Just When I Can't Handle AZ Any Longer....

The Hottie is out of town. Boys' camping, fishing, & Paintball trip. Yesterday's weather was super, super faaaaaaantastic! It was overcast and warm...but, NOT AZ warm. It was set to be even better today, so Ash and I decided to take the kids to the zoo. We picked up my mom and all 8 of us headed out to the zoo. We arrived at 10:15. Met the iguana at 10:30. Walked to the monkeys and saw a few animals along the way. Arrived at the monkeys at 11:00. Booked it out of there and made it to the car at 11:15. Total time in the park...1 hour. OMG was it hot. We were dripping. The kids were wiped out.

What were we thinking??!!

Funny thing is - it wasn't even 90 degrees. It was just so hot. And sunny. And humid. Gross!

Then - being the geniuses that we are - we decided to take the light rail to downtown Phoenix for some lunch. You know...when you're super hot, might as well wait in the sun to take the light rail. After an exciting (yes, the kids loved it) ride to Phoenix, we exited at 3rd and headed to the Arizona Center to find some place to eat. So sad...almost everything has closed down. We ended up eating at Hooters. Yes, you read that right. Us girls took the kids to Hooters. We ate, cooled off and then made the dreaded walk back to the light rail. We arrived back to the car at 2:30. We were exhausted.

It's days like this during the 2 hottest months of the entire year that I wonder what the heck I'm doing in Arizona. Normally, it's right at the end of the summer when I just can't take it anymore. Today was one of those days.

We made it home, fed Charlotte, and relaxed on the couch. I put on a pot of water on the stove to make mac and cheese. (yes, we're super gourmet when the Hottie is not home) and then the thunder began. It was awesomely loud. The kids loved it. Well....Charlotte slept through it - so I don't think she really cared. Then the rain started. Pouring rain. The temperature had dropped a bit and the sun was still out, but hiding behind the gray clouds.

I looked outside and the view was incredible. The way the sun peeked out from some of the clouds as the rain literally poured down in buckets was amazing. The color in the sky was a gray-ish yellow. I begged the cuties to run out in the backyard and play in the rain. They thought I was crazy. So I went. And, they followed. And, pretty soon they were dancing around and around and laughing and jumping and having the best time.

Thank you monsoons...for restoring my faith in the AZ weather. In just about one short month, we'll be having some much better days. And those days will last for about 8 or 9 months. Couldn't be better.

Three Months

I haven't been taking too many pictures lately. I'm thinking it's the 3rd child curse. You know - the first child has a gazillion pictures, the second one has half and the third has very little??


But...I did get one on her three month birthday.



3 months...our little Charlotte has been sick. Ear infections, congested, breathing issues. Y-U-C-K!! No worries...lots of breathing treatments, humidifier, antibiotics, doctor visits (including xrays and blood work), and "up-right" sleeping worked. She is feeling 100% and just as cute as ever! Charlotte is super smiley and happy. She loves her brother and sister. She can give the "stink eye" just as good as her sister. She is a little piggy and loves to eat.


We love you Lottie Lots!!

Date Night, Drinks, Dancing...and Goodbyes

Last Friday was date night. This is one of the few date nights we've had since Charlotte was born. This date night included my besties...boy oh boy was it fun.

I think the boys get annoyed with date night. Why???? Well...you get us besties together and we just talk and talk and talk. And talk. Nonstop. It is awesome.

We started out at the White Chocolate Grill. First things first...order drinks. Boys = water and all of us girls = some kind of yummy martini. Whew...were they strong. Or...maybe it's just been awhile. One drink and I'm already tipsy. That only makes me more fun (and loud). All of us girls sat at one end of the table. Why?? Well...of course, for girl talk. 2 drinks down and the boys are laughing at us...well, at me anyway.

After dinner - on to Devil's Martini for a surprise goodbye party for our friend Franco. He is leaving this week to follow his dream in L.A. - Yay Franco!! Read his blog...he has such good thoughts. More drinks (thanks Janea!!). Lots and lots and LOTS of dancing. Tons of photos. Chatting with old friends. What a night.

Seriously...I have not had that much fun in the longest time. It's funny when you get your besties together...it doesn't matter how long it has been. It is just like old times. Like we are all 16, in high school...chatting and laughing and telling secrets. It's the most fun EVER!!

What a night!! We had so much fun! I love my besties!!

P.s....Good Luck Franco!!

The Hottie and Me...heading out

The girls

All the Hotties...making faces

Gina, Nancy and Me

The end of the night

First Day of First

I guess the psycho, crazy mom continues. This is how it all went down....

Brady's first day of first started out great. We woke him up at 7am. He showered, dressed, ate breakfast and got "cool hair." In our house, cool hair stands for a bit of spikes using hair glue. I made his lunch, grabbed a banana for his morning snack, and readied his backpack for the day.

Picture time!! Yep...pictures of the big first grader are a necessity. He was rockin' his Chandler Bing smile...so he needed a bit of help. We were running a little late (we still had to drop the girls off at the sitter's) so...I was forced to get him to switch his smile quickly. How'd I do it? Well...instead of the standard "say cheese!!!," I am forced to try funny phrases or words. "Monkey" sometimes works...but, lately it's been overused. Brades and Lil think the funniest word is butt crack (talk to the Hottie about teaching them that one) so...what do you think I had him say?? Yep...I stooped that low. But...it worked. So...no judging. We got the cutest picture ever.

Next, we headed out to drop off the girls and then to take out big guy to school. Mrs. Nguyen (did I mention before she is super duper organized?? Love that!) gave us parents a packet of info about the class, school, and the first day rules. She prefers that we say our goodbyes at the door rather than walking him into the class (like we did in Kindergarten). We walked him up to the playground where we found the sign for his class. We made it just in time. Brady was the last kid in the line and they headed to the class right when we got there. We followed him the few feet to the door and said our goodbyes.

Right then it struck me and the crazy, psycho parent came out...This is a new school. He does not know one person in his class. Literally...he could look at every kid in the school and wouldn't know if they were in his class or not. He had only met his teacher once. He didn't even know his room number. He didn't even know how to get to his room...and he was about to enter the school in a different door than we entered in last night. He was the last kid in his class line. What if he turned around for a second and then didn't know which line was his class? There were gobs of kids everywhere. I imagined him standing in the hall waiting for someone to point him in the right direction. As he is entering the school...I'm quickly telling him his teacher's name and room number...just in case he forgot.

After he went in the building, the Hottie and I walked back to the car along with the other gazillion parents. Boy was it H-O-T, HOOOOOOOOOT! Gross!! As we got into the car, I wondered aloud if he made it to his class. The Hottie got worried, too. He suggested I go into the office and ask if I can make sure he made it to the class. I didn't want to be one of those psycho moms, but I didn't want Brady to be lost either. I called Ash to ask her opinion. Well...no surprise she told me to get into the school and make sure he made it (she is even waaaaaaay more neurotic than me). So...I did just that. I entered the office. I apologized to the admin gal for being a psycho parent, explained Brady was new and not familiar at all with the school or any other kids and I just wanted to make sure he made it to class. I think I imagined she would let me go back to the room and peak in the window to see if he was at his seat...but nooooooooo. She called down to his class and asked his teacher if he made it to class. Over the class loudspeaker. Oh.My.Goodness. Thank the Lord he is in first grade and not sixth grade...he would never have forgiven me.

No surprise. He made it to class.

Once the school day was over, we picked him up (after waiting in a ridiculous pickup line) and chatted with him about his day. These were his highlights: P.E. (of course), coloring 3 times, calendar time, recess 2 times, and lunch time because they are allowed to go to the playground right after lunch and DON'T have to wait for the teacher to take them (apparently that's a big deal - but don't worry, there is an aide out there). Oh...and the bathroom pass. That's the coolest. He can take the pass to the bathroom. All.By.Himself.

So far...first grade is a hit. He is getting so big...I just can't believe it.

First Day of School

I was searching for a cute clip art about the First Day of School when I found this cute little poem:

Thanks stepbystepcc.com/school.html SOOO cute!

New Teachers

I don't know who is more excited for school...Brades...or ME!! I absolutely loved school. Don't get me wrong, I loved the summer as a kid, too...but, school was my fave. Especially...the first day of school. I totally remember counting down the days until the first day. I remember walking, or riding my bike, or making my mom drive by the school every single day until they posted the coveted classroom lists. Finding out who my teacher would be for the year was the ABSOLUTE highlight of the summer. Forget vacations...it was all about those damn class lists.

Last week, I took Brady up to the school to do just that. The school posted the class lists at 4pm on Friday. We just happened to be heading home from Ashley's at that time (it was seriously a coincidence...I promise!) so we stopped by the school. When we pulled up, there was a group of parents and kids surrounding the windows looking at the lists. Brady and I jumped out of the car and walked on up. PERFECT TIMING - the first grade lists were literally going up at that very second. We found Brady's name....Mrs. Nguyen is his teacher.

Hmm...try telling your first grader (who is a beginning reader) to sound out his teachers name when his teacher is Mrs. Nguyen. SOOO Funny.

Since Brady is at a new school this year...we didn't know one person in his class...but, we knew his teacher's name. So, I did what every other crazy, stalkerish, psycho mother does...I looked her up on the school website, since the list only showed Mrs. Nguyen and NOT her first name. My plan was to then Google her name, search for her on Facebook...and find out just who his teacher is. You know...find out all the good stuff!

Well...guess WHAT??!!

Mrs. Nguyen was NOWHERE to be found on the faculty list. Yep...this stalker mom was stuck. We know NO ONE at the school to ask. It was Friday after office hours. And, besides that...calling to ask the school for the teacher's first name seemed a little crazy. Even.For.ME.

Well...we made it through the weekend. We made it to Tuesday. We made it to the Meet the Teacher Night. And...we finally met Mrs. Nguyen. Our first impression??? A-W-E-S-O-M-E!! She is very organized. The room was very clean. This is her fourth year at the school, but she was married this summer so she has a new last name. THAT is why she was not on the faculty list. Thank goodness. I had this fear that they threw all the "new" kids into the class with the "new" teacher. But...that is NOT the case at all!

We left Meet the Teacher Night and brought Brades to dinner...just the 3 of us. Funny how dinner with just one child is SO much different than with the whole crew. Brady acts SO old and behaves SO well. We then picked up the girls from the 'rents and let Brady tell Nanny and Poppy all about his new teacher and his new class. Oh...and the fact that tomorrow is P.E. and he is SOOO excited!

We are now home. Brady's first day outfit has been laid out. The parent forms that his teacher sent home are filled out and ready to go. His backpack is ready. I sat down to write a letter to the teacher (that she asked all parents to complete) about Brady...to help her to get to know him a bit. Things like...his hobbies, his strengths, weaknesses, family life, etc. I saw my computer...and my psycho instincts kicked in. I knew her first name now. And...her maiden name. So, I Googled her. I should totally be a private investigator. Thank goodness for the internet...what did we ever do without it??

You know what...I changed my mind. Maybe it's better to just have faith that everything will be okay than to turn into the psycho mom that just snoops around the internet. I don't know though...it is pretty entertaining. Technology = so much fun!

It's Summer - Where Are The Summer Clothes?

Today I took the Cuties out to finish school shopping for Brades. We went to the mall to shop. Fashion Square....hadn't been there for a loooooooooong while. I went looking for a few more shorts.

And...guess what!!!???

There were NO shorts. All of the winter clothes is out for sale. I couldn't even find anything on the clearance racks. (And you know I like a good sale item.) So...we left empty handed. I take that back...I did buy a few items on the $2.99 rack at Children's Place. But those items were for Charlotte.

Ugh!! I absolutely hate that stores switch the clothes to a new season TOO early!! We live in Arizona for goodness sakes. Today it was a gazillion degrees outside and the last thing I would be doing would be shopping and paying FULL PRICE, months early, for jeans, fleece, jackets, and long sleeved shirts. Don't they realize we are all shopping for school clothes? And...in Arizona that means shorts and t-shirts for 7 of the 9 months of the school year.

This SO makes me mad!

Back to Work Tomorrow

Excited, Sad, Nervous, Happy....all at once.
Looking SOOOO forward to seeing everyone.
And starting a new role.
And getting back into a routine.
Not that we haven't had a routine over the last few weeks...
Mondays - nothing but enjoying the cuties
Tuesdays - Physical Therapy (and sometimes swimming with friends)
Wednesdays - Summer Movie with the cuties
Thursdays - Physical Therapy
Fridays - no plans
But...of course...there is a lot of nerves and anxiety.
Wishing I could stay home.
And also happy I work.
Confusion.
Maybe it's just guilt.
Guilt that I work.
Guilt that I like to work.
Mommyhood is rough!
I sure will miss these faces....

Staycation 2010

We were feeling a little sad that my whole (and I mean pretty much my entire) family was living it up on the beach in San Diego. So....we treated ourselves to a Staycation in good 'ole Phoenix, Arizona. We stayed at the Pointe Hilton at Squaw Peak. It was fun and relaxing and very, very warm...but the pool definitely made the heat much more acceptable. Oh...and there was a slide. And it was pretty fast. Brady could not get enough of it! The cuties had a blast and really....to them....we could have been in California - they barely knew the difference. Well....except Brady - he lives for the beach. But, even he loved it. We lived it up like we were on vacation...food, fun, pool...hotel living is awesome. And...we can go back in August for an even more discounted price!! Woo Hoo!! Who's joining us???