A Garden

I have always wanted to try and garden. I admire the people who can grow vegetables and then eat them with their lunch or dinner. I think it is the coolest that they can have their own little farmers market right in their backyard. I have shyed away from it, not knowing where to start. Plus, I have a tiny little backyard and the heat here is extreme! Would anything ever grow? And so if you are reading this thinking that I started one, I didn't. I hate to disappoint, but I just didn't. BUT, my mother-in-law grew some wicked (good) tomatoes this summer and we were able to partake! Thanks Mom! Here is the yummy "salad" I made with her tomatoes. And perhaps this will inspire me to try gardening!
Tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, EVOO, salt and pepper

Swim Herschel Swim

First day of Swim Lessons

Giving his "teacher" Matt a high five

Getting ready to get in the pool

Alligator arms across the pool

Quinn with his class

I signed Quinn up for swimming lessons this summer through Mesa Parks and Rec. If you are looking for a high calibur, intense, educational swimming lesson experience, then DO NOT go here! I guess I was looking for a class that would actually teach him how to swim. Quinn was very excited at first, but as the lessons went on he became less and less enthusiastic. I had to start bribing him with candy to stay in the pool for the whole lesson. I mean, how many times can you "paint" your arms blue and your legs red? They did a few kicking exercises and a few "alligator" arms as they walked across the shallow end, but that was about it. It was a little disappointing for me, and Quinn still doesn't know how to swim.

Hotter Than Hot

Now I am not one to swear (well maybe not), but it gets hotter than hell here! So, on a good hot afternoon I fill the water table up and let the kids go nuts! This "activity" can kill a good two hours in the afternoon. They love it! I have fun watching them dump water, splash eachother, and ofcourse, make mud pies.

Work It

This picture is out of focus because A) This girl never stops and B) it was taken with my cell phone. But you can still see the gem of an outfit I picked up at Target for her for $5. Are the 70's coming back or what? The one piece tank/short! Are you kidding me?!? Had to get it! Ofcourse it has Suzanne Somers written all over it, but I think Lucy can pull this look off! Plus it hides her enormous belly! And in case you are wondering, I have also seen these for adult women. Mostly in terry cloth, but hey, if Chrissy and Janet can get away with it, so can we!! Happy Summer!

The Self Feed

The Self Feed is a double edged sword to me. Lucy is now 15 months old and definitely showing some interest in feeding herself. But I can't decide which is worse. Sitting there feeding her, or cleaning her up after she feeds herself. I love that the self feed gives the child a bit of independence. I love that the self feed lets me have my hands free. But I hate the self feed when there is food EVERYWHERE!! Yes, I realize being a mom is cleaning up messes. But honestly, it is no fun trying to get yogurt out of ears, hair and clothes! And then to see how filthy the actual high chair is after a self feed makes me want to feed her myself. Anyways, with that said, here are some pics of Lucy's very 1st self feed. (she stole this yogurt off the table when mama wasn't looking!! I put her up in the high chair and let her go to town!)

Love this one because you can see how filthy her hands are!

OK, she is an angel! Look at that face!

Nothing to do on a Sunday Afternoon

Starring: Quinn Scanlan as the Puller
Lucy Scanlan as the Pullee

W

Quinn's Wardrobe provided by: Underroos

Lucy's Wardrobe provided by: Pampers

All the Scanlan's

What do you do when ALL the Scanlan's are finally together? Take a family photo, ofcourse! Lucy Jane (13 months)

Jason, Emily, Quinn and Lucy

Jason and Emily

Lulu

The reason we all showed up, Grandma and Grandpa Scanlan!! The whole Scanlan Clan! Jason has 3 younger sisters and a younger brother. There are 14 grandchildren and counting!

Jason, Emily, Quinn and Lucy (can't get those kids to smile for anything!)

Quinn, the whitest kid you've ever seen! But such a cutie!

Lulu, again (I seem to have a lot more pics of Lucy than I do Quinn...)

Here we all are! Together for a quick weekend. Jason's sister Anna lives in Colorado, and his sister Rachel lives in Oregon. So we rarely get to see them!

Hats off to our photographer, Jamie, who put up with us!! To see more of her work, go HERE.

When You Have No Money....

When you have no money, you start trying to get creative and make your own gifts. I had to attend a baby shower and really didn't have a lot to spend! So thanks to my amazing, talented friend Brittany who had this great idea to embellish onesies. I totally stole the idea and it was a hit! I think my friend appreciated the onsies even more since they were "homemade". It was kinda nice. :)

My friend is naming her baby guy "HUDSON". Hence, the big H on the first onesie.

I only had time to finish 3, though I would have loved to do more!

I thought the apple turned out the cutest.

And if you want to steal this cute idea also, go HERE. She gives you a step by step tutorial. (there is no real pattern, and much of the cutting is free hand, but if I can do it, anyone can do it!)

I promise you will come away from her blog feeling inspired and uplifted! Isn't she awesome?!

Swings

So I originally titled this post "Swingin'". Then I giggled and changed the title to "Swings". Aren't they cute?!?!

Just Because

I spend a lot of afternoons outside. Lucy is awake from her nap, and Quinn just loves the outdoors. We go for walks, go to get the mail, go to the park, play in the backyard. I like it because it gives me time to think. Quinn is usually driving his blue truck around while I push Lucy in the stroller, or he is pushing Lucy while I stroll at my own pace. Either way, no kid is hanging on me begging for attention. I can feel good about the fact that we are together, while still being able to think.

I think about everything.

How long will it take me to fold all that laundry?
Lovin these kids!
It is getting warmer
I wish my arms looked like Rachel Freemans
Quinn's hair looks so blonde in the sunlight
Is Jess watching us?
Did the neighbor have her baby yet?
What should we do this weekend?
What can I do to earn some money?

And as soon as the outdoor time is coming to an end, I always have the same thought. "Please don't get any bigger." I love Quinn as a 3 year old and Lucy as a 1 year old. They are fun and crazy and make me laugh. I have hard days too, and from what I hear, toddler years can be some of the toughest. But I sure love the life we have right now. I love that we can all be together outside and not have to say a word, and yet we are all entertained. I love our outside time together, just because.

Quinn Had a Hernia!

One day when I was getting Quinn ready for bed, I noticed that he had a little swelling by his groin area. I didn't think to much of it and the next morning I asked Jason to look at it, and right away he said "I bet that is an inguinal hernia". I had never heard of such a thing! But apparently it is quite common. I wish I could explain why and how it happens, but I can't remember! All I know is that it took surgery to repair. So a couple of weeks ago we woke Quinn up early and drove him to Cardon's Childrens Hospital. Poor guy didn't know what was going to hit him! We did try and prepare him a little. We told him they were going to fix him. We practiced the night before breathing into a mask so that he wouldn't freak when they tried to give him gas. ( he is one claustrophobic kid!) He was such a good sport and even wanted to practice when we got to the hospital. Pre-Surgery they let him ride around on a wagon type thing and he thought life was good. When they came to get him for surgery, he was a little scared and had to have daddy come. But the parents are only allowed to go so far. I am sure when they got him back to the OR they gased him immediately!! Poor guy. "He was a champ," the surgeon said "and all went well." We were there when he was coming out of the anesthesia and that was probably the worst part. These kids are mad and angry!! I held him for a long time and he did finally calm down. When we got home he took a 3 hour and nap, and when he woke up it was as if nothing ever happened. He wanted to go outside and play...drive his truck....jump....run! Ah, everything had turned out OK.

Daddy pushing Quinn around the Pre-Surgery area

Quinn practicing his breathing with a "mask"

And more practicing

The end of the road....(you can see above the door it says PEDS OR) Daddy took him as far as he could

2 Years

It's amazing that it's been 2 years since we said goodbye to Jessica. Sometimes people ask me how I am doing, does it feel like it was really 2 years ago. The truth is, it seems like yesterday. Even though so much has transpired it still feels so close to me. I have my moments. But I am ever so grateful for this experience. I feel like we have grown closer as a family. I feel like I have grown personally. My mom asked me the other day if I ever dreamt about her. I sadly had to say "no." But I feel like I have had glimpses into heaven and know my Jessica. I know her likes and dislikes and I know that she is watching over us. Here is her 2nd birthday in pictures!

Until we meet again........

Quinn Goes to School

It is hard to beleive that Quinn had his 1st day of Pre-School this past Friday. For a long time I had been trying to get him "evaluated" for his speech. He says a gajillion words, but isn't talking in full sentences and sometimes (especially to the untrained ear), he can be hard to understand. I contacted Early Intervention here in Mesa and finally after months and months, Quinn has been enrolled in a Pre-School where he will meet with a speech therapist once a week. This is all still very new to us, but my understanding is that there will also be a speech therapist in the classroom a lot of the time to observe and interact with the kids. I am hoping that just being around kids his age and learning new things will bring him out of his shell. I talked school up so that hopefully the 1st day wouldn't be too tough on him. And he actually did quite well. We went and let him pick out his very own backpack and told him all the things he was going to do at school. When we walked in the classroom he instantly became shy, but when we met all the other kids and walked to the playground to play, he seemed to do all right. I snuck away at this point and the teacher said when he realized I was gone, he cried a little, but after that he did great! Phew!!! I think this is going to be a great experience for him! (and for me!)

The only picture of he and I before the big day, and it is out of focus!!