Live Laugh Love

Ben's Day

2012-02-15T18:21:00.000-08:00

On Ben's birthday, it's all about him. Whatever he wants goes, well within reason.

I headed to school today to eat lunch with the kids. Emily's lunch starts 10 minutes before Ben's, so I sat with her first.

I don't think she wanted her picture taken. But, she's not embarrassed by me at all yet and ran out of her classroom to greet me. They were on indoor recess because it's freezing outside with the wind chill, so it was okay.

Then Ben's class came in, so I switched seats by Ben.

That lunchroom was so noisy and crazy. It's organized chaos and as soon as one table is told to leave, it is being filled by the next grade. I got asked 100 questions by the different kids around. "What color is your house?" "Do you like beans?" "How do you know my name?" "Do you like pickles?" "Where do you live?" "Can you open my milk?" "I take medication, do you?" "Are you Ben's Mom?" Oh my gosh, after 40 minutes, I was ready to run out of there. We don't pay our lunch staff enough. Seriously.

After school, I had Ben's requested dinner going. Spaghetti and meatballs.

But Ben prefers his meatballs with no sauce. As he wishes...

Emily was very excited to give Ben her gift.

She wrapped up two of his dinosaurs this morning.

Obviously he said, "Um, I already have these." And she was upset. He didn't mean to hurt her feelings, he was just confused as to why his dinosaurs were in a giftbag. Next time we'll put her name on one of the new gifts.
He got a Green Lantern guy.

And a Thor sword.

Some Jacksons from the Grandparents.

Grammie and Grampie sent him this cool shirt also that says "Benjamin, Spider Boy". Very cool.

What Ben really wanted for his birthday was a radioactive spider, so he could become Spiderman. I posted a comment on Spiderman Turn Off The Dark facebook wall. That's the Broadway show of Spiderman. I thought they might know where I could get a radioactive spider. They told me they were hard to come by, but they sent Ben a hat and keychain from the show. How cool is that?

Yeah, he thought it was very cool that Spiderman sent him a birthday gift.

Then, a duel broke out with the new Darth Vader mask, lightsaber and Thor sword.

Ben requested pumpkin cookies for his birthday dessert.

And he made a wish...

And do you know what he wished for? A radioactive spider.

Keep dreaming my sweet boy. I think he had a pretty great birthday.

Ben, 6

2012-02-15T07:28:00.000-08:00

Today is Ben's sixth birthday. I can remember vividly where we were 6 years ago right now. Ben was about 30 minutes old and we were calling everyone to share the news of his speedy delivery. He came out quickly and has never stopped moving since.

I was telling Ben about his birth last night in bed. I told him that I can't even imagine my life without him. He makes every day better, and I don't know how I was ever happy, truly happy, without him in my life. He has a smile that makes me smile and when he laughs, really laughs, there isn't a better sound in the world. He is a special kid, and he's loved by everyone he knows.

Happy Birthday my sweet handsome boy. I hope you enjoy your special day!

Valentine

2012-02-14T18:40:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day. We started the day with heart shaped pancakes and bacon for the kids. Big ones for the big kids and little hearts for the little kid. In that top photo, you can see the face of Jesus.

Just kidding. I just wanted to see if you'd look for him.

Emily actually let me do her hair in a heart today. It looked so cute.

Then, I spent the next 3 hours cooking. Cupcakes for Ben's class for tomorrow because it's his birthday and pumpkin cookies for Ben for his requested birthday dessert.

While I was busy cooking, Noah was busy painting himself green with a marker.

Emily and Ben got home from school and Ben went to play in his room, like usual, and Emily went through all of her Valentine's.

My Mom was amazed at how cool the Valentines are these days.

We went to drama class and when we came home, David gave flowers to both his girls. I think it made her day.

She's a Daddy's girl.

It was a lovely day. As it should be.

Ben's Party

2012-02-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

Ben's sixth birthday is Wednesday. We had his birthday party yesterday. The quote of the day was "I can't believe I puked in the middle of my birthday party". Yep, that sums it up. I'll take it from the beginning.

We had Ben's party at Freedom Station. It has mini golf, a huge indoor play house, laser maze, roller coaster simulator and tons of arcade games. Ben invited 3 boys from his school, some family friends and cousins.

Emily was playing in the playhouse.

Noah driving already!

Ben and his friend in the playhouse. It's like 3 stories high, super fun.

After an hour of play, we went upstairs to our party room. His friends were showing him all the gifts.

We had pizza.

Ben ate a bite and didn't want anymore. I figured it was too spicy for him. He's VERY particular about his pizza. He looks happy.

He got a balloon party hat.

He wanted to do presents before cake. As he wished....

Everything was going really well.

And 30 seconds after I took that picture, Ben puked. No warning, just puked everywhere. I think only one kid got it on him, but it was pretty disgusting.

We were just going to send everyone home with a cupcake, but we cleaned up and got Ben together. He finished opening his presents and we sang him happy birthday.

And he made a wish...

I wonder if he wished to never puke at his birthday party again.

Noah enjoyed his cupcake.

Everyone ate their cupcake and went downstairs to use up their tokens. I thought we'd just go home, but Ben wanted to play games.

We got home and I was getting him undressed to get in the shower. He looked at me and said kind of smiling, "I can't believe I puked in the middle of my birthday party." He took a long hot shower, had a bowl of fruit and some ice water and he was already feeling better. Emily helped him open his gifts and they played with all his stuff. And that was that. No more puking, no fever, no nothing.

Overall, I think he had a great party. And the moral of the story is if you are going to puke at your party, make it the last 30 minutes.

The Morning After

2012-02-11T14:28:00.000-08:00

Emily's sleep over went great. We almost called to tell her goodnight, but we didn't. David was really missing her because he got home from work after she was already gone, so he didn't get to tell her goodnight.

Last night was really quiet around our house. The boys didn't fight. We didn't raise our voices once. It suddenly dawned on me that Emily is the instigator. Well, I think I already knew that. But girls are supposed to be sugar and spice and she is extra spicy.

I was actually surprised at just how much I missed her. I thought it was going to be nice to have a quiet evening at home while she played at a friends house. Instead, I was fighting back tears as we went to sleep. I wanted my girl home with us. I picked her up this morning a little early. I missed her so much. We hugged for a long long time.

But when she walked through the door and saw her Daddy, she was the one crying.

She's still just a little girl after all.

Nocturnal

2012-02-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

My awesome boss Juli (of the famous bargain believer) got my kids a subscription to National Geographic for Little Kids. They LOVE it.

We got a new issue yesterday in the mail. Emily was reading it on the way to ballet while I was driving.

Emily: "Mom, what does N-O-C-T-U-R-N-A-L spell?"
Me: Nocturnal.
Then she reads: "Animals that are active at night are nocturnal. Are you nocturnal?"
And she replies to herself: "Yep! I'm definitely nocturnal!"

That's my girl. She's nocturnal.

She's going for her first sleepover tonight to our friends house. I wish them luck!

I have a feeling I may get a phone call to come get her at midnight.

But that's my little bushbaby for ya. Gotta love her.

Reunited and Two Big Thumbs Up

2012-02-09T14:29:00.000-08:00

Ben and I drove to Phoenix today for his eye appointment. On the way, we stopped and got my camera from Pam. I'm so happy to have my camera back. As you can tell, I wasn't as inspired to blog without photos. My camera makes me want to be a better blogger. It completes me. We are reunited and it feels so good.

On to bigger and better things. Guess who used the potty this morning?

I was gone and my Mom watched Noah. When I returned, he had drank 3 cups of coffee. My Mom has issues with saying no. So, I put him on the potty and he went. So, I will now give him 3 cups of coffee, wait 30 minutes and have him go! Whatever it takes. A big thumbs up to my little Monkey boy.

On to Ben's eye appointment.

We were in and out in 10 minutes. Everything looks great. He said his lazy eye is just about completely corrected from the surgery. He didn't mention a possibility of another surgery, so we are good there. With this doctor, I've learned when he brings something up that means it is going to happen. He's preparing you, so you aren't shocked.

The main purpose of the appointment today was to make sure his vision in his bad eye didn't backslide after surgery which is very common. If it did, we would've had to start patching today. But, his vision is the same as it was before the surgery, so we are good. He'll see us in 2 months for an annual exam and I think we'll have to go back to some light patching at that point to try to improve his vision even more.

This whole process started a year ago when we went for Ben's well visit and he said I see nothing when asked to read the eye chart with only his right eye. When the eye doctor saw him for the first time last March, his vision was 20/20 in his left eye and 20/800 in his right. When he got glasses, he was 20/400 in his right eye. Legally blind. He is now 20/40 in his right eye. Amazing.

It's all due to a great doctor and Ben. He didn't like wearing a patch 5 hours a day. Who would when you are legally blind out of that eye and that's all he was seeing. He's a total trooper and his success proves it. He gets a big thumbs up.

His pants look like he just rolled around in the dirt, which he probably did at recess. Ben thinks eye appointments are so much fun. I send him to school for a little over 2 hours and when I pick him up, I have Spiderman on the DVD player and his lunch ready in the backseat. It's only a 90 minute drive to Phoenix, but he thinks it's awesome. He has a rough life.

I'm always surprised when I get to Phoenix. The hustle and bustle. Everyone in such a big hurry. I lived there for 33 years, so it shouldn't be shocking but it is. I've become acclimated to our country life.

On our way home, this monster truck was on my ass. I had two cars in front of me and a semi to the right. I couldn't go anywhere. Still he didn't let up, if anything he went faster. I got in front of the semi to let the monster truck zoom by. When he passed me, I made sure I gave him the bird.

You can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl.

As I made the final turn into our neighborhood, I was so happy to be home.

That's it...we got rush hour.

Partied Out

2012-02-07T15:55:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was busy. Mom's Night Out Friday. Saturday at a friends for steaks, hot tub time and margaritas. Sunday a Super Bowl Party at our friends or as Emily and her friend call it "The Sugar Bowl". Yeah, we are BIG football fans around here.

I've spent too much time having fun to blog lately. Oh and I left my good camera in Phoenix at the "No Kid Party". So, I've taken one photo over the past 10 days with my back up camera. And I really just did this one to appease my mother in law as I'm sure she's checking the blog every day for something.

That's it. Nothing exciting going on around here. We are alive and kicking. Emily and I have caught a cold.

Ben has an eye appointment in Phoenix on Thursday, so I'm picking my camera up at my friends house then. Be prepared for lots of pictures and new post to come. Ben's birthday party is this weekend. He's almost 6!

A No Kid Party

2012-01-31T03:04:00.000-08:00

We rarely leave our kids. We have a date day every other month and that's about it. I think we've spent 1 night away from them when we went to a Diamondbacks game last year. Other than that, we are with them. But, we are good with that.

I know a lot of couples would argue that you need that time alone with your spouse. But, I argue that we need that time with our kids. Really, you just need to do what is right for you. No judgement. I see Emily and Ben about 5 hours a day because they are in school. We think our place right now is to be with them. Vacations alone, cruises, we'll have plenty of time for that in 15 years. If we go on a trip, I want them with us.

We only get 18 years with them, I want to soak it all up. When it's time for them to go off on their own, I'll be ready to start my next chapter of life. One that will involve a drink with an umbrella in it and a chaise lounge on the lido deck.

I digress...Every January, our friends from Phoenix host an adult only party. Good food, good friends, good conversation, it's lovely.

Here's Pam and I being goofy. I have red eyes and I kind of like it in a Team Gina kind of way.

Okay, here's a serious one.

They set up a beautiful table for 18.

I dream about these potatoes and salad for an entire year.

We fondue chicken, meat, shrimp and mushrooms.

Then, we drink too much wine and when Pam tries to take a candid, I do something uncandid.

It was such a nice night. We made the 80 minute trek back up the mountain and were home before midnight. Emily was still up with my Mom. Not a surprise. Ben and Noah were fast asleep. We tucked in Emily and checked on the boys. Laying next to my bed on the nightstand was this note.

At first I thought it was from Emily because everything was spelled correctly and in pretty decent handwriting. Then, I flipped it over and knew our friendly neighborhood Spiderman was sending his love.

And I knew I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.

Narcosleepy

2012-01-26T14:52:00.000-08:00

My kids were never easy sleepers as babies or toddlers. They slept in their crib or the car seat on rare occasion. That's it. They usually never fell asleep in strollers or on the floor in front of the TV.

Noah's had to be a little different because he has to go with the flow more. He'll fall asleep in his stroller sometimes, but it's still mainly just his crib that he sleeps in. But, he's starting to transition out of his nap. He never wants to take it and will usually yell, "Mom, get out" because he wants me to take him out of his crib. Some days, I don't put him down at all.

Last week, I didn't put him down for a nap and he fell asleep on the sofa in front of the TV at dinnertime.

Poor little guy couldn't make it. He looks cute though.

Today, he took a 45 minute nap and woke up screaming. I put him on the sofa and turned on Barney and I found him out 5 minutes later.

He has a hard life. Geez, look at these lashes. Lucky boy!

God's Paintbrush

2012-01-24T08:04:00.000-08:00

In Arizona, we see spectacular sunsets a lot. I just read an explanation of what causes pretty sunrises/sunsets in the desert here, but I still don't get it. So, I'll just enjoy.

Our backyard faces south and we have two huge windows with just a small drape on them. No blinds. I wanted it that way. We have a little view of the mountains and I like to be able to see them. When the sun rises or sets and it's particularly vibrant, our walls in our living room turn pinkish orange. It's our cue to go outside and take a look at what God created.

This was our sunset a week ago.

And a Sunrise last week.

Another sunrise yesterday morning.

Now I usually don't see the sunrise as I'm asleep, but since the sun wakes up when I do this time of year (7:30), I get to see it every morning. In the summer, the sun comes up at 5:30. Nine months out of the year, I never see a sunrise. And I'm okay with that.

Because I have God's other masterpieces to look at.

Surpassed Us Already

2012-01-20T10:17:00.000-08:00

As a parent, you always feel such pride when your kids do something great or accomplish something you never did. I'm envious of the way Emily can forgive easily and marches to the beat of her own drum. I wish I was more like Ben in his caring nature and how he puts others before himself. Noah, well he's just brand new.

But, it's a little humbling when one of your children have already surpassed you in an area of life. Neither David or I are good at drawing. We make stick figures and stick dogs and it's really pretty sad.

Here's a drawing I did when I was in Kindergarten like Ben. Apparently, the top corner was used for scratch paper. This was probably a "masterpiece" for me.

Here's a drawing David did when he was about 7.

That's about as good as it gets for us.

Not for Ben though. Ben is an artist. He loves to draw. Not color, he rarely uses a coloring book. He prefers to pull out my paper tray on the printer, grab a piece of paper and start creating. Of course, everything is a superhero theme.

Here was The Joker because he had to draw something with the letter J for school.

Most every drawing is of Spiderman. The kid loves all superheros, but he's partial to Spiderman. He came home from school last week and spent an hour drawing this.

One day, we will go to New York and I'll take him to see Spiderman Turn Off The Dark on Broadway. I can just imagine his amazement watching that play. And I know he'll be in awe of the buildings in New York. He drew this picture last night. That's him as Spiderman, complete with glasses and all.

He's making a book called "A World Without Superheroes". Where all superheroes die, and I'm sure will come back to life because you know, they are super and all. I wish I could live in his head for a day. I think it's a magical place.

Dancing Fool

2012-01-17T14:51:00.000-08:00

We've taken the kids to Disneyland twice. Both times it was in October, which means the Haunted Mansion had been taken over by Jack the Pumpkin King from The Nightmare before Christmas for Halloween. The kids have never seen that movie, and they weren't freaked out by Jack. In fact, it was probably the most requested ride. Even Noah could go on and he'd say "mo jack". We rode it probably 10 times.

When we got home from California a few months ago, I found the movie on TV and recorded it. Noah requests it all the time "kissmiss" which means "christmas". And he'll sit for 90 minutes and watch Jack the Pumpkin King. It really is a weird movie, but the kids love it.

When we got Just Dance 3 for Christmas, guess what was on there? A song from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Noah loves it and request "punkin king!" and we have to put it on and dance.

I was unloading the dishwasher the other day and he wanted punkin king, so I put it on. He tries to get Granny to dance in the middle of it. When she doesn't join in, he finally grabs his robot at the end and dances around him. Whatever works, right?

Now, he enjoys other dances and played Just Dance 3 for about an hour this morning. I just have to set it up and he dances away. If you are not my Mother-in-law, you do not need to watch this entire video.

A Whole Lot of Nothing

2012-01-16T15:46:00.000-08:00

Wow has it been a laid back day around here. David and the kids are off for MLK day. David made us waffles for lunch, and we've caught up on some chores. Emily has been playing with her Barbie Townhouse from Santa for the past 3 hours by herself. Ben is flying around the house dressed up as a super hero of some sort.

And Noah...well, Noah is pretending to be a chef. We took my yellow bag ice skating yesterday and filled it with water and gloves. Noah found it hanging on a chair and decided it makes a perfect chef apron.

Who would've thought the same bag that went with me to take care of my preemie baby every day would one day be in his dress up bin.

When I downloaded those pictures I found ones of Emily and Ben from yesterday before ice skating.

It became a big love fest.

I love these kids.

And that's about it. A whole lot of nothing. It's a good thing.

Ice Skating

2012-01-15T16:14:00.000-08:00

My friend has been trying to get us to go ice skating with their family. Her kids took lessons. Mine have never been on any form of skates, not roller or inline or ice. A group of our friends were going today, so I finally decided we should go.

At first, David did not want to go. He really didn't want the kids to go. He was certain someone would break a bone. But, I said I'd take the kids alone and if we broke something, he could meet us at the ER. I was a little worried about trying to teach 2 kids to skate by myself. I learned to skate when I was a kid. I spent weekends at the ice skating rink at Metrocenter mall with my friend Angela. But, I haven't been on skates in over 10 years.

David hasn't ice skated in over 30 years. He learned in Canada where I imagine babies learn to ice skate right after they learn to walk. He used to go to indoor rinks with his cousins and Uncle. Here David skating at about 9 years old skating at Beaver Lake in Montreal.

Out of no where this morning, David said he would go. And he would skate! Not just watch like most the other parents. I was thrilled.

Emily was so excited. She asked 100 times today when we were going. It was finally time and we had our skates on waiting for the ice to open.

Ben was excited too and a little nervous I think.

Here are David and Ben taking their first steps on the ice.

Emily taking her first steps. Sorry it's blurry, I didn't bring my good camera, so I just made do with what I had. And I was moving...

We quickly found out that the walkers were more of a hindrance. So, we ditched them and gave it a whirl without them.

I took this video in the first 15 minutes of being on the ice. I probably should've waited until they got it down more, but it was so cute to watch them learn.

It took about an hour for them to really start to get the hang of it. Then, they could go laps around with us slowly.

Ben did 3 laps without falling.

He said he felt like the Silver Surfer.

Once the kids were stable enough, David and I would take turns. He'd do a few laps alone and I'd stay with the kids. Then, I'd get a turn. Our legs were cramping from taking baby steps for an hour. You need to stretch your legs and get some speed.

Then, Emily ditched us and skated with her boy friend (not boyfriend), Tristan.

Apparently, this is where a lot of teenagers hang out, so it's good they learn to skate now.

Over 90 minutes later, the kids were completely exhausted. They each fell about 25 times. Oh there were tears of frustration on Emily's part and Ben thought "we had made a mistake" when we decided to go ice skating. They were total troopers though and just kept getting back up. I was very proud of them.

As for my husband, he whizzed by me at one point and said he thinks he should get his own skates. He was having a great time and getting a great workout.

The kids and I cleared the ice. They were so tired. They just couldn't go anymore. We took off our skates and found our land legs again. Then we sat in the stands and watched David having a great time.

This is something we will definitely do again. Thanks to my Mom who watched Noah. Actually, Emily wanted to go again tomorrow. Not that soon sweetie. These old bodies need some time to recover.

Sleepover

2012-01-14T15:26:00.000-08:00

A few of Emily's friends have been having sleepovers. We are always afraid to let Emily spend the night at someones house. She's a night owl and I'm afraid our friends won't be our friends when she's misbehaving at 2 AM. Although, she'd probably be an angel when she's not in our house.

Yesterday, Emily said she wished her friend, Alanah, could spend the night. I thought why not? So, we called Alanah and made arrangements. This would be Emily's first sleepover. It was good her first one was at our house.

They played Wii games.

And chased each other through the house.

I let them stay up late and then they went to bed.

There was no craziness or problems in the middle of the night. Alanah was the perfect friend to have our first sleepover.

I see a lot more of these in our future.

Sealed With A Kiss

2012-01-12T07:37:00.000-08:00

If you have a kid in Kindergarten, they have to be signed out every day. Which means, waiting in a line outside the entrance to Kindergarten with 25 other parents. Over the course of a year, you become friendly with these people. You know when one is having a bad day and listen when another tells you about their knee surgery. You hear about great restaurants in town or some fun hiking trails for kids.

When Emily was in Kindergarten, these parents saw me stand in line with a 4 pound premature baby and Ben dressed in a costume. They all thought Ben was a riot and loved watching Noah grow up throughout the year. It's just 10 minutes a day, but over a year, a bond is formed with these kinder parents.

The other day we were talking about the school lunches. One Mom just finished her student teaching at the school and said how gross most of it is. The salad bar is good, but most kids don't go for the salad bar when they can get pizza every day. I'd be totally excited if my kids would eat school lunch, but they won't touch it. And why would they when I pack their lunch every day.

It takes a good 20 minutes. Of course, I'm telling them to get dressed and making them breakfast while making their lunches. They are very different, so they get different things.

Ben - peanut butter and jelly with the crust cut off, crackers or chips, fruit and some little treat, a Hershey's Kiss or this week it's a Reese's peanut butter cup. Ben's favorite. The only other thing Ben will have is Salami, Boars Head Genoa Salami sliced thin fresh from the deli. Ben gets a juice box instead of Capri Sun as he can't stick the straw in the pouch yet on his own. The box is easier to put the straw in. Ben is predictable and easy.

Emily - she's all over the place. These week, she is loving ham sandwiches with extra mustard. She eats her crust. She also loves soup, which I heat and put in a thermos. She also gets crackers or chips, fruit and a little treat. Emily is actually easier because she doesn't care what I pack. But, I can guarantee she's the only second grader who gets excited when I pack her pea soup.

Then, I write a note on their napkin. Something simple, but just so they know I love them.

My earliest memories of eating lunch at school was in high school. I have a bad memory though. But chances are my kids will never remember that I cut off their crust and wrote them a love note every day. But, I don't do it so that they will remember the gesture 20 years from now.

I do it because I imagine they look around the table and see their friends eating "chicken" with "potatoes" and "gravy" from the school cafeteria. No special treats. No love notes. And I hope they enjoy their extra dose of love in their lunch box.

Emily.

2012-01-09T10:52:00.000-08:00

David woke up at 5:30 this morning. He found a very lively Emily sitting at the foot of Ben's bed having a conversation with a very tired Ben. This is Emily. Every night is an adventure for her, and ultimately for us sometimes. I woke up last night and swore that someone was watching me in bed. Turns out, it was her. Totally freaked me out. After I tuck her in at night, I tell her, "don't come out of this room unless the house is on fire". She still comes out every night.

She said she couldn't sleep last night. I told her to turn on her light and read a book instead of waking up her brother who never has a problem sleeping all night in his own bed. She was all surprised. I can do that? Um, why not? You do whatever you want anyways. Oh there will be some form of punishment, and then she'll behave for a week. And then we are back to the same thing.

She is actually always really good waking up and getting ready for school. Truly I could care less what she does at night, watch TV, eat cereal, read a book, just don't wake anybody else up.

While she gets about half the sleep that I do, she still manages to be a great student. Today was the school assembly and she received Student of the Month.

Here she is walking in to the gym. She didn't notice me, but I had a camera covering most my face.

I went over and took a picture with her class. I'm sure in a few years this will embarrass her.

She got called on stage to receive her award.

"Emily, look at Mommy so I can get a good picture"....

She finally sees me.

And smiles.

Here's the video.

She's an awesome kid. I'm glad she's mine. But, if I catch her watching me again in my sleep, I'm going to have to buy her a TV for her room.

New Things

2012-01-08T20:26:00.000-08:00

Have all my posts been about Noah lately?

I'm home with him everyday, and he's doing so many new things. This weekend we had a big event. Noah ate cereal. Well, he always eats cereal, but never with milk...at the table. It was quite an event.

He has some great motor skills. He only dropped one Fruit Loop on the floor. Is he flipping me off?

Noah and Ben are actually playing together. It's fun to watch. Today Ben was finishing his breakfast, Noah pulled on his shirt and said, "come on Ben". Off they went to dress up like Captain America. We were watching the movie.

David commented that it seems Noah is going to be as into Superheros as Ben. Which I'm sure David is thrilled about because he enjoys the movies and books himself.

Our boys aren't really into trucks or tractors or dinosaurs.

It's all about Superheros in this house.

Epic Failure?

2012-01-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

Nothing quite makes me happier than clearing out the fridge. Eating leftovers, watching empty containers go in the sink. It makes me happy. Does it make you happy too? Anyone? Anyone?

I had 1 cup of pumpkin leftover from last weeks final Christmas celebration. I decided to whip together a loaf of pumpkin bread. I used this recipe because I stalk this ladies blog and she always makes such pretty desserts and serves them up on white pie plates. It's her Aunt Lucille's recipe. I don't know Aunt Lucille, but I imagine she serves up a pretty mean pumpkin bread. I halved the recipe because we only had 1 cup of pumpkin to get rid of.

I made 2 mini loves because they cook faster. The timer beeped. They looked good. I was supposed to meet my friend to walk in 3 minutes. I pull the loaves out, do the toothpick test, which came out clean, and went walking. No excuses, remember?

When I came back, my pumpkin loaves looked like a volcano with a giant hole in the middle. Bummer. I tasted an end and Aunt Lucille is spot on. My Mom convinced me to cut them open and bake them longer. After another 15 minutes, they are cooked. Behold - the twice baked pumpkin loaf!

We kept cutting off ends to test to see if they were done.

The bad news is they look awful.

The good news is they still taste pretty good. Extra crispy, but good.

Imagine how great they will taste when I cook them long enough next time.

On another note, I haven't had a manicure since sometime in 2010. Noah gave it a whirl today.

I think he's as good of a manicurist as I am as a baker. I won't be quitting my day job anytime soon.

No Excuses

2012-01-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

The motto this season on The Biggest Loser is "No Excuses". Sure, I'm not 100 pounds overweight, but there are a lot of things I want to be doing that I make a lot of excuses for.

Exercise. I got on a kick a few months back that lasted one day. Then, I broke up with my treadmill again and I came this close to selling it on Craigslist. I don't even care if I lose weight (although, that would be nice), but I just want to move. Some days the only exercise I get is walking from the computer to the kitchen. But, I've learned that I really just don't like to exercise. It has to be fun and not feel like exercise or I won't do it. So my friend and I have started walking. 30 minutes, Monday through Friday. No excuses.

Church. We talk about going all the time. David is very picky and can't find any church that he loves. I don't care so much, let's just go. The last 2 years, it was out of the question with Noah due to his health. But, he hasn't had an ear infection in a long time and he would hopefully let us leave him in the nursery at Church.

When David's Mom was visiting, Emily slept in our bed with us. When my Dad and Suzy came for the night, Ben slept with us too. It was me, Ben and Emily in bed. David on the sofa at the foot of the bed. It's the most comfortable sofa ever, so he really had the best spot. In any case, we started talking about church with the kids and God. We asked what Jesus looked like.
Emily said, "He has brown hair and a beard".
And Ben said, "And he wears a hoodie!"
A hoodie. Really? How about a robe Ben? In any case, we need to go to church. No excuses.

And for my father-in-law, here's a picture of the kids after a shower. He checks everyday for pictures. Ben was trying, not very successfully, to cover his chest.

A Chill New Year

2012-01-01T15:47:00.000-08:00

The last few days of 2011 were spent busily running around putting up Christmas decorations and cleaning the house. I just wanted to start the new year without a long "to do" list.

One of those chores that needed to be done was haircuts. Ben's was getting long and when faced with the option of me combing it every morning or getting it cut, he chose getting it cut. So, David was first, then Ben. We've tried to cut Noah's, but it never really did much. This time, I tried it and got a nice chunk of hair. So, it was time for his first official haircut.

He was a little apprehensive.

He was moving all over the place.

Next time, I'll put a movie on. But, it came out pretty good.

Then, he yelled at me for missing a spot and left without leaving a tip.

Whatever.

David took his Mom to the airport this morning. The house is kind of quiet and it's a low key day. The kids go back to school tomorrow. We spent the day relaxing.

I'm liking 2012 already.

Our Fourth (and final) Christmas

2011-12-31T16:46:00.000-08:00

My Dad and Suzy returned from New York on Wednesday. They came up here on Thursday to celebrate Christmas with us.

The kids were more than happy to open presents....again.

Emily got lots of Barbies to go in her new mansion.

Noah was digging his new Elmo.

Ben got more superheros.

They actually got everything they've been eyeing at the store. I went shopping with Suzy before they went to New York and she had me pick out whatever they wanted. It was so much fun. It's really nice to spend someone else's money!

But the best gift was Noah's spiderman house that came with 20 balls. Of course, 20 wouldn't be enough, so Suzy and picked up an additional 100. Am I crazy?

I figure if all I do for the next 3 months is pick up 120 balls 2-3 times a day, I'll lose 10 pounds.

In any case, it was a great night spent with my Dad and Suzy. The following morning I had the kids get in a photo with 4 of their 5 grandparents.

The Christmas decorations have been put away. The house is back to normal. The kids start school in 2 days. Grammie Gwynne leaves in the morning. Everything will slide back into our routine. I like our routine. I love our life.

2011 was a great year for us. The latest accomplishment was Ben learning to swing!

I'm looking forward to the new year and all that it will bring.

Our Third Christmas

2011-12-29T20:02:00.001-08:00

Our first Christmas celebration was with my brother and sister on Christmas Eve. Then came Christmas day with our family. The third Christmas was when Aunt Pam came up the day after Christmas.

Aunt Pam always gives books and pajamas for Christmas. It's a perfect gift after an overload of toys.

Noah has this whole wrapping paper thing down.

Emily got a collection of Ramona books. She was thrilled.

Ben got a few superhero books. This one is about a little boy who becomes a superhero every night in his dreams. Just like Ben.

Here they are looking good in their new pajamas. Emily got Hello Kitty ones.

Ben got a new set of Spiderman and Captain America pajamas. He was ecstatic.

Noah had a moster theme. Very appropriate.

Then, it was time for Just Dance 3. Wow, is that fun!

We still have another celebration with my Dad and Suzy. I think we'll be Christmas'd out by the end of the week, but in a good way!

Our Christmas

2011-12-28T07:39:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas started with leaving cookies for Santa.

Emily wrote a note in her poorest penmanship. I personally like the arrow, so Santa will know exactly where the cookies are.

Have I mentioned yet that David's Mom is visiting? She's been here for awhile and the kids are loving the extra attention.

With David's Mom (Grammie) and my Mom (Granny) both here, it means we've been playing musical beds. Granny is in the guest room. Grammie is in Emily's room. Emily is in mine and David's room. Emily is a very light sleeper which made things really difficult for Santa come Christmas night. But he managed as he always does, and everything went off without a hitch.

At 7:39, Ben came running in the room to wake up me and Emily. David had already been awake for awhile and Noah was up. The chaos was about to begin.

To my surprise, the kids didn't want to tear into their big presents from Santa. They wanted to find the gifts that they bought for everyone at Santa's workshop at school and give them to everyone else.

They handed out gifts to each other, to Mom and Dad and grandma's. I was shocked. On a child's most selfish day of the year, my kids were thinking of others. Maybe we are doing something right.

Their turns came soon enough and they were happy to open all their gifts.

Santa brought a big train table.

Emily got a "brown" doll as she requested.

Emily also got a Barbie mansion which I've enjoyed playing with.

This train table almost brought me to tears. Screws the size or a pin head, a missing part, I was cussing out Santa by 1:00. But, it finally got done and the kids love it.

I love Christmas. The get togethers. The anticipation. The magic. It's all wonderful, but come the 26th, I'm ready to pack it up. Once the day has passed, all I see is clutter and craziness. The superheros have invaded the Christmas Village.

And Ben dumped out half of his 1600 piece Lego set on the floor. Then, Noah dumped out all of the canister of popcorn on top of it.

Yep, I'm ready to pack up the chaos and put it away for the next 11 months.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

This year, I had two Christmas cards made. Basically, I had a gift card through one site and then ordered the rest on another site. Same pictures, same words just different backgrounds.

I love having a holiday photo card. I used to write a letter with it every year. Now, I've condensed the letter to fit in the card. It works for me. You can see our past photo cards here.

I used to stress about getting a great family photo. Now, we just put on snow hats and it's all good.

In any case, here's our card this year.

And the inside:

We hope you have a very merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T18:51:00.000-08:00

Usually on Christmas Eve, we head to Phoenix to my Dad's and Suzy. This year, they went to New York to visit my Grandma. So, we decided to host Christmas Eve at our house for my family.

My sister and brother and their families all came up.

My brother Joe, his girlfriend Melissa and daughter Auna.

My sister Tammy and her daughter Tiffany.

Tammy's son Rocco and our dog Rocko.

All the kids at the kids table. I made baked ziti, sauce and meatballs.

The kids had a blast with this helicopter that my brother brought.

I say the kids, but the adults had as much fun with it.

Time for presents.

Then, chaos ensued.

We are dogsitting Katie. She started opening presents too. Crazy little girl.

It was great to spend the day with my family.

Apprentice

2011-12-23T10:51:00.000-08:00

Noah is a learning a lot these days, like how to cause trouble.

The other day I hear rip, rip, rip. He's unwrapping Christmas presents.

Noah's attitude change has benefited everyone. Ben and Noah are starting to play together, and Ben has lots to teach him. Ben is enjoying adding a sidekick to his superhero play and gets Noah all dressed up.

The pajama pants hanging off his backside is supposed to be a tail. I'm not sure what superhero that may be.

This morning it was all Star Wars. The kids haven't even seen Star Wars. I know, I know, I deprive them.

We are all enjoying Noah now. I think we'll keep him.

Will Eat For Applause

2011-12-21T14:41:00.000-08:00

As a baby, Noah was not picky. He ate just about every fruit and vegetable. Until I went from stage 2 to stage 3 baby foods. Stage 3 has some texture to it. Noah has issues with texture. He was over a year old and I refused to still feed him food made for a 6 month old. I was sure he'd transition to table food quickly.

It's been a very slow transition for Noah. The kid won't even try foods. A strawberry or grape are just fun squishy dinnertime toys. And a piece of corn might as well be acid when you try to put it in his mouth. Really, have you ever met somebody who doesn't like corn? No, everybody likes corn. Well, everybody except Noah.

If we try to force him to eat, he cries until he chokes and throws up. That just ruins everyones meal. So, we've decided to let him take the wheel on this one. And if he only eats rice and pasta for dinner, so be it. May I add the pasta sauce has to be homemade. I tried to give him Ragu once and wouldn't even go near it.

Noah doesn't really eat meals though. He's a grazer. He likes to eat little bits here and there. He prefers carbs out of a bag. Dry cereal, crackers and chips are his favorites. He'll go crazy every once in awhile and have a Dannon Yogurt Smoothie or a string cheese. We all sit down together every night for dinner. Noah's meal is just different from ours. I always try to give him some of what we have, but he usually just throws it on the floor for the dog.

Needless to say, Rocko is gaining weight. Noah is holding steady at 27 pounds.

The other night David made a ham dinner with au gratin potatoes, green beans, corn and biscuits. Noah had his usual - a bowl of plain rice. I had a plate next to the rice of ham and corn, but we all knew that was going to be dog food.

We decided to try to coax him into eating with some cheering. It worked. By the way, Ben dressed Noah up as Robin. Ben was Batman of course.

He ate all his food!

Tomorrow, we are all going to cheer around the toilet bowl and hope for the same success!

Off The Fence

2011-12-19T16:54:00.000-08:00

Noah has by far been our hardest child. He's strong willed, demanding and stubborn. I don't know where he gets that from? Probably me.

It's been my joke that David wanted a third child. I was still on the fence and Noah was 2. Don't get me wrong, I've loved him from the get go. But... Dr. Phil once said, whatever comes after "but" is how you truly feel. So, I've loved him from the get go, but he's a royal pain.

Something has changed lately. Noah is still strong willed, demanding and stubborn, but he's also learning to communicate more. With that comes telling me he wants juice instead of screaming. Also, my Mom being here gives me a little freedom. I can go to the store without Noah and sometimes space is a good thing. Whatever exactly has changed with Noah has finally made him enjoyable.

I like him.

I told him that the other night and now we repeat it back and forth to each other. I tried to get it on video.

I wasn't too successful that time. He just thought I was funny.

This shows some of his spunk.

And finally, I got him to say it.

I like him.
I love him.
I'm no longer on the fence.

Junie B. Jones

2011-12-16T19:02:00.000-08:00

Emily is totally into Junie B. Jones books. She checks one out almost weekly from the library at school. Sometimes Emily and David will read the books together before bedtime. David will walk out of the room laughing and say something like, "That Junie B. cracks me up." Wow...he should get out more.

A few years ago, our little town opened a new library. The old library was crammed in a small spot in the civic center next to the restrooms and where you pay utilities. The kids section was the size of my bathroom. Our new library is amazing. The kids section takes up half the second floor. The point being that there is a second floor and a third and fourth too!

Every year, various organizations decorate or make Christmas trees and they put them on display around the library. This year, Emily's school did one. They made a Christmas tree out of books! Genius idea really.

Some classrooms decorated a box and some kids got to decorate a box. Emily got to do one all on her own. She made a Junie B. Jones book, of course.

I was so proud of her. She did such a great job.

Winter Concert

2011-12-15T18:41:00.000-08:00

The kids had a winter concert last night at school. Well, it wasn't at their school as there are too many people for their school gymnasium. It's now held in the middle school auditorium and we are still at standing room only by show time.

Ben and his friends all looked really cute.

Patiently waiting for the concert to start.

Kindergarten sang Must Be Santa.

Followed by Hanukah is Here.

Emily and her girlfriends looked cute on the stairs waiting for the show to start.

They were all ready to sing, but had to take a seat and watch the music teacher and his Dad perform a few songs which were really good.

While they were waiting, the PE teacher came over and sat by the girls. He was helping corral all the kids. I could tell by Emily's little smirk that she has a little crush on her PE coach. Kind of sweet...

Second grade sang Esta Si Que Noche Buena. Her Grampie would be proud.

Followed by I Saw Three Ships.

Then, a surprise visitor showed up. SANTA! Emily's music teacher reminds me of Jack Black in School of Rock.

Their final song was We Wish You A Merry Christmas with Santa leading the choir.

They did a great job. After, we went to see a drive-thru Christmas light display that they put up every year. We all love it.

There are snowflake arches.

A tribute to our military.

A Menorah.

Some wise men. And if the story is told by Ben, they are on their way to see the Grinch in Bethlehem.

Noah's Ark.

My personal favorite, the pointsettia arch.

The lights span a mile long and are really nicely done. Most displays are animated. We usually do this at least twice every season.

It was a great ending to a great evening.

Holiday Cheer

2011-12-14T09:39:00.000-08:00

The kids take drama class at a studio called Independance. They teach everything. Drama, singing, piano, guitar, hip hop, etc. That's where Emily takes ballet and tap too. They also teach adult Zumba. I may give it a try one day. For now, I'm asking for the Zumba Wii game for Christmas. Better to be humiliated in the privacy of my own home.

Yesterday, Independance went caroling at a nursing home or retirement home or senior citizen center. I thought it would be a great experience for the kids.

Before the performance, Ben passed the time by hiding in the curtains.

He wasn't embarrassed, just looking for stuff to do. No toys, so curtains would have to keep him entertained.

Here was our singing group.

I knew I'd have my hands full with Noah, so I just grabbed my older camera that takes video and pictures, stuffed it in my purse and went. I was surprised how much better my new camera is, but it works in a pinch.

This was our audience, 20 or so lively seniors.

The kids did a great job singing.

Some songs only the kids sang.

Little Drummer Boy was my favorite.

Some of the harder slower songs, the adults sang and the kids got to have a break. Then, little kids would crawl around. It was pretty informal.

But the seniors seemed to enjoy it.

Do you notice the room is full of females with only 3 men in the crowd. It dawned on me at some point that I will be here before I know it. Just like that, your kids are grown and have families of their own. The fact that the female ratio is so high just made me realize that all these women have already lost their husbands. For a moment, I got teary eyed. I don't want to be here without my husband.

Then, I noticed Ben who also seemed to be getting teary eyed. What was he thinking? We always say he is an old soul. Was reality hitting him like it was hitting me? I saw him wipe his eyes.

The concert lasted almost 30 minutes. After, I asked Ben why he was crying a little. I thought I'd get a profound answer. Instead he told me he was singing for too long and was getting bored and wanted to be done.

I couldn't help but laugh. Leave it to Ben to lighten the mood.

Then, I made Emily promise to take care of me and her Dad when we get old.
She reluctantly agreed.

A Party With Santa

2011-12-13T08:33:00.000-08:00

It was time for another Christmas party and another visit from Santa. We do this with a few families in our neighborhood. You can read about all the previous parties or just look at how much the kids have changed. Here are 2010 and 2009. Good times.

This year I hosted the party. Everyone brings something and we all have a fun time. Santa hands out candy canes to everyone when he comes in.

Santa asks the adults if we've been naughty or nice. You know I said naughty. And her broke my candy cane!

He then tells the story about why we celebrate Christmas. At one point he says, "The three wise men had presents and were going to Bethlehem. Who do you think they were going to see?"

And Ben replies, "The GRINCH!"

Oh brother.

Santa calls each kid up and goes over a few things that they are doing well and something that they should work on. I don't know if my boys are turning into clowns, but Noah decided to be Iron Man right in the middle of it.

Then, Noah got his turn on Santa's lap. He wasn't so sure about that.

And Miss Emily got a turn.

Santa made some joke about Emily changing diapers and helping at dinnertime and she was cracking up.

Ben was rather happy as he knows he's 99.9% good, so he has this whole presents thing in the bag!

Another year gone by, another great party.

Follow Up

2011-12-09T07:41:00.000-08:00

Ben and I made the fastest trip down to Phoenix ever. Well, I wasn't speeding or anything, but our appointment lasted 15 minutes and we were back on the road.

He thought it was great. I picked him up from school at 11:30. I had his lunch waiting for him in the backseat. The DVD of Spiderman was playing with headphones so he didn't miss a word, and so that I could enjoy my own music. It was actually a nice afternoon.

Ben got a great report from the doctor. His eye is healing beautifully and his vision is the same in his bad eye. Often kids need a stronger prescription after surgery. Ben likes to wear his glasses, but we noticed that sometimes he wouldn't say anything about them. I almost sent him to school without them one day. He used to ask for them every day. We assumed it was because his vision was improving which it is. But, it's really important for him to still wear his glasses, so he doesn't have to strain his right eye to see. If that happens, his brain could shut it off and start using only his left eye again. Makes sense.

I really wasn't seeing a huge difference in his eye placement. The doctor told me that it will take time to see the full benefit. Kind of like if you didn't have a finger and had a surgery to put one on. It will still take months to learn to write and use that finger. Ben's eye is the same way. It will take time for his eye to do what it needs to do. This is all a brain issue at this point. His eye now has the "space" since the muscles were cut to not turn in. Now, his brain needs to continue to work that eye and all will be good. Hopefully.

Our next follow up is in 2 months. We may need to go back to patching at that point, but we will see where Ben is at that time. For now, it's just glasses as usual. Ben isn't missing patching one bit.

Because I like to put up a picture with every post and I haven't done a Flashback Friday post in months, I went through photobucket to my very oldest photos. This is Ben when he was 2. Emily "cleaned" him with my spray bottle of vinegar. Thank goodness it was only vinegar and not something that would have hurt him. I remember David came home from work that day and said, "whose been dying Easter eggs?". HA.

The funny thing is that his right eye looks REALLY turned in in this photo. But oh my gosh, he is so cute. I don't know how he made it out of toddlerhood without me eating him up!

It's been a busy week. I have a Christmas party from last weekend that I need to write about and a Christmas party tonight for David's work. A cookie exchange on Monday with our Mom group at my house, so I need to bake this weekend. Christmas lights to put up as it was too snowy last weekend. Christmas cards to mail out. I did get our Canadian family cards out yesterday since theirs will take longer.

Busy, busy, busy...

Ben's Eye

2011-12-05T08:39:00.000-08:00

Ben's eye is interesting to David and I. We never really thought that it looked THAT turned in. His right eye is his bad eye. Sometimes in pictures, it looks like his left eye is turned in. Sometimes it looks like his right. Sometimes we never noticed anything.

I don't have a lot of perfectly front face shots of Ben where he isn't smiling. Usually when he smiles, it's a one-sided smile and it crinkles up one eye and you don't get a good look at his eyes. The other day in the car, I got a good picture of him looking right at me.

I could definitely tell that his eyes look more centered then they were before.

So, I went looking for a picture from before the surgery. It was hard to find one without glasses, so that you could see a difference. It is VERY slight, but I can tell that his right eye is straightened out.

It's possible that he could need this exact surgery again if they eye isn't where the Doctor wants it. We have an appointment on Thursday afternoon.

Does anybody else see a difference or is it just my wishful thinking?

Still Snowing...

2011-12-04T10:11:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we are still getting snow. That usually doesn't happen around here. Yesterday was a hot cocoa kind of day.

Of course Noah didn't drink the cocoa, but he liked putting marshmallows in it.

Showing off to his sister that he has 25 marshmallows in his cup.

We decided to try some sledding at the park around the corner. It's a little hill, but the kids still have fun.

Noah absolutely shocked me and was having a blast.

He was loving the snow.

David and Noah.

Little man even got on the sled a few times.

Emily was having a good time, but wouldn't smile for the camera. Candids are always better anyway.

They all had a great time.

My husband tried to hit me with snowballs. He missed, but he looked hot trying.

Our friends showed up. Then, it really started snowing again.

Noah does have Canadian blood in him.

This is like borderline blizzard.

It got seriously freezing.

We headed to the car as icicles. Em's cheeks were so red!

We had a great time!

Today is the Christmas party at our house! Fun weekend!

Let It Snow

2011-12-03T07:48:00.000-08:00

We woke up today to SNOW! This is really early for us to have had 2 snowfalls already. We never get a foot of snow or anything that lingers around for weeks. We get enough snow for the kids to have fun in and it's gone in a few days. It's the perfect amount if you ask this Phoenix girl.

The kids were so excited that it snowed. I'm so glad they didn't have school today because there probably wouldn't have been a snow delay. At least they got to go out and play in it. Or rather have a snow ball fight.

This makes them just as happy as going to Disneyland. Seriously.

More snowball fights.

And snow angels.

Eating snow...but not yellow snow. Ben's eye is looking so much better.

Noah finally decided to join in the fun.

Last time it snowed, I put him in snow boots and he wouldn't take a step. It was like they were cement shoes. But, today he had no problem. And he got a lesson in snowball making from Emily.

Emily and Ben built a snowman.

He's a cowgirl.

Noah lasted 2 minutes and is now inside under the electric blanket. The other two are die hards.

A Time To Dance

2011-12-02T11:51:00.000-08:00

Emily tried some dance classes almost 3 years ago. They didn't work out so well. We had some issues with the teacher (you can read it here) and never went back.

I was a dancer, so it's normal to want my daughter to dance. After our bad experience, Emily tried gymnastics at the YMCA and love it. She did that for the past 2 years, but she was starting to get bored with it. I secretly hoped she'd want to dance again, but I can't force her to do anything.

See Emily is good at everything she tries. She picks up a racket and can hit a tennis ball her first try. She takes a few piano lessons and can play a couple songs by heart. But, Emily gets bored of things quickly and she's yet to find one activity that she is passionate about. Well, she's passionate about all of them for a few months, and then her interest fades. I admire her ability to be able to do anything. From karate to soccer to drama to tap dancing, there is nothing that she can't do.

So, I just keep up with her and when she wants to try something new, we go for it. Maybe she'll find that one thing she truly loves. Maybe she'll just be good at lots of things. Whatever makes her happy and keeps her mind learning is fine by me.

She has started back up in dance again much to my delight. It's half ballet and half tap. Last night was her first class. Her best friend Alanah is in her class as well as 2 girls from drama, so you know that's super fun.

Sorry some pictures are a little foggy. They were taken threw a window looking into a mirror and catching her reflection. And her pony was too loose.

Oh my gosh, she's so stinking cute.

David and I notice that her face is changing a lot lately. Maybe it's the addition of the permanent teeth? Her face is just getting longer. I didn't think my girl could get more pretty, but she manages.

She was totally holding her own. I was impressed since she's had about 8 classes her whole life.

Such concentration.

Then, it was time for tap. I think she was happy about that.

Doing combinations across the floor.

Her and her friend.

She had such a great time. I think she'll enjoy this for awhile.

Or until Spring when Softball starts...

The Weather Outside Is Frightful

2011-12-01T08:51:00.000-08:00

We are at the start of a 3 day snow storm. It's not quite sticking yet, but it will be soon. Noah is stuck inside.

I think he's already going a little crazy. He'll be saying, "Here's Johnny" before the weekend is out.

It's really coming down now. Hoping for a snow day tomorrow, so the kids can enjoy it instead of being stuck in a classroom. I need to get the fireplace going.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

In The Lines?

2011-11-29T07:47:00.000-08:00

Some kids are meticulous from the get go. You can tell at an early age by the way they keep their room or how they color.

I was getting ready this morning and Noah was too quiet. That has to mean he's up to no good.

He's definitely a colors outside the lines kid.

And he couldn't be more proud of himself.

Revlon's Goldpearl Plum Lipstick looks rather nice on him. He can pull off anything with that skintone. Lucky kid.

5 Day Holiday

2011-11-27T17:59:00.001-08:00

We've all had 5 days off around our house. It's been lovely to relax and spend time with each other.

Wednesday was occupied by Ben's surgery which I wrote about.

We spent Thanksgiving at home so Ben could recoup. The kids were bummed that we weren't going to my Dad and Suzy's house in Phoenix, but we weren't sure how Ben would be feeling. Turns out he felt fine, but his eye still looks pretty red. He watched the parade on TV.

He wants to go to New York and see the parade live one day. I told him we would. Spiderman on Broadway, here we come!

David deep fried our turkey.

It was such an easy dinner. Deep fried was the way to go. A 12 pound turkey in 45 minutes! Sweet. And it was delicious.

Emily and I read under the electric blanket. It was freezing out.

We put up all our Christmas decorations on Friday.

Oh, Ben's poor eye. I'm glad he had 5 days off or I would have let him stay home from school the entire week. He rarely complained though.

Even my Mom helped. She hasn't decorated for Christmas in almost 20 years! That's just wrong!

My Dad and Suzy came up for the day on Saturday to spend some time with us. Suzy and I went shopping for the kids for Christmas. So much fun to go shopping for my babies with someone else's money!

Today was more time relaxing and preparing for the week, for me that means 3 loads of laundry. For the kids, that meant dressing Noah as a cowboy.

This kid is too much.

And on that note partners, we are turning in for the night.

Ben.

2011-11-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

We made it through another surgery day. I can live the rest of my life without taking any of my kids in to be operated on again. It's a helpless feeling as a parent, to hand your child over to doctors, knowing that although extremely rare, a mistake could happen. It's comforting that we've always felt like we had great doctors.

I don't bring my camera to these types of things. Honestly, seeing your child in a hospital bed knocked out with an IV is really not an image that any parent wants to see again. Unfortunately, it's an image that you don't need a camera to remember. You'll simply never forget.

In true Ben style, he was a star patient. When he had surgery years ago, we had to give him a cocktail. If you don't know what that is, it's a shot of some great meds that the anesthesiologist gives to make the kid not have a clue what is happening when they take them from your arms and down the hall alone. Two years ago, Ben needed it. This year, he went back happily without a cocktail.

Actually, the doctor said he had never seen a kid so excited to go back. He said he didn't know what we told him, but he couldn't wait to go under. The anesthesiologist told him he was going to get an astronaut mask over his face that smelled like bubble gum. Of course, we told him he was going to get to try on a Buzz Lightyear mask and he'd get to go to space. I guess he wasn't afraid as he went practically skipping down the hall with the nurse.

Ben just told us at dinner the nurse said, "ready to launch?". Ben said yes and then he says he went into outer space and saw all the planets. I guess he had fun being put under.

The surgery went just fine. The doctor says that his brain is going to take some time to learn how to work the eyes together properly. He's thrilled with his progress though. He said when we started all this in February, Ben was 20/400 in his right eye, legally blind. We've almost corrected his vision enough now that he may not even need glasses. I still think we will need to patch and wear glasses for awhile, but we'll see where things go from here. He has a follow up appointment in Phoenix in 2 weeks.

As for Ben, he's loving the extra attention today. I bought him a superhero book for Christmas. I'm trying to stay on top of things this year and wrap presents as I buy them. As I was packing his bag of things to keep him busy last night, I put the book in knowing that it would occupy his mind and keep his focus off the fact that he hadn't had anything to eat or drink in 12 hours. It worked. David read the book to him for most the morning. On the way home, I sat in the back next to him and he laid on me and slept the whole way home. We did not have a puking incident like last time. Thank God.

I tried to get a picture of Ben when we got home, but his eye was hurting and he wouldn't open them.

It basically feels like his eyes are dry and itchy. We have to watch that he doesn't rub them too hard. The corner of his eye was cut to relax the muscles and then stiched up. We have to apply ointment 3 times a day which he does not like, but he's always such a good sport.

I was finally able to get a picture this evening. After some motrin had kicked in.

And another one...

Looks painful. But in true Ben fashion, he still manages a smile.

Tonight, he's acting like his superhero self, running and jumping all over the house. It's nice to have him back.

Surgery...Again

2011-11-22T08:14:00.000-08:00

Today, David had to go to Phoenix for work. He left early. Which meant I had to get up before the sun. Not my favorite thing. The kids were in too good of spirits for 7 A.M. I needed a second cup of coffee. Hence, the blurry photo.

This is Friday for the kids. A 5 day weekend awaits, and I'm excited.

But our first hurdle is Ben's surgery tomorrow on his eye. When the Doctor told us that Ben had a lazy eye, there were two concerns. First, he wasn't using his bad eye at all. This is why we've been patching everyday for the last 10 months. Secondly, his right eye turns slightly in. We needed to fix the first problem before we moved on to the second.

Tomorrow we will head to Phoenix at 6:00 in the morning, check in at 8, surgery at 9:30. It should only take about 10 minutes at that point. The Doctor will cut the muscle on the inside of his eye to let them loosen so his eye is positioned correctly. He will be put completely under and the surgery is in the same exact building at Phoenix Children's Hospital as his last surgery.

We'll have to see where Ben is after that. We may be able to give up patching and possibly glasses all together. He sees perfect out of his left eye and his right eye has gotten so much stronger. In the beginning, Ben always wanted to wear his glasses because they helped him see. He now forgets to put them on sometimes and I actually loaded him up in carpool one day before my friend noticed he didn't have his glasses on. Oops. He obviously sees well enough without his glasses to not be asking for them anymore. But, he may still need them. He may still need to patch too.

I wish he didn't have to go through this again. But, it is what it is. The Doctor claims he will have some soreness and a red spot on his eye for a bit. Kind of like if you've ever scratched your eye with your fingernail. Nothing major. But, still...

Once we get through tomorrow's hurdle, it will be nothing but smooth sailing from there. We are doing Thanksgiving here at our house for just us. Then, we get to break out the Christmas decorations! The kids love decorating for Christmas.

Please keep Ben in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow. My little man is such a trooper.

Headed for Broadway

2011-11-19T08:39:00.000-08:00

Emily and Ben have been taking drama class for several months. They both love it. The place where they take drama has dance, piano, and singing classes. Last night was a big recital. It was held at Embry Riddle University. So, it was nice that they were on a real stage.

We got there early as the drama kids needed to rehearse the play one more time. Ben and Emily were trying to pass the time waiting.

The play is about a girl named Carol who is upset that she is poor and has to live with her parents in her Aunt's apartment. Then, Merry comes to give her a glimpse of how lonely the rich girl's (who Carol is envious of) life is because her parents are always working. Emily and Ben are homeless kids at the food bank.

Act 3, Scene 1 ~ Their big moment.

I think Ben was more interested in the table full of rolls behind him. He must have been hungry.

Their other scene was singing Rudolph. The video is a little all over the place. I was taking pictures at the same time.

We are so proud of them. They both did a great job.

Bravo!

Emily's Sick Day

2011-11-17T07:44:00.000-08:00

The rule at school is that children should be fever free for 24 hours before you send them to school. Emily had to take a sick day yesterday, but she didn't feel sick.

I went out front to get some yard work done. I love my hedgehog.

Emily took pictures of her and Noah in the front yard.

She did finally lay down and watch Ramona and Beezus but only because I made her. She is staying home again today. Her eye looks like she got in a fight (and lost) with Rocky Balboa. She says she looks like a troll. In any case, I'm letting her stay home until her eye looks better. Ben had a similar thing earlier this week with his eye being seepy but not as bad.

In any case, I get to work and she is reading books to Noah. Not a bad deal.

Another One Bites The Dust and It's About Time

2011-11-16T07:29:00.000-08:00

Let me recap my week.

Noah went to Urgent Care on Sunday. He's on an antibiotic.

Ben stayed home from school on Monday and went to the Doctor. He's doing much better.

Emily is staying home from school today. I picked her up yesterday and as soon as I saw her, she burst into tears. She said her head and throat hurt. I don't know why she didn't go to the nurse, but she didn't. By the time we got home, I knew she had a fever. 101.5. She was bound to be the next to get sick. Let's hope David and I don't get it.

My girl is a Daddy's girl and she hates to sleep alone. She'll sneak into anybody's room in the middle of the night to sleep with them. We found her on the dog bed in our room one night. So being sick is just another excuse to sleep with her Dad. But I read somewhere that being loved on by your parents is better then medicine when a child is sick. I believe that. David slept with her last night.

Not only did she get a fever in the middle of the night. The best thing ever happened. She lost tooth number 6! The jacked up chipped one in front.

When she was 2, she was playing with the water dispenser in front of the fridge. She missed the cup and water went on the tile. She slipped and fell and chipped her front tooth. Since then, I've always had a rug in front of the fridge. I've been waiting for that tooth to fall out for 5 years. It's about time! The Tooth Fairy is going to give her extra for this one.

And since we are on the topic of my girl, I have to share this little exchange between her and David the other day.
David: "Emily, why do you always want to sleep with Daddy?"
Emily: "Because I like you. No, I love you."

How sweet is that?

Sick

2011-11-14T19:04:00.000-08:00

It's been a rough few days for us. The boys are sick.

Yesterday, David took Noah to urgent care. He coughed all night and it sounded like it was settling in his lungs. He's had so many ear infections and bronchitis that we don't like to take the wait and see approach. He just had the onset of infection, so hopefully, he'll kick it quickly. He's been on an antibiotic for a day and he's already feeling better. Hence the blurry picture, he wouldn't sit still.

Ben's ears were hurting all weekend. Ben never complains so when he shows up at my bedside at 2:30 crying, I know it's serious. But the pain kept coming and going. Mainly coming in the middle of the night. Why does it always work like that. He's slept with me for the past 3 nights. He slept. I listened to him cough all night.

I took him to the doctor today to rule out an ear infection. He's never had one, and he still doesn't have one. It was just build up from a cold and pressure in his ears. I had him take a shower this morning since his eyes were all matted and his nose all crusty. I turn on the electric blanket, so when they get out of the shower, they dry off and hop under the warm blanket. Nice, right. I spoil them. But, when my boys eyes look like this, I'll do whatever I can to make him feel better.

Fresh out of the bath tonight and all 3 kids are sitting under the electric blanket watching Tom & Jerry.

They all love Tom & Jerry. There is very little talking, poor animation (well, compared to today) and the kids think it's the funniest thing ever. They have good taste.

Here's hoping tomorrow runs smoother and that I send 2 kids off to school.

8th Anniversary

2011-11-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

Today is our 8th anniversary.

I'm so glad that I married this man. He makes me happy everyday.

I went grocery shopping a few weeks ago alone. My Mom was watching Noah. I passed close to David's work and my first thought was I wonder if I can convince him to come make out with me in the back seat of our mini van.

Of course that didn't happen as he'd probably end up getting fired. But after 9 years together and 8 years of marriage, I'm still madly in love with my husband.

Happy anniversary babe.

Thank A Soldier

2011-11-11T17:23:00.001-08:00

Ben came home from school a few days ago and said we needed to hang a flag on our house. He said if we hang a flag it shows we love America. We don't have a flag. So, he made one and I hung it up in the window by our front door.

I woke up today and Ben insisted that we call a soldier to thank them. I told him the only soldier we know is Papa.

My Dad was strong. He still is, even if he can't hold a man above his head.

Ben just called him now. The phone call went something like this:
Ben: "Papa are you a soldier?"
pause
Ben: "Thank you for protecting our world!"

Who knew Ben was so patriotic? I'm glad he knows what today is all about and that he went looking for a soldier to thank them. He's sweet like that.

Senior Moments...already?

2011-11-08T13:19:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I feel like I got things under control. Yesterday, I got my kids off to school, took Noah in the snow and was ready to dash off to Mom's coffee with homemade pumpkin muffins in hand. I even had lipstick on. Red Lipstick.

Then the kids get out of school and I find out that I gave them each others lunch. Again.

I don't know what is going on with me lately. I feel overwhelmed and wake up at night remembering that I forgot to remember to plant the bulbs in the backyard. Again.

I'm doing this all the time. I even backed up into my Mom's car a month ago. I know it's in our driveway. It's been there for 3 months. I'm forgetting everything lately.

I also completely spaced that our anniversary is Saturday. Thank goodness we don't do gifts. If it weren't for a conversation at Mom's coffee yesterday about how long we've all been married, I would've let Saturday come and go without remembering. And I think my husband remembers because I remind him. Which I did as soon as I remembered I forgot it.

The things I want to do, like help at the kids school, don't seem to fit into my weekly schedule. The things I have to do, like clean the bathrooms, don't seem to fit in my weekly schedule either. So just what the heck am I doing?

I'm going to take my best friends advice and take baby steps. That's always her advice (thanks Pam). I'm going to set one goal every day. Just one. That can't be too hard to fit in. Today it was plant those bulbs. And I just finished doing that. Tomorrow will be box up Emily's small clothes, and possibly Ben and Noah's too. Thursday will be post new stuff on Craigslist, etc. I can do it.

Then once I clear up all the cobwebs in my brain, I'm going to help in the kid's class and start going to the clubhouse to workout when Noah goes down for his nap. My fear is that this is not just because I have too much on my plate, but that I'm getting older. Is this the start of Senior moments?

I had a point to this whole post, but I can't remember. God help me.

Winter is Here!

2011-11-07T07:52:00.000-08:00

Fall didn't stand a chance this year. Summer was a stage hog and didn't let fall perform until 2 weeks ago. Then, winter booted fall right of the stage today.

Those are our crazy pumpkins. They are like potato head parts to make a jack-o-lantern. The kids think they are fun and switch out the faces. I think they are genius as I get away with only carving one pumpkin every year.

Back to winter who will now be hogging the limelight for at least the next 5 months. We woke up to a blanket of snow. The kids were so excited but a little bummed that they had school and couldn't go play. David told them they couldn't go outside because he didn't want to make more work for me. But, I said go for it. And they did.

I told them "no snow angels" and "no going down the slide". That lasted about 20 seconds.

Oh well, they were having too much fun to stop them.

I made them bowls of oatmeal for breakfast and got them off to school.

Noah finally decided to brave the cold.

Him and my Mom are having a snow ball fight right now. I'm heading off to a Mom's coffee this morning. I think we'll toast to winter.

Noah's Loves Gum

2011-11-06T10:42:00.000-08:00

Noah loves gum. For a 2 year old, he does a great job of chewing it and not making a mess with it. Sometimes he swallows it. He'll raid my purse for gum. That and orange tic tacs.

This was bound to happen.

He tried to get it out on his own, but all he did was really stick it down to the roots. I know I could have used google to find out how to get gum out of hair. Instead, I jut took scissors to it.

Noah barely has hair, so this made him look like he had a receding hair line. I decided to trim up the rest of his hair in hopes of making the bald spot blend. In the end, I went with a comb over to hide it.

In other news, I put up a tent in the living room for the kids. They think it's fun.

Noah seems to enjoy it. Of course, this was before the comb over.

Maybe we should call him Trump Jr.

Trick or Treat

2011-10-31T21:26:00.000-07:00

There was plenty of tricks and treats today. With Emily and Ben having to go to school, it left the three little ones home. We have about 600 children's books and probably as many toys. But, they chose to play in a box.

My hubby made us a yummy dinner (ribs) and we all got ready early for the big night.

Even David got a little festive. This is about as far as he'll go when it comes to a costume.

This was our first house. Noah had no clue what to do. Every piece of candy that when in his pumpkin, he'd take it out.

Greg just wanted to push the wagon at first.

Alisa and her princess.

If you are ever having a bad day, just come look at this picture. Sure to make you smile, or maybe just me.

This was the first house that Greg went to the front door and wouldn't you know it they were giving out full size candy bars. He must have a sixth sense for this sort of thing. He was hooked after that.

Emily and Rachel being adorable.

And when Cinderella got too tired to walk, she got a ride from the most handsome prince I've ever known.

We came home and dumped it all in a big pile. Not bad for 90 minutes of work. We didn't set a limit on how many pieces, just let them eat what they wanted. They quickly found out their limit and handed me half eaten candy bars to save for tomorrow.

Santa has already put away lots of candy for Christmas stockings. He's cheap like that.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-31T12:57:00.000-07:00

We went to a pumpkin patch yesterday.

The boys quickly bonded over mini pumpkins.

There were tractors to peddle.

The corn maze was fun!

Emily lead the way.

She got us out without one wrong turn!

I love my girl.

We went on a carousel.

We went in the petting zoo.

There was a fun train ride where bandits handed out candy!

We went on a hay ride.

Rachel got a little sleepy.

Then it was time to pick out pumpkins.

Emily found a good one.

Ben found a good one.

Greg was outmatched.

It was a great morning at the patch!

Then, it was time to carve a pumpkin.

Rachel didn't want to carve the pumpkin. Noah was happy just to watch.

Noah will never be in any line of work where he gets his hands dirty.

Lucky for me, David's sister came to the rescue and got to work!

Emily and Ben are at school today. Company leaves tomorrow morning. We have one last night and we are going to have fun trick or treating!

Around Our House with Cousins!

2011-10-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

The days are filled with laughter and tears. (by both children and parents..HA!). Today we went to a pumpkin patch, but I have about 30 pictures to post. I'm doing an around our house post to catch up Grammie and the pumpkin patch I'll have to do tomorrow.

This is my handsome nephew Greg.

These two boys have a brotherly relationship. Sometimes they sit and throw rocks.

Then a few minutes later, they are pushing each other over a who gets the toy.

Then, they are sharing a toy a few minutes later.

Meanwhile, these girls are getting along splendidly.

Rachel was loving all of Emily's hand me down dresses.

Tonight they got matching pajamas.

And brushed their teeth together.

As for Ben, he marches to his own drum. But, he's enjoying being head of the boys table at dinner.

Our swingset has seen more action than it has in a few months.

Ben leading the crew down the slide.

Oh and Greg enjoyed our pasta!

We are having a great time!

The Cousins Are Here

2011-10-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

The kids were anxiously awaiting the arrival of their cousins today.

David's sister and her family are visiting for 3 days from North Carolina. The kids jumped right into playing together.

Things are already turning into chaos.

My nephew gives great hugs and kisses. He's a little love boy.

The house is loud and the kids are having a blast.

Good times for sure.
(Grammie, this post was just for you!)

Family of Supers

2011-10-28T16:35:00.000-07:00

We are going to a Halloween party tonight at our friends house. They always host a great party. The kids are so excited they got dressed up an hour early.

And Noah as Captain America was the cutest thing I saw all day.

We are a family of Superheros. Ben is Thor and Emily is Spidergirl.

I love these kids.

Big Sister

2011-10-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

Emily still likes dolls. Having a 2 year old brother is almost just as fun. She's been getting him dressed for us every morning. She changes his diaper, picks out an outfit and puts on his shoes and socks.

Noah thinks it's fun too.

Sometimes, he almost loses an eyeball, but it's all good.

The end result is a dry happy baby and I didn't have to do anything.

Big sisters rule!

Girl Time

2011-10-23T19:29:00.001-07:00

My best friend came to visit Saturday. She comes up every few months and we get some girl time in.

We started at Wildflower Bread Company with some yummy lunch. Then, we went to downtown Prescott to walk around and look in stores. We immediately found a cute hat shop and I had to try on this Jesse hat from Toy Story.

And right when we were about to take a picture of me in a chicken hat, this mean employee told us we couldn't take pictures in the store. Or have drinks, which we had 2. Or food, luckily we weren't eating hot dogs or we would have really been in trouble. Pam told him he was no fun and we left.

We found a pig who was more than happy to take a picture with our soda.

Ben likes this picture of Pam.

We found these artistic fire hydrants.

It was just like old times. Walking around downtown somewhere. Pam clueless as to which way was North, laughing, getting in trouble. It's what best friends do.

This is downtown Prescott. It's lovely.

Half the hotels in Prescott are supposedly haunted. So, we went in one. It looks pretty spooky to me. This hallway is right out of The Shining or something.

Room 16 is where a lady and her cat died. Why would a lady be traveling with her cat? I don't know, but we were trying to channel spirits.

This is the only ghost we found on the balcony.

And to top off the afternoon, I found that same chicken hat at another store that didn't care if we took a picture.

Our girl afternoon was over, but there was still fun to be had. Aunt Pam brought all the kids Halloween gifts. They were pretty excited.

Aunt Pam always brings books for every holiday.

But this time, she also brought us all masks.

Oh the Groucho Marx mask is a hit.

Noah is not in this picture because he was too freaked out by all the masks.

Aunt Pam is the best.

Noah finally got used to the mask...a little.

Then, we played Twister and watched baseball.

It was a great weekend with Pam. And I must say that I think I like this look on me.

Around Our House

2011-10-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I don't know where the week goes. I just noticed that I wrote almost 300 posts in 2010. I won't even get to 200 this year. Why is that? I don't know. Probably less free time on my part since I have a part time job and couponing is another part time job. In any case, here's what's going on around these parts.
**********************
Ben is doing really well in Kindergarten. I know he's smart, but I wasn't sure how he'd do in full day Kindergarten. He's always enjoyed recess and free play more than actual learning. Come to find out, he's retained a lot of information and has already completed the basic curriculum to graduate Kindergarten.

Ben has a different teacher than Emily did for Kindergarten, but they both use the same concept. A rainbow with 6 colors, each one representing a new skill that needs to be completed. They go over letter recognition (upper and lower case), letter sounds, then 3 sets of site words. I remember Emily's teacher being thrilled that all of her kids had finished the rainbow in April. Emily finished hers the beginning of November. I took a video of her reading her first book here. OMG, she was cute.

Ben's teacher has been sending him home with books from day 1. They were starting to get a little hard. Then, he finished his rainbow and started on this other set of books that is so easy. He was thrilled as it meant less work because there was a whole 10 words in the book. I had to get him on video too.

Now, the site words continue and they just keep adding rings to their rainbow. The books get harder too. Fun, fun!
*********************
Emily is going to start a ballet/tap class in December. There is a big recital in November, so we decided to wait until it was over and start up new. She got tap shoes yesterday and was having a blast. Ben put on a hand me down pair and was having fun too. Noah was trying to join in, but couldn't quite figure out why he wasn't making noise with his feet.

*********************
We graduated Noah up to a booster seat from his high chair. He always tries to sneak up in Ben's, so we thought he should have his own. I also thought he might eat more if he felt more a part of the family. But, nope he still only ate 3 bites of a grilled cheese. He was proud of himself being in a big boy chair though.

********************
Looking forward to the weekend. My BFF Pam is coming up to spend the night and take me to lunch for my birthday. Can't wait!

School Pictures

2011-10-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I'm still shocked that I'm a Mom. I have three kids and I have no idea how that happened. Well, I know how it happened, but it still surprises me sometimes. But everything I do every day reminds me of my little peanuts. I went to write down directions for the fall party we went to the other night and all I could find to write with was a purple crayon. Really...I can't find a pen? Nope.

I had an unfortunate incident in California and half of my big toenail is trying to come off. Blood, nastiness, pain. In any case, I'm doing my best to keep a band-aid on it until the meat underneath toughens up. I went to grab another band-aid today and all I had were kid band-aids. Spiderman, Littlest Pet Shop or Transforms. I picked the Pet Shop. Really...I don't have flesh colored band-aids? Nope.

Yesterday, my kids ran out of school with their school pictures.
Ben. (picture by LifeTouch)

Emily. (picture by LifeTouch)

They looked so cute. Really...I have 2 school aged kids? Yep. And I couldn't be more proud to be their Mama.

But, I am buying regular band-aids next time I'm at the store.

Fall Party

2011-10-17T08:29:00.001-07:00

We went to a fall party at our friends Moms house on Saturday night. They bought a beautiful home on a few acres and they have goats as pets. The kids thought that was cool.

Noah was happy to run all over the place. He's in the light blue shirt...running.

There were yummy fall treats.

Emily tried to take a bite, but couldn't do it with her wiggly front tooth. So, I got the apple. YES!

Noah being cheesy.

David is the best marshmallow roaster. He makes perfect ones. Nice and brown on the outside and ooey gooey inside. He was making me a smore.

Then everyone went for a hayride.

It's been an unusually warm October here. We had a few days where jackets were needed, but as you can see in the pictures, David is wearing shorts!

It was a fun party and a great kick off to fall. Now we just need the weather to join in and it'll start feeling more like fall.

The Rest of Cali

2011-10-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

Our last day of vacation, we split up the day. We spent the first half in Disneyland and the last half at the beach.

I brought my camera to Disney but barely took it out. I did manage to get this photo of the kids and David on Splash Mountain. Ben's face cracks me up.

We did all of our favorite rides again. Our last ride of the day was the Buzz Lightyear ride. Ben's favorite. It broke half way through and we had to be escorted off the ride. Ben was not happy, but I did get this picture with him and Zurge since the ride was not working.

It was getting so hot at Disney. The high was 100. So, we took off for the beach. I did not bring my camera. I just wanted to enjoy our last few hours having fun in the sun and not be trying to get pictures.

I watched my daughter make friends with 2 kids on the beach. She was laughing and screaming jumping in the waves and playing tag with one of the boys. By the way, she never let him tag her. My girl is quick.

I watched Ben and Noah get in a squabble over the sand toys. Noah hit Ben. Ben hit Noah back. David and I laughed. It was hysterical. Then, Noah came over to us crying saying "Ben hit". Yeah buddy, we saw it all. Ben hit you after you hit him. It was a funny exchange and one I may have missed all together if I were looking through a camera.

We stayed until the sun was about to set. Then, we had ice cream for dinner. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful vacation.

We are back to the grind. David is mowing the yard. I'm doing countless loads of laundry. We brought home half the beach and I have sand all of my floor. But it was heaven sleeping in my own bed, not listening to Noah and Emily's cough symphony that went on every night. The poor little lambs have allergies and something in California set them off. They took turns every night coughing and keeping us up. I loved our vacation, but I love coming home. I guess that's a good thing that we have a great life and really every day here at home is wonderful.

The whites are calling...

Cali - Day 5

2011-10-12T19:56:00.001-07:00

Today was a beach day. Huntington Beach is always a great break from the hustle and bustle of Disneyland.

The kids were super excited to get to the water.

They got right down to business.

A year ago when we went to San Diego, Noah wouldn't even put his feet in the sand. This year, he was enjoying the sand. David would build a sand castle and Noah would come along with a shovel and destroy it.

This is as close as I could get to a smile.

Emily has no problem acting like a cover girl.

Ben is in his element being trampled by a wave.

They practiced surfing.

Me and Noah.

David rescuing Noah from a wave.

Burying Dad in the sand.

Burying Ben in the sand.

We stopped at a grocery store and got lunch meat for lunch. Noah just ate Doritos.

More playing.

Playing catch with a seashell.

Drawing in the sand.

Noah got really brave at the end of the day and was hanging out on his own with the big kids.

We spent over 4 hours at the beach with only a few sand box toys. My kids LOVE the beach. Actually, Emily said the same thing she did 3 years ago that the beach was her favorite thing. I spent $680 for 3 day Disney tickets and $15 for parking at the beach. I need to remember that next time - 1 day at Disney and 3 days at the beach.

We are all pretty darn tired. Tomorrow is our last day at Disney. We are doing a few rides that we didn't get to the other day and some of our favorites. We may leave at lunch time and spend the second part of the day at the beach again. We'll see how the day goes.

Noah fell asleep in the car on the way home from the beach and we laid him in his pack and play when we got back to the hotel. He was plum tuckered out!

One more full day in Cali tomorrow and we are going to suck all the marrow out of the day that we can.

Cali - Day 4

2011-10-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

Today we went to California Adventure. I think we rode every ride in the park. And most of them twice! That baby swap comes in handy.

But David and I have realized we are getting older. Funny I say that on my birthday, but it's true. Some rides neither of us wanted to go on, but there had to be an adult. David sat out this lady bug dance ride. Think tea cups.

At least I got to take a few pictures of the kids having fun to distract myself from how much I was disliking going in circles.

And two minutes before the kids got on this ride, I ran into our friends from Prescott Valley. Kind of funny. It's a small world. (pun intended)

The kids went down this zip line in Wilderness Trail that they thought was so fun.

Noah and I entertained ourselves while waiting for the other 3 to finish the river run.

I took a picture of David and the kids as they went by.

Then, David took a picture of the kids and I going by.

Emily and Ben loved being able to ride almost everything twice that Noah couldn't go on.

David said he'd take Emily and Ben on these swings. I thought he must be crazy because he doesn't go for rides like this. He remembered that about 5 seconds after the ride took off. He's in the green shirt. Ben is sitting with him and Emily is on the outside in the pink shirt.

We went on the huge ferris wheel. We had this fun little thing we'd do. Whenever Emily gave us attitude, we'd say we were going to take her on the Tower of Terror over and over. "First ride, Tower of Terror. Second ride, Tower of Tower. Third ride, Tower of Terror. Last ride, Tower of Terror. All of us join in and say it. Even Noah which he was doing here.

Almost every ride we had a fast pass or great timing and didn't wait more than 5 minutes for any ride all day, except for this Toy Story ride. My boys look cute!

David takes his shooting rides very seriously. He was mad that I was winning half way through, so he made a comeback at the end. Whatever.

The carousel wait at Disney yesterday was like 30 minutes. This one had no wait today.

Then Ben saw the closest thing to a superhero at this park and asked if he could push his buttons.

To infinity and beyond!

It was another great day. Disney never disappoints. I'm so glad I got to spend my birthday with my family on this wonderful vacation.

Until we ordered PF Changs for dinner and we couldn't find the car keys to go get it. 20 minutes of panic and a check in the camera case and I stopped having a panic attack.

Tomorrow we are off to the beach!

Cali - Day 3

2011-10-10T20:46:00.000-07:00

Did I mention that it took Ben 39 minutes into our 8 hour drive to California for him to ask if we were there yet? Then, we heard it about 15 more times. Glad we are done driving for the most part. Well, except the 8 hour drive home.

Today was our first full day in Disneyland. We all had so much fun. The family waited while I got tickets. I thought they looked cute.

I asked David to snap a picture of Noah on his first Disney ride, Winnie The Pooh. This is all he got.

Then we waited for Peter Pan. Why does it always have the longest wait?

At least we had Noah to entertain us in the lines.

We went to Disney 3 years ago, and It's A Small World was closed for refurbishment. Today it was open and it was Emily's first time. She was excited. She's not much into the Princesses anymore, but she still thinks dolls are cool.

She was pointing and oohing and aahing around every corner.

I loved that she was on the edge of her seat and was trying to peek into the next room as we turned each corner to see what was ahead.

And guess who we saw at the Hungry Bear Restaurant? AZ Diamondbacks very own, Luis Gonzalez, aka Gonzo. I was going to run over and ask to take a picture with him, but David told me to chill. So, I just took a quick photo of him ordering food.

Then, we relaxed on the railroad which Ben thought was boring.

And we hung out in Toon Town.

Ben liked It's A Small World, but he didn't like the singing. His favorite rides of the day were the Haunted House and Splash Mountain. Space Mountain had added ghost for Halloween and Ben was crying by the time we got off. He was so freaked out and begged not to go back and see the fire ghosts.

The last time we went to an amusement park, he was the daredevil and Emily was chicken. This time Emily was more adventurous. Go figure. Her favorite rides were also the Haunted House and Splash Mountain.

Because of Noah, we get to do a child swap, so the kids got to ride Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain (well just Emily) twice. Who knew Noah would come in handy.

Our last ride of the day was Autopia. Ben wanted to pretend we were on a date, so he drove. I just pressed the gas. He did really well, but almost went off the track a few times. I kept telling him to put away his cell phone and concentrate. He was a perfect gentlemen and took his driving serious.

It's 9:00 now and Noah is already passed out in the pack and play in our hotel. He was such a trooper today. He didn't even take a nap and never once complained. All of the kids did really well. Everywhere we turned, kids were having temper tantrums and ours just hung in there all day.

Tomorrow we are headed to California Adventure for some more fun. Oh, and it's my birthday! I'm 38!

Cali - Day 1 and 2

2011-10-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

We are fortunate that we live a 7 hour drive from a state that offers so much fun. We left bright and early for California yesterday morning. The kids have it rough. Movies and donuts at 8 A.M.

I always do my research and find a great park close to the freeway. I usually find one for each town that I think we may stop in. I much rather stop at a playground in a park then a play area at McDonalds. We always bring cold cuts and enjoy an hour playing outside. This park in Indio was a huge hit.

Even the big kid liked it.

All I kept thinking was nobody fall and break a leg.

Emily and Ben liked the weeping willow, but felt sorry for it because they thought it was sad. So, they gave it a hug.

If you've never drove from Arizona to L.A., then you have missed out on the windmills. Right before Palm Springs, you see miles of windmills.

They are so cool. The kids really thought they were neat. I always remember thinking they were neat as a kid too.

Ben trying to pass time decided to paint his fingers with a chocolate covered granola bar. This kid hates dirty hands, so this was quite a moment.

You know you are in the heart of Cali as soon as the traffic starts. Ben thought the buildings looked like New York where Spiderman lives. He even found the tallest one and thought it was the Daily Bugle.

We lucked out and only stopped for a few miles. We haven't really run into any traffic. Knock on wood.

We made it to my Aunt's house and we were all in love with Baby Chase.

He is so adorable.

My Aunt made us a delicious pasta dinner which hit the spot. She also got me a cake. My birthday is Tuesday. I don't think I've had my very own birthday cake in about 10 years.

We spent the night in a hotel and spent some more time with Aunt Rosie and Uncle John this morning. We went to a park near their house to tire the kids out before our drive to Anaheim.

The kids loved the ducks and I was certain someone was going to end up swimming.

Luckily nobody did. But my girl sure looks cute.

David went with John to get a pizza. We had a picnic in the park. It was so yummy.

Now we are in our hotel in Anaheim, less than a mile from Disney. We are headed there in the morning. Can't wait!

We're Going Back To Cali

2011-10-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

The kids have fall break next week, and we are headed to California for some fun in the sun. I just took out the jackets and boots this week, but we will gladly trade them in for short sleeves and bathing suits next week.

The last time we went to Disneyland was three years ago. We went for my Aunt Rosie's wedding. Things were very different then. The kids were so small and Noah wasn't even in my belly yet. Notice I don't have as many white hairs as I do now. Noah will do that to you.

We are headed to my Aunt's in Encino tomorrow. I get to meet their new baby Chase. So excited. Sunday night we will head to Anaheim.

Ben was only 2 1/2 and Emily was 4 the last time we went to Disney.

We'll spend three days enjoying Disneyland and we'll make a trip to Huntington Beach one day.

I've been on the move since 6:45 this morning. This is the first time I sat down all day. And I still have so much to do.

The kids have been a HUGE help....or not.

Mental Health Day

2011-10-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

Emily has always had bad allergies. As soon as the wind picks up, she gets all stuffy. Yesterday, it was horribly windy. She was sneezing, sniffing and rubbing her eyes all night. We started with Clariton, but it takes awhile to kick in.

She woke up this morning with a horrible headache. She wouldn't even drink her coffee. That's when we know she isn't feeling well. She doesn't have a fever or feel pukey, but she looked a little pale and was laid out on the sofa.

This always seems to happen. Three days before we leave for Disneyland and someone isn't feeling great.

I told her she could stay home from school and David gave her medicine. She just ate a blueberry waffle and grape juice that I served her on a TV tray while watching Ramona and Beezus.

We loaded Ben up in carpool and she seems to be doing just fine. I think it was just a sinus headache. I should send her to school, but maybe she just needs a mental health day. Plus, I don't know if she is really sick or just on a Motrin high right now.

I snapped this photo of her after she suggested we make the longest picture in the world just like Ramona and her Dad did on Ramona and Beezus.

I think I've been duped.

Saturday Night

2011-10-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

On a Saturday night 30 years ago, I would've been hanging out with my childhood best friend Liz. Probably having a sleep over in a tent set up in the backyard. We'd stay up late singing commercials and Cyndi Lauper songs, eating Pop-Tarts and having our older brothers scare us pretending to be the boogie man.

On a Saturday night 20 years ago, I would've been hanging out with my friends in the parking lot of Taco Bell or at a party in somebody's backyard while their parents were out of town.

On a Saturday night 10 years ago, I would've been with my best friend Pam. We'd be at some club in Scottsdale enjoying a long island iced tea or two and dancing the night away.

On a Saturday night now, I'm playing Twister with my family.

It was our first time playing Twister and it was so much fun.

But, I think this guy may have had too many long island iced teas.

A few things I learned tonight. My husband cheats. He purposely picks the farthest circle and puts all his weight on you until you fall. Also, I'm no where near as limber as I was 20 years ago when I was a cheerleader.

What will I be doing on a Saturday night 10 years from now?

I have a feeling my teenage children will not want to play Twister with their parents.

Around Our House

2011-09-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

There's so much going on around our house. I feel like the days all run together. Here are some highlights.

Emily lost her fifth tooth. And that chipped one on top continues to hang in there. She's getting $10 from the tooth fairy when that thing finally comes out.

**********************
My Mom was down in Phoenix for all of September and just came back home on Friday. This time she brought her cat, Miss Gracie, with her. We are loving having a cat again. She's super sweet and doesn't try to bite us, like Max used to. Miss Gracie was an outdoor cat and unfortunately she doesn't want to stay inside here either. I'm praying she doesn't become coyote food.

I've really missed having a cat. And when Miss Gracie came to the door, like Max used to, well, it melted my heart.

She may not leave when my Mom moves out.
***********************
With my Mom here, I finally got to help at the school. Today, I went to Emily's class. I've never been able to help before because I always had a baby to take care of at home. It was so much fun.

I made copies and cut out 19 coyotes and stars for a scrapbook. On my last 3 coyotes, the teacher tells me they have a die cast machine that cuts out from your stencil. What? I just cut out 19 coyotes and there is a machine to do that? I'm old school. If you want 19 coyotes out of construction paper, you cut 19 coyotes out of construction paper...with scissors!

In any case, I got them all done, old school style and had fun taking pictures of myself while the kids were at recess.

My hand was cramping after those 19 coyotes, but the smell of rubber cement made everything better.
*******************
Did I mention that I kind of got struck by lightening?

It was raining, not bad with a little thunder. Ben had just been in the backyard with an umbrella. I was making dinner. All of a sudden, we see a lightning bolt out of our window behind our fence. I don't know what it hit, but it made the most awful noise.

At that exact moment, I was hitting the start button on the microwave and got a shock, like 10 times worse than when you touch something and get that spark. Now, every once in awhile my right hand goes numb.

The moral of the story is to not start the microwave if it's raining. Just in case.

And if you need to cut out 19 coyotes, use the die cast machine, so your hand doesn't go numb.
********************
Yesterday after Ben's doctor appointment, we went to McDonald's. I forgot my camera, but it was Ben's first trip to McDonald's. He'll be 6 in February. And you know what, he really liked it. Me, not so much.

Well there was the one trip a year ago. You can read about it here, but we just bought all the Batman toys and left. That doesn't really count as going to McDonald's.
******************
I follow several money saving blogs and there are always offers to get a sample of this or that. A few months ago, I filled out some form for a free mouse pad. Hey, if someone wants to send me a free mouse pad, I'm all for it.

It came today and it is the cutest darn thing I've ever seen.

Pretty cute and maybe even cuter because it was free! If you want to make your workspace pretty pretty, you can order one here. They aren't free anymore, but they sure are cute!

Ben Needs Another Surgery

2011-09-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

Poor Ben. He is the easiest kid around and yet he somehow gets the short end of things. He truly is the greatest and maybe that's why he gets thrown a curve ball here and there. Because he can handle it.

In February of 2009, Ben got a hernia surgery. You can read about it here. He was such a trooper and recovered quickly. But it's still scary to have your 3 year old get put under and cut open. Even if it's only 1 1/2 inches.

In February of 2011, we had Ben's well visit at his Doctor where we found out that he couldn't see out of one eye. You can read about it here. He has a lazy eye that started us on a path of seeing a pediatric eye specialist, several trips to Phoenix and patching his good eye to get his bad eye to work.

It's been a long 6 months for Ben. Would any kid like wearing a patch over their good eye for 5 hours a day? No. But, Ben was always a trooper. He'd even remind me that he needed to wear it if I forgot to put it on. Truth be told, David was the patch Nazi. Ben wore his patch 5 hours a day no matter what. If he missed an hour one day, he made it up on the weekend. The proof is in the pudding when you look at all our pictures and he's always wearing a patch.

Ben had another eye appointment today. His fourth in six months. The Doctor is amazed at Ben's progress. Basically the first time he saw Ben, Ben couldn't see a huge picture on the wall with his bad eye when his good eye was covered. Three months ago with his glasses on and looking out of only his bad eye, he was seeing 20/80. Now, he's at 20/40. The Doctor is thrilled and says he no longer has a bad eye, just two good eyes.

I agree.

But, Ben had 2 issues. The first was that his right eye had turned off. Basically, he would've been blind in that eye eventually. Through patching, we've corrected that. The "light" is back on his eye and he is seeing great.

The second issue was that his right eye turns slightly in. From day 1 the Doctor told us that surgery may be possible. Actually, every visit he mentioned it. So, David and I had known that Ben would need the surgery. It was on the back burner until we got his vision working well. That happened so quickly, which is a great thing, but now we are looking at surgery.

Ben will go under general anesthesia and the Doctor will cut the muscle by the center of the eye. He said it's so mild that you've probably cut your eyeball worse with your fingernail at some point in your life. It takes about 15 minutes total. It will be down in Phoenix again. And this time, I know my son is a puker after anesthesia. I'm not getting in our car for at least an hour.

The scheduler will call me to make the appointment somewhere in the next 4-6 weeks. It'll be on a Tuesday, and he'll miss 2 days of school most likely. He'll only need Tylenol or Motrin for any discomfort he may feel. And his eye will be red like if you've ever scratched your eye.

After that, we'll we just have to wait and see. We are still patching until the surgery, but only 3 hours a day. Hallelujah! 5 hours was really hard, especially with school. His vision in his left eye is perfect and his lens on his glasses has no prescription in that eye. You'd think they'd give us his glasses for half price, but no. HA! The Doctor said today, it's possible that at the end of all this, he may not need glasses or just a very weak prescription for only his right eye.

Again, we know this is a very minor procedure and Ben will be just fine. His progress in 6 months is amazing. Almost as amazing as our sweet Ben.

Picture Day

2011-09-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

The kids had picture day this week.

Emily looked stunning as always and had a perfect smile.

Ben can never get the smile on command thing down.

This was his first "professional" picture in glasses and it was only after this picture was taken and he was long gone at school that I realized he had a smudge on his right lens. Lovely.

Can I just say that I wish Emily's outfit and boots came in adult sizes.

I think I took 64 pictures that morning and only 4 were good enough to post.

I love seeing their pictures and class photos. But, I think Ben might need a retake.

Fair

2011-09-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

The year I turned 30 was a year of huge change for me. I became a wife and mother before my 31st birthday. When Emily was 4 months old, my Dad sold the family business and I became unemployed for the first time since I was 13.

I remember not knowing how I would feel everyday being a stay at home Mom. Would I feel lonely? Bored? Useless?

There may have been a day or two here or there that I did feel some of those things. For the most part though, I feel anything but bored and useless. But those early days when our kids were babies were rough.

We had cranky babies. All three of them. Noah is still cranky and I fear it's not just a stage with him. I can remember the day that David went back to work after his paternity leave with each of them and left me home alone with 1, then 2, then 3 kids. I remembering hoping that I didn't fail.

There was a time when Ben was about 3 months old and I called David at work and asked him, okay I didn't ask, I begged him to come home. I was at the end of my rope. Emily was asleep, I put Ben in his crib and I went in my dark closet, hugged my knees and rocked back and forth crying until my husband came home.

My husband saved me. He always saves me.

But I've been doing this now for 7 years and although having a preemie 2 years ago, threw a wrench in my daily routine, I've been in a groove for awhile. There are still days that I want to hide in my closet. And there are days that I'm at the park on a beautiful sunny day watching my kids play and I almost feel guilty. Almost. I've paid my dues. I deserve the perfect park day on occasion.

The guilt comes from the fact that I'm having such a great time and my husband is stuck in an office. He's always said that he couldn't do what I do day in and day out. It is hard. Some days are harder than others.

But, my husband is always there for me. He walks in the door from work, greets the kids and me and if dinner is almost ready, he'll jump in and help. He doesn't ask what I need done, he knows. He bathes the kids every night. I've still only given them about 20 baths their entire lives. Total. My husband is a good man.

David's job has been giving him a lot of headaches lately. He can't sleep most nights thinking about work stuff. I wish there were something I could do to make things better for him. And although I can't get him a new job or a new boss, I'll just support him and listen. Oh and the other night, I threw in a massage just because. I should do that more often.

He deserves it.

Meanwhile, I go about my days. Earlier this week, Noah was napping and I was watching a Friends marathon on TBS and surfing the web on the laptop and thought that life is pretty sweet. My biggest worry for the day was catching Noah before he did this:

I was on the computer and my Spidey senses were tingling that he was up to no good. Yep, definitely up to no good.

Today, my biggest issue was over who was going to lick the spoon after making rice krispy treats. He won.

And since I know how stressed my husband is, there may just be 1 rice krispy treat left for him by the end of the day. Those things are dangerous!

Arizona's Centennial

2011-09-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

The state of Arizona turns 100 in February. And in true Arizona fashion, we are starting the party early and celebrating for 6 months. Hee haw!

Our state is really just a baby. Truly, I have grandparents almost as old as the state of Arizona. The birthday party kicked off here in Prescott as this town used to be the capital of Arizona way back in the day, like Wyatt Earp days.

The Best Fest took up most of downtown Prescott. With parking limited, they offered a free shuttle from a shopping center parking lot. Even better, the shuttle was a school bus. Ben was thrilled as it was his first school bus ride.

He would've been happy to just go home after the bus ride. But, there was lots of fun to be had. There were people all over dressed in old western costumes.

They had a great family zone with lots of bounce houses and slides for the kids.

Noah wanted to get right in on the action. He held up the whole line and climbed the inflatable ladder to the top of the slide and he went down.

And did it freak him out? Heck no. He did it again and again and again. Okay, well he looks a little freaked out in this picture.

The kids loved all the bounce houses.

Uncle Terry and Aunt Paula live in Canada and are on a roadtrip through the States. They visited us for the weekend, so we all went to the block party. Here's Uncle Terry with some Cowboys. I think he fits right in.

Noah, on the other hand, was not so sure of the cowboys.

There were cows to be milked.

Free samples of ice cream.

Facepainting...spiderman of course.

Emily even got a lasso lesson from the Rodeo Princess.

Emily had the "steer" roped on the third try. Impressive.

Naturally, there was a roaming, singing cowboy on horseback.

The kids panned for gold. Emily immediately asked if she could keep her nugget. Gold Digger!

Ben took a bath in it.

There were people dressed up everywhere.

And I love that our little hometown blended right in with the props.

This is The Palace saloon which has been around since 1877. Doc Holiday and Wyatt Earp had a pint or two (or 100) in this saloon.

There was some crazy Mexican art.

Why can't we ever take a great family photo?

They had a military and trailblazer museum and so much stuff to see and do. We could have easily spent an entire day there. But, a few hours had to do as the kids were pretty wiped out.

Emily just adored Aunt Paula and insisted on sitting with her on the bus.

We had a great time.

Aunt Paula and Uncle Terry left this morning and we were all sad to see them go. I don't think I've ever met two nicer, more genuine people in my life. They adored our children and our children adored them. I guess that means we'll have to travel to British Columbia soon to see them!

Ladies Who Lunch

2011-09-18T14:53:00.000-07:00

My best friends (Pam) little sister (Katie) got married in a small ceremony in Colorado in June. Us folks who have known and loved Katie for years didn't get to celebrate with her. Katie came into town this week and Pam arranged a lunch for all of us.

I drove down to Phoenix to spend a few hours with these ladies.

It was a great restaurant, but what I loved was the dessert. Little shot glasses and we got to pick which one we wanted. Is it wrong that I wanted one of each?

I chose red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. Yum. I'll toast to that.

Then we gave Katie some gifts.

And one last photo of the ladies after lunch.

It was a great afternoon. I love spending time with the girls and we didn't even talk about kids the whole time!

Real Housewife of Prescott Valley

2011-09-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned before that Noah copies everything I do. From combing his hair to folding the clothes, he mimics me. I wrote about it a few months ago here. I'm seriously turning this boy into a housewife.

But now he is even helping in the kitchen. He even wears an apron because David and I usually do. So, he'll go to the apron hook in the pantry and have a fit until we put it on him.

By the way, David is making Philly Cheese Steaks. You get any meat, pound it out, grill it up, melt some provolone on some bread, add some grilled peppers and onions. Yum. I like a little A-1 on it too.

But, Noah doesn't eat that. He just has pasta. I think he needs his own apron.

He also helps vacuum the floor. He even holds the cord because I do.

He's great at using the Swiffer.

If you are interested in hiring him, just let me know. Although, he usually makes more of a mess then he cleans up, but with this face, who cares?

How Could We Forget.

2011-09-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

We all think about what if's in our life. What if I took a different route to work and was in an accident? What if running back in the house to make sure I unplugged the curling iron meant that I avoided an accident? What if I was never on Match.com and saw David's profile and sent him an e-mail. What if, what if, what if....

A year before 9/11/2001, my best friend Pam and I took a wonderful trip through the New England states. We did all the tourist stuff.

In Boston, we took part in a reenactment of the Boston Tea Party.

In Vermont, we went to the Von Trapp Family Lodge. Pam loves The Sound of Music. Thank God we got there on a Wednesday because every Tuesday, they have a sing along. Dang, just missed it.

We went to the Ben & Jerry factory in Vermont and paid our respects to the ice cream flavor graveyard.

We had lobster in Maine. We had no clue what we were doing with a whole lobster. But when in Maine...

We went to The Statue of Liberty and took an audio tour of Ellis Island and saw some of my relatives names on the wall.

Like the Travelocity garden gnome, we brought a little Jessie doll from Toy Story and took her everywhere with us. She posed on the back of a Harley in Boston. The troll with her belonged to the biker.

She soaked up some sun on a rocky beach in Acadia National Park in Maine.

And here she is on the top of the World Trade Center.

A year before they crumbled, Pam and I stood on the very top of one of those towers. After 9/11, I've thought about that day. How cold and windy it was at the very top. We were outside, no glass room, you take some stairs above the observation floor and you are literally outside. I believe it was just a railing, and you could feel the building gently sway a little with the breeze. Honestly, it was freaky. We got one quick photo of Jessie and got back inside.

I've obviously had some what if's since then. What if the terrorists were ready for attack 14 months earlier? What if I were on top of that building when a plane hit it? It was so early that I don't think any tourists were on the top of building, but what if it had been later... what if, what if, what if...

Ten years ago, I was in a very different place. I was 27, dating and thought I'd write a book one day about my adventures called "Single With No Dependents". That didn't happen. I went down a different path that led me here. Now, I blog about my kids. I don't question my life at all. I'm exactly where I'm meant to be.

And, I'm grateful.

David and I talked about 9/11 and decided not to tell the kids yet. One day we will tell them or they will see pictures and ask. When we get on a plane for a trip, Ben truly thinks he is a superhero and he's flying. He'd rather look out the window the entire trip and listen to the engine instead of watching a movie. I don't want him thinking about terrorists and if our plane is going to end up in a building. He's 5, let him pretend to be a superhero for a few more years.

David's family is in the early stages of planning a family reunion next summer in Canada. I did some checking on flights and pricing. I found out that I could actually get a free flight with my US Airways miles. Unfortunately, that would mean David and the kids would probably take another airline because they have cheaper flights. And I absolutely refused to even think about getting a ticket on a different flight. No how, no way. If something happened to them...

And that's how things are different 10 years later. Those thoughts are always in our minds. Is it fear? Or loss? Both? We don't need to be reminded to never forget. Seriously, there is no way we ever could.

Around Our House

2011-09-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

We moved the airplane teeter totter to the backyard when we got our carpet. I think it's staying out there, but we'll move it to the grass in a month when we stop mowing. The teeter totter got thoroughly cleaned in a downpour we had last weekend, hail and all.

The kids don't want to sell the teeter totter, but they don't want it moved back in the house either. They are having too much fun playing dodgeball with their Dad in the big open room.

But David made up some rule that they have to sit in jail (the step) when he pegs them with the ball, which happens about every 5 seconds. David doesn't believe in taking it easy on the kids. The kids (Ben especially) don't like jail.

Yesterday, the kids found the biggest spider I have ever seen. They said it was yellow. So, I had to go check it out. Yep, yellow and it looked like a crab.

I have never seen such a thing, but apparently there are crab spiders according to google. Who knew? Emily thought it was half human, half spider. Ben thought (or hoped) it was radioactive like the spider that bit Spiderman. I thought it looked like the King of all spiders, so we had some fun and fixed up that little spider.

The kids thought that was hysterical.

Noah's new favorite thing is to bring me Barbies and tell me "off". He wants their clothes off. Then, he sits and admires them. Pervert.

He's definitely a butt man and likes both blondes and brunettes. Good to know.

Groove

2011-09-07T10:01:00.001-07:00

Last year in August, Noah turned one. I tried to put on my wedding ring and it wouldn't fit. You can't use baby weight as an excuse when the baby is walking. I was about 20 pounds over my honeymoon weight, and I was not going to get my wedding ring resized. I absolutely refused. But, I didn't want or have time to exercise either. I know, I know, everyone always says, "you need to put yourself on the top of the list", blah, blah, blah. I had three kids at home under the age of 6. My needs were not on any list.

So I cut back where I could. I love dessert and eat something sweet every day. Instead of 2 cookies though, I have one. Instead of two scoops of ice cream, I have one. You get the idea. Then, I made a small change at dinner. When I go to put that last scoop of pasta or mashed potatoes on my plate, I put the spoon down. And when I think I filled a bowl with enough fruit or vegetables, I'll add a few more. That's it. Easy enough right? I've lost over 15 pounds in the past year and I'm happy to say my wedding ring slips on my finger like the day we got married.

My 20 year high school reunion is next month (not that I'm going) and I'm a size 8. I'm cool with all that. But, lately I've just been feeling blah. Noah is a difficult child and had he been our first, he would've been an only child. I love him of course, but the kid is sucking the life right out of me. I hear, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy..." honestly about 200 times a day. There he goes right now. Ok, he wanted orange Tic Tacs. He'll be content for about 60 seconds. The truth is I don't want to be a Mom every second of every day. Sometimes, I just want to be Gina.

Is that bad to say? I don't think so. One day, my children will move on and yes, I will always be their Mother, but I'm so much more. If I don't tap into that other side of me every once in awhile, I'm going to look around in 20 years and not recognize who I am.

Back to finding my groove...I've never been a huge exerciser. I always enjoyed the more social aspects of exercising, hiking a mountain with my best friend Pam or playing racquetball with my friend Katie. I never exercised because I wanted to. I exercised because I had to, as in had to look good to find a husband. I had bought a treadmill after I met David. We were training for a half marathon. I got pregnant just in time to get out of running it, but I got up to running 8 miles at one point.

There's Noah again, "mommy, mommy"...more tic tacs...

I don't have any time to exercise anymore and haven't in years. It's probably been 4 years since (dang, Noah's back and I'm out of tic tacs) since I've got my heart rate up and seriously broke a sweat. David and I were watching Dexter (the best show ever) the other night and he was running on a treadmill. And I wanted to jump up and start running too. But it was 10:00 at night and our treadmill is a coat rack.

I thought it was a fleeting moment and a few days later, I wouldn't think about it anymore. But, I was wrong. I want to exercise. I want my muscles to be sore and I want to sweat. I want to challenge my body and work my muscles. In order to find time to exercise, I took something off the daily list. Cleaning the bathrooms. They will still be dirty tomorrow and possibly the day after that, and I don't care. I want to put myself on the list right after load the kids up in the carpool and before start the dishwasher.

Today I did.

I found my sports bra buried at the bottom of the lowest dresser drawer. I dusted off my running shoes and the treadmill and moved the toys out of the way. I made a playlist on my Ipod with some of my old running music. I got Noah all situated with Barney and I was off...

I didn't kill myself. I ran when I wanted to run and I walked when I needed to walk. 32 minutes later, sweat was running down my spine, I was out of breath and I felt great. Noah did good too. He'd look at me and smile and I'd smile back. I think he knew that I need this. I need to do something for myself everyday.

And somewhere between the Counting Crows Mr. Jones and U2's The Sweetest Thing, Gina started to get her groove back. It felt fantastic.

Pants On The Ground

2011-09-04T14:08:00.001-07:00

As Emily has grown, she has followed sizes exactly. When she was a year, she fit in 12 month clothes. At 2, she went to 2T. Her third birthday brought 3T clothes. And she is still following that pattern. She just turned 7 and most of her clothes are still size 6, but if I'm buying something new or for the winter I'll by a 7/8.

So, imagine my surprise when my boys are just the opposite. I forgot Ben's swim trunks this summer on vacation. No problem, Ben (whose 5 1/2) wore Noah's 18 month swimsuit. Sure they were a little on the Daisy Duke side, but they fit fine in the waist. He looked like a European in short shorts. Shirts are another story though as anything not a 4 or 5 shows his belly.

Noah just turned 2. He's completely caught up on the growth chart and is an average size for a 2 year old. I went through his closet and took down some new outfits that I had been waiting for him to grow into. There was this really cute Calvin Klein outfit that Grammie Gwynne bought for him. It's a size 2T. The shirt will definitely fit him. The shorts, well, not so much.

He fits in well with teens today.

And if you've never seen the audition of Larry Platt on American Idol singing "Pants On The Ground", you should watch it here. Funny stuff.

I imagine Noah will be able to wear the shorts in another few years. No worries though, we found someone else who fits in them perfectly.

Differences

2011-09-01T13:10:00.000-07:00

We don't leave our kids for overnight trips often. In fact, the last time we were both gone for 1 night was when Noah was born over 2 years ago. So when we told the kids we were going to Phoenix for the Diamondback game last Saturday, they weren't thrilled. They like consistency and having us at home.

Emily and Ben dealt with the idea of us leaving differently. Ben immediately drew a picture of us and put it on his dresser, so he could look at us and not be sad. I must say that this is a stunning resemblance to what my hair looks like first thing in the morning.

Emily, on the other hand, gave us a picture of herself and told us to put it up in our hotel room so we wouldn't miss her. Then, she cried a whole bunch.

I love the differences between boys and girls. And I totally think I should give David a little mohawk like in the picture next time I cut his hair.

Seven

2011-08-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

Today my girl is 7!

We already had her birthday party with friends a few weeks ago. Today we will celebrate Emily with just family.

I've filled the day with all her favorite things. It's appropriate that she has school today as she loves school. David made her pea soup last night for her lunch, one of her favorites. I brought Ding Dongs into her class for a treat. Tonight, she has drama class which she is really enjoying. I'm making her a pumpkin roll for her birthday cake. It's a total pain in the butt, but she's worth it and it's what she wants. She also requested her favorite meal, a roast with carrots and mashed potatoes with rolls. She is a different girl, and I love that about her. I'm sure we'll end the evening at the pool as she likes to go every chance she gets.

She's at a sweet age. She is growing up and gaining independence, yet she still cries at the thought of ever leaving home. We tell her she can live with us forever. She likes that. Time is moving by so quickly and she is growing up into such a beautiful girl. I'm so proud of her.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

2011-08-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

I started working for bargain believer about 4 months ago. It's a great fit for me. I help do coupon match-ups with sale items for several stores every week. And I can do it from home while my baby naps.

Our favorite grocery store that we do match-ups for is Fry's Food. They really have the best deals, and there are always free items every week. I never really looked at it as promoting Fry's as we are all just looking to save a buck, but it definitely is. As a thank you, Fry's offered all of us bloggers tickets to a Diamondbacks game. I wasn't sure as it's still a 90 minute drive each way to Phoenix. Then, my boss throws in that she'll pay for us a hotel for the night. What? A night alone with my husband? I was all for it. And with my Mom here, we had a babysitter already. Sweet.

We headed to Phoenix Saturday night to watch the D-backs against the San Diego Padres. We are currently leading in our division, so it's an exciting time to be at the ballpark.

But, we weren't just in any regular old seat. We had the best seats in the house. A private suite in the same row as the press and it just happened to be where the former owner used to watch every game. David was beyond thrilled. Seriously, I have rarely seen my husband so giddy. He was sitting in Jerry Colangelo's old suite. For those that don't live here, he's basically been a part of every major sports team in Arizona. And I peed in his toilet! HA!

Not to mention the abundance of free food and drinks and hats for everyone. Here's a little view of the suite.

Here's me and my happy hubby.

Me and my boss Juli who also brought her husband.

I forgot to mention the free parking with a very short walk across a bridge to get into the suite level. It was first class all the way and truly a once in a lifetime experience. I'm so glad we went.

Did you know that in the heat they run air conditioning in that huge stadium? It's true and the A/C was on full force that night, made it very comfortable for all us fans. Until you had to walk out in the furnace that is Phoenix in August. Oh my gosh, 115 degrees takes your breath away. I had forgotten how hot it is there.

We had a lovely night at the hotel and took off after the continental breakfast in the morning. It was so much fun to get away, but we couldn't wait to get back home.

Carpet

2011-08-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

After 4 years in this home, we wanted new carpet. It wasn't "that bad", but we knew what had been cleaned up and lets just say we were skeeved out. (My husband has never heard of the word skeeved. I was shocked so I looked it up. It's not a real word, it's in the urban dictionary. It means grossed out in case you've never heard of it too.) Two black dogs with bladder issues and one of which would get in the pantry when we left and eat an entire loaf of fiber bread and well, let's just say our steam cleaner use to come out of the closet about 3 times a week.

This would have been a luxury that we would need to use savings for, but with couponing I can easily pay for this. We went through Home Depot and charged it through a no interest program for a year. I make a payment every month and in a year it's paid for and our savings is untouched. I read a great saying on a coupon blog ~ "Save on the things you need to afford the things you want". Yep, saving on grocery to afford carpet. I like that.

So, this was our before.

The guys were quick and efficient and very nice. Someone had even wrote on the concrete under the tile "nice house". Funny we never knew that was there.

Here is the final result.

Love it! We are very very very happy!

Other Mothers, An Old Video, Carpet and Sunsets

2011-08-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

Emily and Noah have a special bond. It was that way from the get go.

David and I thought Noah would be a girl. We both pictured having two girls and we were shocked when the ultrasound tech told us otherwise. But God knows whats best for our family. Emily would have been very jealous of another little girl in the house. But a baby brother? Well, that's just fun.

She came home from school yesterday and Noah threw his sippy cup in the air and it landed on his head. He started crying which I ignored. He cries all the time. But, Emily took over mothering him, ice pack and all.

They were hanging out tonight on the hammock.

And can I just say a thing about my girl...she awesome. I wish I could be more like her. I got angry with her this afternoon in the car and garbage came flying out of my mouth. I said things I regretted the instant they came out. But, I couldn't take it back. So a few minutes after I cooled down, I looked in my rear view mirror and apologized and asked for forgiveness. She just smiled and said, "That's okay Mommy, I forgive you". Really? Just like that? I would've held a grudge for at least 3-4 hours. She truly is so sweet. I could learn a lot from her.
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My Mom is also taking to Mothering Noah. I heard them outside this morning. My Mom singing lollipop and Noah getting the pop down at the perfect moment.

I know my Mom may not move out for a year, but Noah is going to really really miss her. She gives him attention all the time. She watches Barney with him over and over and over. I'm sorry, but that's where I draw the line. My Mom has more caring and patience in her little finger than I do in my whole body. I could learn a lot from her too.
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When I was looking for those older pictures of Emily and Noah, I came across this video on Photobucket. I don't even remember uploading this or why, but I almost shed a tear. My kids were still babies really. We obviously made this video to send to Grammie Gwynne. I don't even know if we ever sent it.

Three years ago, they were making carpet angels. Now we are getting new carpet. After several dogs with bladder issues and god knows what, we are getting a chocolate brown carpet on Friday. Well, just in the living room and family room, but the room looks like this tonight as we get ready.

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It was a battle between East and West tonight with a spectacular sunset.
East...

West...

I think the East wins by a rainbow.

5 Minutes After

2011-08-22T16:10:00.000-07:00

David went to Costco this weekend and found Halloween costumes. Yep, 2 months early. Normally, that would annoy me as it's still 100 degrees out, but since Ben loves to dress up, every day is a good day for a costume. David got him 2 because he had just taken him to see each of these movies in the theater. Thor and Captain America. Ben was in heaven.

He immediately tried on each one. Captain America.

Thor.

But, that's not what this post is about.

During the day, the house is quiet. My Mom and Noah sit outside and read magazines. I surf the computer and get some work done here and there. It's quiet and peaceful. I love having my Mom here. One giant perk is almost every day when I need to pick the kids up from school, Noah is still sleeping. I just leave him with Grandy (a mix of Grandma and Granny that Noah made up) and I'm off. Today he had just woken up when we walked in. I scooped him up and brought him in Emily's room. Noah was still in his sleepy state and laid on Emily's bed. They got all cozy and sweet.

Noah looks less than pleased to have me snapping photos.

I peek in on Ben whose in his room trying to decide what superhero costume to put on.

The island in the kitchen goes from bare to this.

And Ben flies out of his room as a shirtless Captain America.

All that in about 5 minutes from when we walk in the door. Those two kids energize this house. I love it when they come home.

Emily's Birthday Party

2011-08-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Emily doesn't officially turn 7 until the 30th. But she has two friends who had birthday's this week. So, we combined the parties (they wanted to) and we had a birthday party yesterday for three little girls.

Emily and Alanah (the two bigger girls) are 7, and Savannah is 6. I think Emily had a great time. Each girl got to invite a couple of friends.

We had great food.

The kids played tug of war.

Noah stole chips.

There was a pinata. We chose one with strings that all the kids pull, so nobody ends up in the E.R. Way fun and easy.

The girls opened presents.

Which Emily says was the best part.

And we had yummy messy cupcakes.

Noah ate chips and cupcakes. Notice the mess of Dorito cheese and blue frosting on his mouth.

How cute is this guy?

I'm talking about my husband, not the puppy. Although, Lucy is adorable! My friend Dakri may not think so at 3:30 in the morning though.

And this is my cousin. Well, not really my cousin, but my Mom and her Mom have been best friends since they were 6 years old. Denise and I grew up going to each others birthday parties in Phoenix. Now, we both live up here in Prescott and our kids are friends.

It was such a fun evening with friends and family. My girl felt special and that's all I ever hope for.

The celebrating will continue on her actual birthday. I'll tell her the story of when she was born and how she got kicked out of the nursery the first night for crying too much. She'll go to school and get to bring a treat for all the kids. Then, I'll make her favorite meal and dessert. Anything for my girl...

Around Our House

2011-08-18T16:17:00.000-07:00

We are starting to get into the groove of school again. Everything is different this year. I have a part time job from home. My Mom is living with us. Ben isn't home with me all day. It's a lot of adjustments, but we are learning our new daily routine. Although, it changes daily. Go figure.
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Emily and Ben started a drama class last week. Yep, drama. No surprise on Ben's part, but Emily chose that over ballet which did surprise me a little. Here they are learning about expressions with Mister John the teacher and a cowboy puppet.

He's pretty funny (Mister John, not the puppet, well both really). The kids have a great time and are really enjoying it. They acted out The Three Little Pigs and Ben was the wolf of course. Here he is blowing down Mister John's house.

The class size doubled this week and the kids ask everyday if we are going to drama. I think they could do it everyday and love every minute of it.
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Noah had his well visit at the doctor this week. He is 27 pounds (36%) and 35 inches (66%). The preemie will probably end up being my biggest kid. He spends his days playing and diapering Spiderman.

I'm pretty sure Spidey wouldn't enjoy that, but whatever keeps Noah happy and quiet is fine by me.
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Our garden is a mystery. We have some tomatoes growing that I'm not even sure are tomatoes.

I'm not sure if this is a Roma/Grape hybrid or what. They got to the size in the picture and are now turning red, so they are what they are. Let's just hope once they ripen up that they taste good.
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Our garden is kind of wild. Stuff grows where we didn't plant it and what we did plant doesn't grow. And what was in our compost that didn't break down, mixes with other seeds and makes fingerling tomatoes. I can't explain it. And sometimes, we don't even notice something is growing until it reaches a size that could be seen from outer space. I'd like everyone to meet Super Zucchini.

How did I miss that thing? I don't know. But, I weighed it and it's 5 pounds. That was bigger than Noah was as a 1 month old.

I think Super Zucchini will make some super tasty muffins.

And while we think Super Zucchini is impressive, Noah is not so sure.

He was seriously freaked out by it.

I shouldn't laugh when my baby is scared, but I do and I grab the camera. Just the kind of Mom I am. I'll throw a few extra bucks in his therapy fund. I wonder if he will forever have a dislike for zucchini.

Anyone have a good zucchini muffin recipe? I'm going to make a quadruple batch tomorrow morning.

Camping

2011-08-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

We went camping 10 days ago. I just haven't had time to blog about it. It was our one last hoorah before the kids started school. We are not typically camping people. We like electricity and plumbing and stuff like that. But, we are also willing to try new things.

The last time David and I slept in a tent, it involved a hike down the Grand Canyon. That was hard core camping. You only get what fits in a backpack and what you can carry. Here we are in November of 2006.

When looking for that picture, the first one that I pulled up on the photo CD was this one of Ben. He cracks me up. He was about 9 months here.

Anyway back to camping. Our friends had been wanting us to try camping with them, and we finally caved. We figured since Noah is 2, it can't be that bad. And we were right. It was awesome.

My friend made all the reservations at White Horse Lake, about 1 1/2 hours from us. She picked the two best campsites in the entire place. The kids quickly made themselves at home.

Ben even got in relax mode.

My husband was almost in a comatose state. Seriously, I've never seen him so relaxed.

Right behind our campsite, the lake ended and there was shallow water that all the kids would hang out by. They caught butterflies and found snakes, and had a great time. You'd think there would be tons of mosquitoes, but not one. It's not wet enough (even around a lake) to breed them. It was awesome.

Ben brought one costume with him, of course.

David took the boys and hiked to the top of the rock formation.

Here they are at the top.

The sunset was gorgeous.

And that meant it was time for smores!

And if you are picky like Noah, that just means chocolate.

The first night was a little rough with Noah. He didn't cry because I pulled him out of the pack and play after he fussed here and there for a few hours. He likes sleeping right on top of you. Chest to chest. I would've minded if he wasn't so sweet. And waking up to this view puts anybody in a great mood.

We took a hike around the lake.

We went with two groups of friends, and here are all the kids.

This is the boat launching area.

Then, it was time for afternoon naps.

I got some nice pictures of the kids at the lake at sunset.
Emily...

Ben...

Noah...

Yep, that pretty much sums up my kids' personalities.

We even went fishing. Emily learned to cast and was very proud of herself.

It was a wonderful trip. Two days was perfect and we will definitely do it again.

Two

2011-08-08T20:18:00.000-07:00

Today my little baby turned two.

I really can hardly believe that he's two already. I guess because he came into the world so fast and scary (click here to read his story), I seem to remember everything. He's come a long way.

For the kids' birthday, I always make their favorite dinner. Noah only eats about 3 things, but his favorite is pasta. So, I made homemade sauce and he had spaghetti for dinner.

He liked it.

He was thrilled with the idea that we were celebrating him. I'd ask, "whose birthday is it?" and he'd reply, "me, me, me!". He really can be very cute.

He opened a few gifts.

He loves balls.

He got a bubble blower from our friends which is perfect because he's just become infatuated with bubbles.

He also got a punching bag. Him and Ben double teamed it.

We sang him happy birthday three times because he loved it. He actually knew how to blow out the candle.

I made him a cake too which he seemed to enjoy. He doesn't like to get his hands dirty and always uses a fork.

I think he had a great birthday.

I don't have official stats from the doctor, but I think he weighs around 26 pounds now and he's about 35 or 36 inches (the blanket goes to 34 inches). I think this is his final picture that I'll do in his progression shots. The doll in the brown is wearing the onesie he wore home from the hospital and it was way too big for him. In the 3 week photo, he's wearing the same onesie, different color. I can't believe we didn't lose a doll in the past 2 years and I can't believe how big he's gotten.

He's come a long way. But, he's been a fighter from the get go. He's our strong willed, opinionated baby. We love our little monkey.

First Day

2011-08-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

I have several blog posts running around in my head. We had a great camping trip, and I have lots of pictures to share. Noah is two today! Two! I'll do his post later tonight with pictures of him having cake and all that good stuff.

Right now, I need to write about the first day at school. Emily started second grade and Ben started Kindergarten. Gulp.

Last night started off badly. Emily likes to get the party started, but doesn't know how to stop partying. She snuck out of her room and went in the backyard where my Mom was. By the time I found her and she got back to sleep, it was almost 2 hours past her bedtime. So, the party animal was probably a little tired.

But she pulled herself together this morning and still looks beautiful.

Ben didn't seem nervous at all this morning and was more concerned with finishing his game on nickjr.com. He got new Spiderman shoes that light up. He loves them and says his spidey senses are tingling when they light up.

Yep, he's an old pro.

My Mom was here, so I was able to leave Noah at home with her and go with the kids to school. So nice to not be pushing a stroller or containing a 2 year old. Instead I was able to take pictures and enjoy every second.

Ben met his teacher. Her name is Mrs. Hammond. Ben was having a hard time remembering, so David told him it was like ham and eggs, just don't say the eggs. I'm waiting for him to call her Mrs. Ham and Eggs.

He got situated at his chair and looked so cute and proud to be starting school.

I did not get all teary. Ben is an emotional kid and if I started to cry, he would think something was wrong or he did something wrong. I wanted him to be excited and feel great, not feel bad that I was crying. I stayed strong!

I walked Em to her class and got her situated. She's at a real desk and not a table and chair. She started checking out all her supplies.

Then, I think she was done with me. She's confident and secure. I love that.

After Em was settled, I walked back by the Kindergarten rooms. They were in the direction of the parking lot, so why not. I stopped to check in on Ben. I didn't want him to see me, so I took one quick picture and left.

The first day of school is very special to me as I missed Emily's first day of Kindergarten. Two years ago, I was in a hospital bed with a liver ready to rupture, blood pressure through the roof, at risk for seizures and about to be cut open to have a baby who was 9 weeks early. The hardest thing I had to deal with today was trying to get Ben off the computer to brush his teeth. I'll take that any day. So it's hard to get overly weepy today. The first day of school is something special and something to be happy about. I don't take it for granted and I'm so grateful that I'm here and I'm healthy.

The house is oddly quiet and Noah is tearing it apart, toy by toy. It's his second birthday today too. He just helped me make a funfetti cake and I'm making sauce for pasta in a little bit. It's his favorite.

It's almost time for Noah's nap. The house is quiet. What will I do with myself? Maybe I'll read a book or take a shower and have time to shave my legs. Who are we kidding...I'm going to go do dishes and fold laundry. What a glamorous life I lead, but I wouldn't change it for anything.

Let's Get This Party Started

2011-08-05T06:40:00.000-07:00

The kids love when my Mom comes to visit, Emily especially. She has a captive audience at all times which is exactly how she likes it. My Mom is a night owl and often stays up late. On occasion, Emily will get to sleep with Granny. They watch TV, play games and color. They have a great time.

Last year on one of those nights, David and I had gone to bed. I forgot to tell my Mom something, so I started to walk back to her room. Emily and her were sitting on the bed getting ready to play a game and I hear Emily say, "Let's get this party started!" I couldn't help but crack up.

My Mom officially moved in today. She's on a wait list at an apartment 5 miles away, so she could be with us for up to a year. We are all happy to have my Mom here. She's already started playing water games outside with the kids.

But nobody is more happy than Emily. She is really going to enjoy this time with my Mom. As we were moving her stuff into the house, Emily found some of my Mom's wigs.

The party has officially started.

Around Our House

2011-08-03T22:48:00.001-07:00

It's way past my bedtime. I'm the only one up. The house is quiet. My eyes are heavy and I should be asleep, but I need moments alone to myself when nobody is needing me and I can just do what I want. And what do I choose to do? Write about those people that always need me. Isn't that how it always works.

So much has been going on around here lately. First we spotted this sweet Dove nest in our backyard. David and I had talked about the Mama for weeks. She was always so good and sat on those eggs come rain or high wind. She had two babies.

Yes, I say HAD. We were ooohing and aahing over the nest and Rocko, our Golden Retriever, noticed. The next morning David let Rocko outside. Within an hour, the nest was on the ground and we had two dead baby birds on our patio. It's one thing if the birds died for food, but just for sport made me very angry at Rocko. We learned a lesson. We will ignore nests from now on or at the very least, put Rocko inside.
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Emily's friend from Kindergarten came up for a visit. When she moved away last year, I really didn't know if they would stay friends. But, the girls have written letters and Skyped. Ellie has made 3 trips up here with her family and always comes over for a playdate. They got to spend 6 hours together last Friday. Emily wanted to show her the youtube video. Ellie was just happy to be with Emily.

And they got to dance in the rain.

Something tells me these two girls will remain friends forever.

Ellie bought them matching heart necklaces. So cute.
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This is Noah in Ben's Batman cape and mask. We call him Batbaby.

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Our friend recently loaned us Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Emily LOVES that movie.

We have headphones that are awesome to watch movies with or just TV. I can get all three bathrooms cleaned while listening to a show. And for this multi-tasker, that's about as good as it gets. Plus, it helps when the random bad word is thrown in a movie and we don't want the kids to hear. Although, I'm sure they've heard worse out of my mouth. Bad Gina. I try to be good. I really do.
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Noah is completely into copying us. He will get a baby doll and go in his room and get a diaper. And do a diaper change right there in the family room.

I had to help him with the tabs. But job well done...

He's proud of himself.

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Our garden...
Where do I begin. We've learned that we can't fight mother nature. What wants to grow will grow. Zucchini, tomatoes, pumpkin, raspberries. Those are our staples. We bought two established bell pepper plants hoping to get something and zero.

Our compost bin has by far been the most interesting aspect in all of this. It doesn't break down enough and we get things growing that we didn't plant. Like this blackberry bush.

We could not believe it. We have a thornless blackberry bush on the other side of the house that we paid $20 for and haven't gotten anything. This thing springs up in our garden and it has thorns and it's producing fruit. Crazy, but we'll take it.
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As for Ben, I think he realizes that a big change is going to happen in less than a week. It's called full day Kindergarten. He's spending every moment playing in his room. He's not into photos lately. He's into videos. Everyday, we make a new video and I post it on youtube. Toy Show With Ben Part 3 was filmed yesterday. Another one was filmed today, but I need to post it. He loves to film the movie and then likes to watch it over and over.

That's why I signed him up for a drama class. It starts next Tuesday. Emily is taking it too. I asked her if she wanted Ballet or Drama. She chose Drama. Easy enough for me.
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This week has seemed crazy. School starts in 5 days and we are going camping on Friday. Our first camping trip since Emily was 9 months old. It was not a good trip. The wind was howling. The dog was howling. And well, Emily was howling. We pray we have a better experience this time around.

We are also missing the meet and greet with the new teachers on Friday night, so I e-mailed them and they very nicely agreed to let us come by tomorrow afternoon to see them.

My Mom is moving up here and living with us tomorrow. She is on a wait list at an apartment complex up here. I'm so excited to have my Mommy with me for awhile. I was a little shit to her much of my teenagers years. I guess every kid probably was. But you never really appreciate your mother until you become one. It'll be nice to spend some time with her over the next 6-12 months. I know after she moves out and our lives move on, this time with her will be something I will always cherish.
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I can't believe the kids go back to school so soon. The summer flew by. Ben is starting Kindergarten. I'm going to be a sobbing mess on Monday. Where is the time going?

A friend recently quoted me a saying that I love...I just googled it and found out that it's from Gretchen Rubin. No clue who she is, but Gretchen I love your quote.
"The days are long, but the years are short."

Amen to that sista.

Just Call Her Jack

2011-08-01T15:46:00.000-07:00

When Emily was around 2, she slipped on some water in our kitchen and chipped her front tooth. I've been waiting for that tooth to fall out. She lost the bottom two and then the other one on top that wasn't chipped.

Today, she lost her fourth tooth. But nope, it's not the other front one. Instead the ones to the side are coming out.

I think she looks like a Jack-o-lantern. Albeit the cutest one I've ever seen!

The Pool

2011-07-31T20:00:00.000-07:00

We spend everyday during the summer at our clubhouse pool. David plays with the kids in the pool and I usually hang out in the hot tub ready to supervise if they need to warm up.

Noah has gotten really good with floaties. We tried them a month ago and he just couldn't figure out how to balance his body and kept swallowing water. But he seems to have gotten the hang of it and loves to cruise around the pool by himself.

David spends lots of time throwing the kids in the pool.

Noah likes to get in on the wrestling action.

But he doesn't really stand a chance...yet.

Noah has perfected this little stand in the water.

We call this move the Heisman after the trophy.

He has absolutely no fear of the water and goes crashing right in.

Ms. Emily is a great swimmer. I really wish there was a swim team close by as I think she could really excel at swimming.

For now, everyone is just content to hang on Dad.

And that about sums up our weekend.

Flashback Friday

2011-07-29T14:28:00.000-07:00

Today I pulled a disc of Emily as a baby. She was colicky and not very good for the fist few months. The night she was born, we put her in the nursery so we could get a little rest and she got kicked out for crying too much. She was at the nurses station being held and then they brought her back to us early. So much for sleep.

But she was cute, so she's forgiven.

She's always been a Daddy's girl.

The you tube videos are such a hit that the kids want to make more. Well, they are a hit to them and maybe Grammie Gwynne. Other than that, I can't imagine anybody watching them once, let alone all day long on the TV like I've been doing. The countdown is officially on for the first day of school. Let's hope I can make it that long.

Stars Are Born

2011-07-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

It's the end of summer. I'm not quite ready for the kids to go back to school. Emily is excited and wished school started 2 weeks ago. Ben is not so excited. Ben is content to play in his room all day long. I started singing, "It's the end of the world as you know it" last night as really it is. Other than summer vacation, he will be going to school or working now for the rest of his life. And for a boy who prefers costumes to school clothes and action figures to teachers, he was a little upset. He says he wants to stay a kid forever; actually, his words are "I don't wanna grow up!"

For that reason, I'm sad for him to be entering the milestone of Kindergarten. There's a part of me that wants him to stay 5 and stay with me at home everyday. But, I know he's ready for bigger and better things and at the very least, I entice him into being interested in school by telling him he'll learn to read all those superhero comic books in just a few years all by himself.

We have 10 days left of summer break. The kids have spent time this summer on the computer. They love the regular kid sites, but they've also discovered you tube. They'll watch all sorts of videos and some are really catchy. Like the video of spiderman done to a version of the piano man..."sling us a web your the spiderman"...you can watch it here but I warn you, you'll be singing it all day.

Emily sticks to videos of dolls and will show me every one claiming that's what she wants for her birthday. Um, that's a Baby Alive from 1989 sweetie. I don't think so.

In any case, some videos are rather basic and are of kids just playing with their toys. Really? That's entertaining? They think so. I told them anybody could put up a video like that, so they wanted to make their own. And that's what we did today. I stayed out of it and let them come up with everything on their own. We had to film in shifts. I filmed Ben first while Emily watched Noah on the other side of the house and vice versa. Otherwise, all we'd hear is Noah complaining. So, here are their videos.

Warning: If you are not their parent or grandparent this will be 15 minutes of your life that you will never get back.

I think they did pretty good. They even came up with their own titles. I don't know if they'll ever walk a red carpet one day, but it was a great effort.

Emily's 20 Questions

2011-07-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

Emily is my smart, attentive little girl. Nothing gets by her. She likes to be challenged and she likes to challenge me. She's really changed in the past year into a confident little lady. Gone is the girl who was so quiet she wouldn't speak in class. She makes friends easily now and is up for anything. She's beautiful, nurturing and sweet. She's my girl.

Last year, I played 20 questions with Emily. I thought it would be fun for her to answer the same 20 questions every summer. So, here are the same questions for summer 2011. Her answers are first with what I thought she'd answer in parenthesis.

My favorite time of day is __________.
at night (night time)

The last thing I do before I go to bed at night is __________.
get tucked in and snuggle with Porky (kiss my dad goodnight)

I wish that I could go to ____________.
Florida because it's so fun (the beach)

The first thing I do in the morning is ___________.
drink coffee (drink coffee)

Do you pray?
No (yes)

Favorite TV show?
Hell's Kitchen (The Bachelorette, geez, both are bad parenting decisions, but she only watches a few minutes of both when we are watching it)

Favorite thing to wear?
comfortable clothes (pajamas)

Do you get embarrassed easily?
no (no)

If you are in the backyard, what are you probably doing?
playing with Ben on the slide or swinging and looking at our garden (ditto)

What are you scared of?
nothing, wait wait don't write that. I think there are monsters in my room that's why I ask Ben to come with me. But, that's just my imagination. (monsters)

What is something fun you are going to do today?
nothing (go to the pool)

Would you rather be in a cold place or hot place?
medium place because it's not that hot and not that cold (cold place)

Who is the boss in our house?
Ben. I'm joking. Daddy. That's a terrible question. (Daddy)

What do you recycle at our house?
milk, plastic bottles, empty yogurt, plastic boxes were raspberries are and regular boxes (water bottles, paper)

Favorite animal?
I like elephants, monkeys, iguanas, lions and yak.(What? She found an animal for every letter of her name. I thought she'd just say kitten.)

Favorite food?
roasted carrots with mashed potatoes and beef, and daddy's pea soup, and daddy's club sandwich (roast beef with carrots, potatoes and rolls)

Favorite drink?
cold water (coffee)

Favorite dessert?
cookie dough ice cream (pumpkin roll)

Favorite song?
Don't stop Believing (Don't Stop Believing, by Journey)

Favorite movie?
Ramona and Beezus (Annie)

She definitely has a lot more to say this year.