Ten on Tuesday

I am so excited to get back to a somewhat "regular" posting schedule. And what better way to kick it off than with a Ten on Tuesday post?

1. My dad is doing much better. He's stable and slowly recovering. In our eyes, that's progress and we'll gladly take it! It's hard to take people/things for granted after what we've recently been through...

2. Last Wednesday Sam and I were hanging out together. It was time for lunch and as we were headed downstairs, he asked me to give him a piggy back ride. I agreed. I took one step, my foot slipped and tumbling down the stairs we both went. Other than bumping his chin on my head and being scared out of his mind, he was fine. Me, on the other hand, I had bruises and rug burns all over my body: shoulders, back, waist, hips, butt, legs and arms. Luckily we're both OK, but it was quite the scary episode!

3. We've all been battling a cold at the Butler home. Isabella ran a low grade fever all afternoon Thursday and again most of the day Friday. So needless to say, she did not go to school Friday. She's also not going to school today, but headed to the doctor's office instead. Sam's had a cough for a couple of weeks now. And my throat has been killing me for days. Truth be told, I'm ready to get rid of all this crud and get everyone back to being healthy.

4.  Running seems to be the in thing these days. Everyone I know is running... 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons, full marathons. It's crazy! I've never been a runner. Not even when I've been in the best physical shape of my life. I think my feelings toward running are best described with this here visual aid:

True dat!

5. A friend of mine, who is also a runner, recently shared this picture of a bumper sticker she saw on the back of a car. She said she literally laughed out loud when she saw it.

What I really wanna know is... where do I find this here little gem for the back of my car?

;)

6. Have you heard of GroopDealz? They offer the cutest things for a steal of a price. I gotta tell you, I'm a believer. I recently bought this, which is currently hanging in our kitchen and I totally adore:

And this beautiful "I love you to the moon and back" necklace:

Usually this is a "mom" necklace which includes the children's names. However, I decided to include Scott's name, since I just happen to love him to the moon and back as well. Isabella picked the colors of the pearls: green for Scott, red for Isabella and blue for Sam. I'm in LOVE!

Go check them out and sign up for the e-mail offerings. I promise you won't be disappointed.

7. Move over American Idol, there's a much better singing show in town. Scott and I are both hooked on The Voice.

However, someone really needs to tell Christina Aguilera that she needs to (a) hire a stylist or (b) fire her current one and hire a new one. Yesterday, while we were watching the show, Scott made the comment: "Geez, she looks like a poodle." He was right on the money!

8. The Pinterest bug has bitten me lately,... like, BAD! And unfortunately it's not related to all the adorable craft projects or delicious recipes you can find there. You see, I'm hoping to tackle a couple major house projects this year: the kitchen and the master bedroom/bath.

For the kitchen, I'd love to brighten it up with a white subway tile backsplash, creamy white painted cabinets, a tan color for the walls, and the addition of some architectural elements throughout.

Oh yeah, and I'd love to do a built in similar to this in our breakfast nook.

For our master bedroom, I'd love to go with something along these lines:

And if a genie granted me a fourth wish, I would totally love to tackle the front of the house by adding a portico, kinda like this:

9. Read the book, bought the t-shirt, and I'm dying to go see the movie.

OK, so I didn't really buy the t-shirt. But I did read (and love) the book and I'm dying to go see the movie.
Woo Hoo!

10. Stay tuned for a post of Isabella's Spa Party and Sam's 4th Birthday party COMING SOON!

A hairy situation

Last Thursday, as I'm brushing his hair before school, Sam informs me that he wants to wear his hair ALL crazy.

Ummm,... OK!

A little gel and a whole lot of hair spray later, we ended up with the return of the faux-hawk!

Well, not one to leave well enough alone, the next day he decides he wants even crazier hair.

OK!

A whole lot of gel and a whole lot of hair spray later, we ended up with Mr. Spikes!

Step aside, Zoolander,... this boy can work these crazy do's like it's no one's business, lemme tell ya!

And if this is the only way this boy will willingly step in front of the camera for me, then I will gladly go and buy industrial size bottles of both gel and hairspray  ;-)

Tennessee Safari Park

OK, so here we are, almost the middle of July and I'm working on my first post of the month. Pathetic, I know! But seriously, try as I may, I can't even begin to explain the lack of time and/or motivation I have for sitting and writing these days.

And even worse, after being a reading machine for months, even that has come to a screeching halt. I swear it took me almost a month to get through the book I just finished. And it's not because it was a particularly bad book, because it wasn't. It's all due to my severe lack of time/motivation.

All I know is that whoever came up with the phrase "Lazy Summer Days" was totally and absolutely clueless. Cause our summer has been everything but lazy! And truth be told, I need to remedy that PRONTO, or I will most certainly lose my mind!

Between art camp, swim lessons, VBS, and more swim lessons, my days are like a whirlwind of activity.

Anyway, I'd like to take a second to slow down enough to share with you some pictures of one of our latest outings. A couple weekends ago we decided to visit the Tennessee Safari Park in Alamo, TN. We had invited my parents to come along with us, but when my brother and his family got wind of our plans, they decided this was an adventure they could not miss. So off we all went.

The first part of the visit consists of a drive-thru safari park, where you buy buckets of food and feed the animals while you drive through their "safari". I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty fun! The kids had a blast holding their buckets out the windows for the animals to come up to the car to eat.

This is my nephew, obeying the do not get out of the car rule...well, kinda!

These animals were definitely not shy.

They eagerly walked up to every single car on the path.

OK, so funny story. 

This ostrich ran up the car and after he ate out of Scott's bowl, 

he made his way to Sam, who was hanging his bowl out the back window.

Sam decided it would be so much more fun to actually hand feed this bird. The ostrich pecked once, and then again, and then decided Sam's fingers looked so delicious, he stuck Sam's entire hand inside it's beak. Well, needless to say our boy was screaming his head off. And once we realized he was OK, and was more shaken up than anything else, we laughed our heads off. And he looked at us and yelled: "THAT BIRD ALMOST ATE ME!" In hindsight, I think he felt a bit indignant at our laughing. But trust me, had you been there, you would have laughed too!

Anyhoo, we continued on our trek of feeding animals. 

Well, all of us, except for Sam.

He continued on, but refused to feed!

;)

Luckily, after a very traumatic 5 minutes, 

our boy was fully recovered from his "near-death experience". 

Ha Ha Ha!

Oh, the drama!

Once you finish the drive-thru aspect, then you go on to their petting zoo.
We had to buy more food (we had saved some from the drive-thru part without realizing we couldn't feed it to the petting zoo animals), some carrots and some milk.

Here I am feeding the giraffe some carrots.

This was definitely my favorite part!

The kids were loving the goats, sheep and deer.

We took a little break to get some rest, shade/air (boy, it was HOT!), snacks, and photos.

Hello, Mr. Monkey!

 Are these two not the cutest?

 

Work it, girl, with yo' gorgeous self!

And then we decided since we still had food left over from our first go-round, 

we would drive around the safari again and then head back home.

We had some new visitors:

Some very persistent visitors:

Yeah, this bull followed us for the longest time.

Regardless of the speed we were going.

He would not stop eating the food.

He stuck his entire head in our car.

And even after we put the window up, he continued to follow us.

Even licking the window.

We were dying laughing!

And some return visitors:

Remember him?

Sam certainly did!

And this is what he looked like at that specific moment:

Did you notice his hands strategically hidden between his legs?

HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa!

See? It's still funny!

It turned out to be a very fun day!

But let me give you a couple tips, in case you decide to visit:

(1) They only accept cash.

Good thing someone told me this beforehand, since we NEVER carry cash, 

and they do not have an ATM on the premises.

 and

(2) You might want to pack snacks/drinks for your visit.

They actually do sell stuff there, but it is EXPENSIVE!

Wordless Wednesday - LOL

These two make me laugh.

HARD!

Every single day.

 And for that I am ever so grateful!

Ten on Tuesday

1. We had to take Sam to the ER last week after he was playing with a flashlight and suddenly started screaming hysterically because of the pain in his left eye. When we got there, it was jam packed with people. Standing room only! Lucky for us they were all adults, so pediatrics was able to get us checked in, seen and checked out in about an hour and a half. Fortunately, he did not scratch his cornea. The doctor said the pain was mostly due to irritation, so we needed to get him some eye drops and he'd be fine. Yeah, I don't know about that,... he still complains about pain in his eye every now and then, so we're off to see an optometrist this Saturday. That should be so much fun! Right!

2. I have a confession to make: yesterday was the season premiere of The Bachelor,... and after swearing it off for the last couple of seasons, I watched it. I know, I know, not my proudest moment. But how could I not watch it? There's a girl on there who has vampire fangs. And Chris Harrison says this will be the most dramatic season EVER! He wouldn't lie about something like that now, would he?

3. Today was the first day with both kids back in school. I had a plan. It was a good plan. It was a highly productive plan. Unfortunately Amazon, and some pretty great deals on some awesome camera accessories, took priority over everything else I had planned. Oops! I hate it when that happens. On the bright side, I'm expecting F*O*U*R packages filled with goodies sometime next week. Can't wait to start playing!

4. Isabella is learning to read. And she does it so well. And she loves to read to us. And I could listen to her read all day long. And she shares my passion for books. And my heart just swells up with pride every single time I hear her. How I love that girl of mine!

5. I was looking through some of the photos from our recent Zoo Lights visit (which I'll share with you soon). This one made me laugh. Like, REALLY hard!

 

Meet our "party" animal!

It was taken on our way out of the zoo. He had to stop and dance to Jingle Bell Rock. This boy's a mess!

6. We have to replace some (read all) the windows in our house. They are old and drafty and our insanely strong mutant dogs have somehow managed to break a few of them over the years. So I scheduled a couple of companies to come in and give me some estimates. This guy today (Ron) gave me his company's quote ~ Wowza! Windows are NOT cheap, people! Anyway, shortly after I asked him about the company who constantly advertises $189 windows on TV. He gave me a very long overly-detailed technical explanation about how Window World does not operate to his company's standards, about the amount of complaints they have against them, about the poor quality of their product, the low caliber of their installers, and so forth. He then asked if they were coming in for an estimate. "Pfft, NO WAY!", I answered.  

7. Between you and me, Window World was recommended to us by a few friends and are scheduled to come in for an estimate tomorrow morning. Just don't tell Ron, kay?

8. When I arrived at Sam's MDO to pick him up this afternoon, I found him sleeping on his little mat. This boy never EVER naps at preschool, so this was a sure sign that he wasn't feeling well. I got him in to see the doctor. He's in the early stages of bronchitis and now taking an antibiotic. Never a dull moment with this boy, lemme tell ya!

9. I've been coughing a lot lately. I think I too am in the early stages of bronchitis. Oh, the joy! I'm going to have to go see someone soon. Remember this little episode? Yeah, good times!

10. Parenthood's season premiere is tonight. Can you stand it? That is my most favorite show ever! It's currently being recorded on our DVR. Waiting for me. So I gosta go!

Déjà vu

Déjà vu is the experience of feeling sure that one has witnessed 

or experienced a new situation previously (an individual feels as 

though an event has already happened or has happened in the 

recent past), although the exact circumstances of the previous 

encounter are uncertain.

It's that "I've been here before" feeling we all have at some point.

**********

Sooo,... remember way back when I posted about my concerns over 

Isabella's preschool pictures because of her "Chucky-like" smiles? 

If you need a little refresher, you can check it out here.

Just make sure you enter at your own risk!

Well, it appears I'm experiencing a bit of deja vu, if I may. 

Sam has his school pictures coming up in a couple of weeks. 

Just recently, I asked him how he was going to smile for the nice photographer.

This, dear friends, is what I got:

I've got two words for you: Oy vey!

I hate to inform you that the situation did not improve the more I snapped away.

So, who knows what we'll get when those come back.

In closing:

Isabella looking "Chucky-ish" in 2007

Sam looking "constipated-ish" in 2010:

Seriously?!

A Conversation

Isabella is in this stage now where she is constantly asking all sorts of questions. And for the most part, she starts most of them with: "Mom, is it true that..." , which ALWAYS makes me feel like I'm being tested or something.

She's also stretching her imagination and constantly thinking of crazy/silly, off the wall things, which she is forever sharing. And those usually start like this: "Mom, can you imagine if..."

A couple of nights ago, I was in the kitchen doing the dishes and Isabella was sitting at the counter talking away about her day, which I absolutely love! Then she started getting silly and saying some of those "Mom, can you imagine if..." questions/statements. Well, after she said the first one, I looked at her and told her she was so silly, to which she replied: "No I'm not!"

Then she continued on, and a bit later made another "Mom, can you imagine if..." question/statement. So I looked at her and told her she was Cuckoo. She giddily replied: "No I'm not!"

Then she said something (which I must admit, I don't remember what it was) and tickled herself to the point of some seriously awesome belly laughs. You know the type; loud, heartfelt, contagious, non-stop, make you wanna pee your pants laughs.

I looked over and just stood there and watched her crack herself up. And without even realizing the words were coming out of my mouth, I said "God, she's beautiful". And in the midst of all the laughter, she immediately replied: "Now THAT I am! You got one out of three right, Mama."

This one time ... Pedicure

One of my birthday treats this year was a pedicure:

(source)

Oh, how I love pedicures. I mean, I really, really, REALLY love them. There aren't enough words to properly express the feelings I have towards women scraping, rubbing, hitting, stoning, and massaging my feet! Back in my working days, my friend Lynn and I had scheduled bi-weekly pedicures (remember that, Lynn?). Seems like forever ago. Now they are sporadic treats I eagerly look forward to. Anyway, sitting on that massage chair last Saturday brought back a funny memory that for some reason, I have neglected to share with you. And since I am all about sharing, well here we go...

Way back when I was pregnant with Isabella, my Wisconsin friends decided to throw me a baby shower. Needless to say it was quite lovely and oh so fun. I mean, I love these people. Love them to death! They all stood up in our Puerto Rico wedding (I'm sure it didn't hurt to have the wedding in February). They are my peeps. The only problem was, the 10 hour drive there and back. While I was 8 months pregnant. It was, how can I put it,... a bit taxing, to say the least.

 These are my peeps!

Isabella's Baby Shower

June 2005 ~ Milwaukee, WI

Lucky for me, I had the easiest pregnancies ever! I didn't have a single day of morning/afternoon/evening sickness, not an ounce of nausea, nothing. Except, towards the end, my legs got very swollen. They were huge! I had no ankles for the last couple months of my pregnancies. In fact, Scott called them my ham hocks. He's such a supportive little one, isn't he?

So, we get up to Milwaukee and I asked Scott to stop by the mall so that I could get a few last minute things I needed. While there, we walked by a nail place and the thought of a nice pedicure took over every ounce of my being. I had to have one! Especially after that long trip. I just HAD to! So I walk in, pick my color and make my way to the nearest available chair.

Disclaimer: OK, so I just have to put this out there. I am Puerto Rican. Born and raised. My first language is NOT English, it is Spanish. And Lord knows I've butchered enough English words, just ask my WI peeps, they'll gladly share some of those with you! So please know that I would never make fun of someone's accent. So if you are reading this and you are from Vietnam, please do not take offense to the following and please know that no other culture in the whole entire world can give a better pedicure that you.

With that being said, here's what happened: I am eight months pregnant and I'm sitting on this massage chair enjoying my moment of pampering, while this little old Vietnamese lady is working away. She lifts my leg up to scrub my feet and apparently it is not as high as she would like for it to be. So she says:

Little Old Vietnamese Lady: "Leaf leg!" 
And I obediently, and uncomfortably, lift my leg a bit higher.


Little Old Vietnamese Lady: "Leaf leg higha!" 
And I try to lift my leg a bit higher, but I know it ain't gonna happen. 

So I say to her:
Me: "Ma'am, I am so sorry, but I can't lift it any higher. I'm pregnant!"

To which she "kindly" replies:
Little Old Vietnamese Lady: "Oh, I sory! I sow you fat!" 
Whoa! Is she for real?

I think it's fair to say I was pretty shocked by this point, so I not-so-graciously responded with:
Me: "Well, I guess I'm that too. I'm fat and I'm pregnant. I'm not really sure what difference it makes. I CANNOT LIFT MY LEG ANY HIGHER!"

And this is where everyone in the salon looks at us and she sheepishly smiles and begins talking to the lady working right next to her. In Vietnamese. Now, I'm not a betting woman, but I'm willing to put some money on the fact that she was talking about me. And our little exchange. What do you think?

So, as you can imagine we've had quite a few great laughs with my "Leaf leg higha!" pedicure experience. And those words have become quite the catchphrase in our home. So much so, that every now and then even Isabella tells Sam to "Leaf leg higha!".

Fizz

Unlike Brittney Spear's kids, my children are not allowed to have carbonated drinks on a regular basis. And definitely not caffeinated drinks. As of recently, and only every now and then, Isabella is allowed the treat of ordering a Sprite at a restaurant. Sam is allowed the treat of a sip or two of her drink. That's about it. Otherwise, their options are water, milk or juice.

And ever since my children were itty bitty, this is the reaction they have each and every time they try anything carbonated:

It's a full-body reaction, let me tell you! And although we can predict with 100% certainty that it's coming, it always makes us laugh. Isabella used to follow it with an: "Ewww!". Sam, however, follows it with: "More!".

It's crazy how very different these two are!

A "Dumb and Dumber" Moment

OK, so how many of you remember the movie Dumb and Dumber? 

Come on, don't be shy,... you know you watched it!

Anyway, one of the scenes that always sticks out for me is the one when Harry and Mary were playing in the snow. Mary playfully throws a little snowball at Harry, and in return he pounds her with a snowball to the face and then tackles her to the ground. So it quickly goes from cute and flirty to downright nasty for poor Mary. I've got one word for you: HILARIOUS!

Just in case you're claiming you've never seen it (and come on already,...I know you have) or you just don't remember it, you can go here to check out a quick clip of the scene I'm referring to.

So if you're currently finding yourself asking why I'm bringing up this scene from the crazy 1994 comedy, well the answer is simple. You see, our family just had a nice little Dumb and Dumber moment of our own.

Like my previous post mentioned, last weekend we went to the lake. And playing at the beach was one of our favorite family moments. I had my camera on hand and was going crazy snapping away, like I always do, when I heard Isabella tell her Daddy: "I'm gonna splash you,...." And she did, she kicked the water with her cute little kids' size 10 foot, and it looked a little something like this:

And then Harry, sorry, I mean Daddy, kicked back, with all his might and his big ol' mens' size 10 1/2 foot. Nice!

Needless to say, I was so shocked I did not get a picture of what his splash looked like, but I can tell you it was like a tsunami hit Isabella. Oh, and did I mention she hates having her face splashed? Yes, she does! Let me tell you, she was MAD!

Her Dad could not get to her fast enough. He felt so bad.

But just between us, I told him last night that I was going to post about our little Dumb and Dumber family moment and we laughed ourselves to tears.

I like the way he thinks

Is there anything cuter than an uninhibited toddler?

Don't you ever wish you could be this free?

And enjoy your life to the fullest?

Especially when it comes to the little stuff?

Without caring about what others around you may think?

I know I do!

In the next week or so, let's make it a point to be as 

uninhibited as Sam is while eating his yummy Gigi's cupcake.

At least once.

And let's make it even more fun,....

Let's document it with a picture!
It's about embracing the children inside us.
And having fun!

Whaddaya say?

Are you in?

If so, please let me know.
I'd love to drop by your blog/facebook to see your uninhibited self.

But most importantly,
Have Fun!

Flagrant Fouls

I have a confession to make: I don't much follow basketball. There. I said it! I feel SO much better now. I used to love it way back when the Bulls were the team to beat (think Jordan, Pippen and Rodman ~ Power Trio). But I can honestly say I have not watched a game in years.  I don't have a team I follow. I don't care who goes to the playoffs. Or the sweet 16, for that matter.

But I did learn a little about it when I was a fan. And I happen to know some of the rules of the game. Which is the only reason why I know what a flagrant foul is. Wikipedia defines it like this: A flagrant foul is a serious contact foul involving unnecessary and/or excessive and/or intentional contact.

Now, you may be wondering why I'm talking about basketball and flagrant fouls and such. Well, for starters, Sam was the lucky recipient of a Little Tikes Basketball set from his grandparents this past Christmas. And Sam just so happens to love such basketball set and plays with it quite often. This morning, while Scott completed some projects in the garage, the kids were playing with said basketball set in the front yard. It just happened that I had my camera on me (SHOCKER, I know!), when suddenly I looked over and saw (and luckily, captured) this here little exchange between these two players:

Which leads us to the photo of the day:

Now people, if there were any questions about what I was just rambling about, I hope I was able to answer them with the previous exhibits. This, my friends, is what the NBA calls a flagrant foul. What do you think? Does this look like unnecessary and/or excessive and/or intentional contact to you? Yeah,... I thought so too!

In other news, I cannot believe I actually got this post in before midnight. That was a close one!