Seeing Eye to Eye

Apparently Clara and I are already having difficulties seeing eye to eye.

I thought Clara looked so cute in her little panties.

Clara thought she was so cute violenty moving her hands back and forth when I asked her if she needed to go potty, running into my neighbor's bedroom, sitting down on the floor and peeing all over it.

Firsts

Clara's first bloody lip last night from falling in the tub was good preparation for me and future injuries. Clara cried, there was lots of blood, I was calm and an otter pop saved the day. I figured Clara really wouldn't want me to hold an ice pack on her face so I let her eat an otter pop. It was cut on the outside and the inside and it makes me cringe thinking about it, but it wasn't that bad. Mouths bleed a lot and it wasn't swollen today but she keeps licking it.

Clara had her first accident today since she began potty training herself. How, you curiously wonder, could a child in a diaper have an accident? While at KS Clara needed to go, so I put her on the toilet and thought I'd watch from behind. It was a great idea until I felt something splash on my foot and I realized her potty was going in the toilet, but also down her leg, on the floor and soaking into her shorts. Awesome. She's been pantless since. Poor Clara, her first potty on her clothes was mother-inflicted.

FOF

Since I was gone on Friday... here's five things from our trip that made me laugh/happy:


Clara sticking both her legs up in the air on the way home. I only got a picture of one, so just use your imagination.


Curlers.


Brooklynn running down the hall after Clara and screaming. Clara getting scared by Brooklynn's screaming, crying and running back to me.


Laughing with Nikki and SaLeah. We have some awesome memories and our conversations are just as good.


Being in California and enjoying friends, family and amazing weather. It's the one vacation that I can so easily let go of reality while I'm away.

Escape

I planned on going to Cali on Thursday of last week, but with Clara being sick, I decided to postpone. Not only did I have lots of work to get done, I needed to make sure my car was ready to go. I went to get my tires rotated, knowing it'd been a few years since I bought them and they had never been rotated. Well, one hour and $191 later, I had four new tires. Turns out I've had my tires for over four years (I promise I didn't know it was that long). The tread was separated on the front two and the wear was horrible on the back two. Fortunately, when I did buy the tires, I bought a warranty, so they replaced the front two free and pro-rated the cost for the back two. Without any of that, it would've been over $400 so I was happy to have four new tires under $200. Clara was not so happy to hang out in a tire store for that long, but I knew a strawberry milkshake would make things all better. I then went to get my oil changed but we walked to Old Navy and did some shopping while that was taking place.

Fast forward to Monday... Clara was much better, my car was ready and I had called Emily and Nikki and arranged to come Monday. I woke up at 7am and was still working at 12:30 and realized leaving Monday would only stress me out. I finished up what I needed to for work and decided I'd just leave Tuesday. We went on a walk (with Jason) for FHE.

Now for the review of my lovely trip to Cali. I love my road trips there. For some reason, when I'm there, it's so easy to detach myself from reality and all my problems seem so distant. I feel like it is a true escape from my busy life. Clara was good pretty much the entire time and I thought it'd be a good idea to stop at the outlets so she could get out of the car. It really wasn't a great idea... Clara was still having to sit (in the stroller) and I didn't find any good deals so I felt like it was really a waste of a half hour. Even with that stop, we made it to Emily's in six hours and ten minutes. Not bad! I just visited with Emily and her family, had dinner with them and stayed the night there. I didn't get very many pictures, so that was sad, but we had a good time. They got a new dog and it took a little while for her to calm down, Clara got SO excited when it licked her hand. At one point Clara was standing on Justin's board with his helmet on and looking at the camera. Obviously, that moment was not when this picture was taken.Wednesday: As I was on my way to Nikki's, she called telling me she thought Brooklynn may have broken her arm so she was headed to the hospital. She fell out of her crib and was acting funny with her arm. Instead I called SaLeah and invited myself to her parent's. On my way there I drove over a hill and for a second wondered how it was possible for someone to be building a brand new home in such an established neighborhood. And then I remembered the fires. I didn't know who's homes were destroyed but it was so sad and devestating. Devestation really is a fitting word when you look at fire destruction. Most of the homes were either completely gone or being worked on. With the exception of this one that appears to be totally untouched. I just can't imagine. At the Stone's, we just visited and watched our crazy kids. Clara had a hard time walking in the grass because it's so thick. But as you can see on her face, she has some determination to get through.Later I met Nikki at her parent's to put Clara down for a nap. That night we ate at Red Robin with SaLeah, her sisters and her friends and everyone's kids. I'm pretty sure no one wanted to sit by the table with 12 kids (now that I think of it, I think 9 of them were 3 or younger, ha ha). Lindon could not get enough of this cantaloupe.We stopped in one store on our way out and I decided it's not a bad idea to always give our children helium balloons. It's much harder for them to slip away out of our sight that way. Clara was so tired and hyper in the store and kept taking a purse off the rack and walking around with it.Nikki and I went back to her house, gave the girls a bath and then put them to bed and just visited. Thursday: Clara was about 95% better on Wednesday and woke up Thursday with a fever. I was worried it was because it was so cold in the room we slept in because my throat/chest felt icky. Nikki had to go to the orthopedic doc to get a cast on Brooklynn's arm (she broke both of her bones!) so I went to the Birch Aquarium with SaLeah and her clan. One of the little girls cleverly referred to it as the fish zoo. That makes much more sense to a toddler than an aquarium! In this first picture, Clara didn't just accidentally close her eyes for the picture. She was making this face on purpose and would just barely shut her eyes. As you can tell, it's awesome. I was laughing so hard. Perhaps she was just anticipating the flash.

I went to Nikki's parent's to put Clara down for a nap and she ended up falling asleep on me because she wasn't feeling good and I didn't want to make her scream. Nikki's parents have this cute little play kitchen and Clara absolutely loved it. Anywhere else, she didn't want to leave my side, but at the Bullick's, she only wanted to play with the kitchen. We ate dinner at Nikki's. I put Clara to bed and then Nikki and I went to SaLeah's to visit without the kids so we could actually visit. Braun stayed home with our kids, so that was nice. We were out much too late, but had a great time.

Friday: It was very important for me to get pictures of our kids together (shocking) so after taking our sweet time getting ready, we went to SaLeah's parent's. I'm getting anxious for a new camera, but even then, I don't know that we could've captured anything better. After all, the most expensive camera in the world can't make a kid sit still!

I love how Brooklynn is totally leaning over to see what's going on at the end of the line. It was pretty windy which resulted in Clara having a lovely middle part. It kind of makes her look like a little boy.
I picked a tiny white flower (shhhh, don't tell SaLeah, I'll be in trouble) and Clara thought that was great. So great, she tried to eat it.

I think Molique is such a cute little boy. He pretended he was shy but he really liked to smile for the camera (as long as I was laying my head on him and he got to lay his head on the pillow).
Us and our babies. Brooklynn is 3 months older than Clara and Clara is 3 months older than Lindon. So much fun. The second children... nowhere close. Oh well!
There are a lot of things I like about SaLeah's parent's house, but maybe the winner is the paint job on the walls in their living room. That's right, this is paint, not wallpaper. It is beautiful. I admire it everytime I visit and decided to take a picture this time.
After pictures, we went to Nikki's parent's again to put the kids down for naps and visited with her mom. Not only do I have great friends, but they have amazing families. I'm always impressed when I meet someone that enlightens my day just through simple conversations. Clara didn't take very long naps, so while Brooklynn was still sleeping, we went and enjoyed the weather outside and another beautiful yard. Oh, I love beautiful backyards. I put Clara on the steps and she was tickling herself with a leaf, laughing and just having a great time. This is probably my favorite picture from the steps. Braun had a campout so the girls went out to dinner. Nikki and I just visited. Obviously, we never have enough time to visit, but we do all we can while we have the opportunity!

Saturday: Wah wah, I hate leaving a good thing. We packed up and Braun thoughtfully offered to take the babies on a walk while I put everything in the car and moved Clara's car seat back to my car. Clara has decided she is really clingy and it didn't help to be around strangers. So carrying anything to the car would've been hard. Then we were off. We stopped in Yuma and I had a pretty bad experience in the Jack-in-the-Box that was about 90 degrees inside (I'm not really joking either) but we still made it home in less than six hours. Clara slept from Nikki's to Yuma, so that was good. The only time she really got upset after that was when the sun was in her eyes.

I got home and had to get ready for a wedding reception. Now I have work that I must get done before Monday but I'm exhausted and my eyes are tired. I would like to think I'll wake up early Monday morning; however, that's pretty unlikely considering my track record.

Since there are just not enough pictures above, here's a few random ones. Clara kept blinking. These were four pictures I took right in a row. Nikki suggested maybe her eyes were itchy, which could be very true since she got a little rash from the grass. Also, she has an obsession with phones. Fake, real, big, small. And I love miniature furniture. It's cool. I love my sweet little goose.

Tile

I found myself taking pictures of tile twice today. The first, was during a visit to Mountain Bridge (the project Jason is on at work). They have 18 model homes and I was determined to walk through every one. However, the combination of Clara being cranky and some of the models not being done, we skipped over three or so. Some of those houses are amazing and have the neatest floorplans. Too bad my favorite one starts at $736,000 or something like that. This was Clara's favorite room.Anyway, so in the entry ways, they all have really cool decorative tile, which I love. This was my favorite as standalone tiles (others used a myriad of tiles to create a design).Then, tonight I drove to North Phoenix to watch "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" that Karen was in. It's been years since I've seen that production and I sure enjoyed it. It is funny and just entertaining. Karen's parents and nephew were there so I made sure to talk to him non-stop. I almost drove past the church that it was held at because I've never seen an LDS church like this one. It was white stucco with blue tile. It was very unique and is something I'd expect in Mexico where bright colors are more common. And here you have my second photo of tile for the day. [Pictures to come... I started this much too long ago and didn't have time to add the pictures.]

Okay, pictures have been added and I forgot a few other random things... Friday night I went to Chuck E. Cheese with R&K, their girls, A&C and Lilly. I haven't been there for years and I have to admit I was a little grossed out by the thought of the breeding of germs that takes place there. Clara, on the other hand, thought it was pretty neat. Even better, her favorite thing to do was to just push all the buttons on the games. She didn't even need tokens! Thanks family for feeling sorry for me and letting me eat your pizza and use your tokens. :)

Lucy couldn't hold Clara tight enough.Aunt Lilly taking Clara on a ride...Oh mercy! Look at that mullet.Seriously, would you please cut your daughter's mullet? A month or so ago I realized over half of the shirts I bought for Clara this Summer are white or cream... and so are her bottoms with a few tan. That's a really good idea for a 16 month old!Clara loves shoes and often asks me to put them on over her pajamas. Saturday, she decided she loved my socks and wanted those on. I put them on and they looked like little soccer socks. She thought she was so cute and would lift her leg up and show it off.

Shopping, Today & FOF

On Wednesday night, I completed my lazy day (I refused to work all day except the few things I absolutely had to) by shopping with Beka. I picked her up and we went to Chandler FS because they have a big GAP. I wanted a swim suit for Clara and knew they had some on sale for $10. Well, the one I found had a $3.97 tag on it and Beka asked about it at the register. I told her I was pretty sure it was $9.99 and that the tag was from something else. The girl at the register said, "If it has that tag on it, I have to honor it." I told her it was probably just from something else so it was okay and she repeated her statement. So I feel pretty proud of my wonderful deal. I also found some cute shoes that aren't PINK for Clara. I love pink, but every pair of shoes she owns is pink, except her brown ones that have pink flowers. So when she grows a size bigger, she'll have some options. I found a few more things and then we went to Ross and then to In-N-Out. Yeah, I really needed a cheeseburger and fries at 10pm. Oh, it was good.

On my way home I had to stop and get gas... and it was $39.75 and no, I don't put high octane in. I have always had a car with a 12 gallonish tank (I say gallonish because my current tank is over 12 gallons but I've put more than that in it) and I remember when I could fill my tank for just over $10. I hated when it cost at least $20 to fill up and then I about died the first time it was over $30 (which wasn't that long ago). The next time I get gas, it will probably be over $40. That's lame.

Last night was Pack Meeting and it went pretty good. My boys did a skit and I was so proud of them. I don't have any fake flowers in my house so I made some and had so much fun doing it (minus Clara being whiney and clingy). Why are paper flowers so cool looking?

I've decided a sick baby and no husband make me crazy. Even if I wasn't busy with work, I'd still be crazy, so I can't blame it on being busy. Clara's had a fever and she seemed much better today. We went to lunch with Karen, Lori and one of their co-workers at Oregano's and Clara was out of control. She was mostly good, until they brought the bill and then she apparently could handle it no more. I decided to call Jason since we were right by ASU so we met him and he got to see Clara for a little bit. It was Clara's first ASU visit.

I'm pretty sure this could be a milk advertisement.

Driving past ASU made me miss school. I loved going to school (maybe I wouldn't have said that the night before a test I was cramming for) but I really enjoyed the atmosphere, the challenges and the learning. Maybe someday I'll go back. Probably not for a graduate degree but I'd like to take classes here and there.

Anyway, coming home Clara whined/cried most of the way. She fell asleep but would cry every time she coughed. Then, she cried for over an hour before she finally went to sleep. She didn't want me to touch her, but screamed (louder) if I set her down. I get so frustrated not knowing what is wrong but knowing clearly, something is wrong. I'm hoping it was just a combination of being sick and overly tired. We'll see when she wakes up from her nap (she's been sleeping for a few hours, so that is good).

Since Friday wouldn't be Friday without our FOF's, here we go...

Clara

1. Shoes, big or small, old or new (Kathryn donated a pair of shoes that are a healthy size too big but Clara walked all over the house with them on. When I took them off, she put one of them in her bag to drag around). These are the shoes I got on Wednesday.

2. Slides

3. Her dollies, or anything else she can hug

4. Cheerios (this thing was totally stuck on her pj's, I had to pick it off in pieces)

5. The car, if she gets to be in the driver's seat. The last time I vaccuumed out my car, I let her play around in front and now everytime I open my door to unlock the doors, she tries to get in and gets mad when I make her walk to the back door.

6. French fries (I know, I'm breaking all the rules, but I forgot about this picture last week too).

Anna

1. Good salads. I love food and I really love a good salad. Especially when I have everything I need for one and don't have to go to the store.

2. The wonderful, wonderful weather we're enjoying right now.

3. Clara sagging. Her poor little waist. These pants are 12-18 months and the buckles slip too easily so she sags as she walks. It makes her look like a midget.

4. Overcoming temptation to be lazy and working almost the entire time Clara was taking a nap.

5. Getting to eat pizza twice in one day. I love pizza, but have only realized that in the last year or so.

PS Karen gave me her old phone and I was dreading having to go to the Verizon store. I went online to look at new phones and realized you can activate a phone online. Wahoo! So I have a working phone again and I got it quick, easy and free. I still don't have any old numbers though, and don't know if I'll be able to get them.