Sleep is better than....

----insert what you may here....I choose my mom's Sunday roast dinner--and THAT is saying something----

It has been a fog over here the past month or so.  My poor little ones came down with the sickness (and I was not down, but I did get up).  Cru had croup while we were in Idaho and it stayed with him for a long time and decided to turn into a double ear infection.  The meds he was on weren't strong enough so the ear infections came back accompanied by fever, booger nose, and what not.  Needless to say, my epic sleeper was not getting very much sleep.  He couldn't suck on his passy because his nose was so plugged and it was a right hot mess.  Mom was up many times trying to comfort him and what not.  Then my little Zoey got all stuffed up and congested and the doc said it was RSV.  What???  I panicked but there is really nothing you can do but watch to see if it turns into something else.  Also, she began to bust out of the swaddle and biff herself in the face, thus waking up at all hours of the night.  So I unwaddled her gradually and now she is "addicted" to her pacifier and can't sleep without it.  One night I was up six times in two hours and I litterally punched the wall.  Not my best moment but I needed to punch something.  I actually back handed it but who is keeping track of those minor details.  So I have been trying EVERYTHING to help my Zoey figure out how the crap you are suppose to sleep.  She is getting there and will only sometimes wake up a couple times.  She SUCKS at napping right now though and takes about 30 min naps--Cru was the same way so I pray it is just a phase.  I keep saying to myself outloud "I don't know what the heck I am doing".  In the space of a week to a week and half I was averaging 4 hours or so of sleep a night.  I was afraid of myself because I NEED sleep and I get 'out of hand' without it.  Oh-and I got sick too. And Jaitz puked three times one night.

We are all doing SO much better health wise but holy crap that sucked worse than most things.  I am getting so much more sleep even if it is interrupted here or there--at least it isn't every twenty minutes with someone crying.  Oh!  On one of the first 'good' nights that I got the dang dog came into our room and started panting like a weirdo.  I told him to go away and he wouldn't so I thought for sure he puked somewhere.  Turns out he was about to pee his pants so I let him out thankful that he woke me up.

They are lucky they are cute because I have wanted to quit a few times this past month.

Meet in the Middle

I recently had the chance to witness one of my very best friends get married.  The great thing was that my other besties were there as well.  Kristie done got hitched last weekend on 11/11/11 in Provo Utah and all of my buddies were able to go (hence I met them in the middle of Idaho and AZ-clever title post huh).  It was a wonderful and beautiful wedding and we all had a great time.  I got to meet Kristie's husband Jarvis who is JUST her type!!  I am so very happy for her and she deserves so very much to be happy!!  Here are some pics (props to Chelsea for taking all of these pictures-she is real real good).

 This was before the wedding at the luncheon.  We went to some sushi asian place and it was a whirlwind of fun.  We are the next America's mid-size models.

 Lunch!  I took my lil' Zoey with me since she is pretty much still attached to me (literally) and she was a CHAMPION!  She did better on the trip than she does at home!

 Banter.

 Look how good they look together.  They just match!!

 She is such a pretty lady.  She got her dress at some vintage thrift store in SLC and it is AMAZING.  I love stuff like that.  Jarvis also got matching wedding rings and surprised her when they exchanged rings.

 My lil' lady.  She has gotten so much better and I really love (and like) her!!

 My best buddies.  How I miss them so.

I think someone said something either funny or inappropriate judging by Holly's face.  I really like this pic.

All in all-it was a wonderful time had by all.  I wish I could've seen more of everyone but very glad I had the opportunity to go.  Props to everyone (especially Heather) for carting me and Zoey all around the place!

Thank heavens I have long hair

I haven't "done" my hair in a month now and I don't know what I would do if I had short hair that had to be did.  Luckily I can chuck it up in a poop ball because that is all I have time for right now.  Zoey is now a month old and she is a little pistol.  And by the way, whoever said that two kids is easier than one is full of crap.  I don't care how "good" your second one is.....full-o-crap.  Lets just say it has been a bit hard to adjust thus far with the whole nights mixed up with days and gas attacks.  I am tired. So is Zac.

 Cru is very gentle for the most part with his baby sister.  He does like to point at her nose which turns into a poke which turns into mom getting very uptight.

 Go Bears!

 Go Broncos!  She was mad she couldn't be at the game.

Zoey

She is here!  Zoey-born September 9, 2011 at 12:32 a.m. weighing 7 lbs. 8 oz. 20 inches long.  So far she is a super sweet baby but I think her brother is ticked she is here for good.

Grandma Kathy came to AZ to take care of us and our house and it has been a dream.  She leaves today and I don't know if I can do this day to day stuff all by myself! However, I do have a freezer full of apple sauce cookies so that will help at least.

I can't sleep

I think the big man upstairs prepares you for a newborn baby by making it extremely uncomfortable to sleep whilst you are prego.  I am currently unable to sleep so I figured I'd try and get an August post in before the month is over.  I realize I have nothing clever to say as of lately.  I blame pregnancy brain which is a REAL thing.  Everyone keeps saying to me "Oh how in the world are you able to be pregnant in the Arizona summer?"  And I say "I don't really have a choice, I sweat anyway, and the pool is just down the street from me."  I have learned to just accept having perma pit stains this summer and you know what?  I am fine with it because it is 115 degrees and you should have pit stains.

Anyhoo, last Friday I thought we were going to get to meet our new baby girl.  I started having regular contractions and since I don't know what to do about that I called the ol' doc and they told me to go into the hospital (my water broke with Cru so I got the Ace card in that deal).  We got Cru taken care of (thanks to a superb friend and a superb backup friend....well backup plan, not backup friend) and zipped off to the hospital.  I was having regular contractions 2-5 minutes apart and dilated to a 3 so I was getting mentally pumped to do this 'labor' thing again.  I silently sang Eye of the Tiger and envisioned me making the winning 3-point shot and settled into a possible night of action.

Since I was 36 weeks and full term isn't until 37 the doc thought it best to give me shots to try and stop the contractions and let the little one cook a bit more.  So I got these shots of medicine that make you feel like you are running a race but not moving your legs and settled in.  Well, I was still having contractions and dilated to a 4 so I again repeated the chorus of Eye of the Tiger along with the beginning "da...dah dah da..." and they gave me another shot.  The contractions spaced and I didn't progress anymore so we got sent home.  But not until after I got this rad pic of me in the most flattering of all outfits.  Presenting the hospital gown.

So hot right now.  Speaking of so hot, I have not worn my hair down in about 2 weeks because of the excessive heat warnings here and the fact that I am pregnant.  I have no options.

We also had an adventure at the zoo!  Three times a year the Phoenix Zoo opens up its doors at night for 5 dollars and the entire middle class of the Phoenix valley shows up.  We are no exception (plus Cru was free).  The crapper is that it starts at 6:00 pm and most the animals are bedded down by 8:00 so you have minimal viewing.  We decided the monkeys would be a good thing to see and they did not disappoint.

 There is truly a monkey in that tree.

 The elephant. 

 There is a zebra if you look real real close.

And yes I realize all these pictures are the backs of our heads but then you get to see what we do.  They have this huge fountain area where the fountains shoot on and off and hit kids in the face if they aren't watching.  Needless to say it was extremely crowded since at 8:00 it was still in the triple digits.  This picture was tender to me because Cru will usually have nothing to do with holding my hand.  Nice catch Zac.

And I just love this picture.  Cru loves his dad and will snuggle in with him and watch whatever he is watching--usually ESPN. Until next time--

I'm Idaho

We recently got the chance to head up to the blessed land that is Idaho.  Our time went by WAY to fast and there was so much more I wanted to do and SO many people I wanted to see or be with longer.  But alsas, we are not retired with butt loads of money so it had to be a shorter trip.  The main reason for this trip was to see one of my besties get hitched.  My dearest Kristen McLevanCoysky's wedding was BEAUTIFUL and a right good time.  She was gorgeous and  I was able to see all my closest friends and hang with them for a night which was real real nice.  I realized after the fact of course, that I didn't get a picture with all of us in it but here is a wee montage of us in action.

tender.

 I am digging everyone's closed lips in this pic. 

 This is why we are friends.  Look at that crazed look.  Love her.

 Total beauty AND the maid of honor.  I was honored just eating meat with her at the same table.

chester.

We got to spend some good quality time with both of our families.  We had a big ol' BBQ on that Saturday with my clan, ate Idaho Pizza Co. another day, and had a grandkid/grandparent picture night another night.  We also had two big dinners with Zac's clan and got to chill in downtown Boise which is one of my favorite places in the world!  And we ate Chicago Connection.  SO GOOD!!!!!  I poked baby girl so she would move so I could stuff another piece of pizza in my gullet. So much heart burn and totally worth it.  We also took Cru to the fountains in Eagle.  He didn't seem to care much for them but loved the snow cone that followed.

Priceless.

Here is a pic of Cru with his little sister.  I know peeps are all about the belly shot and this is the best one I could find.  She is 32 weeks now and I'm getting freaked and excited about all of this mess!

There is a picture of a pink Javelina

There was a game I use to play when I was bored and had nothing to do at night.  It was a game called discovering Idaho.  All you needed was gas in your car and a wee bit of a sense of adventure.  What was fun about this game was you could do it alone, with friends, or via the cell phone if you were chatting with your 'boy who was more than a friend but I refused to call him my boyfriend named Zac'.    You basically would go on a road you had never been on before and see where you ended up/discovered.  It could be a country road, subdivision, or whatever.  I love this game and continue to play it but not as much since gas prices are so ridiculous.....and I call it discovering Arizona right now.  We decided to take a little 'discovering Arizona' adventure as a family to Sedona, AZ for the long Memorial weekend.  We got a cheap motel room that allowed dogs the night before, packed some treats and apple juice and headed out on Friday afternoon.  We figure we needed to see if Cru could handle car rides that are longer than 20 minutes since we are heading to the San Diego in a few weeks.  He traveled like a champ and LOVED the motel room.  If you ever have the chance to go to Sedona do it (unless you live in St. George) because it is a BEAUTIFUL red rock scattered oasis.  I was seriously amazed at how pretty it was and so glad we decided to be spontaneous.  Cru is taking in the grandeur in this pic as you can see.

 This is the picture of a pink Javelina.

 I laughed really hard when I took a close look at this picture.  Look at Zac's mouth.

 We went on a 'hike'--as far as hiking with a pregnant woman in flip flops, stroller and baby, and dog goes.  We only walked a short way on the trail but it was still very fun.  We were trying to get to one of the famous vortexes that are in Sedona but only made it about a forth of the way.  We then blamed everything on the vortex--like the fact bugs kept dive bombing Zac.

 It was so much fun and I am so glad we decided to go!  We also decided to try and take in a drive in movie before it gets too bloody hot.  We've been nervous about going mostly because Cru is Cru and you are never sure what you're going to get (as I'm sure it is with most 1+ year olds).  Needless to say, he did GREAT and watched most of X-Men with us.  Not sure if that is good but we had a ball!  He especially liked the giant bowl of popcorn we got and roaming around the bed of the truck.

Here he is roaming before the movie started.  

And last, it's that time of year again when the weather is starting to hit the triple digits so why not move again?  This will be our third time moving in an Arizona summer but who can't resist moving into a house?  I think that will make it all worth it.  We are moving the end of June and are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited to be ditching this apartment life (hopefully forever.....or at least until we are geri's).