Peter and Jesus Both Died on a Cross, Right?

Every time I pick up Noah from Sunday School, I ask him what the story was about that day. Every time, I get the same answer, "Jesus." After getting the same answer so many times, I started looking at his craft from the day and asking questions about the story that goes with the craft. Here is our conversation from this past Sunday...

Me: Noah, what was the story about today?

Noah: Jesus

Me: (Glancing at the craft) Did you learn about Peter and the church that prayed for him to get out of jail?

Noah: (I could see he was thinking about this. He scrunches his face looks at me and says,) Is he the one that died on the cross?

Me: No, son. That was Jesus.

Back to Real Life

The transition back to real life from vacation life has been a little rocky... but there have been some positive things as well. I've decided to make a list of these things to see if I should go back to Cancun permanently

The negatives...

I have broken out in a blister rash thing on my arms and chest. After doing my research online, I've discovered that I could have scabies, herpes, eczema, dermatitis, pemphigus vulgaris, heat rash, shingles, chicken pox, or an allergic reaction. It's a good thing I've done my research and am now a hypochondriac.

Maia is a professional tantrum thrower. Yesterday she threw a complete fit at Rubio's on the floor in front of the drink machine. Nobody could get their drinks because of my daughter who was not happy about not getting her way.

I can't seem to get through all the laundry that needs to be done. There is just too much of it.

Noah grew out of all of his shoes while we were gone. While at Target today, I realized that he is now a size 11. All of his shoes were size 9s. I should get the worst mom of the year award for making my kid wear shoes that were 2 sizes too small for him for who knows how long.

There are way too many bills sitting on my kitchen counter.

I have to make my own bed again.

Jillian Michaels is sitting on top on my tv staring me down and yelling at me to Shred again.

The positives...

Maia is pretty much potty trained, which means I get to save $40.00/ month on diapers.

I get to sleep in my own comfortable bed.

I get to go back to work with all the people that I love.

I no longer feel like I have to overeat at every meal until I feel sick to get my money's worth.

I get to see my kids' happy faces in the morning (before they have anything to whine about)!

I get to wear my new clothes to work that I purchased before I left.

I get to have Jamba Juice again!

I don't have to do mental olympics to try to figure out the conversion of dollars to pesos every time I buy something.

Wow, that was quite therapeutic. I actually feel better now about being home, despite my ugly rash, and the tantrum thrower, and Jillian Michaels yelling at me. I've gotta go now. Gotta go, conquer the mountain of laundry, make my bed, work out, and answer emails all while the kids sleep!

First Round of Cancun Pics- Xel-Ha

We had so much fun in Cancun and so it was hard for me to pick a favorite excursion, but I decided to go with Xel- Ha. Xel- ha is this natural water park in a lagoon. It was beautiful! And, while snorkeling, I saw a sting ray! Here is a picture blog of out tim at Xel-Ha.

We were so excited to go...then we hit a Mexican Military check point, which took an hour to get through...

Ricky kept himself entertained by taking pictures of me sleeping with my eyes open. He's always wanted to prove to me that I do this. I believe him now.
We finally arrived!

The first thing we did when we finally got there was float down the lazy river. It started in this mangrove tunnel and was so cool! We told Ricky NOT to take the camera on this part because it was bound to get splashed or dropped. But, he insisted on it.

It was so nice to just relax and float down the river.

Jen and I were brave enough to go into this cave to take this picture...right after this picture, she spotted a weird looking bug on the wall and we screamed and jumped outta there and I kicked my foot on the rock wall. Ouch! We were not as brave as we thought.
Ricky was a little smooshed in his tube with his life jacket.
I was feeling kind of dare devilish since I was on vacation without my kids, so I climbed up this rock wall...

and jumped off this high ledge. Ricky was posing, I was praying that I would not die.

I was so proud of myself! It was such a rush!

Since we were being so adventurous, Jen and I thought we'd try to cross the rope thingys. We didn't get that far. It was painful.

Because you have to have a kissing picture...

Sure enough, as soon as we got out of the water, the camera stopped working. Eddie, was reprimanding Ricky. "See I told you so..." At least we were able to save all the pictures that he had taken so far.

There were parrots just chillin' in a tree...

Do you see the dolphins jumping in the background? You could pay to swim with them.

Jen and I were fascinated with the iguanas everywhere. We tried to get close enough to get a picture with them!

Ricky's face says it all...we had a great time!

An Amazing Getaway...

I am so blessed to have wonderful friends in my life. This week, because of our friends Eddie and Jen, we were able to go on an awesome vacation to Cancun, Mexico! As I write, I am in a hotel lobby in Cancun watching the US play Ghana in the World Cup surrounded by a bunch of Amercians. This is a once in a lifetime experience! All week long I've been having these "once in a lifetime experience" moments and I found myself stopping and thanking God in those moments for blessing me immensely. He is so good!
I've realized that these types of getaways are a necessity for working mommies like myself. It gave me a chance to strengthen my friendships, strengthen my marriage, relax, rejuvenate, focus on all that God has blessed me with, and has made me ready to return to everyday life with a new appreciation. I didn't realize how much I needed this until I got here.

I am immeasurably grateful to our friends Eddie and Jen for inviting us, and to my mom and dad for loving on my kids for the week so that we could have this amazing experience.

I can't wait to see my babies tonight. Hopefully, I will get around to blogging about our trip and posting pictures on Monday.

10 Blogs in One

So I've been absent these past few weeks because I have been extra busy both at work and at home. So, I've decided to combine 10 blog posts into one compact, concise, short and to the point blog. Here's is a few things I've learned over the past few weeks...

1: My kids have very different personalities.

Conversation with the kids at Chik-fil-a upon their request to play in the play area:

Me to Noah: "If someone pushes you, you tell them not to do that and you come and tell mommy."

Me to Maia: "Don't hit, bite, or pinch anyone! Be nice."

2: Threatening the impending arrival of the police works like a charm during a child's emotional melt down.

I had one of my worst mom moments a few weeks ago. Kids were not cooperating, I yelled like a maniac, and Noah had a dramatic emotional melt down as a result. I was just waiting for CPS to arrive on my doorstep because of the ruckus coming from my house. However, in one last attempt to gain control of the situation, I gasped dramatically, looked out the window and said, "Uh oh, I think the police are coming. They hear you crying and they are going to come and take mommy away because you are screaming." Fear took over and Noah stopped crying. I felt guilty for a moment...but was grateful for the silence and no more chaos. My kids will now have a fear of cops.

3: Potty training girls is much easier than potty training boys.

Maia announced the other day out of the blue that she had to go potty. My first instinct was to tell her to just go in her diaper, but on second thought, I decided to put her on the toilet. She went potty and has been potty training herself ever since! I just leave her in a diaper and if she wants to tell me she does and if not she goes in her diaper. Every day she seems to go in the potty more and more. Woo hoo!

4: The 30 Day Shred work out DVD by Jillian Michaels is AMAZING!

I've been doing it for the last 30 days in a row and I actually have the beginnings of a 6 pack! That is without changing my eating habits! I have never been so motivated to work out before in my life but this 20 minute work out is fabulous. I recommend it to every woman I know. However, it is hard core, and I have been caught dry heaving at the end of it...my kids worry about me and ask, "Why you all wet mama and why you coughing like that?"

5: My truck does not take itself in for maintenance when the maintenance light comes on.

The light has been on for a really long time now and I HATE taking it to the shop so I just hope that it will go away. It never does.

6: Noah now asks the most embarrassing questions when in public restrooms.

The other day he was a bit constipated. After much discomfort and pushing in a public restroom, he loudly asks, "Was that a Man Poop mama?"

First Lake Day of the Season 2010

The Murray Family was in serious need of a family day! Today, we went out for our first lake day of the season and it was perfect! The weather was beautiful and there was hardly anyone else on the lake. No one got hurt, no one threw a fit, no one came home with a rash, no one got spanked, and I only saw 15 dead fish! It was a good day!