Merry Christmas from The Mingolla Kingdom

12 Days of Christmas...Mingolla style ;)

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the forth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

5 cherry stuedels.......

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

6 snowballs throwing,

5 cherry strudels.......

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

7 belly sliders,

6 snowballs throwing,

5 cherry struedels.....

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

8 shiney hineys,

7 belly sliders,

6 snowballs throwing,

5 cherry struedels.....

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

9 Christmas cards,

8 shiney hineys,

7 belly sliders,

6 snowballs throwing,

5 cherry struedels.....

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

10 whoopie cushions,

9 Christmas cards,

8 shiney hineys,

7 belly sliders,

6 snowballs throwing,

5 cherry struedels.....

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

11 children skating,

10 woopie cushions,

9 Christmas cards,

8 shiney hineys,

7 belly sliders,

6 snowballs throwing,

5 cherry struedels.....

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelvth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

12 gooey kisses,

11 children skating,

10 woopie cushions,

8 shiney hineys,

7 belly sliders,

6 snowballs throwing,

5 cherry struedels.....

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a p-a-r-t-r-i-d-g-e in a pearrrrr treeeeeeeeeeeee-eeeeeeeee!!!!

Thank ya, thank ya very much!!!

** written by Steve, Susan and Izabella Mingolla**

Merry Christmas!!

'tis the season...

This was this last week of school before Christmas break. Izabella's class had their party on Thursday and I wasn't able to go, but Steve was home and it's the first time he's gotten to go to her class this year. Izabella got Mrs. Hankinson a little nutcracker from the holiday shop at school, then we also found her a cute little fleece Christmas blanket. Izabella also wanted to get her new puppy some chew toys so we did. It looks like they had loads of fun.

A few weeks ago, all the kids were over playing. It was a nice day, for once, so they had been outside for a bit. I went to check on them and see what kind of trouble they were into and found them with Mr. Lovell. He's a wonderful man who lives across the street from Ms. Sandra. His wife passed away a few years ago and he keeps to himself for the most part, but he's such and interesting man. He loves to work in his garden and he's given us many of the flowers in our flower beds over the years. He took up making clay pots, etc a few years ago and he's gotten really good at it. At the last festival at the park, he got a a vendor tent and sold his work. I hear he donated all the proceeds to charity and doesn't keep a penny. That sounds just like him. :) Back to the girls...when I found them with Mr. Lovell, he's given all 4 of them a hunk on clay and they were each making something a little different. Alex made a cute little plate for her teacher's present. Reagan made herself a little plate with a curly little R right in the middle. Izabella and Christina both made cookie plates for Santa and his Reindeer. They are both very different and oh so cute. Mr. Lovell told them to come back a few weeks later and he's have them ready. Well, here's the final result, I think they turned out awesome and will definitely be in the family for a long time to come. So precious!

Decking the halls & Christmas parade FUN!

We spent the Saturday after Thanksgiving decking the halls in the Mingolla Kingdom. I had 2 lovely helpers as you'll see. One of my favorite times of year!

The city also had their 5th Annual Christmas Parade and Izabella and I went. We met up with the Brown's. It was the first one I've been to and it was really a lot of fun. Thank goodness the weather held out and didn't rain on us. It was cold enough without that!

We are thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What Izabella is thankful for in the following order ;) :
food
home
trees
water
technology
friends
school
animals
moon
clothes
money
vehicles
family *whew...I was begining to feel left out ;)*
not blind
health
smart
U.S.A.
languages
strength
toys
carpet ??
ceiling ?? *I think she was trying to say her home or shelter?!*
color

I am thankful for my entire family, I wouldn't have made it through this last year without each of you. I am thankful for Izabella, she's my heart walking outside my body and I don't remember life without her. I am thankful for Taylor because of the woman she is becoming but GAWD help me is turning 18 soon.

I am thankful for Steve, my greatest love and biggest pain in my ass that I can't imagine living without. I am thankful for our health. I am thankful for our friends *freaks* and how much we've been able to help each other out over this last year, couldn't have done it without you! You're family now, like it or not! I am thankful to have a job when so many others do not. I am thankful for life! I am thankful for each day and I am thankful for driveway drinking :)...just saying!

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's to another turkey day, GOBBLE, GOBBLE!

The other 1/2 of the family...

There's Soxy, of course...she's camera shy...

Then there's Goldie...she was a "goodie bag" gift from Alex & Max's first birthday...so cute, but we should have named her Miss Piggy. If you stick your finger in the water she will suck on your finger like it's food. She's almost 4 inches long... This is our newest edition, Miss Emily. She was a birthday present from the Brown's. She's a yellow belly slider. They went to Florida over the summer and brought this hatchling back for her. They can't be purchased in GA but you can own them. We had named her Emmitt before we found out she was a girl. She got a terrible eye infection right after we got her and we thought we'd lost it but one day I was feeding her and noticed that I could see her eyeball again. It had swollen shut and trippled in size basically so when I saw that I knew she was better, but it took a long time for it to heal and we were giving her eye drops twice a day for almost 2 months I think, maybe longer...

She is also a piggy. The Brown's also got one for themselves but they got a boy. It's still about 1.5 inches in lenght while Emily is about 3 almost 3.5 inches long. We got her some live goldfish the other day to see if she was ready to eat them. We gave her 5 of them, they were each about an inch long. She chased them all around it was so cool to watch. It took her about an hour to chase them all down and eat them. She's in a 10 gallon tank with about 4-5 inches of water with a heat lamp and a UV light on her. She eats shrimp, blood worms and turtle stix which have the nutrients that hatchlings need. The shrimp, blood worms and live gold fish are more treats right now. Eventually we should be able to have a deeper tank and just have the fish living in there with her and she'll self feed. so cool!

This is Fred #2. We had another beta for about 2 years and he had to go swim with Nemo in the ocean if you know what I mean :) So we got another one and Izabella wanted to name it Fred again so we did...why not? He's funny...one day Izabella and I were eating at the table and he just jumped right out of his bowl in front of Izabella's plate and we scrambled to get him back in, all while laughing so hard we had tears streaming down our faces. I just LOVE it when I hear Izabella laugh like that. So funny!

Halloween recap...

I am a little behind but at least it's getting done. We had a WET Halloween here in the peach state, we thought we had gotten by without it but right as we're walking out the door it started raining. We waited for a bit and then me and the 2 dads (James & Tim) walked around with the kids while Sandra and Kerry hung back at our house, handed out candy and prepared dinner. We had mummy dogs and french fries. They were delicious! We didn't have many trick or treators at all so we were left with a kettle FULL of candy. We poured it out on the floor and divided it up between all 4 kiddos - my god, they'll have candy till they are 18! Then we sorted through all of it and made our usual trades. Reagan and Alex both have peanut allergies so they make trades to get rid of it all.

Remember, back in our day, when we had haunted houses that made you feel things with your hands, like eyeballs, brains and fingers?! Well we did what we could and made the brains and eyeballs. Silly me wanted to video that but was just too involed in grossing the girls out. We blind folded all of them and made them feel everything. Lots of giggles and screaming. I think we had the Nightmare before Christmas on at some point, but a good time was had by all....

p.s. the next day we found out that poor Reagan, Alex AND Aidan all had strep, RVP and signs of pneumonia. We were on lock down on the block for a week until everyone got better. Sheesh!

1st day of school....

So, I finally gave in and this year Izabella will be riding the bus to school. BIG step for me...I know I'm being silly, but... The bus stop is at Ms. Jackie's house, the house directly behind us, so it's not too bad. Me & Ms. Sandra parked and watched the kids get on the bus the first day and then I did by myself for about a week. Now, we spend most mornings yelling for her to get there on time. She's got the weird thing with sock seams and if they aren't just right then it can literally take 20 minutes to get them on....ridicuulous! I don't remember being this difficult at her age :)

All the kids on our block are growing up way to fast!

Time for more catch up!

So...now that I have my computer back I can upload new photos, etc. These are from our trip home to Lubbock in July. We had such a great time and it's always hard to leave. Enjoy!!

Busy.....Busy......

We are SO busy this weekend! 2 birthday parties on Saturday and a Fall Festival at the school. Remember those? I remember being in elementary school at Stewart Elementary and fixing the whole school up as a giant haunted house. It was always so much fun. I loved that school, I hope Izabella loves her elementary as much!

FUN..FUN!!

P.S. First report cards for the year came out last Friday and Izabella got all O's and S's. That's O for Outstanding and S for Satisfactory. What happened to A's, B's & C's? Or maybe I like the O/S way of things?! can't decide. The note from her teacher on her report card said, and I quote, "Izabella is AWESOME!!". I promptly wrote back in the note field for parents, and I quote :), "She takes after her Mother!"

Cookies anyone??

We had our annual Autumn Fest at the park 2 weekends ago (before everyone got sick!!) Izabella spent the WHOLE day there while I had our garage sale. I only got to go for about an hour while Steve and a neighbor gave me a -much needed- break. She got to help out the local Brownie troop sell brownies to raise $$. She didn't want to wear this at first but then she got into it. The leader told me she was great and helped sell ALL of the brownies they made. I know she's wearing a cookie, but I don't think they make brownie costumes and I'm not sure that would be a good idea anyway :) This is the Brownie troop that she would have been with had we signed her up after she was in the Daisy's. I have all kinds of pressure to do it now, which I think we will since she really seems to love it. + it's all the same girls from last year.

The day after this picture was taken she woke up with the 105 fever and ended up out of school the whole next week. I don't know about you but she doesn't look too bad here!? Go figure! She's always been the kind of kid that didn't show any symptoms which can be tough sometimes.

Flu.......ugh!!

So, we've been hit with the flu bug in our house. We had a GREAT weekend until Izabella woke up Sunday with 105 fever!! Took her to the Dr. on Monday and sure enough, the flu got her. She's been out of school all week and her fever finally broke yesterday so it's back to school Thursday! YAY! she's excited about going back and seeing all of her friends. BTW-Christina and 2 others on the block got it also. The downfall of having lots of kids on the same block!

The fire ant and the EPI pen!

Well, we had a little scare over the weekend. Friday night all the kids were out playing in the front yard. I had noticed Thursday that there seemed to be quite a few ants in the driveway/yard, etc. I've been told they were coming out of the wood work because of the 3 weeks of rain we've had. Anyway, I had gotten a couple of bites on the top of my foot Thursday night but didn't think much about it until Friday. I saw so many ants that I couldn't see the pavement. I got out the Amdro and started the killing spree. In the meantime, Izabella was doing some kind of "go away ant" dance at the same time. Can you guess what happened next? That's right, she got bit on the pinkie toe! She started screaming and went inside and I gave her a benedryl. About 15 minutes later she was real itchy and I took her in the bathroom to check everything out. By the time we got in the bathroom, she had turned a nice red color ALL over. Then I notice hives popping up EVERYWHERE on her body. When I say everywhere, imagine any skin of hers that you could see was now red, puffy and hive-y! On top of that, her eyes were swollen, lips were 3x the size and purple. Cheeks were blue. We jumped in the car and were off to urgent care. She had no complaints of not being able to breathe. It took about 10 mins to get to the urgent care, by which time I could see that everything I just described above was about 10x worse. I'm not exagerating either!

They took her back right away and gave her a shot of epinephrine to calm the reaction but the hives were just not going away. They watched her for about 10 minutes and then decided that she needed to have some fluids, so they gave her a saline drip to help flush out the poison. The poor thing, she took the shot with not 1 tear and then when I had to explain to her about the IV, she listened and looked scared but didn't cry one bit when they did that either. I was SO proud of her. She was very quite the whole time and just wanted to make sure she was doing everything that the Dr. told her the right way. We stayed for about 2 1/2 hours until it seems that everything was under control. She's been on a steroid for the last few days and now has to carry an EPI pen with her everywhere. I have one on me too. They told me that typically, if they are bitten again, the reaction can be worse than the original one. Which means, she could have breathing problems the next time it happens. WHEW! what a night. We've never been allergic to anything before this but now we know Izabella and red fire ants DO NOT mix! She went to school this week and quickly told everyone about her ordeal. I'm just glad nothing worse happened and we were able to get to urgent care so quickly and life is now back to normal. Well........as normal as it gets in The Mingolla Kingdom!

SOOOOOOOOOO bummed!

So, my computer had died and I have someone working hard on it to recover all my photos. It must be at least 3000! O.M.G. If this happens again I will just die! I lost all of the first 2 years of Izabella's life in pictures on the other computer and now this! GEEZ! So, that's the reason for not posting lately. I've got no computer to work on at home so that's been the reason for not posting in so long. We are working on it I promise.

So far though, Izabella is LOVING 2nd grade. Just got our first progress report for the year and she's doing GREAT in all of her classes. She loves her teacher and is quickly making lots of new friends. She's growing up more and more every day and it makes my heart smile to watch, but it's bitter sweet because she'll always be my "baby!" Boy do I love that girl, it's like watching my heart walk around outside my body. I tell her that sometimes and she looks at me funny but I always follow up with "you'll know what I mean one day!"

Taylor started her Sr. year and is having a blast so far. She dropped some of her more challenging classes, as she didn't really need to take them anyway, and now she says school is easy! Almost too easy she says! She's got soccer and band keeping her busy these days so that just means less time to come visit, but we're hoping she can come in Oct while she's got her first week long break from school. Fingers crossed! Another girl I would just die for. Love my girls!!

Shame on Momma!!

This summer has gone by so fast and we've been so busy, I haven't had time to post like I usually do. This week is no different, we just got back from vacation in TX and school starts next Monday 8/3/09, I can NOT believe that. I've got school supply shopping to do yet. I will not be able to post anything this weekend because of my schedule, but I promise to get caught up in the next couple of weeks. Lots to update!!

Love and miss you all!!

My baby comes home tomorrow!! ;)

Ms. Sandra offered to take the girls to the lake with her this week, so the poor thing has got Izabella, Reagan, Christina and Robert with her in Murphy, NC at the lake house. While it's been hard on me to be away from Izabella, I wouldn't let anyone else have her this long but Sandra. She was Izabella's "daytime Mommy" for 3 1/2 years so why not let her take her with. Izabella has gotten to swim in a lake for the very first time and her first question after Robert threw her in the lake was, "there's no sharks in here is there?" Just like her Momma! I used to go to the lake too and waterskied and everything, but I would probably never get back in one. I have a weird phobia about not being able to see the bottom or my feet. I know I'm weird, but still!

I've only called twice, not too bad. But, I miss her terribly. I never realized how much noise one little human can make! :) They will be home tomorrow and then Taylor will come for her only week with us this summer :( Another bummer. Taylor got a job life-guarding this summer and she's loving it, but the downside is that she only gets one week off. But, we'll try to make the most of it. Steve will be home for most of next week, so I see Six Flags and White Water in their near future. Also-we made Izabella's birthday party plans this week, more to come on that.....XOXO Izabella, I can't wait to see you!

Good times...

After a day in our pool this is where I found the girls when I got home from work. I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of this over the summer!

No more classrooms, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks...

School's out for Summer!!

Izabella's end of the year party was an ice cream sunday party! You know that was a hit. What a great year she had this year. She just LOVES Mrs. Williams and will be sad not to have her next year. What a great teacher! We've been very lucky so far throughout Izabella's education experience to have been surrounded by such nurturing teachers. We can't wait to see what's in store for us in the 2nd grade!

Izabella's project for the 1st grade program was to make a snake sock puppet. She could do whatever she wanted. So, she started with a green sock (brilliant!). Then she added googly eyes, (courtesy of Ms. Sandra!), then added a red button nose, (cause that's what snakes have, afterall.) Then Daddy added the tounge and we added the final colorful finishing touches and...

Vio-la! You have Viper! What a sweet girlie name :)

Very proud of herself!! As she should be! You may want to turn off the music at the bottom of the blog to hear this one....and the one below....ENJOY!

By the way, that's Chloe Izabella is fighting with on stage. They were in girl scouts together and I kept waiting for one of them to push the other one off the stage. UGH-girls!!

Part of the 1st grade program. Everyone got to play something, I think they did rather well!

Christina & Reagan

It's so hard for me to believe she's going into 2nd grade next year! Where does the time go?? Also, on her practice GCRTC tests, she exceeded in all areas and is going to continue the AIM program next year. We are very proud of her. Summer is here now and it's time to have some FUN!!

I am one lucky Momma!!

This morning when I came downstairs, I met Izabella at the bottom with a lovely breakfast try for me. On this morning's menu...glass of milk, mixed berry yogurt and a slice of whole wheat toasted with apple butter! YUMM--O!!

I saw no sign of anyone even being in the kitchen so not even a speck to clean up after her....not bad for a...........so close to 7 years old you can taste it!

I love you so much, my sweet sweet Izabella!!!

Will post this weekend....

So many changes this week, I will post over the weekend but...................

School is out next Friday, yeah!! I know Tay and Izabella are both excited about that. Don't know Tay's summer plans so far, but am hoping it is spent in GA with us!

check back soon!

Just another beautiful day in the neighborhood...

Can you believe they are still driving around in this thing!? She's had it since she was 3 years old. I finally changed the batteries in the radio so I'm sure you can see Ms. Christina singing along to something :) This is just a typical Saturday afternoon spent outside, everything blooming, kids playing, the only thing better would be a hammock for momma to nap in outside!

What a better way to end a beautiful Saturday afternoon? This is my favorite time of year...

Happy Mother's Day!

To all my loved family and friends...I wanted to share a couple of things with you on the Mother's Day, I hope you enjoy!



Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.



Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.



Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.



Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

Before I was a Mom .

This is a poem that has been "passed down" in our family and I've shared it with many others over the years and it's always worth reading again...


What Matters.....


My parents say they do not care
about the color of my hair,
Nor if my eyes are blue or brown,
Nor if my nose turns up or down.
It doesn't really matter.

And, my parents say they do not care
If I am dark or if I am fair,
Or if I am thin, or if I am fat.
They do not fret over things like that.
It doesn't really matter.


But, if I cheat or tell a lie,
Or say mean things to make folks cry,
Or if I am rude or impolite,
Then that does really matter.

It isn't looks that make one great,
But character that seals your fate.
It's what's within your heart, you see,
that makes or mars your destiny.

And.......that does really matter!

I wish you all a beautiful Mother's Day! I love, respect, admire and appreciate each and every one of you. And now for a scroll down Motherhood lane...