What?!

So maybe I haven't posted on my blog in almost two months. So what?! Maybe I'm really busy and don't have time. Ever thought of that? Maybe life as a house-wife is just too demanding to spend time on a silly little blog. Maybe I've been abroad, vacationing in Europe and my socialite lifestyle is too cool to waste time writing on a blog...

Well, for your information, I have been very busy. I've been very busy watching "Singing in the Rain" with Josh on youtube over and over. And I have been making dinner every night. Last night's meal - chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. Jealous? And I really did go on vacation. To Los Alamos to hang out with family for four whole days. Well, it's sort of like a foreign place anyway.

So there!

I shouldn't eat ice cream before bed...

I had some whacky dreams last night! And I'm pretty sure it's due to the fact that I ate a blue bunny mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwich at 10:30pm. Has anyone tried those? They are delicious. Deeeelicious. And they made for an entertaining set of dreams! One of which, I would like to share...

We were at a family gathering eating dinner at someone's house (maybe mine, I don't remember). My parents were even there from out of town, which was the reason for the dinner in the first place. Or so I thought. My sister, Marianne, was the last to arrive -

(Marianne enters holding a baby)
Me: Oh my gosh, Marianne! Who's baby is that?

Marianne: It's mine, I adopted it.

Me: You did?! I didn't even know you were trying to adopt. I thought you were done having kids.

Marianne: Well, I was just casually speaking with the birthmother. She didn't even seem serious so I was totally surprised when we got the call that she wanted us to adopt her baby.

Me: Wow, she's so cute. (she really was)
(suddenly something stirs inside me. wait a second. but I'm the one trying to adopt a baby. Marianne doesn't even want anymore babies. that should be my baby! SHE DOESN'T DESERVE THIS BABY!!!!!)

Me: What agency did you work with?

Marianne: Oh I don't remember the name. It was some small group.

Me: (slowly inching Marianne back into a corner) Well, think! Why can't you remember? Think! What's the name of the agency? I want a baby too!

Marianne: It was Smith! Smith Adoptions! I gotta go!
(Then I wake up)

No. There is no such adoption agency called Smith Adoptions. Trust me, I checked this morning. Love you Marianne! I don't really think you're trying to steal my babies.

Closing Day

This is the exciting news that I have wanted to share. We sold our house in New Mexico! What's that you say? We own a house in New Mexico? Well, we did, but not anymore! Today we close, never to return to that house again.
When we moved to Arizona four years ago, our original plan was to sell the house and think of it no more. But... it turns out the economy isn't looking so good these days and no one was interested in buying our house. We ended up renting the house instead. The house had been occupied pretty much the whole time until May, when our last renter decided to move out. We freaked out, drove to New Mexico, painted, shampooed, and vaccuumed until the house looked presentable enough to try and sell. We placed the house on the market on Wednesday. Thursday afternoon we had an offer. Little Miss Renter moving out was probably the best thing that could have happened to us. Let's take a little walk down memory lane, as I'm feeling nostalgic right now.

Bye house! I really will miss you!

Scary Pictures of the Fire

It looks like Los Alamos is going to be alright. The fire is still raging. It's the biggest fire in recorded New Mexico history at over 100,000 acres burned in less than a week and only 4% contained so far. But my hometown has been spared (for now). The winds have shifted and changed course. Still anything can happen. Most residents were hoping to make it home over the weekend but that's not going to be the case. My parents are fine and they are staying with family.

(This picture is the scariest for me. You can see how the fire was literally on top of the town.) 

Again?!

Eleven years ago, while I was ending my senior year of high school a forest fire swept into my hometown of Los Alamos and burned down the homes of over four hundred families. That's quite a bit considering the town only has a population of about eighteen thousand residents. We were forced to evacuate our homes the day before, while the fire was still a few miles outside of town. We went to grandma's house three hours away and watched our town burn down on tv, spotting what neighborhoods we could recognize and pointing out the remains of our friends' houses (our home didn't burn down). Everyone was safe, no one was harmed, we all were with our families. Two weeks later we came home to an unrecognizable place; a charred mountain-top with an eery orange glow in the air. We drove around the neighborhoods that had been hit, not to find houses, but piles of burned rubbish, and gnarled plumbing sticking out of the ground. It's not a memory I think of often, but when I do I still hurt inside for those that lost so much. The neighborhoods rebuilt themselves and Los Alamos began to heal. You would think after experiencing such a disasterous event that it would never happen again, right? I was silly enough to believe that.

Yet here we are again, stuck in a situation that feels strangely like it did before. There's another fire moving close to town. How? I thought there was nothing left to burn! I spoke to mom last night. They're packed and ready to go at a moments notice, while many residents have left already. Most likely they're trying to avoid the nightmare of last time - being woken up at 1:00 am and then waiting in cars for eight hours before actually leaving town. Although evacuations aren't mandatory yet, I won't be surprised if they are real soon. I'm here just praying for my tiny hometown, and I'm praying for my parents too. But I also know it will end as it did before. Everyone will be safe, no one will be harmed, and hopefully they're all with family.

I don't know what the deal is...

Lately I don't enjoy writing blogs. But I love reading them! I can assure you, I check my friends' blogs every day even if I don't mention it. There is something I really want to blog about badly but I haven't gotten the okay yet from Diego. And no, it's not baby news! Let's just clear that up right away.

So, this is my most recent favorite blog to read. Mostly because it's by my sister, whom I love, and her best friend, I love her too! And I secretly want to add myself to their friend group and become the third amigo.

http://talesofsuperplus.blogspot.com/

He's still allergic to peanuts...

I hate to say, I learned that the hard way. The other morning we were eating breakfast and I gave Josh a few of my cereal flakes to eat. Big mistake. The next time I looked at him his lips were huge! Huge! I immediately scooped up all the cereal, threw it in the sink, and ran upstairs to get the benadryl. After he took the benadryl, I called his allergist. They asked if he was having trouble breathing. I said no. They asked if he was getting hives. I said no. Then they put me on hold.
As I was waiting for them to get back on the phone, Josh ran over to me, started to cry and then pointed to his tummy. I grabbed his hand to run to the toilet. But we didn't make it. He barfed all over the floor right as the lady on the phone got back to me. She said, "Well, as long as he's having no other symptoms..." I cut in right there and said, "Actually, he just threw up. Oh! There he goes again!" Phone lady says, "Okay, take him to ER. Take him right now." I said okay. But I didn't take him. I called Diego first. He's my voice of reason. He is better at seeing the big picture than I am. He told me that since Josh barfed and the swelling in his lips was going down, he will probably be okay. I told him that if Josh barfs again we would go for sure.
Well friends, he did barf again. About an hour later, in my master closet, and probably twice as much as before. All over me as well. I called Diego again. Once again, Diego advised not to go to the ER. It's true that Josh wasn't having difficulty breathing. And he was acting much happier after that second episode. That's also when Joshy's lips really started to reside back to normal size. After the whole ordeal we headed to Joe's Barbeque where Josh had a plate of jalapeno sausage links, which further confirmed that he really was feeling much better.
It was really scary but I'm also glad we didn't go to the ER. We would have spent two hundred bucks for them to check Josh out and send us home. But still - SCARY! I finally looked at the ingredients on the cereal box. Peanuts was one of the first listed. So, even though he's not allergic to milk or eggs anymore. Peanuts, yes. Definitely, yes.

(oh, in case you're wondering... Resolve Pet Deep Clean works really great on a soiled carpet)

Easter fun

Holidays are a lot of fun with a kid in the house. Josh may have gained a few pounds this past month, but he needed it anyway, right?  

Frosting cupcakes.

Diego's cute chick cupcakes

Pez, suckers, and bubbles. Joshy's dream basket.

Revamp

I changed our adoption blog. It's now more like a website than a blog. I was having trouble posting regularly, especially coming up with posts about adoption. I know a lot of people do it, but it's just not my forte. The only problem is, now it looks way better than this old blog. Oh well, I guess that's a good thing right? Anyway, just a heads up. Enjoy!

This kid, I tell ya'...

I didn't do this. Josh is learning how to dress himself... No, no. Let's rephrase that. Josh is learning how to UN-dress himself. I went upstairs to take a shower this morning and when I came back down, he looked like this. I don't know.

Just the Same

Sometimes-

God sends rain

Straight from the sky

To nourish the young flower

and it grows.

Sometimes-

God sends rain from the sky

To the mountaintops,

Then over hills and through valleys

Until it reaches the flower

and it grows just the same.

Sometimes-

God sends a child

Straight from His realm

Into a mother's arms

and love grows.

Sometimes-

God sends a child

From heaven to another's arms,

Then over hills and through valleys

Until he reaches the arms of his mother

and love grows, just the same.

April 2011 Ensign

Diana Lynn Lacey

Joshy's Party

Okay, so Josh's birthday is on March 4th. But to be more accomodating for our extended family, birth family, etc., we ended up having his actual party on March 19th. Aside from some major wind gusts, the weather was perfect to celebrate at the park. Here are some pictures of the super fun day!

Diego and his dad made a Sesame Street cake. All of the characters, presents, table, street sign, just everything was made by Diego out of fondant. So so so cute! Josh's favorites are Cookie Monster, Grover, and Elmo.

Josh loved playing with his aunt's dog that came from out of town. He took it for a stroll.

Opening presents. I love his face in the picture to the right. Hilarious! I don't know what he was saying...

I can't believe only two years ago, this boy was placed in our arms and instantly became our whole world. I can't remember what life was like without him. Very different, I think. Sometimes I don't feel worthy. Why we were chosen out of so many other wonderful couples to be his parents, we will never know. We're just grateful to have him in our home.

Family Photos

A button and a blog.

I've been waiting to make this post because I wanted to do a triple-post and include our family photos along with it all but I still haven't gotten them yet. And I'm dying! Seriously dying for them to get here (ok, so I may have stolen a couple of our family photos from the photographer's own blog. But they're ours. I'm entitled, right?). Anyway, this isn't a rant post.

Do you see our sidebar? I finally made a button that all of you wonderful people can copy into your own blog if you desire. It's a link to our adoption profile with LDS Family Services. Just tryin' to spread the word. I wanted to wait to make the announcement because I plan to change out the main pictures in our profile with our new family photos. But I'm getting antsy. Just know that I do plan on changing that main photo in the profile.

Also, I made a new adoption blog. It's mainly for potential birthmothers to look at. We will have a link to the blog in the profile too. But if you want to look, be my guest! It's a work in progress and I have only made one little post. It will look better when the posts start piling up I think. Um, that's all!

Two.

I can't believe it. I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! My baby is two years old today. The fastest two years of my life. I've had him longer than I worked at my last job. That's weird to me. I have spent the majority of my marriage working full-time so it's strange to think that I've been a stay-at-home mom for the last two years.
I just love Josh so much. He is busy. He climbs, runs, sings, dances, and climbs some more. Sitting quietly and reading a book is not something on Josh's agenda. But I wouldn't have him any other way. I think he's perfect.

Happy 2nd Birthday Joshy baby!

Party's in a couple weeks. I will post more pictures.

I never got my car back.

We sold it before ever bringing it home from the dealership and I got a new one instead!
After a horrible weekend that involved everyone in this household having the stomach flu, Diego and I slugged off to buy a new car while grandma and grandpa Salgado babysat Josh. We meant to shop around at a few different dealerships to find the best deal but we got to the first one and never left. Those sales-people are so pushy!
Daniel tried and tried to get us to buy a car from him. We spoke with him for about an hour. Once he got tired of trying, he brought in Eddie to talk to us. Eddie confessed that he was afraid of us leaving because he knew we probably wouldn't come back. We spoke with Eddie for about half an hour. As we were leaving, Eddie had us speak to Chris. Chris Zamora, local Mesa celebrity, owner of Super S Honda!... Anybody? No? You may recognize him from his commercials? No? We spoke with Chris for another hour. After a lot of discussions about alloy wheels, extended warranties, and whatnot, we settled on a price $3,000 less than what Daniel originally asked from us. Plus, a five-year paint protection warranty. Hear hear to buying a car on the very last day of the month!

2011 Honda Civic, Titanium

Give me my car back.

I'm such a big fat baby! I want my car back! I know, I sound so spoiled. Our silly little sad white car, Hyundai Elantra, is pretty much dying. We have known this for the past six months or so. And hey, it is ten years old. We have been planning on buying a new car real soon and almost decided to go car shopping this saturday. See, for the past three or four months the car has been making this terrible, loud, thudding, clanking-type sound. It sounds like car parts are going to fall out in the middle of the road. So we took it to the dealership and got it fixed... supposedly. They had to put in an entirely new transmission and it cost over a thousand bucks. And then, two weeks later the clanking came back, louder and more horrible than ever. So here we are, waiting for the car to be quote "fixed" once again. In the meantime, Diego has to drive my Honda Civic to work and I have nothing. Diego told the people at the dealership that if it is going to cost a bunch of money again that we will just leave the car with them and buy a new one. It's not worth it. They said that it shouldn't cost very much because they didn't solve the problem the first time. But still, they don't know what's wrong. They pretty much have to take the whole car apart to figure out what is going on. And for now, we wait. They have had the car since wednesday and haven't even called us back to give any updates. And I just wait. I know many families survive with one car. I know I'm being spoiled. There is a park just outside my door and Josh seems to be handling the whole staying home thing better than I am. At least it's friday and Diego sometimes comes home early on fridays! Sometimes. I'm having a hard time drawing a conclusion to this rant so I'll just say the rant's over for now. Bye.

Bye bye Christmas

Diego played Santa for some friends down the street on Christmas morning. Josh was very willing to give the wig a test run. You know, see if it worked right.

Checkin' out the stocking goodies.
Fake plastic food! Awesome!

A little leapfrog, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Peterson.

Super cute kitchen set.

Christmas clothes.

I gotta say, it was really nice being home for Christmas. We did miss all of our New Mexico family a lot though. Diego finally went back to work yesterday after having almost two whole weeks off. It was so nice to have his help at home. I started off the new year by recieving a new calling. I was released as the primary secretary and called as the young women 2nd counselor. I'm really excited. I had this very calling about three years ago and loved it. I didn't have Josh at that time, which made it a little easier on me, but he shouldn't be too much of an issue. I hope the girls like me! And I hope I can be a good leader for them.