Just bragging...

I truly have THE best kids on this planet! I have been so stressed out these past few months between planning Jorden's Sweet 16 festivities (and trying to keep them secret), the boys turning four, planning our family vacay to Disneyland, trying to finish up the last of my graduate classes, and everything in-between! When I wake up every morning and get my "morning kisses" from my kids and look into their sweet faces, it makes life all the more worth living! Some people are stressed because of their kids (which does happen), but I must say, I relieve stress with my kids! They are my babies and I refuse to believe that Bella started Kindergarten and the boys are four...WOW! To top that, Jordie turning 16 AND dating!!?? Why???

I was blessed with four healthy children and I couldn't have asked for more sweet, loving, kind-spirited, honest, and BEAUTIFUL human beings! They are the joys of my life and as long as I have them to interact with each and every day, I can handle anything!! (oh yah, and my hubby ;)

P.S. Floyd turned seven on Halloween...even the dog's getting older! :(

Post-holiday accomplishments

Fun, loving Valentine's Day: check
Our awesome 6th year Anniversary overnighter: check
Uneventful St. Patrick's Day: check
Family trip to Sedona and Out of Africa (with two other families): check
Way too many Easter activities: check
Disney on Ice-Princess Classics with three small children: check
Shelly finished last Statistics class: check
Shelly completed first Assessment class: check
Jorden made Varsity cheer: check
Spring has come to a close: check

Summer activities/accomplishments to come....

MEN SUCK!

**Warning: Contains man bashing content**


Complaint #1: Why does it take men three times as long to do something than it does women? I can feed my children three meals plus snacks in-between (including preparing dinner), keep the house clean, fold laundry, and get myself ready for school...all in ONE DAY! I leave for school (3 1/2 hrs) and when I get home, the entire day's efforts have been trashed! Can he not learn to multi-task while watching "In The Wild"?

Complaint #2: This may be backwards in my family, but why is it every time my husband goes to the grocery store he comes back with useless junk for the kids? (i.e. water paint, bubbles, mylar balloons). The other day he came home with a Justin Bieber poster for Jorden, as if her wall isn't covered enough in posters! Last night he brings home water paint and bubbles! Really? Isn't Easter right around the corner? And guess who has to listen to the fighting all day over this useless junk? Better yet, who has to clean up the messes that this useless junk makes? Yep, THE WOMEN!

Complaint #3: What are "honey to do" lists really for anyway? I've been staring at the same list for over a year. One thing at a time gets done...at a snail's pace. If I had a weekend to myself, I could knock it all out (with the help of a few experienced people). But seriously, why must it take so long to do something? I guess women's brains are just wired to handle more than one thing at a time. Or is this just an excuse men use? After all, they are able to chew gum while throwing a baseball, right? Don't they drive AND listen to Sports Talk radio? They are able to pee and fart at the same time, right? Need I say more?

Complaint #4: Why do men get to be the "good guys" and women always look like the "bad guys" because we want a certain order to things? Again, maybe this is a little backwards in my house. Women need to have things planned, organized, and clean! So I always find myself yelling at the kids to keep things 'in order' and he just lets them do whatever they want because HE doesn't have to clean up the messes...and yet again, daddy = good guy. There you have it!

On a positive note, I will say that my husband does NOT leave the toilet seat up. He also does NOT leave his clothes on the floor, he actually puts them in the hamper and his shoes in the closet. He DOES work 60hrs a week to provide for his family and I am grateful, despite what this blog may sound like! ;) But don't the stay-at-home moms also work? This is the age old question! Even those moms who are employed, don't they really have two jobs? So if I am a stay-at-home mom who is also a full-time student, doesn't that also count as two jobs? Just sayin'...

Holidays, Family, and a Funeral

Well, the New Year has come once again and we are geared up and ready to begin 2011. The end of 2010 was bitter sweet. Holidays were enjoyable this year, not too much hustle and bustle. Thanksgiving was interesting, to say the least. Bella Rose (see side bar 'About Me' notes) earned the turkey day memento this year by breaking her arm. She managed a supracondylar fracture of the humerus within the first five minutes of us arriving at the in-law's house. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the Pediatric Urgent Care so we didn't make it out to my mom's this year. Me, Mike, and the kids celebrated the next weekend with a deep fried turkey and it was delish! We topped the night off at Zoolights.

Christmas festivities started the first week of December which included tamale making, bread and cookie baking, Andreas Xmas party, me, my mom and my sis took kids to Zoolights (again) and headed to Red Devil pizza afterward (tradition we started years ago). We went light-seeing all over town which is always fun for the little ones. Last but not least, I made grape leaves with my mother-in-law Xmas Eve in the A.M. Xmas Eve P.M. was spent with my mom and siblings, and included my grandparents and some out-of-town family members to make it complete! We had lots of fun, but we are definitely missing one family member this year. I have faith that he will pull himself out of the rut he has been in for a while and emerge next year a whole new person. We threw carrots on the roof for the reindeer and left cookies and a note for Santa. The little kids really got into it this year which was so cute! And Jorden helped "Santa" wrap presents until 2:30am, so "he" was very thankful for that! Mike spent that time putting in my new dishwasher and it has been pure bliss ever since!

Christmas morning was a blast and the kids were so excited. I made my traditional cinnamon rolls and they were yummy as always. Kids ripped through their gifts and started playing with them almost immediately. I snapped pics and Mike ran the video camera as usual. Can't wait to view all of those memories later on down the line. Kids are growing WAY too fast! *sniff sniff* After getting all cleaned up, we headed over the the Spiro's to celebrate with Mike's family and wish mom/grandma Spiro a Happy Birthday! Kids put together a gingerbread house and spent the rest of the night shooting each other with the Nerf guns Santa brought them (huge hit). I've really enjoyed my 3 1/2 week winter break from school, but that is coming to an end this week. This next year will be super duper crazy busy, but I am ready to go at it full force and get this darn graduate degree finished!! I always love the last two weeks of the year because the kids are out of school and Mike actually takes quite a few half days to get shopping done with me, etc. I will miss that as well.

We ended the year with more family celebrations, including a celebration of life for someone we lost. Very heart-breaking and many prayers have taken place for this family. He was loved and will always be in our hearts and memories. So as we close the chapter on 2010, let us all be thankful for our families, our health, and our happiness. "As we get we must continue to give, and as we learn we must continue to teach." God Bless and here's to a wonderful and prosperous 2011! Oh yah, and no more broken bones! :)

And it's official...

WINTER IS HERE!! Or what we like to call a "winter" in these parts. Man, time is flying by this year. I have taken six grad. classes already, only twelve more to go! The boys turned three in Sept. and we celebrated in San Diego. It was an awesome family trip and I have pics to prove it! ;)

Jorden just made cheer captain for the basketball season. All of my bossy, controlling, overachieving issues have finally been passed down. Oh, she makes me proud!

Bella turned five over the wknd and we had a really fun princess party for her. She had a few of her besties over an hour early and had a little tea party complete with lemonade, cookies, and Polite As A Princess story. It was super cute. Will post pics as well for that. Bella also had a Thanksgiving Feast at preschool today. The little school programs have begun all over again for me...and I reminded Mike that we still have a ways to go with two more kids coming down the pipeline!

Excited to spend the holidays with good friends and family. Kids are super excited this year for all the festivities and traditions. This is probably my second to last post for the year. Final updates to come...

I'm old!

Mommy celebrated another bday (don't ask), Jordie started tenth grade, Bella started Pre-K, and Cooper decided to jump on board with potty training. So soon enough, I'll have NO kids in diapers! Excited, yet depressing! Who am I kidding? I am stoked!! ha ha

Actually, I am facing the realization that I am old! You know the "old" we all thought our parents were when they were in their late 30's? Hilarious! But seriously, I am extra depressed because my husband will forever be 11mos. younger than me! Makes me sick, especially when he reminds me all the time! I warned him this year to sleep with one eye open! ;)

Did I ever tell you I hate the summertime???

Well I do! I am an AZ native and it never seems to get any easier...or cooler! Good thing we have a cabin up north to sneak away to, or I'd probably go insane. Between my four kids, two dogs, two cats (yes, we got a new kitten), one husband, and this blistering heat, I feel like I am going to go crazy most days! Luckily, school is right around the corner for me again. I'll be able to get away two nights a week and enjoy some "adult" time for a change. Unfortunately It will be to learn which isn't fun, but I'll take it!

So Jorden is officially a Sophomore now. Wow! She is taking summer school at my 'old stomping grounds' (THS)...it sure has changed since I was there (don't worry about how many years ago that was!). She seems to like it, definitely a change of pace for her. She finished out the year strong and will be adding two "A's" to that once she completes summer school. Bella will be starting swim lessons again in the intermediate class (Eels) and possibly in dance or tumbling after that if we can swing it this summer. She dances around the house all day long, so we feel it is our duty to get her started in something before this phase slips away. Boys will do a few rounds of swimming as well (Pikes) which is an upgrade from parent/tot classes, so we are excited to be able to hand them off to the teachers to listen to the screaming this year! Mike is embarking on a new adventure (more details later) so let's just keep our fingers crossed for the time being (biting nails).

We are now a family of ten!!! We have a new kitten named Canada. For those that don't know, we have another cat named America. This only made sense, right? She also goes by Candy (Bella) or Ninja (Jorden). She is cute. I'll post pics when I upload them. Frankie loves her, Floyd can't be bothered with her, and America won't even come inside anymore. We'll have to remedy this at some point, but for now it is as peaceful as a zoo can possibly be. :)

I got accepted to Ottawa's Master of Arts in Education program which starts in one week! Man, that break didn't last long. I am waiting to hear back from the director of NAU's Education program to verify that a School Psychology program is definitely coming to the valley next Spring. If so, I will be applying there this fall in hopes of transferring. I am starting at Ottawa instead of waiting because I will already be six classes down by the time NAU gets their program up and running, and I don't want to waste any time. I just need to make sure all the courses I am taking will actually transfer over or are equivalent to, which is why I am awaiting a phone call. SOONER than later, please!! So I will either be an Ottawa graduate or a Northern Arizona graduate in 2012. Either way, I am pretty stoked.

We are planning our first "real" family trip in September, to Colorado. It will be a blast and I am so excited to see where Mike grew up. We are also going to Elitch Gardens, Denver Zoo, Butterfly Pavilion, Estes Park, and a few other places Mike wants to show us. The boys won't remember the trip (yeah for cameras!), but the girls will and I am very happy to be able to share memories like this with them.