Random Weekday Fun

This week we had a few days of really warm weather. During the summer, the kids aren't allowed to play with the water unless it is more than 90 degrees outside (which is 99% of the time) however, we were itchin' for a little summer lovin' (especially mom on her pasty white skin!) this week while in the 80's so I consented on Wednesday and Thursday. But we certainly aren't setting up the super clearance water slide until after school is out!

There were even popsicles involved! Yum, popsicles! We never make it to the ice cream truck fast enough when he comes down our street b.c we are at the end of the circle and he whips around fast. We almost got his a couple weeks ago but we can't take any chances. Therefore, our freezer is forever stocked with ice cold deliciousness.

We have been busy with our outside gardening. We planted lots of vegetables and we even got 2 apple trees in the ground! Christopher has been doing a great job landscaping our yard again for the summer. I'll make another post on this later. I'm really behind on my posting thanks to the flu bug that paid our family a visit this past week! FLU SHOT = FRAUD!! Oh, and the fact that both our heater AND central A/C unit had to be replaced this week! Talk about rotten luck! Wonder when the financial tornado will leave our house!?!?

I was trying to get a picture of Christopher, Reese and Gavin but at the last second Gavin started having a fit about getting his picture taken just as I took the picture. Went to take another, and my camera battery died! Such luck! So this is the only picture I have of the entire night!

Christopher's cousin is getting married this weekend and last night was the reception (before the actual wedding!). Reese and Gavin remembered their Uncle Tyler and Aunt Amanda's wedding reception and all the fun dancing and got really excited to go. Reese got all dressed up and said "daddy, are you ready to go to the ball?" As she was the "princess of the ball" despite what everyone else was telling her...that the BRIDE was the princess of the ball. Reese was not having that. She was the princess of the ball.

I stayed home with Caden (sick/flu) so we missed it. Heard it was a good time and lots of family there. So congrats to Morgan and Melissa! Sorry we missed out in your celebration and I'm really sorry my camera died. I really wanted pictures! Maybe Uncle Paul and Aunt Terri can email us some pics?

Finally, Gavin experience's a childhood favorite of mine for the first time. POP ROCKS! This video unfortunately was right after the truly first time when his reaction was classic. This video however is Gavin's explanation of such!

Gavin is Crowned!

Part two of Gavin's dental drama came to a close (temporarily I'm sure) earlier this week. He was pretty calm going in this time around. Here he is waiting for weight check and oral sedation. He switched it up a bit this time around and asked for "Power Ranger" fruit punch flavor sedation.

He also shocked us all by going with a red "nose" instead of his favorite constant, orange. The strawberry scent brought me back to my younger days of playing with Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Funny how scents/smells can remind you or take you back to different times.

I didn't take any pictures again. I really wanted to b.c this time around was again really fascinating to watch, however, I was paranoid about Gavin's N2O. I needed an extra set of hands to help with pictures. His heart rate kept fluctuating and they would switch to O2 then back to N2O trying to keep him stable. He was KNOCKED OUT too! Seriously, he was dead to the world. Which was good I suppose b.c the procedures looked really painful. Especially when they were removing damaged nerves and roots. Ouch!

This is what Gavin looked like about 10 minutes after the procedure and 20 minutes off of N2O. Completely taken in deep sleep. They like patients to wake on their own to avoid problems, and so we waited.

And waited...and waited. I finally started to gently rub his hands and he was coming in and out. It wasn't until the hygienist suggested that Gavin head on over to the Treasure Chest that Gavin almost jumped out of his chair! It was quite funny and almost a little freaky as he still had a glossed over and dazed look in his eyes.

We spent about 5 minutes trying to decide what was a worthy enough prize!

Gavin was still wasted in the car and I soooo wish again that I had someone with me to video his comments while I drove. He would all of the sudden blurt out..."that's a big fish!" or "I want the triangle man!". Pretty random stuff, but really hilarious.

It reminded me a lot of the "David after Dentist" video.

Hilarious!!

Gavin was pretty worn out and in pain after this procedure. He also had a completely numb bottom jaw, tongue, lips, etc which made eating really interesting. Just look at the mess on his face that he had NO idea was there!

Before and After pictures.

Before. (No his teeth do not have something stuck on them, those giant dark marks are cavities!!)

After. He ended up with only 3 vs. 4 crowns. She said the 4th wasn't as deep as she thought and just reconstructed it and filled it. Yay!

I made him go shopping (just for a few things, he had a project due the next day and we needed supplies) with me after his appointment and felt really bad about dragging him around...he was so out of it. So, I set up the bounce house and let him take a nap inside. He was out instantly!

Dare I Say It?

Spring is on her way!

...don't be jealous but, it feels like spring with our 80 degree weather this week!

A Few Hours with Milo

My conflict was short lived. As you may remember from this post, Milo was a presented to me at the grocery store parking lot by Christopher and the kids. Apparently, while Christopher was getting gas in the car he noticed some people giving away their pups. Typically we just pass on by and most of the time don't even notice. However, what made Christopher stop this time, was the pups color.

Christopher has long stated that when we get a dog (and I always have said never) he wanted a grey whatever the name of it was (see, I don't even keep track of the type of dog he wants b.c I'll never be an owner of one). He was drawn to Milo and of course Reese and Caden especially were all too happy to have one.

After stopping and finding out that all of his shots and worming had been taken care of, he thought, why not?!? He did mention that he was pretty sure his wife (that'd be me) wouldn't let him keep the dog. The lady giving the dogs away said she would gladly take the dog back and find a new home for the dog if that were the case and gave him her number.

Here's the juice of my conflict. I saw the pup and said NO WAY!!! I even made Christopher drive back to the lady. I was upset that Christopher put me in this position of having to deny the kids a dog once it was already in the car and promised to them. They REALLY wanted to keep Milo. I took pity on the pups adorable face and the fact that Caden was just so over joyed. The lady told me to take Milo home and if after the weekend I still didn't want to keep the dog, she'd take him back. I thought I would at least give it a try and show the kids once again, that they are not ready to be solely responsible for a pet. 'Cuz everybody knows MOM is the one that takes on a pet!!!

The kids had soooo much fun playing with him in the backyard. And he really was cute. Caden was the most taken by him and I briefly thought, Milo is the answer to Caden's madness! Milo will bring balance and a little buddy for him! However, within an hour of having him in our house, I just couldn't bring myself to let me kids get enamoured with him only to take him back. I knew, deep in my heart, that now wasn't the right time. There is just too much going on in our little home right now to bring in (as my friend Rebecca commented) another child, basically! So......

That's right, we took her back to her owners who before we left the parking lot, had already given her away to another loving home. I have learned from this ordeal however, that I am not so dead set against a dog for a pet. I just need my children to get a little older and upgrade the square footage of our house. So, in a few years, I will consider it once again! In other words, all was not lost in our few hours with Milo and the tears are well dried. I think I might even regret giving her away (just a wee bit).

P.S. It's a Blue-Haired Weimaraner. That's the dog Christopher wants.

The Post Where Sariah Becomes Conflicted

I asked Christopher to go and fill up my car with gas while I shopped with Gavin for a friends birthday party gift. We wait, and wait to be picked up when Christopher shows up with Caden and Reese squealing with delight in the backseat....oh, and with our new dog, who was quickly named Milo. A grey/blackish Lab. WHAT?!?! Sariah does not do pets, remember? Yes, conflicted. More to come.

Got Cars?

This week we've had a lot of buddies come over for play dates. This particular day (Wed.), Caden was beside himself. He had found the perfect car lover to share his passion. I think they played with their cars for at least an hour...with NO fighting...just joyous laughter. A mothers delight. Caden has found his perfect play mate!

And because a post wouldn't be complete without Caden's trademark picture pose.

A "Princess Unicorn" Story

If you are an Office fan then you'll probably remember the Christmas episode with Dwight and his "Princess Unicorn" scam. You know, the one where he buys out all the seasons popular toy PU dolls and then sells them for an outrageous price. As seen in the video below:

Hilarious!! That is, unless you suddenly find yourself in that situation. I remembered watching this episode and laughing to myself that there were parents out there that would pay such a price for a toy. Wait until after Christmas. No biggie. Do the "IOU" gift.

I never expected to find myself in that predicament especially since 99% of my Christmas shopping is completed before Thanksgiving. Caden was easy peasy to buy for...he's 2. Reese was good with anything My Little Pony, or Disney Princesses (fairies) and only requested the Pony Carnival set from Santa (which was easy to find and Santa came through). Gavin said he didn't care what Santa brought, just bring Legos. So, Christopher and I went on our merry shopping way and collected lots of Legos (the BIG boxes that only come on special occasions) to complete his themed sets.

Then, out of no where 3 weeks before the big day Gavin starts mentioning in letters to Santa (for school, at activities, etc) something about a Star Wars Tank Lego. At first I thought, OK, whatever. He really wont care what Lego's he gets as long as he gets some. Finally, around a week and a half before Christmas that's all he's talking about and so I start to look up what this "Star Wars Tank Lego" really is and possibly return one we already had gotten for this Tank.

Come to find out the Star Wars Republic Fighter Tank is an "exclusive and hard to find" (as stated on Lego.com) Lego set, which of course, was all sold out..EVERYWHERE. I mean, even if they were in stock somewhere, b.c they are a limited edition, only a few stores carried them anyway and they wouldn't be the typical toy stores. I started dropping little hints to Gavin helping him remember that sometimes we don't get everything we want for Christmas. He was cool with this but mentioned that Santa could find a way to get it. AGH! The spirit of "Santa" is magical in our house. It's the one gift (only one from Santa) that you can count on being at the top of your list. And this was Gavin's first year specifying a specific gift from Santa. WHAT TO DO!?!? I mulled over the idea until I decided I better find a way to get it.

OK, trying to make this story much shorter...I found a guy on Craigslist who knew a guy "ToyWiz" (or shall I call him Dwight?) that had a couple and would sell one to me. These retail on Lego.com for $49.99. I'm not gonna say how much I paid for it b.c it was much more than retail. However, Gavin was one happy little boy Christmas morning opening Santa's gift and now maybe Santa will live on for another year. It was worth it.

I'm sure "ToyWiz" was singing this tune as I rode away with our very own "princess unicorn".

Here he is putting together his very own "Princess Unicorn" Star Wars Tank.

His tank ship can "pierce the sky"!

We got side tracked and finished the tank while Gavin was home recuperating from his dentist trip.

Gavin was pretty excited to have it finished.

In attack mode.

Lego tank in action!

True Love

Christopher knows how much I hate bathrooms and floors...so he humbly takes it upon himself to "Cinderella mop" my kitchen floors. It's a little harder to get him in the bathroom, but after much bribery, it does happen. Yes, this is true devotion and love! Thank you, my goosey love!

A Valentine's Dance Party

***Valentine's Day 2009***

This year, a week before the big day, my Valentine suggested having a dance party with our mini Valentine's on Valentine night. I thought it was a fabulous idea and got busy right away with planning and preparations. The kids were pumped all week with anticipation...and so were Christopher and I! Here's how it all went down: (waaaaay too many pictures, but the grand-padres requested lots and naturally, I provided)

Gavin and Christopher busy at work making our disco dance ball.

The kids got going on the decorations with Christopher while I was in the kitchen preparing our party spread.

Caden's birth rite, our true Texan at heart.

Reese's attempt at a Texan heart. Not quite there, after all, she wasn't born here. But she got here as fast as she could...at 3 months old!

We got the family room sweetly decorated! Christmas lights, streamers, heart-shaped balloons and disco ball to boot!

Our wall of family hearts!

Homemade valentine disco ball! Yes, it was awesome!

The light we created to shine directly from a high perch onto the disco ball. It ended up being too far to get a great reflective glow, however, A+ for effort and the ball was just cool by itself!

Reese and I were spending some quality time cookin' it up in the kitchen! Reese was most excellent preparing the fruit and dip.

Whippin' up a family favorite salsa/cheese dip.

Reese and I made a cheese pizza with a tomato heart which we cut up into bite sizes for the party.

This was our spread or "refreshment table" as Gavin put it. We set it up in the back corner of our dance floor. Pizza pieces, cut fruit and dip, chips and dip, jelly beans and water! Typically you would want to serve Kool-aid for an awesome dance like this, however, I feared for my carpet, so water it was!

I made this giant cupcake and attempted to do something spectacular, something like what Christopher did for Caden's second b-day. YEAH RIGHT! I'm not cake decorator! It did taste mighty delicious however. I suppose that's all that matters!

Music was provided by our Ipod's and a Valentine playlist created by Christopher.

Reese dancing by herself waiting for our "family cow bell" to ring the start of our Valentine dance. Reese is wearing her "Enchanted dress".

The dance floor ready for action!

Caden and I got our groove on right away.

Gavin loved being twirled and thrown around. Boy did I get a workout!

Reese and her daddy make excellent dance partners and dance team.

Caden spent the majority of his time on a feeding frenzy at the refreshment table.

During our dance parties Gavin likes to "be a rock star" with our Guitar Hero guitar. He jammed to Shania Twain (just for your Jarom).

Jammin' skillz on video. The couch is his stage.

He can even play sitting down. This is how he plays Guitar Hero on the Wii.

More skillz that we how he wont have to use to pay the bills!

While we were all dancing and having a good time, we forgot about Caden and how when left to his own devices, he's undoubtedly into mischief. He was dipping his hands in cheese dip and licking it off!

Things got real crazy toward the end (doesn't that always happen?). Christopher with Gavin.

Caden would dance if he was allowed a blanket on the dance floor!

Remember how I mentioned that things got crazy toward the end? Well, here's Christopher and I doin' a little dance...while not allowed at youth dances but OK and fun at home!

This dance was so exciting I peed my pants...for reals! lol! Dang residual effect from my pregnancies and bladder control issues while jumping! (Don't want to see me on a trampoline!)

The last dance was a Daddy and Reese special. She LOVED it!

So cute!!

This was such a fun idea and night! I love all my Valentine's and hope to make this a tradition!