Miss Free Bush

To the free spirited woman at the water playground. I enjoyed watching your playful nature and the pure joy you were experiencing as you ran around with your daughter. I also enjoyed the pleasant conversation that we had. I looked past the fact that you were not wearing a swim suit, and thought it was amazing how you tied that wrap around yourself in such a way that the water was not pulling it down. In many ways I was admiring your liberation and in my head questioning why others cared what you chose to wear to the public water playground. What I could have done without was seeing your V-GYN as you came down the slide and your FULL BUSH that was exposed as you lay on the ground in the water puddle at the bottom (since the slide pulled your wrap clearly up to your waist). I once again admired your carefree nature as you stood up and walked back to the slide (several times, I just averted my eyes) like we were all showing off our V-GYN’s. Miss Free Bush…today you made me think.

Painting Breakables.....

Today we picked up our "Paint on Pottery" (that we painted on Friday), we are new fans of this store.

Tae made this awesome wedge flip-flop box

And I made this "oh so colorful" bowl :)

If they don't fit......make them!

Easy Post...

I am going to be boring and go with bullets on this post…bullets are easy.

· N is out of town for a WEEK…he left Saturday so it is just the girls hanging out. We are doing good so far but we’ll see how it’s going at the end of the week :)

· I start school tomorrow and I am soooo excited.

· Why does my child refuse to get out of bed during the week and then wake up extra early on the weekends? Is it purely to torture me? Seriously I like to sleep and so does she except on the weekends…I would like to sleep past 6:45.

· Tae is doing an amazing job riding her bike….almost too good. Instead of taking a walk and ride, she is riding so fast that it’s a walk and jog…but with 115+ temp outside this is not a favorable combination.

· I am really hoping that at least a few people that read my blog are clicking on the “make a difference” links to the right. There really is some useful information and some easy ways to help.

· I am going to re-sponsor my “Make a Wish” foundation student. I really enjoy being able to help another young woman get her education. If you are interested in learning more here is the link. A great team of ladies from Angel Covers started sponsoring the program; I hope to volunteer with them at some point.

· I am going to Vietnam with Sister sometime over the next few months…Baby H we are coming for you! N thinks I will get stuck there because I will want to bring all the babies back with me (and the VN government won’t let me :)…I think he is right about the wanting all the babies part. I am very excited to go and VERY SAD at the thought of leaving T (and N too)…has never happened for more than a few days.

· Today T made my heart smile by saying this to me with so much sincerity and sweetness….”Mom, you do beautiful coloring!” I was coloring a train with her in one of her coloring books.

· Tae has a little bit of an odd habit. Like most kids she points out slug bugs…but she takes her shout outs a few steps further. She calls out slug bugs and then says their color, she calls out monster trucks (very large trucks), she calls out pickup trucks (normal sized trucks), and then we have the winner…..Stinky Potties (aka porta-potty) this shout out includes color(s), location (sometimes on a ‘pickup truck’, which is hysterical to T), and number of them. Another bit of information that T will include with her stinky potty shout out is, “we don’t use those”…followed by…”mommy, why did you try to make me use one?”…”remember, that was DISGUSTING!!!!”….love my girl :)

· Since I don’t get many comments on my blog…I often feel like I am talking to myself….But I am OK with that.

· I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

CROCS...wear them...share them...

For more information or a donation location visit SolesUnited.

Chop Chop....

I have officially broken up with my best friend....the ponytail...not a chance of any type of pony or pig :)

Daddy's Girl.....

I didn't do a post about father's day but I wanted to show a few pictures from that day. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how much N makes Tae laugh, it is the best sound in the whole world, makes your heart sing.

It's Ketchup

Starry Nights....

Our Zoo has a really awesome Friday night event during the summer and since it is soooooo freakin HOT here, of course it involves water :) Just a few pictures from last weekend.....

Beautiful Bunny

This one is hilarious if you click on it you can really see their faces...they weren't excited about splashing in the community water.

1....2....3....

No strikes here......Tae showing off her baseball skills and her batter stance......

Spots & Shots......

So we had our follow up with the immunologist followed by the ENT and then the pediatrician….and we believe the mystery has been solved. The first visit with the immunologist went really well, he was very optimistic and went through all the test results, everything came back normal except for her response to pneumococcus, a dieses caused by a type of bacteria that attacks the respiratory system. They tested for 14 of the 23 types (that attack the respiratory system) and Tae only responded to 4. But he felt that it was a very simple fix and we only need to get her an additional vaccination to eliminate the immune weakness and thus eliminate the constant infection. Sounds good. Feeling good. Not even thinking she has any immune system issues. Next came the ENT who took one look at the results and sang a different kind of annoyed tune…”she has an immunodeficiency, this is a deficiency and that is all the immunologist told you!” Ok, not feeling so great :( I DO have a huge amount of respect for this doctor and feel like he is the one who was FINALLY able to figure out what was going on with T. I feel like he has handled everything really well, he is just a very straight forward and this is business kind of doc. Though it was a bit unsettling to hear this response from him I truly appreciate that he eliminates all sugar coating and tells it like it is. He did his follow up and everything looked great minus a few spots on her tonsils, he did not feel the need to treat for the spots because she only has the signs not the symptoms of tonsillitis (aka she is not acting sick). No answer as to why we have spots. I left thinking…I can’t wait to see the Pediatrician, she is the explainer, she is the one who can take both sides of information and translate it into mom lingo. She did a great job, we feel much better, she clarified that yes Tae has an immunodeficiency but she feels confident that the additional vaccination will take care of it. The vaccination will last for 6 years during which her hope is that T will be able to develop her own immunity to the pneumococci. Every child who gets their scheduled immunizations is vaccinated for the most common strands of pneumococcal, which Tae had, Tae needs an additional vaccination that is typically given to people who have a weak immune system. She also explained that she was pretty sure that the 4 strands that Tae did respond to were the ones she had been previously vaccinated for, interesting. She gave T her 4 year check up and all looks good, she is a really great doctor and Tae really enjoys seeing her. It really helps to have someone who genuinely cares about your child. The downfall of the visit was that with a 4 year check up comes the 4 year immunizations, so Tae had to get 4 shots. The vaccination that we went for is not available in the office so we will have to go back in 2 weeks to get that one. All and all I feel really good about where we are right now. If you only knew some of the scenarios that N and I have played through our minds, I have shed many a tear over this whole situation so having this as the outcome is really something to celebrate. I am extremely thankful that we found out what was going on when we did because, well just because.

P A R-T A E.....

I am going to go with pictures on this post....a few words....The party was great! We all enjoyed the jumping and sliding...N and I were out there just as much as the kids...there was one point that I had to make myself stop because I was sooo sweaty, so out of breath and experiencing an extremely painful side cramp (not saying too much about my current level of fitness) but it was a blast. I tried really hard to only include pictures of our family or close friends...I don't feel comfortable displaying pictures of T's classmates. We did have 28 kids you just wont see may of them here...

I am still here....

I have been adding posts but you have to scroll down to see them....I am keeping them in order so since they all took place prior to this post they are below. Hopefully I will be caught up soon but I think once you have seen all the delayed posts you might understand why we have been sooo busy :)


I have a ton of things to post about and soooo many pictures too. I am not missing just really busy, but I give you brief overview for now. T turned 4 on Wednesday, (a special post needed just for that) she is having a party with 28 friends at a jumping place……We had our follow up appointment for all of T’s blood work and all I will say for now is I am so freakin happy about the results… N has finished teaching and is off for the summer (I still have to work L)…..My parents went back to FF for the summer….. I am going on an amazing adventure with my sis…. I could go on and on about the posts to come but I will just make a promise to add them all by the end of the weekend. Look for me; I’ll be busy here on Chasing T (after I recover from the 28 bouncing kids…haha). Hope you all enjoy your weekend!!!!!

Photo Flash Back...

A typical mother statement coming out of my mouth...but I blinked and she grew into a little girl...

night before T

Welcome to the world Baby T

Happy 1st

Happy 2nd

Happy 3rd

Happy 4th Birthday...I can't believe it...4!!!!

The BIG #4 Day!!!!!

What an amazing day Tae had....I will add a little info for each section of pictures since we had such a busy day....at first glance you might think the pictures were from the whole week!!!!!

Not a very good pic but cute to see how excited she was when she got up...

Wearing B-day jams from Mish, Mike & Ash...Thanks guys!

That tounge is sticking out for you Auntie A....that's a good thing....means she likes it :)

Ready to go into school and let everyone know she is 4 now....which she did. She walked right into the middle of the classroom and announced "It's my Birthday, I am 4!!!!" Too cute, especially when all her classmates swarmed around her like the paparazzi....I think we might be in trouble in a few years...what do you think?

Tae's Birthday treats she took to share with her class.

NEXT...water playground!

Love this picture!

OH YEAH WE DID, well...Grammy did. Tae LOVES it and is REALLY good at it. Thanks Grammy:)

No the celebration is not over...next we headed up South Mountain to Tae's Birthday dinner at a very special place...Yee Haw Ya'll...we went to Ru$tler$ Roo$te...their slogan is "Beef and Brew with a View" and right before you go in the front door you get to visit a live bull....too good to be true right? Kind of kills the beef part I would think. But they have a slide...a giant slide, a live band, and a great birthday package. Have you ever seen anything like this? Tae thinks this is one of the greatest dinner places ever (which is why we went there for her b-day)...I just wish the food matched her joy :(

Will enjoying the slide wearing his bull horns which also happen to be the kids menu :)

Bunny and Ethan

T and Ethan

Bunny & T

Will & baby D

Bunny & T

Will & Ethan

So...when it was time to celebrate Tae they started ringing this huge dinner triangle thing and brought her a giant eclair with a candle and a cowGIRL hat which had an AZ bandanna tied around it...Then after they made us suffer at the horrible sound of us singing "Happy Birthday" the band did their own little song for Tae.

T ate most of that eclair...I know it is almost bigger than her head.

Happy 4th Birthday Tae!

I had to add an extra note...this post and this dinner make me laugh every time I see it...we look like such weirdos it is hilarious. I am just glad the kids all had a great time!