Three Little Words

Lunch is ready.

What? I stared at Darren in disbelief.

I'm not sick.

It's not Mother's Day OR my Birthday. He made lunch.

I love it!

PB&J, carrots, crackers & pretzels, all on a paper towel.

It's a good day!

When You're Not at Disneyland...

Pretend that you are!

The kids transformed Courtney's room into their own Disneyland. Our favorite touches were:

Indiana Jones {being chased by a giant ball}

Tiki Room {RH side}

&

Haunted Mansion {complete with tissue paper ghosts}

New Home

I fell in love with this house several months ago, knowing it would never be on the market by the time we moved to California.

I think it was waiting for us. The owners put in all new tile, carpet, paint, a bay window & outdoor grill. It was ready the exact date we needed to move in.

Being on a street called Tiara, how could I NOT love it?
This home has a similar feel and layout as our last home.
The kiddos keep insisting it's cold enough to use the fireplace. Not quite yet:)
Those are banana plants in the middle! Darren loves the grill {and I love that I get a night off cooking every once in awhile}! To the left are some of the roses.
Pink--you know I love that!

We are so grateful to live here. We're still unpacking, but are settling in nicely.

Lake Roos

Once or twice a year, the wash behind our house will fill up with water.
All the WONDERFUL rain this week made us some pretty sweet lakefront property!One night after the kids were in bed, Darren opened our windows, pulled up two cozy chairs & blankets, and we just sat & listened to the rushing water.
Not the ocean, but I'll take it.
The moon looked so beautiful reflected on the water.

Re-Trenching

We spent a small fortune & lots of time putting in a sprinkler system, lush grass & landscaping a few years ago. As you can see, our grass has all dried up {despite being fertilized, thatched, and watered daily} So we're trying again. More sprinklers, a different kind that will hopefully be able to sink into this Arizona dirt {I mean clay}. Think green thoughts!

P.S. This is our 300th post!

A Typical Dinner

When Dad's not home. You got it, slushies from QT and instant oatmeal. And yes, Alexander is wearing an oven mit. The kids were completely worn out after Field Day today @ school!

Paper Mache Counter Tops

Yesterday I spent hours clipping and organizing my coupons. It got a little tedious, so I left the rest of the Q's out on the counter and started cleaning out the freezer instead.

At one of Darren's conventions, he received one of those mugs that have the liquid inside them {that you freeze and it keeps the beverage cold}. In big letters on the side of it, it says, "BEER BUST." I didn't want people thinking we drank beer, so I set it out on the counter to be thrown away.

I got distracted again and came back later to find all my coupons glued in a paper mache mess on my counter top. Yes, the beer mug had it's revenge. There was a crack in it, and as the liquid inside melted, so did my coupons. I tried to salvage as many as I could, drying them out on my baking rack and paper plates.

I think I deserve the "El Cheap-o" award today, don't you think?

Chess Make Your Move!

Darren brought back a chess board for Alexander {that nerd convention must have rubbed off on him}! The kids love it & Darren enjoys imparting his words of wisdom as they play.

Alexander was getting a little frustrated that he couldn't beat Dad, so Darren suggested that he "play Mom" to boost his confidence. {I didn't attend the nerd convention, so I'm doomed}

November Showers Bring...

Rainbows??? We had the greatest rainstorm today. Here in the desert sometimes the dust and dirt in the air make the sky so hazy. When it rains, it clears the air and everything smells so fresh-- we love it! There was this gorgeous rainbow that spanned the sky. By the time Darren rushed out with the camera, this was all that was left of it.

Pizza Friday!

Every Friday we make, bake, or order pizza. It's a fun tradition that the kids look forward to.
As you can see, the most popular option with the kids is to make our own. Our latest fav is to get the refrigerated dough from Fresh & Easy. It is so good, and comes in traditional or wheat.

It's a UFO! Darren in his Italian pizza kitchen:)

Summer Sanity-- Part 4

Yes, I know summer is over, but here's something else that the kids love. I needed some serious incentive for getting the kids to clean their rooms. Oddly enough, this is all it took!

I have probably 10 different flavors of air freshner (love those coupons!) and the kids are rewarded with a "burst of fragrance" when their room is clean. To avoid having my kids become huffers, (thanks, Darren) they stand outside their door and count to 10 while I spray air freshner. Then they come in and they LOVE having their room magically smell like berries or melon or a waterfall or whatever. I just love that it's CLEAN!

The Best Brother

A few weeks ago, Courtney was congested and running a little fever, so I kept her home from school. Alexander disappeared into his "office" (the walk-in-closet in my scrap room) and came out an hour later with this get-well card for his little Sis.
What a thoughtful kiddo. This just touched my heart! Courtney calls him "Best Brother." (When they're getting along:)

Puzzled

Courtney & Darren decided to pull out the puzzle box on Labor Day. Their minds think alike, and they totally rock at puzzles (it's scary, actually). It was a cute moment that I had to capture.

Summer Sanity-- Part 2

I had the kids paint some craft sticks awhile back, and write a responsibility on each one. When they accomplish one, they get to turn it over to the painted side. We have some fun ones, too. My favorite is "Hugs!"
I just ask about their job jars, instead of being a broken record multiple times during the day. The kids have enjoyed it, and we get things accomplished during the day!

Summer Sanity--Part 1

Being without a schedule in the summer just calls out... CHAOS! When the kids are bored with lots of energy to spare, things get a little crazy.

So... I pulled out my old Tae-Bo video (from the 90's, I know) and asked the kids if they wanted to do it with me. Surprisingly, they said YES! It is so hilarious, and they beg to do it every morning. It burns off a lot of energy & gives me some great workout buddies:)

One, Two, Kick, PUNCH!

Cool Down

Future Olympians

The kids have totally gotten into the olympics this summer (thanks to Darren). They have been using our area rug as their practice floor for gymnastics, and we have been pretty entertained! I caught Courtney on video...

Snow Shoveling in July?

Have you Moms heard the quote, "Cleaning the house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling snow while it's still snowing?" Today was one of those days. I am so glad the kids were having fun and actually getting along, though. They combined forces and made a fort. This fort is deluxe, complete with stuffed animals, fold-down nap pillows, light sabers (in case of intruders), music, paper chain decor, trophies, a night light... you name it, this fort has it all! All this was accomplished while I was scrubbing the bathrooms, vacuuming, dusting and changing linens.
Not ten minutes later, they'd decided to make the kitchen into a literal battlefield. I think there were at least 110 army guys all over the floor.

Next, I asked the kids to throw their laundry downstairs. and they thought it would be funny to throw down half the contents of their rooms as well. The neat freak in me just couldn't take a picture.

When Darren comes home from work, I'm sure he'll ask, "And what did YOU do today?"

There's a Lizard in Our House!

The boys were out in the backyard weeding, and Courtney went out to join them. Just as she opened the back door, a lizard was running across the porch, bounced off her cowgirl boot, and into the house. The boys came running in, yelling, "There's a lizard in the house!" Mr. Lizard was hiding behind our couch, so Darren flipped it upside down, and it wasn't there. We decided that he had crawled up inside the couch, so we hurried and pulled the couch outside, to shake him out.

OK, so he wasn't in the couch. He was hiding under the toy box. At this point, Darren had taken every box and piece of furniture in our house and made a blockade/running path to shoo that lizard out the back door. We moved the toy box, and our lizard friend ran under the entertainment center. Darren completely emptied the entertainment center, DVDs, movies, scrapbooks, TV, VCR, you name it, it was out. Then came the shovels and bowls......
About a half hour later, they scared the poor little intruder out, but then Darren trapped him under two couch cushions. After a grueling 10 minutes more, Darren got the guts to grab the lizard's tail and fling him out of the cushions. The lizard (luckily) found the running path and scurried out the back door. WHAT a mess! And all for a little lizard! (Darren will tell you the lizard was enormous!)