Newest Love

Today I was able to spend a few hours with my newest love.

 

I never thought I would see a 4 lb, 4 oz. baby and say, "She's so big!"

 

But I did because she is so big compared to the last time I saw her when she weighed 2 lbs, 11 oz. 

 

 

I'm so in love!

Meltdown and a Beer

If my children's rooms didn't look like the setting of a Hoarders episode, I would not have had a mommy meltdown.

If it weren't for the mommy meltdown, I likely would not have wanted a beer.

If I didn't want a beer, I would not have walked into the garage at 9 pm. 

If I had not walked into the garage at 9 pm, I would not have discovered that our garage door was wide open.

If I would not have discovered that our garage door was wide open, the door would have remained open all night long, granting access to whomever decided to walk right in our house.

And that is how a meltdown and a beer saved the day. 
Thank you, meltdown.  Thank you, beer.

Almost a Free Day

I initially thought that I could breathe a little life back into this blog by starting where I left off months ago and eventually catch up to the here and now.  I've now realized that will never play out as I had imagined it would (like most things in my disorganized world).  I've just got to jump into today and perhaps throw in a few summer memories along the way.

Our day:

We slept in until around 0745.  Ugh.  Only during the school year is sleeping in considered 0745.  Steve took J to basketball practice.  Yes, bball in August.  Don't get me started.  The boys were home by 1010.

We had nothing (nothing!!) on the schedule for the rest of the day.  This is a rare occurrence for our family these days. 

Me to Steve:  I feel like we should do something since we don't have anywhere to be today.  But I also feel we should do absolutely nothing since we don't have anywhere to be. 

Absolutely nothing won.  Well, mostly won.  We made a meal plan for the week as a family (trying this again for the 1000th time).  Steve braved Wal-Mart alone.  He survived.  Barely.  We had simple meals.  J played with neighbor friends.  Steve napped.  Then I napped.  No laundry.  No cleaning.

And E played school...ALL day long.  ALL day. 

 

After dinner, we did finally leave the house to get free books at Barnes & Noble for completing the summer reading program.  We also stopped by Target. 

 

E insisted on spending her own money on reading glasses "because teachers wear glasses".

 

It may have taken two weeks, but I think E is finally a fan of school.  Yeah!



Growing Up

There's no doubt my lovelies are growing up.

The evidence isn't just in the physical sense but also in the conversations we have.

The conversations are still hilarious at times, but we're entering a new kind of hilarious.  My crude sense of humor and I look forward to our future with these two. 

 

 

J:  Mom, what's the deal with twins?  How does that work?

 

Me:  (Too long of a biological explanation to type verbatim, but it led to this...)  There's even a mom who had eight babies at one time.  They call her the Octomom. 

 

E:  Eight!  That's a lot in one batch.

 

J:  What did she say?!?

 

E:  Batch.  She said, "That's a lot in one batch."

 

J:  Oh, I thought she said the "b" word.

 

Me:  No, batch.

 

E:  What's the "b" word?

My First Ever TBT

Sooooo, summer's officially over as far as we're concerned.  J and E started school on Tuesday.  Yep, E is in the big K now, so this is a new stage of life for our family of  four (+  a beta and one praying mantis that Steve found today).  After we all work through the five stages of grief over the loss of our fabulous summer, I'm sure we'll be just fine.  I'm still stuck on denial; however, finally putting our suitcases away from last month's trip to Aruba (ARUBA!!!) might be a step in the right direction.  Oh, Aruba, how I miss you so!

Since I've taken quite the blogging hiatus, I'm not even sure where to start.  A lot happens in three+ months.  Since it's Thursday and E was practicing The Pledge tonight, how about a little throwback? 

Be still, my heart.  Be still.

My Little Helper

About every three minutes during any ride in the car, E and I have a conversation similar to this...

E:  What's the speed limit?

Me:  45 miles per hour

E:  How fast are you going?

Me:  48 miles per hour

E:  Mom, you are supposed to go the speed limit or a little bit under.  That's the law.


Does anyone else ever feel like they have junior law enforcement officers hanging out in the backseat?

If You Say So

Me:  E, I cannot believe you are going to be in kindergarten.

E:  Mom, it has to happen sometime.

The Teacher Probably Thinks We Have a Problem

J:  Mom, I kind of got in trouble today for something I said.  I didn't have to go to the safe seat though.

 

Me:  What did you say?

 

J:  Well, Mrs. A asked, "What can you do with money?", and I raised my hand and said, "You can bet with it."

 

I couldn't even contain my amusement.  And J's black and white mind couldn't understand why this wasn't a desirable answer in the 2nd grade.

 

On the same day, I found this in J's backpack.  He told me he just was passing time.  Obviously, he still has plenty of independent free time during his school day. 

 

 

 

 

Wait a second!  Casino manager? 

 

Two gambling references in one school day.

 

Add this to the NCAA basketball brackets J was obsessing over during class time, and I'm willing to guess his teacher probably thinks we have a problem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring is in the air

and E is spoiled!

The Only Easter Photos I Took

 

 

There is something so special about having cousins the same age!

Waiting

Good friends are worth waiting for.

 

He Nailed It

Her First Book

An Un-feel good story "writt" by E:

 

 

 

and name is J and my name E.

 

And I love my brother.

 

And  love my mom and dad.

 

and my whole life has been my brother

 

yelling at me.

 

And they all lived happily ever after, right?

 

 

Bursting His Bubble

J:  I can't wait until middle school so I can bring money to buy more food at lunch.

Me:  Why?  You don't get enough to eat now?

J:  No.  That's why middle school will be so much better.

Me:  You do know that they have a lot of rules about portion sizes and how much kids can eat at school lunch, right?

J:  Seriously, I knew Michelle Obama would get in the way of things.  That (school) is where I count on getting a lot of junk food.  It's awesome!

Just Thinkin'

Eight and almost two months

Happy birthday, J!

Umm, happy belated-by-almost-two-months birthday, J!

 

We had an impromptu party with family at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  J's only input was, "I don't want any kind of theme for this party."  As much as Steve and I love a good theme to work around, having a simple party was much more in line with my winter level of ambition.

 

 

This celebration turned into a month long party.

 

On his birthday...

 



 

He wrapped up the month with a Creighton basketball game with Steve (in a suite!) and also had a friend over for a sleepover. 

 

Lots of fun for a great kid! 

We love you, J!

Metal Mouth

 So J's orthodontic plan was to endure the palate expander for about six months.  We were told he'd have to wear a nighttime retainer after the appliance was removed.  Easy enough.

 

  After a rough (r.o.u.g.h!) few days, he really did adjust to the beast rather well.  He even survived swallowing an inch-long, sharp, metal, rod-shaped piece.  I, however, barely survived because I allowed myself to mentally live out the worse case scenario of our son swallowing a sharp metal object.  Thankfully, my worries never became reality.

 

At a recent check up, the orthodontist started rattling off the plan.

 

I'm guessing the expression on my face was similar to this...

as she spoke of taking out the appliance, placing some brackets on the front teeth, and adding a retainer to be worn at all times. 

 

J did have an entire week free of metal in his mouth, so he immensely enjoyed popcorn, Skittles, and gum.  E also immensely enjoyed popcorn, Skittles, and gum.  She's such a good supporter.

 

On the way home from getting all geared up again, we were discussing the cost of orthodontic care.  I was sure to let J know how important it is to be very responsible with his retainer because we've already spent $1650 and are far from the $5,000+ full set of braces that he'll surely need.

 

J: Five thousand dollars!  I'm so sorry, Mom.  I'm so sorry.

 

Me:  Don't be sorry.  It's not your fault.  But I might require you to wear a retainer for the rest of your life. 

 

It's a Date

E received a phone call on Friday evening.  A handsome guy asked her out on a date.  She thoughtfully chose her outfit and carefully watched as her hair was braided.  Upon taking one final look in the mirror before heading out, she proudly exclaimed, "I'm only five, and I'm wearing lipstick!  Can you believe it?" 

 

I know she enjoyed her dinner and the movie, but there's no doubt that her date stole the show.

Love!

Two Can Play This Game

Approximately fifteen minutes after our failed conversation about hurt feelings, J ran up the stairs and nailed his knee on the corner of the wall.  It hurt.  He cried.  A lot.

Steve walked over to J and said, "Well, sometimes in life you get hurt.  That happens.  That's a part of life."  Then he turned around and walked away. 

Now that was an effective lesson in empathy.

How Not to Have a Conversation About Hurt Feelings

E:  J, you really hurt my feelings when you called me a pest.

(Long, awkward silence)

E:  Like, I left the room and cried two times today because you called me a pest.

(Long, awkward silence)

Me: J, she's talking to you.

J:  Oh.  I'm thinking what to say.

(Really long, awkward silence).

J:  Well, sometimes in life you're going to get your feelings hurt.  That happens.  That's a part of life.

Me:  (Slow, defeated head shake with concerned expression.)

J:  What?  It is.

Real Food

Me:  So there's this family that committed to eating "real" food for 100 days.

E:  What's real food?

J:  No junk.  You make everything at home.

Me:  Everyone's idea of real food is a little different, but I think they choose to define it by no processed foods, no sugar, and only whole grains. 

E:  Oh.

Me:  What do you think?

J:  I'll do 100 minutes of real food. 

A little more effort, please.

J:  Mom, do you think if a kid is really, really naughty and won't stop it that a teacher would say a naughty word?

Me:  No.

J:  Why?

Me:  Because they've trained themselves not to say naughty words around kids.

J:  Do you even try?

She IS my Daughter

Me to Siri:  Where is Complete Children's Health?

Siri:  I cannot find complete children's help.

Me:  Ugh.  Complete Children's Health.

Siri:  I cannot find complete children's help.

E from the backseat of the car:  Siri sucks at her job.

What Would You Do?

I've always admired the thoughtful, well-spoken, contemplators in this world because this concept is so foreign to me.  Before these types are able to even start an "I feel" statement, I've already spewed out strings of profanity and come up with a dozen reasons why something is stupid or unacceptable. 

 

I truly do feel that God's been at work in my heart, but those every day things can still get me so fired up. 

 

You know what I'm talking about...

school drop off and pick up,

discovering a termite infestation,

a neighborhood baby only wearing a diaper outside on a 40 degree day,

stupid, stupid people on The Bachelor,

inefficient and/or illogical processes,

or my son coming home from a haircut that we paid for with this hack job...

 

 

Even though I knew that a few weeks of growth was the only thing saving this disaster (his bangs were cut more than halfway around the circumference of his head), I insisted that Steve take him back.  My boys thought I was completely over-reacting. Who? Me?

 

Thankfully, a month or so has passed, and everything is looking better.

 

But I still am curious...

What would you do if your son came home looking like a brother to Lloyd Christmas?

Send him back to Edward Scissorhands so she can see what a terrible job she did,

or

just let it grow in peace.

 

 

 

 



Who needs a cat?

Winter Blahs

There's something about winter (lack of Vitamin D, frigid temps, negative wind chills, no grilled foods, layers of clothing, lost hats and gloves, more darkness, no flip-flops) that totally zaps my level of motivation.  For the most part, I just have to grin and bear it and push ahead.  But this past 4-6 weeks has completely gotten the best of me and my to-do list. 

Although I've found myself at home a bit more due to a thinned down winter activities schedule, I sure as heck am not accomplishing more around here.  There are plenty of things to do, but I've either gotten really (too) good at not caring letting go or I've managed to become a slug.  Case in point:  I put laundry away yesterday (Monday) that I washed last Wednesday.  It hadn't even been folded yet.   

Oh, boy.  Something's gotta change.  The good news is that Spring is in the air (minus the rain/snow mix that's forecasted for tonight), and hopefully, I'll thaw out of this winter funk.  Even more good news, the kids are sure getting to be fantastic helpers...Light bulb!  This blog would be much more up-to-date if I taught J and E to upload photos for me.  I'll add that to my growing to-do list. 

Come on, Spring.  You can't get here fast enough. 

Speaking Her Love Language

Some of the very best ways to show your love to a princess: 

Curl her hair.

Paint her nails.

Apply a touch of makeup.

Have a mini photo shoot.