Park date

Wow Las Vegas has a zillion little parks. They each have their own 'thing' , which makes finding new ones interesting! Some have a huge trail, or a water play area, or volleyball, or fenced in dog area ( even though I bring my dogs off leach everywhere anyways). Having access to so many parks was an added bonus of moving to Las Vegas and having a baby.

However right now the park dates have to be at 7am, seems to already be in the 90s by 10 am! .... But after all it's dry heat and this Florida girl can handle anything. Just please no more snow for awhile.

Gilcrease Orchard

When I moved to Las Vegas one of the many things that I was surprised to learn about was that less than five miles away from our house was a family owned orchard. Durning the winter, spring and summer they are opened Saturdays from 7am until noon and you can bring a bag and start picking an assortment of fresh veggies and fruits. Because they are known for their apples and pumpkins in the fall their small Orchard turns into a Halloween destination and festival open durning the week as well as Saturdays and there is pumpkin picking and hay rides!

Last Saturday morning I put Kale in the baby carrier, grabbed a bag and five bucks and met a friend down at Gilcrase Orchards to pick off the tree some fresh peaches and apricots. They also had available carrots and asparagus. My whole bag was less than $3!

With half the bag I blended it up and made baby food for Kale, so for about $1.50 I was able to feed him for 4 days!



Helpful tips to a successful day at the orchard.
1. Bring cash
2. Closed toe shoes, your walking along trees and a little bit of a distance
3. Sunscreen
4. A canvas shopping bag
5. Bring some water and snacks and after picking and purchasing your fresh food you can sit under the trees at their picnic tables and enjoy yourself!

Confused

This is what happens when a dog is confused about which toys are got him... Accidentally ate one of the babies bath time toys

Mote Marine, Sarasota Florida

I was looking back at my photos from my trip to Sarasota, FL to visit family and was remembering how many fun things that we did. One of them being a day at Mote Marine. Growing up in Sarasota we always took field trips here and it never really seemed all that exciting compared to other Zoos and Marinas. However going back now, and with my son it was AWESOME! Babies and fish go hand and hand. It was such a calming walk through with Kale, he just relaxed in his stroller ( he was 3 months old) and looked at all the different tanks. Mote Marine would be great if you get a year pass, so if you ever run out of things to do mak

e a trip up there, pack a lunch and eat it by the water! Another reason why I love Sarasota. Eating a subway sandwich is ten times more exciting when your eating it on the beach looking out at a beautiful sunset!

90 Degrees

It's offical...Las Vegas had its first 90 degree day this afternoon, and you could have found us hanging out by the pool. Which is exactally where we will be most of the summer. Roaming around the desert trying to find any water hole that we can hover around. It is quiet amazing that Las Vegas is known for its lounging around the pool atmopspher...however I am finding out that for the locals it is a bit harder to come by a pool. You either have to have your own pool or your complex has one. If you are shaking your head "nope" to both of those like we are then you are out of luck. Last summer Josh and I only found overselves soaking up UV rays by a pool two days. However, all that has changed this year because you could say that we have hit the Las Vegas "jackpot"...unlimited water. Not once but twice. First off Josh's coworker down the road from us has allowed us unlimited access to his neighborhood pool, which I am sure all his neighbors are loving that. Two completely pale former Alaskans running around the pool, slathering sunscreen, and screaming with joy. Secondly I have even gathered connections for some of the casion's beautiful pools. But since both Josh and I are burnt and it is only our first offical 90 degree day I guess we need to be taking it easy and finding some other summer activities that Las Vegas has to offer.

Las Vegas Mommy Group

This is one of my mommy groups that meets up ALL over Las Vegas. These photos were taken at some of our park dates, either at Town Square, or somewhere in Summerlin.

I love Vegas

I LOVE Las Vegas…and it really is hard not too! This is our first spring in Las Vegas, and even though it was a little colder than I had imagined, by mid April I can’t help by waking up smiling! When I first found out that we were being relocated to Las Vegas the only thing that I could picture was the strip and 125 degrees. That is only 5 miles in a huge city and that is only 3 months out of the year that it gets that hot. When I picture Las Vegas now I can see beautiful snow capped mountains with the sun rising behind it, great people and even better weather.

Sunshine, sunshine, sunshine. Why Nevada isn’t considered the sunshine state? I have lived in Florida, and even though it has a lot of sun, Las Vegas has more. I walk outside now, and it is 75 degrees, my skin absorbs the sunshine and I automatically have goose bumps...and a huge smile. You can’t help but to drive around with a huge smile on your face, how could you not be in a good mood (Okay maybe if you fall into the 14.5% unemployeed)? In Alaska there were only certain times you could go outside, and mid April in Anchorage still means that you have four feet of snow in your yard. I think that if you have to spend two years living in Alaska the perfect place to move to next would be Nevada…my sunshine tank is FULL and that is just fine with me. I never know where the military will send us next, so I will be outside grabbing as much rays of light as I can. …now if only we had a pool.

I am in the process of changing the look and the layout of the blog. For several reasons, first off it's fun, & secondly because I have been getting a lot more hits and want the blog to be easy to move about. Please feel free to leave me any feedbacks in the comments section or email me.

The Club

Heading to Sam’s Club on a Saturday afternoon is essentially like walking into your own trap. You know full well what you’re getting into, you even see it coming but you continue on…towards your demise.

Josh and the baby stayed home so that I could make this as quick a trip as possible. We are a small family, so there aren’t a lot of things that we purchase from Sam’s Club. All I needed to grab was dog food, diapers and water bottles. I knew that I would be starting at the back left corner of the store with the bottled water first, then middle left of the store I would grab a bag of dog food and ending up at the front with the diapers and an easy check out. Isn’t it so strange how in our minds we can plan things out so perfectly but it just doesn’t happen that way, mainly because this is a Wal-Mart franchise, and it is just the facts of life that God always teaches you patience at places like this…starting with the parking lot.

The stretch of 500 feet in front of the store is covered with stop signs, speed bumps, markers and everything else to prevent you from going above 2 miles per hour. However, I have considered informing Sam’s Club that they could really cut costs on these speed reduction measures because there always seems to be a flash mob of people, aimlessly walking around the parking lot. Usually kids jumping out in front of your car, or an elder person with a cart. The hardest part hands down of Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club shopping is making it in and out of the parking lot without killing somebody, or hitting a cart. Once I made it inside I knew that the parking lot was only foreshadowing of what was to come. A jungle. No not a jungle, more like a watering hole. Sam’s Club is a Saturday event for many people. A place to let your kids run wild, playing with the electronics, and gadgets, & A place where dad’s run from free sample to free sample. And where the $1.50 hotdog combo has more followers than the Beatles. It is a mess, who was I kidding there was going to be no quick trip.

So like they say,

“When in Rome, do as the Romans.”

I helped myself to every free sample on the left side of the store, checking out and heading over to grab myself a Nathan’s hotdog and coke. And as I left the store I found myself forgetting where I had parked, so I wondered up and down the parking lot with my oversize cart until reaching the end of my Sam’s shopping trip.

Whipped Cream

Tonight Josh and I headed to The Cheese Cake Factory for a date night, only Kale came along too. It is a slight downside to having a new baby and not having grandparents down the street, however, it just gives us more time together as a family…and provides more stories like these… …It was a typical dinner out with a six month old baby. Parents passing the baby back and forth while they shove down spoonfuls of their food. The other parent bouncing the baby, making crazy faces, and squeaking every toy in the diaper bag, trying to buy enough time for each plate to be cleared of every last bite. No matter how crazy the dinner ever gets there is no rushing through desert, espically at the Cheesecake Factory. We both sit in silence as we read through the list of over 25 different kinds of cheesecakes, until we each come to our conclusion. Josh orders an Oreo cheesecake and I go with their most popular strawberry cheesecake. The server only takes a few minutes before returning with two HUGE slices of cheesecake and a spoonful of whipped cream on top of each. Josh started in on his cheesecake first as I bounce Kale up and down on my lap, trying to keep him entertained for just 5 more minutes. Kale, not giving in spits out his pacifier right into the fresh pile of whipped cream on my cheesecake and starts expressing his ever growing boredom. As I am trying to control the situation I pick the pacifier out of the huge pile of whipped cream and lick it off. Josh looks up and begins to burst into laughter and says, “That’s called mommy sexy.” I guess licking whipped cream off of our child’s pacifier while he begins throwing a fit, is about as sexy as it’s getting for awhile.

Very little blog posts

We have just been enjoying daddy finally being back with us!

I always wondered if Kale would have a special bond with Josh, even though He had to deploy when Kale was only six weeks old.
Since the moment Josh walked off the plane back in Las Vegas and grabbed Kale they have been non stop giggling. Babies and their daddies have a special bond.

Enjoying the moment

Kale takes three naps a day. I usually try to clean or do things around the house. Edit photos or take care of bills. I fill every minuet Kale allows me. All mommies are go go go, but today was a special day. I put Kale down for his morning nap.

I didn't start the laundry, put the dishes away, take a shower or get dressed. I crawled back into bed and gave Kingston some much needed cuddle time. We soaked up the whole hour, no tv on or playing with my cell phone. I laid in bed and watched the sunshine leak in through the half opened blinds as Kingston's 80 pound furry body spooned up next to mine.

Hope you had a great Easter

Happy Easter

Our Easter celebration began yesterday. Kale and I made fresh banana pudding for our Easter dinner tonight…however, it didn’t make it through the night. I found myself tip toeing down the stairs last night, opening the frig and diving right into the fresh cut bananas, pudding and wafer cookies. Such a simple desert to make but it hits the spot in so many ways, and was a great start to one of the best nights of sleep that I have experienced in months.

This morning we headed out to Mimi’s café, it’s a chain restaurant right down the road from our house but they have the most amazing waffles. And after living in Anchorage, AK for two years without ever finding anywhere that served them, I never take them for granted now. Or a morning breakfast that we all share together. As we dug into the fresh Belgium waffles Josh and I reflected on what a crazy week we had and how thankful he came home from deployment just in time for Easter. I am getting baptized this morning at our church, and it just seems so perfect in so many ways. It’s a beautiful day, sunny and warm, I have my family together again, and I am receiving eternal life.I will never forget this Easter.

Naptime Mode

Last August my sister, Kerry, came to visit us in Las Vegas. We had just moved here and I was 8 months pregnant. Kerry brought her daughter Madelyn, who at the time was almost five months old. The trip was really for us to spend some time together before my newest edition, Kale arrived. Josh and I still living the no kids lifestyle were apparently “extremely loud” people my sister informed us. When Madelyn went down for a nap there was to be NO noise made in the house. I thought this was a simple task; we would just go downstairs and catch up on some of the things taped on the DVR. Well the TV had to be at volume 3 and when the commercials came on even lower to volume 2. There would be zero talking, walking around, opening doors, sneezing. Something’s were just out of our control, like the dog getting up and shaking, or a car door slamming outside. Kerry would just look over at us once one of these noises was made and she would give a death glance. We were both scared. However, 45 minutes later Madelyn would wake up, Kerry would snap out of ‘nap time mode’, and we’d all be laughing, sharing stories and playing with the puppies…until two hours later when it all started over again. After waving goodbye to Kerry and Madelyn we got in the car and both looked at each other…”We won’t end up like that”.

Fast Forward to present time…There is one rule in this house hold, NO NOISE WHILE BABY IS SLEEPING. This rule does not get broken or you’re dealing with momma bear!

Moment in Time

It is a beautiful 70 degrees in Las Vegas, clear blue skies & a slight breeze. Literally the perfect day, and if I could order a day it would be just this.
Josh is home and the family is complete again, and when you look at the big picture, it’s all I can ever ask for. Slowing it down, putting away my phone, turning off the TV. All the distractions that pull us in a million directions. I want to be taking a million snap shots in my head. I want to remember Kale as a beautiful baby laughing while his father is chasing the dogs around. Our house is full of light and joyful noise. Even though the curtains are shut and Kale’s laugh is the only sound, it is enough to fill my heart. It is enough to fill our whole entire house. How am I so lucky.

So today is peaceful, today is another day God has blessed us to be a family. None of us ever really know how many of these days we have, and I am thankful that I can't see into the future, because I am truly living for the day.

Home

Coming Home

Josh is arriving at the Las Vegas airport tomorrow morning around 10am! And Kale and I will be there to greet him and welcome him home. Even as I am writing this now my stomach is full of butterfly's and excitement.
I think the fact that he will be reunited with Kale for the first time in five months is even more exciting than Josh and I seeing each other. And that's how I know we are officially parents!
Because I know I wouldnt remember to grab a photo of the whole event, a local photographer is meeting us at the airport in the morning to help capture this moment for us. I hope this is something Kale can look back on and think how awesome and selfless his father is. Josh freely gave up watching his son grow from 6 weeks old to 6 months. To insure Kale sleeps safe and peaceful and to protect our freedom. Something I never really gave much thought about until Josh joined the Air Force.
However, I can say that I am much aware at how much freedom truly costs. And I am so thankful and proud of Josh and the many others who give of themselves and put their lives and their families lives on hold!

So excited!! :) I'm sure Kale wont be the only one up at night!

Tonight's the night

So tonight's the night. Write it down in the baby book. No more up every hour. No more feedings all night long. I can't do it anymore, I have been preparing myself for this day awhile now. Reading the books about letting a baby 'cry it out'.
I wanted to make sure I knew exactly how long to wait, how many times to go back in, everything because this Is my chance to do it the week before Josh comes home. As Kales 6 months now and the doctor gave me the go ahead today at his check up.

The night began just like normal, bath time, stories to follow and a little playtime before Kale drifted off to sleep. ( that's never the hard part, it comes about an hour and half later when Kale wakes up, starting a trend ranging from every hour to every other hour ).
It happens right in the middle of American Idol, at first I don't hear it, I just see the red light flicker on the monitor and my heart sinks. 169 nights I have done this alone, heard the first cry and I know I'm in for a long night. Wishing I could just snap my fingers and be able to crawl into bed and drift off into 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
But it's not going to happen that easily, but it will start tonight. As I walk my tried little body up the stairs I can start to hear Kales cries, coming from the monitor that's on in my bedroom. I take a deep breath and enter his room. Patting his back and putting the pacifier back in and I slip out. This continues over the next hour. The whole house is filled with cries because there is a monitor on upstairs and downstairs.

Finally Kale drifts off into sleep again and I head to the bedroom where I find Kingston in the corner, head down and tail tucked...so scared he peeped all over the place. I guess apparently I should have informed him that we were doing this tonight, guess Kingston wasn't ready yet!

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Tea Time

One of my mommy groups met up on Tuesday down at Town Square at a English Tea room. 10 women 10 babies, and it worked!

Town Square is one of my favorite spots in Las Vegas, I just wish it was closer to our house. There's outside shopping, every kind of store, tons of restaurants, and they have a huge playground and water park in the middle for kids to run around in! It's amazing!
I will be taking advantage of the spring weather at Town Square these next two months!

Moving Foward

I was driving today to meet up with one of my mommy groups. I was headed to a place called Town Square, a fun outside shopping area located in southwest Las Vegas. Kale was snug in his car seat in the backseat and I had the music playing softly. I was thinking to myself how lucky I am to be making so many friends so easily and how I am really starting to love Las Vegas…I was also thinking…HONK!!!!! I snap back to what is going on around me, HONK, traffic all over the place in every direction. People crossing the street at all different locations and the taxi drivers are angry and are showing their aggression through their only source of outlet…the horn. Then it hits me, I am a local just driving to meet up with some friends for tea though at the same time I am driving through the heart of Las Vegas, The Strip. Hundreds of thousands of people descend on Las Vegas this time of year, for the great weather, spring break destination, and the March Madness gambling and betting. I couldn’t help but smile. Because at the same time last year I would have been driving in the dark cold, snow six feet, trying to keep my eyes peeled open in case a moose decided he wanted to jump out in front of my car. So you tell me which of the two sounds more normal?

Tried to snap a quick photo and not kill somebody with my car at the same time. Well didn't kill anybody but the photo didn't come out too good.

Direct TV

This was the first time Josh had been deployed, so we were really learning how things work. Shutting his cell phone service off, putting certain unities on hold while I was staying with family. It was just a huge learning experience. It’s not a typical job where somebody packs up their life and leaves for half of a year. Coming back to Las Vegas I had to start up our life again, turning on the water, gas, direct TV and other services. Of course with EVERY since company there was an issue, and it didn’t help that Josh was overseas, 12 hours ahead and just unable to help out. One by one I checked each services off the list, 30 mins on hold was a typical daily activity. And each day another person came to the house starting something up. Well it came to direct TV and of course there was something wrong with the bill that I had received in the mail. I took a deep breath, and thought to myself this will get figured out. So, like I did with all the others, I sent Josh an email just informing him that there was a problem but I would try to sort it out the next day. Well just as I hit the sent button and started to begin to look up the direct TV phone number for customer service my phone “dinged” informing me of an email.

“Hey Babe, I got your email about Direct TV, I contacted them and got it all figured out, everything should be good. Love you”

Well I guess we can all see that even if deployed in Afghanistan nobody was going to mess with Josh’s Direct TV…humm..…...men....

Mommy Group

I have been meeting up with this great mommy group. Started out when we were all pregnant and now we are still going strong with the babies. We get together at parks, out for lunches, movie nights at someone’s houses, and even a mommy night out with just the girls. Which I am waiting on Josh to get home to make it to one of those. I was always a little unsure of “mommy groups”, but it helps to look at other women, all different ages and different spots in their lives. Some have a huge career, some stay at home moms. And I have found a common thread…a little 12 pound baby changes everything and all rules are thrown out the window. The cold hard honest truth is, nobody really knows what they are doing, it’s a journey and we are figuring out how to be the best mommy’s along the way. So get together with some great ladies, make new friends, and laugh a lot!

This was taken at our "potluck picnic" last week. Theres about 30 mommy's total ranging from being still pregnant to have a 1 year old.

Name Game

"KINGSTON! Stop it"

"KINGSTON! Get down!"

"KINGSTON! No licking the baby"

Whoa if I had a dollar every time that I screamed at my dog Kingston then I could probably afford doggy training classes by now. Our lovable flurry ball has so much energy coming in on year two. Between his daddies leaving for deployment, moving home to Florida for 3 months living with the grandparents he really thinks he can get away with anything now. I am truly afraid that Kale's first word will be Kingston or that later on in life when he hears the word Kingston he will get a sudden feeling of discipline, like he has done something wrong. The next dog we get I will try to name it something like "Love You”,"Hello" that way when I am screaming at the dog it will sound something more like...

"LOVE YOU! No licking the baby."

Single Rider

I have been on 11 planes in two years, and felt like it was finally time to do a blog about one of my many travel experiences. All 11 flights I have been a single rider. It’s kind of like being a single rider on a rollercoaster, you never know who your going to get stuck next to. And I always get stuck sitting next to the “Name talker”. Now if your anything like my dad, you dread sitting next to the mom with the infant, or the fat man, or even the old person that has the cold. And on southwest flights everybody is scoping each other out outside the gate. Thinking in your head who you’re hoping that you’re not sitting next to. I have come to appreciate the chance to sit next to all those rejects; I am on the lookout for a totally different breed, what I like to call the “Name talker”. They come in all shapes and sizes, all ages groups; they are almost like a wildcard, which makes them extremely hard to spot before hand. They are the person that sits down next to you on the plane and the conversation goes something like this; Name Talker sits down. No conversation, they don’t even say hi. You both start to adjust seat belts and start looking at a magazine. Your thinking to yourself, “wow this is great I am going to have a nice quiet flight and get some sleep”.

Name Talker:“I am going to visit Jason and Katie; I hope they know what time I arrive”

Me: (in my head) what is she talking about, does she have a blue tooth in?

Name Talker: “Katie told me to fly in on Saturday because it works with her schedule better and the kids will be out of school by the time I get there.”

Me: (in my head) is she talking to me? Who the heck is Katie?

Name Talker: “It will be great though because since the accident I haven’t spent anytime Megan and Tom”

Me: (In my head) Okay now there’s a Megan and Tom, who are these people and why does she assume I know her life like she’s a Kardashian sister

.

Name Talker: “Isn’t that exciting? Wow you sure are quiet.”

Me: “Yes that’s great, I am sure Katie is totally on top of when to pick you up, and I hope that you guys have great weather and can get out some night with Megan and Tom.

Name Talker: (Takes a long pause and then continues) “Yes that would be great”

It is like improve at 30,000 feet; these people sit down and don’t give you any background information to go off of. Not the normal “this is where I’m headed, this is what I do for a living”, nothing. They just sit down and it’s like you have opened a book and just start reading in the middle of the random page you land on. COME ON PEOPLE!

3 NOs turn into the 3 Yes's

All soon to be mommies have many sleepless nights, staying up picturing in their heads how they are going to be the perfect mother. What they will DO and what they will definitely NOT DO. How they hope their child will be athletic, or have the perfect hair, or love playing outside. Whatever the mommies imagine it all goes out the window when they give birth to their beautiful baby.
I was really open to whatever my baby will want to do in life, sports or a cook it really didn’t matter to me. Though there were 3 things that I knew I wasn’t going to do or allow while my child was a baby.

1. No pacifiers
2. No running around in diapers
3. No sleeping in the bed

Simple enough right? I kind of have a theory now that the things you say NO to before your child has been born will come back a million times stronger. There are three things that I LIVE BY now…

1. Pacifier aka “binky” at all times, I have a million of them, ten in the crib, five in the diaper bag, and seven in the car. I can’t shove them into Kales mouth fast enough. Something that I was so strong about, and now I can’t remember life without these little plastic miracles! True life savers.
2. I never understood why mothers let their baby hang out in diapers. I mean after all for about 9 months I folded and refolded all the cute baby clothes that I had acquired. I couldn’t wait to dress Kale, so why would I ever let him hangout in white pampers when he can be wearing Gap jeans, and a matching t-shirt and bib. Let me tell you what I have discovered, those mommies who let their babies hang out in diapers probably had babies like Kale…throwing up EVERYWHERE all day long. And when Kale has thrown up on his third outfit of the day and I have yet to get to the laundry…he’s hanging out in the diaper!
3. This third point is really cut and dry. Haven’t slept in five months…so the baby sleeps with me in the bed. Take it or leave it, but this has become a way of life…or at least until Josh has returned from deployment.

So my basic point to the prego mommies out there, stop thinking about what will be and get some sleep!!!

Sleepy Town

Most people talk about wanting their newborn babies to sleep through the night & somewhere between 7 weeks and two months this just happens for them. And then there are people like me...

Who wanted their newborn to sleep at night...which never happened
Who wanted their 1 month old to sleep through the night..which never happened
Who wanted their 2 month old to sleep through the night..which never happened
Who wanted their 3 month old to sleep through the night..which never happened
Who wanted their 4 month old to sleep through the night.which never happened
Who wanted their 5 month old to sleep through the night..which never happened

This just wasn’t going to happen for Kale and myself, and I will skip all the details about everything I tried so please skip feeling like you have to share the perfect thing that WORKED on your child. Because trust me I have tried it all, and if I haven’t then keep it to yourself anyways.

So I realized that I was just going to have to turn off the monitor at night, close my eyes and sleep...and Kale would just have to learn to do the same if he was clean, fed, and in his crib. This was just going to have to happen this way.

“Wow” you are saying to yourself, “She is really going to trust not hearing her baby on the monitor for 8-12 hours at night”.
I then look at you puzzled, “I thought sleeping through the night was two hours”…

WERE BACK...

...well just about half of my brain is.

So zero postings since Aug 2011...we had a our baby Sept 27 and It took me 5 months to the date to find where I had misplaced my brain...I still haven't found all of it but half seems to get the job done.

I have a feeling that I misplaced it somewhere in the air. Maybe my trip from Las Vegas to Florida, or Florida to Spokane...or its at the bottom of one of my diaper bags, or it got toss away with one of the million of dirty diapers.

I could have easily made over 100 postings about all the crazy stuff my new found mommy hood has broughten me, all the sleep less nights, crying ( from me and a little from the baby) , a horror birth story with lots of blood and volience, mad that Josh had to leave, all the plane trips I had to make with my two dogs and a new baby all the way down to Florida.

But now that it is time to write, it all seems like a blur...yes I remember that I had lost my mind and cried a lot... Though now that I am looking at Kale as a 5 month old I can truly say that it has gone by so fast, and a lot of the little details have escpaed my memory.

So to sum things up for you, Kale pooped, peed, cried, nursed, cried, nursed, pooped, and I think maybe once in the five months he might have slept a little. And of course those of you who already have children and have gone through this are smiling and saying to yourself, "Yes Yes". So nothing new there, I though I would cut all that out because after all...there is nothing new about a baby pooping and crying no matter how many different ways that I can word it...its just not that exciting.