Frisco

We have a new family member! Welcome Frisco, our new puppy. He is part Yorkie and part Lhaso Apso.

He is absolutely adorable and everyone loves him--even our other two dogs. The boys are especially in love. Cash immediately took to him. When he first saw him he squealed, "Nice! Nice!" Which means he wanted to pet him nicely.

He's not in pain. He's saying cheese.

Bradley wants to do everything with Frisco. "Can I watch cartoons with Frisco?" He is also introducing him to things in our home, including books.

Summer Vacation 2012

This summer has been a bit of a bust in regards to travel for the Dilbeck family. Bradley, my mom, and I had some medical issues to tend to in June requiring varying lengths of recovery. It didn't seem prudent to plan for any trips if we weren't able to follow through. Then again, I can't go an entire summer without a promise of escape, so I purchased a Groupon for a two-night hotel stay in Phoenix.

The first day we took the boys. We made a big deal about going on vacation and explained that every single thing we were going to do was fun, simply because we were on vacation. Every meal. Every stop. Every bathroom break. Pure excitement. I think they bought it because B kept saying, "I love vacation!" And they both stayed up until after 10pm.

Day one we went to the Phoenix Children's Museum, ate at a popular Mexican restaurant we'd never been to, and went swimming. The next morning we went to Tempe Town Lake and rented a paddle boat.

It was too hot for anyone to be too impressed. If it would have been twenty degrees cooler, I think we would have had fun.

Then Jeff and I dropped the boys of at their grandparent's house and we were off on the second half of our vacation.

We went to go see the new Batman movie (a-fucking-mazing) and then went to dinner at The Arrogant Butcher in downtown Phoenix. Remarkably, we were able to drag dinner out longer than 30 minutes--sans kids can be a boon for our digestive systems. Then we took a sweet little walk in the rain.

We did our version of a nightcap at a coffee place and then drove around the surrounding historic neighborhoods. The whole time I tried to explain to Jeff why we needed to move the following weekend. (The minute I get out of Mesa, the more I realize I don't want to go back.)

The next morning we met with one of our favorite couple-friends, Erin and Eric, to see their amazing new home and introduce Jeff to breakfast at LGO.

It was a great weekend and it gave us a nice little reset before school starts in a week. And if there are any regrets for not going on a bigger vacation, they should be wiped out when we take Bradley to Disneyland for his first visit. So.excited!

Shortest summer ever

It's already July and two weeks out of this month I will be in professional development workshops. This means I only have two weeks of summer fun left with the boys. All we've been able to muster today is messing around with the photo booth.

"Scars" Update

The day after Cash dazzled the urgent care staff with his indifference to needles and sutures, he broke his nose.

During an outing with Nanny (my mom), the boys made sport of the chairs outside the fitting rooms. Apparently at a very young age the male species understands those chairs are reserved solely for them and their female counterpart's purses.

Whilst running at one of said chairs, Cash's shoe caught on the carpet and he face-planted into the wood frame that supports the seat. I watched the whole thing happen and the only thing I could think as I watched him fall in slow-mo was, "I hope his face is not as close to that chair as it looks." Ugh.

He had a red welt across the middle of his nose and blood. Not pouring or gushing this time, but it was a good thing I had an extra diaper. He was incredibly perplexed why I kept putting a diaper to his face and then he was just pissed.

Jeff took him to the same urgent care we frequented the day before. The PA told Jeff she had heard all about him the day before. A legend at 2. I know Jeff is proud.

That same evening, when we got home from a well-deserved night out, the sitter informed us Cash fell and hit his face. It always comes in threes, right? When I went up to say goodnight, I saw his top lip was really swollen, just adding to the charm only a boxer's mom can appreciate.

Despite all this, Cash has no notice or care of his issues. He did pick a scab off his lip last night and then gave it to Jeff--very similar to a cat bestowing a dead bird. I suppose it's all part of Cash's charm.

June accomplishments

• Watched an inordinate amount of TV (The Killing, Girls, True Blood)
• Ordered a ridiculous amount of ebooks on Amazon (yet to start thanks to previous point)
• Lost some weight (hollaaa)
• Convinced my boys that they can't be awake until cartoons are on (6:30am)
• Stumbled upon THE most awkward kitchen tool. I wondered for awhile if this was code for something, like how "personal massages" are really just vibrators.

It's called a Citrus Reamer. Do people actually use these for reaming citrus?

• Survived without soda
• Maintained a bedtime that doesn't linger around 2 or 3am (this is huge for the summer)
• Came out of seclusion for dates with friends

I felt compelled to include showers, cuddling with my boys, putting lotion on...but that's reaching. Clearly I am the epitome of summer sloth. There's always July!

Chicks dig scars

This is my youngest, Cash. Occasionally I call him Beast.

Three days before.

I call him Beast because he is an animal. He is all curiosity and bravado, with absolutely no regrets and a penchant for collecting battle wounds (and showing them off).

Currently Cash has a missing nail, from getting it shut in a door. A black toe, from testing if his dump trucks bounce. A half million bruises. And now he has a mangled lip, from falling off a side table and catching his lip on the corner.

You know when people say, "Blood poured from the wound"? I had never witnessed anyone bleeding profusely enough to warrant "pouring". I didn't like having to watch it happen the first time from my baby's mouth.

There was so much blood I was pretty sure he lost teeth, his whole bottom lip, and 2/3 of his tongue. Luckily my imagination was just wandering again.

So there we were. Cash screaming, bleeding, and trying to pull at his lip. Me yelling at Bradley to find my phone and call Jeff. Me trying to apply every paper towel in the house to Cash's face and do the mental checklist, "What the FUCK do I do now?"

Poor Jeff got the call in the middle of all of that. I think he only managed to gather that there was blood everywhere and stitches and chaoschaoschaos then hang-up. To be fair I did call him back to let him know which urgent care we were going to.

Thank goodness a bloody two year old takes priority, because we got right in. Cash only had enough time to wander up to a perfect stranger and show him the blood on his hands, "Eww. Gwoss!" After they got him cleaned up they decided to do stitches. They asked how far away Jeff was because the numbing shot would be a bitch and the stitches might not be pretty and... But Cash proved to be a Beast.

Numbing shot didn't even phase him. The doctor couldn't understand since "this thing stings like a bitch". And when it came time for his stitches, he didn't even squirm. This baffled the nurse and doctor, but I explained he got it from his dad who used to play hockey.

The only time Cash did cry was when we got home and I tried to feed him. He was so mad his mouth was too numb to eat. Beast, huh?

Pre-stitches.

Post-stitches

Hungry and tired lil' Beast.

Lazy days

I have had little motivation to do much. Waking up. Making breakfast. Checking my email. Writing anything. Cleaning my house. Nothing sounds appealing.

I don't know if it's just my summertime hibernation kicking in, if my boys are particularly exhausting at this age, or if I am just allowing myself to be lazy (as I should from time to time).

But I am going to make an attempt. Really. I am going to try.

George Mark Children's House

If you are looking for an awesome cause to get behind, look no further.

Recently, I read the story of Charles Daniel, a teenage boy who died earlier this year from cancer. CNN chronicled his last few days and featured the facility, George Mark Children's House, where Charles passed.

The co-founders of George Mark, Kathy Hull and Barbara Beach, are doctors who believe children need a place more like home and less like a hospital. It is a nonprofit and the families stay for free. I love when humanity comes before the red tape of healthcare.

After reading the stories, watching the videos, listening to the co-founders passion, I decided I wanted to donate. Navigating the George Mark website I found a cool feature: they have a wishlist. Instead of sending money, I personalized my gift and sent DVDs requested. From now on I am going to give gifts by donating in the name of my recipient. I can't imagine a better cause to give to.

If you have a minute, please check out the story of Charles Daniel and see all the amazing things George Mark is doing for these kids.

Free Weekend

As usual it was a productive weekend, thanks to my handy husband. If you follow me on Pinterest, you know the theme of the weekend as my pinning of garden shit was out of control.

My garden is getting pretty serious. I've planted tomatoes, watermelon, habanero, rosemary, and zucchini. Except for a waning tomato plant, I haven't killed a thing, yet! I have planted all of these things in much too small a place, so something will have to go.

As my gardening is going pretty well, I decided to create more garden real estate, so I pointed to a picture of a easy-peasy raised garden on the Internet and then all of the scrap wood in the garage. Then Jeff cut it all up, handed me the drill and pointed to it and made me put it together. Halfway through I started getting sweat in my eye and pouted and he finished the job.

It looks like this, except I only have one.

via anythingpretty.com

Then we took three minutes and made a compost pail. It looks like this, except mine is brown and has spray paint remnants since I use it to prop my projects.

via thehappyhousewife.com

I also made a countertop compost pail from a coffee container I was graciously gifted from my dad. I printed a list of compost dos and donts for easy reference.

My dad goes through two of these bad boys a month.

(Side note: that mason jar contains my homemade disinfectant. Chopped lemons covered with vinegar, sit for two weeks, strain and pour into spray bottle. Clean!)

The great thing is it was all free. This means we either have way too much stuff or we love to repurpose. It's a little bit of both, actually.

Best gift ever...

Instead of things, we usually ask for experiences for gifts. We get zoo memberships, karate lessons, museum memberships, and Disneyland gift cards instead of toys.

My brother got the boys a membership to the Phoenix Children's Museum for Christmas. If you live in Arizona and have never been here, it is hands-down B's favorite place.

Helping his brother look at the camera.

Thanks, Uncle Jonathan!