End of March 2010/ April 2010

This all started when I got a call from Dad's wife's daughter at the end of March 2010. Dad's wife, Ruth was in the hospital due to a broken hip. Unrelated, but four days before she broke her hip, she suffered a very mild heart attack. Ruth was set to have surgery to repair her hip and then would need therapy afterwards. Dad, who suffers from Alzheimer's would need supervision during all of this. Simple as that...dad would stay with us for a few months, when Ruth was better he would go home and life would be back to normal. Side note: Ruth is 86.

Hind sight: What bubble were Todd and I living in?

Within days of learning of Ruth's hip, Todd flew to CA to pick up dad. I think we found out on a wed and dad was here that Sunday.

Catch up fast!

So it's been awhile! I didn't realize it was June when I last wrote anything. In a nutshell, my dad has been living with us since April of this year, my brother got married in August and about a million other small things in between. Also, my sweet dog Maddie who was so sick for a year (I wrote about in previous posts) is/was doing great, but has now been missing for over a week now. Back in June we had 2 dogs...Abe and Maddie. As Maddie was making her recovery from Blastomycosis...Abe died on July 18th...totally out of the blue. Maddie seemed to be going through a depression and was crying almost every day for very long periods. Long story short: we got another dog. I found a 2 yr old red bone hound on trade radio. We brought Dixie home and Maddie and Dixie were doing really well. That was about 2 months ago. Then last week a really crazy storm blew our gate open and poof: both dogs: GONE! WE have been searching everywhere. I have called every animal control in our city and the surrounding ones. We like Dixie, but had not formed the attachment to her yet. Maddie is 7 and we have had her since she was 7 weeks old....this has been horrible. I'm hoping they or at least Maddie will find her way home. On a different note, I'm going to change my blog up a little. I'm still going to write about my crazy life, but I'm also going to chronicle our life since/ with my dad living with us. My dad is 75 years old and has Alzheimer's .

Redneck Dinner Table

So I was beginning to set the table for dinner tonight. After putting the plates down I looked down and realized a staple gun and fire crackers are laying right there beside everything else. Luke insists at every possible moment to do these stupid firecrackers....maybe we can finish dinner and light these babies up for dessert?

Update: Todd just came in and we were getting ready to sit down for dinner.....but then Luke

grabbed the fireworks and Todd took him out front to set them off...

Yard Sale....& other stuff

Well today some friends and I had a joint yard sale....it was really fun hanging out, but definitely not very profitable. I think our last yard sale spoiled us in to thinking this was going to be a huge money-maker! We almost got really rained , but we closed up just in time! Oh well...you win some, you lose some. On a side note, recently a consignment shop in town asked me to put my painted children's letters in their shop...I've had a few sales already, so it's been really exciting!

This is a custom letter I just completed...

A few letter plaques I have done....

picture worthy...

A couple days ago I was planting some stuff outside and the boys were running around playing. We had been out for awhile when I looked up and noticed Ben looked funny....

The front view was also hilarious because both diaper tabs were still stuck to him, somehow the front part just slipped.

The Boys

Earlier today I took some pictures of the boys outside. There are some great shots of Luke and Ben separately, however my attempts at taking some of them together were not successful.....just see below:

Below are 2 of my favorites....

Ben

Luke

Patience is a virtue.

One the biggest lessons learned in motherhood is patience. I feel like I'm pretty laid back and that it takes quite a bit to really truly bother me. I've accepted that I am always late now. I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter how early I get up to prepare for something. There's just no accounting for one or both kids having poop run down their legs at the precise moment I walk out the door. A big change lately...(this is not a monumental change)....has been that we switched sides in my car where the boys sit due to the fact that it gives Luke a lot more leg room. For the past several days every time we go to the car, Luke goes to his old side and then proceeds to ask why it's changed. I get that it's different. The whole time I am just repeating to Luke, "You now have more room for your feet...get in the car on the other side!" Seriously, I say this phrase 4-5 times, meanwhile Ben is screaming his head off at the back door because he thinks I'm not coming back for him. Finally, everyone is buckled. Luke is begging for a movie even though we will only be in the car for 20 min. I usually take a breath or two before starting the car and I'm OK. I guess my point in writing this, is that by the time I arrive at wherever, it usually crosses my mind..."was it really worth leaving the house?"

Thinking outside the box...

So the other day Luke got a new box of toothpaste out from under the sink and opened it. I told him to put the toothpaste back in the box and put it back where he found it. I saw him put it back in the box as I walked out of the bathroom....

...a little while later I came back in to the bathroom and found the above item. I asked Luke about it. His response, "I had to tape the top close." Cute.

Food for thought.

Ben is the craziest eater. I think because Luke has been incredibly picky up until last week when he decided to eat salad and chicken nuggets(the one and only type of meat that he consumes); that we are so amazed over what Ben eats. Other than tuna salad and spaghetti noodles, Ben seems to like everything....including (as I mentioned in previous posts) wet dog food. Not only does Ben like a huge array of food, he eats ALOT. He always eats more than Luke...at every meal. Luke eats a half a sandwich, Ben eats a whole. Luke is 3, Ben is 1. Ben almost always screams when we take him down from his high chair. This is after the initial meal plus additional servings of things like dry cereal or crackers. Ben only has 5 teeth....and he was eating more than Luke when he had 0 teeth. He should be in the 90th percentile on weight, but he is always around the 5oth or so....Anyway, I just wanted to post what he ate at Todd's parent's house last night for dinner:

1. 2 hotdogs (completely chopped up in to tiny pieces)

2. a bowl of slightly spicy chili

3. part of a hot dog bun

4. raisins

5. a drink

Am I over-reacting...or is this not that much for a 1 yr-old to eat at one meal?

Ben doing his favorite thing...eating.

We Are Officially Rednecks....

So we were at McDonalds today. We were just hanging out in the play yard area when Luke grabbed my Diet Coke off the table and spilled it all over his jeans. I asked my friend 'E' to keep an eye on him and Ben while I ran out to the car to grab some new pants for him. As I was grabbing the pants, I also grabbed another pair of underwear just in case they were soaked too. Heading back inside and for whatever reason McDonalds was really empty, thank goodness.....I glanced at Luke and thought, "there's no one in here but the five of us, so I'm just going to change his pants right here." I pulled off his wet jeans and reached around for the dry pants. As I turned around to give him the new pants....in the 2 SECONDS of me turning around, Luke is nude....except a shirt!! Private parts totally exposed....."Uh Luke....we don't take our underwear off at McDonalds!" (unless your redneck mom decides to change you!)I get the underwear on as quickly as possible. The only thing that could have been more hideous is if I would have left the underwear there on accident....would love to see the look on someone's face as they find some random underwear in the play yard :)

Word Play

Kids say a ton of crazy things. What I think is really funny is when actual words are made up for real items. Below are two words that Luke has completely made up, we have no idea where these have come from.

1.Chine(pronounced like 'chime', except with an 'n'): This is the plastic thing you put on a door knob to prevent children for opening the door.

Used in a sentence: "Mom, why did you put the chine back on the door?"

2.Penny-Bug: Pinata

Ex. We Are at Walmart passing the Pinatas....."Mom, I want the Elmo penny-bug at my birthday party!"

We have NO idea how these words came to be. Although I can say that we have started using 'chine' in our house.

As in, "Sorry Luke, the chines have to be on the doors." I do kind of feel like an idiot, but at least we are all on the same page.

Now & Then

So this August will be thirteen years I have lived in Tennessee. I moved from California in 1997 to finish college. Every August I always marvel to myself that I have been here for as long as I have and that I consider TN my home now. Although it isn't August I started thinking to myself all the things that are different now versus then and I thought I would compile a list. Here goes:

13 years ago....

1.I was 20

2.I still lived in CA, hadn't moved to TN yet

3.I hadn't met my husband

4.I didn't have a college degree

5.I drove a Dodge Neon....which was the first car I paid for!

6.My dad didn't have Alzheimer's

7.I worked at Mimi's Cafe

8.I didn't have children

9.I did have a blind cat named Hope

10.I had never tailgated

11.My brother was 12!

12. I hadn't met my best friend 'S'

13.I had never lived away from home

14.I thought cowboys were hot...I guess some still are :)

15.I hadn't been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans

16.I hadn't owned a convertible yet

17.I had never heard of Peyton Manning

18.I didn't understand the constant worrying my mom always had for us....now that I'm a mom, I get it.

19.I had never been inside a Hooters

20.My sister Dani was alive and doing great! Good times.

My sister Dani....You are missed everyday.

I love you!

Yesterday is gone...

My best friend and I were talking this morning about how children really allow you to appreciate the simple things in life....the fact that we were actually talking on the phone is one of them. On both ends our conversations are constantly interrupted by crying, things spilling, someone pooping, along with millions of other things. We had text each other several times , but had not actually spoken in over a week! Texting is great for quick things and some adult interaction, but it is no match for for hearing someone's voice. Along with phone conversations, here are some of my other favorite things, which in another life I took for granted:

Going to the movies: This is something I used to be able to do on a whim..."Hey, I'm bored, lets go to the movies.." Not anymore. Going to the movies takes an act of congress.... getting a baby sitter, packing a bag, etc. Todd and I can usually never go together. I'm also the world's worst critic now...first of all, I haven't seen the movie you are going to ask my opinion on, and second I probably haven't even heard of it unless it involves cartoon characters. Secondly, unless it is some horrific blood bath type and you are asking what I thought of it, it's going to be the best movie ever! It doesn't take much to entertain me these days. When you get to see one movie a year (I'm not kidding) every movie is awesome! I will just be excited to have been in the movie theater. So...please don't form an opinion of a movie based upon what I say.

Going out to eat: When you have a tiny baby(s) this is not an issue. Going out to eat is a breeze...they usually sleep the whole time. When they get to be 1 and up, watch out. If I get to eat my food, it's cold. Salads become an even greater option at this point. You are constantly fielding food and tempers being thrown. Blood pressures raise as a child's time span for eating in public places disappears. All I wanted was a meal I didn't have to cook or clean up after...was it worth it?

Getting Ready: If you wake up super early, great you can probably achieve this, but most moms I know value their sleep more than fresh make-up. Because I'm horrible at taking off yesterday's make-up I always have some on the next morning. As gross as this may be....it gives me a little to work with when I have to dash out the door. Some days my showers are not until 9pm or later.

Anyway, this is just me venting. Kids are great, they are worth cold food, a dirty face, and always provide entertainment.....As Luke walks out from pooping, "Mom, come look, it's a huge circle!" Awesome.

It's Just Skid Marks...

So we've been working on potty training with Luke and it's actually been going really well....He grasped going pee really fast. Poop has been another issue and quite the struggle. I think he is finally getting it though, which is such a relief because I'm getting really sick of scraping underwear. I thought I might share some of the highlights of this journey with you:

We first taught him to go by peeing outside...one of the great joys of having a boy! However this can backfire on you, because the world becomes a toilet.....

-on one of our many trips to the vet, after unbuckling Luke, while trying to get both Ben and our dog out of the car I look up and see Luke yanking his pants down in front of the only tree directly in front of the vet office. If we hadn't been such great,loyal, probably paying their mortgage payment (by bringing our dog in at least once a week)customers over the past 7 months they probably would have said something.

-pulling his pants down at the park and peeing directly in front of a little girl. We were tending to Ben and didn't see Luke do this (they are fast!), the mom came up to us & told us, she said it didn't bother her at all, however her little girl has been learning about "privacy" and seeing Luke's underwear bothered her.

-An obsession with urinals. I love this when Todd is with us, because I, simply, cannot go into the men's room ;)

Poop...on the other hand has also provided some great stories...

-Poop is like mold..somehow it gets everywhere. Unless you are my Obsessively clean friend 'C', that is. I think I've cleaned up every surface and body part and then I look down and it's under my fingernails.

-When Luke tells me he needs to poop, I asked him if it's already in his underwear or not. His typical response, "No mom, it's just in my booty crack." Nice visual I'm sure. Occasionally he will just pull his pants down and say, "it's just skid mark shoneys mom!" (our term for skid marks...derived from my brother who says eating at Shoney's makes you have to go really bad).

Well I'll stop for now, I just wanted to share a little of the journey we have been on as we have ventured in to the world of potty training. God definitely knew what he was doing when he planned the timing of the stages children go through. If parents had to potty train a new born, I think the world's population would be a lot lower.

The Days of our Lives

Ben fell asleep in the car the other day and I was able to get him in to his room without waking him up. I almost put him in his bed when I glanced at the chair in his room. It crossed my mind that I had so much more time with Luke as a baby. So, instead of putting him down I wrapped a warm blanket around him and just rocked him for a little bit. He is getting so big. So fast time is going by. They are going to be in elementary school and then teenagers before I know it. As much as the 'day-to-day' stuff can be crazy....it's the little stuff that life is made of. These boys are so precious. Children are so incredibly honest with no hidden agendas. When I put on some new pj pants the other night I love that Luke said, "Mom, those pants are ugly!." It was just his own little opinion, it's great! Anyway, I 'm getting off on a tangent. Back to sleeping Ben. I just wanted to take in his sweet little sleeping face and etch it into my memory forever. I realize that I simply have to put aside housework and other stuff so I can just hold on to these boys. Before long they will be driving a car to get away from me! So...the sweet moment with Ben continued. It was wonderful. Then Todd walked in, looked at us (reminding you that 14 month old Ben is wrapped in a blanket), and said, "Are you breast feeding Ben ?" I stopped breast feeding Ben at 7 months....it's not like if you get the urge you just start doing it again! So much for the touching moment with sweet Ben. Thanks Todd.

My Sleeping Boys...

Luke @ 1 month... Ben @ 1 month....

I Love Super Glue

The things I have fixed in a month with Super Glue:

1. Two Frames

2. Luke's Basketball Net

3. Part of Luke's Matchbox City

4. A plate

5. A magnet

6. One of the wooden stars on Luke's wall

A Hair-Raising Event

Question: How many parents does it take to wash a child's hair? Answer: I'm not sure.

(!st Pic: What Ben normally looks like... 2nd Pic: After last night's bath)

So I can't say that Ben's hair never sticks up, however it has never taken on characteristics of someone with crimped-but-brushed-out hair before last night. Seriously...look close, you can see areas where it looks like we tried to brush out curly hair. Not so: Ben's hair is straight as a board!

Last Night: I started the boys' baths. I wet Ben's hair, and lathered it up with shampoo. Then, Todd comes in to take over so I could go get their pj's ready. After a few minutes Todd brings Ben in to me wrapped in a towel. I put his diaper on and then glance up at his hair, which is completely dry and totally frizzy. Todd, who is dressing Luke by this point looks and says, "What happened to Ben's hair?" We just stared at Ben. Who is this child with kinky/brushed out/almost dreadlocked hair? We were totally dumbfounded. As we got the boys dressed we could not stop laughing. Ben looked like a walking Q-tip. Fast Forward to this morning. Sleeping on this crazy hair did nothing to improve it. I took him to school like this. I walked up to a couple of friends and they started laughing. Then all of the teachers who were in the room mobbed around us. I'm not exaggerating. In fact one teacher held up her phone to take a picture of poor Ben and his crazy hair.

Mystery Solved: Everyone was asking what happened. I had no answers for them. Had Ben's hair morphed in to some thing new? Anyway I called Todd on the way home & told him what happened at school. He said, "Do you think Ben's hair is ruined forever?" I said, "No I think we'll just really scrub it tonight and see what happens." Todd: "Did you not wash it last night?" Me: "Yes, I lathered it up right before you took over bath duty...did you rinse it? " Todd: "No."

So let's do the math. Shampooed Hair + No rinsing + Towel dried = Giant Afro

My Conclusion: Two parents should not be in charge of bath time.

So Long BDH

So I realized something. Unless another child comes along, which is not likely, this is it. I was playing with Luke and Ben tonight and realized this is as close as I am ever going to get to fulfilling my dreams of playing with a Barbie Dream House again....

(an aerial view of Luke's Matchbox City)

My sister and I would play for hours everyday with the Dream House. We would change our barbies' clothing and re-arrange furniture as if it was impossible to leave them looking the same for too long. Maybe that's why I still change my outfit a thousand times before I go out and also why I can never leave one room looking the same for very long? Anyway, back to the Matchbox City. It's fun and Luke loves it, which is really all that matters. However, why, whenever we are playing with it does he insist on putting my car in jail? Also, there just aren't that many ways to set it up really well. So far, Luke doesn't have me driving a mini-van, so I suppose that's a plus. Overall the city is cute, but it's definitely no Barbie Dream House.

A simple task ?

All I was trying to do was empty the dishwasher. Under normal circumstances this would take a few minutes. However, with a giant dog that is always searching for scraps and a one year old that insists upon climbing in to the dishwasher, this task turns in to something near impossible. After repeated attempts at pushing Abe (our other dog, Maddie is currently staying at the vet for a few days...another story) back to his dog bed and Ben trying to yank spoons out while climbing in...I'd had it! I made a barricade of sorts out of Ben's high chair and two bar stools so the entrance was blocked. This was working!! Ben went in to hysterics and Abe just stood there dumbfounded. Awesome. Although my victory did not last for long. There is another way in to the kitchen....which Luke figured out. I knew this would happen, so I was emptying the dishwasher at lightning speed. So, as quickly as the barricade went up, Luke took it apart, thus allowing the 3-ring circus back in. Thanks Luke.

my barricade

PS. An added picture bonus....

For future reference: Do not complain

about my cooking Ben.

Vet Visit

So Luke, Ben, and I were at the vet again yesterday for our poor dog Maddie. She's been battling Blastomycosis since sept of 2009 along with some other junk because it has messed with her immune system. I think we are getting close to having Todd's paychecks on direct deposit to the vet office. Anyway at least every week or two we having been making trips there. I have scheduled these appointments on the two days the boys go to Mother's Day Out so I can have peaceful vet visits. Well....since we have had some real snowy weather, school has been cancelled for almost the last two weeks, so I end up bringing what feels like the entire family tree with me. You are just asking for something crazy to happen when you have a mom, a 3 year old, a 1 year old, and a sweet, but sick dog who just wants peace and quiet. Oh yeah....and all of these visits, everyone is stuffed in to the Accord....are you beginning to see why the car is trashed all of the time?

We made it to the room and the boys and I were waiting for them to bring Maddie back to us after they did some x-rays. It was actually taking awhile and I really had to use the bathroom. Ben was strapped down in the infant seat, so he wasn't going anywhere, it's just Luke I was concerned about. The bathroom door is directly beside the door to the room we were in (this is a tiny vet office). Since I was about to pee on myself I promised Luke a sucker when I returned if he would stay there and keep an eye on Ben (probably not a good idea...). I left the door to the room open, so I could somewhat hear if anything happened. I closed the bathroom door and proceeded to go. As I was sitting down I hear Luke yelling, "Mom, remember to wash your hands!" I yelled back, "Thanks Luke!" Not five seconds later he yelled, "I don't hear any water running....!" Seriously, was he listening at the door?? I'm sure we sounded nice and redneck yelling back and forth also. This vet is in old house, so that bathroom in question had a bathtub/shower in it as well. I don't think there has been a vet trip yet where he hasn't asked me if I want to take a shower before we leave! I hope this concern for cleanliness is a lasting thing....

It's not me, it's you

Obviously a high chair is a necessity for babies, at least for awhile. In the beginning, I loved mine and I still think it's really cute, however that is where my affection ends. I used to think that I just didn't know how to clean it right, now I realize it's not me, it's the high chair. It does not matter what kind of detailed cleaning I do, when you look closely it looks repulsive. I have scrubbed so hard that the finish is off in some places. It still does not matter, in all of it's crevices, weird stuff lurks. I don't have the time to clean this thing with Q-tips or toothpicks and call me crazy, but I just don't think a high chair should require that kind of cleaning. In the midst of all my scrubbing, something strange always happens. I have a friend, who I'll call "C", who is compulssivly clean. That's not a bad thing, but I always feel like he is a level of clean and organized that I can never achieve! Not that C has ever said anything to me, it's just something I think about in my own head. Anyway, back to the high chair. Every time I am cleaning this wretched chair I feel like C would just shake his head in disgust at me....or that someday he will have children and I will randomly stop by his home and his high chair will be so clean it will be gleaming from across the room! At this point I realize I am done cleaning and make myself put down the sponge and simply walk away. This is just something that bugs me. I've considered asking my husband to pressure wash it....I really just don't care what it looks like anymore.

An Inside Job

Whenever I pick up the boys from 'school' I am always embarrassed if anyone catches a glimpse of the inside of my car....I was starting to think my car needed to go on that 'Hoarders' show. So this past weekend I decided to clean out my car. This rarely happens. It's always a big deal, so I had to wait until the boys were down for a nap. Oh, by the way, this is just an inside cleaning. It doesn't matter how hard I try when I attempt to scrub the outside. Somehow I miss entire panels of the car and the windows look more smeared and streaked after I've 'cleaned' them...so my husband takes this duty, thank goodness! First I have to get a few baskets to clean out everything that is not part of the car---this takes awhile and I always find something that I wasn't expecting....

Hopefully you can see the cupcake amongst all of the other crap that's underneath it. This pile is part of what came out of the back seat. Seriously...just part of the mess. I don't drive an SUV, it's a simple Honda Accord. I would possibly like a larger vehicle one day, but sometimes that thought scares me. What would I find when cleaning out that car....a random child or pet lurking under the seat? At least the cupcake was only a few weeks old, rather than a year or two. There wasn't any mold, it was just really hard. A large part of the problem is this: my children think when they finish a snack that you simply toss it wherever. I'm trying to teach Luke to hand something to me when he is finished....this is a work-barely-in-progress. Most of the time I honestly don't care what the car looks like, I just don't like to subject others to it's nastiness. So, right now I'm attempting to keep it clean, which I always do in the beginning. But...then a few cup lids and snack wrappers build up and we are back to our 'Sanford and Son' status. It's a vicious cycle! So...try not to judge to harshly if you see us! If it's between the car getting cleaned or my kids...the kids win every time.

Finger lickin' good...

So my 3 year old Luke was watching me fix his breakfast blurts out, "Get me some milk, Lady!" So, I've gone from "mama", to "mom", to, "lady"! I suppose I could be called worse. On goes the morning. Cleaning up breakfast, getting them dressed and making the beds is pretty typical. Well on this particular day I was feeding one of our dogs wet dog food. We normally never do this, but she hasn't been feeling well so we were trying to get her to eat more. Also we have to feed her indoors because our other dog will eat her food...blah, blah! Anyway she eats about two bites and decides she's done for the moment. I put her outside and finish my morning's tasks. As I'm making Luke's bed, I realize my one year old, Ben, is nowhere to be seen. Making my way to the kitchen I realized I forgot to put up the dog food...No wonder Ben was so quiet, he has scooped the WET dog food up and has been eating it! It's on his mouth and he is licking his fingers....and he is loving it! The day has just started and we are off to a great start.

One day at a time

Hello there... I'm a mom with two boys, one is three and the other just turned one. I stay at home and attempt to manage the house while having fun with these crazy kids. Most days are hectic, but also great. Usually what makes up my day is either too crazy or too off the wall to make up. If you were to pop in unexpected, the house would probably be a mess and I would probably be in my pajamas...hopefully with a few traces of yesterday's make-up so I wouldn't look too scary. My boys are great and I include my husband as part of 'the boys'. Occasionally days go by uneventful, however this is not the norm. So stop by from time to time and hopefully I will be able to at least make you smile if not laugh out loud!