Vegas... again!

I guess we didn't get enough of Vegas last time we were there so we decided to go back. We went for a four-day dental thing. I was slightly panicked this time around because I had to leave my baby at home. Leaving my baby who was sick and still nursing was a rather traumatic event for me. Actually, I think it was probably more traumatic for my friend, Megan, who watched him while we were gone. Sleep is over-rated anyway. Right? Seriously, Megan is a saint.

Anyway, we stayed at the Venetian. It was awesome! This whole trip was kicked up a notch in every way from the last time we were here- nicer hotel, nicer view...

Dave and I walked in and put our stuff down. The first thing we both did was to walk up to that padded wall. I wasn't paying any attention to Dave. I put my hand up to touch the wall, looked over at Dave and he was doing the same thing. It made for a good laugh at the time. Sometimes you just can't resist touching the padded wall. That's all I'm sayin'. Kindred spirits I tell you.



Now you'll note that I didn't say we had a nice view, just a nicer view than last time we were here.



We weren't even sure what this was... but we had a nice view of it, whatever it was...



While we were there, it was Earth Day. It seems Vegas is trying to help save the Earth (not one soul at a time, of course) but one lightbulb at a time. The lights on the strip were dimmed for an hour that night to honor Earth Day. I took some pictures but as you can only imagine, they were rather dark. Yes, I will be kind and spare you looking at those.

It really turned out to be a good trip. We spent most of our time in class but managed to fit in some time for friends, eating, and walking around the strip. Fortunately for us, our friendly neighborhood front office lady and friend, Fern, took some pictures of us while we were walking around. Unfortunately for you, they are still on her camera. I know you are all gnawing at the bit to see the picture of me and Dave standing in front of a bronzed larger than life statue of Siegfried, Roy, and their lion friend. Only in Vegas baby!

While we were gone, we entrusted our other three children to my brother Mark and his wife Annie. Somehow they managed to stay alive while we were gone (and no, I'm not referring to the kids). Upon arriving home and taking a gander through the pictures on my camera, I got some insight into the weekend events while we were away. Buckle your seats ladies and gentleman...

Would you have expected anything less?!



Who is in charge here?



The combinations here are amazing.



Annie has found the way to my kid's hearts- she takes them to Chuck E. Cheese. Please note- I do not take my kids to Chuck E. Cheese. In fact, I don't know if I've ever been there in my entire life.

Is anyone else disturbed by the wonky-eyed Chuck E. Cheese in the background?



I don't know what the deal is with this clock thing but there were many pictures of it on the camera. It must be important.



Oh looky here- Chuck E. no longer has wonky eye.



The kids now talk about "Chuck E." all the time. It looks as though they are on a first-name basis with him. Funny how every time they say his name I think they are saying "Chucky" and that creepy red-haired doll kid in those scary movies pops into my mind.



That's my girl!



Now that I realize he is capable of this two-handed cooking technique, methinks I will be putting this boy to better use in the kitchen.



I probably owe someone some money for this...



Well if that isn't just the cutest little thing I've ever seen.



If dressing up with them, taking them to Chuck E. Cheese, and feeding them was not enough, they also took them to Thanksgiving Point to see all the animals.

Mark and Annie took such great care of the kids! Annie even washed all their laundry so I wouldn't have to when I got home. Thanks you guys! You are the best. Talk about having all your ducks in a row! Bueno!

Spencer- 9 months

Spencer started the month out developing a new skill-set- pulling himself up on things. He started small- the girl's Hello Kitty boom box. He loves that thing. It's just the perfect size for him but once he stands up he doesn't exactly know what to do. He gets all excited at first but then after a while he's like, "Heeyyy, how do I get down from here?" Funny kid.

He has turned into an expert crawler, making his way all around the house. I have had to really step it up in the vacuuming department. On one hand it's great to be forced to vacuum once (sometimes twice!!) a day but on the other hand, I have to vacuum once (sometimes twice!!) a day. Even with all this vacuuming, he still manages to have a diet high in random shrively treasures from the floor.

He claps.

He says "dada" and the occasional "mama".

He is also a feisty little biter. He likes to snuggle into my neck and shoulder but I have to watch that he doesn't bite me on accident. One day he was sitting on the floor playing with a towel. Of course I thought he couldn't do the towel harm- I was wrong. He was ripping out all the little looped threads of the towel with his teeth.

He is still sick. I can't wait for him to get tubes in so he can start feeling better. It really is so sad. We aren't getting sleep. That said, he is so sweet and so good. I can't believe how happy he is with all the problems he is having. We have been blessed with such a good little guy.

St. Patty's Day

My kids have been on the edge of their seats the last few days anticipating"Leprechaun Day", as they call it. I've found that it really doesn't take much to impress kids. A little something here and a little something there and you have made their day magical. I love it!

The kids are always surprised to wake up to green milk in the fridge. I managed to turn breakfast green right under their very noses and then blamed it on those silly leprechauns who are just too hard to catch. I was happy to note that I could not turn the toilet water green, thanks to those bleach tablets I have been using in the toilet bowl. Yay for bleach and all its cleaning power!!! I know, I need therapy.

Taylor came home from schooling talking all about IRE-LAND. Two separate words. He was spewing all kinds of facts and information at me. Sara was reeling about the leprechauns who came into her preschool and made a big mess. And wouldn't you know it, they almost caught them. As for Liv, well, she didn't know what in the heck was going on but she had a great time running around after Taylor and Sara, riding the coat tails of all their magical leprechaun/treasure/rainbow/pot of gold talk.

A leprechaun dropped some of his gold coins as he was sneaking around our house. The kids had a fantastic time running around and finding them all. They managed to keep themselves entertained for quite some time re-hiding the coins and pretending Leprechauns were dropping more gold all over. You wouldn't believe the number of leprechaun sightings we had at our house...

Spencer even got in on the action as he was crawling about by finding himself a randomly displaced gold chocolate coin. Of course he had no idea what it was when he picked it up and started chewing on it but once he realized what he had, he held on for dear life and put up quite a fight when I tried to take it away.

If you don't recall the dinner fiasco of last year, let me remind you about it right here. Yep. Good times. This year I was totally game for a re-try. I decided to mix things up a bit and bake the corned beef, rather than boil it. And just in case you are wondering, I avoided any and all glass dishes... Everything turned out great. Taylor is a big fan of corned beef. He loved it! Me and Dave- just eh. In fact, I don't know if I will make corned beef next year. I may have to explore other options.

I did make these little pots of gold out of limes and yellow jello. My initial reaction once I started making them was "lame" but turns out the kids (especially Livvy) loved them! The lemons were tiny (which was why I originally thought the idea was lame- don't know why I didn't realize that before I started making them) and we had to keep refilling them with jello.

As you know, Livvy is pretty much on her own agenda. Everyone is supposed to come to the dinner table dressed. Obviously in the mayhem of getting a festive dinner on the table, that one little detail got overlooked.

My favorite part of the whole day- I had set the table and was getting dinner and everything together. I overheard Dave say to the kids, "Get away from the table. Mommy still has to take pictures." Seriously? Now that is true love.

Doggone it!!!

No, I am not introducing a new member of the Jackson family. I just have something to rant about...

I totally get it that people love their dogs. I. GET. IT. However, people need to realize, I don't love their dog. Nor do I think it's cute that they carry their dog around with them at Target. I think it's weird. And inappropriate. And weird. Did I mention that I think it's weird? Because it is.

I'm not sure that there is a law prohibiting people from hauling their pets anywhere they darn well please, but honestly, if dogs aren't even allowed in the canyon, is it appropriate to bring them to Target or to the grocery store? I am going to go out on a limb here and say NO. Twice today (twice!!!) I encountered people toting their dogs about in the store. In a big purse... under their coat, little face peeking out. Just because the dog is the size of a baby human, doesn't mean that the dog is a baby human. It seems that Paris Hilton and her diva-like behavior is dictating what is and what is not appropriate in the world. Yikes!

And just in case you are wondering, I also think it's wrong for people to drive with little dogs in their laps. Talk about a driving hazard. Isn't there a law against that?

So I guess I sound like a dog hater. I'm not. I'm just not a dog lover. Case in point, I once bought my next door neighbor an outfit for their puppy. And today, I was dropping a birthday gift off to a child in our neighborhood and was met at the door by the whole family and a brand new puppy. That puppy was thrown into my arms faster than you can say "Boo!" It really was a darling little dog. I held the puppy for a minute, pet it, ooohhed and ahhhhed over how cute it was then handed it back. And then didn't touch my face until I got home and could de-contaminate. I'll have you know I wasn't even freaked out by the puppy body. Puppy body, cat body, hamster body (more than any other animal) usually freak me out. But not this time! Progress people, progress...

So I'm wondering, what is your take on this? Do you think dogs should stay home or spend the day on the town shopping and driving cars? I thought pets liked to lay around, scratch, eat, roll in the mud, and play with stuffed toys. But what do I know?

The hiatus is over

I'm back! Alive and well- sometimes a girl just has to take a break.

Let me just give you a brief (is that possible?) run down of things.

SICK. SICK. SICK.

We've been sick. It's been crappy. Spencer's ear infections are still in full swing. We are just waiting for his appt with the ENT doctor. Love that place. "Oh, your baby is in excruciating pain? Okay, we have an appt in 2 weeks. Will that work?" Sure thing lady. You come manage this baby at night for two weeks until his appointment! Poor little baby. And then I'm sure it will be another two weeks or more until they can do surgery. Cripes.

I haven't been posting much about Liv lately. To her credit, she is getting older and just a little less mischievous. A "little less" for Livvy doesn't mean much though. Tonight I had to throw her in the tub after she was already supposed to be in bed for rubbing that blue (grosser than gross) kid toothpaste on her arms and hands. She was covered. I hate that toothpaste more than anything. My kids think it is a recreational gel of sorts. She has abandoned the Vaseline and is now embracing markers. Which, as you can imagine, has been a bit of a problem. Marker on the couch, floor, clothes, walls... Suffice it to say, we don't own many markers anymore.

Livvy is quite the talker and she knows how to put people in their place. For some reason lately I keep calling Livvy by Sara's name. As soon as it comes out of my mouth, she gets this look on her face and says, "Heeeeeyyyy, I not Sara. I Livvy." There have been plenty of times when I catch myself letting out just a little "S" and then quickly change it to Livvy. She doesn't even let that slide. She lets me know I have it all wrong.

She really is such a good girl. She plays so well by herself, whether it be in the doll house, or just on the floor with her little princess dolls. I love listening in on her playtime but if she sees that I am watching her, she becomes embarrassed and gets mad at me.

I have been noticing more and more lately that Sara is a lot like me. It's a little freaky. Now set that thought aside and here is a rundown of some of the things she likes to do. She turns on her Hello Kitty cd player and the organizing and cleaning begin. Everything has to be just perfect. She likes to help with dinner & set the table. She has earned her alphabet sash at preschool (knows all letters and their sounds) so she is bringing home simple books from school and learning to read. She will listen closely to the books we read her and then she will "read" them to Spencer. And speaking of Spencer, she loves to drag him all arond the house.

We like to do this thing at the dinner table where we go around and ask each person to tell a good thing and a bad thing about their day. If I forget to start it, Sara takes the bull by the horns and gets it going. She organizes the whole thing and makes sure everyone gets their turn. It's fun to see her little personality developing. She is also getting curious and asking lots of questions.

Taylor is a question asker too. It's crazy. He thinks about everything. I just hope I am always going to be ready with an answer! He wants to spend every waking moment of his life playing with friends. And if he's not doing that he wants to be playing the Wii or watching Cartoon Network. I have yet to figure out his obsession with Cartoon Network. He only gets to watch it with me as a moderator because there are so many trashy cartoons! I make him watch Noggin and Sprout with the girls a lot. That gets him all riled up!

Last week our computer went loco. That is part of the reason I haven't been blogging. It's at the repair shop as we speak. We bought a tiny little laptop for us to use in the meantime. It's great! I love that I can take it anywhere. Right now I'm sitting on my bed typing and it's just bliss. BLISS!

Alright, enough of this rambling. I need to sleep.