Prissy Daisy!

Yes, just as the title suggests, we have a prissy dog and no it is not a poodle. Daisy is a pit bull. I don't know if naming her Daisy made her prissy or if she was just born that way. We will never know. Anyway, she HATES the cold. Pit bulls are known for their smiles. I NEVER saw her smile, until we moved to Mesa from Albuquerque. She was very happy after that. So, the other morning, it was a bit chilly - I say a bit because I'm from Utah and it really doesn't get "cold" in Arizona - and I found Daisy curled up on a small doll blanket of Sofia's.




Now, Daisy has a nice fluffy dog bed with TWO fleece blankets - we know she gets cold. Why would she choose this tiny little blanket? Turns out there was sand in her bed. It's been raining and our ghetto backyard has turned to mud. Princess and the Pea? No, just Prissy Daisy!

Choo, Choo!

For the last few years, Maxx has been begging us to put up the train under the Christmas tree. For some reason or another we haven't gotten around to it. Well, we finally did it! Maxx's excitement came quickly to a close when he found out we didn't have the right size batteries.



Sofia decided that her train needed to be on the tracks, too.

If you're happy and you know it...

Sofia's new toothbrush sings "If you're happy and you know it, brush your teeth!" She LOVES it. She brushed her teeth for like 10 minutes tonight as she drooled all down her shirt. I guess I better remember to brush her teeth before she gets in her PJ's, or we're going to go through alot of laundry.

My Sweet Son

Maxx came home with a letter that he wrote to his parents. Just in case you can't tell what it says - here's the interpretation.
Dear Mom and Dad,
You are the best mom and dad I've ever had. Ever since I was born, I've always loved you. Sometimes I feel mad and bad, terrible, awful and all that stuff. But when I try to cheer Abby, she ignores me. I still try to be her best brother.
Love,
Maxx



Then he drew this picture for me. I love all the details. Notice the clothes lines and the window washer. He even has a guy in a wheelchair and a bus stop. Of course he added lights on top of the skyscrapers - his dad taught him about those.

Bad Parenting

So, this definitely isn't my day for good parenting. First off, I let Abby go to school. I know, I know, she should wait 24 hours from the last time she threw up. BUT she woke up feeling better, ate some applesauce, didn't throw it up, AND she wanted to go to school. How many times does an 11 yr. old WANT to go to school? Hopefully, her teachers will ignore the emails I sent last night saying she wasn't going to be in class.



Next, I blamed Sofia's foul mouth on the kids. Our neighbors really get into the holiday spirit with their outdoor decorations. Lights, metal trees, santas, trains, more lights - you get the picture. Well, Sofia loves the "Christmas" as she calls it. This morning she was asking me about the "Christmas". She was upset that the lights weren't on. I told her that they only come on at night. She said, "Hummph, that's stupid." Now I don't know for sure if she said "that's stupid", but it sure sounded like it. I told Abby that she better watch what she says, because Sofia is picking up "bad" words. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I probably say that more than the kids - well maybe not more than Maxx. Anyway, bad parenting all the way around.



Oh, as I was posting this Sofia was coloring with crayon on my leather chair and dumped Maxx's legos all over the floor. I'm doing my best!

The Craziest Week Continued...

So, Abby came home from school sick. She had been at the nurses office several times today. Well, it seems she has Suzanne's stomach flu. Hopefully, it didn't come from the mice we found living in their pantry the morning we came home, AND hopefully no one else gets it. Keep your fingers crossed!

The Craziest Week of the Year!

So we decided to go to Utah for Thanksgiving. Little did we know it would be the craziest Thanksgiving weekend we've ever had. Here's a picture of Sofia getting ready to go to the cold country. Too bad it didn't snow.



Sofia pulling faces with the pilgrims.



All the family gathered at Jim and Shelley's for dinner. Juan and Jorge pulled up just as we were getting ready to bless the food. Juan had two sites to finish before he could meet us in Utah. He had gone to Gallup Sunday night. After sitting around all day Monday waiting on people, he decided to come home and get his site in Phoenix done. Well, the kids and I left a day early (Tues.) to beat the storm. Juan's truck broke down. So instead of driving to Utah on Wednesday, he was working. Thus the story behind his late arrival.




Maxx and Tia gave us a recital. Maxx played his recital piece, William Tell. Tia played Silent Night.




The food was all very yummy. Lukas decided that his pie needed a bit of salt.




The kids all ran outside (in the dark and cold) and played. Sofia was so tired, she fell asleep eating her pie.



That night Sofia was up throwing up. I guess the pie didn't agree with her. Maybe it needed some salt.

Friday night we took the kids to see Madagascar 2. It was Sofia's first official movie. (The unofficial first one she cried and slept in the hallway) Here she is looking overly excited for the movie to start.



On Saturday as we were getting ready to go to Rachel and Jake's wedding reception (the real reason we went to Utah in the first place - of course I took no photos) we discovered Maxx had Lice. Suzanne's worst nightmare. After trying to shampoo, gel, comb all those nasty creatures out of his hair, we decided to shave it. We spent all of Sunday and part of Monday cleaning, vacuuming, laundry, etc. It wasn't the holiest of sabbath days.



After the reception, we went to Temple Square to see the lights. Juan was unimpressed that they didn't have lights on the big trees like they used to. He told Mom that he was planning on becoming a member until he saw that.





Oh, did I mention Abby had a fever and was all achey?



Sunday morning (Grandma's Birthday), Mom woke up sick with a cold - maybe from sharing her blanket with Abby the night before) and she had lost her wedding ring. Luckily, we found her ring, but unfortunately she still has her cold.



So, we finally made it home on Tuesday. I locked Maxx out of his room and cleaned what I could that night. Even though Maxx got lice in Utah, my house is going to be scrubbed down. Wednesday morning as I was cleaning Maxx's bed, I stepped off his ladder onto a toy and pulled a muscle or something in my foot. So, even as I write this, his room is not completely sterilized. Which is also the reason I have time to write this. It's getting better, but I'm still limping around and can't put full pressure on it. I am getting laundry and such done - just at a snails pace.

Oh, I just got a call from Mom....Suzanne has the stomach flu and feels awful. I guess it's not over, yet!