Thanksgiving

Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving with our family and friends in California. It was a whirlwind of a trip (when is it not?) and by the time we got home we needed a vacation from our vacation!

I love CA. I love the trees, the shopping and all of the memories. I could drive down almost any street in the Bay and tell you about something that happened there. It will always hold a special place in my heart!

During our trip we traveled to Napa (twice!) to visit Tony's grandmother and his uncles Ray and Mark. We dined at my favorite restaurant, power shopped with Dena at Broadway Plaza, and Christmas shopped for presents with Granny at Lakeshore Learning Center. We saw Tony's brothers, my brothers and lots of great friends. We ate too much, spent too much, and had a great time doing it!

Loving Granny

Cousin Niko

Thanksgiving Day we went to my mom's house. I volunteered to try a new recipe...White Castle Burger Stuffing. It turned out AMAZING, despite the fact that I realized the following day that I didn't use all of the ingredients that I had bought. Oops. We had a traditional meal with traditional bickering and by the time we ate the only thing that we were thankful for was that the meal was ready. But that is family for you. Or is it just my family for you?

Further Proof That I Am The Best Looking Sibling

The most interesting part of the evening was listening to my brother describe how he is not "technically" engaged to his live-in girlfriend. He bought a ring...that she knew about...had it sized...which she new about...and then brought it home, put it on the kitchen table and told her to "go look at what was on the table." She said she was hoping for food because she was starving. Instead she got a solitaire diamond ring that she wears on her ring finger on her left hand. It is the strangest thing I have ever heard of. But then again...it's my brother. Strange is his middle name. Just look at this picture!

Welcome To The Family Monique (I Think?)

There is the recap of Thanksgiving 2012. A very interesting experience!

Halloween 2012

My favorite time of year has arrived and I can't help but feel happy about life. When I think about being a mom, holidays are what I live for. Making memories for my children that will last them a lifetime, and hopefully creating some traditions that they will pass down to their own children. This for me...is what life is all about.

We began October with a trip to the pumpkin patch. It was fun to see the process...AJ picking the 1st pumpkin he came across and Cienna looking at every single one to ensure that she was making the best decision. Both were very proud of their choices and both needed help carrying them to the cashier!

If There Is A Will There Is A Way!

With Daddy And Her Perfect Pumpkin

Time For A Hayride

If it weren't for AJ being bit by the mini pony it would have been a perfect day at the pumpkin patch. Poor kid. It even broke skin!

Our next great October adventure was the Balloon Festival. This year we were joined by Tony's parents along with Debbie and Pat, who were visiting from CA. The weather was beautiful, the balloons were amazing and the company was fab. Another reason that the fall is my favorite time of year!

The Whole Gang

The weekend before Halloween was full of fun kid events...first Goblins in the Garden at AJ's school, followed by The Harvest Festival in our neighborhood park. Cienna and AJ had a blast running around with friends, playing ghoulish games and stuffing as much candy and sweets in their mouths before I could catch them. It was fun for all!

The grand finale of October was celebrated with Halloween. My mom created another masterpiece for Cienna...Alice in Wonderland. AJ was Scooby Doo. They had a blast walking door to door, patiently standing in line (yes...in line!) for candy to be tossed into their buckets. Our neighborhood is the most popular in all of ABQ. Each year, thousands of kids (and their chain smoking parents) flock to the country club area to get free candy. Last year both Tony and Cienna were featured on the news...Tony was shown passing out candy at our house and Cienna was shown trick-or-treating. This year, I was the lucky one! They did a small interview about how many trick-or-treaters we have every year and showed me opening up the door. Next year we have vowed to go to a different neighborhood on Halloween to avoid the craziness...and the lines!

Memories...What Life Is All About!

Joe

Dear Joe,

When Tony and I first met you, you were an energetic 16 year old, eager to work and eager to learn. You quickly became Tony’s side kick, his right hand man. Both of you were navigating the junk removal business together, learning the ropes through trial and error. You each could see the value in everything, and because of that you were a perfect pair. And while we have had others try to take your place…no one has ever measured up to you. We ask “does he work as hard as Joe?” And the answer inevitably is “no, Joe would run circles around that guy!”

It didn’t take long for us to realize that you weren’t just an employee. You were special. Though I don’t think you intentionally tried, you worked your way into our lives and more importantly into our hearts. We saw so much good in you. We saw your caring nature, your extraordinary work ethic and your great sense of humor. Despite your circumstances, you had something in you that was different from the rest. While most teenagers walked around with their hand out, you never asked for anything. And because of that we wanted to give you everything.

Throughout the years, we have had so many funny moments. Like the time you and Tony removed a huge satellite dish from a customer’s house. You had never seen one before…and you asked the customer if they could watch “moon channels” on it! You and Tony had so many little jokes it is impossible to list them all. Thankfully, he has them as memories. I am sure that he will replay them in his head every time he goes on a job without you.

I could always tell what kind of mood you were in as soon as you walked through the door. If I got “what’s up wit cha?” I knew it was a good day. A simple “hello” meant it might be a rough one. No matter what mood you were in, we were always happy to have you around. In hindsight I wish that you would have been around even more.

Why is it that we wait for an event like this before we tell someone how we truly feel? I know that you knew that we cared deeply for you…but did you know how much we loved you? Did you know how much your passing would devastate us? Did you know that it would shake us to our core?

Joe, even though we were not related by blood, you were family. Good and bad, we took you just the way you were. There will never be another Joe in our lifetime. You were a special part of our lives that can never be replaced. We will miss you beyond measure, and we will love you forever.

Love,

Tony, Alexis, Cienna & AJ


R.I.P
6/6/87 - 10/14/12

Wow...Where Did September Go?

O.M.G. I did not blog last month. At all. Not once. Where did the month go?
I remember this much...at some point I turned 33 years old. We went to the state fair once and the cabin twice. But that's about it!

Life has become a series of repeating events lately. School, laundry, bank, cheer leading, grocery store, soccer, PTA meetings, gymnastics, and other such things. The Mazotti Family is in full scheduling mode. Everything is down to a science. No wonder parents say that the years fly by once your kids are in school. There is no time to even think!

Even though I failed to blog last month I did not fail to take pictures! So now, without further adieu, September 2012 in pictures!

Goofing Off At The State Fair

Ram Hunting in CO

Playing Dress Up

Colorado in September

Children's Arts & Crafts Fair

September 2012

AJ Turns 3

Today our baby boy turned 3 years old. I wanted to take the time to do a little post commemorating everything AJ.

AJ is a feisty one. He likes to spit, punch, kick and use words like "stinky poop." He enjoys catching butterflies (and he is really good at it!), putting bugs both dead and alive in his "tainer buggy" (bug container) and you might say that he is obsessed with all things Toy Story and Cars.

AJ loves playing on my phone, playing baseball and soccer, and playing on any and all playgrounds. His drawings consist of one line on a page, he loves "meat" which means anything resembling an animal product of any kind, and he does not leave home without his flip flops. He is not potty trained nor does he appear to ever want to stop pooping his pants. He sweats...a lot. He has the most beautiful skin color that I have ever seen. Every day when I drop him off at pre-school he says "oh mama hug and kiss!" And when I ask him what his name is he says in his deepest, proudest voice, "AJ Zotti!"

I can't imagine our lives without you AJ. You are our baby boy. Our mister mister. Our little monster. We love you more than words can say. We look forward to seeing your little personality develop with time and hope that you will always know how much you mean to us! Happy 3rd birthday AJ!

School Daze

August 15th, 2012 was a day that I had been waiting for for roughly a year. It was the date that I continued to repeat in my head every time I wanted to lay down in traffic somewhere. It was the date that I repeated every time I wanted to pull a runaway housewife. August 15th, 2012 was everything that I imagined it would be. Absolutely freakin fabulous!

August 15th Cienna started kindergarten at Coronado Elementary, a Spanish immersion school about 5 minutes from the house. It is the first time that she is going to school 5 days a week and it is an extended day from what she is used to at pre-school. We have already seen signs that this is a little stressful on her, based on the fact that she cries almost every night before bed time begging not to go back to school because the day is too long. I feel so bad for her. I tell her that everything will be fine and she will get used to it, but in the back of my mind I am thinking "oh girl you have no idea! You have like 15 years of this ahead of you!"

She seems to be adjusting well to being taught exclusively in Spanish. She has made some new friends, most of whom loyally follow her around the playground, and has already had to work out some issues with some not-so-nice kids. Today I surprised her by coming at lunch time to hang while she ate and played and I hope to do that about once every 2 weeks. I love being able to drop in from time to time.

August 15th AJ started pre-school 3 days a week from 9-1pm. I thought for sure that he was going to have problems sharing or throwing or hitting but so far I have not received a negative report card. The teacher has however told me that AJ was born with "extra testosterone" and said that he likes to tell her "don't tell me that" from time to time. He loves the playground that he watched his sister play on for 2 years. He loves riding the tricycles. And everyday when I pick him up he is a little ball of sweat who says "mommy can I play on your phone?" Super cute.

I am thoroughly enjoying my Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. I go to the gym, do yoga every Wednesday, and have time to get some errands done. This makes for a nicer mommy and wife. I spend Tuesday and Thursdays focusing all of my attention on AJ because I am able to get my other stuff done when he is at school. It is everything that I imagined it would be and more. I am loving it!

The World of Disney

Now that I feel like a reasonable amount of time has passed since we returned from the "Happiest Place on Earth" I have decided to post about our trip...sans the chip on my shoulder. Don't get me wrong. I love me some Disney. But this trip was at least one day too long and as a result I experienced what Tony pinned a "magical meltdown."

We arrived in Disneyland Monday afternoon and immediately rushed over to the park to get a jump on our 4-day parkhopper passes. Holy lord I did not know that many people could be crammed into the grounds in the middle of summer. Don't they have capacity rules and regulations? Where is the fire marshall when you need him? In one word, the lines at Disneyland were RIDICULOUS. Smile!

We Can Do This!

Granny came along for the trip and she was able to eek out a few smiles as well. If it weren't for Tony's "magical pass" that he appropriated I am pretty sure she would have jumped ship and flown back to the Bay early. It was that RIDICULOUS.

The next day we treated both Cienna and AJ to makeovers at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Cienna became a princess for the day and AJ became Sir AJ the Knight. I am pretty sure my mom started wondering where she went wrong as a parent at this point. She kept leaning over to me saying things like "your children are spoiled" and "you never did anything like this when YOU were a child." I felt like a bratty teenager again when I gently whispered in her ear "see mom...money really does buy happiness!" and then sat back and watched her eyes roll permanently into the back of her head. Hahaha! Nothing like messing with good ol' mom to keep things lively!

The rest of the trip was full of fun, sun and magical moments. Even though I threw a tantrum of a lifetime, I would go back again in a heartbeat. After all...I love me some Disney!

I say "Till Next Time Disney!"
Tony says "If There Is A Next Time Disney!"
Granny says "Lord If There Is A Next Time Please Don't Invite Me!"
Cienna says "I Love Disneyland!"
AJ says "Are We Go There Tomorrow That Disneyland?"