California!

California was the greatest trip ever. We had such a good time as a family! The kids were great, the weather was not hot, and we had plenty of time with Mike's family. I am so thankful that we were able to get away together. We went to the Zoo in San Diego, the Aquarium, the beach, and most importantly had a ton of fun with a ton of cousins! My kids were EXHAUSTED by the end of the week! I know I said we were going to bring home two dogs, but my mother in law was having a hard time letting Katie go, and I did not blame her. We had decided not to take Katie home with us, and then Scarlett was hugging her and Katie snapped at Scarlett and it completely confirmed our decsion to not take her! In Katie's defense, she had just had puppies, and Scarlett was too rough with her. I might have snapped too if I saw a three year old coming at me, screaming my name, with arms wide open ready to attack. We did bring Salmon home with us, and my kids are the happest kids in the world right now. There were three puppies in the yard playing one day and Scarlett said, "Mom, I am going to yell Salmon, and the puppy that runs to me will be our puppy." So she did that and a puppy ran over to us, and the rest is history. He is actually the perfect little puppy so far. He does not whine at night, he lets the kids carry him and play with him, therefore he is perfect. He is so loving too. There are some downsides, he likes to poop A LOT! Scarlett already stepped in it, and we have only had him for two days. We are glad to have Salmon and we are so thankdul to Mike's Mom and Dad for giving us a puppy. I have a ton of pictures, and will post them soon.

All because of a little peanut!

We went to the doctor today, and confirmed that Scarlett is for sure allergic to peanuts. The good news is, as of right now, her reactions are not severe enough to cause anaphillactic shock (sp?). It could become that serious, but for right now, we just have to make sure she does not eat things containing peanut oil. We got her an epipen so we can be prepared if that ever happens. I am sad because I don't want her to have to be hindered by anything, but we have no choice but to deal with it. 25% of children grow out of it, so we are praying that she is in that 25%. The doctor said it is unlikely that she will grow out of it. I just have to be positive and tell myself, at least she can still enjoy things like chocolate, airplanes, and many restaurants.

Salmon and Katie!

We are going to California this week to FINALLY visit Mike's family, and take a much needed vacation! We can't wait to see everyone! I have not been out there in 2 years. The last time I was there, I was pregnant with Owen, and it was waaaay to hot for me to be there. We will be in Murrieta for a few days and then we get to go to San Diego for a little family vacation at a timeshare in downtown San Diego. Mikes brother, Paul, lives in San Diego, so we get to spend some time with him too. I can't wait for my kids to be able to hang out with thier cousins. That is the biggest downside to living in New Mexico. Being away from family is the pits! But we are very excited to go and we plan on makeing the most out of our time there. We will alos be picking up two new additions to our family. That's right, I the anti-animal girl, is getting two dogs. Then we are driving back to New Mexico with the two dogs, in a minivan, with two kids. I am actually so excited to get dogs, and those are words that have never come out of my mouth. I think I am a little more excited about Katie (the already trained adult dog). I can take her on walks with me and I don't have to train her. I think she might become my best friend. Now Salmon, that's right SALMON, is another story. I am a little nervous about a puppy, but I am so excited for my kids to have a dog they can grow up with! I am fully aware of the peeing and pooping on the carpet that will go on, I know that salmon will get into lots of things, but I have had two kids, and they do the same thing. Mike has been working hard on building a fence, so the dogs have plenty of room to run, plus we have plenty of places to take the dogs so that they can run free and chase balls. We told Scarlett that when we bought a new house, we could get a dog, and we also told her she could name it. For whatever reason she wanted to name him Salmon. I agreed to this, and am hoping we can shorten it to Sam. She told me last week that she wanted to name the dogs Humper and Dumper, and I said too bad! Katie is already named, so we can not go with Humper and Dumper. (not to mention, I am not yelling HUMPER and DUMPER!)Look, Salmon was the best of all the names, so we have to make this sacrafice. Sam is a name I can live with. The above picture is one of the puppies, and I don't know which one we are getting at this point, but that is what Sam looks like. I have always hated hearing about how people compare their dogs to kids, and blog about their dogs, but now I am doing it. What a hypocrite I am. Wish us luck, it will be the longest drive of my life...I have a feeling.

Scarlett VS. Peanuts

Today I got a call from Scarletts school, letting me know that she was having an allergic reaction from "something". I usually do not panic, but something in her teacher's voice concerned me so I jumped in the car and race to her daycare. When I got there, I opened the front door, and I could already hear Scarlett crying. I stared to walk swiftly down the hall (which seeemed like it took forever), when I saw her walk around the corner. It was just about the worst sight ever! It looked like my daughter had picked a fight with Mike Tyson! Her eyes were completely swollen shut, and her face had doubled in size! She was crying, but she could not see anything. The teacher said that they had been making peanut butter bird feeders, and that is when her face started to swell. I had always wondered if Scarlett might be allergic to peanut butter. She is the only kid I know that dispises peanut butter. She will never try it, and If she even smells it on something she won't eat it. In a panic I gathered her stuff up, and headed for the door. Then I thought, "I should get Owen too." (they go to the same daycare two days a week)Why the HELL I thought it was a good idea to get Owen too, I will never understand. I was just in a hurry I guess. I was trying to get the kids to the car. Scarlett is still crying, and wants me to hold her, and Owen (who thinks all of this is hilarious) wants me to hold him too. I finally got both kids in the car, and called my mom to meet me at the hospital. She asked, "Why do you have Owen?" I said, "I really don't know, but I do have him, and we all know he can not be at a hospital, or anywhere in public for that matter." I walk into the hospital with both kids...crying. People were gasping at the way Scarlett looked. I wanted to say, "yeah people, like that helps!" Oh I forgot to mention that Scarlett did not have a shirt on...oh yeah we looked awesome!Her shrit was covered in peanut butter, so I took it off of her, because she was getting hives and redness where the peanut butter had been on her shirt. The Doctor came in and gave her medicine, and made us wait there until the swelling started to go down. Once the swelling did go down the doctor came in and told me that she has an allergy to peanut oil...duh. My poor Scarlett! Look how sad she looks in that picture. Now we just have to make sure that she stays away from peanut oil, or any nut oils, and I have to carry allergy medication around with me just to be prepared. All of this to say Scarlett is doing better.

Look who bought a house!

THE REMUNDS!!!!! Finally our house closed today. This has been a complete nightmare! Don't ever do a trade during a recession. I can finally be excited about decorating, planting a garden, and buying things. I will post some pictures soon.

Owen is a murderer!

Yesterday I went to pick my kids up from my mom's house. Wait let me back up...Last summer we were given three turtles to raise as pets. I thought it was great because they hibernate for at least 6 months, so low maintenance! Well when I drove up to get the kids yesterday, the kids were playing outside. Scarlett was running around naked as usual, and Owen was begging to play with the turtles. I told Scarlett to go put some clothes on, and I took Owen to play with the turtles. I set him in the area where the turtles live (my moms garden) and then I got a text. I reached for my phone and proceeded to read the text, and as I looked up from my phone, I saw Diego (the medium sized turtle) bouncing off the ground. Before I could stop him, Owen picked him up again, and threw him like a bouncing ball off the ground again. I believe Diego suffered severe brain damage, because my mom found him dead in the grass today. Tomorrow is his funeral! Needless to say, Owen is now banned from having contact with the turtles! This is our second pet death in 2 months. First was Dora our fish, and I have a feeling Owen had something to do with that too. I caught him holding Dora one day. WE are getting two dogs soon, and I am praying that Owen can be good around the dogs!

oops.

I forgot a few VERY critical things that Scarlett does that I think is pretty dramatic. When she has to sit in time out she yells "Nobody loves me! I will never be happy ever again!" "Why do I always have to sit in time out!" "I am so so sad and no one cares!" What a beautiful child I have. She is so entertaining!