true.love part 2

It is more like extreme toleration.

This brother is more laid back and will let her try to pull his nose off.

They are watching Tom & Jerry. It reminds me of when I was his age and I had a little brother the same age as Baby Girl. I would watch Tom & Jerry every afternoon after school and he would crawl over and climb on me.

I overheard him recently tell people "I named her and I help take care of her."

Six and a Half

Our Big Guy is 6 1/2 Today

A half is a big deal when you are so little. The biggest difference I see between 6 and 6 1/2 is reading ability. He still loves Star Wars just as much as ever and told me this morning what he wanted for Christmas. We call him the absent-minded professor. He floats through life without thinking sometimes. He played Scrabble with my Mom yesterday and beat her with a 50 point word play. He tried to play with his little brother this morning and I overheard "I am the only one that can spell so you have to do what I say."

He has just about learned that doing something wrong is still wrong even when you aren't caught. He asked an "old lady" to get in the pool and swim last weekend. When she said she was too old to swim and would just watch, he tried to convince her otherwise. He tried to get her to stick her feet in. Could you ask for more than your child helping the elderly? :-)

He really loves to do things just to upset his brother. He will do the opposite of whatever the Little Guy wants if given the opportunity. He definitely sets the tone of our house with his attitude. He is strong willed and doesn't like to be compliant in any way unless he is in a really good mood or there is something in it for him.

He loves all sports and is already concerned with being with his friends and what they think. He is 6 1/2 going on 16 1/2. He is a social butterfly never needing downtime. He is always ready for the next big fun event and doesn't know why every day is not a "fun day". Except for not wanting downtime, he is the most like me in our family. Neither of us ever want to travel to space (among other things). Being so alike often causes conflict between us and yet I feel like I understand him better at the same time. All of his firsts have been and will be a big deal because it is the first time experiencing them as a parent.

For a long time he has wanted to be a chef when he grows up. That is very exciting for me since I hate to cook. I think there is plenty of time for him to change his mind and not want to be Head Chef at Chuck E. Cheese. He has told me a few times that he won't move away and will live here forever. That makes me smile, even if I know it isn't true. His favorite thing to say to me is "I love you more than you love me." He likes to argue how much more he loves me. He has tried it with other important people in his life, but he continues it daily with me because he likes my response. I make a big deal about it, say "no way!" and act shocked that he would think that. Every day he makes one or two new Lego Star Wars Spaceships (I don't know the real names of them like he does). I'm amazed at his creativity and ability.

Happy 1/2 birthday, Big Guy!

Oh No

I told you!

You shouldn't have made eye contact with her. You have to pick her up now or it will just get louder. Trust me.

I'm Lost

If you saw the finale tonight and have it figured out. Please let me know.

Thanks.

$3

The is the best $3 entertainment I purchased at the last consignment sale. Baby Girl likes it pretty well and I wish I remembered to put her in front of it more often. It is the boys and all of their friends that love this toy the most. Sometimes I even find myself putting the balls in the holes more often than I really need to.
Hey! Don't make eye contact with her! She will cry when you leave the room. Or at least that is my experience...

Dinner Conversation

Mom & Dad to the Big Guy: Life is going to change soon. You will not be able to leave any little Lego pieces out on the floor. You are going to have to be better about picking up your toys.

Big Guy: Why is life going to change?

Mom: Baby Girl will be crawling and will be able to find your little toys on the floor. We are going to have to be strict about keeping the Star Wars pieces put away as well as the marbles. She will try to eat a marble.

Dad: And we will have to put another gate at the bottom of the stairs to keep her from climbing up.

Big Guy: Can you tell me the code to unlock the gate so I can go upstairs? I promise I will not tell her what it is.

Baby Girl is rolling to and fro. She is in a different position or different place every time I check on her. She can lunge forward from the sitting position to get things although not pushing up to crawl yet.

Little Guy Not Forgotten

We remember your year-end stuff too, Little Guy.

He graduated from the 3 day, 3 year old class. This is one of his two very beloved teachers. It is our second time having her and we wish she could teach the boys forever. This year was her 25th year of teaching and all the kids get a scrapbook of their year on the last day.

I would be much much sadder about leaving these classes if I didn't have a Baby Girl on her way up. I basically get to relive the whole preschool experience again with her. I have volunteered my life away with the boys and I plan on being one of those total slacker moms that does nothing when she is in preschool. I'm not sure that is possible, but it is worth a try!

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day. Sorry for the Fall picture. I didn't feel like going out to take a summer picture. We will be swimming and cooking out today. Stay Safe.

The Shirt

This is a picture of the Star Wars shirt The Big Guy got after graduation...before he put it on. It has only come off to go swimming and for a few baths. He told me I was a good Mommy to let him wear it dirty for so many days. He agreed to let me wash it before we go to Florida next week.

My Boy

Baby Girl front and center

Baby Girl: Kindergarten Class of 2014

I hate to think how old I will be then.

I will officially have a teenager and life will hold new concerns. I hope.
Maybe I will have new carpet by then!

Graduation

We are still recuperating from our week of year-end activities and graduation. I know you are as bored of reading about it as these little graduates look.

The Big Guy has been sad about leaving his friends and school. He has been going to school in our church since before he can remember as a one year old. He is nervous about 1st grade and is convinced they do nothing fun there. On his last day of school he got in the car and said "I don't care about our party tomorrow. I just want to stay in Kindergarten forever and I think I am going to cry." That about made me cry. It will be a big transition for all of us.

Our Summer starts after this holiday weekend full steam ahead. So, we will get over it all and look forward to fun stuff coming up. Don't go thinking you are getting out of more graduation photos, though. I have nothing else to write about and I took 1,000 pictures that night. I can't say a single one of them is really good, but half of a picture is in focus in about 5 of them.

Operetta

Narrator

Some of the Moms remembered how he used to throw himself under a table or worse, throw his snack across the room if too much attention was placed on him. I guess he can control that better now. He smirked a lot because he was a little embarrassed. If it was me, I would have been embarrassed to be dressed exactly like the little boy behind him (to the left). Fortunately, 6 year old boys don't care about that sort of thing.

It was definitely a good decision to go with a Star Wars T-shirt as part of his graduation gift. It was another good decision to give it to him the next day. He has not taken it off yet.

How Geek am I?

27% Geek

I think this is accurate. It was a more technical quiz than I expected. Had it asked about my favorite tv shows, hobbies or how I dress it might have been more. Would that be a Dork quiz?
I resist all new technology. My Husband hooks me up with all kinds of things including my first cell phone. 10 years ago that I did not want. I do okay once I have whatever new gadget he buys for me and usually can't imagine life without it once I am sold. I would probably not have a cell phone even now and I definitely would not have a Mac. Replay TV (tivo) - how it has changed my life! I can record a 100 hours of worthless programming on TV. If I were to ever watch any of it I could do so in half the time. It just makes me feel good to know I can watch something...I never find the time to do so. You should see the extra stuff I have with my Mac. It is cool to look out even though I don't use it.

The IPOD is great. Please don't buy me anymore. Please. A Blackberry? I really don't want one. I don't have the time to learn something new. I will probably have one before the end of the summer and become one of those people (like Hubby) with head down texting away to him about how the brakes on my car sound bad. I won't know how I ran my life without one. I'm only as technically savvy as I have to be. I mean, look at this post. I can't figure out how to stop underlining my words.

Last Day of Kindergarten for the Big Guy

This was the first day.

Sniff Sniff

Proof I Exist

Look. Here we are last Saturday night at the concert in town. My friend Ashley took this picture and I am so glad. We have almost no pictures of me. The Big Guy must have been dancing in front of the stage or popping balloons.

See that red ugly blanket? My Husband has had that as long as I have known him and has always kept it in the trunk of his car. On this day it paid off. It is scratchy and uncomfortable and did I mention that it is really ugly?

See that Snap-n-Go Stroller in the back of us with the bucket seat? Yeah, Baby Girl is way to big for all of that now. I don't keep her in it because it is more convenient or easier. I still have her in it because I have not found the time to change out car seats in my car. I have got to do that this week.

See those blue Crocs the Little Guy is wearing? They are from last summer and way too small for his feet. I try to hide them and somehow he always finds them. That is not the battle I chose to fight with him so I often I just let him wear them. I've really got to get a new pair for him this week.

See that little red cup behind us (like Hubby is holding)? That has some really bad wine in it. I was so looking forward to the bottle I chilled and was unpleasantly surprised by its taste. I had to make everyone try it. "This is AWFUL. Taste it!" My always prepared friend Marie hooked me up with something better. When we ran out of that we sent her husband to one of the stores 100 feet away to buy a new bottle. When I gave him his orders that his wife said he had to go buy a new bottle he said to me in a confused whisper "Did she already drink that whole bottle of wine by herself?" I said other people helped the two of us drink it (although it was mostly us). The second bottle is always a mistake in my experience. Always.

See the wine bottle to the very far left next to that man? That isn't ours in case you thought we drank so many we tossed an empty bottle over to the side. I assume the bottle as well as the flip flops belong to that man or his crew. He managed to get in our roped off area. We had experienced tail-gaiters that hooked us up with the best spot earlier in the day. There is always one or two that sneak in.

See the silver bag behind/next to Hubby? He got snippy at me at home before we left because I didn't have a wonderfully prepared meal to take (or that is what it seemed to me). I offered a to make a turkey sandwich and he refused and it isn't like he couldn't get a Moe's Burrito 150 feet away. Anyway, the silver bag was what I did bring for him - Pita Chips. They are really good and I had a 3 layer hummus. It is enough for me...sorry he isn't on a diet.

See the big wet spot on Hubby's shirt (probably not, but trust me it is there)? The Little Guy made him spill his drink all over himself. Haahaaaa haaa.

See the Caprisuns? They were in the lunchables boxes I took for my kids to eat. I've never purchased those for my kids ever. They thought I was the best Mom there. They hold me in a higher regard when I provide junk food for them. Especially if it is something they have seen another child have at school. I've thought about buying them pudding-packs. They would freak.

See that belly hanging out behind Baby Girl (why didn't I suck that in...or did I?!)? That will be gone by August 1st. I hope. Luckily, the wine made me so sick the next day that I lost 3 lbs. That is more than I have lost in 2 weeks of working out hard. Awesome.

See how short my hair is? Doesn't it look like a brown football helmet? Hard to believe it has grown about 2 inches since it was first cut. I have been to the girl twice now and she likes to lift up sections of my hair and scalp me to thin it out. Ouch! I told her I didn't think she could do that every time as much as she does because at some point I will just be bald all over the place. She said "You've got plenty of hair. Don't worry about it." That just shows how much she knows me if she thinks I am not going to worry over something silly like my hair.

See the little bit of the cooler showing out of the back of Hubby? It was an award he won from work. He gets these awards and can choose online what he wants to get. He always lets me pick whatever I want. It is just a very small perk in my life. Until recently, that is, when he told me he won one and wanted to pick a running shirt for himself. What! The prizes aren't that great but anything free is fine by me. This is a rolling collapsible cooler and the rolling part was helpful on this occasion. It was the first time we used it and I'm sure we won't see it again for a long time. I have also received a cooler with a radio/ipod player in it, a bag for my Mac and some other random things just so you believe me that the prizes are not that fantastic.

I'm sure you can see the Little Guy's outfit. When I was looking for more blankets because I didn't remember the blanket that has always lived in Hubby's trunk, I found it. It was in the Bunk Bed trundle bed space. I have to get creative with the clothing storage for the Big Guy's clothes waiting for the Little Guy to wear them. I forgot about that space and I wonder where else I have put clothes and don't remember.

I know you can't see what Baby Girl is wearing. Her big huge bib (Hubby needed it) is covering her outfit. Sorry you can't see her strappy pink sundress. It made her look at least a whole month older.

Oh, and imagine all of this that I told you with the band playing loudly in the background. Anything by Rick Springfield would be a good choice.

Wordless Wednesday

What not to do when someone says "smile".

Tornados, Rude Boys and Major Randomness

Hi Mom! I'm so happy every time I see you!

We survived the tornado warning tonight. Hubby is off to Virginia and I was in the basement with the kids glued to the weather. The trash was out and I was mainly worried about a storm blowing our grass clippings down the street. Worse would be in the neighbor's yard. I just don't need something else on my to-do list. My ever-optimistic husband said if it was a bad enough storm, it would just blow it all away and I wouldn't have to worry about it.

We were on a clean up mission. Wait, I mean I was on a clean up mission this evening. I wanted to try to see what the counter tops look like because I had forgotten. I made a very small dent in the clutter. I found my boys with coloring books (why do we have so many?) all over the kitchen floor. I mean ALL over the floor spread out. I said something like "this looks like a big mess we have here" and my Big Guy said "Yes. It is embarrassing." My Mom called about that time and ran off the list of items they destroyed at her house today. We dropped by around lunchtime and I let her feed Baby Girl. I fell asleep on her couch for about 10 minutes and wanted to stay there forever. The boys were upstairs in a room with some toys and apparently they were left unattended too long. The little one laughed and said a sarcastic "sorry" over the phone to her so we had to hang up and get our act together. Mommy was not happy with the disrespect. "You will finish those strawberries, call her back and say it the right way." He did and Big Guy had a nice long conversation about how he didn't know the chair was broken and he was so sorry. The Big Guy was well behaved today - shocker. He seemed a little down when I picked him up from school an hour early. This is his last week and they are picked up before lunch. He knows the end is coming and is feeling sad about it. He doesn't like for his routine to be disrupted and I guess he would rather eat his lunch at school.

I had a few questions about my work thing. I have had some before too so I thought I would put it here while I was passing through. I work part time out of my home managing financial accounts, bookkeeping and various things of that nature. My own family has never been able to really figure it out so I don't bother giving specifics anymore. It is a lot of money for other people moved here and there, tracking things, spreadsheets and working with CPAs. I have an office that I went to more before I had the Big Guy. It is just a little office with a desk, computer and filing cabinets. I only go there because I have to switch out my files or leave things to be filed, etc. I think other people sit in there during the week if they run out of space. I usually am there on the weekends a couple of times a month and not during business hours. I worked in this office when I was right out of college and right before I became a Mom so I know a lot of people there. I am not productive if I run into all of them and we have to catch up. How much I work depends on what time of year it is. Tax season is crazy even though I am not doing actual taxes for people. I might work 5 hours one week and 25 the next. It feels like a lot more than it is. I work in little chunks throughout the day and am up late working at least one night a week. My boys have been in school 3 mornings a week at the same time until Noon and I work a lot during that time. Lately, I have felt like I want to just quit. I have more going on than ever before and I'm tired of keeping up with it. Most of the time I just do what I do without anyone bothering me (or knowing how behind I am) and then all of a sudden I will have this major deadline in a short time frame and that is a pain. I've never felt I wanted to quit before so that is interesting. I don't make quick decisions so I will stick it out for a lot longer. It is a good set up so I hate to lose it. I think a lot about hiring a babysitter all day once a week and having dedicated time to concentrate on it without interruption. I could get so much more done. I just think of it and don't act because of our disposable babysitter problem and I have been having too much fun with Baby Girl to turn her over to anyone else.

It won't be that long before I have 2 of my children in school most of the day and maybe it won't be such a burden. I have no big plans at this time for life after children. After all, I am starting all over this year with a baby. I enjoy working yet I hope I don't ever have to join the corporate world again.

I'm going to sleep now. I'm sure anyone who started reading this is has dozed off by now. I'm putting myself to sleep.

Another Monday in May

Monday. Again.

It was a long restless night with our home alarm beeping in our bedroom every hour and my husband having to get up a reset it each time. It needs a new battery or something we were not capable of dealing with at 1AM, 2AM, 3AM and on and on. Imagine how exhausted I was when I went to the gym at 5AM. I'm almost glad my husband is going out of town tomorrow so I have an excuse to "sleep in". It did not help that a giant 4 year old wedged himself between us around 3AM. My boys are both so big now and I am so blind, that I can't tell which one it is in the middle of the night until I make them talk to me. Hubby and I were both groggily saying "get down and go back to bed" hoping for just once he would go back to bed by himself. I was saying "there isn't enough room" (we only have a Queen) and he got right in the middle and said "yes there is!"

I went to my office to pick up some stuff this morning. I usually only do that on the weekends when no one is there. I saw lots of people I haven't seen in 6 months so they wanted to talk to me and I talked back so it wasn't a productive trip. I brought everything home to work on here. Of course, I am procrastinating until tomorrow.

My friend had a work emergency so I kept her kids for her this afternoon. I tried to entertain 5 kids and that was a challenge with my tired self. I finally gave in towards the later part of the afternoon and pulled one of my husbands tricks of putting on a cartoon. That was my babysitter for 30 minutes while I passed out on the couch. I was only semi-unconscious when I heard one of the little boys say "hey, she is asleep." I jumped up and said "no, I am watching you!" There is no telling what they were preparing to do thinking I was out cold. They are sneaky. They climbed up my magnolia tree, picked a huge white flower, ran around the house to the front door, rang the doorbell and hid so I would find a big flower on the front doorstep.

The Big Guy had a great time as it was a buddy in his class that loves Star Wars as much as he does. He confided in me this past weekend that the two of them were sent to Outer Mongolia (Time Out). They spent too much time in the bathroom talking about Star Wars and got in trouble. The teacher told them they talked about Star Wars too much. With a smile on his face, he told me that the next day they "didn't get catched" because they rushed through their snack so they could run off to the bathroom early and talk about Star Wars. They got out in time and the teacher was none the wiser.

We had a feast of chicken for dinner because my friend with the kids brought us take out, we got the Big Guy off to baseball, Baby Girl in bed, and I went to play a tennis match at 8PM that lasted almost 3 hours. Thank goodness we won. We came from behind and were really happy with ourselves despite being candidates for a blooper reel. I am a zombie now. I am going to bed and hopefully will not have to sleep through loud beeps from our alarm.

Hasta la Vista, Baby

I think I said in an earlier post that this was coming and it would be terribly uninteresting. I don't like to disappoint.

Let's hope this will be my last Mexicana post. The beginning of this month was a busier time than usual for me (and others) preparing for an event honoring teachers and staff at our preschool. It was a catered dinner for teachers, spouses and anyone else connected to the school that wanted to come. There was entertainment, trivia, gifts, pinatas, tributes, etc. Even though it was on the 8th, it had a Cinco de Mayo theme. So that is why I have so many pictures of Mexican children. I took pictures of each of the 22 graduating Kindergarten students and they put out 8x10s of them at the dinner. I also made the annual DVD that was played at the end of the evening. It was the first time I had made one to that extent and it took forever trying to perfect it to my liking. I wasn't sure if 15 minutes was too long and tried to cut it down as much as I could and had to delete a lot of my good pictures. I also tried to make sure if a family was attending their child was in the show a few times. I later heard that everyone loved it so I was relieved. I think the friend that had it set up to play got the credit and people thanked him for making it. Oh, did I mention that I wasn't even there that evening? Yeah, that is the bummer of the whole thing. The Big Guy's new school had a new parent orientation so I couldn't miss that. I might have missed a detail about what color notebook to buy or where my school sticker should go on the car.

Anyway, I'm glad the work of that dinner is behind us. I just got the date for next year and don't even want to think about topping this year yet. I am on the Board as treasurer for this PTA-ish type group and will be somewhat responsible for that dinner among other big events for at least another year. It should be a lot easier now that we know what we are doing and I am not pregnant or having a baby.

Saturday Night Downtown

We have the best Baby Girl in the world. I'm sure a lot of people think that. Unless they have only boys and don't have a girl, of course.

We were out on the town tonight. Not a big town, but a fun night for all of us. We met friends downtown and listened to live music. The kids ran around, the adults drank wine. I saved a friend's child from going home with another family and was a hero in my own mind. It was a great time by all. Chips. Dip. Light-up sticks. More wine. Just plain fun for an old woman that doesn't get out that much. I love the simple life. :-) I also love all the talk of the upcoming Fall college football season, but that is just me.

The reason I say we have the best baby girl, other than the obvious reasons, is that she normally goes to bed at 6PM. Okay, that in itself is enough to lover her. We kept her out partying until 10:30PM tonight on the Village Green and she never cried or fussed. LOVE HER. She was passed around a bit because her 17 lbs gets heavy for this Mama's arms plus others wanted to love on her. She was cute jumping up and down to the music, I must say.

The party should have been over earlier, but several of the 6 year olds insisted on helping the clean up crew load all the tables and chairs. My friend commented that they were doing convicts' work. At the time I thought that was real funny (must have been the wine). Now I am wondering why there are still toys all over my foyer blocking the front door to my house. Why isn't he that motivated to clean up at home?

The kitchen is dirty and the grass is long. Oh well. I don't care now. Hope you all are having a great weekend.

Pushover Dad

We don't watch a lot of TV at our house especially lately. I think it is just my old age or turning into my mother, something like that. However, my mother is turning into my grandmother and now keeps her TV blasting so loud you can't stand it. Living with two very loud boys and the extremely loud exersaucer Baby Girl loves to bounce in has made me really appreciate the quiet. I was the girl that could do her homework while watching TV, talking on the phone, and listening to a CD (I mean cassette tape). No more. There was also that 10 days of bad behavior that caused the boys to lose every privilege they had. TV was lost and even the music in their room was taken away. I was getting down to taking away sugar in their diets because I was running out of stuff. Video and computer games had already been banned to occassional weekends because I don't like how they want to play them all the time and the focus they have on them. So, it was a bit of a surprise when Hubby was back from his trip and I was out at the store and came home to find this scene in my kitchen. On a weekday! (I think the look on the Big Guy's face says it all.)

I think they were playing something harmless like I Spy on the computer and having a great time. And gosh, they really were quiet and still. The problem is they would still be sitting there at the computer two days later if someone did not intervene. I can't remember what the excuse for this was...they had been good or something along those lines. Mmm-hmmm . I like to give him a hard time because I am the one that does all the hard work trying to keep them occupied without electronics and he takes full advantage of it as soon as I am gone. I even found Baby Girl watching Baby Mozart as a one month old with him. He also set up our DVD player in another room once with a video game so both boys could play in separate rooms at the same time. I will be gone for three days in June and I won't let my mind go to what might be going on while I am gone. They will probably be eating popcorn in their beds with the DVD player(s).



Does this look like a guilty face? It was Thursday and I left the Little Guy home alone with Dad.
I was at the gym (not at 5AM) and returned to find him watching Go Diego Go and eating Skittles. Right before lunch too! Hub says to me "He said he would eat his lunch and I told him yesterday he could have them today." Mmmm-hmmm. Maybe after lunch would have been a better idea?

By the way, those are the flowers the Big Guy picked out for me for Mother's Day. I haven't watered them yet. See the black spot on them? That is a bug.


This is proof that he really was eating Skittles. It looks like he is looking at them when in fact he is looking at that bug that jumped on his napkin.

Fun Daddy.
Mean Mom Cop.

No wonder they act bad when Daddy is out of town. They have detox from all the fun. I'm working on being more fun. Like the hamburger the Big Guy got yesterday in between meals. Who ever would have imagined? I have been known to throw a marathon Tom & Jerry fun-fest in the afternoon as well. Just this week I bought Chocolate Milk (organic of course) and once I bought one of the boys a huge pretzel at the Target Deli. I'm not sure any of these things are ever enough. I was asked four times yesterday why we had to leave the park so early even though we were there 3+ hours and longer than anyone else. We closed the place down and yet they won't remember that. I'm struggling to think of something else fun I have done...I let them watch a movie on the way home from the Doctor's office two months ago. I let them dig up our once perfectly landscaped backyard to their heart's desire. That should definitely count for something.

I think I will lighten up for today. I will let them eat all the popsicles they want and a few movies too. It is the weekend after all.

Friday with me.

The day started off at 5AM with my radio talk show playing something very confusing to me at the time. I couldn't tell you what now either. I thought I would die when I got out of the bed and then I felt okay after a few minutes. Not great - just okay. I've talked myself out of getting up early the last 3 mornings, but my friend emailed me late last night and said she would see me at 5:30. I knew we were meeting with the trainer after a class although I thought she meant the 9:30 class. So the accountability factor set in and I made it there - late. There was also the incentive of meeting with Uma, the wonder-trainer, for free.

I got there late and had to use the Elliptical machine (I hate it!) instead of a treadmill. Luckily there was one left way in the back so Uma couldn't see how I wasn't keeping up with everyone else. I was late so I missed Justin and was living to see Enrique on the big screen and wouldn't you know it started skipping during his video? Uma fast forwarded and I was so disappointed. I met with her after the torture and she showed me pictures of when she was fat and told me I was right on track to do things the healthy way and keep weight off, etc. She had to stop in the middle of our talk to call her son and make sure he was up and ready for school. She was simply lovely and I thought about what a sweet, nice mom she must be. She made the wonderful suggestion that possibly I wasn't eating enough. I just loved her more than ever. Then, she made me do crunches on a ball with a 2lb weight behind my head. Well, that just hurt. I don't really need that tight of a stomach and maybe I can live with it the way it is.

When I got home my boys were all ready for school dressed in their same exact clothes from yesterday. It was a bit of a battle to get them to change and I won half of it. Don't get me wrong, I am all for less laundry and wearing the same clothes over and over. I am not fond of so obviously sending both of my children off to school in the same clothes they were seen in yesterday. Let's at least throw them in the corner for a few days before our next showing of the camo shorts and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood T-shirt (with a stain on it). I don't want the teachers to think I have totally given up.

I was able to go to Costco this morning by myself. It was a zoo. I went for two specific things for the Little Guy's class party which they had neither of. I still managed to spend $200 and thought to myself that I would never go there again. Most of it was on baby supplies including a cute little dress that Baby Girl does not need as she already has an outfit for every day this summer. I bought some more of my favorite sweat pants (I think they are called lounge pants) and they make me so happy that I think I will start wearing them out in public.

I had to renew my Costco membership and the girl showed me how much I spent with them last year. I was horrified (most was probably diapers, wipes and sweatpants). She tried to talk me into the $100 membership so that I could possibly get $70 back in cash at the end of the year. I told her I would rather just pay $50 and risk it. Which reminds me. I hate to shop. Why can't you just go buy your stuff and be done with it. No wonder online shopping is such a big hit. I had to go to the mall and return something (I know you feel sorry for me - it is okay). I also had a free offer for you might know what at Vickie's. I don't want to see my Google Ads if I type that out. I witnessed the most aggressive lingerie drill sergeant I could have ever imagined. I was so glad I was not working there and felt I had to go check out the flip flops I could get with my purchase for only $10 more. I was frightened I would have to drop and give her ten if I didn't comply and Uma hasn't gotten me that far with my arms yet. I was able to get out of there using my big ugly step-sister feet that wouldn't fit as an excuse. And, no I don't want another credit card. [I bought a plain beige undergarment so don't go thinking I bought something risque] I had to exchange jeans I bought months ago for $14 at the Gap. The most bizarre man(?) helped me. He insisted that I must have a new pair of white pants. "They are just darling for summer!" He was persistent and I finally had to tell him and one other girl behind the counter about my biggest loser situation and how I would not be buying any pants of any sort with the hopes that I could fit in a smaller size in a few months. He still tried to get me to buy some shorts. And that is why I don't like to go to the mall. Although the worst will always be the vendors that stand outside the stores and say to me every time I walk by "Can I ask you a question?" It is so much effort to try and not make eye contact with those folks. Once a guy asked me that 3 times and I finally stopped and told him why it was so annoying. I thought about writing to somebody important at the mall and complain, but again, too much effort for me.

On a lighter note, after side stepping the rain, making 200 cell phone calls to various friends, dropping cell phone twice and breaking it, I got the family to the park with 3 other moms all with 3 kids. It was a great time despite all the screams to stay out of the water and to put that stick down. The weather was great and boys wrestled, threw each other to the ground and got as dirty as they possibly could. One of them (not mine, whew!) dropped his drawers in front of everybody and peed right into a stream. Hubby was able to show up and brought me my requested large unsweet ice tea from McDonald's along with a non-requested apple pie. I had to eat the whole thing because remember what Uma said. I have clearly not been eating enough and she didn't really say what I needed to eat more of. To my dismay, the tea was sweet. So sweet I could not even drink it (and I am from Alabama where my family makes really sweet tea). I saved the tea for the 3 hours we were at the park and drove back through the drive-thru to exchange it. I had my one sweet-n-low packet all ready for my awaited drink. It is the only drink I love more than diet coke (but not margaritas on some days). They were so friendly at McDonald's that I couldn't be mad. Until I put my one and only sweet-n-low in the tea, took a big sip and realized that it was sweet tea again. Make that super-sweet tea with extra sweetener added by me. I am not totally crazy and debated on whether I should just forget the whole thing as I drove down the road. Nope, I turned the car around, went back and went inside to just get it myself. Unfortunately, they only had Splenda and it took 3 people to find it. It just wasn't the same. Poor little Big Guy had 4 quarters and there wasn't a drink he could buy with $1. He was able to get a hamburger and we saw a policeman so it wasn't a total loss.

We then went to Wal-mart and it was just like every other trip of mine to Wal-mart. Not fun. At least I found the party supplies I needed. Checking out is always so much harder than it should be and so funny that they have 2,000 registers and only 3 open. I had a good experience once in all my years last summer when a woman saw I was really pregnant and opened up a check-out line just for me. I'll never forget it.

That is all for my ramblings of today. It has been a full week and I'm glad I finally found some time to post something other than a Baby Girl picture. I must now go shower off some children and try to get ink out of one of their ears.

Good night.

Howdy Partner

I thought I would put up the Big Guy's self portrait. If your remember the Little Guy's, it was a little more abstract.

He is a little bit of a cowboy, however, I think that is his hair and not a hat.

I do love that wonderfully green shirt.

Free Lunch

Me to the Big Guy: "Next year at school you can look at a menu and buy lunch if you want."

Big Guy: (looking puzzled) "Buy lunch?"

Me: "Yes, you don't have to take your lunch every day. You can have a hot lunch and buy things like pizza."

Big Guy: "I don't want to spend my money on lunch!"

Me: (laughing) "You don't have to spend your money. I'll pay for it."

Big Guy: (grinning) "Oh, free lunch!"

Wordless Wednesday

Mowhawk pushed down for now.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

And I don't mean because they tell me what they want for Christmas every day.

I thought I would try to get a shot of all three of my kids since I haven't had one in many months. AND, this is what I got. It makes me remember why I don't have more of all three of them together. It also makes me think of my Christmas cards and how difficult it always is to get "the" shot. It was hard enough with just two and three may be too challenging to attempt. Last year my card had three individual pictures. The good news is that I have up to 7 months to perfect my picture. The bad news is Baby Girl will probably be walking by Christmas and run away from the camera so it will be even worse than it is now. I took another family's Christmas picture with three kids including a 15 month old and there was a lot of wrangling involved. It took a lot of pictures to get one they could use on their card.

Side note: This was a spontaneous session with my kids when they were playing with the baby. I would never take a Christmas card picture with them dressed in a pink, orange and gray nor a Giants baseball hat. Not festive at all unless you count the Chimpanzee t-shirt. That is a little festive. ;-)

Monday Night Update without Uma

I'm off to bed and thought I better just clear the air on my blog. I don't want to ever lie or misrepresent myself. You know I like to keep it real. Although, I did think of starting a completely fictional blog because it would be so much more interesting if I could make up some stuff. Anyway, I have never before in my life woken early to exercise. I sleep until the absolute last minute always. I reset my alarm clock over and over every morning as I think of steps in my routine I can skip (i.e. shower) in order to make it on time. My Hubby and I worked together 11 years ago before we were married and we would go to work at 7 am so we could leave at 4 pm to work out. That is the closest thing I can count to being crazy and you have to remember that we were courting and probably had some new lease on life or something. Speaking of misrepresentation, isn't that what dating is all about? Neither one of us have voluntarily gotten up early since we have been married.

I have finally come close to that age where you don't care too much about what you look like when you go out. I haven't gone out with pink rollers in my hair yet, but I'm sure I looked equally as scary this morning. I did put concealer under my eyes so no one would mistake me for the walking dead. Waking up early makes me sick to my stomach and always has. I didn't eat anything and felt like I could throw up pretty much the whole time I was there. I have felt bad all day and took a nap this afternoon. All in all I think it was not a smart move on my part because I had not slept enough. I was able to run some errands this morning while the boys were in school instead of working out, however, I wasn't any more productive than usual. I only did it because I am on the team and we made each other do it. I would never be a no-show to someone that was waiting on me so that is the real reason I did it.

On a totally different note, I watched the end of The Bachelor tonight. I haven't watched that show in many seasons and if I have ever come across it, I like to go on and on about the problem with it and why it will never work, she is crazy and he is a dufus, etc. So, I was half paying attention while I paid bills, filled out school forms and got ready for tomorrow (so I can sleep late). I did stop and watch the end and I hate to admit this, but I felt a little teary when he proposed. Am I so weak from this morning that I have totally gone soft? Of course, it will never work out. I give it less than a year. Maybe I am glad the producers finally have a good ending so they can pretend like it will work out. She was a total actress.

I need to send an email to Uma before I go to bed. I need to somehow think of something positive to say as a reply to her email that told me I was in the poor body fat percentage range. Somehow, "Thank you for telling me that!" does not seem appropriate.

Monday with Uma

It is Monday again. We all need a hug.

I went to a class at the gym this morning at 5:30 AM. AM! It was torture and I thought I would throw up the whole time I was there. Just getting up early is enough to make me sick. The trainer that led the class was the nice Uma-Thurman-ish girl that I used to like. I'm not so sure anymore after she sent me an email with my body fat percentage. The class was in a big theater room which allowed me to catch up on the latest Hip Hop Videos. That was an education of sorts. I was glad to see Enrique before I left.

It is now 7:30 AM and I am fully dressed and ready to go while everyone else in the house is still asleep (the boys went to bed late). If they don't get up soon, I may take a nap myself. I better take this opportunity to get the laundry going. It is bad when your absent-minded six year old asks you the night before to make sure he has some socks to wear the next day. I was glad I could say "they are in the dryer now" so I didn't seem quite so much like a slacker.

My Mom

Me and my Mama. Back when she dyed her hair Auburn, of course. Yeah, I don't know what that arrangement is to the right. It was the 70's and things were different back then.
I like to call this picture "My Mother, the angel." It is as if heaven is pouring light right down on her as she sits in church.





Grammy having fun with dinosaurs (she doesn't get to do that much in her every day life).






Yes, Grammy. It was funny when you put the bunny ears behind her head.

Happy Mother's Day, Y'all.

We ended up going to church although I forgot we were working in the 3 year old room so we were there although not really in church. I had to leave for a new Sunday School class that I am helping to start and told everyone (while Hubby was still with 3 year olds) what his biggest fear in life is. They told on me - woops. We went to eat lunch at Moe's. Remember, I have to go where I can tolerate the kids being...themselves. I did have to share a booth with the Little Guy and tried to use my diaper bag as a buffer from all the leaning on. My Hubby said he was going to invent a big bubble Moms everywhere could zip themselves in to when needed.

The Big Guy keeps suggesting that a Brothers & Sisters Day should be invented so they can get to do whatever they want. I keep telling him that every day is Brothers & Sisters Day. They made me a big special breakfast of Cinnamon Rolls and chocolate waffles (off diet). I also got yellow flowers and the Big Guy painted a lovely bird feeder for me. Then it was off to Grammy's for pie (off diet) and Jeep riding.

Happy Mother's Day

I hope all you Mommy's out there have a great day. My guess is that my family will go out to lunch after church. I'll probably not pick my favorite restaurant because it is not a good place for kids. I'll pick the place with long booths so all the boys can sit on one side and Baby Girl and I can have the other side. All I want is a lunch with no one touching or leaning on me. Oh yeah, and a Diet Coke is important too.

I was ordered not to look at the gift the Big Guy brought home from school. It should be interesting. The Little Guy couldn't wait and gave me a pin (for my shirt) that is a flower painted with his fingerprints. Honestly, I love it. I don't even have to pretend. I am going to plan my whole church wardrobe around it so I coordinate and let people think I have horrible taste in jewelry. The mark of a proud mother.

I love my family dearly, but after Hubby being gone for 10 days, there is nothing more that I would love for Mother's Day than a weekend away alone at a grand hotel. I know my Hubby wouldn't understand that at all (or he never has in the past). He loves the togetherness, so I don't even bother asking. I guess you should want to be with your children on Mother's Day, but every day is Mothers Day for me and I am with them non-stop it seems. The gifts are not as good on the other days of the year...usually little presents on my carpet that I don't want. A friend of mine said she was actually going away for the night with a girlfriend. So, I'm not the only one with that great idea! Room service and sleeping late certainly are appealing. The quiet would be outstanding. Being in a place where I couldn't do laundry would be a total dream!

It is my first Mother's Day with Baby Girl and my first as a Mommy of three. A lot to celebrate and be thankful for no matter where I am. I think I will take the day off, lay on the couch and watch Baby Girl jump up and down in her exersaucer. It is the best entertainment.

MomBlog Ads

I was home alone with Baby Girl earlier in the week while the boys were at school. I turned on the news and ended up watching a Today Show segment about Mommy Bloggers. I learned that I missed a cocktail hour in New York for us MomBloggers. Shoot. I really would enjoy a trip to New York and a cocktail. I also learned that I need to ramp up the advertising to start making some real money if Hubby is to quit his job and not travel anymore. They didn't say that I had to have good content or excellent writing ability so I will just ignore that part for now. I have a feeling that my little Google Ad to the right is not going to cut it.

Which leads me to talk about my little Google Ad. I'm sure it goes unnoticed by most although it provides me with much entertainment. Sometimes I am a little shocked and have to wonder what have I been writing about! Other times I feel it is speaking right to me and is showing me just where to click for the help I need. How cruel that they made me agree to not click on it when I signed up.

I have been keeping a list of favorite ads that I have seen on my page. Here are a few:

Baby Life Insurance - Although it may seem like I might kill them at any moment, I would never (I love the little rascals).
Husband watches wife - What are they implying? He has been gone too much to watch me.
Teeth whitening secrets - woops too much Diet Coke?
Chicoago dentist -think you need braces? - must have seen my Little guy's cross bite
There have been various dental ads - it is true, lots of teeth coming and going in our family
Atlanta Apartments - I don't know if moving out would be the solution for me.
Protective Underwear - Not a bad idea!
Local babysitters - Even better than the protective underwear idea!
Hair Loss - from my haircut post...painful to see this ad.
Security - This must be from my post about being able to take 17 five year olds in a fight.
Blogger Adsense - My Blog is so random they can't come up with a subject.
Baby Room Themes - The Boys' sticker covered furniture...that would be a white trash theme


I'm glad I didn't break it with my Banana Pants posts.

Happy New Year

Tag...I'm it!

I was tagged by Angela so here it goes...


Random (Fun?) Facts:

1. Mary C reminded me of this with her Campbell Brown comment (never heard before!): In college I worked at a movie theater and my name tag read "Dorothy" because everyone thought I looked like Dorothy in the wizard of Oz. People that know me best call me Lisa Belle.

2. I have a brother 7 years younger that lives in Montana and I almost never see him.

3. All three of my kids have a special connection to Elvis. It was mostly accidental and no we are not Elvis freaks. One has his initials, one has his birthday and one has part of his actual name as their own. I think it is rather unique for our plain vanilla family.

4. My husband's parents have a sheep farm and Bed & Breakfast in Wisconsin. There is no air-conditioning! They were nice enough to put a window unit in my bedroom last summer when it was 90 and I was pregnant. The picture is my self portrait on that trip. I wanted to capture one of the worst moments of my life at the tire pit as I toured a dairy farm in the middle of the day - July and 6+ months pregnant. They do use the tires on the farm - I don't remember why. I was too self-involved in my own misery. The only other places I have voluntarily visited that were worse are in this order: Stone Mountain on the 4th of July 175 degrees and dry sockets due to wisdom teeth removal; Animal Kingdom 5 months pregnant - 288 degrees. I cried that day during the Lion King and then thanked God when it rained and we had to leave early.


5. My first so-called date with my husband was a ride in his airplane. He had a Cherokee single engine and let me fly it around Stone Mountain. By the time we were married, I was terrified of flying and am so thankful it is now gone. He talks a lot about his next plane and it makes me stop breathing. The picture of the Little Guy represents the sheep farm and flying. They did have digital cameras in 1997, but they cost $15,600 and I didn't have one. I have a "real" picture of me by the plane and it must look a lot like Rose on the horse at the end of Titanic before she dies. (You know what I am talking about!)














6. A friend of mine from college and I have been taking Thelma & Louise head shots for the last 16 years. I have a whole album of them reflecting the important moments and not so important moments in our lives. It was really funny in college and now I am obligated to keep it up. We haven't lived in the same state in the last 14 years so we have them weekly for the first years and then a few times a year when we get together. We have them in our wedding dresses, as bridesmaids, in hot tubs, pregnant, babies in our laps, many different landmarks. It is funny and yet sad at the same time to see how our wrinkles are progressing. I'm looking forward to getting our first picture with Kate at the end of the month.











Thelma & Louise on the Disney Boardwalk with her Hubby in the background (me pregnant before gaining 40 more pounds), At our friend's wedding in Birmingham - unplanned both wearing sleeveless dresses in February to an outside reception and the introduction to flat irons, and Sea World when my 15 month old Big Guy pointed to every plane in the sky and never saw one dolphin. The wedding and first baby ones are more interesting, however, lack of digitals way back then makes it too much trouble to post. Thank your lucky stars none of the college ones are available online. They are frightening even without our very thick eyebrows.

6 words that describe me:
1. Christian
2. Loyal
3. Busy
4. Tired
5. Jill-of-all-trades (I guess that isn't really a word so make that versatile. Never mind that sounds like I can do really strange yoga poses and believe me, after my Pilates class this morning, I know it isn't even close to being true.)
6. Compassionate

Thanks for thinking of me, Angela. It was hard to come up with random things, and yet everything about me is very random. If I am ever tagged again I hope I remember to write about the time I crashed a wedding or got kicked out of Six Flags.

I tag Amanda. She looks so pretty in her pictures and I am curious about how she got green skin!