The Fun Never Ends

We have had another "fun"-filled week here! It is hotter than ever before, but we are toughing it out. Not much to keep us cool around the house this week since our pool has been green and nasty, but good news, nothing is wrong with the water, it just looks gross and is sucking the pennies by running day and night.

Jackson and Tyler are both LOVING their summer camps and are sad to see their time with their teachers coming to an end. Jackson's teacher, Ms. Abby just adores him and tells me every day about how he is just "All Boy!" ARE YOU SURE? Tyler is doing great at Ms. Tamara's house and we had ZERO issues at drop off and pick up this week, she just went right in and found her friend "Fifi"!

While they were at school on Thursday, I went to learn how to make the beloved burp cloths, and my business will be up and running once I learn how to sew just a little better!!!! The first one I made turned out super cute, and I am quite proud of myself. She told me the next lesson will be pillows, and we are talking like Pottery Barn style pillows, watch out Jaclyn, I am catching up with you, LOL!

Thursday night, I had a MNO with some friends at Cibo, really yummy, really recommend it, keep checking the Foodie Blog for updates.

We went to the dentist on Friday to follow up on Jackson's tooth catastrophe, and we received good news and bad news. The good news is that it is not infected or abscessed as they originally thought it might be, the bad news, since it is not infected, they don't treat the tooth, and most likely it will remain that color until it falls out. Not a personal fan of that, but we go back in October, and we will see what they say then. I would like to state, that the return visit and x-rays cost $85, which is less than it took to fill up my tank today, $90.01!!!!! Remember when the dentist used to be SOOOOOOOOOOO expensive, and now it is cheaper than a tank of gas, that doesn't even seem right.

Jackson also got to go to Sarah's house on Friday where he played Hungry Hungry Hippo! What a super LOUD game, but I have never seen three year olds sit still and play a game for such a long time. He has added it to his Christmas List that gets longer and longer each and every day! He told me that he wanted 5 gifts, and now he told me he is upping it, and he wants 10! We are talking 10 for Christmas and 2 days later 10 for his birthday!!!! I am soooooooo over toys!

This morning we went to Kung Fu Panda, which I thought was full of great messages, but he has been dancing around, kicking his legs and singing, "Everybody was Kung Fu fighting" the rest of the afternoon. Pat and Jackson walked over to the community pool to swim while our pool sits this weekend out.

Only three more weeks until we find out what Katie is having, boy or girl, and the shopping, painting and decorating can begin!

Does anyone else hate balancing a checkbook as much as I do!!??? Happy Saturday all!

Monday, Monday

We have done nothing but VEG here all day long, and it is exactly what we all needed after our jam packed weekend of parties and fun! I can't say that it was totally uneventful though because both of my kids are really into golf. Jackson wanted Rocco and Tyler wanted Tiger, but anytime the crowd started cheering, they both stood up and cheered, so in all actuality, they were cheering for whomever! What a fantastic competition, truly what sporting competitions are all about! I like Tiger, but I don't like him at the same time, so I didn't necessarily want him to win, but after some of the shots he took on Saturday, I was impressed and felt that he deserved to win AGAIN! Favorite part of watching golf with my kids is (1) how quiet they get when the crowd gets quiet and (2) how Jackson screams, "He missed it!" every time someone shoots-the kid wants a hole in one everytime!! LMAO!

Iron Chef Hamburgesa!

This Father's Day, we turned the tables and put the men to work! Pat wanted to do an Iron Chef Grill off, so we invited the troops over and grilled out. Some people got SUPER creative, other's not so much, but all the burgers were delicious. The winner was Andy, Sarah's dad, with the Chesapeake Bay Burger stuffed with crab, and a CLOSE, CLOSE second was my dad with the Blue Cheese Stuffed Burger! The pool was open for business, and we had a fantastic time. Thanks to everyone who shared their day with us, it was A LOT of fun! Below we have pictures of the blue cheese stuffed burger, the cheese, mushroom and bacon stuffed burger, the tropical teriyaki burger with pineapple, and of course the winner!

Little Miss Muffet

What a FANTASTIC afternoon we had this past Saturday when we celebrated Mother's Day with tea and pedicures!!! We went to a quiet little tea room in Carefree called the English Rose Tea Room. Aren't the hats fun? The outing included my grandma, mom, sister, and I, along with my sister's mother-in-law and sister-in-law. We had a large pot of the Paris Tea, which just melts in your mouth! Everyone had a salad or quiche, left stuffed with no room for dessert. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this place! Next we headed off for some well-deserved pampering with a spa pedicure. What a great day! Pat is convinced that we planned this to happen on Father's Day Weekend, but it was a mere coincidence!

What a Hairy Situation!

Today we went to McDonald's for a little playtime. You really can't do anything outdoors anymore, WAY TOO HOT, so we headed off to the Ghetto Fabulous McDonald's! It was a little more ghetto than fabulous, but whatever, a little nastiness never killed anyone. Anyways, it was not so enjoyable for the moms who were up and down, round and round, I would like to say that when Jackson started screaming that he "Needed me!" I busted my butt up there so fast, only to find that he was just a little lost, which I was too, good thing I had my guides below. Anyway, scooting through a tube with all my body weight on my wrists and knees was not my idea of a good time, BUT the fun had just begun. There was this little girl there, chubbier and taller than Tyler, but probably the same age that was TORMENTING Jackson, pulling his hair, pulling on him, the poor kid was just getting beat up. Finally, I look over, Jackson is SCREAMING, and this girl has two fistfuls of hair and is practically hanging on him. I had enough. I have never yelled at another person's kid, but I let this girl have it. The older brother saunters over, and I let him have it. FINALLY, a good five minutes later, the mom walked over and took her away without saying a word to me. Give me a break people, I know his locks are gorgeous, but keep your paws to yourself. Just made me realize how blessed I am to have kids that would NEVER (and I feel comfortable saying NEVER) go up to a stranger and pull their hair! I know parenting may be exhausting some days, but I am sure glad that I put the effort into it that I do!

On a side note: Tyler went to get her pictures taken today and did a fabulous job, I was pleasantly surprised!

It's a New Day!

We are the proud owner of a Wii, which I love!! Jackson has been watching us play for a year now, and he even joins in on games like bowling and Mario Kart. He likes to think that he is playing Guitar Hero, but he gets booed off stage almost immediately. Anyway, the other day we were at the doctor's off, and they had a Super Nintendo with some game that included all the previous Mario games, and Jackson was DESPERATE to play, so we sat down, and he starts thrusting the remote around, just like we do the Wii remote to get Mario to move. I had to explain to him that he had to actually PUSH the buttons to make Mario move. Even video games have gotten lazier, LOL!

Honor??????

What is with people and the names they choose for their children, I guess I should say celebrities because there are not a lot of kids named, Apple, Coco, Moses, Lyric, Chastity or Poet running around the preschools that my children attend. I do happen to DESPISE the name that Jessica Alba and Cash Warren chose for their child, Honor Marie Warren. It is not about the name itself, but what the name means. Honor is something that I believe must be earned, and I know all about parents and their unconditional love for their child, BUT AS A FORMER TEACHER, this just irks me. I would say that of the students I taught, maybe 40% of them grasped the concept of honor and maybe I could handle calling them Honor, but the other 60%, and I think I am being generous here, I wouldn't call Honor if you paid me a million dollars. I had a student named Precious once, and she was FAR FROM IT, but what else was I going to call her, this has been a touchy subject since then???? PARENTS THESE DAYS!!

Gas Prices

Ask anyone who knows me well, I have NEVER been one to sit around and discuss the price of gas, when we were living in San Antonio, everyone would ask me what gas cost there, and I began to look for fear of appearing ignorant, and the habit kind of stuck with me! Now with gas prices soaring, I continue to look, just so I can be part of the conversation. I know it is rising, when I got my car last March, it cost $60 to fill up, soon $70, and just the other day, $80!

Friday, on my way to Desert Ridge, and I notice the QT at 7th St and the 101 was $4.05. I couldn't believe it had reached $4! I was confident it was going to stay below it. THREE HOURS LATER, on my way home from Desert Ridge, it was $4.15! There is just no need for gas prices to jump like this. Where is it going to go from here? It is kind of scary!

Jackson's Artwork

While I am sure no one is going to appreciate this, other than my mom, I thought I would give you a look at what Jackson did all year. I noticed in the picture below where the kids are sitting on chairs that my refrigerator was becoming a little unruly, so I took a picture of the rest of his projects and tossed them. What a fantastic way to document the work!

Rock the Vote!

I don't care if you are Democrat or Republican, what I do care about is that we could possibly have an African American Prez and a woman VP! That is awesome, fantastic, amazing, etc. I really know nothing about any of the people running, I do know that John McCain is a hometown fav, and I know I love the idea of the Democrats having Obama and Clinton on their ticket, not because of what they stand for, but because of who they are! This is going to be a VERY EXCITING election!

As a side note, when I went to spell check this, Obama came up as a misspelled word-how long do you think it will be until that changes!??? LOL! So did LOL, times are a changing!

Fun in the Sun

Summer is most definitely here, it is hot and hotter each and every day! Along with summer brings the realization that Jackson and Tyler are growing up before my very eyes. When Jackson started school, way back in September, Tyler couldn't walk or run up and down the hallways, she didn't have many teeth, she was just barely developing her own personality, and she most DEFINITELY did not know about fruit snacks. Jackson was definitely as chatty then as he is now, but not nearly as defiant, strong-willed or in love!

We have been spending a ton of time outside in the pool. Jackson is fearless, while Tyler sheds fewer tears each time we take a trip outside. I don't think she will be the fish that Jackson is, but she will find her own talent soon enough. This weekend, we had a family gathering, and "we" deep-fried a turkey. By "we", I mean my dad, and it turned out AMAZING! The meat was so moist and juicy. It looked like a really hot process, so I am thankful that I was working on my tan in the pool vs. cooking.
Tyler is obsessed with two things: Ellie (pink elephant) and dressing herself. Jackson still cannot put his own clothes on, but far be it for anyone to help Tyler get ready, must be a girl thing. While she has not mastered this task, it is quite amazing to see what such a tiny, little thing can do. Ellie comes with us everywhere, sits at the door to watch her "swim", and is loved to death while going to sleep. Just recently, the kids were watching a movie and Tyler moved one of the chairs from the playroom just so that Ellie would have somewhere to sit.
The kids both started summer camp today, so I had four hours ALL TO MYSELF. I went to the library, the mall, lunch with Pat and to pick up my new green phone. While I love my little munchkins to death, I have to admit that this time alone was rejuvenating. Off to be Super Mom again!!