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The things that make you say holy crap and SMILE!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Minivan Moments

Let me set the scene. Grant, Carter and I on the way home from Grammy's house today.

Grant: Mommy, why we stopping?

Me: What color is the light?

Grant: Red

Me: What does red mean?

Grant: Stop

Me: And we are in traffic buddy.

Grant: I hate traffic.

Me: Me too buddy

Grant: Yeah mommy. True that.

I LOVE this age!!! Grant is turning 3 in September and he is just so much fun. We have (hopefully) navigated the terrible twos and are smoothly sailing into the KICK ASS threes!! Grant I know you are going to become a big boy one day but I hope you never lose your goof ball personality!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Friday Night Fun

Dear Red Robin,

I would like to personally thank you for being one of the loudest restaurants on the planet. I mean that, I am sincerely thanking you.

My children screaming over their french fires and chicken fingers were no louder or more disruptive than the countless other sticky hand toddlers attacking their siblings over the onion ring tower.

I left your restaurant dirty, exhausted, and loaded down with countless calories, which is exactly how I like it. Our family survived a Friday night dining experience and I lived to tell the story. You are now my favorite dining establishment. We will be back, you have been warned.

God bless you!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Wishful Thinking



During a trip to Wal-Mart this evening with both of the boys I got to thinking. Wouldn't life as a mom be easier it the following things were socially acceptable:

  • The fanny pack: now before you shudder and turn away, hear me out. Picture it fellow moms, you are out running errands, at the mall, or even the park. Your child wants a snack, falls down, needs a wet wipe you name it. All items would be safely tucked away in the fanny pack secured around your waist. Leaving both arms free to push the cart/stroller or carry babies without the annoying shoulder slippage of a purse. A chronic problem with my youngest Carter is as I carry him; he reaches into my purse and takes stuff out. Sometime to play with it, other times just to throw it. Not fun. A fanny pack would solve all these problems. Consider it the "hands free" option of handbags.

  • The cell phone hip holster: again here me out. Picture it. You are out with the kids, you pick the location. Your cell phones rings, which then leads to a frantic search though the bouncy balls, discarded suckers, and forgotten sippy cups to find the phone. Sometimes I am left to go on ringtone alone because a visual cannot be established or I am guided to my phone only by the glow of the screen hidden amongst the rubble. Either way 9 times out of 10 I miss the call and moms you know once you miss a call it could be days or even weeks before you get around to returning the call. Now picture your cell phone securely fastened to your waistband at all times. No fumbling or fruitless searches, no missed calls. Use your imagination. It could be a beautiful thing.

I am too much a follower to start these "trends" solo. I'm just saying the fanny pack and hip holster could be a great tool in the mom tool belt if anyone is brave enough to take them on….let me know. I will be secretly cheering for you and slightly jealous!!!!!


Pictured: a chic fanny pack option (an oxymoron I know)…and if you must ask, YES those are my abs. Obviously.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

OMG

OMG....this is a statement I repeated several times this Friday.

Oh my God, look at that girl.

Oh my God, look at her dress.

Oh my God, what is she doing?!?!


A little back-story.

Casey had I will be celebrating out fourth wedding anniversary on 7/15. Casey planned a night out for us all by himself, which was very sweet and incredibly thoughtful. The boys spent the night at grandmas so we were free to hit the town which is something we clearly do not do very often.


Our evening began with a kick ass dinner at Cafe Provencal. Then Casey had planned a surprise for me, a night at the Four Seasons downtown. Which was amazing!!! After dinner we went to the hotel where Casey had gotten a bottle of wine and put it on ice and had flowers for me (so nice I know!!) We had cocktails on the rooftop deck and then headed to Lucas Park. This is a bar we used to frequent in our pre-baby days, but it had been almost four years since I had been there. Not much had changed, expect the crowd was roughly 9 years younger than us, but it was a nice group of respectable college graduates, or at least that was the story the girl I became friends with in the bathroom told me.


After our Lucas Park adventure it was about 12:30 and I was ready to call it a night. Casey however wanted to visit his good friend Matt who manages 15. I was a good sport and said sure...I had never been there. I had always pictured it as a nicer establishment. This is where the OMG began.


Hookers out in full force

I don't know if it was something in the cocktails or a full moon, but the hookers were out in full force at this place. When I say "hooker" I do not mean the literal translation, but it is the best word to use to describe the majority of the YOUNG girls at this bar. Let me paint this picture for you. I am enjoying a glass of champagne, compliments of Matt Ratz, and I look to the dance floor. Out there is a young (maybe 21), blonde, thin, girl in a leopard print "dress." Now "dress" is in quotations because at some points in the evening I felt like her OBGYN. It was that SHORT. She was dancing her actual ass off with some random guy, her friend then joined them. She and her friend, who was also in a "dress" then, began to make out. Fully make out. With each other while continuing to rub all over the guy they were dancing with. I would like you to now pause and picture my face when I was watching this.



I lost track of the leopard hooker but lucky me she resurfaced in the VIP section, where she began to give lap dances. To girls AND guys. At least she did not decimate. It was bad. Like Cancun bad. The worst part was that she really was not acting much different than the other girls around her. I think her taste in fashion is what first caught my eye. You may ask, why didn't you just stop looking?? That is a fair question, but it was like a car accident on the highway. You just have to look.


My question is this....so what is with these girls? I mean seriously. Has that much changed since I have been off the market? Is this what girls do now? I know everyone has a time in their life where they may have been a little wild and crazy but holy crap, I look like a celibate nun compared to these girls. I looked at Casey at some point and said "I'm calling Oprah; she needs to do a story about this." It was that bad. It was so bad that it is two days later and I am still talking about it. It was just not right! I look at my 14 year old sister and I can tell you this, if she ever acts anything like the hookers at 15 I will have my parents send her to military school or a convent. I am dead serious. OMG. It was just not right. Thank God I have two boys that happen to be perfect J. At least I won't have to worry about the leopard print dress (I hope).

Thursday, July 8, 2010

OCD like me?

For awhile now I have been thinking that I may have a slight problem with OCD. Now I am most definitely not touching every doorknob or washing my hands 2,000 times a day but I have a few "quirks" that have led me to wonder if there is something going on here.

What are my quirks you may ask? Well they seem to focus around cleaning. I am a freak about it. Now I am not a neat freak by definition but I LOVE to clean. Specifically vacuum. I cannot go to bed without vacuuming every night. The carpet needs to have vacuum lines on it and I have to be the last one to walk on it. According to my research and the ½ of a master degree I have in counseling, OCD is defined as an obsession/compulsion that impairs everyday life. So what happens if for some freak reason I do not get to vacuum? Well I won't drop dead, I can sleep at night, but when I wake up and have to get the day started I feel anxious and I have to clean. I cannot have the boys wake up to a messy house. Every night before bed I must vacuum the family room, sweep and vacuum the kitchen, wipe down the counters and table, load the dishwasher, and clean the sink. My clothes have to be out for the next day along with the boy's clothes. And then I may rest. This behavior does not bother me. It is just how I work and how I like things run, however it drives Casey insane which in turn makes him think I am just a little bit crazy. Being just a little crazy is OK with me, most of the people I know are just a little bit crazy in one way or another and that is what keeps things interesting.

My issue with myself diagnosed OCD is that it is now rubbing off on Grant. He is slowly becoming a mini me in many ways. He hates mess, he organizes his toys, he won't walk in the house with his shoes on, and must always wash his hands and turn off the light after he uses the potty. He is a little man after my own heart but I wonder if I am making him weird. I don't want him running around the playground crying because his hands are dirty or because some kid messed up his lineup of trains. Is it OK for him to be OCD like me? No matter how this shakes out I know one thing for sure. Grant is going to make on HELL of a husband so ladies lock up your daughters.

PS- I just realized I said vacuum like 20 times in this post so that be a clear indication that there is a problem here!!!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Milestones

This is not really a blog post, it is a mental note. Something for me to reflect back on.

We have had a pretty big week. I am in the middle of my "staycation." I have been off work since June 30. To be honest I am LOVING being at home and I feel so very lucky that I have been able to experience some pretty major milestones with my boys. This is a shout-out to stay at home moms. Remember how lucky you are to be with your children every day. I know it is a tough job but I am so very jealous.

Anyway onto the milestones.

A little potty talk…

Grant started potty training this week. I was praying that this would be the one thing he caught on to really quickly. He was a slower walker and an even slower talker. He just likes to do things at his own pace. He is now running around like a crazy man and his vocabulary has been so advanced that we now have indepth conversations about all the character in Thomas the Train and the monsters that apparently reside in his room. I did not want to put any pressure on Grant but again I was praying that this potty training thing would be a piece of cake. However we got off to a rocky start. He hated the potty, he cried for his diaper…you get the picture. I promised him he could pick out any toy at the store if he used the potty (I know bribing is not endorsed by all the parenting know-it-alls out there, but I do what works) and guess what….it worked!!! Last night he went potty (July 5, 2010)!!!

Today he has consistently used the potty and even did a #2 (July 6. 2010) without any bribes or pleading from me (the #2 is TMI I know but again this is for family record).

Now I literally just read an article in Parenting that was all about celebrating your second child's accomplishments with equal or greater enthusiasm than your first so this one is for you Barter Boy…

Making strides…

For weeks, especially since summer has started I have begged Carter to please start walking. Like his brother he seemed to take this task on at his own pace. He is such a little stinker. I would watch his am I am still pretty sure that he has know how to walk for quite some time now. He simply did not want to do it. He would scoot his little but everywhere. At the pool he would act like a submarine and try to crawl under the water. He would scoot along the concrete to avoid knee injury. This kid knew what he was doing. Despite my pleas with him to walk he just would not do it. I told my mom I wish he understood money because I would totally pay him for his first step. I was worried that his walking would finally take off and I would be at work. My mom would be the one to congratulate him and give him all the kisses and praise. These are moments that I treasure and I desperately want to take part in, so I was so very please when Carter decided to get down to business.

This week Carter has started walking!!! As of yesterday, July 5, 2010 I am calling him an official walker. It is still not his 100% preferred mode of transportation but the kid can do it. My baby is walking and I am so very proud of him. His 15 month check-up is tomorrow and I am so happy that I can report that he is a walker. Way to go Barter Boy…you make mommy proud!!!

* Note to Carter: Grant did not get a blog post about his first step so this makes you extra special!!!

Boys- I am so happy to be able to spend this time with you. I am so proud to be your mom. Even though you drive me crazy sometimes, being your mom is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me. Thanks for being such wonderful kids.