Another Week

I can't believe February is almost over already! Another week has bit the dust and left our pockets even emptier. Monday I was headed to my brother's house so we could FINALLY run- it's been weeks! Of course, wouldn't you know, I couldn't back out of the driveway because I had a major flat tire. It was unfixable which meant buying a new tire. Lousiness.

Also this week preschool was at my house. I think it went smashingly well. We read Green Eggs & Ham and then made our own (unedible) ones using shaving cream and glue. They turned out awesome. The kids also got to play with boats on our water table indoors because Sam I Am "would not, could not in a boat."

The second day we read If You Give A Mouse a Cookie and made our own little mice and had cookies for snack time of course. No pictures for that day but still fun!

Ben loved the play-doh center:

Another highlight of this week is my growing garden. It has produced me some pretty good sized carrots and some peas now too! It is so fun being able to eat food from my own backyard!

I now have an additional student for tutoring who comes in for 2 sessions. That means I am teaching a total of 8 sessions a week! It's excellent and I should be able to cut down subbing as soon as all these extra expenses stop raining down on us. I'm hoping our car stays "healthy" as do all of us!

Things to look forward to in March: my cousin is coming to visit AND Tyler & I get to go on a weekend getaway to Tucson to hear my fav band "Fun." So excited!

A Hike

I never realized that a hike could be so traumatic for a toddler boy. Dirt, rocks, fresh air- what more could they ask for? Well...apparently the rocky terrain makes them nervous to walk on and being carried on someone's back is equivalent to torture. After going about half way up San Tan Mountain listening to sporadic screams and cries, I decided I couldn't endure it any longer. So I told my parents, brother & Steven to carry on and Ben and I would head back down.

LONGEST journey of my life. Pretty much the only time he wasn't screaming and crying was when we were not moving. He desperately wanted me to carry him (not in a backpack but in my arms) all the way back. 

When we reached the bottom we sat down and I properly melted down. My mom, not too much later, joined me. She wasn't willing to climb slippery rocks with the boys. And for some reason Ben was suddenly a-ok with being in the backpack. 

So we trooped around the bottom of the mountain until my dad, brother & Steven returned from their adventure to the top.

Thankfully they took pictures so I could enjoy the top vicariously:

Happy Heart Day!

The day before Valentine's Day Tyler's family had a big bash to celebrate. It was full of fondue, Valentines and sugar cookies.

 Can you believe my eyes are closed in this pic?

 Steven is super thrilled about his Valentine.

 Such a happy mess!

 Daddy sharing some of his mad cooking skills with Ben

 Icing mustache!

I'm so messy!

 All the boys showing off their Valentines

And on Valentines Day... Uneventful. I had a sub job and tutoring (though I did send heart shaped sandwiches and pizza with the boys to grandma's house). And Tyler had school and then he managed to catch the stomach bug I had Sunday and was sick all night. So unromantic! 

But even in sickness he was sweet enough to get me a Precious Moment of my favorite princess, Belle! And of course some delicious chocolate. Happy heart day for me :)

Angry Birds!

Poor Steven was not feeling well on his 4th Birthday. His teeth were still hurting him after all the dental work he had just gotten, he was on Amoxicillin for a sinus infection, and his asthma has been bothering him lately. All those factors combined to make one, very unhappy, very cranky, birthday boy. 

Me, I was so excited to FINALLY be home with my baby on his birthday and was ready to take him anywhere he wanted to go and feed him any junk he wanted but it didn't work that way. Due to the above factors we spent most of the day on the couch watching TV. We only made two ventures out. One to the local park where he mostly sat and dug in the sand. The other to McDonalds where he spent most of the time sitting with me and only ate 2 chicken nuggets.

I was worried that the party would be a major bummer because of his negative attitude but it still was still a success! He only had a couple cranky moments and overall he seemed to enjoy it lots! I shouldn't have been surprised seeing how his 2 best friends, Colin & Logan were in attendance. Here are loads of pictures from Steven's Fabulous Angry Bird Party...

I had some boxes set up in the yard which the boys had fun knocking down with the Angry Bird dolls Rebecca had made for me. When the dolls wouldn't work they used their own forces. They seemed to enjoy it so thoroughly that by the time I remembered to take a picture of it, it was destroyed! Next the boys made awesome Angry Bird Pigs:

His cousin Bryson

His buddies, Logan & Colin

His cousin Brennen

His best friend Colin

Then they played Pin the Beak on the Angry Bird. Some boys cheated and were able to get pretty close while those who played honestly, had some troubles:

Then it was time to blow out the candles. When asked how old he was now, Steven held up 3 fingers and said, "4!" OOps!

Afterwards, it was time to open the presents. I have never seen Steven open presents quite that fast. He would tear it open, glance at it and then on to the next. He was done in one minute flat:

Afterwards, the boys tore open the boxes the toys were in, like a pack of hungry wolves, and got down to some serious playing business. I think all of Steven's gifts were major hits (razor scooter, monster truck jam, USS Scuba rocket ship, hamburger play-doh, t-ball., cookies, Angry Bird Piggie Pillow...My kid was spoiled rotten):

And while the kids played, the rest of us enjoyed the cake and ice cream and mingled.

Rebecca (and little Blueberry, enjoying some eats)

Grandma Brady

Poppy reading Steven's new book.

My cousin Fred striking a pose

Even the decorations enjoyed "hanging out"

And when it came time to go, everyone was given some "Angry Bird Poop":

I'm grateful to Pinterest for giving me all these excellent ideas! And I am grateful that I have been blessed with this 4 year old who keeps my life interesting. I love that boy, even when he's cranky ;)

New Teeth

Originally Steven was scheduled to get 5 cavities and 5 crowns at 11am today- they had an opening and the new time became 6am. Early. I staggered out of bed, threw my child, PJs & all, into the car and off we went. I think I might have been a bit more nervous than him...

The first step was a shot in his arm as he sat in my lap. His biggest complaint with that was the band-aid they put on. He is so weird about band-aids. After a few minutes after the shot his eyes got droopy and his body got limp and he was out. The anesthesiologist then carried him back and it was my job to wait.

While I waited he was given an IV, hooked up to machines and the dentist got down to business. When we were finally reunited he was out cold, asleep in their recovery room, mouth gaping open to reveal his new silvers.

However, while he was sleeping peacefully, I realized there was a reason I was more nervous than him about it all... A lovely scorpion decided to crawl across my foot in that recovery room- scared the bejeebies out of me! But I remained calm enough to shake it off and squash that sucker! So proud of myself :)

And Steven, he survived the dentist, and has mouth full of clean teeth (Let's hope it stays that way since he maxed out his dental). Here his is showing off his new teeth, 3 silver molars and 2 perfectly crowned front teeth. Doesn't he look happy about it?

He photographs so well doesn't he...?

Hello February!

Recent Positives For Me:

-My Wi-Fi has mysteriously started working on my computer again! Yeah to no more sharing computers with Tyler (I'm not very good at it).

-My back has also been feeling MUCH better after a week hiatus from running. Hopefully it will  still feel great when I go running again tomorrow! 

-And I got an excellent rating from a teacher I don't know on my sub website. Teachers can rate us on the website but typically they don't cause it's too much effort. SO, the only ones who had rated me to this point were ones I knew. Anyways, now I finally have an excellent rating from someone who doesn't even know me personally. Feels great!

2 Silly Steven Stories: 

-I was over at my mom's house and was sitting with her chatting when I hear Steven call from the playroom, "Come sit with me grills!" If you don't already know "grills" translates into "girls" in Steven language. It was pretty cute and comforting to know that despite our motherly status, he still acknowledges that we are girls.

- The other day Steven insisted that I do "The 5 Little Piggies" to his cute little toes. Afterwards he commented, " Mommy, why does the piggies say wee,wee? Piggies don't say wee, wee they say oink, oink." Such a smarty pants ;)

And Ben:

-His drool has been on and off this week but mostly off. I'm hoping that he is indeed outgrowing it.

- He also has recently taken to saying, "heh, heh." Hard to type but basically he sounds like the bully on the Simpson's. It's pretty funny.

And The Negative:

- Tyler's Great Aunt Ruth & Great Uncle Gerald were killed in a private plane crash this weekend in Show Low. Their 2 children (his 2nd cousins? I'm not sure what they are considered to Tyler) were also in the crash and are in critical condition. These are the owners of Hatch Motors in Snow Flake- the nice people who gave us a great deal on my Chrysler long ago. 

Something like this makes you appreciate life and realize how fragile it is. This has also made me resolve never to step foot in a private plane. Way too many of those are crashing lately. Their family is definitely in our prayers.