Summer is over, thank the Lord.

I don't even know where to start.

Hmmm...

Okay, I will start by saying I love being a mother. Very much. My kids are beautiful, and funny, and smart, and loving, and creative, and musical, and dynamic, etc.

With that said, I couldn't even look at my son for a couple hours this morning (I mean, I did, because it's my job, but I didn't want to). Let's just say that I have been having a bad couple weeks with Quincy, and when we have bad days, I don't like the type of son he's being, and I definitely don't like the type of mom I'm being. I won't divulge all the details, because it will take forever, and is probably boring to majority of you (all 5 of my readers - lol), but let's just say that it involved the food issue (still), starting preschool, and today I hit my breaking point. So I grabbed a gigantic black Sharpee and a piece of paper and wrote down these 4 bullet points:

*No Separate Meals
*2 Episodes/day MAX of show of choice (ie: Backyardigans, Blue Clues, Dr. Seuss)
*30 minutes MAX iPod music time
(and most importantly)
*NO NEGOTIATIONS (my son is a MASTER negotiator)

I called Solon (who's at a conference for a few days) and said, "There's a revolution happening in our house - just wanted you to know so you were prepped before your return!" and I posted the sign on the refrigerator. Not for Quincy to read, but rather as a reminder to ME and to Solon, to stick to it, and not give in to him. No matter how dang cute or lovey-dovey he is being at that moment. We're the parents, he's the child. We lay the rules, he follows them. End. Of. Story.

Moving on...

Here's what we've been up to the last 3 months:

I took some pics of my parents and the kids
Three generations Four generations Hanging with Daddy (These 3 photos by MaryAnn Perry)
Hanging with "Uncle" Bone
And helping Mommy with laundry
Sibling bonding

Eating a book

My ballerina at 6 months (July)

Hanging with Makena
Quincy and his blocks Paloma likes them too
My parent's neighborhood has an annual 4th of July Parade, where all the kids decorate their bikes, wagons, strollers, etc and ride around the block. It was hot as Hades, but the kids enjoyed touring a fire truck at the end, and the community got together for a pot luck breakfast, which was cool.
This was a "hot mom" day, so I had to get a pic Brothers Our dear friend Amy came in town from Chicago to visit us. She and Solon and Marsielle all grew up together, and it's been 9 years since she visited Phoenix last. Thanks to Facebook, and random run-ins in Iowa, we have been able to keep in touch pretty well. I. Love. This. Woman. It is eerie how much she and I are alike. We've only seen each other a handful of times, but can complete eachother's sentences and know what the other is thinking. We had a super-fun night out, and a weekend of Scrabble playing. Loved it. Just like that, Paloma turned 7 months
Quincy continued to hone his drawing skills (that's a car wash in case you were wondering)

The cousins went up North with Grandma & Grandpa Jacosb to pick some corn

Solon's cousin Shelly and her kids came over for dinner We went bowling to celebrate my godson Josh's 10th birthday
Which means that Cody will be 13 this year, and I officially feel old In other big news, potty training is going swimmingly and Quincy is pretty much out of diapers (except for bedtime). We also got him a "big boy" bed, because he physically grew out of the crib (and pack-n-play when we traveled). He took a couple days to get used to it, but is doing so well, and continues to nap great so Mommy can get a break.
We signed Quincy up for a pre-school program that is 3 days a week for 2.5 hours. The open house was great - Quincy loved it.
Then the first day came, and we were still doing well
Then on day 3, he crumbled and got clingy all of a sudden. Now he basically screams for the first 30 minutes, so we are going to have to go a little slower with the process than we thought.

My 32nd birthday came and went, and I was able to have a girls' night! Christina, Charissa and I are always doing stuff with the kids, so we were finally able to have a little fun without them. We hit up Scottsdale, took in a comedy show, and then went bar hopping and ran into a bunch of our sorority sisters (some that we hadn't seen in a LONG time). Then we stayed at a hotel and got to sleep in, which for me is like 7:30am. Then we celebrated my birthday with some friends and their kids, and it was pretty much pure chaos in our house, but it was wonderful. Labor Day weekend brought an escape from the heat (about 10 degrees) to Tucson to celebrate Lisa's big birthday (49 plus 1)
We got a picture of all the girls, but not a single one of our little family, and I was dressed up 2 nights in a row!!
Paloma loved staying in the hotel (the Westin La Paloma) Love this pic of Paloma and the birthday girl
Quincy loves some BunnyBunBuns!
We all pitched in and got Lisa her dream gift, a Louis Vuitton purse! She was definitely surprised!


A few more days of triple digits, and then we can go outside!
Dinner at Grimaldi's while Alynsia was still in town, with our friend Michelle And finally, to show you just how big Paloma is now, she can sit up in a shopping cart now, and she LOVES it Okay, so I am over my pity-party, and I am ready to move forward. Life is good, Summer is over, and it was a gorgeous day today. Time to get outside, and start enjoying the glorious Arizona fall weather. Thanks for reading my vent, and hope you enjoyed the pictures. Until next time...