Stay-At-Home-Mom Envy? Read This....

I know you are out there. People who look at my charmed life and wish they too could have it. My life of leisure. Not having to answer to a "boss", make deadlines, manage inept employees. Do what I want to do when I want to do it. Cook and clean, workout and spend quality days with my children. Raising them in the way I want them to be raised, not by caretakers. I don't mean this to be snotty...I mean it in that THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER.

Let me give you a run down of my day so far...and it is only 9:30am.

At 6:30am, my husband woke me up so I could let him out the sliding glass door, as to not wake up the beast that sleeps above the garage. This was an attempt at letting me get a few moments to myself for the day. Usually, I get up with him and then start my day, but today I don't have to really be anywhere until the afternoon, so I get to "sleep in." Yeah, not so much.

6:45am, one of the beasts got in bed with me, a few moments later another emerges out of her room, bright eyed and bushy tailed, bed made, asking a million questions in a matter of minutes. Groggily I tell her to get her DS. Other beast jumps on that band wagon and instantly there is bickering about who gets the first 8 minutes. Ahh, so much for that alone time.

7am-8am Bickering, yelling at the dog, a little bit of laughter sprinkled in. This is the best part of my day, as it is a rarity that I can watch any adult TV while the kids are awake. By adult, I mean The Today Show, the news, the weather.

8-9am Kids watching a show, eating breakfast, it's actually not so bad. Little arguing. I have no idea what I did in this hour. Perhaps I was checking my email, looking at the calendar, starting laundry, getting paper/toys out of the dog's mouth, fast forwarding through commercials, eating cold toast and lukewarm coffee, unloading dishwasher from night before, refilling cereal bowls, more milk. Yeah, I just laid around. It is a life of leisure.

9-9:15am. This is where it goes south. Because Jimmy wants to get a rise out of his sister, he grabs the remote and changes the channel. Screaming ensues from the dramatic one, fists are drawn and connected with flesh. AHh, the sweet sound of my lovely boy screaming. So, sweet...like nails on a chalkboard, oh wait, they don't have those anymore. I come in to break up fight from the laundry room, since I am TRYING to sort the massive pile of laundry, while the dog keeps running away with random socks and underwear. I turn off the TV, as punishment for fighting. Who's punishment? Mine obviously. Then beast goes into the garage, looking for a specific football. Not the brown one, the green one. Can't find it. SCREAMING....MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! WHERE IS MY FOOOOOOOOOTBALLLLLLLL? I don't know. I hear stuff falling in the garage. I am trying to sort laundry. MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! COSMO IS IN THE GARAGE! MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM, HE'S BY THE NOVA! MOOOOOOOOOOOM! Angel child then yells "TREAT" and he runs inside. He is rewarded with a bone, which he proceeds to chew up and spit out on the carpet and then eat it. The beast then thinks the green football must be outside. He opens the doorwall and walks outside. Dog sees this as his chance at freedom, because beast never shuts the doors behind him. I hear screams from both kids outside now. I come back from the laundry room to see the dog prancing around outside. Side note, we need invisible fence, since the dog is a bolter. I still have my uniform on (long sleeve T, PJ Pants and glasses). I have to run through the neighbor's yard with a ball that Julia tossed to me to get the dog to come back. It would be perfect timing to have people pull up to look at the house that is for sale behind us. But they don't. Dog is caught thanks to a ball and the angel yelling TREAT. I walk inside and notice that in the 10 minutes since the TV has been off and I have been trying to sort laundry, that the living room is now trashed with pillows and blankets in an effort to make a fort or just irritate me. I tell the kids to go to the basement or go upstairs, I just want one floor that is not trashed. Beast says I don't like him. Kids go downstairs. I continue to sort laundry. Then beast is screaming....MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! JUUUUUUUUUUUUUULIA wants MEEE to BEEEEE a Kid an I don't WANNNNA be a Kid. I calmly asked him if he wanted to be a baby instead, because that's what he sounded like. He said NOOO and then ran back downstairs. Whining instantly stopped. Then it's calm. I go back to sorting my laundry and wonder to myself....why does it take me so $%# long to get laundry going? Oh, I know. Because I am lucky enough to be a stay at home mom.

Aren't you glad to be sitting at your desk, hanging out on the internet, reading blogs, getting paid, while your house is exactly as you left it? Just sayin'. Gotta move, still have laundry to sort.

Circumstancial Friends

I always find things strange this time of year, as the kid's classes and activities start to come to a close. All year long, I am busy taking the kids from this activity or to school or whatever. Along the way, you meet different people and some become friends of circumstance. It's funny, I see many of these people more than I see my own extended family and you chat for the hour while you are waiting for the kids to finish up skating or get out of class. The kids become friends and as a result the moms often do too. But as the activities and classes come to a close, often those mommy friendships do too. Not always, but more often than not. While I have kept in contact with a small group of these ladies, there are so many that I haven't. It isn't like I am depressed about it, but now that I have been in the mommy circuit for a few years....I know that it is inevitable. Although on the flip side, these moms always pop up somewhere down the road...or on Facebook and then you can pick right back up where you left off.

Mommy's Famous!

Well, maybe not F A M O U S, but probably as famous as a girl is gonna get in a normal lifetime. I will take it. But let's get down to the story, because frankly if I don't record it, i am going to forget how it all went down...now that I am getting older.

So, 5 years ago, my friend Betsy thought it would be fun to get all dressed up in old prom dresses, go to dinner at Buca di Bepo and go dancing afterwards. Considering I didn't have any of my old prom dresses, I was able to squeeze into a dress I wore in my friend's wedding 8 years prior. Not bad for being 4 months pregnant. Thanks to Spanx. Sorry for squishing you Jimmy. Anyway, here is our little "prom" photo. I bestowed the Queen title on myself to disguise my baby bump. Although Betsy was the actual "Queen."

Anyway, what followed were 4 more proms held at church, raising money for various charities and families in our parish. Fun times with a DJ, lots of friends and dancing. Did I mention that we also always went to dinner beforehand? Dressed up? We were having fun times. One year there was an article in the paper about our prom, a news station did a little video one year . Last year prior to the prom, a few of us dressed up on a Sunday morning and had us a little interview at Fox 2. It wasn't much, considering it was on at 8am. Then this year, Betsy contacted the AP. A few of us met with a reporter before the prom, thinking no big deal. Gretchen & I threw the kids in the nursery, putting the 6 year olds in charge and spoke with the reporter. He mostly wanted to chat with Betsy, we were just there since we have been to most of the proms and we were available. We all kind of laughed...It will be a slow news day if papers pick this up on a Tuesday. He said he'd come to the prom with a camera guy and take some pictures and video to go along with his article. Big deal. Gretchen & I didn't seem to be too wild about seeking him out to say "Hi" and get our pictures taken. Although plenty of other girls were all too happy to seek out the camera (if you know what I mean).

Kristen (looking fab), Kate (sporting Ebay fashions), Gretchen (wearing a dress from 1990), Monica (wearing a dress her sister wore in a wedding in the 90s) and Kirste (also looking fab but with giant disco hoops).

Kate posing with our NEW man, Antonio...don't I look like I could be his Spanish Lover?

We had a great time dancing and raising money. Clean up went quickly. On to 2012. Not so much. Remember that little interview we did? That following Tuesday, must have been a slow news day. Charlie Sheen and his Goddesses, the unrest in the Middle East/North Africa, gas prices, potholes weren't enough for the world. They needed MOM PROM. Early in the morning, I got a note from my cousin that I was in the NY Times. What the heck? It was picked up by pretty much every major newspaper in the US and all over the world. It was nuts. This article became more popular on Yahoo than Charlie Sheen for a little bit. Really? I was having fun with my fame and our friends and family were having fun giving me a hard time.

Oh, but it ALL got better. Betsy was contacted by the Gayle King Show (Oprah's BFF). She did a Skype interview with her. Then the Early Show and Good Morning America contacted her. GMA wanted to do a pretty in depth piece on it and wanted to come to film us the following Saturday. So, we trudged on to church with our prom gowns in hand for our 15 minutes of fame. GMA sent anchorwoman, JuJu Chang to interview us. She couldn't have been more personable and genuine. Really. Not at all what I expected. She could have been one of us. Well, she was for 5 hours. They were taking shots of us in our "street clothes" spinning around and then once we were dressed in our dresses, we did the same thing (so we'd be like Wonder Woman, spinning into our dresses). Some of the girls had dresses that had a real story to them, which was cool. I was wearing the dress I paid $20 for on Ebay, but I was rocking a banana clip and jewelry from the 90s, paired with black lace fingerless gloves. They had us group together and say "We're the Moms from the Mom Prom...Good Morning America!" We also walked down the runway in our gowns for various shots. The HHT Foundation was in vast numbers too, lots of supporters and kids. It was fun. The producer and camera guy were great to work with. They made it fun for us and I think they had fun too. In fact, at one point, the producer told us that she was originally from the area and that she felt great about doing a piece on something good for a change.

Juju & Me

Betsy, Father Pat & Juju

Betsy strutting her stuff on the runway

I missed a birthday party for the kids of our dear friends for the taping, but it was worth it to do something like that. Really, when would I ever have the chance to be part of something like that. See how those things work. Later that night, Kurt and I were in bed watching SNL. After all of the hoopla of the week's events, I thought, they aren't going to do a sketch about it. It's not that big of a deal. Then Weekend Update came on. I about fell out of bed when I saw the bit about Mom Prom. In fact, I screamed and it woke up Jimmy. That Seth Meyers is a real funny guy. Really, Seth? The guy laying next to me doesn't seem to have a problem with it. REALLY?

On Monday, the Early Show filmed a small group of us at Betsy's making tissue flowers and talking about our plans for the 2012 prom. It wasn't as elaborate as the GMA piece, but it sounded like they were going to incorporate this interview in with Betsy's sister's prom they are planning in April. Afterwards we had a short phone interview with the GMA producer to wrap things up for Thursday's airing of the piece. While I wouldn't say that i have a problem communicating (I don't), I probably have more of a problem with polished speech. I get easily flustered trying to make a point when I am asked a question that I don't have a canned answer to. Now, I never had a real problem when I interviewed for jobs or when I need to chat to a group of people. But put a microphone in my face and I sound like a midwestern valley girl. Too many Likes and Ya Knows. I laughed afterward, thinking back to a time in 1991 after a cheerleading competition and the presenter asked me a question and I said something so idiotic that my girlfriends STILL pick on me about it 20 years later. Ask them about elemen-TARRY children. I am sure Cas has it on a tape somewhere along with me breaking my ankle. Anyway, I came home and felt sick to my stomach, praying that they didn't use the footage of what I said. Not only did I sound bad, I am sure that me pretending Gretchen was Juju Chang didn't help matters. Well, prayer works people...because they didn't use it. They did use what I said in an article on ABCs website. Unfortunately, Betsy was credited with my "Katy" speak of:

"You always need girlfriends in your life," Crapps said. "Kind of like in high school you depended on your friends, but I don't think you really realized in high school how much you would need really close girlfriends … as you age, you almost need them more."

Now if Betsy really said that, she would have said "as we get older" because it sounds better and she has great poise when she's on the spot. Nope. Not me. I need to say something un-eloquent. Sorry Betsy.

Anyway, Thursday morning rolled around and I really had kind of a big pit in my stomach. Not only anticipating me saying something dumb, but what was I thinking? I strutted my stuff in a super ugly dress (that even in 1990 I would not have worn, I was much more classy) with my hair piled on the side in a banana clip and black fingerless gloves. Seriously, this is national TV. I have no shame when it comes to being silly in front of my girlfriends and their friends, but this is GMA! People will be judging. People will see this and think we are wackos. How will they spin the piece? At one point, it sounded like they were taking it in the direction that we moms wanted to feel pretty and dress up for a night out. Which, sort of yes, but do you really feel pretty prancing around in a dress that is 25 years old and doesn't fit right with hair and makeup that is not from this century? It was more about the charity of it all and "putting our gowns to good use." But what was done was done. I had to just go with it. When the segment came on, the kids got so excited. When they saw me for the first time, they both shrieked. Jimmy jumped up and down and said, "You are famous, Mommy! There you are!" as he was hanging on to me. So sweet. He really thought that it was a big deal. For the past week and a half, I had been going to Mom Prom interviews, decorating, the actual prom, the taping and the other interview. They both probably think that Mom Prom is normal. They both think that prom is MOM PROM not for high school kids. That is the best. Anyway, the piece was great, they really captured the story so well. Betsy asked me to bring pictures of our past proms, so I gave them about 80 pictures, along with a few from my actual proms. I saw MY pictures pop up on screen from proms past. It was great! But then I saw my little 17 year old self popping up around the map of the US marking spots where Mom Proms are being planned for 2011. I about choked. That periwinkle mermaid style was the bomb....19 years ago. They photoshopped out my date, but there I was in my prom pose. The segment was great! I hope that people watched it and really thought of this as a great way to raise money for causes that mean alot to them. I hope that this becomes something moms do for fun, because it IS fun! I felt proud to fly my freaky flag in the name of charity.

So it has been a crazy 2 weeks. Who would have thought that we'd get all this publicity? I have had fun with it, making sure to mention here and there to Kurt, that I am famous. Or when I can't do something around the house, that i haven't had time, because I am famous. When the dog barks, is it the paparazzi? It's all in fun. I know that I am still just a mom & wife like everyone else. I really DO NOT think i am famous. I don't expect people to stop me in Meijer. But I am sure that many saw the story and enjoyed the lightheartedness of it and goodness that it represented. There is so many sad and heavy things going on in our world...this lightened things up a bit for 3 minutes. It is great to see something positive in the media about the Catholic Church for a change. Betsy really has done a lot to make this event great and she works hard to get the word out on this. She is the one that deserves all the kudos, i am just a worker bee. But I have had fun going along the ride with her. I am kind of glad that it all has died down though. If i felt like it was starting to get to be too much, i can only imagine how she was feeling. We have worked our 15 minutes like no other. I think I can safely take my cotton candy pink and black lace dress to the dry cleaner now. Maybe I should list it on EBAY...as seen on TV!

Summer...Hello...Goodbye!

Ahh, Summer, you loom so far away as we anticipate your arrival all those cold, dreary winter months. Then you are here. The first few weeks we can't believe it. Unsure of what to do with all of our free time. No school, no real activities, no true schedule. Then swimming starts, then Vacation Bible School Starts. There are Tball games, Kurt's softball games, Tiger Baseball. Day camp at Jimmy's new pre-school and a few random playdates. Trips to Jackson, Lake Michigan, Aunt Fran's Cottage in Canada, visit from Christina & Meghan (and the news that they are MOVING BACK NEXT SUMMER). Summer Reading program at the library, splash park trips, time at KidsKorner at the gym while mom works out and then swimming in the pool with the huge groups that are bussed in from the day camps (thank you lifeguards for a relaxing few hours). Jimmy's new bunk bed and Julia sleeping on the top bunk for a "sleepover." Playing in the backyard and garage for hours with Clay and Kyle using lots of imagination. Malibu Barbie/Ken style tans (even though SPF30 and 50 were used) on our olive skinned babies. Days so hot that going outside was too much effort. Hours spent playing in the basement only to have to spend hours cleaning it up from the unconfirmed tornado that clearly took place. Picking up our crate of vegetables/fruit from the farm CSA on Mondays, never sure what we're going to get. Grocery shopping with 2 kids and managing only to forget a few things each trip. Taking a break from facebook and incessant computer use, remember what it was like before the laptop and social networking took my life over. Reading more than 10 books and countless magazines. Then the nights start to get cooler and we are reminded that it is coming to an end. Excitement for the school year. Kindergarten & Preschool for both babies. Where has the time gone? Not only the summer, but the past 5 years? No time to cry, no time to think. Onward to Fall 2010. Ballet/Tap, Daisy Scouts, Children's Liturgy, Ice Skating Lessons, Library Storytime. New friends to be made. New things to be learned.

But for like 2 weeks more, I am going to soak up every little last part of this snapshot in my life. Summer 2010. Thankful for everything I have. Thankful for my husband working hard, so I can work hard here and be with the kids.

T-Ball

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This summer, the kids played T-ball with the church's league. One of the benefits to having a large parish is that they are able to offer stuff like this for kids. There are 4 teams from our church and bright and early on Saturday mornings at 9am, we all gather to watch the kids learn the game. It's perfect for 5-7 year olds. They play 3 innings, only advance one base and there are no outs. It gives them a feel for the game. The last inning, is coach pitch and I have to say that some of the kids as 5 year olds were ready to say goodbye to the Tee. Kurt was one of the coaches (much better than his soccer coach experience) along with a few other dads. The kids loved seeing each other and the kids from the others teams were often friends made at VBS and at Kurt's softball games. I loved seeing the smiles on the kids faces when they were running to a base. I am pretty certain that if our kids didn't show any interest in Tball, Kurt's heart may have broken just a little. Not to disappoint, both kids showed intensity (fitting of a 3 and 5 year old) and skill that made us proud. Thank God they have Aunt Lib's genes and not mine when it comes to the game.

Goodbye Long Hair!

Out of the blue a week or 2 ago, Julia said that she wanted her hair cut to her shoulders. I thought that it was kind of odd, because she always has wanted her hair "to her butt." But she kept talking about it for a few days and I kept asking her if she really wanted to get it cut shorter. She didn't waiver. She actually told me at one point that "If I don't like it, it will grow back." Such a grown up, right? So, last Tuesday she had enough hair cut off (7-8inches) that she was able to donate it too. She felt pretty good about it and I was proud of her for taking the plunge with a new hairstyle. And the kicker....THERE WERE NO TEARS. I have to say that often when I change my hairstyle drastically, there ARE tears at some point, and I'm an adult. To those who remember my super short hairstyle of 1999....what the heck? It was cute for like a minute. Anyway, she's loving wearing her hair down and not in braids for a change. What gets me is how much it changes her face and makes her look like a big girl. She definitely isn't a pre-schooler anymore, for sure ready for kindergarten!

The Writing is on the Wall

Jimmy has been giving us a run for our money lately. The addage that boys are different than girls could not be more true. I actually threw up my hands yesterday and kind of gave up. Discipline tactics that have worked with Julia and that work with many other kids haven't really worked with him lately. Our biggest struggle is dinner. Quite frankly, Kurt and I think it really is the worst time of the day. Kurt's perfect day is coming home at 6:30 to kids who have already ate and he can eat his dinner in peace. Last night was a particularly heated battle of me trying to get Jimmy to eat his green beans. The night before we had these really good Snap Peas that were in our CSA box. I knew that the kids would balk at them, since they haven't ever ate them before. But they both like peas alone and they both like to dip stuff in ranch. Anyway, Julia ate them after turning up her nose at first, but figured if she stacked them with her chicken, they were okay. Whatever method it takes. Jimmy on the other hand refused and yelled and stopped eating. He said he wanted green beans instead. Well, last night was your lucky day, because I made green beans. Do you think he wanted to eat them? No way! Even with butter and salt and pepper? No way! Battle Royale ensued for the proceeding 45 minutes. Which is the normal length of time for a meal at our home when the kids are involved. I seriously couldn't take it anymore. The threats of "nothing else for the rest of the night" and "you will get to watch your sister eat her dessert" (which is what happened the night before) did not work. He decided that he'd rather starve. I knew he was still hungry. The solution of reserving the same green beans the next meal sounds like a great idea, but someone has to sit there and implement it and right now I don't have the patience. AHHH...

So, getting back to the the point of my little blog this morning...

I took the kids to the basement to play this morning and I saw a little pencil drawing on the wall.

Me: Jimmy, did you do this?
Jimmy: Yes! It says "Don't feed me vegetables!"

Only 6 more long months until the magical age of 4. 3 is not the best. Next time someone tells me how happy and good natured he is, I will refer him to this blog post.

DIVA!

Julia had her dance recital last weekend and was she ever in her element! Last year, she was a little nervous in the days leading up to the performance, but this year was a completely different story. She couldn't stop talking about it and was pretty excited that she got to do 2 nights of the show vs just one like she did last year.

In her ballet number she was a fairy and her tap number she was a painter. Both nights she did fantastic, smiled the entire time and didn't look to the side the whole time to see what her partners were doing. I couldn't have been more proud of her. Kurt of course loves to mock me when I cry in public and this time was no different. I can't help it. She is just such a light in my life and I can't help but be so proud of her that I cry.

When she would exit the stage, she'd look to the side and smile. It really showed her personality. Of course, I think she's a little diva (in a good way) and i think that others could see that too. What a ham! The finale was the part she was most looking forward to and you couldn't help but love the smile on her face that just looked like she was about to laugh. I am pretty sure that the stage is her home!

Anytime you'd like a performance, feel free to come by the house and Julia will show you her moves and challenge you to a game of Just Dance on the Wii or she'll just break it out listening to the radio (yesterday she asked me to turn it up to an old school Jay Z song). The girl's got rhythm and loves to dance, making us all smile at the same time.

She's Growing Up!

Today we skipped Sunday School for Julia at the 10am Mass and went to the noon mass so we could see our 2 neighbor girls take their First Holy Communion. Julia usually goes to Sunday School while we are in mass. It's been a long time since she's actually sat in church for the whole time. Jimmy was in the nursery (we're not that brave). Anyway...I was so impressed with how grown up she has become. She was pretty excited to see her 2 older friends, but she really took an interest in what was happening and participated as much as she knew to. I was just taken aback.

I was raised in a Baptist Church where the kids only stayed in church for the first 15 minutes or so and then were released to Jr. Church or were already in the nursery. Anyway, I never quite understood why kids needed to be in Mass. There were times when Kurt and I would attempt to take both kids to Mass (on days when the Nursery was closed) and left feeling drained and wondering why we even left the house. There are cry rooms, but usually they are a free for all with parents not even trying to keep their kids contained. Anyway...we have always put the kids in the nursery and Sunday School. I knew that Julia would be ready to sit through the Mass quietly, but not actually pay attention. Don't get me wrong. She's gone to Mass before. She's been good before. But she never seemed to pay attention. It just made me realize how grown up she was. I'll admit, I got a little teary eyed thinking just yesterday Kurt and I were bringing her to Mass with us in her little carrier and in a few years she will be standing up there preparing for her First Holy Communion. I am not ready for that. Let's get to Kindergarten first.

Speaking of school...we couldn't be more proud of how well Julia is doing in school. Doing the Young 5s program was the best decision we could have made for her. She is thriving. She's reading and doing math. In fact, last week I thought I was going to pass out when I saw the amount of homework they had. It took us a long time, but she is a smart cookie. She figures things out and amazes me. I am a little concerned about next year being kind of a repeat of this year, but I am hoping that the distraction of a new school, riding the bus, extra curriculars and all the goings on at an Elementary school will be enough of a change for her that it all doesn't seem like the same thing. She doesn't have to be the smartest kid in class (I know that there are lots of over achiever parents that think academics are the only thing), but I hope this extra year gives her that boost of confidence and maturity so she will be able to handle all the challenges life throws at kids as they go through school. Really...who wants to be the youngest and smallest kid in class? We really should have planned better with these November babies.

Commercials

Kids are funny with what they pick up from TV. Mine are no exception. They watch mostly PBS and Disney Channel or some DVDs from the library. I never have the TV on during the day for me. Not because I am that granola...but because I seriously don't have time to watch it. It's not part of my routine, which isn't a bad thing. I joke with Kurt that unless it pops up on the MSN home page or people are chatting about it on facebook, I really don't know what is going on in the world until 10 or 11pm at night when we watch the news. Occasionally before dinner I will turn on the news, but usually that is if the kids are playing somewhere else. So, they do see and watch regular TV on occasion. Which would explain a few things. Yesterday while I was unloading the dishwasher, Jimmy came over to me and asked me "Do you have credit card debt?" I had to ask him to repeat it, because I thought that can't be what he said. He did. I laughed and said no, but asked him what if we did, are we supposed to do something? He then went on about some 3year old gibberish nonsense. Then today he asked me why I didn't use Oxy Clean Max. Apparently he is worried that the Oxy Clean that we use needs a little boost. Julia told me the other day when I was doing laundry that they have these great balls for the dryer that are good for months and you get 2 when you order now. Both kids can also tell you all of the uses for Pillow Pets (you can take it to Grandma's with your PJs inside). WTF???? It's like marketers can't get it right. I can't tell you verbatim about all of these products, but a 3 and 5 year old can. Perhaps all products are marketed to them so they can market to their parents? Anyway, as annoying as it is, I think it is cute in a sick way.

Seriously?

Julia wears a uniform to school everyday and about once a month gets to wear jeans to school and a plain black shirt. She has gotten used to wearing a "boring" uniform and doesn't complain about it too much. She isn't a fan of wearing the turtlenecks and begs me to let her wear short sleeve shirts with a sweater over them. The school year has gone well and it does make getting dressed easier.

Tomorrow they are having some pictures taken at school and Julia can wear what she wants to. I thought that she would be so excited to pick out an outfit. Ugh, what happened next can only be described as my worst nightmare and a glimpse at the teen years. I pulled out a few outfits. All of them were pink. All of them had some girly girl flair. All of them were spring-ish. She wanted to wear her Easter dress. Normally I would probably not care, but this dress is dryclean only and isn't something that you could be crawling around a gym floor with (since she has gym tomorrow). I explained this. Tears ensued. Then she started to find fault in all of the outfits we picked out. One of them was scratchy, one of them she already wore in front of people and the other one had a side zipper and she was worried that it would show in the picture? I did yell. I did lose it. I seriously couldn't believe it. She was all upset. After realizing that this was going nowhere...I calmed down and showed her how all 3 were great options. Jimmy came in and gave his 2 cents and Kurt came in and tried to save the day. He got further than I did. Then Grandma called and Julia described each of the outfits (in detail) to her. Grandma will be coming over in the morning to help her. She calmed down. WTH? If this is what I have to look forward to, forget it. I know that I was a girly girl and I still am, but really? this was a little too much. But now that I can reflect on it a little...this is kind of where uniforms backfire. A way you can show your individuality is through dress. When everyone wears the same, they are all the same. There is a lot of pressure when you have to show who you really are. Maybe she is feeling this pressure? She was really concerned about what all of the other girls were going to be wearing and what if she picked the wrong one. We shall see what tomorrow brings. Hopefully my happy little girl who is just excited to wear pink to school tomorrow and not the tween drama queen I spoke with tonight.

I wonder if this is along the same lines of when I was in kindergarten and missed the bus because I was freaking out about my shoelaces not matching my outfit? My mom likes to tell that story. Hmm...does the apple fall far from the tree?

Baby Flash!

I can't say enough how happy I am that my sister had a baby! It is just so much fun this time around being an Aunt. Last time I was pregnant with Jimmy, Julia wasn't even 2 yet. So I had my hands full. It was hard to "enjoy" Olivia and revel in her baby-ness. This time is so different and I treasure it. I think part of it is because the baby phase is so short...it's gone in an instant. At the time, it seems to creep by. The lack of sleep does that to you. No matter how many times someone will tell a new mom "Enjoy it, they grow so fast!" - you can't comprehend it until you've passed the phase. I remember hearing it over and over again and it irritated me a little. I feel like I blinked and my kids are now 3 and 5. Where did the time go? I am not that crazy where I wish my kids baby little again, but I can pop over to my sister's house and love on this sweet little baby. It really puts things in perspective and warms my heart. I don't think Kurt minds being an Uncle again either. But he's been an Uncle 9 times already from the get-go. He's practically a pro.

Shhh...I think he's got it!

I hate to post this, because well, when you say something out loud, it basically nixes things. But what the heck. We're going for it.

Jimmy has been wearing underwear accident free (mostly) everyday!

To some people (those without kids or those who hate kids) will think that this is stupid to post. But whatever. It is a big deal around here and I am giving myself a great big pat on the back! We're getting braver every day, going places in underwear (while I tote around spare bottoms & socks just in case). It's so exciting! He's becoming a big boy!

I am an Aunt...Again!

It seemed like it would never happen...being an Aunt again. The past year and a half has been tough on my sister & her hubby Trav. They suffered 2 miscarriages back to back, which made for a tough first trimester with this pregnancy. We were all on eggshells. Trying to be positive. Knowing that if not for those losses that this pregnancy would not have happened.

They were due on Feb 22nd and to be honest, we were all expecting her to go late again (like she did with Olivia). Not so much the case. I got a call around 4pm that she was going to the hospital after her doctor appointment that afternoon....TO HAVE A BABY. I waited for Kurt to get home, ate dinner and packed a bag and headed out to the hospital about an hour away. I got there around 8:30 or so and we hung out, watched some of the Olympics, talked about the random stuff. Not focusing on the task at hand. Around midnight things started to pick up, she got an epidural, started to push 2 1/2 hours later and after about 15 min of pushing, Fletcher was born!

I was there in the thick of it. I was actually a little apprehensive about the birth. Last time, I was pregnant myself and Lib had a hard time. I didn't want to go through that again. She was a trooper this time and did a great job. Made me feel a little inadequate with my odd shaped pelvis and 2 CSections. But there are no medals or awards given in childbirth. Just get it done.

The Happy Family

Grammie & Fletcher
Fletcher James
2.16.10
2:52am
7 Pounds, 6 oz.
19.5 Inches long


Proud Aunt Kate

Nothing sweeter than a newborn baby in your arms and in your life. Welcome to the family baby Flash. Your Uncle Kurt and cousins can't wait to meet you. I can't wait to love on you a little more. We are so happy God sent you to us.

Random Thoughts for Today.

I am full of random thoughts today...so I decided to jot them down here.

As I was picking up the house for the 4th or 5th time this MORNING, thinking to myself, why do I even bother? It occurred to me that is why so many more women have that hunched up back. It's because they are always bending over picking up stuff. Perhaps that is why my waist stays small and my curves are kickin (A nod to Sir Mix A Lot)

I mopped the kitchen floor today. Again, wondering why I bother. But I still like to look at it all shiny and smooth. Will it stay like that for even 8 hours? Doubt it

The kids have 2 new favorite toys. A box from Amazon that delivered me some precious Raspberry Iced Tea Mix (1st ingredient is High Fructose Corn Syrup, so you know that it is good) and a Nike Shoe box. The kids decorated the Amazon Box the other day when we had a snow day and called it their dog cage and insisted they put all of their dog stuffed animals in it. Hey I am cool with that kind of dog, no dog hair. The Nike Box, Kurt made into a Monster Truck Garage for Jimmy. I think they need to get rid of all of their toys and apparently they do too, since after cleaning up the basement the other day, the kids had taken everything so meticulously organized and place it all random in the middle of the room, strewn about. They told me that they had a store and were selling things.

They should have tasers for little kids. Not to knock them out, but to keep them still for more than 5 minutes. Because maybe...just maybe they will stay still long enough to fall asleep. Hey, I may even taser myself once in a while. Just as an excuse to sit down.

I wonder at what point I will ever catch up on all the stuff I have to do around here? I am a list maker, but the lists don't ever get all crossed off. I am going to start to add stuff that I know will get crossed off, like Yell at kids to stop fighting or Walk downstairs to turn off the TV that was left on. My personal favorite would be Try to find all of the clothes that Julia was wearing before she changed into costume. The key to that one is to stop on all 3 floors. Anyway, I think I will feel more productive if I see more stuff crossed off my list.

And on a positive note, i have a few things that are not negative (because I am a glass half full kind of gal):

• We did the 3 days in a row of underwear thing for like the 4th month in a row trying to see if Jimmy would ever get the hang of it. Well, I am proud to say that in the 3 days, we only had 5 pairs of underwear TOTAL. Not bad my little guy...not bad. The thought of being completely out of diapers/Pull-ups has me sort of delirious. I need to make sure that Kurt visits the doctor in the near future.


• After scolding Julia this morning for waking her brother up at 6:30am...he is now fast asleep for a much needed nap and a much needed break for Mom. I will have to remember to tell her "Thanks, for not listening to mom...for once it was actually a good thing."


• I am glad that I am able to roll with the punches that day to day life as a housewife/SAHM throws at me. I am thankful that my day doesn't go to pot when all of the above happens and I thought that I'd get to go out and run errands before "quiet time." I am just thankful that I have my warm (depends on who you ask, 64 is perfectly warm for me) house and a great husband that pretty much gives me whatever I want and lets me live this little life where the list above are the things that I have to worry about on a Friday afternoon.

Making Valentines

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and the kids in Julia's class will be exchanging Valentines next Friday. I told her we should just make our own valentines this year, since she loves to draw. Of course we found some pink paper and I scored them to make them into cards. That's all I did to help her make her valentines. I did give her a few stamps that had hearts on them to use, but that's it. She's on her own. She is very creative and would use several "techniques" on each card. A few times she'd do something on a card she really liked and would say, "I'm going to do one like this again!" She warms my creative, paper crafting heart. When I am in my craft room, she likes to come in and set up her own little station. She has her own supplies and "scrapbooks" with me. I love to watch her be creative. Sure, i could make her Valentines for her and make them super cute....but really, would a 5 year old care if they got a fancy valentine? No. I care more that my daughter takes pride in making them herself and will beam with pride when she takes them to school.

Need Any Cars?

Last week in efforts to direct Jimmy's energy elsewhere, i asked him to put all of his cars on the train table and line them up. I really just wanted to keep him busy, but then I thought it would be a good way to see how many matchbox cars he really did have. Well, as you can see, I don't think he is missing too many.

Chuck E. Cheese...Worst Pizza in the World.

Jimmy is 3 years old. He's a boy. He pees and poops in his pants.

We're happy with our little family, but life would be so great if he'd just get with the program and start using the potty. He essentially got "kicked out" of his little pre-school session for the 2nd half of the year since he wasn't potty trained enough to go to school in underwear. Actually, he didn't get kicked out, I just didn't re-enroll him. The thought of sending him 2 days a week to school in underwear, was just like asking for them to call me while I was in the middle of shopping at Meijer. Plus, he wasn't even near ready when I had to make that decision in November. I knew he'd eventually use the potty. I knew that we'd get there and that by Summer, I'd have a somewhat potty trained child. I trusted that this would happen.

Yesterday, Jimmy went an entire day dry AND pooped on the potty. OMG! It was such a great day. Now, I'm not going to lie. I had to tell him to use the potty. Although, he told me that he wanted to poop on the potty. And go he did. He was so proud of himself. We kept telling him if he pooped on the potty, that we'd go to Chuck E. Cheese. Well, go we did.

Jimmy had never been there, but he has seen the appropriately placed commercials on PBS. Julia went once when she was 18 months old. You can tell that we love to take out kids there, since they are now 3 and 5. I'd rather go to McDonald's and let the kids play in the play area there and not wash their hands before they ate, than go to Chuck E Cheese. I think I hate other people's hyped up kids. I think I hate paying $25 for a meal that quite honestly is the most disgusting pizza ever. How can Little Ceasar's (which up until yesterday I would have told you was sub-par) make a $5 pizza that is edible, but Chuck E. Cheese can triple their price and get away with passing what was served in that pan off as pizza? Ugh, but I digress...it's not the pizza we're paying for...it's the experience.

Well, let me tell you about our experience. We arrive at 5:45 to a jam packed parking lot. WTH? It's a Wednesday night. I figured there would be a few families looking for something to do with the kiddos after work. Maybe a random mid-week birthday party. Ugh, not so much. Once inside, I see tons of kids. Running around like they are sucking sugar through straws. They are running into people. They are crazed. I see zombie like parents standing in a long line waiting to order pizza and other delectable treats. Our kids are just taking it all in. Heads going back and forth, jaws to the floor....thinking...."This place is awesome!" I am thinking about how I can see if the kids just want to go to McDonald's. No way. Kurt & Mom look for a table. There are no available tables. They finally find one that looks somewhat deserted. Kurt gets some tokens and he and the kids are off. Mom sits down dazed. When I asked her to come with us, she choke-laughed, but she came along anyway. While standing in line, I find out that it is a fundraiser for a local elementary school, which accounts for about 90% of the patrons. The pizza is served. It is as gross as I remember. I don't even know where to start. At least they have good Coke. The kids eat their pizza and I can tell that they are getting tired. But they know they have more tokens...so they go play some more games. Kurt is great at places like this. He sticks with the kids. He doesn't get irritated. Me...not so much. I hate crowds of people and I really don't like bands of youths hyped up on sugar. We use up the remaining tokens and turn in our tickets. The kids can select some random garbage that I can throw out later. The kids are so overwhelmed in general, they can't even really pick a prize. We pick for them, 2 plastic spoons. Which on a normal day would seem like a great idea. The kids fight over these other 2 plastic spoons we have at home, so it would make sense to get 2 more, right? Ugh WRONG. Instantly, Julia is crying. No, Hysterical. Jimmy starts crying, because Julia is crying. Both of them are rubbing germs that the purell didn't kill into their eyes. We're trying to get their coats on, trying to get out the door. If we didn't have the matching numbers stamped on our hands, one would think we truly were stealing some kids. Fortunately, the boy stops crying, because he's not really crying about anything and sees this as an opportunity to look like an angel for once. Screaming girl ensues in the car...all the way home...up the stairs and in the bath. Why all the rage? She wanted a toothpick style sword instead of a spoon. Really? She was tired, but still.

After both kids were finally in bed, I patted myself on the back...able to look back on the experience and say to myself..."He'll have to be going on the potty exclusively for the next 2 years before I step foot in that place again."

Aye Poppi!

My mom's husband Earle was given a great gift this week. He finally got a kidney. It's been a long road and several failed attempts, but Sunday night they got the call that there was one available and that he was #1 on the list. They got the go ahead on Monday and he had a new kidney by the night's end.

The kidney is working great and if it weren't for a few unrelated complications, I think he'd start to feel better. He has developed a touch of pneumonia and it is that much harder to fight off infection when you are taking such high dosages of anti-rejection drugs. To make matters even worse, there was a point where the doctors thought that he'd had a minor heart attack, but apparently he was just experiencing a little distress. At any rate, he's sedated and on a vent (which they hope to wean him off today) and the prognosis looks good. He's been sick and on dialysis for so long, that it will be a welcome change to see him looking better and not so tired.

All of this "good" news does not come without some sadness. I think of the family that made such a selfless choice in their time of sorrow by donating their loved one's organs. Do they know how much of an impact they have made in our family? Do they realize what a gift they have given us? Do they know we pray for their family's recovery as much as we do for Earle's? It is such a priceless gift.

Julia & Jimmy don't know the extent of what has transpired over the past few days. Julia knew that Poppi needed to have a surgery so he didn't have to use his "machine" at night. They don't know the details that go into him getting a kidney. In all honesty, they have focused on the fact that when Poppi got his surgery, that we'd get to have Charlie (their dog). Which is really all I want them to think about now. They are lucky to have 2 Grandpas - Papa (my dad) and a Poppi that will be around for a lot longer.

Monster Jam!

Jimmy is wild about cars & trucks. He loves going to the library and checking out the non-fiction section where all the books and videos are about various methods of transportation. One of his favorite movies to get (on VHS...thankfully we still have a working VCR) is There Goes a Monster Truck. So Kurt thought that it would be fun to take him to Monster Jam when it came to town. I think Fun was an understatement.

A week before, we watched a little bit of one on TV. Not knowing the lingo, the various truck names - I think it was helpful...apparently the phrase FULL THROTTLE covers plenty of situations. Kurt & Jimmy didn't want to look like novices.

Kurt got tickets with some friends from work and their kids, but it ended up that some people from his old department had the company suite, so they ended up going up there. A few weekends before we had dinner with a couple and their kids and they were up there. I am sure that Jimmy was happy to see those boys again.

When they first got to Ford Field, Jimmy could hear the trucks moving around. He panicked and told Kurt...They're starting Dad! Let's Go! He was so worried that he'd miss the show. Fortunately, it was a late night affair and I don't think he was going to miss a thing.

Here are a few pics that Kurt took from the night. Jimmy is wearing his hat in most of these pictures, because it was the only way to keep the ear plugs in his ears.

Jimmy was so fired up when he got home at 10:45PM. He was running around the house screaming, telling me about the trucks and which ones he saw. I thought that he'd never go to sleep. Fortunately, the minute he hit the sack and was still for a few minutes, he crashed. What fun he had! I know that we'll have to go again next year. Perhaps Julia and I will go too, just to see what the fuss was about.