Random thoughts.....

Do you think Adam and Eve really had belly-buttons? I mean its not like they were ever attached to a mother by an umbilical cord... Yet for some reason they're always drawn that way.
Why do men have nipples? Is there really a point? At least for women they're functional.
In general I taste the food my children eat... I'd hate to make them eat something that's nasty... but try your own breast milk? .... just can't bring myself to do it!
I must have the sense of humor of a 5 year old... cause I still find farts hilarious.... I remember this time in college when I was in a half hour abs workout class and this girl let one rip. OH man I could NOT stop laughing.... the more I tried not to laugh... the harder I laughed. Fart jokes in movies... I'm always the one laughing...  I just can't help it..
It sucks when JDub's gone for work... I miss him, but I wonder if I really "miss" him... or just miss having another set of hands around the house to help... or another adult to watch the kids while I have some time to myself....
Some days I really think I'm developing early-onset Alzheimer's disease. I'm constantly walking into a room not remembering why I came there in the first place. I can't remember what day it is sometimes... or if I've even brushed my teeth yet... Even in the shower I'll forget where I'm at... like have I already washed my face? The other day I only shaved one armpit....
The season premiere of Parenthood is on tonight!!! Whoo HOo!!! I just love Lauren Graham :)
Sometimes I hide in the pantry or around corners to eat my cookies or candy just so I don't have to share them with my 2 year old....
I really do enjoy Lady Gaga's music.... and so does Bubba... he requests Alejandro all the time in the car.
I hate going to the store with both kids these days.... Baby can't quite sit up on his own... so I end up having him strapped to my chest in one of those carriers... and then Bubba's in the cart. People stare... I can't tell if its cause they think my kids are cute... or they're staring b/c they feel sorry for me..... it definitely feels like the latter of the two
I love Halloween! I know the background of the reason we celebrate it isn't so hot... but its so fun to dress up the kids and see the trick-or-treaters. JDub hates it... which really bums me out. I would love to have a themed Halloween party... like dress up as your favorite _________. Or even just have a toga party... but would anyone want to come to that?
Is it sad that I'm really excited for the new season's of my favorite TV shows? I'm really bummed that I wont get to watch some of them b/c they're not appropriate for Bubba. He's waaaay too perceptive. I am not a morning person... but I might just have to become one so I can put him to bed earlier and watch my shows at night.
I can't wait to wear my Snuggie and drink hot tea around the house (Lipton's Orange Spice preferably) once it gets cold out! That's the only good thing about winter... oh and I'm definitely making a snow man this year!

Ain't Technology Great?!

For the most part.. I LOVE technology. I mean remember when the internet first came out!!? I was obsessed. All I did was sit in front of that computer in my parents kitchen and chat ALL the time with friends. There was this thing I would go on after school too... Gosh I just can't think of the name of it right now... but it was awesome! You could play pictionary with other people from all over! You'd sit there and wait for the other players to start drawing and then you'd guess! I'd have to say I was pretty good at it... some people would get mad at me and leave the "room" I was in b/c they didn't like losing. And then you'd have a chance to draw too. It was cool.

And cell phones... its a wonder we lived w/o them for so long! You know how I feel about my Instant Netflix on XBox too (LOVE IT!!!). Mp3 players are also pretty sweet... I'm not cool like everyone else, I don't have an IPod... but its all good. I'm not gonna lie... I kinda wish I had a Kindle too! I mean not having to go to the library and pick out books... or wait on a waiting list FOREVER. Or even go to a bookstore! You can just download it! Too cool... So yea for the most part I'd say I Heart Technology...

UNTIL THIS..........

Ok yea I know this is a terrible pic... but this is a mobile speed trap that's hanging around the area... Ok seriously I do not get out much... I'll admit I'm a hermit crab (and will probably be even worse when it gets cold around here...) but of course the one day I do get out, I just go flying by this thing! I was too busy responding to the 15 million questions Bubba asks these days that I didn't even notice it! Then all of a sudden it clicks and I'm like ahhhh crap! I debated whether or not to tell JDub.... so I just told him when we were laying in bed trying to go to sleep. See usually I'll talk to him about something that pops into my head b/c it's hard to have an adult conversation around the house. Bubba's always "What doing Mommy?" or "I need gummy worms!" interrupting whenever we try to talk so its hard to remember what was actually discussed. I thought this would be a good time to tell him also b/c he tends to fall asleep and not remember some of the things I tell him. So.... I thought I could play the "I told you that!" card if in fact we get a ticket here in the mail. But turns out he WAS listening and knows. The ONE time I would want him to be asleep and not remember he's awake... go figure. I rarely enter contests or gamble for this exact reason... I am not a "lucky" person.

Can't live w/o it

Isn't it amazing the things people use to live without? I find it hard to believe... but somehow people managed to live without things like air conditioning! This month has been especially hot... and while I know I could survive w/o it... I dont think my kids could. Bubba for sure needs a haircut. And he instantly sweats when its this hot b/c of it. But he just looks so darn cute! I get several compliments for his cute curls so for now... we'll just sit inside with the air conditioning!!!

I for one hate doing the dishes... it is soo annoying! All I feel like I do is stand in front of that sink scrubbing and rinsing. I can't imagine how much longer I would have to stand there if it weren't for that wonderful invention.... the automatic dishwasher! My neighbor says she never uses hers... and that just baffles my mind!? Who in there right mind would want to spend extra time hand washing and drying dishes all the time? Not me... Now I swear I have to "wash" the dishes before I actually put them in the dishwasher... but still...

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So yea I wrote that first half a while back... and then lo and behold... my dishwasher is acting up! Its leaving a nice white residue all over the dishes... I have to take them and soak them in vinegar just to get that off... and then handwash them. Double duty if you ask me. We've tried looking at the water softener.. which apparently did have a bit of a clog in it.. but the dishwasher is still not right. We tried running a load with vinegar in there, but apparently that damages the dishwasher (if the thing doesn't work anyway... does it really matter?) And now we're going to try some different detergent... who knows if this attempt with fail too. I HATE hand-washing dishes. I have enough crap to clean up as is... do I really need to do this too? I swear JDub just uses every dish known to man too! Does he ever hand-wash the dishes? um NO. So while I'm over here using paper plates and washing my one dish I used in the morning to reuse at lunch and then wash again for dinner... his dishes are just piling up...

Please let this new dish soap work! I feel like all I do is stand in front of the kitchen sink all day long... Bubba's going to start asking where Mommy is and automatically go there to find me.....

Movies

I love movies!!! That's why I love Netflix sooo much too... Here are a list of movies I think everyone should see. They aren't necessarily my favorites of all time... but they are some of my favorites that I can think of right now. Some are funny, some are intense! and well some just have hot guys in them too. Here are some movies I've enjoyed watching and would watch more than once!

-Date Night
-Extract
-She's out of my League
-Taken
-Transformers
-National Treasure
-The Proposal
-She's the Man
-Superbad
-Batman Begins
-The Crazies
-The Blind Side
-Inglorious Basterds
-Zombieland
-Star Trek (the newest one)

seriously you should see them.. they're enjoyable!!!

All about Bubba

I CANNOT believe my little guy, Bubba, is 2. It is just INSANE to me! Time really flies. It seems like just yesterday I was watching him roll over for the first time... but now he's a big boy! He's been using the potty everyday (sometimes w/o accidents). For the most part he feeds himself... and picks out his clothes for the day. He lets me know when he's hungry and what he wants to eat (most of the time is CANDY he's screaming for...) He's a good boy too.

When I asked what he wanted for his birthday he replied "Thomas GAMOONS..." aka balloons with Thomas the Tank Engine on them. So I decided to have a little Thomas party for his 2nd birthday. We acquired a small ball pit from a friend, JDub blew up water balloons, and we had our slide in the back too. Everything was a hit! His guests enjoyed the ball pit too... and a few people got wet but it was all good. He was a good boy; sharing everything up until the end when it came close to bed-time. He made sure to say "tank you" to everyone... even before he opened their presents sometimes!

And the most amazing thing yet?! The hours upon hours of watching "Elmo Potty Time" has finally paid off!!! Bubba had been enjoying running around the house naked... and doing the naked dance (don't worry we caught that one on video for blackmail... I mean enjoyment later ). Sure he had a few accidents while naked... its to be expected. But after purchasing Elmo big-kid-underpants he wanted to wear them! So the day before his 2nd birthday.... he demanded to wear Elmo. We woke up that morning and put them on. I made sure to tell him that Elmo doesn't like it when you pee or poop in him... so if he had to go he needed to tell Mommy and we could hurry to the potty.

Well I think we went through all 7 pair that came in that pack the first day! But that's ok. He freaked the first time he started peeing in them. He cried and cried... he was upset b/c he didn't want Elmo to be mad that he peed on him! But I assured him that Elmo would forgive him... and just like on the video... Elmo and Grover said "accidents happen... and its ok..." He does wondefully with me when it comes to going to the potty. He'll even tell me when he has to go sometimes! Most of the time I see him grabbing himself and ask if he needs to go and then we go even if he doesn't feel like it. He's getting better at going with JDub too so that's nice. I just hope he can get the hang of it and get help from other relatives... He manages to stay dry during naps... but we still have him in pull-ups at night (sometimes they're dry... and then some days they're wet). But all in all it is a wonderful thing! As much as watching "Elmo Potty Time" drove me crazy... I think it really did help. I can remind him about the things they teach in the video... like using toilet paper (but only a little bit), flushing, washing your hands... etc. I know I'm still spending alot of time in the bathroom these days... but at least 7/10 times he actually does go!!

We had his 2 year checkup last week. The doctor was a little shocked when I told her we'd been using the potty... She thought it was a bit early for a boy. But honestly he was showing the signs... wanting to use the potty.... telling me he needed a new diaper... staying dry during nap-time and even some nights.... and wanting to wear underwear. And I'm glad I did it. Since we spend most of our days at home we haven't really had too many accidents... I am getting more worried about when MOPS starts back up, and being in nursery at church... but time will tell. I know it's not the end of the world if he does have an accident... But I really am proud of him. (And myself for being patient...)

The next step is to get him to use his own potty... I just bought a Baby Bjorn potty chair (so I dont have to worry about him falling off our toilet and getting hurt... its happened...). So lets hope he wants to use that and then he'll be able to sit on it himself!!

sooo annoying!

So I happen to be one of those people who get very annoyed by things... its really a terrible burden. I can't get through the day w/o being annoyed by something. Most of the time its Bubba who's driving me crazy... sometimes Mango likes to get in on it too... Sometimes it feels like its JDub's job to annoy me... and then there's the most annoying thing yet....

Hairs?! Yes I'm talking about hair being the most annoying thing to me lately. Not the hair on my head... well technically its hair that use to be on my head. I swear I shed like a dog! I am constantly finding hairs all over me. And summertime is the worst. It annoys me even more b/c I'm usually wearing tank tops or sleeveless shirts and there always seems to be a hair tickling my arm, my back, my neck, my chest... doesn't matter where... and then its impossible to find! If you ever see me examining myself... hair is most likely the culprit.

If you're an aquaintence (or sometimes stranger....) and you have a stray hair on your clothes... I am likely to pick it off your sweater as well. I can't even listen to what you're saying half the time if you have hair on you... I'll just stare and stare until finally I pick it off... I know its weird..

And then there's when I'm in the shower. You would not believe the amount of hair that comes off my head when I'm in the shower! And then they're stuck to my legs when I'm trying to shave... ugh.... hair you drive me crazy!

Self-less...or selfish.....

There are certain times in my life when I consider myself to be a self-less person... Most of the time this is when it comes to my children! I think I've mentioned I will forego showering b/c there's just no time.... I will not get online or watch the TV shows I wish I could b/c I'd rather be going for a walk, or reading to Bubba. I will skip the opportunity during the day to do my workout b/c I'd much rather snuggle with Baby while he sleeps in my arms....

JDub and I have given up a lot since we started our family. We knew we'd have to make these sacrifices (no cable tv.... less eating out... no or minimal vacations.... buying ice cream instead of "going out for ice-cream".... turning down invites to concerts... or trips out to the bar... etc) I really don't mind giving these things up most of the time. But there are those times when I'm jealous of the friends and family who seem to go and do whatever they please!!!

And then there are times when I'm a little selfish... JDub doesn't have too many hobbies... He works on the house alot, and plays video games on the XBox here and there. Now he comes home and tells me he's joining a Fantasy Football League?! Ugh... Instead of being happy for him to get involved in something with guys from his work, I think "great.... how much time will this take out of the time he spends with me or the kids?!" I know... its terrible. How self-centered am I?! I even said "So this time you'll spend on the internet making your teams or whatever it is you do..... will this come out of the time you spend looking at Trucks online every night?" Sometimes I just can't help myself. JDub is such a wonderful husband and father to our boys.... I need to stop being so mean and let him have a little fun just for himself.... so say a little prayer for me to be more supportive. I can always take that time to have a little "Me" time myself right?

It's human nature to be the jealous type right? I wouldn't say I'm jealous all the time... but it does flare up now and again. Lately I've been mowing the lawn, not b/c JDub wouldn't do it... but b/c I'm jealous of the alone time he would get if he were to do it?! Being a stay-at-home-mom is a 24/7 job. With rare down time... Kids are always needing a new diaper (Please let Bubba take an interest in potty-training again soon!!) or something to eat. They crave your attention and involvement. But they can sure make you laugh and want to show them off too :)

what you do in your sleep.....

I've kind of always wanted to video tape myself while I sleep... Have you? Some mornings I wake up and I have no covers.... this I believe is b/c JDub is a sheet stealer! He's always hoarding the blankets.. He sleeps in the fetal position half the time with the covers all up around his neck. I can't stand that! I feel like I'm going to suffocate if they're all up around my neck the way he likes them. Unless its winter and I'm freezing... But honestly I wake up every day and my pillowcase is half off the pillow. HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN?! What in the world am I doing in my sleep to cause my pillowcase to come off?! I can't figure it out..

Sometimes the sheet will even slip off the mattress on my side. Its all good when I go to bed. I usually even straighten everything out and pull the fitted sheet down more... and yet its almost coming off the bed by morning. I dont' know why... but this doesn't happen whenever I have Baby sleeping with me. Sometimes if its been a rough night I'll pull him into bed with me...  or if we're all taking an afternoon nap I'll just have him sleep in bed with me b/c he never sleeps as long as Bubba does. I always wake up in the exact same position that I fell asleep. I wonder why that is? Maybe its some sub-conscious thing cause I know I don't want to squish my baby.... I know you're not suppose to sleep with infants... but I just know deep down I could never hurt him.... and I'm not drinking or anything so its not like I'm out of it.

I get a kick out of watching my two sons sleep sometimes... so if might be funny to watch myself!

Buyers beware of Chicco brand car seats!

When it came time for us to buy a carseat over 2 years ago.... JDub did a lot of research. He is soo good about that. He has the patience... and apparently time... to do that sort of thing. So when he came up and said he thought the Chicco brand travel system (a carseat, base, and stroller combined) was the best buy.. I said lets go for it! I even recommended it to friends. It had high safety ratings and good ratings from people in general. I really liked it too! I still notice other families have the same exact one when we're out and about and its 2 years old! So yea... you might have noticed how I said LIKED and not LIKE...... yea well while we were on the choir trip, which Baby came along on.... he developed this terrible rash on his little elbows! I couldn't figure out for the life of me what it was from. He was in the car seat alot b/c we were traveling alot.

TURNS OUT IT WAS THE CAR SEAT! Can you believe that? Little did we know Chicco brand carseats have been giving poor little babies rashes for a while now.... Apparently it is the fire-retardant part of the fabric... mixed with baby sweat... I dunno. But I felt soo bad. And well its not like you can just go somewhere w/o a carseat! So that was a bit of a bummer.. for a while there I ghetto-rigged a pillow case over top of the fabric, cut holes for the straps and buckles to keep his little arms from rubbing up on the fabric. And now we've purchased a cover from diapers.com... nomie brand. So far so good! The rash is soooo much better. His poor little elbows are a little dry still... but he just moves those arms around so much I dont think they've had time to heal all the way! Anyway. The cover is really nice. And it definately beat having to buy a whole new car seat! The only problem is now I'm not sure if we'll be able to use the stroller since its the same fabric... right now we can still click the car seat into the stroller and use it that way.. and well we can lay a blanket down too. But yea that totally sucks. So beware if you're in the market for a car seat...

Let's all go to the movies...

Bubba had his first movie experience this week! The local cheap theater (movies are ususally $3 a pop) has a promotion going on this summer. Free kids movies (kids 17and under are free, adults $1) Monday thru Thursday at 10:00 all summer long! This week was Monsters vs. Aliens. I had been wanting to go all summer but didn't really have the chance until this week. My grandmother is in town from Tennessee to see Baby for the first time :). She's loving him and his red hair of course (she's a red-head as well!). So I convinced her and my mom to come along and take the kids. Baby was wonderful... he just watched the movie/slept the whole time. Bubba on the other hand didn't make it through the whole thing........ but he was pretty good for about an hour of it!

It was quite the production! They really went all out at the theater. Sparkles the Clown was there scaring... I mean "entertaining" before the movie. They had kid packs with popcorn and candy. I think Bubba was more excited about eating popcorn than actually watching the movie! Of course I made the mistake of letting him get a big container of apple juice... I thought if I held it while he drank we'd be ok. Yea well we were until he started fussing and saying "I DO IT!" Which in turn led him to spill apple juice all over his shirt... that was about the same time we had to leave and go out into the lobby...  I should have known it was going to be packed when we showed up and there were two school buses parked in the lot! There were 4 theaters all full of kids! It was pretty insane. It was fun though. And I'm glad he was able to experience it. We might have to try again before summers over... if I can recruit some help again!

On another note, Baby rolled over from his stomach to his back for the first time this week!

I Dreamed a Dream

Please sing the following to the tune of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Mis!

There was a time when I would sleep

When no screams or cries

would wake my slumber

There was a time when I would unwind

And I'd relax

Resting was so amazing

There was a time

then it all was lost.....

I Dreamed a Dream in time gone by

when everyone could speak

and use the potty

I dreamed that I'd never get so annoyed

I dreamed that burp rags were a plenty

Then I was clueless and well rested

And dishes were used, washed and put away

There were no diapers to be changed

No tantrums thrown, no food wasted

But the children come all day

with their whining soft as thunder

as they tear your world apart

your dream's faint and far away

We use to be cool and much less lame
we'd see friends and go out after twilight
I use to be known by my first name!
But "Mommy" is all I am right now

And still I dream for time to read

And money to go on vacation

But there are purchases we can't forsee

And there are dreams that are not useful

I had a dream my life would be

So different from this one I'm living

So different now from what it seemed

Now life has tainted the dream I dreamed

choir

Whooo what a long weekend and week this is going to be!!! We had our mini-tour for choir this past weekend. It was lots of fun. Here's some pics of the places we performed!!

I'd have to say my favorite was singing at the Sinsinawa Mounds in Sinsinawa, WI. I believe the average age of our audience was 70! Lol. And most of them were nuns. It was pretty cool. They were so appreciative of us being there and performing for them. And they were just too cute!

Baby was such a good boy the whole time... and thanks again to my mom for coming!!! She watched him while we practiced and performed. Everyone just oooeh and aaahed over him... I don't blame them cause I do too! He's just such a happy baby these days which is sooo nice.

Tomorrow we're off to Mason City for one last performance of this music we've been working on since the beginning of the year. I missed our concert in May b/c of Baby being born early and all... so I was so happy to be able to sing it this past weekend and tomorrow too. Hopefully we'll be as great tomorrow as we were this weekend (not to sound full of myself or anything... but we're pretty good :) ) I think my mom has heard us enough to agree!

Just as a little side note.... I'm working on a nice little parady I'll be posting soon I hope... if I have some more time to work on it that is!

My new favorite thing.. the Woombie

OMG I have been getting the best sleep lately! And I really think its all thanks to this little thing called a Woombie. This is a picture of Baby wearing his woombie... well this is actually an old picture, from the first weeks at home after his birth. This is the newborn size... he had to upgrade to the "Big Baby" size... All I can say is this was the best investment ever! ($2 at a garage sale?! thanks to my mom!) He goes to sleep anywhere from 8-10:00 pm and doesnt wake up until 3:00-4:30! It has been wonderful this week. And I really think my mood has been better because of all the sleep too.

The only problem is Baby spits up... ALOT... So I am constantly having to wash it and then it has to air dry which takes time... but I guess its all worth it if I remember to do it. And well if I forget... it just has dried spit up on it... it wont kill him to wear it again!.. I know you're probably thinking that's disgusting. But desperate times call for desperate measures. And when it comes to sleep I can get a little desperate! (Don't judge me....)

This week is coming to an end... and while it had its hectic moments (I'm pretty sure I've been spending up to 2 hours in the bathroom each day {due to the fact Bubba is potty-training and enjoys wasting my time...} 15-30 minutes at a time.) In general I'd have to say its been a pretty good week. Mostly due to my new favorite thing... the Woombie! So thank you thank you thank you to the inventor of the Woombie. I could kiss you right now.

Was it magic?....

So the other day JDub opened up his drawer (Yes.... you read that right.... his one drawer he has in our dresser. There are four drawers total... but come on... he still wears clothes he wore in high school... so its not like he needs the extra storage.  He'd prolly tell you different... but whatever!) and he said "Yay! The Boxer Fairy came." Now I know that's not exactly the "Thanks honey for doing my laundry... I needed boxers how did you know?!" but it was funny. I try to do my best on keeping on top of things like this. I mean I am home during the days so the least I can do it keep up on laundry and cleaning... Well maybe not the cleaning so much. Its hard to do when you have a little one wanting to "help" or a crying baby keeping your hands busy. It can be a real chore just getting the broom out of the closet b/c Bubba wants to drag the thing all around the house... terrorizing the cat and knocking things down.. and of course I have to worry about him hitting Baby with everything he gets his little hands on.

But anyway... sometimes I forget myself that things don't happen automatically or magically! Someone has put their time/effort/money/hard work into it... So don't forget to appreciate those in your life..... whether its mowing the lawn or getting you a beer... oh and speaking of beer... if you haven't tried the Summer Shandy by Leinenkugel's yet you should! It is yummy... its beer with a little bit of lemonade in it. It is very refreshing on a hot summer day. And yes I am breastfeeding... but they say a beer a day helps your milk supply! So I'm helping Baby by drinking a little bit of beer!!! :) Its really a win-win situation.

But yea make sure to let the people in your life you are thankful for them! I hope you all know how much I appreciate you :) It means a lot to know that people are interested in what's goin on in my life and read this little blog of mine. Love ya!!

Old = lame

Is it just me or the older you get... the more lame you become? I mean think about it... when you were younger you got excited about fun things like dances... and graduating high school. Then cool parties and going out to the bars.... then of course graduating college... then came marriage and children! But after all that what's there to get excited about?

Here are some examples of the things I get excited about and you tell me how lame it is...
-finding a coupon for something I needed to buy anyway...
-finding a great sale on kids clothes...
-when my doorbell rings and its my order from diapers.com
-getting my workout and shower in before JDub gets home from work
-a great cup of coffee
-even having the time to write on this blog is awesome!
-when Elmo is on so I can get some things done around the house...
-fitting into some of my old shorts.. (ok that one's pretty awesome... and I'm proud of that... but still need to do some work...)
-getting a babysitter :)

So yea... I really think the older you get its the smallest things that make you happy. Which in turn makes you pretty lame... Then again... maybe there's a curve on it ya know? Like you're lame for 25 years or so... but then once your kids are grown and on their own you're back to cool things that excite you.. like retiring and going on cruises and what not....