Things I will totally (maybe) do this year....

Every year, I have the same idea that if I share my goals publicly, I will be held accountable. That hasn't seemed to work yet, but maybe this year.....Really, it's kind of y'alls fault....right? For not holding me accountable? Yes, let's go with that.

And now, my goals for 2014!

1. This is our year of saving money. Sometime in the very near future, we will either need a new car totally or need to put a lot of money into my current ghetto ride. So, if I have any chance of getting a new one, I need to save, save, save!!! Our goal is to save the equivalent of  an estimated car payment each month. We will have it auto drafted into our savings account, so we can't forget or ignore it. This is where y'all come in....what are your best tricks for saving money? I am accepting any and all awesome suggestions. 

2. I need to be more intentional in my friendships. Call my friends more, email more, actually invite people over....Actually accept invitations. I have a few sweet friends who used to invite me to do stuff all the time and even though I TOTALLY wanted to, it just never worked out. I was always having to say no. Now, they don't even try. I guess I wouldn't either. But I need to figure that crap out. Figure out a way to make it all work. I like friends. My goal will be to call/email 2 friends each week simply to say hello and check in. 

3. Lose 10 pounds....blah, blah, blah....(but for real...) The goal will be to lose it by going to the gym/being active at least 4 times a week. Once it is off, I have to keep it off. If it comes back, it doesn't count!

4. I really need to be more restrictive with the TV time around here. It's just SO much easier to let them watch Cars (for the millionth time) while I am trying to make dinner or do chores. Hopefully it will be a nice spring and I can kick them out to the back yard more often! The goal will be a certain amount of TV time each day (haven't decided on a number) and then it gets turned off.

5. I will actually start reading my Bible. I should be doing this already. I should have done this a long time ago. Yeah, yeah....I get it. It's just not something I do. And, to be completely honest, it's going to be a challenge. I know this makes me sound awful, but....it's just...blerg. I will do it. Goal-read scripture or a Bible study book for at least 10 minutes a day.

6. Learn to pray. I say some really awesome prayers at bedtime....but on my own? Throughout the day? Giving thanks in all circumstances? Laying my concerns at His feet? Um....not so much. I have recently been reading a book series called, The Yada Yada Prayer Group (super lame title, I know...) and it has honestly challenged me to learn to pray. To pray scripture. To praise Him first. To go to Him immediately with everything. Not sure how to measure this....I just need to work on it.

So......there you have it! My goals for 2014! Honestly, I am excited for this year. We have nothing major on the books, no huge transitions or anything. It's just going to be a year of contentment and counting my blessings. Or, so I hope :) HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

So, this is Christmas....And what have you done?

Anybody get the Celine Dion reference? Oh man, I love me some Celine Dion Christmas....

I decided early on in December to just ignore this space for a little while. To be honest, I just didn't want to deal with posting anything....But I want to make sure that our awesome holiday season is documented, so away we go....

Our Elf made his first visit to our home this year and he was a big hit! Not surprisingly, the mornings when he made a mess or got into trouble were the biggest winners. Also, the morning that Elfie waged war on the dinosaurs (stupid Elfie...who goes up against dinosaurs?) There were a few mornings when Elfie didn't show up because Jonathan jacked with him the day before (for those not well versed in Elf rules...you are not allowed to touch him or he loses his ability to fly.) or he was gone on one of a few trips to the Elf emergency room because Jonathan "tried to help him" and in the process, knocked him around a little.

We were lucky enough to get invited to lots of fun Christmas parties, Christmas play groups, dinners with friends etc... (I know, you are probably jealous cause we are so popular. But, before you lose your head, let me be honest and admit that most of those parties were with the same people, work engagements or family....) Either way, it was fun to celebrate so much!

We made lots of cookies and gingerbread men, so Jonathan is now ready for a job in the Sam's bakery department (he says they have the best cookies). Let me just say, his icing skills are stellar. Especially with bright blue icing...

For Christmas, Aunt Katie and my parents came to celebrate with us and Zacks parents. We spent Christmas eve playing, eating, working in the yard and playing outside. We merged our family traditions and had tamales (me!) and fajitas (Zack!) for dinner that night....It was delicious, but I will NEVER understand people that don't like good tamales....y'all are weirdos. Before the boys went to bed, we put out cookies, opened new Christmas jammies, sprinkled carrots in the yard for the reindeer and watched the sky for the Big Guy. Jonathan was really getting into it :) Once they fell asleep, Santa came ;)

Christmas morning was all kinds of awesome and full of tradition overload. Stockings, gifts, breakfast casserole, hot chocolate, more gifts etc...It was absolutely perfect and made this girl's cheesy little heart VERY happy. I LOVE the picture of Matthew playing with Buzz Lightyear....check out all the cars in his hand...he has walked around with those cars since that morning. EVERY WHERE HE GOES. And Aunt Katie freaking won Christmas this year with her gift....a Power Wheels Jeep. The boys went nuts. They have asked to go drive it about a million times a day since then. Way to go Kates, you win.

Finally, this past weekend, we headed to Austin to celebrate with my entire extended family. For the first time in YEARS, we were all together and it was so great. Jonathan and Matthew were able to play with cousins they rarely see....some of which had never even met Matthew! We even broke out the old family videos.....*sigh*....I had some seriously rough looking years around 8th grade. Like, for serious. ROUGH. But, being the big person I am (no pun intended in regards to said videos....) I ignored my craziness and totally enjoyed watching my Grandma Honey, Papa Max and my sister...all of which have passed. There is something magical about hearing their voices again after so many years.

 (Sorry for the oddly placed pictures. I will forever be frustrated with stupid blogger...) 

So, all in all....an awesome holiday season. I am excited about 2014 and all the fun stuff we have coming up. Next on the calendar...Matthew turns 2!!!! (I will have a whole post dedicated to that freak out in a few more days...2 years old? WHAT?!) And, to give you an example of just how exhausted everybody is after this crazy season.....

Things Lately....

It's been a while, so let's just bullet point this sucker. (And please excuse the random bullets....what the heck with that?! Why can't I figure out where those come from!? Blerg.)

• We started a new family tradition on Tuesday...we watched Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, drank hot chocolate and let the boys decorate the tree (at least the bottom half!) Jonathan LOVED the hot chocolate and has asked for it multiple time since....obviously. Who doesn't love lukewarm hot chocolate in a sippy cup? (And doesn't Matthew look like Linus, carrying his blanket around with him?)

• Thanksgiving was awesome. We went to Austin and spent lots of good time with my family. One big change was that the boys both slept in twin beds in the same room. I was totally paranoid that they would scream and wake each other up all night long...but they did amazing! We all ate lots of food, played around, read books....it was just...so freaking great.

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• On Friday, Zack and I left the boys at my parents and we headed home for a relaxing weekend. It was really nice, but man, I missed my boys. Like, a lot. And not in an "oh, I better say I miss them so I don't sound like a jerky mom" kind of way. But in a legit way. Kind of surprised me actually. While they were gone, I got LOTS of projects done around the house! I finished the Christmas tree, decorated my mantle and re-designed the wall in my living room! Turns out you can actually accomplish a whole heap of stuff without two little boys under your feet. I think I ran like 1,000 errands on Saturday AND saw a movie!

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• Tomorrow I will head to La Grange to meet my parents and pick up the boys! I can't wait to see them and for them to see all the fun Christmas decorations we have put up....Oh! And our Elf will be waiting for them too!  We have LOTS of fun Christmas stuff planned for the next 3 weeks...Zoo Lights at the Houston Zoo, the Children's Show at Second Baptist, Christmas parties, school parties, school Christmas pageants.....I am seriously trying to cram as much Christmas spirit into the next 3 1/2 weeks as possible! These kids WILL LOVE CHRISTMAS! ;)

Jesus, Santa and our thoughts on Christmas.

(Disclaimer....I wanted to share my view of things because I feel like there is a lot of judgement out there during the Christmas season. Some parents believe that you can not be a true, strong Christian family and still introduce your kids to Santa. Some parents believe that Santa is the end all, be all of Christmas. I just hate that the competition that pervades parenthood has reared it's ugly head in the Christmas season as well. So, I wanted to share my thoughts proudly. We all do what we feel is best for our family...and this is what works for us. No judgement here!) 

We praise the Lord in this house. We teach our boys to give thanks for the blessings He has given. We study the Bible and pass along the stories and teachings that make up our faith. We are a God fearing family.

We also believe in Santa.

And we decorate for Christmas....like, full on. 

And this year, we will be visited by a silly little elf from the North Pole.

And I am not going to apologize or feel ashamed. Are the holidays becoming too materialized? Yes. Have many, many people lost the real focus of Christmas? Yep. Does that mean that "good Christians" can't let their little kids believe in Santa? No way. I am a huge stickler for traditions. When I think about my childhood, almost all memories come from my favorite traditions of each holiday. And, like basically every other kid in the history of the world, Christmas has always been my favorite. (I admit, I believed in Santa just a tad bit too long...) But, beyond the traditions and memories of Santa and his reindeer, I cherish the traditions of holidays spent with my family...Going to church on Christmas Eve and singing Silent Night with candles, opening a present on Christmas Eve that is ALWAYS pajamas that my Mom picks out while we eat tamales and chilis....Just because I believed that Santa brought me toys each Christmas, didn't mean I neglected the fact that the ONLY reason we were celebrating was to honor and remember the birth of Jesus Christ. I remember singing Christmas carols at church and nearly crying at the words to Silent Night....and I was young. Even then, I knew where the truth stood. You know how I knew those things? My parents. They made sure that I knew that Santa might bring me some toys, but Jesus was the REAL reason for the season (to borrow the old cliche....) 

I think that is what matters the most. If you do a good job of teaching your children the true meaning of Christmas, there won't be any issues. There has to be a good balance of the two. The magic and fun side of commercial Christmas: Santa, Elves, reindeer.....and the important and life changing side of Christmas: the birth of Christ Jesus. 

So, this year, we will navigate the season to find the balance. We will let our silly little Elf come visit....but instead of simply watching for "naughty" kids, he will be watching to make sure our kiddos are acting the way Jesus wants them to act. He will be watching for them to be kind, loving and supportive of each other. That they are respecting adults and remembering to Thank God for their blessings. If they are not acting that way, our Elf will remind them the next day by sharing stories and verses from the Bible that show us how to act. Our boys will make "wish lists" of gifts they would like from Santa, but they will also make lists of things to give others. We will find ways to bless others during the Christmas season. We will show them that it is better to give than to receive. 

And hopefully, when all is said and done....they will have experienced the magic and excitement of the Christmas season.....but more importantly, they will know and understand the greatest story ever told.

Big Transitions

I do NOT like change. I have my favorite parking spot, my favorite seat at lunch (no matter where I am working....I stake my claim early and sit there until I quit,) my house pretty much looks the same until my Mom comes and redecorates. We eat the same meals, go to the same parks, hit the same places each weekend. In fact, just this morning, TWO different people at the mall made note of it. The annoying guy at Bass Pro Shop, who tries to sell you vacations, looked at our family and said, "Man, y'all sure love Bass Pro huh?" Uh, yeah dude....we sure do. Later, the sample guy at my favorite food court eatery said, "I won't offer you a sample, I know you already have your meal planned!" Right on both accounts my good sir.

So, when it came to my attention that Matthew would be sleeping in a twin bed at my parent's house over Thanksgiving, I knew what I needed to do....transition him now. I hate crap like this. Everything was going fine....why do I have to go and gunk up the system? Brother LOVED his crib. He never tried to climb out, would just stand there and yell at me when he was ready....even asked to get in sometimes. So I gave myself a week to come to terms with it and organize the great bed transition of 2013. Luckily, my amazing in-laws were ready to get a new bed, so they gave Matthew their nice twin mattress. Score! Thursday night (at like 9:00) Zack and I went to the Leys and picked up the mattress and box springs. For some reason, I figured they would fit in my rinky dink Santa Fe. They didn't. So we had them literally hanging out the back. Zack tied some up little rope with the best Boy Scout knot he could muster and away we drove. Apparently he was never a Boy Scout.....with every single bump in the road, the back hatch bounced up and down on the mattress. So I am yelling at him to slow down (we were going like 30 down Mason Road) and holding on to the front of the mattress with all my might. We actually made it home with both mattress, although, Zack was convinced at one point that the entire back hatch was going to fall off and shatter all over the road. Can you even imagine?! Ha! 

Yesterday, I spent the day playing musical mattresses. The new mattress was just too tall for Matthew's bed and bed rail. He would have fallen out like a freaking Rolly Polly as it was rolling away for it's life.... So, I switched it with Jonathan's mattress. We bought his ourselves, and it was WAY cheap. So naturally, much thinner. Then, my amazing in-laws came through again and offered to let us keep their BRAND NEW queen mattress at our house and give them our full size. This makes my parents infinity happy as they basically couldn't sleep in the full bed at the same time when they came to visit...it was pretty whimpy and had a huge iron foot board. Leave it to my Dad to complain about not having anywhere to put his feet.....So I had to pack up the full bed and clear out the room for the new mattress to be delivered. It was pretty much the best workout I have had in weeks. Now, everybody has a nice, big bed in our house! 

And, as far as how things are going with the transition.....they are actually okay! Matthew went to sleep great last night, but woke up in the middle of the night, climbed out of bed to turn off his noise machine and then climbed back in. He woke up for the day around 6:00. When I headed in to get him, he was trying to open the door. Nap time was a little more tough. I think he climbed out of bed like 5 or 6 times. I swatted him every time (not hard, just enough for him to know not to do it) and put him back in bed. He never did get it....so I finally rubbed his back until he fell asleep. I don't want him to get used to that, but I figured he might need a little help while things are new. Hopefully tonight goes just as well, if not better!

I know these things are important. We have to help our little guys grow up and learn how to adapt to change....but that's hard when Mommy doesn't like change. I cried when I took the crib down and packed up the crib sheets. I almost cried when I realized that my mother-in-law would be putting him to sleep for his last night in the crib. I wanted to cry when he woke up in the middle of the night. I don't want a newborn, but I do want my baby back. I don't even want another baby, I just want my baby Matthew back :( The good news.....he loves the new bed and I think this will be a good thing for him......eventually.

P.S....another good thing...when your whole family is awake before dawn, it gives you time to eat breakfast at McDonalds :)

Just Because....

Because sometimes.....you just like to know you aren't alone, right? 

Or, even better, because sometimes you just like to know there is a mom out there doing things worse than you....

1. Yesterday, I didn't finish my double chocolate chip frap from Starbucks....Jonathan did. And, in his opinion, it was "the best milkshake ever!!" Amen, brother. Amen.

2. I am currently watching, Little People, Big World. There is just something about this show that I can't walk away from. I've watched it for years. However, I have to admit, the mom and dad are pretty wacko. I pretty much want to punch the dad in the face most of the time. Like I said....not sure why I watch it. I just do. Kind of the same reason I watch half the shows on TLC.

3. Apparently, I forgot to let the trash company know that we got new credit cards (after our old one was stolen.) And since we are on auto pay, we missed a payment. So instead of picking up my trash this week, they left it on the curb with a huge sign that said, "Failure to Pay!" Rude! I mean, I don't live in the most super fancy neighborhood, but I don't really like looking as if I don't pay my bills. And since it has rained for two days....the trash (complete with rotten pumpkin) is soaking wet. Obviously I am not dragging my soaking wet trash back into the garage.....so outside it stays until the next pick up! Now, not only does it look like I don't pay my bills (I do...) it looks like I just don't care. I can't win.

4. Zack is working late tonight. And, while I totally love my husband, I was a little excited to have the house to myself once the boys went to bed. I have big plans to watch TV, eat cookies and go to sleep at 9:00....without having to share the remote control or be made fun of for going to sleep so early. 

5. The other day, I REALLY wanted to talk to one of my friends on the phone. Unfortunately, the boys were in rare form...screaming, following me around, literally clinging to my leg....So, I walked into my bathroom, turned off the monitors from their bedrooms and locked the door. Matthew kept sticking his little fingers under the door while Jonathan beat on the walls/doors....but, I had a nice conversation :) Sitting on the toilet seat...

6. Matthew has been waking up a lot a night lately....I blame a killer back molar coming in. Instead of running in his room every time he cries, I wake up at the first cry, judge the severity of it (you know..."man, these teeth suck." versus, "OH, HOLY CRAP! My mouth is full of wild monsters digging holes into my gums!") and if it doesn't seem too bad, I turn the monitor off and go back to sleep.

7. The other day, I took TV privileges away from Jonathan. It lasted 6 hours. By 5:00 that evening, I had allowed him to "win" the privilege back. I am not going to lie....it's because I couldn't handle my kids running around screaming and whining anymore. Seriously, I'm the worst. But, in my defense...it was wet and raining and already almost dark. I needed to make dinner! What the heck would you have done? Wait...don't answer that. I don't want to know that you would have postponed dinner in order to have a one on one craft lesson with your perfect kid.

8. I went to Sam's twice yesterday to deal with prescriptions. Both times, I got a huge Coke Zero and a cookie. And they were amazing. I don't drink coffee, I don't smoke, I don't eat fast food (minus Taco Bell and Chick-Fil-A....those don't count :)) I don't even drink alcohol.....so I figure I am allowed a few other vices. Diet soda and sugar are mine.

9....And last but not least....I let my kid wear things like this on an almost daily basis: 

Balance.

Saturday night, around 1:45 am, I wrote nearly an entire blog post in my head while I rocked Matthew back to sleep. He had woken up crying and when I went to investigate, I found him covered in barf. And his bed covered in barf. And his floor covered in barf. It was gross. It was also the millionth day in a row that something had gone wrong. I was quickly losing my mind. So there, in a dark bedroom, covered by the lingering scent of barf, I wrote an entire blog post about how craptastic my life was going at the moment. It was long, whiny and ridiculous. The best part? I actually woke up later that morning and wrote the entire post and posted it. 

10 minutes later I took it down and deleted it. I realized that all that complaining was too much. Even for me. I am all about being open and honest and "real" but man, that post was rough. I need to refocus...find a better balance between the craptastic week and the beautiful mess.

But real quick.....can I just list all the stuff that has happened this week? Rapid fire style? 

• 3 days of those god-awful fans drying out my house 24 hours a day.
• Deep carpet cleaning with a hospital grade antimicrobial agent....leaving my whole house smelling like a weird, old school hospital ward.
• My boys literally ran wild at Becks Prime Friday night. LITERALLY. I chased them down the hall. And we were there with friends.
• Saturday morning, I realized my car was leaking something. Seeing as my car was in the shop exactly ONE week ago, I didn't think it would be anything....maybe just a little something leftover (shows what I freaking know) So, I schlep the boys to the car shop and wait.....45 minutes later, the guy asks how the flood was going (like I said, I was just there) and when I told him it was still an issue, he said, "well, I'm about to make things way worse." I swear to you, he actually said that. Turns out, I need a timing belt and water pump. $$$$$. And I was told not to drive it or it would blow up or something.
• Took the boys to get their pictures at JC Pennys. It was awful. After a serious cardio work out, we got like, zero good pictures.
• Saturday night, Matthew woke up barfing.
• Sunday was spent cleaning up barf and poop. LOTS of barf. Did ya'll know that when one barfs on tile, it splatters? Like, all over the house.
• Late Sunday night, we finally figured out where the musty smell was coming from in the linen closet....turns out we all neglected to pick up/wash the blankets that got wet in the flood. So I discovered 5 large, soaking wet blankets....that have been soaking wet for over a week. SO GROSS.
• Jonathan started saying he was sick. Develops the nasty nose crusties....that are then spread across his face in like .01 seconds.
• Zack forgot to put a pull up on Jonathan Sunday night....so he woke up Monday morning soaking wet. Along with his sheets, pillows, down comforter and all of his extra blankets and stuffed animals.
• Monday was spent changing 12 dirty diapers. 12 freaking poopy diapers.  Jonathan developed a low grade fever. We spent HOURS watching TV. Oh and we had to postpone a Halloween party we were hosting for our playgroup :(
• Have to miss work/school Tuesday.

Okay....thanks for letting me get all that off my chest. So, now my job is to find the silver lining in all of this. I have to find a balance. I can be all mad and cranky and whiny.....but I have to find something to balance it out. The longer I sit around and think about the bad luck we have had lately, the more bitter and cranky I get. So, allow me to look on the bright side....here is my silver lining.....

• Since we had to have parts of the carpet cleaned, they went ahead and cleaned the whole rooms. So now, two of my bedrooms have beautiful, clean carpet!
• The fans worked, my carpets and baseboards are dry! And, I saved $800 doing it myself!
• Since I couldn't drive my car on Saturday, and Zack was fishing in Galveston Bay all day, it meant that I was forced to stop moving and just be still at home. It was nice to spend a few hours just hanging out with my boys outside, with nowhere to go and nothing to do! They are getting so good at riding their bikes down the sidewalk!
• Obviously, it was sad that Matthew was sick, BUT....I usually let him fuss for a while when he wakes up in the middle of the night. For some reason, on that night, I went in his room after like 3 minutes. It was like my maternal instincts were in high gear. Mom of the year right here. Bam.
• Since we have been stuck at home the past few days with a broken car and sick babies, I have gotten SO much cleaning done in the house! Not to mention the endless loads of wet blankets (those wet from pee and those wet from flood water) that I actually managed to wash, dry and fold!
• And the biggest and most obvious...I have had lots of time with my boys. I'm telling you, these kids are hilarious, even when they are sick. Today, I kept trying to convince Jonathan to get off the couch and do something....finally, he looked at me and said, "MOM. I do NOT want to do anything. I have a headache. I want to watch TV all day." Amen, brother....don't we all just want to watch TV when we feel crummy? And Matthew has wanted lots of cuddles the past few days. You can't beat that. Ever.

THAT  is the list I need to focus on. Life is hard. Life is gross and messy. Kids get sick on the same day cars break down. Bathrooms flood. Carpets sour. It's just life. It's the way we handle those tremendously obnoxious situations that make us better people. So, now that I have gotten all those complaints off my chest, I am done. I won't complain about those things again.....instead, I will focus on my silver lining. And that my friends....is my balance. Praise the Lord, tomorrow is a new day!

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

    for His compassions never fail.

23 

They are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness

-Lamentations 3:22-23

And it continues....

So, we figured everything with the "flood" was pretty much over and done with. And, I guess it really is....but the problem is that there appears to be some residual moisture in the walls, carpets and cabinets. I noticed last night that the floor boards were pulling away from the walls a little and that Jonathan's room smelled a little more odd than normal. So I had the restoration company come by today to let me know what they thought was going on and give me an estimate. Holy crap. Those guys are nuts. The good news was that there really isn't too much damage.....nothing about 10 industrial fans couldn't handle at least. The bad news was that they wanted nearly $1,000 to dry out our hallway. Seeing as how we don't have money growing on the half dead bushes outside, we told them thank you and sent them on their way. 

Our answer was to rent a few industrial fans from Lowes, borrow a few from friends and air out the house ourselves. My Dad drilled a few holes under the sink to help let moisture out and we placed a fan directly in front of it. Then we put fans everywhere we heard the little moisture meter beep. So this is where we are tonight.... 

Could it be way worse? OF COURSE. Will I still complain about it because I am a baby? YEP. We are crossing our fingers that our DIY restoration attempt will do the job. And lest you think we are ignoring a possible mold situation, the professionals were not planning on cutting anything out or replacing carpet or anything....they just said we need to dry it up and deodorize. 

And now, the after pictures! (You actually don't get the before pictures....just imagine a really old school, builder grade bathroom with hollywood lights and plastic towel bars.) We replaced the light fixture, faucet, towel bars, toilet paper holder, added hardware and painted the whole room gray. Next time my parents come, my Mom and I will repaint the vanity and my Dad will put molding around the mirror. I am basically trying to live in a Pottery Barn catalog.

            

And our last project for the weekend was to recover my kitchen chairs! This set is a hand me down from my BFF's attic. It's the perfect size for our breakfast "nook." A few years ago, we painted the 1980's bamboo dark gray and covered the chairs in a dark red. It looked good until the second Jonathan was born. Like, for real. I am pretty sure he spit up on those red chairs on the third day of his little life. Needless to say, they were in need of a makeover....So we found this awesome ticking fabric at Joann, made sure to Scotch Guard it first and went to town! The ticking is dark gray, just like the chairs. I LOVE them!

Overall, a very good, productive weekend. I could have gone without the flood.....but you know, beggars can't be choosers! 

The bright side of a minor flood.

We have had a super crazy, very chaotic, extremely productive weekend around here! My parents came in town on Friday and I had a to-do list for my Dad that was easily a mile long. Now, I love my husband, but he is NOT Mr. Fix It. It's just not his strength.....like, in any way. So, I had a whole bunch of stuff for my Dad to fix when he got here. The back of his suburban seriously looked like a workshop on wheels! On top of my own list of projects, my parents let me know that for Christmas, they would help me remodel our guest bathroom! If any of you know my Mom, she is an interior decorator. She is seriously the bomb.com. My Grandmother was also an interior decorator and antiques dealer. I want to say this stuff is in my blood. And it is.....but so is being a cheapskate (thanks to my accountant Dad.) So even thought I WANT to redecorate my whole house, I don't want to pay for anything. So I just don't do anything. 

Enter my Mom and Dad. 

Friday afternoon we spent hours at Lowes picking out new faucets, light fixtures, drawer and cabinet hardware, and a new paint color. It was so fun getting to pick out new stuff that I didn't have to pay for. We got right to work Friday night and everything was going swimmingly (that was an awesome pun that you will figure out later....) until Saturday morning.

Let me preface this by saying my Dad has replaced a million faucets in his life. He could do it with his eyes closed. Let me also say that my house is 20 years old and (apparently) my plumbing is pretty wonky. So my Dad has turned off the water and is about 30 minutes into replacing the faucet. Things are good. All of a freaking sudden.....the water comes blasting back on. And when I say blasting.....I mean BLASTING. Immediate flood in the bathroom. I am screaming (I was standing there watching when this all happened) and trying to find a bowl. HA...a freaking bowl. As if a bowl could contain the amount of water shooting out of the bathroom. Within 5 minutes, my entire hallway and kitchen were under half an inch of water. So, my Dad and Zack run out to the street to figure out why the water is running when it is clearly turned off. And they couldn't figure it out. The valve was just twisting.....doing NOTHING. So I am in the bathroom screaming, Dad and Zack are outside, my Mom is screaming and here comes the boys....just strolling into the flood like it was no big deal. I think Jonathan actually said something like, "Oh hey guys, what's going on?" So, my Dad comes running back in to try and turn off the shut off valves at the sink, which is blasting out scalding hot water. I don't mean like, warm bath water......I mean like boiling, lava hot. And it's spraying all over my poor Dad while he is trying to get the water valve to shut off (for the record, he had a pretty bad burn on his arm from his heroic efforts!)......just then, the god-forsaken valve BREAKS OFF. That's right, our last chance to get the boiling lava hot water to turn off....BREAKS OFF. So at this point, all hell breaks loose. None of us know what to do. We are all yelling at each other, quite a few curse words are being thrown out, I am sobbing....it was not our proudest family moment. By now, there is an inch of water in the hallway and kitchen. And the water is still blasting. I finally just call John Moore and start sobbing into the phone at the poor woman...."LADY!!!  PLEASE HELP ME!" She probably thought I was abducted and the only thing I could reach was a John Moore magnet with their number on it. 

5 minutes later, praise the Lord, my Dad was smart enough to go into the attic and shut off the hot water heater. This solved the problem momentarily. The water stopped. The skies opened and God, feeling pity for our poor little team, shut down the flood. While we waited for John Moore (who I promised that I would calm down and breathe) we used the wet/dry vac to suck up lots of the water and then (very literally) used every towel in the house to dry up the water. At the end of the day.....the valves were replaced, the faucet installed and all is well. There is a little dampness on the edges of carpets and some discoloration on our tile.....but I can live with that. It could have been SO much worse.....so very much worse. And we really aren't sure why the water turned itself back on....maybe some Halloween prank by some moronic teenagers? 

But, the bright side of all of this.....I got a beautiful new bathroom! After all the craziness, my Mom and Dad jumped right back into things and we got everything installed, painted and cleaned. It looks so awesome! We even had time to reupholster the chairs at my kitchen table AND my Dad finished the other stuff on my list. My parents are machines when it comes to home improvement. Even with all of that, it has been a wonderful weekend with our "Honey and Papa!" The boys couldn't be more happy with them around!

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of our crazy adventure (my Dad appears pretty thrilled by that) but trust me when I say it was totally ridiculous. The whole stinking thing. Now, the next thing I want to replace is the washing machine and dishwasher....I am terrified of anything else flooding my house.

Hope you all had a much calmer weekend! :)

Just....happy.

It rained all day at my house. Zack has been MIA lately because of work. Matthew is recovering from a week of being sick. Our fridge is being wonky. A few things in our house are literally falling apart.....

But right now? I am happy. 

Our day started out looking pretty bleak. I forgot to put a pull up on Jonathan last night, so this morning I woke up to him storming in my room, totally naked, yelling, "I AM SOAKING WET!" Awesome. We couldn't go to church in case Matthew was still contagious, so I knew I had hours of time to kill with the boys inside due to the weather. But you know what? It turned into a pretty fun day. We made brownies, colored pictures, had a few dance parties, got to ride bikes during a break in the rain, made a VERY quick trip to Sams....a few good naps later and here we are. A good day. And it made me reflect on the last week, which was a total freak show, and realize that we had so many awesome moments. And then I started thinking of all the tiny little things that make me happy....that often go unnoticed. So I decided to make a list. Because, let's be real.....my blog works best in list form. And now, in case you were dying to know, some of the things that have made me happy lately :)

• The Friendship Song by Carbon Leaf, from the Curious George 2 movie, and Good Morning by Mandisa. Both songs make me want to dance and smile and enjoy my awesome life. (A little too cliche? Sorry bout that...) But for real, they are great and will put a smile on your face. And don't judge me that one of my favorite movies right now is Curious George...it's super cute.

• The fact that this kid is just as content laying on the floor playing super hero as he is when I take him somewhere awesome. If only we were all so easily entertained.

• Anything that makes my house smell like fall. A candle, pumpkin bread in the oven....I don't care. Equal opportunity scent picker here. No wait, I lied....if there is pumpkin bread in my oven, that I actually get to eat later....that wins.

• When the boys play together. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's super cute. They were on "an adventure in a space ship" in this shot....

• When I remember that I hid an entire bag of candy corn pumpkins....and they are all still there....just waiting to be eaten during nap time. Oh, how I love candy corn. I know some of you have differing opinions on this, and that's okay. Just know that you are wrong.

• When Jonathan tries to put his clothes on himself...

• Every now and then, the stars align and all of my favorite shows are on in one night. And sometimes, Zack has to work late on those nights. And sometimes the kids are super tired and NEED to go to bed early. True life, that happened the other night. It was like a perfect night trifecta. And the shows that came on at the exact same time? My DVR loves me enough to tape them.

• Absolutely anything this little guy does...(Not for real...but you get the point. Don't be fooled...he can be pretty mean to his brother and has a decent arm when it comes to throwing food.)

• When, even in the midst of crazy, God reminds me to stop and look around for the things that make me happy. And there, right in front of me, are a million little things to be thankful for. Things that can change my mood around in an instant. Things that are there, every day....if I just remember to look for them.

What little things have been making you happy lately?

Turns out....parenting is hard.

I don't know about y'all, but for me, parenting toddlers/preschoolers is proving to be freaking hard. Every single day I am discovering something that I should do differently. For example, a few months ago, I learned that you shouldn't let your toddler sit on the counter at Chick-Fil-A.....because he will probably fall off. The problem, however, is that I have no idea what the "right way" is when it comes to parenting. Teach them important lessons? No idea. Discipline them in the right way? No idea. Teach them to be awesome, respectful, well mannered children? No idea. 

Let me explain....

• Yesterday at recess (my class shares recess time with Jonathan's class,) I looked over and saw Jonathan fighting with another little boy. My first instinct was to rush over there and discipline my son....but before I did, it came to light that the other little boy was messing with Jonathan first and stole his favorite toy by force. Apparently, Jonathan was just defending himself. And apparently, not just standing there and letting yourself get beat up is a good thing. So now, I am trying to figure out how to teach Jonathan that it is important to stand up for yourself, but really, we NEVER hit or hurt others. It is proving a tough lesson to learn.
• The other day, Jonathan told my Mom to "chill out." Take a guess where he got that from....So we talked about words that adults can use, but that little boys probably shouldn't use. Again, a tough lesson...this time, for both of us. At least I don't use cuss words....
• Lately, Jonathan and Matthew are having a hard time sharing. Matthew wants to play, so he grabs a toy. Jonathan doesn't want to share that toy, so he starts screaming. I yell at Jonathan for screaming and being mean to his brother, but forget that it's pretty lame of Matthew to steal the toy in the first place. Especially since Matthew is plenty old to know what he is doing. So we practice sharing, using our words etc....so far, no dice.
• Matthew has been screaming for no reason. A lot. I try to tell him no and usually swat his hand or something. We have tried time out in his crib when he does it.... He doesn't care. Like, for real.
• A few times this week, Jonathan has corrected his teacher at school for ridiculous things. For example, they were together at the sink today and she had to raise her voice so a student on the other side of the room could hear her. Jonathan looked at her and said, "we do NOT yell!!" I mean, the kid is right....but he can't be telling his teacher what she should and shouldn't do. So how do I teach him that those things are true, but he can't say them to his teacher?!

Somebody please tell me how to raise my boys. Somebody give me all the answers. I just want happy, respectful kids. And I want this to all be much easier. Think, unicorns and rainbows....Oh, even better, think Rainbow Brite riding her unicorn down a rainbow....I want parenting to be like that.

In the last week I....

• Took Jonathan to his second dentist appointment. I give the entire situation 5 stars out of 10. There was still lots of screaming, kicking, crying, throwing.....BUT, he let the dentist look in his mouth with a flash light. So....it was kind of a win. And I kind of gave in and got him a special toy at Target for his small accomplishment. P.S....I LOVED his pediatric dentist and her office. I give her 10 stars.

• Ate a fruit snack off the floor that could possibly have been there for a few days...because I needed some sugar and the kitchen was too far away. And because I have officially hit rock bottom.

• Had a great dinner with my awesome best friend, without my kids being all up in our business. I mean, technically, they were still there... but thanks to the play ground at Los Cucos, they were not REALLY there. It was delightful. 
  
  
• Took the boys to their first professional baseball game! Zack is a huge Cincinnati Reds fan, so our sweet friends invited us to the game when they played the Astros. I love these pictures so freaking much....And, Jonathan stood like that, with his little glove up in the air, forever!! He was so sad he didn't catch a ball. I mean really, how sad is that picture!?

• Watched the same episode of Duck Dynasty 3 different times. That show is beyond hilarious to my simple, reality TV tainted mind. As for all the rumors that it is scripted....I don't care. If it is scripted, then it's well written and makes me laugh. So...whatever. Keep doing whatever it is you guys are doing, A&E. 

• Attended the Living Water International charity gala. It was amazing. Seriously. If you are looking for a charity to become involved in, I suggest this one. They do awesome stuff. Not to mention it was pretty fun to get dressed up, go out without kiddos, eat a great dinner and hear some amazing speakers from around the world....all of whom love the Lord. Unfortunately, this was the best picture we got before hand.....if this doesn't describe our relationship, I don't know what does.

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  Overall, a pretty solid week. I could have gone without the dentist situation and probably should refrain from eating the kids snacks off the floor....but whatever. We all have our issues. (and I can't, for the life of me, get rid of that random bullet point next to our picture....I am the worst.)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Epic.

What I witnessed this morning at the dentist, can only be described as "epic." And not in a good way. But in an, "oh, mother of all craziness, that kid is not human..." kind of way.... Let me preface this by saying that I really do love my dentist office. The staff is super sweet and man, did they give it their best effort. The responsibility of this rests solely on the shoulders of my over dramatic son. And maybe mine....since I am in charge of raising him. But for the sake of my sanity, we will say it is all on him.

Jonathan has been to the dentist like 4-5 times already. He always cries a little, usually refuses to comply and makes a scene. But it is usually pretty fast and up until now, he was small enough that it could be considered cute and sad. So, knowing what I was in for, I started preparing him about a week ago. Lots of talk about the dentist....books, TV shows, practice etc...He recently got a spin brush, so he was even used to the noise and movement in his mouth. I thought we were good. The kid even let me floss his teeth last night! So, this morning, we showed up armed with Cailou on the iPad, tons of pictures to look at on my iPhone, books, juice, fruit snacks for after and a standing bribe of a new truck if he was brave. 

2 minutes... That's how long he lasted once we went back before he lost his cool. Literally, as soon as we sat down he started crying. Oh! And did I mention Matthew was with us? Ha! Luckily, he was pretty chill and looking at pictures on my phone. The hygienist then let me know that we are going to do his first round of x-rays today....just two little pictures. Surprisingly, Jonathan let her put the weighted vest on him (I put one on too) and, for a second, I thought we were going to dodge the bullet.  Oh, how naive I was. The SECOND she showed him the bite wing (I think that's what it is called) he started screaming. Not just a little scream....but a bloody murder, being mauled by a bear in the middle of a wild fire scream. There was no reasoning with him, so I just started to cram that stupid thing in his mouth. The hygienist tried her hardest to make it work, but my boy is strong. AND LOUD. And can clamp his teeth closed like a freaking wild animal trap. At this point, Matthew, as if hearing some kind of secret brother message being sent by battle cry, started crying his opposition to the situation. So we give up on the x-rays for a minute and take the vests off. She wheeled Matthew back into the room and he calms down and goes back to looking at pictures, apparently convinced that the danger to his brother has passed. Jonathan even calmed down for a minute. 

So she gets the mirror (which we talked a lot about this week) and starts looking around. All was fine, until she used a little pointer to COUNT HIS TEETH. She was barely even touching them and definitely was not hurting him. Brother Man LOST IT. At this point, there was screaming, snotting, crying, shaking, kicking, attempting to roll himself out of the chair....it was bad. I am trying to shove Cailou in his face, which makes him cry louder. But let's be honest....doesn't that weird little bald kid freak you out too? So he throws the iPad to the floor in an act of protest. Matthew then throws my iPhone to the floor in an act of solidarity with his brother. Who knew these two were so tight? At this point, they are both screaming, but I was NOT giving in. I took Jonathan to the bathroom, gave him a "come to Jesus" talk, and marched him back to the chair. He stayed chill for like 30 seconds and the hygienist was able to polish half of his teeth...and he was cool with that. I think he realized that it felt like his tooth brush....Then she made a fatal error. She brought out the spit sucker. And that was it. Through his snotty screams, he kept yelling, "PLEASE! Can I go home and go to time out and get a spanking!?!" PLEASE!" That's right....my son would rather have a spanking and go to time out, than sit through the dentist. I actually asked the her if she could just do her work while his mouth was wide open and screaming, you know, cram those tools in their in between wails....She looked at me like I was an idiot and said "Uh, well....we have other clients." Oh, yeah...right....we aren't alone in here. 

And so, we left. Having had NOTHING done but half of his teeth polished. In a brief moment of "I'm the most terrible Mom in the world," I told him his teeth were all going to fall out at home because he was so awful at the dentist. Of course, this made him scream louder. So, I took the march of shame with my two wild chimpanzees, one of which was yelling "I don't want my teeth to fall out!" and the other crying for no good reason.

Ya'll....I cried the whole way home. I have NEVER been as embarrassed as I was walked out of that office. And you know what, my little guy was just scared. That's all it was. HE. WAS. PETRIFIED. He calmed down on the way home and spent some alone time in his room chilling out. We talked about things when he was ready to come out....he was just terrified and had no idea how to tell me that. If you know Jonathan, you know he is a pretty sensitive guy. He is scared to death of Monkey Joes (one of those inflatable bouncy house places) and covers his ears any time there is a loud noise. The kid closed his eyes for like half of the shark ride at the Aquarium....he is just sensitive. So this? This sent him over the edge. You live and learn I guess. As much as I love my dentist, I came straight home and made an appointment for him with a pediatric dentist. A place with more toys, kids movies, private rooms and special "non-gag" bite wings. Will it make a difference? Who knows....but I have to try.

So that's how I got here....sitting on the couch, eating brownies and downing my 3rd diet Coke of the day.

Random Thoughts

And now...a brain dump. Because, at this point in time, that's all I can offer.

The other day, I was getting onto Jonathan for something crazy he was doing and he looked at me, serious as day, and said "Mommy. You need to CHILL OUT!".....I am not sure if that is a mom fail or a win. I mean, obviously, I say that to him too much and probably could find better words to use....but, it also shows that he is listening to me and understands the use of context. So, that's a win in my book.

Today, I was in the middle of vacuuming the floor and I looked over to see Matthew covered in granola bar crumbs. Use your imagination to figure out what I did next....Let's just say, Matthew is now as clean as my living room rug.

I had to bring Jonathan home sick today during recess. First of all, there are few things as sad as a little guy with a high fever. Second, there are few things as sad as taking a little guy away from his friends on the playground. When we went back up to school a few hours later to get Matthew, Jonathan asked if he could go eat lunch with his friends....Brother was in a time warp. He totally thought his friends were still on the playground and about to go eat lunch. Oh, and I think he might have West Nile. Like, for serious.

School started last week and it has been a whirlwind! We have lots of new, sweet friends in our class and I am so excited about getting to know each of their fun personalities! One little girl looked at me yesterday and said "Mrs. Katy....when I get older, I am going to college!" Rock on sister, rock on. Oh, how I love my job. And my own kids couldn't have been any cuter walking into school on the first day :)

I watch Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. No shame here. And if I am being totally honest, I kind of want to live in that family. Okay, maybe not forever, but at least for a day or so. I think it would be hilarious. Actually, you know what would be hilarious? A family gathering of Duck Dynasty and Honey Boo Boo peeps.....Seriously, my brain hurts thinking about the awesomeness. 

Matthew has recently started getting super brave around the house. Which is a nice way of saying that he basically thinks he can do whatever he wants. This is a tough age for me, discipline wise at least. You really can't reason with him yet, and time outs/spankings don't make much headway....but the kid needs to be reigned in. (That green thing is his humidifier, which he took apart and found the water, then splashed around in until I came in and found him red handed.)

Hope you are all having a great week too! Life is all kinds of crazy around here right now. And you know what? It's awesome.

We need help.....like, for real.

I give up. 

I am waving the white flag.

I am asking begging for the help of all you amazing, parents of the year out there. 

My kids refuse to sleep. Between the two of them, we have been awake multiple times a night for the past 2 weeks. Not to mention, up for the day long before the sun. I seriously need help getting back into our normal routine. Wait, scratch that. I don't even care if it is our normal routine. I just want them to sleep through the night and not wake up at some ungodly hour. Is that too much to ask!? Every single night, for the past two weeks, one of these scenarios has happened....

Scenario #1. Matthew wakes up SCREAMING in the middle of the night and cries for about 20 minutes. If I make the mistake of actually going in to check on him, it can go on for as long as 2 hours. He is then exhausted from his middle of the night escapades and sleeps until 7:00. However, Jonathan decides to wake up at 5:55. And now, he can open his door.....so he comes busting into my room at 6:00 yelling "I HAVE TO POOP!" Apparently, his new "bathroom time" is at the crack of dawn. This has happened 3 days in a row. 

Scenario #2. Matthew actually sleeps all night, but wakes up at 5:20 (as was the case this morning)....I let him cry for 20 minutes, trying to show him that we wake up when the sun wakes up. Unfortunately, Matthew's screaming woke up Jonathan. Now, both boys are awake at 5:55. 

And so that you know what we have already tried....I took Matthew to the doctor to check all the normal culprits (ears, throat etc...) and everything checked out. We have tried Motrin before bed just in case some random pain was waking him up. We have tried going in to check on him and not going in. Changing his diaper, not changing his diaper. We altered bed time and nap time, limited nap time sleep and, another time, let him sleep as long as he wanted. Nothing matters. Nothing changes. He still wakes up.

For Jonathan....we have had LOTS of talks about not coming out of his room until the sun comes up. We have shown him to go to the bathroom and then walk back to his room, we showed him how to turn on his light so that he could play in his room until the sun woke up....Nothing helps. He is still in our room at 5:55. Especially if Matthew is already screaming.

So please....PLEASE.....help us. Share your guaranteed trick to get these kids to sleep better. Matthew is 1 1/2 and Jonathan is 3 1/2...I am willing to reward the winning idea with cookies. Or cake. Or cupcakes.....I don't really care. I just want to sleep.

But today....today was a good day.

So, I know that my blog tends to lean towards the outrageous and seriously ridiculous days in the life of my family....but, lest you think we never have good days, I wanted to share how things went down today. It was one of those days where everything just works. The stars aligned and God was smiling down on us. And more than once, I found myself saying (out loud...) "Dang girl, you've got this!"

Interestingly enough, the day didn't start that great. Matthew is in a TERRIBLE routine of waking up at like 5:30 and then screaming at the top of his lungs until I go in and get him. Unfortunately for him, his Mama is just as stubborn as he is and I refuse to go in before 6:00. So he cried forever. Then woke Jonathan up. So, we were all up before dawn. If you have ever wondered what totally exhausted, yet stubbornly awake kids look like.....

After we watched way too many episodes of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, I was able to convince both boys to eat their breakfast. And I didn't even give them cold cereal....I made them scrambled eggs and fruit! And they ate it! Win #1.

Since my training didn't start until 10:00, I was able to fit in an at home work out. Granted, it was on my driveway and the little boys standing at the bus stop may or may not have been laughing at me....but whatever. 

(Broken record alert....) I got to "start" the new year today with in-service at school. I LOVE MY JOB. Seriously. Love it. I love the people I work with, my bosses, my students....I just love it. So I was actually pretty excited about going in today and seeing everybody. It didn't hurt that my awesome bosses brought in Rudy's breakfast tacos for breakfast and pizza for lunch. If y'all know me at all, you know I have always been able to be talked into ANY meeting if there is food provided. That hasn't changed. Win #2.

At the end of the day, I went to pick up the boys from the child care rooms at school and I found Matthew still napping on his nap mat. This is very rare as he typically doesn't nap well at school. When I went to wake him up, I just looked at him for a minute.....he is getting so old. 100 times a day he reminds me that he is getting so old....but in that moment, as I kneeled there next to him, I realized that he is still my baby. Still my little baby who cuddles with his blankie as he sleeps. My baby who snores, ever so quietly, when he is deeply asleep. My baby who wakes up with crazy hair and sleep marks across his face. Although VERY quick, the moment was a gift. MEGA win #3.

I talked myself into going to the gym after training for some cardio...you know, in order to work off my 1st and 2nd breakfasts, pizza lunch, and candy desserts. Win #4.

To finish off our day, we headed to Skeeters to support a sweet little boy fighting for his life. Gotta love restaurants that are willing to give money to kids that need it. I went alone since Zack lives at his office, and if you can believe it, my kids were awesome. There was no screaming or throwing food. No running away from me, no crying because they couldn't drink their dinner (in milk form....) and they even ATE! This is a win, in and of itself. The only craziness came in the form of Matthew getting creative with his crayons....please note the green crayon coming out of his ear and the brown crayon bits around his mouth......that came from eating it. 

So, there you go. Most of our days are nutty. But every now and then, God throws me a bone and gives me a day like today.