Yesterday morning Caleb was looking outside and started yelling "Reindeer!! Santa's Reindeer are here!" Sure enough there were 4 does out back eating the grass. I ran in to grab my camera, but with Caleb yelling about Reindeer they took one look at us and scampered back into the woods. I did get this picture of the last one leaping to safety from my boys yelling at them. Here is a picture of a rocket that blasted off from Cape Canaveral the other day. It was a pretty neat sight. We went out front about 2 minutes prior and the boys were yelling: "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 BLAST OFF." They were like "how come its not taking off yet?" Finally we saw it and they were cheering very loudly. The neighbors that were outside were laughing at them. Here is a snake that was out in front of our front door. It was a vicious little thing. It kept rearing itself up and 'striking' at us. It was pretty funny. Ive seen garden snakes before, but never had one that kept trying to strike us. Of course I'm sure it didn't help that Mike was poking at it with a stick, the boys were screaming, and I was taking pictures of it. Today we are going to Universal Studios to see the How the Grinch Stole Christmas Show that they have and they also have the Macy's parade floats there at Sundown. So I'm sure there will be lots of pics to post tomorrow!

80's flashback

Are the 80's already making a comeback? Is it true that those dreaded LegWarmers are back? Yep, it is! I about fell over when Christina came home from the mall with legwarmers. Then I seriously fell over when she asked if I still had my old ones. Ummmm....NO!!! I tossed those in the 90's! She gave me a hard time for tossing them. Who knew they'd come back in style? She loves them and wants every color!

She finally made her gingerbread cookie. Yummy!

Caleb is finally brushing his teeth without screaming the entire time. I don't know why he had such a problem, but ever since he was little that was always a big battle. We are still fighting him on toilet training. He did good for about a week, then when we were out of town, he had diarrhea and wouldn't sit on the 'big' potty, so we put him back in diapers. Big mistake. Now he refuses to use the potty again. *sigh* It had become a battle because we KNOW he knows how to go in his potty. I haven't put a diaper on him, but he keeps pooping in his underwear. Yuck. So FINE if he wants to be in diapers then so be it. I would rather change a diaper than have to keep cleaning out underwear. Mike and the boys are doing a 'science experiment'. Not sure exactly what... Something about a tornado.

Here is Zachary's letter to Santa. He wrote it all by himself! In case you can't read it, it says,

I quote:

"Dear Santa, I hope you bring me a lots of presents. I want dols and pokeman cards and I want little cars a kitchen and two stuffee and stickers and colorbrook and spongeybob and patrick 3 cookies and 6 chocolate bunny."

This was exactly how he wrote it all by himself. I think the 'stuffee' is stuffed animals.

I can't believe he wants Pokeman cards. Some kid on the school bus gave him 4 cards, and so now it has started. Christina collected them for about 1 year when she was like 9, and at the yard sale we had just before we moved, I sold the big book she had about half filled with them. I sooo don't get them. I don't let him watch the cartoons, and am not really happy he has this new interest. It pretty much bored Christina. Then again she is a girl, and they were NOT Barbies.

Zachary is back in school today. We took him into the class room and all the kids started yelling "Zachary!! Your back!! Are you OK? We missed you!" It was so cute it brought tears to Mikes and my eyes. Last week they all made him Get Well cards. So far, knock on wood, he is feeling fine. Tomorrow we cut back the breathing treatments to 2 a day, for a few days, then once, and then only if he needs it. I tossed all our harsh cleaners and ordered Get Clean from my friend DeAnna. She has sworn to me for several years now that I should try it, now I AM!!! Here is the web site in case anyone is interested in trying the products as well.

http://www.shaklee.net/deannabass/product/59262

We are also steam cleaning our carpets and I am looking into getting a better vacuum. I've read about the Dyson Animal one. We need a strong one to get out the pet dander, pollens and of course dirt. Our vacuum is only 2 years old and it blows so much dust into the air, that it can't be good. I'm also looking into getting a steam mop. I know you don't use any cleaning solutions with it, so that would be a plus. I feel like I spend all my time now on the computer researching. But it will be worth it in the long run.

So even tho it is a few weeks away, I am starting on a New Years Resolution. Getting us healthier by changing the way we eat, clean and live in general. And if it all helps the environment, then that's even better!

Zachary Update

We took Zachary to a different pediatrician yesterday afternoon, and she said she doesn't think he has asthma, but rather, Reactive Airway Disease. Which would actually be better than asthma because asthma is chronic, and RAD is brought on by a reaction to something that he is allergic too. On Sunday I took off all the window screens and sprayed every window seal in the house with Tilex. I left the windows open thinking I was airing the house out. Then after letting it sit for awhile, we closed the windows and power sprayed all the mold off. We are thinking that he had a reaction to the Tilex, and possibly the mold since the screens were no longer covering it up. He is obviously allergic to other things since he had a less severe reaction last Wed. The Dr wants him allergy tested and thinks we will find out he is allergic to quite a few things, especially the pollens and molds that we have here in GREEN Florida. He didn't have any of these kinds of things in Phx, except he did get 'chest colds' often. Maybe that was reactions to things there,? but they weren't as severe as the whole Tilex thing on Sunday. So we are doing a lifestyle change until we can get to the Allergist (not till January) and figure out exactly what he is allergic to. All of my cleaning will be done first thing in the morning after taking him to school to give the house a chance to air out, and I will no longer use the cleaning solutions I have been using. (I am the kind of person that uses Clorox on EVERYTHING that I can, and several times a day too) So, out goes all that, and I am in the process of ordering 'Green' Cleaners. They are 100% organic with no chemicals. We aren't letting him outside when Mikey mows the grass, and I am paying attention to the pollen count which is high in the spring and fall here. I am also keeping a diary of what he eats, when he eats, when he goes outside etc. Its a start at least. Hopefully we can prevent another episode until we can figure out exactly what is going on. Poor Zachary. He hates being cooped up inside, and has a hard time understanding why he cant run around outback. We are also having to limit Caleb, since its not fair to Zachary. That is making Caleb very upset because he wants to go outside and golf. At least he can still do that while Zachary is in school. Hopefully being in cool (!) Phx for a few weeks will give him a chance to get outside and play. Its still 83 here, and humid, and there is alot of pollen in the air. We moved here hoping to help his Eczema, and it only made things worse for him. :(