Happies and Crappies

It's Summer. It doesn't get much Happier than that! 

Happies

* We FINALLY SOLD OUR NEW MEXICO HOUSE!! It doesn't get much happier than that! We closed on it on Thursday. YAHOOOOO!!! 

* The kids & I had a fun playdate at Breakers water park with Ami, Mary & Jen. I was very nervous about this since Reese was going and she has no fear of the water and Jaxon has a tremendous amount of fear. I wasn't sure how I was going to manage these two but, Jaxon gained some phenomenal self-confidence and didn't need me by his side. And just like I thought, Reesey was fearless. She was sliding down the kiddie slides like a champ. No kidding. Arms up, smile on her face and down she'd go! If she fell, head first, in the water she would simply pull herself up, again with a smile on her face.  It was surprisingly stress-free. Pics to come once Ami sends them to me... no pressure Ami :) 

An attempt at a group shot

Playing with Autumn in the wave pool

* I started CrossFit this week. I'm super excited to get back in the gym and hopefully shed the couple lbs I gained in the last month I didn't work out. I'm even more excited that I can bring the kids. 

* Ami & Mary are moving out of their classrooms into rooms next to me and we finally moved the last load on Wednesday! Yippee! So now, to help Ami organize her room, which will hopefully be more fun than actual moving. 

* During Operation Move-Two-Classrooms, the kids (Jaxon, the triplets & Brinley) played really well together.  Minus Reese. She isn't allowed at school yet. :)  Now that the 'big' kids are 4 & 5 it is so nice to let them play in a classroom while we are productive.

* Courtney and her husband, Matt, came over for dinner Friday night. It was a nice evening filled with baking, sparklers and drinks. One that will have to be repeated before school starts again.

* Reese has making progress in speech. While she isn't saying more words, she is 'talking' more during her speech sessions. She even said a new sound yesterday, /ga/. Her therapists seem very happy with her progress, albeit slow, at least for me. The first part of her session includes the therapist showing Reese 5-7 picture cards. Each card has a little sentence and Reese is supposed to fill in the missing word. This week she named 3 people in 3 pictures... 'Lala', 'Baba', and 'Dada'.  She has yet to name 'Mama' in a picture, but whatever.

* I also got a girls night out with some new friends. Yay for me! I have not been out out without the kids in what seems like forever. I think the last time I went out was with Brian when we had our mini-getaway in March. And a girls night? Who even knows?!

We went to a cool art bar called Creative Juice. It was so fun! It is something I definitely want to do again! 

The final masterpiece :)
"A Tucson Starry Night"

* We ended the weekend with an afternoon swim. Holy moly am I proud of my kiddos! Jax decided floaties would be ok to wear and he was a 'swimming' fool! It's only 2 weeks into summer and he has made some huge swimming gains. Although, he says he will stay in floaties until he's 7, then he'll be brave enough to swim alone. 

Don't worry after 2 times going down with her head going back, we I held her hands until she hit the water. She could not get out of the water fast enough and back up the slide. The child is amazing! 

Crappies

Not a one! :)

Happies & Crappies

Happies

* Summer is officially here! Yay for 'sleeping in'! And by sleeping in I mean waking up at 6:00 am instead of at 5:00 am.

* The kids and I spent our first week off in Albuquerque visiting Brian. Weird to say we were visiting him in another city, but if we wanted to spend time with him this month to ABQ we had to go. We had a really nice time. It was great to visit and see some old friends.

* While in ABQ we spent some quality family time, which was much needed after 3 weeks of being separated by Brian's travel schedule.

* I survived my first plane ride with Reese! She was surprisingly very well behaved. I was so proud of her! Jax was also a trooper. He was a really big help to me on both flights. He is truly a wonderful little boy and I believe that 5 is THE magical year! So far, so good!

* My parents returned from Spain! Yahoo! My support system is back. The kids were beyond happy to see them both. Reese was squealing with delight and would not let my mom out of her sight.  

* I finally bought a baby pool. It seems funny to buy a baby pool when we have a big one in our backyard, but if the water temp isn't 90 degrees then I'm not getting in. The baby pool is a nice compromise and much less stressful for me. 

Crappies

* Reese has not learned the appropriate behavior in a restaurant. Sigh. I'm pretty sure we aren't able to return to ABQ since we have been banned from several eating establishments there. We keep hoping she'll get it, but alas, she hasn't.

One crappy? Sweet! I love summer vacation! 

Happies and Crappies

Happies

* We have a contract on our house in New Mexico!!! Someone FINALLY wants to buy it! So flippin' excited! 

* Reese is a "Mama" sayin' fool! I can't get enough. She is also saying "Lala" frequently. We FaceTimed with my parents on Monday (they are in Spain... jealous) and after we hung up, she took my phone, pressed the home button, pointed to the screen and said, "Lala. Lala. Lala." So cute! She is also saying "awha" as in "aqua". Yes, people. My daughter is apparently bilingual. My friend Maggie said that's why she hasn't talked yet... Spanish is her true language! 

* Jaxon had his final art show as a preschooler. Each year his preschool has an art show displaying the children's art. It is a truly special event. I especially loved it this year because Jaxon has really been into drawing and seeing his beautiful art board made me want to burst with pride and shed tears of joy, but alas, he wanted ice cream and Reesey wanted out of the stroller, so my moment was short and sweet. 

Jaxon's drawing of himself.
The big fat boy in the middle, with a hat. He was so
proud of that detail!

The water color pieces are dragons.

An elaborate nest in the top left. 

The red animal at the top is an orca with spots.

Not sure about the blue animals underneath the orca.

The picture on the top right is "a rainstorm in California." The red is cactus, the black at the top is the rain clouds with rain coming down. and a person on the bottom right.

Jaxon's quote, "I just make inventions in the art studio. Make it with other stuff, extra stuff, like the left over stuff that's in the left over basket. I just made an invention yesterday."

*Our staff celebrated a wonderful lady who have many many many years is retiring. Molly has been with Cottonwood since we opened and it certainly won't be the same without her, but we had a fun time at her retirement party Thursday. I whole heartedly love our staff & school culture and Thursday was a great reminder of why.

* The kids had their well checks Monday. Jaxon for his 5 year check up. EEEEEK!!!! When did THAT happen! Reese has her 18 month. Ugh. So sad they are growing. Dr. Goldberg was very impressed with how healthy they both are. Unbelievably, Reese is in the 78th percentile for weight and 70th for height! IS this the same kid who weighed 3 lbs at birth? Jax has slowed down. He's in the 40th for weight and 51st for height. He was always in the 90s for height. I hope this doesn't mean he's going to take after his mom's side of the family. 

The the doctor we met Brian at Olive Garden for lunch.

* Mother's day. It was a perfect day. I slept in until 7:45!!! And Reese slept until 8:30! Holy guacamole! I had a massage and spent a lazy at home with Brian and the kids. Couldn't have asked for a better day.

My Mother's Day gifts from the kids.
LOVE! Best presents EVER!

* Baseball is over! Yay! that's 2 extra nights I have at home with a normal routine.

Crappies

 

* Brian was gone. We hate when he travels. He needs to find a different job.

* My parents are in Spain. Happy for them. Crappy for me. My backups are gone. And Jaxon is constantly asking me what time it is in Spain. Can we talk to Lola & Abu? What are they doing? How far is Spain? How long would it take to drive there? Well, if you could drive there how many hours would it take? Can we water their plants? 

* My regular thyroid medication was recalled so I'm on a new one. I'm not a fan. I just don't feel like myself. 

* The school year is at an end. So sad. I've had a great year with this class. I love each and every one of those kids and I really don't want them to go. They could be one of my favorite classes, as a whole. I have loads of favorite individual kids. 

Overall a good week.

Happies and Crappies

Holy cow! 3 weeks have passed since I've posted Happies & Crappies. I think about it weekly, I'm just too tired at the end of the week to actually type anything. So maybe this edition will include 3 weeks of Happies & Crappies.

Happies

* Reese got into the Speech study at the University! Yahoo! We've had 4 sessions now. I absolutely love spending that one-on-one time with her. We have a 45 minute session twice a week and afterwards we have a quick lunch and maybe a little shopping. I typically regret the shopping. Here's why...

But, oh my, does this girl make me laugh & smile. What would I have done had she not surprised us 2 years ago?

* Brian & I celebrated 9 years of marriage. Wowzers! Where has the time gone? We actually didn't celebrate it together since Brian was out of town most of that day. He did come home late-ish and surprised me with a bouquet of tulips. I didn't even get him a card! I'm terrible.

* I took a day off and spent it with Jaxon on his last preschool field trip. sniff sniff. We had a great time together. Of course we snuck in a little Pei Wei and Target after!

* We went on a double date with Brian & Ami to celebrate our anniversary and Ami's birthday, it was our Happy Birth-aversary-day!

* Ms. Courtney came to Jaxon's tee-ball game. I have NEVER seen him smile so big when he saw her. He loves her so much. What are we ever going to do without her next year? Good thing she has become a friend, we'll have to do lots of Target dates and BBQs over here. He did declare she is part of our family...

* Brian & I took Jaxon to the County Fair. We had a blast. Jaxon was tall enough & patient enough to ride the rides, well, the kiddie ones. Those were perfect for Mom & Dad too.

* Piggies are a common place around our house now. 

Crappies

* Brian has been out of town... a lot. It's been rough. I'm up at 4:30am and can't seem to get in bed before 10:00pm. I'm no good with less than 7-8 hours of sleep. Hence, the exhausted mom and no Happies & Crappies consistently. It's a happy when he comes home and both kids absolutely light up. Especially Reesey. She's such a Daddy's Girl.

* In the last 2 weeks I think we've only eaten dinner together 3 times. I hate that. 

* Reese is sick. Again. Ugh. At least it's not an ear infection or a cough. So is that a happy?

* Jaxon will be 5 next week. It's really a happy, but I'm so sad to have a big boy. There's something that hurts my heart knowing he's making a big transition in his life.

* Jaxon has his first loose tooth. Again, might me a happy, but I'm not ready for all of this big boy-ness.

* I'm a driving fool. I hate driving. 

Happies and Crappies

I have totally slacked on Happies & Crappies! Let's see if I can even remember this week! 

Happies

* I've been worried about Reesey's speech, or lack there of, for several months now. I reached out to the speech therapist at my school and she hooked me up with one of her professors at the University, who is doing a Word Learning Study with toddlers. I contacted her and Reese has an evaluation on Monday. This is a happy because I'm confident she'll qualify and will hopefully receive some (free) services. 

* While at the baseball park on Monday, a dog passes by Reese & me. Reese points to the dog and says, "Woof woof"  Holy happy mama!!! 

* Jaxon is starting to take an interest in reading. He has been asking me to point to the words as I read then he points to them and repeats what I say. It's a good start. 

* I snuck out to Target by myself this week. That is ALWAYS a happy!

Crappies

* I didn't get to the gym at all this week. Ugh.

* Reesey has a touch of the stomach flu. Seriously, can she catch every germ out there? Sheesh!

* My kindergartners were W-I-L-D WILD! Yikes. Well, wild as in very chatty. When I asked why they were talking so much while I was trying to teach, one girl told me, "Because talking is fun and listening is boring." Nice.

* You all know about my unconditional love for Ricky Martin right? A little history here and here

Best day of my life. September 2005

NYC Evita. June 2012

Albuquerque April 2011

 Well, he is the new judge on The Voice Australia, random, I know. Anyway, it started this week and I was super excited when he posted a link on Twitter to the first episode. I started my Monday by watching the first episode. So fantastic! The Voice Australia is like the The Voice America, where they have 2 episodes in one week. So Tuesday, I went to their official website, clicked on the 'View Episode 2" link and I get this

CONTENT UNAVAILABLE
The video is not authorized for your location (US)

What does that even mean?!?! I though this was the WORLD wide web. As in available ALL OVER THE WORLD.

GRRRRR! I'm so flippin' mad! I've tried literally a million times this week, from my laptop, from my phone, from the iPad, from Brian's laptop, from Brian's phone. Literally a million times (or 100 Billion Courtney :) ). Every day. Over and over.   I am so desperate I'm considering Tweeting Ricky Martin himself and begging him to post a link. Hey, that'll be one heck of  a Happy if he Tweets me back!! I just don't quite understand Twitter.

Pretty bland week. Could have been better, could have been worse. 

Happies and Crappies

Happies

* Jaxon started his new little league this week. He really likes it! He has raved about his new coach everyday. I really like it too. It's organized, structured and I know 4 of the families on the team! Yay for friends to talk to during practice.

* My friend Maggie volunteered to watch Reese one day during Jaxon's practice this week. I know Reese had a wonderful time. She was so happy, even though it was her 'witching' hour.

* Spring Break started at 2:00 pm today! Yahoooooo! No alarm clock, no snacks or lunches to pack, no rushing out the door before 7:00 am for TWO WHOLE WEEKS! Love my job. Where else does this happen? Being a teacher is the best!

* I realized, again, how amazing Jaxon's teachers are. They take such good care of him and do everything they can to make him feel loved.

* My mom, unexpectedly, came over for dinner last night and gave the kids baths. Love that! Especially when Brian is gone.

* My friend, Mary, had a gender reveal 'party' at the park this week. It was super fun! She didn't know what she was having until the balloons came flying out of the box. I would so want to have another baby just for the gender reveal! Yeah right!
  Boy, I wish she had a blog. If she did you'd be able to see the adorable video and wonderful pictures of a dozen balloons floating in the air and all of her friends and family squealing in delight, but she doesn't, you're totally denied. :) I'm not giving up Mary! 

Crappies

* We missed Jaxon's tee-ball game on Saturday. We thought it was at 9:30, but it was really at 8:30. Talk about feeling like sh#@!

* Brian left before the sun rose on Sunday and will be home waaaay after the sun sets on Friday. Ugh!

* I was the only person that remembered there was a tee-ball game on Monday (well, beside the opposing team. All 10 players of their team showed up). No one from our team showed up. The most annoying part was that the coach didn't even seemed fazed when I called him. It was like, "Oh. Well, I can't make it." Seriously?!?! No, "Oh my! I'm so sorry! I can't believe I didn't know." Crickets.

* Tee-Ball practice everyday this week. By myself. At dinner time. We got home after 7:00pm each night this week. Did I tell you that Reese's bedtime is 6:30pm? Good times.

* The cough is back. Poor Reese. Why can't she be healthy for more than a week? We have been Albuterol free for only 2 weeks. Back to breathing treatments every 4 hours. Not sure why the preventative medicine isn't working. Oh, and she may have another ear infection. Her fingers were in her ears this evening. Sigh.

* Jax had a pretty terrible nightmare last night. I mean the wake up crying, come looking for Mama, won't go back to his room, affects his entire day kinda nightmare. So, while he slept soundly next me, while holding my hand, I was wide awake because Dude snores like a banshee! The nightmare shook him up so badly he didn't want me to leave him at school. Thankfully we have Ms. Courtney who helped him make a Dream Catcher. I don't think he would have slept tonight had it not been for her.

Happies and Crappies

Happies

- It was 'beauty week'! Pedicure, eyebrows waxed, fresh highlights, gray covered and a trim. Doesn't get much better for this girl!

- I wore a dress 4 out of 5 days this week! WOOT WOOT!

- Reese has acquired a few words this week! YIPEE! She understands tongue 100% of the time, Nunu, which is her pink lovey,  and nose about 50% of the time. I'm so happy!

- We learned our team assignment for our new tee-ball league and I couldn't be happy with our teammates! We know 4 of the 11 kids on the team and I genuinely like their families so that is a HUGE plus!

- Brian and I planned a short getaway during Spring break in 1 week! We are just going to Phoenix, but are looking forward to spending some quality time together sans kiddies.

- I had another successful parent teacher conference with Jaxon's teacher. I was able to bring home the AMAZING portfolio she has kept for him since he started preschool last year. I had such a great time reading through it. I have a pretty amazing son. He is one smart cookie. I was sad to return it today.

Crappies

- The parent teacher conference made me sad. We will have to say goodbye to preschool in 3 short months and I don't know if Jaxon & I are ready. Preschool has been such a great experience for him I don't want it to end.

- My nose looks like s*$t! The dermatologist sure did a number on it when she burned that brown spot. Not good for a vain person like me. I'm pretty sure I scarred my kindergartners for life. 

Pretty huh?

I think this was a pretty good week! But I won't leave you with the image of my yucky nose. How about this cute guy sporting a new 'do?

Happies and Crappies

Happies

* The days are warming up! Today I wore flip flops and a sleeveless shirt. Yahoo! This girl is happy.

* Reese's skin has improved dramatically. I'm so excited.

* Several teachers in our district started a phonics training this week. It is going to change the way we teach, but I am really excited to learn something new and see my kinders grow into fluent readers.

* Maggie, my parapro extraordinare, surprised me with a bottle of wine on Thursday to cheer me up after a crazy day on Tuesday and Wednesday. She knows how to put a smile on my face!

* Reesey and I had a day of Movin' & Shakin', shopping and lunching on Saturday. I sure do love that little girl.

* I bought a crap ton of summery clothes for the kiddos. Super fun!

Crappies

* Kinder Roundup was this week. A certain brown-eyed boy attended with his daddy. His mama may or may not have gotten chocked up in front of 72 families when she introduced herself as a teacher and Mommy of a soon-to-be-kindergartner. Sigh. I CANNOT believe he is almost 5!

* Reese had her 15 month check up. Oh it was not good. Poor baby's asthma is out of control AND she was getting another ear infection! Are you kidding me?! So I left there with strict instructions: breathing treatment every 4 hours, ear drops twice a day for 5 days, oral steroid twice a day for 5 days, inhaler twice a day every day until April and a prescribed ointment for her dry cheeks and chin.

* Two days of sub plans.

* I had a brown spot burned off my nose and a 'suspicious' mole removed from my back this week. Can we say OW! To top it off, during Movers and Shakers Reese head butted me right on the nose, now it stings from the burn AND is bruised from the Peaser.

* My stroller broke. The handle snapped off while I was trying to prop it up onto the curve. I had to push it across the mall parking lot without a handle. Classy.

Go check out some more Happies & Crappies here and here!

Happies and Crappies

EEEK! Happies and Crappies are really late this week. I didn't forget, I just didn't make it a priority. Brian &  have made a new rule that we will 'unplug' at 9:00pm. No matter what. Well, that means that after work stuff, Pinterest, FB, SongPop, Blog reading and other random web surfing, blogging gets pushed to the bottom of the list. Oh well. Better late than never.

Happies

- Rodeo break!! Woot woot! Tucson schools get 2 days off at the end of February to celebrate the rodeo being in town.

- The kiddos and I were able to have some fun with our fave triplets at the Children's Museum and Chick-fil-A. Oh and Target too! All in one day. Yes, Ami & I may be a little crazy, but that's how we roll and we enjoyed every (ok, almost ) minute of it.

This girl has no fear! 

- Another BIG snowfall in Tucson on Monday. No joke! We only got 2 1/2 inches where we live, but where school is, they got up to 6! CRAZY! It was so fun to watch the kids at school go completely crazy to see so much snow

A little hot chocolate & warm jammies to celebrate the snow

- A mini girls night out! Courtney, Michelle & I enjoyed some shopping, mingling and a dinner sans kids on Tuesday night. Downeast basics may seriously be my new favorite store. It has some super cute stuff! And one of my favorite friends, Nicole, was there too. Doesn't get much better than that!

Crappies

- Reese forgot we were on a mini vacation and was up before the sun each morning. Nice.

- Reese's cough is back. Ugh. This thing just never goes away! I am so done with listening to her cough nonstop. It makes me sad.

-Reese tripped and smacked her head right on the edge of Jaxon's bed. He forehead looks awful.

- Reese mastered the art of a temper tantrum. And she practiced all weekend long. 

Oh. Poor Reesey had all the crappies this week. Oh well. Some weeks are like that. We're in a new one sweet girl, let's make it great!