Updates and Photos

I finally downloaded some pictures. Here is our life from the last few months:

My in laws visited. Here is my MIL making bread with the kids.



Then my brother in law visited with his wife and my niece, Claire. Here are the three kids:



A few weeks later we took our kids to a nearby farm. Here is Ainsley with a baby pig.



And Brandon with a goat.


And Ainsley riding a pony.


And Brandon riding a pony. (The pony rides were $4 per child, people. I am posting the pictures!)
Then we picked peaches - after all, it was a peach festival.


Then it was Brandon's last day of kindergarten. He got the "milky way" award for most creative and imaginative.
Then the kids all sang/screamed out the lyrics to 4 songs.


And we got a new puppy!!! She's a mastiff - her name is Maya.



Here she is meeting our other dog - Kali. (the stupid, but lovable daschund). Kali wont be the bigger dog for long!(Please ignore my filthy area rug. I didn't realize how dirty it was til I looked at these pictures)

I'm Six Now, Mom

Little boy - you are six years old today - and, already you think your whole world has changed.

"I'm six now...I don't have to hold your hand in the street."

"Six year olds go to bed at 8:00, not 7:00"

"Six year olds can have candy whenever they want, mom."

"Mom, when I turn 6 1/2 I'll be in high school."

You are growing so fast, but are a study in contradictions. One minute you can take on the world, and the next you are scared to go to sleep.

This year has changed so much - you are in school now, and doing great. You are everything I hoped you would be - and I am so proud of you! But, don't be in a hurry, little man- take your time with growing up.


I loved watching you with your friends at your birthday. It was so cute - the way you all said "dude" after and before everything else you said. You forgot all about us, and were focused on your friends. You are a sweet, smart, amazing boy - and I am so glad to be your mom.

Happy Halloween!

Here's the slideshow of the kids - they had a great time!

What I did on my summer vacation

I've been gone for a couple of months - taking a little break from blogging. Here are some upcoming posts I would like to write:

• Why my whole family had a mustache at the cabin.

• Brandelion's first day of school - guess who cried?

• I'm twice as busy at work because everyone keeps quitting.

• How to get heat exhaustion by drinking too much water when moving a family of four all by yourself in 110 degree heat (subtitled, how to get your wife to come home early and drive you to the doctor)

I guess I'll leave for now with a couple of shots of Drama Queen who has been quite a trooper through all of the recent changes. I wish I could fall asleep like this!

I guess I don't want to talk about it either

I know I haven't posted in two weeks - geez I feel such shame and guilt. Guess I better give you a funny story to make it up.

Dateline: Living room.

Scene: me sitting on couch, watching TV.

Brandelion: in the restroom right by the living room.

Enter Brandelion, stage left. Fast paced walk, no pants, no underwear. Only wearing a t-shirt.

Me: uh, Brandelion???

Him: (holding hand up in a "talk to the hand" fashion), Don't ask. I don't want to talk about it.

Exit Brandelion, stage right. Bare bottom. Very cute.

I'm not sure what happened in that restroom. He came back out a few minutes afterwards and picked his pants and superman underwear up out of the bathroom and put them in the washer.

Don't ask.

Peace Out,

Working Gal

Kindergarten Blues

My baby starts KINDERGARTEN in the fall!!!

Ok, I already knew that, but, last night it really hit me and AtHomeHubby. It made me think back to the first day we had to put Brandelion in daycare when he was eight months old.

We had visited the daycare several times, and we knew he would be fine. I thought I was okay, and the first day I arrived a little early and got him settled in. I headed home to change and get ready to go to work and school, and as I got out of the building

I. Lost. It.

I stood in the parking lot of the daycare BAWLING, and wanting to go back in to get him. I made myself get in the car, and by the time I drove the 10 minutes home I had cried so hard that I had a migraine.

I called in sick to work, and just stayed at home for the day while my baby was at daycare!!!

My mom called me later in the day, thinking I was at work. It turns out that she had sent me flowers at my job because she knew what a tough day it was going to be for me, her baby.

Peace Out,

Working Gal

Pictures!

I realize these photos are a bit random, but they are a snapshot into my life...

DramaQueen's latest performance was pretending to be asleep. So Hubby also pretended to be asleep. Trust me, if his glasses are on - he's awake!

She kept saying - look mommy I 'seep!

The dog - not so fond of the flash going off!

Brandelion does yoga. He follows the Rodney Yee videos, and insists on doing yoga with no shirt. He's actually getting pretty good!

My Grandmother, who the kids call Grandma JoJo sent them Easter ears.

Brandelion liked them, until I got the camera out. Then I think he started to consider that maybe he didn't want his picture taken looking silly. He shouldn't worry, though. I'll wait until he is on at least the second date with a girl before I pull this one out.

Here is DramaQueen asleep for real, after having all of her requirements met. She has to have the sippy cup. And then she has to have her baby (swaddled, of course). Finally, she has to have her own blanket. This is a photo of what may have been her last nap for a while. I think she's given them up.

Don't send out the search party

I'm just a bad, bad blogger.

You don't care how my life has been busy, work has been crazy, just finished a jury trial and about to start another one...blah blah freakin blah.

At least I didn't let it go a month without posting. Here are the highlights:

My job has gotten EXPONENTIALLY (hah! and I said I'd never use math!) busier and I can no longer really post from work (although, I am doing it right now - stickin it to the man). Also, by the time I get home, I am barely willing to expend the energy to help feed the kids and get them to bed.

If you want a true accounting of my exhaustion, just ask my frustrated, yet VERY understanding, hubby. He hasn't complained, and I mean not even once. Eventually, I'll get used to my new pace. I've taken a bunch of pictures (well at least 10 or 12) in the last month, and I'll try to post some.

The kiddos are still adorable, and doing and saying cute stuff. DramaQueen can climb out of her crib now - making for tons of fun early in the morning for AtHomeHubby.

We have been agonizing over kindergarten enrollment, and didn't get into the one school we really wanted (we are on the waitlist), so, he is enrolled for fall in full day kindergarten at our district school. This is an entirely different post - we have just gone round and round on this subject.

This past weekend my parents were in town overnight, and we went to the Phoenix Museum of Art (I'd put a link, but I'm just that lazy - google it if you want to check it out) and the kids had a great time. Brandelion told me yesterday that he LOVED his "cheesy cake". This took me a minute to figure out, but then it dawned on me - we went to Cheesecake Factory (feel free, once again, to google it), and he had pizza and "cheesy" cake. Cute!

We have set a vacation in July - and I am PSYCHED. We are going to this cabin for 3 nights with my inlaws, and my brother in law and his family, including my adorable niece who will be about eight months old.

Okay, thanks for enduring the boring "catch up" post. I will try to keep up with it more.

The Grass is Greener on the Weekend

One of the big advantages in my move to downtown is the compressed work week schedule. Essentially, I get to go into to work at the ridiculously early hour of 7:00 and work "80 in 9" - 80 hours in 9 days, and then I get a Friday off - so...every other weekend is a three day weekend!

FRIDAY

This past weekend was my first "flex day" and I sure enjoyed it. We spent Friday going to the gym (work out with hubby!), the grocery store, and the mall (JCPenny - working gal needs a new suit!). Then the kids and I headed off to the library while AtHomeHubby went to work for the evening.

And, can I just say, love love love the local library. Even though our local branch doesn't have much to speak of here is my method: (1) find books I want on Amazon; (2) go to the County-wide library web site and find the same books; (3) request a hold on the books; (4) wait for an email telling me to go pick up books at the local branch. To me, it feels like shopping for free, and I have been reading a lot of vacuous "chick-lit" and I love it!

After the library, I made a healthy *NOT* dinner for the kids. Do tater tots count as a vegetable? Who cares! They had fun. While hubby was at work, I zoned out and watched TV - my idea of a perfect evening, at least, when I am tired and hubby is at work.

SATURDAY

Saturday did not go so smoothly. You see, I was feeling guilty for being in a bad mood last weekend and wanted to make it up to the fam. So, I found this chili festival going on about 45 minutes from where we live. Lured by the promises of "games for the kids" "lots of great food" "classic car and motorcycle show", etc, we decided to go.

In the words of the immortal Julia Roberts:

BIG MISTAKE. HUGE.

The entire event was windy, loud, boring, and expensive. We stuck it out about 2 hours, and then Brandelion said, "mommy, it's too cold here (windy, actually son), can we go back to the desert where it's hot?" So, off we went, back home to where the temperatures were over 70.

Unfortunately, little miss Drama Queen did not want to go home. Well, she did, she just wanted to sit in the other seat in the van. A couple of weeks ago, I let the kids switch, and now she wants to switch everytime. We told her no, hubby had to physically force her into her seatbelt, and she SCREAMED bloody murder for about 20 minuntes.

We managed to get home, rest for a bit, do dinner and put the kiddos down to bed. Hubby and I had a nice evening, even though we were both pretty worn out from the Crappy Chili Festival.

SUNDAY

Sunday we continued our new found commitment to going to church. It is sometimes hard for us to go, but we are always glad we do. Brandelion is starting to adjust to going to Sunday school, which we find encouraging given that he starts kindergarten next year. After, we headed out for Chinese food which went exceptionally well. Drama Queen however seemed to be trying to tell everyone in the restaurant that she went potty - but the waitress and the other diners seemed to take it in stride.

We headed home, and hubby, once again, headed off to work, only to return very early because the restaurant was VERY slow, and now that the minimum wage in our state went up his managers are very attuned to labor costs. It was a nice surprise to get to hang out with him for an hour or so before I had to head off to bed ridiculously early in anticipation of my 5 am wake up call.

All, in all, a nice weekend, and now I am back at work. At least I actually feel rested.

And yes, I know this was a VERY boring post - but, my life is pretty simple sometimes, and I like it that way. Thanks for indulging me.

He's Moving

This was too traumatic a couple of days ago when it happened, but now it is funny.

AtHomeHubby and I have really laid down the law about the rules in the mornings because of this and this. The deal is that if the rules are broken, no TV for the day. Hard to believe that AtHomeHubby signed on for that, but he is a glutton for punishment. The rules for Brandelion include - no food without asking permission, he has to stay in bed until 7:00, and he can't go outside.

This was tough for him for several days, and he lost a lot of TV privileges. On Tuesday, he informed AtHomeHubby that,

I'm moving to Nana's! You're too mean, and she's nice.

He then started crying, packing, and called me at work to say goodbye. It was horrible. I felt really helpless, but AtHomeHubby persisted that this was "good for him" and "it will make him appreciate us."

Then, AtHomeHubby told Brandelion how much he would miss him, and how we would all cry all the time if he left.

Brandelion finally relented, broke down and sobbed, and has been the SWEETEST kid for the last couple of days.

Even though, at the time, I thought AtHomeHubby was being WAY too heartless by just letting Brandelion pack, etc....

Here goes....

I hate to admit it....

He was right.

Postponing Valentines

Today I left for work before AtHomeHubby got up, and will be in bed before he gets home from work. So, we agreed that Valentine's Day in our house is tomorrow. We don't make a big deal out of it - we just had our anniversary last month. I just got him a small gift for tomorrow morning.

My point though, is that my son (thanks to the Disney Channel no doubt) knew that it was V-Day. I got home, and was checking my email (after checking my explorer history to make sure my 16 year old baby sitter isn't using the computer!).

Anywho... Brandelion came in, leaned his head on my shoulder and said,


I love you, mom. I just wanted to tell you that - because it's Valentine's Day.

Brandelion is such a sweet and sensitive boy that he went on to tell me,

I didn't get any cards for Valentines, mom. (sad voice).

Now I feel like CRAP - I didn't think he was old enough for me to worry about Valentine's day - YIKES. So, this post is partially hoping I will find this next year and remember that I have more than one valentine.

Quiet As A Mouse

In December I posted about Brandelion and the front door. Yesterday morning I came out into the living room about 5:45 AM, and he informed me,

Mom, your keys are in your car.

*half asleep* What?

I put your keys in the car so you could find them.

*louder* YOU WHAT????

Yep, they're in your car.

Sure enough - he had gotten my keys off the counter, unlocked the front door, gone out into the driveway, unlocked the car (didn't know he knew how to do this), put my keys in the front seat, gone back in the house,

and LOCKED the front door behind him.

at 5:30 or so in the morning.

Please

I beg you,

don't call CPS.

A little bit, honey, just a little

A few months ago, Brandelion and I were having one of our Sunday afternoon, just me and him trips to the grocery store. I try to do this a couple of times a month - I like to have the time alone with him, away from his dad and his sister. I always try to make is special (usually by buying him something - I am not above bribery) and always tell him how much I like it when it is just me and him.

We had just pulled into the parking space, when he hit me with it,

Mom, when I was a baby, how did I get in your tummy?

*PANIC ALARM goes off in my head....desperately trying to remember all of the so-called parenting books I had read. I'm sure this was a topic, but my mind is going blank!!!*

Then I remember the standard advice: Just answer the question at a level he can understand and don't give him too much information.

So I answered the following way,

When a mommy and daddy love each other very much they make a little tiny baby, and the baby grows in the mommy's belly.

Whew, that wasn't too bad, let's hope he doesn't ask (1) how the baby is made or (2) precisely how it gets in the belly.

He replies, How did I get out?

Well, sweetie, when it was time for you to get out, Mommy went to the hospital and the doctors, nurses, and even Daddy helped me push you out.

Then, in the sweetest, most loving, and slightly shocked voice,

DID IT HURT?

In my head I'm thinking: "hell yes it hurt!! Like nothing else. In fact the only thing that has ever hurt worse in my entire life was giving birth to your sister! And the stiches, oh, the stiches I had!"

Instead I said,

A little bit, honey, just a little.

How to be fancy

Yesterday, the high temperature around here was 80. I wore a sweater, having not seen the weather forcast. I was VERY HOT all day long.

So, today, I opted for a skirt and a sweater set - much more comfy for the weather.

When I walked out into the living room, Brandon was watching cartoons. He said to me,

"wow, mommy - fancy!"

I hadn't worn a skirt in a while - too cold outside.

I sorta laughed and he said,

"you should stick your pinky finger out - that's what makes you REALLLY fancy. Yep. I learned that from Sponge Bob."

Hee Hee!

Funny Video

Back in September we rented a cabin in the mountains for a couple of days. It was stocked with toys for the kiddos and Brandelion found a tape recorder with a microphone. This is the result:





It cracks me up every time

Fun With Technology

I have finally figured out a cool way to get pictures on this blog. Special thanks to Amanda at Mommy Diary Tales who helped me out with my HTML code.

Without further adieu -

What a fun Christmas we had!

Ready to grow up

This story comes from AtHomeHubby last night after Brandelion earnestly talked his ear off about growing up. This is going to be a long post. Indulge me. The conversation began with

Daddy, does everyone have a last name?

AtHomeHubby patiently explained that yes, we all do, and was then peppered with questions about what everyone's last name is. Then the little one asked,

When I have kids will they have *insert last name* as a last name?

OH MY GOD!!! He just realized (or at least vocalized) that he may, someday have children!!

Then it got pretty serious,

Daddy, when I have kids will you take care of them?

No, son, you'll be a grown up then, and you'll take care of them.

But I don't have a job.

You will.

But I don't have a car to go buy groceries.

You will.

Will I live in this house?

Well, you can, but you will probably have your own house.

**crying** DADDY - I don't want my own house, I don't want to lose you....DADDDDYYYY***

(insert a bit of working gal jealousy here - I was never mentioned. Commence guilt.)

Can I live next door?

Sure

Where will I work?

I don't know, what do you want to do?

I can be a cook at *insert name of restaurant where AtHomeHubby works part time*!

(working gal recalling cute saying: Brandelion used to say, "I want to be a COOKER!")

Sure son, you could even be a chef, and OWN your own restaurant.

Like the pizza restaurant we go to for lunch sometimes?

Sure.

If I have a girl, I want to name her Ainsley (Drama Queen). And if I have a boy....I don't know - what should I name a boy, daddy?

You can figure that out later when you grow up and get married.

Who am I going to marry?

A girl.

But will I have to kiss her? That's gross

(score 1 for team No Kissing)

Maybe when you get older you will want to kiss a girl.

I don't know....

I tell you what, why don't you just focus on being 5 for now. Then next year you can think about being six.

Then the funniest moment:

Daddy does Claire have our last name?

Yes, she is my niece.

Your NURSE! How can she take care of you - she is just a BABY!

My little man is growing up. I am so proud of him, but it also really pulls at my heart strings. He takes everything very seriously, and I realize how observant he is. This made me realize that I need to keep his world as child like as possilble, and keep all grown up issues (like money, stress, etc) out of his earshot.

Kids are so absorbant, I think sometimes we forget.

Still here..

A series of computer problems plagued my long weekend...but, I'm still here. First, a weight loss update - I'm down 2 more pounds for a total of 13 lost!!! Woo hoo!! We had a very nice weekend - Saturday 1/13 was my wedding anniversary (6 years) and also AtHomeHubby's birthday.

The kids and I snuck out of the house Saturday morning to buy party supplies - Brandelion was SET on having a surprise party for him. AtHomeHubby calls me while I am at the store - he woke up much earlier than I thought he would. I quietly informed him that he needed to go back to bed to be "surprised" in about 20 minutes. It worked out well, Brandelion picked out a racecar theme for his dad's birthday and DramaQueen enjoyed shouting " 'prise!!" We had cake (at 10:30 in the morning!) and I made breakfast.

For our annivesary, as we are short on funds, we decided to check out a big Asian supermarket that we had never tried. We felt like we had been transported overseas, and had a bit of culture shock -- we felt quite tall, and also, quite cramped, given that we Americans have an expectation of more personal space than other cultures. The kids loved looking at the the fish, crabs, and lobsters in the tank. I didn't have the heart to explain why the creatures were at a grocery store. Yikes!

We bought sushi making supplies and had an "in house" date after the kids went to bed. We made california rolls, shrimp hand rolls, and smoked salmon rolls. They came out pretty good, especially for a first attempt at sushi making.

As a side note - AtHomeHubby is a great cook, and I am decent at following a recipe, but usually leave it to him. When it comes to sushi though - it seems I have a knack! It was fun to make something for the person who is always cooking me all sorts of yummy stuff!

Overall, the kids stayed in bed and we had a nice night in - celebrating our six years together. It made me very nostalgic - and I just kept looking at him thinking how lucky I am and how much I love him.

Reason to lose #3 - I want to be healthy and married for a really, really long time!

I know his computer skills are good, but....

Yesterday my friend over at Long Island Dad posted about the confusion over their names - then, as if my son had read the blog post, he comes in my room this morning and says,

Mom (whispering)

Mom... (talking)

Mom....(louder....and I still didn't want to wake up - it was only 5:30)

finally, in frustration,

STEPHANIE WAKE UP !!!

To hear my name coming out of a five year old's mouth was shocking - All I could say was,

"You call me 'Mommy' "

And he said,

"Okay, Mommmmy (sarcastically) ... can I have some oatmeal please?"

My son believes in ghosts

Here is yet another story about Brandelion. You would think that DramaQueen never does anything, but she does whine alot, and cutely imitates her big brother. Brandelion, though, is just at that adorable age where he is really starting to tell stories.

This has been an ongoing saga for about the last week. I was waking up the other morning when he appeared about 2 cenimeters from my face and said,

"mom - there is a GHOST in my room. I went potty last night and when I went to bed, I KNOW I didn't lock my door, but when I woke up, and looked, my door was LOCKED!!! It must be a ghost."

Cut to the last few nights trying to get him to go to bed where we have tried to convince him either (1) there is no such thing as ghosts, (2) even if there are ghosts, they can't hurt you, or (3) daddy must have checked on you that night and accidentily locked your door.

side note: this is called arguing in the alternative - it
occasionally works for me in front of judges too!

NONE OF THIS IS WORKING!!! He has told us the story about his door for over a week, and he is just convinced. I, once again, blame Disney, and their AWFUL show "Danny Phantom". This show, which Brandelion has called, "Fanny Tasm" (cute, huh?) ever since he first saw it - is really too old for him. We try to keep him from it, and have now decided to go all out ban on it - but, the idea of ghosts has stuck!

I'll update if we ever figure out a way to get him over this! He will eventually go to sleep but it pratically requires an all-out exorcism of all of the demons lurking in and around his room.