Hello, old friends

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Parenting tip: If you put your kids down for naps (you, know, cuz they kept you up all freakin night and you just KNOW they are tired!), then decide to take a nap yourself, make sure your kids are actually asleep. If not, you might sleep for 2 hours and wake up to kids who painted and colored their little bodies. Maddie was completely "sleeved" out. Once we got up, we cleaned them up, and Rylee painted cat faces on everyone.

Madcat telling me "Mom, you may be hot, but I am 'hot stuff' and that's alot better" Um...thanks?

Three little kitty cats.

And, once again we have lost our camera. Not to be confused with it being broken (which was last month). We got a brand new one, then lost it. Crap. If I ever win the lottery ( I don't play but do fantasize that the person in front of me at the gas station wins and can't handle the excitement so they hand me their ticket and run away....leaving me with millions), I will pay someone to follow us around and take pictures with a camera that doesn't break or get lost, then friends, I will blog constantly!

Summer!

Summer Time! In a nutshell:

Sleeping in (until 7:30....woot woot), Mexico for a week (great fun till we blew a tire and steered through oncoming traffic on the way home), Vegas for a night (sans kiddos, thanks nana and papa), Swimming everyday, Dance Recital, No fighting over hair-dos and school clothes.....

Enjoying these beautiful girls every day! More soon....but enjoy these delicious dance-recital pics for now:

Trauma at Preschool

So today was the Mother's Day Tea Party at Maddie's preschool. All of us mom's were given lovely hats that our kids made, then sat down to eat a snack with the kiddos. The teacher explained that the kids had made pictures of their moms that were hanging on the wall. The pictures were numbered, no names revealed. We were suppose to go up and guess which one was our kiddo's picture. Beneath the picture they answered questions about their mom. Now, being a seasoned preschool mom, I knew the drill. I did however, also recognize that it would be different with Maddie than it was with Rylee. You see, Rylee has always been very logical, and detail oriented. So when she was in preschool, such silly questions about mom were less silly. She nailed her questionare. While the other moms questionares listed ages from 2-100, Rylee responded "29" yup. While the other kids listed moms shoe sizes between 1-100, Rylee responded "8" yup. I knew Maddie's would be different.

All the moms ran up to see the pictures. I waited for the crowd to die down, and hung out with my Maddie. I hear all the mom react to one picture. There are gasps, loud laughs, whispering, and lots of "hope that's not mine!" I go up to check and they are all looking at picture number 4.
Picture number 4 says:
My mom is "4" years old
My mom is prettiest when she....."Goes to the bar"
My mom always says "Wake up sleep head, let's make brownies"
My mom likes to make "Strawberry cookies"
My mom is funny when "she makes strange faces."

Yup, the mother of #4 is about to be put in place for her bar-hopping behavior. We are, afterall, at a Christian school. I sat back down and the mom next to me says "my son wouldn't even know the phrase "going to a bar"...geez." I agreed with her, neither would my kids.

So the teacher then reads out #1, #2, and #3. Each time, she reads it and you shout out if you think it is your kid's picture. She read number 4. You could hear a pin drop. She finally shouts "Madison!" What the.... The entire room erupts into laughter. One lady says "and we thought you were busy at work when you weren't here." I turn beat red. Maddie turns, her head into my chest. She kept her head buried in my chest as everyone laughed at the picture she worked for 2 weeks on. The teacher then went around taking pictures of everyone with their mom. Maddie sat, tears in her eyes, head in my chest. Then it was time to sing the goodbye song. I told Maddie to go sing, then we could go home.

When I got home tonight, Rylee looked at the picture and asked Maddie what it meant to go to a bar. Maddie was puzzled. Rylee asked her "when does mom look prettiest?" Maddie said "like I told Miss Nancy, when she goes to the Ball, you know, like Cinderella." My heart dropped. I had been totally embarassed and worried about what people thought, when I should have been proud as hell. My kiddo thinks I'm a princess. And while apparently not the most articulate, she spent 2 weeks working on a picture, for me.

So, today I've learned two things:
My kiddo does not know about bar hopping, nor does she think I am an alcoholic...phew:)
On mothers day, remember...a picture from a kiddo is their heart poured out. It's like saving money for months to buy something for someone...I'd never want to see a gift I bought for someone thrown away a week later.

A late Happy B-Day to Maddie

Our camera is still in the shop, I was waiting all week to get some recent pics of Maddie for her b-day post..but doesn't look like we'll be getting it back soon. SO...luckily I have some great pics that Aunt Erin took for us in November. That being said....Monday was Maddie's big day...she is now officially 4.

Happy Birthday to Madison Ann, some fun facts about "Miss Moose."

-Maddie was our biggest baby at birth, but the shortest labor

-She has always been above the growth charts, except now...for the first time she is 95% height and 90% weight

-Daddy picked her name all by himself, he always wanted a "Maddie"

-Madison is a fashion-ista, she changes clothes 10x/day

-She has requested to be called "Madison" now that she is 4, it's a bigger name, you know

-I could seriously eat her cheeks, they're just fabulous!

-She is our cuddle-bug, the one kiddo that can curl up next to us in bed and fall sound asleep (the others chatter, poke our ears/noses/etc...)

-When she grows up, Madison would like to "be a person that writes numbers or have lots of babies." I'm hoping that means she'll be an accountant until she's 25 and married!

As I pray with her each night, "Thank you for my blonde-haired, blue-eyed baby!"

Rocky Point

We spent the weekend in Rocky Point for the Rocky Point Triathlon. The race was lots of fun. I'm sure Todd would have signed up to do it with me, but someone stole his tennis shoes out of the back of our truck 10 minutes after we got there:) My mom and some family friends went too. The race was awesome, I got to see Todd, Nana and the girls at each stretch (after the swim, bike, and run) as well as the finish line. Unfortunately, our camera is in the shop...I'd like to think it has more flattering pics on it then these ones I pulled from our friends, but with padded bike shorts and ocean-nappy hair...I doubt it.

Geez, could I look any more dramatic? The water was suppose to be warm so I didn't take a wetsuit. Of course they had a cold front, and it was 67. Couple that with people swimming over each other, kicking, scratching, and lots of waves. Rough stuff. After getting out of the water, you run through the sand and up a hill to grab your bike.

That's me, a tiny spot on the long desert ride. The route was hilly but fun. (Wishing the swim picture was this zoomed out :))

And heading in toward the finish line and slip n slide...yay!

Pimp my ride...or don't

I got a new car in October. I wanted the new Tahoe because it has an isle between 2 bucket seats in the 2nd row. I was so sick of "she's touching me" and "she's pulling my hair" or, my personal favorite "she licked my foot!" When we went to the lot, the only one they had was all black. Being inpatient and not wanting to drive around looking for other options, we bought it. Within 2 days of owning it, Todd had it pimped out. He put black tint on the windows, and black rims on the tires. However, I am at the point in my life where no amount of pimping out will make me, and my 3 pink carseats, look cool.

Now, this does have it's perks. When you go to through the drive-through, you worry about if your food will be made right and if it's all in the bag. Those same 17 year old boys are now my homies. I go through and it's all "dude, nice ride."Geez. My first day in the car after said pimping-process, someone at work said "nice dubs." I said "you too!" thinking it was maybe a new way to say "good hair day!" Geez... for a 30 something year old girl (really, not SO into the 3o's to be called "30 something" cuz that implies your all the way into them, and I'm not...yet) I'm really not schooled in "murdered out rides" (another compliment from my drive-through buddies).

Now, for the down side. Not good. Not good at all I tell you.

I was pulled over about a month ago. The officer came around the side of my vehicle with his hand on his gun. Somehow I got off with a warning, after he told me I was neglecting my responsibilities to the community. Ouch. Then the kicker. I got pulled over yesterday, with my big girls in the car. The officer pulled me over for tint. Once he heard that I'm married to an officer, he tacked on a speeding ticket. Seriously, I was at almost a dead stop in a construction zone in down town Gilbert at rush hour. SO...two tickets later from this not-so-nice man, I lost it. I tend to have a bit of a temper, won't say where I inherited that from (but it's not my mom). I called Todd and went on and on, I rattled something about him needing to rent me a car or I'll get shot. So anyway, he finally fixed the tint. I drove his truck to work today and when I got home, Maddie told me "daddy fixed your windows so that you'll stop complaining now." Nice.

But, I do have to brag on him for a minute. For all the knuckle-headed moves he might make (seriously, don't they all?!?!), he has to be the best daddy ever. He and my dad took the girls camping last weekend. He took Kenzie and Maddie on Th night, then I went out and picked Kenzie up and he kept Rylee and Maddie Friday night. I don't know too many men who would take 2 and almost 4 year old girls camping without mama. brave. Here are some pics from the daddy/daughter/papa trip:

Happy Birthday Baby!

I can't believe Kenzie is 2! This will be the first time in 4 years that we have not had a baby under 2 in the house:( But, what a blast watching this little one grow up and learn more and talk up a storm. A few things about our girl:

-Loves, loves, loves Barney!

-Loves, loves, loves shoes!

-Says everything fast and in 1 word "Iwantmore" "Iwantshoeson"

-Loves to be held

-Is love, love, loved!

She has basically spent her first two years here, on my shoulder

Happy Birthday Love!