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April 29, 2010

The Answer To Yesterday's Post

Yesterday I asked what was wrong with those pictures I posted in the previous post, and well, here are the answers.

The first pictures is of Lola and my husband. Despite Mooooog's guess that Kevin's pants are what's wrong with that picture (they are pretty funny. They're Scooby Doo pj pants. heheheheeeeee) that isn't the real problem. The real problems are A) Lola is trying to go cross eyed. B) She's wearing nothing but a diaper. No pj's despite the fact that it was bedtime. C) She's not in bed and it was way past her bedtime. We love her lots and allow her to get away with it every now and then. :D

The second picture, what's wrong with it? THAT'S NOT A BIRD AT THE BIRD FEEDER!! We have a lot of squirrels and they usually sit on the ground at the bird feeder and eat what falls out, but this guy (or girl) climbs up there every day and takes some of the food. Luckily, I love animals and allow this to go on, or we'd be havin' squirrel for dinner. I'm from the boonies of Kentucky, I can cook up some rodents if need be. ;)

The third picture is a picture I took yesterday, it's the end of April and no where near Christmas. Lex is on a wrapping kick and has been wrapping everything he can get his hands on. I blame Kevin for letting him do whatever it is he wants to do. Creativity is nice and all, and we really weren't going to use that paper, but still. He's just so cute, so I let him do it. It would be nice if he didn't put them on the stairs, where I almost killed myself!!! But he's cute, so i let it slide. o_O

The fourth picture is a picture of my Lola. You might be asking yourself "What's wrong with this picture? I don't see anything wrong with it!" And you're right!!!!! There's nothing wrong with the cuteness you see. Well, except the fact that Lola doesn't wear glasses, Lex does, but there she is, wearing glasses. :) And she looks mighty cute, too, if I may say so myself. :D

The fifth pictures is by far the craziest. Our son has the best laugh ever, and it's an insane kinda laughter. Seriously, people stop and laugh with him (or at him, I dunno) and say "He has the best laugh!" And they're right, he does. But his laughter isn't what's wrong with this picture. His darling cross eyed look is what's wrong. He goes cross eyed when he doesn't wear his glasses, which is the second thing that's wrong with that picture. Where were his glasses?! Who knows. Someone should be paying attention, but Kevin was the one making him laugh and I was, well, taking the pictures!! :)

Picture #6 always makes me smile. I don't know if it's Lola's expression, or the fact that she's naked or the fact that she's stuffed into her doll's stroller, but I love this picture. :) And yes, everything I just wrote is what's wrong with this picture. Well, except her expression, which is pretty darn cute. Lo will be 2 in June and is starting to do 2 year old things. Sitting in her doll stroller and grunting at me to push her around is just one of them. :)

I love taking pictures of the silly things my kids do and they do a lot of silly things. A lot. I just wish my teenager would let me take her picture. But she's too cool to pose for her old Mom. -_- I'll get her though, when she least expects it. HAHAHA!


April 27, 2010

Back To Business!!

I'm back! Everyone in my home survived that awful stomach flu. Blah! Everyone is happy and healthy again. Well, everyone except Lola. She has decided to turn 2 early. -_- 2 with a dash of 3. For example, today I was scrubbing my kitchen and she came to the gate whining. I asked her what she wanted and she went on to grunt and scream, but gave my no real answer, so I told her in a very firm voice to go sit down or go play, Mommy was busy. If she didn't sit down in front of the gate and start kicking it as hard as she could and going "AHH! AHH!!!" O_O Then she went off and played. Obviously I did something wrong, but I don't know what. She's coming into her own little person and showing us just who's boss......and it's not us. :D

Besides the sickness, Lola's tantrums and my lack of sleep and time, things have been well. We spent all of last week in the house or in the yard when the wether permitted. Just trying to keep the kids isolated from everyone else but busy and happy at the same time.  Kevin and I did end up going to the movies on Friday night to see Kick Ass. Awesome. Movie. Just AWESOME!! I loved it. Of course, we went straight home afterwards because we had to, because you know, someone might wake up pukig on us. Did I mention I was home with the kids by myself all week and I was sick? I had to call my Mom in on Friday so she could take care of Lex while I cared for Lola. My biggest fear was giving it back to Lex. So my Mom was there till Saturday morning at which time I promptly  took her back home because, well, she really isn't much of a help at all. I end up cleaning up after her and the kids. All set. Everyone was better by Sunday so we went out to eat. The next morning Raven woke me up saying she was sick. Back to bed she went! She couldn't have got it while she was on Spring vacation, could she?! -_- Geesh!

Needless to say with all that has been going on I've been slacking in the Operation Get Sexy department. I drank wine last week, a lot. Hey, don't judge!! I was stressed!!!!! :D But this week it's back to business!! Today I made my own lunch/dinner to bring to work with me. No pictures, sorry. I'll take some of it later in the week when I have it again for dinner. It's sooooo yummy! What am I having?! I'm having a Greek salad with grilled chicken.  Mmmmm!!! I can't get enough of green peppers lately. I love them! Yes, I eat them raw. Raw veggies are so good for you. If you're looking to eat healthier or to lose weight there are a few things to remember......portion sizes, watch your fat and sugar intake, no sodas, eat organic if you can, lots of fruits and veggies and remember to drink water. Water is good!!! There are so many so called "perfect diets" out there, but if you take a look at your daily routine and tweak it a bit, add some exercise to it and watch what you eat, you'll feel and look better in no time! NOW! This is what I put in my Greek salad.......

A few Romaine leaves cut into little pieces so I can shove more in my mouth
2 tomatoes—cut into wedges (I like the sweet Grape or Cherry Tomatoes)

¼ red onion—sliced into rings

½ cucumber—sliced into thick half-moons

1 green pepper (capsicum)—julienned

A handful of feta cheese (I like the crumbled kind)

16 kalamata olives cut into pieces

1 plain thin chicken breast filet grilled then cut into strips (I just use a drop of olive oil in the pan)

I don't use dressing, just a little bit of salt and pepper. Not much though. I could eat that all day long. And that is exactly what I'm about to do. I'll be back with something more creative/funny/photo'ish soon. Promise!!

April 24, 2010

Chaotic

Things here have been chaotic. Lex was sick, then Lola was sick, then Kevin and I were sick and then Lola was really sick again. I've been caring for sick kids for over a week now and I can say that the stomach flu and I want to kill each other. My stomach hurts. Bad. That is part of being a Mommy.......you suck it up and move on. And that is exactly what I've been doing. It's tough, not sleeping, then having to get up with my 4 year old, having to clean, all the while pretending I'm not sick, then waiting on the baby to wake up so I can care for her. I went in to get her as soon as she started stirring and she had puked all over herself while she was sleeping, of course. -_- Wonderful. More laundry, more disinfecting, more cleaning.......a Mother's work is never done. I'm not complaining. No, wait, yes I am....I'm complaining about my kids having to deal with the stomach virus. I hate seeing them sick, puking, helpless and I can do nothing for them. I hate that my baby whines constantly because her stomach is cramping up. I hate that my 4 year old is scared to eat and looks like he weighs 10 pounds less than he did a week ago. This sucks. But what are ya gonna do? Besides care for them, clean up after them, rock them, whisper that it's going to be ok despite the fact that they are puking their brains out.......that is all I can do, and I do it with a smile on my face in hopes that  it makes them feel a little better. :) I love my babies and I'd do anything for them. Yes, even scrub my house 2-3 times daily for over a week straight. Now that's love. Oh, and if you were wondering where my teenager is this whole time....well, she booked it outta here the first sign of puke. Luckily it's Spring vacation here, so she's had plenty of places to go. :D She's home now and I'm hoping she stays healthy!! For the time being I'll leave you with a reminder that things will get better.


:)

April 19, 2010

Clorox Is My Bestfriend Today

My son woke me up at 5 a.m. screaming and gagging. We barely made it to the bathroom in time. He has been dry heaving up bile all morning. Not much in there, I guess. Luckily Lola slept late this morning and I was able to snooze on the couch with Lex in between his puking spells. Boy, I tell ya what, a 20 minutes power nap really does a lot of good when you're running on empty. At one point he was so exhausted from puking I had to hold him up while he puked. My poor little man. :( He finally slept for a few hours and is now drinking sips of water and had a popsicle. No pee yet, I'm waiting for it though.

I'm in the process of airing out my bedroom and disinfecting everything. I don't mess around!! Sometimes Clorox is needed. I usually use all natural cleaners, but I'm a germaphobe and need to make sure everything is germ free. So here are my BFFs........for today....

  




























I'm also terrified Lola will catch it. Not good! I don't think she'd be able to give me notice like Lex does. He screams before he pukes. Yay.  -_- Anyway. I'm exhausted and ready for bed. Yes, already. I'll manage though because I'm the MOM and that's what Mom's do. :) I'll leave you with cuteness.....






p.s.~ While I was writing this post I caught my husband giving Lex chocolate. CHOCOLATE!!! WTF was he thinking? He can deal with the puking if it starts again. -_-

April 17, 2010

And She's Off!!!!

Well, she's off very, very slowly. :D Lola started walking yesterday. It's not a full-time gig just yet, she still prefers to crawl, but she is at least doing it. I am flat out refusing to pick her up and carry her anywhere. She is just going to have to do it herself. :) I can't wait to tell Patty. I'm actually hoping Lola will be mostly walking by then. A Mommy can dream, right? :) Picture time!!!!









Sorry, I went a little crazy with the pictures, but can you blame me? This is HUGE for her!! HUGE!!! I am so proud. :) Know what else I'm happy about? One less appointment on our calendar soon. I like Early Intervention and all, but I hate having appointments, hate it! So this will probably be the beginning of the end between Lola and Early Intervention. I can't wait to get her little diploma!! HAHAHAHAA!!! That will be awesome. Just awesome.


April 16, 2010

Day #17 Of Early Intervention

It's working!! Finally! Well, I think that Lola is finally willing to at least try and walk. Patty came over and brought the "round and round" (that's what the kids call it) with her to see if Lola would like to try it out. The object of this thing is to make her dizzy so her brain is tricked into helping her balance. Or something like that. The inner ear helps with keeping you upright, if she is moved around, spun around till she's dizzy, he turns on, which in turn makes her more stable, believe it or not. After using it just a few times she was able to stand up on her own and she stood there for about 30+ seconds, then took a few steps. Patty was very impressed and thought it would be a good idea to leave it here with us for the next 2 weeks. I've been working with her everyday since and I've noticed that she is way more confident, she's not as wobbly and she's standing on her own a lot. :D The other night while Kevin and I were watching t.v., I was on the floor with her, she stood up next to me, looked at me and said...."Momma, I walkawalkawalk ah Daddy" and took off to Kevin. She took 6 steps on her own!! I was so impressed. She just did it! Patty had the wonderful idea of "just ignore her and let her guide you" and it is working. I haven't talked about walking to her, I haven't even tried to make her stand up on her own and she is now trying it on her own. She's a willful little thing! Stubborn and willful, that's our Lo. :) I had to refrain from calling Patty and telling her because I thought if I did I'd jinx it, so I'll wait till our next session to tell her. Maybe by then I'll have more to tell! :) Anyway. I'll leave you with a few pictures of Miss. Lola and her "round and round".




April 13, 2010

Feeling Out Of Sorts Lately...

I don't know what it is, but I haven't been feeling well at all. It seems like it's getting worse and not better. I have no time for myself, I never go anywhere alone, except shopping and even then someone always wants to tag along. It feels like PMS but worse. Every time I try to sit down and do something one of the kids starts crying or needs me, or wants something or just won't leave me alone. I'm thinking it's time I go somewhere alone, and I'm not talking about the fucking grocery store either! I think I'll go to the movies.....alone. I hate feeling this way, and it only happens once or twice a year, but when it does happen I have got to get out!!! It doesn't help that I hate having to tell everyone what to do, no one just does anything around here lately out of the goodness of their heart. I also can't stand to even look at my husband. Horrible, I know, but you know what....it happens. How I deal with it is what matters. And so far I've been doing pretty good. I haven't tried to hurt anyone yet. :) It irks me that my husband still talks about having more kids, too! What is that about?!?! We are maxed out. I am maxed out! Two is plenty, get over it.

((sigh)) I have, actually, been reading a good book lately, even if I do have to sneak into the bathroom to get some reading time in. -_- It's called ANGELOLOGY, and it's great! You can read about it here......
















I didn't think I'd like it, but I do. I need more reading material though and stat! The bathroom is calling me. It's saying...."You know you wanna come sit on the porcelain throne and read. Come on!!!!!" HAH! My husband thinks I have some kind of bathroom issue......no Dear, it's called "Mommy's quiet time". :D

I'll be ok. I'll feel even better once "SHE" gets here and then leaves. Ugh. BUT! There is good news!!! I'm bloated, and I mean bloated, but I'm still in my skinny jeans!! YAY!! Wait, not those ugly ass "skinny jeans" that kids are shoving themselves into. I mean the jeans that fit me when I'm not on my period. If you're female you know what I'm talking about. :D That means Operations GET SEXY is working. Lovely!!!



p.s.~ I totally just wrote this post without one of the kids coming to look for me or bother me. They are still playing quietly in Lex's room. Wonderful! Today is going to be a good day. :)

April 9, 2010

Patience

Patience is not something I have a lot of. My husband has way more than I do. I have to force myself to be patient. Some days it's really hard, especially when I'm PMS'ing, or I'm sick or I haven't had enough sleep. That's when I'm running on the "E" in the patience tank. Those days are tough. Luckily, I have really sweet/cute kids who love to turn my frown upside down. ):) I really think that how we were raised has a huge impact on our lives. A long time ago, when I was pregnant with Raven, I said this to my Mother and she said..."You can try and blame me, but you're responsible for yourself. So what if I was a horrible Mother. Get over it." She's just a little ray of sunshine!! -_- Anyway. I have worked hard over the years to control my angry/rage/stress/depression and I am extremely proud of myself. When Raven was born I swore to myself that I would be a better Mom than my Mother ever was. From that day on it was a battle. It didn't help that I was a single Mom who had no idea what she was doing and virtually no help at all. I was a lone with this tiny baby who had reflux, but at the time we had no idea what was going on. This was 14 years ago, and I thought it was "normal", or so said everyone I asked. Even her Pedi said "she's just a fussy baby". Thank goodness we've come a long way!

Fast forward 4 years 1/2 years......I meet my husband. We fell in love and got married. That's a whole new set of issues I had to learn to deal with. Patience? Ugh. Not enough in the world. LOL!! Actually, we did fine. Fast forward 5 more years when we started TTC my #2 and our first child together. I never had pregnancy hormone induced rage when I was pregnant with Raven, but boy, oh boy did I have it when I was pregnant with Lex. Patience was a must, and I taught myself how to be patient...AGAIN! You see, I'm learning all the time!

Over the years I've had to relearn how to be patient. Everyday it's a battle. Well, not everyday. Some days are almost perfect. Like today. Today I woke up in a great mood. I'm calm, well rested and ready for the weekend!! But then there are days when both Kevin and I have to stop.....breath.....and try not to lose our cool. For example......


Yes, those are scratch marks on our car. Of course we knew Lex did it, so when Kevin asked him why and what he used he responded...."I used a rock. It says "I love you, Daddy". Now how can you be angry at that? But before Kevin talked to Lex he was furious. Can you blame him? No. What we try to remind ourselves of every day is that one day they will be grown, they won't want to be around us anymore, they'll have lives of their own and we'll be calling them everyday to just hear their voices. Scratches can be removed, broken things can be fixed or replaced, the mess doesn't matter, crumbs can be cleaned up, but if I lose my temper on my children, I can't take that back. They'll remember it just like I remember everything my Mother did to me. So I take a step back, breath and try to smile while I'm cleaning up whatever mess it is they've made. It can be really hard, and I'm only human, but I think I'm doing a pretty good job. :)

April 7, 2010

April 6, 2010

Spring Is Finally Here

I couldn't be happier that Winter is over. Last year the Seasons were so messed up, it felt like we didn't have a Spring or Summer. It felt like we were in a perpetual crappy Spring. I'm hopeful that this year will be different. :) So far, so good. Everyday has been sunny and pleasantly warm. The kids are loving being outside. I find that I spend more time outside than inside, which I love. My garden is looking lovely!!! Last year hardly anything came up, let alone bloomed. -_- I was not happy about that. Money wasted! I buy seeds and bulbs every year just to keep adding to what is already there because I would like my gardens to be overflowing with flowers and plants. I like that. :) I also think some of my bulbs have shifted. All my daffodils seemed to have spread out. :| Our house is on a hill, so I'm assuming that when it rains the ground shifts and hence, the shifting. I'm no gardener, but that sounds pretty accurate to me.

Kevin and I have been talking about buying a bigger house. We've outgrown this one. Already! It's only been 3 years. o_O I hate moving, but he's right, we need more room. I was an Army Brat and moved every 2-4 years of my life since age 3. When I was 13 I vowed to settle down and stop moving when I grew up. And I've done just that. Sure, I've lived in apartments here and there, but for the most part I've lived in the same 2 places in the past 15 years.....here in Massachusetts or Kentucky. Now that I have a family of my own I want top give them something stabile. I'd love to stay here forever, but like I said, we've outgrown this house. It won't be anytime soon, maybe in a few years, but we definitely need to start planning. :) We've already talked about what we do and don't want. What we want.......


  • 4+ bedrooms
  • 2 bathrooms
  • Large kitchen with plenty of updates
  • Private yard, if the kids are older a pool would be fine, but not if they're still young, that makes me nervous. Plenty of space for gardening, I'd prefer there already be lots of stuff planted so I can move in and just start caring for them. 
  • We would like a large shed or barn
  • Finished basement
  • Laundry room upstairs
  • Big deck
  • A farmer's porch
  • Plenty of windows
  • Lots of closets
  • I'd like a walk-in pantry but I can do without
  • It has to be move-in condition
  • And we would like to live somewhere near a town, but kinda secluded 
That's not much to ask, is it? :) No, I'm not picky at all. You know what would sell me? If it had a cherry blossom tree on the property. ((sigh)) That would be soooooo nice. I love them. I was actually thinking of planting one here, but I'm afraid we'll move and I'd hate to leave it? That sounds silly, doesn't it? I get attached to my plants/flowers/trees. :) 

Anyway. This is all in the future, but when it comes to buying your forever home you have got to get it right. And to get it right you have got to plan, plan, plan!!! So we're planning. Until then, I'll leave you with some gorgeous outdoor playtime pictures....





p.s.~ Do you like my layout? I love it!

April 5, 2010

PMS, Preschool & Poopy Diapers

That is my life right now. My teenager acts like she is in a constant state of PMS and it's driving me crazy. Moody, mean and just plain horrible to be around at times. But then she expects everyone to do what she wants them to do. How is that fair? Don't even get me started on the boys. She's not aloud to have boyfriends, but that doesn't stop her from doing it behind my back. -_- Hey, I did it, too. There are worse things she could be doing behind my back, right? Anyway. She came to me and said...."Mom, there's this boy that I really, really like and he really, really, likes me, too. And he like, wants to go out with me, like officially. He said he even wants to meet you and Daddy" Ugh. I hate this. There is nothing worse than a teenage girl dating. Oh wait, there's always teenage girls driving. Now that's scary! I can't even think of that right now. So I talked to Kevin and he thinks the same thing I do.....she's gonna do it anyway, might as well know about it. Agreed. One of us is taking her and her new boyfriend to the movies next weekend. Yuck. I told her that he attitude had better improve with this news or she'll be babysitting while Kevin and I go out to the movies! Let's see if that happens.

I caved. I caved and am letting Lex go to preschool. Why did I change my mind? Because he really wants to go to school. That is all he talks about lately....school, school, school. Maybe it's because Raven goes to school and he wants to be like her, or maybe he just wants to get out of the house like Raven. HAH! So whatever. It's gonna cost us $150 a month! We went and looked at one that's about a 5 minute drive from our house and he really liked it. We liked it, too. The teachers were super nice, the place was very clean, they work with the kids to prepare them for Kindergarten  and not just "babysit" them for 2 1/2 hours a day, 3 days a week. He would be going Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 9-11:30 a.m., with the option to go longer till 1. We're still talking about it. To be honest, I don't think Kevin is ready to let go just yet. I really don't. But then again, he's not the one who has to teach him here at home, I am. I think this will be good for him. :)

Lola, oh Lola. Miss. Lola still is not walking. ((sigh)) At this point I am at a loss. I don't know what to do anymore. She hates Early Intervention, she hates it when we try and make her walk and she just hates walking period. Almost all her jeans have holes in them now from her crawling around outside. -_- She's getting to the point where she doesn't like her hands to be dirty, which then means she cries a lot when we're outside. It's starting to not be enjoyable for me anymore. I still do it so Lex can be outside, but she doesn't last very long. It's unfair to him. Even going to the park is hard work. I have to carry her around, and if I put her down she cries and won't crawl. She loves to slide and she's good at going up the stairs, which is great because the park we go to has a toddler area. That gives my poor arms a break for about a minute, then she dives head first down the slide. o_O I ache. We just got back from the park and I'm dead tired now. Ugh.  She has so much fun though, so I do it. :) She's been really cranky lately, too. She's constipated again, that may be why. -_- We're on day #3 or Miralax and now the wait begins......lots of poopy diapers comin'!! HAH!

So that's my busy, hectic, fun life at the moment. I'm happy to say that I've started my gardening early this year. YAY!! I can't wait to add more flowers ever where. It's going to look amazing out there. Being in the Sun has helped my mood so much. I wasn't doing too good last week. I skipped a lot of exercises and drank wine during the week. BOOOO!!! I feel bloated and floppy. I'm back though! I did my morning exercises, ate right and now I'm going to go do more exercises. Might as well while I have to time. It's not often that the house is quiet, so I like to take advantage of it. :) I'll leave you with a picture from yesterday....