Buying Stock in Kleenex

This has been a crazy week. Jack came down with something Tuesday night(why do they always get sick at night?) A visit to our favorite PA, Nikki, came with bad news. Jack has strep. This explains the pain in his ears, 103 fever, extreme crankiness and NO APPETITE! After antibiotics, he was feeling much better on Thursday and no longer contagious(thank goodness). On Friday, he came down with a cough and runny nose, so now that strep is gone, a nasty cold has taken its place! Unbelievable. This kid has the most amazing immune system I have ever seen and BAM! a double dose of the icks. So far, Daddy and I have managed to evade the cooties, but I must admit I am feeling a little run down taking care of Jack the Terrible. Between the sleeplessness (and why are they up all night instead of sleeping like we do when we are sick?), administering drugs, breathing treatments(no cough syrup for the little ones, but albuterol helps)incessant crying and more snot out of a 35 pound person than I thought a head could hold, I am WORN OUT! We have been homebound for the weekend, but did manage to get out to the airport cafe we love so much for breakfast. Jack has also been enjoying the pool (it's body temp) too which is also helping to keep his fever down. Here's hoping tomorrow brings some relief! On top of it all, Jack jumped on our cat Prince who is 13 years old and injured him. We thought we were going to have to take him to the ER vet because his back legs weren't working well. By Sat morning, he appeared to be on the mend(thank GOD) and is getting better every hour. He is an ornery old bird...err cat, so I am sure it will take more than a less than gentle 2 year old to take him out(I hope). I included a couple pics from early this week before the germ circus arrived. Jack is always caring for his babies and putting them to bed. And I just couldn't resist the bean bag toss container used as a hat. Oh the imagination! Today(in a rare moment of energy) he "pertended" to be a pirate using a cardboard paper towel roll(arrggh mateys)! Our agave plants in the courtyard bloomed! It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful desert flowers can be. These are such a creamy white and feel and smell a little like lilies. We have 3 huge blooms and they have been like this for a couple of weeks. I didn't even know this plant had flowers!!!!! Here's to a better week!

The Intellectual and The Artist

As you can see, one of Jack's favorite things to do is pretend to be a grown-up. He loves to wear my glasses(when he can steal them) and get his "messages" on the phone. He walks around like Mr. Big taking messages and having power conversations with everyone from Daddy to Eric and Mike(Bryan's friends that he also refers to as his "brothers"). Very funny to hear him making arrangements to get together with the phantom person on the other line! On Friday, Jack and I were making a few crafts to give to Daddy on Father's Day. Painting is a favorite in this house and making handprints is right up there with eating goldfish and pizza! Here he is all sweetly messy enjoying the moment. Happy Father's Day!

Make a Wish Mr. C!

Today we all went to Joan and Ed Malk's to celebrate Cameron's 1st birthday! Lots of friends, food and fun was to be had. Jack just couldn't wait for cake. In fact, he kept chanting "I wait for cake!" After singing happy birthday and oohhing and aahhing over first birthday gifts, the boys took to the pool! Jack kept Uncle Ben busy with turtle rides and thought the waterfall was especially fun. Lots of shivering, goose bumps and a pair of blue lips later, we thanked everyone for a great day and headed home! Hope you enjoy the pics of our little fish!

Tiny Bubbles and a Soapy Goldfish

Ahhh....bath time. Jack LOVES to take a bath! Kicking around in the warm bubbly water, lavendar scented body wash, bath toys and his best friend, Rufus the Cat, perched on the counter. If you are Jack, it doesn't get much better than this. I had a blast photographing him tonight. A few weeks ago, Grammie gave Jack a bar of soap with a plastic goldfish inside. Jack just can't wait to get the fish free of its soapy domain. What an incentive to scrub all the hard to reach places! He is so desperate to free his new found friend that he will try almost anything that I suggest to be successful( this includes making fish faces, blowing on the fish, holding it above his head and counting to 3). I think it's going to take another week or so to accomplish the task and then I may have to get another one to continue the hilarity! It will be a sad day when my camera and I are no longer welcome during bath time. I guess I will just have to soak it up(pun intended) for now. Sweet soapy bliss.

Little Zane Alexander

I finally got some updated pics of my brother's kids, Zane and Teyah. Teyah just turned 10 in April and Zane is going to be 4 months on Monday! What a cute pair they make. Both kids look so much like my brother that its startling! He must have some strong genes. Zane has to be the cutest baby I have seen in a long time(except for Jack of course!)

Life is a Walk in the Park!

To celebrate Memorial Day, we headed to the park to fly our kite and remote control airplane. Jack was especially excited, but had a couple meltdowns when Daddy tried to help him fly it. He is so independent that it borders on craziness somedays. After we grew tired of flying the kite, Jack got to ride a boat and take a train ride around the park! It was such a beautiful day! I felt like God was smiling on us. What a gift it is to have an 80 degree day in Arizona in May. Jack flew his airplane into a pine tree, so Bryan felt the need to climb the tree to get it down. I was not super pleased, but he kept insisting that it was a $30 plane that needed to be retrieved. I was of the mindframe that $30 plane wasn't worth a trip to the hospital!! Boy, I am such a MOM! Bryan took some lovely pics of Jack and me today, so I thought I would share since they are a rarity. After our trip to the park, we went to San Tan Flats. It's a cowboy restaurant outside of town with music and dancing. They had campfire pits all over, so we thought no campfire would be complete without some smores! Jack loved this sticky sweet treat(I was loving the baby wipes afterward)! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend doing what you love with those you love. God Bless all of the fallen soldiers and those who continue to fight to give us the freedom to enjoy days like today!

Little Red Wagon Rides and a Little Bug Too!

Yesterday, Bryan, Jack and I went to our neighborhood park to burn off some energy. Jack and Bryan took turns riding Jack's wagon down the steep hills at the park. You can tell by the pics that my little guy(and my big guy) sure had a lot of fun! After doing the luge down the hill a few times, the boys moved onto the slides and jungle gym to play with the Briggs boys from down the street. Our neighborhood has tons of little boys, so there is never a shortage of "friends" to play with at the park. Jack discovered a little bug later in the morning and was so excited to let it crawl all over him. That was great entertainment until the excitement peaked to the peril of Mr. Bug!!! He took one for the team and is now sunbathing in a rosegarden in the great beyond. Poor little guy....