Happy Oneth Birthday Mr. Beau!

Dear Beau,
Yesterday was your birthday! (You were kind enough not to wake me up at 2:00am to remind me of the exact time of your birth, many thanks.) A year ago I was so relieved to finally have you here, although your almost 9 lb. arrival wasn't exactly pleasant.You might have been an eating/crying/pooping/sleeping little guy just like every other baby, but your misdirected feet seemed to whisper that there was something super special about you! A few months later you figured out how to smile and no one within the distance of that smile could stand a chance with you! Even the doctor who poked and prodded you and cast your whole leg week after week got smiles (usually mixed with tears, but still...)And then you laughed and we knew you were a ham. Big time, all the way, live it up, that's your style!And now you're a smiling, laughing, yelling, jabbering, kissing, waving, almost walking little boy and I can't help but wonder how you grew up so fast!I love you, my crazy sunshine!

P.S. One day you need to tell me that I'm amazing for nursing you for a whole year. And then I will tell you how I commemorated the end by doing this: Can you guess what that is? Yep. I really burned it. And Jacob was there to put out the flames.

Grandpa in the Ring of Fire...plus...I Was a LOT Bigger Last Year!

Sparklers, dinosaur eggs, fountains, batons, poppers, screamers...I LOVE the fourth of July in New Mexico! Just muscle that ol' grill around the house onto the driveway, pull out some chairs, and invite all the neighbors. And the family because they'll bring food.
Flank steak with avocado lime salsa, grilled corn on the cob, watermelon, and then homemade ice cream and pies for dessert.
Yum.
I haven't had the desire to eat since then because nothing has sounded as good.
Bekah and Jacob loved the fireworks, they were fearless. (They were, really. Despite the concerned look on their faces...)Beau liked the little poppers but he got scared of the big ones. (He especially liked those red white and blue cupcakes grandma brought! Such a festive mess!)Some of the cousins (this is Emma) thought the noise was just too much. Some people spent the whole time looking like this and probably couldn't function the next day.The biggest kid there was my dad.
He was in heaven, proudly hoisting out his box of fireworks the second the sun decided to hide away. He was handing out poppers to all the kids like the pied piper...and they all loved it. When the rain (sprinkles) stopped and the wind died down, and when it really got dark, I swear I saw a twitch in that mustachey-smile of his as the realization hit that now we could really have some fun. So here's my dad with an awesome baton-like sparkler on steroids...just hum the "Ring of Fire" song to yourself as you look at this...It was a great night...I loved the sounds and the smells and the good company. I hope your fourth was just as good...And just for fun, here's me last year, not having my fourth of July baby like I had hoped, instead hanging out and planning to be induced the next day so that Beau could make his grand entrance on the 6th. Yep, a year ago today! That post coming up later...

**On a side note...about the last post, my child-thief...I had to take Bekah back the the post office, where in the depths of guilt and shame she remorsefully returned the postcards. And the lady led her to the back room for two hours of child labor to repay the debt. Just kidding. The lady tried not to laugh and told Bekah thank you.
A hard earned lesson, indeed. So don't be a felon and try to swipe something from the P.O.

My Child is a Thief

And it's not the first time, believe it or not.
At least two years ago I bought four things of mini m&ms at Michaels.
Bekah thought we needed five.

Today we went to drop off something at a friends house. Then we went to the post office. Where Jacob threw a fit because I wouldn't lift him up on the counter because I was holding Beau and a package and my wallet and a six-legged elephant. Then we went to Walmart.

When I went to buckle Beau in his seat after a relatively uneventful Walmart venture, I noticed some "Happy Birthday" post cards by Bekah's seat. She proudly told me that they were from the post office and they were for her and Beau's birthdays.

That's when I showed her the barcode on the backside and told her that you have to PAY for postcards at the post office.
I was cool, calm, and collected, naturally. Um. yeah.
And then we went home because I couldn't handle the thought of a trip back to the post office.
I actually feel okay about the whole thing. Must be my 26 almost 27-year old mature nature. Postcardshmoshcard!
Here's my little clepto on the climbing wall in Flagstaff. My only proof that we were actually in Flagstaff, since my camera died on me later.And here's my Beau with Cutesy Cutesy. He LOVES talking on the phone. And by talking I mean grunting. And drooling. yum. Such a curly headed stud. He'll be ONE a week from today. ONE! I can't believe it. We're going to party with some yummy vaNIElla cupcakes. Did I tell you I made a cherry pie on Saturday? From actual cherries. The real kind, not the canned kind. I pitted them myself. It turned out very pretty and it even tasted good.
In the process I lost a flip flop. It is seriously lost. I can't find it anywhere, so I'm relegated to wearing Rus's much larger and uncute flip flops around the house.
Wow has my life been eventful. please sense the sarcasm. I gotta go now and relax from all the stress. :)

bye, and
Have a happy day!

Define Vacation

The smell of pine trees and dirty kids is in the air. The wonderful mountain air of Flagstaff, that is! My sister Amy doesn't realize it, but her home is becoming a favorite summer retreat, the kind of place that you get homesick for when you are a kid and you can't sleep at night because the next day you'll be on your way there and you'll get to see all of your cousins and swing on the zip line and play swords and princesses and eat popsicles and pizza. Life is good at Amy's house. Crazy and busy and mattress free (you have to remember your sleeping bag when you come here!), with late night movies and food, food, food.

I am here with Amy and her four kids, Amanda and her four kids, and my three kids. My parents and Tyler were here too...they just left. We went on a hike on Saturday, can you imagine eleven kids and seven adults exploring cliff dwellings. Wowza. I'm amazed we didn't loose anyone. We took an awesome family picture that I can't share with you because my camera abandoned me halfway through the hike and now it is in time-out for the rest of my trip. Deserter.

I love being around my family. I always find myself analyzing things about my sisters or brother or parents, and then wondering/hoping that I do/don't have those traits myself. Amanda is an amazingly optimistic person, always engaging strangers in conversation. She is wonderful with my kids, is a talented seamstress, and is very particular about things (The syrup must be hot and Madison's dress, just right). Amy is determined to be laid back and "if there is a problem, solve it!" kind of person. She is an entrepreneur, a think outside of the box, "drop eggs off the back porch and see what happens" kind of person. She has seemingly endless energy. (Oh, how I would love to have that!) Tyler is anal, and I say that in the most loving, understanding, respectful way. That is why the food he cooks always turns out so delicious and why the wood he crafts is joined and stained so perfectly and why the kitchen counters and Amy's iron (iron!) are so clean. And that is why he probably does not appreciate the blue crayon that Beau colored on his white sunday shirt and the homemade chocolate ice-cream that boiled over because I was changing Beau's diaper, and the vegetable oil that spilled on the floor that should have ended up in the pancake batter. He puts up with it all so well and it is always so fun to have him come.

Mmmm. I love my family. I love that I can find bits of them in me, good or bad.
And being with them is what makes up a perfectly crazy vacation.

Would You Expect To See THIS in NM?

Completely amazing, isn't it!?!
So Rus and I decided to go camping. With our kids, of course. In the pop-up trailer, of course. We loaded everyone and everything (seriously..."roughing it" does not apply) and took off. We headed to northwest NM to the San Pedro Parks Wilderness, to the Jemez river. We all smooshed into Rus's jeep and it only worked because we bought our children's happiness with dum dums. (Dad is a sucker.)LUSH. The land was incredibly, unbelievably lush. There were wildflowers of all different colors sprouting up along the roadway and making green fields look white. This wild iris (I think?) was my favorite. There was actually water in the riverbeds, even water in the waterfalls. Lotsa water. (This was Jemez Falls.) Jacob actually caught a fish! I missed it...I was off taking pictures, but Rus said it was very exciting and Jacob did a good job reeling in the little guy. We let him go. Save Nemo! (Every fish is Nemo when you are 3 or 4.)The kids loved hiking and were happy the entire time. Rus and I were tempted to ditch Jacob and see how far Bekah could really go. Where Jakey is so...painfully...slow, Bekahisreallyreallyfastandfullofenergy! She was our picture taker. I'm not sure how any of them turned out, but it kept her occupied while waiting on the rest of us. I got to climb up Tea Kettle Rock while Bekah and Rus went looking for treasure. Geocaching. Nerd or not, you should try it with your kids if you have a GPS. They thought they were finding buried treasure and they loved trading their worthless crap for the worthless crap other people left for them. Bekah spyed this one before anyone else. We made muffins in an orange peel on an open fire. Random, I know, but it was pretty cool so I had to mention it...and show you the pic... Bekah had mad-camping-fashion-sense as you can see, and Beau loved playing in the dirt...By the end of the trip we were all completely filthy. And smelly and happy and tired. But man, you've got to admit that we saw some great views.

4x4s + 2x4s + 5/4x6s =PLAYHOUSE!

Now Introducing the Beau-Hawk. Yeah, baby!Did I mention a little bug has made itself at home in Beau's ears? Not a real bug, don't freak out.
Nope, he's had an ear infection that has survived Cefdinir, Azythromycin, and Augmentin. Actually the Augmentin has kicked its butt with the help of three shots of Rosefen. Like I really know how to spell any of these. (But I do have the pharmacy's phone number memorized.) The point is Beau has been a booger, with just cause, and he's finally starting to feel better. Hooray!
...And Jacob has strep. Sniff. On to bigger and better things. Literally. Like a 4.5'x8'x8' playhouse. My sister Amy had a friend who bought this "everything-but-the-lumber" playhouse kit for a whopping $5. Amy didn't need it so she gave it to me. It has been sitting in our garage and we finally had a weekend to work on it. (We should have been in Wyoming, but, um, well I already explained that, right?!) So here is the amazing tornado resistant beauty herself...I need a better picture of the whole thing. We're going to pick up a slide for it later this week. I still need to sand the whole thing, and we might stain it in a couple of weeks. Rus and I make a good team and we got this thing up with relatively few arguments...um "discussions."
What do you think? It should make for happy kids this summer!

Wanted: Wiggle Room

Frazzled Mother Seeking Her Long Lost Wiggle Room
(and we're not talking tight-pant-wiggle-room, that's a whole other story...)
Wanted:
Chuckle, Sigh, Laugh-Out-Loud, Make a Joke,
Not Yell or Cry Ability
in the face of a Would-Be Stressful Situation
such as,
but not limited to:
Spilled Milk, Spilled Milk for the Third Time That Morning, Spilled Milk on My New Clean Shirt...Being Stepped On, Spit-up On, Having to Witness A Big Fat Fit at 6:30 in the Morning, Kids Yelling, Kids Yelling and Waking Up Sleeping Beau, Now Awake Beau with a Fever of 103 Degrees, Beau With Fever for Fourth Day in a Row
(Wait. That's not really funny. I'm getting off track...Sorry)
...HeHEM...
Big Messes, Wet Kids, Muddy Kids, Grumpy Muddy Kids, Boogery Noses, Boogery Wet Muddy Grumpy Hungry Demanding Kids, Kids Who Yell At Me While I'm On The Phone, Busy Husband, Busy Husband Who Was Gone Shooting For Hours And Missed All The Fun At Home, Justifiably Busy Husband Who Has to (gets to?) Work Whilst I Get Chummy With My Kid's Doctor Because I'm There So Much...

Will Pay Dearly To Have Wiggle Room Restored. In Monopoly Money. Or Cookies.

Just remember, I was a great mom before I had kids!