A very Merry Christmas

We had a great holiday season this year!! The boys really got into it and it was a lot of fun. We kept up all of our traditions, here's a quick rundown....

They helped decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving, my youngest really got into it.

He created a new record of how many ornaments can fit on a single branch!!! 7!!!

My oldest discovered that his bum looked funny when viewed in the giant silver ornaments...

They baked cookies for Santa and went on a treasure hunt for new pajamas...

Then they threw out some gang signs like the bad asses they are.

Hope y'all had a fantastic holiday!!!

The importance of getting the whole story

Here's a little screenplay from one of my mornings episodes.

My youngest, while sobbing - "[the oldest] just forced me and choked me!!!"

Me - "He forced you and choked you?! What did he force you to do?"

My youngest - "he forced me to choke me!!"

Me to my oldest - "Stop choking your little brother and forcing him to do things!!!"

My oldest - "NO!! I didn't choke him or force him to do anything! I used the force to choke him because I'm a Jedi. It isn't even real."

wait, there's more

From my youngest...

"I love your guts mom but don't talk to me!!!" (I really want to turn that into a bumper sticker)

After I kissed him...

him - "oh shit!!"

me- "what did you say?"

him- "I said shit because you kissed me!"

we then had a conversation about naughty words.

While on a bike ride he was singing his little heart out to Jingle Bells and then mid chorus stops to enquire, "mommy why do you drink coke?"

My oldest...

After telling him I loved him, "When people tell me they love me it makes me sick and I throw up in my mouth."

"hey daddy I have a really important secret to tell you.... BUUUUURPPPP!!" (he really burped in his fathers ear, and I laughed hysterically)

I was telling him that he was going to stay with his grandma while his father and I went on a date and he responded with, "does this mean we're having a third kid? 'Cause that's what happens when people go on dates."

they've been at it again...

My kids have had me laughing until I cried recently.

I was trying to help my oldest with something but I couldn't figure it out. I told him we'd wait until dad got home because maybe dad knew something I didn't. My oldest responded "yeah he probably does because he's done with school and you're not".

My youngest had his first accident yesterday since being potty trained last June. Luckily for me it was while I was at school, but our nanny filled me in on the whole story and and the quote from my youngest was "Carla I think I farted a poop." I'm still laughing at that one. Probably because I wasn't the one who had to deal with it.

A little story

This is a story about a girl who was forced into taking the evil Advanced Statistics for Psychology course. What made it even worse was that she had a professor who was too smart to be teaching and therefore didn't make any sense at all.

She frequently found herself going back and forth between being homicidal, and suicidal throughout the semester. At one point, through heavy tear-filled sobs, she accepted the fact that she would fail the class and have to retake it. But alas, there was hope. Unfortunately it was not in the form of extra credit, but instead through working her butt off, and reading a statistics book that made her eyes feel like they were going to bleed. And in the end she not only passed the class, but she got an A!!!!

and now she is so ANOVA it.

(over it)

If you got that joke you can rest assured that you are a dweeb just like me!!! Or even worse, you've survived a statistics class.

So Proud!!!

Anyone who knows my oldest knows that if he's going to do something, it has to be his idea. Taking the training wheels off his bike was no different.

In the last couple weeks the boys in the neighborhood had been giving him a really hard time about still using training wheels and even went so far as to tell him that he couldn't race bikes with them until he took his training wheels off. Well, Saturday was the big day, he decided he was done with training wheels, and by Sunday he was winning races!!

Could they all be wrong?!

And the answer is yes, yes they are.

Who is wrong? The Mormon community

What are they wrong about? Well that's simple, the founder of Chick-fil-a is not, I repeat NOT a Mormon.

Are you shocked? I was. I grew up with the folklore of Chick-fil-a being founded by a Mormon. I mean it had to be, they are closed on Sundays you know. This belief amongst Mormons goes so deep that my local Chick-fil-a is often overrun by the missionaries who are there supporting a "Mormon Chain". But it turns out that the founder is actually a Southern Baptist. And ironically enough, Southern Baptists don't really like the Mormons (I mean generally speaking, not individually).

Jason got all this information from a patient of his who works for Chick-fil-a, and grew up in the town of Georgia where the restaurant was founded. She is VERY passionate about setting everyone straight. We double checked it on Wiki, and she is correct. Here's the link.

So now you know, and knowing is half the battle!!!

things I learned last week in bullet form

• There is something called wookieepedia. It's the Star Wars "Wiki" where you can go to get information on all things Star Wars. I didn't actually have a question for them so I can't say for 100% certainty that they know everything, but just browsing through it I think they do.
• It takes more than three 16ft strands of Christmas lights to line the lower part of our roof.
• Also, for whatever reason, no matter how many giant ornaments I hang from my lights on either side of my garage, it looks dirty.... I think I'm going to have to go with wreaths or bows.
• I am too old to eat nothing but junk food all day. I need my veggies or I get a stomach ache.
• Just because the Target website says they have a certain toy AND it's available, doesn't mean they do or it is. GRRRR.....
• Deep down in places I don't talk about at parties (name that movie), I'm still a Treki.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I had a dream

... a really bizarre dream.

I was Oprah's bastard child that she gave up for adoption because I was too white.

Analyze that one Freud!!!

eavesdropping on kindergarteners

I was volunteering in my oldest sons class today and this is the conversation I overheard...

The other kid - "Your mom looks different."

My kid - "Yeah she has freckles, most moms don't."

I wonder if it's a source of embarrassment for him?

And for the record, I think the little boy was referring to the fact that my hair was curly and I had make-up on. Normally I'm sporting a pony-tail and sweats when I volunteer.

Conversations with my children.

My oldest- "Oh, the movie is called ONE hundred and one Dalmatians, not A hundred and one dalmatians. You said it wrong mom."

This one came through heavy sobs over the phone while I was at school.

my oldest - "Mom I need to tell you something really important."

me - "okay"

my oldest - "I just really don't like homework and I don't want to do it."

Here was a disappointing conversation for my oldest.

my oldest -"mom, what's 1000 + 25?!!!"

me - "1,025"

my oldest - "oh, thats not very different."

This was a conversation our nanny Carla had with my youngest.

my youngest - "I'm gonna ask Santa for your phone for Christmas."

Carla - "you can't have a phone until you're 15"

my youngest - "What?! I'm huge!!" He then climbed onto an overturned laundry basket and stuck his belly out as far as he could.

Glory Glory Hallelujah!! I wish I'd had my camcorder....

My oldest came to me today to show me how loose his tooth was. I wiggled it and then said, "You should let me punch you in the face to knock it out!!!" I fully expected him to scream no, but instead he said okay and stuck his jaw out for me to whack him one. I wound my fist up and acted like I was going to punch him, then of course put my fist down and told him I would never do something like that.

My youngest looked at me like I had just told him Santa didn't exist. He then decided to take matters into his own hands and flew across the room to punch his older brother square in the face.

Shocked, I grabbed my youngest and was explaining that he couldn't punch his brother in the face, (even though I knew it was my irresponsibility that had caused the whole thing), when my oldest in a shocked voice said, "hey it worked!! He knocked my tooth out!!"

And sure enough, he had!! That tooth flew out of my oldest sons mouth, it took us 3 minutes to find!

Here's the newly lost tooth, it's his 3rd.

Here's my youngest showing off his muscles that knocked the tooth out.

...and here's the reenactment.

I'm so glad I don't have girls....

Look what I found...

I was challenged today to prove that I had in fact been pregnant. I knew I had a picture of it somewhere even though we had lost most of our pictures during the computer crash of '07. And I found it on my long forgotten myspace page in a slide show. But I didn't just find a pregnancy picture, (which I will not be sharing with you today), I found some of my favorite pictures ever...

My youngest was brand new in this picture, my oldest adored him.

this is my oldest, I still think he was the most beautiful baby ever.

Those blond curls made my heart melt daily, in this picture he had just woken up from a nap and had some crazy bed-head. Also take notice of those gorgeous lips...

sigh..... I wish I could hold this baby just one more time...

But, nothing beats this....

I tried not to say anything...

...because I know it's what he would want. But I just can't help myself,

Hot Docta Hill Turned 30!!!!!

He seems to be taking it well.

My rays of sunshine

......and that's how I know everything will be okay.

I'm gonna ramble for a few minutes

So I have a lot on my mind and it's just starting to weigh me down a little too much lately. If you don't feel like listening to me bitch and moan for a few minutes please feel free to navigate away from the page now. Also, I am NOT looking for pity or sympathy, I hate pity and sympathy with a capital HATE!!! So don't do it. It's not why I'm posting this. I'm posting it in hopes that putting it out in the universe will release it from my brain and maybe I can have a little peace.

And I would also like to add before anything else that I am truly happy right now. I feel so lucky and loved in my life. I can honestly say I have never been more content with my life than I am now. I'm just stressed, and here's why....

To start, I don't know what I want to do with my life anymore. On the one hand I definitely want to go to law school and prove to myself and everyone else that I am smart enough, and talented enough to do it. I have also decided that by having a high paying career I could possibly get out of cleaning toilets for the rest of my life, and that's a huge perk if you ask me!!

But on the other hand, I've realized this year what is truly important to me, and it's my kids. With the loss of my niece at the beginning of the year, and the brain tumor/scary neurological disease scare over the summer, I've really had to think about what was important and what I really wanted out of life. When there was the possibility of having a brain tumor that I might die from it I made a bucket list, and at the very top of the list was spending every minute I could with my children and making sure that they had the best memories possible of their mommy. The second thing on my list was reintroducing potatoes into my diet, which I have done and am a much happier person because of it. But back to spending time with my kids. I really do want them to have the best childhood possible for them, and I want to be volunteering in their classrooms and enjoying their soccer practices, and all the little things that their lives are, and right now I'm not because I just don't have the time or patience for it with all my school work.

My biggest fear in life is failure, and right now I feel like no matter what I choose I'll be failing at something. Do I show my kids that you never give up on your goals and that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to? Or do I stay home and make sure that their life is consistent, and that they are given all my attention and energy?

Next topic.... My hair was falling out for about 6 months!! I probably lost about half my hair. And I know some of you are thinking, "oh no! now you only have 3 times as much hair as me instead of 6!" Well, this may be true, but it is still traumatic and I still feel like I'm going bald. I can now see my scalp where I part my hair and it bothers me!!! I've been looking around and it appears this is normal, however it's not normal for me!!! I am happy to report that my hair has stopped falling out, but unfortunately has not started growing back yet. Oh, and the doctor thinks it was caused by a combination of hormone changes and stress, and assured me it was just a shedding phase and I should re-grow almost all my hair eventually.

Continuing in my problems with my looks is my skin. I am soooo broken out lately. I rarely to never had zits as a teenager and all of a sudden my face looks horrific!!! I have no idea what's causing it, but am pretty sure it's the same as my hair issue, stress and hormones. I don't know what to do about it either.

The next problem is my house. I still do not have a single picture on the wall. That is beyond pathetic people!!! I keep thinking I'm going to start decorating but then I panic and don't because I'm too afraid of the commitment!! Why is decorating my house so hard? I used to dream of owning my home so I could do whatever I wanted with it. Now I have the opportunity and have no idea what I want to do with it!!

The last problem is a huge one, and I don't want anyone to think that because it's last it's not weighing on me because it really, really, is. I hate that I live so far away from my sister right now. She is literally living through hell and I am not there for her. I have so much guilt I cannot even describe it to you. And then I wasn't even emotionally available for her over the summer because of my health scare, and I hate myself for it. I know she doesn't blame me for anything, but I blame myself. But the thing is, even if I did live close and even if I was stable, what could I actually do? Nothing, I can't take away her pain and that bothers me, and frustrates me, and makes me really angry!!!

Congratulations if you made it through that post, you are truly bored!!! But thanks for listening, I needed to get that off my chest.

Well....

For my Personality Theory and Research class I had to take a personality test called the NEO personality inventory and also give it to someone else close to me and then compare our personalities. This particular test is used by Trait theorists who believe that there are 5 major personality components that everyone has, and within those 5 major traits are smaller "sub-traits" that make up the main trait.

Have I lost any of you yet?

So the trait theorists believe that everyone falls somewhere along a continuum in these various traits. There is an average area where most people fall on the traits but people will score higher or lower in maybe one area because that part of their personality is stronger.

I of course, forced Jason into taking it. He didn't really put up a fight, but I could tell he didn't want to do it because he knew I would analyze it 'til the cows came home. But the good news for him is, the cows weren't out too long. I wont go into all the details of how he and I scored, but I will tell you all this much, Jason's personality is very mild, he falls in the average range for just about every trait there is. I, on the other hand, am all over the place. But lets be honest, is anyone here really surprised?

Let's hear it for my MAN!!!

He came through for me, again!! He got me that adorable necklace I was wanting ever so desperately, and I LOVE IT!!! And he bought it for me for no reason in particular, just 'cause he loves me and loves spoiling me. He's kind of a sucker when it comes to me...

Here's an incredibly unclear, and unworthy picture of it on my neck, not that it's some grand piece of jewelry, but I do adore it. On one of the circles it has my children's names, and on the other is says "you are my" and then has a picture of a sunshine.

Here's the link to the website with a better picture, vintage pearl.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to a low-key pumpkin patch this year but still had just as much fun!!!

We went for a hayride...

Then decorated some free small pumpkins with foam stickers..

But of course the small ones weren't good enough and we had to find some pumpkins worthy of our boys coolness... and then torture them by telling them they had to carry it.

And no party would be complete without a bloody nose! He acquired this one while in a bounce house, and while he may have looked worse, the other kid cried and he didn't!!! I guess you're just tougher when you're 6 years old.

Let's hear it for my boy!!

My oldest turned 6 yesterday!! 6!!!!!!!! I may have a heart attack, or brain aneurism, or a shot of vodka, I just don't think I can handle my baby growing up.

For his party we went to a local party place that has all the blow-up toys and let the boys run wild.

I seriously couldn't get a focused picture, the boys just wouldn't hold still long enough.

They had a blast. Then I handed out the party favors and masks and made them pose for this picture.

I love humiliating children.

After the party he had a soccer game and became the star of the team when he scored all 4 goals for his team and won the game!!!

I'd say all in all he had an awesome day!!

scattered

I've been feeling really scatter brained lately, and from reading through my recent posts I've decided I sound scatter brained too. And I am sorry if I have given you mental whiplash or even worse, brain farts. I don't think I can help it right now, my brain is scattered... and overloaded... and doped up on caffeine.

But lucky for you my children have been hilarious as always and so I now give you "great kid quotes". This weeks edition is brought to you by my oldest.

..."man it's cold today!!! Arizona must be sick!!!"

..."hey mom, is Walgreen's a store that sells green things?"

After scoring his second goal during his soccer game..."Dude, I'm soooo GOOD!!"

...."I think that pink donuts taste like perfume."

8 years

Today Hot Dr. Hill and I are celebrating our 8 year anniversary. We have been through a lot together and are more in love today than we were on our wedding day. It seems strange that so much time has already passed and yet when I stop and reflect on the past 8 years so much has changed. A few bullets to illustrate

• Jason went from a sophomore in college to a DDS. I unfortunately am still working on a degree
• 2 kids
• We've made our way from a 400 sq ft apartment to a 400 sq ft master bedroom.
• 3 states
• 10 pounds each
• 3 wedding bands (Jason)

Today

Today I was reminded why I do not, and should not, have a career involving large numbers of children. First, I volunteered in my oldest sons kindergarten class. It was fun, I sat in the back of the room, and when the children would stop paying attention to the teacher to look at me I would make a face at them. Which of course only encouraged the behavior.. I couldn't help it.

Then this afternoon all the neighborhood kids were playing in our front yard and I got suckered into a conversation with a 10 year old about my husbands Dodge Charger. He was telling me that his dad said that you should never buy American made cars because they were just "missing something".

I responded with "well, I think foreign cars are just missing something." When he inquired what it was I thought they were missing, I responded "BALLS!!" I could have just said they were missing "something" without elaborating, he's only 10 after all, but I couldn't. He had already insulted my shirt twice, and I wasn't going to let him insult my husbands car!!!

I wonder if his parents will ever let him come play again.... I wonder if I'd even care....

Defining moments

We all have them, those moments that make you realize just who you are and where your life is going, whether you like it or not. I had another one today, it was the moment I realized I was officially a soccer mom. 2 kids, 2 soccer games, over a dozen orange slices, and at least 8 bottles of water 'cause it's still hotter than tabasco sauce here.

I wont bore you with a bazillion pictures of my kids looking adorable in their uniforms, but I do want to point out the mystery that is genetics.

Here's my oldest, (he's the one in the middle) by far the tallest kid on his team.

Here's my youngest (far right), by far the shortest kid on his team.

I'm just not that talented

I've seen a lot of crazy things at the ASU campus (okay, that's not actually true, but it makes the story better). But the craziest thing, or maybe the most impressive thing, is people riding around on their skateboards and TEXTING!! I can't even text and walk! I can't skateboard for that matter.

I've started to fear for my life because of these board-texters, (I made that term up, but if it catches on I expect royalties). We've all seen the research done on texting while driving... One of these days one of those board-texters is going to take-me-out!! and I don't mean on a date, I mean lay me out, flat on my face, with skateboard tracks on the back of my head!!

it's going to make you smile....

because I don't want to study....

I'll blog instead.

I took my youngest to the grocery store with me yesterday, and as I took a gallon of milk out of the refrigerator I whacked him in the face with it..... Hard!! He didn't cry, but he did rub his nose and say "you hurt me, I'm gonna tell my daddy!!!"

I say "son of a gun" a lot. My youngest misunderstands what I say and has instead taken to yelling "Somebody's Gum!!" It's my new favorite thing in the world to say.

I woke up this morning with perfect hair!!! It's full and the layers are perfectly piecey ... I want to put on a really cute dress and go somewhere fun, but I'll end up staying in my sweats all day and studying. What a waste....

I was playing SSX on Tour with my youngest the other day (it's a snowboarding video game), he kicked my trash!!! 4 times!!! He's 3!!! and he's better at video games than me. I don't know if this shows how lame I am as a gamer, or as a mother. Either way, it looks like we're gonna have another video game obsessed child.

My oldest goes to our neighbors houses to play for hours, upon hours, upon hours. And I apparently sit at home looking like I might start bawling at any second. Probably because I feel as though I might start bawling at any second. When did he get so big?

.....from me

When I was a little girl, younger than I can even remember, I heard the song "You Are My Sunshine" and apparently did not like how it ended. I believed that the final line - "please don't take my sunshine away." - was incomplete and so I added "from me" onto the end. My family obviously found this adorable because they NEVER told me it wasn't how the song actually ended. It wasn't until I was in HIGH SCHOOL and sang the song to a friends young sibling that I realized it wasn't how everyone else sang the song. My friends thought it was hilarious, I was humiliated, and when I confronted my mother she said "how was I supposed to know you didn't know?"

Anyways, it's still one of my favorite songs to sing to my children, probably because it's one of the few I actually know, and because my children really are my sunshine. They are the light in my world and my reason for dragging myself out of bed every morning. Today I found a beautiful, sweet, simple necklace that I want with every ounce of my being... here's the link ... because it's just so perfect. I asked if I could have it for Mothers Day next year, but I hope my darling husband gets it for me sooner... (hint, hint!!)

I think I could spend a lot of money on products from that website, and not just on myself. I think those are some of the most precious pieces of jewelry I have ever seen, I'm a sap though.

bullets

• School is in full swing and I am eyeball deep in studying.
• I made a super quick trip to Utah to visit my sister on her birthday over the labor day weekend.
• While I was there I decided to join a parade, I haven't done that since I was 13 and in a dance or cheer group. This time I rode in a fire truck with my dad, it was a lot more fun because people clap and yell "thank you", also the little boys think it's the coolest thing ever!!!
• Some 40 year old woman watching the parade was doing the "beauty queen" wave at me. I found it a little disturbing, and yet, I did it back to her.....
• My husband took my children to Macdonalds every single day I was gone, and then again on tuesday when I was back in AZ, but at school.... If I die, my children will eat nothing but fast food that has play-places at the restaurant.
• I'm blogging right now to avoid studying.
• My favorite quote of the day comes from my youngest, "this doughnut is going to be so sweet!!"

sigh......

So what's the most embarrassing thing you've done today?  'Cause for me it was not carefully rereading what I posted on my nanny's facebook wall.  What did I say you ask?  Well....I was trying to thank her for organizing my pantry but left the R out of pantry and instead it said, "I just walked into my panty...... I heart you!!!"  yes I said panty and love in the same sentence to THE NANNY!!!  It was on her wall for about an hour before I noticed it and erased it but I fear the damage may already be done.  

Is there a rock I can crawl under?  A vacation I could possibly take?  

Newport Beach

Last weekend we finally took advantage of Jason's company beach house in Newport Beach, CA. We had a blast. It was the first time our youngest had been to the beach and the first time our oldest had been to a west coast beach. I didn't take the camera with me on the day we spent at the beach because I didn't want my camera to get all sand filled and nasty, but I took it the first night we got there and then when we went back to watch the sunset.

This picture cracks me up. We got to the beach house at about 9:30 and decided to run to the beach because we were all so excited to be there. As we got closer my youngest decided that the ocean was a little scary and he did not want to be there. I tried getting him excited by telling him about all the fun we were going to have, he stared at me and then said "I'll dig" and dropped down and started digging in the sand.

me and my oldest on the beach at night.

My hubby and baby.

I just love this kid.

My youngest playing with his monster trucks in the sand.

He was so brave all weekend, he played in the water constantly and crossed a street without looking, (I wasn't proud of that one, but definitely shocked by his lack of concern!!).

This one hated the ocean, it all started early in the morning when my husband took him for a walk along the shore and a giant wave came and knocked him on his face. The story I got was about a huge storm coming and him swimming, and swimming, and swimming. He stayed miles away from the ocean after that.

My First Day of School

I wish I had a cheesy picture of myself with my backpack but I unfortunately don't, I would scan and post my ID card that I got yesterday but my picture is the worst ID picture I've ever taken, and here's why.

So my big plan for my first day at ASU was to just park in the covered parking lot with visitor parking that was right next to all my classes. Unfortunately everyone else apparently had that idea too and it was full. I seriously did not have a back up plan, which anyone who knows me knows that's unusual. Luckily for me my husband was home, (still recovering from surgery) and I could call him and have him look at the parking map online. He directed me to every parking structure that had visitor parking around the campus, all of them were full. Then we came up with another back up plan, go to the parking services office and just buy my parking pass. He directed me there and I went and got in line and then found out it was an hour and a half wait until I actually reached the front of the line. I had 40 minutes to park and get to class!! So on to plan D, someone mentioned that you could park in lot 59 for free until August 31st, great, except lot 59 is in BFE, but I was completely out of options and really just needed to get to class. So Jason directs me to lot 59, I park, and then begin the 25 minute hike to my first class. I'm not in walking shoes, it's 110 degrees outside and my hair was down. By the time I got to class I had blisters, was completely soaked in my own sweat, and stunk like a boys locker room. Luckily it seemed to be the look of the day.

By the time I made it to the Union building to get my ID card, two classes later, I looked and felt like I had just survived a natural disaster. I also felt incredibly old, seriously, college students look like they're 5!!

I almost died of a brain tumor

Okay, that's not quite true, but I did think I had one, or it could have been a lung tumor, or the early signs of MS, but it's not. So here's the story....
Probably about 7 months ago Jason pointed out to me that one of my pupils was larger than the other. I laughed, checked it out, and then made a remark like "guess it's official, I'm crazy!!!" and then moved on with my life never thinking of it again. Then a little over a month ago I was at the optomotrist getting my yearly check up and renewing my contact prescription when he said the same thing. Except he said, "one of your pupils is smaller than the other". I tried to laugh it off again, but he wouldn't let me. He tried to assure me that it wasn't a brain tumor, but that it might be a lung tumor instead. I had a full blown panic attack the second I sat down in my car. I went straight to my husbands office, cried to his office manager about how I didn't want to die, and then googled this lung tumor that he suspected me of having. I didn't have even half the symptoms that this lung tumor would have given me. I felt relief but decided I should probably go see a doctor anyways.
Fast forward a week or two and I'm at the doctors, sweating and almost crying as he does a full neurological exam. Definitely not a lung tumor, but might be something wrong with the brain. I was scheduled for a full blood work up, a CT Scan and referred to an ophthalmologist. The blood work came back normal, the ct scan came back normal, all that was left was the eye doctor who was out of town for two weeks. In those two weeks I googled my heart out, and then subsequently had massive panic attacks, and was then prescribed xanax to sleep, and then lost 4 pounds.
Today was my appointment with the ophthalmologist and ya know what I have? Adie's Tonic Pupil Syndrome. Ya know what it does? Makes one of your pupils larger than the other. Ya know what the worst symptom of this syndrome is? It takes a little longer for your eye to focus on things up close. It never progresses, it never causes blindness, it's not going to kill me.

At least I lost 4 pounds!!!!

2 weeks

My husband has been home for 2 weeks now recovering from his surgery. We initially thought that during his time off we'd get a lot of things done around the house. You know, cleaning out closets, getting rid of old toys maybe even finally buying a book shelf for the office. This is what we have accomplished so far.

• Using up all 5 of our monthly in-store exchanges for blockbuster, plus actually paying to rent 2 movies.
• Number of hours spent playing video games, too many to count.
  
• Number of times we've gone out for lunch, 5.
• Books read: him 2, me 1.
• Number of times we've actually cleaned the house, 0.
• Number of fights we've had with insurance companies, 3.
• Number of fights we've had with each other, surprisingly only 1.

But hey, we still have 2 weeks left, anything could happen!!!

Some Stories

• Here's a "friendly" exchange that occured between me and my youngest today..
  

"Hey baby how you doin?"
"I don't like you!!!"

• My son received some money as a birthday gift in the mail today. He quickly grabbed it and went running, I assumed to his room. I was wrong. He stopped at the stairs and was shoving his money into the grates of our stair lighting (they're along the bottom of the wall going up the stairs, it's the perfect night light). I stopped him and opened the grate to find over a DOLLAR worth of pennies, nickles and dimes!!!!

• My husband had his one week post-op appointment today, he was getting his stitches out. My youngest was with us and initially requested that he be held so he could see all the action. After the first stitch was pulled out he changed his mind and asked to be seated in a chair. I put him down and noticed that he was quite pale and looked as though he might vomit!!! Poor kid, he might be traumatized for life.
  

• This next story is difficult for me to admit to, but I feel it may help others, and also atone for my sin.......I forgot my oldest at school. It was 2 days after my husbands surgery and I'd had an incredibly busy day. I had finally sat down to relax and eat a snack when suddenly my phone rang. It was the school wondering if I was going to pick my son up from school!!!! I was mortified and horrified and began crying almost immediately. When I got to the school he looked at me and said "you are really late!!!" I was almost half an hour late people!!! The school assured me that it happened all the time, but I'm not so sure. At least he didn't realize that I had full blown forgotten him, that would have crushed his sweet little spirit for sure!!!
  

My baby is in school

He was so excited to go too. Last week at the Meet the Teacher Night he had a complete conniption that I wasn't dropping him off. Here of course are the mandatory first day of school pictures, which I had to threaten him with not being able to go to school unless he let me take them.

I hope he has cankles forever.

Tryin to show off his cool spider-man backpack, I love that it's as big as he is.

Going into the bowels of his idea of heaven.

This is his teacher who he later told me noticed the cut on his lip, and also apparently asked him how he was doing today. He thought it was the coolest thing ever!!!

So I cried a little, but once again I was the first parent to leave so at least I have that going for me!!

When I picked him up and asked him what he did at school he responded, "I went potty and washed my hands!!!"

We're so proud of him!!!

This too shall pass

If you think it's another post about my out of control youngest child you're wrong. This post is about my husband, who recently had shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. I don't begrudge the man, I really don't, but I feel as though in one day I became a single-parent and added a 3rd child who is twice my size and handicapped. It's starting to wear on my nerves a little.

And it's not that I mind taking care of him, because I don't. I'm glad I finally have a reason to baby him and show him how much I love him. But he has this ice-pack thingy that keeps his shoulder constantly iced, and here in the atrociously hot AZ summer it's not easy. It requires a cooler full of ice-water that pumps the water through a tube and into this ice-pack....it makes a whirring sound, and I'm ready to murder it!!!

Also, he sleeps a lot which means I have to keep my two children quiet, and that is really difficult to do. He's also obviously very sore, which means he doesn't want to be bumped or jostled, which means I have to keep the children completely away from him. And they love their father so much, and they are just so happy that he is home all day every day.

The other thing that is bothering me is that he was the dishes guy, and he can't do dishes, which means it's one more thing on my list of things not getting done.

Thanks for listening to me complain, I feel better already.

Bullets!!!

• My oldest LOVES school!!! He especially loves that he is there all day so he can learn more!!! Man I have a great kid!!

• My oldest has also recently become interested in having his hair styled so that he can be "really handsome". I don't know where it came from because 3 weeks ago trying to get a little gel in his hair would have caused WWIII.

• We lost my youngest sons favorite stuffed animal Tex last week. Tears were shed by all, except my youngest who held up rather well. We then found Tex but decided not to give it back to him because he only sucked his thumb when he held him. It's been almost 1 week and he still has not sucked his thumb even once!!! But he does this weird thing where he starts to put his thumb in his mouth but then an invisible force field blocks it and he just puts his hand down again.

• My husband and I feel like really bad parents for hiding our youngest sons "best friend and baby" from him. But it really is in the best interest of his teeth.
  

• Now that my oldest is in school I have a lot of free time, however I still have not found the time to clean my toilets.
  

My own version

I'm a huge fan of Pioneer Woman. Her blog makes me laugh out loud, and that is one of my favorite things to do in life. If you are not familiar with her blog let me just give you a quick little background. She lives in the middle of nowhere, is married to a cowboy who she posts pictures of in his chaps because she likes it, and has four kids who she posts pictures of in their natural habitat.

Here's my life's version....

Yes, seeing my husband in his loops and face-mask does it for me. It's even better when he wears a white coat. I think it has something to do with the power and success of it.

And then there's my children in their natural habitat, or what visiting their father at work looks like anyways.

Kindergartener

My "baby" started kindergarten today. I'm happy and sad all at the same time. It's great to have him in school but, he grew up too fast. Anyways, here are the mandatory first day of school pictures.

Showing off his new school duds (he has to wear a uniform, LOVE IT!!)

Walking to school. We were all so excited.

Standing outside his classroom, I've already lost his attention he couldn't wait to get into class.

Sitting at his desk humiliated that his mom was still there taking pictures. But in my defense, look how many other parents are there, and I was the first one to leave, so I did pretty darn good. I also didn't cry. My bottom lip quivered as I left the classroom and I let out a strange whimper as I stepped off school property, but I kept it together for the most part.

On Friday I was trying to get my oldest revved up about school and asked him if he was excited to start kindergarten, he responded, "yeah, and so are you 'cause we've been driving you CRAZY!"