It's About Time

Time to play catch up. The Birds have been busy. President's Day week was spent with cousins in AZ. We had a wonderful time, made even better by having Heidi and her family down from Oregon...and yeah...a trip to Nielsen's Frozen Custard.

We got back home just in time to pack up the hubby and myself for a 4 day cruise with our good friends. Cabo was fantastic...natural beauty was witnessed...and applauded. Highlights...1 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, dollar!...Johnny Cash Robot...people watching...mullet stroking...all you can eat soft-serve ice-cream...Scum...down-alternative pillows...watching Mark order 3 main courses...Melissa dancing up a storm...Karaoke. Seriously, we had a great time. Maybe, I'll post some pictures later...(hint hint friends) J and I never actually took pictures of ourselves. Shameful. Apparently, we were so busy having fun, we couldn't be bothered with carrying a camera around. Anyway, it's good to be home...even if the world is still swaying.

My Valentines

So today may just be the best Valentine's Day ever. It's raining. My husband gave me a perfect present (think Jane Austen). As if that wasn't great enough I have 4 healthy (well, pretty healthy) kids as of this moment. So in the theme of all things Valentine's...

Justin. I love this man. He's funny, handsome (I can't get enough of his hair...not pictured) and he doesn't always get me, but at least he puts up with me.

I love Adam's sense of innocence. I'm not saying he isn't losing it at a very rapid pace (he is in third grade after all), but there are moments when I see him looking around this big earth of ours and I see the sense of wonder in his face and I realize he is still a little boy.

I love Minnie's determination...something she gets from her father (another something I love about him). I love that she wants to do so much with her life and she wants to give so much. She is a little sparkly light.

I love Sunny's spunk. The girl can make me laugh! Sometimes I need to remind myself that her stubborness is a strength that will help her as she grows. I know that she will be a great example of not compromising as she gets older.

I love Jack. He is my little man. He is mischievousness, joy, dirt, boy and crazy all wrapped into a tiny little body that I still thrill to hold every day.

So to my family I say I love you. My life has been better because I have been blessed to have you as my people.

Sicknopsis

This picture pretty much sums up our house for the past month. Sick. Pretty much every sickness out there has reared its ugly head at our home.

Last Saturday, I was happily anticipating our family...our WHOLE family...going to church together (something that has not happend since the first Sunday in January). At 11:00 pm on Saturday I awoke to that sound. I think we all know that sound. You know the one I'm talking about. The one that makes most parents break out in a cold sweat. The sound of your 2 year old throwing up. No control...just wild crazy vomiting.

Needless to say the whole Bird family was not at church on Sunday. After church (for those of us able to attend) Sunny started to fall asleep on the drive home...not a good sign. We walked in the door and she went straight up stairs and put herself to bed (we are talking middle of the afternoon people!). She got the flu...not stomach. Could we all just pick the same sickness?

Monday afternoon (20 minutes before school ends) I got the call from the school nurse that Adam was sick (stomach). Nice.

Justin came home from work early on Tuesday with a sickness all his own...I think it may have had something to do with the fact that he ran 14 miles before he went to work. Sunny came home from school on Tuesday (that's right I sent her to school because she didn't have a fever and seemed better) and would not get out of the car at her dance studio. I brought her home where she again fell asleep and pretty much stayed that way until morning.

Wednesday, everyone seemed to be getting better.

This morning, Thursday, Minnie woke up crying...that's right...a fever. Stick a fork in me. I'm done.

The Big Chop

I have been informed, by husband, that I have been neglecting the blog. Sorry. It has been a busy, fun week. Especially fun for Minnie! On Friday she donated her hair to Locks of Love. This was her 2nd time. She did it when she was 4 (after she grew out her self-inflicted mullet) and has been wanting to do it again for a long time. She even talked Sunny into donating her hair, but Sunny decided last minute that she wanted to keep her hair. I will admit that having Sunny's hair long made it easier to let go of Minnie's...I need someone's hair to play with! Minnie's hair turned out soooo cute! I thought I would cry (last time I cried for a couple days), but I didn't...because she loves it so much and it is adorable on her.

After, cutting her hair, Minnie spent the night with her dear friend, Bella, and woke up early Saturday morning to go see "Hannah Montana" in 3D. According to these two seven year olds, "it was the BEST movie EVER!"

"Mommy Are You Going to Jail?"

That is what Sunny asked me today after I was pulled over by 3 police officers (3 seemed a little excessive) for speeding [in my defense (I clearly know there isn't a good defense for breaking the law...take it from me kids) I was taking Jack to the doctor after not sleeping all night. I thought the speed limit was 45...which I was going...but, apparently I had entered a school zone. For the record I did slow down once I saw children]. I made it 33+ years without being pulled over, but today was my lucky day. I asked my attorney to "take care of it" which he laughed at. Thanks honey.

And so begins my life of crime. That's right. I'm a perpetrator of the law. A perp. We all know it's a slippery slope. Next thing you know I'll start shop lifting and probably grow some marijuana in my back yard. Actually, I do believe I am a reformed criminal...I consistently drove 5 miles under the posted speed limit for the rest of the day. Honk away people I am not going to risk it!

Some Things You Have Been Dying to Know About Us

How long have you been together? We met at the end of December 1995. We went on our first date on Jan. 1, 1996...and started dating "exclusively" a few months later.

How long did you date? almost a year. He was in Philadelphia and I was in Mesa.

How old is he? Justin is 36 (he'll be 37 next month) and I am 33.

Who eats more? probably me...but he can eat cereal like nobody's business .

Who said "I love you" first? Justin did. I believe I have the email to prove it!

Who is taller? Justin, by 6 inches.

Who sings better? I don't know who sings better, but I sure enjoy it more.

Who is smarter? Definitely Justin...but I'm better at Sudoku and practical things like knowing how to change a roll of toilet paper!

Who does the laundry? Me, Justin will if he gets desperate. He does iron his own clothes...well, the clothes that don't go to the cleaners.

Who does the dishes? Me...Justin has been known to put a dish or two in the sink...I'm a lucky gal.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Justin. I have had 4 babies. I need to be closest to the bathroom.

Who pays the bills? Me, but he keeps track of everything.

Who mows the lawn? Neither of us :)

Who cooks dinner? Me...but Justin can make a mean oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and he can do amazing things with asparagus on the grill.

Who is more stubborn? I would say Justin, he would say me (and we both know he is probably right on this one).

Who kissed who first? Justin kissed me in his dorm room at Penn...he took his sweet time too...it was perfect!

Who asked who out? Justin asked me out...he also asked a friend of mine out for the next evening...this was typical of J...he had a reputation to uphold. We went to the Phoenix Zoo for the Zoo Lights. Incidentally he took my friend on the identical date...how original!

Who proposed? Justin...in Oak Creek Canyon...so beautiful!

Who is more sensitive? Justin...he cries all the time. Clearly I am the more sensitive one!

Who has more friends? Me, because Justin doesn't really like people. Just kidding...kind of.

Who has more siblings? Me, I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters (the real Brady Bunch). J is his mother's only...he does have a step-brother and step-sister.

Who wears the pants in the relationship? Justin...stinkin' only child...he thinks the world revolves around him. Really, I think we both have one leg in the pants.

I tag: Anyone who reads this!

Do You Smell That?

That, my friends, is the smell of clean carpet. I got my carpets cleaned today. Yeah! It is amazing how something so small can change the way I feel about my home. Everything seems a little brighter, a little better. I even forgot for a moment that Jack has snot, at least an inch long, hanging from his nose and what the...? That's not clean carpet...someone needs his diaper changed!