Friday, October 31, 2008

can you say three under three???

YES.....it is true i am pregnant again....and no we are not of any kind of religious background, raising a cult, or trying to create our own school. we are just certifiably insane. story goes like this....wanted one more thought about december but hey, apparently i am not so good at math. due date june 6th.....off to trick or treat! have a great halloween :)

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

halleluha, halleluha.....

so i apparently can not figure out time....i promised big news in 12 hours, then of course, i realized last night i meant 24 hours, and by the time we got home from the football game and i got the girls to bed i knew i did not have it in me to sit at the computer, so here we are 36 hours after my last posting!
annie slept through the night finally.....either she was truly exhausted (yesterday was a long day) or some higher power was looking out for me. i think i have said it before...but, i am not a cuddler, in my sleep anyway. i prefer to face away from the bed wrapped around a pillow...i do believe it is because i am never alone, never ever alone. i am working on this though, i have a new thought if jeff has to go back to new orleans next week, say around the first of the week i am going to fly out and stay two days sans kiddos. i will beg and plead with one of the grammies to stay here and let me wonder the streets of NO alone with my own thoughts, sleep past 7am, watch cheesy lifetime movies in my underwear (well, maybe not in my underwear) and veg out on restaurant food (but, i must force myself to contain my calorie intake...)! we will see if i can actually do it....
yesterday was one of those days of which i thought i would not make it....it started with forcing cade out the door for morning detention because of his tardies (again). i do feel bad because one of his many tardies was clearly my fault but hey, i can only get angry so many mornings in a row before i just give up. totally off subject, but, i even got him up thirty minutes early today and yet it was another "i am going to strangle you if you do not get out the door this minute moment".
anyhoo....from 8:00 on yesterday i was running....almost literally! but, i guess i really don't have to go through the horrid day with you. however, i did have a moment with annie in the bank where i actually thought about walking out the door and pretending like the girls did not belong to me. in our lack of communication that comes with both jeff and i being really busy, brain-fried and exhausted, i needed a name from him for a cashier's check for the job in new orleans, one he said needed to be overnighted three days ago....as i am trying to contain two children who have been locked in carseats all morning in the bank lobby a brilliant idea hits me. give annie a sucker...she will sit still and wonder where all this yummy gooey stickiness comes from...yeah right, in a matter of moments she was off my lap and trying to race crawl across the lobby with the sucker in her mouth. yes, i know, extremely dangerous... but, i did wonder for a moment if i should not just let her go, so i jump up and go to grab her and she wiggles out of my hands, throws herself on the ground flat and begins to scream, not cry, scream at the top of her lungs with the sucker still in mouth! while part of me wanted to run as fast as i could out the door, i stopped picked her up and told the teller once i got the needed info from my dear husband i would pull through outside. buckling both girls in the monster suv, i literally thought my heartrate would blow up my already overworked brain....may not make sense, but when you are in one of those moments it is hard to determine which is which, your whole body feels like it will burst into a thousand pieces.
so, that is all i will share of my long long day....except my big news.....
oh, shit annie is up from her nap....i guess you will have to wait another few hours!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

could it be true?

tomorrow...or rather some time in the next twelve hours of today.....i have something big to say! bit of a public warning/announcement or rather my final note to you before i turn to medication because i/ we must be out of our freaking minds!

Monday, October 27, 2008

is there a difference in toothpaste or bacon?

so, i am brushing my teeth and wishing jeff was not out of town with our laptop....i really want to blog, and here i am back in the office on the main computer. it just is not the same....

today was a school day and i am totally amazed at how quickly izzy adapted. she just walks right in now, sits down at the table and let's me kiss her goodbye. and the past two weeks when i return to pick her up her cuddly and binkie are still in her backpack. last friday night after i put annie to bed we made chocolate chip cookies....she loves helping put all the ingredients in my awesome "thanks husband for a can do anything" artisan mixer last year for christmas. ** it was great having a little one on one time with her. while our cookies were baking we played with some of her puzzles and watched a movie. after putting annie down tonight i brought out a new puzzle from her birthday and we played together for thirty minutes. it truly ends my day with a smile to be able to bond with izzy alone sans little sister trying to undo whatever we just put together. (annie and i did have a three hours this morning together without izzy, i do appreciate this time too)

as for annie, she is taking more and more steps every day. like i said before they are two totally different children; annie is constantly on the move. she won't cuddle much, unless it is two in the morning, she wiggles out of your lap, and the thought of sleep interrupting her play time is unbearable. i remember just a few weeks ago my little incredible sleeper would sleep all night long without a peep. well, these past few weeks i am lucky if i don't' go to her twice in one night, tonight i have already been in there three times. i don't know if this is a phase or if she is testing me. i have tried to let her "cry it out" but like i said she is one determined child and it has not worked, only waking everyone in the house up for a good stretch of the night, and damn it i am too tired to do it. so if i can get her to make it until around 4 or 5 am then i will just put her in bed with me...thus, starting all my bad habits over....the ones i swore i would not make with our second child. maybe i should just think her molars are coming in and give her a good dose of tylenol before bed???

i finally convinced jeff to take a trip with us to the mall playground last saturday. not sure he will return, but he did get to see how much energy both girls burn during a short amount of time. annie was enjoying the padded surface and walking to and from each climbing, sliding, crawl through apparatus she could get too. jeff did give me a few "hey, don't be so bossy with other people's children looks" and made the comment when we were leaving it seems like a good place to get into a fist fight with another parent. i just calmly remind the "aren't you much taller than the height cut-off" kids to slow down and watch out for the babies. afterwards we realized it was the last night of the season at burgers-n-bock and headed over to central market for dinner. jeff choked (again) on the price of the small container of pre-cut fruit i bought the girls (maybe he should choke at the cost of his copenhagen habit, atleast the girls fruit is an enrichment to their little bodies). all in all, we had a successful night of dancing, chasing izzy, and relaxing outside before the weather changes...not to mention, daddy had some one on one time with US!

so, i have a few obsessions.....first, is my toothpaste/brushing teeth habit. prior to living with my now husband, i had three toothbrushes i would use every day. i would brush my teeth three times every morning and each time it had to be with a dry toothbrush (yeah, nutty). then jeff introduced me to some stuff called ACT and now i just brush my teeth three times a day with one toothbrush. i could only take the comments on my number of toothbrushes for so long......anyhoo, i found a new toothpaste, or rather two of them; crest pro health, day and night time toothpaste. if you are thinking of trying something new...give it a shot.

finally, for eight years now jeff and i have been battling over the right way to cook bacon.....crispy or limp???? i am a must be crispy person and he is a must feel mushy in my mouth person. he is also determined that more people are like him, however, being in the food industry most of my adult life i think i am correct in saying most people like their bacon crispy. PLEASE COMMENT ME AND GIVE ME YOUR CHOICE...THIS IS ALMOST AS IMPORTANT AS THE ELECTION NEXT TUESDAY.....well, not really, BUT IT MAY SAVE US A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS IN MARRIAGE COUNSELING ONE OF THESE DAYS. oh, and i would like to have hard evidence that i am correct.

oh, and if you have not already done so..... GO VOTE! this election is a make it or break it for us as a country.....so much more so, than eight years ago.

**side note, if you are reading this husband, this year i would really really love a new set of pots and pans. i think mine saw better days around five years ago.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

ALL CAPS....I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!

I USED MY ELIPTICAL MACHINE TODAY! during nap time i actually had time to work out today. maybe jeff being out of town actually frees up my time because yesterday i felt kinda like a stay-at-home mom and just took it easy with the girls all day. granted, i should have finished the laundry from last week but, hey....

so, i burned just over 300 calories today in 30 minutes AND was able to take a shower while the girls were napping.

maybe i actually slept through nap time and had a really productive dream????

when is enough enough????

jeff left for new orleans and the super high stress job we took on monday. this is just the first of many to come all night long driving trying to manage both work there and here weeks that are to follow. i just hope there is enough money in it to buy me a new pair of diamond earrings.....(hint, hint). once back this weekend he will leave for fort stockton on sunday and probably be there until mid week....

annie is taking her first steps....i am torn about this, on one hand i am so excited for her (and my arm and back from carrying around this 26lb ten month old) but then again it just means she is growing up way faster than izzy did. it is amazing how different there personalities are; izzy always needs to know where you are and annie well she spends all morning playing in the living room with cartoons on not caring if anyone is around. izzy did not watch tv (or rather i did not get a break by turning on the tv until she was over a year old), annie she loves anything animated, some of her favorites are the bee movie, toy story, and curious george. what is even more amazing is she actually gets the humor because she gets so excited or even laughs at the funny parts.

so, on to my point of the day.....who are we really supposed to tip???? for instance, today i went by the dry cleaners to pick up my comforter because last week izzy upchucked on it one night and when the girl put it in the back of my truck she paused in front of my window as if looking for a hand out. i use the drive thru because well, it is just easier! not that i don't lock the girls in the truck to grab a drink inside 7/11 at the entrance of our neighborhood (i would never do this in a shady part of town) but hey one less time that i take the risk of someone saying something to me about leaving my children in the monster suv the better (and i always lock the doors and remote start the truck). anyhoo...should i be tipping these girls at the dry cleaner for bringing my stuff to my truck??? i always forget the coupons, so i end up paying full price.....and what would a tip be; ten percent, twenty?

now don't be going off and judging me a one of those super cheap people....i am a very generous tipper and have been in the service industry since i was in my teens. i know sometimes older people tip our service tech and he is always blown away, but he never expects it. i have gotten in the habit of tipping the carpet cleaner, the dish guy, the guy at the grocery store who helps with all my many bags, the people at the carwash, the cleaning ladies after a thorough cleaning, but should i tip the pest guy that comes by every quarter, what about the mailman (and he sucks by the way, we had a leak in the court forever and while the city was repairing it if the cones were in front of our mail box he would just skip us, not get out of his little vehicle and walk four steps to put it in the box or newspaper delivery person or the fed ex guy. would our trash cans be put in an upright position if i taped an envelope to the lid with a little extra for the trashmen??

another thought on tipping....at starbucks they have tip cups...i usually leave my change because well, it cost me $3.73 every morning to pick up my coffee, izzy's milk and then if we need a sandwich for the day add another $4.95. but, really, how much should i leave to sit in the line that wraps around to the walmart parking lot because if you ever tried to take my two children in and out or their seats to run in and grab our refreshments you would realize it is worth the $1.00 in gas to idle in line!

i will take any thoughts on the tipping subject and helpful hints that you may have.....because well, i just feel like everyone is looking for the extra hand and hey, my pocketbook is trying to be a little tighter these days.

annie is up and well, i think we should head of to target and spend someone else's tip money! plus, i need to break down and put clips on the cabinets around here because annie has figured out how to get into all of them....damn it, i was hoping not to until we put in the new kitchen, kinda like the microwave everyone wants but i won't buy.....

Monday, October 13, 2008

should be working but....

well, today started out as a great monday and almost turned to shit...and i mean literally. the girls and i had a play date with one of the other girls in izzy's class at the mall playground. this place is great for annie, totally padded and challenging for my little go getter. however, the day progressed as usual until bath time. i walked away from the bathroom for 30 seconds to get towels for the girls and izzy comes running down the hall with a diaper full of SHIT in her hands screaming, "mommy mommy i poopoo-ed". well, she did not just poo; she apparently had a small case of diareaha and is currently running around the house with it balancing in the diaper luckily she had folded in half the correct way so it was kinda hidden. however, she was covered in poo so i had to rinse or rather hand scrub her in the shower before putting her in the bathtub all the while annie is desperately trying to find to play in the poo mess everywhere. once izzy is in the tub i called cade in to sit with the girls while i started the poo covered laundry and cleanup all the while holding in my gag reflex that comes along with such events. at this point i figure "hey what is more shit now" and scoop out the cat box along with picking up the dog doo in the front yard.
so, you can imagine when jeff pulled up in the middle of this i was on the verge of losing it. he jumped in and helped with the bathing and dressed iz while i put annie down. for the first time in a long time, we had both girls down and asleep by 7:30. it is amazing what can get done when they go to sleep on time.
if you are wondering the whole losing weight thing is not working so well. i have not had time to dedicate to working out and apparently slightly starving myself is not going to work. i figure if i can get back to blogging this week, maybe i will fit in working out next week.
oh, if i have not already mentioned it, izzy is going to little gym now and loving every minute of it. i like going and interacting with other moms, it is always nice to hear comments about your kiddos from strangers, well, the nice comments anyways.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

i believe i am back....for good

well, it has been long enough since i blogged.....jeff is actually telling me "too much information" and asking me if i have blogged yet. i barely have time to brush my teeth, my elliptical machine is covered in dust (not really the ladies do clean it) but my trash mag from over a month ago is sitting on top waiting to be read, our pup looks at me everyday like when will you walk me, the girls well, they are surviving by clinging to each other and me i am trekking through my days half in an i must get all this shit done and half a brain numb fog. i did manage to accomplish something in the past few weeks.....i successfully through izzy a 2nd birthday party and well, i must pat myself on the back because i think i did a damn good job (of course, with the help of others).

when i know i am going to throw a party i tend to start at least a month ahead with the planning, including the invite list, menu, decorations, etc. i have been planning her monkey theme party for awhile....actually before i watched tori and dean and saw that they were throwing a monkey party, however, i did get the idea of bringing in a live monkey from the show....jeff immediately squashed that one!

anyhoo with weeks of prep and many last minute hours, we pulled off a successful party.
these are the papier mache monkey heads my mother and i made. in all we made seven of them...i am not sure these pictures do them justice but it was fun to do. i have not papier mached in years so i was very grateful for my mother who happens to dabble in all sorts of artsy fartsy things. the third one apparently did not have enough paper on it because it dried a bit deformed so we just added some bandaids and dedicated it to baby bang bang.

of course i had a bounce house delivered for the festivities. this year i found this one called the "toddler house" and it was so much better than your typical bounce house because it was an open arena of different things to do....the kids had so much fun bouncing, running, sliding and well, whatever they do in bounce houses. not to mention annie had a blast....she thought she had finally been given a room to do her thing that was padded for protection. for being almost 10 months old this child is all over the place. she is actually taking a few steps between land objects every day.

on the left is my m-n-l and on the right is my mother (i know for some reason i call her mother....who knows) but, thanks to them this whole thing came together without my losing my cool. i think they really enjoyed helping and spending the time with the girls. i am not one to usually ask for help, however, i came to the ealization last weekend that it is okay to ask them for help.

we went to a birthday party for a friend down the street not to long ago and she had this amazing cake....a huge wine bottle with cheeses and grapes surrounding it, plus it was so so moist and yummy! well, to find out, the cake was made by her s-n-l who happens to do this sort of thing on the side for fun. izzy's cake was the barrel of monkey toy and absolutely so cute....not to mention moist and yummy. if you are in the need of a special cake anytime soon, please send lety an email...her price is really reasonable too. cakesbylety@yahoo.com ps...let her know i passed along the huge recommendation...i need to more cakes in the next few months! and as for the dad's and friends without kiddos that graciously came to yet another toddlers' birthday party....we provided beer, cowboys game and yummy food. you know the moms are always expected to attend every party, but thanks to our dads that parparticipate too.

after a busy sunday...izzy went to school on monday, by the way she is doing really well and did not even cry last week when we left her. at the end of the day, i brought cookies for her classmates and we sang happy birthday again....izzy has taken on the role of "mother hen" at school and is taking care of the smaller children in her class. she sets the table at lunch and sits at the head of the table to be the leader. she is the leader when they go for walks and makes her teacher a nervous wreck on the playgrounds. i am loving the school and all of its resources and can not wait until annie gets her spot (not just for my sanity, but because i know she will love it).
oh and here is a picture of izzy's first sleep over....our friends needed a sitter last minute and we volunteered to keep there 15 month and 3 1/2 year old for the night. thanks to jeff and his participation all went really well and both of their kiddos slept over an hour later than ours the next morning.

well, better get back to my list of things todo today...laundry, laundry, laundry and starting my notes for my sister's baby shower at the end of the month.
i am back and will be rambling on and on and on again.................