Mason's first quading trip.....

One thing I do love about winter in Arizona is the chance to get the quads out and go riding in the desert. This past weekend, we took the kids out for a short ride. We went to the track where is was easy enough for Olivia to ride on her own quad. She loved being able to ride by herself and she didn't like sharing with Ellie, but she was fine to give rides as long as she could steer.


Hayden is forever the helping big brother and would run to help Olivia when she was ready to start her quad.



This was Mason's first official ride in the desert. When he was born last year we were just wrapping up Little League and then it got too hot to ride. We didn't even ride at the cabin last summer. Mason loved being outside, but what he loved most of all was the cookies and chips. I can't imagine why he is in the 90th percentile for his weight.


I can't even remember what he has in his mouth here, but this is the BEST picture ever!!



Mason was so happy just to sit with Mom or Dad and it was nice for us to just be able to hang out and chat while the big kids rode.





I can't wait to have a weekend where we can go on the trails. Our life has been absolutely consumed with Hayden's Eagle project, which is a good thing, but a weekend to just enjoy the desert would be fun too.

Olivia FINALLY turns 5!

A few weeks ago, my beautiful Olivia turned 5. Since her two favorite friends had their birthdays in July and September, Olivia couldn't wait for her birthday to finally come. I am SO thankful that Heavenly Father blessed us with a girl. There is ALWAYS drama, but what should I expect from a princess like Olivia. Here are some funny things about Olivia:

Much to her brothers chagrin, LOVES Justin Beiber. Although Olivia thinks the words to this song are Damon, Damon, Damon not Baby, Baby, Baby.....


Today Olivia said the funniest thing. As we were getting in the car she said, "Mom, you're glittering."

Me: "I'm what Olivia?"

Olivia: "Glittering..... see this paper you left on the ground?" LOL





Olivia LOVES Barbies and this is how she sleeps every night:



Olivia LOVES her baby brother Mason.... she is almost smothering, but she loves to be the mommy and take care of him.






Last weekend we went to the nursery to pick out some new plants and a Mexican man was helping us. He spoke with an accent and Olivia said, "Mom, why does that guy speak Spanish?"

Me: "Because he is Mexican just like you."

Olivia: "Mom, I am NOT a Mexican. See my skin?? It is getting whiter!"

I tried to convince her, but I was unsuccessful. One day she will be thankful for her Mexican heritage or maybe just the nice tanned skin! ;o)

Two last things, she says she is not going to baptized nor will she grow up and have to have braces. Gotta LOVE having older brothers!!

Stupid Grace!!

As I was looking through my pictures today I found this picture and this blog entry from June.... it is too perfect not to post.

We bring Grace in the house during the hot afternoons and here is how I found her today.....



She had jumped in the basket full of CLEAN clothes. Notice her bed right next to the laundry basket!! I honestly could have KILLED her!!

A Time and A Season

Last week Sal and I were suppose to go with friend's to Charlotte, NC to a NASCAR race. We had planned this trip for 4 months and I was SO looking forward to going. You know me and trips.... I am ready and willing to go anywhere I have never been before. I was looking forward to no kids, sleep, and alone time with Sal.

However, as the trip got closer and closer, I started to stress about leaving a nursing baby for 5 days. Of course everyone said "Mason will be fine. He will get hungry enough to take a bottle." But everytime I would think about leaving, I would feel anxious and uneasy. One day I was rocking Mason to sleep, the house was quiet and I was thinking about how I could make this trip work. I thought of everything under the sun and then a thought came to my mind.... "A time and a season, Alicia". That was it, but I knew EXACTLY what it meant. It was my "season" to be at home with Mason, to be the Mom and I needed to cancel our part of the trip no matter what the cost. There will be other "seasons" for me to sleep, be without kids, and alone with Sal.

I have thought alot about this over the past week and although it isn't always easy, it is MY season to be the MOM. It is MY season to eat cold dinners because the kids are hungry and need a fork, a drink, a napkin, seconds please. It is MY season to help with Algebra while making dinner and keeping a cross baby happy. It is MY season to drive kids to Scouts, football, dance, cross country, school. It is MY season to fall asleep 2 seconds after I crawl into bed, to shower at noon (or later), to brush my teeth after eating lunch, to never wear make-up or have my hair curled (except maybe on Sundays). It is MY season and one day, it will all be over and I will cry because the house is quiet and I have an unlimited amount of time to myself. Until then I will try to enjoy every aspect of the journey and realized just how BLESSED I truly am for being chosen to be the MOM!

Where has the time gone??

I can't believe it is the middle of September and I have not blogged in 2 months. Honestly, I debated whether I was going to even continue with the blog.... no one REALLY reads this... do they? Then I remembered why I started this blog in the first place. It was to FORCE me to take more pictures of my life... more pictures of the kids, more picture of the memories we are making together as a family, more pictures that we will one day laugh at!! Get ready for a LONG post...here is my attempt to remember the past 2 months.......

A Diagnosis -
I have debated whether to write about this, but I feel as though blogs are sometimes all about the good things in life and not the honest, hard times that we all face. Perhaps I should have buried this at the very end with hopes that you would have lost interest before reading it. However, I have decided to put it first since it has been a life changer for me. Maybe, just maybe, my story will help you. It isn't something that I want to shout from the rooftops, but it is something LOTS of women deal with silently... I know, I did for months. Postpartum Depression. I don't even remember the night that it all happened..... it just DID. I was having creme brulee with my BFF's one minute and the next I was having a breakdown....it was what I had been fighting for months... the tears, the guilty feelings, the anger, the DENIAL!! I am THANKFUL for friends who understood where I was and what I needed to do to HELP myself. I appreciated hearing their stories of emotional struggles and of their encouragement that it all could be fixed if I just asked for help! I came home that night and I sobbed and sobbed to Sal. I told him how I was feeling and he was SHOCKED!! I had been that good at "wearing the mask" that even he didn't see it. The next morning I mad an appointment to see my doctor and cried the ENTIRE visit!! She recommended that I speak to a THERAPIST!! What a SHRINK?? ME?? REALLY!! I was desperate and I did it... I called and it was the BEST thing I have done for myself in a REALLY long time. I met with her and I cried the whole time. She reassured me that what I was feeling was NORMAL and it was something that could be fixed. I came to find out that an unplanned pregnancy and advanced maternal age are BIG, HUGE flashing red lights when it came to PPD! We talked through my tears about my feelings..... "How do you feel about this" and "How do you feel about that?" It was the first time I had vocalized all that had been in my head for MONTHS! Long story, even longer.... I was prescribed "happy pills" as I call them.... Doctors and pharmacists call them Zoloft. I felt different right away.... I wasn't happy and giddy and jumping for joy, but I had a coping feeling..... I just felt like I could cope with life as it came. I was no longer angry and hostile, I could go a whole day without crying or feeling on the verge of tears every minute. I felt as though "I was back"... the me I could hardly remember. The kind, patient, loving mother who wouldn't LOOK for things to nag about. Now 2 months have gone by and I have learned so much about myself. I have taken off the "mask" and I hope to never have to put it back on!

Mason's New Accessory -
Mason has been my child that has done the complete opposite of all my other kids. I thought I had this whole mothering thing down, but man was I wrong!! It was apparent early on that Mason is his own boss!! Sal and I have tried to "make" him take a pacifier and a bottle.... he just screams. We have tried to get him to cry himself to sleep.... he screams louder! AND we have tried to get him to sleep in any position other than on his back. ALL to no avail!! SO it was no surprise when the back of his head was flat at 2 months old. We tried the tummy time - he screamed, we tried chiropractors - that worked somewhat, we tried rolled up blankets behind his back - he could wiggle enough to get back on his back. One night I put him to sleep and 5 minutes later he was screaming in his bed.... I ran in to see what was wrong, and he had rolled to his tummy and was not happy about it. I rolled him over and he calmed right down and went to sleep. I say all this because last month Mason was fitted for a cranial band to reshape his flat head.

Our doctor said it was totally optional, but that is like saying braces or dermatologists are are optional for teenagers. We KNEW we had to do whatever necessary to fix his head. The band is quite expensive and not covered by insurance, but we HAD to do it. Mason's band has been on for nearly 4 weeks now and we are seeing great progress. We have to drive into Phoenix once a week to have the band adjusted, but we are thankful this was an option for us. During my weekly drives I have thought, "What if we had moved to Salt Lake? How would I be able to drive once a week to Las Vegas (the closest Cranial Technologies office) to have the adjustments made?" As much as I am DONE with Arizona, I know why we are here. I am thankful that Heavenly Father has once again made me realize that, for now, I need to be content being in Arizona. Thanks to Kara McDowell and Kim Waskiewicz for their help in decorating Mason's band!

School has started!!
So this year I have a 7th grader (Hayden), a 3rd grader (Cole), and a preschooler (Olivia). The first semester is almost over and all the kids are doing exceptionally well. Hayden is in middle school and he is taking all honors classes. When progress reports came home he had a 4.2 GPA. He loves pre-algebra and I am LOVING helping him with it. Algebra was always my favorite subject! Hayden has also joined the running club at school and he will soon try out for the cross country team. He must have Mitzi's blood - I HATE running! Cole is extremely smart! He is getting all A's and B's and will be on the honor roll this quarter. Cole, for the first time, has a male teacher and he likes the change. He is diligent in his homework and gets it done first thing. Cole will begin flag football this month and he is looking forward to the cooler weather so the rugby club can begin at school. Olivia started preschool with Mrs. Mary and she feels so BIG. She goes 4 times a week for 3 hours. I look forward to picking her up and hearing all about her day. Liv looks forward to Tuesdays when she gets to take her lunch to school. She also LOVES Wednesdays because they always cook something yummy. I love quiet mornings, after the kids have gone to school, when Mason and I get to be alone. It is just him and me, and I can snuggle and laugh and play with him without having to share.

Life is good at our house! I hope it is at your too!

Granny's new Horse - Buster

My mom has wanted a horse for the cabin for a long time and now she finally has one. His name is Buster..... Sal had wanted other names such as Purina, Elmer's, or About-to-be-glue, but imagine.... no one wanted those names. (Of course Sal was just kidding with those names, so please no animal rights comments please.)

Anyway, the kids were so excited to see and ride Buster. Being the city folks that we are, they had no clue about anything horse related. Granny had to teach them about not walking behind them or why Buster had to wear a mask and even about Buster's long boy part!! It was pretty funny!!

Hayden worked on and finished his Horsemanship Merit Badge and enjoyed every minute of being on the horse. Even Olivia and Cole rode Buster and begged to ride again.

I think Granny just might turn these kids into country kids after all!!

The Greatest Invention since I last had a baby!!

THE BUMBO!! Where was this when I had my other kids?? Mason loves to sit in it and play with the kids.... here he is playing Blackjack with Hayd and Cole.