My Sweet Little Love Bug

Oh my word, isn't she just the sweetest?

Love her to pieces.

Happy Birthday, Magnum!

Look at my big, bad 11 year old!

Happy Birthday, Buddy.

Highlights and Lowlights

I am so behind on blogging, but I know there are so many things that I need to write about, so I'm going to fill ya'll in on the highs and lows of the last couple of weeks.

Highlights {in no particular order}:

- David and I went on our first solo date in I can't tell you how long on Friday night.  BDubs + Trivia + Alone time with the Hubs = One Amazing Night  {And, one Blue Moon = One Buzzed Mama!}

- Snickerdoodles {Need I say more?} Uh huh, those snickerdoodles required cream of tartar which I didn't have -- but never fear because I took both my girls to the store by myself.  {And, we survived!}

- Having Michele out to visit was most definitely one of the bright spots of the last couple of weeks.  It was so great to have one of my all time favorite people come and stay with us for a few days.

- We had a fun Skype date with Sarah, Kendall and Katelyn.  Olivia asked a couple of times if she could go over to Kendall's house.  Looking forward to many more Skype dates.

- We had a productive day this past Saturday - we hit up a local Farmers Market and the Oktoberfest in Tempe!

- Michele introduced me to Words With Friends on my iPhone.  I lost my first round to Sandee, but have won my other two against Michele!

-- Hanging with these two, obviously!

-- Lots of precious moments like these...

And the Lowlights:

- David found part of Magnum's molar in his bed one night, so we had to take him to the vet to get a cleaning and make sure he didn't have an infection.  Poor guy had to have two more teeth pulled, which makes a total of TWELVE teeth missing.

He does love the sun though....

And, even though he looks totally anorexic in this picture, he has actually gained a pound!

- We traded coyotes for scorpions out here and we had our first encounter with one a couple of weeks ago.  Unfortunately, it was my poor dad who was the victim of the scorpion sting.  He was getting ready to go for a swim and grabbed his trunks off the rack outside.  A scorpion had been hiding out inside them and Dad got his warning sting as he put on his trunks.  OUCH. That was not a fun afternoon.   Since then, David has been on many a scorpion hunt with the black light and has caught and killed quite a few.

-- It is not fun when both of my girls cry at the same time.  And, I can tell you that happens more often than I would like.

Phheww, it feels pretty good to be {mostly} caught up!

Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Happy Monday from the Valley of the Sun!

A Tale of Two Diaper Bags

Is it crazy for me to think that a diaper bag could change my life?  Because I seriously think I've found the one to do it.  I honestly have visions of this diaper bag preventing poopy diaper explosions, toddler tantrums, and mommy meltdowns.  Even if it only prevents one of the three, it will be worth it's weight in gold!

I have never owned a diaper bag before.  Well, strike that, I actually have, but I'll get to that in a minute.  I have always just used larger purses and put our necessary accoutrements in there.  And that worked alright.  My favorite was my LeSportSac bag.  {I love me some LeSportSac!}  But, it really didn't have enough pockets to hold all of our stuff and my stuff would get mixed in with Olivia's stuff and it just became sort of disorganized.

It's super cute though, right?

So, I knew that when Baby #2 came along I was going to need something that would work for me.  Well, remember when I ordered all of the new crib bedding from Pottery Barn Kids with our rewards money?  Well, the nice gentleman on the phone sort of upselled {upsold?} me into buying a diaper bag from them.  So, I ended up with this:

The minute I opened it up out of the box, I knew I had made a mistake.  Pink and green is cute for Olivia's room, but it's not so cute for me to carry on my shoulder.  I am not that preppy.  Fortunately, I was going to be visiting my parents soon after it arrived and figured I would return it to the PBK store near them.  Unfortunately, when I tried to do that they informed me that the bag had been purchased on sale and couldn't be returned.  Grrr.  I listed it on craigslist and had no luck selling it there either.  I tried to fall in love with it, but it just wasn't happening.  The pockets weren't very functional and it just didn't work for me.

Enter the  Skip Hop Madison Diaper Bag {in steel}.  Mom and I went to Babies R Us after dropping Michele off at the airport on Tuesday to pick up some diapers.  {They were doing a reward where you buy two boxes of diapers and get a $20 gift card.}  We wandered around the store for a few minutes and I set my eyes on this beauty.

And, I'm pretty sure I heard angels singing in the background.

The price tag was a little more than I wanted to spend on a diaper bag, but knowing that I had about $75 in gift cards gave me that extra push that I needed.  Plus, this thing is a total life changer, right?

I went home and immediately started organizing the bag!  I seriously love everything about it.  First off, it doesn't look like a full-on diaper bag.  {Or does it?}  I love the color combination and the fact that it will go with anything {because, you know, I'm totally in to dressing like a fashion model these days}.  The inside is roomy enough to hold all of our essentials - I have a separate pocket for Sydney's diapers/wipes and one for Olivia's diapers/wipes.  There are also two inside, side pockets that I have dedicated to a change of clothes for each of the girls.  I can keep my camera, blankets, burp cloths, snacks and my hooter hider in the middle section of the purse for easy access.  I love the front three pockets because it holds all of MY stuff.  The front two hold my wallet and iPhone and my sunglasses. The long pocket holds my Vera Bradley wallet {thanks Irma} where I keep all of my coupons and gift cards, a notebook and pen.

The two side pockets are still pretty empty, but I put my keys in one of them when we are out.  And, there is a pocket on the back side that holds the cleanable diaper pad.  Also, there are straps for hanging the bag on the stroller and hooked onto that I have a pacifier pod that my mom scored for $1.99 at Target.  Ya'll, I'm gettin' organized!

And, now that you know all about my diaper bag, you are free to have a wonderful weekend.  You're welcome.

Happy Friday from the Valley of the Sun

The Day in iPhone Pictures

Yeah, did you read that?  Mama got an iPhone!  Well, actually, Uncle Rhino got Mama and iPhone.  {4 days before the announcement of the new version, but you won't find me complaining.}  I loved my Droid, but it is nothing compared to the iPhone.  So, thanks, RCF, for spoiling me once again!

Anyway, the last couple of days have been a little more relaxed around here.  Our visitors are gone {until next week when Grandma and Poppa Michelson come out for a visit!!} and so we are trying to find some sense of normalcy.  Ha ha - I'll be sure to let you know when that happens!

Dad walked over this morning and helped me out with taking the girls to a couple of the local playgrounds.  Seriously, talk about being spoiled!  I'm one lucky girl.  We are three lucky girls!

My parents are watching my brother's dog until he comes back out for Thanksgiving, so we got some playtime in with Peyton as well.

And by playtime, I mean torture time.  He went down two different slides, he stood in a drinking fountain, and Olivia ran him all the way home.  Somehow though, he was the only one of those two to take a nap today!

Olivia was super sad when Nana and Poppy were leaving our house today, so they took her with them for a few hours this afternoon.  {Are you seeing the spoiled trend continue?}  I was able to get some cleaning and organizing done and also soaked up some Sydney lovin' as well.

Happy Six Weeks!

Mom put some fall decor up outside of her house today and apparently Olivia went out to see it and said, "Oh, Nana...it's AMAAAAZING!"  Love her.

Happy Thursday from the Valley of the Sun!

Head 'em Up, Move 'em On

RAWHIDE!

Last Thursday, we took Michele and my brother to Rawhide, a simulated old western town with gunfights and general stores.  We had a blast walking around the dirt road and watching the animal show. We skipped the gunfight and opted to check out the petting zoo instead.  Michele swears she wants to work there, but I saw enough peeing and pooping to know better!

That sweet little Jack Russell is riding on top of a horse.  How cute is that?!

And, speaking of cute...guess who smiles in her sleep?!

We had a great time -- and if getting Michele a job in the petting zoo at Rawhide is what I have to do to get her to move out here, then consider it done.

Happy Wednesday from the Valley of the Sun

Cutest Little Tummy Timer

Isn't she just the cutest?

My friend Michele just left after 5 1/2 glorious days of fun in the sun, so I should be back to "regular" blogging soon.  I have some fun pictures to share from our recent adventures with her.

In the meantime...

Happy Tuesday from the Valley of the Sun!