Really? Croup? Now?

I gotta tell you our luck with vacations and sickness make for great blog topics. I get a call from day care about Little Man. I kind of figured I would actually. Sunday we took him to the pediatric urgent care because he sounded really chest congested and had a random bark cough. I knew that cough, but it wasn't consistent. He only coughed once on Sunday but still in an effort to ward off anything bad we headed out to the urgent care. And of course by the time we get there he sounds fine, no congestion nothing. I probably looked like an idiot going in there.

Yesterday morning he wakes up the same way. So I knew the call might be coming. And it did, right after nap. They call to tell me he can't breath and he is making horrible noises. I call the doc and make an appt and head to the school to get him.

So he has croup, and he had the stridor part so bad during the day he got a shot of steroids at the doc. He didn't like that. And steroids cranked him all up, he was running around last night at 9:30 and trying to help me pack. So now we have some of Leo's socks in kids bag. And Leo has ALOT of socks...

But he slept good and is at home with me today. He sounds better so that's good. Hopefully by the time we get to Disney everyone will be sick free.

Happy Birthday Leo

Happy Birthday to my main man Leo!
He's 38 today.
He's older than me.

He's a great husband.
A wonderful father.
He's my everything.

Happy Birthday Leo!

Packing Anxiety

I spent the weekend doing last minute shopping and packing up for our trip. It's causing me some wicked anxiety.

I made a list of what I need to buy.
I made lists of what to pack, broken down by each family member. And a list of toiletries that will need to be packed. I have set the toiletries out on the counter, they are categorized by their type (first aid, medication, etc.).

I'm not really sure how I ended up this anal about packing. I'm going to blame it on having kids because I used to be the morning we were leaving packer. Now I'm starting DAYS before we leave. It's a little insane. Maybe I need help or medication, I sure could use some anxiety medication right now. I feel it in my stomach, the anxiety build up. It's mixed in with some excitement and fear. The fear I'll be vomited on. Again.

And as my friend Kelly reminds me often, we are NOT going to a third world country and I can buy stuff I forget there. Yes I know this, but I also have been on enough trips with Leo who always comments when I say "We need to get this or that" with "Don't we have that at home? Why didn't you pack it?". And yes we can do laundry but I don't want to have to keep up with my clothing count every night to make sure we all have fresh underwear for the morning. And then have to do a load of laundry at 2 AM to make sure someones not wearing yesterdays underwear inside out in an attempt to feel "fresh". I'm trying to avoid the stress by getting it out of the way BEFORE we're there...
At least that's what I'm telling myself!

Friday - You've Taken Awhile To Arrive!

Finally you are here my dear Friday! I've been waiting for you!

1. My car looks like a library on wheels on the inside.

2. Leo's birthday and our vacation is coming up next.

3. Lately, things seem still a little warm.

4.The bathroom is one of my favorite 'hiding' places.

5. What happened last night?

6. Snow in Chandler is not impossible!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to a gathering at Leo's new office building, tomorrow my plans include doing last minute vacation shopping, interviewing a potential new babysitter and Sunday, I want to pack and maybe go see Inglorious Bastards!

Mommy, I Want Crabs

This is not something you generally want to hear from your children. As I immediately think of the "crabs", those lovely little bugs that invade certain areas resulting in serious itching. At least from what I've heard, for the record I've never had crabs, except to eat. And that's the truth. And even if it wasn't the truth, which it is, this post isn't about me. It's about Little Man. And he doesn't have "THE" crabs either. And that's the truth.

So last night Little Man screams at me "MOMMY! I WANT CRABS!!!!!!!!", "I want CRABBBBSSSS on my legs!!!!!' He was very adamant about this.

And he was referring to his pajamas. He wanted the ones that had crabs on the bottoms not the single crab on his shirt.

I was laughing, it was funny. Maybe it was one of those you had to be there and you would be laughing too...or are you laughing anyway?

Who Wants To Be Cinderella?

You might think the answer is obvious, of course Sweet Girl wants to be Cinderella. And in fact yes you are right. But we also have a Little Man who also wants to be Cinderella. This is a current on going fight in our house as to who gets to be Cinderella when we're at Disney World. We have a morning at the Bibbi Bobdi Boutique. The mecca for girls who want to be a princess. They fix your hair, nails, makeup, and you can even select the dress up package. And there is a barber shop for the boys to get snazzy hair (amazingly it's only $7.50 compared to the AT LEAST $40.00 trip for a girl, up to $200 if you're going all out).

So Little Man also wants to be Cinderella. He wants his nails painted and the dress. He wants to go all out.

Does this bother me, not really (other than possible cost), so I envision we'll have two "princesses" from the BBB going to the princess breakfast. Oh yes, Little Man will be sporting some nails, makeup and a most likely a dress. And I gotta tell you, he's got lots of practice walking in the plastic heels. He's a pro and actually walks in them better than Sweet Girl...
It is possible he could change his mind (it happens at a rapid pace these days) and want to be a prince. Or Captain Hook. Or possibly even Tinkerbell...

He's just taking the lead from his sister, who was ecstatic when she got "makeup" in the McDonald's happy meal (another reason to avoid the stupid McD's). It was just lip gloss but I heard numerous times Little Man requesting "more makeup" "I NEED MORE MAKEUP!!!!".
He just wants to be accepted by Sweet Girl. He loves her so. It's all good and if we end up with two decked out princesses well there will be some great pictures to show his future girlfriends...

I Think Some Have Forgotten

On this day in 2001 ironically Leo was in Arizona and I was in Nashville (this was from our first round of living here and my insistence to move back which left us living in two different states for a couple months), and I was at work when all hell broke loose. I called Leo at what would have been 6 AM in Arizona to tell him bad things were happening and then from that point we were both watching the news. Him in Arizona and me in Tennessee at work. Our entire company sat and watched the horror unfold. A day I shall never forget.

And the days that followed, the rallying of Americans and the patriotism that flowed was great. Flags flew everywhere. But now years later, it's been a while since it happened, people forget. Obviously too long ago for some people to still have that patriotic feeling that everyone had the days following 9/11/01. It's sad we lost that rally and most people shoved their patriotic feelings aside. I don't get that. Even now, I hate looking at the clock and it happens to be 9:11, I always take a moment and say a prayer for all those people. I don't sit there and dwell on it, but I do always see the images. While it's not fun, I do think it's imperative that we remember the day. I'm a lucky one, I wasn't in NYC or DC or PA, I didn't lose a family member or close friend on that day, but think about those people who did. They CAN'T forget and I'm pretty damn sure they WON'T forget.

So today I honor all those who were lost on September 11, 2001. I honor all the civil service workers who helped on that day and the many after cleaning up the aftermath.

I haven't forgotten.

License Plate Pet Peeve

I have this thing, one of many weirdo pet peeves I possess, I can't stand personalized license plates. I don't know why they bother and annoy me so, especially considering they aren't even mine so really why should I care you're driving around with a license plate that states "Da Wifes" or something else that is equally as stupid.

And unfortunately for me, Arizona seems to have an abundance of folks that find creative ways to express themselves using the license plate. I roll my eyes when I see them, and make snarky comments if Leo is with me. What can I say they just annoy the crap out of me. Sometimes they are a challenge to figure out what the hell they are trying to say. It's like a mobile brain teaser. And to some extent I enjoy the challenge until I figure it out and usually my reply is 'That's just dumb'.

And since there is no way for me to ban seeing them, I have one small request. For the love of pete man, use proper English on them. I don't care if you have to get crafty and use GR8 to spell out great, not a big deal in fact I might give you some creativity points. But you get no points if you have a plate like the following (I saw it this morning) 4MEKID. Maybe their Irish? Or MAYBE they're just a flaming idiot.

I guess probably now that I've shared this with you, they won't bother me as much. And if you're a reader who has a personalized plate well, I hope for your sake it at least has proper English on it.

I Know It's Wrong to Covet and Even Worse When It's Your Kid...

Yes I am admitting I am coveting my almost 5 year old daughters abs. That kid has a wicked six pack with little fat to cover it. I'm envious, not that I really want to be 5 again but I would take her abs.

She often runs around topless (don't ask, it does run in the family though) and wow she is ripped! It must be all those times she pleads to be held upside down and then bascially does crunches while we hold her by her ankles. Who knows.

Whatever it is, I hope she keeps them. She should be proud of those things!!! I'd like to say one day I would have a matching set of ripped abs, but I think mine would require some sort of liposuction for them to really show...Liposuction sounds better and better each day...why does it have to cost so damn much??

Basket of Freshness

We participated in a local co-op bountiful basket program. You get a bunch of fresh veggies and fruits for a mere $15.
So this week was the first time we did it. I was amazed at how much stuff we got for the price.
Here's a list:
7 avocados
1 head of lettuce
1 bag of apples
1 bunch of bananas
8 pears
8 peaches
4 grapefruit
1 bunch of broccoli
1 watermelon
1 bunch of radishes
5 potatoes
3 huge green peppers

That's a pretty good loot for only $15. So now we've challenged ourselves to eat all our natural stuff this week. Nothing goes to waste. We also had a Costco run where we also bought a container of apples, strawberries, more bananas and peaches, and 2 cantaloupes. We are SET on the fresh/fruit veggie front.

Here's to being fresh!

The Comfort of Thunder

I love the look of rain clouds, the dark big puffs in the sky that signal an impending storm. I love the way the wind blows the leaves of silver maples so that the silver side of the leaf if in contrast to the deep blue of storm clouds. Ah just thinking about it makes me peaceful. I love a storm during the day, because you can see it in all it's glory. Alas, in Arizona we don't get many storms like that during the day (and unfortunately there are not many maple trees either) so I have to enjoy a storm like that at night.

And last night we had a good one.

The lightening here in Arizona is AMAZING. It is sometimes so bright it hurts your eyes. But it does sure put on a beautiful show since most of the storms take place at night it makes it easy to enjoy the show.

The problem I had last night as I was in bed listening to the rain and thunder I was being lulled to sleep. But I wanted to stay up and listen and watch the show. The sounds were so peaceful, yes I know how can thunder be peaceful but when you don't hear it that often it is comforting. And just as I got to the point where I couldn't stay awake any longer the storm was passing. It was perfect timing.

It was an enjoyable event until I woke up at 1 AM because Sweet Girl came into our room and as I walked back to my bed I was kind of warm and lo and behold the air conditioner on the bedroom side of our house was not working. So maybe the beautiful lightening zapped our unit.

Nothing like a good storm to knock out my other favorite thing...the air conditioning!!

Counting Down

The countdown to Disney has begun. We'll be there in 3 weeks time and I really cannot wait. I can't wait to see the kids and how much they enjoy being there and the fun they will have.

Thanks to my friend Kelly, I wised up and rented a stroller. Sometimes the kids are a little whiney when they get tired and I don't really feel like having that added stress while at the happiest place on earth!!

The couple days before Disney we'll be in Tampa, I'm hoping to visit the beach while we're there as well. It will do wonders to see the ocean. And feel the sand. And play with the kids in the surf.

I hate to wish away days but I would really like to leave tomorrow.

Longest Day Ever

It is only 2:03 PM Arizona time but feels like it should be about 11:00 PM, this day has lasted FOREVER. I feel like I've been moving in molasses. Ugh.

I will be happy when it's time to leave work. I am going to dinner with a friend and then hit up Macy's to hopefully find some new jeans. I haven't bought any new jeans since after Little Man was born so we're looking at 3 years and they are getting a little worn!

It's now 2:12 and I swear I can't believe only 11 minutes have passed.

Why do days like these last forever and fun days end quickly??

Me and My Wild Ideas

Leo and I have been working out together and it's been really nice. So I thought maybe we should take it a step farther and plan something for our 15 year anniversary in two years. Something BIG, HUGE, even BEYOND HUGE a monumental achievement to celebrate our marriage and life together. Something that would bring us closer together during the training and the achievement. I thought and figured it out. We should climb Mt. Everest together.

Yes I really said that. Am I nuts? Probably. Would it fit what I was looking for, yes! Would the training bring us closer together? Yes! We would have to rely on each and work as a team. Would it be HUGE, yes (and possibly deadly but I kind of ignored that factor) and a totally cool accomplishment for ourselves and the kids, and how cool would it be for the kids to say their parents climbed Mt. Everest? Pretty damn cool I think.

And yes I figured there would be some smaller climbs. I wasn't going to go whole hog and just go straight to the mack daddy. I did consider others in there to build up to the big one.

It fit everything I wanted, until I did the research. And found a reputable guide to do this would run us a cost of about SIXTY (that is 6-0) THOUSAND DOLLARS and yes that is PER PERSON. OK, I love Leo but we'll have to find some other way to celebrate our 15 year partnership, something that doesn't cost $120,000 AT LEAST. And that didn't take into account travel and all the other "smaller" climbs I factored in.

So now I'm back to my search. Maybe I'll scale back and suggest a hike through Europe or something...Or maybe we'll win the lottery and go for it! But the odds are not in my favor for that one!