Operation Day

Last night as we were driving home from Target, Don and I had a talk with the kids about today's plan. I let Jax and Luke know they were going to go to Nana's while Wyatt stayed with Mommy and Daddy for his operation.

Jax got real snotty and told Wyatt he was not going to Nana's THEY were. Wyatt was not allowed to go to Nana's tomorrow.

I was a bit irritated with Jax, but didn't want to make it into an issue, so I reminded Wyatt that yes, he had to stay for his operation, but after his operation he would get lots of ice cream, yogurt, pudding and other yummy treats. Wyatt thought that sounded good to him.

Apparently Jaxon thought so, too. The next thing we heard was Jax saying, "I love getting operations, too".


**Please say a prayer for Wyatt and his Doctors this morning. It would be much appreciated.**

Merry Christmas!

More Snow

I know all your snow pros out there are wondering what the big deal is all about. Snow is snow, get over it. But hey people, remember I am in LAS VEGAS. Where we got about 5 inches of snow today. Schools are closed, the airport is closed. Major roads are shut down, people can not drive or fly out of Las Vegas tonight.

Makes me kinda wish I had a fireplace :)

Snow Fun

Yesterday we took the boys up to Red Rock Canyon when Don got home from work. It is a bit higher in elevation, so we were hopeful we would find the snow there. Jackpot! The snow was so fresh and powdery, and the air was crisp and luckily without any wind.

First we did some sledding


Then Don taught the boys how to pack the snow into a snow ball


Uh oh, looks like someone is going to get ambushed!





After an hour of fun, Wyatt had enough and sat in the car to warm up


Don had an idea to bring home a tub full of snow home, and the Jax and Luke used team work to fill it up.


The view of Las Vegas through the mountains on the way home.

Las Vegas Winter Wonderland

Last month the preschool taught the boys about fall/autumn. Realistically, looking for a tree with changing leaves is not that easy here in Las Vegas. Mostly it is the mulberry trees that change out here, and those are frowned upon because they are bad for allergies, there for they are short in supply. If you are lucky, you can sporadically spot one while driving down a street in the older parts of town.

Sometimes it is hard to remember that we are in December right now. Until last week, the boys were able to play out front with short sleeve shirts on while Don put up the Christmas decorations.

I think all of Las Vegas was shocked to wake up and see there is a "Winter Weather Warning" for Las Vegas until 11pm. It is supposed to be a high of 42 with a 70% chance of rain and the forecast actually calls for SNOW. It wouldn't be the first time it snowed out here, but to have it forecasted -that is new to me.


Getting the boys ready for school today was a new experience. How do you dress a kid when it snows? Layers? Big sweaters? Just a long sleeve shirt and a winter jacket? Better yet, what was I going to wear to keep warm? Do I bring the kids gloves in case it actually does snow? I wanted to just dress them like normal, thinking they could just run from the car to inside the preschool, but I didn't want them to get chilled so I went the opposite route. Tee shirts under sweaters, under a huge double layered winter jacket. And I brought their gloves just in case.

And the umbrella.

Today was the boys last day of school for December. Each of their teachers are going through hard personal times and they had decided to end the session a little earlier. One of the men that works at the school dressed up like Santa and passed out candy canes.


When we walked out of school, there were huge fat snowflakes falling. It was such perfect timing and the boys were just loving it. After a few minutes, the cold set in and we ran off to the car. Hopefully we can get some more snow tonight. Who knew Las Vegas could be a winter wonderland?

Wyatt's ENT Visit

Like the other boys, Wyatt has his own personality. He has always been a bit more of the "baby" -more cuddling, more pouting, more drooling and less talking and a bit less inclined to be the first to learn things. I noticed he was stuttering the first word in a sentence, almost as if he couldn't remember what he was going to say and would just keep repeating the first word over and over and over again.

After speaking with a speech therapist, we started talking (much) slower and made our words more pronounced. A few months of this seemed to almost completely take care of the stuttering issue. Then in the past week or two, I noticed his speech was now becoming warbled- almost as if he was talking around a marshmallow in his mouth.

I decided that being he had both the stuttering and the warbling issues, I would call and get him evaluated, but first I wanted to bring him to an ENT (ear, nose and throat Dr). For only $20, we could make sure everything was in it's right place before we moved on to speech therapy.

As the nurse led us to our appointment room she asked Wyatt what his name was and how old he was. Just from hearing him answer those questions, she said, "Oh, you're here for his tonsils then?". I just looked at her and didn't know what to say. Then she told me that is why Wyatt's speech sounds like it does. Kids who sound like that generally are having tonsil issues. Wow.

Shortly afterwards, the Dr came in and looked at Wyatt, and then sent us down the hall for an ear test. Imagine my surprise when he sat back down with us and told me Wyatt needs both his tonsils and adenoids removed -as well as tubes in both ears!

Apparently right now Wyatt has about a 20% hearing loss from the fluids in his ears. His speech is suffering from both the tonsil/adenoid situation as well as not being able to hear as well as he should be. He snores like an adult man and drools like a baby who is teething. As a plus side to having his tonsils taken out, we may see an improvement in his asthma.

It is a lot of news for us. We had only gone to cover our bases and were just blown away by the diagnosis and the speed at which everything will be done. He will have surgery at the end of the month and by the middle of January he will be able to breathe easier, drool less, hear better and speak clearer. It is a big change for such a little boy.

Oh Christmas Tree

On a recent trip to Walmart Don and I bought a box of about 40 assorted ornaments, all shatterproof for about $15. Our tree is a little 6 footer, so those ornaments along with a few unbreakable ones we had already collected were plenty to cover our tree.


Don and I attached the hooks to the ornaments, stuck them in a basket and let the boys have at it.





Wyatt really got into it. He was speedy and a little bit of an ornament hoarder as well.


Jax looking for an ornament that rolled under the tree


Luke's finishing touch


All done!

Did I ever show you...

I don't think I did. My last class was only the night before Fresh Squeezed Tarts open house, so I think this beauty was forgotten. She sits in my kitchen, but I have no idea what to do with her. I want to make more, but I need a reason for a project before I just jump into one. Any ideas?

Good bye Radiator Springs

It has actually happened. My kids seem to have lost their obsession with the movie Cars. Their obsession started about a year ago when they watched the movie going to Baby Jake's birthday party in California. It was the first movie they had ever quietly sat through and once Don and I realized that single movie could buy us a full two hours of silence, we latched on to it.

Who knew that encouraging the addiction of the movie would become so costly to us? I am sure Don and I have have purchased the full town of Radiator Springs as well as at least 8 Lightning McQueen cars and a bunch of random others. Somehow only a handful can be found any given time, but I bet if Don took his metal detector out to the sandbox, he would find most of the town hidden underneath a few inches of sand.

So goodbye, Sally. I am so thankful I no longer hear Wyatt whine about you every morning until I groggily walk into their room to lift up his mattress to find you where you must have been hiding from his drooly spot at night.

Good bye Lightning. All 8 of you. The kids fought over every one of you constantly. The "owie" Lightning, the Bug Lightning, the "hot dog" Lightning (Nana called him that when he did the tongue sticking out jump and it stuck), Dinaco blue Lighting, and all the original ones as well. Hopefully you never get recalled because I am sure Jaxon has eaten the paint off at least three of you by now.

Goodbye Chick and King. Luke lost his first green Chick during a garage sale where some kid stole it. That incident helped us get the kids to keep toys in the car from that moment forward, but it did cost us almost $4 to replace you. Ah, but I guess the lesson was priceless. As was the only one toy in the car rule we implemented because the boys would try to take no less than 4 of you into the car every time we drove anywhere.

I hope to never forget how excited Jaxon was when Don found his Nitro car in the sandbox one day. Jax came in screaming about how "Daddy found it, Daddy found Nitro!" and then Jax loudly proclaimed that "Daddy Rocks!".

So I have to admit, even with the obsession of this movie and the toys that go with it got overwhelming at times, it was such a major part of this past year. Don and I really enjoyed the movie (all 200 plus times we have watched it) as well as seeing the boys use their imagination with the cars while they played. I am sure as time goes by and the boys begin to uncover more of the lost Cars in the sandbox, each will be celebrated and the interested renewed a bit for a little while. But for now, I just wanted to document what has been such a huge thing in our house before it is completely gone.

Thanksgiving 08

We had such a busy day today! Don worked so we just hung out at the house this morning until he got off. I prepped the food for the sweet potatoes and stuffing (seriously- you have got to try these recipes, they both were delicious and fairly easy!). Once all the prep work was done and Don got home, we were out the door and on our way to celebrate.

It was pretty idyllic at Nana's house. Leigha helped the boys make a Ginger bread house while the rest of us watched and got some of the food ready. Having my fill of the ginger bread last year, I really didn't want much to do with it -the trying to get the boys to not eat the candy and hoping they don't crumble the house while they help, is a bit much for me with all the other things going on. Leigha had tons of patience and the boys love her so much. The house turned out really well!

After that, Aunt Judy and Uncle Ray showed up and we had a delicious dinner with way too much food. The noise level was through the roof as all the men with full bellies started to radiate testosterone and take on the tremendous trio. Apparently when you are a full grown man, having an opponent only three years old does not deter the rush you get thinking you can take on three people at one time. Both Uncle Ray and my Dad tried to wear the boys down. Each took their turn, but the boys came out as the obvious winners.