Camping

Father and Son's Campout + Eagar+ snow+ pipa+ fishing = a great weekend for my boys.

Interviews

Wesley, 6 years old
Favorite:
Color- azul y verde
Food- mac 'n cheese, hot dogs, spaghetti
Drink- drink water, pineapple juice
Thing to do- build
Place to go- Krispy Kreme, restaurants, Disneyland, Costco para comprar movies y churros
In school- treasure box time
Song- I am a Child of God, Loba (Shakira), Rockstar (Pink)
Friend- Ryya, Cooper
Trait- I am a joker and a camel
Book- Spiderman
Candy-Bubble gum from pipa
Movie- Buzz Lightyear, Enchanted
Toy-Black Spiderman


Austin, 4 years old
Favorite:
Color- purple and blue
Food- burrito
Drink- root beer, strawberry milk, no me gusta el regular milk de mi escuela, solo de aca (casa)
Thing to do- jugar catch y football
Place to go- Chuck 'E Cheese
In school- P.E., get chased
Song- Soy un hijo de Dios, La loba, I've gotta a feelin', sweet escape
Friend- JD
Trait- Happy and strong
Book- Ben 10
Candy- Chocolate
Movie- How to train a Dragon
Toy-Fantastic Four





Isaac, 17 months old
Favorite:
Food- Yogurt, refried beans
Drink-Licuado, milk with protein powder
Song- Do as I'm doing
Place to go- bathroom to play with water, high chair, kitchen cabinets, on top of fax machine
Friend- Brothers
Trait- Smiley, low key, rolly

Sleepover

When I was younger, sleepovers meant playing, "Truth or Dare," or, "Girl Talk." Do you remember those zit stickers? We would make late night phone calls to boys on a landline, go toilet papering, hang out at the mall, and watch movies with popcorn. Whomever fell asleep first got their training bra frozen.

What does a sleepover mean for me, as a 30-year-old mama? Well....it's still a great time!

Jared took Wes and Austin to his Father and Sons campout in Eagar, AZ...I was left with just Isaac. What's a girl to do after she works all week and cleans the house? Well, she goes shopping of course! That was super fun...even if Isaac hated being towed around from carseat to stroller to cart throughout the mall. New York & Company was having a 50% off sale in the entire store...I found some smokin' deals. I think I need a few new items every summer/winter just to keep me feeling happy. Bright colored jewelry and hair flowers are so fresh this season!

My mom came to stay with us for a week and a half from Argentina. We enjoyed her yummy cooking, shopping on line (and taking her to exciting places like Wal Mart and the mall since she doesn't have those in South America), and walking to church. The boys loved reading stories with her, going for walks and speaking with her in Spanish. They share a special bond. She was with me for a few hours until I took her to the airport (so sad to see her leave sooo far away). It was like the old days when she used to take me shopping at Mervyn's in Utah. She will be missed by me. I hope she can come and stay with us every year at least!

I headed over to April Ashton's house after wards. What was meant to just be dinner and chit chat...turned into more and more "projects." With Isaac soon sleeping, I was free to do whatever! We called up Leslie to join in on our party. We tried to do some glitter toenail polish (didn't work quite right, so we settled for some fun nail art), blinging up some new capri's with diamonds, washing and curling hair extensions, talking about fake eyelashes and mustache waxing, painting vinyl boards, eating homemade oreos, surfing the web for swimsuits and pencil skirts, putting together outfits in April's awesome closet of stylish and trendy clothes, trying on bras and shoes, and of course chit chatting. In a house full of males, "girl time" is essential for me where I can catch up on the latest and greatest female fashion.

Even though I am kinda old, I still love to feel young at heart and be a girlie girl 'til 1am! The only difference now from when I was a teenager, is that I can't sleep in! Still gotta get up with kids at 6am to feed them breakfast and change diapers....sigh...It's all worth the sacrifice. I sometimes feel like a frumpy mom, so nights like these are essential to my sanity.

Thanks April for a spontaneous GIRLS night in, and of course Dustin for your finger-lickin' cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I loved spending time with you...it's never enough now that we are both working mama's.

I hope we'll still be doing this when we are 60! What will be "fun" in 2040?

A-hoy matee

Allergies stink. I often wake up with a sore throat, a mountain of used tissues and a stuffy nose. This morning, I woke up with an itchy eye. My right eye has been itchy, red and watery for weeks now on and off.

So, I went through the entire day trying to not scratch it and removing the green goop that would build up. Even my students kept asking me, "What's wrong with your eye Mrs. Wilson?"

By the time I got home, my eye was beginning to close shut from the swelling. I had had a date planned with my hubby to go Ballroom Dancing (to make up for prom), but very well couldn't go with just one working eyeball. I was super dissapointed, but didn't want to ditch our date.

I got an eye patch instead! Just call me One Eyed Wanda. It was quite the scene, wearing an eye patch to Olive Garden, walking around stores and then going to a movie. My continued to swell, itch, goop and get crusty...it was NOT a good situation. I was super self-conscious about it, but still tried to have a good time. I missed putting food in my mouth just one time b/c I was off-balanced.

My mom is visiting from Argentina for the next week. How lovely it is to see her interact with my kids and have her extra help with cooking. She wanted to go to the mall for some make up, so we headed out today. I wore sunglasses INSIDE the mall to hide my eyeball. Not making eye contact with people is the best way to go.

With Benadryl, eye drops and rest, my eyeball is getting better. I feel a bit loopy with the drugs, but I have high hopes to make it to church tomorrow without too many looks.

Update: Double Pink Eye Infection! A goopey, irritating, itchy mess. Thank goodness for Abby Kobel who gave me some drops...I am recovered, but it sure did make me grateful to have all of my 5 senses back and in tack.

No prom date

Tonight I was going to go to the Prom. My school, Arizona Charter Academy was having their big event. I was so excited. I had my gown (borrowed from a young woman in my ward), my date (or so I thought), a babysitter, and the event all marked on my calender.

Jared really wasn't up for it from day one, or should I say since yesterday. Yesterday is when I told him about it. I figured he would go either way....um...no. In his words, "I am not going to go to a high school dance to watch a bunch of teenagers bump and grind that I don't know. I will go, but I will not dance." Understood, but I still wanted to go. Then, he told me that he only wanted to make an appearance and then get out of there. Why put that much effort forth if we were going to leave in 30 minutes? We went to the same prom 3 years ago, and although I enjoyed it, I know that Jared really wasn't wanting to re-live the same experience. Sigh.

I guess I get it. He doesn't know anybody. He feels like it is inappropriate for a man twice their age to be on the dance floor, and really couldn't relax and have fun. I on the other hand, thought it would be a great time! I teach a lot of those students, I love the fellow staff, and I love any reason to go out and DANCE. But, what fun is a dance if I have no dance partner?

So...we didn't go to prom. So sad.

Wesley then got pink eye. Ugh.

What did we do? We made the best of it. We played Candyland, picked up dog poop, pulled weeds, cleaned the kitchen and I made homemade pizza (substituting hot dog slices for pepperoni. That was interesting). I ate way too much, like usual, so we went out for a walk. It was so nice to enjoy the warm 75 degrees, all the gnats (why do they always cluster up and fly into your face?), the sunset, and flowers that Austin always picks (cerra tus ojos mama. Tengo una sorpresa!).

We hit up the Fry's grocery store that is 3 blocks away, & got a RedBox for the boys. At the ice cream aisle, you should've seen their faces when Jared said, "Pick out anything you want!" A little boys dream come true....well, I guess mine too! Artificially flavored and no-nutrients florescent push-up pops was the selection, that they smeared across their little mouths all the way home (and shirts). Jared and I got some Breyer's and watched our flick ("Fame") after the boys went to bed.

Now that my allergies are in full swing, my eyes are pink and swollen, and my tummy is full of sugar, I wonder if I would've had that much fun at the prom?

Fieldtrips for Mrs. Wilson

One of the great things about being a teacher, is going on field trips. What's better? Being able to take my own kids on MY school's outings (and the boys' schools):


Peter Piper Pizza to learn about fractions. What a fun field trip for kids. Not educational at all, but a great excuse to let the kids play and eat pizza during the last month of school when no one can focus!





Krispy Kreme with Isaac and papa (I only wished I had gone to eat my free donut!)




Field Day for Wesley at Paradise Education Center. He loved the tug of war. I did too. Wesley got chased by so many girls too. I was surprised! He says he doesn't like it, but he was grinning from ear to ear the whole time.





Austin at the Fire Station:

I took Wesley with me and the ACA 1st graders to the World Wildlife Zoo here in Surprise, AZ. It was a bit boring with just Wesley and me walking around by ourselves. He didn't know the other students, and I missed having my other boys around to show all the fun animals. The weather was overcast and cool, perfect for animals to come out and play.

Wesley is such a poser! He propped up his own hands on his hip and cocked his foot.




Wes loved touching the sting ray and chasing them around the pool to touch their slimy bodies (it felt like a bar of soap). He got so excited when they would wave, "ciao" to us.



Feeding tortoises was really an entertaining thing to do....I liked that they eat broccoli and carrots, just like we do at dinner time.


Wesley wasn't so sure about the giraffe's tongue...look at his face! They are my FAVORITE part of the zoo. I love feeding them, touching their long purple tongues, and watching them stretch up.



This Zebra's tail was so cool looking...is it white with black stripes or black with white stripes? The sign said probably black with white stripes.

This Tiger was less than 6 feet away from us, with a chain link fence separating us. It was a bit scary to make eye contact with it. Wesley wanted to get even closer. I said, "No way!"



I took my 3rd grade ACA students to Cabela's, the outdoor sporting goods store. Jared met me there with Austin and Isaac. Austin loved the shoot guns, the large animals and Isaac loved the stuffed animals.




Teaching does have it's benefits! Enjoying my kids' company, getting paid and learning :)

A great blog

A friend told me about this new blog: http://askingjane.blogspot.com/. I have had a few extra minutes to read some of this Mother of 11's insights on parenting, relationships, budgeting, the gospel, balance, etc. It is so refreshing to see her perspective on the little things that get all of us overwhelmed at times. She said:

"One final and perhaps the most important thought is this: Never lose the vision of what you’re really doing. It’s big. There are no shortcuts to the family you want. It’s going to take all you’ve got. But the whole process is a good one and the whole outcome is amazing. Keep before you, the vision of what you want your home to be today and what you want the final outcome to be. Then keep reaching for it. As the days go by, you'll have more and more satisfying moments. Home really can be a heaven on earth. Pray aways and be believing." Pretty good stuff.

I wonder what it would be like to be a mother of 11 children? We have been wanting to get pregnant with baby #4 now for several months, but p.a.t.i.e.n.c.e. is what I am learning as we haven't conceived yet. I think my heart still aches for Isaac's twin that we lost. I still feel the void.

I love the idea of a large family...the meals, chaos, large holidays and shared bedrooms all sound like fun to me. Coming from a smaller family, where I grew up "alone" during my jr. high and high school years, I felt lonely at times and always wanted to have siblings nearby. I love my boys and want more!

So, I am looking forward to my journey of motherhood, and with Jane's suggestions, I hopefully will do a better job each day.

ps....allergies + yoga are not a good combo. The AZ wind/plants/flowers are attacking me!