Bye Bye, Baby...

It is a bittersweet moment in my house today. There are a whole lot of people about to gasp as I tell you what has just happened.

I am having trouble telling you, that is why I am stalling.

Okay, here goes...

The Bosendorfer has been adopted.

Yes, I mean sold.

YES... I KNOW!!! (Regaining composure...Sorry about that little outburst.)

One minute I am posting an ad on Craigslist (not exactly guerilla marketing), the next minute I am fielding several unexpected phone calls, and the next minute she is sold to the very first person who came to see her. I was going to wait and post real goodbye pictures of the piano movers hauling her away on Tuesday, but that would have been a lot like stopping to take snapshots of burly men as they kidnap your child.

I am a little (okay, a lotta) sad.

Then again, our family has come to realize that a few temporary lifestyle downgrades would really help speed things along for some of our other goals... (the semi-sweet part of the bittersweet). So - we concluded that maybe we didn't need to own the finest piano made in the world...Yet.

Choices. I guess we all make our share of tough ones.
My most beloved know that I really do need a hug right now.

I am sure it won't be long before we find a suitable (tolerable) stand in (for my baby?!?) - After all, an hour and a half is a long time to entertain Mr.C (our fabulous piano teacher) every Thursday without any instruments in the house.

Here is where you console me.

Good Mommy Points

I could have been on the beach in San Diego somewhere. Or, I could have been hiking the Grand Canyon. I have been thinking about the Grand Canyon again lately. It has been a good many years since I last visited and took the killer hike to the bottom, and I am ready to do it again. This weekend would have been perfect, but I was not in San Diego or at the Grand Canyon this weekend. I was at home helping Joey complete his 5th grade science experiment.
I spent a great deal of time helping him create one of those poster boards you were jealous of when you were in the fifth grade, because you knew when you saw the kid at the next desk walk in with it that his mom probably worked harder than he did last night. (Was I the only one?)

Well, tomorrow Joey gets to be the kid at the next desk. So there!

Tonight I get good Mommy points.

The Grand Canyon will still be there next weekend...

Good night, son.

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.