When God Uses Our Kids to Humble

Today was one of those days where pulling out the camera was not even on the radar. I am not going to go into all of the horrors of the day, but I will let you in on the most amusing one. I had to take Hailey's car to get its emissions testing and  its registration at the DMV. I got out of the house early so that I could get everything done before my appointment with the chiropractor at 10:30 am. The timing was perfect and I pulled into the chiropractor's office right on time. I had such a sense of accomplishment because the day was progressing with such perfection in regards to everything being executed without a hitch. Until...I decided to take a look at the checks I had written and noticed that the account number at the bottom of the check was from an old account that we had closed months back. Why that checkbook was still around, I have not a clue! The grand total was several hundred dollars. So, not only did I write checks on a closed bank account, but I wrote the GOVERNMENT checks on a closed bank account! I had to go back to both places, explain what had happened and make it right. If I have not said it before, the DMV is one of my least favorite places ever! I was incredibly frustrated when my daughter, Hailey enlightened me. I am telling her about how this was the worst possible day and that I could go to jail and she looked at me and told me that I was so dramatic I should have been an actress. Then she said, "Mom, the worst possible day would be if your entire family died, not that you wrote a couple of bad checks on accident." Yes, the jail comment was dramatic and I knew that when I said it. I didn't, however, expect for such maturity and clarity to come from my teenager!  God uses her to prune me still and again, I am humbled. Sometimes the things that come from the mouth of babes are the very things that provoke us to change.

On a lighter note, it reminds me of the time, many years ago, when my 4 year old daughter looked up at me after we had taken a shower and she so innocently said, "Mommy, you have big thighs."  I was devastated!  I was in nursing school at the time and all we did back then was study and eat! Two months later, I was 20 pounds lighter. What great memories!

I tried to find some pictures from years ago to show you the above scenario...this was the best I could do.

This is before the comment:

This is 2 months after the comment:

It's Here!

I got it!  I can't even begin to express how excited I am!  You may remember me mentioning something about a big purchase I had been saving for. Well, here it is...BOB Duallie Revolution Stroller! I never thought I would be so excited about something like a stroller, but I am! This will be my final stroller purchase. I usually hesitate in saying "Never", but I can very assuredly say that I will NEVER buy another stroller again!  I may even keep this one for my grandkids! Over the top, right? Well, try pushing one of these babies and you will see why! I can't wait to take the kids for a spin tomorrow!

Easiest Recipe Ever!

Well, Alessandro has been working on Sundays lately which is a huge adjustment for our family. His days off are Wednesdays and Saturdays for the time being. It is so strange going to church without him. I haven't done that since I was a single mom! Thank God I have Hailey to help me out. She is so great! Speaking of Hailey, here is a picture of her and her friend Cassidi. They dressed up for the Blackout game where Hamilton played against their rival team Chandler High. Hamilton took the victory! How exciting to go to those high school games and root for your team!  All the energy of that team spirit is so fresh in my memory. We have talked about going to the games, but with two children under 2 years of age, it just doesn't seem like very much fun!  I am thinking that Hailey's Junior and Senior years will bring us out a bit more.

Last night we went to the Farrell Twin's 1 yr birthday party.

They had a bouncy, a swingset and a huge sandbox which we couldn't get Luca out of!

Today I got to do something that doesn't happen very often in our busy lives. It was Nora's nap time and before I put her down I got to sit on the couch holding her while she nuzzled on my chest, put her little arms around me and cuddled for about 10 minutes. Luca had to be a part of it as well, so he strategically positioned himself so that he was using me as his back support while he sat on the couch with us. It was a little piece of heaven.

Luca also loves to hold Nora, whether she is enjoying it or not! Bonus picture. Since I am usually the one taking the pictures, I am not usually in them. Who knows when this will happen again! I am sure moms everywhere feel the same way. Sometimes I think my kids are going to wonder where their mommy was because there are so few pictures to prove I was there!

I want to share with you a recipe I tried tonight for the first time. I have never made anything so easy in my life! It was a hit with the family too!  I took 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast and a can of my favorite salsa and threw it in the crock pot. Cooked it on low for 8 hours and then shredded it with 2 forks. I served it with warm flour tortillas, sour cream and cheese, with a side of rice. Delicious! Easy!

Luca Fears Nothing!

Having been an unmarried, pregnant teenager many years ago, I am drawn to girls who are in the same position I was in back then. There is a program here in Phoenix for pregnant teens that offers them a way to stay in school and after they have their children has a daycare on site for their use. It teaches them parenting skills and offers them a great support system, as many of the girls don't get support from any other source. A focus of the program is encouraging the girls to continue getting their education beyond high school. My current role is speaking to the elective class the girls take and eventually, I may mentor one girl a semester.

Today I dropped some baby items off at the school and called my friend Kelly because she lives just one exit over from the school. We decided to take the kids to the park for a while, a sort of impromptu play date. I love the ability to be spontaneous!  So, here we are at the park and off Carsten and Luca go playing in the dirt and on the slides. Remember, Luca is 22 months old. My daring son climbs up the stairs, without any coaching from me, and decides to try out the slide. I thought nothing of it, really, because when we go to the park in our neighborhood, he does fine on the slides. Well, judging from his landing, these slides were a bit more steep than the ones he is used to. He slid down, right off of the slide and did a face plant into the sand, got up, looked up at me with his big eyes while using his tongue to try to get the sand out of his mouth and headed back to the stairs for another go! If you look closely at the picture you will see the sand all over his face. He had a blast!  I love his sense of adventure, but at the same time, it scares me!

I love his spirited personality. He keeps me young at heart...you have to be to keep up with him!

Gross!

On Thursdays I host a Bible Study in my home with a few other women from church. This picture is actually not from today. Nicole just had her 3rd baby a couple of days ago, but I wanted to include a picture with all of us. We all have babies under 2 which makes for a lively and unpredictable time. It is supposed to start at 9:30, but never usually starts until 10 or 10:30. We are pretty laid back around here...you have to be with all of these babies!  We work our study into the constant care we are giving our babies, between feeding them, changing them, comforting them and tending to their needs. We also manage to squeeze in lunch and my house is usually empty by 1:00 or 1:30. We have a nice time.

Does anybody else besides me have trouble with their son drinking his bath water? I don't remember Hailey doing this. It must be a boy thing. It is so disgusting!  Luca thinks it is funny when I freak out and tell him to stop. Please tell me I am not alone in this battle and any advice would be appreciated!!!

Jump and Shout!

Today we went to Carsten Jude's 3rd birthday party. Let me start by saying that my friend Kelly was hesitant to invite Luca because she thought he might be too young for the Jump and Shout facility. She thought Luca might get frustrated because he would be afraid or not be able to climb. On the contrary, Luca couldn't get enough!  He climbed, jumped, slid and had Daddy doing it all with him!  Could a smile get any bigger than that!

Here is the Birthday Boy!

So, pizza time came and my son threw back 2 slices of cheese pizza and still had room for dessert!

Alessandro thought he could fake Luca out and get him to eat some of the cake beneath the mound of icing on his cupcake. He scraped all of the icing off and put it on the bottom of the plate and placed the cupcake on top. My son is smart!  He simply lifted up the cake and scraped up the icing with his hand. He then proceeded to insert his entire hand into his mouth! 

He doesn't mess around when it comes to his junk food!

Pretty Shoes

Why is the 104 degree weather not over??? That is the temperature today. I want to take the kids outside and not feel like I am in an oven, is that too much to ask? We have had a couple of mornings and evenings lately that have been very nice and we have been able to take the kids outside or to the park. It hiked up again. I am at a loss for words. The snowbirds are back in town and the traffic increase is here to prove it. When they come back, the heat is supposed to go away!
I needed a little vent session and now it is over.
If I have not mentioned it before, I am a part of an expert community of shoppers called Coupon Sense. I just want to share some of my experience with you partly because of the great deal and mostly because of the wonderful people I came in contact with along the way. I set out to get a free Fusion razor and a Gilette Venus razor for $1.99. Both kids in tow, coupons in hand, I went to Walgreens. They were out of the Fusion, so I had to get a raincheck. You are only supposed to get one razor, but when the manager saw that I had Nora in the Baby Bjorn and Luca in the shopping cart, she said I earned two. I was thrilled!  Alessandro will be thrilled as well!  I decided to hit another Walgreens hoping they were not sold out too,  because I had three coupons. There, I was able to get a Fusion and a Venus. I love getting great deals on items that we use on a regular basis that usually cost between $8-$13. Sure, it takes some extra planning and a lot of extra work, but if I can save our family some money and take some pressure off of my man, I am more than happy to do it. I consider it my job. I stay at home, take care of the kids and run the household. I have managed to cut our grocery bill in half! Back to the people. At both Walgreens, my transactions were not very smooth, as they are usually complicated when you are using ads, coupons and other rewards on top of dealing with store rules. The ladies that helped me out at both stores, were patient, accomodating and had very pleasant attitudes. As a matter of fact, while I was apologizing to them for the complicated transactions, they were apologizing to me as if it were their fault!  It was very refreshing because there have been times when you can tell that a person is annoyed because you are trying to save some money. I am finding more and more that as people are experiencing first hand the effects that the economy is having on them, they are more impressed with the savings than annoyed.

Finally, the reason for the title...I LOVE SHOES! I am getting Nora started early.