Daddy's Boots

For whatever reason, Hubby's Army boots are one of Goober's favorite things to play with.  I realize this is gross and probably the germiest thing in the house, but he loves them.  Now Monkey is growing to love them too.

I love love love Monkey's face on this one.

My letter to society

Hubby left last week for WLC.  After he left, things were going fine until Monkey and I came down with the flu.  Ugh.  Dealing with that almost put me over the edge.  Monkey is better and I am getting there.  It would help if I could sleep!  Wednesday night, I literally did not sleep.  Anyway, as you can imagine, I am a little crabby.  Tonight, I drug the boys out of the house for the first time since Sunday.  It was time!  I still was not feeling great, but we needed diapers.  Have you ever noticed how people are extra annoying when you are sick and tired?  Anyway, here are my observations while I was out.  I wish I could stick a post-it note to these people's heads reading the following:

To the creepy 70 something year old guy who hasn't showered in about a year:

         Dear sir,  I think it is entirely freaky that you are purchasing ten little girl sized swimming suits.  I do not understand why you are doing that and honestly, I don't want to understand.  I am going to     go over to the furthest check out away from you and stand between you and my little children.

To the girl working at the check out:

Yes, I realize that I just spent $178.00 on toilet paper, diapers and wipes.  Thanks for pointing out how expensive said items are.  I thoroughly enjoy spending $178.00 on things that catch poop.  It is such a riot!

To the nice lady that saw my cart full of kids and diapers:

Thank you for noticing and giving me a coupon out of your wallet.  That totally made my day.  You rock.

To the idiot letting his kids run around the store like little hellions:

Dear sir, your kids make me want to scream.  Please control them before I control them for you.

To the other idiot person who is allowing their kids to run around in the car:

They made car seats for a reason.  Use it!  If you don't want to take care of your kids, I am sure someone else would.  Geez.

To the person that decides what you can buy at Target:

Thank you for finally carrying Monkey's formula.  I may never have to step foot in Walmart again.  This could be one of the best things that ever happened to me.

Warning:  This one is mean and awful, but everyone was thinking it, I know they were!

To the enabling mother in aisle 7:

Dear lady,  did it occur to you that the fact that you are allowing your very overweight 10 year old child to eat and candy bar and ride in the cart instead of walk might be the reason she is overweight?

And finally, to the person in the parking lot that held up seven cars so they could get a close up spot:

Please go shop somewhere else.

Anyway, I am a bit judgemental today, but I am sick and I am exhausted.  If my brother in law was reading this, he would say I was a witch with a capital B. 

I am going to bed.  Apparently, the world is ending tomorrow, so I guess I don't need to do any cleaning or laundry before bed.  Whats the point?  Ha!  Have a good night everyone!

Goober, the boy wonder

Seriously, this kid absolutely cracks me up. 

Here is a little bit of a conversation I had with him last night:

Goober:  Mommy, who wrote this song?
Mommy:  Mendelsen.
Goober:  Hmm.  Him did a pretty good job on this one.

I am sure that this classical composer is resting easy in his grave or wherever he is knowing that Goober, the two year old gave his seal of approval on his music.

A couple of months ago, Goober was dancing around and singing in what he calls, "my high voice,"  which is basically a squeaky annoying screech.  I said, "Goober, why don't you go find a ball or something to play with."  He came out of his room with a football and said, "look mommy, this basketball is a clarinet."  Oh my goodness.  The boy can identify every instrument in an orchestra, but couldn't identify the difference between a basketball and a football.  I love him.

My new Ticker ... Ugh

Did you notice my new ticker just above here?  I am tired of feeling fat and icky, so I really need to get serious about losing weight.  I am cheating a little bit with it.  I put my starting weight....are you ready for this? at 230, which is how much I weighed when I went into the hospital to have Monkey.  I know, I know, he weighed almost nine pounds, that is cheating, but guess what?  It is my blog and I can cheat if I want.  It makes me feel better that I have lost 33 pounds since I had him than if I lost 24 pounds.  My target weight is 155, so I still have 42 pounds to go.  Oy.  This could be interesting.  Any tips and all motivation is welcome!  I have not set a time limit on this, because I am afraid that if I don't reach the time limit, I will get mad at myself and gain it all back like I have in the past.  I haven't weighed 155 since high school.  That was a long frickin time ago.  :-)

Precious...

Why is it that kids look so extra precious when they sleep?

Monkey

Monkey

Monkey

Goober

Goober

Goober sleeping on the Wii board.  Not really sure why.  We have beds and pillows.

Monkey

Monkey

Goober

Goober.  He has always looked so chunky when he sleeps.

Goober after ear surgery.

Goober.  Always has his teddy and a blankie.

Goober.  Check out those legs! :)

Goober

Goober.

Goober.

Goober.  This was while I was watching Obama take office.  He wasn't interested.

Goober

Goober

Goober

Goober in all his chunky glory.

Goober.  Must have been a happy dream.

Goober

Goober just chillin.

Goober.  He's not a fan of football games.

Goober again.  I think I need to take more pictures of Monkey.

Mini-Goober.

Goober's first nap at home.

More Goober.

Homework

Hubby is working on his Master's.  Goober has a built in desk in his room, so he likes to sit at his desk and do "him homework."

Heat Wave!

I love Nebraska weather.  Today, I broke down and turned on the air conditioner.  It looks like Friday night, maybe the furnace will be back on!  We have been playing outside like crazy.  Hubby has an obsession with yard work.  Our property has truck loads of rocks that he has been rearranging since we moved in, so him and Goober move rocks a lot.  Goober is very helpful.  ;-)

I am dumb.  I tried to flip these and then save them before I loaded them, but it didn't work.  Oh well.

Ready to go!

Monkey was a little hesitant about the swing.

He was very sad that he was too big for the toddler swing.  Daddy and him got to pick out a big boy swing later that day.

Still not sure about this swinging thing.

Mother's Day = Bittersweet

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mommy's out there and the future mommy's to be!  I am not a huge fan of this holiday as I can only imagine it brings a lot of heart ache for so many people.  I know so many people who have lost babies and can't seem to get pregnant and I imagine this is a very hard day for them.  I also think it is slightly over-commercialized, but then again, aren't all holidays?

I am so blessed to be the mommy to Monkey and Goober and I am blessed to have an amazing mom and mother in law.

My mom is holding Goober and my MIL is holding Monkey.

All I wanted for Mother's Day was to soak in our Jacuzzi.  It is ridiculous, but this would only be the second time I have used it and we have been in this house for over a year and a half.  So, I shoved all the bathroom clutter into the drawers, pretended there weren't a million bath toys on the ledge (the boys bathe in there), shut the closet door and tried to pretend the boys weren't torturing each other in the next room.  I filled it up with super hot water, poured in my bath beads and turned on the jets.  Then, I watched the bath fill with nasty black ickiness.  I guess I should run the jets more.  Now, I can't even take a shower, because I used up all of the hot water.  Sigh.

In conclusion, if you are a mommy, Happy Mother's Day and please say a prayer thanking God for your children.  Please also pray for all of the women who want nothing more than to be a mommy.  Pray that God would hold them in His loving hands and give them the gift that their hearts long for.

God Bless!

mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy

OK, I don't want to complain because I really do love my kids, but lately, I have felt overwhelmed to the max with everyday life.  At MOPS, we call these the dailies.  I am so sick of the dailies.  Most of the dailies I am sick of involve the kitchen.  First off, we have an ant problem.  We have tried everything to get rid of these pesky little nasty bugs.  I generally keep a very clean house, so it isn't like I live in a nasty disgusting mess so I don't know why they insist on living here.  Because we have them, I have to keep every crumb cleaned up.  Let me walk you through a day in the life of this stay at home mommy:

6:15  Wake up and shower in peace before the little angels awake.  I also am fanatic about making my bed every morning.  It is an obsession.  The bed must be made in the morning!
6:30  Hear Monkey fuss, pray he goes back to sleep.
6:45  Scarf down some breakfast. 
7:00  Goober wakes up and refuses to leave his bed without me going in to get him up.  I give him a bath every other day.  He whines because he doesn't want to take a bath and then when it is time to get out, he whines because he doesn't want to get out. 
7:15  Have Goober dressed and make him breakfast, while I start laundry for the day and get Monkey's breakfast.  Monkey wakes up at a different time every day.  When he gets up, it is breakfast for him after a diaper change and getting him dressed.  While they eat, I wash the dishes and wipe down the counters.  After they are done, wipe down the high chairs and table.  Scrub the floor underneath them, wash hands and faces.  Argue with Goober about cartoons.
8:15  Yes, breakfast and cleaning up takes at least an hour, sometimes more.  After breakfast, the boys play while I get Monkey's bedding washed.  He leaks in his diaper every night, so I have to wash all of his bedding daily.
9:30  Break up the 147th fight between the two boys.
9:45  Time for a snack.  After snack, scrub floor again and wash dishes again.  Wipe counters yet again.
10:00  Time for another diaper change.  Usually a clothing change for at least one of the boys because of the snack.
10:15  Nap time for monkey.  I switch laundry around and usually vacuum or dust while he is sleeping.  I also try to find some snuggle time with Goober.
11:00  Monkey wakes up and it is time to start making lunch as hubby comes home at 11:30.  Yes, I make his lunch.  I spoil him.  :)  Repeat the entire kitchen cleaning process yet again.  Wash counters, wash dishes, clean floor, wash hands, wash face, I think you get the point. 
12:00  Hubby heads back to school and I have to console Goober because he wants to play with daddy.  Head into the family room where the boys play until they get tired of destroying that room, so we head into the piano room or one of their bedrooms to destroy that room.  I usually fold the morning's laundry at this time and put it away with help from the boys.  I use the word help lightly.
1:00  Watch Caillou (world's most annoying cartoon).  After Caillou, Monkey gets another bottle, Goober gets his teeth brushed and we read books before a nap.  While they nap, I usually sit for 15 minutes in peace and quiet.  It is heavenly.  Then I begin to feel guilty that I am sitting and not doing anything productive, so I get up and clean a bathroom or something.  I also clean up the avalanche of toys from the morning.
2:30  Boys start waking up.  When they wake up, we have diaper change number three for the day.  Both of them like to snuggle when they wake up, but not both of them at the same time, so one usually cries on the floor while I snuggle the other and we switch.
3:00  Another snack time and kitchen cleanup number 23 of the day.
4:00  More play time for Goober while Monkey sits in the kitchen sink while I start supper.  Yes, he sits in the sink full of water and plays.  This entertains him for up to an hour, so I let him do it.  It is weird, but I don't care.  Diaper changes for both kids before supper.
5:30  Supper is on the table.  I scarf my food so I can wait on everyone else and get the dishes cleaned up from supper.
7:00  I am finally done in the kitchen.  We play for an hour or so.
8:00  Time to start the bed time routine.  Goober plays while Monkey gets a diaper change and a bottle and gets rocked until he is sleepy.
8:30  Monkey goes to bed and the Goober gets a diaper change, a small snack, teeth brushed and books read.
9:00  Tell hubby I am exhausted and go to bed only to be waken up by someone within five minutes of falling asleep.  Turn on the TV and stare blankly at it until I fall asleep.

Throughout the night, comfort scared toddler, feed hungry baby.

The next day, repeat.

Like I said, I feel overwhelmed with the monotony of my day.  I feel like someone always needs something or something always needs to be cleaned, fixed or put together.  I feel like I have no idea how to divide my time between the housework, myself, my husband and the boys.  Some days I feel like it is just too much and that maybe I am not cut out for this mommy stuff.  Do any other mommies feel this way?

Ugh.  Anyway, that is my gripe for the day.  I love my boys so much, but good Lord are they needy and exhausting.

So proud!

I just love this guy and I am so proud of him!  (And I wish I was still that skinny.  This was pre-Goober and pre-Monkey.  Sigh.)

Need advice on decorating!!

Hubby and I had a nice little two bedroom, two bathroom home when we got married.  He had lived there for a few years before we got married.  After we got married, my income went into the mortgage and we were able to pay the house off pretty quickly.  We were under the assumption we would stay there for several years.  Then, in the fall of 2009, I went to a few rummage sales with my mom and we stopped at this adorable house.  I noticed it was for sale.  A very dear friend of my mom's and her hubby had built it about 20 some odd years ago.  About 12 years ago, they added on a gorgeous family room and hug master suite.  My mom's friend sadly passed from cancer and someone else owned it now.  Out of curiosity, my mom wanted to see the inside.  I took one step into the back door and FELL IN LOVE!  I loved every square inch of this house.  It sat on a double lot and had tons of trees and landscaping.  I went home and told my husband that I wanted this house.  We crunched numbers and decided we better just stay put because having no mortgage was awesome!  Well, about a month went by and the owner called and said she had dropped the price by $15,000.  This peaked our interest and I drug hubby out to see it.  He loved it also!  So, we put our house on the market and were so blessed to sell it to an amazingly wonderful couple (a friend from high school) in about six days.  It was a whirlwind!  We have lived here for about a year and half now.

We have worked our little tails off in this house!  I have painted and peeled wall paper out of almost every room and my husband has spent hours and hours perfecting the beautiful yard.  This summer, it is getting a new roof and hopefully in the next few summers, siding and windows.  Anyway, the point of this post.  I AM ALMOST DONE PAINTING THE LAST ROOM!!   YEAH!!  I am so super excited.  This has been no small feat!  The addition has 12 foot ceilings.  12 foot ceilings suck to paint.  I hate it, hate it, hate it!  I literally have about 6 feet of painting left in the master bath and I am done!!

We still have a lot we want to do, but are saving our pennies to pay for it.  I can't wait until it is all done.

If I ever get the whole house clean, I will post more pictures, but here is the family room at least.  It started out white (as the entire rest of the house) and I painted it a khaki brown color.  I think it was called camel something or other.  It feels somewhat bare and plain to me, however.  Like I said, I hate clutter, but an wanting something to make it feel a little more cozy and less sterile.  Any suggestions?

The back entry way.  The window above the closet looks into the bathroom, which has a skylight right next the window.

The family room.  I hate that train table there.  I hate clutter, but the boys love it there, so they win this fight.  :)  I love Monkey in this picture.

Not as God intended?

I have talked briefly about politics on here, but I usually tend to keep my political views to myself, because I respect that not all people feel the same as I do.  I do believe that only we can change the way things are, but I can not stand having politics pounded into me and I hate even worse when people have narrow minds about politics and think only their opinion is the correct one. 

With that being said, I am relieved that Osama Bin Laden was killed.  I am not, however going to dance in the streets chanting and celebrating.  Do those people not realize how many more members of Al Qaeda are still out there?  Do they not think there will be other leaders that will step up and take his place?  I realize this may sound "Un-American" of me, but I do not believe God is looking down with favor about this whole situation.  I do not think it is OK to celebrate anyone's death.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate our troops so much and am so thankful by their dedication and sacrifices.  My own husband just signed papers yesterday after twelve years of service to re-enlist.  My brother in law is fighting overseas as we speak.  I have had other family and friends over there, one of which lost his life in Afghanistan.  I do appreciate what they do, but pray that Americans do not look at this as the end of the fight against terrorism.  This morning, I read post after post on facebook and watched person and person on TV who believe that this is the end and all of the troops are coming home.  This is simply a piece of the puzzle.

There is my political rambling for the day.  So, what do you think?  Agree or disagree?