Where has the time gone?

Wow!  It is almost December.  This year has flown by.  Last post was the first day of school.  Definitely time for another one.

Little One got to see Santa last night.  I was dreading it because he can be very unpredictable.  We went to the Christmas parade.  There were cartoon characters which he knows that he refused to even go near!  So after over an hour wait in line, I was worried that either he would run screaming when we got to the front of the line or he would throw an all-out toddler fit before we got there.  Much to my surprise, neither happened!    He went right up to Santa, gave him a high five & did the usual tell me what you want speech.  He even did his HAPPY when I took the picture!

Santa 2012

My Munchkin decided he was too old for Santa pics.  

I'm 15 mother.

We had a good time though, even though Munchkin abandoned us at the beginning of the Santa line!

Christmas is approaching too fast!!  Plus Little One turns THREE a few days before! Where has this year gone?

High School?!?!?!

It's hard to believe that my Baby Boy has grown in to a young man so quickly.  Yesterday, he started high school.  The day I dropped him off in Kindergarten is still fresh in my mind - so how can he be a freshman already?  I kept wondering yesterday morning as I dropped him off if I would break into tears.  Much to my surprise, I didn't.  I could feel myself just beaming with pride.  
This is my Munchkin.
This is my Baby Boy.
This is my oldest son.
This is my pride and joy!

My Munchkin

My Young Man

I had to pinky promise that I wouldn't post his picture on my fb page in order for him to let me take a picture of him.  I honored that promise.  This is my blog!  It's not the same thing!!! ☺

Vacation time!

I am taking a bit of a vacation next week - even though I am not going to be able to make it to my reunion.  Just going to have to wait and see if we do a 25 year reunion!

(yeah - I know - I'm old - shut up!)

I don't know if this would be considered a "stay-cation" or what.  I am taking 3 days off from work so we can do something as a family before the summer is completely over.  So far the general consensus for an activity is camping down at the beach - which is what I have been wanting to do all summer! I think we might be able to manage this.  We already have our tent & coolers & chairs & all the swim gear & most of the camping gear.  The beach is maybe an hour drive from home, so we don't have to worry about gas.  All I have to figure out now is how long I actually want to live in that tent with the kiddos, especially once the newness of camping wears off.   I know I could live on the beach almost indefinitely, but trying to keep the boys entertained is a different story.  So we still haven't completely committed to this beach camping trip just yet.  If this is what we decide to do, I just hope I am given more of a chance to plan & get things together than I was given for our last camping trip.  Even though it was a great time - it was very unorganized and, to me, that is completely frustrating.  I know that is a bit of my OCD kicking in.  I can't help it.  It would be more fun if you didn't have to run around trying to figure things out and scramble for everything at the last minute!  I just know that I don't want to have to worry or stress about anything while I am sitting there looking at the waves roll in off the Gulf.

Whatever the case ends up being, we are going to enjoy our time together as a family! 

Beach trip from 2 years ago

Warp Speed - Full Stop!

Life tends to get away from you when you aren't looking, doesn't it?

I haven't been keeping up with my blog, but it seems like nothing eventful enough to write about has been going on.  If I really stop for a second (as hard as that is to do) and look around, things have been more than crazy.

Hubby lost his job & had a major surgery that kept him in the hospital for 4 days, my step-father passed away, my sister got her Master's degree, our teen-age boys got into their first trouble with the law, my grandfather passed away, my cousin got married...  This is only a short recap of the past 2 or so months.  No wonder life has seemingly entered warp speed.  But where have I been during all of this?  I couldn't tell you - except for the surgery part because I am still trying to recover from being woken up every hour or so while we were there last week.

I have my 20 year class reunion coming up at the end of the month which I was really looking forward to.  Not just seeing old classmates and friends, but taking vacation for a week or so to see my family on the other side of the world (Texas).  I probably won't be able to make it because we can't afford the extra expense of a trip.  Even just the gas money to get there is as much as a plane ticket!  So unless we can come up with some chunk of money between now & next Friday - it looks like I won't make it.  I am going to try my darnedest to make it though.  I am in desperate need of a break!

Kiddos are doing great!  I just wish that I could do more with them - being summer and all.  The lack of funds came at a rough time - which it always seems to do.

There is a remedy for this coming up soon, though (I hope).

Change is in the wind!

Yes, I am still alive.

As usual, I haven't posted in a while.  I had a post just about ready to go a little while back, but kinda just forgot about it.  Not having a computer and internet at home limits what I can write about and when I can write.  I am hoping to change that soon.  Sneaking a post or two in at work every few months doesn't really work.  I'm not even sure what I intended to write in this post.

Let's see...

Here is a bit of an update...

My latest obsession - Pinterest - yeah - I know I will probably never do even close to half of the projects and recipes that I have pinned on there, but it's fun to look at all the pretty pictures!

The boys are getting bigger...  I don't know if I ever mentioned it before, but we have my oldest sons friend living with us now.  So that makes two fourteen year olds and one two year old all rampaging through the house.  Teenage boy hormones & the terrible two's is the norm for our household.  AAAAARGGGGGHHH!  No wonder I have been noticing new gray hairs!

I am actually trying new recipes.  Well - one - and I am trying it tonight.  Let's see how that one goes!  Maybe next post I will get a picture of what we ate!  I am a wanna-be foodie!  I just wish that the rest of my household liked something more than chili dogs & spaghetti.

Well, my mind is about spent (doesn't take much now-a-days) - so for now - OVER & OUT!


hey! I just figured out my next post!  Gotta wait & see!

I am definitely learning a new language...

My Little One has developed one very similar to English.  It usually still needs a little bit of translation, but here is just a small list of Trent-isms which I have been keeping track of:

Boops = Boots

Fa-fa = Frog

Fwaaaaaak = Quack (what a duck says)

Da-bi-da = This is what he says for a game on his dads phone - Stupid Zombies

Fafee = Coffee

Faffur = Cracker

Ka-kit = Jacket

And I have saved the best for last:

La Lu = I love you (the best ever!!!!)


This is only a very short list of what he is saying - but these are the ones that stand out to me!  I know most toddlers develop a language of their own.  It has been so long since my Munchkin was that little.  It's like I have said before - I'm starting all over again and everything is new!  I'm enjoying it like the first time again!  12 years is a long time and my memory has never been the best anyways! 

The next chapter

I am not very sure what I want this blog to be about.  Being a mommy, my kids, wonderful tips for the working mother, what it's like to be likened to Martha Stewart... 

There is no way I could ever be anything even close to Martha Stewart and I am struggling myself as a working mother - so my advice on that would not be very helpful to anyone...

I started this to keep a sort of journal while I was pregnant.  My Little One is now 22 months old.
So what now?
I do love being a MOM and I do love my kids.  So that is what this will (might) be a blog about! 

Sometimes, though - I like to ramble (hence this post!!)
So you never know what to expect...  especially since I just decided to stop posting to my other blog - which was where I did a lot of my ramblings... 

So - if you are reading this - thank you!!!  and welcome to my craziness!!!!

Potty Training

I am trying to figure out the best way to start potty training my Little One.

He is 21 months old and has shown an interest in the potty, knows when he has dirtied his diaper, and is very uncomfortable when he wets his diaper.  Plus he like playing with the rolls of toilet paper!

The grown-up potty we have in the house is one of the higher-rise ones.  He can't quite get up on it by himself yet.  I have a small step stool that I used for Big Brother when he was little that I can bring in.  I am leaning towards getting him his own potty, though.  I know that he is very independent and likes to do things on his own.  I think that the training potty would probably be the best idea for him (also - since we have the one bathroom - it's already hard competing for bathroom time!) 

Now to decide on which potty to get. 
The music playing one that cheers? 
The insert that fits over the grown-up seat?
The simple, no-frills attached one?

We will just have to see.  I am going to start buying the training pants and see how it goes from there.  I know daddy had a big part in training Big Brother, and hopefully it goes as smoothly.

Hot as H - E - Double Hockey Sticks!!!!!!

It has been ridiculously hot around here this past month!  Along with the heat - it has been incredibly dry.  Our rain totals are a couple of feet shy of our normal rainfall.  So the way we have found to try to keep cool is by going to the river.  It is so shallow that it doesn't get much deeper than chest-high around most of the area we go to.  The sandbar (which is maybe kneedeep at the most) goes out close to 3/4 of the way across and then there is a small "drop-off" (chest high).  Don't let it fool you though.  The current is still pretty strong. 

A woman that was there yesterday was swimming up-river from us and got caught in the current.  Luckily my hubby was able to catch her and bring her back to the sandbar.  She said it was her first time there and she didn't know how the river would be.  You can never underestimate the power of nature!  Even though it looks calm - looks can be very deceiving! 

That is just a little off tangent of where this story was going, but I guess that's alright! 

We have been enjoying our time at the river cooling off.  It's relaxing to sit there in the water and sun watching the kids play!  It definitely beats parking our butts in front of the TV sitting in the A/C.  There is still plenty of river time left, too, even though school has started back up.  We still have weekends!





IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY - FOLLOW THE FAR BANK & ABOUT 2/3 OF THE WAY - YOU CAN SEE THE BIG BOYS HEADS POKING OUT OF THE WATER.  THE GROWN-UP KID IS LAYING DOWN IN SHIN DEEP WATER



DIGGIN'!




WATER!!



First Ballpark Visit

Boys and Their Toys

A couple of weekends ago, I decided it was time to clean out my Munchkins closet (a little at a time). He has several BIG plastic totes that we used to use as toy boxes. These totes haven't been touched in a couple of years - they just sit at the back of his closet with other junk piled on top. SOOOOO - I had him pull one out so we could go through it and throw away things that needed to be thrown away and hand down the toys that were still salvageable. 3/4 of the contents was trash - old, broken crayons, pencil shavings, broken popsicle sticks, pieces of plastic from toys that we couldn't quite figure out, and just JUNK really. We were able to save a few toys though - and I am pretty sure that the missing parts to some of the ones we found are still in one of the other totes. Big Brother had to show Little Brother the in's and out's of playing with his old toys! I haven't gotten around to cleaning out any more totes. Maybe it would be a good project for this weekend. This is going to be the last free weekend for a few weeks and I would REALLY like to get it done. Let's see if the motivation sticks with me until then!

My Munchkin

Looking at these pictures, it's hard to believe that my munchkin is a teenager. He still has that cute little innocent look. Big blue eyes, golden blonde curls.

My cherub.

My angel.

My heart!

Story Time

Happy Wednesday!

Summertime

I know... I know... As usual I am falling behind on getting anything posted about my kiddos! There is not too much going on it seems though, but it seems that we are always busy!



Summertime is here and the munchkin is out of school. Because he is a teenager - he gets to stay home "alone". (quotation marks because my neighbor is within 50 feet of us and she keeps tabs on him)


The little one is staying in daycare though. If daddy is home during the day - he gets to spend a day or two at the house running with the "big boys".

We are just a few weeks into summer and have been trying to keep the boys occupied. Since I work during the week - most of what we are able to do is on the weekends (when I am not cleaning the house after not touching it all week).

We have had a crawfish boil,

hung out at the pool,

spent time at the river,

taken rides in daddy's new toy through the woods,

had a houseful of teenage boys,

went to the mud races

but that is pretty much it.

So far it has been a pretty good summer! We still have a few more things we would like to do - needing to plan a camping trip along with one we have going on around the end of July, have family coming in to visit - possibly a water park then, and I would still like to make it out to the beach once or twice.

Maybe this long weekend will be eventful... Nothing planned just yet - but I think I am going to try and get the ball rolling to get out of the house!

Easter

Easter was an experiment this year, to say the least. It is the first one where my little one can somewhat understand the concept of the Easter Egg Hunt. We did one at the house, and had big brother help show him the ropes!

Big brother coloring eggs!

Little one colored his egg too!

and the hunt was on!

Thank you Easter Bunny!! Bock Bock!!!

LEMONS

As a parent, I sometimes feel guilty for the things we put our children through... but not this one!!! He kept wanting MORE!!!

Wow! Time is flying by!!

I cant believe how fast time is flying by!

(and also how long it's been since my last post...)

So - my little one has gone through some MAJOR changes in the past 4 months...

from crawling

to standing

to walking

to running

to driving -

(driving me crazy, that is!!)

He is definitely a handful!

One example - this morning while I was getting ready and was in the bathroom for less than a couple minutes - he managed to get the trashcan from the kitchen turned over on its side, the bag of trash removed from the inside, (luckily there was very minimal trash in the bag) and was straddled over the can riding it!

This child has no fear!

Does not fear the dark!

Does not fear heights!

Does not fear punishment! (on the contrary - he CHALLENGES any punishment)

He is just shy of 14 months old.

I guess I had it easy with my first one. He was a relaxed, kick-back, cuddle bug!

This one is fire all the way!!!

I wouldn't have it any other way though!

♥ I love my boys! ♥

MamaMamaMama

Big vs. Little

Big Brother likes to show the little one just how small he is!! :) Not really -

- but I love to see how much fun they have together!

Long time no see!!!!

Well - being a mother of a newborn has taken a toll on me. I have an amazing, wonderful, fantastic newborn Little One - but alas - I am still lacking in the sleep department. He is well behaved, doesn't cry unless he is in need of a diaper change or hungry, but we have yet to master sleeping through the night. I think my Munchkin spoiled me... he may have been a little fussier overall - but he slept through the night from an early age.

At five months of age, I really don't remember having an issue with my Munchkin not sleeping all night. Could it possibly be that I didn't have a baby monitor for him & I just didn't know if he was really sleeping the night? There are times that I want to shut my Little One's monitor off (and guilty of doing so a couple of times). Does that make me a bad person? Well - the answer is "No! - It does not make me a bad person." I didn't have a monitor for my first so why have I become a slave to it for my second. I know that there are times when my Little One is fussing and would probably fall back asleep if I hadn't gone in to check on him - but hearing his cries through the monitor get the best of me.

I believe that I am to blame for my own lack of sleep. I don't know if it is because I am older and am more aware of the "hidden dangers" lurking out there; or if in this age of immediate information from the internet I have become more of a paranoid mother. Either way... I need to just go back to the "old fashioned" way of rearing my Little One that worked so well with my Munchkin.

Sweet Dreams!