So...It's Monday....

It's Monday and I have nothing exciting to write about. My creativity is lacking on the blog front lately.

I guess I'll use a random thought from an email I got from my dad. It was one of those long ass lists of just random thoughts. Some are pretty funny and it's amazing how many I've also wondered.
In light that it's Monday and I did an assload of laundry over the weekend, I will pick this random thought from the email:

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

Do you know? I sure as hell don't and I think they are a royal pain in the ass to fold. The fitted sheet is all neatly folded and then you have this jumbled mess of the fitted sheet underneath it. I can see why people just roll it up, it's easier.

If you have any tips on folding that stupid but useful sheet, please leave it in the comments.

When Did Bowling Get So Damn Expensive?

When the hell did bowling go up to an outrageous price?? Lord have mercy I was shocked. I guess I didn't expect the cost when we decided to go bowling this morning. I didn't expect one game of bowling for each of us and shoe rental to cost us $40. Holy crap.

I guess they have to charge that much because you have kids "bowling" (basically bouncing) balls down the lane and it causes them to warp since a six pound bowling ball is really not supposed to bounce.

I'm going to say it...I remember bowling with my friend Jackie as a kid for 99 cents a game. I guess inflation has kicked in big time in the bowling alley!

But it was fun to watch the kids "bowl" and Leo did great with teach them. And thanks to bumpers they did pretty good.

I think next time we'll opt for the Wii bowling, it's free and easy to stop in the event they want to walk away after 5 frames!

A Vomit Free Weekend! Woohoo!

Yay! The weekend was vomit and sickness free, well aside from a small case of pink eye on me...yes always something.

We went to the city pool yesterday. I'm sure you're wondering WHY we went to a pool when we have our very own in our backyard. Well we don't have a snazzy zero entry with a play structure that is in 2 feet of water. We don't have water slides or a big blue bucket that dumps 762 gallons of water on you when it tips over. There were two kids water slides and two bigger water slides. Sweet Girl loves a water slide so she was happy to hit the big ones. This was much more exciting then the plain pool and waterfall we have at our house!

We met some friends there and the kids had a ball. They were pretty spent when they got home but it was a great day. And it was only about 100 degrees out. So it was very nice to sit around, let the kids play and not have to follow them around the entire time. It might have even been considered relaxing...

Take a look at a few of the pics of this place. It was really a fun time. I think we'll be going back before we head off to Disney (which I might add is in 31 days!!!).

Not So Lucky Victim #3

That would be me. I was victim #3. It all started at 1 AM on Tuesday morning and went downhill fast.

I'll spare you the details except that I lost 5 LBS in ONE day. If I could sustain that weight loss it would be great, but I'm sure as soon as I eat or drink anything it will be right back on. But honestly if I could legitimately lost 5 LBS of weight a day like that, I would suffer through 8 days of it to achieve my weight loss goal. Sad and somewhat sadistic I am sure but hey it worked and it worked fast!

So anyway, I am back to feeling somewhat normal today. I still haven't eaten a great deal and if I do eat a lot my stomach starts to hurt. It's a good deterrent to scarfing down a lot of food. And so far I'm enjoying the applesauce and toast.

I am also sure that Leo will NOT get it. I am convinced he is the carrier of all the virus' and bugs that the kids and I get.

Hopefully Only Two Times a Charm...

We seemed to have developed a new weekend trend. Puke.

Yep Sweet Girl had the weekend puke bug on Saturday. I must say she is the most efficient puker I know. She actually somehow waits to puke in the toilet. Even though I followed her around with a puke bucket she always went to the bathroom. No complaints there, especially since she doesn't puke ON ME. Of course, I have just jinxed myself with that one.

She was not happy with this situation at all. She would say over and over "I just want to stop throwing up". Hey do you blame her, I sure don't. It's not one of my favorite past times either.

And during her vomit episodes she also requests that you hold her hair back. She kind of demands it, "HOLD MY HAIR back!!" But again, don't blame her. Nothing worse then puke in your hair, trust me I should know.

But by Sunday she was her normal self. Thankfully this bug only lasts 24 hours. I just hope that the next two weekends don't' result in myself and Leo getting this great weekend treat.

A Tribute To The King

On this day in 1977 Elvis Presley died. It was a dark day in Rock n Roll and especially in our household. Elvis was quite loved by my Father and my Grandma Jean. I wasn't even two when Elvis died, but he played a vital role in my childhood. We listened to a lot of Elvis, I have fond memories of Blue Christmas and I can still see the album cover when my Father put the album on the player. But aside from his music which as I said was played alot, he also dished out some discipline via Heaven.

Oh yes, I was disciplined by Elvis via a phone call from Heaven. I really am not sure exactly HOW this came about but basically here is how it went down. I would misbehave and my Father would say to me "Do I need to call Elvis in Heaven?". Sometimes it would work and my behavior corrected. But sometimes, I got THE CALL. My Father would pick up the phone and "call" Elvis in Heaven, explain what I was doing to Elvis. He would hand me the phone and go to the other room where he would talk like Elvis to advise on corrective behavior.

I didn't tell a lot of people about this until I got older, as you can imagine the ridicule I would receive in grade telling people I got to talk to Elvis in Heaven last night. Hell I'm sure even when I told people as an adult they were probably think I was on the loony side. Are you??

But oh well if you are, I turned out OK. I guess thanks to good parenting and an Elvis in Heaven intervention every once in a while.

I was kind of expecting to have some good Elvis feelings when we went to Graceland because I had of course "talked" to Elvis in Heaven. But unfortunately, I had no paranormal experience at Graceland. No channeling, no sightings, no feelings. I was just a regular old visitor amazed at Elvis' taste in rooms like the "jungle room".

My children have not had the pleasure to talk to Elvis in Heaven yet, but they can recognize him and his music. Give it time, I'm sure he'll be calling soon enough.

Sweet Sweet Friday

Ahh...sighing with the sweet knowledge I do not have to get up and go to work tomorrow! So let's have some fun with Friday Fill-Ins!

1. When will the high summer temps be over?

2. True Blood Series was the last good book I read AND tv show I watched.

3. Everything has its beauty but brussel sprouts.

4. Kung Pao Chicken is what I had for dinner.

5. I'd like your energy to rub off on me.

6. Somewhere cooler than Arizona is where I want to be right now.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a gym shoe shopping excursion for the kids, tomorrow my plans include not anything planned and Sunday, I want to do whatever the heck I feel like!

A Nice Break

Today it's raining, well at least this morning it's raining. It probably won't continue all day. But right now I have all the blinds open so I can view the glorious clouds and rain falling from the sky.

It's also cooler. Another thing I love. I'm over the 100+ degree temps. Too bad we have another at least three months of them. Maybe it will cool off earlier this year by some weird twist of nature? I can only hope.

But today I'm enjoying the clouds and rain and I'll even take the humidity that goes with it today!

And hey it's Thursday which puts us one day closer to Friday! And the weekend! It's like the hat trick of goodness.

The Little Condiment Family

Meet our "Little Condiment Family". Mr Ketchup, Mrs Mayo, teenagers A1 and Grey Poupon and Baby Tabasco. The kids were so fascinated by the small bottles at the resort...

I'm An Excellent Driver

I am just being sarcastic. Apparently I suck. Leo got a new car after our Passat's air con crapped out on the way home from Little Man's surgery. That was a fun ride. 110 degrees outside with no air. Love it. So instead of fixing it, we just got a new car. We had been debating a new one anyway so it we took it as a sign.

And now I have tainted the car.

I hit the car.

With the Yukon.

While pulling into a parking spot.

I grazed the fender so it has a few nicks. Nothing major but still the car is new and I christened it with damage. And it's not like I haven't been parking the Yukon for over 2 years now, so I'm not a rookie at driving it or anything.

It was a GREAT feeling let me tell you. AWESOME, it was a great end to a wonderful day.

And while Leo didn't say it I'm sure I am now ranked in the 'women shouldn't drive SUV's' group. I guess that's fair.

Lucky #90

We took Little Man to his 3 year well visit. He was a very shy boy and refused to have them check his blood pressure or answers the doctors questions about colors, shapes, even food! He wouldn't even tell her his favorite food. And he HAS to have a favorite or he wouldn't be in the 90th percentile for weight and height. Yes you read that right HEIGHT too.

I'm sure a lot of you don't know Leo and me personally but let me assure you we are not tall people. We are short.

And to have a kid that is in the 90th percentile in height is kind of weird.

Wonder where he gets it?

Wonder if he'll tower over me when he's 10? That would be kind of weird too.

So the kid is healthy and tall. A good combo!

I wish I was taller.

The "Staycation" Adventure

I had the get away bug last week. I wanted to be anywhere but home. I wanted a change of scenery and a break from temperatures in the 110's plus. I just wanted to get away. After debating on going to San Diego we decided to stay close to home and hit up one of the local resorts in Scottsdale. And Mother Nature was good to us and dropped the temps to the low 100's over the weekend. Aside from the vomit that filled the weekend, it was pretty much perfect.

On Friday we checked into the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa. We had a yummy dinner and then hit the pool. We drifted in the lazy river, Sweet Girl went down the water slide but Little Man was denied because he was 2 inches too short, and the kids ran into pool from the zero entry pool area. We roasted marshmallows for s'mores, the kids were good and behaved. We played a bit more in the pool while they got everything setup for the "Dive-in Movie" (obviously a movie shown at the pool area that you can watch while sitting in or around the pool or if you were lucky like us from your room balcony). Then we headed back up to the room because the movie they were showing was not up our kids alley...High School Musical.

We were in a room with two double beds and we ordered a roll away that fit right in between the two. Sweet Girl had that bed. We ordered some room service for a snack of fruit and a sandwich. The kids sat on the balcony to watch the movie for a bit. Then we all crashed about 10:00 PM from our day of fun. It was a great day.

Now for normal people the night would have been uneventful and you would wake up rested, since you were at a resort and all, to go about a good time on Saturday. But we are not normal...Oh no.

2:00 AM Sweet Girl sits up, comes to my side of the bed for some reason I cannot remember now. I walk her back over to her bed, I set her down on the end of the bed because she has requested me to get her duck and penguin. I guess she assumed she was IN the bed and went to lay down. Well that didn't work out too well, as she laid down and fell backwards on to the floor. We're not talking far but you know when it's 2 AM who wants to fall out of a bed whether it's 1.5 feet off the ground or not. She's of course crying, I calm her down and she's back asleep. Not me.

5:30 AM I am sharing a bed with Little Man. Leo and I were going to switch off having a bed to ourself. I think I had just gotten to sleep when I am awoken by the sound of Little Man getting ready to throw up. And throw up he does, I get him far enough on the bed to get it on the comforter. Bad for the hotel but better for us. EVERYONE is up now. It's 5 freaking 30 in the damn morning. I haven't slept good. Leo helps me with a towel, I clean up the bed, take off Little Man's pajamas, lay down a towel under Little Man and now everyone is back to sleep but me. Again.

When everyone wakes up for the morning, it's about 8:30. Little Man seemed fine, so maybe it was just something he ate the day before is my thinking. He's acting just like himself, and I'm thinking this is good. I'm thinking that but I should have KNOWN better. We go to the yummy breakfast buffet which has THE BEST bacon I think I've ever had. Damn it's good. Little Man has a bout of dry heaves. Shame on me that I cover it up to look like he's coughing/chocking. See I should have known better to think he would be fine, but I was still hopeful.
These hopes were completely dashed after we had been at the pool for about 1 hour. The kids had played in the pool, Little Man acted normal until we went to sit on our pool chairs to debate lunch. This would be when he heaves all down the front me. He has a special talent that enables him to puke right in my cleavage that acts like a funnel to move it down the INSIDE of whatever I am wearing. So now I have hot puke running down the inside of my bathing suit, pools of it sitting in "bra shelf" area of my suit as well. I AM IN HEAVEN. OH YES, MY FAVORITE THING HAS HAPPENED AGAIN. How am I so lucky?

I try to clean as much up and wrap myself and him in a towel and head back to the room. I am praying that he doesn't spew in the hallway. We make it back. He goes to sleep and Leo and Sweet Girl head for lunch. I order room service.

We attempt to try dinner, Little Man looks pale and says he wants to go to the room. It is a beautiful night. The weather is good, the temps are tolerable and I have to admit I was disappointed to go back to the room while Leo and Sweet Girl enjoy dinner outside and hearing the bagpipes being played. I again prayed that I would make it back to the room without a hallway puking incident. We made it. Little Man was in his pj's and asleep within 10 mins. I clean up the room a bit, read some of my book, and I am actually enjoying a stupid Lifetime movie and really am enjoying the time pretty much alone and the silence. That is until Little Man wakes and says 'I want something to dri..." and then power hurls whatever liquid is in his stomach. Apparently there was a lot. My precautionary towel measure was no match for that much liquid. I have to call for maid service to send up another set of sheets. I politely tell them my son threw up in the bed, can I please get another set of sheets? Almost 40 mins later I still have no sheets. I am glad at this moment it's only liquid puke and not some horribly chunky mess that I would have had to sit with while I waited. Finally after a second call they come in and give us new sheets and even make the bed for us. That was nice of them.

Now it's time for bed again, I have to admit I am not looking forward to sleeping with Little Man. Especially if we are sleeping face to face. I wake up every time he moved a bit. I again slept like crap. And thankfully we made it through the entire night puke free.

So overall, I had a great time. It was so nice to get away from the house. I am however really kind of freaked out as to what will happen to Little Man when we go to Disney World. I am hoping he doesn't have some weirdo anxiety disorder about going on a trip near or far!
Let's hope this fun weekend is a nice segueway into a good work week!

Wasn't It Just Monday?

Where did the week go?? I don't even really remember it and now it's Friday. I'm not complaining about that! In an effort to get back to a daily post, I think I only missed on day this week, here are the Fill-Ins!

1. Swimming is my favorite summertime activity.

2. My favorite John Hughes movies is Sixteen Candles.

3. I'm not even sure what to put here, there so many directions you could go with this one and I keep heading in the wrong one is something I love to touch.

4. The full moon is my favorite when it's a harvest moon.

5. I'm ready to go home right now.

6. When daylight fades I'm generally ready for bed.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to an in-town getaway at a local resort, tomorrow my plans include enjoying the local resort some more with fun, yummy food and drinks and Sunday, I want to get all the laundry finished and put away before the week starts and relax some more at home!

What to Wear? What to Wear??

I am very excited!! We get to have a photo session with our favorite photographer when we are in Tennesse in October! We will be quite the travelling family in September and October. We will be going to Disney and then after that heading up to TN, because I have to work in the corporate office. So there is one full day where Leo, the kids and I will all be in TN together since Leo has to fly back to Arizona so he can go back to work while the kids and I stay in TN for a week then fly back to Arizona. You following all that??

So we were able to book some time with the photographer. Her name is Lauren Gill and if you're in Middle TN I really suggest you check her out! She's AWESOME!! But now begins my dilemma of our coordinating outfits. The first session the girls wore red and the boys wore blue. She suggested bright colors and I must say it did look awesome against the green. The next session we did red and black and gray with the kids wearing argyle and us wearing solid. So now, what to pick?? I would like to pick a green but there will be so much green around the scenery. I need some bright ideas. So now I will check out all the stores online and see if they have a sweater or shirt that inspires me. I was thinking maybe pink and brown, but was concerned with the brown being too drab? Oh the desicsions...

I don't know why I get so obsessed with this! If you have any store or color coordinating suggestions I would love to hear them!

So now I just cannot wait for September and October to arrive. We'll have Leo's birthday in September, our Disney trip and we'll get to experience some bit of "real" fall by being in Tennessee in October!

My House - A New Place For Torture

Well for the past couple weeks I have been on a working out hiatus. I didn't re-up my trainer sessions at the gym for a couple reasons. 1. Damn it's expensive to go three times a week. 2. I wanted to find a gym that was covered by our health plan so I can get the membership FREE! And 3. Well I can't remember the third, but anyway.

So I was pleased as punch when my trainer, who I have come to really enjoy, was going out on her own! She is doing a really cool idea of a mobile gym. So now she comes to our house 2 times a week and trains both Leo and me. And the price of this training is still LESS than I was paying for just myself at the gym!

So now I torture myself at home. And at night. I really do think it's a good thing. It will kind of change up our nights of watching TV with doing something productive and healthy. It will hopefully help me keep me on my weight loss goal. I also will begin my Krav Maga classes that I was supposed to start in June (but remember that time thing? Jeez it's killing me!). And it's something Leo and I can do together.

Here's to the torture!

Monday

It's been way over a week since my last post. I know it's getting worse. I'm sure my readership level is down to nothing. That makes me sad, I need to improve it but that requires more posts which requires time to write them and right now time is not something I have in excess.

I miss the blog posting. It was so helpful when I moved here, kept me from being committed. I enjoyed doing it. And I still enjoy doing it but now work is getting in the way. Damn work.

The kids are good, well this weekend they were abducted by aliens and replaced with an evil replacement that had some discipline issues. There was a lot crying,whining and sibling fighting resulting in yelling and guilt this weekend.

We saw Ice Age 3 on Saturday. Little Man was very funny. He laughed out loud a number of times, he also screamed out loud a few times. He asked incessant questions in a non movie voice level. These included some of the following:

• What is that mommy?
• What are they doing mommy?
• What kind of dinosaur is that mommy?
• Is that dinosaur sad mommy?
• Look mommy a baby!
• What is that noise mommy?
• What is that mommy?
• Where are the dinosaurs going mommy?

We got looks. I tried to make him use his "whisper voice" but that didn't work. Oh well, what did they expect it's a kids movie. We'll have to work on the movie voice.

We are in potty training hell. Little Man will NOT go pee at home for anything. I have bribed that kid with just about everything under the sun. He will pee at school all day long. I don't get it. I've stopped trying and given up. We've resorted back to pull ups at home...and he hates underwear so he goes commando at school. I even told him he didn't have to wear underwear. I mean who cares that your 3 year old is free balling it right? I mean if it works then great, but even that didn't work out for us at home. He is potty tramatzied and I'm not even sure how it happened? Oy.

Work is calling, time to go. My non working time during work hours has been used up.