Vacation! July 2, 2008

We leave tomorrow morning! I am so excited! 

Today is my last day of work so I am trying to wrap up lots of loose ends. Or, I should be… but instead I’m blogging. Oops!

My boys are seriously at a great age, and I’m not one to say that at every age. A is almost 3 1/2. I remember when people use to tell me that it gets easier and easier and better and better. I would be holding my sweet baby A and just could not IMAGINE how it could get any better than that! But, they were right. A is now such a fun, funny, interesting BOY! He has his likes and dislikes. He can communicate his thoughts. He is spirited and curious. We still struggle with his jealousy of his brother, but those moments seem to be rarer. He is fully potty trained and so proud. He is strong willed and very stubborn. He gives the best hugs on earth and his smile can light up the worst day!

Eenie is as sweet a boy as there ever was! He is 22 months old. Where did the time go? He is still a true mama’s boy. As much as he loves Daddy, I know that I am the true apple of his eye. I love it because he is my special little Eenie too. I suffered from terrible postpartum depression after I had Eenie and many days were spent holed up in my bed, just me and Eenie. It was as if we were the only 2 people left on Earth. I don’t think that Eenie left my side for those first 3 months of his life until I slowly started feeling better and went back to work. He was always snuggled up beside me- nursing, sleeping, cuddling. He definately has a special place in my heart, even to this day. 

It’s hard to believe that E is almost 2 years old. He is a happy-go-lucky cheerful boy who almost always has a smile on his face. He charms everyone he meets with his chubby cheeks and cheery disposition. He adores his brother, plays well with his friends, and sleeps like a dream. He is starting to test his independence and one of his current favorite phrases is “do myself”. He talks SO much! A did not speak until he was 2 1/2 so I am always floored by the things that come out of E’s mouth. He speaks 5 word sentences and mimics everything we say (He said “crap!” after I did yesterday- oops!). He loves to cuddle and nuzzling his cheeks is my favorite past time. 

This did not start out as a post about my boys, but it sure ended up that way. I feel so lucky to be a mommy to these 2 amazing boys!

Stressed out July 1, 2008

I am stressed out with getting everything done before our trip. Why is it that I feel like EVERYTHING must be in perfect order before we go away? I have a million and one things to do between getting groceries, toiletries, gift for graduate, clean house, and pack. Ugh. I keep trying to remind myself that everything does not have  to be perfect and the point of our little mini vacation is to relax, have fun, and spend time together!

I am also feeling under the gun at work. I have a lot of deadlines this month and am not sure how I am going to meet them. Plus, my budget is tiny this year, so I have to get really creative with how things get done! 

Hubby has a really important court date today so send him good vibes. This is a case that has been haunting him forever and will not go away! I am hoping that this will be the end of it once and for all.

I just had some photos printed at CVS and am so disappointed in the quality. Have any of you used CVS for photos? Do their pictures suck, or was it my picture taking and photo-shopping that sucked? Everything looks so orange and grainy. Yuck. Any clue?

And the winner is… June 30, 2008

FARM PARTY! Yes, I know that it is a critical decision that you all were waiting for with baited breath. 

I’ve already designed the invitations and picked up a fun barn/playhouse for the yard. Weee!!! Let the party prep begin!!!

We had a nice, but pretty low key weekend. 

Friday- dinner at home

Saturday- Eenie got a haircut. This is only his 2nd haircut and he looks SO CUTE. Pictures to follow when I get my a** in gear.

A had his first karate class. It was a disaster. He cried the whole time, would not put on his uniform and would not participate. Ugh. 

Went out for pizza. A insisted that he and I sit in our own booth, so A & I were in one booth and hubs and E were in another. I’m sure that people thought we were strange.

Hubs and I watched Dan in Real Life on Saturday night. I liked it a lot!

Sunday- skipped church. Went to Lowe’s for a new storm door for the kitchen. Scored the best bargain ever because we needed a custom size which would have to be special ordered for an extra cost, but… we found the exact thing in the clearance rack that someone had returned! Our exact measurements! At clearance price! I love a good bargain. 

Did stuff around the house. Ran errands. While at Tar-jay, I had the  bright idea that I would buy hair clippers and give the boys haircuts at home. Brilliant, right? A good money saving activity, right? I got home and put A in the special “haircut” chair (i.e. booster seat pulled into the kitchen) and started to cut his hair. He flips out, the clipper (not me!) goes crazy and A has a BALD SPOT on the side of his head. Oops. Luckily, hubs walks in and saves the day. I hold a hysterical child while hubby proceeds to cut the rest of his hair to match the bald spot. OH MY GOD. I am telling myself that 1. it will be cool for the summer and 2. he is too young to know/care. UGH. Bad mom moment.

 

 

>>yawn<< June 26, 2008

I shouldn’t complain… I get 8-9 hours of sleep a night, but I am STILL tired all of the time. I finally bit the bullet and made an appointment with my doctor. 

I’ve been busy thinking about Eenie’s 2nd birthday party in August. How is it that my baby is almost 2? I’m torn between a “farm” theme and an Elmo theme. Eenie LOVES Elmo, but I don’t want to do Elmo because 1. I don’t like licensed characters 2. Everyone does Elmo. I like the farm because it gives me more opportunity to be creative and unique. But… am I just being selfish? Am I making it about me, when I know that E would like Elmo? Who am I kidding?  I know that E really could care less what the “theme” of his party is so it’s really all about me anyway. 

Longest Day Ever! June 24, 2008

I am so sleepy today! I don’t know why because I got a pretty good night’s sleep. I feel bad because Hubs came in the room and woke me up today in the middle of an… um… >>steamy<< dream. I wanted to see how it turned out!! Oh well.

I just had the most frustrating lunch. I gobbled up my boring salad at my desk then ran out to return a shirt I bought that didn’t fit very nicely. I hate trying things on, so spend a ridiculous amount of time returning things. It took SO long and I was very grumpy. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about selling things on ebay lately. Is it worth it? Do any of you do it? I guess it must be since people sell so many things on there, but do you really make enough profit to warrant all of the work involved? Thoughts? I have a lot of STUFF and could certainly enjoy making money from it!

I love summer! June 23, 2008

Growing up, I was the strange kid who loved school, so I dreaded each year when summer would come around. We lived in a pretty rural area and both of my parents worked, so I was usually stuck at home with only my sister for company. 

So for me, the approach of summer was always filled with a little dread and the threat of boredom. This feeling stuck with me well into adulthood. I am now just getting over my hatred of summer. Now that I have 2 little boys, summer is full of long fun days, splashing in water, chasing down the ice cream man, and endless walks. I love it! It’s almost like I get a second chance at being a kid. 

We had yet another great summer weekend, full of a ton of activities. The boys were so happy and so was I!

Friday- We went to a music concert in our little town square. They had a band and water ice and soft pretzels. We met up with some neighbor friends there and the boys had an absolute blast running around. Hubs and I enjoyed the band and socializing.

Saturday- We went to hub’s company picnic. I was dreading it a little and nervous about a gathering full of stuffy lawyers. Boy- was I in for a nice surprise. Everyone was SO down to earth and nice! It was at hub’s boss’s house and they were such great hosts! There was a ton of activities for the kids. Not only did they LOVE getting into the pool, they enjoyed the moon bounce, the dunk tank, the face painting, and the crafts. By the end of the day, they were sugared up, exhausted, and very happy. We had a great time! A tried on water wings for the first time and had so much fun “swimming”. E could not get enough of the moon bounce or squirting water guns. 

Sunday- We had some school friends of A’s over for dinner and a playdate. We grilled up some yummy food on the grill and got to chat with the parents while the kids absolutely took over the yard. They laughed and dumped water on each other and got into everything and had an absolute blast. As the night wore on and the misquitos started to attack, we all went inside for dessert (peach pie and fresh whipped cream- yum!). At one point, I went upstairs and found A and 2 of his friends had all tucked themselves into bed. Heads on the pillow, under the covers, giggling like crazy- so cute. 

It was a perfect weekend!

And… I got my haircut! It might be a little less Kati*eHolmes and more Dor*othyHam*ill, but I love it… so easy to do.

Ta da!

Me! June 20, 2008

This is me, taken where I spend most of my life… my office… in front of my computer.

I am posting this because I’m getting my hair cut tomorrow! I’m thinking short! Should I do it? I love Katie Holmes’ chic little bob.

 

Fire Drill June 18, 2008

 

This blog is getting so boring! I am going to try to add pictures more often. Who doesn’t like a cute picture?

Here is a picture of my guys in their fireman hats. E is obsessed with hats. A is obsessed with fire drills. Apparently, they had one at school so now every time A hears a siren or bell, he asks if we are having a fire drill.

I was in NYC yesterday for work. It makes me so happy to not live in the big city. I know some people find the hustle and bustle invigorating, but it just overwhelms me and stresses me out. 

I am going to be on TV in Korea! I saw the DVD recently and I hate the way I look and sound. I brought home a copy last night to show hubs and the boys. The boys got a kick out of seeing Mommy on TV.

Summer Fun June 16, 2008

 

We had such a terrific weekend. I feel like I really got to spend some quality time with my little family. It felt so good. 

Friday- Snuggled on the couch and watched Ratatouille with the boys. Eenie went to bed and I fixed some yummy fettucine alfredo for a nice late dinner for me and Hubs. A, who had already had dinner, perked up and came sniffing around when he saw our food. He ended up eating most of my noodles. I didn’t mind though. He was so precious about it.

Saturday- I woke up early and made banana muffins as well as banana pancakes (can you tell that we had too many ripe bananas in the house?) and sausage for breakfast. Yum. Hubs took the boys to the playground so that I could do a quick pick up of the house. I managed to transfer my summer clothes (finally!) from storage to my closet. I hate my miniscule little closets!

Boys got home and we played in the pool. I made orzo salad with chicken and ripe tomatoes for lunch which we ate outside. Yes, this post is food heavy. Speaking of heavy, I am also after this weekend.

We had so much fun outside. The boys giggled nonstop!

They got a kick out of filling their little buckets and throwing water on me and hubs. Hub’s expression cracks me up in this picture.

Here is A fixing his little brother’s bucket handle when it came apart… so sweet!

I am one lucky Mommy!

A and I went to the train station while Eenie napped. A loves trains and often asks to go to the station to watch the trains go by. We had such a special time. He had to say “hi” and “bye” to the conductor each time that a train came. He also brought along his little toy trumpet. We would blow it and “trick” the other people into thinking that a train was coming. A would laugh uncontrollably each time we did this. I guess it’s one of those jokes that never gets old when you’re 3. We had such a wonderful time. He picked up a free auto  trader magazine and got such a kick out of a magazine that was just filled with pictures of cars. WOW MOM! LOOK AT ALL THESE CARS! He even asked tif he could take an extra one home for Daddy. Does that melt your heart? It should! I guess all of the excitement took its toll because poor A pooped in his pants (oops) and we had to go home.

We went out for a family dinner on Saturday night at a local pizza place. The 2 highlights- a group of guys “checked me out” while I was getting seated according to hubs (Thank you, God!) and a nice old lady said that the boys were so handsome but just look at their pretty Mommy. I think this is my new favorite restaurant! Anyway, dinner was enjoyable but a little stressful as the boys were quite “spirited”. They ate everything in sight. I had a scallop, mussels and shrimp pasta dish and Eenie ate ALL OF MY SCALLOPS. Expensive taste for a toddler. A slurped up every last bit of Hub’s clam sauce. Hmmm… Maybe I am feeding them the wrong things at home.

Sunday- Father’s Day was a very nice day as well. I made us some yummy eggs, cheese, and bacon on english muffins and we gave hubs his gifts. I got him a ton of new work clothes. A and E made crafts from school. I think Hubs was happy!

We went to church and enjoyed it as usual. I took E home afterwards while Hubs and A went to a carshow.

Hubs finished up our little garden bed and I  planted tomatoes, peppers, and basil. Fingers crossed that they grow as I am not a green thumb!

We had a delicious dinner outside- grilled steaks, pasta with pesto, and thick slices of tomato with fresh mozarella and basil.  We finished up with some yummy raspberries covered with freshly whipped cream. YUM! YUM! YUM! A wonderful weekend indeed! I am a few pounds heavier to prove it.

Kids say the darnedest things… June 13, 2008

A’s class has been focusing on fathers lately in preparation for Father’s Day this Sunday. During circle time, they were asked to describe their daddies. A said that his Daddy is handsome, smells nice, and is GETTING FAT! Ha! I thought that was pretty hilarious. 

I babysat for neighbor friend’s son last night since she was in a pinch. I was worried about handling 3 toddler boys, but they actually were very well behaved. They seem to have pack-like tendencies. They all had to go everywhere together, do whatever the others were doing, and play with the same items. At various parts of the night, I had 3 boys in firehats, 3 boys clutching their Elmos, 3 boys having snacks, and 3 boys squishing against me in one tiny corner of the sofa.  

I have been struggling with what to get hubs for Father’s Day, because I have really been trying to simplify our lives. Simplify= I don’t want another useless gadget or tool laying around the house. I finally think I know what to get him, but will stay quiet in case he reads this. 

I did an interview with a magazine yesterday for work and I swear that I sounded like a COMPLETE DOPE. I’m so embarrassed. I should let it go. C’est la vie, but instead lay ruminating about it all night.