Four years ago today...

I married:

My best friend
My soulmate
My baby daddy

*yes, this person is one in the same, I did not marry 3 people.

Uh, I was like totally 5 months preggers here, and I swear I weigh more today than I did in this photo.

Quote of a lifetime...

There are a million and one ways to parent well and only a handful to screw your kids up royally.

This resonated with me and hopefully with you as well.

Awkard Moments = Blogging Moments

So after a long day of dog shopping (more on that later) I realized I needed laundry detergent (because when do I not?) so I headed up to the Tar-jay (does referring to Target as "the tar-jay" annoy you as much as when people call bfast for dinner "brennner" annoys me?)...amazingly enough I managed to get up to the tar-jay without any kids.  It was a miracle.  And I intended to make full and complete use of my alone time.  After all, it is mother's day weekend and after all, I'm as narcissistic as any other blogger and will make any excuse to make it all about me... So, I got me a have it your way frapp from sbux with extra coffee and extra caramel and started to stroll about the clothes.  And I found a a 50's style Stepford wife sleeveless cream & orange shift dress on clearance in my size (well, relatively my size, I usually take 3 sizes into the dressing room and depending on what store/brand/day of the week it is one will fit me).  So, I took the dress into the dressing room and had the zipper (it was a side zipper) half way up and it stuck.  It just stopped half way up.  It wouldn't go up or down.  I tried in vain to tug it up and nothing.  I tried in vain to pull it down.  Nothing.  I tried to pull the dress up over my head, and it wouldn't go.  I tried to wiggle it down over my hips but no such luck.  I was trapped in this dress.  I poked my head out of the dressing room and no sales associate.  There was one other customer behind a closed door.  I tapped my foot impatiently until I saw the woman leave her dressing room.  I accosted her.  The woman, tall and blond, 40-ish, with a vague Eropean accent tried with all her might to pull the zipper down and she couldn't make it budge.  She did however track down a sales girl.  Finally, after 20 min trapped in this dress, a 16 year old sprite of a girl, quite literally cut me, with scissors, out of the dress.  Talk about awkward - standing in my skivvies in the target dressing room with a strange girl.  Such is my life...

I'm watching A Lion in Winter on TCM right now (w/ Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole)...and I forget how fantastic this film is... all the sharp barbs and smart lines.  It brings back memories, of high school, when our school performed the play.  I was never much of an actress but I was one heck of a stage manager.  Well, the hubs, thinks I'm crazy watching movies made before my birth.

Okay, the dog... Well, I've never been a dog person.  Not out of fear or dislike.  Just because I've never really owned a dog.  We had farm dogs when I was small but they were farm dogs not house pets.  But the hubs adores a dog.  And for over a week now he has been on a dog kick.  So, we bit the bullet and adopted a dog.  We went the local humane shelter.  They had over 100 dogs and it was a bit overwhelming.  Luckily, we had my mom with us, who knows a thing or two about dogs and the kids s we could see how the kids and dogs interacted.  We adopted a beautiful 2 1/2 year old female Siberian Husky named Kona.  

We made a trip to Petsmart, were Kona was better behaved than the kids.  She also did well in the car.  She's been part of the fam for about 6 hours now.  She seems to adjusted quite well to the house and the family.  She likes the cool tile in the kitchen and playing fetch in the back yard.  She has been playful but not hyper.  Sweet and a little reserved but not scared.  I have even gotten over my uncomfortableness and let her lick me, lay on me and brush her.

Below is are a few pics from the hubs iphone.  

And happy Mother's Day to all the mama's out there!

 

Motherhood, y'all

Thursday evening...got kids juice boxes from the sbux at the front of tar-jay (b/c I am a seriously awesome mommy like that... and the juice boxes give them some preoccupation so they don't grab every single item off the shelves).... I was busy browsing for the perfect card to go with a wedding gift for my boss (well, sort of my boss)...and Sydney dumped her apple juice all over Owen, soaking him head to toe in juice.  And his head was tilted up, so it went up his nose.  Pure joy soared through my heart.  Either that or an anxiety attack...

Scene: still at target.  The kids remove their flip flops and place on the motorized checkout thing-y... the target lady was nice enough to "scan" the shoes and accept the kids pennies as payment.  She said bye to the kids and Syd yelled "BY-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEe" at the top of her lungs, quite cheerily...making the "e" last the length of leaving the checkout until we reached the car.

In the parking lot I attempted to unlock the car door... my "dooot-do" (otherwise known as keyless entry but I call it a "doot-do") doesn't work so I have to manually unlock the car door.  I let go of the cart and lo and behold a gust of wind came up and pushed my cart containing two thirty pound children and probably another 10 pounds of items all the way into the main aisle.  I had to lunge for the cart.

Saturday afternoon, kids go outside with the hubs, return inside with dandelions saying "Mommy, I got you a flower!  Kisses!"

1 am Saturday, er I suppose Sunday, morning... both kids wide awake... I put them both in our bed, slide in the middle, kick the hubs to the couch to snore... realize I have no pillow because the kids have absconded with them all...I lay in the middle, with no pillow.  Syd snuggles up under my arm and curls next to my belly, Owen snuggles my back and makes sure his feet are touching me at all times...the three of us sleep in peace the rest of the night.

Sunday midday, I just finished mopping...O decides he needs chocolate milk, but tells no one... half a gallon of chocolate milk on the floor later... I am mopping again.

Sunday evening...picnic in the park and lots of swing, sliding, smiling, playing tag, climbing...

My dear sweet children...how I love your tiny bodies.  I am continuously amazed that you came out of my body.  With your sticky fingers, your hot little hands... your ticklish feet and underarms.  Your gap teeth and cheesy grins.  Your sweet baby smells...and your stinky sweaty post nap smells.   Your soft hair... your insistence to hug then kiss then give a high five every time I leave for work.  Your eager hugs.  Your smarty pants observations.  Your vivacious little laughs.  I could watch you running, barefoot, through the sprinkler, on a warm spring evening at dusk, with your mouths wide open, your eyes huge, your laughs hearty...the flowers in full bloom, the tree leaves green, the grass freshly mowed... I want to freeze these moments forever and never lose them.  You my children, my precarious and shy Owen, my vibrant and sassy Sydney...you are in full bloom, just like mommy's begonias.

That is motherhood, y'all.

Honest Scrap!

So, y'all may now, I'm a bit unawares of blogger etiquette... (I think it was like my second post...found, um...here).

But I do know this... I love winning blog awards! 

So, Stephani, at Writing Fuels My Soul gave me the Honest Scrap Award!  Woot! 

So, here are the rules...As part of receiving this wonderful Blog Award you are required to list 10 random things about yourself and then pass along this award to your 10 favorite bloggers.

1.  My fantasy job: soap opera actress and soap opera writer.  I adore Days of Our Lives.... and though I'm not hooked on any other soap, I can usually keep up w/ The Bold & The Beautiful, All My Children and One Life to Live via commercials.  I become emotionally invested in the DOOL and when talking to other DOOL fans I refer to charecters like real people...ie "That Chloe is such a whore.  She was married to Lucas and cheated w/ Daniel.  Now she's engaged to Daniel and cheating w/ Phillip.  Who is married to Melanie, who is Daniel's daughter.  So basically she's sleeping with her step-son-in-law.  Who used to be her boyf and then her uncle in law and then her brother in law.  Gross."  But what I really love about soaps?  Is when something that is actually plausible is going on in someone's life (say a rough time at work) something HUGE happens and makes everyone feel sorry for you. IE "I know you really suck ass at your job, but my God!  You just fainted and when rushed to the hospital it was revealed you have a rare genetic disorder.  So, it's not your fault you suck at work!"  That could come in handy is real life every now and again.

2.  I'm verbose.  See Random fact 1.

3. I got a text tonight "hey" from a number I didn't recognize.  I texted back "hey..."  Reply was "is this Nakoma."  Me: "nope, wrong number."  Not expecting a reply...but I got this "haha aiiight."  WTF?  Is there text etiquette I'm not aware of?  To text a response back to a wrong text number?  Not even an apology...  bizzarre-o.

4.  I'm secretly jealous of the hubs iphone.  But I begged for a blackberry and I got one (about 18 mo ago) and so I don't think I can possibly ask for an iphone for Mothers Day or our anny or my bday (all rapidly approaching...)  But if you talk to the hubs, you can drop a hint :)

5.  I think my husband has some awesome friends.  He has two really close friends that he has known for about 15 years and basically transitioned into adulthood with and really "grew up" with.  (Did I just end a sentence w/ a preposition?  Oops.)  But he has a really healthy relationship w/ these guys and I never worry when he is out w/ them (I don't really worry much about the hubs in general, though) and I like their wives and kids.  I think its good he has someone to hang w/ and go to college football games and nba games and with and retain his own identity.

6.  I basically grew up in libraries.  Love a librarian today.

7.  Despite the above I still totally regard In Touch weekly as something of literary merit.

8.  My fave people in the world?  My mom.  My dad.  My sister.  (Okay, obviously the hubs & the kids).  But my dad is funny and smart and is sorta quiet and sometimes his humor or his amazing insight just sneak up on you.  Sometimes my dad will take 45 min to tell a story and then you go home and two days later he calls you and picks up the story and 30 minutes in you're think "wtf, dad?" and then he floors you with something amazing.  My mom is the most practical person I know and someday I will write a memoir about her canning blackberries handpicked by me (as a 7 yr old)...not beacuse it was a fun thing or a hip thing or green thing...because it was free and practical.  My mom somehow went from being my mom and her whole identity being a mom to being a multifaceted, complex person and my friend in the past ten years... she is amazing.  My sister who knows every inside joke ("new socks are the shit" "I'm from the Lou and I'm proud") and every drama and every tragedy and every joy... plus she likes to eat vietenemese sandwhiches with me.  Love y'all.

9.  I love new-grass music (like bluegrass but w/ hipper).  Trust me, I'm not cool enough to like this music.  But I do.  (Splitlip Rayfield, The Dewayne Bros, The Asylum Street Spankers, Elexa Dawson, Kasey Rausch etc...)  This being said, I also like rap, pop, country and most top 40 autotune crap.  So, there really is no accounting for taste :)

10.   I believe the words of that country song "God blessed the broken road..."  Because I'm pretty darn content with my hubs, my kids, my job, my house, my basically everything... is it perfect?  No.  But I am content?  yes.  Has it been a journey to get here?  yes.  But worth it all.

Okay, enough of the cheese.

Now to pass the award on.  And I promise your ten random facts need not be as verbose as mine.

1.  Amy at New Adventures in Dreamland

2.  Rainy at A Rainy day... 

3.  Tb at Year 31

4.  Debby at Me a homeschooler?

5.  Lily Ruths Mama at Diapers, Dogs & Cooking in Heels

6.  Jordan at Now If you'll just turn your Kaliedoscope

7.  Living Shallow, Living Well at, well, Living Shallow, Living Well

8.  Dianne at My First Blog 

9. Erin at Clark Family Adventures

10.  Melissa at Think On It

Oh and my feelings totally would not be hurt if you didn't do this.  

Sally Field = me...or something

It's the witching hour and I am wide awake.

Why?

I slept in this morning and sorta napped (well I took two baths ----excessive, I know --- and so that was restful).  And my home team just kicked Kobe and the Laker's ass.  Thunder Up!!!!!

I started to fight sore throat, sinus pressure and fluid in the ears Fri morning.  I woke up this morning terribly congested and headachy.  By midday, I had cooked bfast, done dishes, picked up the living room (trying to keep up w/ the cleaning from Thur), done several loads of laundry, bathed the kids...and I felt like shit with a migraine coming on.  Have you ever had a migraine and a sinus headache?  Two separate and distinctive headaches at once?  It sucks.  So, I ran a bath.  I knew the terminex man was coming, but it was a 4 hour window for his arrival.  Of course, he arrived ten minutes after I ran the bath so I had to get out.  Luckily, my OTC meds finally kicked in and I even made a target run (sans kids) and went out to eat w/ my parents (w/ kids).  But there was another bath after the kids were asleep.  Now, I finally feel headache less, though still some congestion...and wide awake.

In other news...we took Syds crib down.  She has had a toddler bed and crib in her room for a while and we transitioned her to her toddler bed last weekend and she has done perfectly, so we took down the crib.  It was bittersweet...my baby's not a baby anymore.  Almost makes me want another one...but not quite :)

Earlier this week the hubs was out of town (notice I didn't mention this before or during his time out of town.  I don't think I have any internet stalkers but just in case I didn't want to announce it.  I don't really want my life story to become a made for tv Lifetime movie b/c someone broke into my house and  killed me and disposed of my body in a wood chipper and kidnapped my kids and sold them into white slavery... but if my life did become a made for tv Lifetime movie - but not for being killed just for being me -  can Sally Field play me?  I know she's like 40 years too old, but her performance in Not My Daughter and on Brothers & Sisters every Sunday just blows me away... but I digress....can you tell its midnight?)....

Where was I?

Oh yeah, the O fell asleep on the couch and I carried him back to bed and he said (w/o opening his eyes) "oh I'm just gonna take a little nap."

My heart melted.

some kind of wonderful

So my last post was fairly depressing.  But I felt it was important.  So I posted it.

I'll try not to be so depressing tonight.

But can I rant first?  And get it out of the way... then we can move on to more frivolous topics...  Thanks!

So, apparently there is a facebook group "praying" for the death of President Obama.  Now, it seems to me about 50% of Americans were not happy with our prior President and the other 50% aren't happy with the current.  But aren't we supposed to be Americans?  And be respectful of the role of the President even if you disagree with their politics.  I mean we have freedom of our own ideas and proper, respectful, healthy channels to express these beliefs.  (And by channels I don't mean FOX or CNN...I mean like going to town hall meeting or joining a civic group.) I figure everyone has a right to their own beliefs and I'm fairly tolerant of others...but I was simply appalled to discover there is a facebook group "praying" for a death of a President. I think you have complete power in choosing your President - VOTE.  If he/she doesn't work out, vote again in 4 years. There are proper channels for discourse and working to find a different solution to public policies - say emailing your congressman or joining a civic group...NOT PRAYING FOR SOMEONE TO DIE.  

That is my 2 cents for whatever it is worth.

Okay, so enough of that.

So...I might be high maintenance.  My first clue...my sbux order:

Iced Quad Non Fat Grande w/ whip Carmel Machiatto

Uh, try saying that out loud before you have had your caffeine...

And I know the whip cream cancels the non fat milk but the non fat tastes better. So there, snobby barista.  I pay your salary.

My second clue... I had someone come clean the house today.  As in I paid someone.

It really isn't like I called Merry Maids.  It is my mom's best friends daughter in law who is a SAHM and just usually does her MIL's house and agreed to tackle mine.

And I'm a little uptight about it.  Not her.  Or the AMAZING job she did.  It is all me being a dumbass and not knowing what proper pay or proper expectations to have or cleaning supplies to have ready or what to ask her to clean.... so I have called and texted the poor girl like 12 times in the past week....just OBSESSING over this going well.  With all my obsessing I am surprised I have not scared her away.  

But I have always been the hired "girl."  My employment from ages 16-21-ish did literally involved me being "the girl."  Like middle class suburban moms saying to their friends "I hired a girl.  Y'know to help with the kids and the laundry and the cleaning and getting the car detailed and going to the dry cleaner."  So, it's a bit bizarre that I am in a position to hire a "girl" even though it's not even like that - more like a friend of a friend doing a small favor.  But it's still weird.  And I'm obsessing again, which only makes it weirder.

But I can just say..it's some kind of wonderful to walk into a clean house smelling like lemons.