More Proof Kids Are Nuts...

It's been an interesting past couple of days here. Everyone has been super busy, and stressed out, and trying to stay smiling...the adults, that is. The kids have been oblivious to it all, which is just the way John and I like it. But, I swear, it's like they know we need a laugh right now.

Their new favorite thing in the whole wide world? A newspaper insert advertising Little Caesars $5 pepperoni pizza. They are enamored with it. John had to bring home another few, so that they wouldn't hobo fight over just the one.

Sam slept with his last night, even going so far as falling asleep while saying "pizza! pizza!" (the Little Caesars slogan in the 90's). When he woke up, he came out of his room carrying the insert, and talking to me about Hot! Fresh! and Ready! pizza. He read it, so it must be true.

So far today, we've taken the Little Caesars ad everywhere we've been. Currently, the kids are sitting on the couch with their respective ads, jibbering about them and waving them in the air, laughing hysterically.

It's a laugh a minute, and JT and I have been cracking up all day over it.

Who knew such joy could come from yesterday's news. Why do we have toys again?

Our Summer Rite of Passage

Every family has a trip or event that signifies the beginning or ending of a season of their life. For some, it is a yearly visit to a family member's house, or going to their cabin on the lake. For my family, it's a trip to the sunflower fields just north of our town.

We've been taking the kids to the sunflower field since they were little babies. It's been fun looking back on the past 3 years, and seeing how much the children and John and I have changed. These fields of yellow flowers still take my breath away, and I never grow tired of looking out over the sea and making wishes and dreaming big.

It is a summer rite that I look forward to, and hold very dear to my heart. So, farmer who plants these fields, you are on the hook for the next 18 or so years, OK? Don't mess with my happy place, and the happy place of many other people. ;)

It's a dirty job being cute.

Pretty girl

My family

My loves

Dreams vs. Reality

When I started this gig as a stay home mom, here's what I thought my days would consist of:

Cuddle
Play
Change Diapers
Cuddle
Play
Make A Gourmet Dinner
Family Time
Bedtime
--mind you, all in the comforts of my beautiful, immaculately clean home.

Here's the reality:
-Referree a cage match most of the waking hours of my toddlers.
-Clean up kid messes. (repeat 309 times daily)
-"CHOCK MEEELK MAMA! CHOOOOOCCCCKK MEEEELLLKKK"
-Clean up husband messes.
-Make dinners, lunches, and breakfasts that my children may or may not eat.
-Explain to Sam, for the 13th time in 20 minutes, why hitting his sister means time out.
-Haphazard trips to the grocery store, Target, etc, where my kids may or may not have a complete and total meltdown, and even with a list, I still manage to forget a key ingredient for tonight's not-so-gourmet meal.
-Keep the house from becoming a biohazard.

Don't get me wrong, my job's got it's perks...but they seem to glaze over the bogus parts in the pamphlet. :)

Random Summer Adorable-ness

Adorable-ness. Is that even a word? Well, when I'm talking about my children it most certainly is. I realized that I haven't posted many cute pictures of the kiddos here for a spell, and I sometimes forget that there are still like, 5 people in the world who don't have Facebook. Three of them read my blog. :)



Sidebar though: For reals Mom. Get a damn Facebook. Even your sister has one, and you're an IT manager for heaven's sake. Get into the now.



OK, sidebar over. Here's some cute pictures of what the kids have been up to this summer. You know, when we aren't leaving them with God and everyone so that we can jet set all over the US. :)

Sloane was keeping Nene's dogs company. Murphy and Bailey look SO excited to see her.

Sam got a big boy haircut. He was very un-big boy-like about it, but he's proof that anyone can be bribed with Hershey kisses and box juice.

Climbing the slide at Sammah and Papa's house. Happiness.

Aunt Kathy's best birthday gift to Sam was to come drag him all over my house in a diaper box. Seriously. He loved it. Why do we have toys again?

Kermit, the dumbest cat ever, letting Sloane give him hugs. And pull his tail.

And lay on him. And smile. And look adorable.

Birthday pool party day. Super happy boy!

Ms. Diva Saggy Pants herself, rockin' the teeny bikini.

Ode to Blue Betty Badass

This is one of my best friends. For real. Her name is Blue Betty Badass because, well, she is the bee's knees.

She can whip up a batch of cookies in no time. Fifty cupcakes by this afternoon? Girl, please. Tonight, after discovering that my pita bread for pita pizza was spoiled (grr), I turned to my pantry, and to Blue Betty Badass, and we cranked out some delicious and cheap pizza crust. For the first time in my life. And Betty didn't even flinch. And I will never again rely on store bought ridiculousness for pizza.

Tonight, I raise my glass to you Triple B. I like you more than most people, and you dazzle the Dinner Party Circuit with your awesomeness, and don't even get mad when I take all the credit.

I see a lot of hacked off PTA moms in our future together. :)

My Happiness Project

Seriously folks, is it the heat or something?

I am so tired of people being rude. Rude to eachother, rude to complete strangers...just rude. Yes, it is hot outside. Yes, we are all suffering in some way because of the current state of the economy. But since when does that give anyone the right to treat people so badly?

I have even noticed the trend in my mom's group. Women who I otherwise have seen as pleasant ladies spewing their catty bitchiness. Not building eachother up, but jumping in at any moment they can to tear someone down.

I am so sick of it. Women--let's act like adults! Adults! Let's act like civilized individuals! You don't have to like, love, or even agree with someone's stance on a particular topic, or the way they live, or the grocery store they frequent....but JESUS. Let's just all get along already.

I continually teach my children that some people live differently than we do, but that doesn't mean they are wrong. I teach them to love and respect all people. I teach them that it isn't polite to be rude to someone. And then I open up a facebook page, or come upon a group of people arguing on the street, or see people kicking another while they are down. Adults doing these things.

How am I to teach my kids to be polite, respectful citizens of the world if all they see around them is a bunch of people being ass hats?

So, my challenge for all of you is to be nice today. Keep your hateful thoughts inside. Smile at a stranger. Be compassionate to the mom with the 2 screaming kids at the library (that will probably be me ;) ). Everyone in life has their own battles to fight, and you never know what a smile can do to help someone get through their day. To make them feel like it's OK to trudge along. To reassure them that they are doing the best they can.

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ~Mother Teresa

Happy Birthday Samuel!

Three years ago today, John and I welcomed a very special little boy into our lives. A little 7 pound miracle. The baby we had wished for.

Happy Birthday Samuel.

You are my quiet and shy little boy. You have a smile that can melt my heart, and you get away with a lot more than you should because of your giant blue eyes and your sweet little voice. You love your sister TT to pieces, and for now, I share the center of your universe with cars, firetrucks, cups and balls. :)

I hope you enjoy your special day...I can say with certainty that all of the days since you were born have been special to me in their own way. I love you more than you can imagine, and I know your Daddy feels the same way.

Three years old. Wow. Where have these years gone? Happy Birthday Sam. I love you.

Friday Confessions

1. I have been eyeing the vodka pretty much all day long. Both kids are teething, and whiny, and I'm about to lose it.

2. I'm getting ready to turn my phone off and throw it in my pond. Perhaps hermits in the woods have something right after all...

3. The next rude, inconsiderate person I talk to on the phone is going to get an earful, and if I see them in public I might just punch them right in the face. For REALS people, it's called CUSTOMER SERVICE, not Customer--Screw You, I Don't Feel Like Dealing With You.

4. I love birthdays.

5. I can't believe I have a 3 year old boy.

6. Sam has already had 3 birthday cakes, and will have numbers 4 and 5 this weekend. All things in moderation, but we like to have birthday weeks around here.

7. I am a crabby, emotional HOT MESS today. Here's to a better weekend!

Happy Birthday Nene!

Today is my friend Jeannene's birthday. She doesn't much like celebrating, but since I love birthdays, I just couldn't help myself. :)

Thanks for being an awesome friend, and an auntie to my kiddos. I love you, and your sweet little wonder twins! I hope you have a great birthday. You deserve it.

Happy 25th Jeannene. Again. ;)

What Do A Slab of Bologna and A Solo Cup Have In Common?

....they've both been (or soon will be) birthday cakes for my kids.

After Sam's first birthday party, where I spent WAY too much money on a store bought, Nemo-themed cake, I vowed to always try to make my kid's birthday cakes. It's cheap, it's easy, and I honestly really love doing it. It's become a contest between my husband and me to see who can come up with the most ridiculous cake for our kids that they will love.

Sloane's nickname is "Sloaney Baloney", so what better way to show her our love than with a giant slab of bologna in cake form. I thought it was beautiful, and she loved it. We all had a great laugh, and it's got it's own page in her baby book. Memories, my friends. John and I have decided that we will incorporate some sort of bologna into all of her parties for the next, oh, 20 years. :)

Sam's first cake post-Nemo was a train cake. The kid is crazy about trains. It was so easy to make, and again, he loved it. This was my first cake creation, and I was very proud of it, too.

So here we are....a week away from Sam turning three years old. We were all sitting in the living room last night, and Sam brings down his giant stack of red Solo cups to play with. Yes, he loves cups so much that we bought him his very own package. He stacks them, carries things around in them, and would sleep with one if given the chance. Eureka....we've got a cake idea.

Yes, I am making my son a red Solo cup birthday cake. And he is super excited about it. And I am super excited about making him happy on his birthday. So, Solo cup cake mold be damned, I am going to try and make his birthday wishes come true. :)