Joshua is swimming without floaties

Guess who isn't wearing floaties anymore?  That would be my little Joshua-boy!!!!!  I am so proud of him, I took the floaties off the day before yesterday, and yesterday he spent the whole 2 hours at the pool without them.  Now, I must admit he is NOT a strong swimmer, and I think I had a billion mini-heart attacks, and 2 jumping up to jump in, however he pulled through.  It is really important to me that they can, at the very least, save themselves if they fall into a pool----considering we are looking for a house with a pool.

Joshua now jumps into the 5 feet section of the pool (of which he of course cannot touch) and then swims back proudly.

AND, Julia is jumping in the pool willingly and by herself!   When we first got here, she wouldn't even put her face in the water, but you should see her now!

Mother's Day Trip to Sedona

For this Mother's Day, out of all the things I could have chosen, I chose a trip to Sedona.  We packed everyone up, stopped and grabbed a picnic-ish lunch, and embarked on our way.   The 2 hours seemed to take a little longer than usual, however the sites at the destination were fabulous.  It also rocked that it went from 100 degrees to 79.  :-)

On the way we stopped at a park in Anthem, Az.  This is a unique community that I would actually love to live in, however it is a far commute for Chris, so off limits!  It had a wonderful park with play equipment, a train ride, pond for fishing, baseball fields and basketball courts.  So, we let the kids run around a little bit and burn off some energy (as well as a layer of skin) and then we headed on our journey.

Before we moved here, I had this picture of Arizona as a flat desert without color (other than brown and peach)..... But, there are actually colors here!  Flowers, bushes, colorful cacti, and we even found huge trees!

Thank you to my wonderful family for taking me on my Mother's Day Trek, and even more so for making me a Mommy!  Lauren, Joshua, and Julia, you are the best kids any Mom could ever ask for.  Even though you are sometimes loud and disobedient, you are also all kindhearted, sweet, smart, moral, and I am so proud to have you call me Mommy.  Also, thank you to Chris for making me a Mommy as well as putting in all the effort towards me having a great day.

Free at last

Today we ventured out of the hotel, to the grassy area across the parking lot (still a part of the hotel).  I was brave and let all the kids and dog run and play undisturbed (rather than hovering..... waiting for the bad bug, the burrs that are in the grass, bees, cars that may be coming etc. 

They had a good time, although I did hear complaints on how hot it was! LOL

Also, the dog got to run free (with a leash on so we could catch her easier) and she was just going mad nuts chasing Sonic frisbees from kids meals.

So cute!  Wonder what we are going to do tomorrow........

A new park

Yesterday was the first day I actually ventured out of the hotel to find some entertainment for the kids.  We found this really cool park in Chandler, AZ.  Yesterday was not super hot---maybe 84--- so it was nice to just hang out.

The park

Playing leap frog

Joshua's SUPER jump

Lauren is getting so big

Julia making sand angels

And there was a small water area, so yes, my kids were playing in the water at 10am.....  

And I learned 1 thing...... SONIC SHAKES ARE BAAAAAD.  I spent the whole afternoon curled up on the couch.  Why can't I just learn, I can't do fattening things like that.  But it was oreo cheesecake!

How can he even eat?

Joshua has been a tooth loosing machine this year.   He finally lost his 6th tooth..... Now that tooth was stubborn.  It was one of the top center ones, and as soon as its mate fell out (a few months ago), it dangled sideways and wiggled to and fro.

I called him snaggletooth!  Although I had to be careful, Joshua is a little sensitive when it comes to nicknames and such.  But that tooth was hilarious!  He would constantly wiggle and turn it side to side, totally grossing me out.  He knew I felt this way, which just made him do it more!  (Stinker)

Anyway, it is now out.  He yanked that thing out like a champ.  And there it was.  Snaggletooth in all its glory.

Then I wanted a picture.  Joshua isn't a big fan of pictures.  I had to succumb to bribery.  He said if I got him ice cream, I could have exactly 1 picture "So make it count".  So, I dutifully went and got him his favorite Chocolate Chip Mint ice cream and got my 1 picture.

Oh, and when I asked him how he could eat he said he is just going to have to "survive on pudding, ice cream, and applesauce."   Funny boy.

I am that kind of Mom

Things that I never thought I would do pre-kids.....

My kids are "those kids" at the pool that are doing cannonballs and getting all the adults wet.   Shoot, if you don't wanna get wet, don't come to the pool!

My kids on occasion have worn clothes two days in a row, and just to top it off, wore them to bed to.   I am neglectful, please arrest me :-)  Do I get my own cell?

They have had peanut and butter sandwiches 3 lunches in a row, but we are living in a hotel!

My 4 year old has nightmares and crawls into bed with us.  And to be honest, I would love for her to sleep with us every night.  

My son knows what going #1 and #2 means AND he has named 3,4,5,6. (5 being pregnancy....didn't know he even knew that word.) 

We don't usually have cable---we don't like the influential commercials (just to name 1 of the reasons) and 7 days of cable and my kids are singing the Swiffer commercial (who's that lady??? Sexy lady) and I don't know whether to laugh or punish. 

We accidentally swear in front of our kids..... and Joshua has figured out that "Shit is another name for poop" 

Julia announces that she toots whenever one pops out.   This is completely our fault, but her being 4 and still poops in a pull up (sore subject), we make her aware of all her functions and congratulates her when anything occurs in the toilet.

But after all that (and many more) I still get random compliments on my kids good, kind, respectful behavior from perfect strangers.  Lauren was told she was a sweet and kind girl with great manners from a lady at the continental breakfast today due to her thoughtful ways.  

Maybe I am not that bad.

A Day at the Pool

Today (like yesterday, but I got pictures this time) we visited the hotel pool.   The kids are having such a great time swimming the day away, and there is another family here doing the same thing we are (looking for a house/relocating) and there are 2 kids (9 and 5) that come to the pool as well.  I am glad the kids have made a couple of friends, and it isn't too shabby I have adult interaction throughout the day as well.  Although, I should probably reach out and actually ask her her name! HAHA, we both know our kids names because we are constantly yelling for them to be careful, not jump on each other, don't push etc, but our names have never come up.  Weird. 

Anyway, tonight I have the fun activity of LAUNDRY to partake in!  OH SO FUN!  But at least I get some alone time while I do it.  :-)

Oh yeah, and yesterday I rocked it and actually made chicken fajitas in a hotel room!  Go me!

Here are some pics to enjoy for those of you not in 100 degree weather.

    Wow, it has been nearly a year since I last posted.  So much has happened, and I doubt I can fill everyone up on everything, so here are the highlights! 
     First, it was a really bad year.  Not really willing to go into details, but it was a horrible year.  The hardest year of my life thus far, and I have been through some bad "stuff".
     We were successful in selling our house!  It only took......... 10 months. :-(   But in February we finally were able to close, and move into a rental.  The rental didn't work out so well (it had a room that smelled horrible of urine---but didn't smell until we moved in and turned on the heat.  It was horrible, and after replacing carpets and sealing the floor etc, we determined it was in the vents and just didn't find it worth it to continue to work with the landlords.  IT WAS SO GROSS).  We finally broke our lease and moved on to our next adventure!
     Chris got a job and we have relocated to Arizona.  We actually just did this the other day (got here on Saturday) and are currently staying in a hotel.  Today is his first day of work and my first day with 3 kids and a dog in a hotel room by myself..........

     So, there is my short and sweet catch up.  I have been looking forward to starting my blog again for awhile, and now that I have, I can keep you all updated on our new Arizona adventure.

Lots of love,
Heather