Martha Stewart has NOTHING on me!

Well this past weekend's case of cabin fever has turned into some sort of 'spring cleaningathon.'

Mike has had some huge FAA tests and whatnot, and hasn't been around much. So I have had a lot of 'me' time. Every now and then I get like this, and I suppose it is a good thing because it keeps the house clean and organized.

Today I steam cleaned my family room carpet, and my scrap room. Then I steam cleaned my kitchen chair cushions and the barstool cushions. Hey, and there is a little time left before having to go get the kids. Those air vents sure are dirty. I vacuumed the big dust off and then after sticking a wet towel and my bone folder (you can use your scrap supplies EVERYWHERE!) I finally figured out that those vents pull out of the ceiling. So outside they went to be washed with the pressure washer. No more dirt. Yay!

Might as well do the ceiling fans too. They are now clean.

All three toilets are so clean you could eat off of them (if you really wanted to I suppose.)

I'm even caught up on laundry.

I wish I knew what was wrong with me. I'm sure it is the OCD in overdrive. ;)

I even went to Lowe's yesterday to pick out some paint chips for the boy's bedrooms and the bathroom that the kids all share. I hope to start that soon. Maybe even tomorrow. I might as well harness this energy while it is here.

I don't even want to scrap right now because I keep making up little kits to take to Shanna's big 2Peas crop during CKC in a couple of weeks. I promise I am not going to sit around eating cookies and playing with my new supplies this time. I am going to work my little heart out.

So that is today. :)

- And can I mention how incredibly happy I was to find Halloween paper towels and tissue boxes at Target this morning???? I know, it is the simple things....blah blah blah.

Frustrated.

I am frustrated today. I don't really know why. I think I have a lot of things that I really want to do, but it is still so hot.

Our summers are like the rough winters back east. Instead of being snowed in, we are 'sunned in.' I am so tired of the inside of my house and the inside of my car.

Today is Saturday and I want to accomplish something. I want to clean out the garage that has been a catch all since the weather got warm. I have actually cleared a path from the door to our cars though. You just have to wade through bikes, scooters, boxes that need to be broken down and put in the recycle can....etc.

I want to wash my car. I want to take my kids to the park. I want my kids to be able to go out in the backyard and play. I really really want to start painting the inside of my house in the rooms that have been patiently waiting since we moved in last year. I want to open windows and feel that awesome fall breeze! Man, I sound like such a whiner....but we have definitely reached that part of summer when you just want to go outside and scream: ENOUGH ALREADY!!

Maybe this is stemming from the fact that I really want to go out and get some fresh pictures of the kids and play with my camera. But hot whiney kids don't make for good subjects. ;)

I adore FALL. Even though we don't really get FALL in the traditional sense of leaves turning colors and falling off of the trees. (We kind of get one day they are green, the next day they are brown and dead, the next day they are all over the ground, and then you look at bare sticks that resemble trees for several months....pretty in its own AZ fall kind of way.) Fall just smells so good, and I love cardigan sweaters. I live in them! Jeans, Tshirt and a cardigan sweater.

I love when those little pumpkins start showing up in the produce section at the grocery store. I love pumpkins, so I tend to buy a lot of these. What is cuter than fat, round, bright orange pumpkins?!?!

Not to mention October is a fun and busy month in our family. Three of us have birthdays in October.

Well, I'm not trying to be a downer, I just don't know what I want to do today and I am really hoping for a change of seasons soon!

Or I could just go turn the AC down to 70 degrees. ;)

Here is one I did last night. I got the photo of Matthew screaming when I was trying to get pictures of Megan and Trevor on their first day of school. Matthew was pretty angry that I wasn't getting his picture too.

That is what he does. Screams until he has your attention. I have to laugh at the little vein that is popping out of his neck. - But as usual, 30 seconds later he is smiling. What a goofball.

Journaling: "Ugh. Matthew, we are having a hard time navigating the 3's lately. Whoever said it was the terrible 2's was wrong. I don't know if I am slowly getting worn out or if you really do indeed have the loudest, most ear piercing scream of any little boy ever. - Luckily, you cheer up fast.

Maybe it is a last child thing, and I'm sure that it is. It is probably my fault for babying you for so long and then expecting you to understand my frustration.

I love you...and we will work through this...I'm just kind of hoping right now that the 4's will be much easier!"

*It is still raining, and I need a shower. Later!! :)

Oooo. Hear that? I wish I knew how to do a sound byte. Because if you could hear what I am talking about....it is thunder!! For those of us who live in Arizona, having a good thunderstorm in the daylight hours is such a treat!

My alarm went off this morning, and I could hear it. I thought for sure it was the neighbor dragging their garbage can out front or something. But no...it was a storm. Full thunder and lightening baaaby!

I am going to do some scrapping today. I have some new photos to work with so I can't wait.

Off to enjoy the storm! I'm hoping for one of those really cool all day ones!

Hey all! I have to admit that I wasn't looking for validation yesterday, but dang, it felt good to read all of your replies! It really did help me feel better. It is just such a frustrating situation, and actually I am one of the lucky ones. There are kids that are even more sensitive than Matthew if you can believe that.

He is doing a little better today. He went to the doctor yesterday and he still had swollen eyes. There really wasn't much she could say other than he did have a bad reaction to whatever it was. It is odd that his throat didn't start to close up, but it was still pretty bad.

He itches so bad that he just tears apart his face. The skin around his eyes is red and cracked from rubbing them so hard, and he scratched his cute little cheeks so badly that they need ointment on them to keep him from scratching them open again. Poor thing.

It still worries me that this came out of nowhere.

But on a lighter note....

I took him to Costco with me this morning to pick up some photos. We were walking across the parking lot and all of a sudden he looks at me and says,

"There are a lot of mommy cars here today."

I stop and look since all I was focused on was my car, and sure enough the row that we were walking down was mini vans and sport utes one after the other. That just made me laugh.

"What makes those mommy cars Matthew?"

"They are big for lots of kids, and are silver, white or tan. They aren't fast like Lightning McQueen or daddy's car."

sigh.

PA?

I am not cut out to be a peanut allergy mom. I'm not even sure if this is what is to blame for today.

I went to Target this morning. The only place I went to, and I had Matthew sitting in the cart the whole time. This is what we do every time we go at least at one point....contain him in the cart until we either leave or he gets out to look at toys.

So I notice that he has small red bumps on his face today. Hmmm. I keep an eye on him all day, and the bumps are spreading a little bit but not too bad.

Then as soon as I brought Megan and Trevor home from school, Matthew's little eyes are swollen shut and he is rubbing them telling me that he can't see! Crap, why does this stuff always seem to happen when mike is out of town? I gave him Benedryl, had the epi pen near me in case he stopped breathing, and put him in the shower to cool him off. I sat there with the pen in one hand and the phone in the other just in case I needed to call 911.

He fell asleep immediately after I dried him off. I imagine the antihystimine from the Benedryl and the natural ones from his body trying to fight off the allergy are what made him fall asleep. Of course, you call the doctor and they say, "Well, if you are concerned then you should take him to the e.r." That is never helpful.

So, the good news is, he has been breathing just fine. Actually he is out on the couch snoring up a storm. So his lungs are fine.

But now I'm worried. What triggered this today? I try so hard to be careful and keep him away from any peanut things. We wash his hands all the time, carry wipes that he uses after we go in stores, everything.

I'm wondering if the cart might have had a kid in it that ate peanut butter and had some on his hands? Maybe peanut butter cups touched the cart? What?

This is what freaks me out about sending Matthew out into the world someday. It is sad enough to quiz him and say, "If somebody offers you a cookie, what do you say?"

"Does it have peanuts because peanuts make me die." I hate hearing that with his little tiny voice.

But, it is something we have to do. I am paranoid everytime he goes to Primary at church. What if there is a sub? What if they don't remember? Or a babysitter? What if they don't go through the surgical cleansing process I do if they had a peanut butter cup before coming to my house? Ugh. We are in for a ride that is for sure.

On top of that, the poor guy has been suffering from asthma the past week. It is pretty early in the season to be starting this. The breathing machine has already become a fixture in the family room.

Sometimes this little guy seems so fragile. A simple cold can send him into a week of full blown asthma. So then I start getting paranoid about even taking him out of the house to make sure he doesn't get a cold.

I was actually talking to my mom earlier this week and told her that I was thinking one night as I was sitting with him while he was getting a breathing treatment....that 50 years ago, without this machine in my house, he probably wouldn't have made it. Technology is an awesome thing, and I am so lucky to have one of these things in my house.

I just wish it wasn't necessary.

Sorry about the rant, but I am just kind of venting and counting my blessings at the same time today.

Song Of The Week Contest/Just Because

OK, the first person besides Maddy that can tell me what movie the song of the week is from gets a sweet prize.

Almost six.

I know, everybody has seen this photo a kazillion times, but it is one of my all time favorites. Mike took this when we were trying to get a picture of both boys together. (Hey, and my highlights were AWESOME!)

Matthew wasn't cooperating, and I sat next to Trevor for a minute. This totally wasn't staged, which is what makes it one of my favorites.

I put it up tonight because tomorrow that little boy is going to be turning SIX!

So hard to believe. Exactly six years ago tonight I was living on Central in Phoenix. It was a stormy night all over the valley. I called the hospital and they told me that I might not be able to come in for my induction because they probably wouldn't have a bed for me. Then I was supposed to call back at 3:00 am to check.

I didn't sleep at all that night. A friend of mine was staying at the house so Mike and I could leave for Glendale without having to stir Megan.

3:00 in the morning, and they told me to come on in.

Wow, it really seems like yesterday. Happy birthday Trevor!!!

I scrapped. Finally.

I don't know what has been wrong with me. Usually I am doing something scrap related every night. I can't put my finger on it, but I hope this layout gets me out of that yucky groove.

I love these photos of Megan. She got a new bike a couple of months ago. It has been a busy season with bikes this year! - At first she was a little afraid of it and kept insisting that it was too big for her, but it didn't take her long (five minutes!) to head down the street.

It seems so funny to see her on something that doesn't have white tires and streamers coming from the handlebars! At least she still stuck to the true Megan and picked one that had pink and purple on it. Plus a headlight...you know, for all those late night bike rides that 7 year olds take. Ha ha!

Here is the journaling: "Who would have thought that the teary eyed little girl (that thought she would never learn how to ride a bike) would ever move up to a big bike. Not only get a bigger bike, but be so confident riding it that she challenges the neighborhood boys to see who can get to the end of the street the fastest! - You go Megan!"

Just had to share some pictures.

Where is Matthew? Has anybody seen Matthew????

(and why can't I ever get my pictures to load in order!?!?!?)

I took these last night of Matthew when I was tucking him into bed. As frustrating as the little guy can be sometimes, I have to admit that I just want to eat him up when he is fresh from a bath, in jammies and ready for bed!

Perhaps feeling a tad nostalgic for the 80's or really wishing we could get some rain since we have to deal with this yucky humidity. (No comment from Lisa and how 'cool' it is in Prescott!!!) ;)

Check out my new song. I have always loved this song. I remember when I was in high school, and I was driving home from somewhere... I had a 65 Mustang, so the windows had to be down in order to have any sort of air circulating in the car, and it was RAINING. I remember this song came on and it was just one of those moments where I can remember every detail. Rain is such a treat here, and anybody from AZ knows the only reason we put up with the crappy hot summers is so we can enjoy the awesome monsoon storms!

**********

I promise to get better about changing that once a week.

I was up late last night. Mike ended up staying overnight in Yuma because of the storms. The storms that seemed to hit everywhere else except here! At least we could have had some action if I had to be here by myself!

I stayed up way too late last night. I had found this photo in a shoebox and it just gave me the warm fuzzies. Add to that, this cool new Scenic Route paper, and now my favorite new Chatterbox with the yellow and green circles! I just had to scrap it. Even though it is totally simple, it still seemed to take forever. You know me though, I'm sure I will add some more to it today as it is sitting on my desk.

My kids look SO little in this picture! It is hard to believe.

Here is the journaling: I found this photo in a shoebox. I don't know what I was trying to capture when I took it, or what was going through my mind at the time. But years later (5 to be exact!) I see this photo and I just feel so happy.

It takes me back to such a simple time. I wasn't even pregnant with Matthew yet, and this is just a glimpse of a typical day back in 2001.

This room that we used as a playroom was in the front of the house. Instead of what would probably be a living room in most houses, we have a slide! This room was full of toys - the dollhouse, Trevor's favorite farm, a tricycle...

Trevor was still the baby of the family, and Megan still wasn't saying much. Her little voice finally came out in theis room because this was where the speech therapist would work with her twice a week.

This room was the heart of the house.

I absolutely adore the huge smiles on the kid's faces. This photo reminds me of those simple days.

******

The kids both had a great day at school yesterday. They were exhausted by the time they got home. It is funny how Megan was so concerned about having a male teacher this year, but she is convinced that he is the coolest teacher in the world. She said that he made them laugh all day yesterday.

Trevor said that he had a good day, but didn't meet any new friends yet. I told him by the end of next week he will know some names, and that the other kids are just as shy and nervous as he is. He really likes his teacher too. That is so important.

I think I am going to put on a movie for Matthew and go keep him company on the couch. A.K.A. a little nap. It is overcast today, on top of two horrible nights in a row. Is it bad that it is only 9:30 and I am exhausted??

First day of school!

Do these kids look like they are just a little excited about going back to school today? Man, seeing these pictures compared to last year just reminds me of how fast they are growing. I plan on taking their pictures by that gate every year so I can see how much they change from year to year.

This morning went by really smooth. I was grateful. Last night we had a huge storm that ended up with all three kids in our bed because the thunder was so loud. So I don't think anybody really got a good night's sleep.

Now Matthew and I are trying to decide what to do with our day. I have some errands I need to get done, plus I am trying to keep my mind off the fact that Mike is doing a cross country flight today. He is flying to San Diego for lunch. Luckyyyyyyy. <---- insert Napoleon Dynamite voice.

It seems eeriely quiet right now. :)

Adios summer!

School starts tomorrow! You would think that I would be happy since it has gotten harder and harder to keep the kids entertained as the weeks went by, and the constant arguing has driven me crazy. But for some reason I am feeling somewhere between sad and anxious. Sad that two of my kids are going to be gone all day, and anxious I suppose because I want everything to be awesome for them this year.

Today we went out and did some errands together. Megan has been working for the past few weeks towards a denim cropped short sleeve jacket thing that she really wanted for school. So we went to the store to get it. Then we went to Target. (yay!) I found a blow up pool on clearance for $2. I just couldn't pass that up. I mean, for $2 they can use it once and I could throw it away if I wanted to.

The kids ended up spending a couple of hours out on the patio playing in this little pool. Heck, it is even worth the $2 for the cute pool pictures I got of them! - But at least to them, the summer ended on a pretty high note.

Tomorrow it is going to be just Matthew and I. I'm not even sure what I am going to do! I think it is going to feel like I am missing my right arm or something.

Well, here is to a brand new school year. I think I'll even feel better when I hear how the first day went tomorrow afternoon. You just know I'll be at the bus stop 20 minutes early, waiting!

It is hard to believe that summer vacation is over! As much as it seemed to drag, looking back it went by really quick. All those times I was wishing school would start so my kids wouldn't be bored, (or they were just driving me plain crazy!) and now I am starting to feel a little sad that two of them will be gone all day.

We went to 'meet the teacher' night last night. Both kids have awesome teachers! I am so relieved about that.

We went to Trevor's classroom first. He had to find his name and put it on whatever desk he wanted to sit at. He looked around, and all of a sudden started doing that little squeaky noise he makes when he is happy.... he found a friend from last year to sit by. I noticed the little grouping of desks was all boys. That is good, he'll probably be able to make some friends pretty quickly on the first day of school.

When we left I asked him if he liked his new room and what he thought of his teacher. He looked at me, with a huge smile and said, "My teacher is pretty!" I can tell that he feels very comfortable about starting school.

Megan's teacher knew who she was from last year. He talked to her for a little bit, and then she had to pick out her desk. Unfortunately, since we spent so much time in Trevor's room, most of the desks had already been picked. Would you believe who she is sitting next to? Evil girl. Yes, out of so many 3rd grade classes.... and so many desks in one room....she is with evil girl this year. I am hoping that it will be a good thing and they will have to work out whatever problem seemed to be going on during the summer. My only concern is that the other little girl who is the go between is in this class too.

So...as of tomorrow, it will be just Matthew and I.

Is there anybody out there?

Alright. Where is everybody lately? You know how much I worry when I don't hear from anybody.

Do I need to send out my EMT boys to look for you all?

Summer sucks.

Start them young

Ahhh, could there be any bigger of a proud mommy moment? Yes, those are my kids, sitting in front of the TV watching my man Edge. *swoon*

This rates right up there when Trevor was tiny and was in the backseat of the car singing every word to "Stuck in a moment."

I'm so lucky. ;)

I have had it with the animated TV shows today. Matthew finally moved off of the couch for awhile and I had to start making dinner. I needed some therapy. I needed to listen to some U2 and better yet watch my DVD that Mike gave me for Christmas. It always puts me in a good mood!

Megan actually knows who is who in the band too. How awesome is that? She is definitely MY daughter!

Just had to share!

You guys crack me up. I was reading Michelle's post on my last entry where she said, "I'm glad things are OK. By OK I mean not at the hospital."

We really had a track record going there for awhile didn't we? I kind of miss my friendly neighborhood firefighters and EMTs. After all, we were on a first name basis for awhile!

Last night was a really rough night with Matthew. Poor guy couldn't breathe at all, and probably slept for 3 hours all together.

I know part of his problem is that he needs to cough out the junk that is stuck in his lungs right now. Remember how you would watch A Baby Story or something like that and after having your own kids you catch yourself actually holding your breath and 'pushing' while the person on TV is doing it? That is what I am like with Matthew. I don't have anything in my lungs, but I am constantly 'trying' to cough for him.

We have an appointment for the doctor tomorrow. Usually they get me in right away on the same day, but it sounds like a lot of people are sick right now. I love the drill though :

"If he gets worse before his appointment, take him to the E.R."

Mmm...okay, thanks. Maybe if I take him down to the hospital right now, being 10:00 in the a.m. on Tuesday, we could be seen by triage by 9:00 Wednesday morning (his dr. appointment time) You gotta love the E.R. waiting rooms around here.

So that is our day. The other two kids are doing better. They are still coughing, but they are at least up and doing things. Matthew and I are going to spend the day snuggling on the couch and probably watching a lot of animated tv.

Stay well!! :)