Dirt and Dander and Dust mites... OH MY!!!

"Hey guys." :) This is the story of my Sunday afternoon.

Matt, the boys, and I were hanging out with Lindsey, Bobby, and her kiddos. The guys decided to go to Home Depot for some "Man Time," the little boys were all playing outside, and Lindsey and I were chit chatting and watching TV. It has happened to all of us, I'm sure. Right in the middle of The Soup, there was a knock at the door. It was a salesman of course, offering to clean one part of the carpet in Lindsey's house for free. After thinking for a second, she decided to let them in and clean the stairs. Neither of us really thought this would turn into anything more. We are both pretty good at telling those kind of people "No." Little did we know that this is how we would spend the rest of our evening.

So the guy comes in with this box with "KIRBY" written on it. Lindsey and I kind of looked at each other, like, "Where's the carpet cleaner?" He proceeded to put this vacuum together telling about how amazing it is, blah, blah, blah. To humor him we both watched his "in-home demonstration." He vacuumed a little square of the playroom (that Lindsey had JUST vacuumed herself) and that's where we were sold. He had these little white circle pads that he put over the filter, so he could show us what he picked up. It was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen in my whole life. You should have seen ALL of the stuff that Lindsey's vacuum (and all of those I'm sure we all use) didn't pick up!!!

He goes on to tell us all of the things this amazing machine does. It is not only the BEST vacuum ever made, but it cleans hard floors like tile and wood, shampoos the carpet with a dry foam (that dries in 30 minutes instead of 3-4 hours), this thing even paints, and blows your leaves! But we'll get into that later!

Lindsey and I were definitely sold, but our husbands were still at Home Depot. We could only imagine what they would say when they come home to two very excited wives and a stranger with a vacuum in the house!

While Lindsey and I were busy watching the Kirby do it's thing, the hubbys came home. They both were apprehensive, but agreed to watch the demonstration. Though they thought it was gross (all of the dirt coming up) they were NOT sold like we were. The salesman knew he had to do more than vacuum the carpet to get the sale. He took the four of us upstairs to Lindsey and Bobby's bedroom. He took the long handle off of the vacuum and attached a small handle to make a "handy." He vacuumed their mattress for maybe 5 seconds and showed us what he pulled up. Their were dust mites and dirt, and dead skin cells and who knows what else!!! He said everyone sleeps in this at night! Lindsey and I were trying not to get sick... and the men were sold!!! YEAH!!! We both the the "permission" to buy one!!!

Then came the not so fun part of pricing! The Kirby retails for $2500.00!!!! Yes for a vacuum! Thank goodness Lindsey and I BOTH wanted one so they dropped the price to $1699 each! Just remember that this is an all-in-one machine!! We quickly filled out finance papers (who has that kind of money laying around?) and crossed our fingers. Lindsey just bought a house and Matt and I don't have the best credit... so we were both a little worried!

They worked on Lindsey's first.... and after a quick phone call... SHE WAS APPROVED!!! Matt and I were praying that we could get one too. After seeing the demonstration neither of us wanted to sleep in our bed without it! Then before we knew it....WE WERE APPROVED TOO!!!!

We were both so excited! We dragged the poor salesman through the whole house and made him show us how to do everything! It sucks and blows air, so that's why it can be a weed blower and paint sprayer too!

When we were finally done playing with it for the night, the salesman left and Matt and I were packing up our stuff to leave. We realized that I didn't get a warranty paper and Lindsey did. We tried to catch the guy, but he wasn't outside anymore. Lindsey and I jumped in my van to circle the neighborhood to try and find him. (They sell door to door and their was a whole team of them around). We saw a white van (the car they were driving) and followed it. It was okay at first, but then it started driving really weird, circling through the neighborhood. I asked Lindsey if I should keep following it, and she replied, "What do we have to lose?" We were cracking up because we knew that we were being creepy! Then the van finally pulled over and rolled down the window. We pulled up next to them and rolled down our window to find that this van was holding two younger guys and NOT the Kirby salesman. The guys in the van both had huge smiles on their faces and said "Hey Guys" in a flirty voice!!! Lindsey and I were mortified!! She told them that we thought they were someone else and I sped of. We were laughing so hard!!!

It is times like these that make best friends grow closer! I love you Lindsey!! It was such a fun night... and now Lindsey and I can sleep in peace knowing our beds and floors are truly clean!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Four Fun Friday Facts!!

Here we are again... another Friday! This time I decided to tell you all facts about my family! I hope you enjoy!

1.) I have a really big family. My dad is one of nine kids! All of his brothers and sisters have at least 2 kids, but most of them have four or five!! I have relatives on his side that I haven't even met before... not because they are distant... just because there are too many of them!!! Even my immediate family has grown to be pretty big! I am the youngest of three kids. My sister, Jennifer- 28 and her husband, Chris, have four kids: Austin-9, Aubrey-7 1/2, Aiden-3, and Ashton-1. Then there is my brother, Craig- 26, and his wife, Mary. They have 3 kids: Emma-4, Cole- 2 1/2, and Lyla- 7 months. Then of course Matt and I have three: Kaleb-3, Karson- 1 1/2, and Koen- 2 months. So there are 18 of us total!!

2.) My parents are still together! I find it becoming harder and harder to find couples that are still together after many years!! They were high school sweethearts! They have been married for 28 years!!! I respect them so much! I only hope that Matt and I will be as happy as they have been! One other thing that a lot of people don't know is that my parents are pretty young. My mom is 45 and my daddy is 47.

3.) When I was pregnant with Kaleb, my sister, Jennifer, and sister in-law, Mary, were also pregnant. We all got pregnant a trimester apart! Kaleb was born Feb. 16, Aiden was born Apr. 30, and Cole was born Aug. 1, all in 2005!

Here is the three of them last Easter: Aiden, Cole, and Kaleb.


Then, Matt and I decided to have another baby. Turns out that Jennifer and Mary did too!! This time we were all 2 trimesters apart! Karson was born Oct. 26 (a month early), Ashton was born Apr. 10, and Lyla was born Aug. 29.

When Matt and I got pregnant with Koen, I called them both to tell them the good news. The first thing they both did was go out and get on birth control!! Haha!

4.) My family gets together every month for dinner. Usually it is some one's birthday or a holiday, but we all make an effort to see each other as much as we can. Surprisingly enough we all live really close! My siblings and I all live within 5 minutes of each other here in Surprise, and my parents are only about 45 minutes away in Cave Creek. We are all extremely close. I don't know what I would do without them!!

"Tummy Loo"

Hey everyone!! Sorry I haven't blogged in a few days. Karson was really sick! He had the stomach flu... or "tummy loo" as Kaleb would call it. This is the first time he has ever had it and it was horrible! He was throwing up everywhere!!!! NOT fun. I don't know if any of you out there watch Jon & Kate plus 8... but on one of the more recent shows, all of her 8 kids had it!! I don't know how she does it!! Only Karson got it and I was a mess!!! Poor little baby, it was so sad watching him so helpless. But it only lasted one day... and he is all better know! The rest of us even managed to escape the bug! I thought for sure we would all get it!

Well there is not really anything else going on around here. Be sure to check back soon because we have a really busy weekend coming up!! Matt's parents are coming into town tonight, we are going to the park with playgroup tomorrow, Jason, Matt's best friend will also be in town for the weekend, a birthday party for Karson's BEST friend on Saturday, and we are celebrating my birthday with my family on Sunday! Whew... I am tired just thinking about it!!

Hoppy Easter!!

Happy Easter everyone!! I hope you all had a great day!! We have had a busy weekend! Yesterday we went to see the Easter Bunny. Then today we woke up to find our baskets from the Easter Bunny, colored eggs, went on an egg hunt, ate yummy dinner, and visited with family at Grandma's house! The boys had a great time running outside and playing with their cousins all day long! Then we headed home, tossed the boys in the bath and put them down to bed! Definitely a wonderful Easter!! Here are the pictures from our Easter weekend! I hope you enjoy!!

The Easter Bunny was good to the boys this year! Kaleb got a preschool workbook, sidewalk chalk, a Spider Man punching bag and candy! Karson got two new puzzles and candy. Koen got a seahorse glowworm!

Kaleb seeing what the Easter Bunny brought!

Karson with his new puzzles!

Koen and his glowworm!!

Karson coloring eggs!

Kaleb loved watching them change colors!

The finished product!

Austin, Ashton, Aubrey, Kaleb, Karson, Koen, Emma, Lyla, and Cole. All of the cousins, minus Aiden (he was sick). Look at Karson holding Koen! He LOVES his baby brother!

Kaleb hunting for eggs. He found the most out of everybody! 25 in all!

Karson had a ball on the egg hunt!

Baby Koen with his first Easter egg!

What am I supposed to do with this??

Happy Easter!!! If you haven't been on in a while scroll down to see the last few posts! I have been pretty good at posting new things lately!

Trip Down Memory Lane....

Matt and I loaded up the boys this afternoon and headed to the mall to visit the Easter Bunny! Yes, some might think we are crazy, waiting until the last day to go, but it is Koen's first Easter so I really wanted pictures for his baby book. We waited in line for about an hour. When we were finally getting close (three people away) the Easter Bunny went on a 30 minute break!!! Are you kidding me? It was 6:30 and I had three tired, hungry, cranky kiddos! We ended up making it through the long wait and when we got to the Bunny Karson LOST it! He was clinging to me like I was about to toss him off a cliff! Needless to say the picture didn't turn out great... but crying just adds character!

When we got home I was looking back on the pictures of Kaleb first Easter (and all of the others on our computer). I was thinking it might be fun to show you all some pictures from when Kaleb and Karson were babies! I hope you all enjoy them as much as I do!!

Kaleb in the hospital right after he was born!

Kaleb's newborn photo shoot!

Kaleb & Daddy visiting Mommy at work!!

Kaleb's first Easter!!

Kaleb was such a happy baby!!!

Kaleb's first time swimming!!!

Kaleb learning to crawl!!

Kaleb & Mommy!!

Bath time for Kaleb in the kitchen sink!!

Kaleb took his diaper off & was NOT happy when Mommy wanted a picture!!

Kaleb playing Hide and Seek!!

Kaleb watching Daddy work.

Karson right before leaving the NICU.

Karson loved his pacifier!!

Karson sleeping in his swing.

Karson SO sweet and peaceful!

Karson eating cereal for the fist time!

Karson's first Easter!!

Karson after a day in the pool!

Karson laughing at Mommy!!

Karson lounging in the sink!

Karson at the zoo!!

Karson at Pump It Up!!

Karson eating cake on his 1st birthday!!

I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane!!!

Four Fun Friday Facts!!

Thanks Bethany and Lindsey!!

1.) I am lactose intolerant, but I LOVE ice cream! I eat it at least three times a week, and every time, without fail, I get a horrible stomach ache afterwards! You would think I would have learned by now, but it is my favorite food in the whole wide world, so I just deal with the consequences. My favorite is Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey and Half Baked! I have a HUGE sweet tooth!

2.) I LOVE to look at model homes. I stop at pretty much every new community I see. Even though we are no where near being able to buy our first house, or the fact that the signs says they start in the 500,000's (WAY out of our league), or even if they are in an area that I wouldn't want to live (way out in the boonies!). Matt hates this about me! He is such a realist and he hates looking at things we can't afford. I drag him along anyways!

3.) I have an obsession with Planet Heroes. They are action figures that we started buying for Kaleb this past Christmas. Each Planet has a hero and then there are the "bad guys" and rocket ships and so on. Kaleb is also obsessed and plays with them EVERY single day. They also came with a 30 minute movie that he watches at least 5 times a day. To be totally honest though, I am probably more into them than he is. I buy all the new ones I find... he has them all! I have even been on the website to make sure I haven't missed anything... it's bad!!!

4.) Matt and I went on our first vacation together after we only new each other for a week! We took a weekend trip to San Diego to visit all of his friends. Matt drove my car and when we got there we met them all at the beach. It was really dark and Matt was backing into a parking space and ran my car right into a trashcan. He dented the bumper and scratched the paint on my brand new Jetta! I think that's when I knew that I really liked him, because I wasn't even upset!

Popsicle sticks, Crayon band-aids, and 3 growing boys!

This morning we loaded up all three boys and headed to the doctor for all three of them to have a well check! Kaleb had his three year appointment, Karson had his 16 month, and Koen had his one month! Yes, it was a BUSY morning! So here are the updates:

Kaleb is 37 pounds!!! He is growing way too fast! He loves playing with the tongue depressors. The doctor also took him into her office to pick out a toy to keep him entertained while the other 2 boys had their turns. He picked wooden blocks and sat quietly in the corner building away! (Trust me, this is a rare occasion!)

Karson is tipping the scales at 30 lbs. 7 oz.!! He is such a beefcake! He is almost 3 feet tall and above the 100th percentile for both weight and height. He is an all around BIG boy! He is spot on as far as all of the developmental milestones go, which they say is really good considering he was a month premature. Karson was the only unlucky little guy that had to get shots, 3 to be exact. He didn't even flinch when they did the first 2 (so brave) but then the nurse put the 3rd one in and said it was going to burn. Well he felt the burn! He cried, but it only lasted about a minute or two. He was so tough!

Our little baby Koen is doing a good job keeping up with his brothers! He is a whopping 7 lbs 8 oz, and 19 1/2 inches long! He is below the 5th percentile, but growing very quickly! Today is my official due date!! Pretty funny considering he has been here since January!! He is already rolling onto his sides, holding up his head and eating a TON!! They grow SO fast!

New To This

Okay, so I jumped on the bandwagon and started a blog!! I look forward to learning my way around this new world of technology! So, here it is my very first blog posting. I don't have much to say at the moment. To be honest I am beat after finally figuring out how to do my template and layout! Haha!!

Here are a few of my most recent pictures I have taken of the boys. I hope these hold all of you over until my next posting! I plan on updating this pretty often, so check back soon!

This is one Matt took of Kaleb when he came to visit me in the hospital after I had Koen. He loved riding in the wheelchair with me down to the NICU.






Matt and I were out front and I caught Karson watching us through the bedroom window. I ran into get the camera, and I am so glad I did! This one is priceless!

Here is my sweet baby Koen doing what he does best, cuddling with daddy! His hair looks SO red these days!