day 11.

Day 11-Favorite tv shows

well. first and foremost, LOST is/was my fave tv show for all of time lol


sawyer is named after sawyer. well not AFTER sawyer, but thats where we heard it and fell in love.

i didnt *start* with grey's anatomy when it first aired, but i/we are addicted now.


one of our new fave shoes is "the event". its da bomb.


i love reality tv -- american idol, so you think you can dance, biggest loser, etc.

i dont watch many sitcoms. mainly bc i dont think they are funny. the office and shows like that make me want to pull my own teeth.

i love "raising hope" and think its effin hilarious, though.


GLEE is phenom as well. but i will watch anything with singing and dancing.

hmmmm ok. i think those are my faves.

dont point at me.

oh man i couldnt even control my laughter.

aidan: sawyer can i have some goldfish?
sawyer: nope. they in my BELLLLLLYYYYYYYYYY. (ok, she's mocking her lol)

*aidan hits sawyer*

me: aidan. no. we do not hit our sisters.
EJ: sawyer, are you okay?

*aidan grabs my finger. then goes over and grabs EJ's finger*

aidan: do not point at me. do not point at me and say no.
EJ: aidan, if you hit someone, we will tell you no.

*aidan starts to cry*

aidan: see! you make me cry when you point at me! momma! daddy point at me and it make me cry.

ahhhhh the dramatic life of a 4 year old. do *not* point at her.

day 10.

yeah yeah, im behind. suck it.

Day 10-Something you're afraid of

junebugs.



who the hell would NOT be afraid of these things?

they sit in front of your house when your light is on and want to get in.

they have no eyes (i think? lol i dunno) and dive-bomb your head ONLY in hopes to get into your ears and lay eggs.

they make a horrible crunching sound when you step on them.

they die in pools where they just float and collect and then you have to clean their disgusting carcasses out to even swim.

they are ugly.

good morning.

so reason number 29348092348 why i love my children. in the mornings, first i go get aidan. and i sing.

then we go get sawyer. and aidan sings.

then we go get reese. and aidan and sawyer sing.

this is what we sing. loud and proud. wake up and sing. :)

day 9.

Day 9-A picture of your friends

or rather, picturessssss.

we'll just do those who we see most often. ;) and who my kids are besties with as well.

first, we have david. or, "day-did" :) ive known him since, oh, 2004. and we are 2 peas in a pod. he loves my girls, and they adore him back. now in dallas (after spending a few wretched years after waco in the sink-hole known as houston) life is inevitably better. lol





we also have ashley. or, "lashley" :) who ive known since.. wow, 1998? is that right? a long time LOL either way, she's been around for all my kids. and they know her so well that im pretty sure they think she's their bestie.







then there's nathan. or "nason". which is ashley boyfriend turned our friend then kid friend as well :) he's full of fun all the time ;) ive "known" him since HS, but not really until last spring.



we have other friends, obviously LOL i am still searching for that wine pic of amanda w. and sawyer. it'll show up soon haha then that'll be on here too.

we're so lucky, though. i cant imagine not having these people in my life. they get us. they understand that we cant go out all the time, but hey - just come over. they help with the kids if we need them too, they come over a bit early just to make sure they see ASR before bedtime.

we are are blessed.

day 8.

Day 8-A place you've traveled to

lets see.

honduras. roatan to be exact. it could be my favorite place ive been to so far. but it didnt start that way.



EJ and i were on a cruise in march 2008. we stop in honduras and everything takes damn cash. we know this, but still we forget and get off the boat without hitting the atm. its likely we lost all of our cash the night before at the casino on the boat. but i cant be sure.

so our on-island taxi driver takes us to the most beautiful beach there. we get out, he'll meet us in like 6 hrs, we need however much in cash. um. okay. the resort closest to this beach is fresh out of money. oh really?

so we take a water taxi to another part of the island with, likely, another atm. the water taxi driver tells us where the atm is, we thank him and say "wait here. we'll pay you for it" he does, and we head off. i tell EJ im going to shop in this little store for gifts. he says he'll BRB.

um. but he didnt BRB. i walked around that street for hours. okay. im lying. it was prob 30 mins. but since we dont have "world phones" we couldnt call e/o.

so i start up towards where the atm was supposed to be. nothing. i mean, an atm is there, but its obvs broken and EJ is no where to be seen. i walk around, smile at native hondurans, and cry on the street. pacing. i find an american that looks like he was likely on the boat and i just stand by him.

JUST STAND THERE. how awkward.

then i start to think... so, if i dont find EJ, do i get back on the boat? do i stay here in roatan? how do we get home? do i file a police report here? should i finish the cruise?

haha okay maybe not the last one.

FINALLY EJ strolls up with our water taxi guy. who had walked him 10 mins out of the way to another atm. i want to punch him in the throat. both of them.

we go back to the other part of the island and have the best time ever. i drink so many ritas that i puke in the ocean after snorkeling, we eat delish food, buy fun crap, and just have a ball. im not kidding when i say that we picked up realty paperwork on our way back to the boat. we'd move there in 2 seconds flat.

oh, and EJ still has about $110 honduran dollars (thats like 1 billion american. ok. like $19) in his wallet. he just showed me. im not kidding. we are ballers.

day 7.

Day 7-Favorite movies

newsies - um. a musical. christian bale. need i say more?
white christmas - snow. snoW. snOW. SNOW!!!!!
love actually - omg swoon.
van wilder - rawr ryan reynolds. and, well, its hilarious.
centerstage - oh. cmon. its fabulous.

there are dozens more. some im slightly embarrassed about (ahem.fromjustintokelly.ahem) and others, like kid movies, that i would gladly watch with ASR with no problem!

cars
madagascar (1 and 2)
enchanted
over the hedge (a personal fave)
wall-e. omg tears.

give me some time. i'll think of more ;)

day 6.

Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy



ok. so its multiple pictures. but let me explain. nothing makes me swoon more than how my children are with each other. simply best friends. playing in the rain, making reese laugh, sitting on the couch cuddling in a blanket. i could not imagine life any other way. its the best.

day 5.

Day 5-Your favorite recipes


yeah. um. im gonna have to come back to this. with my mom has a guest writer. LOL give me a few.

eta: okay. here's some quick and easy things i had my mom tell me how to do.

Pot Roast in crock pot.

One chuck roast, size depends on how many you are feeding.

veggies: potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms

Put pot roast at bottom of crock pot. Salt and pepper. Put veggies on top. Add one can mushroom soup and one envelope of lipton onion soup. Then one can water. Put on high for about 5 hours. Should be delicious and meat should be fork tender.


Chicken soulvaki

Package of chicken tenders. Marinate them in 1/2 lemon juice, teaspoon of oregano, teaspoon of minced garlic for about 4 hours.

Then put in skillet and cook, cutting the chicken into bite size pieces.

To assemble: One pita bread...(garlic powder and butter both sides) Put in pan to heat both sides. Put on plate. Add some chicken, tomatoes, red onion and I add a few clausson pickles. Top all with tzaitki sauce. (Get it at SPROUTS!). Delicious!


Fajita marinade

1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t ground thyme
1/2 t ground cumin
1/4 cup corn oil


thanks mom!!! love them!

day 4.

Day 4-Your parents

this one is so easy.

my parents are the best. end of story.

my dad - calm, quiet, funny, the sensitive one of the pair. haha owns his own graphic design advertising company and has had an office in our home for as long as i can remember. loves fishing, building things, watching boring tv that no one else would like except for EJ, and red wine.



my mom - funny, outgoing, sassy, and my best friend. hobbies consist of trying new recipes, going with me to target, and hanging out at the cabin with my dad. sharing a bottle of wine with me might also be on the list.



they love LOVE my children. will watch them when we need/want them to and they have a hundred stories about what fun things they did after the night is over. they got A and S all ready to come see reese -- and the look on their faces in this pic when they came in for the first time just exudes the love they have.



its hard bc i could go on and on. but i will simply say that my 2 biggest supporters/helpers/friends will always be my parents. so here, i'll write a little note to them.

dear mom and dad,
i just wanted to say thank you for everything you do.

thanks for being there when we need you, helping out when we need a boost, and being there just to listen to me (or EJ - you know how he is) vent.

thanks for loving ASR the way you do. they love their nonny and papa so much and constantly want to go over and stay the night, meet for lunch, or just have an hr of playtime. cmon - you love playing tea party, right? :)

thanks for adoring EJ. for treating him like a son. for chatting with him about stuff i dont want to talk about anymore ;) and listening to him vent about work things that i dont understand as a stay at home mom. and for letting him know that he is a part of this family too.

thanks for paying for college. and the dropped classes... and parking tickets... and bear bucks. one day when i win the lottery, i will pay you back.

because of you, i live knowing that things will be okay no matter what. i love you :)

day 3.

Day 3-Your first love


i had to think about this one. thats why i didnt post yesterday.

OBVIOUSLY E.J. is my main squeeze. my one true love. the only person that ive been able to say "wow. i want to go to bed next to you every night. and see your mug in the morning as well". the guy who i wanted to have 3 (or more? lol) kids with. the one who makes me heart pitter patter (is that corny enough for you?).

but thats not a first love. a first love means mistakes. it means grand illusions of something that you *think* you know, but, well, you don't.

so that takes us to 2001. end of my senior year. we dated until fall 2003. he didnt even live in the same town as me. for 2 years, i traveled down to austin texas to hang out with him, meet his friends, live the life as a frat guy's girlfriend, and be... well, young. we had corny nicknames, we said that we loved each other, we learned a lot. well. i did. i cheated on him with the guy i'd consider my 2nd "love". and that was that. i hurt him. but in the end, it needed to happen. we needed to break up.

we didnt talk about the future. we didnt talk about anything really except the *now*. but thats how you know its not true love, right? when nothing is more important except whats going on in that very moment.

2+ years of fun and laughs. its true.
2+ years with someone who i could talk to for hours and considered my best friend.
2+ years of learning how to be in a relationship of some sort.
2+ years of thinking about someone else when they aren't around.

those are the type of relationships that teach you how to treat other people and how to express emotions. how to try not to hurt someone else (i failed) and how to, eventually, know what real love is and whats not.

i think everyone has someone like this. you dont regret anything that happened. you dont wish anything went differently.

because you are who you are. and with who youre with now. bc of first... second... third... however many, "loves". until finally - FINALLY - you say "oh pffftttt now THIS. *this* is love."

then you make babies and stuff.

day 2.

Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name

well. this one is easy.

im a parent.

of 3 kids.

sooo.... lol

as for my other blog "this year's love", that was our wedding song. and is also tattooed on my back in gaelic.

what a boring blog update day. ;)

day 1.

Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts

alright. here goes. my name is amanda. no one calls me mandy. i'd kill them if they did. the only person who could do that was my grandpa - while singing "mandy" from white christmas and playing it on the piano at the same time. <3 im 27 and have 3 kids and a hubby. my facebook statuses usually include one of these words: gym, target, naptime, wine, or twitch. here's me. aidan took this pic.

here's me again.

i obvs took this pic.



and now 15 things about me. this might hurt my brain. im just going to write as they come to me... so they may not, um, flow?

1. being a sahm was what i always wanted to do. always. i could have save a lot of money on baylor -- eh mom? ;)

2. im addicted to diet coke. sometimes, if i dont have any here to drink, the inside of my soul craves it. im not kidding.

3. i love school supplies. like chompy clips and highlighters. and fantastically cheap pens that write oh so smooth. and binders. and those little sticky tab things that you put onto pages of books. this made me love studying. like... whoa. not the actual "study" part, but the "re-writing my notes in 1 pen and then highlighting in different colors and then tabbing, clipping, hole punching, and organizing" part.

4. i hate being chased up the stairs. wow. if youre walking behind me, i'll side-eye you the whole way. dont even think about moving your feet a bit faster. you may be throat punched. at the gym sometimes we set up rows of benches and then do things in a line. which, theoretically, means we are being chased for one hour. ;) i almost start to hyperventilate.

5. i have to sleep in a cold room. with a fan on my face. blowing air on me the whole night. not "circulating". not on the ceiling. but floor fan directly blowing on my face. it gives EJ allergies i think.

6. i dont like to eat meat off the bones. (get your mind out of the gutter). like ribs. ::shudder::

7. i have moccasins. ok. theyre slippers, basically. that i wear all winter. LOL even to shoots. i have convinced myself that other people think they are totally shoes. sigh. ok sometimes i wear flip flops in the winter. you can judge me for that, too.

8. i weigh less now than i did when i left college. by at least 20lbs. so whenever anyone posts "omg look at me at 21!!" pics - i dont have that. i mean, it didnt hurt my chances with, um, the boys, so i guess i didnt realize that i needed to lose a few back then. lol

9. i really like mexican food. and pizza. and sushi. i could eat those 3 things every day.

10. i am actually really funny in real life. i dont know if i come across that way online, but in real life i say things that get people laughing. its true. im a regular effin comedian.

11. if i could go back to college again, id be a weather girl. mmmhmmm. and id study tsunamis. except that i am afraid of the deep ocean waters. so maybe that wouldnt work.

12. i like sad books and movies. especially books though. time traveler's wife, anything by kristin hannah, and pretty much any other book that makes you sit in your bed with a box of tissues LITERALLY heaving for the last 100 pages. i love it. so much. for some reason i can relate to the characters so much more if they make me cry. i get angry. i talk about them to EJ like they are real people and he looks at me like im batshit crazy. maybe i should keep those things to myself? lol

13. i had my tonsils out when i was like 11 or 12. i had strep throat like 100 times that school year. ive never had it since. they took my adnoids (sp?) too - and i dont think ive ever had an earache either.

14. i went to texas tech for 1 semester before transferring to baylor. although you cant really call it transferring. that would imply that they used your previous college grades. which baylor didnt. bc i applied for transfer sept 01. thats right. 1 month after i started TTU. so they had to use my HS grades/SAT just like they would have if i went immediately there. so i spent the rest of the semester at TTU just barely passing the course that WOULD transfer and drinking. a lot. and making new friends. and traveling to see my (then) boyf in austin.

15. EJ and i met bc we worked at the same bar. he was a bartender and i was a cocktail waitress. he had a gf (ish) but i told him to kiss me in the bar's elevator at 1am. he said we'll see. at 1am he grabbed the elevator keys and that was that. we both tied up loose ends, moved in with each other (well, he moved in with me bc he needed to, then found another place, then i moved in there. it was dumb lol), and the rest is history.


ETA: oops. i seem to need some corrections and explanations.

a) i was 9 when i had my tonsils out. lol thanks mom!

b) so. i forgot to explain. i went to TTU because, well, everyone else was. I only applied there and TCU and got into both. hindsight, i should have gone to TCU. i would have loved it. i know i would have. but "omg it was so close to home!!" (yeah - about as far as baylor). i had not even seen texas tech before i went there for orientation summer 01 and basically was in tears when i got off the plane and saw what lubbock was. flat. dry. and stinks like poop. now, let it be known that i ADORED my time at tech after i started. but i didnt like it at first. i went through rush and then dropped out, i missed my boyf (eyeroll), and my family was a plane flight (or 6 hr dr) away. things happen for a reason. so im very glad i ended up at baylor. :)

i'm doing this.

so pay attention ;)

i will start tonight. or tomorrow. well. soon. bc i really think that it will make me happy to look back on. :)


Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts

Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name

Day 3-Your first love

Day 4-Your parents

Day 5-Your favorite recipes

Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy

Day 7-Favorite movies

Day 8-A place you've traveled to

Day 9-A picture of your friends

Day 10-Something you're afraid of

Day 11-Favorite tv shows

Day 12-What you believe

Day 13-Goals

Day 14-A picture you love

Day 15-Bible verse

Day 16-Dream house

Day 17-Something you're looking forward to

Day 18-Something you regret

Day 19-Something you miss

Day 20-Nicknames

Day 21-Picture of yourself

Day 22-What's in your makeup bag

Day 23-Favorite vacation

Day 24-Something you've learned

Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs

Day 26-Picture of your family

Day 27-Pets

Day 28-Something that stresses you out

Day 29-3 Wishes

Day 30-a picture

wine.

*** aidan talking on her monitor, so i go upstairs so see what she needs ***

aidan: what's that mommy?

me: oh. um. wine.

aidan: oh! that make you feel better?


LOLOL yes. yes it does, kiddo.

things i am thankful for.

ok im just going to write a list. i truly wanted to write paragraphs for each. and i still may. but for now - im going to write a list of my 20 things.

they get petty. keep that in mind. but, hey, they all relate to my sanity ;) some give me giggles, some give me smile, and all make me happy. and some of the end

1. EJ.
2. aidan.
3. sawyer.
4. reese

(hey, they are all different reasons lol)

5. my mom.
6. all other family.

(dont question it. lol my mom is my bestie)

7. the time i spent in college.
8. the friends i still have from before children.
9. the friends i have made *after* children.
10. the gym.
11. wine. and margaritas. and champagne.
12. target.
13. my camera.
14. my kids' school.
15. holiday decor of all kinds.
16. the christmas season.
17. diet coke.
18. my mac.
19. mexican food.
20. the internet.

gluten free life.

ok, in case youre wondering - it sucks!! ta-daaaa!!!

its a lot harder than i thought it would be. of course.

so here is where i ask for recipes :)

what we love so far:

1. deboles pasta.
2. rice pizza crust. it actually comes out delicious and crispy.



i did some oil, garlic powder, then some sauce and cheese. then on aidan's, i put turkey pepperoni! (sawyer cant have turkey) - and they were great!!

3. kinnikinnick donuts. they are frozen so you can just have 1 once in a while. its nice bc about 1x a month, EJ takes aidan to go get donuts before sawyer and reese wake up. so i can give sawyer her own :) she gave it 2 thumbs up!



4. glutino pretzels. they are so good. omg. totally better than normal pretzels, but since they are almost $6/bag, i refrain from eating them. lol

5. gluten free bread is okay. its frozen. (made by kinnikinnick as well), but its alright for what sawyer needs bread for. which is basically only jelly toast for breakfast. she doesn't really like sandwiches. its a pain in the ass to break off, but we only usually need one piece at a time :) i will say that its better than letting it go to waste - considering its over $7 for a 1/2 loaf! ha!

6. van's waffles. eh... these are okay. only okay. they get a little bit... i dont know the word... piecey? lol just not the same texture.

7. blue diamond crackers. SO GOOD!! i have to hide these from EJ. ;)

okay, im sure there are things im forgetting, but other than that, sawyer eats a lot of fruits, some veggies (not her fave. sigh), and meat.

with meat, she has to to a pill. an enzyme that tell her body "no. this is good. dont poop it out right away!!" and so far. this is because she has a sensitivity to all meat, fish, poultry, nuts, and grains. so for those - a pill, it is!

PLUS she takes her probiotic in the mornings. and now that she can have dairy - cheese and yogurt are, hopefully, fattening her up ;)

OH!!! and another great recipe is homemade chicken nuggets (courtesy of my friend kristi)!! okay, well, i only got so sample them bc the oven's heating element caught on fire when i made these and my new oven doesnt come til the 21st, BUT - chicken, honey, and crushed up cornflakes. divine. crunchy and so good! and sawyer ate them right up!

***note to cookers - GF pasta and some other stuff takes a helluva lot longer to cook than the package says. haha just an FYI.

oh and ETA: the other stuff is easy to keep her away from. some of this stuff may contain soy waaaayyy down the ingredient list, but it has been okay so far.

me time.

after reading so many baby message boards, i realize moms do jack shiz for themselves. its sad. i dont know whether its a martyr complex: "omg. but my baby NEEDS ME all the time!!!" or if they simply dont know how to get away for 5 mins and just... relax. so here are a few ideas that dont take much time (ok, some might, but whatever) that at least give you a few moments of "ahhhh..."

1. take a shower and put your make-up on. do your hair. get dressed. GET READY FOR THE DAY. you have no idea how much better this will make you feel. dont say how tired you are. dont say there's not point "im only going to the store". do it. you will feel pretty. you will feel more "you". and it will be worth it. how many (newborn) months have you worn those same PJ pants when your husband gets home? you've pretty much lost your mascara, havent you? sigh. find it. feel good - look good.

2. go to the gym. or at least workout. the boost you will get will be tremendous. besides the fact that you will have more energy, you will feel/look better in no time. there's something about a good workout that makes you just feel better about yourself. and if youre worried about the daycare at the gym - balls up, dude. find one that you trust and move on. we've been going to the same place since aidan was 5 mo old. sawyer and reese both started the day after they turned 3 months. they know my kids, love them, and i trust them completely.

i also have... wait for it... friends at the gym. omg, right? a whole 1-2 hrs of talking to adults!! yahooo!! that alone is worth the $85/month. the time spent just relaxing and doing something for yourself is worth it.

3. read a book. your kid has to sleep sometime, right? go into your room and read. how good does it feel to forget about anything going on and entrap yourself in a character whom you dont even know. to live their life. to love what they love. to cry when they cry. maybe thats why i was a literature major... to feel how others feel in situations that i will never be in. its amazing. and just relaxing.

4. go to the store alone. you all know that i truly do love to take my 3 to the store. its fun. without them, i get bored. BUT it can be simply surreal to go to the store... and putz. lol go when your husband gets home and the kids are in bed. even if its late ;)

5. buy some skivvies ;) sex it up! on that note, i'll add to this one - have sex. often. even if you dont feel like the sexiest woman in the world - you are. your husband loves you - no matter what (usually. ok im kidding). you may be tired, but just tryyyyyy to get in the mood. once you start, im sure things will progress nicely and you wont forget it.

i never understand when i read that married couples havent had sex in months.

what? how?

youre tired? really? 15-20mins (ok - im underestimating here. or maybe overestimating for you lol) isn't going to kill you. and you'll feel better. sex is a very important part of any marriage. and just throwing it to the side bc "uggghhhh bc i have a BABY!! and i am tired!!" seems so... ridiculous. make out, cuddle, do it. :)

6. go on date nights. i'll write another post soon about leaving your kid. i know some people dont have sitters. i know some people BF and cant just leave at any time. but... when you can... try it. rekindle that honeymoon phase. talk - about other things than your kid(s). get drunk. lol just make sure your relationship stays on top.

7. girls night. your husband can handle it. i promise. leave for just a few hours (if you can via BFing) and go to the movies, or happy hour, or just get some coffee, get caught up on recent gossip - nothing makes a new mom feel better than starting to feel "normal" again. and if that includes your best girl friends - then do it.

8. nap. now, im the first one to say that i cant nap when the kids nap. hell, my 3 go down at the same time and i STILL putz around, do housework, etc when i KNOW i should be sleeping. so... if you can. rest. try to get an hour of sleep while your kid(s) nap and you'll feel better later. even if its just once a week. plan it and stick to it.

im not one to say "let the house go to shit! you had a baby!!" so plan accordingly. get things done when you can so you can have a stress free nap :)

9. get a hobby. scrapbooking, photography, knitting, making hairbows.. whatever it may be. sometimes new moms (and esp SAHMs) have a feeling of "ugh. all i do is (enter kid stuff here)" and that sucks. do something that makes you feel proud of yourself. i dont care if its collecting stamps and sticking them into a binder - at least you can finish it and say "hey, you did a good job!" boosts of self esteem (and also, a hint of independence) can make anyone feel better.

10. buy something nice. for yourself. for your hard work. so when you look at it you think "yeah, damnit. i deserved that." ;)

you are a good mom. a strong and (likely) patient woman who puts other people before herself. i know how it feels. my day is encompassed with plans for 3 children who i love so much that my heart may explode. but... sometimes... i just want to say "hey me. you do a good job. and for that... i give you ________" and i think thats pretty damn fair.

you have any other great ideas? let me know!!

sawyer's poops.

well the problem is solved, my friends.

i, and dh, have been slowly ruining our 2 year olds body bc we assumed she had a dairy allergy and fed her soy.

oddly enough - she has a soy allergy/sensitivity. ok. really?

after her horrible blood test (started off great, but then she wasnt giving enough blood so they had to root around and i wanted to cry for her), we got her results back (appt to talk about them next week). but here are her top sensitivities.


level 3.
soy
garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
fennel (the spice)

level 2.
horseradish
cantelope
cashews
tuna
sole
lobster
turkey
eggs (we knew this! phew!)
and gluten.

gahhhh!!

so they said to start eliminating things. oh, and what a time sawyer has had with dairy products (yes, im trying to give them to her sparingly so she gets used to more dairy). but dear heavens our whole pantry is changing bc of the gluten.

and, let me remind you, food for kids like her is pricey. i was actually surprised lol i had barely anything in my house that had no wheat. so my mom and i did a lot of shopping and searching and at least found some things to start her off right :)

BUT just in the past 2 days of doing this - she has not had one blow out. just one or 2 NORMAL poops. which is so nice. haha i guess this falls into YKYAPW, right? talking about your kids poops is gross, but im so happy that now we know all these things and she can gain some weight :)

so. starting off - 2 years old and 21 lbs. lets see if we can chunk her up in a good way :)

ahhh... the great outdoors.

right?

ok. so sometimes the outdoors are not so GREAT.

picture this: 4 days, 3 nights of alone time with your hubby. you decide to go camping bc you knwo your husband would love the idea. he does. win! then you research. oooh arkansas! that sounds fun! you can go the the diamond mines, make a million off some diamond you find and come home totally relaxed. SWEET.

sounds glorious, right?

oh. well. maybe you forgot about THE SPIDERS. and THE HEAT. and THE HUMIDITY. and THE SUNBURN you might get after being outside for so long.

sigh.

so we drop off aidan and sawyer for their First Day of School this year. then we drop reese off at my parents, go home and pack the car up, and hit the road. EJ and i are good road trippers. we have fun together so car rides are a breeze. except for the fact that i have to pee about every 45 mins. but EJ already knows. i say "hey.. so.." and he says "i'll pull over at the next gas station". good hubby.



we get to the campsite and start setting up. we see a few weird spiders. red body, legs that are about 3" EACH, but just kinda hope they leave us alone.



we decide to stay in for the night, everything is cool until - um, it gets dark. OMG THE BUGS. EJ is a manly man, but he effin hates spiders. we had a fire, but even around the fire, they all came out. i had to hide in the tent, but the tent was so hot that i wanted to die - the VERY breezy day turned stale and no wind by night.

we dealt with it. we slept like crap, but waking up right next to the lake was worth it.



we went into the town of the http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/ and then ate some and then had a BLAST mining. we didnt come back with anything but some quartz, tiny diamonds, and crystals, but it was so much fun. minus the wretched sunburn i got.



we ate some mexican in town and then headed back. we tried to rest, but the spiders would not do the same. they just kept annoying us. we got into the tent to hang out, but it was so hot. neither of us could sleep. it sucked. we wanted to stay out there so bad, head in to hot springs the next day.

but we couldnt.

we packed up at 1130pm or so and headed home. sigh. we are going to re-try a camping trip in november or so. somewhere new.

i did, however, have so much fun with EJ. <3 i just love him to bits. we have fun wherever we go.

YKYAPW (anniversary edition).

so, as you all know, our 3 year wedding anniversary was wednesday - BUT we had plans for going out on saturday. YAY!!

we got all dolled up (sorta lol)

and headed to Silver Fox for dinner. yummm... we had crabcakes and salads... EJ had the strip, i had salmon, we drank Jordan.. it was delish. one of our fab friends made it even more special (thanks, A!!).

so then we get all hyped up to go out. until we get a call from my mom. aidan's fever (which was present, but not a big deal EARLIER in the day - had now gotten up to 103) so we decided to run her in to the after hours pedi by my parents house.



she had 105 there. and strep. sooooo it was nice to know what it was - bc we were able to start meds that night. she didnt want to go home... wanted to stay at my parents. so she did. :)

we tried to finish off the night with a bang. and i got my newest tattoo (can see on link above!) plus i got a star added to my ankle for reese.

we didnt get home til about, oh, 3am? but it was fun. but let me say - you know youre a parent when....

you have to stop a date night to run to urgent care :)

things i'm no good at.

i can babble on here and make it look as if "omg! life is so easy! look at me!" but, sigh, i think its time to admit some things.

1. i cant cook. well, i should rephrase that. i don't cook. and here's why - first of all, recipes wig me out. like, here is my internal monolog.

ahem.

okkkkkk 1 tsp of salt. wait let me make sure it said 1 tsp. yes. okay oh wait - did it say 1 tsp? phew okay... moving on. 2 cups milk. wait how much did it say? 1 cup? no. 2 cups. okay do i mix it now? yes. wait. no. wait. let me read it again.


see how tense that is? gaaah. and i think it breaks my mom's heart a bit. lol she looks up recipes out of boredom, changes them up for fun, cooks something NEW all the time! etc etc... but when she talks about them to me, well, i sort of zone. ;)

also, aidan likes everything cheese. sawyer can't eat dairy. so if i am already going to make 2 meals then i might as well just do that from the beginning. sigh. i think i need to do a julie/julia intervention :) or maybe some sort of challenge? i dunno - you all help me decide.

2. i have a bad mouth. lol especially in the car. i have GOT to be careful/more aware of this, but it really is so hard. i can keep the eff word down to a minimum, but, uh - asshole? stupid ass? shit? sigh. thats what sawyer's language is so, well, colorful. damnit.

3. im a procrastinator. eh... maybe i'll write this entry tomorrow?








kidding. okay. here's the thing. i have STELLAR intentions. truly. i make a list, check it twice, and then... only get to half. well, thats not totally true. i get to it all - eventually. like, i end up spending an ENTIRE day doing everything that i want to do.

but let me say, this procrastination is not all the time. and its nothing that has to do with the house, my photography, the kids or EJ, etc. its just... the other things i think. instead of lazy, lets say i'm "busy" :)

4. i suck at getting ready early in the day. its not my fault. im partly a 50's hausfrau (minus the cooking of course) and like to look CLEAN when EJ comes home. ;) so my poor kids see momma in PJs without makeup all day (if we arent going anywhere).

5. i cant sit. i cant just hang out and watch tv. well, rarely. this summer was totally annoying when i couldnt get up and go to the gym. i need to get energy out lol

and it gives us a schedule as well. i toted the poor girls to the store almost every morning so we could get out of the house. sitting around and hanging out is done in the afternoons after nap. the mornings just... draaaag without a planned event.

ok. im sure there's more. but thats all i can think of now. my procrastination entry has forced me to go pay bills online and get some photo CDs and mailers done :)

happy anniversary.

to EJ. :)


so. three years later. phew. its been a busy 3 years i suppose. but every min has been fabulous.

sometimes i think we have a "leg up" on people who have been married a long time and then have kids - all we've ever known (besides the first 8 months or so of dating/drunken/college/craziness times) is kids. maybe thats why 3 doesn't seem so "OMG YOU HAVE THREE KIDS UNDER 4!!" like some people make it out to be - yeah, we do. and its just fabulous.

timeline for those wondering:

met july 05
dating sept 05
living together sept 05
pregnant march 06
found out may 06
had aidan dec 06
engaged feb 07
married aug 07
pregnant with sawyer nov 07
had sawyer july 08
pregnant with m/c baby may 09
m/c july 09
pregnant with reese aug 09
had reese may 10

:)

everything has worked out so beautifully that i thank my lucky stars every day. granted, we have some amazing family members that help us out - and let us keep a semblance of "normal" as best as possible for a 27 and 28 year old couple. we have date nights, vacations sans kids, i can run errands alone if i need to, etc.

but let me say - EJ is my soulmate. yeah, how effin corny, right? but truly - he is my perfect counterpart. if you are a FB friend, you know how well he treats me - i should belong on lamebook.com sometimes for all the nerdy "omg guess what EJ did" statuses i have. but i just adore him. he is handy. he is thoughtful. he is a dork. he is funny. he is just da bomb.

and i mean, lets be honest, he has been 1/2 of the most gorgeous children ever ;) thank heavens he gave them all the hair that he did lol

so i guess i just want to say "thanks, babe". thanks for being the best hubby i could imagine. i love you and i love our family and i couldnt ask for anything more.


p.s. thank you for my Bamboo: FUN for our anniversary. ::drool:: editing pictures is just the bee's knees now!

quote of the month.

in the car this morning.

me: daddy took his motorcycle to work.

aidan: he go to work? at the office?

me: yep. he is a stud-muffin.

aidan: yeah, i think he's a stud-donut.


i died from laughing so hard.

daddy at work.

aidan and sawyer have learned "daddy at work" during the week. sometimes they ask in the morning. sometimes sawyer asks "where's daddy?" and aidan tells her "he at work", etc.

aidan has asked "why he go to work?" to which i reply "he has to make us monies!" she asks why and i tell list off things she likes - "for chikfila and target. and pet shops!"

so today at the store i was listening to aidan and sawyer chat. i mentioned i should find my phone bc "daddy might call". sawyer says "daddy at work" and aidan says "yeah, he has to get us monies. he does this..." and then she makes a hand motion of picking things up. as if she really thinks that he leaves the house, drives to "work", and then picks up money from somewhere all day. LOL

i said "wait. babe. do you think he PICKS UP money all day?" she said yes. i giggled and thought - wow, what a job that would be!

at the same time i remembered those birthday parties at skating rinks when youre like, oh, 10? maybe? where you were put in the money box thing where it blew dollar bills around hahaha

YKYAPW.

you know youre a parent when your preschooler says "i brush my teeth. you wanna smell my breath?"

lol not particularly, kid. but okay.

sigh. another day.

im gonna go ahead and say this to be true - if your day starts with poop, it will end poopy.

this morning, i collected all of sawyer's poop samples and packed them into the car to run it to the pedi's office. which, by the way, is not super close. its not a big deal usually bc i only take them there for well-checks. but running over there to run in for 3 seconds is annoying.

then we went to target. this part of my day was actually FANTASTIC. they were all so good. they were in the BIG cart, A and S sat in the 2 seats at the front and R was in the bucket. all went smoothly, we got out with only having to hush them with goldfish. overall = win.

we ate lunch. i put them down for naps. i putzed.

then i decided to go pick up some prints from costco. if youre wondering "why costco" it was a test. lol i had heard they were "okay" for prints, but they are actually really good. i was shocked. considering you get them next day.

well - not that i actually TOOK my prints home... let me back up. we get in the car after naps and go to sonic happy hour :) then we head to costco. its about 3ish? or so and so for a friday - traffic is picking up bc people leave work early. anyway, its 105* out and i want to die. we search for a parking spot for, like 7 mins (whodathunk costco would be that busy), i find a cart and then we go in. i survey my prints, im happy bc, well, they are $2.99 for an 11x14 (and i only need these prints for 1 day in september for their school bazaar thing) and i try to pay.

i only TRIED to pay bc costco only takes cash, check, debit, or amex. ok, so no credit? wtf? i dont know my PIN number, dont carry cash, and checks? huh? so i have to LEAVE THEM THERE and come back tomorrow. kill me.

so then we leave. my car still says its 105 out. we drive home as it gets darker and darker and then temp drops to 73 at our house (15 mins). it has stormed. annnnnd it tore up our backyard. GAH!

i call EJ and cry (lol), he says i must be pregnant for being this emotional, we all giggle about that, and then its dinner, bath, bed.

overall, good day? lol it wasn't bad. but i was just cranky. and i needed to vent. i feel better now :)

aidan's party.

since sawyer just had her bday party - aidan's waiting for hers. in december. sigh.

(in her room after nap)

me: hey we gotta go downstairs. i need a shower.

aidan: what are we doing?

me: huh? i need a shower babe!

aidan: you thinking about my paaaaaarty?

me: haha no! its not for a long time!

aidan: but i NEED IT!!

by the way, as of now, its a princess party. and all the girls have to wear dresses, she says. prepare yourself.

YKYAPW.

i missed this on saturday bc of the busy wkend. but thats okay bc i have one from yesterday.


long story short, sawyer is skinny. 21 lbs at her 2 year appt (less than 1%ile for weight. but still 70%ile for height!). when i talked to the pedi about her poops (a lot and not often solid) we decided to (brace yourself) collect samples from her poop for 3 days and send it off - so we can see if, perhaps, she is simply not absorbing any food/nutrients/etc.





gross, huh? so ive done it twice now. and im just waiting for day three tomo ;)

i feel so bad for my baby though. i knew she was tiny - and we were going to do allergy testing at her appt to see if that was it. but instead will do this test and then LATER we're going to do a food sensitivity test as well. this should fatten her up in no time :)

birthday parties.

so.

we always have bday parties for the kids. always. for a few reasons.

1. we dont have a lot of friends with kids so its a reason for all of us to get together and have a great time.

2. the kids LOVE our friends and vice versa. so having them all there in one place at one time is phenomenal.

3. good food and good drinks. yep.

so sawyer and EJ's combo bday party was sunday. so much fun. we DID, actually, have kids there this time - some cousins, aidan's best friend, etc - so that was nice :) my parents and brother/sil were there. we had a nice baby station set up for reese and rylan (my new niece) lol

and we had yummies.

our snackies included (not all made by me. no way lol my mom and friends brought lots of stuff):

7 layer dip
buffalo chicken dip
mini-philly things
cream cheese/olive dip
little weenie pigs in a blanket things
sliders with all the "stuff"
cake
mojitos
beer
lots of wine
and all the sodas, chips, pretzels, etc.


yep. divine. my diet of the past 2 days has consisted of the extras. and thats okay by me. you can go to my other blog to check out some pics :)

ok i'll be honest.

i am HUGE FAIL at c25k.

quit judging. and let me explain why.

it was the end of june, mid 80's in the evenings... glorious. "omg i could totally run in this." and it was true.

after week 1 and 2, it rained. a lot. and the last thing i felt like doing was running in it.

then it turned into mid-july and, well, bottom line, i am not running in 95 degree weather lol that sucks. its hot and i dont want to do it. ::shrug:: i should have thought about the july/aug temperature shift when i started, but i didnt - so now i am just a failure. ;)

listen, i am so ready to go back to my gym classes that its ridiculous. i miss my step, my dance music, my friends, my gym childcare (lol), and all the rest that comes with it. gaaaahhhh. but only another 2 weeks (max) and we will be back there (reese has to be 12 weeks or 3 months - i have to find that out).

so, for all you c25k-ers or just those who TRIED - running blows. LOL i will take my circuit class/aerobics over running in a texas summer any day.

so there.

words aidan says wrong.

that i just love. part 1 of lots i'm sure.

"louder" instead of "ladder".

ie: look momma! i climbed up my louder!

"hairy" instead of "heavy".

ie: (struggling while carrying something) oh this is SO HAIRY!!

"a 'dea" instead of "an idea".

ie: oooh i having a dea!

"race" instead of "line".

ie: you put those cups/books/etc in a race?

things in sawyer's crib.

i took inventory this afternoon.



it seems as if she has:

1. four blankets - 2 that are hers, 1 is reese's, and 1 that is aidan's.
2. her lamb lovey.
3. a chicken little soft book.
4. sesame street counting book.
5. a blackberry.
6. a garmin GPS.
7. five mega blocks.
8. an incredible hulk action figure.

pick your battles ;)

you know youre a parent when...

i think im going to do this every saturday. my stellar friend amanda (here and here) made me a button for this ;) so JOIN ME on your own blog!





(convo last night after sawyer had a HUGE "two year molars coming in and cant make a solid poop" blowout.)

EJ: ugh i hope sawyer is okay.

me: yeah she's really red. poor baby. hopefully the cream helps.

EJ: yeah we need to check on her before bed so she doesn't sit in another poop all night.

me: sounds good. but i mean, her room stinks from the last one still. how will we know if she pooped?

EJ: oh, you'll know if its a fresh one.


ew. gross.

things that annoy me about other moms.

while i am an outgoing person by nature - i am not always friendly. i try to be (sometimes), but sometimes my eyes glaze over and i just think "well. moving on." in my head. you would know this though - so please, if you are one of my friends, dont think that im talking about you.

im more so talking about the randoms. the ones in the playgroup you went to once. the mom at the park. the moms in the pediatricians waiting room. THOSE moms.

1. the show-offs. i was at the pedi's office the other day and this mom kept asking her 3ish-year old "what is an 8 sided shape?" he ignored her. she asked again. he shouted "CIRCLE!" i giggled. mainly bc im certain be probably knew it was octagon, but she was trying to be a showoff, and too bad it didnt work out for her ;) sit down, read a magazine, let your kid play. what is the purpose of quizzing him in the dr's office waiting room? nada.

2. those who talk to my kids. and expect a massive response. my kids don't know you, dude. so quit looking at me awkwardly when my 2 talkative toddlers become silent when you ask them a question. and, please, STOP talking to them after you notice "hey. these kids dont want to chat." bc otherwise i have to sit there and say "oh. sorry. yes she is 3. and she is 2.... oh i know! we've been busy!.... well, my husband has dark auburn hair. haha yep! im blonde (as you can see)...." etc etc. its annoying.

3. the ones who don't wrangle their children. i dont mind if your kid wants to oogle my baby. truly. but if your kid pushes or hits one of mine - i will rail. and by rail i mean kindly tell him/her to please not hit my child. along the same lines, when you, as a parent, see a sign like this:



(ripped from google images)

it truly means that your 13 year old wild ass child cannot play on the f'in slides. they cannot push through the toddlers and preschoolers to jump around on a play structure that is not MEANT for them. and, as you might guess, i have no problem telling a tween to get the hell off the play area.

4. one-uppers. please refer to my last post about "things i dont care about". its likely, when you (as a one-upper) speaks - i zone out and think "omg. i dont care about what youre telling me". bc honestly, whatever age your child PT'd. or sang his ABCs. or memorized 1-10... i.don't.care. so if you are asking me "when did your child ______" to simply "out do" me. save it. i am not impressed.

5. the judgers and know-it-alls. i am a part of this group. i wont deny that. but that doesn't mean im not allowed to be annoyed when other people do it ;) that is my prerogative, my friends. the moms at the park who look at me with a stink eye bc my kid had a sip of my beverage. or who cringe bc i brought pretzels for a snack and not carrot sticks. if youre going to judge - make it good. those things are not good. also, if you have a 10 month old and you are judging something that i do as a mother for my 3.5 year old - i will only, truly, snicker in yo' face.

6. the over-sharing mom. listen. i am a nice person. i will always smile and listen to what you have to say. but please - dont tell me about sex with your husband, the type of shit your kid had, or the huge fight you got into with your mom unless we are actually, um, friends. then in that case... pleeeassee do tell! :) but all your jibber jabber at the park is going to do is leave me empty since i'll likely never hear how your drama turned out or i'll see you again and have to think about "that time you told me ______." just don't do it to me.

so. that is that. :) add your own "THAT MOM" you despise.

things i don't care or stress about.

when reading things online sometimes, i wonder how more mothers around the U.S. arent dying of heart attacks or having stress hernias or something. the questions seem like the answer should be "don't worry/stress about it", but i understand there is comfort in knowing "someone else has been there. it will be okay".

and, as we all know, i DO get riled up about a few things. but this post isn't for that.

these are the things i really don't care about or simply cannot stress about.

1. my kid not eating a meal. please refer to this post about food consumption in this household. i truly do not care if they are not hungry. if i make their fave meal and they still won't eat? ok then - i will bet you they'll eat breakfast... or lunch the next day. they will not forfeit food for the rest of their lives and slowly starve. its just not the case. relax - if your kid only eats 1 meal a day or only grazes the rest of the time - he'll likely make up for later.

2. most fevers. unless it is absolutely ridiculously high OR my kid is acting lethargic/not their normal sick type self - then motrin and baths are my friend. and letting them sleep. there's only been one time where i truly worried about a 103 fever and thats bc aidan was just not acting normal. we went to the hospital *just in case*. of course she was fine, and i have no qualms about doing whats necessary, BUT i see a lot of times people getting VERY stressed over 101. and, in my experience, that needs nothing more than hugs, kisses, and motrin ;)

3. what size other kids are wearing. this is the strangest q to me online. why do i care that your kid wears a size 10 shoe and mine wears a 6 or 7? why do i care that your kid wears 2T pants and 3T shirts? oh. right. i dont'. and ironically enough, i still answer those threads. i mean you *must* care what MY child is wearing, right? lol

4. how many words my kid has. unless they are 18 months and it is ZERO. its just not something i stress about. yes, sawyer is a good talker. i rarely do not understand her. she has a word for everything and says 2-3 word sentences.

but aidan was not like that. aidan had words. but she had her own language til 2 and slightly after. and SHE knew what she was saying bc if i said "what?" she'd repeat it all over again. total gibberish with a few real words thrown in. lol then between 2 and 2.5 that gibberish turned into words! ta-da! that was it! :)

before people rail on the fact that EI is important (which i dont disagree with) - im hardly saying that all situations are unstress-worthy, but for me they are. but i think sometimes when parents of one year olds FREAK OUT bc their kid "only has 3 words!!" or "my 18 month old has x amount of words and the pedi said she should have x + 5!!! what do i do?!" i think its slightly ridiculous.

5. bottles and pacis gone at a year. we all know that i JUST got rid of sawyer's paci. and as for bottles - i see them no different than as a device to drink liquid from. i think its downright mean to tell a kid whose had bottles for a year "hey, you had your birthday - i'll be taking that!!" some kids get attached and a bottle becomes their lovey - you don't have to put milk in it - put water in it! lol no kid will go to kindy with a bottle.

6. bumps, bruises, vaccines, etc. maybe im a cold, heartless mom, but i do not cry when my kids bump their heads or have to get a shot. i dont cry if they trip outside. i give lots of hugs and smooches, maybe some special treat, a sweet band-aid and we get back up and play some more. when we're at the dr's office and my kid has to get a vax or something like that - i feel bad, but tears? no.

oh and let me add an addendum to the tears concept. i also dont cry on birthdays.

7. how long my kids sleep. the "is this normal? my kid slept til 10!" questions are so funny. be happy your kid likes to sleep. unless my kids are sleeping something ridiculous like 20 hours a day - they are welcome to be lazy as long as we aren't going anywhere. but sawyer goes to bed at like 730 and sometimes wakes up at 9 or later. AND she takes a nap. ;) some kids like sleep!

ok. so there's 7. seven things i dont care/stress about. :) im sure there's more. what is on your list?

dear paci.

dearest soothie,

your green (and later, blue and pink) translucent sheen has covered my middle child's face for long enough. her teeth and palette have grown fond of you - and even made a nice comfy form fitting home for your rubber (is that what it is? lol) shape.

my deepest apologies for cutting a large hole in your tip on saturday, but its tuesday now and it seems sawyer has forgotten about you.

through the tears, sawyer conning to come "downstairs" for a "nack" or to try to play in the "gameroom, peeeese!", and lack of naptimes - i can safely say that im 95% sure we dont need you anymore.

it was hard. it was. sawyer told me you were "broken. need new paci!" at first. but since sawyer has gone to bed without her beloved paci for 2 nights now without a fight, i am confident that naps will continue to go back to normal and that life will resume without you.

sincerely yours,
amanda.



now. for the *how*.

i was tickling sawyer and playing around in our bedroom on sat. she was laughing hard and i look into her mouth and see exactly what that bastard of a paci has done. so that was it :) i had EJ cut a whole in the top of one and only let her have that at bedtime.

it was rough going on sat/sunday nights. we'd have to bring her down and wear her out a bit more (she is not a very good self soother. never has been. she's just the type of kid to settle down MORE if she could have a few mins of time with us alone... then she's good to go back to bed).

monday/tues nights she went to bed perfect. :) so we'll see how it goes. the only things we have to do now is be on the look out for stashed pacis ;) who knows where she has them! lol so i have to catch them before she does!

what are your great paci transition stories? do tell!

in case you needed some more convincing.

of why 2 under 2 is fabulous.

watch the girls here.

singing my AB's.

no. not ABC's. my kids say AB's.

i went into sawyer's room tonight bc she was crying. we go and sit in her rocking chair.

sawyer: AB's?

me: ok. (singing) A B C D -

sawyer: NO!! (long pause) AB's? (sad face)

me: A B C -

sawyer: NO!! (long pause) YES!!! AB's? (sad)

(this goes on for many many minutes)

me: A B C D -

sawyer: NO!! (stares at me) where your ear!?

LOL kids get so distracted.

2under2. twice.

aidan and sawyer are 19.5 months apart.

sawyer and reese are 21.5 months apart.

perfect, in my opinion. and i would not have it any other way :)

some days are crazy. some days i want to curl up and sleep. some days are filled with 100% fun. some days are lazy. some days are busy with errand after errand. but EVERY day is filled with sisterly love.

its amazing to watch, really. aidan and sawyer are the best of friends.


they love reese. if you were at my house and said goodbye to A and S and didnt say goodbye to reese - they would remind you.

they kiss and hug each other for no reason. or just walk up to reese and tickle her. i love having close in age sisters (well right now at least. talk to me when they are 13, almost 15, and 16.5 haha)

anyway, there a few things that i've learned in the past few years that helped me transition into life with 2 under 2. twice.

1. chinese fire drill. well, thats what it sort of seems like getting kids in and out of the car. now i put reese in, aidan gets in and does her chest clip, i get sawyer in, then i reach and finish aidan's buckle. phew. but getting OUT is a different story. i grab reese's bucket and unhook aidan. then they both come with me to sawyer's side. aidan has been taught to "hold the car". always. i started doing this so long ago and now it is 2nd nature).

2. one thing that i always tried to remember when having a toddler and a newborn is: if both kids are sad - grab the toddler first. your newborn wont remember that it took you 5 seconds to hug your toddler. but your toddler WILL remember that you picked the new baby first.

3. when feeding the baby, have a box or bag or something new and fun for your toddler. something that you bring out only when you are feeding the baby so your toddler has something fun to do! new markers, paper, fun stickers, etc... it will distract them from the fact that you have to take a few mins to tend to someone else (when, i mean, theyve never had that before lol).

4. give your oldest jobs for the baby. my kids love to help pick out clothes, get diapers and even FEED reese :)


and its worth it to let them try to do all of those things - bc then they feel so wanted. when i was BFing reese, i gave aidan the job to tickle her feet so reese would stay awake! lol something simple, but she felt a "part" of it all.

5. prepare. and prepare early enough so your older kid has no idea things are related to the new baby. if youre gonna switch rooms, switch beds, take away the bottle or paci (thats for another post though lol) then do it long before your due date.

6. dont give too much freedom too early. i know a lot of people think "oh yay! i'll let my 18 month old stand in the cart!!" ok, well great, now what are you going to do when you dont want to wear your newborn and you want to put the bucket in there? or "woohoo! my 16 mo old can walk next to me at the store!" ok, cool - so how exactly are you going to chase him when he decides to walk the other way when you have a newborn sitting right there?

but then again, im of the vein "if it ain't broken - dont fix it". i keep my kids in carts until they straight up can step out themselves. lol my kids stay in cribs until they want to have a bed. ::shrug::

7. when walking into a store or somewhere, every kid has to be touching me or part of the group while walking. right now, i carry sawyer AND the bucket and aidan holds on to reese's seat. but if i wanted sawyer to walk then she'd be holding my hand while i held the bucket and aidan held that. i get twitchy when i see toddlers just putzing along without hold on to anyone.

8. make sure you make time for yourself. shower every day. get ready and GO OUT! 2u2 will make your head spin if you sit at home every day. put on some makeup - even if youre not in the mood to. go get a mani/pedi during naptime when your dh is home. SOMETHING for yourself.

im lucky bc i get to do things pretty much whenever i want to. of course i dont always want to ;) but if a friend asked me out for drinks one night - then likliness would be high that i could/would go. at least for a little bit. if i didnt have relaxation time - i would go nuts. even when friends come over, its such a fun nice release :)

9. schedule your day. essentially, 2u2 is no different than 1 (routine wise) if you have a rough schedule. youre just adding one more body. 1 more kid to feed. 1 more to change and get dressed. 1 more kid to bathe and put to bed. its a lot easier to take in if you look at it that way. our routine is crucial to our day. it can be as lax as "craft or store in the mornings" but something IS more or less "planned". we aren't just putzing around (most of the time) all willy nilly ;)

10. have fun. just relax. if you need to do housework - do it as a game. fold laundry together and talk about colors. have a ball mopping the floor and giggling. whatever it takes - have fun :)

missing daddy.

(when i went up to get aidan after nap)

me: guess what we're doing this evening?

aidan: (excited) gonna go pick up daddy at the airport?!

me: yep! are you gonna hug him?

aidan: yes. i loves him.

me: me too. he is my best friend.

aidan: you want to kissss him?

me: mmhmmm.

aidan: you want to hug him?

me: oh yes.

aidan: me too. we all want to kiss him.

clones. or not.

so now is the time (well, the first time) we try to figure out if Reese looks like Aidan or Sawyer :)

so. here is reese now.




here is aidan's first 2 years :)

http://thisyearslovewilllast.blogspot.com/2008/12/birthday-number-2.html

and here are a couple links from when sawyer was about the same age as reese is now!

http://thisyearslovewilllast.blogspot.com/2008/10/sneaky-sawyer.html


http://thisyearslovewilllast.blogspot.com/2008/10/what-day.html


im laughing my butt off at the funny faces sawyer made as a baby. lol

holiday in which 2 out of 3 kids cry.

EJ and i had a great time on saturday july 3rd with our friends out in the country.

you can see all the pics here.

and july 4th day was great too :) ate at my parents house when we went to pick up the girls, came home for nap time, ate dinner and then went outside for popscicles.

EJ was excited to show aidan and sawyer sparklers and fun popping type holiday stuff.

he stood over here.


while the girls were over here.


aidan hates them.


later that night she wouldnt even watch them out of an upstairs window. lol

anyway, i decided to take sawyer to the city's fireworks. she loved the sparklers and such! well, by the time she was out at least an hour past her bedtime, she went from this


to this


in a matter of a minute or 2. lol

at least i tried, right? she only wanted to be on my shoulders (while i pushed the stroller through mud. haha) so we packed up and went home and that was that.

and little reese. sigh. she slept all evening. it was too hot to take her out and she'd sleep through it all anyway. 2 months old must be glorious.

if you can't laugh at yourself...

oh dear heavens.

so we are dropping the kids off saturday morning at my parents' house and heading out to "somewhere in the country" texas for a fun 4th (well 3rd) of july party.

EJ and i used to tan. we loved it. the quiet 20 mins, the hot bed... heaven.

but since i dont feel like risking that anymore, we decided to versa (spray tan, but undertones of beet instead of orange, like mystic). anyway. i am pale we know this. so i was excited. who wants to be in a bathing suit where people can see right through you ;)

so EJ goes first. he had some great tan place employee explain everything to him. i did not.

EJ did tell me a few things before i left to go, but in the end he just said "oh, they'll tell you".

nope.

so you have to put this cream on your hands. its basically JUST for your palms. so that way they dont get sprayed. yeah, okay, i did that. but i got it BETWEEN my fingers as well.

so long story (semi) short - my hands look like this:





lmao. sigh.

i am thinking/hoping it will fade by tomo after a shower or 2. the rest of my body looks great. and im debating going tonight again to even things out. lol

spray tan (for me) = FAIL.

turn the lights on me.

me: hey aidan, did you see this pic?

*i show her this one*


aidan: wait! turn the lights on me!
me: haha what?
aidan: the picture. turn the lights on!


lol she doesn't appreciate black and white photography yet ;)

hold me accountable.

yeah, i started the c25k tonight.

yeah, i am effin tired and already sore.

yeah, i did it.

and

yeah, im posting a "before" pic. in hopes that it motivates me. judge away.

and be nice. i have a 7 week old. LOL



oh, and yeah, looks like i needed a shower before the run, too. ew.

52 pick up.

ahhh how often do people complain about their husbands doing no housework, how hard it is to have kids and do housework, or brag about how little they do or don't do?

often. like, all the time.

so i figured id take this time while EJ went out to the movies with a buddy and the house is asleep to write out how we split duties in our house.

laundry: that is all me. EJ will switch it out if i ask him, but i do it all day. my washer and dryer are running every day. but i just dump the clean clothes i do for the day on the bed and we BOTH put it away quickly before bedtime. thats the worst part anyway, right? i do put away all the girls laundry though. i keep it in a basket in our room til the basket is full - then take it all upstairs one day during naptime, sort it out, and put it away as each kid wakes up. i effin hate little hangars, btw.

dishes: me 80% of the time. i do it in the afternoon while the kids are asleep. but if i dont feel like it (or have too many and feel like ack!!) then EJ will do it that night no problem.

vacuuming and/or steam cleaning: EJ. i will vac only if he isn't home and someone is coming over. EJ is much more... thorough. i run over it all so quickly that it never looks as good. he doesn't mind it though - and usually takes it upon himself to do it. and the only time i steam clean is if someone puked on the ground (oh, like last week) and EJ isn't home.

mopping: i do this during the week when the kids sleep. i used to do it when they were awake, but alas, they kept trying to slip and slide on the wet floor. that ended in accidents and tears quickly. lol

all around cleaning: we do this together on the wkends. we call it 52 pick up. we pick and room during naptime (or even if they are awake), pick a kid to help, and GO. he usually does the kitchen and our bedroom/bathroom (downstairs) and i will do the girls rooms, the gameroom, and the bathroom upstairs. it really takes no time at all when we split it up this way. and we feel 100x cleaner and the house looks great.

outside chores: EJ 100%. i would probably laugh if he asked me to mow, edge, weed, etc - but he wouldn't. he takes pride in his yard lol and knows that would be a (hot and sweaty) "no way" from me.

daily extras: we always try to straighten up aidan's room before bed since after nap is usually an organized disaster. i pick up any toys downstairs a bunch of times a day. he takes the trash down on trash day - as for daily trash, i take it to the garage and he takes it the rest of the way usually.

bathtime/bedtime: EJ does bath with the girls, i help get them out and dried and put into PJs. he gets bottles or drinks while i do PJs and then we both put aidan and sawyer down together. (reese is still in our room so she is n/a).

grocery shopping: me during the week usually. but we 90% of the time do another trip on the wkends. gets us out of the house and we end up getting things that i forgot on my many trips to target or kroger or wherever mon-friday.

cooking: ugh. i hate cooking. and im bad at it. but i, obviously, do breakfast and lunch (except EJ does breakfast on the wkends usually) and dinner for the girls. EJ is the main dinner cooker though for "real meals" lol its hard bc the girls eat earlier than we do - like 5:30pm. so when EJ gets home, they are eating - so he can eat what they are eating or we figure something out later and just hang with them while they eat. EJ usually grills for us on the wkends though - or if we have friends over during the week.

bills: i pay them all except for cell and one card. EJ does the others on his phone when i ask him to.

i, admittedly, have it pretty good. EJ is fabulous around the house. even more so when im pregnant. :) but that being said, i do try to keep everything in order here while he is at work. im a sahm, which, in my opinion, includes housework. im okay with that :) i live a pretty good life with great benefits haha

being a mom aka acting like a fool.

sing out loud in the car even, or especially, if it embarrasses your children. ~marilyn penland

to bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while. ~josh billings

i dont know where this post is going, but i just really like these quotes. maybe i just want to giggle at the comments i (hopefully) get, telling me how silly you are with your kids and also swoon when you tell me what you think makes a good mom :)

i have a pretty stellar mom. we are best friends :) we laugh, we argue, we think we are the funniest people on earth, and im sure, at times, we think we are the opposite. lol

i'm lucky. i strive to have the same relationship with my girls as we get older.

besides the main things like, oh, love, security, and the rest of the obviously important things moms give their kids - i also give a few things that they don't necessarily wish for:

1. my glorious singing voice. oh yes. from day one, i have sang to my kids. actually, in utero, poor aidan had to endure me shaking my ass to "sexy back" while 9 months pregnant. and singing at the top of my lungs in the car.
2. my dance moves. mmhmmm i am certain if you saw me you'd say something along the lines of "wow! you should be on SYTYCD!!" or, maybe not. you might ask me if i was having a seizure. but either way - my kids laugh out loud. we turn on music all the time at home and just dance. its fun, a good workout (lol), and wears them out for bedtime as well. WIN!
3. my choice in clothes all day. lol this one is actually okay by all of us since, if we're not going out, then PJs it is. and plus, as we all know, aidan sometimes dresses like this after nap (so who is she to judge):


4. tickles. oh man. why is it that when you were a kid, you HATED being tickled, but still, as an adult - you do it to your own kids. they laugh so dang hard and its so funny to watch them. im sure they'll hate it as they get older - and im sure i wont care. :)
5. watching EJ and i hug and kiss. its so funny. they love if we hug each other or give each other a kiss. they want to join in on the group hug and kisses/germs get passed around. lol but im glad that they see this. i think its important for kids to *see* love :) they may think its gross in a few years for EJ to even kiss me on the cheek. but too bad!

anyway, i may add to this post later when i think of more things, but i think its those silly moments that make a mom.

simply having children does not make mothers. ~john a. shedd

having children hardly makes a mom a mom :) im lucky to have such a great example and hopefully my kids say the same things about me.