Verbally Challenged

back from the desert heat – alive and well. We returned yesterday to a very humid climate – so much different than where we came. Sigh. I want to go back. Today we tried getting ourselves and the kids adjusted to the time change. It’s so much harder going east. We’re making progress though. I was also excited to dump photos onto my main computer – see them on the big screen – and play. I found two of Addy and melted my heart and made me smile. She’s my sweet angel – growing so quickly – talking more and more each day. She’s amazing.

I love the little heart in the center of her dress! Hopefully I’ll find some good ones of the L-man…he’s hiding on me more and more each day though!

We went to a local splash park last night around sunset. I was going for a slightly different effect but I still like what I came up with. I wish Addy weren’t running OUT of the frame but that’s ok.

More later!

In photos! Well, just the kids but that’s who you REALLY want to see anyway.

So my disclaimer: These were all edited on my laptop which means that when I get home I’ll probably pull them down because I’ll REALLY see how they look and just won’t be pleased. My laptop is not calibrated. I’m guessing that everything will be a little too saturated. So that’s that.

So here is Liam swimming in the “little pool” on our back patio – taken directly into the sun as you’ll notice:

This one of daddy and the little Miss at the playground – love the moon in the distant background:

And finally one of my boy looking way too old for my liking (where is my baby)!:

That’s all for now!

The incident occurred over 24 hours ago and I’m just now able to write about it. That alone should tell you have creeped out I am by the whole ordeal. I’ve been traumatized for life. I’m. Not. Kidding.

So yesterday, I decide to get myself dressed to go to the pool. I walk out onto the back patio and grab my swimsuit from the day before and carry it into the bathroom. I also walk into the closet and grab a plain white t-shirt from the drawer (my mom keeps clothes there year round) and place everything onto the sink area. I whip off my pajama shirt and grab my bathing suit top noticing that it needs turned right side out. At about that time, I see and rather gigantic brown spider crawl to the top of my clothing pile, definitely claiming it as its own. I scream. And we’re not talking a little yelp here (and the baby is sleeping but that’s the furthest thing from my mind). Shaking and half naked, I grab my bits and go running into the bedroom, through the sliding glass door and out to Nate (who is skimming the pool). In sheer panic I insist he come into the bathroom RIGHT NOW, not going into much detail other than there is a spider (he knows the I don’t appreciate spiders of the 1/2 inch diameter let alone this small beast).

Fortunately Liam didn’t know that any of this was going on or we’d have been lectured. Nature stays in nature (it’s going to bite us in the butt eventually but it is “normally” a good message). Heck, we still tell him that when we flush our “nature finds” that they’re “going home to mama.” So what comes next, he’d definitely not approve of.

So we’re back in the bathroom. Nate and I standing in the bathroom wide eyed – me still holding my bits. The spider has now moved to the wall corner. We thought about getting the vacuum but Addy WAS sleeping and you don’t mess with a sleeping baby who has adjusted to a three hour time difference. It’s just wrong. So it was Nate vs. the hairy beast with large eyeballs (ok maybe they weren’t THAT large but according to Nate they were “staring into his soul”).

I’m still shuffling and squirming in the bathroom, making sure it doesn’t escape. Nate walks off a grabs a few towels. After wrapping two towels around his hand and holding out another, he thrust down his hand and looked away. He twisted the towel a few times and hoped to do “the job.” And fortunately, he did. Whew. I could finally get dressed.

After doing some reading, we think that it was an Arizona brown spider. It is a venomous creature so fortunately nobody was hurt (except for IT). We also learned that they sometimes hide in clothing or bedding so now I have no idea if it traveled inside from my bathing suit OR if it was on the t-shirt in the drawer. We’ll never know and I’ll never be safe (oh how dramatic I know).

I will say that I will shake EVERYTHING out from now on – and keep my shirt on until I know that it’s all clear.

On Father’s Day even.

While playing the “what animal am I” description game

Daddy: I think scorpions are insects
Liam: No, they’re NOT insects
Mommy answer (after looking it up): They’re NOT insects and part of the arachnid family
Liam: I TOLD you they weren’t insects!

Daddy: I think that bees have an exoskeleton
Liam: No, bees don’t have an exoskeleton – a ladybug does
Mommy answer (after looking it up): They have NO exoskeleton
Liam: I TOLD you they didn’t have an exoskeleton!

Daddy: I think that a turtle is an amphibian
Liam: Is it an amphibian? I think that it’s a reptile.
Mommy answer (kind of knowing but still looking it up): A turtle IS a reptile.
Liam: I TOLD you it was a reptile!

See the trend. The boy is smart and daddy has a mush brain. He’s allowed though since today is HIS day.

That’s the perfect vacation summary so far. The weather is absolutely fantastic. The kids have adjusted well to the three-hour time difference and we’re all doing beautifully. We’ve spent quite a bit of time at the pool with a list going of things that we want to do – we’ll tackle that over the next two weeks (and weekends). Last night we went to the zoo for a special “thing” they put on during Friday nights. There were lots of kids activities, animal feedings and opportunities to “meet” the animals. We’ll go back next week during the day to do more since the zoo is perfectly kid friendly.

Today leads us to the pool, again, after the little one wakes from her nap. Tonight will probably lead us to some shopping since I still need to find the little miss some sandals. Size 3 1/2 is just a hard size to come by!

As for photos, I’m taking lots. Mostly snapshots with a few thought out ones thrown in for good measure. I don’t like editing on a laptop but I will at some point so stay tuned!

OH and I was tagged by Tracy (thanks Tracy) so I’m going to go ahead and do that now. First, the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2. 2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and included links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

***Now unfortunately I can’t do #3 and #4 because I don’t have my trusty blog list here on vacation. I’m such a rebel breaking the rules and all.

Onto my randomness (Fleck you stay quiet here):
1. I’ve turned into a germ-a-phobe since having children. The shopping cart, the gas pump, holding onto an escalator all makes me sick. Hence the keep to carry antibacterial wipes in every bag, every car – you get the idea. Gross.
2. I’m a planner. My weeks and weekends are usually mentally planned out. Small changes, depending on my mood (I AM female after all heh heh), can really throw me off. I blame my parents. We were a planned out family growing up and it stuck with me.
3. I am neither a morning or night person. I’m a sleep person and the more that I get, the happier I am. Just ask my husband!
4. I like to eat Italian dressing on potato chips. Granted, I’m not a chip kind of person. But when I DO eat them, I like a little bit of Italian dressing with them. Anyone else?
5. I’m a huge water drinker and rarely drink anything otherwise. But if I’m craving some carbonation – I’ll reach for an ice-cold IBC root beer in the bottle – bliss.
6. I can’t sit down and do ONE thing. For example, watching a movie. I don’t sit and just watch, I’ll surf the Internet, look through a catalog or do SOMETHING and drive hubby crazy asking questions about the movie since I wasn’t fully paying attention.
7. I’m a master guitar hero player…when I play. I rock.

That’s all for now! More later!

Last month I got a jump on my deadlines, totally anticipating this vacation and the crazy times that go along with packing for myself and two children. I still need to share these.

These two are using the June kit from It Kit Studio.

I love Etsy! So much of Addy’s wardrobe comes from there – so much handmade talent. I got this little nesting doll dress from a gal on there.

Two more pages to share, this one using BasicGrey and some American Crafts goodies:

And then this one using Pink Paislee papers and a few American Crafts goodies:

That’s all for now! More later!

The award for worst blogger. We all do it sometime right? Go missing…take a break…give up. Ok maybe not give up but it sure seemed like it right! I won’t even attempt to do a “catch up” – WAY too overwhelming! So let’s go from today.

My house is CLEAN! We’re talking anyone can feel free to drop by and take a tour of the entire house clean. They can even look in the corners and not see gigantic stacks of crap (aka magazines and catalogs) collecting dust that stress me out EVERY TIME I LOOK AT THEM! They can admire the artwork ON the walls instead of leaning against the floor where they once leaned. I was terribly guilty of letting things go and it was to the point where it was no longer acceptable. I took charge. It felt GOOD!

And now, I can go on vacation THIS WEEK (Wednesday to be exact) and leave a CLEAN house. And more importantly I can go away and come home to a CLEAN house. It’ll feel good. I know it.

So about that vacation, only FOUR days to go! It’s no surprise that we’re going to Arizona – we’ve gone there for the past four years. And YES we’re going in June. And YES I know how hot it is going to be. And YES we are crazy but I’m perfectly fine with that. Family and friends have questioned our sanity numerous times. They vacation in fall when our weather is getting chilly or in January/February when our roads are snowy and miserable. But June is just our month! The clear sunny skies and hot weather the ENTIRE time is just what we need. Plus nobody is vacationing there because nobody likes the desert in June…except for us. And for the record, I will be posting while we’re away. In fact, it’ll probably be a heck of a lot more frequently since time WILL be on my side. I can’t wait!

More later…probably tomorrow.