Every once in a while, it’s necessary to take a break.

For your sanity, for your family, for yourself.

I didn’t plan on taking a break, but it turns out that it was a necessary thing. I’m trying to keep the computer closed between the hours of 3-8 p.m. which, I have found out, is my most productive time of the day.

Hence, no blog posts going up.

I thought I’d let you know what we have been up to.

My dear friend Nicole brought her family back to Tucson for a few days, and we were able to get some girl time in.

Ignore that messy counter. We’re making memories. 

Jack decided that life around the house was a little boring, so while he was feeding Billy, he threw a mealworm up.

Yes, up.

Onto the ceiling fan. Where it stuck.

Until it fell.

Yup. I can’t even make that up.

I went out on a rare lunch date with some of my best and oldest friends (they’re not old, our friendships are). It was the best birthday gift ever!

Our amazing server wasn’t an amazing photographer, so please pardon the crazy colors. Tucson doesn’t normally have lime green trees :)

Well, maybe my new iPhone4S was the best.

No… they’re tied.

We have been eating artichokes like crazy. With the amazing recipe from The Killer Griller, we have grown to love artichokes during the past few months. Yes, right in time for them to go out of season. But next year, we are ordering a case of them from Ocean Mist Farms right at the beginning of the artichoke season – They seem to have the absolute best artichokes.

Jack and his mini-artichoke. We thought he would love it, and he did. Can can easily eat an entire huge artichoke by himself!

In other news, Michael declared that he wanted a megaphone for Christmas.

Shortly after, Jack decided he wanted one, as well.

Anyone who thinks it’s funny and buys my kids a megaphone for Christmas will be getting nightly midnight visits from me and the megaphone – in person or by telephone.

Also on the Christmas list?

An ATV, an airsoft grenade launcher, and a new iPod touch.

Hmmm…. The list gets smaller as they get older, but it gets more expensive.

And a little crazier.

Oh… Grandma Teetsie came to visit!!!

We got some girl time in while the boys were at school, and Grandma got some much needed spoiling in.

And Jack. He was hamming it up for her.

Michael even got to take a half day off of school and go to lunch with us :)

In other fun news, Jack called our neighbor a vampire.

To her face.

In her defense, she doesn’t look like a vampire. And she doesn’t act like a vampire.

Jack will just do anything for a laugh. Apparently, we are still needing to discuss appropriate and inappropriate things to say to adults.

I know I’ve said it before, but just to be clear.

Michael? NEVER called an adult a vampire.

Or threw mealworms onto the ceiling fan.

Or threw a football really hard in the garage, breaking 7 of Steve’s 30ish Hard Rock shot glasses that he has been collecting for 18 years.

It’s been a crazy few weeks, friends.

The boys have been playing with the Grinch Cam app. Have you seen it? It’s totally worth .99 while the kids are waiting at a restaurant.

The boys have been asking me to lie down with them at night when they go to bed, and knowing that these times are coming to an end before I know it, I’m not saying no.

I’m spending as much time with them as I can, and thinking a lot about where the blog will be when they get to an age where they don’t want me blogging about them anymore.

I realized this fall that I have been missing a lot of time with the boys while I have been blogging about them, and that’s not what any Mom wants. There has to be a balance somewhere, and I’m looking for it.

So, please be patient with me while I over-post one month and under-post the next. I have an almost finished story about the auto show last month and how fun that was for me – a Mom who blogs about her boys. You’ll see that soon. I’m also over here at Dinner Tool a few times a month, and find that sharing facebook status updates are sometimes easier than full blog posts.

Don’t worry – The blog is sticking around, and will still be family-focused, but I’m thinking about adding a little more about the entire family. More recipes that we love and fitness, maybe? I was just accepted as a FitFluential Ambassador and am getting lots of post ideas from other ambassadors. Our life has changed a lot since Our Crazy Boys began in 2009, and I want to make sure to represent that as well as share all of the fun things that are going on out here in the desert.

All bloggers evaluate their blogs every few years, and I guess it’s just my turn!

In addition to the funny stories about the boys and the crazy things they do, what would you like to see more of? Less of? I’m sure we can all come to a compromise ;)

Can I thank you all enough for the kind comments on my last post? You have made me smile :)

Life In Our World… is property of: Our Crazy Boys

Jack has been playing with HEXBUG Robotic Creatures for a few months now – he actually received his first set as a birthday gift in August. When he saw a HexBug Halloween box at our front door, he got a little excited.

We invited seven of Jack’s best friends and they all had a blast!

Have you heard of a HEXBUG? They’re little robotic toys that look like… bugs. But cute bugs, if you can believe it.

HEXBUG toys behave like bugs. They avoid obstacles, right themselves if they get flipped over, and run about as fast as a real scorpion (that’s a little bit of fun desert knowledge for you). If you’re the inquisitive type, you can read about how HEXBUG creatures are desgined on their website – it’s pretty cool.

Here’s the habitat that we set up the night before the party. We decided to set it up and let the kids redo it if they wanted to… which they did!

…which I think had something to do with the little boy heads that we found on the kitchen counter. Gross.

The kids loved following the HEXBUG toys around the habitat. We invited kids ages 3-9 to our party, and every one of them loved playing with the bugs! The black pieces of the track glow in the dark, as do some of the HEXBUG creatures!

Here’s a short video of the kids taking the track apart and rearranging it:

 We played a fun game with the box that the party supplies came in. We cut four small “doors” in the bottom of the box – just big enough for a HEXBUG to run through. Each child put a sticky note with their name on top of their bug and on the count of three, they set the bugs down in the box. The first child’s bug to get through the door won a prize!

 After some more play time and cupcake eating, we played one last game to end the party. On one end of a long piece of yarn was a party bag, and on the other end was a name tag. There was one piece of yarn for each of the little zombies that came to the party.

The kids had to follow their piece of yarn under the coffee table and around the couches to find their party bags. It was a hit!

Pardon the blurry photo – they were moving a little fast!

In their party bags, the kids got some fun Halloween toys and some Hexbugs! The favorite, though, was the HEXBUG zombie!

It’s super cool because it has a removable exoskeleton and comes in a coffin! HEXBUG zombie bugs glow in the dark and is on sale for Halloween. I also saw a Christmas ornament HEXBUG on the HEXBUG website. It has antlers!! Hurry and order before they sell out!

Disclosure: Thanks to MomSelect, MommyParties, and HEXBUG for providing the HEXBUG products for our #HEXBUGHalloween party. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

We had a #HEXBUGHalloween Party! is property of: Our Crazy Boys

Last month, our local Chick-fil-A held parties for their “best guests” and one of my favorite managers (I say one of because they’re all amazing) Diane chose me! Chick-fil-A threw a party for me and 20ish of my closest friends!

Eileen and I in our firefighter cow hats, because we are all. about. fun.

The kids LOVED the cow.

My dear friend Eileen and I started meeting there with our little ones every 2 weeks or so about a year ago. We both work part time and wanted to get together and chat while the kids played. If you know me at all, you know that I’m not a big fan of fast food. Chick-fil-A is one place that I’ll happily take the boys. They have several healthy options on the menu and the best sweet tea in Tucson (in my opinion :)

Except for Shyla. Her and her Mom were stuck in the play area until the cow went home.

I invited several friends and their kids, and we had a blast. You might even be able to spy Chelsea and Karen if you look hard enough :) It was great to sit and chat and watch the kids play. The staff acted as waitstaff and wouldn’t let us get in line or pay for anything. One of the managers, Dave, came out and payed a few games with the kids and even the kid cow made an appearance. It was quite a day, and the only thing missing was our favorite employee, Robert.

Thank you Diane! You made our day!!

Do you have a local Chick-fil-A that’s as great as ours?

This post is linked to Amanda’s and Wordful Wednesday carnival. Have you linked up yet?

A Smile For Me, A Smile For You {Wordful Wednesday} is property of: Our Crazy Boys

You know what this is, right?

It’s the Spinning Circle Of Doom.

If you’re on a first name basis, you can call it SCOD.

I do.

I  unknowingly welcomed it when I downloaded Lion on my pretty little computer last week, and I don’t want it here anymore.

I think Apple should warn those who need to be protected from themselves people like me when they attempt to install a really, really big operating system onto a computer without a lot of memory. But since they didn’t, it seems that I have single-handedly rendered my computer almost inoperable.

I can’t upload photos.

I can’t access a web page in less than 1 minute.

Per page.

I can’t play with Picnik. That makes me sad.

So be patient with me, while my beloved UPS man brings more RAM to my house.

While we wait for the Man In Brown, I’d love for you to go visit the blogs I am reading right now :)

—

I have been feeling pretty awful for the past few months and as an experiment, I stopped eating gluten to see what would happen. Within a few days I felt almost 100% better, and I’m not planning on changing my eating habits back any time soon. Here are some helpful blogs I have found:

The Gluten Free Diet has been a great resource for all things gluten.

I found Mom Off Track because of her awesome gluten free post yesterday, and have been having fun poking around her blog.

I have made Jesse’s Stuffed Zucchini twice in the past week, and plan on making it again soon. Her blog, The Happy Go Lucky Vegan is full of great recipes. And even if you’re not vegan, go check it out. I add chicken to a lot of her recipes.

Udi’s Gluten Free foods is a great resource. They’re active on social networking sites and love to interact with their customers. My friend Jo-Lynne of Musings Of A Housewife, who has been a great resource to me, is also working with Udi’s to help people learn more about going Gluten-Free.

Life hasn’t been all about food here, though…

My friend Karen has started a new blog (in addition to her “old” blog, Desert Deals Diva) – it’s fun and lighthearted – take a look at Chica Ramblings.

My friend Val has been a blogger (at heart) for a while… she just didn’t have her blog started yet. Now she does! Go welcome her at Mom Gone Mad, please!

You have two days left to enter Vicarious Chelsea‘s Ice.com giveaway… Today is her birthday, too – so wish her a happy day when you enter.

I have been reading Jen’s blog, Our Daily Big Top, for almost as long as I have been blogging. Her oldest boy is Michael’s age, and we became instant blog friends. Though she lives right where the earthquake hit yesterday, her and her cuties didn’t feel a thing. You should go read about what they were doing when the earthquake hit.

That’s what I have for now. I promise to be much more talkative after the UPS man comes to visit me.

The SCOD Can Leave Now. is property of: Our Crazy Boys

I have a short bucket list.

There are several things that I really want to do before I die, and they aren’t really little things. They require planning, time, and a few plane tickets.

One of the things on my bucket list?

Participate in a flash mob.

One would think that since I can’t dance, a flash mob would be out of the question.

But I figured that there are all types of flash mobs. Did you ever see the one in Grand Central Station where the people stood still?

I probably couldn’t do that, either, though. I would get the giggles.

People also sing in flash mobs. But you *really* don’t want me to sing.

Trust me.

A few weeks ago, I got a direct message on Twitter from Mary.

“I have a super secret mission. It involves dancing. You in?”

I replied “Of Course!” even though I knew I couldn’t dance. But I figured that for a “super secret mission” I could fake my way through anything.

I was invited to join a private facebook page dedicated to the BlogHer11 FlashMob.

There were videos of Mary and Theresa dancing in their living rooms, showing us the steps.

There were words of encouragement, persuading everyone – no matter their dancing ability – to join in the fun.

And there were some hilarious posts about the excitement that came with being in the flash mob – car dancing and all.

We practiced in our living rooms.

In our offices.

In our kitchens.

We formed a tight friendship even before BlogHer’11 even started – we even had a hashtag – #OperationGlory

The day before BlogHer started, we met in an empty conference room and practiced.

And practiced.

And then we practiced some more.

Karen, Sara, and I went back to our hotel room and practiced at midnight while eating pizza.

We knew as much as we were going to know.

On Friday, we went to lunch. It was loud. The room was huge.

We listened for the music to start and… well… you can see it for yourself:

I am so glad that I decided to join in, and that my bucket list is a little shorter!

I can’t thank you enough, Mary and Theresa!

Link your #OperationGlory post below!

The Making of a Flash Mob is property of: Our Crazy Boys

Almost one month ago, I was looking for some coupons for organic milk. That stuff is not cheap.

Horizon Organics gives coupons to those who like their facebook page, so I did that. I also noticed that they were having an “Active Kids Photo Contest.”

They gave away a Horizon cooler every day during the contest period.

I live about 20 minutes from the closest grocery store, and temperatures shoot into the triple digits here in Arizona. We use lots of coolers when we go grocery shopping.

So I entered.

To win a cooler.

I didn’t look at the grand prize, or to be honest, anything else past the cooler.

I entered this picture of Michael climbing Mt. Lemmon:

When I entered the picture into the contest, my friend Molly must have seen it post to my facebook wall.

She voted for Michael’s picture.

Every day.

As did my Mom.

And my mother-in-law.

And my aunt-in-law.

When they voted, the contest posted to their facebook walls.

Their friends voted.

Do you see where this is going?

About two weeks ago, my mother-in-law voted for Michael’s picture (I have to admit, I wasn’t voting every day) and posted a link to my wall that said “Michael’s in 9th place!”

9th place?

I remember that I quickly glanced at a number when I entered – I believe it was in the 200 range.

How did he move up that far?

To 9th place?

I took this screen shot from my facebook wall today:

Do you see the bottom of the photo?

“See 43 more posts from Horizon Active Kids.”

That means that 43 people have posted that to their wall.

43 of my friends.

And my friends have told me that their friends (whom I don’t know) have posted the link to their facebook wall.

And it has resulted in this:

Michael in the #1 spot on the first page. I stopped counting at 500 photos tonight. Out of over 500 photos, Michael’s is #1.

On July 1, the top 15 photos are going to be judged and the grand prize is a family trip to Disneyworld.

But to be honest?

I’m not thinking about the grand prize. I’m not getting Michael excited for a 1/15 chance to go to Disneyworld.

Yes, it would be awesome. But that’s not what I’m thinking about.

I smile when I think about how lucky we are to have family and friends (and friends of friends. and friends of friends of friends.) who would take it upon themselves to pay it forward.

To do something for someone else.

For us.

And…

{are you ready for it}

…that makes us winners.

For everyone who has voted, posted a link to the contest, or sent your well wishes to us on facebook – I thank you. You have made us smile really big smiles :)

*I am going to ask that you not go vote for Michael’s picture unless you see the link on facebook. Other contestants may not have access to a platform such as this, and my intention is not to use my blog to gain votes in the contest.*

All I Wanted Was A Cooler is property of: Our Crazy Boys

I went to Little Rock before my boys got sick – remember that?

I had so much fun. Lynn and I caught up, shopped (a lot), and had plenty of time to just hang out and talk.

It might sound like an ordinary weekend. It was anything but.

We spent one of the days in Wal-Mart. Yes, the entire day.

We dropped her car off for an oil change and were going to get our toes done… except there was a wait. 45 minutes that they told us about, 30 extra minutes that they didn’t tell us about, and then 30 minutes on top of that waiting with our feet in the water. It was Mother’s Day weekend, you know :)

We occupied ourselves with skittles and people watching. I got to see one of these in real life:

And I *almost* had the guts to ask the couple if I could take a picture… but I just couldn’t do it.

We went to the Peabody Hotel and watched the Duck March – it was pretty cool!

Since Lynn was the one to introduce me to Bath Junkie, I begged asked her to take me there.

And I may have stocked up for the year.

After we found a parking space (it was a tight fit, you see), we spent Mother’s Day at the Arkansas Alligator Farm…

…where the ‘gators were plentiful.

and friendly.

or… as friendly as you can be for a sleeping alligator.

Lynn met a new friend at the petting zoo part of the farm:

And he was sad to see her leave.

We even found some hot springs in Hot Springs. And ya’ know what?

That water is hot! Colin (Lynn’s husband) took a while to take the picture (we’re blaming it all on him, not on my phone) so we had to take our toes out before they melted.

Seriously, melting was an option.

I was a little bummed that I didn’t get to bring my kids along – maybe it was just Mommy guilt. But going was good for me. And for Lynn.

And he won’t admit it, but Colin probably had a little bit of fun too ;)

I think that I won’t wait 4 years to go visit Lynn again.

When is the last time you had a girls’ weekend? Where did you go?

Girls’ Weekend! is property of: Our Crazy Boys

Today, I did my last workout.

I tracked my last calorie.

I did my last load of laundry.

This is my last blog post.

{Don’t worry! I’ll be back in a few days.}

I’m off to Little Rock for a few days to visit Lynn!

We may go to Memphis.

We might end up in Toad Suck.

It’s even possible that we’ll stay inside the house all. weekend. long.

But whatever we end up doing… we’re going to have a blast!

Where does your “Lynn” live?

Have you entered my Twist & Pout giveaway yet?

I’m Off! is property of: Our Crazy Boys

A few years ago when we moved into our new house, we met many, many amazing neighbors.

One of these neighbors came over with a mini keg – yes, keg – full of margaritas.

I loved her before I even tasted them because margaritas are my very favorite.

Today, for the first official full day of Spring, this is what I saw:

Rain clouds, dead palm trees, and (ahh!) a covered pool.

Sigh.

I needed something to cheer me up, so out come the White Trash Margaritas, named by Jennie.

I hope she didn’t name them for me… hmmm… I never thought of that…

Ingredients?

Limeade (I prefer the store brand)

Water (it might go against the white trash name, but I use filtered :)

1 bottle of Corona

Tequila

Pitcher (or keg)

Not pictured: Dixie cups. You can’t experience an official White Trash Margarita without a disposable plastic cup.

—-

Into the pitcher goes:

The Limeade (keep the can!)

Almost the entire bottle of Corona. The original recipe calls for the whole bottle, but I like to leave a little out and give it to Steve :)

One limeade can filled with water. Twice.

Half of the limeade can filled with tequila.

(Don’t mix up these last 2 steps, or you’ll end up with very strong margaritas!)

Mix it all together, pour it in a Dixie cup with your name on it, and you get a very yummy margarita.

Not too sweet.

Not too strong.

Perfect for sitting by the pool.

So, who’s coming over?

White Trash Margaritas… A Recipe is property of: Our Crazy Boys

Congratulations to comment #98, Tina!

Tina doesn’t have a blog (we might be able to change that…), but I have contacted her :)

If you didn’t win and you are interested in the thermal totes, Kelly has them on sale for $10 (plus $1.50 for monogramming) this month!

Click here if you would like to order one:

Order a thermal tote (or any other product) from Thirty-One Gifts!

I might be ordering one. Or two. :)

We have a winner! is property of: Our Crazy Boys