Fairytales and Margaritas

A camping we will go!

So, I know you've waited anxiously for this post.  And my version of tomorrow tends to be 2-3 days later, but oh well.  Thanks why I make the big bucks no bucks for blogging!

Anyway, we went on our annual family camping trip last week.  Same place we usually go.  But, we hadn't expected to be having unusually high temps last week.  Where is was 110 in town.  Normally, it's 20 degrees cooler while camping.  Not so this year.  It was hot.  Hotter than hell.  And because it was so hot and we hadn't gotten rain yet, the creek had very minimal water.  Which really stinks (literally) when it's hotter than hell.  But, we made the most of it.   Even though we all had a sinus thing going on too.

This year we introduced some friends to our camping experience.  For the most part I think they enjoyed it.  I was bummed that they couldn't experience it the way we usually do.  I felt bad that I talked it up and then it wasn't the way it had been in the past.  But, we had fun playing cards and hanging out at the campfire.  And, amazingly enough, not much alcohol was consumed (we'll be sure to remedy that next time).

Here are some of the highlights (please note how intense my kids are when blowing bubbles, that's bc we don't allow them at the house bc they dumpt them on our paver patio so they truly enjoy them when we go camping):

Nannie nannie boo boo

How bout a teaser about our camping trip?  (In all actuality, my card reader broke, so I can't upload pics at work and stupid photobucket crapped out in the middle of my uploading before work today, so this will have to do.)  Full story tomorrow, or the next day or hell, maybe next year.

Anyhoo, I just had to share my wonderful exciting bargain shopping news.  I tell you, nothing gets me more excited than a good deal.  I love to save money while spending money.  A little too much my husband might add.  And my dad would say that I'm not necessarily saving money if I'm spending it.  But, whatevah! 

The kids go back to school in less than 3 weeks.  Yay! Dang it!  Summer is too damn long, do they really need a break short.  So, we decide to do a bit of shopping last night.  JCPenney is having a big sale and I really like their kids clothes.  In the same mall is a Ross Dress for Less.  And since hubby is home with the two small kids we decide to tackle the messy laundry pile that is Ross.  I really don't like shopping there because you have to weed through so much to find one good thing.  But, I had some time to spend and do love a good bargain.  Let me just say that two hours and $220 later we were done.  And here's what we got:

for Carissa:  3 bras (oh how she'd die knowing I told someone she wears bras, she even made me hold them in the store), 4 shirts, 1 cami, 2 jeans, 2 other pants, 2 shorts, 1 bermudas, one pair of Speedo flip flops and a pair of LA Gear athletic shoes

for Robert:  2 shorts, a pack of socks and 4 really cool guitar and/or skull shirts

and a four pack set of ice cream sundae dishes that I thought were adorable.  Can you believe it?  It was crazy!  That's 26 items.  Works out to $8.46 each including the tax!  For name brand stuff- Quicksilver, Speedo, LA Gear, Mudd, OP.  Crazy I tell you!

In other news, I'm starting Body for Life again.  I've got a partner and we're in it together.  I've only gained back 4 lbs from the last time I did it.  But, I feel crappy again.  I know it's because I'm not eating right.  And I really, really, really, really want to firm up my thighs, waist and upper arms.  So, if I get cranky, it's because I'm off the french fries again. 

A Day at the Park

Notice her super cool shoes? I love this picture. I was underneath the plaything and that's Xander.

BTW, Corey, see how I'm following your tips?

This is what's keeping me busy

This is my front entry wall. I've been framing all sorts of pictures to make a gallery wall. I still need to fill in the blank spaces, but got the majority of it done. It was a lot of work going through all my old pictures then cropping them to the right size, printing them and framing them. But, I'm really happy with it. This is my favorite picture from the photographer. It's a 16X20. It's so perfect because we're all conforming to the composition of the picture, except Xander. And that's how it is in life in general! Here are a few more of the family shots. I know it's hard to see. The one on top is a picture of mine and Robert's legs and the kids sitting next to us. Then there's a family one in the grass. On the bottom it's all of us sitting on a bench looking at the ducks. Here's Xander's collage. Robert and Carissa already had there's done awhile ago. And here's Jocelyn's.

And when I'm not framing pictures, I'm tattooing my son!

How different could they be?

My children, that is. It's so crazy to se how different they all are, even though they've been raised by the same people and they're made from the same DNA.

Case in point:

Robert's birthday was in October. When I asked if he'd like to invite some friends from school to his party he thought that was a good idea. Now, knowing my child, I decided to press it a little further. I reminded him that if his friends came over he'd have to play with them, he couldn't hide in his room.

See, he had a teacher visit about a month before his visit. (They do that here, the teachers come to the home and play games or read books in the home environment.) But, the first ten minutes he spent hiding in his room. And he'd already been in class for months at this time. And the rest of the time he interacted with her but didn't say one word. Not one for the whole hour. That's just the way he is. He's an introvert like his dad. It's not that he's really shy, it's just that he'd rather be around a few close people. He's not into the big crowd.

So, he thought more about his party and decided that he just wanted his family here, cousins, grandparents. So, that's what we had.

Xander's birthday was yesterday. When he woke up I said, "Happy Birthday big boy!"

To which he replied, "It's not my birthday! Where are my friends? Where's the cake?"

See, he is just like his mama. I love to have parties, love to go to parties, love to meet new people, love to mingle. I LOVE to have people over to the house, be it 2 or 200. That's my thing. I'm in my element in those situation. And Xander is the same. He loves to perform. He loves to have people around. He LOVES to make people laugh.

He was bummed to find out that we weren't having his party until NEXT weekend.

But, we did take him to TGI Friday's, where they sang to him, although he said he didn't like it, he was grinning the whole time. And we did let him open the presents from us last night.

I have not dropped dead

maybe from exhaustion, but I'm still here. But, I haven't been on the computer in ages. When I'm home I try to stay off as much as possible. And I actually have already had 12 days off, and I'm working today, then 6 more days off. So, not much computer time

We had a wondeful Christmas. I have found places for most of the toys! Yay me! My parents came down yesterday for dinner and some Wii competition. Let me tell you, that thing is addictive! And so fun for the whole family. Even Xander gets in on the action. We love Mario Party 8, Rayman Raving Rabbids (thanks Bubblewench!) and Wii Sports. The first night my arm was SO sore from playing tennis. And Carissa and Daddy like to box. But, they get all sweaty and out of breath!

We had some portraits taken the day after Christmas. I haven't seen all of them, but you can get a sneak peek here. If you live in the Tucson area, I highly recommend Leah. She is just wonderful. And a lot of fun too!

On the 6th, I'll be back in action. Look for lots of meaningless posts!

A little holiday cheer

Quick update: My mom e-mailed me back feeling really badly. She said she thinks she's going through a depression or menopause because she's not just like this with us, but in life in general. She's trying to get some help.

Happy Holidays!

Picture Pages

Tutu courtesy of my friend Keara who makes custom tutu's (it's green and yellow bc she's going to wear it to Carissa's soccer games) Someone wanted her brother's Popsicle. Our after Halloween costume purchases

Carving pumpkins
From left to right: Jocelyn's, Xander's, Carissa's and Robert's (his first year doing his own carving)

Robert's treasure chest birthday cake. I put graham cracker crumbs around to look like sand. The rest is cake and candy.
Doing pirate activities

Jocelyn helped make the cake too!

Halloween Past

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love to dress up. And I love all the scary decorations. The more gruesome, the better. Plus, who doesn't like candy?

And I love surprises. How much fun was it to dump your trick or treat bag out and gawk at all the candy? And the different kinds. Being the anal person that I am I would separate them into categories: chocolate, chewy, crappy, pennies (um yeah some stupid neighbor handed out packets of 10 pennies to each child), apples (I was never allowed to eat them). I'd give all of it away, EXCEPT the chocolate. I'm much the same now.

I can't remember what I was for each Halloween. But, I do remember some: a rabbit (hand stitched by my mom), a flapper, a hobo (thanks mom), a punk rocker, a construction worker (thanks again), a housewife, a dancer. And as an adult I've been: a pirate wench, a biker, a pregnant cat (with nipples and everything), a KISS fan and the Evil Queen. Oh, and a bride.

Yup, our wedding was on October 30th, 1999. We chose that day because it was as close to Halloween as we could get. I really wanted to have a costume wedding. But, being anal as I am, I was afraid that some people wouldn't dress up. Or that some would be cheesy stuff and not thinking it through. And I didn't want that. I wanted everyone to dress up in super cool costumes. And I didn't know how to get that point across without being a major bitch (something I usually don't have a problem with, but I wanted my husband's family to like me until we tied the knot). So, we had a traditional wedding. And it was a blast! The next day Carissa went trick or treating as a flower girl, go figure.