SHE'S KICKIN MY BUTT!!

Meet my new personal trainer. Yep that's her Jillian and she is kickin my butt into shape.

I have been doing the DVD Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred. It is has 3 levels of intense 20 minute workouts. Are you kidding me only 20 minutes. By the end, I am drenged in sweat and saying I can't do anymore. It is awesome. So thought I would pass it along. 20 minutes a day. Come on we all have time for that right? I bought mine off ebay for about $10. Enjoy!!!

One of THOSE days!

Ever had "one of those days" where you wake up in the morning with joy and vigor and excited for all the things that you are going to cross off your 'to do' list?!
Well, my morning began just that way. I felt inspired to make bread...clean out my son's room and rid him of all the clothes, toys and extras that he has out grown...go to baby bookworms at the Library...make a wonderful dinner...take some fresh home-made bread to a neighbor and do ALL this before 4 o'clock!
Now, I did not think that I was aiming for the moon here, but apparently the universe had a different plan for me. And this is how my day REALLY went:

6am- baby up and cranky
7:30am - baby asleep and happy
8am - mommy getting dressed and happy
9:30am - baby up and mommy trying to get baby ready for Library trip...
10:10am - mommy yelling at daddy to get dressed or we will be late for the Library
10:35am - just made it to story time at Library (had a nice time)
11:45am - mommy begins bread making (very excited)
11:50am - baby crying for lunch (mommy gets distracted trying to do two things at once)
12pm - mommy realizes that she did NOT put the YEAST IN THE BREAD DOUGH!!!!!
12:30pm - mommy threw out old bread dough and began again WITH yeast, and put baby in safe place to play while mommy goes to the bathroom b/c mommy feels like she has not gone ALL DAY!
12:35pm - baby screaming.....mommy FREAKS OUT and runs from the toilet, with PANTS DOWN to see what the issue is.
12:36pm - mommy brings baby into bathroom to finish what she started!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1pm - mommy begins to go through baby's room
1:03pm - baby has had enough of mommy ignoring him and decides that he will cry unless mommy holds him
1:10pm- mommy GIVES UP for the day, and takes baby to the family room where she can watch Netflix and sit on the floor while he plays.

And so there ended my joy, vigor and excitement that I originally felt today. Although I did not do many things on my list and those that I did do I had to do TWICE, I am sure I will wake up tomorrow with the same ambitions. And though I will probably fail once again, I realize that I can get there...even if it is one small victory at a time.

time and relish and babies

so, they say time marches on...

kinda uncool when you look in the mirror and realize it marched right across your face.

but i digress...sorry to disappoint, but this is not a post about my aging :)

my BABY is right on the verge of potty-training...soooooo close! she lip syncs to hannah montana and wants to drink out of a big cup sometimes. she can dress (and undress) herself, put on her own shoes, and her vocabulary is really astounding.

i wanted this. i really did. i really DO. i've been 10 straight years in the trenches...diapers, desitin, sippee cups, nap times, tantrums. it roughed me up, for reals. oodles of hours of soul-searching and prayers and talks with my husband and peaceful inspiration brought me to the decision that our family was complete. i had THAT feeling...you know, the one i heard seasoned moms talk about for years, and couldn't comprehend. that feeling that i'm done bearing children.

strange to think that when it comes to pregnancy and onesies and binkies it's "been there, done that"...

so now i'm in this very foreign place of missing that baby smell and soft skin. and receiving blankets...oh, i miss receiving blankets!! i know, funny, but they rock :) and the "missing it" feeling is different too, because i don't miss it like "i want it", i just miss it like "i wish i had relished that stage more, because now it's gone".

so it's time to move on. it's time to relish (i'm using that word again, and the funny thing is that i don't even like relish) soccer games and friend sleepovers and the absence of baby food jars. it's time to love that we can all just hop in the car and go...no packing a diaper bag, no filling the bottle before we get on the road, no planning activities around naps. and those things are their own kind of fun and sweet--not always sweet-smelling, because now i have a 10 year old boy...nuff said :)

i loved high school. honest. i loved college. i loved newlywed life. i loved being a first-time mom. i loved it the second and third and fourth and fifth times, too. and i love where i'm at now. and i'm also sooooooo grateful for my sisters and friends who are still having babies so i can nibble on them and get my fill. thanks.

now, if you'll excuse me...that little chatterbox toddler of mine made me a present in her diaper. and i'm going to clean her adorable little bum and wrap it up again (panties or diaper?) and snuggle her until she kicks herself off my lap to dance the cotton-eyed joe in all her glory.

oh, you want a picture?

Another Day

I didn't want to have "just another day" for ONE more day. I knew that I had a ton to get done, but I needed something to get me through the responsibilities at hand. I expressed my need to feel inspired to my Honey Beau before he left for work. He looked at me, dropped his things...and started to dance! With no music playing he openly performed all of his top hits and I just laughed and laughed!...it gets me every time! He did it! I felt inspired. Inspired to turn my music up...like really really up, so that I couldn't hear the needs of my children when they call for me the first three times, and take the day head on! And to my surprise a few of my friends stopped by to encourage me...

Needless to say, I got MUCH accomplished! I mean what SAHM wouldn't want to clean for these kind of friends?! Laundry...DONE, Dishes....DONE, Floors...DONE, Closets...DONE, Bathrooms...DONE, Yard...yes I did....DONE! The T.V. did not come on at all and the kids...get this..they actually played with their toys ALL day! Amazing! Now as a side note I must say that I do believe EVERYday could be this productive. However, if it were then it would become "just another day" and seriously that would be no fun at all;)

If you were to knock on my door right this second…

First. You’d be uninvited! :)
Second. This is what you’d see:

 
 
 
 
I deep cleaned the kids bathroom. 
And when I clean one room…
the above images represent the condition of the remaining rooms in the house.
Giant. Hamster. Wheel.

Now I know!!! Kids really do say the darndest things!

While enjoying an evening at a pool party last night, my five year old shed some light into some of our (I thought private) discussions. Here is how a relaxing time can go to a more "oh my gosh, I am embarrassed!" situation!

Many games were played last night, but the most memorable to me was the cherry seed spitting contest. All of the kids formed a line, and as the cherry bowl was offered to each one, it didn't seem like anyone was having an issue with the cherries, it came to my kid:) I noticed that she took a cherry and handed it back to the lady running the game. All I could see was my daughter shaking her head at her saying no. I decided to go on over to check things out. Big mistake! I walked over and asked, "whats wrong?" The lady turns around laughing historically along with everyone else within hearing distance of my daughter. She hands me the cherry and says I better let you handle this one! Of course I am confused, but almost irritated, because sometimes my daughter does have a bit of the, I am a princess thing going on. I just figured she was being difficult. That is when the lady told me what Raegan said, "I can't eat that grape, because if I do, it will make me poop!" I didn't know what to say. Everyone was cracking up! I tried to explain that the cherries were not grapes. She didn't want to hear any of it. She was sure that it was a grape. Finally, I gave up, and decided to just walk away with her to our table. Everyone got a really good laugh out of it. I guess the moral of the story is: 1. Talk to your kids about things that need to be said only to parents 2. Don't think that just because you have a girly girl she will realize this! 3. Hold on tight, because I have a feeling this is not the last time I will have the pleasure of dealing with an embarrassing situation!

My mom suggested I get a little notebook to write this cute stuff down in. Guess I need to do that really soon, because she is starting school soon, and we have a little boy that will be talking soon enough!

THE NEED TO OVER ACHIEVE

Okay so I have been thinking alot lately about our need as stay at home Moms to over achieve. Come on you know what I mean the extravagant birthday parties, the treats for a classroom party that took you hours to make, the handouts for your church group. So it was that time of year again. Another birthday party and I was stressing myself out about this birthday cake. I wanted a 4-wheeler birthday cake, like actually shaped like a 4-wheeler so I found this picture and was stressing about how I was going to do it and how much time it was going to take.

So it was the day before the big day and I had no idea how this cake was going to get done. Then it dawned on me. THEY DON'T CARE!!!!!! The kids could care less how cute it is. They just want to stick candles all over in it and put their fingers in the frosting. So I gave up on my need to over achieve and went to Costco and bought a cake that feeds 48 people for $16.99, stuck a 4-wheeler on it and called it good. Do you think I heard any complaining? Nope just how cool it was. I am so going to try and keep this attitude of simple is better the rest of this year. I will be a lot less stressed and who are we kidding all the cutesy time consuming stuff is not for the kids. I think it is our sub conscious way of out doing each other. So the next time I have classroom treats I think I'll just go buy cupcakes :)

When it rains...

Last night I went to bed cranky and hot. This morning I woke up cranky and hot. Not a good combination when you have your AC go out, a leak from your bathtub and feel like caca because your "monthly friend" is in for what seems to be a long stay! It made me want to go sleep in the car!

With much luck both of the repair men...(and might I say these were no ordinary plumbers! They were late 20s, buff, attractive, and very sweet. A stay at home moms DREAM fix it guy)...anyway, they both came early this morning to fix our issues. And let me just say it lead me to two resolves: #1- Why isn't my husband more like them?!  and  #2- I think I love them both!

So, to celebrate my husband and I packed up our 9mo old boy and went out to eat for lunch. You know, cuz we have to wait for the house to cool down and I am NOT cooking lunch in a HOT house. ARE YOU CRAZY?!

A few hours later.....I had a moment. You know those amazing, aww inspiring, Ah Ha moments. Where you feel like someone just turned a light on and you are amazed at how much you can see!

(yea, like that)

Well, my moment might not seem that big of a deal to many but it was something I surely needed. I realized that life here is relatively short. And we have complete control over how we are going to experience it. There are many people who think that everything they have in life is portioned out to them and I don't think that is true. I think if I really wanted to be rich and famous then I would be. If I really wanted to be super poor and live off the state for the rest of my life, I would. But those things aren't even that important. The important part is regardless of who I was or what I had the overall feeling of my life will come down to this: was I happy, content, peaceful and joyous or was I sad, angry, annoyed and frustrated.

(my sister stole my friends, on my b-day)      

(my bro and I had chicken pox)

   

So, we choose our fate. And I think that even with no AC, a dripping water pipe, mega cramps and very little sleep...I think today has still been a good day. And I will look for a way to laugh and smile everyday.

                                                                                          

laws of nature

laws of nature i could do without...

1. if i am really uber mega tired, either my offspring will rise earlier than usual or i will have a previous commitment that requires my premature rolling out of bed.

2. if i am well-rested and energetically greeting the morning, my sleep-aversion children will defy the odds and snooze well past breakfast. mean.

3. spills ONLY occur within 8 hours of mopping. once 12 hours have elapsed, we are out of the woods and all drinks will stay in their designated cups, all spaghetti will remain on plates, and the toddler will reverse typical behavior and not throw a single piece of food on the floor.

4. clean mirrors scream--at my house i think they even have a german accent, just for good measure--to be painted in soap, hair spray, toothpaste...or a delightful concoction of all three.

5. somehow, no one ever did anything...no one stuffed 8 granola bar wrappers in the couch cushions, no one colored on the wall with chapstick, no one left the toilet unflushed, no one opened (and ate) the bag of chocolate chips. no one is very busy.

6. cute hair days and flawless skin days will always and only occur when the only thing on the day's agenda is email, oprah, and sweeping out the garage.

7. funky hair and breakouts will always and only occur when you have a special occasion to attend...ie, a high school reunion, husband's office party, that cousin dinner with the cousin's wife who's always a little snooty, the kids' christmas program at school. stuff like that.

8. doing the laundry late at night to be sure those black pants are ready first thing in the morning will only mean one thing...the black pants didn't make the load.

9. the gift i am most excited about giving my child...you know the one, the one i spent a lot of time finding and a lot of money on...will produce an indifferent "thanks, mom" and live the rest of it's toy life at the bottom of a bucket in the toy room. however, the lame dragon from the happy meal will be cherished, cried over, and protected with all manner of martial arts.

10. if i am writing a blog post...and i leave the computer long enough to pop an eggo in the toaster (don't judge me, at least they're whole wheat!)..."no one" will turn off the computer and lose all the creativity i just poured out on that keyboard.

i really can't wait for the day when i create a universe...and inflict hilarious laws on the unsuspecting mothers just trying to survive.

1, 2, 3 Balloon, 4 Balloon, POP!

I find it difficult to entertain my youngins all day!!  I mean, I have to find ways to make them smile from the time I wake up to that hot morning breath in my face sayin, "Mommy, I need cereal"...to the time they smell like Baby Magic and are falling fast asleep...I'm constantly on my toes to please their every cry and plead for laughter and happiness!  It's hard work to be hilarious to a 5 year old and a 3 year old!!  *Just for the record, it's much easier to make them happy than my 37 year old!*

So while we were at Michael's today with my mom we found balloons!!  Not just any balloons, either!  FUN, TWISTY BALLOONS!!  The ones that you can make into animals or swords!!  I'm not quite sure who had the most fun...the kids or me?!  Who would have thought I would have LOVED these darn things?!  I NEVER let pointless objects into my house!  I'm a clean freak!  I don't see the need in balloons...whenever we go to a party my kids always cry because they don't get to have balloons to take home like the other children! 

So in between cleaning my toilet for about the 9th time today (I'm a crazy clean freak) and making bows I started twisting balloons into pretty neat shapes!!  I'm not gonna lie...I popped quite a few in the beginning while trying to get used to blowing them up!  However, the throbbing only lasted a few seconds and I was able to hold most of my tears back!!  As time went on I started to become a pro!!  We made:

- Swords
- Flowers
- Turtles
- Hats (not on purpose...hats were products of experiments gone wrong!  If I didn't know what it was, it automatically turned into a hat!  We have more hats than anything else!)

- Swans
- Doggies
- Dinosaurs

YES! It even floated!

- Giraffes
- Necklaces (because it's as easy as twisting the ends together!)
- Snakes (all I did was blow up the balloon and say, "Look kids!  A snake!"...These were the least favorite out of everything!)

We have TONS of balloon pieces in the trash, but it was totally worth it!! 

BALLOON KIT : $2.00 each
The candy that you buy while standing in line to get the balloon kit: $2.00
The other fun useless items you buy at Michael's just because : $20.00
The fun we had and the superior joy I felt because I was now doing what only cool clowns at birthday parties do : PRICELESS!!!

They're EVERYWHERE...

Beautiful, long amazingly hot eyelashes! Today I couldn't help myself. As I pushed my three kids in the cart at the local walmart store I came across, ok really I was purposefully looking for, some eyelashes. I bought a few other things to make it look like I didn't just come for these, but the cold hard truth is I couldn't wait to get home, put the kids down for a nap and five minutes later have the lashes of my dreams! The directions to put lashes on are way too complicated and so I tried to improvise. I didn't use the applicator or wait the allotted time to let the glue get "tacky" and I couldn't wait the 3-5min (each eye) to let the glue dry. Five minutes quickly turned into 15min and then to 30min. I climbed up on the sink to get a closer look at what I was doing. Glue was all over my eyelids but none of it was actually in the spot it should be (close to your natural lash roots) and I began to get worked up. I just wanted lashes dang it! I took a tooth pick and applied adhesive directly to my eyelid ignoring the caution note on the package that says " caution: do not apply glue directly to eyelid".  Finally.....! I got them in a workable spot. By workable I mean I could apply enough liner that you wouldn't be able to see the lash line of the fake lashes. If you look close enough you can  still see the white adhesive. It didn't dry clear like it claimed it would do. How do these fabulous lashes look? Not too bad for the first time! I've been inspired by these lashes! Not only do I want to do it again and become the eye lash queen! It made me wonder if other moms get curious and try new things just because?