The Best of 2008

2008! Almost over and we can't even believe it! There have been a lot of changes in our family this past year. Chris is working for Barry Patterson Architects which has now been changed to Patterson Thompson Architects. There is a new sign and everything! I tease him that he sits and draws all day, but he's been staying busy and we're blessed that jobs keep coming in. He is still serving in the High Council over the San Luis Branch and loves it!

I have finally quit working for the bank after 9 and half years! I have opened the Treehouse Kids Club and that is going well. It's getting busier so hopefully soon we'll be running at full capacity! I have enjoyed owning my own business (with my business partner!) and I really enjoy spending so much time with my girls! They ask every day to go play at the Treehouse.

Ryan and Reagan are growing and keeping busy. Ryan will be turning five next month! She also had her first dance recital in June and really enjoyed going to class every week. She is taking a break from dance and has just started soccer. Reagan is about to turn three on the 20Th and is having fun keeping up with Ryan. She is a great sister to Ryan and loves to try and make her laugh. We love watching them play together.

We have had a great year and we hope you have had one as well.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Pick your Battles

Has anyone ever heard that saying? "You just have to pick your battles." I keep hearing that and I always have that in my head when I'm fighting with Reagan. Yes, fights. That's what I tell Chris when he asks me how my day was..."Ryan or Reagan and I had a fight." I have little arguments with Ryan too, but it has gotten a lot easier to explain things to her or show her why I'm doing things the way I am, but Reagan.....she will not give in! It's amazing how different they are in that. Reagan will throw a fit for an hour! Ryan would give up pretty quickly when I walk away from a fit, but not Reagan. She will follow me and keep crying. So "Just pick your battles." Does that mean just to let some things go? That's what I think it means. So ok, Reagan, you can buckle yourself up in the car seat and I promise I won't even TOUCH the seat belt AND let you close the car door. Ok, Reagan, you can put the lid on the sippy cup even though it's not on completely. Ok, Reagan, you can wear your swimsuit under your clothes. Ok, Reagan, Church shoes are an appropriate choice for shoes even for playing in the backyard. Ok, Reagan, when we're trying to leave the Treehouse at night and you frantically say "Wait! I need to color!" and then run over to the art table and quickly scribble for a half a second on paper and then run to the door." Ok....pick my battles. I'm sure you're reading this and thinking "No Way! I would show my kid who's boss!!" Well, I did.

Battles:

Mom-1

Reagan-249

I must be dreaming....

I am usually very entertained with my dreams. I don' sleep very well so usually my dreams are interrupted right when it going to get good. Does that ever happen? Last night I was dreaming about an old boyfriend from high school and his wife and how he had taken up tap dancing and started teaching classes and I look over to Chris and he says "I knew it!" Then I wake up realizing that one of my girls made it into my bed (the reason I don't sleep very well). One of the girls will come in at least once, but mostly several times during the night and climb into bed with me. Sometimes I'm in the mood to cuddle with them and let them fall back asleep, but mostly I don't realize they're in bed with me until my arm has fallen asleep or because suddenly Chris and I are sharing one side of our king size bed. Not Comfy! Well after the "I knew it!", I wake up and begin to think that Reagan is sick because she feels like she had broken into a sweat. So in that barely awake, mostly asleep phase, I begin to realize that my side is all wet too. So then reality sets in and I realize that for the first time, Reagan peed the bed.....but not in her bed....my bed. My new mattress has now been peed on. We potty trained Reagan about two months ago but kept a pullup or diaper on her during the night. Sometimes she would wake up dry but other times she would be soaked. So....whatever. But after many nights at the Treehouse and the girls falling asleep on the way home, she would fall asleep in her underwear. She never had an accident since. A couple of times, she would even wake up and go to the bathroom all by herself. So yay....potty training done. So....it was 6:30 am this morning and I had to start doing laundry and now Reagan is watching WALL-E and I'm too awake to finish my dream. Oh well....there's always tonight.

Reagan!

I recently did a post about Ryan and now I want to do about Reagan.

Reagan, Reagan, Reagan.

1. We worried when Reagan was born because we were unsure if she would be born with a rash on her face like Ryan or worse. But she wasn't. She was born perfect with not a mark on her. It was a huge answer to our prayers.

2. Reagan taught me a huge lesson. She taught me the importance of patience. I always thought Ryan was an easy infant because of something I did.....ha ha. I can honestly say I didn't do anything different and Reagan was tough. She didn't nurse, she didn't sleep, and she had colic. I know it made me a more patient person because I learned to just "go with the flow." And even though it was still hard, I came to realize that no book, no advice is better than to just be patient and enjoy the ride.

3. Reagan wants nothing more than to be your friend. Sounds cheesy, but she loves to try and make Ryan and Riley laugh. Most times it works, but I love to watch them play together and feed off each others silliness.

4. Reagan is not as independent or fearless as Ryan. She clunged onto me a lot more. She cried when I dropped her off at the sitter or preschool everyday! Even at my mom's. I had a hard time getting used to her always by my side. But now that she doesn't do it as often...I miss it...sort of.

5. Reagan loves to eat!! She is the human garbage disposal. She isn't picky and gets upset when we don't give her the bone from our steak to pick it clean. She prefers steak and veggies to sweets. So that's good.

6. Reagan is more of a girly girl than Ryan. She enjoys dressing up in very interesting outfits and changes several times a day. Right now she's wearing a swimsuit that is way to small! She likes to wear her church shoes with everything even to play basketball!

So....that's Reagan. I love her very much and I couldn't imagine life without her!

Rejected Twilight Screenplay!

Hilarious!!!

Read HERE

You'll love it!

Happy Feet!

We finally got Ryan's pictures sent to us from her dance recital that happened in JUNE! Isn't that the cutest (and funniest) picture. Just keep staring at it....you'll just smile and start to laugh. Not at her, but with her! So...here are things I LOVE about Ryan!

1. She's my first baby! She was the beginning of our little family. We had a scare when she was born. I'll try and post pictures of what she looked like when she was born soon. After many MANY prayers, we found out everything was OK.

2. She's very independent and bossy....wait....a leader and friendly. HA HA. I love that she isn't afraid of people (although when she decides to go sit next the weird man at the park and begin to ask him questions....that worries me a little!). She right away likes to go up to other kids and ask their names and begin to play. It makes me think that she won't let anyone push her around when she's older.

3. She's smart....too smart sometimes. Nothing gets past her, so it helps me to be better knowing she's listening.

4. She loves Reagan (most of the time)! One day we picked her up from preschool and she was not happy. She was crying and crying (which she never does) and we couldn't calm her down. Finally later that night, I asked what happened. She said "Miss Monica (one of her teachers) said she was going to take Reagan home with her! But she can't (with tears falling down her face).....Reagan belongs with me!" It was really sweet.

5. She sings ALL day! It's hilarious the songs she makes up.

6. She tells me she loves me for no reason.

So I love you too Ryan!

Ok I take it back!

I saw Twilight again with Chris tonight. Chris read the book and enjoyed it and since his favorite thing to do is go to the movies, he said he would go with me to watch it. I warned him that he might think it was cheesy or a little weird, but to go watch it anyway. The second time around was sooooo much better. It wasn't cheesy to me or awkward, it was really good. I loved the soundtrack too. Chris really liked it too. Maybe something was up with me that night because even the Harry Potter Trailer was not good to me, but tonight I thought it was really good too. Who knows. Anyway, saw it the second time and I really liked it!

Highlight of the night...

I did it. I watched the midnight showing of Twilight. I have read all the books and I enjoyed them for sure. The Tailgate party was a blast and the movie was pretty good. Not my favorite movie for sure. I think it was a little choppy and honestly, cheesy in a few parts. The highlight of the night was seeing a very tired Gary Kirkham walking in like he was in pain (like Jasper). I could tell he didn't really care about Bella and Edward and would much rather be at home asleep. We teased him as he walked by and he wondered where our husbands were......at home asleep. Then during the raffles, who wins the beautiful necklace that Rosalie Cullen wears?.....Gary Kirkham. The look on his face.....pretty much just as painful as when he walked in. I thought it was pretty funny. Also...Stephanie winning the life size cardboard cutout of Edward was also a highlight.
Anyway....the movie was entertaining, but the whole party made the night a blast. Thanks Shannon and Sabra! That party will be very hard to top! Maybe for the New Moon release?

Six Weird Things.

I saw a bunch of my blog friends do this and I got a kick out of reading them, but I figured I couldn't come up with six.....but I'm going to try.

1. I hate flying. I don't know why. The first time I flew in an airplane, I was a freshman in High School and I went to Washington DC. I loved it! I think it was the drugs I took to calm down first. But the food was great, the flight was smooth, and I was sitting next a really cute Junior. Life was great. I have flown many times since then, Phoenix to Salt Lake, Tucson to Mazatlan, Tucson to San Diego, Tucson to Las Vegas, Yuma (!) to Seattle, LA to Hawaii (twice). So I'll do it, but it's not my favorite. I think it happened when we flew from Las Vegas back to Tucson, I could Swear that that airplane from slowing down and then speeding up and slowing down and speeding up.....I was quite angry at the pilot. And when we flew from Yuma, it was in a small plane with PROPELLERS!! Freaky. So...that's why RVing sounds appealing to me.

2. I love the day after Thanksgiving Shopping day. I always had to work and could never do it, but the last two years I was able to do it. Last year I got in line with Ericka at Sams Club at 3 am!! I love it. I love the hunt and pushing elbows and the thrill of getting 600 count sheets for my bed for $20. Love it!

3. I have not thrown up since I was in First Grade. That would have made me.....6 years old? I remember the day, but I don't remember what it was like. I never threw up with my pregnancies, although sometimes it came close.....but that was the first time I felt nauseous. Some say I'm lucky, and I am....but that just makes it a huge fear for me. I dread that day when I throw up.....is it too much to hope that it will never happen? Probably. I'll keep you posted.

4. I can dislocate my right shoulder on demand. It makes a hole in my shoulder and it's pretty gross looking. Although now that I'm older, when I do it....it hurts.....and it keeps hurting for awhile. So, I realize elasticity of my ligaments are slowly drying out.

5. I can do the splits. I could do it better when I was younger, but I can still do them. A 30 year old doing the splits really has no importance or use. But even now...I can do them.

6. I have a fear of choking or someone else choking on their food. Shortly after we got married, Chris and I were having dinner at Olive Garden. Chris had braces and they just put in an extender thing on the roof of his mouth. We were eating bread sticks and Chris starts to choke. I quickly get up and tried to do the Heimlich. It's not working! Chris was sitting down and I couldn't get a good grasp of him. He's still choking.....I don't know what to do. I yell for help. An OLD man gets up and comes over and start to pat his SHOULDER...."Are you ok?" REALLY? I then hit Chris really hard on the back and he spits out his food. Gross....but I was a mess! Of course you begin to imagine what could have happened. I was crying and I could not calm down. Chris, on the other hand, says he's still hungry and proceeds to eat all of his food. I wouldn't let him eat alone for like three weeks. I've grown up since then and found that I'm not nearly as paranoid with my girls. Especially Reagan......she is a human garbage disposal and I've really relaxed since the Olive Garden incident.

Ok.....that's all I got.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween. This pretty much sums it up for Reagan, at least. We had about three costume changes for Reagan the day of the Trunk or Treat for our ward. She was first, An angel, which is really funny for Chris and I because Reagan.....is the opposite of an angel, some of the time.....no....a lot of the time. She is super cute though. Next change was Mickey Mouse, then finally she put on Ryan dance costume from her dance recital in June. So that's fine. That costume cost $60 and she only wore it for the recital. But Reagan refused to put on the tutu, or the belt, or the arm poofs. So it looks like she's wearing a bathing suit to go trick or treating at the church. Ryan knew she wanted to be a cowgirl. She wore this costume two years ago and it still fit her....although short.

The first picture shows most of the kids who came over for our first ever Halloween party. We had about 45 people come and it was crazy, but a blast!! Ryan and Reagan wore different costumes that night. Ryan was supergirl. Her same costume from last year. Reagan was an Angel. But that didn't last too long. She took her custome off and ran around in her underwear and undershirt. She's nuts.

So now.....we have tons of candy left over and I have no idea what to do with it? Eat it, I guess.

Thanks for everyone who came to our party. We hope you had fun! I know we did.

I Represent!!!

Just to let everyone know, I was represented on HOUSE last night. It's one of my favorite shows and I have a huge crush on Hugh Laurie, so I felt an instant connection to him when on last night's episode, the mystery diagnosis turned out to be Sjogrens.....which apparently causes cysts on your lungs. You can't believe everything you see on TV right? Any who, it was a good episode.

I hate the Dentist!

Ryan had to go to the dentist to get one of her three cavities filled this past week. I was really nervous because she tends to.......throw up when she is nervous or scared. The dentist, Dr. Cullen (wink, wink), could tell that she was going to have a hard time calming down, so he prescribed her Valium to take before her appointment to keep her happy and calm. And they were going to use laughing gas to get thru the filling. I was really nervous....to the point of tears that whole morning. I wasn't sure how I was going to get her to swallow two pills and I was afraid of any reactions to the medication and laughing gas. I imagined her being totally out of it all day and it frightened me to think of her any other way than her happy, silly, and sometimes annoying, self. Well, I crushed up the Valium in her juice and she drank it all up. By the time we got to the appointment, she was super silly. They took her back, all by herself, and they started the procedure. I wasn't allowed to be back there, so I'm not sure how she did. It was over in about a half hour and she walked out smiling and pretty much herself, but sillier. So I was relieved and we went about our day. They warned me before I left that the left side of her face would be numb for awhile and not to let her eat anything until she got some feeling back. OK. So later on that night, I pinched her cheek and she flinched, so I let her have dinner. We were at the Treehouse and she was eating some food. About 15 minutes later, I looked at her and her lip was completely swollen on one side. My employee thought she was having an allergic reaction, but I couldn't figure out from what. She wasn't eating anything new. I realized, after calling the nurse's help line, that her mouth was probably still numb and she completely chewed up her lip. See below.

Pretty gross. The next day was even worse. It looked like an enormous canker sore and the other day she hit it by accident with a toy during her bath and it split open and was bleeding pretty bad. How about that for mother of the year......I don't brush her teeth like I should and she gets cavities, I pinch her on the cheek, and she still manages to chew up her mouth without me knowing.

I can't WAIT for her next two appointments.

4th folder, 4th picture

On Stacy's Blog, she was tagged by a couple people and one of them was to post the fourth picture in your fourth folder. So I was curious to see what picture that would be. So this is it. It's when we picked up Cale from the airport from his mission. I remember being worried that Reagan would not warm up to him, since she didn't really remember him. But to my huge relief, she ran right up to him and gave him a big hug and kiss. I think the picture came out cute too.

HEY GIRLS.....and boys....if you want.....

Three or four years ago we had a small girls night at one of our houses and we made our Christmas cards. Do you remember??? I REALLY want to do that this year again! Who wants in. I know it's early, but I'd rather do it now than to wait until the last minute or not send any cards out at all. I'm thinking first week of November we can get together and assemble our Christmas cards. I'll try and find some easy fun ideas for cards and we'll all get together, have some snacks, and just hang out! Who's in??

Edna's Favorite Things.

Hey if Oprah can have a list....why can't I?



1. The Treehouse! Sorry....shameless plug!

2. Dreyer's Real Fruit Strawberry Popsicles. They're my Lays Chips...."once you've had one, you can't stop!" This should be under Chris' least favorite things, because he finds my Popsicle sticks everywhere. Sorry!

3. Oreos with a glass of milk. Does it get any better than that? And to think I use to hate Double stuff. What was I thinking? If it was socially acceptable, I would easily eat a whole package by myself in a day.........hhmmm....I wonder why I'm fat?

4. Going to the Movies. Nothing reminds me more of being married with NO kids than going to the movies. Chris and I would go to Park Mall movie theater every week in Tucson and after the movie we would go to the Gap. Wow.....now we go to Target to buy more pull-ups and apple juice after our movie night.

5. Taking our girls bowling or to the splash park. For a moment I feel like I'm a good mom. It's great to see them enjoying themselves and they think we're the coolest parents for taking them there.

6. Fabuloso. That's Fabulous in Spanish. It's the mexican's Pine Sol. But it smells so much better! I feel like I have a really clean house when I smell it. They came out with a spray bottle version that I clean my counters with....and it's the best. You can find it at Walmart....and probably Del Sol and Food City.

7. One Word.....IKEA.

8. Disneyland! The last time we took the girls last January.....Disneyland became magical again. They had so much fun and Chris even had a great time too. Can't wait til next January to go.

9. DVR!! (TiVo) I will quote another mom on this one....."Zoloft and Tivo has made me a better mom!" If you don't have it....get it!

10. Girl's Night! I'm convinced I have the funniest coolest friends! I look forward to this night all the time......hey girls....I think it's time again!!

11. Walmart. I felt like I was in one of their commercials the other day. I went to walmart and did all my shopping in one place while I got my oil changed. Pretty cool.

12. Playhousedisney.com. Ryan will sit quietly at the computer for an hour straight and play games. That's enough time for me to clean my house......or lay on the couch.

13. Sunday Newspaper ads. I just love looking through them.

14. TV. I have my favorite, can't miss shows. Heros, Lost, The Office, House, 30 Rock, and Project Runway.

15. Infomercials. I don't know why.....but I love to watch them......usually its 2 am when I'm watching them.

16. Vacuuming. I do it everyday. It's my favorite chore.

My Least favorite things!

1. LOCAL NEWS!!!! I really think our local new anchors and reporters don't have any idea what they are reporting. I really believe they just read the prompter and go home. I hate when they start to have friendly banter on the air.......it just makes me uncomfortable to watch them.

2. City Nicknames. I think "The Big Apple" is the only acceptable one. I hate how Yuma is "The Desert Southwest", Tucson is "The Old Pueblo", and Phoenix is "The Valley." ?!?!? Valley? Where are the mountains? I know there are mountain ranges around them.....but I can't see them. Wouldn't that make everyone in a valley?

3. Yuma Commercials. Especially the ones with jingles. I believe yuma is Single handedly keeping those people in business. Why does everyone feel the need to add some cheesy song to their commercial? Next year for Yuma Idol, I'm singing a medley of Yuma jingles.

4. Bad drivers. I don't know why driving 25 miles an hour in a 45 is ok.

5. Ok...new one. Words that are changed to sound like another one......like "Sale-a-bration", "Spook-tacular", "frog-get-about-it"(complete with stuffed frog saying it), and the ultimate, "Fun-citement!" Holy cow. Seriously? These words do the opposite for me......I do not get excited......I get furious!

I'm sure that once I post this.....I'll think of way more. and unlike Oprahs favorite things.....I have no free stuff to give. Thanks for letting me vent though!!!

A Quickie

I took Ryan and Reagan to school yesterday morning and Ryan ran straight to the bathroom (she didn't get a chance to go before we left...). So I took Reagan to her class and then went checked in on Ryan in the bathroom. She was there with another little girl, Abbey, which I'm friends with her parents.

I said: "Hi Abby!"
Abby: "My dog Pooped and peed on the floor!!" (which huge big serious eyes!)
Ryan: very serious as well..."Reagan does that too."

I laughed.

For the first time in 11 years........

I'm unemployed. It feels.....great! and strange. There is still the HUGE worry of no health insurance. Chris works for a firm that is just him and his boss, so he gets no benefits there. That was why I worked. I provided health insurance for my whole family. And the bank had great benefits. I worked 20 hours a week and I got full medical, dental, and vision for all four of us. We knew that we would eventually have to buy our own. The thought of being at the bank for the rest of my life....was.....depressing. So why not now??? We're almost ready to open The Treehouse and I need to focus on that. But now....come to find out......I can't find insurance to cover me. I have been diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome. I found out when my first daughter, Ryan was born. She was born with a bad rash on her face and after seeing a dermatologist, he determined it was neo-natal lupus. He looked at me and ask me if I have lupus. I said no. After two weeks of blood tests, they pin pointed it to be Sjogrens. I had no symptoms, so I didn't know I had it. Basically, it's an auto-immune disease that attacks the moisture glands in my eyes and mouth. So...I have dry eyes and dry mouth. Nothing unbearable, but this is the reason we won't have anymore children either. Ryan was very blessed that all she had was a rash and we were even more blessed that Reagan came out perfect! But now we have a 50% chance that the next child could have a major heart defect and require a pacemaker put in with days of being born. That's a risk I'm not willing to take. We have been blessed with two healthy beautiful daughters and I am grateful for that.
So back to getting insurance.....no one will cover me because of SS. I didn't realize having dry eyes made me a menace to the medical world. They'll cover someone with AIDS, but not cover my eye drops.....which I just buy over the counter. So what am I going to do?? I'm going to use up my COBRA benefits through work and then someone will be forced to cover me, but it's going to be expensive. I can see myself returning back to work get on a group plan that will cover me. Sad.

Do you ever get the feeling someone is watching you? I woke up to this.....

This is the view from my side of my bed.

Aaahhhh....I knew it was going to be good day.

Time to go shopping...I think....

Well, starting a business takes up A LOT of time! I'm loving it though and girls are having a great time playing with Nile and Sahara everyday. I'm glad they get along well. Reagan, though, can get very snatchy and most of time doesn't want to share....we're working on that.

But I realized something horrible yesterday......we ate out every single meal last week because I could not find time to go to the grocery store! Pretty sad, huh. No wonder my stomach's been screwed up and I gained two pounds! So I planned out my meals for a week and made a list and went to Walmart. It was a lot of money.....but I feel better that I actually have food in my fridge.

As you can see from the picture above....pretty bare. No milk or juice (just ran out of that before I went shopping and I know it looks like a bottle of wine, but it's sparkling red grape juice....it's good.) So I'm going to try and be like Renelle. She has dinner on the table every day by 5:30!!! I usually don't do that because Chris cooks every day. He likes to cook so....he cooks...I clean. I'm very happy with that arrangement but I will try.

The Happening!

It's Happening!!!! I have just put in my weeks notice at work. I can't believe it! It doesn't seem real to me yet. August 30th will be my last day. After nine years....it's happening. I'm happy and....scared. My job has been my security blanket for so long, but I'm looking forward to the future.

And now the reason why I'm leaving. I am starting a business. Specifically a child care center. Our logo above. The Treehouse Kids Club. It's a short term hourly childcare center in Yuma. We're hopefully opening by the end of September. The idea hit me a year and a half ago when I needed to go bra shopping and there is no way that I could do that with the girls with me. I realized that it would be so nice to have a place to leave that girls to get my errands done without having to take them out in the heat during the summer or do my grocery shopping without having to crush one of my girls in the back of cart with all the food or go to a doctor's appointment without bothering my family for babysitting. We're also going to be opened nights and weekends for going to the movies or out to dinner. Anyway....check our website: http://www.treehouseyuma.com/

And a HUGE thanks to Renelle and Israel Leinbach who partnered up with us to get this done. If it wasn't' for her, I KNOW I would still just be talking about it. Renelle is completely fearless and very organized, which is my exact opposite, so I am very grateful for her great ideas and everything she's does. So I'm glad to be quitting my job so that I can put in more than I have been. Thanks Renelle and Israel!!!

We also need employees soon!! Let me know if you're interested or know someone who would like to work. Send us an email through the contact link.

Also let us know about any concerns you would have on dropping off your child at a place like this just make sure we address those too!

We'll having a big registration party so look out for announcements!

I'm done!!!!

I finished Breaking Dawn two nights ago at 2 am. I had to stay up and finish because I couldn't take one more day of being distracted and trying to squeeze in reading whenever possible. I enjoyed all the books very much and I was happy with the ending. Now....back to real life.....aaawww man! I miss Edward already!

This was how I found her.....

I swear I didn't tie her arms behind her back and knock her out to take a nap!!! I found her this way one afternoon. Drum roll please.....we have broken Reagan from her binky!!!! Breaking her of it was my greatest fear, so I was in no hurry to do it and it didn't bother me that she had it. It bothered me that Ryan wanted to always steal it away.....now a four year old with a binky in her mouth is not right...I think. But I was scared because Reagan is very stubborn and will NOT stop crying until she gets her way. I can remember countless nights when she would wake up crying and and I would think, "just let her cry it out....she'll go back to sleep." But I would doze off and on for an HOUR and she would still be crying. So I was not looking forward to when we would break her of it. We forgot all her binkies at school, so we told to go to sleep because we left them there.....and she did....and she did not cry. She still will ask for it when she's sad and crying about something, but I just tell her we left them at school. So, once again.....I think I was more attached to it that she was.

Can anyone guess.......

why I've had a sudden urge to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire???

I planned it that way!!

I am not a huge reader. It takes me about a month or so to finish a book usually. I can't justify sitting down with a book, because, One, I don't have time to sit down and read, and, two, I feel like I have many other projects that I should complete or begin before I do something like read. All through high school, I never finished any of the required reading assignments, other than "Black Elk Speaks" (I don't know why, but I found that book fascinating.) When everyone was talking about the Harry Potter books....I just didn't get into reading them....I just watched the movies. But after I watched the Goblet of Fire, I read The order of the Phoenix, Half Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows. I was so glad I did. The movies made so much more sense. I have yet to go back and read the first four books....one day, I hope.
And now everyone is talking about the "twilight" books by Stephanie Meyer. I was interested in reading them, but again.....can't justify the time it takes to read a book. I'm really busy right now with Work, Young Womens, starting a business, housework, and yes, two kids!!! I knew the fourth and final book came out this past weekend, so that last I went to Target, I picked up the first book, which they are now making a movie.
OK....I was wrong.....I should make time to read!!!! I cannot put it down!! I am a slow reader so I'm not done yet......in fact writing this blog is taking away precious reading time to see how this story unfolds.
This morning I informed Chris that I bought him his favorite kind of cereal and that I promised that I would not have a single bowl.....(this is because he complained that I finish all the cereal before he gets a bowl......hey "snooze, you lose"....not my fault.) He looked at me with a surprised face...."No way you can't do it!", he says. and I said...."If Edward can resist drinking the blood of the women he loves......surely I can not eat your cereal." It brought a tear to my eye....(I think it was allergies.) His eye....rolled. Ok.
So I think I have it made. I can read through all four novels without having to wait impatiently for a book release. The only sleep I'll be missing is from laying in bed reading, rather than waiting in line for a midnight release. I am a genius.
PS....Anyone care to let me borrow the second and third and fourth book?

The greatest thing happened.....

....my visiting teacher set up an appointment with me via text messaging while I was at work. That was awesome!!! Has anyone else experienced something like that????

In the Summertime.....

Ryan took swimming lessons last year and got really comfortable with the water and could put her face in and kick across the pool. The first time we went swimming this summer, she kind of freaked out and it took her awhile to get used to it and remember everything she learned last year. We go swimming about three times a week and now check her out!!!!

By the way....last year she would swallow too much water and throw up every time we went swimming. Every time she would cough.....it was a mad dash to see who could get her out of the pool the fastest before she threw up. This year.....she's only thrown up once at the very beginning of the summer. Yeah!!!

Afternoon Snack

While I was cleaning my bedroom the other day (and I have cleaned my bedroom again since then), I came out to our kitchen and Ryan announced to me that she made a snack. I figured it was a Peanut Butter and jelly sandwich, her favorite. But no...she opened it and I found this:
....a white bread and fruit snack sandwich. Hhmmm...What would Dr. Oz say?

I wrinkled my nose in disgust and then I thought, "Well, Bread?....good. Fruit Snack?.....good."

So asked her to make me one too.

Cartoons aren't like they used to be!

Before Ryan became old enough to watch cartoons, I was very disappointed with the cartoons that were available. I would see ads for Pokimon, Spongebob, Avatar, etc., and I remember thinking that they just don't make cartoons like they used to. What is going to happen to kids these days watching stuff like Spongebob??? I was concerned. I remember getting up at 6am on Saturday morning to watch cartoons like Gummi Bears, the Smurfs, and Thunder Cats ( I wanted to be Cheetah-Ra so bad, I would practice running to see if my legs would move as fast as hers.....I should have kept practicing.) We'd also watch She-Ra, He-Man, Duck Tales and so on.
So one day I go and find a DVD of Tom and Jerry and think "HEY! COOL! My girls can grow up watching things I watched when I was young." So I bought it and took it home and began to watch it with my girls. Ummm....I don't recall Tom getting hit square in the face with a frying pan so many times. Or any of the other big plans of causing as much pain as possible to one another. We watched the Smurfs instead.....within ten minutes, Handy hit a smurf on the head with a hammer and called him Stupid. Ok.
I just couldn't bear to watch Dora the Explorer anymore! Why must they yell everything!??! Wonder Pets.....annoying..."This is Se-wious!" But after you watch it a trillion times....I have my favorite episodes and I do appreciate that cartoons these days are about getting along in a happy-go-lucky world. Hey, if Dora helps my kids "Clean up, Clean Up, Everybody Clean up", I'll take it.
Ryan's favorite is Oswald and it is really cute, even though his catch phrase is "Omigosh."
Just stay away from Oobi....weird.

Blame it on the Rain....

We went to Tucson over the 4th of July Weekend because our really good friends from there was baptizing one daughter and blessing another, so of course we were not going to miss it!! Before leaving, I checked the weather to see if by chance Tucson would have a monsoon storm....my favorite!!! That is definately, by far, the thing I miss the most about Tucson....the weather! It's still hot, but about 5-10 degrees cooler usually than Yuma. But by July and August, the monsoon seanson starts and we get to enjoy an almost daily thunder and rainstorm. It's great! It can get dangerous because of the flash floods, but it's so pretty. The first monsoon I experienced pretty much freaked me out. The girls had no idea what Thunder was, so they were crying. Oh well.....I loved it!
We also went to the Desert Museum, which I've never been to. During the summer you can go at night, so we went on Saturday night and it was awesome. Again another monsoon was happening, so we were in the dark with lightening all around. It wasn't close and it sprinkled a few times on us, but the temperature was great and there was a breeze. We saw some pretty cool stuff.......spiders, snakes, scorpions, mountain lion, beaver.....lots of stuff. We even saw a diamondback rattlesnake, not in its cage!

Well, that was our trip. It was hard to come back this time. I don't miss the traffic, but I sure miss the city and our friends.

Knock on Wood!

Did I not just post about needed a summer break from anymore injuries or visits to Urgent care. Well, yesterday I only worked until 1:30 and I came home and planned to help my sister pack up her apartment and leave the girls at school while I did that. So I came home, had some lunch, got dressed in comfy clothes to go help, when my cell phone rings. I looked: "YM" (Young Minds Preschool.) Oh no. My heart instantly races....I think, "Who threw up? Who's hurt?" They called me about a month ago to come pick Reagan up because she slept wrong on her neck during naptime and she woke up with a wicked crick in her neck. It was sad. She couldn't turn her head.

Anyway.....I dread those calls. So I quickly answer. "Hi, Ryan's had an accident. I was carrying a table from one of the classrooms and Ryan came running out of the bathroom, full speed ahead, and ran right into the corner of the table, right below her eyebrow and she's bleeding." Ok....more stitches, I thought. And to make matters worse.....Ryan is EXTREMELY dramatic about any injury or scrape. She cries and cries about not going to the doctor and she walks around asking everyone "Am I bleeding?? Don't look!!" Ever since she got stitches on her finger, she is scared about going to the doctor. So I go and examine the damage. As you can see, a gash (right under her previous gash from my headboard) and she broke a blood vessel in her eyeball, which concerned me.
I didn't know what to do, so I took the girls to Chris' office and we decided it probably didn't need stitches. We remembered that Greg Titensor gave us an extra tube of Dermabond and we would glue it ourselves. Thanks Greg again!!! Saved another $30 co-pay.
Well, Ryan's doing good, but she kept crying, "I don't want anyone to see my cut when we go see "WALL-E" or "I can't go to Naomi's party with a cut on my eye!"
Well don't run in the halls.....or fall my headboard.....or smash your finger in a door....etc.

Sea World and Beach day!!!

We just got back this past weekend from a quick trip to San Diego. We took the girls to Sea World on Thursday and they had a great time. They enjoyed watching the shows (Shamu was their favorite!). We went and saw the huge tank where Shamu swims around in and Ryan said "I can't believe that Shamu would have a friend that's a girl like me!"

Ryan's favorite place by far was the tide pool with all the Sea Stars. She could have stayed there all day! She would go to the other people and tell them to be sure and keep them underwater because that's where they breathe. Reagan really had fun too and even though it was busy, it was nice to not wait in any lines and just wander around the park.

The next day we drove out to Coronado Island and spent some time at the beach. Ryan immediately ran into the water and liked to chase the waves. It took Reagan a bit to get used to it. But by the end, she got all the way in the water. We had a great time and we all got "toasty shoulders," as Ryan calls being sunburned. Who wants to join us next time for a day at the beach??? It would be a blast!

First Annual Sisters Retreat!

Bear with me as I explain our First Ever Sister's Retreat. I was planning to visit my sister Gabby in California last week. I was going to take the girls with me and we were going to go cherry picking at the local orchards and Gabby and I were going to make quilts. I was excited. Then I was trying to convince Ericka to come along too. She wanted to go to Disneyland, so I considered it. I knew the girls would have fun, but it would be really busy. So then Karla said she would come down to go to Disneyland too. Then Gabby said when Dan got home, she would head to Disneyland and spend the rest of the evening with us. Then suddenly someone mentioned going without the kids....hhhmmm.....that sounds good! I spoke with Chris and he said it would be no big deal. I was on vacation from work for the whole week, so the girls would go to preschool those two days. Ericka worked it out to get a sitter during the day. Dan offered to take the day off and stay with Gabby's kids. Karla wasn't working, so she could be there for sure. Last it was to convince Griscel to call in sick to work. I called her up......"I don't work Monday or Tuesday!!" We couldn't believe it. My mom offered to keep Noah for her. We did it!!! A sister's only.....no kids...no husbands......retreat!!!

So Ericka and I made T-shirts for everyone. It had NTA on it, which means "National Taded Awareness." Through the years, Taded has become our way of saying "retarded." I know...stupid, but it has stuck. In fact, I don't think Ericka and I even call ourselves by our names anymore....it's always Taded this and taded that. We told everyone that NTA meant "No Toddlers Allowed" just so we didn't have to explain what Taded means.

So anyway.....I cried when I left the girls......but then Reagan threw a fit.....so I left. Ericka, Griscel, and I drove to Gabby's, where Karla was waiting too, on Sunday, and then we drove to our Hotel room. Three and half stars!!! We felt pretty fancy. Did I mention that I got pink eye again that same day!?!?! Annoying. Griscel was treating me like I had the plague. I thought it was funny.

Disneyland was a blast!!! It was busy, but we didn't care. Everytime we saw a child throwing a fit or a sea of strollers.....we all would give a sigh of relief. It was fun! Karla peed her pants pretty much on every ride, Griscel was the only one brave enough to ride Screaming, I refused to get on Tower of Terror with my sisters....sorry. I got on Soaring all by myself instead. We all got the same Ring (pictured above) to remind us of our trip. It was a ring from the Pirates store. I think we regreted it as soon as we bought it.....it's pretty big.

But a big shout out to our hubbies for taking care of things at home!!! We have so much fun and we can't wait for next year's NTA day!!!!!

Thank Goodness for Health Insurance!!!

I just wanted to document every time we've had to take the girls to Urgent Care, because I think we're starting to become regulars.

Ryan: 11 months old. Ear infection with vomiting. They gave an antibiotic that made throw up within one hour.....so that was useless...and it was around Christmas. That was the Christmas that everyone got the stomach flu. EEEWWW.

1 1/2 year old. Another Stomach flu. They gave her a suppository that helped her a lot.

3 Years old. Worst one yet. I just dropped Ryan and Reagan off at the babysitters and as I drove away...I could feel it. I remember telling myself "Ryan's going to get hurt today." So when I was parking at work, I get the call. Come pick up Ryan because we're sure she'll need stitches on her finger. Ok. Picked her up. She smashed her finger on an iron security door. Half her pointer finger was flapped open. I instantly felt sick. We went to Urgent Care. Three stitches and a broken finger tip later....we left. The incident alone sent us back for three more visits for re-wrapping, stitch removal, and a follow up.

4 1/2. I wrapped Ryan up after her bath with a towel and threw her on my bed....like I always do. But this time....I aimed horribly and she twisted in the air. Result? Direct hit on my headboard right on her eyebrow bone. Instant gash. Chris right away said we had to take her to urgent care to get more stitches. I stayed calm and said, "Call Greg Titensor....he's got glue!!" We got a hold of him quickly and he did in fact have Dermabond. Glue! I think he carries it with him to all church functions because a little kid always get hurt. So he glued her up and she's fine. Saved a $30 co-pay!

I think that's it for Ryan.

Reagan: Not very often. Almost 2. She had a double ear infection. They also gave her the antibiotic they gave Ryan, and sure enough at exactly one hour and fifteen minutes....Reagan threw it up. I was taking her to her regular doctor every two weeks during March and April because she kept getting ear infections and the doctor had to keep cleaning our the earwax out of her ear. But Reagan rarely gets sick. Mostly running noses and a cough.

But that all changed on Sunday. We're ready to head to church and the girls were playing with Chris on the bed. They were laughing, having a good time. She laughs and bends over fast and hard and BAM!!! Cuts her gum right above her front tooth. Blood was dripping down her chin....I thought she was going to lose her tooth. So we pack up and head to urgent care. I just kept thinking that the sooner you tend to "teeth" issues, the better chance of saving the tooth. We waited in a sick, gross, crowded waiting room for about 40 minutes and then decided to leave. Chris and I started to feel like we were taking on the symptoms of the other people in there. We left and went to the Stake Center, because we knew at least three Dentists there. Dr. Harris looked at her and said she would be fine. He can't guarantee that her tooth wasn't' damaged but he thought she would be ok.

OK. That's it. and People always tell me, "It won't be the last visit to Urgent Care."

I need a summer break at least!

I found it!!!!

This past week has been the week of "I Found it!!"s. For two weeks I have not been able to find my scriptures. The last time I remember seeing them two weeks ago at church and I had searched everywhere for them and couldn't find them. (I pulled out my high school scriptures, for those who were wondering how on Earth I was able to do my daily scripture study.) Last Sunday, halfway through Sacrament Meeting I was so distracted by finding my scriptures, that I got up and went searching around the building. Lost and Found, not there. The library, not there either. Young Women room, nope. Young women closet, nada. The seminary closets, vanished! Where are they?!?! I also lost a very important stack of papers for work that I needed to mail to corporate verifying my dependents for my health insurance. If we don't mail this in by this Friday....we could lose coverage for my family!!! YIKES!!!! With all this was a tithing check I wrote and now couldn't find it. AAAUUGGHH!!! I looked everywhere!!!!! EVERYWHERE!!! I almost resorted to going through our "sensitive" trash (confidential trash) at work. I didn't know what I was going to do. AND where are my scriptures!!!!

So on Friday, we had a Young Women Recognition Night at the church and I happen to walk past the stand that they use in Gospel Doctrine and BEHOLD.....my scriptures!!!! YEAH!!!! With the tithing check still inside! Then last night Chris took out his folder thing he uses for High Council and BEHOLD......my insurance form, along with very important prescriptions that I've been meaning to get filled for the past two months! YEAH!!! What a relief.
As a side story, every time I clean out my purse I ALWAYS find a spoon in my purse. I tell Gabby every time because she can't believe it. So one time I cleaned out my purse in front of her....and yes...there was a spoon. The last time I cleaned out my purse...4 spoons. I kid you not.
I realized after all of this that I never did the "Primary" solution. You know.....when you lose something...pray and ask to find it. How many stories have we heard about little children praying to find their favorite toy....or help mom find her keys.....it never dawned on me. Shame on me.

Time at the park.....

Just wanted to post some pictures of the girls enjoying themselves before it gets too hot to go outside. AAAHHH....can't wait until it's 105 degrees at 10 PM.
Ryan Golfing.
Reagan laughing.
My girls. Funny story: Ryan, Reagan, and I went to watch Chris play softball last Tuesday night. After playing at the park for awhile we went back to watch the end of the game. Ryan, by then, was not listening to me and I found myself yelling her name over and over and louder and louder. I was getting frustrated with the fact that she was completely ignoring me. So on the way home, I decided it was a perfect teaching opportunity for Ryan. I told her why it is important for her to listen when I call to her, because I want her to be safe. I then decided we should role play. I was the "mommy" and she was "ryan.

Ryan: Mom, can I go sit on the benches?

Me: Well, wait for me and Reagan and we'll go together.

Ryan: Ok mom.

Then Ryan wanted to switch roles. "You be Ryan and I'll be the mommy!!", she said.

Me: Mommy, mommy....I want to go sit on the benches all by myself!:

Ryan: Sure, go ahead.

I laughed all the way home.....so much for a teaching opportunity.

My Secret Crushes!

Well it's not so secret, because I tell Chris all the time....."I have a secret crush on him." "Him" meaning my new favorite actor or actors. Right now I have quite a few. I realized this is also another part of "How I know I'm getting older." My taste in men has shifted. I recently watched "Ironman" and I had a very nice dream about Robert Downey, Jr. that night. We saw Indiana Jones on Thursday and man....Harrison Ford looks great....for 60....but does that matter? I don't care. Let's see....who else. OH! Bear Grylls (Man vs. Wild) Hunk!, Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs) Yummy!, and my ultimate crush....Hugh Laurie (House). Why??? I don't know....maybe because they're stable...have a life plan....good insurance....discount at Ross on Tuesdays? Not that my husband lacks these qualities. He's stable, life plan....no insurance...no discount, But very handsome. One time Chris wore jeans, a t-shirt, with a black blazer, and tennis shoes....I told him...." I don't know why, but you look very sexy in that." He responded, "Because I'm dressed like House." He was right (see above)!!!! He was even limping because he hurt his ankle.

But anyway...all of these men are over 40 and they say 40 is the new 30, so....they're only a couple years older than me. So it's ok. And besides....have you seen the little boys girls are swooning over these days??? Come on.....The Jonas Brothers (someone HAS to do SOMETHING about their eyebrows!!!) and Zac Efron (High School Musical)......ok he's a little cute. David Archuleta (American Idol).....I find him adorable.....in a "I want to be your mom" kind of way.....you know....take him to the splash park, feed him lunchables with campbell soup and a gogurt, then put him to bed the way my girls put everything to sleep. See my "Put to Sleep" post. http://chredna.blogspot.com/2008/02/put-to-sleep.html .....little boys nonetheless.

Don't worry....Jake Gyllenhaal....you still have a special place in my heart.

Bring your daughter to work day!

Did you know it was bring your daughter to work day on Monday???? I sure didn't. Sunday after church I noticed Ryan's eye was collecting a little goop and I figured it was allergies. Monday morning she woke up with her eye completely sealed shut with gunk. It was sad. She came up to me in the morning asking me why she couldn't see. I gave her a hot wet washcloth and she cleaned up her eye. I didn't know what to do. I would have normally just kept her home, but I already didn't go to work on Friday because of a funeral and I felt bad. One of the biggest reasons why I don't like work, if my kids need me, it takes phone calls to make sure I can get permission to stay home. AAAUUGGHH!!!
So, her eye was looking ok, just a little a swollen and red, so I packed up the girls and headed off to school. I told Ryan that if her eye bothered her during the day to make sure and tell her teacher and I would come and pick her up. I don't know how many other times I've hinted to her to tell her teacher she's not doing well and I could go and get her, but she doesn't ever pick up the hints. She has too much fun with her friends. So I took them to school and before I left, I told the director that Ryan's eye was weird and I wasn't sure what it was. She said she'd look at it because she's seen what pink eye looks like. She goes to her class and brings her back to me...."It's pink eye. She can't stay today...sorry." GREAT!!!!! I get to stay home. I told the director that I would leave Reagan there while I took Ryan to Urgent Care.
So, I took Ryan with me to work, since I was already late, to show proof that I have to stay with her. My mom couldn't take her because she watches Noah (5 months old) and Ericka has her two kids and I know they don't want pink eye. I walk in to work with Ryan and I show my manager her eye and told her that I have to stay with her. She tells me they're really short handed, with two tellers gone, but she understands. Then she asks me....."Do you think she'll sit with you in the drive-up until Jessica comes at 12?" Uuummmm....."I guess we could try," I said. So Ryan helped me get my cash out of my vault, helped me set up my teller window, send the canisters thru the tubes......it was weird. I told Ryan, "I never thought you would come with me to work, Ryan." She responds "I never thought you would come to school with me, mom." I sat there getting more and more angry as the day went on. I couldn't believe she was sitting there with pink eye at my work. It was so strange. She did really well though. I was shocked. I would tell her the number lane to talk to and she would push that intercom and say "Thank you very much. Have a nice day." I would look at the customer's face do a double take when they heard her voice. She asked if she could say "Thank you very much. I love you." I said no. She also would sing Tell me the Stories of Jesus full volume thru the intercom (when there were no cars, of course), but everyone inside could hear her.
She kept the merchant teller entertained most of the time. At the beginning of the day, another employee buzzed me on the phone asking me if Hugo was in the drive thru, I said no. Ryan was so concerned the rest of the day. "Where's Hugo?" , she would ask. And anyone who walked in, she would ask, " Are you Hugo? No? Where is he?" It was funny. Well about 11:50, she started acting like a dog, running around on her hands and knees, barking. I knew it was time to go. I quickly balanced (to the penny) and we left for the day at 12:45. I took Ryan to the doctor and she did have pink eye. I called everyone she was in contact with in the last couple days and it turned out the kids we hung out with in Tucson for the funeral got pink eye too on Monday morning. So.....I guess the moral is....just call in....don't go to work.

My Princess!! (say that with a lisp)

Ryan got her costume for her dance recital coming up in June. She wants to wear all the time but she feels she must walk around like a "big girl." But seriously, have you ever seen such grace and femininity? Ryan's sheer size and height basically puts her in linebacker status with the other girls her age. We love her though!!!!

Ok, this is it!!

Chris laughs every time I say this because I say it every Sunday. I always say that I'm going to accomplish tons this week. I'm going to continue my weight loss efforts by exercising everyday, by really taking time with each of my girls to teach them something new everyday, organizing one drawer in my house every day, I want to strictly follow my beauty regiment every night, read my scriptures and so on. But I don't and every Sunday I throw my hands up in the air and "OK This is it!" Chris usually asks, "What?" and I go on telling him that I'm going to be new woman and I'm going to lose the rest of weight, and I'm going to keep my house clean, and my children are going to poster children for the Friend. I realize I can't possibly accomplish all that in a week, but I should be able to do at least one, right? Nope. Nothing.
This morning, I said it again...."Ok This is it!" Chris didn't respond this time. I'm sure he knows I'm going to go ahead and start listing my goals off anyways....and I did. I'm going to take it slow, but I do want to start doing some form of physical activity other than chasing after Reagan. I have been on a "diet" for the past.........eight years? I weighed 112 pounds when I got married none years ago. I don't weigh that anymore. Before I had Ryan, I thought I was so fat, I became very depressed. I had to take medication.....how embarassing. Yeah.... and now I weigh twenty pounds more than I did when I was depressed and I have already lost twenty pounds. So its a good thing it doesn't bother me like it did then. Maybe I shouldn't lose those twenty pounds, because I'd hate to be depressed again!
So this week, I'm doing something different. I'm saying "OK This is it!", but on my blog so that I have all of you to help me stay on task. I will keep you updated with my journey. Wish me luck!

I want Eight kids!!!!

I sometimes watch Jon and Kate Plus Eight on TLC. If you haven't watched it, do...because I can promise you that you will feel better about yourself and realize you don't have it that bad. This show is about a couple who had problems getting pregnant and did in-vetro fertilization and got pregnant with twin girls. The first show they ever did said that Jon, the husband, was happy with two kids and didn't want anymore. He always imagined a family of four, but Kate wanted to try one more time and Jon finally gave in. Surprise!! She gets pregnant with sextuplets. When they started the show they had two 6 year olds and six 2 year olds. Can you imagine??? I cannot. I don't DVR this show so I just watch it whenever I happen to catch it while channel surfing. One show was about how they ALL went to the dentist in one day.....hello?? Why would you take eight kids all at the same time to the dentist. They would go two at a time to the dentist chair while the other kids entertained themselves in the lobby. Obviously, it makes for better TV.
The last episode I caught was where one by one all the kids got the stomach flu. Their house was a field of blankets on the floor with puke buckets next to them. I felt sick just watching it. Kate, who has OCD and is a germaphobe, spends the entire day doing laundry. She then said that she washing about four loads of laundry a day and gets everything washed by Tuesday because she has a lady come on Wednesdays to FOLD ALL HER LAUNDRY!! I want that!!! I HATE to fold laundry and I only do about five loads a week. Then on Thursdays ANOTHER lady comes and puts the laundry AWAY. I sure they can afford it because the show probably pays a good amount. Otherwise, they live on one income.
Chris and I always say how we would kill ourselves if it were us. And I just keep thinking.....I couldn't handle it...I couldn't handle it.....I coudn't handle it. Then I realized something glorious. When these kids turn five.....they all go to school together!!! and Kate will have alone time every day during school. I'm sure that's when the show will end, because Kate by herself, will not be entertaining. So, when ever I get overwhelmed with my two kids, I will remember that I don't have eight and I'm not married to Jon (who is a bit of a jerk). Check it out if you can.
So do I want eight kids? Not a chance!


By the way....I will pay good money to have my laundry folded and put it away.....any takers?? I didn't think so.

We did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it would be...

That's one of my favorite movie quotes. I love to do nothing every once in awhile. It's been over a week, but I need to post about our very nice trip we took to Palm Desert. I had a few days off from work and Chris and I were trying to decide where to go. San Diego, Las Vegas, Rocky Point....anywhere as long as the kids stayed here! Finally we decided to go to Palm Springs and leave the girls with Gabby who lives only about 30 minutes away. We began searching for hotels....uh oh....everything in Palm Springs is really expensive. 2 star hotels were about $130 a night. Turned out it was the Cochella Music Festival that weekend headlining Jack Jackson, Pink Floyd, and Prince. So we decided to Priceline a hotel, hoping we could get a 3-star for around that price. We entered a bid for a 3-star at $120 and the computer took awhile, but it finally came back and it said "Congratulations we've upgraded you to a 4 star resort in Palm Desert at $120!" We were so excited! We stayed at the Hyatt Grand Champion Resort and Day Spa. Check it out. http://grandchampions.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp It was definitely the fanciest place I've ever stayed at! We looked online and the regular price for our room is $280 a night!!! It was almost embarrassing when we pulled up and a bunch a cute guys came up and opened doors and took our luggage and told us it would be taken to our room. My luggage by the way.....is old and dirty and one has a huge puke stain from Reagan that was impossible to get out. We were parked around BMWs, Mercedes, Cadillacs, and even a Black Lamborghini. Above are pictures of the Cabana we used one day and the view out to the pool.....please ignore the fat girl who thought she looked cool in our cabana. The Cabana had a ceiling fan, a TV, a fridge, and they brought water bottles and a bowl of fruit. It was so nice. Chris and I kept looking at each other and laughing. We thought for sure someone would come up to us and ask us to leave or verify we were staying there, but no one did. Everyone was really nice. We ate at great restaurants (Flemings and PF Changs) and we wandered around doing nothing. We went to an outdoor mall call the River, where our restaurants were at, and it's that same place where Gabby and Dan went for her birthday and that's where they saw Bill Gates walking in to the movie theater. Pretty cool. So anyway....it was nice and relaxing and I got to sleep through the night without putting Reagan back in her bed a trillion times and Ryan coming out saying she's scared of the monsters and I got eat all my food without Reagan sitting on my lap scarfing down all my food......aaauugghh, I miss it! Thanks Gabby so so so so so so much for taking the girls!! So....until next time.....I'll be dreaming of Palm Desert every night.