The Dairmans

It's me!! Facebook, pinterest and some TV Trays.

2011-08-22T10:55:00.007-07:00

Hi.

My name is Kathy Dairman.

It has been over a year since my last blog post.

I used to be really good about updating my blog.

Then facebook happened.

People might tell you facebook is a waste of time, or might even go as far as to call it the devil. They aren't using it correctly. I have re-connected (actually face-to-face) with many old friends via facebook. I can also run into people at the store and feel like it hasn't been 15 years since I saw them. No need to act like I don't recognize them, worried that they won't know who I am... if you've never done that you are weird. Not me.

And, most recently, pinterest.

Sucks hours from my life. Literally hours. The thing I love about pinterest though... is NOT when this happens:

That actually causes sheer panic
I do like that it starts with "Ugh"... that's funny.

However, when it is working, I can actually save things that I plan to do in a very organized way. Sort of my very own to-do-list if you will. One thing I found on pinterest that I NEEDED to do was this:

(click the picture to go to the link)

See how easy that was to find???

So... back to the reason for this EPIC post
I posted a picture, on facebook, of the TV trays I upcycled this weekend.

Some of you wanted to see how I did it with spray paint.

Here is what I started with:

If you have ever eaten at my house you know we use these often. We have a gigantic couch in our living room. We do not have a gigantic kitchen table. You also can't see the TV from the kitchen table. My brother and my dad are not fans of that when they are eating burgers at my house.

Also my children eat their breakfast every morning on these trays.

They were ugly and boring.
First I cleaned them. Really well. They were sticky, gooey, and gross.
Then I flipped them over and began spraying them with white primer.

I ran out of primer here:

As you can see in the picture, I had another project going too, so I didn't underestimate THAT badly. LOL

Insert Hubby's trip #1 to Home Depot here

(love you babe!)

I missed taking pictures of the next few steps. We will blame the heat. It was HOT out there!!

After the underneath dried, I turned them over and primed the tops, then repeated the two step process with white.
Next I put them on a table and put garbage bags over the legs and sprayed the tops green.

Then I started taping. I did not have a plan. Not a good one anyway. Just winged it. I've never done a chevron pattern before. It was a learning experience. It's okay to laugh at it. I did too. I realized it was going to be REALLY crooked and could have started over, but didn't. Who needs perfect?

To create the chevron pattern I criss crossed the tape all over the table first, then marked the areas to save and used an exacto knife to cut of the unneeded portions.

Can you see where I removed tape that I wasn't supposed to?
Awesome!!

Next I sprayed it with brown.

Insert Hubby's #2 Home Depot trip here

Mine looked red. I wish I would've taken a picture of the cap and the actual color. Not cool.

So, I sprayed them again... with the new awesome brown brown.

Here they are (moved to the patio) after I pulled the tape off.

I sprayed the whole tops with a poly to protect them from my children.

And here they were the next morning.
Good enough to eat off of.

:)

From door knobs to more knobs...

2010-07-08T15:12:00.006-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I spray painted the door handles on all of the downstairs doors. They have held up pretty well, considering I didn't sand any of them first...which I WILL do with the ones upstairs that to the kids rooms...and the other projects I have in mind.

So, I decided to take off the knobs in my kitchen and do the same thing. Here they are before. Sorry about the bad picture quality...I still haven't read the manual for this camera.

The whole enchilada (before)...Some close-ups of the uglies (with some awesome reflective flashes and shadows)

Let's pretend the cabinet doors themselves to not need a complete make-over too. I do not have the time, nor energy to deal with that yet. Yes, I know it is not THAT bad of a job to take off the fronts, sand everything down and re-finish it all, BUUUT my staircase banister and rails all along the loft are the same color. I can't do one without doing all of it. It makes me really tired just thinking about sanding all those rails. Ughh!!

Okay, back on track.

First I took off all the handles.

Except the ones that were super glued in...That's right folks, I said super glued. Why someone would do that...I have no idea. So, I improvised and, after a good scrubbing down with soap and water, started priming.Joe took this whole door off, because the screw was so threaded it was the only way, without breaking anything. :)And here they are back on, with a no more shiny brass.

So, what do you think? Better?

Every time I open a cupboard door I wonder why I didn't do this sooner.

4th of July Cake

2010-07-08T14:43:00.004-07:00

When I saw this cake at Make It and Love It I knew I wanted to do it. I was pretty unsure about it though. I had never made a multi-layered cake before.

Really?

Nope. Never. Never even tried.

But look at the inside!! It's an American flag!! Seriously. Had to try it, but as I mentioned, I was scared. Since we had plans to spend the 4th of July weekend up north with some friends I decided to make a practice cake first. The directions the post were REALLY good and I got through it all without any "oops" moments at all!!

Here are my layers cooling off after baking them. You can't really tell by the picture, but the blue looked green. I was sure I mixed it blue...baking it can't really turn it to green can it?

Well, I guess we'll see, right?

(look at those hideous, golden drawer handles, and obnoxious gold and white knobs on my cabinets!...we'll talk about that later)

And here she is all layered up, according to the directions

I decided on stars, because, well they just seemed a little bit more patriotic to me and I already had the cookie cutters. :)And here is my "practice cake" in all it's gloryI did not take any pictures of the "real" cake I made in Payson, but it looked pretty much exactly the same.

I'm so proud. :D

Oh, and it tasted good too!

Paper Flowers

2010-06-24T16:48:00.004-07:00

UPDATE:
I finally found the blog where I learned how to make these flowers!

Have you seen these flowers on a purse, in someones hair, on a shirt, on shoes, on rings, or just to dress up a cork board lately? Me too. I finally watched a tutorial on how to make them. SUPER easy!! Here are the first two flowers I made ~~at work~~ when I had a second.

I have a plan to make about 50 more of them with WAY cuter paper (not the only color I could find at work). Can you guess what I'm going to do with them?
I have a lot of plans for things lately.

The CSI project will do that to a girl.

Seriously.

If you don't want to have a whole bunch of things in a bag, hiding behind your couch, with high expectations of greatness, you should not visit that site.

Seriously.

One thing I am not going to be doing is painting my kitchen counters to look like marble. I have limits, but DANG...that's pretty impressive!!

Hopefully my (seriously neglected) blog will soon be updated with more DIY, crafty, thrifty projects to help make my house a home...and a WHOLE bunch of pictures of my SUPER cute kids!

Speaking of which...check out Lacy!!

Doorknobs

2010-06-18T22:20:00.008-07:00

Now that ~~my softball season~~ winning state is over, and I have ~~all the free time in the world~~ a couple extra minutes, I have started some projects around the house that have been bothering me. As soon as I saw this doorknob makeover I knew I needed to give it a shot. See what I mean?

When we first moved in we thought we would replace all of the doorknobs, but then we priced it. A 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bathroom house has a LOT of doorknobs!! Before we went to Germany I took off three, painted them and put them back up. I wanted to make sure they would hold up before I did all the extra work.

They held up perfectly, so here we go...all the rest of the knobs from the main floor. Check out how I stuck the screws in the box. When I did the first 3 knobs I held them in my fingers to spray the tips. This worked MUCH better. :)Primer

Aren't they sooo much better now?Go ahead, scroll back to that first picture...yep, same door. I did all of them with one can of primer and one can of spray paint. Awesome...and thrifty! :D

I have a plan for more spray painting this weekend. Joe is a little bit less skeptical about what I want to do now that he has seen how great the doorknobs turned out. I guess we'll see if it turns out good enough to post.

Holy Hannah!!!

2010-04-30T14:05:00.002-07:00

I stink!! As I read THIS post I thought, oh crap...I did that too, so I did a little bit of searching and found THIS post from February 2009. I stink!! I promised I would sent out your prize within a year. Shame on me!

So, attention Jill, Taylor & Tawna...I have made you something. You may love it or you may hate it. Please tell me you love it either way.

Taylor and Tawna we need to figure out how I can get yours to you, so leave me a comment and we can work that out...regular old snail mail will not work, unless you want it shattered. :)

Jill - we're good...I'll bring yours to you.

Some cute pictures (and me)

2010-04-15T11:12:00.008-07:00

I am WAY behind in posting.

I always say that.

I have a million pictures to sort through from Easter (aka Lacy's birthday) to post, but in the meantime, if you want to see what went on at my house on Easter please see Erica's post.

And if you want to see the super sweet, kinda scary, awesome candle we used on Lacy's Easter/Birthday cake please see Erica's other post.

As a matter of fact, Erica just got a brand new camera, so you might just want to delete my blog and add hers to your list instead. :D

Here are some pictures Erica didn't take...

My beautiful, blue eyed baby girl...who is 2 YEARS OLD NOW!!!And won't stop running to take a picturegood one!

Talon lost his first tooth!!!My dog Sandy is still alive and kicking, even after eating all of the kids Easter candy while we were in CA, including an entire chocolate Easter Bunny. We will call her ninja dog.

I finally had enough guts to let Jen cut off my nasty hairHere it is curly

Another "Are you serious?" moment...

2010-03-29T13:13:00.004-07:00

When my cell phone and wallet got stolen off my desk at my old office, the guy left my purse behind. I thought that was so he could get a head start and use my credit cards before I realized what he had taken (which totally worked BTW). But now, I think it was because I do not carry this purse:
Which, apparently, retails for $3,495.00!!! Seriously?! A trip for 5 to Germany, or a purse, or a CAR. Seriously, people seriously. If you own this purse, please contact me. We need to talk about what better ways I can spend YOUR money. ;-)

Talon is 6!!!

2010-03-25T10:59:00.012-07:00

Talon got an entire week of birthday celebrations...as it should be. :) First, he got to take doughnuts to school for his class, and for kids corner on his REAL birthday. Then, he got to share a cake with Sydney, Aunt Erica, Uncle Mick and Patty at my parent's house two days later. Thanks for sending me the pics mom, since I forgot my dang camera. Good times!!Then, he had ANOTHER birthday celebration at his other grandparent's house the next night!! (Yep, we brought the leftover cake from the night before) :-)So happy!!Talon chose the "underwater" Happy Birthday song. You use your finger on your lips to make it sound like you're under water while singing. Hailey and daddy are doing it, Lacy is completely confused by it, and Talon is LOVING it! And, of course, he was totally spoiled by the Dairman's...again.Talon chose to have his "friends" party at Peter Piper...what a shocker.

Just look at that cute 6 year old. :)Lacy could stay on this ride for DAYS. Seriously DAYS!!Check out how much fun she is having...for like the bizzillionth time....even Ava got in on the action, and loved it.Nasty pizza time!!!!!

(sorry it's gotta be the 2nd worse pizza on the planet, right...anything for the birthday boy) Cake Time!!!! And...the underwater song again. Lacy is STILL confused by it, and is wondering why she had to get off that ride to come for this!Haha it looks like Talon and Tyler are kissing. You can always tell who's gift he is opening. This one is from Sydney...obviously!!Can you tell who this one is from?? I ♥ it!!! I seriously can't look at this picture without smiling. I just love how happy it makes the kids when they pick out the perfect gift. :)And finally Talon's gift from his mom and dad...a ~~brand new~~ slightly used ~~death trap for Lacy~~ BED!!

The News!!

2010-03-24T15:07:00.003-07:00

Just in case you haven't heard the news...

No, it's not that...Joe had surgery. ;-)

We are going to Germany!!!

Yay!!!!

I found some fabulous ticket prices in May and we are going for two weeks!! I couldn't be more excited!!

The best part is that it's going to be a two-for-one deal. We will get to visit my sister and her family AND we will get to go to Yve's wedding!! Yay!

Now start praying for the poor souls who will be on that overnight flight with us and our three kids. LOL

Seriously?!?

2010-03-24T11:25:00.002-07:00

This is quite possibly the ugliest shoe I have ever seen

100 Tattoos for the 100th day of school

2010-01-27T14:55:00.002-07:00

Talon had his 100th day of kindergarten yesterday. He was told to wear 100 of something. Joe thought 100 temporary tattoos would be cool.

He was right!!

On our way home last night I told Talon he needed to go straight to his room, get his pajamas and meet me in the bathroom. It was later than we normally get home, and we had a lot of scrubbing to do. Here is how our conversation went:

Me: Talon, I want you to go straight upstairs, get your pajamas and meet me in the bathroom. Got it? Talon?

Talon: Yes. Got it.

Me: No distractions...I'm serious.

Talon: But my toys just look so good...

I believe...

2010-01-04T14:03:00.003-07:00

I am sooo far behind in blogging. I have blogged NOTHING about Christmas, New Years or my sister Tina's visit from Germany yet, but if you would like to read about a few of the things I believe visit TotallyTay. I promise to get caught up on the rest of it sometime in 2010. :D

Uckie!

2009-12-01T15:30:00.003-07:00

We had been home for about an hour. The girls had eaten and I was cleaning up the kitchen. Lacy started wandering around the house looking for something to do.I hear her from the front room. "Uckie!"
Oh, no! What did she do? I dried my hands and she was behind me.
"Uckie!" She pointed to the front room.
I followed.
She was not in trouble. The dog was. She showed me the small mess. Now, I feel bad for Sandy, so let me tell you she is a 13 year old yellow lab. Did you hear that? 13 years old. We do not have a doggy door. Sometimes she can't wait until we get home to let her out. She is in a kennel and she is Houdini. We gave up and bought a steam cleaner. Yeah, that bad.

Back to Lacy...she was very proud that she had found the mess and told me about it. She crouched down and watched me clean it up.

I said, "We do not poop on the carpet do we?"
Lacy replied, "No, Uckie!"
"Where do we poop?" This is what I had in mind. Lacy pointed at her bum and said, "There!"

My little Lacy - 19 Months

2009-11-16T14:34:00.003-07:00

Well, we went three months with no episodes.

Friday she had two. One with my mom during the day and one at home in the evening. Poor kid. She was so pooped after the second one she laid on my lap for about a half hour. That's a pretty big deal for her. She is usually non-stop. Here is a blurry picture I took with my phone.

She has tubes in her ears from too many ear infections and although they both drained a LOT while she was sick, one never stopped. It has been draining continually for weeks. She lost two pairs of earrings because she was playing with her ears so much. I was told that means the tubes are doing their jobs. Recently she has stopped letting us clean it out, which is what triggered her first episode. My mom was being a good grandma and tried to wipe out some of the gunk. She didn't like that. At all.

I took her to the doctor this morning. We were one month late for her 18 month check-up. She is in the 90% in height and 25% in weight. Typical Dairman. :) She also had an ear infection, so I'm not sure why we got the tubes, but I'm not a doctor.

We thought she had grown out of these episodes early, but we are back to watching closely every time she cries.

She did cry once while we were at the doctor's office today. We were in our room waiting for the nurse and she heard a baby crying next door. She jumped up, listened closely and then tried to get out of the room to go help. When I didn't let her out she got very upset with me. Big crocodile tears and all. Maybe we have a future doctor on our hands??

Tempe Improv

2009-11-11T16:15:00.002-07:00

A couple of weeks ago some of our friends invited us to go to the Tempe Improv with them. Don't ask who we saw because it doesn't matter...she wasn't that good. We still had a good time though. :D

I forgot my camera because I'm lame, but Donna remembered hers so she took a couple of pictures of us. I took one of them too, but Donna didn't send it to me because she's lame.

Then I asked the girl next to me to take one of the four of us. She was happy to. In fact, she said she worked for the company who made the special drinks of the night and offered to buy us all one. Thanks girl!! And thanks to Donna and Branden for a fun date night.

Halloween

2009-11-09T16:23:00.005-07:00

Talon was a pirate again. I'm just kidding. He finally outgrew that thing and didn't even mention it this year. He wrote in a journal at school that he was going to be a turtle for Halloween. We thought he would change his mind a hundred times (like usual) but he didn't. He went as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Rafael. I know that because Rafael is red. I think.

Hailey got this cheerleader outfit for her birthday. Yay!! Free for me means an awesome costume! I made her some cute bows for her hair the night before, and she was all set. What a pretty girl!!Lacy was going to be a flapper, which was another dress up costume Hailey got for her birthday. She tried it on once and wasn't too happy about the gloves. I didn't care. I didn't want to buy something I didn't think she would wear anyway. Our kids never liked costumes at her age.

Courtney asked us to borrow a costume for Ethan, and I'm so glad she did. I got the Halloween costume bin out of the garage and found this for Lacy.As soon as she put it on she was a total ham. She walked around the house looking down (so you couldn't see her face) then peeking up and saying boo and laughing.

Here she is "posing" for the camera with Sydney (Strawberry Shortcake), Hailey and Talon. She is so funny!!

I'm not sure she understood the whole trick-or-treating thing. She knew she was supposed to carry her bucket up to people and they would give her something to put in it.

She was on a mission. She would not let anyone put anything directly in her bucket. They would hand her the candy and she would say, "there you go", put it in her bucket and walk away.

I really wish I would have taken some video of her. She was non-stop. She didn't want to be carried, but she would hold your hand as long as you didn't stop. She just put her head down and walked, and walked, and walked.Here's a picture of the whole group of kids we went with. I was so mean to make them stop for 30 seconds to get a picture. :) You can just barely see Braden (Diego) poking out behind Aiden.

Introducing Matthew & Jacob!!!

2009-10-30T11:01:00.004-07:00

The babies are here!!!! Matthew 6lbs 9 oz, 18 1/2 inches. Jacob 6lbs even, 18 3/4 inches. Born at 7:03 and 7:04 am this morning (Matthew first).

Aren't they the cutest things you have ever seen??? :-D

Florence and the boys are all doing well and I can't wait to meet these little guys in person!!!

A thought....

2009-10-29T10:32:00.002-07:00

I NEVER talk politics. I never comment on anyone else's political ideas. I read this on someone else's blog and it was my thoughts put into words perfectly, so I thought I would share it with you. I hope you don't think it's too "political", and I still love you if you don't agree. :)

"You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."Adrian Rogers, 1931-2005

Curl Formers - Bailee

2009-10-28T13:33:00.003-07:00

I ♥ these things!! I've used them on Hailey's hair, my hair and my niece Carina's hair. They are the BEST curlers ever!! I don't think I've ever posted about them before, but if you're interested they are ONLY sold at Sally's. Have I mentioned I ♥ them? I would put them in anyone's hair who would let me.

You have to buy this hook thing when you buy the curlers. You shove it through the curler, which opens up and straightens out enough to pull the hair through it and then whips back up with the hair inside. I ran out of the larger pink and orange ones on Bailee, so I had to use some of the smaller blue and green ones on the front of her head. They were not long enough for her hair, so I just kind of twisted the hair around her head.

Here is what they look when they are all in. I guess you could blow it dry if you were in a hurry, but we always just sleep with them in. They are pretty soft.The next morning, right after we pulled them out.Separate the curls a little bit and you are adorable!!

Lacy Update

2009-10-14T11:09:00.003-07:00

Lacy hasn't had an episode since our camping trip at the BEGINNING OF AUGUST (which I just realized I never blogged about, bad blogger mommy) She still holds her breath when she cries really hard, and scares me a little bit each time, but always takes a breath before she passes out. Can you believe it's been TWO MONTHS?? Maybe she's already grown out of it, but I'm not gonna hold my breath. Teehee

Her hair is finally getting long enough for more than one piggy...well sort of. :-) Here is a picture I took of her first "real" hairdo. Hailey got jealous and I had to do hers the same way after I took this picture.Every once in a while my mom sends me pictures of my kids while I'm at work. Here are some she sent me last week.How cute is she???Seriously, the cutest baby there is!!

Cheerleader Hailey

2009-10-05T19:58:00.004-07:00

The last weekend of September Hailey went to a cheer clinic at Westwood High School because Brea is a cheerleader there. Hailey learned jumps... Pyramids The girls even got to take turns being lifted by the "real" cheerleaders And they got to JUMP down and be caughtAnd they learned chants too.Then, on Friday night they got to cheer for the entire first quarter of the varsity football game!! Hailey is to the left of the cheerleader in the middle.

"Hands on hips, smile on lips!"

Here is the whole group of them!! Hailey is right smack dab in the middle of the front row with her arms up in the air. What a cutie!!!I COULD end this post now, and you could think Hailey had a great time and did a wonderful job. I can't. I have video. It is hilarious. Hailey DID have a great time, and would love to do it again. She told EVERYONE that she was a cheerleader. She was so proud. :D!!

Please watch the video and see why her mommy was never a cheerleader.

(she's in the front in a shirt big enough to be a dress)

And just for fun here's another one!!

Pink Day

2009-09-18T11:18:00.002-07:00

The kindergarten classes at Talon's school have color days. On those days the kids are supposed to cut something out of a magazine that is the color of the day, and wear the color to school. Apparently pink day can be a painful day for boys.

I had no idea.

Talon put on his pink shirt yesterday, then came into my room. I told him he looked handsome. He told me he thought the kids on the bus would make fun of him for wearing pink. Rude kids. I told him that he should just tell them that it's pink day in his class. What do I know? He said that his teacher told them that they don't have to wear pink if they don't want to, because it's a girl color. I doubt that's how she said it. I told him that he should tell those kids he can wear whatever he wants, and he left my room.

As he was leaving for the school bus he had an orange shirt on. Apparently dad knows more about mean boys than mom. Joe put his shirt in his backpack and Talon told him he would put it on when he got to his classroom. Deal.

I picked Talon up from Kids Corner last night and he still had his orange shirt on. I asked him if he wore the pink one in his class. He "forgot" he had it. Liar. I asked him if any other boys in his class wore pink and he said yes. One. But it was different. It was pink and black and pink and black stripes, so it was more boy. Another mother came to pick up her son (who was only wearing a thin white under shirt) and asked him where his pink shirt was. "In my backpack." We looked at each other and shared an eye roll. :)

Let me just say this. I really don't care if he wore pink or not. It's more the principle of letting the other kids "scare" him out of it. When he got that shirt he was proud of it and loved it.

What the heck am I going to do on "Rainbow Day" next week??? Not even try I suppose. :)

Shelby

2009-09-04T16:38:00.003-07:00

Joe told me there is a little girl at the bus stop that really likes Talon. Apparently she calls his name and runs to him and hugs in the morning. I asked Talon what her name is. He didn't know.

Joe was sick today so Hailey and I walked Talon to the bus stop. This adorable little blond girl ran over and hugged Talon.

Me: Hi, I'm Talon's mom, and this is Talon's little sister Hailey

Her: (walking directly in front of Hailey) Hi. It's nice to meet you.

Me: What's your name?

Her: (Stepping back in front of me and looking me right in the eye) My name is Shelby. S-H-E-L-B-Y

Me: What grade are you in?

Her: 1st.

Me: That's great. It was nice to meet you.

Then I said goodbye to Talon, gave him a kiss and watched them walk off, holding hands and sit down together.

I think he's probably going to marry Shelby.

Hailey is 4!!

2009-08-31T14:25:00.005-07:00

Hailey turned 4 on Saturday!!

Hailey, Gavin, Aiden, Uncle Rick, Talon, Tyler, Sydney & Braden.Pool fun!! Hailey, Ava and Lacy in the castle Cake!!♫ Happy Birthday to you ♫
♫ Happy Birthday to you ♫

♫ Happy Birthday to Haaaaaiileeeey ♫
♫ Happy Birthday to YOU! ♫ Presents (Hailey, Talon's rib cage & Lacy's head)
Try to focus on the cute dress up clothes, not the crazy hair poking up from my head. What the ?!? is that about? It looks like I could stab someone's eye out! :)

This is one of those dolls you can draw on and wash over and over again. Talon, Sydney and Hailey played with this thing together for a really long time until they talked Hailey into washing it out in the bathroom sink. Nice! :)

Hailey's 1st Day

2009-08-31T13:37:00.004-07:00

Last Monday was Hailey's first day of preschool. She goes three days a week this year, and loves it! She is so excited that her best friend, Lauren, is going to be in her class this year!Talon already left on the bus that morning, but Hailey wanted to pose with Lacy. :)
This is Lacy's morning face.

Here is a picture of Hailey and Lauren after their first day, thanks Jill! :)

Another giveaway!!

2009-08-31T09:17:00.003-07:00

Cally makes things. Really useful, great things! She is giving some of her things away, and I want to win them, because I don't make things. Not even super easy, non-useful things. You can try to win them too, but if you win and I don't I really, really want the diaper strap and the bag. Please? Finders fee, right??

Kindergarten - Day 5

2009-08-24T16:24:00.002-07:00

Last Wednesday afternoon, after Talon's 5th day of school, his teacher called me. As you can imagine I was not excited about that.

Apparently Talon told his teacher it was his, "worst day ever!"

It was blue day. She was in the back of the class preparing the blue snack. Apparently Talon told the other kids at his table that if they told on him, and he got in trouble, he would kill them. Nice. One kid ran back and told her what Talon said. She said she calmed the other kids down and told them Talon was really not going to kill them. Talon had to turn his bear around, and did not get a blue snack.

Later, during "resting" time he took off his shoes and socks. Apparently this is a no-no. His teacher does not want to help put 19 pairs of stinky, sweaty shoes and socks back on after nap time. Who would? Anyway, she told him that since he was not supposed to take them off, he would have to figure out how to put them back on himself. Good for her.

He threw his shoes and socks at her. Bad for him.

The rest of the class went to P.E. while he pouted barefoot. She talked him through putting them on, without helping at all.

Since Joe was picking Talon up after school, I called and told him about my conversation with his teacher. When he picked him up he asked him how his day was.
Fine.
Where you good?
Yes.
Really? Because your teacher called.
I was mostly good.
Really?
Yes.

Joe said it took a lot of questioning to get most of the story out of him. He went back on day 6 and apologized to his teacher and the kids at his table. He told me he switched tables. I wonder if there is another mother out there writing a blog about her kid being threatened by a bully, and asking to have that kid moved to another table.

I'm sure they were all friends again by day 7. At least I hope so.

A giveaway!

2009-08-18T09:21:00.003-07:00

For those of you with tiny, little feet at home...check it out! A Story of A Princess and her Hair is hosting another Hair and Share Giveaway. Good Luck!!

I'm thinking that with the great discounts at ShooShoos I might even be able to get a great pair for some twinners that are growing in my sister-in-law's belly. :)

Sea World

2009-08-17T15:28:00.004-07:00

Hailey was so excited! Not only did her cousins Gavin and Ava go with us to Sea World with their dad, but her best friend Lauren got to come too!! Here they are sweating and watching the Pet Show.Lacy liked the doggies.
This is Joe telling Ava to smile bigger. Hilarious!! Uncle Jono and HaileyBailee and Talon We took the kids to see the 3-D Elmo show and they were all crying by the end. When you name a movie after a loveable, cuddly, little creature like Elmo it should be kid proof. Not scary, spitty, blow-up things in your face the whole time. We calmed them down and then bought them some hats to make it up to them. :-)

For the money, and what our kids could do there, I think Legoland was the better choice for my family. We'll go to Sea World again in another 5 years or so, when they're all tall enough for the rides. :-)

Legoland

2009-08-17T11:42:00.005-07:00

While we were in California we took our kids to Legoland. It was perfect for 3-5 year olds. Our kids had a great time! It wasn't too bad for us either. :-) This was the lamest ride EVER!! The helicopters went up and down and around on the base, but the kids L♥ved it!
They also had a huge water area for the kids to play in. We went prepared and took their swimsuits.Here is this cool tube in the aquarium. The kids got to pop up and pretend they were in the tank.This ride was not too scary and the kids were both tall enough to go on by themselves. :-)

Talon met Bob the Builder!!Waiting in line...happily.These cars were just the right size...with no waiting!! Hailey totally passed him. :-)

Talon's First Day Pictures

2009-08-13T13:18:00.003-07:00

Here are the pictures from Talon's first day of kindergarten. He's so proud and excited to be going to big kids school!The girls are all ready to walk him to the bus stop. Check out Hailey's pose! :) Wait a minute!!! Are all three of my kids looking at the camera at the same time and SMILING? What the crap? Daddy thought we were gonna be late, so he didn't want to wait for Lacy to walk with him.On the bus!!For those of you who read the last post and are wondering: yes, I met the bus at the school again this morning. No, there was not anyone helping anyone again today. There were plenty of kids all over crying again today. One kid in Talon's class also rides his bus with his brother, who's in 1st grade. I found this out yesterday, because he walked him to the right playground (right before the kindergartner started crying and his mom showed up) yesterday.

Right when Talon got off the bus I told him to walk with Gavin because his brother always makes sure he gets to the right place. He also had an older neighborhood (very chatty) sweet girl to help them get there today.

Maybe I won't have to meet the bus at the school for the rest of the year if Talon's hooks up with these guys every day off the bus.

Talon had some really funny stories from school yesterday.

One about a little girl in a yellow shirt who "made a good choice" and sat next to him, because he held the door open for her.

One about a kid who got hurt on the playground and had to go to the nurse. She wrapped up his arm, but it was OK cuz he just used the other one.

One about meeting a "singing teacher" who had music really loud and then turned it to medium loud. He said he got to pick what they do and he picked marching (thanks Mrs. Rogers) and the whole class followed him around the room. I think that might have been in kids corner after school. He didn't seem to know the difference. :)

Today he is supposed to learn his teacher's name and his room number. That was his homework from Aunt Adelina. She said she's gonna call him everyday until he knows those two things. Next we're gonna work on learning my cell phone number.

Talon's First Day

2009-08-12T10:42:00.002-07:00

I realize I have more pics to post from California still, but I want to write about Talon's first day while it's still all fresh.

Joe and I disagreed about what time the bus was going to pick Talon up. We went too early and ended up standing in the wrong place because there wasn't anyone else out there. The good news is that the bus stop is even closer than we thought. Talon got on the bus and was excited to start his first day.

After it rode away we took the girls home and I got in my car to meet the bus at school. Everyone at the school assured me there would be people there to help him when he got off, but I don't believe people, so I wanted to make sure.

I got to the school before the bus, so I parked and stood a little bit away from where they said the buses park. I was just going to observe. There was one lady there when the kids where getting off the buses. Mom? Teacher? I don't know but she didn't say anything to Talon. He got off and followed the crowd. He saw me, smiled and waved. I waved back and watched. He put his backpack down with the other kids and started wandering around. This was obviously not the kindergarten playground I was told he would be shown to.

I walked up to a lady with a whistle. "Excuse me, I followed my son's bus here to see what would happen, and nobody has shown him where to go." She smiled, "Oh, that's so good you followed the bus. It only takes them a few times to figure out where to go." I did not smile, "Only if they are shown where to go. Where is the kindergarten playground?" "Oh, it's downstairs in the front." I looked at her blankly. She knows I said kindergarten and I was asking where it was right? I'm ASKING for help, unlike my 5 year old, and you're still not helping. She offered to have an older kid show us where it was.

We followed him past about 7 different playgrounds and down a flight of stairs. Seriously? This is your setup? Make the kindergartners go THIS far on their own? Talon stopped paying attention to where we were going about 20 times on the way there. It was chaos everywhere. We finally made it to the playground and he put down his backpack and played. I witnessed a few children crying, and a few more being found and brought to the playground...you know because everything was sooo organized. When they blew the whistle Talon found the right teacher (who magically appeared right after the whistle blew) and got lined up and headed out to what I hope will not be his "worst day ever!"

Beach Pictures

2009-08-11T20:57:00.006-07:00

I am sooo far behind. I realize that. There are just sooo many pictures and memories from our California trip with the Dairmans...I've felt a little bit overwhelmed with where to start. I am a procrastinator by nature. Talon is starting kindergarten tomorrow. I am so worried about him. He is going to get lost, and refuses to learn his teachers name, "I told you mom, I'm going to call her teacher." I tried, "what if she calls you kid?" "Nope, she knows my name." "So, don't you think you should learn hers?" "Nope, I'm just gonna call her teacher." What do you do?

Anyway, back to California. We had planned on a professional photographer, but Joe's sister, Florence, was not able to come. She has one job right now. Take care of those twins in her belly. :) We cancelled the photographer, but those of us that were still there put on our whites and headed to the beach. I know it's hard to see everyone here, but this is a bunch of us who all stayed in the same house. Good times!! Here's a pic of all of the Dairman grand kids (except Carina and Ethan) and the Briggs.
We can never get everyone to smile and look at the camera at the same time, so this ended up being the best view of my family. :-) You can barely see Lacy's head poking out between me and Joe.See what I mean?At least we're (almost) all looking, even if Talon and Hailey look like grumpy monkeys.We stole this idea from the website of the real photographer we hired, and later had to cancel. Thanks to her creativity it ended up being my favorite picture of the day. Yay!! Hopefully, one day we'll actually get the whole clan (including those twins) together and actually get her to take some shots of us.Me and my man...isn't he HOT?Awe, Grandma and Grandpa Dairman.

We had actually intended on getting some "sunset" pictures, but we got there so early we had a hard time keeping the kids entertained to wait for that darn sun to set.And Lacy did her best to get as filthy as humanly possible, but was so cute doing it!

I don't know what he told her...then they caught me looking.

Even though our kids were done, we tried to get a sunset picture. Too bad I'm not a professional and I have a very basic camera.

Our silhouettes

Thanks for taking the pictures Jill. We did the best we could. :-)

I think it's about time I update our 4th of July background too...Geesh!

Before I forget...

2009-08-06T09:50:00.004-07:00

I have a million pics to post from our week in CA, but I just don't have the time or energy to group them and post about them yet.

Some of you have been asking me if Lacy has had any more episodes. She has been REALLY close quite a few times, and had one episode while we were in California. She really freaked out some of Joe's family members, which actually made me even calmer - weird. Anyway she is doing really well and says a lot of words very clearly now. Here is a list of things she says, and uses correctly.

Mommy
Daddy
Aaaple Juice
Mik (Milk)
Uh Oh
There you go
Thank you
Ba Ba Ba Ba (Sponge Bob Square Pants)
Aye Aye (at the beginning of the Sponge Bob song)
Ba Ba (bottle) sometimes she'll say Ba Ll if she's trying really hard. :-)
Me! This one is her absolute favorite! She'll say "Me" and point at whatever she wants to do, then look at you and wait, then do it again if you don't respond.

She l♥ves doing whatever the big kids are doing, and wants to be with them no matter what! She l♥ved the beach and walked into the water with no fear. The waves would knock her down and she would get right back up and keep going out. Crazy kid!

Talon starts kindergarten next week. Wow! Crazy right? He's such a great kid. Here is a conversation he had with Alicia last week.

Alicia: Talon, are you excited to go to kindergarten?

Talon: Yah, but I'm a little bit nervous too.

Alicia: Why are you nervous?

Talon: Cuz I'm afraid I'm not going to be a very good listener.

Alicia: Something, something, something (I can't remember what she said)

Talon: I'm not really nervous, but my tummy is.

Better??

2009-07-13T15:21:00.002-07:00

26 days with no episodes!

Lacy had a breath holding episode last night. She almost made it an entire month. Almost.

Talon opened a jello and didn't eat it. Not unusual for that kid. Lacy saw it. She wanted it. She didn't want me to feed it to her. She wanted to eat from the spoon herself. I tried to let her. She flung it on the floor. I took it away. Mean mom.

I probably would have put her in her high chair and let her have at it, but we were leaving for Sunday dinner at the Dairman's.

She walked arms out crying. Hard.

Joe picked her up and tried to get her to breathe. Nope. She passed out anyway.

I sat on the couch with her while she was having her "seizure like activity", and Joe loaded up the other kids. When she was finished we put her in the car and went anyway. She cried most of the ride there, until she finally took her bottle and fell asleep. She was, most understandably, a complete pill for the next few hours.

Man I'll be glad when she outgrows this completely. I'm sure she will be too!

Hailey

2009-07-10T16:09:00.002-07:00

Last night Joe told Hailey she has diarrhea of the mouth.

It did not slow her down one bit.

We really need to record her. It's amazing!

4th of July in Payson

2009-07-07T13:55:00.003-07:00

Our family - Fourth of July 2009Bailee was a little embarrassed to wear matching shirts, but I didn't care. When we got there she looked around and said, "nobody else has matching shirts on." I told her we were the cool kids.

She didn't believe me.

But look how cute we are!!There was a band playing in the afternoon, so we went over and sat on a blanket. Here's a picture of Lacy gettin her groove on.Lacy, Kamryn and Katie dancing (going in circles) together.Lunch! (Talon didn't sit down long enough to eat)Bailee stood in line with Trinity and Sydney for a HOUR to get their faces painted. I thought they would come back with a flag or a flower. Wow!! I didn't get a picture of the bubble machine, which was a big hit with the smaller kids, but here is Joe (a.k.a. Santa Claus) blowing up the balloons for the kids. They went CRAZY for those! Lacy took a short nap on Joe's lap before the fireworks started and was in total awe when she woke up. Talon and Hailey had their moments. We had to convince them that the fireworks were cool and not scary. Ü Here are my little cuties before we left for the park, showing of their star tattoos and new shirts.

P.S. Laurie, that was 6 in one day!!

4th of July Hair

2009-07-07T13:43:00.004-07:00

We were in Payson for the 4th of July and I'm such a dork. I totally spaced out on making bows, so I improvised. While at Walmart I picked up some $.49 ribbon and did the best I could with it.I think it turned out pretty cute, but why do those dang plastic rubber bands always break when we use sunscreen?? At least it looked good for a little while. :)

Lacy's hair is finally (almost) long enough for a pony, so she got some ribbon in her hair too!

What a ham!!

Random pictures

2009-07-07T09:51:00.003-07:00

Talon L♥VES walking around with my camera taking random pictures of things. Usually it just shows me how messy my house is. :) As soon as he gets his hands on my camera he says, "say cheese momma". That can get pretty old! I mean how many of those shots from his view up do I need really? So I taught him how to take a picture of himself. He got his face in the picture - later we'll work on more flattering angles. :)

In the car, on the way to Payson Lacy was "shushing" Bailee. What a cutie pie!Hailey was crying that the sun was in her eyes. Bailee finally gave in and let her wear her sunglasses to keep her quiet and it worked! (for a couple of minutes anyway) We borrowed my mom's DVD player with two screens. It was a life saver in the car...if Hailey would just figure out how to keep those darned headphones on!This next picture totally cracked me up when I saw it! Talon must have taught her how to take a picture of herself. If she needed a profile picture this would definitely be it!!I can't look at it without laughing!

Lacy Lace

2009-07-07T09:49:00.002-07:00

My little Lacy Lace will not let me feed her anymore. She will only eat for me if I give her a spoon or a fork to do it herself.

High School Musical

2009-07-07T09:34:00.004-07:00

Thursday, July 2nd we went to see High School Musical at the Broadway Palms. Joe's cousin Brooke, from New York, was in it. The food wasn't great, the show was SUPER Disney cheesy, but the kids ATE IT UP!! I took quite a few pictures inside while we were having dinner, but the lighting was really weird and this is the only one that turned out.

Here is Kaylyn, Gavin and AvaAfter the show the kids posed by the cardboard cut-outs of the characters from the movieIn the back: Kaylyn, Amanda & Carina

In the front: Talon, MacKenzie, Ava and Sydney

Not pictured: Hailey, Gavin, Jennifer, Me, Joe, Dennis & Charlotte

I recommend this show to anyone with kids from the ages of 3-13. They all loved it and had a GREAT time! Plus the theatre has been having some ticket specials, so if you call the box office and ask you might get a great deal.

My little "Croc"kers

2009-07-07T09:30:00.002-07:00

I am not a big fan of Crocs, ESPECIALLY on adults. But my kids sure are!Aren't they cute?

Ear tubes

2009-07-01T13:33:00.003-07:00

We got up at 5:30 this morning to have Lacy at the surgery center by 6:30. They drained both of her ears (which the doctor said were pretty nasty) and put some tubes in her ears. She was pretty groggy and, because of her breath holding episodes, they made us wait a little bit longer than normal to leave. Just to make sure she was completely alert and OK from the anaesthesia. She was so funny. After they brought her out to us she kept pointing back at the door and crying. I think she was trying to tell on them. :-)

We dropped her off at my mom's house afterwards. Talon and Hailey got to spend the night there. Thank goodness my mom offered to have them over so we didn't have to take them with us. That would have been a nightmare, but instead they had a great time having a sleep over at Grandma's house.

Hopefully these tubes will be the answer to her ear infections, and she'll never have another one.

My little chatterbox

2009-06-26T09:37:00.004-07:00

Hailey is non-stop chatter. You may not understand what she's saying, but that doesn't stop her. Notice the cell phone in her hand. :-)
Last night, when we were leaving the gym, I told Joe I wanted to go to Target to get some sandals. I took Hailey with me and Joe took Talon and Lacy home. Hailey talked the whole way there, and the WHOLE time we were there. Our gym is behind a Sonic, so we always drive through the parking lot to get to the gym. On the way to target we passed another Sonic.

Hailey: I just saw the new play place again. (That's the gym. The old play place is Bashas) I think we're driving in circles.
Me: No, we're not driving in circles.
Hailey: Oh, maybe we're just driving back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth?
Me: *Lauging* Nope. Not that either.
Hailey: But I DID just see it...

In the shoe department people were coming from other isles just to see her and laugh at us.

Hailey: Mommy, can I try these on?
Me: Hailey, you don't need those.
Hailey: I KNOW...I just want to try them on!
Me: Whatever.
Hailey: They fit me! Can I have them? Mommy, look, they fit me, can I buy these?
Me: No Hailey. You said you were just going to try them on, and you have shoes almost exactly like that already.
Hailey: No I don't. These have princesses on them. Mines are Dora.
Me: No Hailey.
Hailey: Ohhh say...(that't OK in Hailey talk)

Then she puts them back and starts all over with another pair. She was also trying to buy shoes for Lacy whenever they were too small for her.

Hailey: Mommy these are cute. We could buy them for Lacy. They would be cute on her.
Me: Lacy already has shoes. She doesn't need those.
Hailey: But they're little and they would fit her.
Me: She doesn't need them...plus they are too big (or small).

We must have had those same conversations a thousand times while we were there. I even tried this a few times:

Me: Hailey, can you just shut your mouth for a minute please?
Hailey: Sure mommy, I'm sorry, I'll be quiet for two minutes...no, three minutes because I'm three...can you help me put these back up? Can I try these on?
Me: I thought you were going to be quiet?
Hailey: Oh, sorry. *whispering* Do you think these will fit me? Can you help me get these down? Do you think Talon wants new floppies too? Oh, those look like daddies. Should we buy some for daddy?...

When we got home Lacy was in bed and Joe and Talon were sitting by the couch eating dinner, watching the 11th inning of the D-backs game. We were there for about two minutes when Joe said, "Hailey, I love you, but it was really peaceful before you got here."

"I love you too daddy...do you want to see the floppies we got for Talon? They're in here...mommy can you get Talon's floppies out so we can surprise him?"

How can you get mad at that?

Doctors

2009-06-23T16:03:00.003-07:00

Last night after Hailey brushed her teeth, she opened her mouth to show me how great her breath was. Holy crap! One of her tonsils looked like a brain!! They were both so swollen there could only be about ¼ inch between them. I showed Joe and he said, "I wonder how she can even breathe." She said it didn't even hurt.

Lacy had been all stuffed up and whiney for the past couple of days. She has also been running a bit of a fever, but nothing a little Tylenol can't get rid of.

So I figured what the heck, take them both.

This morning I got ready for work and then hung around the house until the doc's office opened at 8:30. I was able to get an appt. for 9:45.

About an hour and a half later Hailey has tonsillitis and Lacy has a double ear infection. Great! Lacy has had an ear infection just about every time she has been in that office. Time for tubes. That appointment is Monday morning. The first one is a consultation, you know, so they can squeeze out a little bit more money out of it. Seriously, our pediatrician already did a consultation just get on with the tubes. Nope. They need us to come in so that they can agree to make a real appointment. Whatever!!

We also talked about her breathing episodes. We have been doing something new, thanks to Aunt Helen. My mom was telling her about Lacy and she said that one of her sisters did that once and her mom (my Grandma Horihan) slapped her. I laughed out loud when my sister told me, but then I asked if it worked. hehe. Anyway, when Lacy has started turning blue we have been open-handed hitting her in the chest. Not real hard, more like a thump. It seems to work to get her to take a breath and cry normally. She hasn't had an episode for 8 days, but has started A LOT! As many as three times a day sometimes. Our sitters all know what to do and aren't scared, so that's good. Thanks for all of your kind comments, thoughts and prayers. We really appreciate them!

♥ Kathy

Episodes

2009-06-16T16:45:00.002-07:00

I am starting to feel like Lacy is having too many of her episodes.

5/21/09 - Her first episode. Called 911 and spent two days in the hospital. Witnessed by me, Joe and Alicia.

6/10/09 - At Flancer's for dinner. She started crying when (I think) she hit her bum on the table. I couldn't get her to stop crying and she had a full episode. Joe and I took turns outside with her until everyone was finished with dinner. When we got home she slept for 12 ½ hours. Jono and Joy witnessed this one with us.

6/11/09 - At mom's house. She started to turn blue, but when mom picked her up she took a breath and cried normally. She started to turn blue in the car when we were leaving, but got what she wanted (a juicy juice) and stopped crying again.

6/15/09 - At Swim Kids. Joe let Lacy play in the pool for a little while, then got her dried off and redressed. She wanted to go back in and I wouldn't let her. She started crying. Joe took her from me and said he almost got her to avoid it by continually breathing in her face. She had another episode, complete with a seizure lasting a couple of minutes. She fell asleep on my chest afterward. When we got home she went straight to bed and slept for at least 13 hours.

One common thing about all of these episodes is that they were all around 7 or 7:30 at night. I don't think she has ever done this at any other time of the day.

I am going to try to get one on video. The neurologist at the hospital said it would be helpful. He gave us his card and I'm debating on whether or not to call him back to let him know how often it is happening. I don't know if that is normal. The research I have done said that kids grow out of it by the age of 5 or 6. Once a week for 4 years?? I don't think so! There has GOT to be a better way.

May 21 - Graduation Night & 911

2009-06-12T13:54:00.007-07:00

On May 21st Bailee graduated from Mountain Pew (sorry I can't help it). Unfortunately, we have no pictures because we never made it there.

We were all ready to head over there to sit in the rain and watch her walk with her class. The sitter showed up and I handed Lacy over to her. She started crying. I, being the wonderful mother than I am, ignored her and started to gather up my stuff to leave. I turned around and she was not breathing. She was crying so hard she never took a breath. I took her from Alicia and tried to blow in her face. Nothing. She started to turn blue. I yelled at Joe who was on the phone with Bailee's dad. He hung up mid-sentence, took Lacy from me, gave me his phone and told me to dial 911. I couldn't get the darn thing to work. I panicked, threw it on the counter and took Lacy back. He called 911. In the meantime Lacy had passed out, her eyes rolled back and she was having what appeared to be a seizure. I was completely freaking out and could not stand still. I started pacing back and forth with her.

I need to take a moment here to recognize Alicia's calmness in the whole matter. As soon as Joe told me to call 911 she gathered Talon & Hailey and took them upstairs to play. Had she not been there, we would have had two parents and two kids ALL freaking out. She is awesome!! If that was tryouts...she definitely made the babysitting team. :-)

So, I went outside with Lacy to wait for the paramedics. We were standing under the awning and I could hear the sirens in our neighborhood for what felt like hours. Can't they find our house? How long is this seizure going to last? Will there be long-term damage? What are they telling Joe on the phone? There were a million questions running through my mind. Finally her little body stopped jerking and went limp. Slowly the glossiness in her eyes faded and she could see me, and I could see her. I stopped shaking.

We went inside with the paramedics and they checked her vitals. They were surprised to find no fever. Apparently seizures are common with high fevers. When they started poking her she started to cry, but she was completely exhausted. When they finally let her have some juice she wouldn't even hold her own bottle. They strapped her car seat to a gurney and transported us to Banner Gateway, while Joe followed in our car.There they did a blood test, urine test, cat scan and x-ray. They came back a second time to get another urine sample, via catheter, because the lab spilled the first one. That sucked! Everything came back normal. Then they got ahold of our pediatrician, Dr. Madrid. He told them not to send us home until we knew what had happened. Since Banner Gateway does not have a pediatric unit anymore, they called another ambulance and transported us to Banner Desert. Lacy was asleep when they finally arrived to take us, and slept the whole way there.

They told us to plan on staying the night, because they would most likely not run any more tests until morning, so Joe went home for a change of clothes and some toothbrushes. We also called Joe's mom to relieve our sitter, who I'm sure was past ready to get out of there! Thanks Charlotte!!

It was about 1 am when we arrived, and they had a scary looking crib/cage in the room. Heck no! We need a bed! I put her in it for a few minutes and she was scared to death of that bed trap. Normally Lacy is a very good sleeper. She prefers to sleep alone in her crib, but this was not a normal night and I knew I would not get any sleep at all without her next to me (you know, making sure she was still breathing and all). After some begging, and lots of warnings from the staff, we finally got one. They were not letting her have anything to drink or eat, so we had to keep the liquids coming through an I.V. They had to re tape it a couple of times and she HATED that!! They finally left us alone around 3 am and we got a little bit of sleep. Look at how tired she is, poor baby.Joe had an awesome chair, so I gave him some "bed" time too the next day. :-)They came back at 6 am. The nurse told us that they would be doing a EEG and a MRI. She told us that the MRI room was all booked up that day and that we might need to stay another night to get in. Unacceptable. They said they would work on it.

A Neurologist game in and talked to us while we were waiting. He said that he didn't think she had a seizure, but a breath holding episode. Huh? He brought us some literature about it and said we should go ahead with the tests, but he didn't think they would show anything abnormal. You can read about it HERE.

We had to try to keep Lacy awake so that she would sleep for the EEG. The nurse asked when her normal nap time is. Really? She only slept three hours last night. Her nap time could be now if you would leave us alone. She insisted I pick a time. I said 11. Immediately I thought it was a bad choice. How were we going to keep her awake, not eating and only having clear fluids until 11? It was hard. I told them a couple of times that she was ready, but the technician still didn't come until 11. That test was weird, but she was an angel. They hooked a million little electrons on her head, wrapped it in gauze, then waited for her to fall asleep. It only took about 30 seconds. After about a half hour she woke her back up with a strobe light. Lacy thought it was hilarious and started laughing at it. So cute!!

Luckily, the staff agreed to stay later for us and we were scheduled for an MRI at 4:00 (or was it 5?). We finally got in around 6:30. They had to put Lacy "under" for the MRI. That was scary for me, but they said she did a great job.

When she came out of the anaesthesia they let her have a drink and some food. It was really funny to watch her try to eat her bread. She kept smacking it on her cheek and then rubbing it over to get it in her mouth. I wish we would have gotten some video of that!After all the tests came back normal we left with what the neurologist said. It was not a seizure, it was a breath holding episode, and she would probably do it again, but there is no long-term damage. We were told to time her "seizure like activity" and as long as it is less than 5 minutes we do not have to do anything at all. Except FREAK OUT!!

Mother's Day

2009-05-28T10:41:00.005-07:00

Every year we get together at Uncle Martin's house where the men do all the cooking and cleanup. I think it's a great tradition. ;-)

Here are my cousins Zach, Mike and Mart doing the dishes!4 generations...my brother Dave, my mom, my grandma and Dave's new baby Ava.My brother Dave, his wife Erica and kids Tyler and Ava.My sister Jennifer and her kids Sydney and BradenMy familyMe and HaileyA couple of me and the kids

And a cute picture of Lacy and her Uncle Marty

Haircuts

2009-05-28T10:28:00.003-07:00

Talon and Hailey got their last haircuts at Jennifer's old shop a couple weeks ago. She is moving to a new one and we are so excited for her!!

Here is Hailey getting started...and loving it!
Here is Talon before...and after.

and here is a castle Talon made in the bathtub. Peace out! :-)

Winner Winner!!

2009-05-27T14:04:00.005-07:00

I know that I am WAY far behind in my postings, but that's because I am way behind on downloading my pictures! Here are a few things I will be blogging about soon:

√ Mother's Day Celebration at Uncle Martin's house

√ Our ambulance ride and two day stay at the hospital for Lacy (don't worry...she's OK)

Tina and the boys are here from GERMANY!!

Memorial Day

Our new babysitter (three days a week over the summer) Alicia.

Seton Softball won state!! Woot woot!!

But before all of that....I was a WINNER!! See this post at Pigs and Ponies!!

You have no idea how often I enter these hair blog contests, but this is the second time I've won something and my kids could wear both of them. Remember the woven beanie that Lacy won? Here is the picture of her in it (just in case you don't remember how adorable it looked on her!)

~♥~ Ava Claire Horihan ~♥~

2009-05-06T13:42:00.005-07:00

My baby brother had another baby!
Introducing Ava Claire Horihan!!She was born on April 28. She was 7lbs 4oz and 20 inches long.Look at that happy family!!I was lucky enough to meet her the very next day. They even let me hold her even though I came straight from softball practice. ~♥~ ~♥~ ~♥~

Congratulations Dave and Erica!! You will have a blast with TWO.

Criss Cross, teething and surgery

2009-04-27T11:00:00.006-07:00

I saw this on a blog a while back, but didn't think Hailey's hair was long enough to pull it off. I can't find the original post, so I can't link you to it. I did this on MJ's hair, from the softball team, while we were in California but never took a picture of it. MJ has really long straight black hair, so you can imagine it looked a lot different on her.From the side.Cheesey! Talon felt like getting dressed up on Saturday. Doesn't he look handsome?Lacy wasn't feeling the whole picture thing, and the other two were very distracted. One of these days I'm going to get a picture of all three kids looking AND smiling. Until then, here you go...Daddy took this one of me and the kids. Lacy is teething and can't seem to keep her hands out of her mouth. She has 11 teeth now! The other day Lacy was cutting a molar and was chewing on her fingers. When she pulled her hand out of her mouth she threw blood all over Talon's face. He said, "Daddy's gonna freak out!" Then he went in the bathroom and washed it off while I let Lacy suck on a cool washrag. Good times!!

On another note Joe had surgery on Thursday. We are done having kids. For sure now! :) He is such a trooper to have that done for us. It's a little sad for me to know that we won't have any more kids, but I know it's the right thing for us. He really is the BEST!

The night he had the surgery Bailee and I heard this awful crash. I went looking for Joe, but couldn't find him, so I just started calling out his name. He woke up on the floor of the bathroom. He scared the crap out of me though and I almost took him to the emergency room because he was so pale...like almost green he was so white. I've only seen dead people look like that. Don't ask him about fainting though, apparently women "faint" and men "pass out." Good to know. He is feeling much better now. Thanks Joe! I ♥ U!

Mother's Day

2009-04-27T10:56:00.003-07:00

Don't know what to get the mother in your life...Dolce is great! Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Bailee went to prom

2009-04-27T10:32:00.004-07:00

Saturday night Bailee had prom. Jennifer did her hair and I did her makeup. I've never done anyone else's makeup before, so that was a first. :-)

Bailee and her date.

Aren't they cute?We went into the backyard to take some picturesCloser-upClosest-upIsn't she pretty?Another great shot! I wonder what he said...probably, "How many pictures is your fake mom gonna take?"

Softball Tournament

2009-04-17T10:49:00.004-07:00

So, here is the reason it took me so long to post pictures from Easter. Monday morning we had to be at the airport at 5:45 to fly to Burbank, CA for a softball tournament. Then we rented a couple of passenger vans and drove the team a few hours north to Santa Maria for a 3-day tournament. The team did pretty well. We went 3-2 (that's 3 wins and 2 losses). It was COLD there! I think I wore everything I packed. At the same time!! The winds were ridiculous! 35-45 mile/hour wind gusts. CRAZY COLD! One of the mom's there took a picture of me out at first and I looked like an Eskimo. I think the wind froze my brain too, because I didn't take any pictures until after our last game.We totally should have had Amanda kneel down so you could see Coach Mullin behind her. LOL
The seniors

Our vanBurbank Airport - waiting to go home

These kids are the reason that this is what I have been doing every afternoon, for 3½ months out of the year, for the past 10 years. ♥ It!

Lacy Birthday on Easter

2009-04-17T10:21:00.008-07:00

Since Lacy's Birthday is April 9th and we were having everyone over on Easter (three days later), we decided to celebrate her birthday on the same day. For those of you who know my birthday is Christmas Eve, you may question my judgement here. Look, she's 1. Easter falls on different dates every year. Sometimes she may need to share her birthday with Easter. Tuff. My mom was better than me. She always gave me, and Tina, a seperate party for our birthday's in December. Maybe one day...when she knows the difference. Maybe not. Let's just get to the cute pictures already!

Talon, Lacy and HaileyThe kids...Ha ha Bailey, I just called you a kid (well you DID go down for a nap later)!Lighting the candles♫ Happy Birthday to you ♫

♫ Happy Birthday to you ♫

♫ Happy Birthday to Laaaacyyy! ♫

♫ Happy Birthday to YOU!♫

Now Blow!There was a little purple butterfly ring on her personal cakeShe liked it and licked it.Oh my gosh!Eating birthday cake, and Easter pieHee Hee

Braden

Opening giftsSo pretty!

Easter Sunday At Our House

2009-04-17T10:05:00.005-07:00

Hailey and Lacy in their Easter dressesThese two cuties (my brother's son Tyler, and Joe's brother's son Ethan) showed up in the same outfitThey became great friendsMy sis, Jennifer, and her two adorable kids Braden and SydneyMy brother's wife Erica, her son Tyler and HaileyThe best picture my family took together...at least the yard looks good. :-)My brother Dave, his wife Erica, their son Tyler and "baby girl" who is going to be born later this month! TylerThe hunt

Easter Sunday Morning

2009-04-17T09:59:00.003-07:00

Here are the kids after they all found their Easter baskets. I totally forgot to take one of Bailey with hers when she found it later. :-(As soon as Lacy saw me taking pictures she started crawling towards me.RIGHT up to the camera.To show me what was in her egg

Peace Out

Easter Saturday at the Smith's

2009-04-17T09:51:00.004-07:00

After leaving Grannie's we went to my mom's house and the kids decorated Easter egg's, but I forgot to take pictures of that. Then, we went to celebrate Easter with the Smith's.

Here are all of the kids under 12 who were waiting for the Easter egg hunt to startSomebody said something like, "who wants candy?" or "who wants an Easter egg hunt?"Check out that backyard!! So many places to look!!EllyShyannKatieCheckin out the goodsLacy

Easter Saturday at Grannies

2009-04-17T09:32:00.004-07:00

We've been so busy this past week I got pretty far behind in downloading pictures, so I'll break this up into a few posts.

Last Saturday we started our Easter celebration at Grannies place where they had some fun and games for the kids. My camera was being really goofy. It was on, but wouldn't take a picture and wouldn't turn off. I was ready to give up on it when my mom got the brilliant idea to take the batteries out and put them back in. Yay mom! It worked and the camera was better after that, but I missed a lot of pictures that I had thought it was taking of the kids on an Easter egg hunt through the building.

Sydney (cousin) on the Easter egg huntBraden (cousin) on the Easter egg huntHere the lady is telling the kids how this game works. She puts an egg out in front of them and whoever rolls their egg closest to that one wins. Lacy just wanted to get an egg. The kids were the entertainment for the residents...if they could stay awake. :-)Check out Hailey holding her back.She finally got one.Two!!In the next game they were all given noodles and they raced to see who could push their egg past the finish line first. Check out Talon! I had a coach tell me once that if you're not cheating you're not trying hard enough. LOL

Saturday - Easter bunny & Earings

2009-04-01T12:20:00.002-07:00

Saturday we took the kids to see the Easter Bunny at Superstition Springs. They were sooo excited! As soon as we got there Hailey was not as excited.

Talon loved it! But, it took a little (OK a LOT longer) to get the girls to sit there...dang they're cute!!When we were finished we had some time to waste before meeting the Smith's for Joe's birthday dinner, so we decided to get Lacy's ears pierced. I won't say anything about the girl who did it, but if you've been to Claire's at Superstition springs you know what I'm talking about...HE was really nice and did a wonderful job. ;-)

Lacy didn't really appreciate it though. This is right after she finished the second ear.AwwwwDon't feel too bad for her though. This is about 5 minutes later...she's fine. :o) She's so lucky she was born in April...her diamonds look beautiful!!

Sunday

2009-04-01T12:09:00.003-07:00

Sunday morning we got up, went to breakfast, did some grocery shopping and then took the kids to Chuck-E-Cheese. Way to keep the Sabbath day holy right? Hey, at least we spent the day together. :o)

Here's a picture Hailey took of Talon (wearing my sunglasses) and me at breakfast. Hailey and LacyTalonLacyTalon & HaileyAfter Sunday dinner (yeah, we did some things right that day) Joe got to blow out ANOTHER set of candles for his birthday. Bailee, Lauren, Joe, Lacy, Hailey and Talon.

Happy Birthday Joe!!

A visit with Great Grandma Katie

2009-03-26T10:19:00.005-07:00

Saturday afternoon we met my mom, with Sydney and Braden, at Grandma's. Seriously, this is the best picture of about 25 I took.

Grandma, Braden, Talon (grumpy!), Hailey, Sydney and Lacy.Talon didn't want to have his picture taken, so we took him out and tried again.The kids went outside and started climbing the tree.

SydneyHaileySydney&Hailey Talon slipped and scraped his leg, so we don't have any of him in the tree this time. Maybe next time?

A couple of updates

2009-03-23T09:42:00.008-07:00

Weight Loss Update

It has been 6 weeks since THIS post. I am proud to say I have not gained any weight back, but I have not lost any more weight either. Maintaining is much easier than losing! I am still working full time, coaching softball in the afternoons and making it to the gym a few nights a week to work out with Joe. I am pretty tired, but my new jeans still fit, in fact I think I could go down a size!

Softball
This past weekend the softball team drove to Page for a double header. I did not go. 5 hour bus ride there + 2 games + 5 hour bus ride home = No thanks! The team won both games, and I got to spend the weekend with my family! :o) Seton is now 6-0!!

A new roommate
A girl that Joe works with turned 18 last week and was kicked out of her house. She is still in high school. She is now living in our spare bedroom/computer room. She doesn't have a lot of space, little to no privacy and our kids make it practically impossible for her to sleep in. Yet, she is very appreciative and respectful, and the kids ♥ her. Welcome to our house Bailee!
Joe's Birthday
Joe is turning 33 on Thursday. Not only do I not have a gift for him...I have NO IDEA what to get him. Really, NO IDEA! Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Send them to kdairman@apexcapital.com so Joe will not see them, and I can pretend that I came up with them on my own. Seriously!

Get Your Lemonade!!

2009-03-18T07:46:00.007-07:00

Talon has been asking to have a lemonade stand forEVER! Last Saturday we finally let him, and he had a great time. He set up at the back fence for the golfers.

How can you pass up those cute faces without buying a cup? You can't! Talon was sooo great! He ran his lemonade stand for about 2 hours and stayed there the whole time. He would stand there patiently and wait for the golfers to finish the hole and as soon as they started walking to their golf carts he would yell, "Get your lemonade! Get your lemonade!" until they stopped or passed him. At one point two guys stopped and gave him $1 each, but didn't want any lemonade. Talon said maybe they gave him the money because he's so cute...I think he's right!

He made $13.75 and gave $2 to Sydney for helping. She would only run over (sometimes) when he had a customer. :o)

After her, Hailey and Braden went in the jacuzzi (hot cozy at our house) I did her hair. I loved the 4 leaf clover that I saw on Cute Girly Do's, so I tried it on Sydney.Monday night I added ribbon and gave Hailey a shamrock, which is a slight variation of what I saw HERE (another one from Cute Girly Do's).I thought it turned out really cute.

School Zoo Trip & Star Hair

2009-03-10T08:57:00.004-07:00

I got the idea from The Story of A Princess & Her Hair - it's a little bit of a variation to her Twist Braid Star I started out with the 5 ponies and then made two twist braids in each one, then took them each to the appropriate pony. But because each pony had two coming and going from it I couldn't use a rubber band to attach it. I used a little clip instead. Although it looked cute when I did it, those don't hold her hair all day.So, the next day I just did one twist from each pony and made a star patten, rubber banding each as I went. The very last one couldn't be rubber banded, so I used a clippie. It fell out ALL day at the zoo and I put it in over and over again about a hundred times until I just put it in my pocket. The other clippies are there just so the one that I needed didn't look out of place.The kids took a field trip to the zoo on Friday and I got the afternoon off work to go with them. Here is Hailey and Ava and a friend waiting for the puppet show to start.

Talon didn't want to sit on the floor, so he sat in a chair next to me.The whole gang (almost)

On the train rideWe got off the train near the petting zoo, but once we got close Talon said that it smelled too bad and he didn't want to go in. Hailey was already in with Grandma & Grandpa Dairman, so I told Talon he could either stay at the stroller by himself or come in with me. He wasn't happy about it, but he came in. Once we were inside with the goats, one peed and the other one was licking it up. Gross!! At least the goats don't lick you. He stood around for a little while and then looked at me and said, "Fine, where's a brush?"Ava, Hailey and GrandpaEven Grandma got in on the action!

Fundraising Project

2009-03-06T07:26:00.003-07:00

Some friends of ours, Chad and Cassie Kerby will be heading to Guatemala in April. On their trip they will be helping out the villagers in the Chimaxyat village. One of the projects they will be doing is building toilets for 33 of the families there. This in turn will help with cleanliness and sanitation. They have set a goal to raise $1,000.00 for this cause. They are also looking for donations of school and art supplies for the school there. If you would like to donate any money click HERE and it will take you to Cassie's donation page.

Thanks for helping out!
Kathy

Sunday Dinner / Talon's Birthday

2009-03-02T08:59:00.006-07:00

Here's a picture Joe took of Talon's stitches before he got them out on Friday.Talon made his own birthday cake...with a little bit of help.He was sooo proud!!Ava, Talon, Hailey, Braden and Sydney at Grandma & Grandpa Dairman's house last night.Licking the candles.PresentsGrandma Horihan and LacyMORE Ben 10 toys!

Thank you Grandma & Grandpa Dairman for letting us celebrate Talon's birthday at your house. We ♥ you!!

Talon is 5!! (with stitches)

2009-02-26T10:45:00.007-07:00

Yesterday by little baby turned 5. He is such a good kid.

Monday after his swim lesson he busted his chin open playing. Hailey was still in her lesson, so Joe left and took him to urgent care.

I tried to call him when I was leaving swim lessons with Hailey and Lacy, but Joe's phone was dead. He called me from Urgent Care and said that they sent him away, because they don't do sutures in urgent care (don't get me started about that). Anyway, while we were both on our way to Banner Gateway I called Adelina. She told us not to go there because the ER was in Code Purple. Apparently that's bad. No place to put anyone and 21 people in the waiting room.!!

I couldn't call Joe, because his phone was still dead, and mine was slowly fading. I waited for him outside the ER and put the girls in the car with him and Talon, and we headed to a different Urgent Care. They were closed. We went to Phx Children's Hospital's Urgent Care. There were only about 4 kids in the waiting room. Sweet!

Talon was being soooo good. He had been holding the gauze on his chin for quite a while, so he had dad hold it for him so he could color. :o)

When we were finally called back, the nurse put some numbing gel on it and 20 minutes later we were on our way to getting stitches. (Joe said we could have gone home, looked it up on the Internet, got the supplies, and done it ourselves by now) We were kicking ourselves for leaving my car at the ER, so we were all stuck there with Hailey and the baby. Good thing they were all being so good!!!

Here's the gross paragraph if you want to skip it:

The nurse sprayed the wound with saline a lot and it opened up A LOT. When the doctor came in there were chunks sticking out. She tried to push it all in while she squeezed it together but couldn't get it all in there. She ended up doing a deep stitch with dissolve able string before she put six stitches on the outside layer. She had to cut out a little bit of the chunks in order to keep it clean. I REALLY wish that either one of our phones had enough battery to get a picture...it was GROSS!!

Basically Talon will have a scar on his chin just like every other boy. He absolutely amazed me while they were stitching him up. Every time she started sticking the needle in again he would ball up his fists really tight and then relax when she got it through. What a brave little boy!! I was so proud of him! While he was getting his stitches I asked him if he wanted me to tell him what he was getting for his birthday. He said, "no mommy, I told you, you can get me whatever you want." The nurse holding him almost started crying. He is such a great kid.

We had all of his cousins over at Grandma & Grandpa Horihan's house on Tuesday night for pizza and cupcakes. He had a great time playing with his cousins. When I got there, after softball practice, they were all sitting around the table eating pizza and nobody even noticed his stitches. I guess they are far enough under his chin that you can't see them unless he looks up.(left to right) Tyler, Braden, Hailey, Talon, Sydney and Lacy

Here he is opening his present from us. My friend Stephanie made it for him, and he couldn't have been more excited!!

What a STUD!

Last night, him and Hailey went upstairs to get ready for bed and I could hear a bunch of ruckus on the monitor (which is in Hailey's room), so I went up there and found Talon helping her clean her room. I ♥ those kids!!

Joe got him some Ben Ten toys and some more color wonder books, which are the only kind we let them have upstairs. I think he had a really great birthday.

Win, Win, Win!!!

2009-02-20T10:57:00.001-07:00

I won and you can too!

The Rules...

1. Be one of the first three bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway.

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It's the Spirit and the thought that counts!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!

If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Please take the button and post it on your blog; start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

The Zoo

2009-02-18T07:42:00.003-07:00

Talon and Hailey got to go to the zoo on Monday. Joe and I both had to work, but you can go HERE to read all about it and see some really cute pictures of our kids. :o) Thanks Jill!

Thanks to Joe...I realized that some of you may not be invited to view Jill's blog, so here are some pictures I stole from her. :o)

Lauren & Hailey on the bus from the parking lotAva & Talon

The kidsWith Grandma & GrandpaCute! Taking a break

The End

Snow Days

2009-02-10T14:03:00.005-07:00

We went to Payson this past weekend for our last family trip before the official start of the softball season. We left Friday evening and came back on Sunday. Jono and his kids came on Friday night too, but had to leave Saturday afternoon.

We REALLY wanted to find snow for his kids on Saturday, so we drove up to the same spot we went last time with the Smith's. There was just enough snow on one side of the gravel pits for the kids to do some sledding.

Here is Joe & Talon sledding, Jono, Ava and GavinJoe & TalonMe & the girls (we are sitting at the bottom of the hill they were sledding on)Hailey - all bundled up thanks to some loaners from the Smith's (Thanks!)Gavin & TalonThen, we woke up to this Sunday morning! They are standing right out the back door!! Talon was in heaven! He said, "maybe there will be presents at home." Somehow he thought it was supposed to snow on Christmas...since it didn't (I know shocker!) he thought he would get ANOTHER Christmas morning. That kid is too funny!Joe pushed them down the little slope in the backyard.The front of the house covered in the snow.This is the first time I used the timer on my camera.The back of the house, from the path to the park.We took a "walk" to find some better hills at the park.Talon took this picture. It shows exactly how much snow we got overnight.Playing around with Lacy.The rainbow we saw on the way home.The End.

I QUIT!!

2009-02-09T14:32:00.003-07:00

Remember THIS post?

Well, 40 pounds and about 6 months later and I QUIT! If I could punch that diet in the face I would.

What, you ask was the final straw?

While in Payson, at the McDonald's drive thru with the kids (as I remember it):

Joe: bla bla kids meal bla bla...and a big mac with no onions and no bun.
Lady #1: no what?
Joe: no bun
Lady #1: no bun?
Joe: right, no bun.
Lady #2: your order..bla bla bla...no onions and no (whispering now) - no what?
Lady #1: (also whispering) no bun...yeah...whisper whisper
Lady #2: no onions and no bun.
Joe: And a 6 piece chicken nuggets. (not relevant whatsoever)

Joe says to me that we better check it before we leave. So, I dig into the bag and find a box with a receipt TAPED TO THE BOX. It says NO ONIONS and NO BUN...and they STILL put a bun on it. They did, however, leave out the middle bun...makes sense right??

What's the problem right? You say, Kathy why don't you take off the bun and throw it away when you get home? That's what all the sauce and good stuff is stuck to! Good grief!

I was almost done then. I think Joe was too, but with me.

I got back to the cabin and ate it. THEN, I WAS done. Grossest thing EVER!

I ordered spinach ravioli's for dinner. They were delicious!!

P.S. When we got back from Payson Hailey present had already been delivered!! It is just as pretty as the picture. I ♥ it!

P.P.S. I will post the pictures of the snow in Payson as soon as I get them downloaded. It was gorgeous and the kids had a blast!!

A (?) Gift for Hailey

2009-02-05T08:15:00.006-07:00

So, I was checking things out - following links and stuff. And I found THIS site. I've been there before, but I was looking again. Usually I just browse these things to get ideas for bows. By the way, I am totally going to make one of these that I found HERE, because it is awesome! (I saw you roll your eyes Joe!)

Anyway, my point is - I found this! It matches Hailey's room PERFECTLY!! Isn't that the prettiest bow holder you have ever seen? The problem is I JUST shopped at Michael's TWO days ago and bought the letters B, O, W & S and some stickers and crap to make my own bow holder. SUCK! I decided that since everything is still in the bag (including the receipt) I can take it all back and get that beautiful one for Hailey. It wasn't much more than I spent at the store for one that I was probably going to spend HOURS making, and probably need my mouth washed out for cursing a few times along the way. (I'm not very good at that kind of stuff, which is why letting that lady go in the bathroom without saying anything to her was so out of character for me) So, Hailey is getting a present. Her birthday is not until August. I could kid myself and say that I can wait until then to give it to her, but seriously that is a LONG time away! Of course I had to get some of these butterfly clippies too, but they were only $1.50 - what a steal!

In the end, I think I got everything for a really good price and their shipping was free. I AM going to take that other stuff back, and save a lot of stress.

Softball tryouts start at Seton on Monday. Talk about another level of stress, but the good kind. :o) I am so lucky to have such great parents, a wonderful husband, and excellent in-laws to take such great care of my kids so I can keep doing what I love. This will be my 11th season coaching there!! I am dreading my schedule during the next few months, but I am totally looking forward to getting back on the field with those great kids!!

WWYD?

2009-02-02T11:49:00.004-07:00

What would YOU do?

Your family is at a restaurant. Your 3 & 4 year olds need to use the restroom. A woman follows you in the door. There are two stalls. One is already taken. Your 4 year old enters the open stall. The woman, who came in after you, says, "I just really need to get a tissue to blow my nose...I tried to get in before you...can I just grab some tissue?" Uh, OK. You tell your 4 year old to unlock the door and get out so that this woman can get some tissue. He comes out. She goes in.

She LOCKS the door and proceeds to go to the bathroom.

Then, when she finally comes out of her stall, probably trying to avoid you, drops the door on the lady, with a walker, that you just helped out of the other stall.

Seriously, that REALLY happened! I didn't say anything to her, and Joe kept telling me all day that he was so dissapointed in me. When I came out and told him what just happened he wanted to find her to tell whoever she was with what a peice of S she is. I couldn't find her, but I figure they already know.

Preschool Field Trip

2009-02-02T08:30:00.005-07:00

On Thursday Mrs. Rogers took the kids on a field trip to a Fire House. Here she is giving the kids instructions before we all went in. My kids were both sitting on my lap.
Once we were up and going inside Talon joined his classmates, but Hailey would not leave my lap. That's Talon - third from the left, and Ava - two girls to the right of him.After some discussion about fire safety the kids went into the kitchen.Then they got to take turns in the Fire Truck. That's Talon in the back.They even let them put on headphones. He's pretending he's talking into the microphone here.

Here's Ava inside the truck.Joe, Talon and Grandma Dairman.Hailey wouldn't go in. I even offered to go with her. Nope. It even took some coaxing to get her to let go of me long enough to get on the back of the truck with Ava.Lacy.Our family by the firetruck.

Check out Hailey!! She's FINALLY sitting with her class! (Way far on the right, behind the redhead in the front) Talon's big cheese is in front. This picture was taken right after Talon raised his hand in the middle of the discussion to let the fireman know he painted a rock at home...crazy kid!

Bread Makers

2009-01-28T11:54:00.002-07:00

For those of you who have been baking lots of bread lately...

My friend Stephanie just posted some great tips for you

HERE

Have fun, and let her know if you found it useful.

More Fun With Wordle

2009-01-27T10:27:00.005-07:00

(click on the picture to enlarge it)

Doggie Kisses

2009-01-22T15:43:00.002-07:00

I can't help but post this one. Lacy is not crawling yet, but she scoots like CRAZY! Whenever Sandy's cage door is open she heads straight there. Sandy is so old and mellow she doesn't normally care, but this time she stretched out and gave Lacy a big 'ole kiss.Mostly I posted this for mom and Jennifer because I knew they would say, "GROSS!"

A small family reunion

2009-01-22T13:37:00.007-07:00

We had a small family reunion on Sunday afternoon with some relatives on my dad's side, who live where it is REALLY cold...Minnesota. My Uncle Martin (the one with the blue jacket) was hilarious! He is my dad's uncle and he was COLD. Really?? We're in Arizona...land of the sunshine. Apparently he keeps is heat on about 80 back home because he doesn't like to be cold. Good times. :o)

In the picture below is Uncle Norm (striped sweater), Aunt Helen (blue-ish shirt in back), Aunt Mary Lou (flowery shirt), Great Uncle Martin & Uncle John (white shirt). Aunt Helen and Aunt Mary Lou are my dad's sisters and Uncle Norm and Uncle John are their husbands. We brought a bunch of stuff for the kids to do while the adults visited, ate and watched the Cardinals game. Here's Hailey and Sydney coloring, Braden, Emma and Talon are in the background.
For some reason the kids liked sitting under the stage. They said it was their clubhouse.

We put Lacy down there with them and the girls thought it was pretty funny that she was sitting with the big kids. From left to right: Emma, Sydney, Hailey, Talon, Braden and Lacy.Aunt Helen wanted to get a picture of each of us with our whole family. Here's Dan (my dad's nephew) with his adorable family.And a close-up. :o) I handed my camera to Aunt Mary Lou and she got this shot of us.After the kids (and Joe) ran off I looked at the picture in the camera. I said to myself, "both of the guys eyes are closed, I really don't like my hair curly, Lacy's looking the wrong way and WHAT THE HECK IS HAILEY DOING WITH HER HEAD?" Hailey and Talon, come here...say cheese."No, seriously pick up your head Hailey.""Are you kidding me? Pick up your head and say cheese!""Last one, look up at me!""Forget it...silly faces!"...and back down her head went.

A Girly Hair Post :o) & 9 mo check-up

2009-01-20T13:52:00.007-07:00

It finally arrived!! The beanie hat we won finally came from Canada and it fits Lacy PERFECTLY! I ♥ it! She had her 9 month check-up last week and is doing pretty good. Her height is in the 50% and her weight is in the 20%, but her doctor was pleased with her progress. She did, however, have double ear infections...again. Poor girl. She never even shows any signs of it. We are going to take her back in a month to make sure her ears are clean and to discuss changing her formula to soy.

Big news!! Lacy had her very first pony tail! Joe didn't appreciate it as much as I did. :o)
It was such a beautiful day out we decided to go out back and take some more pictures. What an angel! I think this is my favorite picture of Lacy EVER...well except for the day she was born.Look how happy she gets when her big brother is around.Talon took over as photographer and snapped this shot of us girls. Please excuse my hair...it was windy...I promise I HAVE left the 80's and my bangs were not stuck that way.

Here is a really cute hairdo I have done on Hailey twice now. It's really easy and looks super cute on her. The second time I used some better bows and it looked even cuter, but I didn't take pictures of it that day. (She was playing with makeup while I did her hair) If you want better instructions on the twisty X (Courtney) you can go HERE...Dang that took me FOREVER to find again, but I think it's important nobody thinks I'm not making these up myself. :o) I really don't have a single creative bone in my body, but I CAN follow directions.The back (and cutest) view.The side view.

Wordle

2009-01-15T16:04:00.002-07:00

Look what i found! I went to this site http://www.wordle.net/ and entered my blog address and it made this all by itself!I did it again and got this:

Isn't that fun!

Hailey Graduated!!

2009-01-15T13:15:00.003-07:00

Last night Hailey moved up another level in swim class!!

Her teacher is so sweet. Our little Miss Hailey is not very good with new instructors...OK she's terrible. Every single time she has to switch she goes backwards a few weeks and does A LOT of crying. Miss Christina got a new job and was leaving Swim Kids forever. :o(

Hailey was pretty close to graduating (which usually involves switching instructors). She would be set back a lot if she had to switch, get used to the new instructor, then graduate and switch again. So, Miss Christina came back one more week (just for Hailey's class) to give her another chance to graduate. That way she would only have to change instructors once. Yeah!! We totally owe her!!

Hailey was in the Bronze Junior class and was required to jump in and make it all the way to the other side of the pool by herself. They teach them to float, roll over into supergirl (arms up, head down in the water) and roll back to floating. Plus, they have to do it in their street clothes - it's a survival thing. I am not exaggerating when I say it took her 15 minutes!! She just layed there and floated for soooo long each time. There were kids in classes all around her, jumping, swimming, floating, and some crying. It didn't matter to her. She can float FOREVER!!

She finally got to the other side and got to ring the bell. EVERYONE cheered for her (mostly because they were all laughing at how long it took her). Then the kids showered and got dressed. Yep. Those are PJ's. It's 8 pm. I'm sorry about the quality of the photo. I KNEW there was a very good chance she was going to graduate last night, but STILL forgot the camera. My phone stinks, but at least we have something. :o) Isn't she cute...and so proud!While we were waiting for her little ceremony Talon and his friend, Brandon, wanted to get in on the action. We'll call them silver and bronze.We are so proud of our little swimmers!!

Friends

2009-01-08T10:12:00.005-07:00

Some of our "old" friends were in town for the holidays. We had a get-together at another friends house on New Years Eve-Eve and then had the JONES over the next day to spend some more time with them before they took there WONDERFUL trip back home (I think Steve's exact words were "Never Again".) I wish I would have taken more pictures while they were here, since it seems by his blog entry that they may never be coming back.

As soon as Austin saw that our house was on a golf course, and we had a few golf balls in the backyard from the golfers who aren't very good, he went out to their van and got his clubs.A couple of times I thought he was going to kill one of the other kids, but they all survived (and so did our back windows :0))

I love this next picture. Austin is getting ready to take off someone's head. Steve is supervising. Talon and Hailey are watching from the jeep and Jillian and Benjamin are showing off their cute bums.

Thanks for coming over guys, and I hope you decide to make that wonderfully awesome car ride again. The kids kept asking when their new friends were going to come over again.

Payson

2009-01-06T15:54:00.005-07:00

Here are some photos from our trip to Payson last weekend. After Amy, Tyler and their crew stayed with us Friday night we walked out the back to the park. It was sooo cold. I was a lot colder there than I was in the snow the day before. I think we were just not dressed for it this time. :) Here are Hailey, Shyann and Branson on the tire swing.The girls.The girls and Amy.I love how Amy's kids just stop whatever they're doing to pose for you when you take a picture! Here's Trulie being so cute!Amy & JarvisMe & LacyJust in case you couldn't tell how cold it was at the park, I took this picture of Hailey right when we got inside. Her red cheeks and snot show it better than I can tell it.The girls were so good the whole time. Here they are coloring after our trip to the park. Nice look Hailey!!!Here is daddy tucking in the kids after a long day of fun.Of course we need one of Lacy too...where she isn't asleep!! We headed back home on Sunday afternoon. The weather was yucky.We stopped at the Dairmans for Sunday dinner on our way back. By the time we got home the kids were exhausted!! Check out the "baby" in the car seat...who taught Hailey to prop a bottle up like that??Goodnight Talon.

Snow Day

2009-01-06T15:13:00.005-07:00

We spent the extended weekend in Payson. We met the Smith's at the gravel pits on Friday and had a great time! As soon as our kids got to the snow they tried to make Snow Angels.Both of them told us on the way there that they didn't want to go on the sleds, but they would watch everyone else. Nick was great! He got Talon going and then had to keep pulling him up the hill to go again. He had a blast!!Even Joe got in on the action!Then Talon was ready to go on his own.Joe even talked Hailey into a short ride. She had a lot more fun that it looks like here. :)Joe set them out to race each other... ...but there was no winner because they stuck together... ...all they way down.Laurie got a lot more pictures than I did (including this one of our whole family)...you can see hers HERE.

We missed Amy & Tyler and their crew...they were just getting there as we were loading up to go home, but they came over and stayed with us at the cabin that night. We took a little trip to the park behind the house on Saturday, so I'll add those pictures next.

Christmas at the Horihan's

2008-12-27T01:36:00.004-07:00

Here are some pictures of the kids opening their presents from the gift exchange, and presents from Grandma and Grandpa Horihan.

The happiest kid in the whole world was Aiden when he opened his new blanket from my mom. I guess the one she made him when he was born is in pretty bad shape because he loves it so much. He wouldn't put the new one down for the rest of the day.Uncle Martin helped Lacy open her presents. Him and Cheryl carried her around almost all day...now I know who to call when I need a babysitter. ☺

We took dessert to the celebration, including a peppermint ice cream cake. Talon asked who's birthday it was, so we explained (again) that Christmas is Jesus' birthday. He seemed to get it this time, but then yesterday he asked me why Jesus wasn't at Grandma Horihan's house if it was his birthday.

Joe started a new tradition this year. He had the kids go through all of their toys and pick something that they thought each one of their cousins would like. Talon really got into it and put a lot of consideration into each one. Although the kids got to pick the presents we bought for the cousins they drew names for, I think it meant more to pick one from their own toys. I thought it was a great idea, and I hope we remember to do it every year.

Christmas Morning

2008-12-27T01:22:00.004-07:00

Here is how the Tree and presents looked at 1:00 a.m. when Joe and I finally went to bed.Here are the kids in the morning.Check out that excitement!!Hailey and Talon with their barbiesHailey helped Lacy open her presentsBut she liked the wrapping paper more.Then we told the kids to go get their stockings. Tee hee. Hailey was jumping up and down trying to reach hers. ☺

We had a great Christmas morning with our little family. Although Joe knew I got him SOME thing, he was surprised by his Garmen and new wallet.

He filled my stocking with all kinds of great things he found that I can eat on this stupid diet, some jewelry and a gift card to go shopping. I have the BEST husband...really!

Bows

2008-12-27T01:21:00.002-07:00

Here are the Christmas bows I made for Hailey, Lacy and Sydney

My Birthday

2008-12-27T01:10:00.003-07:00

Sydney spent the night Tuesday night, so she was with us for my birthday morning. Joe let me sleep in. I ♥ Joe!! Then he gave me my gifts. I got a green jacket from Old Navy, a Lemonade Handbag and some Dermalogica face stuff. He is the best. ☺After that we got everyone dressed and went out to breakfast. Later that night we went to Texas Roadhouse with Joe's parents, his brother Jono and his Grandma Jeanne. I LOVE that place! I even ate half a roll so I could have some of that butter. Mmmmm. Totally worth it!!

Family Pictures

2008-12-27T00:47:00.005-07:00

For my birthday I wanted to get some family pictures. Jackie and Adelina were kind enough to come over and take some for us. Out of approximately 724 pictures, here are the best.

...And it's over

The kidsThe money shot!Close-up!! Enough is enough! Hailey just got up and sat on the couch, Lacy fell over and Talon started asking if we were done yet.

Lacy was still game for a few more

And even gave me a big 'ole smile!!

Hailey took this picture of me and Lacy playing

Baking and a broken oven

2008-12-27T00:39:00.004-07:00

Our oven went out Tuesday night, so Hailey and I made some cookies dough at home and then took it over to Grandma & Grandpa Dairman's house to bake them on Christmas Eve.I decorated the cans from Lacy's formula for Christmas. I figured I spent about $25 a piece on these things - I mine as well get a second use out of them, so we filled them with cookies and fudge and passed them out to our family on Christmas. ☺I also made some fudge Christmas morning while I was waiting for the kids to wake up. I think everything turned out pretty good in the end.

Smith Family Christmas

2008-12-27T00:09:00.009-07:00

After we left the party at the Mullin's we headed out to the Smith Family Christmas Party. We were a little bit late, but still ate way too much and had a great time.

Amy & Tyler's kids started off the party by singing Holy Night. Then Grandma Vietta played the piano and everyone sang Christmas songs.

Then it was time to pass out gifts.The littlest kids got to open theirs first.I went in the other room to get a couple of pictures of the older kids doing their gift card exchange......And here is what I came back to. Love it!

Santa Claus

2008-12-26T23:56:00.005-07:00

Here are the pictures of the Santa party at the Mullin's house last weekend.

Waiting for Santa.This is story time with Brigid. (at least they put their hands up before they interrupt :0))And finally the man in red is here!! Hailey was up first, and did great!Then it was Talon's turn...also nothing but smiles!!Lacy wasn't quite as sure, but didn't cry. I thought it was cute how she just looked at him.Talon got a Ben Ten watch and has taken it with him everywhere since.Hailey got a BARBIE!!Lacy got a toy that hangs on her car seat. I didn't take a picture of that, but isn't she adorable?

Hair Hair Hair

2008-12-22T15:57:00.006-07:00

Since I can't find my camera I thought I would post some photos that I already had downloaded. So, here are a couple of hairdo's that I didn't post yet.

This is the front view of the fountain

(she was still into her supergirl pose here)

A view from the back
Posing with Lacy

I don't remember where I saw this one but it's two really simple french twists - pulled back into a pony.

A view from the back

And the top

A great weekend

2008-12-22T15:21:00.003-07:00

Friday night we went to Jason's Deli and the temple lights with my mom, Joe's parents, Jono & his kids, and Erica & Tyler. My kids both said that their favorite part was watching the movie.

Saturday we had the Santa party at the Mullin's. I have always gotten my kids all decked out in their Christmas clothes for this in the past, and then I get all ticked off when they won't sit on Santa's lap. I decided to take them as they were this year and it worked. All three of my kids took their turns on his lap without crying. Yay!! I'll download my pictures as soon as I can find my camera. Grrr!

We were only there for about an hour and headed out the Kyle and Kristy's house for the Smith family Christmas party. Another great one! The kids had a blast! In fact, we were there for about 2 hours and Hailey was REALLY upset when it was time to leave. She told me that she wasn't finished playing with her friends. I took a TON of pictures while we where there, so as soon as I find the camera...

Sunday we got the kids up, gave them all baths, went to breakfast and to the park. (Mental note: Don't bathe your kids before you take them to the park...DUH!!) The kids were all worn out by the time we got home and they ALL FELL ASLEEP!! I don't think I have ever gotten our kids to take naps at the same time. They were all sleeping for at least an hour AT THE SAME TIME. I was laying on the couch when it happened and I jumped up, "I need to be doing something!" So, I started the girl's Christmas bows, and they're going to be cute when they are done! ☺ It had the opposite affect on Joe. He said, "I'm not going to do anything." He watched some football and then told me that he liked the bows I was making. I ♥ him!!

We had to wake the kids up at 5:00 to get them in the car. I had one more Christmas gift I wanted to pick up on our way to my parent's house for my birthday dinner. We usually go out on my birthday (Christmas Eve), but mom was feeling a little bit stressed out this year getting ready for dinner at her house on Christmas Day. We opted to have it a few days early...and at her house instead of going out. She made Chicken Cordon Blue at my request and it was YUMMY! Thanks mom!! Dad said it was the best he'd ever had. Apparently it was the first time mom ever made it, and the first time he'd ever had it. He said it was a great idea to put ham inside your chicken...he cracks me up.

Over the weekend Talon was asking Joe for something and he said, "pretty please, I mean handsome please?"

Even though we did a ton of things this weekend it was actually pretty relaxing. Oh, I forgot to mention the most important part. On Saturday afternoon I went shopping for new jeans and I wear a size 8 now! I haven't worn that size since, well let's just say it was before I remember buying clothes for myself - YEAH!! Joe said it was weird that I went shopping for clothes and didn't come home all ticked off. That was HUGE for me!!

Happy Holidays??

2008-12-18T16:09:00.006-07:00

I started this post yesterday afternoon and didn't post it because I wanted to add some pictures to it.

What a stressful time! I can't believe Christmas is one week away!!

Our Christmas shopping is not nearly completed, our wrapping is not even started. I think I need about a month to get it all done. Since we have three kids, we had to draw three names in each gift exchange. I don't know how Laurie does it with NINE!

We bought our tree and decorated it. It was crazy! The tree I picked out was not in stock, and the one that was in stock was not displayed. I was desperate, so I bought it anyway. It spins! All the way around! Normally the front gets the bulk of the decorations, but not this time. The whole tree needed to be covered evenly. We need more bulbs, and a topper that is...um...3D...not an angel...does not have a backside?? Maybe one of those cool 3D stars??

The kitchen is decorated with ribbons and bows. I think it looks really cute, but Joe said that my ribbon looked a little like Valentine's Day.Hmmm, I guess he's right! I went and bought the towels and rug to go with them to PROVE to myself that this looked like Christmas. :-)

None of the manger scenes are out of their boxes. I was a little worried about where to put them so that they wouldn't get broken, and now I feel like it's too late.

We are going to dinner and to see the temple lights with my mom and Charlotte, Dennis, Jono, Gavin & Ava on Friday.

Santa Clause comes to the Mullin's (the family I coach with at Seton) every year. It's happening this Saturday. It's great because we all bring pre-wrapped gifts for our kids and secretly stuff them in a garbage bag out front, so that when he comes in he has gifts for everyone. As he pulls them out his bag he calls that kid up to sit on his lap and get a gift. I have been looking forward to it this year because I think, for the first time, my kids aren't going to be too scared to sit on his lap. I thought we had the whole night open, but then found out we have the Smith's Christmas celebration in Queen Creek the same time on the same day. Grrr. I suck. We're going to see Santa first, make sure my kids are up first, hopefully get a couple of good pictures, and then head from Mesa to Queen Creek in time for that gift exchange. We're going to miss dinner with them, but I know they'll understand.

That means I need to have 6 gifts purchased and wrapped before Saturday. As of now I have 4 purchased and 0 wrapped.

We are having dinner at my parent's house on Sunday to celebrate my birthday a little bit early.

I am also working on the 2009 family calendar so that I can pass it out on Christmas. That is always a lot more work that I intend it to be. Next year I will start the stupid calendar in June.

I really love Christmastime, but it sure is a whole lot of work. Next year I will do better, and get started a whole lot earlier. :-)

Today:

We met Donna and Brandon for dinner last night and Donna offered to come help me wrap gifts. Yay!! Joe took the kids to the gym with him, and Donna picked up Joy and they came over to help me. Joe had to drive the kids around looking at Christmas lights after they left the gym, but we got all of our kids presents wrapped. Joy set up one of my manger scenes. I feel so much better about everything now. :0) You can even see some of the presents we wrapped behind the tree in the picture I took last night.

After Donna and Joy left, I got the brownies made for Talon's Christmas party. I also attempted to finish wrapping the exchange gifts, but ran out of tape.

I went upstairs and worked on the calendar some more...endless!

I didn't climb in bed until 12:45 and didn't even watch any TV!

Joe is at Target right now picking up what we still need for Talon and the last gift exchange present. Joe is awesome! Donna and Joy are awesome!! Even Brandon is awesome for picking up the cellophane we needed on his way from the gym last night.

This is what it should feel like...ahhhh!

Keyboard for blondes

2008-12-16T15:40:00.002-07:00

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

I won I won I won!!

2008-12-12T10:23:00.006-07:00

I always enter these giveaways and I actually won one!! YEAH!!

Here is a picture of what I won for baby Lacy: and of course here's a link to the awesome blog where I won it! http://hair4myprincess.blogspot.com/2008/12/winner-of-cute-crocheted-hat.html

and the boutique that sponsered the giveaway
http://poshbabybowtique.com/