Don't Touch the Cactus!

The Joys of Being Knocked Up

2011-09-30T14:02:00.004-07:00

Well getting knocked up at my age is proving much different then when I was pregnant with Little Man. That was five years ago. I do remember being tired but not really THIS tired. It's for a good cause though that's for sure. And I should get used to it since I expect to be this tired for the next oh five years or so.

The kids are excited about their new sibling. And much like the Super Mario Bros. game I am sure there will probably be fighting over who made the baby laugh last or who's turn it is to sit next to the new one. Or we could go in the exact opposite direction and while they are excited NOW once the new kid is out and here they will not want anything to do with him/her. But I am doubting that.

I don't have anything exciting to report besides being tired. But I was trying to keep in the routine of posting.

Well That's New

2011-09-18T20:42:00.003-07:00

Yeah let's see. What's new eh? Lots really. I won't mention I am a big slacker who never posts because in reality that's not new news. So now I actually have something fun and exciting to post about, but more about that later.

Last post was June 2nd. That's a long time ago. I'll bullet list what has happened since then.

1. Leo and I went to Hawaii to celebrate 15 years of wedded bliss. I ate so much food, I even took pics of it with all intentions of blogging about that shit but well you see how that turned out. Anyway, Hawaii is an incredibly beautiful place. I would seriously live there. And never leave the Coast. I also drank a shit ton and abandoned all responsibility, resulting in getting knocked up. By Leo just to set that record straight. I do some crazy shit when I drink but finding a new man is not one of them (at least not anymore now that I already have kids. Kidding Kidding, seriously I am joking).

2. Little Man turned five AND started Kindergarten. IN THE SAME MONTH. Holy shit. But he is doing FANTASTIC and I have to admit here that I am kind of shocked. He never showed much interest in academics. But he is rocking Kinder like a star. I am beyond happy. And when asked who his friends were this year he quickly replied "all the girls". Trouble is coming.

3. Sweet Girl is in 2nd grade and she reads the Dictionary for enjoyment as well as books beyond her grade level. She is a reading fanatic. I love it. But it's making me broke, even with the used book stores. Library won't work because she RE READS her books multiple times. She is kicking ass in Karate. She will best for her Orange belt soon. She is mean and I can't wait until she starts sparring. My sweet Girl putting the smack down. I love it.

So that's it, the new news. I am hoping at this point to really keep up with the blog, now that I have being knocked up and the joys and fears that brings with it to write about.
I'll back and you will probably learn more about me than you wanted to know. I'm like that you know, an over sharer.

Recap of the Last Few Months

2011-06-02T12:59:00.003-07:00

It's been months. I've been here, just not on here. But alas there is nothing too exciting to report, therefore nothing exciting to write about. At least in my opinion. And I'm not even sure why I'm writing this one right now because I need to be doing something else. That is probably the key. I only write when I need to be doing something else. Like when I was working at a real job, I didn't want to do it so I did blog posts instead. Daily. And now I stay at home, and while there is plenty I avoid doing here too, I am not tied to the PC all day. I can close it and never open it again. And email, I can check it on my phone. And then I forget to reply because typing a long reply on the phone is a pain in the ass. But I read them and forget to reply when I do finally open the PC again. So I'm probably losing all kinds of friends, blog friends because I never post and friends because I never reply to their email so they probably think I'm blowing them off.
Jeez I am kind of a bitch.
But really I already knew that.
You did too probably.

So let's see what's been going on?

Little Man starts Kindergarten in July. Sweet Girl is going into 2nd Grade.

Sweet Girl is trying to send the Tooth Fairy to the poor house. She lost THREE teeth in ONE week. She does look super cute with both her front top teeth missing. I love it. But now they are growing in and the cute little window is closing. Boo.

It's getting hot in Arizona. Huge shocker, right? Although the weather has been weird. Last weekend it was only like 79 on Sunday. Heavenly. But then it went to 97, NOT heavenly.

Heat makes me crabby. I really just do not like it. I am not getting used to it, really just the opposite. I hate it more each year.

We are going to Hawaii (without kids!) to celebrate our 15 year wedding anniversary. I am looking forward to that. I love the beach. I wouldn't mind heat if we lived on the beach.

I've been reading a lot lately. I do enjoy reading. I just finished all of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. It's about vampires, but these are not Twilight vamps. A very good series, you should check it out if you like vampires and don't mind them having a lot of sex.

I made it through my first year as a Girl Scout Leader, we even bridged to Brownies. And I'll have you know that not one of those girls said any bad words because of me. Thank you very much.

So that's about it. I'm sure I'm probably missing something huge but I don't think so. So maybe I will get in a routine of posting. The kids will be home and maybe as a way to avoid doing crafts I will do blog posts instead. Because there is only so much crafting I can do before I want to poke my eyes out. I always thinks it's a cool idea until we get into it and then I'm like what the hell was I thinking? I do that a lot so maybe I should just avoid crafts. I need crafts that require limited supervision or don't require me to take over to complete the task!

Traffic? More Like GRIDLOCK

2011-01-23T00:01:00.001-07:00

Traffic in CA sucks ass. I think it took us 3 hours to go 4 miles after leaving Disney. That does not make for a carload of happy people. And I was hungry. I am not really all that nice when I am hungry and I was really hungry and ready to EAT. After leaving the stopped freeway to make our way to the Chik Fil A, I was better. I had food and drink and I was happy. All was good, except that we weren’t moving and our good trip time was wasting away by the second. Watching the arrival time on the GPS go from 9:01 PM to 11: 30 PM was a bit disappointing.

Then Sweet Girl has to go to the bathroom. And she’s crying because she REALLY has to go. We are stuck in traffic that’s not moving and there is a closure on the ramp we need and a detour coming up too. It’s like the bad things that happen in threes. Finally we find somewhere to get off, go in and she is still crying but there bathroom is out of order. Do you have another one we can use we have a child emergency. “NO, you can go down the street and turn right to the Circle K”. Gee thanks buddy. I hope you and all your co workers standing around with you crap your pants in public. Karma works you know.
We head over to the Circle K, we all get out again which is a pain in itself because we’re crammed in there with all our luggage, food, strollers, and assorted shit. And Little Man is not the quickest kid in the west. His nickname is Pokey. So we all go in and are informed they do not have public restrooms.
OMG seriously, I think Leo or I said how about she goes in the yard? The clerk kind of just stares at us. Obviously she’s not the sharpest tool in the west. Back in the car, I know the feeling Sweet Girl has. No one wants to crap their pants. Except I do want the clerks at the first place to crap their pants because they deserve it for being such jerks.

Finally we find somewhere, everyone is relieved. No one has peed or pooped their pants. At least to my knowledge. And our trip continues smoothly. We get home late, hit the sack and wake up fir Christmas Eve. And that is the end of our Disney Adventure. Overall a good one. Except for my souvenir cold but oh well, I think we all had fun anyway!

Disneyland is SO MUCH FUN in the rain!

2011-01-22T00:01:00.002-07:00

It’s Day 2 at Disneyland, and guess what it’s still raining. And umbrellas should be banned from the park. I got poked in the face, arm, etc with the points. It is seriously annoying. And really in driving rain, an umbrella doesn’t help much. I was jealous of the rain boots though, I have to admit that. And there were people in FULL rain gear: jackets, pants, shoes and hats. That would have been nice too. But all we had were the ponchos. They helped yes, but not that much. Add in some wind and poncho effectiveness is decreased. And ponchos don’t keep your butt dry.

We ride some more rides, we ride some rides multiple times. Like the Haunted Mansion. Little Man, obsessed with Jack Skellington and that ride. I think we rode that ride 8 times. Pirates multiple times too. In a hard driving rain Big Thunder Mt is fun but damn that rain stings.

That night I don’t think I had a dry spot from my boobs down to my toes. We had to find a launder mat to dry our shoes. I had to peel my jeans off me. Good Times.

We catch a small break from the rain on Tuesday and we actually have a full 12 hour day where we are mostly dry. Same with Wednesday, this was surprising because that was the day it was forecasted with EXCESSIVE rainfall, another 6-12 inches. Although Wednesday we had planned to go to the movies because we trusted the weather man. Should have known better, we saw a little sliver of blue sky and sun and we pretty much ran to park abandoning all reasoning because IT’S THE SUN for God's sake and we haven't seen that yet in "sunny" California. It did work out for us though, thankfully. We were able to go to California Adventure and got to see the World of Color. An amazing show all on sprays and jets of water. AMAZING. And we even get to catch the fireworks at Disneyland as we’re walking out of CA Adventure. They had been cancelled every night before. And some of the parks even closed early because of the weather.

Despite our grumblings at the start of our trip, I think we all feel the rain was actually a blessing.
Sometimes prayers are answered in a weird way. The rain actually kept a lot of the crowds away. We were able to get on and off rides without a wait. We rarely waited more than 10-15 minutes for a ride. And from what I understand that is extremely abnormal during Christmas at Disney. This was evident on Thursday when we decided to go back to the park before heading back home to AZ. The sun was out and holy crap so were the people. The wait times were more than tripled. It was difficult to walk around. Yes we may have been wet but we were able to do so much more. I would gladly go back to Disney in the rain again. But I would go with full rain gear, jackets AND pants AND boots.
And because of the rain we didn't take the strollers in the park because I wasn't going to push around that thing in the rain. And much to my surprise, my children never, not once, complain about having to walk. Shocking I know...

We rode only two rides I think on Thursday before heading home. And that was the beginning of
another adventure in itself. I will save that for the next post.

CURB!! PUDDLE!! Where’s My Poncho?

2011-01-21T00:01:00.002-07:00

So it’s barely raining now, this was after our making it to the hotel in torrential rain. God bless Leonard and his mad driving skills. We’re going to Disneyland because we can’t check into our hotel yet. And because yes it’s barely raining. But we stop and prepare ourselves with ponchos. Disneyland themed ponchos at that! We’re set.

We park, ride the tram to the entrance. And go in. And we are not in that park five minutes, not even down Main Street yet when my Mom trips over the curb and falls. She was so captivated by the giant ass Christmas tree and all its 1200 ornaments that she failed to see the curb transitioning up. I turn around and there is she on the ground. Yep this is definitely one of our trips now. If Little Man had turned around and puked on the curb it would not have shocked me. But thankfully he didn’t.

So after getting her to a bench and getting a ring of cast members surrounding her to save her from gawkers we head on down to first aid. She rides in style down Main Street in a wheelchair. She stays at first aid for a while and props her leg up to help swelling. And I am really impressed with her; the fall didn’t slow her down. She kept up with us the rest of the trip. I think she even surprised herself. And every time we got close
to a curb someone would yell “CURB!!!!!”

We rode ONE ride.

And then it starts raining. And the ponchos, pointless. Pants? Soaking WET. Shoes? Wet.

“PUDDLE” was yelled when a giant puddle was seen, one that would cover your shoe. I still walked in a few of them they were unavoidable and everywhere. My shoes have a large amount of mesh. Water and mesh? Not a good combo.

But we stay for a while longer in the rain, because damnit we paid to get in this place. And as we all know Disney ain’t cheap.

We head back to the hotel we’ve had enough for one day. We complain how much this sucks that it’s raining so much. And we are despaired at the forecast.

We dry our shoes with the blow-dryer that night.

And we sleep. And I’m sure we’re all praying that the rain lets up so we can enjoy the park. At least I know I am praying!

Stay tuned for Day 2 because my stories are long winded you know...

Don’t Touch ANYTHING and Keep your socks ON!

2011-01-20T13:50:00.004-07:00

Well Happy New Year! It's still January so that's a plus! So it’s been a while, I really am sucking lately. And I find that I am starting every blog post like this. I guess we all know by now that I am a SLACKER. So anyway now that we’ve established that, I’ve admitted it and we’re all good let’s talk about our trip to Disneyland.

But first, I hope everyone had a great holiday time with your family and friends. I hope Santa was good to you and you got what you wanted.

We had a good Christmas, despite the fact I ended up wicked sick and really to be honest don’t
remember much of Christmas Day or the day after. But anyway, I do remember the week leading up to Christmas. Oh yes. And with most of our trips it included an injury. Let me set the stage for you.

We’re going to sunny California to Disneyland. We surprise the kids. And let me tell you we probably wouldn’t have been chosen for those commercials where parents surprise their kids with that news. “Guess what kids? After the Polar Express in Flagstaff we’re not coming home, we’re going to Disneyland!” My kids just stared at us like we had 500 heads. Like we spoke gibberish. Like we told them we were going to the mall. That was their reaction. Until I guess it set in that we really were going to the land of Disney. Then they got excited. They are so weird.

We set off with a stop at the North Pole via the Polar Express, where my children, well more Sweet Girl, belted or rather shrieked out some Christmas carols. Wow, that was one loud train ride. We got our bell that we all heard jingle so I guess we all believe in Santa still. Until I get so nuts from hearing the jingle that I pry that sucker open and rip out the bearing. Luckily that didn’t happen. At least not yet. I should put those away until next year. Build up some tolerance.

Now we’re on our way to CA, we stop in a little town in Arizona. It made such an impression that I forgot its name. But I didn’t forget the Motel 6 we stayed at. They really should have turned their light “off” for us, so we had to go somewhere else. Wow. That place was GROSS. I actually wanted to sleep with my shoes on.
Don’t touch anything kids.
For the love of all that is holy PLEASE don’t put your face on the comforter.
Don’t touch the remote.
OMG the phone is STICKY.

I immediately itch, not because there are bed bugs (I checked…and lifted up the mattress and proceeded to wash my hands in bleach) but because it just seems like there are. I don’t sleep. Little Man is coughing. And they are PROUD to let you know that the Santa Fe train line comes through hourly and blows their horn at EVERY crossing. Really that’s the sign in the office. I know why they are so proud…

We leave the next morning but not before disinfecting ALL our stuff with Lysol before putting in the Yukon. No joke. I’m serious.

And on to sunny California, except yeah not that week. That week they had the worst rain storm they’ve had in like 20 years. There were states of emergency declared, mud slides, floods. And A LOT of rain. And not just a nice drizzle I mean a hard driving rain. The kind where you can’t see anything. I’m checking the forecast every five seconds on my phone (because I can now, I got a new one with Internet access and all that fancy shit). The forecast is not looking good. Rain EVERY day we are there. Red Alerts with EXCESSIVE rain warnings. Rain INCREASING AND Thunderstorms. I’m thinking, this is just great. All this damn rain. Maybe they are wrong, they are weather forecasters they are always wrong. I look at the radar; I pretend I’m color blind when all I see is a huge mass of green and red. And apparently they were right that time, those bastards.

But we go anyway. And more about that in the next post.

The ONLY Time I will Complain About Rain

2010-12-18T08:31:00.003-07:00

You'll never hear me complain about rain. NEVER. At least while living in AZ because we get oh so much rain. And you'll never hear me complain about clouds either. The ONLY time you'll hear me complain about rain is when I'm going to go on a trip. And it's mostly outside and costs a shit ton of cash. We're heading to Disneyland and the current forecast is rain for the first two days. I'm hoping like most weather forecasts it's wrong. Clouds? Fine. A little rain? Sure, not a problem, I won't even complain about that. A raging downpour? Absolutely not acceptable. NO NO NO. DAMNIT. NOT WHILE ON VACATION!!!

So if you pray, (I'll take any God at this point), say a prayer for us that we're not soaking wet walking around trying to enjoy Disney in all it's Christmas glory. I am SO excited about seeing it all decked out. I mean really excited here, so if the rain ruins that I'll be pretty pissed off. I might have some sort of Clark Griswold breakdown!

Peace Out and Rain free.

Going Going But Not Gone

2010-12-12T20:01:00.004-07:00

So I'm not gone, I'm on a hiatus. Why I am on a hiatus? Because now that I don't work on a job that is outside of my house I am never home. I'm running here and there and all over the damn place doing you know I don't even know what really.

I work at school, I help out but that is only once a week. I enjoy it. I get to have lunch with Sweet Girl. I like it. And for some reason EVERY kid in her class wants to sit next to me. I am pretty popular with the 6 year old crowd. I'm not sure what this says about me. I'm just THAT exiting I guess. Or I'm just THAT exciting that someone who ISN'T six wants to hang out with me.

And I work on my Girl Scout stuff which I am sadly behind on. I was doing so good, when I worked because I did all my personal stuff on the clock (I know brilliant isn't it? But I got my actual work done so it worked out as a win win for everyone, so no judging me here). But now I have no "clock" per se and I'm all over the place. And we're gearing up for Cookie Sales! Woohooo! Lucky us though Daisies can't do booth sales yet, so we can't harass people in front of the store. That's next year. So, I really need a defined schedule so I don't lose my mind for good.

I also, because I am a masochist I guess, became a consultant for Thirty-One Gifts. Now I LOVE a tote, storage tote, purse and if I get the chance to personalize it, well I am in. So if you need storage tote or purse or stationary and want it personalized, visit my website. I LOVE that Large Utility Tote. It kicks all kinds of ass. You want one? You should especially if you have kids and all the crap that accompanies them. And their laundry or their sporting stuff.

The kids are growing, shocking isn't it? I guess that's what they do at this age. But I'm not happy with it. I want the kids that love me and think I'm all knowing. And they must think I'm all knowing right now, or at least Little Man does considering some of the questions he asks me. For example, how does fire get on the ceiling or if we can sell scorpions. Or why is God everywhere. Or if we can buy a baby next time someone comes by selling them. Sure Little Man, we'll do that right after we call the cops.

Our house is all decorated for Christmas (OMG I did in fact SAY Christmas, as in CHRISTmas, you know it is Jesus' birthday, oh there I go again, I said Jesus, and not in vain). And I'm quite sure that Jesus loves all our inflatables. Especially the trippy "snow" globe with lights that will cause someone to seizure. And if I could find one of those plastic nativity scenes you can bet your ass it would be out there. I love those old ones, I'll have to check the Goodwill. And next year, next year I'm going all Griswold on the house.

Speaking of Griswold, how can you NOT love Christmas Vacation? LOVE this movie! Watch it as part of your Christmas tradition....And if you're feeling like Clark and think you want to have everyone over or the perfect Christmas then please don't have this breakdown..."Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse. "

I'll be back again...hopefully not a month plus between posts!

More Tricks Than Treats!

2010-11-01T20:07:00.005-07:00

Ah Halloween you were abundant with your tricks yesterday, so I'm glad you're gone for a year! We had quite the busy weekend and Halloween day too. And apparently the black cat that showed up at our Girl Scout ceremony crossed my path and brought along some bad luck we redeemed on Halloween.

Here is a run down of our tricks:

1. We did some "tailgating" before the Cardinals game, we were enjoying some music when it stopped and Leo asked me if I turned it off. I didn't. I asked him if the battery in the Ipod was charged. It was. So what happened? The truck battery was dead. Awesome. We have no jumper cables. Even more awesome. Leo asked some neighboring tailgaters if they had any, they had one of the jump pack things (official term, I have no idea) which was dead, but they had regular cables thankfully. Our offsetting good luck here was we had met some friends and they parked close to us. So into neutral the truck goes and we push it back so we can get a jump. It works and runs for a while.

2. Our friend breaks her shoe, the toe band of her flip flop came off. No luck with the super glue. Lucky for her she had a spare pair of shoes.

3. Leo dropped and stepped on his glasses. Broke the arm, but was able to fix it. But he scratched the lenses to hell.

4. Our shuttle driver that was taking us from the parking lot to the stadium got lost. Seriously we made a U-turn in a school bus. We were already cutting it close timewise and he made me miss the National Anthem. That may have been some luck because I generally tear up when I hear it and after the morning we've had I may have started balling.

5. Little Man fell asleep AT THE STADIUM. Yes so he's not feeling good. A sick kid on Halloween. Fun.

I have a feeling I'm missing one or maybe two. As luck would have it I forgot. Or suppressed it. Not sure which.

This week however will be better, my parents arrive tomorrow. Yay!
Sweet Girl turns 6 on Friday. Holy crap, 6!
I turn 35 on Friday, 1 more year then it's late-30's. Ugh.

Hope you had more treats!

Up Down Up Down

2010-10-21T19:17:00.004-07:00

I had a lunch date with my favorite Little Man the other day since Sweet Girl went to lunch with one her friends. So we headed to Joe's Farm Grill, one of our favorite places. It's a yummy farm restaurant that used to be someone house and is in the middle of an urban farm. There is also a coffee shop there that has cupcakes and assorted items and so I told him we could get desert there.

We finish up lunch and head over to get a cupcake. Little Man makes his selection of the cruelty free cupcakes (a little over the top if you ask me, I mean really you need cruelty free cupcakes??? Maybe it helps people with weird issues eat them, who knows. But a cupcake is a cupcake in my book and I really don't think the wheat used for the flour was treated cruelly in any other cupcake I've eaten. But I digress.). He selects a mixed berry with cherry frosting, it looks good. I go with the cruelly made choco chip pumpkin scone. It's not cruelty free, but I don't care because if you think about it, chewing it up into mush is pretty cruel too. So I eat that sucker and enjoy the whole damn thing. But again I digress.

I look over at Little Man who is looking down at his shorts with this odd look, which usually indicates he's spilled something. I take a look and nothings there. So I ask him what's wrong. And what he says is not anything I was expecting. I mean NOT EVEN CLOSE. He says "nothing is wrong, I'm making my penis move. Up down, up down, up down."
I stifle my laughter and tell him "That's great Little Man, now finish your cupcake."

Ah the joys of a boy!

It's About Time

2010-10-18T08:49:00.002-07:00

I am probably going to jinx myself here but thank you Jesus for finally cooling the weather down for me. We had triple digits until the beginning of October. For the love of all that is holy that is just wrong. I know we live in the desert but seriously 106 on Oct 1? Wrong. Just wrong I tell you.

But right now there are 70's forecasted for this week! 70's!!! Of course this could change 10 times before Wednesday when the temp is supposed to be 76 and then 73 on Thursday! And next week it's even going to be 70. I am anxious to turn off our air conditioner and open the windows. I am anxious to feel the chill in the house and maybe even turning on the fireplace. I am also excited about wearing jeans and long sleeved shirts comfortably and shoes WITH socks! I love the flip flop but am ready for some actual shoes.

Here's to cooler weather!! Bring it on!

So Now What?

2010-10-16T19:19:00.004-07:00

I thought for sure I would have more time to write posts after I stopped working but that just isn't the case. I used a lot of work time to do my blog posts and now that I don't actually sit down to work, I don't actually sit down to blog either. I think about it but don't login to do it. I find this weird.

Let's see what's been happening since my last slacker post. Sweet Girl has been coming out of her shell at amazing speed. She is making friends while shopping at the Pottery Barn Kids store and playing at various places. This makes me so happy. Little Man is growing an at alarming rate, with as many questions as he can muster. Lord the kid comes out with some good ones. And they are so random and all over the map. I mean all over, from why can't you see God to how does fire get on the ceiling. That is in one conversation! And he will NOT accept I don't know as an answer. I make up a lot of shit I don't know. I try to make it sound as good or logical as possible but if he remembers it at any point and repeats it I'm sure that will be just great.

Sweet Girl is enjoying Girl Scouts. I am enjoying Girl Scouts too, actually. I've only wanted a shot of hard liquor after one meeting. Yeah... um...we've only had two meetings. Actually I really do enjoy it, that one meeting was right during PMS. 15 six year olds and PMS yeah they don't mix. Don't try it, just trust me on that one. Or maybe if you're some kind of masochist you can try it. Go ahead but I warned you.

I'll be back and more regular. Like fiber.

New Routine

2010-09-17T09:09:00.003-07:00

Today marks the end of the second week I have not worked. It has been strange not having to get up and flip on the laptop and start working. I honestly can't say I miss it at all. The first few days I always felt like I needed to check email or was late for a conference call. But now I don't even give that a second thought. I figured it would take longer but maybe it was due to not having a lot of time to give it some thought. Last week, the first week sans work, Little Man was home every day sick. He had some random fever and cough and the poor thing didn't do anything but lie in bed and watch TV.

So far this week, I've kept busy getting ready for our first Girl Scout meeting (quite a success I might add), had lunch with a friend, got my hair cut and colored and volunteered at Sweet Girls school two days. I have a new respect for teachers. I don't think I could that every day. I helped in Sweet Girls class working with groups doing contractions and writing sentences with quotes. I did enjoy it I must say and will probably try to do it weekly.

Now it's time to clean out Sweet Girls room, she's a bit of a hoarder and her crap needs to be thinned out. It's much easier to do when she is not around!

A Moment Then Gone

2010-08-26T12:24:00.003-07:00

My Sweet Girl has been sick this week. She missed two days of school and officially has tarnished the potential goal of perfect attendance for her entire academic career. Leo was the one who brought that up.

I know my kids are growing up and getting bigger. They are really almost too big to carry around anymore. But I was carrying her down the hall and she had a good grip on me, a nice engaging hug, when it really hit me. They will never been this little again. Ever. They will only get more difficult to carry and won't fit on my lap much longer. It made me kind of sad really.

They really do grow up too fast. It does seem like only a moment ago they were babies and now Sweet Girl is in 1st grade and Little Man not much behind her.

Soon the moment of childhood will be over and they'll be leaving for college.

At least for now they both like their mom, think I know everything, are convinced I can see through walls and out of the back of my head, and still even though really they are too big they like to be carried. Sweet Girl doesn't mind that I walk with her in the morning line up at school or that I give her a hug and kiss in front of all those people.

Proof positive that I should be enjoying all the moments I can because soon the childhood, my mom is the best moments will be gone.

On My Honor

2010-08-24T14:08:00.003-07:00

Watch out people, I've agreed to become a Troop Leader for Sweet Girl's Daisy Girl Scout Troop. I have reached a new level of momhood. I will lead a Troop of 15 5/6 year olds.

Was this by choice?
Well yes and no.

I wanted Sweet Girl to be part of Girl Scouts, I was a Girl Scout when I was younger and still remember the fun I had, even a few years later when I put on my uniform that was 4 sizes too small and decided it was a good idea to roller skate down the street in it but I digress that is another story for another day. I wanted her to join to help her make more friends, gain some more confidence and experience new and fun things (hoping she never does the rollerskating bit). And the Troop was full. Maybe it was maybe it wasn't, but that's what I was told. I think maybe she said that to lay the groundwork for the next guilt inducing comment to the effect of 'The biggest issue in starting new Troops so all the girls can experience Girl Scouts is adult leadership. Would you be interested in volunteering?"

Ah see I got suckered, and I know it. Maybe it was all the cookie selling practice they have? Who knows. Or maybe I just give in to guilt to easily.

So I ~~suckered~~ convinced one of Sweet Girl's friends mom to join me on the journey of molding the minds of 5/6 year old girls and preparing them to be the best damn Daisy Troop ever.

It will be fun.
What the hell was I thinking?
It will be fun.
OMG, how much stuff do I have to know?
What the hell was I thinking?
It will be fun.
It will be fun.
I'm doing it for Sweet Girl.
Damnit to hell if she decides to drop out, no way she's doing that.
It will be fun.

These are my thoughts the past few weeks leading up to our first ever meeting. That meeting hasn't happened yet, so officially I could still bail but I won't. I'm doing it. And I'm going to have fun.

Damn Barbies

2010-08-23T09:13:00.003-07:00

I played with Barbies when I was a kid and really I LOVED it. I had so much fun playing Barbies. My Barbies had lives and stories, the whole nine yards. Ask my sister, she'll tell you. She will probably also tell you my Barbies were also sometimes gay, and silly and sometimes they had a lot of sex. And poor Ken, there was a like a 10:1 ratio. Ken had many roles - Father, brother, boyfriend, etc.

But now not so much. Now, I CANNOT STAND IT. I am happy Sweet Girl has Barbies and enjoys playing with them. She has a castle instead of a dream house. She has a jeep and carriage instead of the corvette. She has an assload of Barbies, still only 4 Ken dolls so the ratio is the same even now. And when she asks me if I want to play Barbies with her I cringe. Because I don't to play. I cannot explain it. I would rather watch Barney for 24 hours straight than play Barbies. I try to divert her and play something else, like a game or cards or something. Sometimes this works. Sometimes it doesn't and I have to play. I do my best to seem interested and excited about it. But I have to tell you it's like some form of torture for me.
Don't get me wrong I love doing things with her and playing with her, just not playing Barbies.

She'll probably end up in therapy because I didn't engage with her on things SHE liked to do.

Winds of Change

2010-08-13T10:04:00.003-07:00

There are lots of things going on here that I should have been updating on, but alas due to my slacker tendencies I have not.

We're getting better into our routine of getting ready for school in the mornings, better drop offs, and doing homework in the afternoons. I think we've all adjusted nicely to it. Although we're still trying to nail down the best morning routine. All in good time. School drop offs have gotten much better. I even got the I don't want you to walk with me a couple times. I was SHOCKED when that happened. Sweet Girl is making friends and talking to people and doing great. I am so happy and proud of her. I tell her how proud I am of how outgoing she is being and how exciting it is.

And now another change, I did it. I quit my job. I gave my notice and now it's done. It's both frightening and freeing. My last day is September 3rd. What are you going to do, you ask? I have no idea. I wanted a break. I will take one. I will clean and organize my closets. I will probably have to get another job because I will go mental at home all day. I debated taking Little Man out of preschool. But he likes it. And he's learning stuff. I don't think he views me as his "teacher" like that kind of teacher. We've never had those roles, yes I teach him things but not all day every day. And I didn't want to take him out and then put him in if/when I found another job. Not very consistent for the kid.

Maybe I will write the book I've wanted to write.

Everyone tells me, that I will fill up that free time in no time and will wonder why I even thought that I would not have anything to do. Maybe that will be the case.

Maybe I will find out what I REALLY WANT to do? That would be nice. I would like to have that answer and know the joy that comes from doing something you really love and enjoy.

It's kind of an odd feeling, I imagine I will go through some kind of withdrawal and or weird depression of not having to come home from dropping the kids off and jumping into an schedule of conference calls. Or maybe not?

Lots of changes for sure. But I think all for the better. At least I'm hoping so!

Over The Heat

2010-07-29T11:15:00.003-07:00

I gotta say, I'm OVER the heat and humidity here in AZ. This last week has sucked ass and has been extremely humid. It's monsoon season. Don't let the word 'monsoon' fool you. When I think of monsoon, I think of rain and a lot of it. I think it's the wrong word. We live in the damn desert. It doesn't rain in monsoon quantity. We get more blowing sand and dust than rain. And let me just tell you I LOVE that (insert an extreme amount of sarcasm here, as much as you can possibly muster and multiply it by 100).

We did get a lot of rain over the winter (no complaints from me!) but that was probably some weird weather freak of nature. It's like we got it all then and nothing now. I mean come on spread the raining love over the year.

On a different note, Sweet Girl is doing better with the school drop off. She still really doesn't talk to any kids while standing in line. I wish she would, I guess I would feel better if she had a friend. But it is only the 4th day and it will probably take her a little longer to make friends.

2nd Day Not As Good As the First

2010-07-27T13:54:00.004-07:00

Second day of school droop off was not as good as the first. I guess she knew what she was in for and it caused her some more nervousness and apprehension.

The drop off started off bad as someone tapped my bumper in the parking lot line as I was pulling in. No damage but really WTF lady, pay attention. And seriously this would ONLY happen to me on the second day of school.

The Sweet Girl was not as happy and excited today to wait in line. I tried to time it so we only had to wait a few minutes. But even in those few minutes she complained of a tummy ache and would not let go of my arm or hand. Yesterday I was able to get out of line and let her walk in. Today there were tears and I had to walk with her to almost the building.

She wouldn't talk to the other girls standing in line around her. Yesterday she said she talked to some girls but really I wonder if she did.

Little Man also had a first day at his new "school" as well. He did fine. I don't worry about him interacting and participating. He is outgoing and talks. His status sheet said he had a great day and enjoyed playing with paint.

It's funny, I do worry about both of them but they are for the exact opposite reasons. The ones strength is the other ones weakness. I would never worry about Little Man taking long to adapt to a new situation, even with people he doesn't know. But I DO worry about his academics. That kid has NO desire to practice his letters. He can't spell his name. They practices X's in school yesterday and he tried making them H's. Sigh. This would be my last worry about Sweet Girl, that kid could spell her name at 2.5. She already knows and can spell all the sight words they have to know for this year. But new social situations, forget it. I worry until I'm almost sick. All this unbeknownst to either one. And I know boys are different, don't compare your kids, blah blah blah. I get it. I would never say you need to be more like Little Man or Sweet Girl to either one of them. They are individuals. I just think it's funny how the strength of one is the weakness of the other. I guess it all balances out. At least I only have one major worry per kid. And maybe that kid can be an example. Although that hasn't really worked yet, probably because I haven't pointed it out. Nor do I plan to, so I'm back to where I started.

I wonder if I kept Little Man home with me instead of working if he would learn more? But I'm Mom and playmate. Not Mom the Official Teacher. Not that I don't teach him things because I do, we've just never had structured teaching/learning time at home. Not sure how that transition would go for either of us. And he does like interacting with the other kids.

Ah the joys of parenting. It's a never ending quest for balance, happiness, and all that without guilt!

The Beginning of A New Era

2010-07-27T10:51:00.006-07:00

Well it's done, Sweet Girl has crossed the threshold that begins her academic career. Yesterday was her first day of first grade.

I was so proud of her. I was proud of myself too, for holding it together and not breaking down like one of the kindergartners.

I gave her a charm bracelet with some charms. Each one signifying something special. A cupcake because she is sweet and special. A snow cone because she is one super cool kid. An owl as her good luck charm so whenever she is nervous at school about doing something, she is to hold the charm and say to herself "I can do it". The owl is significant because he is ALL OVER their classroom. He is their class "pet" and stands for Our World of Learning. The last charm was a Friends 4 Ever from a couple of her friends to signify she will always have friends and will make new ones. I think it really helped her.

She stood in line and we stepped out of the way. She turned back once for a wave and then she was off walking with her class to her new room.

No tears.

A big girl.

A 1st grader.

Sigh

2010-07-22T12:14:00.004-07:00

I have to say again, I'm not really sure I am ready for my Sweet Girl to be starting first grade. I don't let her know about my anxiety around it, I am always upbeat and excited when I talk about it. How exciting it will be to go to the new school, to make new friends and all that. I'm doing that in hopes that she will be excited too, looking forward to the new year. And while I know she is probably excited, nerves and being afraid are starting to tip the scales. I can see it happening. I know she's feeling that way because she is unfortunately just like me. I hated school in the beginning. HATED IT. I hope it's not like that for her. It makes me hurt thinking of her feeling that way.

We have the meet the teacher night tomorrow. I hope this helps her, we can talk about more of what to expect over the weekend. That generally helps her deal when she has an idea of what's coming.

I never expected my kids going to school to have this effect on me.

Cloud Cover

2010-07-21T13:09:00.003-07:00

Summer in Arizona is not my favorite time of year. My acceptance of triple digit temps lasts about a week and then it's annoyingly tolerated. Mostly because what other choice do I have at this point? The past couple weeks have been particularly brutal with temps of 115 on multiple days. The pool isn't even refreshing and actual feels hot. I prefer to just sit in the house and watch TV when it's that hot out. But thankfully the temps like that are short lived (and really if they were not I would not be living here) and we'll be back to cooler temps soon. Yeah soon = probably 3 months but still there is at least relief in sight.

Today we had cloud cover and even some rain (by AZ standards). I was pleased to see the blue sky covered with a nice layer of cloud cover and the blue grey rain clouds. I wish I could have sat on the patio and just stared at the cloud covered sky. But alas I was stuck on conference calls most of the morning and now it appears the sun is back out. Yay. You know how they say people in Seattle tire of the rain, well I have the same feeling about the sun. Too much of a good thing is bad in my opinion. Jeez I'm jonesing for cloud cover to hide the giant hot ass ball of gas for a few days.

There are a lot of changes coming up for us. This may mean some good blog topics which inspire me to write more often. Sweet Girl starts first grade on Monday. I'll be a big giant emotional ball of mess trying to hold myself together so she doesn't notice. Little Man goes to a new day care/preschool on Monday too. He'll be fine, no worries about him. He talks to everyone and does fine in new situations. Other changes coming which I'm sure will be a new adventure and stress that will need to be dealt with by writing. More on that later. But no I'm not pregnant. Let's just get that one out there now, that's not the change.

Here's to more cloud cover!

Long Time No Write

2010-07-07T13:43:00.004-07:00

So again I'm slacker blogger. Like you need any reminders of that. If anyone is even left reading it.

We've had a fun few weeks. We headed to the beach, the Florida Gulf Coast. Yes the coast that has oil. We called it our disaster tour.

We started out in Nashville and Middle TN (disaster 1 = flood) where we had a b'day party for Little Man who turned 4 on the 4th of July. It was a good party, at the Pump It Up. Always fun to let the kids jump themselves silly. A little touch and go there for a minute as Little Man almost puked just before we had to leave for the party. Impeccable timing that kid has. He went pale white and lost all color in his lips. I think it was because he hadn't eaten all morning. And so I gave that kid some coke, a cheese stick and some goldfish. He seemed better. Although honestly I was expecting him to ralph in the bounce houses (he didn't but it wouldn't have shocked me at that point...). We shipped home a small toy store from his b'day gifts...

We then proceeded to disaster area #2 - The Gulf Coast. I obsessively watched all the sites, trajectory maps, everything to see if that oil was going to affect our vacation. I mean seriously we didn't fly 2000 miles across the country to go to the beach when we couldn't even actually GO to the beach. Everything was looking good, it was looking to avoid the area, until two days before we were going to arrive. We went anyway, praying. We got to the beach and thankfully there was no oil lapping on shore, but we do have a few tar balls on shore. The water itself was clear most days, a couple days we dealt with some June grass, but it was clear mostly. So we swam. Hopefully in 6 months we don't find out that swimming was a bad idea. It was fun, we enjoyed the beach pretty much every day.
Except for the time when Leo, myself and Sweet Girl were all puking. Oh yes, no vacation of ours is complete without vomit. And we got it. Lots of it. Good times. I'll spare you the details. Ironically our normal puker, Little Man, was spared. How odd. I expect the next trip will be two times as bad for him. Poor kid, poor me.

The vacation motto: Is that a tar ball? and Are you going to throw up? I made Little Man nuts with asking him this. I was just waiting and waiting for him to puke. And alas he did not. And no one else that went with us puked either. I was happy to not share that with anyone.

We loved visiting with our friends and family on our trip. It was great and fun. And while I don't have that same feeling of longing anymore when we drive around the Nashville area, I do have that longing feeling for all my friends and family. Having them all together for Garrett's b'day and some came over to my parents was so nice. I miss them all terribly. I love being around everyone.

I was happy to get home. But wish I was at the beach still. Maybe that means I need a house at the beach? I think that sounds lovely.

We then celebrated Little Man's official b'day on the 4th. We tried to stay up and watch the fireworks that were "just for him" but both kids totally crashed out in the back of the truck while we were waiting. And then they slept until 8 AM the next day. Sweetness!

And now it's back to the norm. School and work. I liked when the norm was what time should we go to the beach today?

Campout Fun

2010-06-14T13:58:00.004-07:00

Well we had our first official camping trip this past weekend. It was a really great time I have to say.
Here are some of the highlights:

Kids had a great time playing by the creek, getting dirty and having fun.
Kids slept great in the tent.
We had AWESOME weather, can I tell you how elated I was to wear jeans AND a sweatshirt in JUNE??
We climbed some rocks and saw spectacular views.
We saw a famous movie spot and we were dorks and took pictures. (From National Lampoons Vacation - the spot where they are somewhere in Arizona and Clark slams on the brakes and they almost fly off a cliff - Yep it's in Sedona! And we watched the movie to verify and sure enough the exact spot we took pics is in the movie!)
We met new people, and found a new game we liked (its' Bananagrams, check it out it's fun!)
There were no farm animals waking me up at all hours. No roosters or cows!

Some of the not so fun parts:

The bathrooms made me gag. There are few things that make me actually gag, and this bathroom was one of them.
I forgot the pillows.
The first night I think I got 2 hours of sleep total, probably because I forgot the pillows and I've seen too many horror movies.

Would I do it again? Yes and I'm looking forward to it. It was great to be outdoors and relax and let the kids play in the dirt and have fun. Time to plan the next one!

Neglected

2010-06-04T07:36:00.003-07:00

The blog is being neglected. I used to post pretty much every week day and slowly, slowly it's tapered off to once a week if I'm lucky. I'm not really sure why since I do enjoy writing. Funny how those things happen, I probably shouldn't let the things I enjoy get overshadowed by the things I don't. Sometimes I just don't have the energy to do it and I have grown weary of putting pressure on myself, since I do it for just about every other area of my life. I probably should work on that too.

We had a busy Memorial Day weekend. We went to an awesome state park - Tonto Natural Bridge. It was SO NEAT. We had a picnic lunch and then took the trail down to the bridge. Once down there we scrambled on rocks and enjoyed the beauty. The kids enjoyed climbing on the rocks and really so did I. I have to admit I do love doing that kind of stuff. When I was a kid I used to look at fields and rocks and think how fun it would be to run wild in those. Now I see the fields and I think the same things with the added thought of I wonder how many snakes and things are in there too? That never crossed my mind as a kid. The state is planning on closing this park and others due to budget. Really a shame. Maybe if we stopped having to pay to take care of illegals we could keep them all open. But I digress. Hopefully it's saved because I know we would go back often.

We also camped out in our backyard as a test run for our camping trip next weekend. It was a test for us to put up the tent and to see how the kids slept. The kids slept GREAT. They took a while to fall asleep but I assumed that was the excitement factor and being outside. I took longer to fall asleep only to be awoken multiple times in the middle of the night by the crowing of a rooster. If you thought roosters only crowed to wake people up at dawn, you would be WRONG. Apparently they crow ALL NIGHT LONG. Or these people trained it as an attack rooster and it was issuing warnings. Either way, it was damn annoying. Add in the COWS and some other random shrieking animal (OK the shrieking really freaked me out) and my sleep was not peaceful. I thought farm animals slept at night? I didn't know cows and roosters were NOCTURNAL...shows how much I know about farm animals...Hopefully we are farm animal free at our campground. I imagine we'll only have to deal with the occasional mountain lion or coyote...ha the irony.

We also saw Shrek 4, a good flick that I took a couple quick naps in thanks to the farm animals. So I missed a few parts, but that's OK.

Sweet Girl had her Kindergarten graduation this week. I can't believe she's going into 1st grade. and that really Little Man will be starting Kindergarten at this time next year. Jeez.

I started week 4 on my couch to 5K plan. I was afraid of week 4 because it is alot more running then walking. But I made it through the first workout without stopping! I was feeling really good about it.

Well that's all I got for now. No puke or injuries as of late. That's always a plus!

Have a great weekend!

Run Run Run

2010-05-28T07:59:00.003-07:00

I've been following the Couch to 5K running plan in an effort to work in some cardio to help assist my weight loss. I like to run so this was the perfect plan to get me back into it. The plan is 9 weeks to get you to running 30 mins without stopping. It starts out slow and does run/walk intervals.

I'm on week 3. It's a 3 day cycle, but I have made mine 5. My runs are every day Monday - Friday with rest on Saturday and Sunday. This is the first week I went up to 5 days and really I think it has helped. I haven't been sore and the runs have been easier, which helps my confidence because I'm kind of afraid of weeks 4 and 5.

I have a mantra that runs through my head as I run: I'm lighter, I'm stronger. And if I get really tired and am ready to stop running before the time, I imagine my fat cells exploding and giving my tired legs extra fuel.

Sounds corny I know, but it works. So laugh if you want, I really don't care.

I have tried running at different times of the day, first thing in the morning, which didn't work out too well. Late at night after my session with the trainer, again not to well. So far the only time I've found that I can run easily is around 10 AM. I didn't eat anything before the morning run so maybe I'll try again after eating a banana or something. Usually I walk in the morning before eating, since I always heard that walking first thing is supposed to help you burn more fat since it's using your fat as fuel. Well I have a lot of fat so I should be able to walk a damn marathon first thing in the morning. My legs need to be sucking that fat away as I walk and run.

I've read some other blogs that are blogging about their experience with the plan. I will update my progress as well on mine.

Today is day 4 of 5 on Week 3. Monday will be day 5 and then Tuesday begins Week 4.

Ready to run too? Run with me!

Slow

2010-05-25T09:39:00.005-07:00

It's been a while since I posted. Not much to talk about really. No drama that provides me good topics to write about. I'll do some randomness.

My parents went back to TN. This sucks. I enjoy having them here. Maybe I'm weird but my parents living with us really doesn't bother me. I enjoy having them close. Hopefully they will be back sooner then November. Maybe the summer will be the time their house sells? Hoping so!

Sweet Girl is going to first grade! She missed the district cut off last year for Kindergarten in the public school. So she went to private Kindergarten at the day care. It proved a good move, she tested into 1st grade fine with flying colors. This makes us happy because she would have been bored out of her gord if she had to repeat Kindergarten again. She really excels at reading. She needed a score of 20 and her score 137! She will be on the younger side of 1st grade going in at 5 1/2 but I think she'll be OK. We've been working on her feeling more comfortable in new situations with new people.

I have been doing pretty good on my weight loss journey this round. I've actually LOST weight. I've changed my mental attitude and it seems to have helped. I guess my fat cells just needed the permission that it's OK to leave. So I've given them permission to leave and am happy to see them go.

I am ready for a vacation. We're heading to the beach in June with some friends and family. I am really looking forward to it. It will be a nice break. Hopefully we stay oil free on this trip since we're heading to the Gulf Shores area of FL.

I can't believe my Little Man is going to be 4. Holy crap. FOUR. He is not a baby anymore. He is animated and cute and smart. And won't give up any kisses for me anymore, because "it's not kissing day, it's only hugging day". Where he learned this I don't know, but I want to know when the hell kissing day is coming back around.

Sweet Girl is requesting I curl her hair now. This makes me kind of nervous. Next thing she'll be asking for eye shadow. And then the car keys.

I don't want my kids to grow up. I miss them when they are at school but sometimes on Sunday I'm looking forward to them going back. Sometimes I regret my decision to work after they were born because work causes me stress and sometimes I don't enjoy the kids as much as I should. But then I think about how I would probably be stressed at home with them every day, so I guess I made the right decision.

Ok well I think that's it.

Ahh Friday

2010-05-14T21:04:00.003-07:00

It's been a rough week. I've been battling what I thought were allergies due to the blooming Palo Verde trees (they are the weirdest trees, they are green and they look like aliens in my opinion). But I don't think it's just allergies, I think I have some kind of cold as well. I've been coughing and OMG my chest, it's killing me. The Mucinex helped. A little.

Today I feel better physically. Mentally I'm a little blah.

My parents are going home on Sunday.

I really like having them here so I'll miss them. Leo will miss them too. And probably most of all the kids will REALLY miss them.

But we'll be OK, we'll see them in a few weeks when we head to the beach. And they'll be back. Hopefully sooner then planned.

Misunderstood

2010-05-13T07:54:00.004-07:00

I live in Arizona. I am surrounded by the immigration law drama. I have to at times stop watching or reading because I am amazed at just how stupid some people are. And what's even more disappointing is that the media is just as bad. It would be helpful if the media would actually READ the bill. It would also be helpful if politicians including the President read it as well.

Here is a link to it so you can read it. It's not that long even, but if you're going to report on it or discuss it shouldn't you be informed?

And just FYI:

The SB1070 law mimics a current federal law. So I hope the city of LA decides to boycott the Feds now too. Personally I think we should cut off their power and water supply that they get FROM ARIZONA.

The law does NOT state that the police can pull you over, demand immigration papers and then deport you immediately.

You do NOT have to passport to enter Arizona (this is my personal favorite).

I'm sure there are countless other misinterpretations of the law so that the media can spin it and make Arizona look like this horrible horrible place. But isn't it funny that there are multiple other states that are looking to do the same thing as Arizona? I hope they all do.
So come on, come visit Arizona!

Nashville Flood

2010-05-06T11:50:00.003-07:00

If you didn't catch an earlier post this week, or maybe you haven't watched the news for more than a couple minutes you may not know that Tennessee, mostly Nashville and close surrounding areas, were and some still are under water. The damage is devastating. But it has not gotten very much national news coverage.

Here is a great article in The City Paper of Nashville. It's an excellent read. It really is amazing how much a difference Nashville and other areas in TN are compared to Katrina. How much Nashville residents pulled together to help and get started on rebuilding instead of waiting for aid or blaming someone else and abandoning the city. I am sure in New Orleans there were residents that pulled together and maybe that didn't get enough coverage.

It’s really a shame that it’s not being covered for the devastation but also to show what it really means to be a community and to help your neighbor. I guess that would probably end up offending someone and lord forbid we ever do that…

Help out! Click here to help the city of Nashville and other TN counties that are in need.

Commentary: Why national media glossed over flooding
Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 10:45pm
Patten Fuqua

If you live outside of Nashville, you may not be aware, but our city was hit by a 500-year-flood over the last few days. The national news coverage gave us 15 minutes, but went back to focusing on a failed car bomb and an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. While both are clearly important stories, was that any reason to ignore our story? It may not be as terror-sexy as a failed car bomb or as eco-sexy as an oil spill, but that’s no reason to be ignored.

The Cumberland River crested at its highest level in over 80 years. Nashville had its highest rainfall totals since records began. People drowned. Billions of dollars in damage occurred. It is the single largest disaster to hit Middle Tennessee since the Civil War. And yet… no one knows about it.

Does it really matter? Eventually, it will… as I mentioned, there are billions of dollars in damage. It seems bizarre that no one seems to be aware that we just experienced what is quite possibly the costliest non-hurricane disaster in American history. The funds to rebuild will have to come from somewhere, which is why people need to know. It’s hard to believe that we will receive much relief if there isn’t a perception that we need it.

But let’s look at the other side of the coin for a moment. A large part of the reason that we are being ignored is because of who we are. Think about that for just a second. Did you hear about looting? Did you hear about crime sprees? No, you didn’t. You heard about people pulling their neighbors off of rooftops. You saw a group of people trying to move two horses to higher ground. No, we didn’t loot. Our biggest warning was, “Don’t play in the floodwater.” When you think about it, that speaks a lot for our city. A large portion of why we were being ignored was that we weren’t doing anything to draw attention to ourselves. We were handling it on our own.

Some will be quick to find fault in the way rescue operations were handled, but the fact of the matter is that the catastrophe could not have been prevented and it is simply ignorant to suggest otherwise. It is a flood. It was caused by rain. You can try to find a face to stick this tragedy to, but you’ll be wrong.

Parts of Nashville that could never even conceivably be underwater were underwater. Some of them still are. Opry Mills and the Opryland Hotel are, for all intents and purposes, destroyed. People died sitting in standstill traffic on the Interstate. We saw boats going down West End Avenue. And, of course, we all saw the surreal image of the portable building from Lighthouse Christian floating into traffic and being destroyed when cars were knocked into it. I’m still having trouble comprehending all of it.

And yet…life will go on. We’ll go back to work, to school, to our lives, and we’ll carry on. In a little over a month, I’ll be on this website talking about the draft. In October, we’ll be discussing the new Predators’ season with nary a thought of these past few days. But in a way, they changed everyone in this town. We now know that that it can happen to us, but also know that we can handle it.

Because we are Nashville.

I Love The Grand Canyon

2010-05-06T09:57:00.008-07:00

We were in Flagstaff this past weekend and went up to the Grand Canyon. I really could go there every week and never tire of it. It's so pretty.

We enjoyed great Canyon views and even got to see some snow when we left Flag. Snow in May! Awesome in my book. Now too bad I live in a desert.

I hope you enjoy the views as much as I do.

Still in Flagstaff, there is a lot of snow on the San Francisco Peaks:

These pictures will never do it justice. It's so much more then the "hole in the ground"

I love this tree!

Granite Rapids on the Colorado River

PROMPTuesday #105

2010-05-04T13:22:00.003-07:00

I'm on a roll, two weeks in a row for doing the PrompTuesday over at San Diego Momma. I ran out of time and ended up in a block on this one, but I am OK with what I had.

SO, for today’s exercise, I’d love you to add to the sentences provided below. Complete the paragraph and continue the story.

**********************************************************************************

“Wait!” I screamed after her. “Your hat!”

She ignored me, which was to be expected. We hadn’t talked, not really anyway, in more than 10 years. I scooped up her black hat. The mesh veil fluttered beneath my fingers…

**********************************************************************************
“Wait!” I screamed after her. “Your hat!”
She ignored me, which was to be expected. We hadn’t talked, not really anyway, in more than 10 years. I scooped up her black hat. The mesh veil fluttered beneath my fingers…
And she was gone. I wanted to believe that maybe she left the hat for a reason. Like she would come back for it and we could have the talks we used to have. Deep down though, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. Deep down I knew she was never coming back. This was it. All I had left of our friendship was this hat. I guess I could put it in a box and on the shelf, and never look at it again. I’m not sure I could do that yet, that’s too much closure and I am not ready for it.

Looking back I should have known she would not be one of those forever friends. She was volatile and always going a hundred miles an hour. Changing thoughts and ideas more than anyone I ever met. But I felt comfort in that. It was so unlike my life that I felt maybe I needed the energy she had to shake things up a bit for myself. I ignored my gut feeling that trouble was lingering. I was having fun and the energy was rubbing off on me. I was recharged. Alive.

Then things started changing, she was dismissing my calls and we drifted apart. I tried on many occasions to connect with her again. But she was not as keen. I was hurt and deflated. I felt so lost with my friend and energy gone. I heard through friends she had gotten in trouble, I tried to reach out to her. Recounting all the fun we used to have together, trying to get her back to me. But again it was a lost cause. This went on for years. I was never one to give up. But after years and years I really gave up hope. And began to ask myself why I was really putting in this much effort.

Flood of Emotion

2010-05-03T09:59:00.003-07:00

If you've seen any news lately you know that the Nashville, TN area is experiencing devastating floods. I have to say I am thankful to be living in Arizona at this time but this does make me feel very odd. It's like a strange sense of guilt. I can't really explain it. Like I should be there and experiencing that with all those people too. Why do I feel this way? I guess because in some way I consider that area my home. It took me a long time to feel that way but I guess meeting Leo, getting married, building my first house, and having my children there have me more connected to that area then my own birthplace of Detroit.

And now to see it experiencing catastrophic flooding has me feeling a little strange. Guilt and relief at the same time is not a normal combination. And is hard to deal with.

I think about the house we built and wonder how it fared, I heard reports that the area is quite bad but it was up a hill so maybe the higher ground saved it? And why do I care about a house that is not even mine anymore? I guess because we choose everything in it and watched it being built that I guess I still consider it mine in someway. I wonder what it would be like for us if we were still there? Would we be flooded in? Would we have lost everything? Or at least have sustained damage on our bottom floor? I guess having these thoughts is pointless, other than using them to realize just how lucky we are that we're not having to deal with all that. But there are so many people that are. I hope the waters recede quickly.

Food - Do You Know Where Yours Comes From?

2010-04-29T02:20:00.001-07:00

I saw a review on some website about the movie Food, Inc. so I ordered it from Amazon. I was intrigued by the movie and also wondered how they would spin it. I wasn't really excited about the fact it was made by the same people that did An Inconvenient Truth, but alas I would give it a shot. And while it did have some propaganda in it, I took away quite a lot. I guess I never realized the hamburgers I was eating at certain places had "filler" meat in that had been washed with ammonia. Gross. It was just gross. And, the whole genetically modified stuff FREAKS me out for some reason. And it's in EVERYTHING.

And why the government or some groups don't feel it's necessary to tell me if I'm eating cloned meat is just wrong. I have a right to choose if I want to eat cloned meat! And I have to say I would choose NOT to eat cloned meat.

We decided to try to make some changes after watching this movie.

We planted a garden. Our own vegetables growing right in our backyard. And I have to say I've really enjoyed it so far. We have some tomatos growing and soon some peppers will be popping out. We planted all our favorites.
I signed up for a organic fruit and veggie basket to be delivered. All locally grown. The pears have been FANTASTIC.
We'll be ordering our own cow. No, not to live in our backyard. But I did do some searches for grass fed, no hormones, no antibiotic pasture raised cows. And I found one here in AZ, Leo called the slaughterhouse and it will only be our cow that will be processed at that time so no mixing of others in there. We'll be freezing a lot of cow here soon.
And we'll try to support as much local farming as possible.

Watch the movie I guarantee it will change your perception of food!

Also check out the Eat Well Guide. It has a lot of great info hopefully about your own local options!

And if you're in Arizona, Georgia, or the Ohio River Valley check out Natures Garden Delivered for your own local organic delivery of fruits and veggies.

Also in Arizona check out Support Local Arizona and Arizona Local Foods

Representing The 313

2010-04-28T09:16:00.004-07:00

Ok, so today is Wednesday and I'm doing San Diego Momma's PROMPTuesday today.

Here's the low down:
Do you remember where you grew up? The town, the house, the apartment, the street, the lane, the city, the grassy field? Please describe it in every detail.

I remember the house on Windsor in Detroit where I grew up with fond memories. I can remember the full address and phone number too. I remember the white sided house with detached garage. It was on a great double lot. The house was 2 bedroom and 1 bath. The bedroom upstairs was one giant room with a giant wool rug covering the hardwood floor. In the center of the rug was cut around the metal air return. My dad painted the hard plaster walls a mint green color. I used to use it as a chalk board to play school. And it hurt if you ran into it because there was no give! There was on small closet and a wardrobe by the door. There was also a small "sitting room" off to the corner. The room as I remember was pretty big. If I went back now it would probably seem so small. I used to keep my bed by the windows because in the summer it was so warm, we didn't have air conditioning. I would listen to the sounds of the city going to sleep every night. The constant hum of something going on lulled me to sleep.

The steps leading up to the room, turned and had steps shaped like triangles. They always reminded me of pieces of toast. I would often douse the floor by the steps with pledge to make it supper slippery, then get a running start slide on the floor and jump down the 4 steps to the piece of toast landing. It's a wonder I never flew out of the landing window. But it was fun.

The basement was an awesome skating rink until finished it and then it had carpet, which is kind of difficult to roller skate on. But before it was finished we would skate around it like crazy.

I can still hear the chain of the garage doors as they opened. We would open the side window in the garage to put the radio in the window so we could hear some tunes in the pool. The pool was in the backyard and where we spent most of the summer. We would walk carefully across the paver patio because if you weren't careful damn you would stub your toe on the pinkish pavers.

We had a double driveway as well, I can still see my dad cleaning the driveway with the hose and I can hear the Tiger games on the old old old radio.

I can see the garden in the big side yard next to the garage. We had lots of tomatos, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and other things I can't remember. In the corner of that garden was a maple tree I planted on a whim. I thought it was a weed, but it wasn't and it grew to be a pretty big tree. We also had two other maples in that yard - Jean and Willard named after my grandparents. I used to love when a storm was coming and the wind would blow the leaves to the silver side. The contrast against the grey clouds was so cool. The border around the grass had all kinds of flowers, peonies, roses, hostas and a giant forsythia bush. We used to get the hosta leaves and make "tacos", hosta leaves for shells, dirt for meat and grass for lettuce. Thankfully we never actually ate them.

Good memories of that house, I could probably write a book giving you all the detail!

Random Tuesday

2010-04-27T11:29:00.003-07:00

Since I don't really have one specific topic that would produce a blog post that would be worth reading, I'll just post some randomness.

We had a good weekend, it was busy! The kids had fun at Leo's company event. Sweet Girl is quite a driver as she proved on the Kiddie Kart course, swerving to miss running into another kid. Little Man, not an excellent driver and hasn't gotten down the whole "steering" part. This caused him to basically run into the "wall" at any point that involved a turn, and this almost made me pee my pants laughing so hard. He didn't get hurt but it was so funny. Maybe you had to be there.

Did you know that if you are a women and you have boobs and maybe you show some cleavage, you're causing earthquakes? No joke, seriously you are. Read here if you don't believe me.

Arizona is causing all kinds of drama, with the latest immigration law. I'm not sure of your definition of "illegal" is but in my book, illegals shouldn't have any rights here in this country. They shouldn't be treated better than legal tax paying citizens, they shouldn't get free health care, or a free education. They really shouldn't get ANYTHING if they are not here legally. If found they should be sent back to their home country. So I am for this law. Because federal government is doing such a great job at protecting our borders from illegals.

The weather has been in the 90's the past two days. I'm not looking forward to summer.

That's all today.

Friday Is The Best

2010-04-23T07:55:00.004-07:00

I am happy for Friday, I always am. It is really not a good idea to wish away a week just to get to Friday all because I don't have to work for two days. It is amazing to me the amount of stress and drain the work day causes and most days are not even so busy for me. I guess it's the downfall of doing something you really don't enjoy all that much. Oh well, I don't have to worry about it for two days because it's Friday!

Enjoy your weekend!

Let's do some Fill Ins!

1. Where are my keys? And how the hell can I lose them in this small purse???

2. If wishes were horses I would have a lot of wild horses.

3. I'd like to see the ocean from my bedroom window every day.

4. When I was a teen, I thought I would be an Air Force pilot.

5. One of my mother's favorite sayings was "we're all God's children".

6. I'd have a hard time doing my workout without my trainer.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner at the Benihana to celebrate my Dad's birthday, tomorrow my plans include a fun day at Leo's company family event and Sunday, I want to enjoy the afternoon at a Dbacks game, and not think about the fact the next day is Monday...

Weird. There Is No Other Word For It.

2010-04-21T14:03:00.006-07:00

People are weird. I've always known this. And I know some are REALLY weird. But this just takes the cake. Seriously.

This man is making art out of the ashes of cremated dogs and cats. WTF? W.E.I.R.D.
Read on here. I do have to laugh at the author's constant puns included in the article. But I'm sorry, I do not wish to have art or any other assorted jewelry from my dead relatives or animals.
My Mother thinks making beads out of your ashes is cool. Again I'm going with weird. Sorry there Mom, but I won't be wearing your ash beads. Can you imagine the conversation and looks you would get when someone complimented you on your dead relatives ash beads and then inquired where you got them?

"Oh yeah that's my dead Mother, we melted down her ashes to make this bracelet". How would you respond if someone told you that?

I think that might be the end of that conversation.

And they may back away slowly.

I probably would.

Vegas

2010-04-20T10:48:00.006-07:00

We headed to Vegas last week for a trip away while we had built in babysitters. We were both really looking forward to it. The first few days were for pleasure and then Leo had a work conference and I worked from the hotel.

We were at the snazzy Signature Towers of the MGM Grand. The non gaming part of the MGM and about a quarter mile hike to the actual casino. We walked our asses off there. Well not literally because mine is still pretty large so basically we walked A LOT. Our room was on the 38th floor, the top floor. Our ears popped in the elevator and I couldn't go on the balcony because holy crap the 38th floor is high.

I enjoyed a hot stone massage, it was heavenly. Then I got a citrus cocoa wrap. I was a mummy slathered in chocolate. It was very nice and then I started to get a little claustrophobic. I was wrapped up and covered in warm towels, I had cucumbers on my eyes and I was getting warm. And then I would fall asleep, and then I would wake up and freak out, calm myself down and then fall asleep and do that whole thing over a few times. So I was totally relaxed, freaked out, totally relaxed, freaked out, etc. You get the picture. I finally had to ask when it was going to end because I was ready to be unwrapped! But it was overall very nice.

We ate yummy food. We only have a few drinks. We had good talks. Leo played Black Jack and won some cash. I played Roulette and won some cash which if I had stayed away from the table I would probably still have. Oh well. It was fun. I wandered around the casino aimlessly at times when I didn't feel like sitting and watching Leo play Black Jack.

We saw Cirque's 'O' and Zumanity. Both excellent shows. And both had those amazing acrobatic moves where those people have amazing muscle tone, core strength and flexibility. Wow. And WOW again.

It was nice, I was ready to come home and see the kids. But not really ready to go back to the reality of working. I'm really ready for the permanent vacation!

Total Slackass

2010-04-16T11:07:00.003-07:00

I am such a slacker. It's been two weeks with no posts. What is wrong with me, I'm in a slump. Blah.

I've had a lot going on. I was lucky enough to get an MRI for my ankle. I call it fat ankle, because basically I don't have one. It's cankle for sure. And I have bunions. And they are hurting. And really they are ugly. So I finally finally made an appointment with the foot and ankle doc. So the bunions, they need to go. They need to be removed and I have to have bones fused and all that fun stuff which will require me to be on crutches for at minimum 6 weeks. Then there is the fat ankle, which is all due to a "mass". Thus the MRI to verify said mass is nothing major. I've had this mass for as long as I can remember so I went on the assumption it's nothing. And I was right, it's nothing but a mass. I will discuss the mass with the doc at my follow up appointment next week.
The MRI wasn't bad since I didn't have to go all the way in. Good. The bad part came when they had to do the contrast. Which required an IV. Not my fave. Hate the IV. Not a fan, the IV for me was the worst part of giving birth to my children. I would rather have the epidural twice then have to get an IV. But she was good, I barely felt it. And then. Then the vein collapsed. OMG. Seriously, she had to do it again on the other side. Worse case scenario for me here. And then the burning begins, and the pain where the contrast blew out of the vein and is now absorbing into my arm tissue. OH.MY.GOD. I was being stabbed with a hot poker in my arm. It was so bad, it hurt I wanted to cry and slam my arm against the wall.
And then it was over. The burning subsided mostly. But my arm felt weird and bruised and very uncomfortable. Not a fan of that.

We went to Las Vegas - just Leo and I. It was awesome. I'll save that for another post because I'll need some topic for the next post or two.

I'm looking forward to the weekend. Of course that's nothing new I always am. I'm looking forward to Friday as soon as Monday rolls around. If I could just cut out the work part of Mon- Friday I think I would enjoy those days more. I need to work on that. But today is Friday, I'll enjoy it, the work day is almost over and the weekend will begin!

Hmmm....Tuesday

2010-03-30T09:42:00.003-07:00

I have no creative title for today's blog. I really don't have any subject matter either. It's been a week since my last post. I guess the only consistency I can claim is my consistent nature of not posting.

Here are some random thoughts.

I would rather be on the beach or at Disney World. I have this overwhelming desire to be at either of those place. I'm going to assume it's my way of trying to escape my daily activity of work. I do want to be with the family so it's not them I'm trying to get away from, just work. Ah the thought of sitting on the beach with the kids playing in the sand. Heavenly. Instead I'm here testing code and writing defects. Woohoo.

We got a new treadmill. And I've even used it. I'm working up to getting up every morning and walking my fat ass off. Hopefully I'll get there this week. Or maybe next week because this is PMS week which makes me evil and unmotivated. And really a little resentful that I have to exercise period. It's a good thing my trainer can take being called nasty names because I was cursing her last night. Burpees with the added pleasure of the Bosu ball. Seriously, WTF. She had it out for me I know (paranoia is also one of my added benefits of PMS. Lucky me). And if you don't know what burpees or a bosu ball are, consider yourself lucky.

We also got a new fridge, it's one of those fancy French door kind. It's pretty neato I must say.

I should never again (and I won't) attempt to cut Little Man's hair. He had a nice mop (probably a good 3 inches of hair ) and now he has a buzz cut with a zero fade. Yes I screwed it up that bad. Thank goodness for the lady at Great Clips who was trying to be all nice when she was telling me I just didn't have the correct knowledge on how to do it, but she was sure I was capable if I knew how. Just tell me I suck ass at cutting hair and be done with it don't try to butter me up with your nice comments. I totally fucked up his hair, we both know it. I mean come on the kid basically had a bowl buzz cut with a big chunk missing over his ear.

Ok, back to code and defects.

Desert Beauty

2010-03-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my favorite pics from our trip to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. It is a really great place if you're in Arizona! I tried my hand at some good photographs, got some good shoots. Still need some more practice.

Pretty Yellow Flowers with a Prickly Pear Cactus:

A Barrel Cactus

Patch of Wildflowers

Close up

Cactus

Windmill

Oh The Things They Say

2010-03-22T10:59:00.003-07:00

We had a great weekend, we went to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum and it was awesome. The weather was great and the park is wonderful. Great trails, and so many varieties of plants. It was just so cool. Maybe I will post some pics tomorrow.

They kids did great and Leo surprised them with little stuffed birds from the gift shop. They liked them. Sweet Girl got a hummingbird, named Mrs. Hummer. Yes Mrs. Hummer.

Little Man got a Quail, we tried to get him to name his Dan but no luck there. I'm not sure his even has a name yet.

Then there was the conversation in the car about the characteristics of each bird. The fact that Little Man's bird did not have as long of a beak as Sweet Girls. This conversation led us to statement:

Sweet Girl "Little Man you don't have a pecker".

Oh the laughter. That was good.

Friday Fun

2010-03-19T10:20:00.003-07:00

Ahhh...finally Friday has arrived! And in a few hours the weekend will officially begin! Yay!

So lets do some Fill-Ins today!

1. Today I will be looking forward to the end of the work day.

2. Your answer is always no, and I say why not?

3. What do you think of this wonderful weather we've been having??

4. At Starbucks it's free Pastry Day til 1030 Friday!

5. People say that what we're all seeking is continuous happiness and what's wrong with that?

6. The image I cherish most is my sweet children laughing.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to date night (again, woohoo 3 weeks in a row!!), tomorrow my plans include not sure yet, probably some garage organizing and Sunday, I want to head to a state park and enjoy some beautiful desert wildflowers!

Read To Me, My Love

2010-03-17T11:53:00.004-07:00

I had the pleasure of talking to one of my sister in laws the other day. She lives in Knoxville, TN and we talk on occasion but not as often as we should. We keep up via email and Facebook but still a good old phone conversation is the next best thing to being around someone in person. As long as it's someone you like, if you don't like them then being around them in person may just be the worst thing in the world. But, in this case I like her.

We were talking about the kids and how fast they grow up and how it seems like just yesterday we were trying to figure out how the hell the Snugli worked so we could take Sweet Girl on her first Black Friday outing at the young age of 4 weeks old. The process of figuring this out was someone comical and I remember laughing hysterically. Maybe it wasn't really that funny and I was just dealing with postpartum hormones, regardless I had a damn good laugh.

She then commented on the fact that she keeps up with the kids and reads the blog. I was so happy that she reads it. Her husband, however, does not. I mean he is a husband and probably not interested in his crazy sister in laws kids and reading about being puked on. This is generally not manly reading. And then she shared that she makes him mute the TV (that is just AWESOME Amanda!) and she reads it to him. How romantic is that?? She reads him my posts, she says it's because they are so funny but really I think deep down it's because they are newlyweds and in that romantic stage. So while he doesn't do the actual reading he is having it read TO him. Sure it's not Shakespeare or some other highly romantic reading but instead tales of hot vomit running down my chest (there is romance in that, no?) or the weirdo things my kids do (and wow they are weird).

Now, I can't tell you if he is really listening or if he is secretly wishing his sister in law had never started a blog so he could get back to whatever he was enjoying before he was interrupted.
It's probably the latter.

A Day Late

2010-03-17T08:42:00.003-07:00

While I know today is Wednesday, I am just now getting to the PROMTuesday done at San Diego Momma. I actually did this one! Yay me! (ha)

Dreams

Halcyon dreams
Why do you evade me?

I have the perfect setting for you
Cool room, comfy sheets.

I lay here waiting
Where are you?

I stare wide eyed at the ceiling.
Beige?
Should I paint the ceiling beige?

Halcyon dreams,
Why do you evade me?

Fiber Love

2010-03-16T08:22:00.003-07:00

If you've know me you know I LOVE fiber. I generally exceed the daily 25 grams a day. So I am very pro-fiber. This all started when I was pregnant with Sweet Girl I was TERRIFIED about getting hemorrhoids. I mean you have no idea how terrified I was with that. It totally freaked me out. That is when it began. My obsession with fiber. I love the Kashi Go-Lean, I prefer the Fiber One yogurt (although the Greek Fayeh yogurt is really yummo too!). And I actually look at the fiber count on bread. They actually make a "high fiber" bread.
And so I've also had many health benefits from this as well. My "good" cholesterol is pretty high.

So why am I telling you all this? Because I want you to try this yummo bars I found! I generally eat the Kashi Go-Lean for breakfast. I tried the Fiber One bars and I didn't really like them. But you need to try the Gnu Bars! The Orange Cranberry is da bomb! OMG it's so good!! AND you get 12 grams of fiber! Oh yes 12 grams! THAT is pretty exciting stuff! (watch it, I hear those comments...)

And if you order today you get 25% off! Sweet deal. And no they are not paying me or have asked me to blog about their goods. But if they somehow get wind of my blog post, I'll take some free bars...I prefer the Orange Cranberry.

Come on, join the fiber obsessed. Let me know if you try them and what you think!

Duh...You Still Need Sunscreen

2010-03-15T09:46:00.004-07:00

First off I have to say yay to all the new followers and I'm also super excited about all the new blog reading material I have. I think I picked some great new blogs to read and I am really looking forward to it! Thank you to all the new readers we have! Leave a comment or two, I love the feedback.

We had an excellent weekend. Aside from my moment of total brain loss when I failed to bring sunscreen with me to the yearly Ostrich Festival. We had a great time, watching Ostrich races (hilarious!), some jousting (awesome), and of course carnival rides (always fun but involved a little drama from Little Man since he is just not tall enough for some...more on that later).

So all this is outside in Arizona in WONDERFUL 70 degree weather, with a nice breeze. Perfect for being outdoors because last year it was almost 90 at the festival and that was just not as fun. So in my mind (which had obviously taken a break and possibly a hike as well) I was not thinking sunscreen. Mistake on my part (damn you brain for taking a hike!) as I suffered a sunburned nose, chest and arms. My nose was the worst and I was referred to as Rudolph by Leo and my parents (feeling the love...). My chest, holy crap you would have thought I walked around with baby oil on my chest. Jeez. Thankfully the kids were spared, although they did get a little red on their face. But not nearly as bad as me. I know I know SHAME! SHAME on the mother who forgot the sunscreen! Trust me I won't do it again.

Have you ever seen anyone ride an Ostrich? It was pretty funny! Very entertaining!

The kids were excited for the rides and riding the Ferris wheel with Gaga and Grandad. We all get in line and they won't let Little Man on, because he's not 42 inches. However he did ride last year and he has grown since then so they must have tightened up on their riding requirements and enforcement. Oh the drama! He was NOT a happy camper. I finally convinced him to walk with me over to the kiddie area and he went down the big slide a few times while we waited for the others to come back. It turned out OK. He still had issues in the kiddie area though because those rides were also 42 inches. He was able to ride more at Disney World!

We ended our day with a sno-cone and my first and probably last fried Twinkie. Oh yeah all diet restrictions blown into the wind on that one. A Twinkie dunked in funnel cake batter and fried up golden brown and then "dusted" (and I say dusted lightly b/c it was pretty thick!) with powder sugar. I was unsure at first but have been wanting to try one since before Sweet Girl was born. So now I've done it and the fried Twinkie can be checked off the list.

We're starting the week off right with a baseball game. The spring training is in full force around here so we'll have an enjoyable afternoon at the ball park WITH sunscreen!

Follow Along! Get New Friends!

2010-03-12T10:33:00.006-07:00

I saw this Blog Hop a couple weeks ago on Raising Little Women and didn't have time to do it so I was looking forward to trying it out this week.

I would love some new reading material and maybe the fact more people are reading me will help me keep up good blog content? Hoping so anyway!

Here's how YOU can join the Friday Follow celebration:

--Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky below. Only need to add on one blog to be seen on all the blog hops.

--Grab the Friday Follow and Sponsor buttons and include both on your Friday Follow blog post.

--Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots.

--Follow as many other blogs on the linky as you'd like.

--Take a moment to comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday Follow.

--Follow back when you get a new follower through Friday Follow.This list is new each week. The links do not carry over. Please link up each week for new participants to find your blogs. The list is only open to add your blog links on Fridays. It will be visible all week to visit the blogs listed.

Check out our Friday Follow Sponsor!

No need to fear the dentist anymore. You can reduce the visits and make your dentist happy too. Brush with Tooth Soap®. Non-toxic, sustainable, organic and no need for a warning label. Created by a mom who has kids with no cavities. Get more information at: http://www.toothsoap.com/special-offers

Go Find some new friends too!!

Phases I Am Not Ready For

2010-03-11T07:15:00.002-07:00

The last month has been a roller coaster for me. My Sweet Girl is growing up. I don't think I'm ready for this, not at all. Not.At.All. No.

It started with Kindergarten registration, and even though she is in Kindergarten at her current day care, where she is learning an immense amount of stuff. More then I expected actually. I had to go register her at a "real" school. A big, big school. With real classrooms and bigger kids. A cafeteria and playground. Whoa. Too Much. And this on top of the do we go the first grade route vs. Kindergarten has put me over the edge. I actually had major anxiety going into that school. I am not ready for her to be there. Ugh. Sigh. Growing up.

Then we moved her from a car seat to a booster. She wears a seat belt. An adult seat belt. What? Seriously? I was just carrying you in the infant carrier and now you're in a booster seat wearing an actual seat belt? Getting yourself in and out without much needed assistance.

How did this happen? Rhetorical question. I know HOW it happen and WHY it happened but that doesn't mean I'm READY for it to happen. I never thought I would be THAT parent, the one who cried or got all emotional when their kid went to school. But I am turning into that parent.

Ugh. I'm not ready for this growing up business. And another thing I'm not ready for, loose teeth. The thought of dealing with that is just too much (and really just grosses me out for some reason) and I really have no desire to be on point for that one! I think Leo gets Loose Tooth duty!

Maybe Dancing Is The Answer

2010-03-10T08:41:00.004-07:00

So something I forgot to mention yesterday about Sweet Girl is that kid is Ms Fidget. Oh.My.God. The kid cannot sit still or stand still. She is always moving and fidgeting. And honestly this drives me nuts. And apparently she is just like me, I was fidget girl as well. Maybe that's why it drives me nuts? Not sure. Anyway. The dance class was really good.

Her teacher is a guy, not a big deal actually. Sweet Girl did really great. She said her name loudly when asked (impressive because as I stated previously, she usually turns mute when people she doesn't know talk to her). And she followed directions and was actually good at the ballet moves. She has incredible balance compared to the other kids in her class. So the Wii Fit activities she does are actually paying off.

The only disappointing thing is that we now have a 2 week break until the next class because the teacher (Alex), is going out of state for an operation. Leo mentioned that hopefully he doesn't come back as Alexa. I hadn't even thought of that but I guess it's a possibility and that will just be weird. So hoping he stays Alex and Sweet Girl continues to dance. And hopefully that will help combat her fidgeting!

The Dancing Queen

2010-03-09T12:43:00.003-07:00

Today is Sweet Girls first ballet class. She has mentioned she wanted to do ballet a few times and I found a class through the community center so if she decides to bail after the second week (which is she notorious about doing, granted she is only five but still) it won't have cost me an arm and leg.

She was super excited to pick out her leotard - a blue one with a ruffle and ballet slippers. She has worn them every day since we got them on Sunday. She actually said "wow I look so beautiful". It was so sweet. And hopefully this makes her happy and she enjoys it. Hopefully the teacher will understand that she is horribly shy and quiet in new situations. Hopefully this class will help her come out of her shell and not clam up and turn mute when someone speaks to her.

Hopefully it will build more of her confidence in doing something fun. These are my hopes for her class tonight and for the next 3 weeks. If she likes this we'll find an official class and get her going.

She has been twirling and spinning and dancing all weekend and this week. She has a cute little bow that kind of makes her looks like she has to pee really bad but we always clap and encourage her to keep going. To work hard and to not give up. Work Hard and Never Give Up, it's one of our Family Rules that was put out there specifically for her. Since she gets frustrated and angry and then stops trying. We have had to work on this and Family Rule has helped her.

I'll report back tomorrow on how the first class goes!

Moment of Peace

2010-03-04T09:33:00.003-07:00

I experienced great joy and peace this week. It was glorious. And it all occurred while I was rolling out dough for pizza crusts.

The flour, the sticky dough all being rolled out into a circle to fit in the pan. It was pure heaven. It was great. I love this stuff, I really should do it more.

Then the kids came home and chaos ensued and my moment of solitude peace and joy were gone. But I had them this week. And now I know where to find them.

Solitude and dough.

And I have to say the pizzas kicked ass and were good. I was proud and happy.

WooHoo for Monday!

2010-03-01T08:34:00.003-07:00

Yeah normally not that thrilled for Monday and really I'm not all that thrilled that it's a working Monday. But I am thrilled because tomorrow my parents get here! YAY!!! I am really thrilled about that.

I really miss having them around so it will be nice to have them here with us for three months or so. The kids are excited as well.

We finished up the cleaning and putting away and clearing up the TV graveyard that had become the guest room. We hung stuff up and readied for their arrival. We made a Costco run (sans treadmill...disappointed about that though...) and stocked our shelves.

Very excited.

Friday? Really?

2010-02-26T09:13:00.004-07:00

It's Friday already? Wasn't it just Monday? Well Monday was my last post as you can see the creative spark is having a difficult time getting ignited...

So we'll use someone else's creativity today with the Fill-In's. Check them out here...

1. A cup of tea is generally how I start most of my days.

2. Having family around makes a place feel like home.

3. Everything has its beauty just sometimes you have to really look hard to find it.

4. How can you not love the taste of strawberries?

5. Art makes me wonder sometimes, especially how people get paid for just throwing paint on a canvas.

6. LOL I just noticed I forgot my shoes.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing with the fam and watching a movie, tomorrow my plans include getting the guest room ready for my parents and dinner with some friends and Sunday, I want to have a fun and always expensive trip to Costco, which will hopefully include a treadmill!

New Week

2010-02-23T10:49:00.003-07:00

After a crazy busy last couple of weeks I am back to posting. I really do miss posting but you know when the kids are not puking, injuring themselves, or our world is not caving I have trouble getting material. I'm so not wishing for sickness, injuries or a caving in world so I will have to get a little more creative.

Hmm...hasn't been my strong suit lately though.

Last week I had to travel back to TN for work. Not the greatest reason for a trip. Work. Woohoo fun. (not).

I was able to get through security quickly and efficiently. I did get stuck next to some kid who would not shut up. I was really looking forward to just reading for 3 hours but nooooo....why would I get that lucky??

Then on my way back our flight was delayed due to a security breach, I was really expecting them to clear the terminal and make everyone go back through security. Our gate was filled with cops, and TSA agents and I knew we were in deep when they busted out the K-9 unit! But then I got on the flight and was left alone and read all the way home. It was so nice. I was happy to touch down and see my sweet kids and Leo.

Well I'm going to go and try to light my creative spark to keep on posting exciting and humorous stuff. We'll see how that goes. Have any suggestions??

Peace Out.

The Grocery List

2010-02-11T07:58:00.004-07:00

I was sitting at the kitchen table this past weekend making my grocery list of items needed for our Super Bowl get together. Sweet Girl wanted to make a list too of the special things she wanted to share with her friends.

This is her list:

ice cream
brownies
chocolate clit cookies

I about died laughing. She asked how to spell 'chip' and I told her to sound it out and spell it herself.
Yeah I have to tell you I'm sure glad that kid never screamed out in the grocery store she wanted chocolate clit cookies.

We had to resort to regular old chocolate chip cookies since our grocery story doesn't stock a rated X aisle.

I Love February

2010-02-09T12:11:00.002-07:00

I think since living in Arizona my new favorite month is February. It used to be November because well it's my birthday month and usually a good representation of Fall. But since November here only causes some depression (both because I'm getting older and because there is no Fall here) I needed a new month to love.

So I've decided it's February at least while I live in AZ. The month of February has provided me with rain, cloudy days, and cooler temps. So I'm loving it. It's a good month. Lots of good stuff going on, it's nice to be happy.

Too bad Februay is a short month!

Good Stuff

2010-02-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of good stuff going on lately. First I'm so excited to report that Little Man is now using the potty at home. This has been a struggle since he would pee at school but NOT at home. He refused.
And then last Monday the kids were playing outside and he ran in and said he had to pee I suggested he use the potty. I was expecting my usual reply of an adamant "NO!!!!!!!" but instead he ran in. And then screamed "I HAVE PEE!!!". I was so excited I screamed, jumped up and down and acted like a nut job parent. But he could tell I was excited for him and he was excited too. And then we had to call Leo, my parents, and Leo's parents so he could tell everyone he peed in the potty. And then about 30 mins later he went again, and yelled "I HAVE PEE AND POOP!". All be damned that kid peed and pooped in the potty all in the same day, hell the same HOUR. So this is huge news for us. Probably not so exciting for you.

Next on the list, we bought a new car! It's our "toy project". It's a 1990 Jeep Cherokee. It's got snazzy big tires and so we're ready for the off road. Fun!!

We are getting excited about my parents arrival getting close!

We are making good progress on getting all our decorating completed. We were able to finally find lamps for the bedroom. I need to get my "after" pictures to see the transformation. We really need to work on the back yard and rearranging all the chairs and get the best placement of dining table/chairs and then the conversation chairs.

We are getting close to getting the treadmill for the garage and putting the rowing machine back together. And we'll get a heavy bag as well. So it will be our own little gym! I'm really excited about it. I figured every time I wanted to eat crap I'll go walk on the treadmill for five minutes.

And now it's another week. I hope it's better than last week! PMS and work resulted in a really crap week! Looking forward to a new week with more good things.

February

2010-02-01T08:34:00.004-07:00

I can't believe it's February already. Wow. One whole month of 2010 down and gone forever. I didn't make any resolutions this year. I guess I have some goals I would like to achieve but I didn't create some list of things to resolve. Maybe I'll do better this way.

I did have a fleeting moment where I thought I would participate in Project 365 which requires you to take a picture every day. And then I was going to put them in a book and create a family year book of sorts. I even went as far as thinking that I would keep a journal and ask everyone about their feelings of the day. But it's February and I don't have a picture for every day in January so if I started this now I would really be doing Project 345 because I would have to fake it to cover some of January. But maybe I should still do it. It would be cool to see the kids grow over the entire year. I am sporadic about taking pictures. I really do want to take more of them.

I'm hoping for a few more cool days here in February before we start heating up. I also hope we make it to Flagstaff for some fun sledding. We bought two new sleds at Costco and have been itching to use them!

Hopefully this is a good week, last week was total crap and I was happy it was over. I really enjoyed our weekend. I didn't want it to end. But it did just like always. I am really looking forward to every day being like Saturday/Sunday!

Better Day

2010-01-27T11:01:00.003-07:00

OK, I'm better today. I had a huge talk with myself. Actually I scolded myself for such ridiculous behavior. And today I feel better.

I woke up and told myself, no more of that horrible behavior today. Today you are happy.
And so far it's worked. I guess I should tell myself that every morning and hopefully I can put the smack down on out of whack hormones.

But I do think because I was so angry and just foul yesterday it helped my motivation because I got so angry at myself for being like that. I forced myself to change. So we'll see how that goes.

And watching The Hangover last night before bed helped as well. I laughed. It was good.

And now I'm going to each lunch.

PMS Joy

2010-01-26T13:49:00.003-07:00

Ugh, I am in such a foul mood. I'm not really even sure why. I think I'm perpetuating my foul mood by thinking 'I am in such a foul mood'. I have suffered a bad case of emotional eating today too. I've eaten more cookies today than I think all of last year combined. (OK maybe not THAT many...)

It's PMS.

I need to kick my own ass. Because I'm starting to get on my own nerves. Really what the hell. Snap out of it. Get motivated. It's time. I'm ready. I'm lazy though. God I'm lazy. This creates a bit of an issue- laziness versus motivation. It's like the ultimate fight.

I should start telling myself I'm in a happy mood. I'm happy. Happy Happy Joy Joy. Swing Swing from happy to foul. Oh wait that makes me sound a little bi polar. I'm really not.

Oh hell, I'll just stop writing now.

Floating Friday

2010-01-22T08:23:00.003-07:00

Well I have not floated away despite our huge amounts of rain. Nor have I blown away in all the wind. However a lot my backyard has been rearranged thanks to the wind. It was so windy it actually blew Sweet Girl's Barbie Jeep (the electric one) OFF the patio and around the house! now THAT is some wind! Looks like today will be it's last day and tomorrow we'll have some sun. I have quite enjoyed the few days of rain. I sure do miss it!

1. You have a chance to make a difference in your own or someone else's life.

2. Don't wait, let's do it right now!

3. There is a whole lot of water in my back yard!

4. Go ahead eat that dozen doughnuts, you'll feel like crap and pay later.

5. It's time to make a change.

6. Exactly where to go on vacation is up in the air but the fact we're going is not.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a date with Leo and some friends, tomorrow my plans include probably a movie with the kids and relaxing and Sunday, I want to probably watch some football, I may declare another stay in pajamas all day day!

Storm of the Century

2010-01-21T10:21:00.003-07:00

Ok, well maybe not that monumental but we are gearing up for a good one here in Arizona. It's affecting the entire state. For us in the valley, we're getting a crapton of rain (reported an inc an hour) and high winds (reported gusts of 60 mph).

The high country (AKA Flagstaff) is getting a crapton of snow (reported 36 inches) and also high winds.

Parts of the freeway heading north are closed and school districts are telling parents to keep their kids home (why they didn't just CLOSE the school is beyond me, but really what do I know) to avoid flooded roads.

So what does this storm mean? Besides the obvious wind and rain? It means we'll have horrible flooding and all the idiot drivers come out to attempt to drive across a wash and then get swept away and need rescuing (again because they are idiots). At least they are fined the cost of the rescue. But still really, you don't know by now that you shouldn't attempt to drive through a flooded wash? Really? Maybe they should have read the Phoenix Police tips for driving in bad weather.

I do love a good storm you know. And I do kind of wish we were in Flag to experience almost or over three feet of snow! I for see a visit with lots of fun sledding!

I think I'll have to post a picture of my flooded back yard, I'll update that later.

Ugly Stuff

2010-01-19T12:56:00.003-07:00

Do you have anything that is so ugly that you just love it? I have been searching for the perfect dishes so I can set my formal dining table. We never actually USE the formal dining table so I'm going to set it as part of my decorating. The search for these plates has been long. I finally found some at Target and they were on clearance. Score!

They were on clearance because no one wants them since they are so ugly. But they have the main color I was looking for and I think they are so ugly I like them! So the table will be set with them. I tried to find a picture on Target.com but I can't find one on there. There are some other ugly dishes on there but not the one I got. I'll have to take a picture of the finished table.

Do you have something ugly that you just love?

Fill Er In

2010-01-15T08:10:00.003-07:00

Happy Friday! Let's do some Fill Ins.

1. The lesson I learned yesterday was I rely on email WAY too much for work.

2. The best places are where friends and family meet.

3. All these years seem to go by really quickly.

4. It was snowing just like I wished when I arrived.

5. The truth is I think I'm a complete slacker most of the time.

6. The absolute joy is what I remember most from that day.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to happy hour with a couple friends, tomorrow my plans include taking the kids to see Disney On Ice and Sunday, I want to enjoy a nice hike and then relax!

Modern Family

2010-01-14T11:13:00.004-07:00

Have you seen this show? If not you are really missing out. It is HILARIOUS! I actually laugh out loud with every episode. I'd have to say it's the best comedy sitcom I've seen in a long long time.

I am looking forward to the season coming out on DVD so I can catch the episodes I've missed so far. Yes I know I can watch them online but ugh on that. I like it on the TV. Call me old school. HA.

And speaking of TV, Lost is coming back! Final season. I can't believe it, I can actually remember watching the first season. In our 82 year old house in downtown Nashville. I was pregnant with Sweet Girl. Why do I remember that? No idea. I wonder if we'll be disappointed with the final season? I am sort of anticipating disappointment.

Back to Modern Family, I think Cam is my favorite character. I'm not sure why.

Watch it and let me know what you think!

The Incident Report

2010-01-13T12:11:00.004-07:00

This is just Little Man's week. He's the blog star of the week. And he is apparently becoming "that kid" in his day care class. Here is a recap of an "incident" report I received one day as I dropped him off. He is apparently quite proud of his "parts".

Recap: While teacher was assisting other child in class, Little Man and another student took their pants down and were showing their private parts to the other students.

Action Taken: Teacher advised we don't do that in the classroom.

Child's Response: Child just stared at teacher.

I was OK until I got to the child's response section...then I lost it laughing. What did they expect?

So I have a talk with Little Man that he shouldn't go around showing off his penis at school or anywhere else for that matter. The next day, I asked him before he left for school "Are you going to show anyone your penis today?" "No Mommy."

Good.

I picked him up that afternoon and asked the teacher if he kept his clothes on today. She said yes and went on to say that she talked to the class and that the only place they can take clothes off is in the bathroom. Well this apparently gave Little Man another opening for sharing his glory. As she then told me that after explaining this to the class, she overhears Little Man and another kid in the bathroom with Little Man saying "Mine is bigger than yours!!"

It starts young people. Apparently size matters even to the 3 year olds.

Mommy, Where Were Those Naked Girls?

2010-01-11T08:10:00.003-07:00

If you're a friend on Facebook then you may have already seen this conversation I had with Little Man. For those who are not well here you go.

After a bath one evening I was getting Little Man dressed in his pj's. We were making small talk when all of a sudden he asks me "Mommy where was that place we went and saw all the naked girls?"
I am shocked into silence and finally respond with "Ahh I don't know where YOU have gone and seen naked girls."
"Yes we did"
"When?"
"That time, that time we went and saw all the naked girls"
I am beyond perplexed at this point.
"Little Man, WHO was with you"
"We all went"
"When did we go again?"
"That time"
I'm not getting anywhere obviously. I am so confused on where he saw a bunch of naked girls. Leo is out of town and so I'm trying to figure this out on my own. I'm scanning all recent memories and to my immediate knowledge Leo and Little Man have not ventured out alone and although deep down I know with all my heart Leo would never take our kid to a strip club, I do begin to question. Because where else do you see naked girls? Or a bunch of naked girls? But surely not. I continue to question him, I can't remember everything I asked but it was probably the same question over and over waiting for a different answer. And finally, finally I got it.

"Silly Mommy, it was when we went to the circus"
"Ah I see, but Little Man those girls were not naked"
"Yes they were"
"No they were not"
"OK"

But I know, I know he probably told his classmates and probably his teacher too he went and saw a bunch of naked girls...
I gotta say we never lack for entertainment with these kids around!

Helllloooo Friday!

2010-01-08T08:27:00.003-07:00

Ah Friday, my favorite day. It signifies the end of a work week and the glorious fact we get to sleep in tomorrow. Ah love it!

And Friday also means Fill Ins! Yay!

1. There are places I want to go back to over and over and some never again.

2. We need a nice big wind to blow those clouds away.

3. Standing in the line at the grocery store checkout reading trashy tabloids is an enjoyable way to pass the time.

4. Walking in and taking in the sights, all she could say was oh boy.

5. He went out tiger hunting and came back with rabbits.

6. Sometimes I can't keep my mind from wandering .

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing on the couch and maybe a movie, tomorrow my plans include breakfast with Leo and probably some cleaning and rearranging the playroom and Sunday, I want to do nothing if possible!!

Apparently Fall Comes In January

2010-01-06T11:59:00.004-07:00

Well I walked outside yesterday to get the mail and low and behold it was fall. Apparently fall comes in January in the Phoenix area. There were leaves on the ground and falling off the trees. So I guess I did get a fall just not at a normal time and without out the nice color. But I guess beggars can't be choosers.

I keep wondering if I can make my own fall here in the backyard, if I planted a bunch of maple trees would they survive the summer and eventually change colors and drop their leaves? I've wondered and considered sneaking a few out there next to the palm trees to see. That would sure make the neighbors happy a bunch of falling leaves all over their yards. Or my luck the gardener would yank up the trees thinking they were weeds!

As everyone in TN is preparing for snow and dealing with frigid temps we're sitting here comfortably with temps in the high 60's low 70's. Not too bad.

Hello 2010

2010-01-05T10:40:00.003-07:00

Hello 2010! Wow a brand new decade. Happy New Year to everyone. I'm back and hopefully in the saddle with regards to blog posts and getting back out there!
I haven't made any resolutions yet and maybe I won't this year. Not sure yet. Have you made any? What are they?

I am sure 2010 will be a great year, 2009 was one of our best years yet so the only way to go is up! Right??

Just a short post today we just got back home last night so I have some work to do and some unpacking to do. I'll be back tomorrow. I hope you will too!

Taking A Break

2009-12-15T08:24:00.003-07:00

I'm taking a blog break. I have been very slacky (it's my new word) with posting and so instead of putting more pressure on myself and not being able to get to it which then puts me in a crabby mood because I feel overwhelmed because I can't do everything, I'm taking a break until next year.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday with your friends and family. Find joy in everything and remember what the season is all about.

I wish you a safe and fun New Years.

And I hope you come back and read next year.

I'll be back!

Losing My Multi-Tasking Touch

2009-12-09T14:55:00.004-07:00

I used to be good. I mean good at multi tasking. I could do multiple things at once and keep up with them and know right where I left off of one when I moved back to it. But now yeah, um not so much.

Now I become a scatterbrained mess and as I'm sitting here I have to stop and think 'what the hell was I just doing'.

I have a difficult time remembering what day it is.

I think I can max out at 3 different things going at once. Pitiful compared to my previous stats.

I blame it on kids and getting old.

And I think it's time to stop working in the IT world and find something slower and more enjoyable. Maybe I can't multi task anymore because subconsciously I don't want to anymore. I've been there, done that and kicked it's ass. Now I need something less intense to focus on?

I like this answer better than blaming the kids and the fact I'm in my mid-30's.

I'm thinking this will be on the resolutions list for 2010!

One Heck Of A Storm

2009-12-08T14:39:00.003-07:00

You know I love cloudy, rainy, cool and in winter snowy days, and yesterday I got my wish here in Arizona. Oh it was a perfect Danielle day! I opened up my blinds in the office and the bedroom to let more light in because it was that dark still even at 9 AM! Awesomeness! I got to listen to rain hitting the window as I worked.

It actually made me not want to work work but instead do things around the house. And then cozy up with the kids and watch some TV.

So we had a nice evening and had a good dinner, which included the kids making their own tacos. And we even made cupcakes! Yummy!

And we headed to bed early to watch Monday Night Football.

And all was good.

Until about 11 PM when HOLY CRAP it sounded like we had a freight train coming through the backyard. It was so freaking windy. Things were blowing around our backyard like crazy. And the rain, OH.MY.GOSH. It rained so hard. I was happy about it until I couldn't go back to sleep. Then I was like please let up, I just want to hear the light pitter patter of raindrops on the window not what sounds like a firehouse being pointed at the window!

So the entire state got rain and the high country (Flagstaff) got craploads of snow. They even closed the freeway for a while. They had a blizzard warning. Good times for everyone I'm sure, especially those STUCK on the closed freeway!

And we're supposed to get more on Thursday!

The Geriatric Bowl

2009-12-07T08:42:00.003-07:00

We took the kids to their first pro football game last night. We saw the Cardinals and Vikings (which we affectionately refer to as the geriatric bowl). It wasn't supposed to be a night game when we originally got the tickets. They changed the time, which caused me some anxiety because we would be at the game in the middle of our normal bedtime. It could become a witching hour situation with two devil children. Thankfully for us, it really didn't happen.

Little Man had a blast as did Leo and myself. Sweet Girl not so much. A giant football stadium with thousands of people screaming is probably not the best place for a child who is easily overwhelmed and highly sensitive. I kept trying to tell them they could yell as loud as they wanted here. But that didn't work until about the 3rd quarter and then Little Man joined me many times in cheering and yelling. Sweet Girl did liven up after some Cracker Jack (which I am convinced was laced with crack). Both kids were doing pretty good at this point, which made me happy even if it was caused not by excitement of being there but by the crack laced popcorn.

Our trip was not without injury (not surprising to me) during the evening we experienced the following:

Feet and partial legs were stuck in the back of the seat (this happened to both kids...).
Little Man nailed his eye on the arm of the seat.
I got poked in the face by a flag that Little Man was waving like a nutcase.

We did leave about 5 minutes into the 4th quarter which was fine with me. I didn't relish the thought of trying to get out of there with two kids and an assload of people. And of course we also had to purchase a foam finger AND foam claws...

I really had a great time, I would like to go to another one and get there early and actually tailgate a bit. I bet that would be a blast. I might even sport a Cards jersey...

Hey It's Friday

2009-12-04T09:01:00.003-07:00

It's Friday. I am always happy when Friday rolls around. It means we can sleep in tomorrow and we can hang out as a family without feeling rushed.

Last weekend I made a good dent in the cleaning out the office of it's various piles of papers that either needed shredding or filing. Now I have new piles that need to be put away or thrown away or moved around (to create yet another pile somewhere else!). And maybe I can get around to cleaning out some toys. I have to do this when the kids are not around obviously or all of a sudden they have a new found love for something they haven't looked at or touched in six months.

My goal for the playroom is to have all toys have a place and to move all the kids art stuff in there. They have tables and chairs in there now they need to be put to good use. Unless it's paint, that can stay in the kitchen. But paper, crayons, markers, scissors and other assorted items can all be moved in there.

Well it's off for more tea, my hands are freezing because it's a balmy 66 degrees in my office! It feels good to snuggle in a sweater while working. However I don't like cold hands while typing so a nice cup o tea will warm them up.

Have a great weekend.

Coming Up With The List

2009-12-03T08:53:00.003-07:00

Now that I'm older coming up with a Christmas list is difficult. The problem is I don't really need anything. Sure I have lots of wants, but they are not easily fulfilled from a Christmas list. And some of the things I do want are not cheap. Say for instance laser hair removal. I want laser hair removal but who is going to want to get that off a Christmas list? I would also like liposuction, again strange gift for a list, yes? I also want my parents to move out here so maybe I should put 'buy my parents house' on my list. Whoever fulfills that gift will GET something AND GIVE something. Win Win for everyone.

And really only a few people actually need a list, thoughtful gifts are always the best. Unless maybe you're going way off the reservation and think that I might enjoy some rainbow colored leather coat or something. Thoughtful? Sure. Practical? Ah no. Would I still show appreciation for it? You betcha. And I would even suffer some slight guilt as I shoved it WAY in the back of the closet. Or thoughtfully gave it to Goodwill.

So I have racked my brain trying to come up with some random things that I could always use like new shoes, purses, socks, books, etc. And since we'll be travelling gift cards are always a good option. They make for light packing!

And on top of that I have to come up with a list for the kids. Do you know they really don't NEED anything either. We are own toy store. We don't need anymore toys. Sweet Girl still thinks she needs more barbies, the kid has 29. 29 barbies. Anymore and we'll need another tub to store those things in. So my poor kids have new sheets on their list. Can't you imagine THAT excitement when they open those suckers up?
I'll have the camera ready.

If you're making a list (and checking it twice) good luck to you!

Ahead of the Game!

2009-11-30T10:52:00.005-07:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. We had a great meal in Flagstaff, we saw a movie and we went on a hike (we call it a hike for the kids sake but it was really a walk). We had great weather and it was an overall good time. We came home on Friday which was nice considering we still had two more days off! YAY!

We have our Christmas tree up and stockings hung. We put up our small tree this year because we donated our big tree to Leo's new office. We will get a new one next year. We have random Christmas decorations around the house as well. We've have some decorating changes going on too. It's really coming together! And really feeling like home.

We even saw Santa yesterday. The kids were so excited until they got in front of Santa. Then they froze up like little mutes. Suddenly silenced by fear of being THAT close to Santa. Our picture is really great (insert sarcasm), Little Man has a blank look on his face, nothing near a smile. And Sweet Girl has a slight smile but the reflection off her glasses makes her look like she has one eye larger than the other. I guess maybe we should start a tradition of those kinds of pictures with Santa. None of those cute smiling ones where they look excited, but ones that look like we've tortured them by sitting on his lap. I think that will make the crappy pictures much more exciting to buy. I'll be the only one in line telling the kids to make the worse face you can instead of smiling. I really like this idea!

I am really in the Christmas spirit this year. I am looking forward to the holiday and seeing the kids joy on Christmas morning. And being with all our family. I am excited to do our countdown calendar where I will put some candy treats and little "activities" we need to do each day.
I hope my feeling and spirit don't start waning as Christmas day gets closer!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T07:15:00.003-07:00

It's Wednesday the eve of Thanksgiving. We're staying in Arizona for Thanksgiving and really I have to tell you I'm happy that for one holiday I don't have to drive all over the place to visit people. Not that I don't want to see family because certainly I do. I'm thankful though this year will be a low key holiday for us. We're going to brunch at a hotel and it looks so yummy. And then we might try to hit up a movie.

As far as thanks go, I have so much to be thankful for, it's kind of unreal. And it would take forever to list them all, so some highlights of thanks:
* I have a wonderful husband and wonderful kids. I am thankful he is able to provide so much for us, this move to Arizona has given us so much. It took me a while to get to this point but wow is all I have to say, when I think about all that we have because we made the move. I'm thankful we did.

* I'm thankful for my family. I can't wait until my parents are closer and I do wish my sister might move out this way too, it sure would be great for Sweet Girl and Little Man to hang out with their cousin on a regular basis they seem to get along great. I'm thankful for all they do for us and the support they provide.

* All my great friends, I don't want to name names because if I accidentally forget anyone they may be offended. And I don't need any drama just because I'm losing my memory. I miss most of them as they are still in Tennessee. But I am thankful for every visit I have with them.

* I am thankful for the fact everyone in my family is healthy.

* I'm also thankful for all my blog readers and friends I have met because of the blog. I love the diversity of everyone and the comments you leave. I am thankful you read and leave comments because it does keep me going and posting more (even though the past two weeks have just not been there!). Keep coming back!

I guess these are the usual ones, the ones I am thankful for the most are the ones that are most often taken for granted.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Week In Review

2009-11-20T07:44:00.003-07:00

Again, I have to say I'm surprised it's Friday. The week blew by like last week! I haven't posted since Monday. I am a slacker! Here is a quick recap of some of our highlights from the week.

1. We had Sweet Girls b'day party at the park on Sunday. It was a great day. Everyone that RSVP'd actually showed up! Amazing. We had a bounce house and the kids had a great time. She scored some girly loot and all was well.

2. Just in case you didn’t know I was informed by my son the other day that I am a beaver. He says to me: “Mommy you’re a beaver because you like to eat wood” . This caused Leo and I to laugh so freaking hard. And Leo then tells him “Not as often as I would like Little Man”. Nice. And you wonder why I think my kids are weird sometimes...

3. Never let Toys R Us put your bikes together. We had "professional" assembly and ended up having to take it back. What a cluster. The brakes didn't work, the tires were flat and Little Man's seat fell off, etc. Even with unemployment at like 10% you still can't find good help...Good times. And it was like torture to the kids to see their bikes and have to say sorry you can't ride them. But now the kids have been riding their bikes like crazy around our cul du sac. And the weather is great now so we can sit outside and enjoy it as well.

4. To go along with my kids being weird (and really I would expect nothing less, considering are in fact MY children and I am myself weird and not normal. You can't say you haven't noticed). They have been OBSESSED with potty humor. Where the humor is in adding the words pee-pee and poo-poo into the ABC's is beyond me. However I did have to laugh at something. When Sweet Girl puts her hands on her hips and says "I'll get you with my pee-pee power". That is some funny shit (oh yeah pun intended...cracking myself up here). But then maybe you had to be there...

5. And lastly, I'll end the week with the fact that I'm wicked tired. Some girls and I camped out for 5 hours waiting for the midnight showing of New Moon. Yes I did it again, laugh if you must I really don't care. I have to say this time it was more than the actual movie, it was a fun girls night out doing something you don't normally do. I think I was really drawn to the energy and excitement that was around there. It was fun. And the movie was MUCH better than the first one. I will admit I thought the first movie sucked ass compared to the book. I just didn't get why when you had such a following and attraction to the book you would change up SO much stuff but I digress. This one was better. I had fun, good laughs, good friends and food and warm drinks. I also met some nice ladies. We laughed at making up potential movies for Lifetime or the Hallmark channel.

This weekend there isn't much on tap. We need to movie some items into a storage unit just to get them out of the house. We'll be saving them for my parents when they move out here. Which needs to happen soon, I think that's all I want for Christmas. So if you know someone looking for a house in south middle Tennessee, you let me know I have a great house option for you!
I need to go through the kids clothes, file some bills and assorted items that are in piles around the office.
Happy Friday!

Holiday Wish Meme

2009-11-16T08:37:00.003-07:00

I get a newsletter from ArizonaMama every week, this week they are having a giveaway of some pretty cool stuff. So I'm playing along. You can too!

Mama’s Holiday Wish List MemeTodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?

A treadmill (so I can literally walk or run my butt off)
A heavy bag (need to get that aggression out)
Kindle books
Flameless candles with timers
My home decorating completed

2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?

My grandma's handmade nativity set. I love it.

3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?

I've been wanting to learn to knit so maybe a scarf?

4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?

An authentic Red Wing sweater (aka jersey)

5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year?

Ah they want EVERYTHING. Sweet Girl looks through a catalog and says I want it all.

6. What is your favorite holiday food?

My mom's cut out cookies

7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?

Jury's still out on that one...

8. What is your favorite holiday movie?

A tie between It's A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story

9. Favorite holiday song?

I have lots of them, but the #1 is Joy To The World

10. Favorite holiday pastime?

Opening one present on Christmas Eve

No Complaints for Friday!

2009-11-13T08:04:00.005-07:00

I have no complaints that today is Friday. But to be honest I have no idea where the week went. I really don't remember most of it. Or maybe I blocked it out? Who knows.
I know I haven't posted since Tuesday either. I suck, I know. I am slacking on the blog entries. So I'm doing the Fill - In's today because they are fun and easy!

1. The last band I saw live was U2.

2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is being with lots of family and sweet potato's, however, this year it will just be me, Leo and the kids.

3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is going to be done mostly online and shipped to TN.

4. Thoughts of how to build Sweet Girls self confidence and Little Man getting potty trained fill my head.

5. I wish I could wear a smaller size!

6. Bagpipes usually make me cry when they are played.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Sweet Girls fall recital, tomorrow my plans include a birthday party and Leo's office Christmas party which is a benefit concert and should be lots o fun and Sunday, I want to have lots of fun at Sweet Girl's birthday party at the park and enjoy the cooler weather!

The Bad Dream

2009-11-10T09:07:00.003-07:00

It's 5 AM, I am sleeping peacefully. Dreaming. And then I am rocketed out of my dream by screams of terror and screams for Mommy. Little Man had a bad dream. Leo and I run in there and poor Little Man is trembling. I take him back to bed with us and try to get back to sleep. I do fall back asleep but just as the alarm goes off. Ugh.

After asking Little Man if he remembers screaming and if he had a bad dream, he replies Yes. But doesn't remember the dream. That is until Sweet Girl asked him. Then I found out, he was terrified of giant scorpions crawling on his bed. And really I would probably scream in terror myself in that situation. He went on to show Sweet Girl where they crawled up on his bed and where they were in proximity to him on the bed. She was grilling him about the size of the scorpions. It was an interesting conversation.

And this was his first bad dream, at least the first one that resulted in full on screaming in absolute terror. That is not a scream I wish to hear again!

The Friday After

2009-11-06T08:36:00.003-07:00

We had a good birthday dinner at our favorite local restaurant...Oregano's. We got our favorite server and had an enjoyable meal and even sat outside. Sweet Girl cleaned up on some toy loot, and I am so excited Leo got me a Kindle! Yay!!

And now it's time for the fun Friday Fill - Ins

1. Plans and schedules make life easier but should allow for quick changes if needed .

2. I'm happy when things are in order and everyone is happy .

3. The last thing I drank was water!

4. One of the most valuable things in my life is my family.

5. I like cheese, pepperoni, and onions on my pizza.

6. Dear November, can you please send me cooler weather?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to doing some home decorating changes, tomorrow my plans include going to a birthday party and hanging out with the family and Sunday, I want to enjoy some time with Leo and and an early anniversary dinner to celebrate 13 years of wedded bliss...

The Best Birthday Present Ever

2009-11-05T08:34:00.010-07:00

Five years ago I got (well actually I birthed) the best birthday present ever. I had Sweet Girl on my birthday and I doubt I'll ever receive anything better. Although the a big lottery win would be a close second!

In the five years she has grown to a shy, smart, funny and bright little girl. No longer a baby or toddler, she's reading on her own and sharing her thoughts and opinions. She is one of the best joys of my life. She is quite the gift to our family. I cannot imagine my life without her. Even though she knows how to push my buttons and drive me batty at times, she is learning to exert her independence and learning to be her own person.

I will do my best to prepare her for the world ahead of her. It is my wish for her that she continues to grow as a smart, funny and bright girl. It is my wish she knows she can do anything she wants, she may have to try a few times but she will succeed. It is my wish she always loves herself and has the confidence to walk with her head high in everything she does.

Happy Birthday to my Sweet Girl.

And Happy Birthday to ME too!

Medical Annoyance

2009-11-04T10:11:00.004-07:00

I am annoyed at my pediatricians office. I am annoyed that they did a blanket diagnosis of Sweet Girl by telling me she had the beginnings of H1N1. We had to go to the doctor last week because we were all sick and Sweet Girl was complaining of a tummy ache and her legs hurting. This usually indicates she has strep. She had a low grade fever of 99-100. Nothing major.

They do the strep test, the quick test is negative. So then the ASSUMPTION that she has H1N1 flu is given. This was all because she presented with a low grade fever and a tummy ache. They tell me her temp could spike up to 105 and she may not have a temp and then take a nap and it's up to 104+. They tell me they see 30 kids a day with H1N1. Sure they do because they are assuming that's what it is, they are not doing any real test to determine that.
I am totally in shock by this and my initial reaction is no way does my kid have the flu. She is not acting THAT bad because before I even took her temp I thought she was faking it because she didn't want to go school.

Shockingly enough by Friday she was fever free. No H1N1 here.

I am annoyed by the hysteria the media is causing about this. Do I want my kids to be sick? No of course not. Do I want them to get the flu? Obviously not. Do I want to be thrown into excessive worry because OMG the swine flu can kill you? Duh, no. But guess what the other flu strains can kill you too.

Rest assured any swine flu/H1N1 "stats" are totally skewed. Especially if everyone is diagnosing just on the fact you MUST have it if you have a fever and body aches. No it couldn't be a cold or another flu strain. It HAS to be H1N1.

I am happy to report that everyone here is on the mend. Yay!

A Day In The Life Of ME!

2009-11-03T12:23:00.014-07:00

San Diego Momma has a writing exercise called PROMPTuesdays. I will participate today because well I can easily drone on about all my daily activities. While I could easily put the highlights of my day into bullets, that would defeat the purpose of said exercise.

Here's the dealio: For PROMPTuesday #80, please write about your day in specifics (yesterday counts). What happened (or didn’t happen more like)? Tell me the details. Did you wake in a bed of crumpled sheets and wandering pillows? Who was next to you? What did you have for breakfast? Where did you go? What’s the weather like over by you?

And so let's learn what a day is like for me...hopefully you're still awake by the end...

I woke up around 6:10 AM. Ugh. It's still dark out at this hour. I hate getting up when it's still dark. Leo turns the shower on and goes to get the kids. I request to shower first because I need to wash my hair AND shave my legs. I try to alternate these so I'm not doing both in the shower each time. It's just too time consuming. Anyway, uneventful shower time, hygiene completed.
I get dressed.
I log into my work PC, log on to the VPN to start my day. Open my email, try to check some of it before I have to get the kids ready for school. Sweet Girl is not happy about going. She says her tummy hurts. She's faking it now because she was totally fine on Sunday. Her nose is running a lot, I do give her some sudafed (yes I still use REAL sudafed on my kids, it works and they are happier).
Leo doesn't feel good, I guess maybe he's not the germ carrier I originally thought. Or maybe just not THIS germ carrier. He is of all others. He proclaims he'll probably see me early. Buckle kids in carseat, give hugs, kisses and love yous.
I get back to my desk, check in. Do a quick stop to make the bed and blow dry my hair.
Now reply to emails, get work started. Attend meetings, oh the meetings. I hate meetings. And all mine are over the phone today because I'm not going into the office. I have four meetings, and I work in between.

I had a protein shake and fiber bar for breakfast. I laugh to myself as I eat the fiber bar because my friend Michele and sister in law Liz both make fun of me because of my fiber obsession. It's good for my health at least!
I make myself some hot tea too. I set the timer on the microwave since I am notorious for over steeping. I aim for 4 mins of steeping, it's good. I have two cups, one black one green. I love tea.
I eat lunch next in between working and meetings. Nothing exciting. I made a sandwich and freaked out because I didn't notice the cheese I picked had mold on it, very weird. I just took it off. But I had a hard time finishing that meal. I ate a banana, apple, and a tomato. I had some grapes. I needed to add more veggies, but obviously failed at that part today.

Around lunch time Leo comes home. He lays on the couch. He's such a man when he's sick. He gets in bed before I am done with work and closes the blinds in the bedroom. I like them open a bit so it's not cave like dark in the office.

It's 3:15 work is over so I head out to get the children. I talked to my mom on the way over to the school. Go in get the kids, they are in good moods. It's nice when they are in good moods when I pick them up. I asked them what they did, and they gave their standard answer of 'I don't know'. Sweet Girl tells me her nose ran and she sneezed a lot. I give them their after school snack of fruit snacks. Sweet Girl falls asleep in the car on the way home.

At home, Leo is still in bed. I foresee it will be me alone tonight making dinner, giving baths, bedtime, etc. I am somewhat annoyed by this because last week when I was sick I still helped out. Oh well. Sweet Girl and I did her homework. I unloaded the dishwasher, loaded it back up. Attempted to clean up the kitchen a bit. It still looks messy.

I made an exciting dinner of pasta for Sweet Girl and me and waffles for Little Man. It's what he wanted and I didn't have to do much so I was good with it. Leo made himself some soup. It was a nice evening really with the kids and I. I enjoyed their company. The kids played on the computer and of course had a fight over it. Nice. Didn't I just say I liked their company, I should add when they're not fighting.

Bath time, pajama time, TV time, bedtime. We watched Dragon Tales. Again. We watch the hell out of that show. It annoys me. I check my gmail account, respond to a birthday invite and get the kids drinks for bed.
I read to Sweet Girl, then go lay with Little Man. After changing a poopy diaper. Always a pleasure.

After the kids are in bed, I get my workout clothes on and pick up a book as I wait for my trainer to come over.
She arrives, I work out and feel OK about it. It was an OK workout. I hate when I can't do stuff without stopping for a break.
I help her take all her stuff out to the car, the neighbor stops over to tell us our house looks great. We had it painted. It does look good I have to agree. He invites me to their churches rodeo or something. I tell him I'll talk to Leo. I like the neighbors they are very nice. But they kind of make me uncomfortable sometimes. I think I feel like I'm being evaluated as a possible second wife or something.

I come back in the house, take a shower, read some more and then head to bed. After I am comfy in bed and asleep for a while, Sweet Girl comes in and I walk her back to her bed. And then back to sleep for me.

So there you go, the exciting details of my day. Real exciting, eh!

I'm Honest, How About You?

2009-11-02T09:03:00.009-07:00

I am beyond honored to be given an Honest Scrap award from one of my favorite bloggers. Stephanie over @ Bad Mom was the first blog besides my sister in laws that I read and followed on a regular basis. If you haven't checked her out, you really should. So I am thrilled she actually reads this blog and leaves witty comments too! Getting an award from her is quite an honor to me. Thanks!!

Now I must pass on the love and tell 10 honest things about myself.

Let's see, there probably isn't much you don't already know...

1. I really don't like my nose. But I don't dislike enough to get a nose job.

2. I like to collect office supplies.

3. I sometimes regret choosing to go back to work after having children.

4. I don't like coffee.

5. I have weird issues with odd noises, they drive me nuts.

6. I am terrified of fire.

7. I feel I need a lesson in shopping, I always revert to jeans and t-shirts and then feel frumpy. But I don't know what else to buy or what would look good on me. I keep telling myself I'll have the "cute" clothes when I lose weight.

8. Not a huge fan of reality TV, but for some reason can't change the channel if Real Housewives of 'Somewhere' is on. I am amazed at how these people live. It's like a train wreck that I can't turn away from. I'm ashamed to admit I am looking forward to the Real Housewives of Orange County that starts on Thursday.

9. I do love shows like Ghost Hunters, A Haunting, etc, but if any of that happened in my house I wouldn't stay there 5 more minutes. I would get the hell out of dodge.

10. I miss my Grandma Jean, I wish Sweet Girl and Little Man could have known her. She was so awesome.

Rules to my fellows:

Say thank you and give a link to the presenter of the award.
Share “10 Honest Things” about yourself.
Present the award to 10* other bloggers whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design or to those who have encouraged you.
Be sure to tell the 10* bloggers chosen that you are giving them the Honest Scrap award and provide the guidelines for them.

*Or a number that you can reasonably accomplish in whatever mental/physical state you're in.

The honorees for encouragement and brilliance are:

San Diego Momma

Because My Sister Has One

Raising Little Women

Adventurous AZ Mom

A Day In the Life of The Basha's

My So Called Life

Happy (day before Halloween) Friday!

2009-10-30T07:42:00.003-07:00

1. It was a dark and stormy night, which I love so I sat outside to enjoy it.

2. They were afraid of the creepy old library at night, so I offered to take the books myself.

3. Rushing out, I totally forgot my costume.

4. Holy crap, what was that...I think I heard a howl!

5. Shhhh... don't tell the kids I took all their snickers bars.

6. I'll be coming over for dinner so you better give me something good to eat!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing at home and hoping Sweet Girl is better, tomorrow my plans include hopefully fun and excitement of trick or treating with friends and Sunday, I want to enjoy some good family time!

Sickness Invasion

2009-10-29T08:39:00.004-07:00

Well we are starting the cold and flu season with a cold that is affecting everyone in our house but Leo (who is the alien virus carrier since he never seems to get sick).

That's all I got for this week. Sickness.

Arizona has been great for us in just about everything. I am happy to be here (yes finally), and it really was the best move for our family to make. Except we all seem to get sick more often here. I guess nothing is ever perfect!

On a happier note, today is my sisters 30th birthday. So Happy Birthday to Deanna! Love ya and welcome to your 30's... :)

I Have No Complaints About The Weather For Once

2009-10-27T09:16:00.004-07:00

Our weather as of late has been fantastic. It's been in the mid 80's but in the later afternoon after I pick up the kids from school it has been awesome to sit outside and let the kids play in the front. We are one of the odd ones on the block that actually come outside, the rest of the block are reclusive and don't leave their house.

The kids have been playing on their scooters, and playing with the scarecrows. Sweet Girl walks around with one of them like it's her best friend. It's about as tall as she is. The other day she was singing to it and talking to it. It was really cute and funny. Hmm...maybe that's the reason people don't come outside when we're out there, they think our kids are weird because they talk to scarecrows. Actually I doubt it, I never see anyone out. And as soon as they are in the garage they immediately close the door. People here are so strange.

And tomorrow the high is only 62-64!!! I will get to wear long sleeves, socks and open my windows! Woohoo!!!

Hello cooler weather!! I've waited so long for you to get here!

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

2009-10-21T14:20:00.007-07:00

Leo and I went to the U2 concert last night. I have to admit I was disappointed. I am disappointed to be disappointed! I was expecting so much more. It lacked the energy I expected. Boo.
And first it took us TWO HOURS to get to the concert. TWO HOURS. We used a car service to get to the concert so Leo nor I was driving but OH.MY.GOODNESS. The traffic, it was bumper to bumper for a long long time. I was so tired of being in the car, I was ready to have some sort of breakdown. We left at 5:30. Obviously we should have left at 4:30. And I was STARVING.

After finally we got there, after our 2 hour car ordeal. We didn't have any interest in seeing the opener, the Black Eyed Peas for this leg of the tour. It couldn't have been one I actually like I wanted to see like The Killers or Muse. No we get the Black Eyed Peas. I really only cared to see the one song that was in my post a couple days ago. Ironically that was the last song they played as we were getting to our seats. Lucky me.

When U2 came on, it was kind of blah. No energy, people were sitting. us included. There were these people in front of us, they were like the U2 couple. They were annoying as hell. I wanted to kick them down the seats (please excuse my irrational anger towards people I don't know, but lucky me I also started my period at the concert so let's just blame those feelings on that wonderful fact.). Leo said they would probably be having sex on the seat before the concert was over. They were really into the concert. Ironically half way through the concert she was sitting down, almost deflated. I determined she must have had a pretty good buzz at the beginning of the concert and now she was crashing and feeling like crap.

I was also not looking forward to Bono's political rant and saving Africa blah blah blah. Luckily it was not as much as I expected. Since we were paying to see them perform not listen to his political ramblings.

At the end of the first set, they hadn't played what I was wanting to hear. I was pissed. And of course they did the whole encore process. And then they did it. All I really wanted to hear was 'Where The Streets Have No Name'. And with that song, the stadium had energy. That was what I was looking for the entire concert but it just wasn't there. At least I got one songs worth.

Overall, it was just OK. And I wasn't looking for just OK. I was looking for awesome.

Slave To Convenience

2009-10-20T10:34:00.006-07:00

I have become a slave to convenience. It's just easier, obviously. And it has made me lazy. Convenience is good but not all the time. I don't think it's the best thing for our family. And with regards to dinner it's really not the best thing for our health. There are good healthy convenient foods, though. Like most fruit, apples, bananas, oranges, grapes, you get the idea. But it's the actual dinners that are a bigger pain in the ass.

I think I need a dinner kick in the pants. I need to push the laziness aside and do what's best for my family. And I think that's dinners at home together. But coming up with ideas, yet another pain. And ideas everyone will eat. Sweet Girl would be content with plain noodles EVERY night. I think I'm going to start getting input from the kids and make them help with dinner. Maybe they'll be more excited and will eat. At least that's what I've read is supposed to happen...

Convenience has it's place, just not all the time like we've become. I want to enjoy cooking for my family. I want everyone to enjoy eating the food and have good family conversation around the table with little fighting. I actually think deep down I want to be like Martha Stewart, minus the scandal and her weird outfit choices though. I want to cook good food, I want to bake wonderful things (I find baking so therapeutic, I really should do it more), I want to do crafts with the kids and enjoy it, I want to work at the kids schools and be a part of their education. I think what I want probably seems out of place in our current times. I think I want my life to be like a 50's sitcom...a weird dream to have. I have all the pieces of my dream. A wonderful, loving husband and best friend, great kids with funny senses of humor and a desire to be around us, a wonderful house with a kick ass kitchen. The only problem I have is when I'm at home I'm working, I'm not cooking or baking or crafting. And when work is done, I'm tired and worn out and ready to sit and do nothing, even though I want to do something (see the laziness is rearing it's head, it knows how to push my buttons!). [insert: sigh]. I really need to add this to the top of my 'Making a Change' list.

It's back to the balance game. Balance life/work. Balance convenience/effort. Balance Balance Balance. It's like working out on a bosu on one leg!

Why? Why? Why?

2009-10-19T10:53:00.004-07:00

Little Man's favorite word: Why?
Little Man's favorite phrase: Why Mommy?
Usage: Constant

The kid is WEARING me out with this. I mean it's constant. It is a constant non stop barrage of 'Why Mommy?' to anything I say or he sees on TV or outside.

It's a real joy to watch a movie with him.

I try to give him meaningful answers that actually answer his questions, which then results in more Why's. And sometimes we go in a complete circle with the answers and end up right back at the original thing that caused the first Why. And he doesn't like the answer 'I don't know', but sometimes I REALLY don't know! And if I make stuff up, my luck that will be the info he'll go to school and share with all his friends and teachers.

SOMETIMES if I'm lucky I'll answer and he'll say 'OK Mommy'. But that's rare. REALLY rare!

I don't want to squash his inquisitive little mind because wow is it inquisitive, but jeez I need a break from the Whys. And I tried the trick my friend Kelly suggested by replying to his Why, with 'What do you think', that worked for about 2 days and then he caught on. Now he says 'I want you to answer'.

I will probably wish for this stage to return when the kid is a teenager.

Fill Er In

2009-10-16T08:31:00.003-07:00

Welcome to my good friend Friday! I always love it when you come around.

1. So are we going to get this finished or what?

2. Fun times over the holidays is what's up ahead.

3. I love to hear my children laughing.

4. I can always eat sweets of some sort.

5. I walk a fine line some days.

6. Family and friends close by is the true elixir of life!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to enjoying being at home, tomorrow my plans include a birthday party and more home time and Sunday, I want to move some pictures around and enjoy being at home!!

A First: I Agreed With Oprah

2009-10-15T02:56:00.001-07:00

Not really a big fan of Oprah, but I do have to admit I agreed when she said this was cool. Maybe not the coolest thing ever but I do agree it's cool that all these people coordinated dancing.
And the song is pretty upbeat too. I like it.

Sleepy Boy

2009-10-14T11:28:00.002-07:00

I think it's been quite an adjustment for the kids with getting back home and back in the groove of our regular routine. They've had a difficult time this week so far with getting up and going to school. And also going to bed. Little Man is having a difficult time staying in his bed and going to sleep. Not sure if this is because of their erratic bed times while we were not at home.

Last night was no different, but at least he stayed in his room. Not in his bed, but in his room. When Leo went to open the kids doors before we went to bed, he hit Little Man. That was because Little Man was sleeping in front of the door. He had his little butt in the air and his head at a weird angle against the wall.
The best part was he also had his crocs on. I'm not really sure why he put them on.

Hopefully by this weekend everyone will be back to normal.

Bibbi Bobdi Boutique

2009-10-13T10:41:00.003-07:00

Glitter. Oh.My.Goodness. The glitter that we had from our wonderful time at the Bibbi Bodbi Boutique, it was EVERYWHERE! For DAYS!
But it was a highlight of our Disney adventure. The kids, yes even Little Man, got to experience a day of being a princess. We arrived early at the castle for our reservation to get all done up in full on princess style. Dresses, shoes, wands, nail polish, makeup, hair cement, and glitter (x100). Our party covered most of the major princesses:
Belle
Snow White
Cinderella
Aurora

We were one good looking group!

Sweet Girl was a beautiful Belle. She looked great in her fancy yellow dress, and rainbow sparkle shoes, all her beautiful makeup and her hair cemented on her head in a pretty crown. She was really impressed when she saw herself as they turned her around to face the mirror. She was so beautiful.

Little Man made quite the handsome Snow White. He declined the hair and makeup though, and only opted for the dress (while REFUSING to take off his clothes underneath), PINK sparkle shoes, and a wand. He did end up with glitter in his hair but that was all and he was NOT pleased with it at all. We got some looks, and questions about why "SHE" didn't like to have long hair. They were surprised when I said 'HE's a boy'. Oh the looks. They didn't stop all day. Some were looks of understanding, acceptance and the occasional horrified look of that boy is IN A DRESS, WHAT KIND OF MOTHER ARE YOU? I ignored those looks. I mean the kid was outnumbered with three GIRLS. He had to fit in somehow and he was quite PROUD in his Snow White getup. He did look cute and did provide us with some wonderful blackmail pics, he will certainly not enjoying seeing when he is 16. I was fine with my Sweet Little Man in a dress.

The other two girls were very beautiful in their Cinderella and Aurora dresses. We were difficult to miss with a party of 4 decked out princesses!

We then headed over to the BEST character meal of our trip. It was at the Auckerhaus in Epcot's Norway. Where each princess visited us at the table for autographs and pictures. Snow White was the best (or so I was told since I was up getting food at the buffet line...I am disappointed I missed it), trying to get Little Man to talk or take a picture with her. We did get some shots of him being all shy though. Sweet Girl enjoyed the day meeting all the princesses and did great taking her picture with them.

The weather was LOVELY this day as well. It was cooler and not nearly as humid. And I gotta tell you, if you're in France (at Epcot anyway) you MUST stop and get the Grand Marnier frozen drink. Holy Smokes was it good. And maybe you'll also be traveling with another family and you too can enjoy the pretzel rod with cheese from Germany that results in weird and perverted comments.

And as with all our trips where someone has to get hurt or sick. Epcot was the scene of Sweet Girl falling off a ledge. Luckily she was not badly injured, a small scrape and bruise on her arm. A lot of tears and thankfully no ripping of that beautiful Belle dress.

This was by far our longest day out and about. We started at 7 AM and didn't get back to the hotel until almost 8. But overall a wonderful day. Dress up, adventure, food, fun, drinks and great friends. It was pretty much perfect.