What a Weekend! (May be too much info for some! :)

Friday morning I got out of bed with a sore toe. I don't know why, maybe from running, maybe I stubbed it. Anyway, I went shopping in flip flops, because I live in Arizona and it's too hot for shoes. Well, I ran over my toe with the cart. How do you only run over the 2nd toe of your left foot and nothing else? Who knows... But I think it was a signal as to how the rest of the day would be going.

After shopping, Jaden miraculously took a nap. So I decided to get Zoee in the jumper and hurry and get the bathrooms cleaned, as they we getting a bit scary. I grabbed the jumper horse in one hand and Zoee in the other. But as I walked by the kitchen the jumper must have caught the top of the kitchen chair, because the next thing I knew, I was struck on my calf with the falling chair. Oh the pain...I couldn't scream and wake up Jaden or roll on the floor and squash Zoee. So I just quietly let out an agonizing "owwww!!," while trying not pass out. A few hours later I had a baseball sized purple bruise on the back of my leg... But I did get the bathrooms cleaned.

Later that evening, a couple of hours after eating dinner, the next phase of my exciting Friday began with Daniel throwing up, followed by Jaden. While the two were getting showered, it was my turn to throw up. At which time, Zoee decided to wake up and start screaming (but was luckily unaffected by whatever the rest of us had). I couldn't get her while puking, so Daniel was elected to get Zoee while he was dripping wet and I was elected to take care of Jaden in the tub while I was throwing up. Well, I will spare any more details, but that was the beginning of an all night ordeal for us. During a brief lull in the action, my first thought was, "oh, my nice clean bathrooms are history..." Then I had a second thought, "thank goodness I had a freshly sanitized toilet to stick my head in..." The lull didn't last long enough for me to have anymore thoughts after that.

Jaden was affected the worst, having trouble every 20-30 minutes all night long, and not even being able to hold down sips of water or Pedialyte. Saturday morning we decided we had better take him to the ER to get hydrated. So both parents, sleep deprived and half dead loaded the kids into the van and got on our way. In route, we decide one more time to try some fluids with Jaden, and this time he held them down. So we turned around and came back home.

We survived on 7-up and saltines all day Saturday, and branched out to chicken noodle soup and toast on Sunday. We are pretty much done with what ever it was (my guess is food poisoning?). Jaden's the only one that's still suffering a little, but hopefully will be completely over it soon! :) For the benefit of all, I decided not to snap any pictures to go with this post. And I hope to have some cheerier news to share next time! :)

Pizza & Bball

We went to a place called Cici's pizza this week. Daniel went there all of his growing up years, but I had never heard of it. It had all you can eat salad, breadsticks, pizza, brownies and mini cinnamon rolls for $3.99. Kids under 3 are free. And we had a $5 off coupon if we spent $10. So we got 2 buffets, 2 drinks, and free everything for Jaden all for $6.57. What a deal! And it was yummy, too. So even better, it was a yummy deal!! Jaden's favorite was the mac'n'cheese pizza!




Then on Saturday, one of Daniel's students gave us free tickets to a Phoenix Suns game. I got to go with this handsome fellow!

We had a blast!! Of course we were up high, like nosebleed section. But we could still see pretty well, especially Shaq...He's not a very little guy.
It was last minute, so Zo got to go with us. We were worried that it might be a little crazy for her. But she absolutely loved it. She smiled and laughed the whole time, thinking all those people were cheering for her and her cuteness!

Reasons To Love Arizona!

I am learning that happiness is more often a decision than just something that "happens". Granted, there are times and situations in our lives when it is easier to choose to be happy than others...

I wasn't exactly thrilled to move to Arizona, and I didn't have the best of attitudes getting here. :) But now that I am here, I am discovering some wonderful things. I don't think that this is where I will be settling for the rest of my life, but while I am here, I am going to try to enjoy everything I can!

That said, here are my first 10 reasons that I have found to love Arizona!
1.Bountiful Baskets:
Pay $15 a week and get a whole basket full of fresh fruits and vegetables! Every Saturday, I drive a mile and half, and get this fantastic smorgasborg of whatever they decide to put in the baskets! It's always a surprise, but always delicious! And it's year round!
In my first basket, I got:
1 cucumber, 2 bags of carrots, 1 bag of celery, 1 bag of grapes, 1 bunch of bananas, 7 plumbs, 10 apples, 6 onions, a cantalope, 1 bunch of collard greens, 1 bunch of romaine lettuce, 3 pears, and a carton of stawberries!! What a deal!


2. "Winter" is perfect T-shirt weather.
3. I have fruit trees in my backyard, and a garden growing in March!!
4.Fantastic desert running trails only a 5 minute walk away from my house.

5. There are 5 different competing grocery stores within a 15 mile radius. There is even one that will double the value of coupons. We have been able to get some really good deals and even some things for free!
6. I have found a pediatrician here that is amazing. She listens to me...she never acts like she is in a hurry...she takes great care of my kids.
7. The best yard sales in the US are right here in Arizona! :)
8. My husband has to commute to work, therefore, we HAD to buy a 2nd car. Yay for wheels!
9. I can walk to Walmart, to Walgreens, to Sonic, to the park and to the greenbelt. I'm set!:) (But it's still fun to have a car :)
10. I'm "stuck" here with a wonderful handsome husband that loves me and takes care of me, and two wonderful kids!

...11. I really like my house, too! :)

I Love My Kids!

A Jaden medley for all to enjoy... (His mom thinks he's pretty cute!:)

The little cowboy and the fire chief helped me vacuum the carpets after I got them all steam cleaned this week! (Jaden insisted that they needed the hats on to get the job done!)

Zoee's ready to go...

She's just not sure what to do after she gets here!
(ps - I just love ruffley little bums. Thanks for the cute shorts, April W., she's still wearing them!)

What We've Been Up To...

Zoee has been playing airplane...

Doing push-ups...

Rolling all over the place...

Getting her head stuck in the changing pad while rolling...

Just being completely adorable...

And sitting up!
She thinks her brother is the greatest. They love to just sit and laugh at each other.

Jaden has been playing baseball outside in his jammies in the perfect 75 degree weather...

Finally getting mom to get the Valentines cookies made in the middle of March...


Helping me realize why the handsoap always seems to go so fast...

And packing Zoee's babies around in the carrier...

I have been enjoying watching my little garden pop up, and seeing little tiny apples growing on my new trees!

And Daniel has been researching and shopping for this great new computer, so we be back online!!

We're Back!!

We're back, with a NEW computer! We have retired the 6-year-old laptop that was freezing up every 10 minutes and was missing the "C" key. Wow, what a difference! However, I can't figure out how to download pictures on this fabulous new machine. So I'll be working on that one next!

PS - I figured it out! :)

Computer Crashing

Our computer is having technical difficulties... don't give up on us, we'll be back soon! :)

I Get to be a Mommy...

Last night the kids would not go to sleep. I was up late again. I started having one of those, "I go to sleep when the kids go to sleep, I wake up when the kids wake up, they don't take naps, I never have one minute to myself..." kind of pity party nights.

This morning Zoee woke up early. I brought her to my bed and fed her and cuddled her, then she fell back asleep. As I tried to get up to start my day, I realized there was a tiny little fist grasping tightly to the top of my shirt. Though she was sleeping, she was not letting go. That made me smile from the inside out, and I was overcome with love for that little one, who wanted me to stay right there with her.I had to just lay back down and snuggle with my baby for a few more minutes.

After I got up from my bed, I went to check on Jaden, to make sure he hadn't kicked all of his covers off again. And there he was, in the stink bug position at the bottom of his bed with no covers on. I laughed inside as I covered my sleeping little boy back up.

Today I am thankful for simple little moments that show me what a privilege and a blessing it is to be a mother. Oh, how I love my babies...

Teen Creed

I turned on the TV the other day, and Bonnie Hunt was in the middle of reading this on her show. I've never watched the Bonnie Hunt show before, but I liked what she was saying. So I did a web search to find the whole thing, and thought I would share it here.

Teen Creed
Don't let your parents down,They brought you up.

Be humble enough to obey, You may give orders someday.

Choose companions with care, You become what they are.

Guard your thoughts, What you think, you are.

Choose only a date Who would make a good mate.

Be master of your habits, Or they will master you.

Don't be a show off when you drive, Drive with safety and arrive.

Don't let the crowd pressure you, Stand for something-Or you'll fall for anything