Tucson

So as I mentioned in my previous post, we flew out to Tucson for Mima's big 60th Birthday. Mima is my Mother-In-Law and a very special lady. We booked our tickets back in March and vowed to keep it a surprise. I am not a very good surprise keeper, I can keep secrets, but when it comes to surprises I have a hard time not sharing so this was NOT easy for me.

We flew into Phoenix as the flight was much less expensive and we needed to book a rental car anyways, so why not just fly there and drive the two hours to Tucson? The flight to Tucson went off without a hitch. The boys did great watching Sesame Street, having crackers and apple juice and coloring with their color wonder markers. The last 15 minutes Aaden got a bit antsy, but all in all the two hour flight was a breeze. We got our bags, hopped onto a shuttle to get the rental car, picked up a rental car and made our way to Tucson. The boys were able to take a nap on the way there so it worked great. We were even able to stop at a Chick-Fil-A for a quick drive through lunch. The boys enjoyed nuggets and "frey-fries" as a special treat in the car.

We showed up on Mima's doorstep the night before her Birthday and I am such a sap, I couldn't help, but to shed a tear. We visited for awhile, and then went out to Sonoran Hot Dogs with Mima, all the kiddos and my SIL and her fiancé. Then made our way back to the hotel, where the bedtime fun began.

The next morning we had breakfast in our room. Gabe came back with waffles and fruit loops. Well wouldn't ya know it, Fruit loops were a very un-healthy hit. We spent the morning running a couple errands and party shopping with my Brother-In-Law at Costco then went back to his house to clean up and decorate. Thankfully the boys were able to take a nice long naps in their cousins beds, and I must add... they went to sleep nicely in toddler beds (probably something we will need to buy very soon.) When the boys woke up, their cousins were there and they were able to play play play in the backyard. Then it was party time! We had carne asada along with rice and beans and my Sister-In-Law made a beautiful cake, she is so talented. The kids played, the grownups visited, the cousins took a bath together and we tried to get some family and cousin pictures.

The next day we went to a Splash park where the boys were able to play around in the water. They were not as in to it as I thought they might be, but they had a good time on the dry playground. We had a little picnic then packed up and went back to the hotel for swimming. Now that the boys DID like. Those guys had NO fear and jumped right back in where they left off. They sure do love that water. We had a great time splashing around with my Brother and Sister-In-Law and little Julia and Gabriel. Aaden had some cuddle time with Uncle Chach and Noah had a little #2 incident in the swimmy diaper, which gave us all a good laugh.

Later that night we treated Mima, Monica and all the kids to a local buffet dinner where the boys were FINALLY able to sit down in a highchair for the first time and EAT. Poor guys had not really had a nice filling sit down meal the WHOLE time, HUGE fail on Mommies part. We called it an early night and got the boys into bed just after their normal time (this was jelly bean night.)

The last day we headed over to visit with Mima before we left then treated my Brother and Sister-In-Law to an AMAZING sushi buffet before we headed to Phoenix. The food was SO good and I was able to eat a bunch of it because it contained shrimp and not raw fish. Even Gabe commented on how much I ate, and the boys loved it because they got their favorite, Chow mein. We said our goodbyes after a great meal and drove to Phoenix where again the boys were able rest. We got to the hotel in Phoenix and swam the say away just our little family of four. We had a low key super easy dinner at Denny's and called it an early night. Not without a little #2 incident in the empty bathtub, again silly Noah. The room in Phoenix was MUCH bigger, which was nice.

That night I started to feel crummy and my throat was on fire. Gabe brought me some tea from the lobby and Noah and I both feeling crummy only got tidbits of sleep that night. We had to wake up at 5 for our flight and that morning was my Birthday. I will spare you the HORRIBLE details of the rest of the day and just break it down... SICK, flight delay, flight delay longer, restless kids, SICK, ready to board, flight cancelled, flight re-booked with a lay over, tears, SICK, lots of airport walking, crummy lunch, SICK, tired kids, horrible kids, miserable LONG flight with a delayed layover, temper tantrums, tired kids, tired parents, SICK, lost bags, found bags, extra charges for car storage, a no good yucky birthday. We FINALLY got back home 13 hours after waking up in Phoenix. At that rate we could have driven home. Thankfully my best friend had made a homemade lasagna, salad and french bread and we were able to stop by her house for a quick bite, crack the first smile of the day, have a cupcake and open a Birthday gift. Thanks to her my day was somewhat saved. When we got home I was THRILLED to find that my Mom had recovered our dinning room chairs for me and cleared out some of baby H's room. Happy tears and some more smiling. I LOVE having things magically done for me, that is my ALL time favorite surprise. So the Birthday was some what salvaged and another plane trip is MANY MANY years off. All in all we had a great time, and hopefully someday I will be able to laugh about the worst Birthday ever.

Next year I turn 30, I am saving all the celebrating for then. The wheels are already turning. No offense to my kids that I love oh so much, but I am thinking a kids free friends weekend. Maybe Reno?

Double Digits

That's right baby Hudson is due in 99 day! However, he will be here before that. He is penciled in to be here the morning of August 26th, just 92 days from now.

I have SO much to blog about, but have been under the weather and on a little trip. Yup, we went on a trip to Arizona. I didn't mention it because it was a surprise for Mima (My Mother-In-Law.) Although, I guess it wasn't a surprise as it turns out she was tipped off, which was a bit disapointing, but still glad we made the effort and were able to be there for her big 60th Birthday.

I will say that I will NOT be flying with my kids again anytime soon. Let's just say that the $900 plane rides, wait scratch that... RIDE. Just one way was PURE TORTURE, I mean counting down the minutes hiding your head kind of torture! More to come on the torture ride and the worst Birthday ever soon. For now I will leave ya guessing and leave ya with a little story.

So we booked a hotel room while in Tucson, which was by far a super great idea because lets face it there are four of us and two of which like to put their grubby little paws all over things and also because a little space is always nice and I didn't want us to be an inconvenience to anyone. So, while this was a great idea and all we never really thought about how cramped a hotel room would be with two pack n' plays and a king size bed. Thankfully after some furniture moving we were able to make it work, but then onto the next problem... How to get two 20 month olds to fall asleep with their parents sitting in the room with them? No, no not impossible if they are REALLY tired, however they thought it was a game while we were in the room. Many of you know that we were blessed with amazing sleepers. The boys fall asleep no prob and on average sleep about 12 hours a night without making a peep. So, when I realized that just laying them down was not going to fly the real fun began. We tried just turning the lights out and we left the TV on so we could watch a little while they fell asleep, fail. So the TV went off and the iphones went on so we could play Words With Friends, again fail. Phones went off and the giggles still continued. A couple of minutes of silence passed and I thought maybe they were giving in, but NO... Aaden jumped up into the bed with us laughing and laughing, fail again. I then realized we had to be stern. Being stern was the only thing that worked and finally the bugs were down for the count. By night three we were getting slightly bored of laying in the dark being quiet while they fell asleep, much to my surprise the DH came to the dark bed with a surprise. A bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans from the vending machine. He said "lets share the bean and guess the flavor." For some reason this struck me so funny and it was oh so cute. It made me realize how different our lives had become. We were now laying in bed so our two kids could fall asleep at 8 p.m. while we played a jelly bean game in the dark. So funny the things that change and the things you will do to be sure your kids get a good night sleep. I will never ever forget the jelly bean game nor will I forget to get a two bedroom hotel room.

Pictures and stories about our trip to come soon, when I start feeling better.

Mother's Day (Take Two)

Due to some blogger issues my "Mother's Day" post was gone, but thankfully for some reason it was still up in a safari window on my iphone. So I copied it re-added the pics and voila! Happy Friday!

I used to dread Mother's Day and Sunday didn't go without me remembering the heartache I and others have or are facing to become Mothers. I laid in bed and smiled as I listened to Noah in the living room saying "elmo elmo." While Aaden said "where Mommy at?" over and over as the three guys in my life made me a spanish omelette and I sat in a quiet room feeling little Hudson kicking away. Moments like this seemed so far away just three Mother's day ago. Now I am living my dreams, and I couldn't help, but to pinch myself.

They brought me a yummy omlette in bed along with a homemade card and gift certificate to get a pedicure and have a little Mommy time afterwards.

I ended up moving the breakfast in bed out to the kitchen where the boys and I could eat together and then I was able to sneak away for a shower and to get ready for the day. While in the shower Daddy and Aaden went outside to pick a rose for me. He was very impatient and couldn't wait to give it to me so he ended up barging in on my shower with a nice little surprise.

Gabe surprised me by dressing the boys while I showered and I got bags ready for the day while he showered and we were off, but not without a sweet call from my Dad as well as the boy's God-Father wishing me a Happy Mother's Day.

We met up with my Mom, Step Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt at Train Town. The boys were in love with the minature train ride which stopped at a small petting zoo.

After Train Town My Mom and I exchanged gifts. She got me a little silver locket with N&A's picture in it and we headed over to the park for some play, a picnic, and a chance to feed the ducks. After play time we walked around for a bit, but the boys were just beat and in need of a nap. Noah fell asleep in the stroller, but poor Aaden, when he knows stuff is going on he just won't sleep. So we packed up and headed home. Aaden was asleep before we left the parking lot.

When we got home the boys were still sleepy, so they continued to nap back at home in their cribs, and VERY unlike me I chose to take the hour for myself. I laid down on the couch and watch an episode of Pregnant in Heels, and I must say I liked it.

The boys woke and we feed and bathed them and then I snuck away for a quick Trader Joe's trip. When I got back, the Honey whipped us up some seared scallops, spinach salad, and flat bread and we ate after the boys went down to bed.

After dinner Gabe said the other part of my present was a new maternity work outfit (I was on bedrest so early that I never really acquired a lot of work maternity clothes with the boys), which I am in DESPERATE need of, but just couldn't bring myself to spend the money on something I would only wear for another four months or so. So after he pushed for it for a minute I hopped on motherhood.com, and ordered a pair of capris and a shirt. I ended the evening heading to bed at 9 p.m. and watching Desperate Houswives in bed. All in all, a magical day and night.