darn pumpkin cookies!

You will not find any pictures of my kids dressed in Halloween costumes because of these darn pumpkin cookies! The above picture was taken earlier in the day PRE-Pumpkin cookies.
Today I thought it would be fun to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that were allergy-free for my sweet little allergy girl. So when these beauties came out of the oven I was so excited I sat down the kiddos for a treat. my baby girl was not so interested in eating at that moment - so I picked her up & fed her a small bite. Shorty after I notice red about her lip. Hoping may be she just bopped her upper lip onto something I waited. Then her chin had some red action. Ya, hives. Before I knew it she was tearing at her itchy hands....it was going to be a Benadryl night. :( After many anti-itch creams, a bath and checking her throat for closure she was drugged and cranky! There went the should-have-been fun night. I delt with poor fussy girl, while my husband took out little man for candy. Pictures were far from my mind until now since the kiddos are sleeping. Moral of the story is you can be allergic to pumpkin!! And if you are not allergic to pumpkin these Gluten-Free cookies taste great - I will be happy to give YOU the recipe.

you've got to be kidding!!!

Arizona keeps giving me reasons not to like it. Really I am trying to see the good in this state, but it's things like this that make it impossible! This Speed Camera is what you will find along an Arizona Freeway now. They have actually posted cameras every couple exits all along the major freeways to keep you going under 75mph. The plan is to have the state covered in another year. If you go over 75mph you will be mailed a beautiful picture of you and charged $181.00 for the picture they took! Ridiculous!!! So to all my out-of-state friends...if you happen to drive into AZ beware of the many cameras lurking along your way. They are watching.
I am so annoyed at this I am lost for words - i just keep thinking you've got to be kidding!!!

soccer???

So my son just started soccer and so far I'm thinking - why???! He has always talked about wanting to play soccer and though my husband and I are not big on soccer we thought, if that's the sport you want to try alright! At our last game he spent most of his energy complaining about how HOT he was. (hmmm...that's familiar) He wanted nothing more than the game to end and for the snacks to be passed out! My favorite moment... he was supposed to be the last string to stop the ball from being kicked towards the goalie. The opponent was coming at him strong and instead of trying to kick the ball the opposite way and defend that turf, he moved right out of the way, stood there watching & made room aplenty for the opponent to run up and kick the ball right at the goal. :) So although I have a mini-van, i will be surprised if I end up as a soccer mom. perhaps he will like basketball better, after all you get to be in an air-conditioned gym!

thank you sarah!!

Thank you sarah for the perfect craft idea!! We finished our spider last night & the kids love having our new friend hang around the house!

ca trip

Truly I thank God for trips back to LA. It's always a breath of fresh air to see family, friends & just be home. While we did not see everyone we would have liked to in that quick week - I know we will be out again soon!

Our trip started off with a fun & beautiful wedding of a college friend & former roommate. (of course i left my camera behind that day & missed many picture opportunities- sad day!)

During our week we got to take a fun train ride into old town Claremont, play with the cousin's pet turtle, ernie - not to mention play with the cousins, (yes, J is sticking out his butt at the camera!)

celebrate my mom's 55th birthday (pictured; grandma, baby girl, me, athena & mom) ,

and play with some favorite friends twice - S.T.'s bunch! Thank God for a wonderful week!

it's coming!!!

Do you ever get the kind of zits that come in deep, painful and are HUGE?! I have not had one since before I was pregnant with my little princess, but it's coming and it will be lovely...oh yes, it will be lovely!

pumpkin patch

Last weekend we went to the local pumpkin patch. It was a blast! There is nothing more fun than seeing your kids so excited about farm animals, hay rides, cotton candy & of course pumpkins!! Did i mention that the weather in AZ was unusually cool, thus the jeans! :) So we went on the perfect weekend. They had a reptile trailer there with tons of well, reptiles of course. And yes, the alligator was real and apparently friendly!??

My sweet girl fell in love with the baby chicks!
And we were the first ones there so the bounce house was ours!!
Decorating pumpkins....

It was a perfect morning for fun!

sea shell art

If you know me at all then you know that I'm in NO WAY creatively crafty! That being said, I'm very proud of myself for my last "keeping the kids busy" project. While some may call this defacing nature or graffiti, I call it - Sea Shell Art. Behold....you collect sea shells from the ocean and you simply color them with markers or crayons & vwa-lah ART! :)

We made J a sea shell necklace and about the mustache....don't even ask???

all done boo boo

My poor daughter has been battling allergies since 3 months old. Recently, things have become way crazy in her little body and we are taking action to make her better. As of now, she is dairy-free, nut-free, gluten/wheat-free and corn free. No doubt life is tricky with meal time, but thank God they make lots of allergy free foods and chocolate chip cookies!! :)
Today we went in for a food sensitivity test, which means a blood test. Needless to say it was a disaster. They tried one arm - no dice, then the other and as they were able to get some blood (no they did not even get enough!!) she started puking all over the place! No one could help catch the puke since everyone was holding her or taking blood. Finally, it was over and my poor baby was fine once i told her these 4 beautiful words "all done boo boo!" Guilt ridden and covered in puke we went home where she was rewarded with a bath, lolly pop and new wonder pets toys that were supposed to be for her birthday. Oh well, it made her happy today and i needed to do that after all that drama!!

playing with rocks

We had the most wonderful weather this last weekend so we played outside A LOT!! The older girl in the picture is our beloved adopted daughter aka neighbor girl who practically lives at our house & it's great! So in Arizona there are tons of rocks and so kids out here love to play with them in all kinds of ways......

jay's favorite...."it's raining rocks!" and what you can't see is he has filled the entire bucket with little heavy, hard rocks and has no problem dumping them on his head. i hope you can't loose brain cells for that!
Fishing for rocks.....

And of course..... Rock Restaurant!

By the way, I know those of you who live by the beach or with lush green trees and grass are jealous right now that your child can not partake in this lovely rock activities!! May be one day God will send you to the desert too and you can be as lucky as I. :)