still kickin

just stopping in quick to say i'm still alive...i know you were all probably really worried. (ha!) i've been busy getting acclimated to my new job and new schedule. for the most part i am loving it...but the getting up an hour early not so much! i'm trying to slowly shift my bedtime earlier, which has been hard. the bf is a night owl and i am a "reformed" night owl. it's definitely a work in progress.

in other news, i have recently become a bona fide soccer mom. with the changes to my schedule as well as soccer practices and games for both kids we are busy busy busy. i will start school again in 2 weeks and that will only add to the chaos. here's to hoping i can handle it all and still retain my sanity. (whatever sanity i have left, that is!)

another change is that the bf's two boys are spending more time here for the summer. we are currently in the middle of a 12 day stint with them. it definitely shakes things up around here in both good and bad ways. for example, i came home today to heaps of wet clothes on my laundry room floor and two "good" bath towels that have mysterious dirt stains all over them. lol. but they also help with some household chores which is nice. i guess we just need to work on finding a good balance. and i'm sure we will.

growing up

yet another sign this morning of how fast my kids are growing up. this heard in the back seat on the way to school and work this morning:

"raise your hand if you HATE dora the explorer!"

(two hands go up)

guess it's time to pack away the dora umbrella and other lingering dora items of yesteryear. sigh...

things heard (and seen) while watching 5 kids...

yesterday i had the day off work to watch three of my sister's kids as well as my own two. we went to their house at 8:00 and were scheduled to be there till 5:00. let me start by saying i love these kids. all of them. my nieces and nephews all have their own wonderful personalities and traits, as do my own children. the ages of the kids i had yesterday were 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7. do you know how LOUD that can get? just checkin. and also pretty funny. i loved the moments of "raise your hand if you want to eat dessert pizza every day!" or "i had to come inside and go potty cuz i was starting to do the potty dance outside." i also got a pretty good chuckle out of catching my 4 year old nephew in the wide open spaces of the neighbor's yard with his pants down around his ankles, ready to relive himself in front of God and everybody. oh, the stories we will have to tell these kids when they get older!

as much as i enjoyed my time with the kiddos, i have to admit to being somewhat relieved to be back to the grind today. i am one of those people who would go nuts staying home with the kids every day. kudos to those of you who do!

home sick

i've been home with a sickie the past two days, but haven't really felt compelled to write anything. i think my brain sort of goes to mush when i don't get out and interact enough in the adult world! i can't take the puker anywhere of course, so it's just to two of us chillin on the couch and taking in yet another viewing of "Toy Story 2", his movie of choice for the moment.

now, i should be taking this opportunity to get some things done around the house. the laundry is calling my name, and i can hear it very clearly. the rest of the house could use some tidying as well. and i have bucketloads of homework i need to work on. but somehow, i am absorbing the tendencies of the sickie next to me on the couch and am totally vegging out.

i see that the sun is making an appearance, however brief it may be. hopefully that will snap me out of my funk and into some sort of productive action yet this afternoon!

weekend reflection

our weekend was remarkably good! it was a "kid" weekend and we had a full house with the bf's two kids and mine. things can get crowded and tense on "kid weekends", but this weekend was actually really good.

saturday we took them all ice skating at the indoor rink in our area. it was the first time skating for my two, and the second for his two. i fell on my arse once, as did the bf. (but only once!) the kids fell a ton, but they had a blast! (i guess it's not as big of a deal to fall when you don't have so far to go.) unfortunately, we brought the camera and the batteries AND extra batteries were dead. so we don't have any pics. but it was definitely a good time! i think we'll do it again.

yesterday we met the bf's dad in a nearby town and went bowling. that was quite fun too! i had two of the best bowling games of my life. well over 100, which is great for me. i generally struggle to hit 100 at all. (though it's not like we bowl a lot) we all had a lot of fun and will have to do that again soon.

the bf's youngest child has his birthday coming up this week. we will be getting together with them this week to celebrate. i'm kind of bummed that i will have to miss my second cycling session though. (my first one is tuesday and the second one is supposed to be thursday.) but of course a birthday is more important than fixing my jiggling thighs. ; ) i'll just have to do something else this week to make up for it.

i suppose i should get some work done. hope you all had a great weekend!

mothering

so...gimpy is at work with me today. i was awakened at 6:30 this morning by the sound of his crying at the top of the stairs. crying because his leg hurt. it was very alarming. i gave him some tylenol and had him lay down for a while. i made the decision not to take him to daycare today.

currently the clinic i take him to is quite large. he sees a different doc every time we go in, and i don't remember the last time he saw "his" doc. i've never even heard of the doc we took him to see yesterday!

i recently started seeing a new doc at a much smaller clinic in town. the clinic is affiliated with mayo and i know they are good. the are part of a larger network of several clinics as well as the hospital in town. there are only a few doctors there. i called this morning and got him an appointment there for this afternoon. my hope is that we can actually get some consistency in his medical care. i'm tired of explaining things over and over to different doctors. (prior to the leg issue i was taking him in all the time for respiratory issues which he seems to be growing out of, knock on wood!)

so i am trying to get in a few hours of work this morning. thankfully gimpy is fairly easily entertained and hopefully won't bother my co-workers too much. i plan to leave around lunch time and then take him to his 2:30 appointment. i don't know that this doc will find anything either, but i think it will be a step in the right direction. i think i am also going to set up a chiropractic appointment. we have had luck with that for other things in the past.

please send your positive thoughts my way today as i try to muddle my way through this mothering business!

happy birthday kolby!

today my sweet little boy turns 5. oh how the time has flown! and next month my little girl turns 7. i swear just yesterday they were 2 and 4. absolutely amazing how quickly they grow up.

it was funny dropping kolby off at daycare this morning. apparently one of his best buds turns 5 today too. they both were wearing paper crowns and grinning like crazy. kolby's friend kept hugging him and they were both so incredibly excited! i wish i could bottle that and save it for rainy day. there is nothing more healing than the laughter and excitement of a child!

i will be eating lunch at daycare with kolby and his crown today. i think it's something really delicious like ham pot pie? (gag!) but the kids love to have their parents come and eat with them...makes them feel like a star for a day. the less than gourmet food is worth seeing the happiness on his face.

parenting is a funny thing...some days you can't wait until they grow up...and others you are tearing up at the thought of them leaving some day...

and we're off...

we're getting off on a great start for the weekend! i am currently on the couch with my laptop while my children are both in their rooms screaming and crying. because i sent them to their rooms without finishing their dinner. because i asked them literally 8 times to stop messing around at the table and just eat their GD food already! because i am so tired of them not listening to me! if the bf was here, they wouldn't dare.

but they sure as heck aren't going to learn anything if there is no discipline, right?

i guess moms are just too soft... i feel bad making them leave the table. i'll probably end up letting them go back.

reminder to self: why i have children

while i was tucking my 4 year old son into bed tonight he raised his head quickly and unexpectedly.  it collided with my cheek and hurt like hell!  i grumpily shouted "ouch!" and got up to exit the room.

on my way out i heard a little voice pipe up:

"mom, should i kiss your cheek for you?"

he can definitely make my heart melt, that little boy of mine.  : )

everyone loves a poop joke...

gross, but too funny not to share:

i was in the bathroom, minding my own business and getting ready as my 4 year old son was going "potty". when finished, he got up from the toilet, peered inside it and said:

"look mom!"

then:

"it looks like donut balls, but they're really poop balls!"

*giggles manically*

ahhh...the fascination with bowel movements starts in the males young and never really ends, does it?

letting go

I thought I had more time for her to be a little girl, but alas, my six year old daughter sat me down this morning to let me know what was on her mind:

"Mom, now that I'm getting bigger and I'm growing up more, I think it's time for me to start picking out my own clothes in the morning."

My immediate thought was: But what if she doesn't match?!!?!? GASP! 

But really, what's a mother to do? I mean, I could hardly argue with her logic. 

My response: (whining)
"Can I tell you if something looks weird together?"

Ky: (very seriously and sternly)
"No."


*Honestly, I knew I was living on borrowed time, I should have been letting her pick out her clothes long ago. But I LIKED dressing her! She's my little GIRL!

so, what if she was ugly?

this weekend kyleigh got into a little trouble at the our local Target. she ran way off ahead and we lost track of her. once we were reunited, the bf had a serious talk with her about what could happen to her if she ran off and someone "took" her.

the bf: blah blah blah..."why do you think we don't want to lose you?"

ky: (very seriously) "because i'm cute?"


sometimes i can't believe the things that come out of that child's mouth.

it's five o' clock somewhere...

right? so it shouldn't matter that i am having a wine cooler for lunch today?

i am at home. and i am dealing with kid puke. and i have to scrub the kitchen floor shortly due to the fact that said child puked on it.

I think i'm justified, right?

bottoms up!

suckingly sucktastic tooth fairy

ky lost a tooth on friday night. we were out with all the kids eating pizza when it came out. ky was pretty cool about the whole thing, i think this is about the fifth or sixth tooth she has lost, so she's a little pro.

when we got home that night, we prepared an envelope for the tooth fairy and tucked the little lost tooth inside. ky proudly filed it under her pillow.

the next morning, the envelope was still under her pillow, and there was no cash prize to be found. ky was a bit worried, but i told her that the tooth fairy was probably really busy and would show up the next night.

saturday night we tucked the envelope under her pillow again. sunday morning? same thing. damn tooth fairy was still really "busy". (eff, eff, eff! i am the WORST mom in the world.)

so, last night we gave it one more try. "i'm sure she'll come tonight." i told ky. "she has to be all caught up by now."

this morning? effing envelope was still under her pillow! why? cuz i can't effing remember to play tooth fairy! and i suck! 

i sent ky to the bathroom and grabbed a dollar bill. i stuffed it under her pillow in a spot i thought she hadn't checked. i had her come back into the room and pick up her pillow. she grabbed the money but looked suspicious and less than thrilled. 

a few minutes later, as we were putting the dollar bill in her piggy bank, ky looked me in the eye and said, "mom, is that your dollar?" crap. she's smarter than i give her credit for.

and i am a suckingly sucktastic tooth fairy.