Happy New Year!!!

It is hard to believe it is 2012!!!

Are you looking forward to anything in 2012?

I wouldn't say there is much I am looking forward to. Hopefully making a few changes, for the better.

Happy New Year!!!

Having One of Those Days

I know I only have 1 kid.

But I still have a right to be overwhelmed.

Today I'm having one of those days where I am 100% convinced it would be a hell of a lot easier to have an 8-5 job.

So far today I have:

Done 1 load of laundry and still have 4 to go.

Did I mention I had the laundry caught up yesterday?  How the hell does that happen??

Oh that is right my husband changes his clothes no less than 3 times a day.

I've re-cleaned a bathroom that was just scrubbed 4 days ago.

Why you ask?  Oh because my husband decided to shave his head yesterday and not clean anything up.

I've vacuumed my entire house with Davis hanging from one leg.

I've picked the same toys up 500 times.

I've had shredded cheese dumped all over the inside of my fridge.

I've assisted in finding missing toys almost all day.  Damn little pieces.

And I talk to a toddler all day long.

I'd like to talk about Lady Gaga and the rumor that Taylor Lautner is gay, not about Team Umizoomi and Lightning McQueen.

Days 18 and 19 of Christmas

Frankly, I am tired of writing these but I am sticking to it!!!

Over the weekend we at watched the Polar Express a gazillion times because Davis is obsessed.

One of the times my husband said the kid in the nightgown that is last on the train was like him.

I asked why.

He said because like himself as a child that kid is very poor and has nothing.

That made me very sad.

I know my husband was very poor growing up but I guess I don't realize how it must have affected him.

It really makes my heart go out to kids in need. I have never known personally what it has felt like to want or need. Not that my family is rich, but we were comfortable.

I know that my husband sometimes didn't know if they'd have presents under the tree or food or shoes and that kills me. But it has also made him who he is today.

He should be very proud of what he has become considering what he came from.

Toddler Photography and a Little Blast from the Past

I thought a photo in front of our Christmas tree with Davis would be easy.  As you can see he didn't want to participate.

I also am very excited to annouce I've lost 20 lbs.  This is the picture that started my weight loss journey.

Day 17 of Christmas

My friend just had a baby.

We both belong to the same mommy group that adopts a family or two in need each year.

I took my friend dinner the other night and a few days before bringing it to her I told her that I'd take her gift for the family and drop it off when I dropped mine off.  That way she didn't have to drag 3 kids out of the house, then drag 3 kids out of the car and into the church where the toy collection was happening.

We both managed to forget all about her gift when I dropped the dinner off.

She was out my way shopping today so she said she'd bring it by and if I wasn't home she would leave it on my front porch.

I forgot to tell Jeff about this.

Jeff came home and finds the gift on our front porch.

I wasn't home.

Jeff was confused.

I get a phone call from him and it is all about this gift.

Here is our coversation:

Jill, the weirdest thing happened.

What happened Jeff??

Well, I came home from the grocery store and there was a gift on our front porch, did you order something?

No Jeff, I didn't order anything, why do you always assume I buy stuff all the time online and hide it from you??  Besides, UPS doesn't deliver on Saturdays.

Jill, you love online shopping, stop trying to deny it.  Anyways, there was a gift on our front porch, do you know what it is all about?

Yes, my friend dropped it off, it is her donation to a family in need, I told her I'd take it to the place of collection this week for her since she just had a baby and probably doesn't want to bring all 3 kids out to drop this gift off, so she was out shopping today and said she'd bring it by and if we were not home she said she'd leave it on her porch.

Oooops, I opened it.

YOU OPENED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, yeah, I wanted to see what it was.  I guess you will need to re-wrap it now.

Ummmm, yeah, I guess so.  Jeff, that gift is meant for a particular child, did it have a name on it??

Yeah, it said Neil, which really confused me because nobody named Neil lives here so I actually thought it might be for a neighbor so I got on the county real estate property search website and did a search to see if we had any neighbors named Neil.

Are you kidding me? (at this point I'm pretty much laughing so hard I'm crying)

No, I thought we had some other kids present.

But Jeff you opened it, so even if it did get delivered to the wrong house, it was opened.  You opened some other kids present!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know, I probably shouldn't have done that.

No, probably not.



Can you imagine if my husband's internet search came up with someone named Neil that lived in our neighborhood??

Seriously, I'm still laughing about this and this happened like 8 hours ago.

Did I also mentioned that my husband really liked the toy?  It was a Disney Cars Lego set.

He liked it so much he went and found one at Wal-Mart for Davis.

While he was at Wal-Mart I called him.

Here is how that conversation went:

Hello

Hi Jeff, I just stopped by my mom's house, what are you doing?

Well, that gift your friend left was pretty sweet and I think Davis would like it so I am at Wal-Mart looking for one.

What is it?

A Disney Cars Lego Set.

Jeff, I got that already for Davis, did you not see it when I wrapped presents 3 nights ago.  I am pretty sure I showed it to you and you said it was awesome.

No, I don't remember seeing that.  I don't really pay attention to a lot of things you tell me.

Jeff, you picked it up and looked at it and said, that is awesome.

Jill, I don't remember this.  I don't think you showed me.

Yes, I did show you, I clearly remember it.

Ugh, well, I have to go, I have a crappy cart and this place is packed.


So, the moral of this story is, my husband has no regard for things that clearly are not for him and he doesn't listen to anything I say, EVER!!!!!

Day 16 of Christmas

This is the first year Davis actually recognizes things related to Christmas.

I am loving it!!!

Although today he started asking for presents.

Thanks to Dora the Explorer.

Day 15 of Christmas

I bring you the obligatory mall Santa photo.

Cost of mall Santa photo shoot - $35

The fact that my kid looks like he just smoked a joint - PRICELESS

Day 14 of Christmas

I had a slight change of heart.

Kind of like the Grinch did.

Christmas cards will be sent.

Day 13 of Christmas

For the first time ever I am not sending Christmas cards.

I just don't feel like it.

Addressing envelopes doesn't sound fun.

Spending $50 on postage doesn't sound any better.

So if you didn't get a card from me it isn't because I don't like you.

I am just cheap and lazy this year.

A Realization

While at bunco over the weekend we somehow got on the subject of kids and sleep.

That was when it hit me.

It has been almost 3 years since I've slept like a normal person.

I'm not looking for sympathy or advice.

I just realized that is a really long time for not much sleep.

I will admit I'm kind of used to it now, weird, right? In fact my body is so set for not sleeping that I've become an insomniac of sorts which is an entire problem of it's own.

Davis has NEVER had an entire week where he has slept through the night every single night.

That is crazy.

That is insane.

That is why we don't have a baby brother or sister for Davis.

Can you imagine throwing a newborn into this mix?

I currently cherish the 4 hours of sleep I do get each night.

If we had a newborn I'd get 0 hours.

Anyways, when I started talking about the fact I've never had a full night sleep in 3 years I said how I used to think moms that complained about not sleeping were nuts and liars.

Well, I'm eating my thoughts and words now.

I am never looking for sympathy and now I see that those moms were not either. I also see that they were not lying and certaintly are not nutjobs.

They were just overstressed and overtired moms wanting to let people know that hey, the reason I look like shit is because I don't fucking sleep, EVER!!!!!!!

Day 12 of Christmas

13 days till Santa arrives!!!!

What is on your Christmas list?

Here is mine, in no specific order:

1. Diamonds

2. Diamonds

3. Diamonds

4. A gift card to the mall

5. Diamonds

6. A diamond encrusted IPhone

7. A vacation

Did I mention I wanted diamonds?

Asking For Help

I typically don't do these kinds of thing via my blog, but my friend really needs your help.

Her son was diagnosed with autism around the same time Davis was.

They would love to get him an IPad, but unfortunately things are really tight for them and they just cannot afford one.

Lucky for her she was able to enter a contest.

She took a picture of their Elf on a Shelf doing something inappropriate and if her photo gets the most votes she wins an IPad 2.  If they win this would mean so much to them.

So please, go here and vote today!!!!!

Her photo is #40 and titled "Making Ends Meet."

Just click "LIKE" below the photo to vote.  You can vote once a day until the voting ends.

And to be quite honest, even if she wasn't my friend I'd say her photo is by far the best one.  HILARIOUS!!!

Go on, take a look for yourself and VOTE!!!!!!

Day 11 of Christmas

While waiting in line to return something at Wal-Mart today I notice a woman sending her 3 year old son and daughter (I am assuming twins) into the restroom alone.

I think to myself who does that?

Well, I will tell you who does that.

The same mom that tells her 3 year old son who decided to sit on the floor, "Nigga, get up."

Then when her 3 year old daughter does the same thing she says, "Ho, get up."

My husband and I both looked at each other and said at the same time, "Did you hear that? Did she just say what I think she said?"

What.the.fuck

Day 10 of Christmas

I bring you this video.

I was laughing so hard I almost peed myself.

Day 9 of Christmas

Today Davis fell in love with the silver tree I have on top if the dining room table.

At lunch he declared it was "Davis' tree" and then proceeded to hug and kiss it.

When he was done he said: Oh tree, boo, boo gone now.

I died.

Where do they come up with this stuff?

Day 8 of Christmas

I have several friends who make amazing art projects with their kids.

I am far from artistic and I have little patience for certain things.

Especially artsy things.

But I see all of this great stuff my friends make with their kids and decided Davis was old enough to try something with.

I decided on a handprint tree and some thumbprint reindeer ornaments.

It started out great.

Davis was all about the handprint tree.

He was not all about decorating the tree with fingerprints for ornaments or the thumbprint reindeer ornaments.

This is where it went south.

He refused to make the thumbprint reindeer. Fine, I will just make them, the grandparents won't know the difference between my thumbprint or his.

This is when his sensory issues kicked into high gear.

He was mad about the way the ornaments were standing to dry, mad about the paint on his fingers and mine, mad about the bowl of water we were using to clean our hands, you get the idea, at this point he was overstimulated and at the point of no return.

We sat on the floor together while he cried, hit and hyperventilated over the entire thing.

I am pretty sure our art project days are done.

I did get this out of it though, which I will cherish forever.

Day 7 of Christmas

Today is my dad's 63rd birthday, it was also 12 years ago today that he had a heart attack, on his 51st birthday.

Happy Birthday Dad!!!!!!!

Now, onto Christmasy stuff.

1. When Davis feels better he and I are going to be making ornaments to give to his grandmas.  Lord help me.  I'm neither crafty nor artistic.  Davis also doesn't sit still, ever.  This is going to be interesting.

2. I keep finding Christmas bulbs in random places in the house, apparentely my little elf is taking them down.  The first day I had the tree up he managed to strip it from the middle on down of all decorations in less than 2 minutes (I was on the phone in the kitchen).  Yes, all of them.  Every.single.last.one.

3. I have a collection of ceramic Santa boots I inherited from my mom, she was tired of them and going to sell them at her garage sale, I always loved them so I gave them a new home.  Davis thinks they are his boots and tries to put them on his feet.  They don't fit him so he decided the dog should wear them.  They don't fit her either.  After he realized that he moved onto daddy, ummmmm, I'm sure you can guess, they didn't fit Jeffiri either.

4. I secretely want to turn our house into THAT house, you know the one that blazes with so many Christmas lights you can see it from space and has traffic backed up for miles because the entire city wants to see it.  Do you think Jeffiri will be on board with this idea? 

5. I also want a white Christmas tree, I will find one on clearance after Christmas, mark my word.  It is going to be badass next Christmas up in here with my sparkly white tree and multi-colored bulbs I will buy for it.

Always Cold

I am always freezing.

Especially my feet.

I am one of those crazies that wears sweats in the summertime because I freeze in the a/c.

I sleep with 3 blankets right now and am thinking of getting the heated blanket tomorrow.

Brrrrrrrrrrr

Day 6 of Christmas

It snowed!!!!

When Davis woke up today and looked out his bedroom window he said: Oh mama, it's ruined!!

I guess he wasn't so sure about that snow.

Day 5 of Christmas

I amazed myself and received an early Christmas present today.

A 4.0 GPA for my first semester back to college!!!!!!

I celebrated by splurging on a bottle if Skinny Girl White Cranberry Cosmo.

And it is delicious!!

We also got blessed with Rosceola.

Yep, Davis now has Rosceola.

As if the double ear infection last week wasn't enough.

This does however explain the scary high temps he was running all weekend, hovering between 103 and 105.

This morning he woke up with the classic, lacy looking, Rosceola rash.

I called the doctor, no need to be seen, it just has to run it's course.

Thankfully, adults cannot in any way catch Rosceola so Jeff and I are in the clear. However, kids, are another story.

Here's to yet another week stuck at home.

I will say I am secretly enjoying it, last week was great, we got so much done at home, we didn't feel rushed going from place to place and best of all we had some great mommy and Davis time.

Davis likes lifting his shirt up and telling us about his rash, that according to him, is sad.

Day 4 of Christmas

Day 4 of Christmas is the day Christmas threw up in my house.

Only one thing went wrong, my beloved Christmas lights (that my mom and sister claim to have been blinded by) finally bit it.

My mom had to wear sunglasses just to look at them.

But I loved them.

I knew it was just a matter of time before they stopped working, I've had them for 12 years.

I felt a little like this when I plugged them in and got nothing.

Day 3 of Christmas

Real or Fake?

Which are you?

We are fake.

And with that I will leave you this.

We Are So Good

Last Christmas we bought a Tag Junior for Davis, he was not into it at all, unless you count throwing it at the dog being into something.

We ended up taking it away from him and my husband put it somewhere safe.

Do you think we could find the blessed thing?

Nope.

We are just that good at hiding things.

I am pretty sure if we had Siri, we could ask her and she'd tell us where it was at because Jeffiri isn't able to tell me.

This is seriously driving me insane and that is the last time I tell Jeff to put something away.

Tag Junior isn't cheap.

So my question is, if you were to hide a Tag Junior, where would you hide it??

Day 2 of Christmas

I ventured out to Toys R'Us today, they were having a sale.

I needed a few items for Davis and they were super cheap today only from 3 pm until 9 pm.

My mom came to watch Davis for the hour I was gone.

F@&$ the Christmas shoppers.

That place was a madhouse.

Next year Davis is getting gift cards.

And So It Begins

Day 1 of the month of Christmas.

Each day this month I will bring you some type of Christmas blogging joy.

And with that I bring you Clark W. Griswold.

I apologize for not being able to embed the video into my post, but you know You Tube and copyright laws at what not, I can't.

Jeffiri

I just texted my husband asking him if Subway had $5 subs.

I figured he'd reply with, google it or Jill, I'm working, that is the dumbest question ever.

So here is what I texted him:

Does Subway have $5 subs? 

You know if I had Siri I could ask her, but I don't.

I do however, have Jeffiri.

You know what he replied back with, this:

No, just October.

I guess he didn't think my calling him Jeffiri or whining about not having Siri was amusing.

My husband decided that the iPhone 4S that comes with Siri, who I hear is the knower of all things, wasn't worth the extra $100.

I'm starting to think Siri is worth the extra $100.

I could sit around all day and ask her dumb stuff, like:

When is Jeffiri going to change his mind about having another baby? 

Am I ever going to weigh 112 lbs. again?

Do you like my  hair this color?

Should I get a pair of cowboy boots?

and most importantly

DOES SUBWAY HAVE $5 SUBS????????

I also think I am going to propose that Jeff legally change his name from Jeffery to Jeffiri.

My Mom's Christmas List

If you haven't met my mom, you should, she is a riot.

This year instead of spending lots of money on gifts for each other we decided to each make a list of things we would like with a spending limit of $25.

Throw them into a hat and draw names.

That way everyone gets a gift, but we don't have to buy gifts for each person in the family, just one person.

Here is my Mom's list:

-Boob job
-Lipo (hips and belly)
-Face lift
-Cash
-Three Olives vodka

Thankfully it is my sister who has to figure out how to get mom a boob job for $25 or less.  I told her she could probably afford 1 unit of Botox, it might help half a wrinkle.

Or she could call that guy who was doing butt implants with fix-a-flat, he probably will attempt a face lift, boob job and/or lipo too.  I mean, if you can do a butt implant with fix-a-flat you can do anything.

iPhone Love

My name is Jill.

My husband surprised me with an iPhone.

I'm not sure who I love more right now.

FYI, this post was done with my iPhone.

Yep, there's an app for that.

Squeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

Monday Mommy Fail

I'm battling another cold, again.

Davis is battling conjunctivitis aka pinkeye.

I also think Davis may have caught my cold.

He woke up crying at 5 a.m. today so I got him out of his crib and carried him into the spare bedroom where we both fell back asleep together.

The next thing I hear.

Bam!

Wah Wah Wah Wah!!!!!

I jump out of bed and find Davis on the floor.

Ooops.

He fell out of bed.

Don't tell my husband.

Aside from being completely freaked out, Davis was totally fine and after a few tears and a few hugs and kisses from mommy he fell back asleep.

Thanksgiving Weekend in Pictures

Dirty Martinis and Yuengling - yum!  My sister makes the BEST dirty martini's, she missed her calling when she chose to become a librarian instead of a bartender...

My mom, enjoying a dirty martini.

Davis loved pumpkin pie, this was the first time he had ever had it and he couldn't get enough.

My dad and my sister relaxing after a yummy meal.  Davis, sans pants, as usual.

Sopapilla cheesecake, this was to die for!!  I will post the recipe later this week, it was sooooo easy and sooooo yummy.

Hokey Pokey Elmo joined us for dinner too!

Beer, wine, martini shaker - doesn't get any better than this.

Jeff and Davis at the zoo lights.

Davis and Mommy at the zoo lights.

Reasons to be Thankful

I've posted like 8 gazillion times about how I know a bunch of people who are expecting right now. Almost all of my friends who all have 1 child the same age as Davis, are all now expecting their 2nd child.

I was talking to a non-pregnant friend yesterday and she told me how she totally understands how I've been feeling.

So after talking to her a little bit about it I've decided to come up with a list of reasons to be thankful I'm not expecting.

1. I can continue my weight loss journey.  Take that pregnancy butt!!

2. I can get my drink on.  One dirty martini please.

3. I don't have to find un-flattering maternity clothes. Skinny jeans here I come!

5.  I won't have leaky boobs.  Enjoy your maternity bras sisters! Hope you don't squirt anyone in the face.

6. While everyone is up with newborns all night I'll be sleeping soundly.  Hope you drink coffee mamas!!

7. I won't be trying to figure out the logistics to taking care of a toddler and a newborn at the same time. (I realize people make it work, but let me just have this one, it makes the sting of not having a baby less stingy)  Wahhh, wahhhh, wahhhh, wahhhh (this is the sound of a toddler and a newborn crying at the same time.

So see I've come up with a great list of reasons to make me feel better about NOT having a new baby anytime soon.

Maybe all my friends will be jealous of ME in 5 months when they have a crying newborn and all I've got is one 3 year old to take care of.

Respect the Turkey

Christmas is hands down my favorite holiday.

I love the decorations, the music, the feeling of joy in the air.

In fact, I wanted a Christmas themed wedding, complete with a Christmas tree or two, poinsettias, Christmas music, ahhhhhhh, it would have been grand.

My husband thought it was a bad idea, people are busy enough during the holidays.

I agreed, so we went for my 2nd choice, Fall.

I still think Christmas themed would have been better, at least a little cooler, right?

If I didn't know my wedding was in October I'd have sworn it was in July since we got married on a freak 90 degree day in Ohio.

Back to my original thoughts.

Every year I feel like stores and people haul the Christmas/Holiday decorations out earlier and earlier.

The radio stations start playing Christmas music before Halloween is even here.

People have Christmas trees up, lights on the outside of their houses and are jamming out to Christmas music starting in October.

It is almost like we just pass Thanksgiving up and move right on in to Christmas.

I can't tell you how many people I"m friends with on Facebook have been posting pictures of their Christmas decorations, my sister included, but she gets a free pass since she is my sister, haha.

I feel like I'm already sick of Christmas stuff and it isn't even December yet.

Our local craft store had Christmas stuff out in July!!!!  I know, it is a craft store and people who craft might start making stuff in the summer time, but they had bulbs, trees, stockings, wreaths, etc... out in July!!!!!!!

I personally think the stores do this to get people to start thinking Christmas earlier and earlier each year, knowing that people automatically get sucked into the Christmas spirit and will buy and just spend more money.

Why can't Christmas just be about Christmas anymore?

And why can't we just RESPECT THE TURKEY!

Bits and Pieces

1. I've been busy, working out 4 days a week, go me!!!!!  I'm on a serious mission and I'm going to lose these last 10 lbs. by Christmas or before, mark my word!

2. I cannot believe Thanksgiving is next week, I'm sooooo not ready for the Holiday Season.

3. I am looking forward to this semester being over, 2 more weeks!!!

4. I am looking forward to making some cake ball truffles and cake pops to give away as gifts, just the way I like it.  Selling them took all the fun out of it :o)

5. I worry about my husband's health.  He has some bad habits, one of which is smoking.  I pray that he quits every day.  He hasn't been feeling good and I hope when he sees his doctor he gets the wake up call that he needs.

6. I actually won the car seat battle today, that was a first.

7. Davis gets funnier and funnier every day, the stuff he says, the stuff he does, it makes me really see that he is growing up into a little man.

8. Speaking of Davis growing up, he finally *GETS* stuff, like holidays, etc...  So I am super excited for Christmas this year and super excited to take him to do holiday things, like see our local zoo lights and to see Santa.

9. I've never gone to church a day in my life, I don't affiliate myself with any particular branch of religion, I do however consider myself a believer and to be spiritual.  Lately I've been thinking that I'd like to take Davis to church, but I have no idea where to go or where to begin.

10. I'm extremely disturbed by the Penn State sex abuse scandel.  I find all sex abuse cases extremely disturbing, but this one is just that much more.  People who are trusted, held up on such a high standard, how could it be??  If this went on there, where else are things like this going on?  It has to be everywhere.  A new scandel just came out last night at Syracuse University, I have a feeling we are going to see more and more people coming forward regarding abuse at the college/university level.  Sick.  Stories like these make me not want to bring any kids into this world.

What Would You Have Done?

I have blogged recently about Davis constantly testing me and my authority.

It is an every day battle with him.

He wants to do what he wants to do and I do everything I can to correct him.

Two days ago he smacked me, in the face, in public because he was mad at me.

I was embarrassed and apalled that he did that to me.

I didn't know what to do though, we were out in public.

I immediately told me that he is to NEVER do that again and left. 

I believe in spanking, nothing harsh, just a smack on the leg.

But I feel like you can't do that in public.

What would you have done?  What should I have done?  What should I do if he does this again?

MIA and some updates

I have really been MIA for a while, not a post since October 23!!!  Eeeek!!!  My first update shall explain it all.

1. My grandfather passed last Tuesday, I had been spending quite a bit of time visiting him prior to his death so it didn't leave much time for blogging or anything else for that matter.  He passed surrounded by all of us.  Sunday, October 30 we received a call from the skilled nursing facility telling us he had really taken a turn for the worst.  We all rushed up there and spent as much time as we could with him.  Monday, October 31, same thing, family came in from out of town, we spent a decent amount of the day there and left only to eat dinner and go trick or treating.  Tuesday, November 1, my husband called me (he is the administrator at the facility my grandpa was in) and told me that today was the day, grandpa was showing all the classic signs that death was eminent, only taking breaths every 30 seconds, grey fingers, dropping body temperature, etc...  I quickly made phone calls and was thankful that the daycare/therapy place Davis goes to said he could spend the day there.  I dropped him off and spent the day with the rest of my family by my grandpa's bedside.  He hadn't opened his eyes in days and the only thing he said over and over was "God Help Me".  My dad had lots of legal things to attend to that day that they needed to get done before my grandpa passed, when he returned to the facility around 2 p.m. my grandpa passed shortly after, I just know he was waiting for his oldest son (my dad) to get back.  Everyone was chatting and I looked and my grandpa and yelled at everyone to look at him, his eyes were open and so was his mouth.  He was trying to speak.  He was dying.  Within 5 minutes he was gone, he took one last huge gasp of air and that was it. 

2.  This week I am just getting back into the swing of things since last week was just so messed up.  Laundry, school, housework, cooking, etc...

3.  Pregnancy announcements still make me sad, even when I don't know the person in real life.  I follow a blog, she is pregnant, I cried over it.

4.  After my grandpa's funeral I told my husband that I feel bad Davis will be all alone when we pass someday.  His response: we are too old now to have a 2nd child.  Really Jeff?   Michelle and Jim Bob are like 50 and on their 20th child, nothing is stopping them...  Sometimes I worry this issue might just be the demise of our marriage.  Yes, I know, but I feel that way often.

5.  I have 3 weeks of classes left!!!  Woot woot!!!!

6.  So the wait list is uber long for the school I'm going to.  Still out to 2014.  I'm meeting with another local school today that has no wait list.  I had considered this school when I decided to go back, but decided that school I'm currently attending was a better choice because they offer so much of the degree online.   In reality, if I truly have to wait until 2014 to start the program, it will take 2 years after that to complete, that is just a long time.  I wouldn't be done until 2016.  Anywho, I'm considering other options.  New school will accept the classes I have taken as transfers, phew! 

7.  I belong to a bunco group and while I love it, I haven't been able to attend in 2 months because of everything I've had going on.  I feel bad about it and don't know if I should continue in the group or give my spot up.

8.  I'm also getting over the cold that has been circulating around town.  I started with it last Sunday and by Wednesday of last week I was a mess.  Saturday was my worst day, the sore throat was horrible, so bad I thought I was going to have to go find an Urgent Care on Sunday morning, the day of my grandpa's visitation.  Thankfully, Saturday was just the day that everything gets really bad before it gets better.  Sunday things started getting back to normal for me.

Always Working

My husband has an important job, I get that.

BUT, I feel like he is always working.

I feel like weekends and evenings are spent with countless phone calls.

We can't go anywhere without him spending half the time we are there getting phone calls.

We try to watch TV at night together and he constantly gets phone calls.

His phone is always ringing.

In fact he is standing outside right now, on his 5th phone call in an hour.

It kind of drives me nuts.

It's A Boy!!!!

I remember when I got pregnant having a strange feeling I was having a boy.

BUT, I was a girl and loved Barbies and Pink and all things girly.

So, there was no question, I would have a girl.

Boys like mud and trucks and the color blue and they fart.

At our 20 week anatomy scan we were not sure if we wanted to find out the sex of the baby or not.

My husband really wanted to, I was indifferent.

We found out.

Jeff is nosy.

I remember the ultrasound technician said she has to do the important stuff first and if she sees what the baby is along the way great, if not, she will spend a little time at the end trying to get him or her to cooperate.

Baby wouldn't cooperate and she almost had to give up because we needed to move on, there were other appointments she had that day.

Then right as she was about to throw in the towel, baby turned and there it was.

She didn't even have to tell me.

A BOY!!!!!!!

I remember thinking, a boy???

Really??

BUT I'M A GIRL!!!!!!!  I AM SUPPOSED TO HAVE A GIRL!!!

How do you change the diaper of a boy?  They have a penis for gods sake!!!!

I know nothing about boys.

I know nothing about things that boys like to do.

I'm going to have to play with trucks, cars, worms and dirt.

No tutus, no hair clips, no dresses.

No toddlers & tiaras.

Okay, toddlers & tiaras was a joke.

I was so happy but so nervous about having a boy.

Once Davis arrived, I didn't think twice about all these fears of changing diapers on a boy or the other stuff I was so worried about.

You just do it and don't think twice.

If we were to have another baby and I had a girl, I'd probably be freaked out.

Why?

Because I'm used to a boy.

6 Inches of Snow

It has not stopped raining at all today.

Someone asked a question to one of our local news stations via their FB page, it was:

"How much snow would this have been today?"

The weatherman replied with:

"6 inches"

Yikes!!!!

For the record it is nearly 10 p.m. and still raining and we have a 70% chance tomorrow.

I don't mind all the different types of weather we get, but I really find rain to be a downer.

Kids That Don't Listen

Davis does not listen to me, at all.

I'm not really sure if this is a phase or something I really need to be harder on him about.

I realized how bad it was yesterday when we were out playing in the leaves in our front yard, he took off to the road, I yelled stop, he looked at me and laughed, as a big truck was coming.

I have never moved so fast in my life.

As I get to him, he is already in the road, I grab him, he breaks away, throws himself and will not allow me to pick him up.

He is strong.

Trust me.

Fighting Davis is awful and tiring.

After that we went straight in the house where I explained to him how bad what he just did was.

He just laughs at me.

This isn't our first incident like this that involves vehicles that could seriously injure or kill him.

He has an extremely difficult time leaving places.

There have been about 10 times where he has managed to break away from me in parking lots because he is so distraught we have left the place we were just at.  He runs across the parking lots, not knowing that he needs to look for cars all while mommy has to drop everything she is carrying, keys, purse, etc... to take off after him.

I am back to taking a stroller with me, everywhere, because of this problem.

It is the only way I can ensure he isn't going to get away.

Please help me!!!

It has gotten to where I don't even want to take him anywhere anymore.

I don't even want to get into the fight we have getting him in the car seat when he is severly upset we have left somewhere.  That is another story, let's just say I have basically just shut the doors to the car while he has a fit on the floor for over 20 minutes way too many times.

The Decision Has Been Made

We have officially decided on a preschool for Davis.

It was the first and only preschool we looked at.

I could have gone and looked at 5 more preschools and I know I would have just kept going back to this one.

Kind of like when you find your wedding dress.

It is a GREAT preschool and I know we made a great decision. 

I mailed in our forms and application fee today.

Squeeee!!!!

If we want he can start the day after he turns 3, as long as he is potty trained.

Otherwise he starts next Fall.

Daily Countdown

Just like when I worked, every day I hit a point where I start counting down the hours until my work day is over.

When I worked it was 2 p.m.

Ahhhh, only 3 hours left and I could get the H-E-L-L out of work.

Now my time is 4 p.m.

Ahhhh, only 3 hours till bedtime for the kiddo.

Do you countdown the hours until bedtime?

Staying Positive

The past month has been a little rough on me for numerous reasons.

Davis went back to his old sleeping habits of waking up at 2 a.m. and staying up until 5 a.m. - not fun, especially since he had been sleeping so well, so to go from a great sleeper to about 3 weeks straight of no sleep really did a number on me.

We are back on track with his sleep the last few days, with the exception of the other night, so things are looking up there.

When he doesn't sleep well I have issues actually falling asleep for some reason, after he does a few days of waking up I start fearing going to sleep.  This goes back to when he didn't sleep at all, ever, for well over a year.  It was so bad that I was just afraid to sleep.  I know, weird.

I've also been overwhelmed by friends announcing pregnancies.  I know I say I can't handle another child anytime soon, but seeing all my friends with kids the same age as Davis getting pregnant for their second does sting a bit.  I'm over it now, but it did have me down for a few weeks.

I have also been busy with school.  My 3rd class started last week and 3 classes is so much harder than just 2 classes.  I didn't think it would be, but it is.  I think I just had a system down for the 2 classes and adding the 3rd in threw me for a loop.  I've only got 8 weeks to go though so I know I can do it.

We also received great news about Davis.  The behavioral pediatrician that specializes in autism that diagnosed Davis last March with mild autism took away the diagnosis and declared Davis wasn't on the spectrum at all.  I never believed Davis was on the spectrum anyways and I've got my own opinions on this doctor, despite my feelings we started doing intense therapy which consisted of speech therapy and occupational therapy 2 days a week for 2 hours each session.  I've now dropped back to 1 day which is going to be nice.  I know you are probably thinking that 2 days a week doesn't sound like a lot, but it is, it was a huge committment.  We met with our team of early intervention people from the county yesterday and a few of them hadn't seen Davis since before he had his tonsils out in June and they were beyond shocked at him.  They believe and I believe that the majority of Davis' issues were because he had sleep apnea from his enlarged tonsils.  I don't think it was a coincidence that he started talking like mad within 2 weeks of his tonsilectomy.

I've also declared that it is time for me to start doing a few things for myself, for real, not just dreaming about it.  I have to workout, I just have to, I worked out every single morning of my life until I had Davis and my weight and changes to my body since having Davis have been a huge problem for me.  I am making it my goal to get to the gym and workout at least twice a week.  We have gone once this week and it felt so great to not be pushing a stroller with a 2 year old in it as my workout.  I listened to my music and watched the news while sweating my ass off (literally) and it felt great!!

I re-started Weight Watchers 2 weeks ago and have already lost 4 lbs.!!!!!  Go Me!!!!

Our dishwasher broke last week and our new one will be installed tomorrow!!  Woot Woot!!

Somedays

I wish I was 23.

That was such a great time in my life.

I was single.

Dating.

Having so much fun.

I would love to go back there, just for a week or two.

Have some fun.

Go out to bars all the time.

Not have a care in the world.

Live alone, in my awesome apartment.

No husband.

No kid.

Just me.

And Lifetime movies on my tiny 13" TV because that is all I could afford.

And my Plymouth Neon.

And awesome clothes because that is what I spent MY money on.

Yeah, MY money.

MY stuff.

MY life.

MY little apartment.

Those were the days.

Random

1. I haven't slept more than 4 hours a night in about 3 weeks.  Most of that was because Davis was sick and up a lot but now he is fine and I still can't sleep.   I feel like shit.

2. Our dishwasher broke today.  I cried, mostly because I'm tired and frustrated about not sleeping so the dishwasher breaking was just the icing on the cake.   It is only 5 years old, we paid $600 for it and have had issues with it from day 1.  I went off on the guy at Maytag over it and got no sympathy, although I'm sure I'm not the only person to swear at him this week.  I called 2 different local appliance repair places and told them the problem, they told me how much the parts were.  $72 for a pump and $189 for a control panel, plus labor.  Not worth fixing is basically what I was told.  I figured as much.  It took me 45 minutes to wash the 2 days worth of dishes by hand that were piled in the dishwasher.

3. My skin keeps breaking out, probably because I'm tired and stressed to the max.

4. My doctor wrote me a prescription for a sleep aid, I never got it filled.  I think I should do that today.

5. I feel like all I do is complain, all the time, about not sleeping.

6. Our anniversary was yesterday, we are supposed to getaway this weekend, but now that we need a new dishwasher maybe we should save our money.  But we really need a break.

Every Time I Turn Around

Someone else I know is announcing a pregnancy.

Even though I really don't know if I could handle a newborn and Davis, I still get sad every time I see or hear one of these annoucements.

I feel like I'm standing on the sidelines watching everyone else be happy, but me.

Damn Facebook, you make my uterus hurt.

That was weird, right?

I guess I always just assumed we would have a 2nd child and I don't like it when plans to awry.

Not to mention most of these people on their 2nd children had their 1st child when Davis was 1 year old.

If you are pregnant, don't announce it to me.

Unless you want me to go cry in a corner all afternoon and feel sorry for myself.

Bah Hum Bug.

Okay, really you can annouce it to me, I'll be happy for you.

Maybe :o)

I'm going to go have a drink now.

Feeling Defeated and Alone

Davis has never been a good sleeper.

Yes, I have written about this multiple times.

I've tried it all, so I'm not looking for solutions.

I think some kids just don't sleep well.

In 6 months Davis will be 3 years old.

Guess how many times we have gone a full week with no middle of the night wake ups?

Zero.

I feel like I'm the mom that everyone probably whispers about.

The mom that cancels playdates because she has only had 2 hours of sleep each night every week.

Sorry, we can't make it today, Davis was up all night and we took a nap from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m. and I just can't do a playdate.

Whenever I'd hear of moms who had kids that never slept I'd think, yeah, whatever, that is just crazy and they are probably making it up.

They aren't.  Until you have a kid that doesn't sleep of your own, you have NO idea what it feels like.

I'm sick of it.

I'm sick of feeling like crap every single day of my life.

I'm tired of being deprived of sleep.

I feel like a zombie.

I can't remember anything anymore and I used to have an amazing memory.

My skin is a mess.

And I've lost pretty much all motivation for things I enjoy because the little energy I do have left is spent on other things, like making sure the house is picked up and entertaining Davis.

I would never wish a bad sleeper on anyone.

As much as I'd love a brother or sister for Davis, maybe this is god's way of telling us we are meant to be one and done.

What the $%^& is Pinterest?

I have no idea what Pinterest is about.

But I joined.

I started pinning things I like.

I guess it is sort of a way to collect all of the junk you see online that you like in one place.

That way when you are like, damn, I wish I could remember where I saw that picture online of that awesome laundry room you can just login to Pinterest and BAM, you got it!

Click the link to the right and "follow" me on Pinterest.

Weight Struggles

I started Weight Watchers the last week of April.

I lost a lot of weight at first, nearly 10 lbs in 3 weeks.

I have lost a total of 15 lbs.

I am pretty mad at myself because I did so awesome from the end of April through the first week of July.

Then the 4th of July came and I really just started slacking as far as my eating habits went.

I still watched but not like I had been.

Thankfully, I haven't gained.

But I haven't lost either.

I started back on Weight Watchers hard core last week and I didn't even lose, I gained .4 lbs this week!!!

What gives????

I think I need to do something different for working out, I generally walk a little over 2 miles every day with Davis, but this week hasn't been so great because it has rained every single day.

We just got our free 3 month membership to our local YMCAand starting next week, I am going to try to get there at least 3 days a week.

Here's to seeing a big loss next week!

It's That Time of Year

Starbucks brought out their "Fall" drinks.

Pumpkin Spice Latte and Salted Caramel Mocha.

I've had the rare chance to try them both thanks to a $20 Starbucks gift card my husband won in some contest at his quarterly administrators meeting.

They did some minute to win it game and he won.  Maybe we need to get him on the real show.

Anyways, Sunday I tried the Salted Caramel Mocha, it sounds delicious, right?

I was disappointed. 

It was boring.

The Caramel Mocha from McDs has more pizzazz that the Salted Caramel Mocha, the flavor was really lacking.

Today I tried a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Can you believe I've never had a Pumpkin Spice Latte??

I know.

I like to stick to my tried and true Peppermint Mocha, but you know, this isn't really my money I'm spending so I feel obliged to test new things.

I was IMPRESSED!!!!

It was really good and I can say I would order that again and again.

Of course nothing will ever top my beloved Peppermint Mocha.

I order those things year 'round.

Do you have a favorite drink at Starbucks?

Home Based "Mommy" Businesses

I have been wanting to write about this for a while.

Since becoming a SAHM I have met several moms who started their own home-based business out of a hobby.  I have first hand experience with this because I gave it a shot for about 8 months.

I think this is harder than being a mom that works outside of the home.

I am fans of a lot of these pages on FB and I don't know how some of them do it without going insane.

I know someone who is up until 4 a.m. every single night making her product, getting 3 hours of sleep and trying to raise 3 kids.

I don't know how she does it.  I really don't.

Is the small amount of money you make off your home based business worth the insanity of it all.

When I started my cake pop business, I was so excited, my little hobby was going to make me cold hard cash.

It started out with a few friends placing orders last Christmas and turned into something that was in high demand.  I felt like I couldn't turn away any business and after a few months I was burnt out.

Doing this from home wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.  I needed huge blocks of time where Davis wasn't around which required me to find someone to watch him up to 3 times a week.  Sometimes I'd try to do it why he was here but after an hour he was over it and I'd be in tears because cake pops isn't something you can do for a few minutes, leave it, go back in a few hours, it is kind of an all or nothing type thing in a way.

I started dreading orders.

How did something I so dearly loved turn into something I loathed?

I'll tell you how.

My first job is a mom.

My second job is a wife.

My third job, well, I guess that is everything else.

Cake pops turned into my first job and everything in my life suddenly got pushed way down on the list.

Every bit of my "me" time wasn't spent on "me" anymore.  It was spent making cake pops.  Davis and I barely attended playdates anymore because I had to make cake pops.

And if you think these work from home mom's are raking in the dough, they can't be.  I just don't see how they are.  Even if they are pulling in several thousand a year, is missing out on life, sleep, your kids etc... worth it. 

I will give you an example of how much money I would make off an order of 2 dozen cake pops.  I charged $36 for two dozen basic cake pops.  Supplies to make two dozen cake pops cost the following:

2 lbs confectionary coating = $8
Cake Mix, Frosting, etc... = $3
Misc supplies = $2-3

I would have $13-$14 in an order of 2 dozen.  I charged $36 so I would make about $22.

From start to finish including baking of the cakes, rolling the balls, dipping, decorating, set up and clean up I would be in my kitchen 3 hours for that order of 2 dozen which means I made about $7.34 an hour.  Not a lot of money when you think about it.

In the 8 months that I had my little business I made maybe $700 total and I had a lot of business.

In the end it wasn't worth the sacrifices I was making.

Crock Pot Challenge - Week 1

I'm starting a crock pot challenge this week.

I plan to see how many weeks I can go cooking our main dish for dinner in only the crock pot.

Why am I doing this?

I have no idea really.

I'm just tired of cleaning up pans every night after dinner.

With a crock pot everything goes in with little effort at the beginning of the day and by dinner time you should have a yummy meal.

I will take pictures of each of my meals and post the recipe along with it this week.

On this weeks menu:

Broccoli Cheese Beer Soup

Chicken Enchiladas

Beef Stew

Ranch House Pork Chops

Spinach Pesto Lasagna

Creamy Italian Chicken

Update on "I Pee"

My doctor said it would take about 2 weeks to really notice a difference after starting Vesicare.

Wow, was she right!!!!

Let me give you a few scenarios of my life before Vesicare. 

Scenario #1

Leave my house at 9:15 a.m. to take Davis to therapy/daycare, pee before I leave.

Arrive at therapy/daycare around 9:30 a.m., have to pee when I arrive.

Arrive at grocery store around 9:50 a.m., have to pee when I arrive.

Leave grocery store around 10:20 am., have to pee when I leave.

Arrive at another store around 10:45 a.m., have to pee when I arrive.

Leave store around 11:15 a.m., have to pee when I leave but am so over public restrooms I hold it until I get home.

Arrive home around 11:25 a.m., pee at home.

11:40 a.m., have to pee, again.

You get the idea here.

Scenario #2

Playdate with Davis at someone's house.  Drink nothing before I leave or the night before because I don't want them to think I am crazy pee lady.

9:15 a.m., pee before leaving for playdate

9:30 a.m., arrive at playdate, must pee, NOW

10 a.m., shit, have to pee, but hold it, I don't want them to think I am crazy pee lady

10:30 a.m., considering leaving playdate early because I have to pee and am embarrassed about using bathroom again, but I get up and claim I drank a bunch of coffee which is a lie and pee again

10:45 a.m., good lord, I have to pee again but know I cannot use the bathroom at this house again, they will start to think I am crazy

11:00 a.m., can no longer take the fact that I have to pee and come up with an excuse to leave so I can just go home and pee at leisure

****************************************************************
My constant need to pee was truly controlling my life and I didn't realize it was so bad until I started taking this medication.

Last week I left for Davis' therapy/daycare, I peed before I left.  I arrived and didn't have to pee, I went and ran 2 hours worth of errands and never once had the urge to pee.  I got home and still didn't have to pee for another 30 minutes. 

It was then that I knew the medication was working.

Yesterday we went to a playdate and I only had to pee one time and that is because I had 2 cups of coffee while there.

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from me.

Oh and guess what, I am not in the bathroom in upwards of 15 times a night peeing.  I'm up maybe once, if that. 

It is like a miracle.

I only wish I had approached this subject 5 years ago with my doctor.

Obsessions

I am currently obsessed with:

Athenos Honey Greek Yogurt, YUM!!!!  I buy it at Costco for $9.99 for a pack of 12.  It is so good, but you have to mix the honey in with the yogurt to make it perfect.

Redken 02 Satinwear Blow Dry Lotion, LOVE!!!!!!  I have tons of hair and this stuff really cuts down on my drying time and makes my hair nice and soft too.

Jeff Lewis of Jeff Lewis Design and the hit show on Bravo, Flipping Out.  I've been Jeff Lewis obsessed for a few years now.  He has great decorating style and he is super hot, too bad he is gay.  If I ever win the lottery, guess who is designing my house???

Skinnygirl Margarita.  Thank you Bethany Frankel.  I super love this stuff, I bought a bottle way back when it first came out and have been in love since.  Not only is it delicious, it will get you drunk and 5 oz of this is a cool 1 point on Weight Watchers!!  Woot Woot!!

What are your obsessions these days?

What Was It Like?

Davis is only 2.5 years old, but in that short time I have completely forgotten what life was like without a child.

I have no idea what it feels like to go to the bathroom alone, not rush around to get ready to go somewhere, eat a meal in silence or eat a hot meal, read a book without a 2 year old grabbing it and ripping the pages, not having to break a sweat while changing a 2 year olds clothes, not have a care in the world, sleep late, stay out late every weekend, not have a family room full of toys, not have a 2 year old pulling on my pant leg every 3 seconds while screaming MOMMY, not watch cartoons, you get the idea.

I am having one of those days today where I'm really just needing a moment for me.  Every single second of my days are consumed by cartoons, playdates, toys and therapy sessions for Davis.  I do get a break, one day a week I leave him at the daycare at his therapy facility for 5 hours that day, but let me tell you, those 5 hours go fast and they are typically consumed by rushing home, cleaning my house from top to bottom, doing school work and before I know it, it is time to pick Davis up. 

I think I need a vacation.

Without a kid and maybe without my husband too!!

Seriously, how many of you moms would take a vacation all by yourself?  Just to get away from your kids, your husband, your resposibilities as a mother and wife.  Wouldn't it be grand.

A girl can dream.

Time to go change a shitty diaper.

Our Vicious Attack Dog

Maybe not so vicious, but she at least scares the kids away that are coming door to door every 5 minutes selling crap like magazines and candy bars.

I guess this means school is back in session?

I don't understand why parents allow their grade schoolers to go door to door selling things, alone.  This world is a sick place and I trust nobody.

Do you let your kids do this?  If your kids are not in school yet, will you let them do this?

I Pee

I pee, you pee, we all pee.

I pee A LOT!!!

I have known that I've had an excessive peeing issue for about 7 years now.

Ask anyone that knows me well, I probably go to the bathroom to pee more times in a day than you probably go in a week.

It is such an issue for me that if I am going somewhere and know that a bathroom isn't going to be readily available I'll stop drinking liquids for almost 24 hours.

Bad.

It has gradually gotten worse over the years to the point where I panic if I can't find a bathroom and to the point where I dread going places because I don't want people thinking I'm the crazy bathroom girl.

I lose sleep because of it.

I get up in the middle of the night to pee anywhere from 10-20 times.

I can pee before I leave my house, get to Target which is literally 2 minutes away, have to pee when I get there and after shopping for 20 minutes I have to pee before I leave.

It is ridiculous.

My husband has always tried to get me to tell my doctor, but I never did.  I just kept dealing with it in my own way.

Recently it has gotten to the point where I'm ready to have a breakdown over the constant bathroom use, it was wearing me down.

With some encouragement from my mom and husband, I made an appointment with my family doctor a few days ago.

She said I have something called Overactive Bladder.

She prescribed me Vesicare.

Guess what?

It works.

I am having a few side effects from it like dry mouth and drowsiness, but I take it at night so I'm not drowsy all day and honestly I will gladly take these side effects if it means I'm not spending my life in a bathroom.

I can't believe how normal it has made me feel in such a short amount of time.

I only wish I'd have not been embarrassed and said something to a doctor sooner than I did.

Maybe I wouldn't have felt like my life was controlled by my frequent urination.

My doctor is still running a few tests to rule things out like diabetes, but I'm sure it isn't anything else but overactive bladder.

If you have a medical issue, don't be embarrassed like I was, talk to your doctor!!!!!  I promise your not the only person he or she has seen with the issue.

We are the proud owners of a...

2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 19,200 miles.

It has had great owners.

Us.

While the appeal of a brand new shiny car, complete with that toxic new car smell is super appealing.

The appeal of not having a car payment is even more appealing, in 6 months the newness would have worn off and I'd probably be looking at that $300 car payment wishing I'd have just kept my Jeep with no car payment.

9333

It is no coincidence that my number obsessed, Virgo self would turn 33 on 9/3.

All divisible by 3 of course.

I have a feeling 33 is going to be a good year!

Cheers!!

New Car Confusion

I posted a while back about buying the lease out on my Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The time is here.

But I am a Virgo and Virgos are research freaks.  I can't do anything until I research all options.

My poor husband is humoring me and going to look at new cars this weekend.

My top pick is a Honda Pilot.

His top picks are an Infiniti and a Land Rover.....really???

We are not the Kardashians.

If we do get something different, mark my word, it will be the Pilot.  I already found it and am in love.

Of course, we will probably end up with the Jeep.

But you gotta weigh all options, right?

Tuna Noodle Casserole?

Before I get into this story, let me give you some background on my MIL's eating habits.

This woman likes nothing and when I say nothing, I mean nothing.

She is extremely picky, to the point she is flat out rude about it.  She has no problem making gagging noises when invited over for holiday dinners.  She also has no problem finding out exactly what you are serving and bringing over her own tasteless versions of the same food.

I won't even go to a restaurant with her anymore because she is so picky, she will send her food back numerous times, ask for the impossible and by the time you are done you are just so embarrassed and exhausted that it isn't even worth it.

Not to mention she will only eat at chain restaurants, god forbid she step foot into something a little classier and locally owned.  She prefers shoe leather over a good steak.  No shit, she instisted we go to Applebees for dinner a few years back and sent her steak back over 3 times because it wasn't done enough.  By the time she got it back it was like a piece of leather, but she enjoyed it.

Now, onto my story.

Last week my husband declared he wanted me to make tuna noodle casserole because his mom made it when he was a child and he loved it.

I said fine, I'll make it for you.   I am not a huge fan of tuna, but he asked for it, so I will make it.

I start looking through some of my recipe websites for recipes.  I found several and they all sounded pretty darn good.  Cheese, cream of mushroom soup, onions, celery, crushed crackers or chips.  Not bad.

I read him some of the recipes and he tells me NO, those are nothing like his mom's recipe.  Her recipe is apparentely awesomeness and he will call her to get it.  I said fine, get your mom's recipe and I'll make that.

He gets a hold of her and gets her list of ingredients. 

Tuna.

Egg Noodles.

Milk.

Butter.

Wah???  I say, Jeff, something is missing.

That cannot be the recipe.

It sounds horrible.

In fact, it sounds like something they serve in prison.

He gets mad at me, tells me that just because it isn't my mom's recipe I don't like it.  I said back to him, Jeff, seriously, something is missing.  It can't just be those 4 ingredients.  Where is the flavor?

Then I remember who his mom is.

The pickiest woman alive.

I'm pretty sure she took one of those fabulous sounding recipes, removed everything with flavor and voila, her version of Tuna Noodle Casserole.

I will be making this recipe for him and I will report back on whether he enjoys it at the age of 36.

My guess is no.

Watch Out Ladies

Annoying cackling heard in the background is compliments of my MIL and her mother.

Also, my husband needs Visine.

Toddler Beds

My MIL was visiting tonight and showing us the Wal Mart (her favorite store ever) website.

She found Davis all sorts of Lightening McQueen toddler beds.

Let me break down the problems with this.

1. He doesn't even like the movie Cars anymore.

2.  I think themed rooms like that for kids are a gigantic WASTE because at this age they like something one week and are onto something new the next.  See #1.

3. The plastic toddler beds are just tacky. (aplolgies if you own one)

4. They are expensive.
5. Our kid is super tall, these beds use a crib mattress and let me tell you, he wouldn't fit in that thing for more than a year.

6. She was also obsessing over Cars comforters and curtains, BARF.

So see, I have a bunch of reasons why this is dumb.  If my husband says ONE thing about this I'm going to flip the EFFFFFFFFFFF out.

My plan is to leave his room alone, it is painted blue and very basic.  We will take the front piece off his crib and add the rail to make it a toddler bed and when he outgrows it in length in probably a year or less we will either get a twin or full sized bed.

And there you have it.

Heavily themed character rooms are a waste of money, not to mention tacky.

I mean really, who in their right mind would spend $200 plus shipping on this ugliness.

My response to this idea was, yeah, my mom saw one at a garage sale for $50, I told her absolutely not.  Then I said, I didn't realize we were doing a Cars theme in his room, let alone re-decorating.  She got all flustered.

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

I frequent our local TJ Maxx almost every single week.

Mostly because it is right down the street from where Davis goes to therapy and considering I leave him there for the 1.5 hour session I need something to occupy me.

I don't buy something every week.

I'd be broke.

Usually I just wander around, see if anything catches my eye.

A few weeks back I found two tops that I loved, but I just didn't want to spend $25 each.

I know, $50 for two tops doesn't seem like much.

But I'm cheap.

I went to TJ Maxx today and was scanning the clearance racks when I found both tops marked down to $12 each.

$24 for two tops.

Yes please.

It just goes to show you that if you find something you like, if you wait, it might just go on sale.

On Being Tall

Davis is 38 inches tall.

He grew 7 inches in one year!

He is the height of most 3 year olds and some 4 year olds.

He towers over other kids his age.

I didn't start realizing how tall he was until friends started posting stats of their 2 year olds on FB.

We are not really sure where he gets it.

I'm 5'4" and my husband is 5'10".

Average.

My mom's side of the family is tall though, I have a female cousin who is nearly 6', all my male cousins on that side are well over 6' tall, and my sister is tall.

I think it will be interesting to see how Davis' growth continues.  He may stop and average out to my husband's height or he could tower over both of us.

All I know is his height did cost me a new car seat as he outgrew his old one in height already.

Quizzes, Exams and Nerves, OH MY!

When I went to college in the past, I didn't really care that much.

I studied, sorta.

I partied a lot more.

I never worried about exams, tests, etc...

If I got a C I would be happy.

Sad.

I strived for Cs.

I was such an idiot.

Thank god like NONE of my business classes even apply to this degree, so my slate is basically wiped clean, the grades I got don't count.

Except for a C I got in English I.

I will take that over again.

I had a quiz and an exam in one of my classes already.

Can you believe it?

I was very worked up about them given my past history.  But I actually read the book, did the study guides and actually studied.

Even though I did all that stuff I kinda felt like puking today over taking them.

I sat down and was shocked, holy crap, I knew everything on both of them.

I got a 100% on my quiz and a 98% on my exam.

I'm so proud of myself.

I feel comfortable saying that those are the first two As I've ever received in college.

Woot Woot!!!

It Just Hit Me

I know I'm not old, but I'm older than I feel.

I still feel and think I'm in my very early 20s.

I'm taking my first semester of classes online.

For both classes we have all had to go through and introduce ourselves on the discussion board.

There is a 15 year old HS student taking a class with me.

That means he was about a year old when I first started at Owens.

1997.

Day 1: Back to College

It is only day 1 of my new adventure and I'm already feeling frustrated, confused and on the verge of tears.

First of all, I still don't have my book for one of the classes, it is supposed to be here tomorrow.

I have an assignment due by Thursday in that class and a test Friday and no book.

Being a full time stay at home mom I didn't expect this to be easy.

It is hard to concentrate on anything with a 2 year old running around.  So I'm hoping to drag my butt out of bed a few hours earlier than normal a few days a week and dedicate that to school.  It also helps that Davis spends each Thursday at his daycare/therapy facility for 5 hours, which I may bump up to an entire day.

Okay, rambling, sorry.

This morning while Davis was being good and watching a show, I printed my syllabi for my classes and sat down to read them.

I get through one and am onto the next one when I hear a ton of commotion and crying.

This is totally my fault, but I left a bowl of oatmeal within his reach.

He managed to grab it and spill the entire bowl all over our carpeting in the family room.

It would have been an easier clean up if our carpent wasn't that stupid shag that came back in style.

Oatmeal and shag carpet don't mix well.

Then to try to clean that up with a very inquisitive 2 year old equals disaster.

He had a fit because I wouldn't let him take apart the Little Green Machine.

He takes everything we own apart, phones, remotes, vacuum cleaners, whatever he can take apart he does.

So, while trying to clean up this awesome oatmeal mess, I also had a very unhappy little boy who wanted the Little Green Machine to play with.

I spent an hour cleaning the mess up, all while Davis cried and yelled at me.

I felt like this was a sign from god telling me that going to school just isn't in the cards for me.

I feel like a failure already and it is only Day 1.

Leftovers

When I started staying home I started being a little more conscious of food waste.

Before, when I worked, we would sometimes eat leftovers and mostly we'd just throw them away.

Most meals I make serve 4-6 people.

We are a family of 2.5.

I say 2.5 because Davis doesn't always eat what we do for dinner and if he does, it is such a small amount that he only counts as 1/2 a person.

So, since we really only eat half of what I make for dinner, what to do with the leftovers?

Like I said, pre-stay at home mom I would have let the sit in the fridge for a week, we maybe ate them, we maybe packed them for lunch, but mostly they just went in the trash.

Now I always freeze the other half of our dinners, as long as it is something that freezes well.

I love it.

Then the next week or in a few weeks I don't have to actually cook as much, just thaw and re-heat.

I'm saving money and saving myself precious time.

Whenever we grill chicken, we always have leftovers, here is a great recipe that my husband and I love.  I've modified it from the original recipe, so don't ask what that is, it is long gone by now, but here is my recipe.

1 lb. or so of cooked chicken, cut into small cubes

1 medium size green pepper (cut into strips)

1/4 - 1/2 cup Feta cheese (depending on your taste, I go heavy on the feta so I do 1/2 cup, if your not a feta person, use whatever kind of cheese you like.  I've even been known to use shredded taco cheese!)

1 package of frozen cheese tortellini (think it is usually about 10 oz.)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup of nuts (I say nuts because I use whatever, the original recipe calls for chopped walnuts, but I use pecans or walnuts, both equally good, sometimes I don't even use them)

About an hour to two hours before you want to serve dinner make the dressing by mixing 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup of honey and 1/4 cup of nuts.  Put in the fridge.

When you are ready to eat chop up your green pepper and chicken.  Heat about 1 TB of olive oil in a pan and sautee the green pepper until cooked to your desired way, I like mine kinda burnt.  Once those are cooked throw in the already cooked chicken and just brown it a bit. Remove from heat and put in a bowl to cool off.

Next, boil the tortellini according to the instructions on the package.  Once they are cooked and drained, I like to run cold water over them so they are not hot.  This salad is better on the cool side.

Toss together the chicken/green pepper, tortellini, dressing and feta cheese.

Feel free to add your own twist to it, sometimes I add in baby tomatos or little sliced black olives.

I'm not very good about sticking to recipes, I like to experiment if you will, which sometimes drives my husband crazy.  He always comments how nothing I make is ever the same as the time before :o)

Enjoy!!!!!

I'm Not 80

But I have shingles.

Seriously?

I thought I had a spider bite. 

I noticed this red spot near my hip bone on Monday and assumed it was a spider bite.

I also noticed that I was in a lot of pain around my back, down my butt and down my leg, but just thought it was from chasing Davis.

Today I woke up and the spot was so painful that I decided I probably had a bite that got infected and better get into the doctor before the weekend.

She took one look and said, that isn't a bug bite, that is shingles.

Then asked me if I had any other symptoms and I told her about the odd pain that started before I noticed the spot and she said, yep, most likely shingles.

Here's to a little Valtrex and Benadryl cream.

The Trolls

We have a gang of trolls that live in our attic.

They only come out after I go to sleep though.

It never fails.

Every single night I swear I go to bed with a spotless house and every single morning I wake up to a disaster.

Half empty water bottles in various places, wrappers from Little Debbie snack cakes on the tables, crumbs on the countertops in the kitchen, men's clothing laying next to the hamper (not in the hamper), toothpaste all over the sink, a collection of men's "beauty" products if you will all over the bathroom counter, a total disaster I tell you.

These trolls are a total nightmare.

Know anyone that exterminates trolls?

Mom, NO!!!

Davis' two favorite words.

When Davis didn't talk I was worried.

I was jealous of other kids his age that talked.

I felt kind a left out.

I cried about it.

Now that he has started talking, there are two words he says together that kind of make the hair on my neck stand up on end.

They are similiar to that newborn cry.

MOM, NO!!!!!!!  (said in your most whiney, screechy, toddler voice)

**Davis has a speech delay and a sensory disorder, I have yet to write any blog posts on this because my story is long and quite frankly, I haven't had time because it will probably be a mini series when I get around to it**

The Great Debate

Formula or Breast.

One of my FAVORITE shopping sites actually posted this on their FB fan page last weekend.

Talk about a way to piss off customers.

This is one of the greatest mommy debates, ever.

It puts some breastfeeding moms up on their high horse and surely can bring a formula feeding mom down to a feeling of complete guilt.

And quite frankly I'm sick of it.

I formula fed Davis and am proud of it.  There.

In the end it doesn't really matter how you feed your kid.

Formula or breastmilk, just feed them one or other or a mix of both.

I'm neither pro-formula or pro-breastfeeding.

I'm pro-feed the baby.

What about you?

Excessive

I've said this before, Americans are excessive in everything they do.

I'm guilty of being excessive.

So are you.

At the end of last summer when I went through my son's clothes, pulling things out he wore one time, things with tags still attached, it hit me, kids don't need an excessive wardrobe.

I stopped buying tons of clothes for him.

No more beginning of the season shopping sprees, dropping $100s on clothes that will never get worn and if they do it is only 1 or 2 times.

I cleaned up my act.  This summer I spent exactly $40 on clothes, a few new basic shirts and a few shorts.  I bought him 2 new shirts for his pictures with a gift card received from his 2nd birthday. Wow!

The rest of his clothes were hand me downs from my cousin.

I feel so good about that.

Now I'm on a toy rampage.

My husband and I pulled out not 1, not 2, but 6 large Rubbermaid storage totes stuffed with toys.

Toys I forgot we had, toys he NEVER played with.

Hell, we found 2 of those bins out in the garage and didn't even know they were there.

I was toy crazy today.

I made 2 piles.

A keep pile and a take to the local resale shop pile.

What went to the local resale shop were 3 large bins of toys, several large toys that were too big to fit inside a bin, a box of clothing from last winter and another bag of clothing that they refused last time we went.

We had so much stuff we had to remove the car seat and lay the seats in the back of the Jeep down. (don't worry, Davis was with my mom, he wasn't riding with no car seat, ha!)

When the lady realized how much we had my husband saw her mouth, "OMG", to her co-worker.

OMG is right.

I said to her, "this is all from one 2 year old who is an only child and only grandchild, it is out of control"

She laughed and nodded her head in agreement.

Davis is not getting any new toys for a long time.  He doesn't even play with the ones we did keep.

Kids don't know any better, they don't care if a toy is new or used, they also don't care how many toys they have.  What matters is they can make fun for themselves out of what they do have.

What a kid will be happy about is when he or she hits 18, is that his or her parents saved them a nice amount of money for college by not being excessive with toys or clothes.

Davis has a savings account.  Everytime I think about buying him something, we will make an extra deposit on top of what we already put in it each month.  The grandparents can start adding to the account as well for holidays and birthdays.

That is what will make Davis happy someday.

Not a $500 playhouse or a $300 sandbox or a $500 summer wardrobe or a $50 pair of shoes he wore one time.