nuttin' but pictures bitches

. . . . .that was my attempt at talking like flo rida. haha. See? I just can't pull it off.

Here are my adorable geniuses.




AJ took the kids while I went back to the botanical gardens for some solitude, and inspiration. I also took my camera and tried to get all artsy-fartsy. It was so nice to get re-centered again. I was gone for 6 hours and that is the longest I've been away from my children in a VERY long time. I could stop and read signs without having to hurry. I didn't have to negotiate a stroller through doors and past people, I had a quiet lunch alone and I didn't have to hurry. In fact I was able to set my fork down inbetween bites!!! I KNOW!! Such a great day. I came back feeling so much better and not so crazy.



The Japanese Gardens







The working farm (Heritage Farm).


I also visited the Mediterranean Hot House and the Desert House and spent a lot of time in there warming up and staying out of the wind.

I can't believe I'm so boring

I'm into lists lately so here is another list.

Some days I can't believe I have kids. Lately I've been looking around and noticing how much of a suburban SAHM I really am. Examples:

• I classify foods into healthy and unhealthy.
• I drive a minivan
• I clip coupons
• MNO: I know what it means and am considering doing it with my Mom's group. If you don't know what it means than you are way cooler than I am.
• I'm a member of a mom's group.
• I attend and organize playgroups.
  
• I just purchased a house and will now be living in STEPFORD (or something close to it because all the houses look THE SAME)
• I use phrases and terminology from 10-15 years ago (when I was cooler) and still think it is acceptable language. I also pick up on things that I hear younger people saying and misuse and over use the term/phrase - and am oblivious to this.
• I can't figure out why women/girls are styling their hair with a lump on top (to add volume??) and in back. What happened to a pony tail? What is with the extra bump? Do you know what I am talking about?
• Today while listening to the radio I finally got what Flo Rida's lyrics meant. Here I'd just been singing along not fully realizing what I was saying. Until I actually listened to the music.

There is my list. Ha. Soon I will post kid pics. I just need to download my camera again. I think I might abandon the kids with AJ for most of the day tomorrow. It will be the first time I have left AJ with both kids for more than a couple hours but I really need a break. I need some solitude so badly. AJ is a perfectly capable father who can watch both of his children at one time and everyone will be just fine. I'm typing this for my own benefit. . . can you tell?

Me ranting about too much stuff again. . .

When we first had Lucas we got all sorts of things that all new Mom's get. Diaper pail, Baby tub, Changing pad, Changing pad covers, Diaper organizer/stacker, Wide variety of bottles with various nipple types and sizes, teeny tiny bibs, those worthless devices that look like a pacifier but instead hold food in a net (good luck cleaning those bad boys), tummy time activity mat. . . and on and on. And with Lucas, my first child, I used most of this stuff (except for those stinkin' way too small bibs which I found to be stupid and wasteful) but with Nick I really didn't use any of it. The only thing I used for Nick was the baby tub. The rest was useless to me. Nick has never once been on a changing pad. Not once. I didn't even pull it out of storage for him. He gets changed on the floor, couch or bed and if it is really messy he gets a towel thrown under him. Diaper organizer/stacker? Ha. What was I thinking spending money on that thing when the box the diapers come in happens to hold the diapers just fine - just not as fashionably. Poor Nick doesn't get the fancy stuff that my first born Lucas got.

So I took it all to the consignment store! It is funny how when you have a new baby - your first - you must have all new and all pristine equipment. At least I did. But most of it was silly stuff. Hopefully someone won't be as stupid as I was and waste their money on new equipment when they can get almost-new stuff from a consignment store like the one where I just took all my stuff.

Here are the things I found to be helpful if not essential. I am assuming that you give a damned. (Yes I know every one's list is different but I like reading what others found to be essential and comparing it to my list.)

• Exersaucer (thank you A.M. for convincing me to get one)
• Baby Bjorn and a baby backpack
• Large ziplocks for stashing clean diapers and wipes in the car
  
• Baby Einstein activity table
• Convertible car seat (Britax is my favorite)
• Boppy pillows (cheap one for the car and a nice one for the house)
• Baby gates
• Sippy cups (neither of my boys would ever take a bottle so we use sippy cups instead)
• A really good umbrella stroller (which I still use all the time even though I have two kids)
  
• A really good Double stroller that has tons of storage (helpful for longer days)
• A blender with a small blending cup
• Pacifiers - which I swore I'd never use
• Receiving blankets - or some other swaddling wrap. That is a must have.
• Baby monitor - We still use it 2.5 years later
• Variety of snuggly blankets
  
• Humidifier - a good one. We had several break before we found a good brand.
  

Did I miss something? I'm sure I missed several things. There's not much stuff on that list though. So why do I HAVE so much stuff in this house?

I've got a baby jumper-thingy (the kind that fit in a doorway, that I have used successfully two times. Both kids hate the thing and quite honestly so do I. You know what is great? Bubbles. Cheap fun bubbles. Pots and pans with spoons are great too. In fact both kids think they are better than some of their toys. Know what else is great? Paper. To crinkle and tear (for Nick) and to color and practice with scissors on (for Lucas). It is so popular in our house that we bought a big roll of butcher paper at Sam's club really cheap and use that for all of our art work and wrapping paper. Lucas colors it and I wrap presents for the family with Lucas art.

And you want to know another thing (if you don't then stop reading)? All the things I swore I'd never do as a parent. . . you know all those preconceived rules about babies and parenthood that you start out having - mostly because of all the research and reading you do? Remember those? Well they all went out the window a while back. There was the pacifier one - I swore pacifiers were terrible and my kid would never use one, both kids now use them and I don't care. I also was so picky about what went into Lucas' mouth. "No cookies!! No processed sugar!! Is that organic?? OMG did we wash fork after it fell on the floor??!!". Once Nick arrived most of my dietary rules went out the window too. My new rules go something like this: "If the majority of consumption is healthy than it's been a good day." I now have rules I didn't anticipate having like now I have really structured, consistent days. Breakfast: 7:30am, Snack: 10:00am, Lunch 12:00pm, Snack: 3:30pm, Dinner: 5:00 - no exceptions (or very rarely anyway).

I'm done now. And I feel better now that my rant is over. Your suffering is over. Now for fun pictures . . .


Here is Lucas putting on Nick's sock. Very cute.


Lucas is still trying to get that darned sock on. He later gave up and tried to put it on Nick's head like a hat. Nick started laughing hysterically when Lucas tried to put the sock on his head. He knew that the sock was supposed to go on his foot and actually got the joke. I can't believe a 10 month old would get it, but he is after all a genius. ha ha.

Japanese Garden

Now that we have this big patch of bare land to work with I have turned my attention from house shopping to gathering gardening ideas. You should see it. Bare land. There is nothing on this lot except a bunch of sandy dirt that blows into mini dunes. So I have a lot of work to do once we move. For inspiration, and to get a very cranky Nick out of the house I visited the botanical gardens today and spent most of my time in the enormous and very well maintained Japanese Garden. It was beautiful. I will definitely be going back very soon and this time I will remember to take a camera and might even remember to use it. If all the stars align and I take pictures I will definitely remember to post them here ;-)

Now I have a grand Japanese Garden that has only native plants and uses minimal water running through my head. And most of my brain insists that this is something that I can completely do all by myself. There is a small teeny tiny voice in the back of my head that is calling me crazy. And then there is the thing about me liking the Japanese Garden look but I also like the messy chaos of a more natural free flowing garden. Oh yeah. I almost forgot. . . I'm also lazy. I need a garden that is pretty easy to maintain and that can care for itself once established - excluding weeding and necessary seasonal cleanups. While I like the look of balanced branches and trained vines and limbs, I really don't see myself out there tying trees into shape with bamboo sticks. Maybe I can have elements of a Japanese Garden without having the full deal.

And I am also getting way ahead of myself with all this garden talk. First things first. I need to somehow move again. Third time in seven months. This time it is just AJ and me doing the packing and moving and I am not quite sure how to do it. Before kids it wasn't a problem. But now I can't even get a box packed without people trying to push it around the room or pull the tape off and play with it. We also have several boxes that are decorated with crayon as well. And the physical moving of large items while trying to keep people out from under foot as well as happy and occupied. . . *sigh*. We can totally do this.

Too Much Information (TMI)

Before I tell you all about the horrible embarrassing thing I need to tell you that we got the house!! WHOO HOOO!!! No faulty pipes, no creepy neighbors (that I've seen), no questionable neighborhood, no squeezing into a marginal house! Inspections are this week.

Alright. Now to the nitty gritty (really everyone, this is one of those subjects that would be classified as TMI so if you don't want to know then stop reading now). This morning there was an "incident" involving me, the toilet and a toilet plunger. You get the picture. And shortly after that Lucas's speech lady arrived. Ahhhh. Now you see where I'm going huh? Lucas wouldn't stop repeating the phrase "Mommy plugged up toilet." OVER AND OVER AND OVER!!! She didn't know what he was saying so kept encouraging him to repeat it so that she could understand. . . WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO??? AJ busted up laughing and nearly wet his pants. If she figured it out she didn't let on.

He is such a little spy. Can't I have embarrassing moments and keep them to myself? Noooo. He is now going to go tattle tell on me to everyone he meets.

Third Time's a Charm?

Here are pictures of the house we just made an offer on. Been there done that (three times now). The realtor didn't even need to show us all the places to initial and sign because we knew each and every spot. Hopefully this house works out. I like it. It is 2.5 years old and 1724 sqft. 4 bedrooms, 2 bath, with a separate laundry room that I can close the door on! Whoo Hoo. I would be able to hide my laundry piles, which would be nice. I am so not getting my hopes up with this house though. I already have a backup house and 3rd house that we will move on if this one doesn't work out.

The pictures are not too great, or complete for that matter, but I was in a hurry. I threw in some other pics too.

Here is Nick in the hallway.


My Mom and Lucas checking out the kitchen.


My Dad and our Realtor in the living room


AJ and Nick


Lucas headed toward the "Owners bedroom". Whatever happened to the term Master bedroom?


Kitchen, Dining room


Me and Lucas entertaining ourselves with the camera while we waited for our realtor.


Nick driving the car while we waited for our realtor.


Here is my Dad and Nick


Lucas and Nicholas looking outside.


So cute in their matching PJ's.

Happy Anniversary

Yesterday was our 7 year anniversary (9.5 years since we began dating). AJ is out of town in Denver. He called while I was giving the kids a bath and then struggling to lotion and dress Nick. During our conversation I asked about his hotel room and this is what he said.

"Oh it is really nice. Next time I come up here we are going to have to find someone to watch the kids so you can come too. There are hardwood floors when you walk in and also in the kitchen and dining area. Plus the bathroom . . ."

At this point I cut him off. Hardwood floors? Kitchen? Dining room? In a hotel room? I double checked and yes, he is staying in some suite at a hotel for the govn't rate. Good for fucking him. And he is apparently having a blast. Our phone call was brief so he could run down to the lobby for happy hour with his buddies.

Yeah.

Leave the kids so I can go to Denver with him next time? Really? Was he serious? Who does he know that I can leave the kids with? And all this on my anniversary while I was breaking my back hunched over a tub getting soaked by two dueling brothers.

Has he never met me before? Has he never encountered a woman before? After 9.5 years he still has a lot to learn.

Leave it to Beaver

Here is Nick sort of walking. He did this on Saturday and my Dad is the dude in the movie helping Nick. He is so proud of himself for "walking" like all the big people. It is so funny. And Lucas is really helpful and tries to help stand Nick back up and help him steer. He is a good big brother. AJ got home that afternoon and Nick proudly showed off his new skill for his Daddy. AJ was really excited to get home so that he didn't miss all the action.

And no my life is not all "Leave it to Beaver" -esque. Today Lucas hauled off and kicked Nick (after Nick grabbed a fist full of Lucas's hair) in Wal-mart and caused a big screaming scene in the soap isle. I'm attempting to harshly whisper between gritted teeth to "KNOCK IT OFF OR ELSE" while both boys are screaming. People are trying not to look but can't seem to help themselves. Why do these things always happen in Wal-mart? I go there about once a month and I always end up starring in some white-trash drama in the middle of the store. But at least my kids had pants on over their diapers and I was wearing a supportive and concealed bra. So I wasn't completely blending in.

Enjoy the movie.

Too busy

The drama of buying a house continues:

Now we have moved to looking at new construction. I hate new construction. I swore I wouldn't ever even consider building our own home. And now I am. Uhhh. I hate the cookie-cutter every house looks the same - neighborhoods.

But there are some good things and some bad things about new construction. I would have to compromise on the size of the lot (obviously) and the distance from my neighbors (obviously) and the character homes get that come with age. However I would get in return, a new home with warranties, no questionable infrastructure issues (read: plumbing, electrical, single paned windows etc.), and a floor plan of my choice.

AJ was home for one day before leaving for another week so we took advantage of the day and had a picnic at the zoo. It was really nice. Except that I forgot to put sunblock on myself - again. I put it on the kids, but not me. I have really got to get better about the sunblock thing. And tomorrow is our anniversary so my parents watched the kids while AJ and I went to dinner. We went to our favorite Italian restaurant and had a nice dinner, and guess what? Not one child interrupted our conversation. It was so nice to actually have a non-distracted conversation with AJ. I had forgotten what it was like to just be the two of us and I really appreciated our "date". I can't believe we have been married for seven years. Dating for 9.5 years.

Here are some recent pictures.

Nick and Lucas playing at the park together.


Pop and Lucas playing on the equipment.


Nick taking it all in. And taking a bite of wood chips too.


Lucas practicing batting his pretty blue eyes at me.


Nick dumped his bowl of Chili on his head.

Bummed Out

I'm super grumpy. I really hoped that this home purchase would go smoothly but it hasn't. And tonight I told my realtor to forget it and that we don't want to continue to pursue the house. The sellers wouldn't pay for replumbing the house and we can't afford to so there you go. I can't live with pipes that are a ticking bomb. So. End of the line. And I REALLY liked the house. It felt like home. And now I feel like I am never going to find a place I like. DAMN IT! Why can't we hit the lotto and then I can just BUILD the home of my dreams? It sounds so simple: Buy ticket. Win money. Live happily ever after in a nice luxury home (Ok, so half the year I'd be on my fully staffed yacht in the Mediterranean but that is just a minor detail).

Now I am back to square one and I'm grumpy. I also need a shower and can't get one because SOMEONE (a toothless bald guy who will remain nameless) wakes up when the shower starts. So I am stinky and grumpy. Not a good combo. No need to feel bad for AJ because he is in VA all week. Meanwhile my underarm hair needs to get up close and personal with a razor.

"Too much information" you say? Fine. I will stop with the details.

But I will give you pictures to get your mind off my stinky ass.


I think this might be one of my favorite pictures. My Mom holding a sleeping Nick. It makes me want to cry. I just love it.


Nick asleep from a different angle.


Lucas being adorable in the bathtub. We had to threaten him with removal from the tub to get him to smile and look at the camera. . . Another proud parenting moment.


Here is Nick in the tub after he tried to get Lucas in trouble. Today I caught him yanking Lucas' pacifier out of Lucas' hand. Lucas hollered and Nick looked at me with these big eyes and started to cry as if he had been wronged. Poor Lucas. If I hadn't seen it all go down I would have thought Lucas was the instigator.


The boys in the bath.

A rediscovered personality flaw

I am all over the map when it comes to negotiating. I have discovered this while trying to buy this house. One minute I am super accommodating, like over the top walk-all-over-me accommodating. Then when the sellers ever so slightly pissed me off I completely shut down and have "screw 'em" attitude. Seriously. Screw 'em. I don't even care if I loose the house at this point. They pissed me off so I guess they might just have to find new buyers, won't they? I'll show THEM.

What is wrong with me? That is a terrible attitude. I should take these things in stride and see the big picture. I need to seek some sort of balance here.

I always knew that I was a terrible person to try to strike a bargain, but this just further demonstrates what I already knew. I am a complete freak about this stuff. Thank God my realtor is a level headed dude who seems to know what to do and how to handle the drama associated with buying a home.

Oh - a bragging side-note: My parents took Lucas to the Aquarium and botanical gardens today. He had so much fun. He is getting to the age where he has all this confidence and attitude like "I can do it all by myself" and "I went with Grammy and Pop and you weren't there! See how independent I am Ma?". It is so cute. He struts around and thinks he is the master of his world. I love it. My Mom struggled to get the stroller into the building where the Aquarium is and Lucas told her "push button Grammy!" meaning the handicap button which I always push. I love that he talks now. It was so difficult not knowing what he was thinking. Thank Allah for speech therapy! Then my Dad took Lucas out to lunch just the two of them. Lucas loves it when Pop and he get to go to breakfast or lunch. He feels so special and that is important. I never knew either of my Grandfathers and I am so excited to see my kids spending time with theirs. It is hard to believe that they are going home soon.

Lucas remembers everyone who comes to visit. He still asks about his Aunt Christina, Aunt Stella and Uncle Dave and his Grandma (AJ's mom) and Uncle Paul. He asks about everyone even the people he hasn't see in a while. Aunt Shannon is another person he asks about often. It is amazing how much he remembers. It is true when people refer to children as "sponges".

Alright. I'm done bragging. You can stop throwing up.

Bubbles bubbles bubbles

a




I forgot how much fun bubbles can be.

My current favorite

I recently did my semi-annual shop-a-thon to stock up on discounted kids clothes. I went to Kmart, Target and a consignment store to get winter clothes for next year since they are all so dang cheap right now. The consignment store rocks. Most consignment stores I have been to suck, they are dirty, the clothes are dirty, they are not organized, they are cluttered and difficult to navigate. This one is the opposite. I walked out of there with a good sized bag of clothes for $26. Not bad. I also found this weird contraption that looked like it might help me hold Nick since he is so HUGE and my arm is constantly tired from supporting him on my hip.

Enter the Hip Hammock

I got it for a whopping $5.99 - and it looks new!

So far I have been using it when I vacuum, cook, grocery shop, stand in line at the post office etc. It is HANDY. Nick wants to be held all the time and he was too big for the front carrier and I didn't want to whip out the backpack all the time so I found this. He likes it, I like it and my arm really likes it.

I feel like that dude on the infomercial that yells all the time. . .

Buying a house SUCKS

Our offer on a house was accepted. yippeee. But wait. Don't tap the keg yet. We saw on the disclosure sheet that the house has polybutylene pipes. Crap. It needs all new plumbing. The house is slab so I'm guessing we would have to go through the attic? Not sure. So now we get estimates and see if the owners will pay for this. Is it even worth the hassle? Ahh. Decisions.

I'm going to be so upset if we don't get this house. I really like it a lot. It meets all of my criteria. So far it is the only house we've seen that I really like. And believe me I have seen A LOT of homes.

So we can of course back out of this but we need to decide what we are doing soon. Ask them to lower the price so we can re plumb, have them re plumb or walk away from the home.

On a positive note. Lucas went to a gymnastics class for toddlers/preschoolers today. It was so FREAKING chaotic. 18 kids ages 2-4 in one room all trying to "share" equipment. . . .need I say more? And half the mom's were super engaging with their kids and did the bunny hop and the trampoline and the foam pit with their kids. They ran around and tried to keep their kids excited while they stood in line to climb the wall. . . And the rest of us didn't feel like fighting through all the elbows and arms to use the equipment since the kids seemed to be having more fun picking up the foam mats and hitting each other with them. "Why mess with a good thing?" was my philosophy. Ha Ha I am sooooo not going to do the bunny hop. (Alright fine. I did the bunny hop. I'm not proud of myself.) I have a super-cool-totally-got-my-shit-together image to protect. Jumping on the trampoline with Lucas would not fit into that so if you see a picture of us doing this. . . it is a fake. And so is the picture taken by another mom of me shoving Lucas up the climbing wall while we both laughed our asses off. Totally fake.

Helpful Bloggers

Thank goodness I just found this blog! Thing are looking up people. . .

Gluten Shmuten

Nick is on a Gluten-free diet. When the doctor suggested we eliminate Gluten I thought she was nuts. "Gluten? No one in our family has a history of Gluten intolerance. Are you sure?" I said to her. She told me to try it and let her know if his disposition improves. So on the way home from the Dr. we loaded up at the grocery store with $150 worth of gluten free products. My know-it-all self kept chanting in my head that I was wasting my money. Well. . .

Removing gluten has helped immensely with his irritability. Crap. Gluten intolerance is a life-long situation. It's not like lactose intolerance which may go away at some point. But I am sooo not complaining. He is like a whole new baby. He is happy and sociable again. He goes to sleep and stays asleep fairly well. Things are looking up. I just have to figure out this whole gluten free stuff. It is confusing. SO many things have gluten besides the normal breads and pastas. Soups, pasta sauces, soy sauce, pie crusts, bullion cubes - you name it and it has gluten. It is taking me a while to find things that we eat without gluten. Oh - and the pizza crust thing is going to kill us. We love pizza. I am going to have to make a special gluten free crust.

No Power? I'll just run out and fix it honey.

We woke up this morning with no power. Thank goodness I now own candles because for the longest time I did not. But the idiot next door apparently does not own candles. He was out in front of our house (where the electrical boxes are located - you know because the power lines are underground and the boxes are at idiot level every few houses) banging and trying to pry his way into the electrical box that services about 6-8 homes. I'm guessing he could fix it - or so he thought. I think it would have been a real sight to see him fix all 11,000 residences that were without power from this one box. I was wondering if natural selection would take place before my very eyes. . .but as it turned out the box was too smart for the idiot and he walked away completely unsuccessful after about 5 minutes.

Just photos

I've been really busy for the last week and will be this coming week so here are some pictures because they are easy. The first two pictures are from my sister (thank you Stella).

Nick and me.


AJ and Lucas playing at Explora.


My sister Stella and Dave with the boys.


Stella giving Nick a bath.


AJ, my Dad, Dave, Stella and Lucas watching an indoor water fountain.


Lucas playing with the garbage truck he got for Christmas and LOVES.


My Mom holding Nick.

Dinner Disaster

Dinner: left over hamburgers, and mac and cheese. Mmmm. I warmed up the burger patties in the microwave and ran to change Nicks diaper. I came back washed my hands and then put the hamburger buns in the microwave. I set the microwave for 2 minutes instead of 20 seconds on accident and figured that I'd just pull them out since I was standing right there.

As I waited I looked down at the kitchen floor to see what Nick was playing with and at first I couldn't really identify it. There were several roundish brown balls on the ground and he was poking at them - they were soft- with his index finger. Then I realized what it was.

It was poop. His poop. But why? How? Oh My God. I forgot to put a diaper on him. Shit. Literally.

I washed his hands, washed my hands, wiped his butt, put a diaper on this time and returned to the kitchen to a smoky smell. Shit. The hamburger buns. Ruined. No hamburgers tonight.

Dinner is served. Mac and Cheese. I put Lucas' into a bowl with a suction cup on the bottom, which I have never done before. He thought it was pretty cool so I showed him how it worked by pushing it onto the table and making it stick. I then turned my attention to Nick and began to feed him. Next thing I know there is a loud crash and something hits the wall behind Lucas. I look and he is covered in Mac and cheese. His bowl is gone. His fork is gone.

What the . . .? He bursts into tears. I look on the floor and the bowl is there on it's side. There is Mac and Cheese sliding down the wall. He had tried to unstick his bowl with brute force and it went flying. Great. Hysterical toddler. Mac and cheese everywhere.

Now the cat is helping to clean up. Toddler goes nuts because the kitty is stealing his Mac and Cheese. I see how upset Lucas is and that it was an accident and decide punishment would be mean. Together we clean up the mess and I serve him the last of the Mac and Cheese which was enough to refill his bowl.

I decide that it might finally be time to wash the kitchen floor.

you wanna know what's up?

I'm freakin' tired. That's what's up. REALLY REALLY tired. Like 2.5 years of exhaustion culminating into one tired, tired Mom. For some reason Nick rules the house when it comes to the sleep of everyone in this house. And I'm tired. I have allowed him to do this. I have been inconsistent and lacking structure and this is my reward for not doing it right to begin with. Exhaustion. Nick is so stubborn and frustrating. Lucas was by comparison really easy. Although at the time Lucas was hard. Now that I look back, I had no idea how good I had it teaching Lucas to sleep by himself. So as the parent I have to teach Nick the rules. And the rules include sleeping through the night and letting his Mom and Dad get some sleep too. He is really going to be pissed off too.

Here I go talking tough again. But when it comes down to it I wonder if I'm gonna be so tough.

DUCKS!

I saved up the ends of my bread loafs and went to feed the ducks. It was super exciting for a certain 2 year old. The 9 month old thought it was pretty cool too.




Here is Nick, socializing with my parents dog. They seem to really like each other.