last day of school and second time in the hospital! Yea!

From this:





















To THIS:





















I know it happens fast, but I was shocked seeing the difference between the first day of school picture, to today's picture. Yep... last day of school. Man, where did that year go?

Maybe it's the bangs. Megan decided she wanted to grow them out this year. Trevor looks different too. So '2nd grade' looking now.

The excitement this morning was electric. I'm not kidding. I passed by one of the crossing areas on one of the busier streets in the subdivision, and there were 3 boys holding a huge sign next to the crossing guard. It said:

HONK!! Today is the last day of school!!!!!

Even the crossing guard was dancing around with her stop sign in the air. It was funny. People were honking like crazy! It was great. I wish I could have gotten a picture. I swear that kids were even walking across the field at a faster pace to get to their class lines. Remember how fun the last day was?? I'm even excited about having the kids home. (Remind me to re-read this entry during the summer when I hear the first, "I'm so bored!")

On another note, Mike is BACK in the hospital today. He wasn't feeling well yesterday afternoon and ended up in a lot of pain around dinner time. Plus he had a fever and was getting chills. He called the hospital and they told him to come back in. This time with a different urologist. That other guy was a quack. This new one promises to get it taken care of. A kidney stone should not take 5 days in the hospital, then ending up back there again. Thank you to Sharon (Mike's mom) for taking him in the middle of the night and sitting there with him. It was nice to know that somebody was there since I couldn't be. She gave me an update somewhere aroung 2:00 a.m. (I think.) I know it saved the kids a lot of stress that I was here this morning.

It's frustrating, but dare I say I'm getting a little used to being here by myself right now. :p

I have had tremendous support from the relief society in my ward. I tried not to let anybody know about what was going on because I felt like I was capable of making dinner. One of my friends found out through the kids, and all of a sudden I started having meals delivered. I have to say it really has helped out knowing that is one less thing to worry about at night.

Trevor thinks it is the coolest thing in the world. The boy loves food. Last night somebody brought by a quiche and a huge bag of cut up fruit. We all finished it up for breakfast this morning too. I am incredibly grateful.

So that is life in the Shums house today. :)

My dog has bling.

Ok, I know. Another dog post.

I can't help it this time because I think this thing is so darn cute.

Also, it probably has a lot to do with the fact that I have a hard time finding the letter 'M' at scrapbook stores or anywhere because of Megan and Matthew. It's always the empty spot.

So here I am at Petco the other day. I see shiny rhinestone letters and charms on a display. Sure enough... an empty space where the letter M should be. Figures. BUT... there was a letter 'P' !!! I couldn't resist it.

I have a thing when it comes to monograms or finding my name on anything. For years I couldn't find anything with my name spelled K-e-r-r-y. It was always Carrie. I was the one elementary school kid who didn't have a license plate on my bike because of the Carrie's in the world.

Every girl deserves a little shiny present every now and then, and Piper had to have one. Plus don't you think that the black collar is slimming and timeless? She looks FABULOUS don't you think????

Guess who is home! Well, sort of. His body is here, but he isn't exactly 'here.' He's awake in between pain killer doses for a few minutes.

I wasn't sure if Mike was coming home today or not. I had both boys with me (Trevor came home yesterday from school with a tummy ache, and I kept him home today.) We went to Jack In The Box and Petsmart. Since we were already on Val Vista I thought I'd stop by the hospital with them and see what was going on. Mike was pacing and ready to go.

So the strange thing is... the stone is still there. He had a cat scan yesterday and it shows that it is still the same size and still in there. Plus a stint now. Um, weren't they supposed to use a laser to break up the stone? Guess the surgeon forgot. He's kind of a dolt. He hasn't communicated with Mike at all since before the surgery.

So I'm a little nervous about him being home and the problem really hasn't been fixed. Hmmm. He has a call in to his doctor, so we'll see where we go from here.

Anyway...

The best part of leaving today was watching two separate couples taking new babies home. I saw one family in the elevator, and another family when I was waiting in the car for them to wheel mike down.

The doors opened and there was a new mom with dad holding the baby carrier. (Brown with pink polka dots! I soooo want a baby now just for the car seat!!! How cute!!!)

I watched dad go get the minivan, and then watched as a brand new person went out into the world for the first time. The first time outside, and past the hospital doors. I know, I always think to much about stuff like this. But wow, really what a cool thing if the baby only understood what a huge step that first day is.

You've been inside the walls of a hospital, you are totally equal with all of the other babies in the nursery around you, and then you go out into the real world. An official person now. A brand new life ahead of them! Every single thing is brand new!

I was thinking about this not long ago too. (It was when I was helping Megan clean her room and realized exactly how much stuff this 8 year old has accumulated.) Seriously, a baby comes into the world with nothing. Not a shirt, nothing. Before you realize it, this person has a room, furniture, clothes to put in there, toys, books, food, everything. It really is amazing. Then they only get more as time goes on. This whole circle of life thing is really pretty amazing.

I should have snuck into the nursery to go peek at them while I was there. Babies are so cute!!!!

Blahahvhhchlhelllech.

That is still the sound in our house. Sometimes in stereo.

In my attempt to find the bright side or the humor in the situation, I realized how excited I am that all of the beds in our house have clean sheets, pillows and comforters. That is what happens when 3 out of 4 beds get puked in during the night.

Trevor just lucked out since he isn't sick, but he has clean sheets too.

Mike is still in the hospital. The stones were broken up by a laser, but haven't made an appearance yet. Without getting into TMI, he's not doing too good and is more than likely going to be having surgery again tomorrow. We can't keep things easy around this household you know. ;)

may I please have a little rant?

Because:

a.) I have earned it

b.) Somebody up there really doesn't like me right now.

So, Mike is still in the hospital. Hopefully he'll be coming home sometime tomorrow. I am exhausted from going back and forth to the hospital and doing the stuff that still hadn't gotten done while he was away for a month. Plus getting all of the laundry and stuff clean and put away from last week's vacation.

Yeah, thank goodness for a nice vacation in between. Because I am back to single motherhood while he is in the hospital.

Tonight.... Matthew starts to tell me he isn't feeling well. I go downstairs to get some medicine. Less than a minute later I am coming back up the same stairs and the dog pooped on the middle landing part. Ugh. Before I even look up and start to walk up the remaining 9 stairs I hear,

"Blahahvhhchlhelllech."

Matthew is at the top of the stairs throwing up. Then as I go to get a bucket for him in the bathroom I noticed he had done the same thing all over the bathroom floor. In less than FIVE minutes, I now had about an hour of clean up to do.

Then believe it or not, Megan is up in my bathroom throwing up. WTH???

All I was hoping for tonight was to watch a few episodes of CSI and Desperate Housewives.

Motherhood is grand.

I mean, I do love it. But did you ever think back when you were newly married that someday your entire life would revolve around poop, puke and other bodily functions of OTHER people? It is amazing how tough we get as time goes on.

Now, I'm trying to see the bright side of this whole thing. My steam clean machine has come out of the closet since getting the puppy. Now it just resides in the hallway. Piper hasn't had many accidents, but when she does it is easier to just fill this with hot water and clean it up. All I can say is thank goodness for technology. Thank goodness to Hoover for making something that cleans up puke and dog messes off of my carpet and tile.

Does anybody want to trade with me for awhile??? Pleeeeeease? ;)

E257

Yesterday was quite the day around here.

We have a running joke in our family and our neighborhood about how many times the fire truck E257 has had to come to our house. You know, the ambulance ride rewards card. If you get 9 punches, the 10th ride to the hospital is FREE! Haha!

Breathing trouble, seizures, anaphalactic shock, all that fun stuff.

I still swear that our other house that we lived in (same neighborhood, but 2 streets away) was built on an indian burial ground. That's when most of our bad luck happened.

BUT we have had a couple of calls at this house. Yesterday was one of them.

Long story short, Mike ended up in the hospital yesterday with a kidney stone. Not just a kidney stone, but based on the look of the nurses that look at his chart and the funky look they get on their face tells me that it is the mother of all kidney stones. 9 mm. Too big to pass, so he has to have surgery today.

I swear I have never seen him in so much pain. I think I have lost my standing of 'bad hurting' when even nurses who have had children say that kidney stones are 1000 times worse than childbirth without an epidural. I mean, how do you argue with that? This knocks me down a few levels when I'm trolling for an incredible mother's day present and I look with puppy eyes saying, "But I went through hours of labor and childbirth!!!!"

Piper

A Piper update. Have I mentioned that I love the snot out of this dog? She is so cool. She reminds me so much of our old dog Katie.

I swear she grew while we were gone. See those big feet in this picture? They get bigger everyday and then I worry about the rest of her catching up to them. She's in that funny, lanky stage right now where her legs are so long that she kind of runs sideways. (and somehow always right in front of me.)

She's having to slum it at our house this summer without a pool. Yep, our pool has been put off until next summer. So Mike brought home one of those hard plastic pools from the store the other day. She loves it, and and spends a lot of time in it. She also loves her dogloo. I'm sure you can tell the girl has it pretty rough. ;)

Last one! Random picture.

Here is proof that I really was there. One of the two pictures with me in it!

Believe it or not I have 300 pictures that I took during the week. :p

I promise not to post all of them. Haha! Thank goodness for blogs, and family members who have been wanting to see a few pictures. I at least feel like I have something written down from our trip.

It is hard to remember some of the little things when you are buried in the mountain of laundry after unpacking.

It was such a fun week, and I'm so glad that we all had this time together. Especially after the month that Mike was gone. We all got to do separate fun things that we wanted to do, but still spent a lot of time together. That is my favorite thing about cruising.

Speaking of, Princess just sent me an email for an upgrade on balcony cabins. Hahahaaa!

Cabo, part 3

Bear with me, blogger won't let me do more than 4 pictures at a time. Ugh.

Megan is going to be one extreme sports kind of girl. I can tell.

She wanted to go parasailing, and we had just enough time before we had to catch our tender back to the ship.

I couldn't believe she wanted to do it. She said she had so much fun though. There she is, up there with Mike.



<-- Matthew and a cute little turtle whistle that nana bought for him.























<-- cleaned up and leaving Cabo.

Cabo, part 2

While I sat on the beach, just a few feet away from where the jet ski rental place was... Mike took each of the kids out for a little bit on the ocean. They all had a blast.











<-- see that little speck? That's Mike and Trevor.













Matthew LOVED the jet skis! I was really happy that he did because I wasn't sure what he was going to think about it. He kept saying he wanted to do it since he kept hearing how fun it was from his brother and sister from the last trip here.

Day 6, Cabo, part 1

CABO is awesome. This was the best day ever according to all of us. I'm always bummed that whatever cruise we are on, the time is always short in this port. Someday we are going to have to just come down and stay in one of the hotels and stay for a few days.

Man, and this place changes every time we come to it. It is amazing.

We only had about 5 hours in port, and so much time is spent getting on the tender and then taking water taxis to get to the beach. I found a guy (or the guy found me rather) that was renting umbrellas and lounge chairs. He parked me in a pretty good spot to watch the kids playing in the water. (No jellyfish either! LOL!)



I'm looking at these pictures I took and wondering where everybody is! I swear, there were a ton of people on the beach, and playing in the water on boats, jet skis, parasailing, fishing boats heading out, tenders and everything. This really is a playground for water sports. I love the picture of Matthew with our ship in the background.

a couple pictures from jellyfish beach

<-- before the dead jellyfish sighting and subsequent freak out.

















(below) Matthew with the BEST stick in Mexico. He found this on the beach and wouldn't let it go. This stick went everywhere with us for the rest of the cruise. Except maybe, camp carnival and the dining room. But every now and then he'd still ask, "Where is my stick?!?!" You just have to love boys.

It now lives in a prominent place on his dresser. ;)

Day 4, Mazatlan

I was really excited about Mazatlan. The last time just Mike and I took this ship we went riding on the beach. As much as I had been around horses, the beach was the one place I've always wanted to ride one. I had to wait 34 years. Megan, well she had to wait 8.

The boys decided they wanted to go too. I was really proud of Trevor, he did great. He finally got enough courage to trot and he loved it.

Matthew started out on his own horse and was smiling like crazy when he was first put up on it. Then about five minutes later, he started that silent cry of total paralyzing fear. His head was on the saddle horn with his hands over his eyes. So I ended up riding with him. It was fine, but it had been a long time since I've been on the butt of a horse like that. I think he felt a lot better having me with him. He loved to trot and laughed about that. About half way into the ride he had enough and was ready to go back. We had promised them some time at the beach later in the day, and apparently he had a one track mind.

Megan was awesome! That girl took off and cantered up and down the beach. Mike was with her most of the time, but she loved to run as far as she could then turn the horse around to run back to where I was walking along with the boys. She smiled the entire time. The pictures are weird because this is my small pocket camera. I wish I would have taken my good one. :(

I handed Matthew off to one of the trail people. She was a sweet Mexican lady who loved kids. Then I got a chance to gallop a little myself. Megan and I raced a few times. That was really weird to be running along side of her, but SO much fun!! (Hence the bad, blurry photo that I took while cantering next to her.)























































After riding we went back to the ship to get bathing suits and head out for lunch. There was a place that we had been to a couple times before that was right on the beach and had good food. It is in an area called the Golden Zone, with a lot of resorts and shopping. The last time we were there with the kids the day was perfect, so we wanted to take them back.

This time, there were little jellyfish on the beach which immediately freaked Trevor out. He wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with that beach. So, we headed back to the ship. Which was fine because we were all getting tired and we didn't have as much time in Mazatlan as we did in PV. Plus the next day was Cabo, with the best beaches!!

Day 3, Puerto Vallarta

We weren't sure what we were going to do in Puerto Vallarta at first. The night before we were discussing what we wanted to do. There was a cool excursion that went into the rain forest where you could swim in a waterfall. I guess Predator was filmed there. They also had this beautiful area over the waterfall where you could eat lunch. It sounded like fun, but really, probably more fun for mike and I then for the kids.

I think they would have had fun, but then we found out about this waterpark that a few other families were going to. Once we mentioned 'water park' there was no turning back to a boring old waterfall. ;) Not only was this a waterpark with slides and pools, but they had dolphin shows and seals.

The kids had SO much fun. This park had probably 15 different slides, a lazy river to tube in, and one incredible slide that we called the flusher. Mike and I have actually seen it on the travel channel before as a 'must do waterslide' on the best waterparks in the world. It was 6 stories high, and you go down a long curved part (the colon, haha!) until you get spit out into this enormous toilet bowl looking thing (the size of a house) with swirling water. You swirl around a few times until you finally get dropped about 4 feet into another pool. Now I know from experience what some unfortunate goldfish feel like when they are being 'returned to the ocean.'

We spent all day there. I have a ton of pictures from that day, but really how many more slide pictures can you stand? I promise we did many other things in the other cities that we stopped at. I'll post those pictures soon.

I don't know if you can see it well, but that is Matthew popping out of one of the slides into one of the several pools they had. The best thing was each slide ended in a pool that was only about 4 feet deep, so my two non swimming boys were able to run up and down to their heart's content without mom having to panic about them drowning. Plus there were probably about 50 people at this park all day. Apparently this is their off season. It worked out amazingly well for us since we could see the kids wherever they were.
















After several hours at the waterpark, and all of us tired from the sun, water and climbing up to the tops of the towers, we went back to the ship.

We were leaving at 10:00 that night, so we had a long day in Puerto Vallarta. We dropped the boys off at camp carnival and took Megan back out to have lunch. We ate at a nice place not too far from the ship, on the third story of an open air restaurant. The breeze was nice, and we just sat staring at the ocean. I had the best guacamole and chips, and bottled mexican coke. Trust me, coke aficionados, in Mexico it is made with cane sugar, so it tastes SO much better than coke here. It's always a treat when we are there.

Back to the ship, a nice shower and long nap, dinner and then watching us leave later that night from the balcony. Our room was several decks above where the harbor pilot climbs down and jumps from our ship onto the small boat waiting for him once we got out to sea. This was fun to watch as we left each port, but the pilot in PV was the best. He jumped off and had a to go plate full of cruise food! Then he stood on the front of the small boat and waved while everybody cheered. I think this guy must love his job and the attention that he gets. He was funny.

more soon!

day one and two

<--- waiting to board the ship. I think Matthew was in full vacation mode.

The first two days on the ship were sea days. I love sea days. I take full advantage of the fact that my kids love the kid’s programs on the ship so they are usually gone for a few hours during different blocks of the day. I take a lot of naps. Sometimes I don’t even mean to, but I’ll fall asleep pretty much anywhere where I am stationary for more than five minutes.

Trevor had been asking since we got on the ship when the waterslide was going to open. So when it finally did we took the kids out on deck for a couple of hours. It was pretty cold on the first day, but the second day as we were in Mexico was much better. My kids were great since I could pull up a deck chair and watch them slide down from 3 decks above. Then they'd get out and run back up the stairs to the top again. Mike even went down a couple of times. I'm a wuss, and stuck to towel duty.

Both days we spent a lot of time at the slide or the pool. Trevor became somewhat of a celebrity because of it. He had the funniest scream when he would go down. A lot of people would stop to watch him, give him a high 5 or ask him if the slide was awesome. One time I was in an elevator with all three kids and an older woman asked me if he was the little boy from the slide. I answered yes, and she told me that she couldn't help but get a picture of him because she laughed for hours watching him and she wanted to remember him. Trevor would make a great cruise director since he was all over the place making friends.





















The food is always good on the ships, but man this time everything was incredible. I spent the first couple of days trying to be really good, but I soon gave in once I found the pasta station at lunch. One whiff of garlic and that was it. I think I had pasta with garlic and alfredo sauce everyday after that. Plus my own little chocolate lava cake for dessert every night. Mmmm. Man do I miss that cake.

more in a bit!

bye carnival pride.

We're home.

I am in the process of putting 220 pictures from one camera on to the computer, then I have to find the small camera and put about 100 more photos on here too.

The washing machine is already going too. (sshh... I actually kind of missed doing my own laundry!!)

We had such a wonderful vacation. It was honestly one of the best ever. The kids had such a good time, the weather couldn't have been any more perfect, and the things that we did were awesome. I'll have a lot to write about.

I'm trying to get back into normal mode now. I'm so spoiled... where is Ronald with the dinner menu? And will there be a cabin steward to pull down the bed and leave a chocolate on my pillow tonight???? ;)

As fun as it was, it does feel good to be home.

Happy mother's day to all of my mommy friends out there! I hope today has been a relaxing and nice one for all of you!

more later!

Love .... exciting and new....
come aboard...
we're expecting yoooou!

Set a course for adventure
your mind on a new romance

The loooove boat....
soon will be making another run
the love boat
promise is something for everyone....


I'm packing today. Packing and singing this song over and over in my head! I can't wait, and the kids can't wait. I keep hearing, "Remember when we'd ask you how many days were left until the cruise and you would say 65? Now it is ONE!!"

Adios to my muchachos. See you soon!

I've been tagged

I have been tagged! This is a lot harder than it seems to come up with 7 random things about yourself. Like I said before, especially when you don't see yourself as being all that interesting in the first place! But here is mine:



1. I love to fill out questionnaires. I do. I have no idea why, but I always love when I get that clipboard at a new doctor’s office and I get to sit there and fill out pages, or filling in stuff for the kid’s school. I don’t think I will ever tire of that. Or at least until I can’t see or write anymore.


2. I have owned two horses in my life. One named Sundance, and the other named Ali. I used to barrel race and jump. I was quite the equestrian! I also had a donkey name Rudy for awhile, who used to live in the barn with Ali to keep her company.


3. I absolutely cannot pull a cotton ball out of a bottle of medicine. I can’t stand the feel of it, and have to have somebody else do it. Blah. I get a chill just thinking about it. Thank goodness I’ve never been in a life or death situation because of a cotton ball yet.

4. When I was a baby I was burned by a sparkler that somebody threw off of a pier. It fell on my face. I am guessing this could be why I really hate those things now or anything to do with fireworks.

5. I say a quick prayer every time I see an ambulance, fire truck or airevac.

6. I met Mike the first day of our senior year in high school. I parked next to him because I had a 65 Mustang, and so did he. Serendipity.

7. My first kiss from a male other than a family member was Bono. Seriously. When I met U2 he gave me kiss right on the lips. Pretty freaking cool huh???


Now, since Lisa took everybody I would normally tag…. I’m going to go with Laura, Karen, Kaelene, Shanna (who knows everybody and their brother so she’ll have no trouble thinking of people tag. Haha!)

AND guess who showed up at my front door at 9:00 last night?!?!? I had gotten a call earlier in the day that Mike was going to stop in Moab for the night. The phone rang at 9:00 and at first I was kind of mad that he wasn't asleep so he could leave early in the morning. Then the doorbell rang, and I thought "Who in the hell is here at 9:00??" Seriously not thinking it was him. Yay! He actually surprised me this time... believe me, I am the hardest person to surprise!!

random

Happy May Day! Not that I grew up with the tradition of May Day, but I always liked the idea. Living in Arizona doesn't make it easier to keep this cool day going either, since it is already heating up. - I wish I could leave little baskets of flowers on my neighbor's doors. So instead, I'm leaving this pretty flower on my blog. :)

First of all, I noticed on my little ticker below that HALLOWEEN is exactly 6 months away from today! That is hard for me to believe, but I am pretty excited about that. Which means 5 months until I can get all of my cute pumpkins out again since I always get them out on the first of October.

Second... guess who is on his way home today!?!?!? Finally... Mike is coming home from Colorado. I feel like I have lost my right arm since he was away for an entire month. I have to say that I really am the luckiest girl to have found him so early in my life. We have pretty much grown up together, and we really are the best of friends. I also realized how much he really does do around here. (Don't tell him this, because I know I'll still have to get on him about picking some things up once he gets back!) I'll cut him some slack. But.. life feels complete again. That last month sucked. Plain old sucked.

THIRD... As a reward for a month by ourselves... this weekend we head to California to board the Carnival Pride. Seriously, of all the cruises we have been on, this one is the best with the kids. The ship is gorgeous, and the kids have always had the best time. This will be our third trip on this ship. Believe it or not we even have the same cabins that we had the last time! I'm looking forward to a week of just being a family, and having a ton of fun together.

Last... I have been tagged by Jen, Maddy and Lisa! So I'll have to think of 7 random things about me. I don't think I'm that interesting... so it is going to take some thought. I'll do that later today. :)

back into the groove, and boy do I like it there.

Woop! Woop! Two pages done from last night and this morning. I think I have officially killed that Anna Griffin paper because it is one of my favorites since it came out. I have used it in some way in three layouts from this year.

Someday my kids will look through albums and say, "Hey 2005 was the year of Chiffon Bazzill, 2006 was the year of the big flowers, and 2007 is the year of Anna Griffin." Hey, I guess if I like something I might as well beat it into the ground right?

I think if you click on the page you can see the journaling.

I have a couple more pages to work on today since I have a deadline for Devine Memories. I got some cool stuff to work with this month, so I can't wait to start. (Nothing like putting it off until the last moment though.)

horse love.

A super duper quick one that I did last night during CSI. :)

I still love these pictures of Megan, and quite timely since we went to riding lessons again yesterday morning.

I'm trying to get back into the groove with scrapping this week. I have taken too much time off from it since Mike has been out of town. By the end of the day I'm way too tired to do anything scrap related. I missed it though, so it made me realize again how much I enjoy this hobby.

I'm even working on another one today, so hopefully I'll post that one later.

Happy weekend! Woohoo!

blades of glory

I was invited by a friend to go see a movie today, plus I was lucky enough to find a sitter.

We went to see Blades Of Glory. I have been looking forward to this movie since I saw the trailer a long time ago! Oh my gosh, it was so funny!!!

Sometimes you just have to love dumb humor!! Just looking at Will Ferril makes me laugh, and I love John Heder ever since seeing Napoleon Dynamite the second time. That movie changed my life. I probably qoute from it once a day.

So these two together I knew would make for a funny movie. Add to that the funniest story ever from my friend right before we left. I was already in tears in the parking lot before the movie. It requires a visual, so if you see me sometime be sure to ask. It was like a Seinfeld moment!

I loved that Jenna Fischer (the office) and Amy Poehler (SNL) were in this too.

Anyway, funny stuff. I'm so glad I got to see it in the theater and glad to have gotten out today.

The weather... holy cow, what is up with this and did anybody expect it? When we got out of the movie there was a wall of dirt. Usually something that you see during monsoon season around here. It was a storm that came in fast, and now we are getting sprinkles! Yessss! <-- see.... Napoleon Dynamite. ;)

I'm going to go enjoy watching the storm. :)

fun for a measly $3

Excuse the dirty window. That is something I am trying to embrace right now. The fact that everytime I clean the windows, we get just enough rain to come along and mess things up.

I am trying to come to the realization that I'm never going to be able to win. Mother Nature doesn't like me to have clean windows. Or it's her way of telling me to relax a little on the OCD cleaning.

Yes, another Target post. I bought these cute little pots from the $1 spot for the kids to do. They each came with a dirt pellet that you pour water on and then they expand. The kids LOVED that part. Fascsinating stuff right there! Then they each put their seeds in, covered them with more dirt and put them in the window for some sun. It is cute to see them go check their own pot to see if anything has changed.

We have chives, oregano and basil. Trevor (the future chef, who gets his culinary skills from his father) is waiting so he can use these for spaghetti sauce. I think we'll be waiting awhile.

camouflage puppy

Two posts in one day. Just because I am that kind of girl. (bored.)

Can you spot the puppy?

That is A LOT of tan.

one seasoned pro and one newbie.

Seasoned pro if you count one whole week of riding her bike to school. But that is Megan. After a week of swim lessons, she swore she was ready for the Olympics. Of course, several riding lessons later, she is going to be on the U.S. Equestrian Team next year too. Hey the girl has confidence.

Today T decided he wanted to ride his bike to school. Megan promised she'd help him, and I followed them both all the way just to make sure. I turn in side streets so I can see them, but they feel like they are out on thier own. I'm not ready to have them out of sight yet. By the time they had gotten to the school Trevor comes up to my car and says, "Can I ride my bike to school everyday until the end of the school year?!?!?! That was awesome!!!" You bet little dude.

It is so cool to see them doing something like this. I remember riding my bike to school. Although, not in the first grade, but still... those were fun times. I didn't have as far to go though, so I can't even guilt them with the "When I was a kid...." stories.

I am SO proud of these guys. The little things that they get so excited about are such good reminders of how cool life really is.

the countdown is ON

Oh, I almost forgot:

8 more days!!!!

Today was a pretty good day, and it went by so fast. I went out and did a lot of errands, and got a lot accomplished. Before I knew it, it was time to pick up the kids from school, then off to church for activity day. I had the boys with me tonight. Talk about fun, fun, fun. It is a thing for girls, in which I am one of the leaders, so I have to be working with them. The boys sat pretty well in the back of the room for awhile.

You would not believe the amount of messages left on my answering machine lately. Normally the box doesn't fill up for a long time, in fact I think months can go by without having to delete any of them. UNTIL little friends start calling for Megan. I swear, they leave messages longer than if Megan was actually talking to them. Or... some of the conversations end up on the machine because the phone got picked up late. All in all, I think there were 3 10 minute long messages for Megan on there. All deleted and I have a clean and empty mailbox again. :)

How do I know this? Three, count them... three people told me today when I saw them that my machine was full when they tried to call. It's crazy.

As you can tell there is absolutely nothing going on here. No random thoughts, or anything. I did however make it to the scrapbook store today, so hopefully I'll have time to do some work later tonight and post some things. :)

Later!

ain't no party like a peas scrap party!

Wow, it is that time of year for scrapping people. CK convention time.

Last night was a night that I had been looking forward to for months. Thanks to all who made it possible:

Shanna, for hosting and working so hard putting everything together. You seriously rock at the planning. It was SO much fun.

Nana & Papa: for taking all three of my kids overnight so I could get out of the house and not have to worry about them. (And be able to sleep in a little after getting home at 2:00 a.m.) :)

Lisa: for keeping me company and for the awesome Autumn Leaves stamps that she bought for me! Somehow she has this idea that we like to travel. ???? ;) I'm anxiously waiting to use them next month. Mexico awaits!

I also got to talk a little with Jamie Harper who is a new HOF winner, and incredible photographer. I'll be giving her a call in the fall. She is adorable.

Seriously, last night was so much fun. I went to the 2Peas crop at the Hilton in Mesa. Shanna went crazy this year. She even had a dj, which was a blast. Who says that a crowd of over 30 year old scrapping moms don't know how to party?! There was a ton of great music (and one girl in particular who could shake her thang! Totally hysterical!) a TON of sugary sweet stuff to eat, lots of prizes and a lot of energy.

It was just what I needed after a month of solitude. I swear, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Just a huge thanks to everybody. This is just one more thing that I love about this hobby, the people are incredible and I love them.

Now I have to unpack all of this mess, get some caffiene, and retrieve children!

some ramblings

I didn't know what to say about what happened at VT earlier this week. I figured that I wouldn't really blog about it because my feelings were pretty much what everybody else was feeling. Just sadness that the world is like this anymore, and trying to imagine what it is like for the parents of these students.

Today though, I was watching TV and caught a glimpse of my old high school. Corona del Sol. My nephew goes there right now so I immediately called my sister to see if he was ok. Apparently for the past couple of weeks there have been threats written on the bathroom walls, and earlier this week a tree was burned in the front of the school with another note by it that said the same kind of threats. My sister told me how this was news on CNN. My old high school on CNN??? I just can't fathom that, but there were images of all of the students sitting out in the football field after being evacuated from the school.

Then I hear on the news about how a student at a school in Seattle had brought three guns to school. - Not to use, but to sell apparently.

What is going on??? My first thought hearing all of this was that even my kids in elementary school aren't safe. Remember what happened in Russia with the elementary school? Even the media finally realized today that the terrorists are taking notes on where our weak spots are. I was getting angry the first day of the VT massacre when they kept referring to it as 'the worst massacre in American history." Shut up! Some crazy person is going to think, "Oh yeah, I can outdo that." The media just pisses me off sometimes.

I was just thinking about how easy I had it in school. We never worried about this sort of thing.

I was bantering back and forth with some friends via email today about how much high school sucked because of the pressures of being asked to prom and stuff like that. I tell you, cake compared to what our kids have to deal with there now. Drugs, sex and so many more things than what I had to worry about. It really is a crazy world.

I know things will get back to normal, and this is just an odd week with all of the violent anniversaries that are falling within this week. They've all had me thinking.

The hardest part is remembering to teach my kids that worrying about this stuff isn't living life. We can't live in fear, and if you do you are missing out on so much.

Love you all!

adventures in house breaking. Yes, my blog has become all about puppies.

You know how they say that dogs resemble their owners?

I was watching Matthew and Piper the other day, and noticed that they are alike.

Matthew is little, has a ton of energy and even has the same color of hair. Matthew is a yellow lab.

These two are so great together. I think that Matthew is the one who is going to end up bonding with piper the most. They are inseparable. He loves to watch TV with her sitting on his lap, and he plays with her outside. He also takes her out to go potty (sometimes) and the best is that he is SO gentle with her. Matthew can be a little rough sometimes (just ask Trevor!) but he just pats her nicely and reminds me that the way to pick up a puppy is one hand on her butt so she feels safe. I catch him all the time telling her how much he loves her, and he has told me that HE picked out the best puppy EVER.

Today I am channeling my inner Monk. I have picked up a few accidents of the solid kind the past few days. Even though she still has been doing great about going outside... house breaking just plain old sucks. - But I started to freak out and get a little germophobic. If I have found the solid ones, have there been any of the other ones that I may have missed??? So far, 3 rooms done. Plus I have company coming on Saturday night for the big Pea crop. I can't have Lisa feeling like she is slumming it down here in Gilbert. ;) Her house is FAB!

I'm feeling a little better today. I had a better night sleep last night which helped. Plus it is almost the end of the month. a l m o s t.

Nothing new here.

Burnt out.

Tired.

Ready for some company.

Totally looking forward to May!

maddy

Maddy. Everybody should know somebody like Maddy. Today, I need to celebrate Maddy. Just because.

I think everybody needs to blog today, and tell their Maddy stories. That way we can all do a little sucking up, and she gets the updates that she craves! ;)

I met Maddy at the first 2Peas crop (hosted by the fabulous Shanna!) I can't even remember what year, but Matthew was a baby, so was Haley, Lisa's adorable little girl that I got to hold after we snuck into the CK convention. After coming back to go to the bathroom, this bouncy girl comes up to me and says in one spunky run on sentence, "You look NOTHING like your avatar!!! Come on! We're going to SONIC to get SLUSHIES!!!! YAY!!!!" You have to know Maddy, she is like a cheerleader for everything. Almost....

I think Michelle was in that car too that night... along with some freaky nut total left wing girl that was griping the entire time that she was actually sitting in a gas guzzling waste of our environmental resources ozone crushing suburban. Thanks for letting me sit next to her girls. :p

Now I know that my parents taught me better than to get in a suburban with a bunch of women that I just met, and talked to on the internet. Haha! I mean, I met them through 2Peas.... therefore they HAVE to be normal right!?!? Hahahahahaaa!

We ended up not getting slushies from Sonic, but ended up someplace where Maddy and I had the worst nachos ever. By the time we got back to the crop, Lisa had left and I thought for sure I wouldn't ever hear from her again. We clicked. Years later, I realize that we NEEDED each other. ;)

Now on to explain my "she is like a cheerleader for everything... almost." The almost comes from when I went to CKU with Maddy and Michelle. Long story short, we needed a pull out bed in our room. It wasn't there, and Maddy and I went to talk to the person at the front desk. He was not helpful at all, and suggested that Maddy and I share a bed because he and his girlfriend (which by the looks of him I doubt he actually HAD.) do. To which Maddy responded with slapping her hand on the counter, and pointing the other in the air and me, yelling, "WE DON'T SPOOOOON!" A moment I'll never forget and we still laugh about.

We love Maddy. She has the best taste and has a fabulously decorated house. She is the best over achieving mom that I know. She is the card and invitation making bomb. And I also know that she doesn't like the color red, but doesn't know how to tell the difference between hot pink and red on a layout. She now owns about every sweater that doesn't fit me anymore because she is always cold at my house, and she has dunking oreos down to a science. She's also the only person I know that has small children and still gets excited about Christmas every year.

Rock on Maddy. We love you!

Since the blogging nazi is at it again (you know who you are! Heehee!) I am updating. Even though I really have nothing to update.

Ever since Piper moved in, my life revolves around making sure I take her outside once an hour. When I'm not doing that, I think I am reading every bit of house breaking information on the internet. Did you know that you are supposed to take them out five minutes after playing, sleeping, eating or drinking??? What else do they do?!?!

Last night was a good night. No accidents. Then first thing this morning, she went out. Of course then after that.... two accidents on the floor. Ugh. They are poop machines, I swear.

I'm obsessed with this right now, so I'm not going anywhere, not doing anything exciting, and have nothing else going on in my life! haha!

Megan did ride her bike to school this morning for the first time. This is some special week for helmet safety and bike riding. Guess who couldn't find her helmet? I did follow her to school just to make sure she did ok. It is quite a ride for her. She said she loved it though, and maybe she'll do this for the rest of the school year. Which.... isn't much longer! I think one more month! That is SO hard to believe.

Awwwww.

Yeah, another puppy post - but how can you not want to see that face again? ;)

Puppy: day 2.

In the distance, a far away train whistle......

crickets chirping.......

crisp, cold air.......

yeah... 2:00 a.m. and the first night time potty break. It's been a long time since I have seen 2:00 a.m. like this. Not since Matthew was a baby I guess. (Not that I took him outside to potty in the middle of the night, but you know what I mean.)

I took her downstairs after I woke up from hearing her cry. Right when we went outside she went over to what is now her favorite spot and did her puppy stuff. Yessssss! A few hours later, more whinning and Mike's turn to take her outside. Same routine. I *think* we might be able to breeze through the house breaking process. I almost hate to type that out or even think it because I am afraid of jynxing myself! But *knock on wood* so far so good. Maybe what seemed tough at one time in my life is actually cake compared to having newborns in the house. ;) Don't get me wrong, I'm prepared.... I am just feeling pretty lucky right now.

She also got her first bath. I had to get a picture because I know someday she isn't going to fit in that sink.





















Other than that, she seems to be fitting in with the family just fine. All of the kids adore her, Missy loves her, but the cats both have their noses a little out of joint because of her. They both did that Halloween cat imitation as soon as they saw her. Haha, just wait until she gets big enough to crush them if she sat down on them!

And why is it when something is CUTE we want to bite them? Or squish them? I hear it all the time, and I have to admit that I just want to bite Piper's nose. You know, how you say a baby is so cute you want to squish it or bite its toes? Where does this come from???

Piper comes home

I never would have thought when I woke up this morning that I would end up with a puppy today. :)

Our poor dog Missy is getting up in years, and every morning when I see other people out walking their dogs I want to be out there with them! Missy gets sore when she is out for longer than a walk down our street.

So, I have always wanted a lab. I figured we'd have much more time to look for one, but today ended up being the day. Mike (who is home for the weekend!) and I were driving down a street after having lunch. I saw a sign on a fence that said "Lab puppies." I made the awww face, and he turned the car around. At first I was like, "No. Drive. Go. I don't want to see cute puppies and you are just playing with my head." He called and we went into a backyard to see this huge litter of puppies! 10 of them all together. I knew I wanted a girl, and the woman pulled all of the girls out for us to look at. The other girls all started running around like crazy, but this little girl was hanging back and being kind of mellow. I was in love already, and she picked went up and picked Mike. That was it, and this dog went home with us today.

Her name is Piper. Yeah, an airplane related name, but believe it or not was my idea. We were at the airport one day and I saw one of the plane mechanics with his lab. I got the aww mushy face again and heard the guy say, "Come on Piper." I loved the name. I knew I wouldn't have a hard time convincing Mike that we should name her that. ;)

So here is Piper. :)

a pretty day.

Today we were a little early picking up the kids from school, so Matthew and I stopped at this place near my house. The weather was beautiful - a little overcast, windy, and the perfect temperature. I LOVE days like this. We watched the ducks for awhile. It was so nice just to sit back and watch him play, run around the grass, listen to the huge fountain behind us and finally just breathe. It seems like we are always on the go lately. This was one of those moments that just felt good. I was thinking about the time that Matthew and I get to spend together while the other two kids are in school. It is awesome. As much as I do love being able to sneak off and do an errand without somebody with me, I realize that I really do enjoy the constant companionship. If he wasn't with me today I doubt I would have stopped to spend a half hour watching ducks and enjoying being outside. I thought of the things that I did with each of my children as they were at this age too. When it was just Megan and I. Then when Megan went off to school, I spent days with Trevor. Now he's in school too, and it is just Matthew and I. I'm glad that I have been able to stay home with all of them and love having the time that we spend together. Even if he does ask me a million questions a day. ;)

happy easter

Happy Easter!

I'm taking a break from extreme cleaning. I have company on the way. That tends to freak me out a little bit. I'm not sure why. Or maybe it is motivation? Who knows.

I finally finished up all of the easter stuff late last night. Trevor had a hard time falling asleep since he was so excited. He kept coming downstairs to tell me that he wasn't tired. He finally was out at 11:30, and then I got busy.

I have to admit that I was a little surprised that Megan is still into the E.B. thing this year. I would have thought for sure that some 3rd grader would have spoiled it. I can tell that she isn't just playing along with me because when I was putting her basket in her room I noticed a paper that she had written on.

It said:

"Dear Easter Bunny from Megan. Happy Easter. Thank you for the basket that you will be leaving. If you don't mind, can I have your autograph? Love, Megan."

She has it proudly displayed on her bulletin board and seemed awestruck that he would take the time to sign a piece of paper for her. Awwww. :)

I'm always glad when a holiday comes and goes and I still have all three believing. That is cool. Kids just grow up way too fast, and I have to admit that I love the whole secret thingie. It is equally as fun for the parents!

Oh, and Megan woke me up at 3:00 in the bloody A.M. to tell me that he had already been by. Arg. Nobody should be up at that hour. Soon followed by little boys who were up way too early too. Hopefully tonight will be an early to bed night!

So happy easter to everybody today. I hope you got a lot of chocolate! Mwah!

horses with humor!

OH.

MY.

Gosh!

I had to post these tonight since tomorrow is Easter, and we'll be having company over.

Today when we went to the stable I pulled up to THIS. I just laughed so hard. What a cutie! (for non horse people, they can see through these fly masks. I had to tell the boys that it was a good thing and somebody wasn't being mean by putting something over the horse's eyes. It just means that it is summer and the horses don't get bothered by flies in their eyes. )

I had one on my horse years ago, but I have never seen ones like this!!! I can't tell you how cute these were! I found myself talking and looking into these 'fake eyes' instead of where the real horse's eyes were. I was trying to explain to these horses that I was laughing with them and not at them. ;) - I didn't want to hurt their feelings. ;)

However since they were such good sports, they earned a few extra carrot treats.

Trevor named this one "Hollywood" because, well you know.... he is wearing sunglasses. LOL!

what goes around - comes around.

I have slacked on my picture a day so far haven't I?

I passed this place today on the way home from taking M for her riding lessons.

I was laughing a bit as I realized that this store is my punishment for all the times that I have made Mike circle the parking lot at Scrapbooks ETC while I run in for - what I promise - is only 10 quick minutes. I realize that 10 always turns into more, and I always find that mike and the kids have found a parking spot while waiting for me.

Now it is my turn to do my time. I have spent literally hours (collectively) sitting in this parking lot. A couple times I have gone in, but the cool headphones, and airplane part goodies are too tempting for Matthew not to touch. You break it you buy it is NOT a lesson I want him to learn here. So we sit in the car and watch the airplanes fly by. The cool thing about this place is that it is on the approach to sky harbor, so we count the planes while they are landing. WHeeee. We know how to have fun!

So believe... what goes around comes around. Let's just say that my trips inside the scrapbook store are much quicker these days, or I find a way to go in when I don't have kids with me. Lesson learned. ;)

I love Target, hate migraines.

I am finally up and amongst the living today. This morning I woke up with one of the worst migraines I have had in a long time. One of those when even the dark house with every blind shut still hurts your head. Thank goodness though, I'm finally feeling better. Matthew has enjoyed a bit of a Backyardigans marathon because of it.


This past week must be catching up to me. I have been staying up too late and trying to do everything by myself. House projects, and other things. I think this is finally my body's way of saying, "Um, hello.... I need a bit of a break, and while your at it how about a real coke from McDonald's instead of that diet pepsi stuff you switched me too?"

Does Target read my mind?? I get an email from them every morning. I know, surprising to some of you I'm sure. ;)

This morning was about free shipping on patio furniture. It is almost freaky how they do this to me, and it isn't the first time. I wish that instead of sending me the email they would just send along a little note that said, "Hey Kerry, for being such an incredible customer over the years, here is a gift card with unlimited dollar amount. Pick yourself out an awesome table set." I mean, really.... I don't even want the expensive one! LOL. It would be so easy!

With our great weather lately, wishing I could eat lunches and dinners outside with the kids and probably the fact that I'll have company on Easter day, I have had patio furniture on the mind lately. This one especially:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_1/602-6926956-3479050?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000BFI9PM

I'm thinking and hoping that the next time I have to open the Tylenol bottle, a little Target genie will pop out and grant my wish. Hey, it helps to pass the day a little quicker you know? ;)

Now I think I might actually go GET that coke.

all is right in the world.

I have been so bummed about this season of survivor. Usually I have a favorite player either by the beginning episode, or at least a few weeks into it. I faithfully watch. Every season.

I'm late watching last weeks episode until tonight when I watched a little bit of it with Trevor. (He is my reality tv buddy. Survivor and Amazing Race.) I wonder if Trevor's love for Survivor comes from the first season when I watched while I was pregnant with him. Then when the second season came on, his tiny baby self would sit in my arms while we watched it. Had I known this, I should have named him Jeff. (Jeff Probst for you non survivor watching people.. coughcoughLisa&LAURAcoughcough!) ;)

But I finally have a favorite.

Earl.

That guy is funnnnny. Tonight I loved the way he was joking about calling exile island "Earl island." I forget what was so funny the week before, but same thing... he made me laugh. He seems like he has a great personality. He couldn't have gotten much air time, because I swear he was flying under the radar. Wasn't he the poor guy who couldn't make instant coffee?

So now I am SO happy to have somebody to root for!

I know, exciting news coming from me tonight, but trust me, this is a big deal. I live for Survivor and felt weird not really caring much this season. The ONLY thing I cared about was getting rid of Rocky, which now has happened! Yessssss.

All is right in my little reality TV world.

look! Another son! Yes, I have TWO!

My OTHER son... for Maddy. ;)

I couldn't believe how big this guy looks in this picture. That is one cool looking 1st grader.

Nothing new and exciting here. Matthew and I made it out to Target earlier today. I was so excited to have found TWO more cars from the movie Cars. These things seem to be off the shelf as soon as they are unpacked at the store. I have to say that Matthew is pretty lucky to have a mom that has this compulsive disorder of feeling like when I collect something, I HAVE to have them all. My friend Jayme is the same way, and we are trying to cover as many Targets in the Phoenix metro area to find them all.

Today I found Boost and Snot Rod. It was a very happy day. Happy also because Matthew has spent hours playing with them. I let him think the cars are for him, but I love them. ;)

Easter. Man, I thought I was ready for Easter. I'm not. I still have to go out and buy a few more things for the kids. I tell you that I am *this close* to blowing the whole E.B. thing. I won't, and I'll be glad I didn't by Easter morning, but it sure would make things much easier right now.

Speaking of Easter... when exactly did Good Friday become called "spring holiday?"