Big News

1.  I am done done done with school. Yay!


2.  Aliza is registered for preschool!


3. Kailee finished her first week of Glee camp!


4. Dylan finished his first month of Boy Scouts!


5. We survived our cross county RV trip.


6. The carpet measuring guy is coming on Saturday.


7.  We have a new puppy--named Mister Frodo.

Like a fish

Ohh the excitement it's almost time for the 10:30 class!

Aliza has been taking swim lessons since she was 12-months old--with the exception of the 3-month broken leg vacation.  She used to be the "I will NOT swim!" scream child in class.  We are finally past that stage and thankfully she smiles and laughs *most* of the entire class.  If anyone is looking for a local swim school I can not recommend EVO enough.

Hair and eyes are wet. Patiently waiting her turn.

Kick, kick, kick

Taking a breather

I love jumping on the side with my swim lesson buddies.

Listening intently as David explains what to do next.

Some weekend pictures.

Let's go to the park!

Spend Friday evening playing at the park before dinner.  The weather is wonderful right now.  Then yesterday Aliza decided to show off her photog. skills.  

Come on hurry up!

Lovin baby feet

Posed for one picture at the park

Say Cheese

Say Cheese Again!

How does this camera work?

I love Momma's makeup!

Tinkerbell to the rescue!

Courtesy of big-sister Aliza will walk around saying, "momma, momma, MOM I bored. I bored mama." In an effort to keep her entertained tonight we played the Superman game-- or in Aliza's case it's much better to be flying Tinkerbell.

Not to sure about this whole flying thing...



Ok this is pretty fun!



More, more pwease...



I am Tinkerbell!

Happiness is...

Day 4 of Aliza sleeping in her own bed.
Finishing my last homework assignment for this class.
Hearing my kids talk about how easy they feel the AIMS test is.
Watching all three kids play together nicely.
Hearing Kailee say how great tonights Spaghetti dinner was.
Planning on going to the Drive-in Family night on Tuesday to see Rio.

Oh Happy Work Weekend and a Special Birthday

I can't believe how fast this weekend flew by. Kailee and Dylan celebrated their 10th birthday on Sunday. I can not believe they are 10. It just doesn't seem possible. They were both spoiled rotten with tons of lovely presents, and Jason even made Kailee these Amazing Glee inspired slushy cupcakes. Dylan wanted a cake from Cold Stone, which was equally as yummy. I was pretty bummed that I'd have to work the night of their birthday, but amazingly the hospital census dropped and I got my first-cancel request granted.

Tonight is night two of trying to get Aliza to sleep in her own bed--she's been co-sleeping with us from day one, but she tosses around in her sleep so much that lately Jason has been getting up in the middle of night and taking over her unused Tinker Bell inspired bed. So far so good. Each night I've laid with her and we've read Fancy Nancy at least twice. She's currently laying in her bed reading to herself--and yes I know it's 1 am, but with two night-shift working parents her sleep schedule has always been a disaster. Wish us luck!

Birthday Shopping

Finished up Kailee's birthday shop today. Ouch my debit card is hurting. I hope she loves everything we got her. She is officially in tween land-- her list consisted of clothes, accessories, and Glee items. I ordered Dylan's Boba Fett MP3/Alarm Clock/Lamp from ThinkGeek.com. I even paid the extra for 3 day shipping, but they didn't actually ship the item until today--2 days before his birthday... Boo. Jason and I are taking Aliza to Disney Princess on Ice tomorrow so we're going to run to Fry's electronics to see if we can find him something for him to open on Sunday too. I work this weekend-- Oh wait I work every weekend, so I have tons of things to do cleaning, cake baking, and present wrapping. I can't believe K and D will be 1-0. Yikes.

Motivation has arrived.

We had such a fantastic day today. Made to my morning meeting, and as meetings go it was pretty good. Then I raced home to take Aliza swimming. She did pretty well, a few tears here and there, but in comparison to some of her downright embarrassing vomit-inducing tantrums the tears today didn't even rate. She's taken lessons from EVO on Gilbert and Guadalupe since she was 12 months old, and I can't say enough good things about that place. Awesome instructors, awesome staff, and they don't make you feel like a crappy parent when your kid is screaming and kicking to get out of the pool. Not an easy task. After swimming Aliza and I headed home. She took a nap on the couch and I organized the kitchen craft cabinet, and finished my Flancer's Bruschetta. Yum! I might make a few adjustments next time, but all-in-all pretty good. Then tonight we made Oreo Chick and Bunny suckers. I stumbled across this amazing blog with a tutorial and instantly fell in love. The blog, HowDoesShe.com, is full of really great crafting ideas, recipes, and family tips. The kids all had a blast and the clean-up wasn't horrific.

Giving Aliza a much needed bath after said Oreo sucker making, and then hoping to get to bed early. Hopefully, tomorrow brings another wonderful day.

Grapes

Is it strange that my youngest daughter's love of grapes or as she calls them gwapes makes me insanely happy? All evening she's asked " for just two more gwapes pleasseee". I'd love to be that mom who only feeds her kids organic, home cooked meals, but lets face it with two working parents and three active kids Hamburger Helper and McDonald's are featured meals here at least once a week. Sigh, I'm going to try and be a better cook, but for now I'm going to smile over a love of grapes.

On another note, my Roma tomatoes are marinating in garlic, basil, and olive oil. I really hope this bruschetta turns out half as yummy as it is at the restaurant. Good night all I have a meeting in the morning--and after 8 years of working nights morning meets aren't easy.

Happy Monday

Oh happy Monday. I was sick this weekend--so sick that I missed work Saturday night, and I almost never miss work. The upside to my snot filled Saturday was that I got a jump start on this weekends homework. It's now Monday and I have all of this weeks homework done, plus a portion of next weeks. T-minus 6 weeks until graduation, and if today is any indication of how much my stress level will decrease I am going to be one happy mama. I steam cleaned the carpets AND figured out how to remove the screens from my big front window and back patio door for a much overdue scrubbing.

I should be embarrassed that we've lived in this house for 3 years without cleaning the screens, but I'm not....The windows are clean. The sun is shining, and I spent the rest of the day hanging with my three favorite little people.

Plans for tomorrow? I'm going to try making Flancer's Goat Cheese Bruschetta recipe.

Cupcakes

We spent Sunday evening celebrating Gordon's birthday. My father-in-law sent me this silly picture of Aliza. I just love her facial expressions and the sheer joy she got from a Tinkerbell fairy cupcake.

It's a wonderful life

It's a wonderful life. Jason took some great pictures of the kids

this week. The weather is beautiful and the trampoline is so much fun!

Sleep

I hate not being able to sleep. Ugh. It's the curse of the night shift worker. I'm exhausted so I take a 4:00 nap, which only perpetuates my inability to sleep at night. Aliza has swim lessons this morning, and unless I want to go looking like Zombie mom I better start counting sheep.

Is 4 am too late for Benadryl....

New website Etsy meets Groupon? = QuiteUnique?

Just got an email about this website, and I can't wait to see what kind of things they offer. Each day they'll feature a product made by an artisan. Check it out!


http://www.quiteunique.com/signup/r1206106/

Break

Just finished my Nursing Leadership/Management class. Only three more classes to go and my BSN will be completed. Super excited, but trying to keep myself motivated to continue on towards my ACNP is getting harder and harder.

What to do....what to do.....


Maybe I'll win the lottery?

I love the Wells Fargo Rewards Program and Target Debit

I just have to say that I love the Wells Fargo Rewards Program. Yes, it costs 12.00 annually, but I make that back within a month. I use my debit card for EVERYTHING, and earn 1 point for every 3.00 spent to spend on gift cards or even cash directly deposited to my account.

I also just signed up for the Target Debit card. 5% off everything, and interest free. Yay!

Splendid Littles and Clarisonic

I can not wait to run to Target tomorrow. I just found out they now have a Splendid Little collection. I love love love Splendid clothing, but unless I find it deeply discounted at Nordstrom I usually can't afford it. I want to get Aliza two dresses that I saw online.

Ok after looking a little closer looks like I'll be ordering online. Everything in-store is sold out!



And my Clarisonic Mia shipped today!!! Wahoo