You Know It's A Good Morning . . .

When you go to wake up your daughter and she sleepily rolls over and looks at you. When she realizes that you are indeed not her daddy . . . she proceeds to scream and cry.

When you only have a short amount of time to get out the door in the morning and you can't wait until Daddy gets out of the shower to come and pick up your screaming daughter - so you proceed to carry her literally kicking and screaming into your bedroom.

When your son acts like a limp rag doll when you are trying to quickly get him dressed because after the alarm went off you accidentally dozed off and woke up ten minutes late.

When you get breakfast on the table and your son comes around the corner and asks what's for breakfast. When you tell him - he replies "I don't like Honey Nut Cheerios!!!" (imagine that phrase in the whiniest voice possible)

When your daughter begs for pancakes instead of cereal . . . then refuses to eat the pancakes when you give them to her.

When your children leave the breakfast table and you realize that they have not eaten anything you've given them, yet they've managed to spill food all over the floor and table.

When a fight ensues in the bathroom over an Elmo washcloth, the step stool and who gets to brush their teeth first.

When your son "can't" find his shoes even though they are right where you told him they were. Then when he finally finds them he "can't" get them on by himself.

When you look at the clock and realize it's 7:05 and your lunch is still not packed, you haven't eaten breakfast and you were supposed to be to work five minutes ago.

Yeah . . . it was that kind of morning.

The Faces Of Halloween

Today was a great day! I am typically not a fan of Sundays . . . but today was an exception. I just LOVE this season . . . have I mentioned that?? There is nothing better than a cool rainy day spent snuggled inside your warm house surrounded my pumpkin guts and the smell of a freshly opened pumpkin! GREAT!!!

So I started early and brought the pumpkins in from outside so they could warm up a little before we stuck our hands into their freezing insides. The kids were so excited to carve these pumpkins . . . it was the anticipated event of the day.

This was the first year that Kadin got to carve his pumpkin all by himself. He told me what kind of face he wanted . . . "Circle eyes, circle nose, and a 'boo' mouth." So I drew it on there with a marker and sent him to work carving out his face. (just in case you are wondering - no I did not let my 4-year old use a sharp knife . . . we have these little safety saws ok?!) He worked so diligently on his pumpkin . . . taking such care to saw out each eye. He even added some impromptu eyebrows which I thought were awesome!

Bella of course wanted to carve hers by herself as well - monkey see, monkey do. Thankfully she was alright with holding the saw with me . . . so we cut out hers together. I asked her what kind of face she wanted and of course she said "Boo!" just like her brother. So we settled on square eyes, a triangle nose, and the "boo" mouth.

The kids were beat and Kadin actually asked to go to bed early - that has NEVER happened before! Of course Bella had to follow suit - which I can still here her chattering away to herself up there. So, it's now 8 o'clock and four freshly carved pumpkins are sharing their eerie glow on our front porch . . . a sheet full of pumpkin seeds are drying on the kitchen counter . . . and I'm still picking dried pumpkin guts from underneath my finger nails and off of my kitchen floor.

I love Halloween!!

What's In Your Purse?

I recently attended a wedding shower and one of the games we played was - what's in your purse. It was a list of about 30 things and each thing was assigned a point value. If you had that item in your purse then you got the points. The person with the most points won.

I don't typically carry a very large purse - in fact I tend to laugh at people with big purses and wonder what the heck they carry in those giant things. So today Brian and I got a good laugh when we were about to enter Sam's Club.

So those of you who are Sam's shoppers know that you must present your special Sam's card to enter the store (you know like it's a secret club or something). So there was a couple in front of us and the woman takes out her wallet - now mind you - just her wallet . . . and opened it to find her Sam's card. Well the minute she opened the thing about 20 different cards flew out and scattered all across the floor. Her and her man scrambled on their hands and knees trying to quickly scoop up her life of cards thrown about the floor.

I was thinking . . . how in the heck can that woman have so many damn cards in her wallet?? So I wanted to check and see how many cards I had in my own wallet. Here we go . . .

1. Debit Card
2. Credit Card
3. Drivers License
4. YMCA Card
5. Menards Card
6. Sam's Card
7. Social Security Card
8. Movie Rental Card
9. Blood Donor Card
10. 2 Insurance Cards
11. My Boss' Business Card
12. 2 Appointment Cards for my haircuts
13. Coupon Card

So there you have it . . . . fifteen cards . . . . so what's in your purse? How many cards do you have?

Oh - and completely unrelated . . . I believe this is my 100th post! Hope you've enjoyed reading them as much as I've enjoyed sharing them!

School Pictures

I always hated my school pictures. My hair never seemed to look right on those days and when I was younger my mom would try and style my hair . . . . not good. Looking back I wonder why in the world I picked that shirt to wear, or why did I have so many pimples going through puberty?? But I suppose that's what makes looking back at your school pictures fun.

Kadin had his school pictures a couple of weeks ago. I have been anxiously waiting for him to bring them home. Honestly with these pictures I was expecting the worst and hoping for the best. Since Kadin was very little he's had the goofiest smile. It started with him scrunching his whole face together and evolved into this goofy smirk - grin. Every time I see a picture with that smirk it makes me giggle a little.

I came home from work yesterday and Kadin was so excited to show me something in his backpack - the long awaited pictures!! He pulled them out and excitedly said "Look mom! Aren't they cool?"

As you can see Kadin did not disappoint . . . sly grin and all! One day I will bring out this picture . . . when he has his girlfriend over . . . to show him what he looked like when he was four. He'll probably wonder why in the world he always smiled like that . . . I'll just giggle and tell him that's just the way he always was.

What a cute kid!

The Power Of People

Brian and I recently had a disagreement over the type of people one choose's to surround themselves with. I was trying to figure out why a person would want to spend time with someone that was completely different from themselves. Now before I move forward let me explain what I mean . . . obviously all people are different. I'm not talking about simple likes and dislikes . . . I'm talking about different lifestyles, values and moral standards.

My point was that if you continually surround yourself with people that live differently than you - perhaps those people would be a bad influence on you. Just like you wouldn't want your teenager to hang out with the kids that drink and smoke . . . I think something can be said for adults as well.

Brian totally disagrees with me - and chalks it up to . . . if you have a problem with it, then it must be about trust - you don't trust that person. AND goes on to further state that perhaps one shouldn't be so judgemental about certain people that one doesn't know. In other words . . . get to know someone before you judge what type of person they are.

Valid points . . .

Ok - obviously I'm beating around the bush here and being completely vague on purpose. Let's just break it down shall we . . . after all this is my blog. Brian associates himself with people that . . . well I just don't like. You can call me a bitch for not taking the time to get to know them - but honestly I don't want to get to know them. They don't live the lifestyle that I choose to live and they certainly are not people I want to bring my kids around. I'm not trying to imply that I'm better than anyone . . . I have my flaws and I'm certainly not perfect. HOWEVER - I also know the kind of people that I want to be friends with and invite into my home . . . these people are not it.

After Brian and I had this initial argument about what kind of people he hangs out with . . . he brought up the valid points I mentioned earlier. I'm not one to tell my husband what he can and cannot do. I don't feel I need to treat him like one of my children . . . after all a marriage should be a partnership built of respect and trust for one another . . . so I was willing to respect Brian's judgement and let it go.

THEN Brian decided to go out with these people and think it was alright to come home at 3:45 in the morning. Hmmm . . . respect . . . . trust . . . .? Of course as I rolled over in bed and realized it was practically morning I was LIVID. I was so angry I could hardly bring myself to look at him. But after I got to thinking . . . it wasn't that I was mad . . . I was hurt . . . because this proved exactly the point I was trying to make in the first place.

If you look at how your children learn . . . they learn a lot from what they see around them. They are like little sponges just observing their surroundings. I'm not implying that a 30 year old is anything like a 2 or 3 year old - but just think about it. Let's make it simple . . . I know for a fact that if I'm around people that swear a lot for long periods of time . . . I catch myself swearing. It's almost like you don't even consciously realize you are doing it . . . it just happens. Or if you're in a meeting or class and no one is participating - then you are less likely to participate. You're on the interstate and your lane isn't moving . . . you wonder why the other lane is clear yet no one is moving over . . . then you see some cars venture over so you decide to go. The power of people and influence is astounding! Everyday in a hundred situations people look to each other on how to act, what to do, where to go and it's all based on influence and what you view as acceptable.

There are some people who will lead by example . . . show the masses where to go and what to do. There are even more followers . . . those who fit in and follow the example they are shown. What example do we want to show our children? What kind of people do we want to surround them with?

I'm going to close with this disclaimer. Brian did not in any way get to tell his side of the story here (again MY blog). He is a wonderful husband who is kind, considerate, loving to both myself and our children and 95% of the time gets it right. He is an involved father who enjoys spending time with his kids and doesn't view it as a chore. I know that I'm lucky as hell to have him . . . but this time he got it wrong.

My Head Just Might Explode

So I have been trying to make an effort to be more patient with my children. I swear I would need the patience of a saint to not loose my cool every once in a while, but none-the-less I'm trying. I've been feeling like my life consists of yelling, yelling and then a little bit more yelling. I wanted to try and change that.

Ok - so tonight is truly trying my convictions to keep my cool. Brian left for a meeting and I was left to bathe, read, and put the kids to bed. Now usually I can say that this process goes quite smoothly. Turn on the TV babysitter and I can easily bathe one while the other is vegging out to Go Diego Go! or Dora the Explorer. However it always seems like the rest gives me trouble - it's on to PJ's, teeth-brushing, hair drying, and book reading.

Bella decides that she wants to brush her teeth all by herself . . . which creates a slight problem because I need to brush her teeth. So we fight over that . . . then on to book-reading where the kids have to argue about which books to read and who gets to flip the pages. Who gets to flip the freaking pages - are you kidding me!?!?! Oh no . . . I'm not kidding.

Through all that . . . I'm still keeping my cool. Yeah me!!! Now comes the best part . . . Kadin. My wonderful son . . . let me rephrase that . . . my wonderful stubborn as a mule son. I hear him whimper to me that he wants a drink as I'm getting Bella situated in her crib with her 17 books, her Barbie doll, her 3 blankies and her stuffed ghost. Geez . . .

So I tell him to go in the bathroom and get a drink while I finish up with Bella. Here's where I realize I am in big trouble. Kadin doesn't want to get a drink . . . not really. He wants to pretend that he wants a drink . . . so he can whine about not getting a drink. Parents - ever get to play this one??? Oooh . . . it's one of my favorites . . .

So I go to tuck Kadin in to bed and he of course won't go because his throat is soooo parched and he can't go to sleep without that cool drink of water - which if you remember I told him to go and get . . . .but oh yeah - that's not part of the game.

Kadin: I want a drink!
Me: I already told you that if you want a drink go in the bathroom and get one. I'm not going to play this game with you.
Kadin: But I want a drink!
Me: Kadin - I'm not doing this. Either get into bed or go and get a drink.

He doesn't move - he just begins to cry.

Me: Kadin I am turning out the light now and I'm leaving this room. If you want a drink you know where the bathroom is. Good night.

YES! All done without loosing my cool. Yeah me again!

Fast forward 20 minutes and he's still walking around the house crying about his drink. Peeking into the kitchen . . . sneaking downstairs . . . running into the living room. So now I'm getting mad. I stop him heading down the stairs . . .

Me: Kadin what is the problem?
Kadin:
Me: What? What do you need?
Kadin:
Me: Kadin you better tell me what you need right now. I am getting very angry with you. (keep in mind my blood is boiling and all I want to do is grab him by the arm and drag him back to his room)
Kadin: I want a drink.

Geesh! Is this for real??? Am I getting punked??? What kind of stupid God-for-saken game is this???? I freaking hate this game!!!!!! Why does my child insist on messing with my head??? I seriously want to strangle him right now . . . . and the part that keeps me from doing that is the part that tries to remember when I was a kid . . . . and feeling that feeling of wanting something so bad, but knowing you screwed it up, and then getting even more mad because you still want it. Do you remember this? It's the classic fit . . . and Kadin was full blown in it.

Kadin has admitted that he does things to get our attention - even if that attention is getting yelled at. He just thrives on being the center of attention. So I tried to teach him a lesson tonight without giving in. I ignored him.

He pranced around me as I was typing this post saying . . .

"I want a drink. I'm so thirsty . . . I want a drink . . . . mom won't let me have one . . . I can't make up my mind."

At one point he started to make a song out of it. It was quite catchy . . .

That boy finally gave up around 9:30 . . . almost an hour of carrying on over a stinking drink of water. I honestly don't even know if he took that drink or not . . . but you know what gives me the greatest satisfaction . . . .

I WON . . . . . . I WON . . . . . . I WON!!!!!

I'm pooped!

Woah - what a day it's been! It seems like the day is never going to end . . . I have been up since 5 a.m. and had to be to work this morning for 6. Yeah - happy Saturday to me! I spent 12 hours in a smelly factory office with a co-worker of mine who was coughing and hacking the entire time sitting and checking in dirty inventory sheets. I literally spent 10 hours checking in 820 sheets of paper . . . and it wouldn't be so bad if I would've done it oh let's say electronically or something but no . . . . I had to HAND check in 820 dirty sheets of paper . . . not once but TWICE. So - I got to physically write down that I checked in those dirty sheets of paper 1640 times.

I have a red callous on my pinky finger knuckle and will be amazed if I don't end up with the cough and hack of my co-worker after breathing in her germs for 12 hours. I am exhausted, crabby, and dirty.

I think I need a hot bath.

Letting Go . . .

My previous employer was a publisher of niche magazines. They were magazines (in my opinion) that no one in their right mind would buy - except for maybe the one on making crafts. Basically they catered to crazy little old ladies who made & collected things like dolls and teddy bears - and these people were all lunatics for the most part.

So I had a strange thing happen to me today . . . . I was at the YMCA during my lunch hour and I was riding one of the recumbent bikes. There was an old lady next to me riding one as well and she was perusing a magazine. I didn't think much of it . . . . but as she went to leave, she set her magazine down on the floor. I glanced over and nearly fell off my bike . . .

She was reading The Crafts Report!!! This is one of those obscure titles that JP publishes and in all my years working there I NEVER ran across anyone who was EVER reading one of their magazines . . . . . until today. It was seriously the strangest feeling.

To top that off - I got a call yesterday from my old boss. She was asking if I would mind calling in to speak with my replacement because she doesn't understand some things. AND she wanted me to call her during her work hours - which also happen to be my work hours. Well I had NO desire to speak with the "new me" over there so I decided to go the e-mail route instead. I answered her questions and she sent a nice thank you reply. I'm thinking - good - now they can leave me alone.

So TODAY I get another e-mail . . . . this time directly from the "new me". Apparently this woman thinks I'm at her disposal for any questions she might have. I'm thinking - seriously - it's been over 4 months since I left and those people still haven't let me go. The last time I checked I wasn't getting paid from them anymore . . . . so I think the answers are going to stop coming pretty quick.

I did answer the poor woman's questions, but I vowed that that will be the last time. If I find another e-mail from her tomorrow . . . I'm going to direct her to her boss - who gets paid to answer questions. What a concept!

My Son, The Rock

I don't expect that my son will be an olympic swimmer. In fact, when I signed him up for swim lessons this fall I had really low expectations - all I wanted is to have peace of mind that IF he would find himself in water over his head he would be able to stay afloat. That's not unreasonable right?

There are five kids in Kadin's swim class. Three girls and two boys. All three little girls are fish - they go underwater, they float, they kick their legs and use their arms and honestly for the most part they can already swim. There is maybe one little girl that is still struggling, but you can tell it won't be long and she'll get it soon.

Then come the two little boys (one being Kadin of course). Seeing these boys in the water is kind of like watching a cat getting a bath. There's lots of splashing and appendages flailing in all sorts of directions. These two boys have no clue what swimming actually is. They basically get in the water and move their arms and legs as fast as they can - which - to my surprise - does actually keep their heads above water for about 2 seconds - then down they go like rocks.

I got to thinking as I'm watching my son flounder in the water - if perhaps girls are just better swimmers than boys. I've seen it in the girls in this swim class, I've seen it in Bella, and I've seen it with Brian too - he's just not that great a swimmer. Perhaps Kadin is destined to be afraid of the water - like the cat who hates getting a bath - and he will just have to wear a life jacket to the pool when he's 10.

Oh, I'm not giving up . . . after our last swim class I wanted to - trust me - but I refuse to give up. I will continue to show up each week with my son in toe . . . and proudly take my seat on the bleachers to watch. I will cheer him on when he stands at the side of the pool negotiating with the instructor to not let his face touch the water. I will stand and cheer as he cries out in terror begging the instructor not to unstrap his floatie from his back because he's afraid he will sink to the bottom of the pool and no one will jump in to save him. I will proudly tell other parents - "That's my son" when I see the instructor struggling to unravel his arms from around her body because he won't let go for a second to even try and kick his legs are use his arms.

Yup - I won't give up . . . he may be 10 years old and still in the "Guppies" class, and I will still be sitting on those bleachers cheering him on.

Just Us Girls

So I already told you that Bella had the flu . . . well on Wednesday I got to stay home with her. It was the first time I was able to spend time ONLY with her in such a long time. In fact as I spent the day with her I couldn't even remember the last time we had just Mommy-Daughter time together.

I had SO MUCH FUN!!!! Bella is just a riot - I completely re-discovered my little girl. I learned so many cool things about her in those ten hours we were together. And I can't describe how great it felt to be able to give her my undivided attention - something she rarely gets . . . and let me tell you . . . I think she loved it as much as I did.

Bella is so animated . . . every word she says involves her whole face with these deep emotional facial expressions that just make a person smile. She looks right into your eyes when she tells her stories and her speech - although hard to understand - is intense. She knows what she wants to say . . . and somehow I think she thinks that if she looks cute enough - people will understand every word. I found myself just watching her . . . amazed at what a special little girl I have.

By afternoon it was easy to tell that she was feeling better. I closed our day together with a bath - where I was all hers to play in the water with. After her bath - she asked for me to put "pony-tails" in her hair. So we got out the comb and rubber bands . . . then she wanted to put on her Halloween costume instead of the warm jammies I picked out.

Well, I couldn't say no . . . so for the next hour I watched her twirl around as the prettiest Snow White I have ever seen.

She made me take numerous pictures of her twirling and then we made this video. She seriously made me replay this video at least 20 times. She just couldn't stop watching herself . . . I have to admit . . . I didn't mind watching it either!

I'll leave you with some pictures of my little Snow White . . .

It was an awesome day!

This last photo reminded me of myself when I was Bella's age - don't you think Mom?

First Fall Flu

Yup . . . we are sick at home with the flu today. Poor Isabella came down with it a couple of days ago and just hasn't been herself since. Brian and I have spent the last two nights trying to sooth her as she cried out because her tummy hurt. She even puked a couple of times.

Even though it was 3 a.m. and we were fumbling to try and clean her up and clean the puke up - there is just something so cute about your little daughter turning to you with a sad teary eyed face saying - "I pooked" . . . even in all her misery she was the most adorable kid I've ever seen!

It's funny how puke doesn't seem so bad when you've done it multiple times. I remember the first time Kadin puked it was horrible! All over his crib and himself . . . and that SMELL - oh, it almost made me want to puke myself. Then the cleaning of the puke - trying to put his sheets in the wash without really touching them because they were so gross . . . trying to quickly rinse them so all the chunks wouldn't be trapped in the washer . . . . GROSS!

Don't get me wrong . . . puke still stinks really, really, really bad. I don't think that's a smell you ever get used to . . .

Poor Bella is just a little stinky girl right now! She's sporting some nasty puke breathe today as well as some stinkies coming out the other end too! The bright spot is so far (as I'm knocking on my desk) she is the only one in the house to have this bug - so we're hoping we've kept poor Kadin far enough away from her that he won't get sick too. AND Bella seems like she's coming around . . . she ate more this morning than I've seen her eat in days . . . and so far (cross your fingers) it hasn't come shooting out her mouth - hooray!

She's blissfully sleeping right now in Mommy & Daddy's bed . . . hmmm . . . I think I'll go catch a nap with her.

Hope everyone else is healthy!

Crammin' It All In

Woah - is it Monday?? Man, my weekend just flew by!

What is better than taking a tractor ride out to a sea of this . . . . .



I'll tell ya what . . . . taking it with your two goofy kids and your husband who thinks you're crazy for getting so excited over a silly field of orange balls, but loves you enough to just humor you and go along with it . . . . that's what!!



Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere! What is better than this . . . . nothing! I can't tell you how excited I was to take a trip to the pumpkin patch to select our wares for the season. There were big ones, tiny ones, orange ones, green ones, fat ones, skinny ones . . . pumpkins of every shape and size. Bella took her time to find just the right one . . . it had to be tiny and after she perused them all she finally found one shaped like a tiny hour glass. It was beautiful - and she was so proud of it - she wouldn't let it go . . . she held tight to it on the tractor ride back and even lugged that little thing to the cashier and held it on the drive home. It was like a new toy . . . all hers.



Kadin was looking for something big . . . . huge . . . . the biggest pumpkin ever! Ok, so it wasn't the biggest pumpkin ever, but it was probably the biggest one he could carry by himself. A perfectly round orange gem . . . which he proudly carried all by himself back to the tractor and only let go of it a minute for the nice man to wipe off what little dirt was left on the pumpkin and not smeared all over his jacket.

It was the best Saturday I've had in a long time . . . spending time with my family enjoying the Autumn weather in the sunshine surrounded by pumpkins. Nothing better . . .

Sunday Brian and I hopped in the car to make the 3-hour trek to watch the Brewers get stomped by the Phillies. Alright - so I realize that wasn't the intention when we got in the car that morning . . . . to see the Brewers lose, but man what a crappy game! Anyway, I'm glad I got a chance to see a little bit of history . . . and I know Brian was excited to have finally lived out one of his dreams for 20+ years . . . . to see the Brewers in the post-season.

Plus, I always look forward to an excuse to see our good friends Jake & Julie. Thanks guys . . . it was a great time even if the outcome wasn't what we wanted.

So . . . now I guess it's Monday! Wow . . . I hope every Autumn weekend doesn't go by this fast . . . I guess that's what happens when you're crammin' it all in!

"Apple" Of My Eye

Wow, it has been the fall of firsts for us this year! It seems like I am encountering so many new things as a parent this fall - it's almost overwhelming for me!

Yesterday I took the morning off of work to accompany Kadin on his first ever field trip! Over 35 four-year olds at the Hockenberry Apple Orchard - phew - that guy must've been glad when we left! I now understand why Kadin's permission slip said that each child must have an adult with them - even with 35 adults - it was still complete chaos!


We had three "stations" of fun . . . apple picking - apple snacking - and a wagon ride around the orchard. Then the kids got to try their hand at making home-made apple cider. Mmmm . . .


Overall it was great. Of course it had to be on the COLDEST morning we've had this fall - it was a chilly 30 degrees when we woke up . . . but if you were lucky enough to stand in the sun it wasn't so bad.


We were outside picking, tasting and riding for almost two hours! Poor Kadin and I were like popsicles and when I finally couldn't feel my toes anymore, I told him we had to leave.


Here's some picture from Kadin's adventure at the apple orchard . . .

Kadin holding his "apple-pickin' bag" waiting for his turn to pick . . . .

Ta-dah! Here's my apple!

Kadin turning the wheel that smashes the apples to make cider . . .

Welcome Fall!

I rolled over this morning and looked at the clock . . . 5:39 a.m. . . . phew still 21 minutes until the alarm goes off! I just nodded off to sleep again when I heard the radio . . . rats! Another morning upon me as I try and stumble out of bed to go wake the kids.

BUT . . . . today was different . . . today was October 1st . . . . the start to my favorite month of the year!!!

There's just something about the crispness in the fall air that makes me feel alive. The feel of a nice fuzzy sweatshirt next to your skin and the cool blustery air against your cheeks. The sound of fallen leaves crunching under foot and the smell of dampness in the air. No . . . this morning I woke up excited that for me . . . fall is officially here!

I rushed to wake the kids up and put them in their first Halloween clothes of the season. Bella in her "trick or treat" shirt and candy covered pants - Kadin in his "funny bones" shirt. I even wore "Boo" socks to work today. I LOVE IT!!! I'm an October junkie!!

The best part for me is to see the excitement through my children. Kadin was so excited when he came home from Grandma's to find the yard decked out in pumpkins and ghosts. And it's so neat to see Bella truly experience all the spookiness of Halloween for the first time. We went to Target and she saw all the skeletons and other creepy stuff . . . she just stared in awe.

So . . . go on and celebrate fall . . .

Take a hay ride to pick out pumpkins, drink hot apple cider, play in the leaves, snuggle under your special blanket next to the fireplace . . .

Because Fall is here . . . . welcome Fall - it's nice to see you again!