Why is life happening so fast?

I blinked, and its already the 7th of December!

What has happened to this month!

My sister and I were on the phone today, and she said the same thing...

Why is this month of merry happening so fast!

Life has gotten so busy for us!

I work.. more and more..

The kids have school, scouts, activities...

I just realized.. I have gotten quite pudgy.. from not gyming, and drinking multiple white mocha's in a day!

So, I must fit in exercise in there somewhere!

I haven't done nearly as much as I wanted to so far, in regards to celebrating Christmas.

We finally got our decorations up.... which I normally am one of those crazies, who do it the day after Thanksgiving... (if not earlier)

I haven't done any holiday shopping...

No trips to the temple lights.. or zoo lights!

I suppose I should stop complaining.. and just get started~!

I need to get my rear in gear... or on my next blog, it will say...

"Well, Christmas is over... I cant remember any part of it!"

Maybe if I make a list....

A list of Christmas:

CHECK -1. Temple Lights

CHECK - 2. Baking Holiday cookies

3. Zoo Lights

CHECK - 4. make our tradition.. paper rings

5. popcorn strings for the tree

6. Christmas shop

7. teacher presents... (poo, I just remembered this one, and they are out of school on the 16th)

going to move that one to the top!

I guess that's a start....

Ill get started..well.. I work tonight...

tomorrow is busy, thursdays even worse....

All I want for Christmas.. is a clone of me..and a couple more hours in the day!

12/13/10... ive gotten a few things on the list done! YAY!

Happy Thanksgiving....

Life has been so busy...

work,

band concerts,

work,

kids out of school,

kids,

dogs,

work,

cooking...

this is my first year to make Thanksgiving stuffing for the family....

Im going with PW's..

I hope it turns out!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

GAP's Give and Get is Here! 30% OFF!!!

Give and Get is Here!:

"Enjoy 30% off from November 11-14 at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy plus we'll make a 5% donation to a non-profit."

I told you I would share that great deal... now here it is...

Click on the above link.. and print out your coupon!

You can reuse it at each store, as many times as you want for that weekend!

ENJOY!

November? An RSVP would be nice.......

It certainly is not feeling like the cold weather of November here in the desert of Arizona!

The air just turned on in the house, I think the high was going to be 85.

We are wearing shorts and flip flops today....

Lets give my SRP bill a needed break...

...

Please oh please can Winter come...

I promise not to complain that its too cold...

I promise to always wear a cute colored scarf....

I shall always wear a fashionable pair of boots...

Please...

Lets have it... Hit me good...

Give my toes a shiver...

and give me goosebumps on my legs....

PLEASE!

Trick or Treat.. too many treats!

As I look around the kitchen... I see the aftermath..

Cookies, candy, cakes, Carmel apples...

Once, smelled, looked, tasted good..

Now, I just crave Veggies, Fruit, and Salt!

I was at my sisters yesterday for some Halloween fun...

A last minute plan to make Carmel apples, and let the kids

color Halloween pictures, and have a contest for the drawing of the spookiest Halloween House... {which I entered my picture to mix things up.. and accidentally won, oops!}

As the kids were done trick or treating last night....
I took down all the Halloween Decor..
Yes before Halloween was even done!
I'm over the candy, Halloween, and spook fest...
and am looking forward to Thanksgiving, and Christmas Season..
Now what to do with all these extra treats?

Halloween 6, H20... and.....

We have already had a fantastic Halloween Weekend...

and the trick or treating hasn't even begun.

I wasn't feeling Halloween this year.. we decorated a bit..

but not as we have in the past.

A few fake arms coming out of the ground, and headstones in the dirt..

enough to get a few kids spooked out.

Though the kids have had parties, and treats.. and have felt

the excitement of Halloween for weeks!

Tag went to a birthday party on Thursday, and got to wear his costume....

At his best girlfriends birthday party they bobbed for apples. and colored

pumpkins and ran and played in their costumes..

It was straight up old school, which the kids had so much fun!

He held onto his pumpkin the entire night....as a matter of fact, stuck it in his bed, and tried to sleep with it..

I vetoed that!

...

Friday morning, after we dropped Jackson off at school, Tag and I raced

to my sisters kids school.. where they are still allowed to have parties,

and celebrate Halloween with a parade..

{Jacks school is political and isn't allowed to celebrate any specific holiday, which I do NOT support.. whats wrong with saying Happy Halloween, and not Happy Fall...

lets just let the kids have fun.... I did manage to break the rules a little and took in some pumpkin shaped cookies for his class! }

Any who...

Morgan, my niece and Landon my nephew were dressed as bandits...

Morgan is on student council, so was first to walk the parade...

When the parade was done, sis and I went for coffee, and spent the morning, catching up and melting in the Arizona sun... 90 degrees still.. Ugh!

Right after school, I had the kitchen set up for our Pumpkin carving!

As to Jack's request...

After {I} was done de-gooing the inside of the pumpkins...

the kids carved....

Tag pretty much stabbed the pumpkin with the mini saw....

which, hey if that's his creativity I'm down!

Though I did have to step in and give him some help!

Jack did fantastic carving.. and was very proud of his outcome!

Jacks, Tags.. and Grandma's

Saturday, we went to run some {mom} errands at the mall.. erm....

they were very important...

Though to the kids surprise, there were Storm Troopers walking the mall,

in front of the Lego Store...

This is already Tag this morning...

Ready for Trick or Treating...

he only has 11 hours to wait... can we tell he is excited!

Big brother Jack is going as a football player... the least amount of dressing up as he will take!

As long has he has fun... Which I'm sure they will.

Tonight we have a neighborhood potluck party.. and then the candy begins!

And.. Note to self... Don't let the kids watch Halloween, 1 through how ever many their are...

I had 2 kids in my bed last night, freaked out because of Michael Meyers...

Yes, i was scared too, but we were all sitting together screaming and watching with our hands covering most of our eyes!

I will not do that again! Ever!

The music alone is scary enough!

This is random... but... I love that Tag sits like this...

with his little toes hooked together!

Im employed!

Yes, I had gotten a job at Anthropologie,

but at the time, had no one to watch Tag {plans had fallen through}...

BUT...

Now... I have Jack and Tag's Grandma to watch them...

My mom is here... YAY!

...

so now..

I am newly employed, tonight was my first night.. at...

...

and let me tell you....

the 50% employee discount ... is
SO WORTH IT!!

BUT, don't fret!

In a few weeks, there is a friends and family discount weekend..

and I get to share that discount with you!

30% off for you!!!

Which you can use at any and all stores...

Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy!

I'll post when I find out the details!

Until then, I'm a busy working girl now...

Must go!

A birthday in the hizz!

We had a Birthday in the Hizzel!

This ol' girl turned 5 on the 13th!

Mona got to play at the dog park for her big day!

We have had Mona since she was a tiny little puppy...

We had her flown here from a Farm in South Dakota when she was a

few weeks old...

Since then, we have had so much fun seeing this goofy puppy grow to

be a sweet, loving Dog!

She cuddles in Jacks bed at night to sleep..

and

Jumps up and down when its breakfast time...

The Bark Park is her favorite place..

and though she is a doggy.. we still celebrate in this family, and

made the day special for her!

We took her favorite pal Charlie with us..

and stayed for an hour, while she ran the field,

and sniffed other dogs..

To end her day, we picked up a few treats

that she shared with Charlie...

and had her open her presents..

a new ball, and a rope toy to play with...

...

Happy 5th Birthday Mona!

Venting...

Here goes blog world...

Something that is bothering me...

I just want to lay my thoughts down on the keyboard!

Now.. I'm sure all you ladies.. or the few {5} who read my blog{which I am flattered by}...

..blog because you want to use this as a online journal, or

some have a blog so they may share memories with family who live in other states or parts of the world, some do, just to have a hobby in the day... and enjoy sharing stories with others.

I'm all of the above.. Mostly using as a journal.

I blog about things I think about, things that are going on in my life, things I read about, hear on the news, recipes I make, destinations I want to take or took my kids too... or things I just want to touch upon in a day!

Whatever the case may be...

...

I know I'm not the only one who thinks of a certain subject to write about...

I'm sure their are others who have been to Smeeks, who shared their story...

Or, who wanted to Swap houses, because they too saw the Movie, "The Holiday"...

and are having an urge to travel...

I don't think that person copied me, nor did I copy them...

I know I'm not the only one who blogs!

I know their are thousands of ladies, that have the same Epiphany in a day on what to write about...

...

I don't write for others! (except this one)

I don't write to copy someones idea!

I write for myself, as a daily journal, so I can remember the life I am having with my kids..

So, they can look back {hopefully} and see the things we did last week, last year, or 10 years from now. Or read about what their Mom was doing, while they are playing with their toys!

...

I don't mind, if something I wrote, inspired you, or gave you ideas that made you want to write about a similar situation or subject..

Otherwise, why do we blog.. and put our life experiences on the Internet for all to see... to inspire.. to share.. to encourage...

If I see someones blog, that was a similar subject that I wrote about, I read on to see what the other perspective is... I don't think, "she copied me!"...

...

Now, if I copy your post, or yours mine, word for word.. or take your pictures.. or steal your name...

You have a case to be angry...

Otherwise... What comes out of my head, onto this keyboard is authentic, and are my thoughts and feelings and experiences...

Lets Swap!

Anyone want to swap houses with me??

I keep thinking about different states, or countries around the world.....

Knowing there are destinations out there, that I haven't know...

Places. I or the kids have never been, different cultures to see and learn..

Someplace cool... someplace new... someplace different....

I wonder if people really do that??

"The Holiday" is one of my favorite movies...

and a cottage in England...{with Jude Law please}

or an apartment in New York...

or a cabin in New Hampshire... would suffice.

I would even swap for an igloo in Alaska!

I'm not picky!

I'll take the kids on a mini holiday...

...

So, what would you get in return!?

A desert home, where its still 97 degrees in October.

You could work on your tan, and swim in a neighbors pool {I have really nice neighbors}..

Drink iced coffees, and enjoy the sun...

In a 4 bedroom 2bath home...with a/c.. and must love dogs {wait, that's a good movie too}

Lets have it...

anyone? anyone?

...

I suppose for now, I will just stare at pictures on every ones blogs..

pictures of fall coming,

pictures of leaves changing...

pictures of something different, then here,

while I crank down the air... and slip off my flip flops..

I will meander through fall catalogs and dream of a new place..

Hall of Flame.

Monday.... was no ordinary Monday for us....

Decided it was time to venture out of the house..

We went out to Tempe... home of ASU...

I love Tempe, and seeing all the kids walking around.

going to class..

seeing the dorms...

Especially on a lovely day like today... 90 degrees.. just perfect!

...

We went to Chompies for lunch... they are famous for their

sandwiches...{which after I saw.. ManVsFood go there, and try their

Chompie challenge}.. I had to go, and try their Jewish Sliders {a mini challah roll, with sliced lean brisket and a potato latka}.. SO GOOD! {note: I didn't attempt the challenge, I stuck with the regular order, which was more then enough.. and even had to bring home leftovers}

After that...

we headed to the Hall of Flames..

which is a Historic Fire Foundation Museum.

The coolest oldest fire trucks, hoses, pictures, videos....

a boys dream!

{there was 1 truck that was open for anyone to sit on, and play around in..}

{look how big that wheel is}

{Smokey the Bear}

That bell was so loud...

...

After that we walked around Mill Ave... Which is downtown Tempe...

I shared stories with the boys, how when I was a teenager, Mill Avenue was a place girls and boys went to cruise... We would drive up and down the streets.. so slow.. staring out windows and waving at passer byes {boys}.... and would meet at the corner ice cream shop.. or Coffee Plantation..... {I left it at that; though there was much more to those stories}

Times have changed... Its more retail and restaurants.. which is fine with me!

So as for me and the boys today, we did not cruise, but stopped and walked the streets, and enjoyed indulging on root beer floats al fresco...

Was such a nice day!

I made.......

I've been a busy little bee....

I have been a craft maker,

a baker,

a chef...

The kids are home due to Fall break....

Keeping them busy is a task.. as for me...

I have tried to make the most of it...

I made Crab Cakes and a Delicious tortilla slaw...

the most delicious things I have made, in a while...

I am now a proud owner of this wreath...

which was hand made by ME!

Though, I got the idea from...her

I chose such a big wreath size.. I think it is still in need of some filler...

But, I love how it looks on my door!

The kids and I have enjoyed this for breakfast each morning....

from Trader Joes, their Pumpkin Bread Mix...

So delicious!

Made the house smell like fall.. with all the spices!

I am going back to Joe's today, for another box...

I also gave one of my rooms a fresh coat of paint, awaiting a house visitor, who will be staying for a while...

Now..

I must go warm a slice of bread... and drink my coffee...

Rain, rain.... come and stay!

There was a storm a brewing yesterday...

Our first official day of Fall Break... It was cool, and rainy all the day!

Finally, it feels like fall....

There were kids playing football in the streets, as the rain was pouring down...

I would say, normally rain makes me feel melancholy, not this time..

it was welcomed, and enjoyed by everyone!

Tag, catching the drops!

My Halloween decorations, did not hold up though..

See the spooky hand coming out of the ground... that was on the porch after the rain was done.

It rained through the night...

and the temperature is in the 70's.. ahh.. fall is here,

I hope it stays...

Fall break! Aready?

Seems like the kids just started back to school...

and already is Fall Break, Starting after school Friday the 1st...

Jack goes to a year round school, so our breaks are a lot longer then most!

He will be out of school, from the 2nd of October. and return on the 20th....

Um, that's almost 3 weeks....

3WEEKS!

I'm gonna need a game plan...

ideas..

things to keep the children busy...

What am I going to do??

I'm a little stressed!

Mastering the Art of Bubbles

Who doesn't love BUBBLES!?

I have mastered the Art of professional bubble making...

if there was such a thing...

aside from my messy room, there is a giant bubble lingering in the air...

This was our weekend entertainment...

I would make a massive bubble, and cue boys into the room,

to see who could pop it first...

Instead of making my bed.. and doing laundry..

I made bubbles.

Fair trade!

Look alikes

This morning I was going through pictures..

Old pics of the kids and me.. and came across one of my dad...

Looking at him.. was like looking at Tag...

This is Tag on his last birthday, age 4, 8/12/10

This is a picture of my Dad, age 6, 1946

Their eyes have the same slants in the corners...

and mouths look similar, and teeth, though you cant see Tags in the picture.....

It looks like Tag...

At least I know for sure, Tag is going to grow up to be a handsome man

My dad was a looker!

My mother would agree!

Caterpillar

Over in Northern England if you toss a caterpillar over your left shoulder it is suppose to bring you good luck? Erm.. OK... I read that on google.. must be true!

We didn't really toss him anywhere.. but this little guy {assuming a boy} ended up on our back patio yesterday!

Charlie started to bark at him, and pushed him around with his nose, before I could figure out what all the hubbub was about... I quickly stopped the hazing!

I scooped him up into a cup.. and transported him to what I was hoping would be his new home, a large tree in our back yard...

We went out to check on him hours later and he was still wiggling around the tree...

Though today we went out.. and he was gone.

I hope he didn't become a meal...

and hope that he is well on his way to becoming a beautiful butterfly!

{this was my first time and Tag's too seeing a caterpillar up close}

He wasn't creepy at all.

I think if he had a name, it would be Phil!

Phil the Caterpillar!

SMEEKS!

We made our trip to SMEEKs yesterday!

Such a cute Novelty Candy store!

Jack and Jonah... checking out silly pencil sharpeners

{see the package of noses in the background!}

{Tag went nuts for Taffy... every jar he passed he grabbed a taffy}
{Taffy 5cents}

I got some loot too! Cute cupcake liners, pinwheels, and paper stripped straws...

and a bubblegum flavored candy stick!

Totally worth the 30 min trip...

{Next door was a really great boutique called Frances Vintage.. paper, clothes, baby essentials.. one of a kinds}

I will defiantly go back there, when I have longer time to peruse...

Leaving the fort!

We had to leave the fort today... {the house}

Our air conditioning went out around 1am this morning {was 83 in the house, and rose to 90}.. and

it was as hot as... well I'm sure what hell might be like, with out all the

fiery flames and what not!

Jack went to school, and Tag and I left to cool off...

What better place, but Target and Barnes and Noble!

This is the book I chose...

I have read a few of his others, this one has me chomping at the bit ..

and is a major page turner!

I needed a new book, after just finishing, LITTLE BEE, by Chris Cleave..

That book was excellent... and will be excited to get together with the book club girls to discuss...

We didn't make it to SMEEK's since the repair man wasn't able to make it here until 5:30

{most important though, it was fixed. can I get an AMEN!}....

So. we are going to save that for Wednesday!

{jessica}

Stagnant Sunday

Today I felt out of place...

Woke up, after a great day yesterday, mookey...

starting the day by talking myself out of going to church..

I didn't want to do anything today, actually.

...

After, a phone call from my {church} neighbor, yes I said she keeps tabs on me..

I think she has some voodoo power, she calls each time I'm contemplating not going!

I decided to get the kids and I ready... and go. {maybe its peer pressure}

Today was a Primary Program..and I really did want to see them sing..

Though...

The whole time I was at church,

my mind wondered,

my thoughts were on everything but what anyone was saying...

I still feel a bit out of place there..

Everyone is so nice, but as easily as we say hello and get introduced.. there name is forgotten..

and I look to another unfamiliar face.. with a grin, and my mind wonders again...

Tag was feeling the same as me, I think!

He wouldn't go to his class,

He cried and screamed for me today... that he. "just wants to stay with me"

he kept hugging me, and kissing my hand.. he just didn't want to leave my sight.

Maybe he could feel my feelings today...

Ugh! I don't know what to do!

...

When we got home, the kids and I chilled out...

we watched a movie together!

We laughed and giggled as Jack was break dancing in the living room...

and Tag trying to copy his every move...

That is what I needed to be with the boys!

...

Tomorrow is a New Week!

New Choices!

New Goals!

I'm going to start my week with a gentle yoga class in the morning.. clear my head...

and really think about the decisions I make...

and..

I'm taking the kids to SMEEKs....{I'm all for this decision}.. Which is a fantastic {so I hear}

Old Fashioned Candy Shop, in downtown Phoenix..

Will be their after school treat!

I'm sure I will come back with a bunch of goodies.. and maybe a cavity or two!

{jessica}

Things done.

Well...

Our Saturday started off just perfect!

It was a gorgeous 75 degrees at 7am... so the kids and I

{yes, we were awake, and don't ask why}

took the doggies on a walk, first thing!

Its finally starting to cool off in the mornings here...

{though by noon, it was already 100 degrees}

First stop to well, yeah.. {Starbucks}

Mama, needs a coffee, or mama not a happy lady!

Then we were off to the St Jude's Vendor Fair....

Which, I would like to thank the ice cream truck parked out front...

For that... I was able to bribe my kids to bare with me, while I perused,

and if they were good boys.. they would get an icy treat!

WORKED!

Sno Cones... ALL AROUND!

I picked up a few things there...

and then we were off to our next destination...

which I will never be able to return too...

TAG BROKE A VASE IN HOBBY LOBBY!

{OK, got that out.. whew, feel a bit better}

We ran over to San Tan Mall.. to walk around, and bask in the cool air..

First, a stop at the Wishing Fountain

{my wish, was that Tag wouldn't fall in the Wishing Fountain!}

We lunched there too, on sammy's al fresco..

I love having a Saturday with my boys...

Normally it is full of, "Mom, are we done yet"

Or.. "Can we look at toys"

but the boys were so good!

...

We ended up going to a Football game Saturday night...

Jacks friend is in a Tackle PeeWee league, so we went to cheer him on!

{they won!}

...

After that, the boys were sacked out!

And this is how Tag and Charlie ended their night!

I felt the same way... and am a bit embarrassed to admit...

we were all in bed.. by 8:30.. on a Saturday night!

Ahh.. that's the good life!