So many things ... so little time

I'm so glad all the holiday hustle and bustle is over. I'm pooped. Between, family, church, and friend functions, I'm done. I have a year to recoup! Hurray.

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas. We did. We did the normal Christmas Eve program with my family. After that we drove around "ooh"-ing and "aaah"-ing over Christmas lights. (Danny Angie's neighborhood - still a favorite). After that we headed home and the girls went off to bed.

That morning Santa left some TMNT slippers for Elle and High School Musical slippers for Ashlee and a note that said that all their gifts were at Granny and Grandpas. So, we loaded up and headed over there. It was really fun. Elle got all things TMNT and an MP3 Player. Ashlee got all things High School Musical and a diary thing that you whisper your password into. Tiffany got diapers, a rattle, and a crab toy that will help with her tactile sensitivity. (And since my favorite show is Deadliest Catch - I couldn't refuse!!) Aaron got a tool box and Tranformers Chess set, and some other things. I finally got my Garth Brooks CD (it isn't Christmas unless I get something that is Garth Brooks) and a food processor. My favorite gift, was from my brother Michael - growing up my mother had this orange Betty Crocker cookbook. I loved cooking from it and a few months ago, I stole hers. Well, I had mentioned that I wanted one of my own a few months ago. Well, Michael and my mom remembered, and the got me one off of ebay. Hurray!! I quickly returned my mother's and put my on my counter next to my Kitchen Aid!!

I also got to talk to Stephen on the phone. It is going to be so much fun when he gets home in 3 1/2 months - YIKES!!! I can't wait to introduce him to Tiffany and show him our new house!! Hopefully by then I will have lost 20 more pounds!!





Aaron's work gave him from 12/21 - 1/2 off. We originally were going to head up to the mountains after Christmas, but when we found out how many people were going up, and the worries with Tiffany and her health - we changed our minds. Instead, we went shopping at Wal-Mart and decided that it would be fun to paint our kitchen. So we painted it and decided to paint our bedroom, so I ran to Wal-mart again and got more paint. I am pretty sure that by tomorrow, my bathroom will be a new color, and so will my laundry room. We are painting fools!!

Well, I must return to cleaning and cooking (got to put that cookbook to good use).

We hope you have a happy and safe New Years!!!

HAPPY BERFDAY BUBBA!

(The Stephen is the one in the suit - Jake is the nerd in the BYpew shirt)

Okay, so it's my baby brother Stephen's 21st Birthday! HAPPY BERFDAY BUBBA! He is currently serving a mission in Washington DC and won't be home until April 16, 2008! I can't believe he has been gone almost 2 whole years! YIKES! Stephen and I are really close and I would consider him one of my best friends. He loves my kids and loves to play with them. My mom has been telling Tiffany that when her uncle Stephen gets home that he is going to place her in a laundry basket, place the basket on a blanket, and then pull her around the house. It's so true. He did that with the other girls. My favorite Stephen story is that the spring break of his senior year he and his friends wanted to go to San Diego for spring break. They first told my mom they wanted to go to Rocky Point. Their plan was that Rocky Point would be scary and horrible and my mom would say no, so they then would ask to go to San Diego. The plan kinda back fired and my mom said it would be okay to go to Rocky Point. After a few days, he told my mom that they would rather go to San Diego - this made my mom happy and she let them go - she even paid for their hotel room.

During spring break, I ended up in Texas welcoming home Aaron from Iraq. I am not joking when I had just reunited with Aaron when my mother called. She informed me that Stephen took my van to San Diego and that she made them promise they wouldn't take it to Mexico. I made her promise that we would never tell Aaron.

Fast forward a few weeks, so I'm back home in Arizona. Aaron is in Texas, and I'm talking with Stephen one night. He begins to tell me about their trip and I asked him where he got all the fireworks. Thus the truth came out. Not only did he take my van to San Diego, but they took it into Mexico. They then took off the speakers and crammed it full of fireworks. Then then brought it back over the border and returned home. He was so lucky they didn't get caught. We have kept this a secret from Aaron until just a few months ago, when he was wondering why everyone was laughing about Stephen's San Diego trip.

I would love to share the many other funny stories - but I know someone would end up in jail!

So - my brother is a total cheese head. I can't remember why we were taking pictures, I just remember that it was funny. (And that my friends is why you should write in your journal every night).

Sky Diving on Aaron's 30th

(Daniel, Pedro, and Stephen)

(Wicked cool Shepherd )

Happy Birthday Stephen, I sure am proud of you and I sure do love and miss you!!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow.

Sorry for all the pictures - but really, how often can you post snow pictures in Arizona?

So we headed up to the White Mountains on Friday and stayed at my in-law's cabin just outside of Show Low. The whole drive up, Aaron would look at the temperature gauge in our car and would freak out if it was getting warmer. (When I say warmer, I mean, it was 27* instead of 24* four miles back).

When my in-laws told us that they had 5-7 inches of snow - they were not joking!! It was amazing and absolutely beautiful! The girls had a blast. The best part was that my dorky husband Aaron decided that shorts were appropriate snow attire (see above picture). So he went inside for something, and the girls and I made a bunch of snowballs. Our plan was that when he came outside we would attack his legs. It worked. We won and he froze! That night I must have caught the stupid bug and I ran outside with no shoes on across their deck. It was my feet thawing that hurt the worse! (Side note - totally beat Aaron on that - I went farther and was out longer - American Gladiators - watch out!!)

The next day we got to ride the Arctic Cat four wheeler around in the snow. It was so much fun. I didn't get a picture, but, once again my dorky husband, decided he wanted to be pulled by the four wheeler in their plastic sled. Since we couldn't find rope, he used a coax cable. Nerd. I made sure to hit every bump, dip, and deep area of snow. It was great.

After a few hours of playing in the snow we headed up to Eager to my cousin's wedding reception. There was snow there too and once again the girls enjoyed frolicking in the snow.

That night we went to the reception and it was beautiful. The girls had a blast and it was fun to see my family. Elle dashed off before I could nab a picture of her, but here is Ashlee and Tiffany in their Christmas Dresses. (Thank you Granny for buying them).

Fast Forward to Sunday Night, a few hours after we got home, I noticed Tiffany wasn't acting normal and was really fussy. Her little belly button was poking out and was hard, and she hadn't pooped once again in over a week. I called her doctor and she said to take her to the ER. I loaded up her diaper bag and headed out to the ER. They took us back rather quickly and that's when they started asking me if I had heard of RSV. I told them that I had, but I was here for her belly button. The next thing I knew is that they were taking X-rays, and IV, and blood work and she was getting a breathing treatment. (Seriously, we were there less than 15 minutes).

After I was able to clear my head and speak to the doctor, they said that her oxygen level was at 60% and that she was wheezing. After the tests and x-rays came back, they diagnosed her with pneumonia. She has an elevated white blood count and both her lungs have fluid. They went back and forth on admitting her. I promised them that if they send her home I would mind all the instructions and be a good mom. Hurray - I won. So, we have breathing treatments every 3 hours (no sleep for me) and I give her antibiotics twice a day. As for her belly button, it was just a side effect of the elevated white blood count. I feel like such a loser mom for not noticing my child had pneumonia. Yeah, she had a stuffy nose and cough, but don't all kids during the winter?

Tiffany hates the medication and she hates the breathing treatments when she is awake. I hate waking up every 3 hours to give them to her, so I sleep on the couch and my alarm wakes me when to do them. It's not fun, but it's better than the hospital. Any extra shout-outs for Tiffany in your prayers would be greatly appreciated. They are worried that this is just the beginning of a long sick winter for her. Joy.

So that's our weekend in a nut shell. Sorry it's so long. Have a wonderful day, and hurry and get your Christmas Shopping done - you have LESS THAN A WEEK!!!!!

I'm horrible at Christmas Cards

Okay, so I'm still working on getting the Christmas cards out, and I'm still working on getting family pictures - we're just crazy - so, in case I don't send out cards, and I don't get pictures, here is a video to show our year in review. Hope you like it. (And yes, it's the Pee Wee's Big Adventure song - would you expect anything less?!)

Oh -and a little update I guess (sheesh, this blog is so demanding). Tiffany is a whopping 13 lbs 2oz!! She is growing like a weed and unfortunately is now in infant physical therapy. She doesn't like to push up using her hands, I guess they are sensitive, so we have to do special tummy time therapy with a nice lady named Julia that comes to our home.

Ashlee and Elle are still loving school and are counting down the days until Christmas. They still think they should be able to open their gifts everyday after school, but of course, they don't get to.

Aaron still likes his job and really deserves a massive pay raise - like six figures (hint hint Ira) okay, not really, but I thought I would throw it out there. His company party is this Friday, and I'm actually going to leave all three girls with a babysitter that isn't mine or Aaron's mother - of course I will leave every emergency contact this side of the Mississippi!! YIKES!!

Okay now my confession - gulp - I'm going to Weight Watchers! There I've said it. Sheesh - that wasn't so bad! I've been going for 9 weeks and I've lost 11.4 pounds. Hurray me! I'm trying to hit my goal weight by the 4th of July. So - if you see me avoiding the yummy food you've made or bought - don't take it personal - I'm just trying to be skinnier than you!

Okay - that's all - carry on and have a wonderful day!!