Journey of the Lizard King

An un(Happy) Birthday

2011-06-12T10:55:00.001-07:00

Michael turned 9 yesterday. My sweet, little baby is morphing into a young man in front of my eyes.My boy is a WWE fanatic, so we planned a birthday sleepover with his best friends, to coincide with Friday Night Smackdown, on the night before his birthday. The stars were aligning perfectly. The weather wasn't too hot. I got the day off. And it was the first day of summer vacation.Everything was

Fishing In The Desert

2011-05-30T13:07:00.001-07:00

The desert leaves quite a bit to be desired when it comes to the nature department. Sure, we've got parks with tiny patches of grass. And grass in the backyard. But that grass would be dead in a minute, if the sprinklers went on the fritz. When I was a kid, my brother and I would spend entire days playing in the woods, building trails, forts and hideaways. Kids in the desert? The only forts

Boys Will Be Boys

2011-05-29T22:29:00.001-07:00

I've come to accept that I live in a severely estrogen challenged household. Basically, I'm it. I live with the constant sounds of hockey games, WWE wrestling, and boys talking about things that only boys would discuss. I promise you, as a child, my friends and I did not spend the afternoons comparing farts, burps, or who could pin each other to the ground the fastest. But in my house, that's par

Black Canyon Rafting

2010-07-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

My brother in law and his super awesome fiancé came into town for the last week of our maternity leave. We'd been eagerly awaiting their arrival as they hadn't met Matthew yet. If the first 11 weeks of leave were spent never leaving the house... We packed a ton into the last week of leave while they were here. One day was spent rafting in Black Canyon at the base of the Hoover Dam. First, I'll

I Guess I'll Have To Leave The House At Some Point.

2010-06-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

I've been on maternity leave from work for ten weeks now. It feels like I've been on leave for a week or two. I can't believe it's coming to an end. I don't want it to. I feel like I've sort of just hidden from the world since Matthew joined us. Like I've been in this tiny, protected place surrounded by the ones I love. I've done nothing really. I barely answer my phone at this point. It's

Getaway to Zion

2010-06-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

So we finally made it. I wasn't sure that we were going to be able to make the trip. But we got one glorious night in Zion. And it was all I hoped it would be. If you're planning on camping, the sites at the South Campground often fill up early in the summer. We weren't going to be able to arrive til late afternoon so I reserved a site at the Watchman Campground. I hadn't realized previously how

Gigaball Inflation... Not To Be Attempted Alone

2010-06-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

One of the gifts Michael got for his birthday was a Gigaball. The kids were are super excited to try out this thing. According to the box, a child fits inside and get rolled around. They couldn't wait the morning after the sleepover to get to the park and test it out. I had to stay home with the baby so Kevin piled the kids in the car and headed down to the park. I think he expected to be

8 Years Of Michael!!!

2010-06-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

We survived the sleepover! Four 8 year old boys. And I can tell you this... I was nervous. I was convinced that I'd need to have mass amounts of activities planned to keep these boys occupied. My husband swore I wouldn't. I swore he was wrong. He swore that 8 year old boys will totally occupy themselves and all they'll really want is to be left alone by the adults. I swore they were going to

Retro Bakery = Amazing

2010-06-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

Michael's 8th birthday approached quick this year. We've got a newborn, which makes everything go by quickly. We snuck off to Zion for camping. And when we got home, we were way behind in planning Michael's birthday party. This year, Michael chose to have a few friends from school over for a slumber party. Everything was going great until I realized that I had forgotten to order a cake. So I

I Have NO Idea Why I'm Not Losing Weight

2010-06-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

As you know, I had a baby 8 weeks ago.While I was pregnant, I ate everything I could get my hands on.And I gained weight.A lot of weight.I swore to myself that as soon as I had Matthew, I'd start eating right and working out regularly.Well, it's been 8 weeks.I'm working out irregularly.And eating right???Well, below you can see my recent order at Pizza Hut... Now... this order is for myself, my

Matthew's Super Incredible Nursery

2010-06-07T17:42:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I believed kept me from going into labor was our nursery. I honestly believe that my body just wouldn't let me have that baby until it was complete. How do I know this??? Well, we finished it on the night of April 7th. By 9am on the morning of April 8th, we were walking into the hospital. My husband and my father in law did an amazing job on the nursery. Matthew moved

Chemicals, Plastics and Lunchables, Oh Boy!

2010-06-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

I'll admit it.I love Sanjay Gupta. I couldn't wait for his Toxic America special.The first night was Toxic Towns.It talked about a town in Louisiana surrounded by chemical plants.Townspeople were suddenly being sickened with horrible, unspeakable diseases.Watching that reminded me of home.See, I grew up about 15 minutes from Love Canal. I swam in the Niagara River as a child.All of my friends

Hiking Might Be A Problem...

2010-06-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

Considering I've got 50 pounds of baby weight to lose. And I can't seem to last on the elliptical for more than 17 minutes. And I'm out of breath just sitting some days. And I only fit in sweatpants right now. And I just ate 3 Chips Ahoy because reading this made me depressed. And I don't normally eat because of depression. So really I just ate those Chips Ahoy because they looked oh so good. And

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

2010-06-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite books is not a memoir or an exciting biography. It's Frommer's National Parks of the American West. I've read through the entire thing more than once and I never get sick of it. I find it incredible that there are so many diverse, beautiful and original National Parks on this side of the continent. There are so many parks in this book that I want to visit. Yellowstone in

I May Have A Philanthropist On My Hands...

2010-06-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

A while back, Michael was informed that pets that go to animal shelters (or the pound, in his words) are killed. This was devastating news to him that he really struggled to process. Of course, because he's 7 years old, he automatically assumes that the President of the United States can fix this no problem. So he insisted on being put on a flight to Washington DC immediately where he would

An Unhappy Birthday.

2010-06-03T16:52:00.000-07:00

Matthew is celebrating his 8 week birthday today. The morning started out with a celebration meal of formula. I think he was really enjoying himself. If he could talk... he would have told me so, I'm sure of it. But then we had to go and take him to celebrate at the Doctor. For his 8 week checkup. And of course, to celebrate his big day, the Doctor recommended that he receive his 2 month

Unmotivated.

2010-06-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

I wanted to go to Zion this weekend. Cause it's pretty much my favorite place on Earth. But that's not going to happen this weekend. And I'm pretty sad.And gloomy.And unmotivated.All because I wanted to go and now I'm not. If I had my way... I'd just up and move my family to Springdale and open up a little B&B.Okay... let me be a bit more realistic.I probably wouldn't open a B&B cause I don't

2nd Grade Complete!

2010-06-02T06:24:00.000-07:00

He's done it!Michael is finishing his last day of 2nd grade today!I truly believe that the incredible teacher Michael had last year changed school for him all together.Michael now knows that he's capable of succeeding in school.Is it easy for him?Nope.Never will be.But he knows he can do it.His teacher this year told me "Michael's the type of kid that would get straight A's without ever opening a

DMB... Up Close and Personal

2010-06-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

News has just broken that Dave Matthew's Band will not be touring next summer.In our little household, this is devastating news.I mean... I realize that the band has been touring every summer for the last 20 years.But don't they know that some of our summers revolve around this fact?Obviously we are crazy Dave Matthew's fans.I'll admit it.Hello?My son's name is Matthew.If I'd had my way, he would

Medication Woes.

2010-05-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

I was rummaging through one of our cabinets today and found two cups that brought memories flooding back as though they happened yesterday.Michael was diagnosed with ADHD at age 5.After over 6 months of trying every technique known to man other than medication, we finally decided to give medication a try.I can tell you that we exhausted every possible alternative prior to taking this route but I

Similarities

2010-05-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

Everyone that's met Matthew says the same thing when they meet him..."He looks just like Michael!"And every time they'd say that, I'd smile and nod and think... I'm not really so sure but okay... if you say so.But today I dug up some baby pictures of Michael to look further into this assumption.And you know what?Everyone was right.(I assure you, that was not an easy thing for me to admit).Matthew

Maternity Leave = Baby Blanket Complete

2010-05-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

Yep.You read it right.I have actually finished a knitting project.I know.Seems almost impossible doesn't it?But I did it.And isn't it a lovely piece of work?So here's what I realized.I'm good at completing projects like hats and the occasional scarf because they're quick.Give me a large pattern and I get intimidated.And bored.Which is why this blanket was the perfect choice for me.It's 56 small

Brothers

2010-05-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

I was extremely nervous about how Michael would react to having a sibling in the house.7 years is a long time to go as an only child.And not only was he an only child... he was the center of pretty much everyone's attention.He was the only grandchild.He was the only nephew.And I had no idea how he was going to react to a baby in the house that required alot of attention, care, and love.About

Matthew Has Arrived!!!

2010-05-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe it's been 6 weeks.It's hard to believe that we ever lived without this beautiful child.April 8th, 2010.Matthew joined us.His delivery was as easy as his first 6 weeks have been.Quick, painless, mellow and an amazing gift.I spent most of the evening of April 7th having pretty consistent contractions.They were essentially painless.By morning, we sent Michael off to school and I

Family Update (Yes... It's Been A While)

2010-03-02T11:59:00.000-08:00

This pregnancy's been tough.Not tough in an "I'm having complications" way... but hard emotionally and physically for me.Let's face it.I had Michael when I was 25. Prime baby making age.33... not quite as easy.But my family's been asking me to update so here goes...I am 33 weeks pregnant this week.Here's my handsome little boy::He's ridiculously cute already and I am beyond eager to meet