...April Fools...

This is what happened on April Fools 2010...

Hmmm? 

Why do I feel like I've been sucker-punched in the face with exhaustion by a cracked-out Mike Tyson and left to lay on my couch until I either die or just pass out?  

Three tests later...

April Fools 2011...

 Our sweet, sweet Lola... 

4 months old. 

She's totally worth being punched in the face for!

Oh sweet, sweeeet pavement!

Tonight was my first post-partum run...with Max.  

Let's rewind to 21 months ago to my first post-partum run after having Van.  It's one of those runs I'll never forget. 

My ipod started playing "The Adventure" by Angels and Demons.  I turned it up until I thought my ear drums would be permanently damaged and started running/crying my eyes out!  Oh glory be!  I. was. alone.  No one to nurse, no one to feed, no one to cook for, no bums to wipe...total aloneness except one of my besty's, the pavement.  Such a release of emotions and hormones, AHHHH YES, just what I needed.  Until I had to make myself stop crying because it was giving me a side stitch.  

Tonight's run, 1.5 miles with my buddy.  So sweet to watch Max run/skip/sprint/dance.  That kid was interval training and he didn't even know it.  

When we got closer to our house he put up the ultimate challenge..."last one to the front door is a rotten egg"!  I totally creamed him.  JK.  To be nice, Max, ever the gentleman, told me I didn't smell rotten.  Thanks sugar. I love that kid.

 I won't forget this "first" post-partum  run either.

Whiskey Row half marathon here I come! And here comes Dave...yep Dave I just put it out there, you're committed!

Miss Lola

And yes, we made it to the hospital this time!  Funny thing, Dave was the only one in the room when Lola started crowning (sorry if that's too much info).  The nurse walked in as she was coming out.  I'm starting to think Dave missed his true calling in life!  My midwife missed the birth, again...I think we need to be reimbursed.

Daddy and his girl, 1 hour old.

First time the boys saw Lola, 2 1/2 hours old!

Gramie Dani with her only granddaughter of 6 grandsons!   My mom has never been here for the birth of any of my babies, our timing has always been off.  It would be nice to be able to predict when the squirts are going to be born.  I was so glad she was here this time, loved it!

Uncle Devin and Aunt Liz.

Max and Lo, bonding. First day home.

Our attempt at family pictures on Thanksgiving. 3 days old.

The posterity.

And thanks to Priscilla  for taking  these adorable pictures of Lo.  These were all taken when Lola was 2 weeks old. Check out Pris's photo blog here!

We're in love with this little girl.  I can hardly believe she's been with us for a month already!  Dave and I are still trying to wrap our heads around the fact that we have 4 kiddo's!  So far, so good, but we'll see how it goes once Lola gets out of the sleepy baby stage :)

(sorry it took so long to post, i'm only working on a 1/4 of my brain cells these days)

80's Tour de force

Calling all children of the 80's. I think you'll appreciate this post.
Dave and I are debating which movie, produced by the acid dropping Dave Henson , scarred our boys for life more.

Exhibit 1:

First of all, I would never rent OR even buy these movies from the "throw away $5 bin" from Walmart. We watched it from Netflix from the Xbox. Just to clarify.

I just wasn't in the mood to hear the sounds of a cartoon. So, I see Dark Crystal and I think,'Hey, why not, I saw it when I was a kid, but I don't really remember anything about it except that it had weird puppets".

All I have to say is Jim Henson was high when he came up with this movie. It's a movie about good vs. evil, blah blah blah. With freaky, yoda-like characters like Aughra with one eye, this movie was good for freaking my boys out and getting really good cat names.
What happened to the Muppets Jim?

Exhibit 2:

Labyrinth...
Ahh, sweet Jennifer Connelly. And Hoggle?
He's her sketchy side-kick, who poisons her and purposely gets her lost in labyrinth. Lessons to be learned kids, pick better side-kicks and don't go into mazes in the first place.

David Bowie.
And David Bowie's not-so-fantastical, crotchitude, spandex pants.
There's enough shots of this to scar anyone for life.
This movie had to be the inspiration for David and Freddy Mercury's duet, "Under Pressure."

I wonder how many drag queens have aspired to get this look?
Another question, I wonder what came first? David Bowie's hair and frosted make-up or Brett Michaels? I would love to see those two duke it out in Celebrity Fight Club. Sans the spandex.

The debate rages on which movie will cost us more in therapy bills, Dark Crystal or Labyrinth?
Thanks Jim, I'd like those 3 hours of my life back. And I'll bill you for the therapy.

The 80' s tour de force wasn't all hallucinogenic, nightmare causing.
We had success with Never Ending Story. Spoiler... it ends.
But when we get a dog, we're totally naming it Falkor.

And p.s.
Invite Dave and I to your Halloween party. This is why.

This will happen.

Jeshie or Pearl?

Girl names. We're looking for something different, but not too crazy. Got any suggestions?
Ryder and Max already have her name picked out. Love the inspiration.

If Ryder has it his way, this little girl will be named Jessie (or Jeshie as Ry says it). As in Jessie from Toy Story. Granted she's a cutie and tough as nails, but we already have a Jessie in the family and she's the same way :)

Max, however, has been inspired by his favorite cartoon, Spongebob Square Pants. (Gasp! Yep, our boys watch Spongebob, turn us into CPS)

Meet the oh so lovely Pearl,
or Pearl Greene if the naming is up to Max.

Well, hello there...if anyone's still there.

Yes, it's been one year since I posted on this lonely blog. Why the abandonment? A number of reasons, but that's a post for another day. Mainly, I thought Jade was tired of having her messed up back as the headliner news on my blog for over a year now. So, here's to you Miss Jade, a new post.

A year later. See, she's doing just fine. Now Ryder, well, he's just being funny man Ry.

I'm coming out. No, I'm not gay. I'm pregnant! And it's a girl! Halle-freaking-lujah, we are so excited! I'm 7 months prego and due around Thanksgiving! Needless to say, Dave will be in charge of Thanksgiving dinner, which is cool because he makes a mean turkey and melt-in-your-mouth mashed potatoes!

Yep, we are breeders, but hopefully this old mare is done with this stage of life. Did I just compare myself to an old horse? Moving on. It's an odd, but satisfying feeling, knowing that this is my last time to be pregnant.

It's a little like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, not to be confused with the end-of-life-death tunnel. The light being the end of planning life around nap times, packing the entire diaper drawer and pantry with you when you leave the house and six years worth of changing diapers. We're almost done with all things baby. It's a little sad because this time in our life is almost finished, and I do love all things baby. But, at the same time it's nice to move forward with our growing family.

So, I'm trying to appreciate this pregnancy even more. But, a stress fracture in my foot from running and my sciatica are making it tough to relish. UGH. But, thankfully, the funky, alien movements of this little girl keep me excited about her joining our family. "Her," a pronoun we're all excited to use more of around here!
And Jade, I hope this little girl grows up to be just like you! No pressure or anything.

So, wow, I just dropped a bomb (well, it was a bomb for us) and on my first post in a year. I'll try and keep them coming. The posts, not the bombs.

Life's Tough, Wear a Helmet

This is what happens to a 4-wheeler (or a quad for arizonans) when the breaks go out going down a mountain.

It gains way too much speed in about 2 seconds, hits a boulder, throws off its passengers and then has the audacity to challenge them to a somersault race down the mountain for another 100 yards.
(you bad,

bad 4-wheeler)

This is what happens when Miss Jade, who unfortunately, is one of the passengers along with another friend, is on the said bad, bad 4-wheeler.

(search and rescue and my dad, he's the one with the white hat on, had to tabogen her down the mountain)
Jade lucked out. Big time! Wearing a helmet saved her pretty little face, neck, brain and spine. Pretty much her life. It makes me sick to think of the later.
She did come away with some really awesome souvenirs.

A shredded, super cute F21 shirt.
A concussion, followed by migraine's and some puking-fun.

A fractured thumb-super fun.
Some major, meaty road rash on her back-seriously so much fun.
And last but not least, a broken L2, L3, and L4 in her back-limitless fun.

But there's always a silver lining.
All of her siblings came to rally around their little sis...in our parents bed.

I had to come see for my self that my Jaders was going to be okay. Me and Van hopped on a plane and were there for the weekend.
Mama Jade and her baby boy,
RE-UNITED.




This is pretty much where I hung out for 2 days, my parents bedroom.
It's the quintessential "returning home" for me.
I'm not sure why, but for some reason, hanging out in parents bedroom was always the gathering place.
It still is.

I hope it's the same way for my kids.

Maybe you know what I mean, maybe you don't. You might think this is uber weird, but for our family it was par. And now with my kids, come weekend mornings and our little guys come in to wake us up, we carry on the tradition of hanging out, in bed. It's home, it's us.

Poor Jade, I think the hardest thing about her recovery is the down time. Like most teenagers she'd rather be anywhere else on a Friday night then laying in my parents bed with her fun, broken back. But, we (the fam) tried to make it entertaining for her. Or should I say she made it entertaining for us.

Three words: Jade On Percocet...

**Let's see, she kept petting my dad's face and calling him "cutie pie".
**My mom was now being summoned as "sexy".

**She kept verbally assaulting my brothers. But they were true gentleman in the way they handled it. They dished it right back.
**She kept repeating "I'm on top of the world" and then would pretend she was flying, like the scene in Titanic.

Jade on Percocet, priceless, truly.

It was good to be back home with my girl. Circle the wagons, as Dave would say.
She's doing good and her prognosis is great. She'll be 4-wheeling again in no time. JK. Never again!