Maybe The BEST Idea Ever!

Well, yes, there was electricity... Oh, and penicillin... The airplane... But just humor me for a moment, because this is revolutionary!

Concept: The Fit Flop. Shoes that shape your legs as you wear them.




You haven't known me long if you didn't already know that happiness often comes in the form of a shoebox for me. It is a bit of a condition really, but that is a story for another day. Imagine my delight when my fabulous sister in law, Diane, informed me that two of my greatest loves - Shoes AND Exercise had been combined into one!

Out of my way, people!

I could not find them fast enough. Nor could the internet deliver them fast enough, so Diane & I headed down for a fit flop purchasing excursion first chance we had.

(If you are already on board and impatient like me, Macy's keeps them in stock.) (If you are not already on board - did you not see those legs? I know... once a shoe dog, always a shoe dog.)

Definition: "Shoe Dog" - One (like me) who has sold shoes for a living at some point, loved it, and is now forever a shoe advocate - Selling shoes (almost by accident at times) to any and all who will listen.

Do they work? I almost don't care - they are actually quite cute, comfortable, and I want a shot at those legs. (For the record - It could be my imagination, but I really do believe I have noticed a difference in the tension in my leg muscles as I walk. Could this be magic? Confirmation that a higher power really does look after my interests here in this life?)

I have already been back to buy my second pair. YES, Diane, it is true.

I have already made mention of my condition, and I will just leave it at that.

Ah, Sedona!

With Mom in town, I had the perfect excuse to plan all sorts of fun. And I had never been to Sedona. I had lived here 8 years and never gone. What kind of Arizonan am I?

I must say, it is every bit as wonderful as people say it is. Every step you take is surrounded by backdrops similar or better than the one in the photo. There are hiking grounds and streams all around just waiting for your picnic. If you prefer not to picnic, there is wonderful food right on Main Street. It was only a short 2 and 1/2 hour drive from our doorstep, which made it wonderful for a day trip... and the best part is that it was a much appreciated 25 degrees cooler!

Quick, run and pack your bags! Or better yet - leave the bags behind and just hop in the car. (But don't forget the camera!)

I Want My Mommy!

And I want her NOW, NOW!!

But I will get her on Friday, so I must be patient. Well, I must try to be patient. Well, I would be patient if it wasn't taking so long for Friday to get here.

Here are my top 5 reasons Friday can't come soon enough...

#5. We are overdue for a Karaoke Party - Montoyas, prepare!

#4. Dress up is not the same without Grandma's "jewels" (AKA the estate sale jewelry treasure box that my girls drool over every visit.)

#3. Isaac must learn to call someone something other than "DaDa" and my feeling is "Ga-Ma" might be the one with the skills to make that happen.

#2. It has been too long since I have seen her, and we all are missing her!!

#1. She will bring with her 10 magical cans of gandules for my beloved rice and gandules, which I have only dreamt about for months since I cannot seem to find a place to purchase gandules in Arizona.

Okay, so maybe #2 really should be #1, but did you not read my previous post? I am hungry.

Breakfast!

Oh, I love to eat. The chewing, the flavors, the textures, that satisfied feeling that settles in as you are polishing off something truly yummy. It's a wonder I do not weigh 900 pounds.

Food and I are friends. And right now I am missing my friend because I have not had real good solid food in a couple of days.

My recent love affair with Latin Ballroom Dancing has sent me in pursuit of that fabulicious salsa body, and so I have put my "not so bad for having 4 kids" body back on the treadmill with a vengeance - AND have signed myself up for another 9 day cleanse. That's right. I have done it before and lived to tell about it. Please remind me of that in a day or two when I am going to bed at 3 in the afternoon to avoid staring down the fridge or taking down the Schwann's delivery man across the street.

Oh, it is BRUTAL - but effective. After Christiana, I lost 11 pounds in my 9 days the last time and it never came back. Well, never until I was expecting Isaac a year and a half later.

So, I am pouting over my breakfast this morning which, as it so happens, looks an awful lot like my lunch and dinner. I hear you telling me how ridiculous this is. I know you want to feed me. But, I can do ANYTHING for 9 days. And, after losing almost 4 pounds and a dress size in the first 3 days I will not be stopped - Salsa body here I come!

Sympathy please...

Dining Out?

This is the happy face of a baby that is about to eat.

Because of the pace of our lives (or more accurately, the pace of Isaac's siblings' lives), we actually eat in the car more often than I am willing to confess.Drinking also happens here sometimes.

You can tell by the darling little smile on Isaac's face, that he is generally delightful company during our automotive lunch dates.

However,

our culinary rendezvous of honey graham crackers and water in the car was not as much fun for me today, because the rest of the family was no longer in the car...

Picture of Happiness

My Foot + Sand = Happiness.

And this is not playground sand. This is beach sand.

I went to bed Friday night with a little case of California fever. By 6 a.m. Saturday morning, the rest of the family caught it too. By 3:30 p.m. we were in San Diego picking out a spot to watch the sunset.

Our Sunset.

Boys Walk on the Boardwalk.

Sand Angels?

What happens at 80 degrees when you have lived in Arizona too long... Look Ma - No arms!




Despite what those last pictures might make you think, we were just warming up for what was about to be a fabulous, fun-filled weekend. I wish I had taken more pictures to share, but we were just having too much fun!

Hitch?

If you have seen the movie, then you will recognize this look. It is the look of a pretty severe allergic reaction - the same type that Hitch gets on his date with Eva Longoria when he accidentally eats some of whatever it was that he was allergic to in the movie.

But this is not Hitch. This is my little Isaac, my poor little Isaac, who is apparently quite allergic to something that neither the doctor or I could identify. His woke with a swollen eyelid, which I quickly (and wrongly) assessed as a stye since there wasn't any redness, irritation, or complaining coming from the baby. Soon after, large hives (notice the one on his itty bitty arm) followed the swollen eye.

One visit (all four kids in tote) to the Pediatric Urgent care later, all we know is that he is allergic to something. Hopefully an obscure something that happened to be in a rare combination that we will never be unlucky enough to encounter again.

Really, there are better ways to get my undivided attention. P.S. If you haven't seen Hitch, it's a good watch.

They Flit, They Fly...

If there is a thing more adorable than ballet girls (especially mine!) in pink tutus, then I don't know what it is. The girls took their first ever ballet class. (They had been lobbying for a year or more, when I finally broke out the calendar and squished a class in.) There was a class than ran over both ages - brilliant!

So, at the end of class there was a cute "recital". Since I didn't know when the calendar was going to give again, we made this recital one to remember from the powder pink ballet shoes to the new matching tutus all the way up to the twinkling tiaras.











We spent the morning doing "ballet hair", dusting sparkling pink powder on everything, and running to Walmart not once, but twice, en route to class, as each girl decided to run her pretty little tights at separate times on the way to the studio. Yep.




If you know me, then you know the feelings I might feel about having to run to WalMart twice in one day. That is another story.


The recital - adorable. The girls - also adorable. The tights - intact. Happiness.

I Don't Speed!

Ever. Not when I'm late. Not when people wave nasty fingers at me. Most of you know this about me, as I don't even like to ride with people that speed.

(Well, there is that occasional time when I get chatty in the car and don't realize I have crept up a couple of miles per hour, but when I catch myself I immediately return to speed limit or below.) Therefore, I do not fear the law. When I hear sirens, I know they are not for me. I find cops friendly. So what I'm about to tell you may surprise you...

Today I received my very first speeding ticket. Ever.

I know. I was so surprised myself, that when the officer pulled me over, I actually thought I was getting punk'd.

You see, this was the speed limit for the stretch I was driving at the time...

But I was not driving 35. I was actually driving about 20.

I was approaching this sign:

Apparently, when you see this sign, you should already be slowing even before you reach the sign because at the sign you should already be at 15mph.

***

At my 20mph, I had not yet begun to slow, and therefore the officer did not feel confident that I would slow in time to stop for a hypothetical little one who might hypothetically dart into the road unexpectedly.

My bad.

The cop just flashed his lights - didn't even use his siren or "woo woo" to pull me over. I think he, too, was embarassed.

I looked around to see the idiot speeding in the school zone. Alas, it was me.

For all you non-believers and thinkers that "5 above" is the "safe zone" - See ya in court!

Butterflies And Other Lies

Perhaps we should get out more often. We try, we do.

After football, ballet, piano, life... it's just not easy packing up a family of 6 and heading off for a family field trip. But sometimes we do.

I saw this advertisement in our local parenting magazine for a butterfly garden exhibit. "Wander through a garden filled with more than twenty species of live butterflies. Price $3." (Score!)

It took two hours to leave the house. It took 30 minutes to get there. It took 2 adult admissions at $15 a piece and 3 children's admissions at $8 a piece (Isaac was free - we love the under 3 for free rule) to the botanical gardens just to earn the right to pay the EXTRA three dollars a piece to see the butterflies. That's right. (Foul!)

Well, there was no turning back now, it was too much work getting there, and we didn't have a plan B. Lucky for us, the butterflies really were fabulous. It's hard to be cranky when you are surrounded by multitudes of flittering butterflies. Have a look at some of the pictures I took in the garden...

Beautiful, yes?