Embracing Chaos

Trouble-maker

2012-01-23T10:08:00.000-06:00

Why I Feel LIke A Grown-Up Now

2012-01-17T08:33:00.000-06:00

When Keith and I got married, we rented a house from my parents. It was where my grandma grew up and was about 100 years old. We knew we'd be moving in a year or two, so we didn't buy any furniture, just borrowed from family or shopped some resale shops. Our house was cute, eclectic and fun.

When I was 5 months pregnant with Connor, we moved into the house where we now live. As a house-warming gift, we were given a brand new beautiful sectional for our family room, and took to furnishing that living space since that's where the tv was. Over the years, we re-did the kitchen (cabinets, paint, etc), new living room furniture (to replace the sleeper sofa that didn't match anything), Keith added a second (full) bath off the family room (complete with a stone-tiled shower), and of course, furnished two nurseries, and then (sniff, sniff) big kid rooms....

Our bedroom, however, took a backseat.

Two years ago, I had had enough of the mismatched dressers (one from Keith's house, one was my childhood dresser growing up), and had Keith build us a matching set of large dressers.

(Which I realize now I do not have a picture of.)

But the room wasn't finished. All I wanted was a headboard.

But things happen, and other projects got in the way.

Until now.

This birthday/Christmas, Keith surprised me with a new custom-made headboard.

I love it! It makes me feel grown-up,

now that everything in the room matches (he stained it to match the dressers).

Not only that, it's so pretty!

I'm so thankful for my handy husband, and so happy with my "new" bedroom.

Playing in the snow

2012-01-14T18:53:00.000-06:00

We had a green Christmas. There was no snow here in the midwest... until Thursday.

The kids had been begging to go outside, but I had to work this morning, so we told them after lunch.

They loved it.

Keith made a sledding hill and everything.

Tonight, at bed time, Connor told me his favorite parts of today were: One, sledding in the sled. Two, drinking hot cocoa, and three, when you lay with me in my bed, Mommy.

Twin love

2012-01-10T09:17:00.000-06:00

I had big plans to post today about Connor's new bed that Daddy built.

Unfortunately, those pictures are still at home, on the camera.

When we moved into our house, we were on the five year plan: live here until Connor turns 5, then move to a bigger house. Well life (and recessions) happen, and the move did not occur. Since we were undecided for awhile, we kept Connor in his ~~extremely~~ slightly outgrown toddler bed. Keith built Connor a new twin bed to match his dresser over Christmas, and it was ready this past weekend. Of course, you won't get to see those pictures until someone gets her stuff together and uploads the camera.

Instead, you can see the twinkles showing each other some love in Connor's old bed before we took it apart:

Don't let them fool you.

They are just pretending it's nap time.

They don't nap time.

(Sigh. I miss nap time...)

But this picture does make me happy.

Keira-ism: Swimming in the River

2012-01-09T09:34:00.000-06:00

This morning on the way to Nana's, I saw a large bird flying above the river. When I realized I was lucky enough to see it was an eagle, I exclaimed: Keira, look! It's an eagle flying above the river!

Keira responded with, I see it! Hey let's get our swim things and go swim down there. (We were crossing the bridge.)

I mentioned that you really don't swim in that river since it's dirty.

She said matter-of-factly, That's right. And there are alligators. And sharks. We can't swim with them. But we can go with the seals because they are so nice and warm.

The Sheep Hoarder

2012-01-03T15:47:00.000-06:00

Keira has a tendency to collect random crap.

Sometimes, it's Little People, sometimes it's scraps of paper.

I caught her on Christmas, under Gigi's Christmas tree,

~~hoarding~~ herding sheep.

Seriously, this girl cracks me up.

I love my boys,
but I'm so blessed that God gave me this little girl
because she makes me so happy.

Grandma was right...

2012-01-03T08:46:00.002-06:00

I have a health issue that was discovered last summer. Apparently stress makes it worse. And with my life, stress is abundant.

I've been on a search to de-stress as much as I can. Unfortunately the kids keep getting sick, and not one of them believes in sleeping through the night (seriously people - you are 3 and 5!) My husband also suffers from a disease called "as soon as my wife cleans/organizies something, I find a way to dirty/clutter it back up again".

I received a free sample of some face cloths recently, and just tried them over the break. Ponds Evening Soothe towelettes are simply awesome! They are made with white tea and chamomile flower extract. I had been using a different cleanser at night, which always left my face dry. These towelettes are quite moisturizing, and leave my skin feeling soft and smooth. I swear my skin actually looks brighter! (And they remove make-up, including mascara, which is a plus.)

I think the smell is my favorite part. With the chamomile scent, I actually feel more relaxed after using a towelette, and go to bed more at ease than before. (I still have a million to-do items running through my head, but with these towelettes, as well as my lavendar lotion I use on my hands, I truly feel more relaxed.)

The funny thing is, I always associated Ponds with my grandma. She swore by using their cold cream on her face every single night and said it kept the wrinkles away. I couldn't see myself lathering up with cold cream, and never thought to use Ponds for their other products until now. Gigii is pretty sick right now, and recovering from a few broken ribs caused by a stroke/fall on Christmas day, so I've yet to mention this to her - but I am going to tell her she is right! Ponds is a great product! ;)

Disclaimer - this review was by me, for me. Ponds has no idea I'm writing it, and I have received no compensation for it. However, should they see I wrote this, I'd happily accept coupons. ;)

Christmas presents and more!

2011-12-27T11:17:00.000-06:00

First, I wanted to welcome all those visiting from the Multiples and More website! Welcome! :)

Second, thought I'd share the top gifts of the year:

Cars 2 DVD

The yellow wiggle

A green tractor with yellow stripes that goes VROOM!

Princess Belle

Stick-lip (Lipstick)
((really lipgloss from Avon))

New bedding!

We were so blessed this year by great friends as well.

The kids received personalized disney blankets, which they LOVE!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T10:01:00.000-06:00

Mina and the Tree

2011-12-24T12:00:00.000-06:00

Can you find the cat?

Trying Santa...again...

2011-12-22T13:53:00.000-06:00

A couple of weekends ago, we took the kids to the library's Christmas party.

Keira had big plans to stand near Mrs. Claus, and not cry about Santa being nearby.

As you can see, that did not happen the way she planned:

Rather, I got to enjoy her screams from the other side of the library.....

But she did have fun a little later:

Happy Birthday to Me....

2011-12-14T14:32:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was my birthday. I like to think of it as Sarah's Holiday. I still worked. For a few hours, that is.

I decided to use some personal time, and treat myself to TIME ALONE.

Well, first I met Keith for lunch at a yummy cheeseburger place.

Then I had over 3 hours. ALL. ALONE.

I got to wander around Kohls for over an hour, without checking my cell phone, or trying to hurry through to get back home. And I didn't look at anything for a child.

Just for me.

The bonus - a 30% off coupon! Combined with a little birthday cash, I was able to get some smarttouch gloves, a pair of jeans for about $9, and some new boots.

They are so pretty.

After Kohls, I headed to a couple other stores for Christmas gifts.

Then treated myself to a Caramel Apple Spice from Starbucks.

It was my first time trying it, and I think it will become my new drink at Starbucks. Yum!

Dinner was at home with the family, and Keith had picked up a cake from Jewel.

The kids insisted on a candle (which they helped blow out), and all three sang their own original versions of the birthday song. It was the sweetest moment.

They helped me open my gifts from my parents and in-laws. By "helped me", I mean I got to actually open one. The kids took care of the rest. Then they spent the rest of the night wrapping up various toys in the tissue paper and giving me more presents. After they went to sleep, Keith and I cuddled on the couch and watched NCIS by the light of the Christmas tree.

And, the night before, the miracle of all miracles....

Keith surprised me by putting in White Christmas.

And he watched the whole movie with me!

I asked if this opened the door to other musicals such as South Pacific and Grease, but apparently not. ;)

Despite a rough start in the morning, I had the BEST birthday this year. I felt so loved and special.

Breakfast with... Santa?

2011-12-11T13:41:00.001-06:00

Due to Keira's extreme fear of being near Santa, we skipped the traditional Breakfasts with Santa in the area. Instead, we headed over to my parents' house on Saturday to have donuts and see Santa... from afar.

Even Lucy the dog was excited to see Santa!

Why Frosty Made Mommy Cry

2011-12-08T09:51:00.000-06:00

As a little girl, before the age of DVD players and OnDemand Christmas shows, I waited eagerly for the one night that Frosty the Snowman or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer would be on tv. Over time, as toys were replaced with books, and books with boys, and boys with life. Frosty and Rudolph were of the past. Yet every year, my grandma would call on some random night, a few days before Christmas, to say - "Frosty's on!" I'd turn it on maybe for a few minutes, but why watch something I've seen 15 or 20 times before? So I'd move on.

Last year, both shows were on later than the kids' bedtime, so I dvr'd them. Connor would ask to watch the shows, but around February, we needed the space. He hadn't asked for awhile, so they were deleted. Out of the blue, every so often, he'd ask if we could watch one, but I told him we had to wait until Christmas. In November, when the Black Friday toy ads were abundant, he saw both movies advertised for $5 each. I had Keith pick them up, and they've been a big hit.

With all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, the cookies to make, the cards to send, the presents to buy, I admit to turning on my Christmas music a little earlier than normal. But whenever Frosty the Snowman by Jimmy Durante or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Gene Autry would come on the radio, I'd turn it off because hey, I'm tired of that song. It's an old one that is over-played on the local Christmas station.

But Christmas this year seems different. The kids are so in awe of everything Christmas. On Thanksgiving night, we drove around for almost an hour, trying to find just one more house with their Christmas lights already glowing. The kids gasped in delight at the twinkling lights, and kept their eyes "peeeeled" for more. At the Polar Express, we had to stop ourselves from shushing them - their shouts of happiness at seeing the lighted displays, running while yelling - Mommy! Daddy! More lights! It's Santa! It's penguins!

Yesterday on the way to school, Frosty came on the radio. Connor asked me to turn it up. He sang along, and knew all the words.

Just like I do.

But what was lost in me, the childlike innocence that some say can never be replaced, found it's way out of the secret place where it had been locked inside my heart.

Today, while on my way to work, the song came on the radio again. I immediately thought of Connor's sweet voice.

I turned up the radio and with the heart of a five year old, I sang along.

Toys!

2011-12-07T15:32:00.000-06:00

Today, over at Working Mommy Wednesday,

one of the writing prompts is to talk about the toys that your children are interested in.

Connor is all about Cars 2.

He wants the Cars 2 movie, Cars 2 race tracks, all of the cars from the movie, especially Finn McMissile (!), and even a new bedding set. Keith is making him a headboard, and we are going to finally get him a regular size bed, so Nana, I mean, Santa, will be getting him a new bedding set.

Keira wants princess stuff, Minnie Mouse stuff, and pink and purple stick-lip (lip gloss).

Santa will be bringing her this:

And because God chose Colin to be my difficult child, this is what Colin asked Santa for:

I'm thinking Santa may disappoint one child this Christmas.

St. Nick's Day

2011-12-07T08:40:00.000-06:00

December 6 is celebrated as St. Nicholas' Day. I grew up with the tradition of leaving our shoes by the back door, and while we were sleeping, St. Nick would stop by and leave us a small gift.

Keira's excitement over her new sparkly headband.

She won't take it off, even for bed.
She told me she would show it to her teachers at school, and they would be so happy to see it.

This year, St. Nick left my kids some Mickey Mouse ornaments and a Christmas sing along with Mickey and friends DVD. They got to watch part of it last night and loved singing along with their friends!

St. Nick also stopped by Connor's classroom at school, but he left their gifts (a snowman pencil, a candy cane, and a note about remembering the true meaning of Christmas) on their tables. What's funny is I remember being in the same grade school, and we would leave a shoe in the hallway during class. I had totally forgotten about it until Connor mentioned St. Nicholas stopped by his classroom the night before.

The Polar Express

2011-12-06T08:28:00.000-06:00

Falling behind... here is day 5...

Last Friday, we were able to go to the Polar Express. The kids loved the train and hearing the story in the old school house.

Santa was a different story. We walked into the building where Santa was, although from the hallway, you could not see him. Keira caught a glimpse, and yelled: We gotta get out of here guys!

And promptly ran out the door.

Please open your eyes

Please close your mouth

Come ON! Please turn around!

Good enough

An Amazing Concert (Day 4)

2011-12-05T10:08:00.000-06:00

For the last three years, I've been lucky enough to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra in concert.

Their music is amazing, and the show is filled with loud rock music, lasers, and fire. The fact that it's Christmas music makes it perfect.

Not only is it a wonderful show, but the words of the songs are beautiful:

Kyrie among nations

Hear as they ring through the night

Listen to the bells as they ring

Listen to the message they bring

Listen to the sound

As they sing as one voice in the night

Hoping that we'll all understand

Every dream we have's in our hands

And for every bell

May they ring all through the night

Sorry these are only cell phone pictures, I forgot the camera amidst some chaos.

Someone, not naming any names:

dumped out the full laundry hamper so he could wear it on his head right before we left.

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-04T10:30:00.000-06:00

Christmas Countdown Day 3:

We put up two trees every year. The big one goes upstairs in the family room (we live in a tri-level, and the main floor has the living room and kitchen). We may be the only people you know that only have one television, and it's located downstairs in our family room. That is where I put the smaller tree.

Day 3 of the Advent Calendar was putting up the downstairs Christmas tree.

Jingle all the way.... (day 2)

2011-12-02T09:12:00.000-06:00

I bought this ring yesterday.

Pro: It jingles.

Con: It jingles.

But I love it anyway.

(And I may have developed a slight addition

to picnik.com because they helped me make that pretty picture.)

25 Days of Christmas - Day 1

2011-12-01T08:51:00.000-06:00

Welcome to my Christmas countdown!

Above is a picture of my Advent calendar.

One of the best dollar store purchases ever!

Each day in December, the kids are able to move the candy cane to the current day. And each number has a pocket underneath, which has a slip of paper in it with a Christmas activity.

Tonight, for example, we are going to put up the small tree in the downstairs family room. (It's the room with the tv, so I like to have a small one down there so I can see it while watching tv.)

The kids had great fun decorating our big tree, and I've saved some of their ornaments to put on the small one.

The month is filled with a lot of other fun activities, such as Polar Express, making Christmas cookies for their teachers, Holiday Lights at the zoo, seeing Santa, and more.

And for fun, here is a picture of Santa's sleigh. Apparently the Three Wise Men, the innkeeper, and an Angel are also needed to help the sleigh fly.

Little Hands Helping to Decorate

2011-11-28T20:19:00.001-06:00

Here is the official picture of our Christmas tree this year.
The kids had a great time decorating the tree.

Such a great time,
making "families" of ornaments.

What they call families,
my OCD call clusters of ornaments set in a haphazard way,
so that the tree looks somewhat uneven in the ornament area.

Yet, they had the best time doing it.

So I will leave it alone.

Happiness is a tree decorated with six little hands.

I just wish I'd stop finding this in my tree.

The Secret of the (Old) Clock

2011-11-22T16:17:00.000-06:00

On Saturday night, I noticed something strange about the clock located on the ledge behind our couch:

The kids were already in bed, and by Sunday morning, I had forgotten about the missing hands.

Until dinner.

Keira: Mama, the clock is missing something. It's so scary now.
Me: Yes I know the hands are off the clock. Do you know what happened to them?
Keira: Yes, Colin took them off.
Colin: No, Keira took them off.
Keira (very dramatically and with arms flailing): I did NOT!
Me: Colin, did you take the hands off the clock?
Colin: No, Keira did.
Keira (more dramatically, more arms flailing, voice screeching): I did NOT!
Colin: I no take them off. Maybe Connor?

Twins look at Connor.

Connor: I didn't do it.
Me: Well, now the clock is broken.
Keira: That's ok mama, we take the hands and put them on. TEAMWORK! We can do teamwork and do it together.
Me: Colin, are you sure you don't know who broke the clock?
Colin: I did.
Me: You broke my clock?
Colin: Yes. And Keira.
Connor: That's ok, you just stick the hands back on the clock. That's what I did last time.
Keira: YAY! We do TEAMWORK! And stick the hands back on the clock. Connor knows how.
Me: Sigh.

Happiness is Christmas Pictures

2011-11-15T08:17:00.000-06:00

We bought a groupon over the summer for JCPenney's.

The idea was that we would get the kids' five and three year pictures done.

And then life happened.

Suddenly it was November, and the children were itching towards 5 1/2 and 3 1/2.

And there were no pictures.

We scheduled an appointment for Sunday.

Someone at work asked if we were doing holiday pictures,

and I thought - why not?

We've never had them before.

Let me just tell you the shoot was amazing. The kids, for some unknown reason when put before a professional photographer, will smile, stand still, and pose. (When I get out my camera, I have to chase them, tackle them, and then duct tape them to the floor to get them to hold still.....)

These are a few that did not make the cut,

mainly because I am using Shutterfly to make our Christmas cards.

Thanksgiving Thursday #2

2011-11-10T19:18:00.000-06:00

This week, I am thankful for:

Making pizza like Caillou

A wonderful daddy who loves to be with his children.

Fleecy jammie pants with penguins!
I love penguins.

A surprise gift to cheer me up!

What are you thankful for?

Around the Table

2011-11-09T08:31:00.000-06:00

Not really our kitchen table, but the kids last year at Thanksgiving....

I grew up in a house where we ate dinner together as a family. Every.single.night.

We continue the tradition now with our kids.

Last night's conversation:

Connor: How 'bout we do that thing where we tell you about our day?

Me: Ok, but let me sit down first.

Colin spills milk.

Connor: We have to say prayers.

The twins hurry and take a bite of food to bug their brother.

7 minutes later, a five-line prayer has been completed to Connor's satisfaction.

Me: Connor, how was your day?

Connor: It was good.

Me: What did you do today?

Connor: I played with G and F.

Me: Did you do anything else?

Connor: No.

Good to know my $300/month for Catholic tuition is going for a good cause.

Me: Colin, how was your day?

Colin: Good, I play with Keira...
Keira: No you didn't! I stayed here sick!
Colin: I played with you at Grammy's.

Keira: Oh yeah.

Colin: There was a horse. It was orange. Pee-yew! (holds nose)

Keira (laughing): Yes! So Stinky!
Me: What horse?

Both of them: Grammy's horse

Me: Grammy has a horse? In her house?

Colin: Yes.

He seems convinced.

Me: Keira, how was your day?
Keira: Good. I was sick. I went to the doctor, but not the new doctor, the old one.

Me to Keith - When did she get a new doctor?

Keith shrugs shoulders.

The conversation turns back to the stinky orange horse that lives at Grammy's house.

My kids are so weird.

♥

Thanksgiving Thursdays #1

2011-11-03T10:49:00.000-05:00

Rather than blog everyday about what I am thankful for (because seriously, I won't remember - apparently your memory goes when you have twins), I thought that throughout the month of November, I'd share my thankfulness for the week each Thursday.

Nov 1 - I'm thankful that Keith's back surgery was cancelled. And am giving proper thanks to St. Therese, who did shower me with roses in answer to my prayers. I'm also thankful that since he didn't have surgery, yet we had a scheduled day off of work together (and the kids had school), we got to spend the entire day together. Lunch at Panera, running errands, catching up on the DVR... perfect day.

Nov 2 - I'm thankful for my autumn quilt, chamomile tea, and the ability to snuggle with my husband while watching Castle. Also thankful that my husband then went out in the cold, dark night to put gas in my car.

Nov 3 - I am thankful that God blessed me with the most beautiful little girl in the world:

Apparently I am also thankful for picnik.com which allows me to edit photos in a fun way....

What are you thankful for?

Seven Years

2011-10-30T08:15:00.001-05:00

Happy Anniversary to us!

Giveaway Winners!

2011-10-28T15:02:00.001-05:00

Please email me, and I will send you the code.

Thanks!!!

Wish Lists

2011-10-27T09:44:00.000-05:00

Lately, a few of the online groups that I belong to have been discussing Christmas. When you have small children, ~~you~~ Santa starts shopping early to get the best deals. I've begun putting together the kids' Christmas lists based on things they have mentioned after looking at some of the toy catalogs that began arriving this month.

While working on theirs, I cannot help but think about what would go on my wish list this year. I've always had a list in the back of planner where I write down things that I want. Currently, I have two lists going - my fun list, filled with the things I want, and my real list, with that practical stuff I find myself needing.

I thought it would be fun to share my lists. (Plus I tried a peppermint mocha today from McD's, and now I am just a tad in the holiday spirit!)

Fun (otherwise known as Not-going-to-happen) List:

A trip to New Orleans
Kindle Fire (even though I love my Kindle second generation)
Money to buy more Kindle books
A spa day (and then a clean house with sleeping children when I got home)
A night in a fancy hotel (and then a clean house with sleeping children when I got home)
A clean house with children who sleep through the night
To see the Transiberian Orchestra again this year (because of Keith's back surgery, this looks like a no-go)
A year supply of Starbucks giftcards
Time to go to the gym (during those 6 weeks Keith is recovering and apparently cannot be left home alone with the children.)
The latest CD from Adele
itunes giftcard
New bag for work

Practicial List

A dustbuster
New living room curtains (some cute little imp may have broken/ripped my current rod/sheer curtian)
Jeans
A new comforter (which I'd get if Keith would ever drive to Carson's to pick it up)

As you can see the fun list is a lot longer than the practical one.

My helper

2011-10-25T08:27:00.000-05:00

Lately, Connor has been more helpful than usual.

Not sure if it's because of kindergarten,

or just growing up.

His new thing on the weekends is to make my bed.

By himself.

He is always so proud of his work.

And I'm happy to see him so happy.

And despite my OCD kicking in,

I leave the comforter uneven

and the single pillow sham askew

Because it's perfect the way it is.

***Don't forget - last chance to enter my giveaway for 25 free cards from Shutterfly!***

Giveaway ends soon!

2011-10-25T08:21:00.000-05:00

It's your last chance to put your name in for my giveaway:

25 free cards from Shutterfly!

Enter now:

http://lifewithconnorandthetwins.blogspot.com/2011/10/thinking-ahead-giveaway.html

Thinking ahead (& GIVEAWAY!)

2011-10-20T13:13:00.000-05:00

Now I know it's a bit early, but with Keith having back surgery soon,

and my to do list having oh, about 200 things on it,

I've started thinking about Christmas cards.

This is what I did last year:
Thank you Shutterfly!

Right now, I'm debating between these cards for this year:

Although this means we will have to work on the nice family picture......
(just another thing to stress about!)

And now for the giveaway!!!

Shutterfly has generously offered 3 of my readers 25 FREE cards each!

That's right - free cards!

And you don't have to use the code for just holiday cards because

Shutterfly also offers greeting cards and birth announcements.

Contest rules:

Mandatory entry - visit Shutterfly's Holiday Card page

and leave me a comment as to which card is your favorite.

Additional entries:

"Like" Embracing Chaos on Facebook (just click the button to your right!)
Follow Embracing Chaos on GFC
Tweet about this giveaway

The contest ends on October 25 at 12 noon CMT.

Field Trip Fun

2011-10-18T08:40:00.001-05:00

I was lucky enough to be a chaperone on Connor's first kindergarten field trip.

I got to meet his two best friends.

We painted a pumpkin, rode on a hayride, and wandered a corn maze.

I was so glad I got to go.

He had a great time, as did I.

He told me he was glad I came.

He also told me:

Mommy, you're my best friend.

Time for me

2011-10-12T08:32:00.000-05:00

Today's prompt for Working Mommy Wednesday is:

How do you carve out personal time for yourself?

I'd like to say that I excel at this every day.

But I'd be lying.

In fact, I just realized that I don't carve out personal time for me.

At all.

Sometimes I go to the gym.

Does that count?

Sometimes I run to Target at 9 p.m. at night to return something.

Does that count?

To be honest, this is the one area where I fail.

And because I don't take time for me, I feel stressed almost all the time.

I'm having heart palpitations again.

And my kidneys are leaking protein.

I'm basically falling apart because I don't take care of ME the way I should.

A pitfall of being a mother.

So let me ask you -

How should I carve out personal time for myself?

Besides leaving my family behind and booking a flight for Hawaii...........

Halloween makes me happy

2011-10-11T08:35:00.000-05:00

I wait all year to get my Halloween stuff out!

And this year is the first time that the Bride and Groom make

an appearance in five years!

When you press the button on the Groom's hand, their eyes light up (red)

and they sing "I Got You Babe."

Apparently this is frightening to small children,

but this year, the twins loves to dance around to them singing.

As long as they stay on the bookcase, of course.

We got them as an engagement present and had them

sitting on the cake table at our wedding reception.

Connor isn't falling out of the chair,
he is just "hiding".

The sign on the front door says:
A Happy Witch Lives Here
With Her Little Monsters

How can I pick just one?

2011-10-05T09:02:00.000-05:00

Today the prompt for Working Mommy Wednesday is to talk about your favorite holiday during the last quarter of the year.

It's truly hard to choose one.

Halloween of course is my favorite, because my wedding anniversary is October 30. Keith and I had a Halloween wedding, complete with jack o' lantern cake toppers:

Thanksgiving is always a fun family day, where we gather at my grandma's house to be with family:

And Christmas - how can you not love Christmas carols, decorating the tree, Midnight Mass, and

of course, the annual reading of The Night Before Christmas:

Mommy's favorite game

2011-10-04T09:15:00.001-05:00

Last weekend, Connor went to Chuck E Cheese for his first time. A fellow kindergartener was having her birthday there. Connor had a really good time. Since he was new to all these types of games, I felt it was my duty as a mother to show him Mommy's favorite game - skee-ball! He is in the green shirt. He loved it, and can't wait to go back there again.

Side note - I am not the type to just drop off my baby in a strange place, and I am very glad I stayed. Supposedly they stamp your hand so that you cannot leave without a parent whose hand is also stamped the same. Connor handed the man his LEFT hand to be stamped. On the way out, the guy barely shined the special flashlight on Connor's RIGHT hand, and then let him leave the building with me. Not too safe in my opinion.)

If I didn't work...

2011-09-29T11:13:00.002-05:00

Today over at Mama Kat's, one of the writing prompts is to write down 10 things you would do if you didn’t have to work.

Aahhhhhh..... how to narrow it down to just 10?????

Read. Everything I could. All the classics, everything on my TBR list on goodreads, and then re-read the BDB books again.
Have a completely organized house. And office. And garage. (Although that last one would probably piss my husband off.)
Take the children's literature course that my work currently offers.
Volunteer every chance I got at Connor's kindergarten.
Make dinner every night. (At this point, the job falls to Keith who gets home an hour earlier than I do.)
Have a True Blood marathon - for I've fallen behind on Season Two. I'd follow it up with a Haven marathon. And then watch Friends.
Finish my damn novel that I've been trying to finish for.ev.er.
Visit all the museums in Chicago. Because I'm still a historian at heart.
Open the Etsy shop I've been dreaming about to sell the jewelry I make.
Be tan. (One of my biggest working mom peeves is that I don't get tan in the summer because I'm in a cold office while the sun shines brightly outside. And I'm tired of looking like a ghost all summer long.)

How Mice Make Me Happy

2011-09-27T10:44:00.002-05:00

Halloween is coming soon, and we are Halloween people in this house. For 3 years, I've tried to get a theme going with the kids' costumes. And for 3 years, I've had opposition from the troops.

The first year, I was able to dress the twins as Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, but Connor insisted on being Curious George.

Last year, I tried for the Toy Story gang - Connor really wanted to be Buzz. In my stupidity, I asked the twins what they wanted. Duh. I ended up with Dora and Handy Manny. Hmpf.

This year, since the Buzz costume still fit, I was pushing for Woody and Jessie for the twins.

But Connor wants to be Phineas, of Phineas and Ferb.

And the twins - well they got ahold of a costume catalog, and want to be.... everything.

Strawberry Shortcake, the Yellow Wiggle, a pair of crayons, a dragon,

a witch, 3 different princess, you get the idea.

Until Grammy brought home two costumes from a local consignment shop.

Score!

Who I Am

2011-09-26T08:30:00.000-05:00

I am a working mother of 3, who has never made it to story time. I leave my children in the care of grandmas and daycare and kindergarten teachers. I feel like I suck today.

I can juggle coffee, an umbrella, two bags and a 3 year old, and wrangle them all into the car without spilling anything on myself. I pawn off doctor's visits on others, so that I can save my sick time for the days I have no back-up, which happens quite alot. In fact, I really haven't had sick time at work in 3 years. I usually go to work when I myself am ill so that I can save my time for when my kids need me.

I do it all without a nanny, a chef, a personal trainer, or a housekeeper. I feel the need to interject this monologue with a statement that I don't dislike people with housekeepers or nannies, I just wish I were you.

I'm a Type A minus personality, which annoys me that I can't be perfect. I'm an overachiever who makes her sister hate her at times because I strive to be the best at everything. And that actually comes naturally at times. I'm apparently full of myself as well.

I refer back to a movie line - there are 24 usable hours in a day - and I wish it were true. I wish I could jump out of bed when my alarm goes off at 5 a.m. like my husband does. Alright, he doesn't actually jump - he is rather slow-moving most of the time, but he does get right up.

I probably will never take all three kids grocery shopping on a Monday morning. Although part of me is not too sad about that one. In fact, I still get anxiety when even contemplating taking all three of them to Target on a Saturday. I wish they would all hold hands and walk beside me, instead of turning into creatures who feel this is the first time they've been let loose from their cages.

I consider sleeping in to not have to get out of bed at 6 a.m. on a Satruday, although that doesn't mean I get to sleep until then - since random children occupy my mattress, and someone's pull-up leaked, another kid is hungry and running around downstairs fighting with his father over eating in front of the tv.

I'm sad to be selling all my baby stuff this weekend. I'm sad that I had to leave my babies when they were little and go to work so that we could pay the bills and live in our not-very-big house that doesn't have enough bedrooms or space for toys. I wish we had a playroom with a door I could shut, so that I wouldn't have to stoop down and pick up 18 million mega-blocks each night. I wish my kids would listen to me when I tell them, then yell at them to put their toys away. I wish I didn't have to yell.

I have a million things floating around in my head, formed into a never-ending to do list that starts with "more coffee" and includes things that only matter to me. I wish so many things didn't matter to me. I wish I could have a date night with my husband. I wish instead of writing this I was at home, curled up on the couch with my lovelies watching Disney Junior instead of sitting at this desk, ready to start my day and wondering what my children are up to.

Just what I needed

2011-09-20T08:46:00.000-05:00

Usually the sickness and crap hits later in the year, but this time it was apparently on Sarah-time (my sister gives me a hard time about wanting to be early for things). The last two weeks have almost killed me with stress and worry. I had one kid with bronchitis and then pneumonia, one with a sinus infection, and the other with a fever virus. Keith made 2 ER trips in one week, and Friday I was diagnosed with a sinus infection and pleurisy. BTW, this is my second time getting pleurisy. And it sucks. Add in a cluttered house, a garage sale, a resale, an uncle getting diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer, and my grandma getting two blood transfusions, and I am struggling not to book a one-way plane ticket to an island in the Caribbean.

(Wait, is hurricane season over yet?)

Anyway, last night was the first time in over a week that it was quiet and calm. (Except for checking on Connor who had a slight fever during dinner - because hey, why would I ever expect to go one week without a sick kid?)

No ER trips, no late night grocery store runs, no laundry.

Just me, Keith and this:

Actually this picture is quite old.
Picture some milk stains on the couch,
a few (hundred) toys strewn around the floor,
the table is not anymore because I have visions of Colin jumping off my glass table top,
you get the idea...

Oh, and this of course:

LOVE LOVE LOVE this show.
(And of course, she remembers. Damn it, they better get together this season.)

Two and a half men was hilarious as well.

And even though I went to bed a little late, the kids slept all night, which meant, so did I.

A little bit of normalcy is quite nice.

I could get used to it.

But I won't.

Cold and flu season just got started. ;)

2011 Fall Bucket List

2011-09-19T13:19:00.000-05:00

NICU Reunion Picnic
Pumpkin patch with Aunt Ann, Lexi and Baby Reid (Nana and Bumpa can come too!)
Boo at the Zoo!
Chicago Monster Dash 5K (the first 5K Keith and I are doing together)
Decorate pumpkins
Purge! (The twins club resale is coming up!)
Read 7 books for reading challenge
Get house/yard/garage in order by Nov 1 (Keith's back surgery)
Annual Halloween party
Meal planning (seriously this is always on my seasonal bucket lists, and I fail miserably at it each time)
Thanksgiving month-long activity for kids (similiar to our Advent calendar)

Parenting issues

2011-09-12T13:13:00.000-05:00

I'm having the hardest time disciplining Keira. No matter how naughty she is being, or how much trouble she is getting into (like say, for spilling the entire liquid contents of her brother's nebulizer all over my couch...), it's really hard to yell at her.

Not that I yell, because that's a parenting thing we are NEVER supposed to do.

Yeah, sure.

But lately, every time she gets in trouble, as I am in the middle of sending to her to time-out (of which she refuses to go into) or removing her from the situation, she interrupts me with this:

Mommy, you are my best friend.

And suddenly, I forget what I am ~~yelling~~ saying, and have to stop and hug her.

Are 3 year old supposed to be this manipulative?

Giveaway Reminder!

2011-09-09T08:59:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to check out my My Memories Suite giveaway! (It ends Saturday!)

As an added bonus to my blog readers, My Memories is also offering a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - a $20 value! Use this code: STMMMS71819

Good luck!

My Memories Suite Review and GIVEAWAY!

2011-09-07T20:31:00.001-05:00

Recently I was contacted by MyMemories.com asking if I would be interested in checking out their digital scrapbooking software. Of course, my answer was YES! I love scrapbooking, but am finding it hard to actually sit down and do it. By the time I pull out all my supplies, something else (like non-napping children) comes up. The idea of trying a digital scrapbooking software is very appealing to me because all of my "supplies" are right there on the computer!

I did a lot of playing with my memories suite over the weekend, and I wanted to share my favorite page so far. (Favorite, and also the piece that makes me tear up a little, since it has to do with Connor growing up).

Let me tell you, it was so easy!

The choices of backgrounds, text, and other fun things are awesome.

Oh, and I made this one too:

My Memories Suite allows you to add mats around the edge of photos,

put numerous text blocks in, and change the layout of your pictures any way you want.

My Memories Suite has graciously offered to give one of my readers

their very own copy of the digital scrapbooking software.

To enter the giveaway, you must visit the My Memories website. Choose your favorite digital paper pack or layout, then come back and leave me a comment on which one you chose.

Additional entries are available as well:

Become a GFC follower or like Embracing Chaos on facebook
Like My Memories on facebook
Check them out on Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite

Just leave a separate comment for each item.

You have until Saturday, September 10 at noon to enter the giveaway.

Happy scrapbooking!

Saying goodbye

2011-09-06T10:02:00.000-05:00

It's always hard saying goodbye.
Especially when you are not ready to let go.
For the past few weeks, it's just been me hanging on,
hoping that this wasn't the end.
Despite begging, pleading, and praying
You left.
One day you were there,
and the next, you had disappeared.

Did you ask me?
Did you consider my feelings?

No, you just up and turned your back on me.
And appear to be gone
Forever.

NAPTIME!
I miss you.
Please please please
come back.

I can't take it anymore.
I need you so that I can actually get work done around the house on the weekends.
Or just so I can lay on the couch and read my kindle.
No, really I mean laundry and housework.

Now this is all I have left:

Why yes, they moved her bed to the middle of the room.

Every book they own.

Some sort of escape mission?

I'm left with this mess.
And two crying, whining, overly-tired 3 year olds from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Honestly, they only cry and whine from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
But it still feels like 13 hours, not 6.

A trip to the zoo

2011-08-30T10:22:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, we planned to go to the zoo with my sister and her kids. But one of them came down with pneumonia, so it was just the five of us. We usually never go with just us, it's always my sister, or Keith's sister - sometimes the grandparents come too.

It was a really slow day there, no crowds. We hit up the Children's Zoo, which thankfully had a cow, since all Colin wanted to see was a cow. Connor wanted to see the dolphins and the penguins, and Keira was content with most things.

Colin was still sick (turns out he has bronchitis), so we didn't stay for more than a couple of hours. We stopped for ice cream before hitting up the merry-go-round.

It was the perfect day.

It's the time...

2011-08-29T09:14:00.000-05:00

...of the season....

Ok, now I will have that Zombies' song in my head the rest of the day.

It's still August, but with Connor in kindergarten,

the twins in 3 days of preschool at our daycare center,

and students back on the college campus where I work,

it feels like fall to me.

(The chilly temps in the morning don't help.)

It's all I can do not to stop at Starbucks and ask for a pumpkin latte....

We haven't even had our Labor Day picnic yet,

and I'm dreaming about jeans and my sweater boots.

The 90 degree temperature scheduled for Thursday and Friday

will squash those dreams as I complain about how hot I am though.

But I'm ready.

I've got my magazines and pinterest,

and my head is swimming with

decoration ideas for the house and yard.

*Photos from Midwest Living magazine.

Five Question Friday

2011-08-26T10:02:00.000-05:00

So my friend Tima tried this today, and now I am going to copy her. ;)

1. Did you make any fun purchases this week?

Not yet! But tomorrow I am hitting up Carters to buy jeans for Keira, and Halloween pajamas! (Remember we are Halloween people.)

2. If you could go to any musical concert, what would it be?

Pearl Jam's 20th Anniversary concert with the Strokes, Queens of the Stone Age, and Mudhoney. Two days of Pearl Jam at Alpine Valley - yes please! Plus it would be awesome because that is where I first saw them live. However, lack of funds and no babysitters mean no concert in real life.

3. What is your least fav/ most fav house chore?

Least fave would be dishes, so Keith does them. Most favorite chore would be dusting/vacuuming/reorganizing.

4. Would you prefer new appliances or clothes?

I'd have to go with clothes.

5. Miracle Whip or Mayo?

I love Miracle Whip, but the hubby doesn't. Since he does the grocery shopping, it's all mayo at our house.

Just Me

2011-08-25T08:46:00.000-05:00

The last challenge.

A picture of me.

I hate pictures of me.

There are certain things about me that

I don't like and wish were different.

When I look in the mirror,

sometimes I think I look pretty,

but every picture of myself

makes me feel unpretty.

But I have to finish the challenge.

So here it is:
(and of course, being a cell phone pic, it's grainy)

Keira-isms

2011-08-24T08:32:00.000-05:00

Standing at the bedroom doorway (which is blocked by a gate because they are supposed to be in bed): Mommy! Colin is being so naughty! He won't stay in his bed even though it's bedtime!

Mommy, you have a ring on.
Yes, it's my wedding ring. Daddy gave it to me when we got married.
I love it. I want a wedding ring. When I a big girl.
I get to wear red heels and a shiny bracelet.
(We went to a wedding a couple weeks ago and she loved seeing me dressed up. Apparently she thinks it was my wedding.)

Seeing my red heels: I love these! Thank you for getting them for me!

Mommy, when you at home, I don't wear your sandals. But when you are not here, I wear them ok? Even though you tell me not too.

While helping my mom do the dishes (my mom said it was like she was talking to them):
Nana does the dishes.
Daddy does the dishes.
Mommy just doesn't know how to do dishes.

Hmpf.

Happiness is a happy kindergartener

2011-08-23T09:16:00.000-05:00

I feel kind of old saying I'm a mom to a kindergartener. But I am. And I didn't cry last week on day one.

Although I teared up a bit as I walked out of the gym and back to my car, all the while picturing my ~~baby~~ five year old, sitting on the carpet in his new classroom.

He comes home everyday and is happy. He wants to go back the next day. He decides what he wants for lunch - and he actually eats it! (Although I wish he'd eat more than french toast and plain pasta, but I'm not complaining.)

He got his first homework last night. It's due Thurday, so we will work on it tonight.

He is wearing a belt for the first time, so we are practicing buckling it. And tucking in our shirt. He likes to play on the playground, is learning some songs, and sits with boys and girls.

He is my little baby all grown-up. And I couldn't be happier. (But I still find myself tearing up a bit.)

The Age of Innocence

2011-08-22T10:28:00.000-05:00

It didn't hit me until I was in the car, alone. The kids were with their grandmas or at kindergarten. I looked up at the sky, and noticed for the first time how the cerulean blue was dotted with balls of fluffy white clouds. I was struck by the beauty and wonder of it.

The same beauty and wonder that Connor had noticed about 30 minutes before when I was trying to hurry them along, filled with frustration and anxiety over being late. It is the first day of school where I work. If you aren't early, you are stuck in the traffic of 100 students who are late for their first day of class, trying to find a parking spot. You have to park far away from your building. It is Connor's third day of kindergarten, and the bell rings at 7:50 for the kids to line up and head to their classrooms. His lunch was not made (had to warm the pasta this morning), my salad dressing was not ready, my hair was not done, and my pajama shirt was still on. Mommy this, and Mommy that was all I heard.

Despite two other adults being present for most of the morning, the children have an aversion to someone other than their mommy doing things for them. I had to iron a shirt (I dyed my hair instead of folding laundry last night), make Connor his oatmeal, take Keira potty, find Colin's bear, pack a backpack, get Connor dressed, fix Keira's skirt, place Colin's lovey directly on his pillow in his OCD way, find my heels which Keira was walking around wearing, and try to make it out the door by 7:05. Which, by the way, did not happen.

All the while this was going on, Connor was talking about how he saw Pluto in the clouds.

As I took Colin to the car, the other two (and Grammy) followed us to look at the clouds.

Lots and lots of fluffy whiteness speckled the sky is shapes and figures to be imagined.

Yet I didn't see a damn one.

A mommy fail.

Too busy wrapped in my head to notice what was really going on around me. I feel almost ashamed to post this because I am a disappointment. Why wasn't I holding their hands and pointing out what I saw to them? Why wasn't I laughing with them when Keira said she saw Minnie, and Connor saw Pluto and Mickey? Why wasn't I holding Colin up, explaining to him what was going on? Why am I always so hard on myself to be the perfect mom who never runs late and meal plans and has a perfectly organized home with no toys out of place?

I wish I had a great answer to sum up this post. But I'm tapped out.

I'll just wait for tomorrow morning, admist the chaos and clouds, and despite whatever is going on, stop and look up at the sky with my children.

2011-08-19T10:09:00.000-05:00

Two songs
Harder than it seems

My tastes range from Neil Young, Creedence Clearwater Revivial, Jefferson Airplane, most bands that played Woodstock, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Marilyn Manson, Pantera, Slipknot, Pearl Jam, Jeff Buckley, Garbage, Poe, Everlast, Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, Counting Crows, Phish, Rusted Root, Portishead, Sarah McLachlan, Eminem, Breaking Benjamin, Rise Against, Disturbed, Bush, Dave Navarro, Five Finger Death Punch, and currently, as I hang my head in shame, Pitbull and Katy Perry. (The ending of Chicago's best alternative rock station has left a hole on my radio that is now filled with a station that plays, gulp, pop music.)

Practically impossible to pick what song I wanted by Pearl Jam

but I went with Rearviewmirror

Somewhere over the Rainbow

by Israel Kamakawiwo Ole'

because to me,

it's the most beautiful song I've ever heard

3 Films

2011-08-17T15:56:00.000-05:00

Empire Records

Reality Bites

Clue

Favorite Friday

2011-08-12T07:54:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd try something a little different with my blog - Favorite Friday!

The rules are simple - it's something I like, something that I recommend,

and something that can be helpful for a busy mom.

Today it's my Clinique lip gloss/lipstick set. (Sorry for the blurry picture.)

The lip gloss is Air Kiss. The lipstick is Think Bronze.

The combo is amazing!

It came as a freebie when I bought my Almost Powder Makeup awhile back.

The colors really seem to complement my skin tone, and they can be worn alone or together.

I'm not a big fan of lip gloss because it usually leaves my lips sticky, but Clinique's version is very light, not sticky, and long-lasting! It stays on through coffee, lunch, and even numerous kisses to my kids!

What's one of your favorite things from this week?

4 books I'll love forever...

2011-08-09T08:02:00.000-05:00

When I was in grade school, I read all of the Nancy Drew books.
Original ones, not the newer ones.

Of course, Wrath has to be on my list.

One of my all-time favorite mysteries

It cemented my love for New Orleans

5 Foods.

2011-08-05T08:19:00.000-05:00

Six Places to See

2011-08-04T11:24:00.000-05:00

Duh

Greece seems very pretty

Hawaii.
Because my family left me behind when they went.
During a blizzard back in the midwest.

Because if I am going run a marathon,
I want to go big.
South Africa.
(And then Tima can visit from Zambia.)

I have always wanted to see the countryside of Dracula.
Yeah, I'm weird like that.

I cannot wait to take the kids here.
Especially Connor, who just loves Mickey!

A Wiggly Birthday Party

2011-08-02T08:54:00.000-05:00

Connor and Keira like the Wiggles. Colin LOVES them. I was able to track down bedding and wall decor for his room, as well as a sleeping bag (thank you twins' club resale). But his favorite thing is to watch them on tv and dance to them. Well that was his favorite thing until he saw them live on Saturday.

When the music first started, it scared Keira. She kept asking my mom to take her back to the car.

He was in awe and so happy the entire time. He didn't want to leave when it was over.

He loved dancing in the aisles!

She did warm up, once she realized that her brothers and cousin were dancing up front.

It gives me such great joy to see them so happy.

And it makes the little things, like Colin peeing all over me, worth it.

Well, almost worth it. ;)

How to explain taxidermy to your kids

2011-08-01T15:47:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, the family went to Cracker Barrel after we saw the Wiggles in Chicago. After we were seated, the kids started asking about the "reindeer" on the wall.

Comments like this came to mind:

Kids, that's just a floating head....
Well, first you shoot the deer.....
Damn it.

We settled on this: the front of the deer is in here. The back of the deer is in the kitchen.

It worked great until Keira wanted to go to the kitchen to see the back of the deer.

Damn it.

7 wants

2011-07-28T09:39:00.000-05:00

Today's prompt is 7 wants.

This is an easy list.

And a pretty expensive one, which is why it's only a list.

One of each please.

In my house

To be sitting here

Eating these...

Watermelon Seeds MEET-UP!!!

Vintage Native American Turquoise Jewelry
(I'd be happy to take any off your hands!)

Home office that looks like this
(Come on Keith, get to work!)

8 things that scare me...

2011-07-27T11:18:00.000-05:00

I'm splitting my fears into two categories:

Rational fears, and then the ones that make my husband call me weird.

Death. Kids, husband, family, friends, myself. One of my biggest fears.
Car accidents. Which lead to death.
(See item one.)
That something bad will happen to my kids.
(I still check them at night to see if they are breathing, and plan to do that forever.)
That someone will rob our house.
Or that it will catch fire while we aren't home, and everything is lost.
That I will be kidnapped in a parking lot
and then raped, mutilated, and killed by a serial killer.
(This may stem from reading way too many serial killer biographies
and true life FBI profiler books in high school.
Maybe.)
Spiders. I actually consider this a rational fear. My husband does not.
(Although I have a feeling it's because he is actually afraid of spiders.
When I ask him to come kill one, it takes him for.ev.er.)
Bugs and creepy crawly things in general.
(One time there was a huge centipede on our wall. Like cockroach size huge.
And we get earwigs and silverfish in our lower level family room.
Freaks me out.)
That the back door is not locked when we go to sleep.
Again, rational to me, weird to my husband.
(Something about me being OCD and checking the deadbolt 3 times....And then, when we are in bed, he plays a mean trick on me by saying,
"Are you sure the back door is locked?"
Knowing that I just HAVE to get out of bed and check again.
Ok, maybe that one isn't so rational...)

Celebrating 86 years...

2011-07-26T07:30:00.000-05:00

Happiness is being able to celebrate your grandma's 86th birthday... with great-grandkids:

She says they are the only reason she is still here. ♥

Blip blops

2011-07-20T08:04:00.000-05:00

These are Keira's new best friends. She refuses to take them off, except for when she goes in the pool. Yes that means she wears them to bed. (I take them off once she is asleep. She immediately asks for them when she gets up.)

When I packed her regular shoes for Nana's, in case they go to the park, she responded with - "I wear my blip blops ok. I just not run at the park. I will walk slowly."

But Keira, you can't wear them to school, they will get dirty on the playground.

"I wear my blip blops ok. I just sit at the playground and not get them dirty."

Alrighty then.

9 things I love

2011-07-19T14:31:00.001-05:00

Without this guy...

I wouldn't have these guys...

Tattoos!

New Orleans

Running

Funky silver jewelry

Needs no explanation

Yum!

Purses!
Especially my new summer one!

10 Day You Challenge

2011-07-18T11:38:00.000-05:00

I'm so tired (emotionally). And unmotivated. I'd like nothing more than to sit at home, in the sun (because I seriously need to add some more color to these legs), and read my books. However, it's not going to happen. Probably ever, it seems. Anyway, my lack of motivation is leading to lack of blogging. Well that, and the fact that I'm doing overtime because I so swamped at work. July's staycation turned into a quarrantine as we were all felled by the stomach flu. I could go on, but I'm working on my PMA.

When I found this challenge on a couple other blogs I read, I thought it might be fun. And would give me an excuse to blog a little more.

Ten Secrets About Me

I could eat McDonald's every day and not gain weight.
I never ever (ever) wanted twins because I knew they'd be a lot of work. And I was right. ;)
I've only been drunk once in my life.
I'm really good at being fake. So people that I can't stand will never know that I can't stand them because I totally act like I like them.
If I could go back and do college over again, I'd major in English.
I think people who run marathons and do triathlons are crazy to put themselves through that much training. {Although I'm married to one of those people and super-proud of him.... ;) And I've got so much respect/awe for Nicole!}
My dad lied to a used-cars salesman to get a cheaper deal on my p.o.s. car I had in college. He told them I walked with a limp. So I did when we went to go get the car.
I cheated on boyfriend C with boyfriend N for two weeks. And never felt guilty about it.
If I was the type to throw caution to the wind, #9 would be that one time I did that one thing in a movie theater. But I'm not. So I don't know what you are talking about.
I teared up when Q101 went off the air because it was the end of an era. That station played the soundtrack of my youth, and while I love what my future became, it's always sad to say goodbye to an old friend.

She gets her stubborness from her father....

2011-07-15T14:00:00.000-05:00

The thing about Keira is that you can't argue with her.

(Well you can, but it involves a lot of tears, crying, and screaming. So it's just easier to go with it.)

As you can see here, if Keira wants to take a nap when it's 85 degrees out in a sweater, with two headbands, in an outfit she picked out herself, that's what she does:

I get hot just looking at her.

Later that day, she tried to wear the sweater to the park.

I told her it was too hot.

She said: I need my sweater because I am soooo hot.

Here she is wearing a pair of red glittery Mary Janes, two sizes too big.

She told me she was wearing them to bed,

and that she would wear them to school.

I told her, you can't wear them to school because they will get dirty when you go out to play.

She responded: I will just sit inside while they go to play.

I decided her teacher can fight that battle alone.

**********************************

Keira needs tubes again.

So on Monday, we set off for the surgery center to have one tube put back in,

and the other tube replaced (the current one is just hanging out, not doing anything)

Just another day...

Togetherness

2011-07-12T08:29:00.000-05:00

Happiness is catching all three children playing quietly together.

Although, literally 20 seconds after the shutter closed on the camera, someone hit someone else, and a toy was thrown at one's head. Screaming ensued, and all were sent to their rooms. Being that they don't listen, they instead spread out to different areas of the living room, crying and wailing about their mean mommy who took away the fairy treehouse for no particular reason at all.

Such is life. ;)

Happy 5th Birthday

2011-07-08T07:01:00.005-05:00

Five years ago today

my life was blessed beyond belief

with the birth of my first son, Connor James.

He is my light,

my happiness,

and my reason to smile.

Connor James, born July 8, 2006 at 7:01 a.m.

2007

2011

Happy Birthday baby boy!

Mommy loves you with all her heart.

Birthday Party fun

2011-07-06T09:55:00.000-05:00

We had big plans for our big birthday bash on July 4. However, Colin woke up the night before, with the stomach flu. So... we canceled the party. Big bummer.

I had already decorated, and Keith had to pick up the cake early Monday morning.

Keith took Connor and Keira to his parents' house, where they did some fun things. Colin laid around on the living room floor, watching Wiggles and napping the day away. I did a million loads of laundry in hot water and walked around with Lysol wipes.

Grammy, Gramps, and Aunt Diana came over anyway to help us eat up some of the food we had. My mom came over later for cake (my dad was sick too).

In the kids' eyes, it was the best party. Colin perked up in the afternoon, and we got the pool set up that Aunt Susie gave them for their birthday. They had cake and fun presents.

Only mommy was sad because it wasn't the party she had planned. And there is LOTS of leftover cake.

But the kids enjoyed themselves, and that's the important part.

A serious post

2011-06-29T13:00:00.002-05:00

To me, blogging is fun. I enjoy writing, and I enjoy making people laugh - which is what I hope happens when you read my blog.

However, the world isn't perfect, and sometimes tragic things happen. I live in the midwest. Just last week, about 20 minutes after we put the kids to bed, the tornado siren in our neighborhood went off. It was the first time since we moved into our house 5 years ago. Keith ran up to grab the kids, I grabbed some blankets and our lanterns, and we sat in our crawl space (no real basement, we live in a tri-level) as we waitied to see what would happen.

Thankfully, the sirens ended, and the storm passed. (Not before causing an early end to the Earth, Wind and Fire concert going on in Chicago, which I thought was rather ironic.)

For anyone who has read the news recently, you know that happy endings aren't always the case.

April and May of 2011 is permanently marked with Americans experiencing the largest tornado outbreak in US history. The devastation to individuals and families in the Southeast is unspeakable and life shattering, with a price tag of over $5 billion. Our hearts are heavy for those who have suffered so much tragic loss.

Now, I am not about advertising things on this blog, unless it's something I really believe in, or feel that my readers could benefit from. Back in January, my twins club held a magazine fundraiser. To support the club, I chose to order All You magazine. I'm so glad that I did. It has great articles for moms, and women in general. And the bonus, it has coupons throughout each issue! My husband does the grocery shopping, but it's my job to meal plan. Each issue also includes a week's worth of meals, with a complete grocery list as to all the items you need.

Click 4 Hope and All You magazine have partnered together for this great deal - 30 issues for $25. With each subscription, $10 will be donated to tornado victims as they rebuild their lives. The group goal is $30,000, and as of today, $17,152.40 has been raised.

If you are interested in helping tornado victims as well as getting a great magazine at the same time, please click on my fundraising page - http://efundraisingonline.com/click4hope/EmbracingChaos.

A memory I'm trying to block out...

2011-06-29T09:22:00.001-05:00

Part of me cringes at the thought of sharing this story with the world. The other part feels, hey that's life.

On Sunday, after our church picnic, we headed back to the house to play in our little pool. Colin is working on life without diapers, so he was in his swim trunks with no pull-up. They were happy getting wet and playing in the pool.

Colin was standing on the cement patio (pool was in the grass, I was on the deck). He said he had to go potty. Keith had walked up at that point, and seeing Colin soaking wet, with grass and dirt up and down his legs, said the words that changed our lives forever: Just pee out here.

Before I had time to sigh, I hear Connor say, Great idea Daddy! In a flash, he is out of the pool and standing in the grass, trunks down, peeing. At the same time, Colin pees through his swim trunks. On the cement. Keith tells him to go in the grass, so he does. Strips his shorts off and pees again.

For some reason (perhaps having something to do with the fact that I feel my children are out to get me), one child cannot be naked without the other two joining in. Connor sees Colin naked, so he takes off his trunks. Keira, not to be the only one clothed, strips off her suit.

Fast forward five minutes - I finally have Connor and Colin back in their trunks.

Suddenly I hear Keith yell, Keira! NO!

There is my beautiful (naked) daughter.

Peeing on the grass.

Needless to say, family fun time in the pool was over. ;)

Happiness is turning 3

2011-06-28T08:31:00.000-05:00

I can't get over the fact that the twins turned 3 on Saturday.

They got those birthday crowns on Thursday at their school party.
Keira refused to take hers off except to sleep.
For 3 days.

We went to zoo, and spent hours having fun there.

Then we came home for birthday cake with family.

While we sang 'Happy Birthday', they giggled and laughed with each other.

Happiness is seeing my babies growing up.

Three years ago today

2011-06-25T08:00:00.002-05:00

Double the pleasure

Double the fun

Double the chaos

with 2, not just 1.

Double the treasure

It's only just begun

The joy they bring together

will never be outdone.

Author: Gina Marie Lauchner

June 25, 2008

3 years old today

Happy Birthday to my double blessings!!!

Summer Fun at Nana and Bumpa's

2011-06-21T08:11:00.000-05:00

I have so many fun, happy memories

of playing at both of my grandparents' houses

every summer when I was young.

I'm so glad that my children get to make their own memories.

This was on Father's Day at Nana and Bumpa's (my parents).

Selective Memory

2011-06-20T11:52:00.000-05:00

Perhaps it's because I work full-time, but I don't normally get to go out on the weekends alone with all three children. Usually we end up going somewhere as a family, but more often than not, Keith or I go alone, while the other parent stays home with the threenados. It's makes shopping faster and more efficient, gives us a little break to get out of the house, and gives the other parent some alone time with the kiddos.

Two weekends ago, Keith was going to Meijer after I returned having lab work done. For some reason, perhaps blood loss, I suggested that we all go. I believe I said something along the lines of, "It will be fun!" Keith didn't feel the need to bring the double stroller with us, so we put the twins in the shopping cart, and Connor walked beside us. Things started to go downhill minutes after our arrival. We play "baby" at home, and the twins like to burp the baby while yelling "BURP". They thought this would be fun in the middle of the cereal aisle. Fast forward to the end of our very looooong shopping trip, Keith chose the self-checkout aisle. We had picked up some Smirnoff Ice Cranberry Lime drinks (which based on the shopping experience should have been drank during our time at Meijer), and we had to wait for the cashier to come check an ID. At that point, the twins were out of the cart, Keith was packing our reusable bags, the children were jumping up and down in the aisle, and I was experiencing one of the many hot flashes that results from being utterly embarrassed. The people behind us in line, who had no children of their own, were giving us that look. You know - "oh, they are those parents".

Keith now refers to that day as the day Sarah lost her mind.

Last week, the weather was beautiful, the kids were playing outside, and it was time for supper. So I suggested that we eat out on our deck.

Keith now refers to that as the second time this month Sarah lost her mind.

I keep explaining, it's really about making memories (and oh, what memories they are), not necessarily the stress one goes through during the actual event. Or the fact that Colin refuses to sit down at the picnic table, and would rather stand on the bench while he eats his zucchini.

Just like our phenomenal trip to Meijer, I'm just going to pretend last week's outdoor dining experience did not involve one of the twins jumping off the deck, or another child trying to feed the birds some expensive steak. We will try it again this week, provided the rain actually ever stops. Because the point of summer is to make memories.

What makes me tick...

2011-06-15T08:17:00.000-05:00

Today over at Work, Wife, Mom.... Life!,

Julia listed her top 5 go-to things,

so I thought I'd play along as well.

My go-to drink is a large McDonalds coke!

My go-to t.v. show when I need a good laugh

My go-to book when I want to lose myself in a haunting mystery

My go-to way to unwind and be free...

My go-to vacation spot. I LOVE New Orleans!

Smile after smile

2011-06-14T07:51:00.000-05:00

Life has not been the best yesterday. (See yesterday's post for an example.) Yesterday was supposed to be a sick day while I recover from Friday, but I just sit at a desk at work, so I came in for a half day. The afternoon was full of things that made me laugh, smile, and just be happy.

Happy:

I love the BDB. And I love Wrath.
A surprise yesterday was finding this shirt in the mail,
a gift from one of my amazing mommy friends.

Smile:

Keith knew I was coming home early, so he stopped at home to make me lunch.

Laugh:

On the way home, I stopped at McD's for a large coke (which is happiness in itself.)
Ahead of me in the drive-up was this "car".
I'm guessing these are two bored high schoolers on a dare.
They did get what they ordered though,
since technically they "drove" up to the window.

I laughed all the way home.

B is for breakdown

2011-06-13T09:23:00.000-05:00

After the week I had (crazy work, naughty children, needles, and a hospital stay), and the week that is coming up (crazy work, I'm assuming naughty children, hopefully no more effin needles, and waiting for results from the doc), I've decided that I will be allowing myself one breakdown per day.

As I type this sitting in my hospital room (thank heavens for iPhones!), I have decided that the breakdowns will not consist solely of tears, but also a little shopping therapy, book reading while the house lies in ruins (ok it's not that messy, but maybe I will just leave the laundry alone for awhile), ice cream before bed, and at least one sick day from work.

Plus lots and lots of cuddles with the kids since I missed out on a whole day-and-a-half worth of them.

*Written 6/11/11* Apparently posting to your blog is not something you can do from your iphone.

Summer fun - Happiness Week 14

2011-06-07T08:29:00.001-05:00

The plan was to just cool the kids down with the hose.

But suddenly, Keira had stripped down.

Colin noticed.

Then Connor saw what his brother and sister looked like.

Oh well.

The shrieks and giggles were well worth it.

<
src="http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/ae172/leighbug_photo/thumbnail_camera_ads-6-3.jpg" />

Then and Now

2011-06-05T19:24:00.000-05:00

I'm the kind of mom that is sad over the little things. As my soon-to-be five year old heads off to kindergarten, and the twins turn three later this month, I am sad that my babies are no longer babies. While I am excited to see what the future holds, there is a place in my heart that cries as I imagine a life with no more babies (and no more new babies).

One of the things you do as your children get older is get rid of those things that they are too big to play with. Connor received a swing/slide castle for his first birthday, and it's seen a lot of play in our backyard. Tonight, as I watched it drive off to a new home with three little "babies", my eyes were filled with tears of happy memories of time spent in the backyard.

While I know there are a multitude of more memories to be made, I have a hard time looking forward tonight. I'm thankful for the wonderful times we were blessed to have, and I pray that there will be many more years of such sweet thoughts.

July 8, 2007 - One Year Old

May 31, 2011 - 4 years, 10 months old

A Family Lives Here

2011-06-03T08:13:00.001-05:00

Please note the white "lockers".
Courtesy of my super-husband, Keith, who builds me whatever I want.

The orange and yellow paintings are monarch butterflies.

You can tell a family lives here.

No fancy artwork,

Just pieces that were carefully

crafted and designed by my 3 artists.

And I wouldn't ever want to change a thing.

Make sure you check out Queen Scarlett's very fun Friday: A Family Lives Here.

Also participating in the Welcome to the Weekend blog hop!

A talent,a flaw, or just dumb-luck?

2011-06-02T14:18:00.000-05:00

Today over at Mama Kat's, one of the writing prompts is to

describe a talent or flaw that seems to be in your genes.

I'm not sure how you would classify this - talent, flaw, or just an uncanny ability -

but I attract weirdness.

And by weird,

I mean, what the eff, how on earth did that just happen???

Example #1- I was on a college campus years ago, walking on a somewhat rainy day. The campus was mostly deserted at that time. A kid, maybe about 12-13 was walking towards me. He kept looking at me weirdly, but whatever. After he passed me, he grabbed my butt. (I hit him with my umbrella.)

Example #2 - Went out with a guy I worked with. My mom kept saying, just give him a chance. My advice, never listen to your mother. The entire date was just one big comical error. At the end, we ended up at Steak and Shake. I excused myself to use the restroom. He said, and I quote: "Number one or number two?" And yet, he was still shocked when I refused to kiss him at the end of the 'date'.

Example #3 - I went to get gas at a gas station near my house (when I was still living with my parents). I hadn't been to that particular station in awhile. The attendant was of Middle Eastern descent, and always quite chatty. Liked to spend a lot of time looking about six inches down from my chin while we spoke too. As I went to the counter to pay for my gas, he remarked how it had been a long time since he had seen me. Then he leaned over the counter. AND KISSED ME.

So you see, the talent that I have in my genes is to attract weirdos.

My dad's talent?

Winning money almost every time he goes to the casino or buys a lottery ticket.

I think I got screwed.

Summer Bucket List - 2011

2011-06-01T08:29:00.000-05:00

Last summer, I made my bucket list for the season. I'm happy to say that quite a lot was crossed by the end of August. Today, over at Julia's, one of the Working Mommy Wednesday prompts is to list your top 5 goals for the summer. My sister calls me an overachiever, so keeping that in mind, I listed more than 5. ;)

Read at least 10 books. (Preferably on my deck, in my new Adirondack chair.)
Lots of water play with the kids. (Memorial Day had 3 partially clothed children and 2 very nekkid twins running around my yard, as Daddy/Uncle Keith sprayed them with the hose.)
Lots of zoo visits!
Be a better gardener.
Finish all scrapbooks that are just hanging around in my office. (Um.... 2009 and 2010. Also, I'm pretty sure Colin's baby book is mostly unfinished.)
Plan one outing per weekend with just one child.
New job. (Okay, this is something I have no control over, but I'm applying anyway. We'll see what happens.)
Start tagging/complete tagging for the fall resale. (Rather than wait until two weeks before and live in a frenzied state of tagging.......)
Clean out crawl space. (This goes along with the tagging.)
Fix the six screens that are ripped. (Well, this is really a Keith thing.)
Catch up on all magazines. (Again, something to do while sitting in my new chair, while watching the children play in the kiddie pool/water.)
Evening walks. (We did this every night two summers ago. Last year was tough because the twins were likely to fall asleep in their stroller, but this year, everyone has new bikes!)

What's on your summer bucket list?

Post it and link up with:

Happiness - Week 13

2011-05-31T08:31:00.001-05:00

I don't know what made me happier last night.

Being able to sit outside on my new chair
and enjoy the summer night:

Smirnoff Raspberry Ice and J.R. Ward's Covet

OR....

the fact that these two non-napping almost three year olds
were finally asleep:

They are lucky they're cute....

2011-05-27T08:38:00.000-05:00

It's not that I don't like doing art projects with the kids. It's more like, I don't care for the clean up.

I had the paint and the paper ready. Took off their shirts for good measure.

I turned away for about five seconds.

Only FIVE seconds.

And then I heard the words that haunt me to this day:

Look, Mommy! We can paint our bodies!

Colin

Connor

The purple princess

By the way, someone painted the wall too.

Confession

2011-05-26T08:43:00.001-05:00

I had big plans for a cute post today. But instead, I'm going to ramble on about me. (Shocking, I know.)

I can't do it all. But I feel like I am killing myself trying.

I can't do it all, but I have to according to society's standards. WTF? I feel guilty because society deems that a working mother has to be a super mother? Sure I like the title, but I spent half the morning in tears, trying to be "super". And now I question if I am being too honest on my blog because it's no longer an anonymous thing, but people I know read it. And I wonder, what will they think of me?

I remind myself, that I don't care what people think. I do things for me. But still that nagging feeling of vulnerability creeps out and I am back to that place I don't like to be in. I try to count my blessings, but then I think - why hasn't the damn doctor's office called me yet? My house is a disaster, and we are having a picnic on Monday. Keith wonders why I stress over how the house looks when it's just family coming over, and he doesn't get that my house is a reflection of me. (At least to me it is.) Work is out of control busy, I'm applying for a new job, and tomorrow is Connor's last day in his preschool class, and I've yet to get teacher's gifts. I suck. Perhaps today would be a better day if the rain wasn't giving me a headache similar to a knife being stabbed into my left temple, who knows?

I keep repeating the mantra - I strive on chaos. I strive on chaos.

But I don't want to. I want to stay in bed all day and read my book while the imaginary housekeeper picks up everything and changes the sheets on the kids' beds. I want to sleep through the night without 1 to 3 children getting up for various reasons. I want the children to go to bed at a reasonable hour (and then stay in said bed) so I can pick up the house and still be able to sit down and watch something with my husband. I'd like my kitchen floor to wash itself. And the toilets too. I'd like Connor to try something new for dinner without whining and gagging. I'd like Keira to not use half a roll of toilet paper every time she sits on the toilet, whether or not she actually pees. And I'd like Colin to realize that even though I've gone upstairs, I have not left him forever so there is no reason to stand at the bottom of the stairs and scream for me.

For the record: I count my blessings every single day and thank God that I have those three little minions destroying my house every day. Just sometimes, I wish they wouldn't wreck as much havoc as they usually do.

A date with my boy

2011-05-24T08:21:00.001-05:00

A couple weeks ago, Connor and I went out to lunch, just the two of us. His ~~only~~ favorite place to eat out is Panda Express. He gets the same thing every time. For an extremely picky eater, we are quite surprised that he loves orange chicken, lo mein noodles, and crab rangoon with plum sauce. (This is the kid that would only eat oatmeal for the first two years of his life!)

After lunch, we went to Michael's, where he helped me pick out some things. He also picked out a single flower made from cloth and standing in a little bright blue pot. We keep in on our kitchen table, as a reminder of our special day together.

I love my sweet ~~little~~ boy.

Although my hands are full.....

2011-05-17T08:38:00.001-05:00

..... my heart is bursting with love.

Especially on nights like this:

Also, Leigh is looking for 100 people to find happiness today!

Share the love and write a post about something that makes you happy!

Meeting a goal

2011-05-16T08:29:00.000-05:00

Otherwise titled:

Running, running, running...

Last week, I ran two 5Ks. Mother's Day was my first one ever. I didn't know what to expect, and finished with a time of 40:59. It was a beautiful sunny day, and Keith and the kids were there to support me. Being that it was my first time, and it was on a course I was not familiar with, I didn't know that the trail was supposed to be marked, you weren't supposed to pour your own water (they had a shortage of volunteers), and there was no clear marking at mile 2, so it was hard to gauge how much time was left. The nice thing was that as I came back to the track to the finish line, I heard some kids yelling, "Mommy!" And there were my sweet kids waving at me. My only goal at this one was to finish. (And not be last.)

At Saturday's race, I finished at 38:45. It was at a zoo that we have a membership at. We go often enough, so I know my way around. I was able to visualize the course in my head, everything was clearly marked, and despite the fact that it was cold and rainy (the kids stayed home this time), I enjoyed the run. It might have had something to do with the zoo being a place where we have made so many happy memories as a family. That definitely helped me smile while running (advice from a great mommy friend!) I didn't have a goal this time - I knew I could do it. It was more of a fun run than anything.

I've said this before: I've never considered myself a runner. But I did it! And I'm proud of myself.

This picture has nothing to do with running.
But it makes me happy.

Potty training?!?!

2011-05-13T15:40:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, we were approached by daycare to send underwear for the twins because the teachers thought they were ready to make the big move from pull-ups to underwear. I knew Colin wasn't ready, but figured they would learn that on their own.

Three days and 10 pairs of wet underwear later, we got a note saying they felt like we should wait on Colin so as not to put too much pressure on him.

Fine by me.

Keira, on the other hand, loves her Dora and Princess underwear. So much so, that she wears it over her pull-up if she wears one, goes potty a lot at school and home, and stays dry a good portion of the day.

At daycare, the children are rewarded for proper pottying with an M&M.

In recent weeks, Colin has become obsessed with eating M&Ms for dessert after dinner.

Yesterday, he caught on to the fact that if he goes potty at school, he gets a sweet surprise. He had A LOT of M&Ms yesterday.

Maybe we are on to something......... we don't use them at home, but we would be willing to give it a try. I'm in no hurry to train him, because he will make the move when he is ready. But I don't mind inticing him a little.

The only problem: Keira went to the bathroom yesterday, got off the toilet, and announced: I'm ready for my M&M now.

Happiness is Mother's Day...

2011-05-10T09:18:00.000-05:00

Sunday was a fabulous day. I started it off early in the morning, running my first ever 5K. It was amazing.

It took me a little longer than I had thought it would, but I didn't come in last place,

so the race was a success. ;)

Keith had gotten me flowers a couple days before, and Connor had picked out a giant heart chocolate chip cookie at the grocery store the day before. The twins also surprised me with plants and very cool necklaces that they made at school.

The white carnation was handed out to all the runners after the race. Connor picked mine out!

Keith also surprised me on Sunday with a beautiful bracelet from etsy.

It's kind of hard to see (because I took a picture on my phone), but the charms are personalized:

Connor (rectangle), Keira (larger disc) and Colin (smaller disc), as well as 10.30.04 (the date we got married - located on the right side of the picture). There are also charms such as a heart, key, four-leaf clover, flower, and butterflies, as well as black pearls and white pearls.

The etsy shop where he bought it is called Organic Rust Creations.

All in all, it was a fantastic day.

Hot dogs on the grill for lunch, and Chipotle for dinner (the children were in heaven with their french toast sticks). We played outside, and Connor and I visited the great-grandmas as well.

Spilt Milk Giveawy Winner

2011-05-09T08:46:00.000-05:00

And the winner of the book, Spilt Milk, is Jody!

Jody, please email me your address, and I will contact the author with your information.

Thank you everyone!

The time to hesitate is through....

2011-05-06T10:01:00.000-05:00

......because my very first 5K is this Sunday!

I'm really excited, because I've been training for about 9 weeks now.

Check out my post at Fox Valley Mom to read more about my journey: Could I be a.... runner?

I wasn't big on running in the first place, but it was one of my goals that I set for the year.

What are some of your recent goals? How close are you to achieving them?

Also, feel free to check out my book giveaway - Spilt Milk.

Book Giveaway!

2011-05-05T08:43:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, some blog friends and I began doing a devotional with this book. Since we live all over the place, it's done through email. We read a chapter, then discuss.

Let me tell you, it's been wonderful!

The author, Linda Vujnov, is a wonderful writer and really knows how it is to balance life when you are a busy mom. Her stories are funny and heart-warming. They make you feel like she knows exactly what you are going through - because hey! She does know what you are going through.

The author is graciously giving one reader

of this blog a copy of her book!

To be entered in the contest for a copy of Spilt Milk,

just leave a comment!

That's right, all you have to do is answer this question -

What are your plans for Mother's Day?

Please note, you have until noon (CST) on Mother's Day to enter this giveaway.

I will announce the winner that afternoon.

After leaving me a comment, please feel free to visit the other great women

who are doing this devotional with me:

Happiness is my little girl

2011-05-03T08:29:00.001-05:00

She is only 2 1/2 half years old.

She changes her outfits at least 4 times a day, and is most creative in what she wears.

She loves to wear her princess underwear, and then tell me she has to go potty 5 times in an hour, only to sit on the toilet and sing.

She says, Damn it Colin. In the right context.

She has an obsession with bags, and stuffed animals, and her Princess playing cards.

She loves Minnie, and Daisy, and Dor-Dor (Dora), and Princess Aurora.

She likes to yell out, Justin Bee-ber, where are you?

She has the most beautiful blue eyes.

She is super smart for her age. And she has no problem telling everyone everything.

She is very concerned about hiding her toys so No boys get my stuff.

She is quick to tell me how much she loves me. And her brothers. And her daddy.

I've noticed she has already wrapped her daddy around her little finger.

If Colin is hurt, she will come over and rub his back while he cries.

Unless she is the one who caused him to cry.

Then she comes over and touches his back and says, Sorry Brother.

She is my life, my love, my heart.

Angels and Miracles

2011-04-29T08:15:00.001-05:00

I truly believe we are being watched over. And Keira has her own special guardian angel, as well as St. Therese (Keira's middle name is Rose in honor of St. Therese, the Little Flower).

On Easter Sunday, we went up to Gigi's (my grandma) house, as we do every year. Most of the adults and kids were in the house, but my uncle took Connor and Keira outside while he was weeding the garden. Gigi lives in the house that my grandfather grew up in. Their neighbor's house is a similiar situation - the woman that lives there grew up with my mom and her siblings, her mother was Gigi's BFF, that sort of thing. Her daughter has one of those turtle sandboxes with a cover. Keira and Connor went to the sandbox to play, while my uncle, and eventually my aunt, were nearby.

After awhile, my aunt went over to see what the kids were doing in the sandbox. And clutched in my two year old daugther's hand, filled with sand that she was pouring into a plastic bucket, was a glass bottle that had been broken and was jagged at the top. Sharp points too, ones that could have caused some serious damage to a person.

Keira had no idea she was playing with what could potentially be a deadly weapon. And who knows what kind of idiot put a broken glass bottle into a sandbox, knowing children play there. Obviously, Keira's special guardian angels were watching over her (and Connor). And I'm so thankful for that.

Happiness: Magnolias

2011-04-26T08:22:00.000-05:00

We moved into our house on a Saturday in March. I was five and a half months pregnant with my first child. The day after we moved in, there was a massive snowstorm, and we gathered at my grandparents' house as my grandfather passed away. On the day of his wake, my husband came down with the stomach flu, and with the funeral, Keith being sick, then a week later, my pregnant self getting the same illness, our house did not unpack itself. It wasn't the most joyous occasion, as I had previously dreamed it would be. Owning our own home, bringing a baby into the world - I assumed happiness, but received sadness, sickness, and a house full of boxes instead.

Fast forward a few weeks. The snow melted, the heartache subsided (some), and we were healthy again, with a little baby boy reminding me daily with his kicks that he was doing well.

I looked outside on spring morning and saw this:

We had picked a house with a magnolia bush.

Now, if you know me at all, you know my love for New Orleans.

And the fact that I have a tattoo of a magnolia flower on my back.

Every spring, I look forward to seeing my bush bloom.

Spring makes me happy, but magnolias make me happier.