what day is it anyway?

Kind of a random post today, but I am still homebound with Matthew. He still isn't feeling well, even a few days later. The only thing he can do is drink a little bit of pedialite. He just doesn't have any interest in food at all. The upside of this whole thing is that he has been SO snuggly, and I am enjoying just sitting with him.

We did go outside and drive to the bank today. I wanted to see if getting out might help him cheer up. He actually loves the bank because of the tubes in the drive through. He laughs when they get sucked up.

As I was pulling into my driveway I noticed that our neighbors are putting Christmas lights up today. I still can't imagine Christmas right now since it is still kind of warm out for this time of year. They (the weatherpeople) promised us a very wet winter because of el nina, and cooler temperatures. I'm still waiting....

I hope that everybody has a very happy thanksgiving tomorrow. It feels so weird not to be out in the huge last minute rush right now. I'm looking forward to my kids, and Mike to be home for a few days. No plans, and hopefully just enjoying each other.

A little update on Matthew. (In laws are out of town, and I know she is checking in.)

He seemed like he was healing pretty well yesterday, but he hit a wall last night and started not feeling good at all. He woke up at one point screaming so hard I think he hurt himself. He is on vicoden for pain relief, and I know that stuff gives you really weird and vivid dreams. He woke up and was shaking and had huge tears for about 20 minutes. No matter how close I held him and played with his hair or anything. He kept screaming that he was scared. I could tell when he finally exhausted himself back to sleep because he just slumped over and started drooling. This happened a few times throughout the night.

He's not having a good day today. Poor thing. He isn't bouncing back like Trevor did. I'm still kind of worried about him.

He is pretty pale, swollen and has purple under his eyes. He was trying to ask me earlier how he got sick when he felt fine yesterday morning. :(

I'm sure he'll be better by tonight, but we plan on doing some serious couch time today.

Tonsil and adnoid free!

Tonsil and adnoid free!

Thank you for the nice comments, emails and phone calls. Matthew is doing really well.

Today was an entirely different experience from when Trevor was at the same hospital a couple of years ago. We must have had the nazi nurse then, because today was smooth and awesome.

We were in the waiting room for awhile, then we were moved into a 'staging area.' It was another little room with more toys, so the nurse could come in and take all of his vitals, measure him, and all that fun stuff. The doctor was ready before the anesthesiologist and kept coming out and checking on Matthew. He talked to him and got high fives from him each time which I thought was really nice. I hate when doctors talk over children and pretty much pretend they aren't there and only communicate with the parents. That made me feel really good about this guy.

Soon the anesthesiologist girl came out and talked to us, while the doctor put Matthew in this red riding push car thing. He was walking up and down this small room with all of the pre-op patients in it, making car noises and doing wheelies. Matthew was laughing and having a blast! Finally we watched him push the car behind the big doors. Matthew got to take George with him too. A much different experience than the screaming child holding his hand out calling for me, the last time we were there.

They said that Matthew was really good about hopping up on the table and was hesitant, but not too freaked out by the mask. That made me happy. :)

Then it was time to just sit for two hours while they kept checking on him. I got to hold him in a recliner, and he started wanting a drink right away, and asked for a blue popsicle. (He is obsessed with the color blue) he ate most of that, then fell asleep for the rest of the time that we had to wait. He even slept through them taking out the IV.

So we are home, and I have been sitting on the couch with him ever since. He seems to be healing really well, and has eaten some cheese, a popsicle and some yogurt. I'm so glad this is all over with. I know it is a routine surgery, but when it is somebody you love even routine is scary.

He is a good little patient. :)

surgery day

Tomorrow is hospital day for us. Matthew is going in to have his tonsils and adnoids taken out. I have already been talking to him about what to expect, since my last time with Trevor and the whole screaming ordeal.

I know he doesn't really understand most of what I am telling him, but I keep reinforcing that mommy and daddy will be there with him when he wakes up, and that he is going to be with people who will take care of him.

I have told him that I will help him put on his hospital gown, and then they will take him back, plus he will get to take George with him. (He is inseparable with this $1 spot George that he picked out MONTHS ago.) Then I told him about the mask that the nurse will use to help him fall asleep. (This was the BIG problem with Trevor.)

I'm sure it will all go well. The poor kid hasn't been sleeping well since he developed sleep aphnea because of the size of his tonsils, and the part that makes me feel better is that this should help prevent a worse reaction (heaven forbid) that he ever goes into anaphylactic shock over the peanut allergy again. The doctor said that if his throat started to close up, that with these gone that gives his airway that much more room for him to breathe. After the couple of times he has ended up in the ER because of peanuts, I'll take that added insurance.

I'll update tomorrow after we get home. :)

santa ROCKS!

When will I learn? You 2Peas girls will understand this one. I haven't posted on the site for a long time, but I do go lurk about once a week just to see what some people are up to. I like to check up on some of my casual internet friends, and see if the crazies are still crazy. (yep, they are!)

I should have known better, being that it is near Christmastime. The official, "You parents that have children that believe in santa are telling them a LIE!!!!"

Oh brother. Seriously, I grew up believing in santa, and I'm glad that my parents let me believe. It was fun while it lasted. I remember my sister getting a bowl of goldfish one year, and being amazed that santa could carry that in his sleigh all the way from the north pole and not spill a drop. I watched those amazing little fish all day. - It didn't kill me years later when I found out that he wasn't real.

I'm puzzled by this supposed lying. Am I lying when I tell my daughter that she is the prettiest girl in the world? She believes she is because I tell her that everyday. She doesn't argue with all the other little girls whose mothers tell them the same thing. - And I think that is fine.

Then it is so ironic that on the same front page of 2Peas somebody posted that their 6th grade daughter was asking what 'bases' meant. Like somebody making it to first base and so on. Apparently the bases have changed. Wow, it sounds scary. But the funny thing is, people are posting on there, literally gasping, about how kids are growing up way too fast these days!

So is believing in santa really all that harmful?

I just think it has to be hard being a kid during these days. I'm sure my parents thought the same thing compared to their childhoods, but I can't imagine being a kid growing up right now. There is so much pressure, and the world is so crazy. At Megan's age I was riding my bike a couple miles to my swim team practice... by myself. Heck, I even rode through a greenbelt to Circle K to go buy ice cream. My parents weren't irresponsible, it's just what kids did back then. Now I don't even let Megan go around the block without me there. It is just insane.

So, I should just not go back to 2Peas for awhile. I forgot about the non believers, the people who are offended at somebody saying Merry Christmas to them, people who are offended because somebody doesn't say Merry Christmas to them, people who hate the bell ringers, and especially people who want people fired for forgetting their holiday turkey. (that was a classic thread, and one that I look forward to just as much as watching Rudolph every year!)

I'm looking forward to this holiday season, santa and all, because I know that in a few short years santa probably won't be an issue in our house anymore, and I'll be missing the magical days of seeing amazed little kids when they come downstairs and see presents under the tree.

super saturday update!

First, thanks for all the comments about the new bloggy stuff. I'm still trying to figure out some things that I like and don't like. Poor Mike, I asked him to remove the music thing since it kept making trouble for me whenever I opened my blog up. I wasn't sure if it was doing it to anybody else too.

So one quick question led to another, and before I knew it he was in here for several hours figuring that stuff out for me. I at least got my scrap room clean while we were both in here though!

******

Yesterday was awesome!! Super Saturday! We got to the church a little early and set up. The first family that we did went so well. Mom, dad and four kids ages 1 year to 13. If this one went well, the others during the day should. Mike is sooooo good at getting babies to laugh. Little kids love him. They always have. So there were a lot of smiles.

After the first family, I think Mike could tell that I was a little bummed that I couldn't go inside and work on the projects that I signed up for. So he offered to take pictures for me. I went inside the building and came out with some cool bracelets, and some other things that I am keeping a secret because I am hoping to give some as Christmas gifts next month! Shhh!

Pretty much Mike was left taking pictures of everybody else on the list. He did a great job from what I can tell from the quick look I took on the computer yesterday. Thanks Mike!

I am still relieved that is over. I think a lot of people are going to be so happy with their photos. I felt so bad because I kept hearing the same type of comments from people.

"I haven't had a family photo in over 8 years!"

"I want a picture of just me (mom) and each one of my kids because I am never in the picture."

I think my scrapbooking hobby makes me even more aware of getting pictures often. Yeah, they are just fun to scrap and that is why I take so many, but honestly I appreciate that my kids will have a ton of photos to look at someday. My dad liked photography when I was little. Geeze, back in the film days so you know how expensive that could get. But I am so glad that I have so many photos of me as a baby and growing up. I still LOVE to look at them. So I feel that pictures are a very important thing. Not only in documenting things, but just for being able to relive memories.

So that was all over.

Mike had to go to school for awhile yesterday after that. THEN last night he called me from the place that he rents planes from. He asked if we wanted to go to Tucson for dinner and fly at night. I haven't been out with him at night yet. We were all pretty excited about being able to go flying.

I thought flying in general was cool. But flying at night just ROCKS. There isn't another word to describe it. Being able to see out of the front of the plane, plus flying lower than commercial planes and being able to see details on the ground is really cool. It is really neat. You could see for miles! Pretty much after taking off from chandler, you could see the lights of Tucson right away.

Landing at Tucson was awesome. Runways at night are so cool. It all makes much more sense to me with the different colored lights and taxiways. Tucson has a big airport too, and I love being the small plane out in the middle of all of the big ones. Yeah, I think I am officially addicted. I get the whole flying thing now. I really love it.

The dress

I'm not a real photographer, but I play one at church.

Aw man. Tomorrow is a day that I have been afraid of for over a month now.

Several months ago, a woman from my church was over visiting and she was commenting on the photos that I have on a photo shelf in my living room. She asked where I got them taken, and I said that I took them in my garage. Natural lighting with a black cloth draped over the back of my car. Then we just got into photography in general. I told her that sometime if they wanted to, for enrichment evening or something I could bring some of my stuff, and do the little 20 minute talk about how to get some cute pictures of your kids with stuff you have at home, natural lighting and all that stuff. Not that I am a professional by any means, but for enrichment evenings they are always trying to pull from your ward the talents or hobbies from the members. It is really a fun night.

Anyway.... long story short.... last month a woman from relief society asked me if I would mind taking pictures during super saturday. (A big craft day at church, where you can sign up for several different crafts or just come for brunch and work on baby blankets.) I said, "sure." At the time it seemed like a lifetime away, so I wasn't all that worried.

What in the heck was I thinking??? I have about 12 families signed up to have their picture taken for Christmas cards tomorrow! Holy cow. The woman in charge of this made the sign up sheet to where each group was 20 minutes apart, so I don't need to stress about that. She has also been SO good about calling me and making sure if I need anything, like a helper, or somebody to get me something to eat, etc. She has been so sweet to work with. I just love her.

Mike was really nice, and always supportive, and this week surprised me with a new flash for my camera, and a stand and black backdrop that he ordered. So I don't have to duct tape my old black cloth on the wall. I'll at least look like I know what I am doing! LOL! (I have been wanting this stuff for awhile, so it will come in handy at the house too.)

I'm just really nervous. I know I shouldn't be, and my friends and family that have heard this story keep reminding me that I'm not getting paid for this and that most people are just going to be happy to have a photo with ALL of them in it. You know how the moms or the designated photographer of the family is usually absent from photos. Ugh. I just don't know why I always have to be so hard on myself. I just want everything to be perfect. I want everybody to be THRILLED with the pictures that they get back. You know that feeling when you look at one of your pictures that just makes your heart skip a beat because it is so perfect??? That is what I want!

All I can say is thank goodness for digital. I'll be taking a thousand pictures tomorrow. Unless I am lucky enough to break my arm or something today that makes it impossible for me to do this tomorrow. ;)

Wish me luck. - and if I make it through it ok, I'll update tomorrow! Ha ha!

Crappy scan again.

One of my favorite things in the scrapping world right now are these Hambly transparencies. I absolutely LOVE them, but can't seem to find them at any store out here. I have to keep ordering them online! What is up with that?!?

Anyway... here is one I started working on the other day. I saw a design similar to this in the creating garden by Miley Johnson.

Those cute little flower chipboard thingies I even bought this morning at the Lil' Davis warehouse sale. Somehow I feel like I have justified the purchase when I use something the same day! Yay me! ;)

Here is the journaling: (and yes, I know the title isn't exactly grammatically correct, but I liked the sound of it better.)

"It's ok, I like who I am."

You came home from school one day and told me that. We were talking about clothes and how you overheard somebody at school saying that you are WHO you are because of the clothes that you wear. This must not have felt right to you. We were talking about how that isn't necessarily true and that you should never judge a person by who they are on the outside.

We also talked about how it really was a sad thing that this girl from school believes what she said. That life is all about appearance. Sadly, I suppose it is to a small degree, but you should never miss out on experiences in life because of it.

Sweetie, sometimes it takes people a lifetime to figure that out and learn to like themselves. The fact that you have figured this out so early in life makes me so proud of you. You are already ahead of the game. I am so proud of you."

Deer in Target store

Ha ha! This just made me laugh. What a smart little deer! One after my own heart.




Deer runs through Target store

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- A large buck ran into a Super Target store in West Des Moines, Iowa, causing quite a stir before racing out a door 20 minutes later.
The deer ran through an automatic door near the store's one-hour photo lab and dashed into the clothing section, employee Tiffany Miller told the Des Moines Register.
"I'll be honest -- I panicked," she said. "But the customers were laughing. I didn't see anyone who was completely freaked out."
More than 20 employees tried unsuccessfully to corral the deer through an emergency exit.
It eventually found an open door and fled shortly before local animal control arrived.
"He was tired and scared. His tongue was hanging out," assistant store manager Abby Frasher told the newspaper.
The buck caused no damage and left no droppings.

Ka-chow!!!

I don't know who was more excited about it.... me or Matthew. Today we went to go get our copy of CARS! I love this movie!!

Watching it the second time I saw more stuff I missed the first time around in the theaters, and still laughed.

I have already seen it once today, and I am sure by the time the other kids get home from school I'll be watching it again.

It is funny, before the movie came out I was thinking about how nice it is that I haven't yet learned the characters of another animated movie that would more than likely be taking over my house someday, in the form of toys or toddler underwear. I liked the fact that I didn't know any names or anything. Then... I became that mother. After seeing the movie, I became that mother that went to every McDonald's to find each car character that came in the happy meals, for me... err.... I mean for my kids. ;)

I absolutely adore Owen Wilson after watching this movie. In fact it was hard to watch the Wedding Crashers again because I kept picturing Lightning McQueen with that voice. Lightning McQueen shouldn't be saying some of the words that Owen did in the Wedding Crashers!

So this is our day, watching Cars. Go get it. Watch it again. It is hysterical!!

scrapping

I went to Costco today to pick up a bunch of pictures that I am SO excited to work on. I love that feeling. I almost feel like there are too many ideas in my head. Which, for once is a good thing. Because I feel like I am getting them down, on paper.

Then to top it all off, I finally got my package today from CK. My All About Me album, from the Kit For A Cause. There is so much cute stuff in it, and I can't wait to get started on it.

germs germs germs

Guess what happens after a week of kids being sick?

PARENTS being sick.

I think it is a conspiracy. They are plotting to take over the house.

Whew! The day after.

Well, we still have some sick kids here. Matthew was doing fine until this morning. Now he is sitting on the couch, snuggling with his blanket. Yep... #3. Three labeled drinks with straws, 3 beds made up on the couch, and 3 puke buckets. It looks like a hospital ward out there. ;)

Last night was still fun. I ended up taking matthew around the block. It was perfect for him because by the time we had come back around the corner to our street, he was starting to ask me to hold his candy and he wanted to sit and take a break. He was really into Halloween this year. Infact, I always thought it was funny how he would get stuck behind a group of kids a bit bigger than him, but he would somehow manage to crawl through legs to get up front. He was still very worried about his peanut allergy, and his entire thing would go like this:

"Trick or treat. I'm allergic to peanuts."

candy placed in bucket.

"Thank you! Have a happy halloween!"

He said this at each house. Even though I kept telling him not to worry about the peanut issue. It was funny, because after reading 2Peas for so long where so many people there act like it is such a huge strike against their American freedom.... (you all know what I mean with those heated threads!) I guess I thought that most people would be offended by him saying this.

I'm convinced that a lot of freaks post at 2Peas, because in the real world, all of the adults told him how mature he was for watching out for his health, and everybody was happy to oblige. (Usually with an extra piece of candy.)

I ended up taking Megan and Trevor up and down our street, so they at least got to do a few houses. Enough to get a little something to keep them happy. They came back inside and watched a movie while Mike and I sat out in the front and handed out candy.

Our neighborhood is like a movie on Halloween. There are kids, babies, parents and grandparents everywhere. The sidewalks are so full that people have to walk down the streets. You always run into somebody you know, and each street is like its own carnival. Most people sat out in front of their houses since the weather was so beautiful. A lot of people had those portable fire pits going, with chairs around, garages turned into haunted houses, bouncy houses set up in front yards, music coming from everywhere. It was just plain old COOL.

There were so many great costumes this year! My favorites are always the little tiny kids. The girls always have a princess dress on that looks so huge. The boys are just as adorable. It cracks me up how quickly they figure out the routine. Those little guys give the big ones a run for their money. They probably even haul in more since they have that cuteness factor.

OK, now admit it though.... how many of you smelled your kid's candy buckets last night?? ha ha!

Happy November! :)

awww maaaaan.

I can't believe it. I wait all month (or all year) for this night. I have two kids home sick today, both with fevers, and both feeling like they are teetering on throwing up. I hope it remains on teetering, because puking is never fun.

Megan and Trevor have pretty much resolved to the fact that they are both going to be missing trick or treating this year. You know that they aren't faking when they don't mind missing that. I told them that they could probably go to a couple of houses next door, but we won't be going out like we usually do. Mike will still be taking Matthew out for awhile, but he gets tired so quick that I'm sure they won't be out for long.

I feel bad for them. I remember being sick one year for Halloween. It sucked everytime I heard the doorbell ring. My friend stopped by afterwards and brought me a bag full of candy that she had collected for me. It's funny how I have never forgotten that.

At least all three of my kids were able to go to trunk or treat the other night, so it isn't like they are missing out entirely.

Kind of on topic, last night I went to McDonald's to get happy meals for the kids. (Or really, a soda for me!) and we had the windows down. I smelled it. Halloween. You know how powerful our sense of smell is and the memories that certain smells bring back to you? It hit me like a ton of bricks. Or pumpkins rather.... ;)

There was a street that had several houses with pumpkins lit. Oh there is not another smell in the world like that. Just smelling that makes me shiver because that is the epitomy of fall. Crisp cold night, dried leaves bouncing down the street from a breeze, trick or treaters, and jack o lanterns.

OK, and go ahead and think I am strange, but I dare you all tonight. Smell your kid's candy buckets before you spill the candy out. There is another Halloween smell that can't be duplicated. Something about the mix of all that candy in there. It smells so good. It smells like childhood in a bucket.

Happy Halloween!

I love babies!

I'm just convinced that scanners are weird. Pages never look the same when they are scanned. :p

This has been such a busy, crazy week. I know I have said that a lot lately, but it really has been. So last night I decided no matter what else needed to be done, it could wait. As long as everybody had made it to where they needed to be yesterday, by the time bedtime rolled around I was going to sit.

Mike and I watched a movie, and I scrapped in front of the TV. I needed some scrap therapy. It always feels good when you complete a page. Plus I got to reminisce a little by seeing these pictures of my now 6 year old boy. It is funny how even in these baby pictures of him I still see so much of who he is now. That smile he gets, and his personality. It was there and looking me right in the face even six years ago when he was three months old. Wow. It will be interesting when he is a man someday, shaving, grown up... and I'll be thinking the same thing about his 6 year old self.

I'm kind of in a baby album mindset right now. I go back and forth. Which is good that I don't like to scrap in order.

I plan on making these pages for Megan and Matthew as well. I wrote stuff down about them as babies too. It is funny how different each one was when they were little. They really do come with their own genetic stuff that make them different from each other, but somehow the same in so many things that other families don't have. I swear, genetics is a funky, amazing thing.

Now off to get ready for church. :)

Early happy halloween

A pre halloween picture of my kids before Trunk or Treat tonight.

Trevor: The unknown phantom (he's really in there somewhere)

Matthew: cute pirate

Megan: witch

Ugh, I feel sick from all of the candy that I ate. You know, it is the duty of a mom with a peanut allergy kid to eat all of the peanut butter cups and snickers. Gotta keep the house safe you know. ;)

Matthew was so cute though. I told him before we went to make sure that he didn't eat any candy without mommy or daddy checking it first. I told him that people will be giving away candy with peanuts in it, without knowing that he can't have it.He must have had the pants scared off of him because each car that he went up to he would say, "Trick or treat, I'm allergic to peanuts. They make me die."I felt so bad. Poor kid. At least he gets it.

I think he actually got a lot of extra candy because people felt sorry for him or thought it was cute that he said that.

I found out the other day that Matthew is going to have to have his tonsils out. Poor little guy. Mike took him to the ear/nose/throat doctor the other day because he was starting to have the same symptoms that Trevor did before he had to have his removed.

I guess somewhere in our genetic material Mike and I grow kids with incredibly, unusually huge tonsils, which end up making it hard for them when they sleep at night. If it is left untreated, it could turn into sleep aphnea, or even worse....not being here anymore. Trevor had even gotten so bad that he lost about 10 pounds before his surgery. He is such a skinny little thing in the first place, it was hard to see him loosing the weight.

It freaked me out when I first found that out about Trevor, so I have been super sensitive watching Matthew.

The doctor also asked if he had any food allergies. Mike told him about the peanut allergy, and the doctor said that if the tonsils came out, heaven forbid he have another attack that sent him into anaphylactic shock, having the tonsils out gives him that much more space in his throat for air to go through. It isn't an answer to the peanut allergy, but every bit counts when you have seen it.

I think I am writing this tonight because it has been heavy on my mind since I found out. I was just sitting on the floor with Matthew, watching him cut a piece of paper with some scissors. He was talking to me about the park, and he was just being really sweet. I hate to think that I'm going to have to take him to the hospital and he is going to wake up sore and not feeling well for the rest of that day. Man, I wish I could do it for him. At least I know that he is excited about having pudding and ice cream!

I have to share!

This is so cute, if I do say so myself! I got the idea from the Creating Garden this month at 2Peas.

I switched mine around a little, since I loved the tree that came in the Making Memories velvet Halloween stickers set. Then instead of ribbon on the top, I used scrap cardstock and a MM metal sign that says Trick or Treat. I also used those in the circles at the bottom, along with more velvet stars. I also just used a black frame instead of a shadow box. I didn't put any ribbon in mine, so I didn't have to worry about the bulk from the knot. The frame is cool though, it is about an inch deep, which you can't tell from the photo.

This was SO fun to make! I used all scraps of paper. Even the 'october' flash card I made using my computer. Honestly, it took me about 15 minutes. AND it is so cute sitting in my living room!

I am definitely going to make one for Christmas too. Maddy??? You totally need a Christmas one!

Anyway.... that is what I have done today since picking up the kids from school. :) It felt good to accomplish something scrap related today that I didn't really have to do any thinking with it.

Arrrrrrrrrrgh!

LOL, well I was doing a search for snowbirds hoping to find an image for my post today, and apparently snowbirds are also Canada's equivalent of our Blue Angels or Thunderbirds.

But I thought the planes looked cool, so I'm still going to go with this image.

Funny though, my point of this post is about how freaking slow the snowbirds out here are. I can only WISH that they drove half as fast as THESE snowbirds!!

Ugh. I was so frustrated today. I guess in my happiness of fall, Halloween and all that good weather stuff, I forgot that in Arizona it also brings: SNOWBIRDS.

Snowbird: People (usually of the blue hair variety) who come from cold areas of the country for the winter months in Arizona. They clog up traffic, as they really don't need to be out during rush hour, yet still feel the need to be out driving. Driving at least 10 miles under the speed limit. More accurate, 20 miles under the speed limit. Of course, ususally in the left lane, which is supposed to be the faster lane. (and they will not move over.) I could also go on and on about the 'eventual left' which is when they are driving down the road with the turn signal on. You just keep hoping that they are turning, when in fact....they never will turn out of your way.

Also, these people like to make snide comments to the people who reside in Phoenix year round, about how stupid we look in our sweaters and saying that we are cold. "Cold??? You don't know cold. Where I come from....." Yeah, shaddup. YOU come live through the summer like the rest of us and see how quickly your butt starts complaining about the HEAT. "Heat? Oh yeah....you don't know heat until you have driven your car with a pair of hotpads."

I know, I sound bitter and I don't mean any offense, but I really had a bad day out with these people today. I was beginning to think that there was a target painted on the hood of my car since I almost got hit, pulled out in front of, and stuck behind....at least a dozen times today. All I'm asking is for the speed limit people. The speed limit. Is it that hard? Instead of punch buggies, I was thinking I should start a new game of how many escapee stickers I can count in one day.

So I finally made it home, safe and sound. But I bet you Arizona and warm weather state girls know exactly what I am talking about. ;)

Now I need to settle down with a huge coke.

Four year old fly boy!

Look who is four years old! This has been a whirlwind weekend for him. Friday he got lunch and presents from Mike’s mom and dad, then Saturday was his actual birthday, with more presents from us, then today my parents are coming over for some cake and yes, more presents. He keeps asking me why he has so many birthdays. I think that in the future we are just going to have to pick a weekend in October where all three of us birthday people just celebrate. It might be easier! LOL!

Yesterday Mike was going to go flying and had promised Megan and Trevor that they could go with him during fall break. Of course they hadn’t mentioned anything about it all week, and it isn’t like they haven’t been busy doing other things this week. So we didn’t really think they were that interested in going anymore. Then Megan ends up asking Mike about it in front of Matthew. Matthew got all excited and said that he wanted to go in an airplane for his birthday. (Of course, he uses that for everything on this day…”I want a fruit snack for my birthday, I want to go outside and play for my birthday…”

I kind of got excited too, “I want to go in an airplane for Matthew’s birthday!” After all, shouldn’t the person who gave birth to said birthday child be able to have some say? Mike called the airport and was able to get a plane.

It was such a beautiful day out, and you could see for miles. We left from Falcon Field and flew over Canyon and Saguaro Lake, and above the Superstitions. I am so lucky to be able to see these awesome things that I have lived around for years from the air. Arizona really is beautiful.

We then flew over to Williams/Gateway and did a few touch and gos there. That is FUN! Trevor was a bit freaked out about not actually stopping after landing. As soon as we landed, we were going up and taking off again. I think he actually liked it. Matthew had a blast.

Happy 4th birthday sweetheart!

Lookie! Lookie!

In honor of Matthew's birthday today, I did a layout with one of my current favorite photos of him. It is funny how sometimes photos that really aren't set up, the best of lighting or whatever really become one of your favorites.

I took this one morning while I was sitting on the couch next to him. He likes to snuggle up on his daddy's leather chair. The camera was sitting on a table next to me. I absolutely adore how this turned out. Typical Matthew in the morning. Before all hell breaks loose! Ha ha! When he is still quiet and calm.

Journaling says: This is one of my favorite times of the day. Just when Megan and Trevor are off to school. Matthew sits in the leather chair, snuggling with his stuffed animals watching Curious George at the beginning of a new day, while the house is still quiet."

(and no, those aren't dirty feet...just a funky shadow.) Scenic Route and Doodlebug paper. Can't get much easier than that. And Lisa....hey, did you notice that the photo is tilted? Trust me, this is a big thing. Lisa knows how I am about that. It felt so wrong. Everything in me wants to make it straight. I'm just weird that way. I line my brad thingies up in the back of layouts so they are all going horizontal. Yep, even though nobody will ever see them, I KNOW when they aren't lined up. Ha ha!

More later. Matthew had a nice birthday today. I'm still having a hard time believing that he is four today. In one way it seems like he has been with us forever....much longer than four years. In another, it has gone by so fast.

Now where did that go?

Is October almost over? I know. I spend so much of the year looking forward to this month. But honestly, where did it go?

I am exhausted. It starts with my birthday, then a trip out of town, Megan's birthday, her baptism, Matthew's birthday tomorrow, and finally Halloween.

It seems like it just got here and it is going to be over before I know it. I am seriously considering leaving my Halloween decorations up through November this year so I can enjoy them a little longer.

Even more shocking to me is that Matthew is turning FOUR tomorrow. It dawned on me today that he is my last chance at little kid things that I have gotten so used to over the years. Like having Fisher Price Little People scattered throughout the house. Those little things have been a part of our house for 8 years now. The cute little barn, the garage, the school bus. I actually like to play with them as much as the kids always did.

I always had to laugh when I would tip the couch on its side to vacuum and there was a horsie, or a chicken sitting in one of my plants.

FOUR? He just doesn't look four to me. Although, this does give me some hope that those terrible 3's are going to be over soon. *Please?* ;)

Here ya go Maddy!

I talked to Maddy on the phone today. She reminded me that I hadn't posted any pictures of Megan in her dress. So this one is for her. ;)



This is one of my favorite ones:

Oh, no he didn't just say that! Did he?

I don't know why I think this is so funny. I wanted to write this down somewhere before I forgot about it.

Last week we are sitting in church. We are in the third row on the side, taking up a whole row. In front of us is the bishop's wife and two of her kids, then the row right in front had her other 3 kids. This of course, is really close to where the bishop sits up front.

So some lady is up saying the closing prayer. It was one of those long, drawn out ones. Man, I hate those. Did these people forget what it was like to have children at church with them? To make matters worse, the lady was standing too far away from the microphone, so only people up front could even barely hear her. The rest of the church was so quiet. I don't even remember hearing the usual crying babies or anything.

Matthew had done really well through the entire hour, then all of a sudden during this prayer he just says, loudly, "Pull my finger!" Oh geeze, he did not just say.....

then since I didn't react fast enough, he yells, "PULL. MY. FINGER!" You know, just incase I didn't hear him the first time.

I start feeling hot. I peek from my nodded head and notice that the bishop's entire family is laughing. Or trying really hard not to. I couldn't help it, I just started laughing too.

I had hoped that his outbreak had escaped the ears of anybody else since I was too afraid to turn around to see how many other people were snickering.

Last night I got a call from somebody, and after talking about Activity Days, she said that her entire family was laughing because of Matthew during the closing prayer. Wonderful.

This boy keeps me on my toes. :)

A day at the zoo

Whew. We are on Fall break right now. This has already been a whirlwind week. Mike's mom had called last night to ask about taking the kids to the zoo this week. I told her that I was actually planning on going today, so she went with us. It was really nice, and we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather! Man, I just love this time of year. - Have I mentioned that?!? ;)

I realized that I hadn't been to the zoo in over a year. Which is a long time for me since I used to have an annual pass and spent many many days there pushing strollers around and wearing out kids. Sometimes I would go up to 3 times a week. Having the pass is nice, because you don't feel like you have to see everything. If the kids want to just go and see an elephant and then play on the treehouse for two hours, everybody is happy and we can always go back.

It was weird today getting pictures of the kids, sometimes in places where I had taken their pictures years before. Like this one of Megan. I have a picture of her in that same clamshell when she was only 6 months old. Now look how big she looks in there! And may I add looking oh so cool.



















I got a ton of great pictures today, that I am excited to scrap. Way too many to post.

On a somewhat sad note, there is a picture I have of Trevor when he was just under two years old. He is pointing at Harley the Belgian horse and has this incredibly HUGE smile on his face. It has always been one of my favorite pictures of him. Trevor remembers Harley, and when we were over in the barn area we were hoping he was still there. (He was looking pretty old even 4 years ago.) Sad to say that Harley wasn't there, and his nameplate on the barn was gone. Now there is another horse...Jack. Jack the black Shire. Who is awfully cute, but doesn't have the history that Harley had. I swear that Harley was there when I was a kid and went to the zoo. Anybody who has lived in Phoenix for years knows about Harley. One super cool horse.

So that was our day, and I have since taken a shower and gotten the zoo smell off of me. Now off to get kids in bed, who are totally wiped out after running up and down hills all day long!

eight.

I know I say it all the time. But time really does go by so fast. Today my little girl is turning 8 years old. How can that be? I still remember EVERY detail of this day 8 years ago!! I mean I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday. Granted, the birth of a child is a bit more important, but how can I remember SO much like it was just yesterday????

Eight is such a big birthday too. According to clothes size, she has jumped up to a new 8-10 size, (even though she hasn't worn that at all and skipped right to sizes 10-12.) More things are opening up for her age. Classes through parks and rec have a whole new section for kids 8 and up, and 8 is the year that kids can be baptised in our church. I don't know, there just seems to be this 'magic number' thing surrounding eight years old.

Shoot, I even remember my own 8th birthday party.

So here she is. My baby girl. A very grown up, eight years old today.

Happy birthday sweetheart!

A little reflecting, feeling mellow and taking it all in.

I just love this time of year!

It has already been such a busy month. My birthday, out of town, tomorrow is Megan's birthday, then her baptism, then Matthew's birthday. Wow.

The best thing is, even though it seems so busy, it seems to slow down a little. Or maybe we are slowing down a little. We are finally able to go outside and enjoy the weather. We have been taking walks around the block after dinner. Mike and I usually walk while the kids either ride bikes or skate. Plus it is so nice to be able to drive around with the windows down, or open up the windows to the house and not hear that constant whirring of the air conditioner. Finally! I think I have slowed down and started to enjoy things right now. I'm not constantly waiting for the summer to be over. - Major changes are going to start happening in our family. Things we have been waiting for, for years. Then changes of Mike's job and getting used to that. Scary and exciting all at the same time.

Tomorrow is Megan's 8th birthday. This time 8 years ago I was so anxious and sick to my stomach. I had no idea what to expect the next day when I went to the hospital. Turning 8 is such a big deal. It just seems like one of those magical birthdays. Old enough to start doing more things, and life just seems like it is in fast forward for her right now. It is pretty exciting. I'm having so much fun watching it all. I absolutely adore my little girl. She has brought me so much happiness, taught me so much, and is my best friend in a mother/daughter kind of way. :)

What in the WORLD are those anyway?????

OK, can I just say that I have the best friends EVER?!?!?!?

A few years ago we started doing obnoxious things to each other on our birthdays. Like last year because of my love of McDonald's cokes - my doorbell rang, and my front yard was a sea of McDonald's cups.

I 'thought' we had gotten to the point where we wouldn't do yards anymore because it is harder to top each person's birthday! So, I wasn't expecting a thing.

10:00 tonight the phone rings. Somebody (Dustin??) says "Ding dong" and hangs up.

Oh noooooo........that could only mean one thing!!!

My front yard was COVERED with Target gift cards on wood skewers!!! Oh my gosh, they looked so cute!!! I was laughing my butt off especially because of the recent "Are they stolen or not? scandal on 2Peas." I mean, how does somebody get this many Target cards?!?!?!?

The funniest thing is, each card has a saying on it like: loosah, nope, nada, sucks to be you.....
except for the ones that say $1 winner!!!! Yes, those girls hid 30, YES 30 one dollar gift cards within all of the blank ones!!! Hysterical!!!

So here I am looking through some of the cards:
















I wish you could see how many there were! Those girls worked HARD! The picture just doesn't show how many there really were!

So I'll break it down.... 140 blank gift cards, and 30 $1 gift cards!!! Holy cow! The fact that they were able to get so many blank ones just amazes me. Apparently Michelle has the hook up! The lady that Maddy talked to wasn't as kind. The funny thing is, I can totally picture these guys (I know Beth was in on this!) planning what they were going to do, and plotting exactly how they were going to do it!

And no, absolutely NO target cards were harmed or stolen. (Just incase this ever gets back to 2Peas you know. Ha ha!) Each one was asked for or paid for.

You guys seriously rock!!!!!!!! Thank you for making this such a special day!

Happy birthday to me!

Well usually I am not one to toot my own horn about it, but I had to share one of the goodies that I got today!

I was at Devine Memories yesterday, and my friend Kim was there. We were talking about cute signs and such and she mentioned the Quilted Bear. It is on Southern and Gilbert. It is kind of like Coomers, with different booths with different types of craft stuff.

Man, first I have to say how incredible the place smells when you walk through the door right now with all of the fall candles, dried flowers with cinnimon sticks, cinnimon cookie presses, etc. Yummy.

So I decided I would go kill some time there while Matthew was in school. Sorry, Michelle. (This is a place where I know she'll always go with me.) Let me tell you that it really isn't a good place to go to by yourself because other people tend to look at me like I'm crazy when I squeal over something really cute and realize I don't have a friend with me to ooh and ahh with.

But....I found this ADORABLE wooden Halloween sign. I had to have it. It was calling me, and I took it home. It is happy now.

:)

*eta* I just noticed that if you click on the picture to see it larger, if you look to the right side of my black table you can see a bit of Matthew's artwork on the wall. Grr. How did I make it through two other children who NEVER did anything like this!! But, maybe he is just using his inner life artist. ;)

Cool article

I know, I haven't been around at all this week. I don't really know why, but it has flown by. I have just kept busy with preschool, helping out in Megan's classroom, errands and life in general. So it seems like there hasn't been anything worth blogging about.

I did find an article that I have been looking for, for a long time. It was one that I read online back in 2002. I printed it off and tucked it somewhere safe. You know that safe place where you can never remember where it is?

So it doesn't get lost again, I figured I would put the best part of it on my blog. My scrapbooking friends might enjoy reading it as well. It is just an uplifting article about this crazy thing that seems to consume our lives. Scrapbooking.

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

By Holly Christian Craft writer/designer and expert

I don't know about you, but for me it doesn't take much for scrapbooking to lift my spirits. After five minutes of looking through old pictures of my daughters I've got a goofy grin spread across my face that lasts for hours. The therapeutic value of scrapbooking is immediately evident but a closer look reveals long-lasting and life-enhancing benefits. Scrapbooking can help foster creativity, allow us time for contemplative work, provide a social outlet, and most of all, help us tell the stories of our relationships with loved ones.


The Healing Power of Story

Gathering photographs, organizing and assembling them in a scrapbook, and doing a bit of journaling about them is a fun way to spend an afternoon. But the benefits may be even greater than imagined. Studies show that when cancer patients are able to tell their deepest stories, their psychological and physiological well being often improves greatly. Scrapbooking, part of the family of story-telling modalities which includes journaling, art therapy and creative movement, has been shown to actually help strengthen the immune system.


Creativity

The process of scrapbooking -- choosing paper, thinking about placement of objects on the page, playing with color, line and form -- expands our minds in other ways as well. The creative act, whether it's making a fabulous meal, painting a picture or telling a story in a scrapbook, often bubbles over into other areas of life, allowing us to experience and respond to life in new ways.


Solitude

Solitude, though not highly valued in our culture, helps us get back in touch with ourselves. Contemplative time spent alone, journaling and scrapbooking, helps us access and strengthen our essential nature so that we can see more clearly when we venture back out into the larger world.


Social Time

For many scrappers, getting together with others for scrapbooking is a wonderful way to lift spirits. Regular get-togethers are especially welcome during those long winters that never seem to end, particularly for moms with little ones at home.


So doesn't all of that sound pretty true? I'm glad to have read that. Not that I need validation, but sometimes when you tell a non-scrapper what you do, they look at you like you are crazy. They just don't get it. So I feel validated. And like others have said before me....the cost of scrapping supplies might be expensive, but much cheaper than therapy!

Sunday

How to ease motion discomfort:

- Regulate air vent for additional air

- Concentrate on objects at a distance



-Or- don’t get into a small plane shortly after having a taco and two sodas.

Those two wonderful lines of advice are printed on the back of the Sic-Sac. The third, I figured out on my own.


Mike and I, and a friend of his from school, went flying today. We had planned on going to monument valley, but a few things kept us from getting there today. So we ended up going to Page, AZ and had lunch and came back home.

It was still a nice flight, and I don’t know why I had a hard time with this one. I’m blaming the taco. I felt fine on the way up and during lunch. Then for some reason after taking off I started to feel nauseous. I’ll spare you the details, but did you know that it is legal to throw puke bags out of small aircraft windows?

I feel sorry for anybody that might have been hiking around the Grand Canyon today. Hopefully nobody got hit with a puke bomb.

Here are some pictures from today:











Me.




Downtown Phoenix with Bob open.











The Grand Canyon













Lake Powell















Sedona











I took over 100 pictures, so I might post some more in a bit!

I can do this!

Today was funny. Trevor had his first official 'friend from school' over.

This past week when I was in the pick up line at school, I noticed that Trevor wasn't getting to the car in record time like he used to. He usually missed me so much during the day he would come running across the field at a record speed to get in the car. Instead, I would hear a knock on the window, and look over to the top of three little heads, 30 little fingers, and six little eyes looking over the top of the car door into the window.

I roll the window down and Trevor's little friends would start asking for my phone number because they wanted to come over and play. They looked SO cute. Did I mention that one of them is a little girl that Trevor cannot stop talking about? SO cute!!

The phone rang this morning and the little boy, Tyler, asked if Trevor could come over and play. So T went over to his house for awhile and had lunch. Then they had so much fun together, they came over here for a couple of hours too.

It looks like a Pokemon/Fisher Price castle bomb went off in Trevor's room. But, it is worth it because it was adorable to see Trevor with his own friend. It is always so weird when you aren't in charge of who your kids play with. I started to learn this last year when Megan would meet new people at school. Up until then, the only kids that mine ever played with were MY friend's kids. Now they meet new kids at school and bring them home, or little kids are calling my house. It is really cute.

It is hard not to laugh when you pick up the phone and all you hear is breathing. Used to be, that would be a prank call from some psycho. Now I know it is a little kid who is too shy to ask, in a tiny voice, "Is Trevor home?"

Heck, even Matthew was making plans with a little boy to come over this week when he was in preschool.

I just got used to being the social coordinator for Megan. Now I am adding two boys with friends into the mix. It is different. I am definitely learning not to be so uptight about tidyness. It is a learning experience for me. LOL!

four year well check

Matthew had his four year well check yesterday. How did that happen? Four years? Actually his birthday is next month, but close enough.

He is doing great with all of the developmental milestones. :)

There were a couple of concerns that Mike and I have had the past month that we have figured out now. He started showing the same symptoms that Trevor had when he was four....sleep aphnea and not eating well, if anything at all. Sure enough, this little guy has HUGE tonsils and adnoids that need to come out.

So we have an appointment with the ear/nose/throat doctor to schedule surgery for the poor little guy. My mind whooshes back to when Trevor had this done. It broke my heart how quickly they took him away from me, and he was crying for me until he fell asleep. I think that is a stupid rule to not allow a mom back there with them. I'm sure some hyper over reacting mom in an O.R. ruined it for everybody.

I'm looking forward to getting this done though, because it made a world of difference in how Trevor was feeling. He still has respiratory problems, but not as often like Matthew gets. So I'm crossing my fingers this will be perfect timing with RSV season coming up.

I have already promised Matthew lots of pudding, yogurt and ice cream.

How long was that anyway?

Sigh.

Well, it doesn't help that LISA keeps sending me sale emails from Target, or telling me about the awesome organizational things that she bought from there the other day....ehem. - She is taunting me.

I have to give in to my little 'how many days can I do it' challenge. I need to go buy hangers, a gift and Benedryl cream. It isn't my fault. It is totally my family's fault and my friend who had to go and have a birthday today. Unless she wants a Christmas cookie jar that I bought a few of on clearance (from Target) last year, that have been in my gift closet.

So I throw in the towel.

Target. Today at 9:30.

And yes, I'll be the one skipping through the store singing praises of "I love you Target!!!"

Next week I plan on quitting Target and Coke...cold turkey.

Hahahahaha! NOT!

So I went to Target today........

Guess where I went today!!! Yes, I know. I realize I am starting to sound like the girl from American Pie.

"This one time at band camp....."
(edited for June)


I had to laugh the other night at the convention when during a dinner break Michelle said, "Hey Kerry, if you ever go back and read your posts on your blog do you realize that almost every one says that you went to Target that day???"

Hmm. You know, she has quite a good point there. In my defense, the past two times I went I totally forgot that I needed hairspray. So I went back again today. I can't have my family going out into the world with their hair all willy nilly, so it was my duty as a mom.

The funny thing is, I had been there yesterday with my out of town guest Laura. We were killing some time before I had to take her back to the airport. What is a vacation or weekend away without visiting a Target from another state???


So last night I am in bed and for some reason I am thinking about this shirt that I saw that I didn't buy for Trevor. It was a cute button up shirt that would look really cute with a tshirt under it for Fall. "I think I will go to Target tomorrow and find that shirt, and buy hairspray." I tell myself before I fall asleep. Counting Spot the Target dog as he leaps over fences in pastures of green clover. Ahh.

Guess what? The shirt had gone from 30% off to 50% off!!! Now THAT is what I am talking about baby!! That is why I love Target. What a thrill.

Of course since I had Matthew with me, I promised him that he could look at the Thomas aisle for the usual 15 minutes as soon as I did my other shopping. Would you believe that absolutely NOTHING has changed in that aisle since yesterday???? But we still had to sit there and look, and hear about which ones he wanted for his birthday. Freakin' Thomas aisle. Please remind me that someday I will actually miss looking at Thomas for hours, because right now, it is driving me crazy!!!

There really is a point to this whole entry. I need to challenge myself. I need to see how long I can go without going to Target. So, I am stocked up on hairspray, deoderant, toilet paper, paper towels, all the little things that make me need to keep going back there. I'm even pretty good on my Halloween decorations. So.... how long do you think I can go without going to Target????

Any guesses?

Should I make this a prize winning challenge?

Place your bets!!

It is ON!

Curious George and one freaked out mother!

I don't remember Curious George being a part of my childhood. I vaguely remember the stories from school, and that is about it.

We took the kids to see the movie when it came out, and that was their first introduction to him. I have to admit that I had to remember to breathe during the scene with the paint buckets being spilled, and had to remind myself that this was animation and that no real person had to actually clean up that mess. Maybe that is why I never liked George. He was a little TOO curious and I knew he was going to get into trouble. (And why does that man in the yellow hat allow a monkey to run around the city unsupervised?!?!?!) I'm sure I held my breath until he got out of trouble. I'm too much of a rule follower. Apparently even in my TV viewing.

Last month, Matthew and I were at Target. He found this small stuffed George. Matthew about dove out of the cart to get one and begged me to take one home. He had those sweet little doe eyes that made it impossible for me to say no. He sleeps with this little George every night. If George gets lost in the dark, there is a big ordeal at 3:00 in the morning to find him. And of course, there is no going to bed until he is found.


- Now there is a program on channel 8 in the morning. A whole half hour of George. It is funny, because Matthew has this new thing where he HAS to watch George with me. It is time that I really do enjoy with him now. He sits so still and just cuddles with me and melts into my lap. This is our time now, and because of that I have a new place in my heart for this monkey that gives me anxiety attacks.

confession

I have a confession to make.



I'm not very proud of myself.



I ate an entire 3.67 oz



Dove chocolate bar. With almonds.



that means = 570 calories.



330 calories from fat.....



For lunch.



Ugh.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.....

Wow, it seems like I still have so much to post about since my trip with Mike over the weekend. I haven't had a lot of time to sit down and try to write about it.

So I'll go with what we have been up to today and hopefully post pictures from the trip tonight.

Speaking of the trip, poor Trevor has had a bit of separation anxiety lately. Us going away for the weekend was tough on him. The last image I had of him over the weekend was him looking out the front window as we backed out of the garage. He had such a sad face and was waving really slowly. :(

So today Matthew had preschool. Don't tell the Peas, but I decided that today would be a good day to play hookey from 1st grade and take Trevor out to do a few of his favorite things. Just me and Trevor. We went to IHOP, his favorite place to eat. Then we went to a bookstore and happily found three new Pokemon books that he didn't have. These are 80+ page chapter books, that he can read in one night. He loves them so much! Then we went to Target. (I know, technically MY favorite place, but it wasn't like I had to drag Trevor with me you know.)

I already found some Halloween things that came home with me. I have no will power. None. So to me it is officially fall. The weather is in the low 90's today (brr!), there actually is a nice breeze, and I have two Halloween decorations up already.

I even made a great deal with Trevor. I have a firefighter costume that I bought on clearance for $3 last year. It was just for the kids to play dress up with. (I bought two actually) I told Trevor that if he wanted to be a firefighter for Halloween, I would buy him a Pokemon figure instead. We have a deal. - THEN Matthew wants to be a pirate. I already have that costume too. I might actually get off SUPER easy on Halloween costumes this year! I'm pretty excited about that. And we have deals, so they can't change their minds 1,000 times before then right?

Megan is the only one who hasn't come up with anything yet. Yesterday it was a cheerleader. So we'll see how that goes. Thank goodness she might be past that Disney Princess stage where the price of the accessories needed to transform a dark haired little girl into said Princess can kill you.

Our nightly routine

I felt kind of bad that the last layout I did of Matthew didn't exactly put him in the best light. Haha! He really is good more than he is bad, and when he is good he is the absolute sweetest thing ever!

This actually started out as a thing my mom used to do when I was little. Even when I was a teenager, sometimes when we were just being goofy she would tuck me into bed like this. So I guess the tradition goes on because my kids laugh when we do it.

Here is the journaling:

WHERE IS MATTHEW?

I guess I'll just lie down and wait for him.

Wait a minute....there is a big lump in his bed!

What ever could he have in there?

Is it Matthew??? [pause for dramatic effect]

THERE HE IS!!!!!!!!!

It is Matthew!! [lots and lots of giggling!]

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

Guess what I got to do today??? Hold a baby!! You know how much I love that. Our neighbors have been in Russia for the past two months adopting a baby boy. Well, actually he is 9 months old so he is in that really fun stage where he is just a bundle of fun. He was smiling and laughing when he came over today. The mom said that he lights up when children are around because he was used to being in an orphanage for so long and he used to get so much attention from the other kids. How sad is that? But it is a happy ending and I am so glad I will get to see this little guy grow up. He is adorable.

on a side note...we are going away for the weekend! I promise to update when we get back! :)

Steve Irwin

I have to admit, I always thought the man was a bit goofy and sometimes -even though I tried- I couldn't sit through an episode of The Crocodile Hunter. I can appreciate reptiles, but snakes are not a 'beaute' to me. Just seeing them on TV would freak me out.

I was a bit sad when I first found out that he died over the weekend. He was just supposed to be around forever! I always loved the occasional costume that I would see on Halloween every year of some kid in khakis carrying a blown up alligator. There was no doubt who that kid was dressed up as!

Anyway...my point to all of this is....Megan seems to be beside herself with grief over the loss of Steve. I know she had seen the news this weekend, but today at school it must have been a topic of conversation on the playground or something. She came home today terribly upset about it.

I think some of it may be that Mike is out of town tonight. It has been a bit of an adjustment since he started school for her since he isn't working from home anymore. A lot of times he has ground school or has to fly at night so she goes to bed without daddy being around.

I think that is what upset her so much about Steve. She feels so bad for their 8 year old daughter and their 3 year old son. She was telling me how sad it would be to never see her daddy again. Knowing that she can't even call him, like she does every week when he is out of town.

Man, it just sucks when kids have to deal with something like this. Especially when they don't know how to handle what they are feeling. I remember it was hard when John Ritter died, because Megan and I used to have a tradition every Tuesday night to watch 8 Simple Rules and have popcorn after the boys went to bed. It was our girl night. Of course then she was so sad that Bridget and Kerry lost their daddy. (Now she gets that it was a TV show, but she knows that John Ritter really did die.)

She just brought down a little alligator that came in a happy meal and said that she wanted to send it to Bindi Irwin since she lost her daddy. She wanted her to be happy. How sweet is that? I just love kids and how they think sometimes.

I'm kind of rambling, but I guess I wanted to say thanks in some way to Steve. I know he was an icon and touched the lives of many other children in the world, but really I had no idea how much he had touched mine.

Now, do I really pack up this alligator and send it off to Australia?????? ;)

Six

I did this one the other day, shortly after Trevor's birthday. I have a feeling my family is going to get tired of that 7Gypsies paper, because it is one of my favorites right now! Here is the journaling:

Six years old today! I look at these pictures and I am reminded of a quote I saw one time-


"It used to be that I could look at you and see traces of the baby you once were. Now I look at you , and instead catch a glimpse of the man you will become."

That is what these pictures say to me. At six years old I can see you changing. You are losing your babyish features and look more and more like a young man every day. I see hints of what you will look like someday, abut I also see the photo of you laughing and I realize that you have had that same expression since you were a tiny baby. I'm glad that I can always hold on to that to remind me of your younger years as you are growing older. I'm not really sad that you are getting bigger, it is exciting to see you as you start to make friends and learn more things. I'm just amazed at how quickly it is going by and I want to remember every moment."


I'm *hoping* to do a little more scrapping tonight. :)

Woooop! Woooop! Enabler alert!

I couldn't NOT share with you guys! Look at this cute scrapbook stuff that is in the dollar spot at Target as of today. Including a spool of ribbon that has 6 different colors and style of ribbon (12 inches ea) matching cards (one is missing in the picture because it has circles on the bottom and wouldn't stand, a package of 9 square epoxy stickers, some plain some with words, and a package of 20 paper tags with cool colors and shapes (mostly circles) that once Ali gets her celeb hands on them and posts about them....will be gone. They are that cute!!



AND

an extra happy thing for Beth and I......

The Halloween aisle is up! I repeat....the Halloween aisle is UP!

The candy was already out along with the decor stuff at the top of the shelves! They were unpacking boxes to fill the empty aisles with the home stuff and costumes!

AAAAaaaaaaaa! I am positively GIDDY!

Shhhh! It's oh so quiet!

Haha! Remember that song from Bjork? I am singing that around the house today. With as much enthusiasm as she sings it! Only I am not singing about new love.....

I'm singing about.....


Matthew starting preschool today!!


So for the next several months, every Tuesday and Thursday I am able to go to Target without a helper. (Or do some housework!)

Not that I don't love him to pieces, but lets just say that the Thomas aisle at Target rarely changes. Yet I have spent hours with him standing there as he stares at them. Always telling me that he wants 'this one' or 'that one' for his birthday.
I guess that is fair since I used to do that with my mom and the model horses that I stared at for hours. But sometimes you just want to get your deoderant and leave you know?

Infact, I would be there right now, but the Cox guy is here. After moving the boys to their own separate rooms, the TV needed to be hooked up in the big room above the garage. That will be our night time family room. That way we can close off the bottome half of the house and make sure those little boogers stay in their beds until they fall asleep. So for now, it is me and Ceasar. Who is very quiet but working hard. I don't know how those guys do it during these months with climbing through attics and up and down ladders outside. Yay for the Cox people.

A friendly game of tag!

Hee hee! I got tagged by my friend Kim. She is in charge of the design team at Devine Memories. Sometimes I think my long lost sister since we have so much in common! Sorry it took me a couple of days Kim, but here it is! This was fun. I have always been a bit of a geek in that I love to fill out questionaires!!!



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IF YOU COULD BUILD A HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE? That is a tough one because I really do love my house. I think if life were perfect, I would build my house on enough land to have horses in Southern California.


WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING? jeans and a tshirt



FAVORITE PHYSICAL FEATURE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX? eyes



WHAT'S THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT? High School Musical


WHERE IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO BE? Target

WHERE'S YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PLACE TO BE? Oh gawd. The e.r. waiting room. Been there, done that.....lots of times.


WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO BE MASSAGED? feet


Strong in mind or strong in body? depends on the day, sometimes neither.



WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING? during school: 6ish, weekends and summer as late as possible



WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE? the refridgerator. It keeps my cokes cold. ;)



WHAT MAKES YOU REALLY ANGRY? mean people suck. And ones that lie and think you are too stupid to know they are lying.



IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE? guitar….like Edge!



FAVORITE COLOR? lime green and brown is a close second.



WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR OR SUV? a Target cart

DO YOU BELIEVE IN AN AFTERLIFE? Yes, absolutley



FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOK? Anything from Sandra Boynton. Especially Horns to Toes and In Between. Lots of good night time memories with that book and all of my kids.



What is your favorite season? Fall. I love fall in AZ because it means Halloween, birthdays and the beginning of the cool season here. I know I have several months ahead of nice weather.



WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE HOUSEHOLD CHORE? Two little boys. And little girls aren’t that tidy either. So…cleaning toilets. Definitely.



IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPER POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE? mind control of my children. ;)




IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO - WHAT IS IT AND WHERE IS IT? No way Jose’. If I ever pass out near a tattoo parlor though, I should have a Target on my butt for my love of all things TARGET.



CAN YOU JUGGLE? No, but I can make a mean balloon doggie!



THE ONE PERSON FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO? I would like to talk to my grandma and my grandpa on my dad’s side. They died when I was really young. I would like to know more about them and their lives.



WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE DAY? The day where everything just falls into place, the kids are getting along, no arguing or bickering, or whining. (sorry Kim, you described the perfect day!) plus some scrapbooking time.



WHAT'S IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR? I don’t have a trunk.



WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER ?Hamburger baby. No fish for me. Preferably the Maui burger from Islands.



WHO DO YOU TAG NEXT?
Beth and Lisa

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!!!