Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to the goofiest mom and grandma ever!

Glad we got to spend the day with you, Mamas!

Vacation Time!

Max and I are in Virginia! Max was a wonderful travel companion and a total champ on the plane. Everything has gone much smoother than I anticipated! He is now sleeping snugly in his pack n' play in Aunt Megan's room and will hopefully sleep through the night and well into the morning. We're off to visit Grandma Gardner tomorrow!

Jerk alert!

Congrats on your fast car, douchebag.  I watched you speed past me at 75mph on Broadway and I was impressed at how quickly you were able to convince the world that you are a prick.  I especially liked the part where you swerved on to the median to avoid (while honking at) the disabled veteran in the Crown Vic who couldn't have possibly seen you coming.

My only hope is that you kill yourself before one of my loved ones or any other innocent.

I hope you separated your tires, asshole!

This Moment

Father's Day trip to the zoo

This Moment

A sad, sad tale.

This is easily the worst thing that happened on our vacation.

While at the pool on Saturday, I put the book under my chair, which was at least 7 feet back from the water.

But apparently, there was a slight downgrade, and the water runs down the grout between the tiles. My book happened to be sitting right on the grout.

The book was so wet, I could ring it.

I paid $7 for this book at Bookman's, but still, it is a travesty. Books are to be respected and treated well. I have failed this book.

Phoenix Get-Away

Our weekend vacation in Phoenix was so incredibly relaxing and amazing.

We didn't take the nice camera anywhere with us, so other than the pictures at the resort, the pictures are all taken with Kyle's old point-and-shoot Canon, which no longer has a working screen. Who knew if you sat on a camera enough, it would crack the screen?! It's kind of hard to control settings such as the flash now. So the camera is literally, just a point-and-shoot. But it still takes decent photos!

Friday night's concert, Cake, was lots of fun. Here's a picture Jeff found online taken before the event (Jeff's in orange on the far left, and I'm in blue to his right).

Saturday morning we went to the Sea Life exhibit at the Mills Mall (which I totally recommend!).

Jelly Fish!

Us!

In the afternoon we laid by the pool with our books. Such a relaxing time, even in the 100 degree heat. Saturday night we went to a Roller Derby event and enjoyed the heck out of it. What a fun (and weird) culture!!

Sunday morning we headed back to the pool, then headed to Ikea where we bought lots of fun stuff for Max. Being around all the fun baby stuff made us miss our little monster, so we high-tailed it through the store and rushed home to our baby. Seeing our Maxeroo was a perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

This Moment

Upcoming Phoenix Vacation

Tomorrow afternoon Jeff and I are leaving for a mini-getaway in Phoenix for the weekend. Our plans are pretty open, though we will be going to a Cake concert Friday night and probably a movie at some point. We'll be staying at the Firesky Resort and Spa for the weekend, and I can't wait to swim in their sandy bottom pool.

My parents will be staying at our house to watch Max and the dogs. I know Max will be just fine and will love all the extra Grandma time. As much as I will miss my Max, I deserve a break and some alone time. I look forward to not having to worry about nap schedules and diapers for two days. I look forward to taking a long shower. I look forward to eating dinner at a restaurant- after 5 pm.

I'm excited to spend so much time with Jeffry; this will be our first out-of-town vacation since I was 5 months pregnant, and our first night being without Max ever.

from out last vacation- I think this one will be warmer!

I will post a "This Moment" in the morning, and then it's radio silence until my relaxing weekend is over. I hope you all have a pleasant weekend!

The Ring Pop

While at the Tucson Children's Museum this last weekend, we were watching Max while he "played" the bongos. The room was filling up quickly, with both kids and their parents. There was a young girl (maybe 2) also playing the bongos, whose mother was hovering outside the door with a stroller, not really watching her daughter, who was swinging the stick around, nearly hitting Max.

We were getting a little stressed with the sudden influx of people in a very small room and we were just starting to leave, when a grandmother entered the room with two kids, maybe 3 and 5. The 3-year-old walks immediately behind Jeff, bends down, and picks up a ring pop that was discarded under the table. It was like she had candy radar. She then, just as quickly, put it in her mouth. The grandmother made a face and said something I didn't catch, then gestured to Max and said "but I guess he won't want it back now."

Simultaneously, Jeff and I replied "it's not his." I was incredibly offended that she would think we'd give our baby candy (and then just leave it on the floor). Let me admit upfront, that I realize I'm crazy. It's just that I'm totally judgmental about the food people give their children (especially to babies and toddlers), so I didn't like the thought of her judging me for something that I didn't even do.

This was an inconsequential exchange. No one was pissy or argumentative and nothing more was said than what I already related. But man, did it annoy me.

Review of the Tucson Children's Museum

Max went to the Tucson Children's Museum for the first time on Sunday. Admission on the first Sunday of the month is only $2 (and Max is free). We figured even if he didn't do much at the museum, he'd still like interacting with the other kids.

We started off in "Electri-City," which is in the middle of a remodel. This section of the museum is for older kids, so Max didn't do much here. But it was a good introduction to the museum, because he knew immediately this was a hands-on place.

In the "Public Safety" exhibit, we spent the majority of our time in the firetruck. Max loves pretending to drive Grandma's car and Dada's car, so of course he loved driving the big ol' firetruck. He even makes the noise "rooom, roooooom."

This part of the museum has been relatively unchanged for quite a while. Which is just fine cause it's timeless stuff that kids always love. Kids can sit on a police motorcycle, drive the fire truck (with real video playing on the windshield), play dress up, and put on a puppet show.

Next up was the "Build It" room, but we didn't take any pictures. Fun things to do here for older kids. This room offers building tracks and marble runs, wooden building blocks, and a lego table and is new since the last time I was there (which was over two years ago). Max just liked throwing a ball whenever people gave it to him and then watching as they chased it down and returned it to him. We quickly moved on to...

the "Ocean Discovery Center." This area was pretty packed. Max cruised right passed all the coral-textured walls and the ocean animals and headed into the submarine. In the submarine, he got to push buttons, another favorite. He sat in there quite awhile, I think he only left because Jeff got bored.

This part of the museum seems a little dated and could probably use a face lift. Again, it's geared for older kids, so we didn't explore all of it, but it just looks dreary.

It was too bad the "Instrument Room" was so busy (not that you can tell by the picture) because we could have spent much longer in there. Max enjoyed playing the bongos, but combined with too many people in the small room and people not watching their kids well enough, it was just stressful. I'll tell you about the ring pop another time, this post is already getting too long.

"The Whistle Stop Gallery" was a fun exhibit, with a train for kids to climb through, gears to turn, and a train table.

The dramatic play area stole the show for me. I am totally in love with their "Pet Vet" exhibit.

The room looks like a fully-functioning vet office, complete with working animal scale, a grooming station, kennels, x-rays, and dress up clothes. I want this room for my school. It's so well done. The kids in my class could spend all day in this area.

The grocery store was the one spot I knew Max would love. He must have hit his exhaustion level though, because he was easily frustrated and started crying when he didn't get his way. I was disappointed we didn't spend more time in this section.

In the "Mind Your Own Body" exhibit they also have a kitchen, a doctor's office, and more health related stuff. It's an awesome area, and I'm planning a field trip for my class based solely on this exhibit alone.

The last part of the museum was, by far, Max's favorite part. The "Enchanted Rainforest" is devoted for kids under four and has lots of things to climb, both on and under. I have no idea how long we spent in this room, and we didn't take any pictures, but Max could have spent all day there. And this room, in particular, is the reason I will be buying an annual pass. Even if we skipped the rest of the museum, and just played in this one room, it would totally be worth the money and the drive.

Here is the shirt we bought Max on his first trip to the Children's Museum. We enjoyed our trip and I hope to return soon. It's a perfect way to escape our hot summer heat!

This Moment

This was poor, sick baby Max last weekend (which was Memorial long weekend). He had a high temperature all weekend long and didn't feel very good at all, as you can tell by the delightful picture. He's only been sick one other time, and that was with a cold. This was completely different. He was so tired all the time and wouldn't eat and was so unbelievably grumpy. It was an awful three day weekend, but I am thankful I had the time off so I could be with him. He was just so miserable. But now, he's good as new, and even sleeping in later than he was before. He's been in great moods and taking long naps. He must be going through a growth spurt now too with as much as he's been sleeping, which works fine by us. Here's to a good weekend :)