Just To Save The Stats

January has been unseasonably warm and dry. Not one drop of precipitation. But I think January knew people were talking smack about him and he didn't want to go down in the record books looking like a slacker.

So on the 31st of January, we are getting a sprinkling of snow.
And in this desert, we'll take it.

And we'll even eat it for breakfast.


Here's hoping your Monday started off just as beautiful as my girl in the snow.

Spidermen

Growing up, my brother was never really into superheros. Sure my Dad liked the Superman movies or The Hulk TV show, but those were few and far between.

I am certainly getting an education about all things superhero from my son. Name a superhero or villain and chances are I know their secret identity. Since having children I can hardly remember simple math, but I know that Batman's (Bruce Wayne) enemy The Penguin's secret identity is Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot. Seriously, what has become of me?

We are watching Spiderman 3 right now for the 100th time. All of which is great until Ben recites the part about, "I'm going to kick your little ass". Oh no! If he said that in preschool, he'd be on the fence at recess for a week. I had a talk with him though and he seems to understand that it's not something little kids should say. Cuss words aside, he still loves Spiderman. And I think Noah is following in his footsteps.




I love my boys. And I'll love Noah even more if his next word isn't ass.

Ordinary Day

Last night I was at gymnastics with the kids. I called David when I knew he was home from work to say hi and tell him something important, which I can't even remember now. Oh yes, the kids want spaghetti instead of rigatoni, you know really important stuff. Anyway, he sounded off. Something was bothering him. I asked if he was okay and he said he was fine. I assumed he had a rough day at work.

When we were home and all sitting down to dinner, I asked again if he was okay. He said that he heard some bad news at work today. It was about one of his fellow supervisors who he worked with when we lived in Phoenix. This same woman was also in his management training that he goes to every few months. He hadn't seen her in since October as she was due to have her second child any day. He just assumed she was out on maternity leave still. After delivering her child, they found out she has stage 4 breast cancer and it has spread through her entire body. It's terminal. She's terminal. A 31 year old nice woman who has a husband, three year old and newborn is terminal.

It's devastating news. It's sad to think about her husband who will raise two children alone. It's sad to think about the kids who will never remember their mother. It's sad for her to have to leave.

Yet it's news like this that makes us reflect on our own life and be grateful. Why does it take devastating news to make us stop for a moment and tell our loved ones that we love them, to play with our children longer and hold them tighter? This morning I took some time to take a few pictures of my kids doing nothing out of the ordinary. Just to remember an ordinary day as we never know how many we have left.

Emily loving on Noah before school.

Ben flying around the house half dressed playing with superheros. This morning it's Astro Boy. I need to feed Ben some extra cookies to fatten him up.

Ben changing his "costume". In this case, green boxers to blue ones. He made me a picture of spiderman on one side and a heart with his name on the back. That's a heart on the bottom left corner.

Noah insisting on feeding himself yogurt.

Which became more like finger painting.

But if he can't do it himself, he doesn't want to do it at all.

Yes the spoon goes IN your mouth.

I never met Shawna, but my heart breaks for her, for her family, and for all the ordinary days that she is going to miss.

A Night Away

One of the hardest things about leaving Phoenix was leaving all of our friends. Sure we talk, e-mail and stay up to date with Facebook, but I miss hanging out at the pool or going to a movie. Well, I still get to do those things, but now I'm blowing up floaties at the pool and doing popcorn and Icee runs at the movies. But, luckily my dear friends, Amy and Colby, host a yearly adults only party and get everyone together. I look forward to it every year.

My Dad and Suzy came up for the night to watch the kids and we were out of here. Before we left, I had to love on each of my babies. I'm trying to get more pictures of myself with the kids, so Suzy took some photos.
Me and Ben.

Me and Noah.

Me and Emily.

We were greeted into Phoenix by a spectacular sunset and some hot air balloons. Not a bad photo for doing 65 on the highway.

In the car I realized I didn't like the photo from home of David and I, so we took another one when we got there. I had three chins in the other photo, so I realized I need to stand in front to avoid extra chins. Much better.

We had some wine and great appetizers. Next it was time for dinner. They always fondue. It's so much fun. Here's my best friend, Pam, ready to fondue her shrimp.

David putting something in the fondue pot...beef, shrimp and mushrooms. Yum!

And the desserts...I made pumpkin roll and Pam made "drops of heaven". Chocolate brownies with cream cheese filling and a raspberry. We call them drops of heaven because that's what they taste like.

Amy, the hostess, is on the left. These girls are the greatest. When I had Noah, they were at the hospital every day checking on me and calling to see how we were doing. They put their lives on hold for 18 days, to take care of me and little 3 pound Noah. I love them.

It was such a great night with our friends and a great night alone with each other. We really should do nights like that more often.

Cowboy Super Model

Noah loves a good photo shoot. So when I saw him in Ben's cowboy hat, I couldn't resist. He obliged with cute smiles and different poses.









And just like a spoiled overpriced super model...

...he decided when he was done.

Baseball

Baseball is a difficult sport to play here. The season starts up in February. It's cold, very cold, at evening practices, twice a week. There are Saturday morning games also. And this is only for t-ball. The schedule gets worse as the kids get older. The season runs through May. In addition to the cold you get the Spring wind. Baseball is only for die hards up here.

We are not die hards. Ben and Emily have never expressed an interested in playing t-ball. They are enjoying karate and gymnastics right now, both indoor sports. So, we'll ride that wave for as long as they want. Then, we'll be on to something else. Maybe bowling? HA!

My Dad and stepmom Suzy came up for the night on Saturday. David and I had an adult only party to go to in Phoenix (more on that in another post). They were our babysitters for the night. But, my Dad and Emily played some baseball before we left. And my girl is actually pretty good. She was hitting the ball without any problems. I was impressed. But when I looked at the pictures I took, I don't know how she hit anything. Her tongue is sticking out the entire time and she has her eyes closed! Now I'm even more impressed that she hit the ball!










She sent this one flying.

She'd make a great softball player.
If only there were an indoor softball league.

Favorites

I've been using coupons for four months. Occasionally if you match a coupon with a sale item, you will get it for free. If it's free, I'll get it even if it is a product I don't use. If it sits in my pantry for more than a month, I will give it to someone who will use it or David takes it to work and puts it in his break room. It's gone in minutes. I'll give bags to the food bank. And I also have a bag of potato pouches and hot cocoa for my Mom when I see her next. If it's free, why not.

Obviously the manufacturer is hoping you will love the product and buy it at regular price. And there are two items that I'm absolutely hooked on. I will buy them again and again and again. I normally wouldn't have bought either one of these items but because they were free, I gave them a shot and I'm pleasantly surprised.

I'm not a big air freshener person. All those plug in things or ones that have motion sensors and shoot out spray when you come in the room, it's a bit much. But a simple smelling cone is worth a shot. I got several of these free before the holidays on Facebook. Renuzit air freshener cones. So simple and they only cost $1 not on sale. These little things make me so happy. I actually enjoy walking into my bathroom now. It smells so pretty and fresh. I'm not kidding. We have three bathrooms, and all of them have a cone to make them smell nice. Each cone lasts about a month. And there are still coupons out for them in the Sunday paper. Not free, but usually half price. So 49 cents for a month of sweet smelling bathrooms. Try it, you won't be sorry.

This next little gem is from Challenge Butter. Tuscany Style Spreadable Butter. Oh my! This stuff just makes me happy. Again, it was a facebook deal. You can get it too. Just "like" them and you can print a coupon for $2 off. This was on sale at my store for $1.67. They will usually adjust the coupon down to that price or occasionally you'll get a cool cashier who just scans it in for $2, giving you extra savings towards other purchases. You can also print 2 coupons which is what I did. You can freeze butter if you won't use it quickly. But trust me, this stuff is so good you will use it quickly. I want bread with this butter every night for dinner. It is heaven on Earth.

Now on to my kids. They are my favorites too.
Her freckles on her nose are about the cutest thing I've ever seen. Love her.

And our little man is totally into copying whatever we are doing. Including surfing the web.

He was even scrolling with his finger. Impressive.

People have always said that Noah looks like Ben. I never really saw it. I always thought he looked more like Emily. But I will have to say, these two boys definitely look like brothers. Ben's eyes are a little more puppy doggish, but the nose, lips and facial expression are spot on.

Hope you enjoyed my favorites. If you are my friend on facebook and see that I "like" a company, chances are they have a great coupon on their home page. Like them too and see what goodies you can get for free.