NieNie Day

My sister and I don't get together too often. We both work from home, have kids that go in different directions, plus she has an infant. That being said, we wanted to try to get the kids together over Spring Break once, as they miss each other and often ask for playdates. With some calculated manipulation of the calendar, we marked in a date. Not to be changed unless someone was puking!

We wanted to take the kids...yah, the kids to Smeeks! Smeeks is a candy and novelty toy store located in central Phoenix. We've both read about it on the NieNie Dialogues, and have been awaiting the opportunity to get there! We planned our field trip about two weeks in advanced and hashed up a game plan. We knew the kids would want some treats at Smeeks, so we gave them a list of chores to complete, to earn money for their purchases. Her boys each earned $9, Hayden earned $10 and Taylor earned $2.

They picked us up and we trekked into "the City", as my girls so affectionately call Phoenix.

This is a big deal. It's like we're going on a trip, going to the City! We had a great time at the candy store, Hayden purchased some candy, Taylor purchased a lipstick lollipop, and I revelled in the photo booth pics I took with my girls!

On our way in, we decided to make it an entire NieNie Day and eat at one of NieNie's favorite lunch spots in Mesa...Sweetcakes. It was a beautiful day out, so we ate on the patio, and finished our lunch with some delicious cookies. A trip to the Glitter Box rack rounded out a completely successful, utterly fun NieNie day with my sister and all our kiddos! Sadly, we don't do that stuff too often, but I have to say I think it makes me appreciate the time so much more!

Kindergarten Spring Party

While Conal was on vacation, Hayden's class had their Spring (Easter) party. He helped in the classroom that day! Actually, the whole family did. Tay kinda thinks she's the class mascot, as she's in there a lot with me, and Hayden was THRILLED that her daddy came. It was also worldwide Austism Awareness day, so notice the blue we're sportin'!

Cathy's 75th Birthday!

My mother-in-law turned 75 years old in March. Meghan flew in for the celebration. Or, celebrations, maybe I should say! I think Nana had fun, but was a bit burned out from party, after party for a whole weekend! Needless to say, it was a fun few days!

A Marquette4 Update!

I'm grateful to have a job, and one I love at that. However, work is really cramping my personal life!
I'd have to say that I'm working full time these days. It's very rare that I work less than 40 hours in a week. Gotta get while the gettin's good in this industry, and in a couple of months it will quiet down. So even though I'm missing out on some fun stuff, not home at night too often, and can't keep my blog updated, I really can't complain!

Sooooo, what have we been up to, you wonder? Take a peak below :)

Zoo time!

We haven't been to the zoo since last Fall. That's a little unusual for us, considering we used to have a membership and would go at least twice a month! I let my membership lapse this year though. Now that Hayden's in school full time, and Tay is in preschool, I figured I wouldn't use it as much.

So last Thursday, on a whim, we hitched up with Becky, Kady, Faith and their grandma and went to the zoo. We enjoyed a picnic, soaked up some sun and let the girls overload on cotton candy and snow cones. I came home and had to go to work, so I let Conal deal with the repercussions of the sugar high! ;)

Taylor Update

Tay's about to turn 4 in just a few weeks. That meant that her IEP was due at her developmental preschool. I was pretty convinced that she wouldn't be approved for the program any longer, but wasn't quite sure if they'd keep her through her birthday, the end of the year, or what. The week before her IEP the school psych. told me that they would be releasing her on the last day before Spring break. That was music to my ears!!

On March 12, the last day before Spring break, I met with her teacher and the therapists at Erie school and we all signed off on Taylor's release from the developmental education program.

Taylor has done so well and is now mainstreamed! Her vocabulary, vocalization and socialization have exceeded far beyond the expectations and goals that were set for her a year ago. In fact, all of her educators and support staff involved recommended that I get her into a program or class that will allow her to express herself. They think a quiet dance class is too docile for her. She's been around quiet kids for awhile and they'd suggest I enroll her somewhere where talking, singing, and noise in encouraged. So, I did just that! I enrolled her in the summer Broadway Kids camp at the Chandler Center for the Arts. It's a bit pricey, but she's never done anything fun like that. By this age Hayden had participated in dance, gymnastics and soccer...now it's Tay's turn!

We also left her school that day after her IEP meeting, and went over to St. Tim's. I had spoken to Monica the week prior about enrolling her for next Fall. When we went in on Friday, Miss Terri took Tay into music class with the rest of the kids. Taylor had a ball! Miss Mary has a small class right now, only 6 kids in the afternoons, so they invited her to attend for the rest of the year. I'm not sending her until the week after Easter when they resume their schedule. I wanted her home while Hayden is off on Spring Break. Taylor is really excited to go to the "big kids school where Haynen went". She will only go for the remaining six weeks left in the school year, but will return in August.

Taylor is doing really well, it does my heart so good!

The social butterfly with Emme, Reagan and Jackson

Mary Poppins!

I found a bargain online the week before Mary Poppins rolled into town. Four tickets for forty dollars! I called my mom to see if she was available, knowing that even if she wasn't she'd probably clear her schedule for this! ;)

So, a few days later, on the Friday night before Valentine's day, we went on a girls date! Mom treated us to dinner at Cheesecake Factory, and we enjoyed an AMAZING production of Mary Poppins! We were in the upper level...but quite honestly, our seats were really good and I'd sit up there again! The bathrooms were not crowded (if you've been to Gammage, you know what I'm talking about!), and we had an unobstructed view!

The show, itself, went beyond anything I could imagine. The broadway producation of Mary Poppins was practically perfect in every way! Captivating, magical and totally imaginative! Hayden and Tay loved it so much that they watched Mary Poppins multiple times throughout that weekend, trying to re-live it!

Neighborhood fun!

I've been a slacker and haven't been carrying my camera with me too often. It's really too bad. We've been having so much fun with new friends in our neighborhood, and I'm missing out on a lot of photo ops.

Our neighborhood school has been more than just fun and new for Hayden. Living here as long as we have, we've always been a little down on our neighborhood. There's nobody fun, or even friendly on our street. Well, since Hayden has started school, and I gotten involved with the PTO, we've met so many nice families that live in our development, just blocks away! AND, this isn't a crappy development! There are actually friendly and social families around...they've just somehow skipped our street!

We've been to everything from a Mardi Gras party to a Sangria party. Dinner parties, lunches, and playdates. We've gone out to dinner and had friends over...it's been so much fun! And it's great, because the kids are included in most everything, we don't have to find a babysitter as often as we used to!

Hayden and Lauren at Lauren's House
Hayden and Lindsey at the Sun's game. It was a school sponsored event and so much fun. Their friend Ryan's mom is a local newscaster who had Media passes. So, she took Hayden, Lindsey and Ryan down courtside during the game and for a behind the scenes tour. These two crazy girls had a BLAST! They met cheerleaders and the Gorilla, and their friend Ryan even high fived Steve Nash!
I watched the Moore girls, Faith and Kady, last Friday while their mom worked. These girls all get along really well, and we see them often!Sitting in a bubble 'copter

The Haydens...aka H1H2End of season (2) soccer party. Hayden with Coach Randy and Coach Efren (who I actually went to highschool with). Crazy, small world!

New profession?

Should I send these two to beauty school now and get it out of the way? They both took up hairdressing in the same week.

Indoor Upgrades!

Living in one place for 9 years gets a little old. Would I like more space? Yep! Would I love a pool? Absolutely! BUT, the fact of the matter is that we're not going anywhere. For a while. Probably a long while. So, we've been freshening up the place a bit. Paint here and there, we're getting ready to put crown moulding up in the family room, and we trimmed out our windows in the family room. I've been refinishing furniture instead of buying new. It's actually been quite fun! (And cheap!)

I bought my very first power tool! All by myself. Home Depot has surpassed Target as my favorite store. In fact, one sales person laughed at me, as she saw me there three days in a row...asked "does your hubby know about your new love?" Apparently, we both must spend a bit of time there for her to know who my hubby was. Maybe I should be worried?!

The Puppy

It's hard to think that Holly is only 11 weeks old. Feels like we've had her FORRR.EVVVV.ERRRR! Nah, in all reality, it hasn't been too bad. In just one month she gained 10 lbs. No joke! I have a feeling she's going to be sized somewhere between Chloe and Daphne. The girls just love her. And even though she's reallly nippy, has razor-sharp teeth and likes to chew plastic bowls and cups, she's a pretty good little puppy. Cute too, I might add ;)

Hope?

We saw a new doctor for Hayden on Monday. And for the first time in about 2 1/2 years, I actually feel HOPE!
It's not been easy around here lately. Hayden's been struggling on so many different levels. But luckily, we saw this doctor, who has come highly recommended by parents of typical kids, parents of special needs kids and other doctors.
In one appointment we accomplished more than we have since we started on this journey. I have a feeling good things are to come!

In the meantime Hayden is still TALL and SKINNY! 44.6 lbs and 4'1". Yowza...our baby is growing up!

A blossoming friendship

One of my biggest fears with Hayden has been the fear of her making a friend. Since she's socially awkward and is often embarrassed, obnoxious and doesn't know how to act around her peers, I worry that nobody will want to be her friend. I think I worry about it even more, because she often complains of it...not having lots of friends like some of the other girls in her class. BUT....I constantly tell her that she doesn't need 10 friends, 1 best friend is perfect!

Well, she has a friend. Her name is Lauren. This is not a frienship that quickly bloomed overnight. It's been in the making since the beginning of school. They have developed a friendship solely by themselves without the guidance of Mommies.

Once Lauren's mom and I realized that the girls had been consipiring for a playdate for quite some time, I offered to take Lauren on a Friday after school, as she had a lot of work to catch up on. Lauren got to ride home with us, stay and play and the girls made pizzas for dinner.

They had so much fun just being silly 6 year olds. Lauren is only a few weeks younger than Hayden, and they really balance each other out well. So well, that their teacher said she'd like to try and keep them together in 1st grade next year! Yay..hopefully so!

Lauren and Hayden had so much fun playing that Lauren turned around and invited Hayden over to her house for a few hours the very next day. They just live a few blocks away, so it's very nice and convenient. Hayden can't wait to be old enough to cross the street on her bike so she can just ride her bike there. (YAH...that's gonna happen ;) )

They also had Hayden over this past Friday after school. It was her turn to ride home with them. Lauren is very sweet, and they think the same of Hayden. Phew...such a relief. I'm glad to know that behind my back when I'm not around, that she's well behaved and polite.

The girls are now working on us for a sleepover!

Taylor goes to Kindie

Last Friday, Hayden's class had "Snowman Day". Just some fun activities revolving around snowmen. Pin the carrot nose on the snowman...make an edible snowman...and a 'snowball' (paper) fight in the courtyard, amongst a couple more stations.
I took Taylor along with me, and boy, did she have a blast! The kids were asking if she could come back on Monday! Only 18 more months and she may be able to call that classroom home for a whole school year!

Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh

...and she rides...

On New Year's Eve around 6:30 in the evening, Hayden dug out her bike and tried to get on it, sans training wheels. We had company over and I didn't feel like dealing with it at dark, with a houseful. I was expecting to spend awhile running after her, holding onto her seat while she steadily started to gain balance and confidence. I begged her to wait until the next day, and promised we'd take her to the park to try, where there is more room.

You can bet she was up early on New Years day, asking to go to the park.

This girl needed no assistance. No guidance, no instruction. We did not run behind her or next to her or even near here. Quite honestly, she popped on that bike and took off. No bumps, bruises or scrapes. She had never tried it before, and really, didn't even ride her bike with training wheels too often. She had a hard time pedalling, and a fear of falling. Apparently, she conquered that fear without us even knowing!

The Rain Crazies

What is it with the rain that makes people CRAZY??!! Not sure if it happens anywhere else..or if it's native to Arizona. This whole week, I feel like I'm walking in crazy!

I cannot believe how nuts the local channels are over a few inches of rain. Okay, okay..the Governor called for a State of Emergency. Okay, okay..it may be the most amount of rain that this State has seen ever, in it's complete history. But really..let's not over-react people! It's rain. There's a drought. We could use it. And it's not my wedding day, so I really don't care anymore ;)

In the meantime, what we could do without are the drivers who see a single cloud in the sky and shift down to 30 in a 45 giving me..the driver 2 car lengths behind him whiplash and my 3 year a bajillion reasons to ask me "why you driving fast? Is the police gonna get us cuz now you stop fast, too?"

I could do without the weatherman interrupting the Biggest Loser to tell me that rain is on the way. I have priorities...and TV is one of them!

The poor street sweeper guy was out there dusting down my street at 8:30 this morning. The street was flooded, and he was making a huge mess. Well...in all fairness, it was a mess out there to begin with, but he was just kicking mud all over the sidewalk. Although, as Lynn suggested, I actually did take him out a cup of coffee. LOVE overpriced disposable coffee cups. Not only do I look cool but they're actually useful too :-P Oh, I loaned him a wrench also because his swiper broke. So thanks Mr StreetSweeper for telling us your "Swiper" broke. My 3 year old loved that too. She's been playing Swiper alllllll day. I've fallen off my game a couple times (correct response: No Swiping...thanks, Dora ala Jenna) and lost a pair of scissors, a pack of gum, my phone, and she also swiped my bra forcing me to double up shirts and add a sweatshirt to pick Hayden up. It's just the drive through pick up lane, but still. It was cold out there, and a girl could use her coverage when it's cold!

There were about 10 kids playing in my driveway yesterday after school. As usual, I was the only parent around until neighba lady walked out with her girls. Bringing them across the street, she avoided all conversation by standing in my front yard, in the rocks, talking on her cell phone. She left around 6:00 only to call me 15 minutes after she got home to talk about neighborhood gossip for thirty minutes. Although she's rather different, and I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm a full blown whack-job, I'm coming to the conclusion that she may just be shy. And really, who am I to judge different.

Anyhow, the point of her phone call was to tell me to close my garage door. Some one (kids on bikes are suspected) stole some tools out of her garage last week, so she wanted to let me know to hunker down. Also...she informed me that the house two doors down, and directly across the street from her is a HALFWAY HOUSE. Yes, you read that right...a freakin' halfway house. I asked her how on Earth she knew that. (This is the woman who claims she didn't really realize we lived here...even though we've introduced ourselves twice to her, and she and her husband have 2 daughters our girls' ages). One of the men in this halfway house is in her Ward...her husband saw him at church and so he walked across the street later that day to meet him. Low and behold, he stumbled across craziness. See the theme here? Rain brings all things crazy. Turns out its a sober living for alcoholism. Turns out they're not registered with the city. Turns out neighba lady told the right/wrong NOT shy Mommy..that information. Turns out the city of Chandler has no statute against running a halfway house in a residential neighborhood. Even one such as ours...where I meet more and more people that say they've moved into this neighborhood specifically for the school. Apparently this neighborhood is desired by more than location and education. It was explained to me today by the city's 'Zoning Officer of the Day' (<---don't ask) that Chandler doesn't discriminate. And as long as there are no more than 5 non-related individuals living in a single family residence, then they are not stepping outside of the law.

I was very nice, very calm. Expressed my concerns that that of which, the ZOoftheD, Jason, wasn't understanding. It's been operating as that for a little over a year. I just thought it was a bachelor living there that always has new roommates. It is all men, and I've noticed that. They drive beat up cars with a lot of out of state plates. Not too much goes on other than the occasional large gathering. I'm boiling on the inside, but don't want to get ugly or mean. At what point do I let it go, or petition to get them out of here? Any thoughts?

Okay, I've digressed tremendously. As I sit here typing this..knowing that I have just randomly blurted meaningless nothings in circles, I think of all the other strange weirdness going on this week. I'm not kidding, I can't write sh*t this good. It's like the freakin' Twilight Zone around here! Thank goodness it's the weekend, because I think the rain even brings out the crazy in me...and I could probably use some backup support and a vodka drink to straighten me out!

*Post thought: 12 hours after I wrote this, I realized that I think Mr Streetsweeper called it a "Sweeper", not a Swiper. I think there was a bit of a language barrier. Hmm...yah, he definately called it a Sweeper!

Sand Angel

Who needs snow when you can make a sand angel?!For the record...I'm consciously aware that I took her out in public with hair that looks like a birds nest, shorts that are on backwards, a t-shirt that's too small and un-matching socks. Sometimes, ya just need to get out. QUICKLY!

Marquette BIGGEST LOSER!

Conal's siblings and I (six of us all together) are competing in our own family Biggest Loser. A $300 pot is at stake. But even more so, is our health! Our term is from January 18th through May 18th.

I think it's something really fun for us all to do. Not to mention, there's no better support than family!