonaut
• 1997 - Chris Farley, American actor and comedian
• 1996 - Yulii Borisovich Khariton, Russian physicist
• 1995 - Konrad Zuse, German engineer and computing pioneer
• 1994 - Roger Apéry, Greek-French mathematician
• 1993 - Charizma, hip-hop artist
• 1993 - Sam Wanamaker, American actor
• 1992 - Mark Goodson, American game show producer
• 1991 - George Abecassis, British Formula 1 driver
• 1990 - Anne Revere, American actress
• 1990 - Paul Tortelier, French cellist and composer
• 1987 - Konrad "Conny" Plank, German record producer and musician
• 1985 - Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet
• 1982 - Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German pilot
• 1980 - Alexei Kosygin, Premier of the USSR
• 1975 - Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian geneticist
• 1974 - Harry Hooper, American baseball player
• 1973 - Allama Rasheed Turabi, Pakistani scholar, orator and philosopher
• 1971 - Diana Lynn, American actress
• 1971 - Bobby Jones, American golfer
• 1966 - Tara Browne, British socialite
• 1936 - Andrija Mohorovičić, Austro-Hungarian-born Yugoslav seismologist
• 1880 - Michel Chasles, French mathematician
• 1869 - Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American composer and pianist
• 1848 - Bernard Bolzano, Bohemian mathematician and philosopher
• 1843 - Thomas Graham, Lord Lynedoch, British Viceroy of India
• 1803 - Johann Gottfried Herder, German writer
• 1799 - Jean-Étienne Montucla, French mathematician
• 1787 - Soame Jenyns, English writer
• 1787 - Francis William Drake, British Admiral and Governor of Newfoundland
• 1737 - Antonio Stradivari, Italian violin maker
• 1692 - Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff, German statesman
• 1495 - King Alphonso II of Naples
• 1442 - Pierre Cauchon, French Catholic bishop
• 1290 - King Magnus I of Sweden
• 1133 - Hildebert, French writer
• 821 - Theodulf, Bishop of Orléans

Funny Santa

Santa came to Nyah's preschool party last week and left us with yet another reason why he should lay off some of the Christmas cookies...



Ya ya Santa, I said I wanted a kitty, can we just leave it as that?

Santa was a talker, he explained to the preschool class everything from outsourcing (China and lead paint) to the unfortunate effects of underproduction (sorry kids, you don't all get Nintendo Wiis). Santa was really nice and the kids were all glad he came, though most had no clue what he was talking about :)

Sade's First Dance Class!

After watching Nyah's dance recital, Sade decided that she was anxious to join dance class as well. I wasn't sure how well Sade could pay attention so I was excited that Amber allowed her to try out one of the classes. Sade LOVED it and except for two very small instances payed very close attention to everything Amber said.

This is one of th videos I recorded of her in that first class (she is the short one in the pink!)

Just a side note, the TV noise you can hear in the background is a report on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as it relates to the current Presidential race.
(I just thought it was funny)

December Recital

Last night was Nyah's December dance recital. Nyah danced to a song from the Nightmare Before Christmas movie and the dancers were instructed to wear their Halloween costumes. We decided to dress Nyah up as a doll at the last minuet, because her Sleeping Beauty costume is too big to dance in. I drew an exaggerated doll mouth with lipstick and eyelashes with liquid liner; she looked beautiful! As we were heading out the door I let her wear some perfume just for fun and got it in her eye. Nyah cried of course (poor girl) and her makeup ran all over her face. I felt so bad for her but we got her cleaned up and out the door.

I promised Jeremy I would tape the whole show because he was away taking a final. During the performance before Nyah's, my video tape ended (ahhh) I quickly stopped the tape, rewound it over some earlier footage and had to tape over it all to get Nyah's dance. It was kind of sad but I did get all of Nyah's performance so Jeremy doesn't have to miss out. Also thanks to Gordon, Cherryl, and Kyle for coming, Nyah had a nice audience supporting her, so everything turned out :)

Makenna, Nyah, Lacey, and Mia

Sade with Grandma (she was such a Grandma's girl)

Escaped Again!

So, most of you know that Jeremy goes to school full time at CSUN and works for Countrywide. Jeremy is up every morning at 4:30 am and dosen't come home till 10pm or later Monday through Thursday. Fridays he has a break from school only to get him ready for school on Saturday where he is away for another five hours. Saturday night he plays soccer (his stress outlet for the week) and Sunday he is almost always at meetings and subbing last minuet for teachers that don't show up (it is not his calling to sub, he just does it).
Now the semester is wrapping up and Jeremy has finals this week and next, so I guess it goes with out saying that things have been chaotic for my poor husband. In the midst of all of this Countrywide just experienced ANOTHER huge round of layoffs (the fourth in about six months) and once again Jeremy has escaped. Not only is this such a blessing but of all the people working above, below or anywhere around him, he is the ONLY one to stay in the same position through it all. We truly feel watched over and I just wanted to say how grateful I am to my sweet husband who never complains and if anything has only become more dedicated in ALL that he does over these last five years. I love you Jeremy!

Studying for Finals

Life has many sweet moments but this is one of my favorites, when the home is quiet and Nyah and Sade are happily playing together.