Oh yeah, time to mother again.

So Christmas was an absolute blur (with the exception of receiving my Michael Kors bag, of course!). Having a split family it makes it difficult on everyone. I decided that next year the kids and I will probably skip the extended-family Christmas and just go to my parents' houses to celebrate. It's more than enough!
The day after Christmas, we celebrated baby Andy's third birthday! It was just a simple party, with cake and ice cream and a few gifts! Again, staying the night at mom's after a long Christmas day just isn't my forte' and I've decided that Anderson's birthday parties will be held at OUR house from here on out. After spending thirty minutes unloading the mini-toy store from the back of the Murano into my kitchen, and then the following two days finding homes for the slew of gifts, I realized that not only is my house too small, but I also have very spoiled children! Hehehe!
Aaron and his brother came for a visit on the 26th. My house was still in shambles and adding two more people to the mix just threw what little zen I had completely out of wack! Anderson was sick from the 24th until today (and even today is still filled with thick green snot..YUMMY!). Aaron stayed home with the kids on Monday and Tuesday while I worked. I came home both days to a yummy dinner, clean (and happy) kids, and essentially nothing to do. He put them to bed both days, woke up with them both mornings, etc. It was heavenly!
I woke up this morning to Anderson whimpering at my bedside. It hit me like a ton of bricks..."Oh yeah, time to mother again. I'm back on!" LOL!
The break was fantastic and I appreciate the time away from the little munchkins, but at the end of the day I'm ready to be their number one again!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDERSON!!!!!!!!!

It all began on Aaron's birthday when Lilly and I announced to Daddy that he would soon be blessed with his little boy!

Happy birthday to my precious baby boy! At 11:40am on Thursday 12/27/07, God blessed me with my handsome man. He was 7lbs 1oz, and 19 3/4 inches long! It's insane to think I'll NEVER again have a two year old (yes, NEVER!)!!!

"We're here, Mr.President! Enlist us!"

It's a good day! I have a dear friend in the military so I thought it would be interesting to get his take on this. He said he was glad to see this happen and that it was time for this blurred line of racism/sexism to end. He asked why the defense of our constitution, freedoms and nation should be limited to people's sexual orientation. He said, "We, as an American culture, "allow" homosexuals to fill the highest civilian positions and entrust them with extraordinary responsibilities but the military kicked them out and essentially told them they aren't good enough to serve their country. Bottom line...America is the land of the free and home of the brave and this was long overdue; it's refreshing to see this form of segregation addressed and the law signed by our Commander in Chief." I think it's interseting to hear this from someone inside the military realm. As a "civilian" (as my military friend so often calls me!), it's hard to grasp the idea that this has been the norm for the past seventeen years. WOOT WOOT to this repeal! Thank you Mr.President!!!

Unconventional or Just Downright Brilliant?!

I read an article this afternoon titled "Unconventional Relationships." After reading and rereading this article, I got to thinking...maybe this is the route to go!
As someone who has become extremely independent, especially when it comes to my living conditions, this separate sleeping quarters, coast-to-coast dwelling seems perfect! I mentioned in a previous blog that I like to consider myself an expert on relationships(granted, as a single gal!). It seems to me that relationships are hard enough, even with the stars all aligned, so if there's a chance to make things a tad bit easier, why not!? Is living together every single day really THAT important? And why must we torture ourselves by sleeping with our slobbery mate if the truth is we really hate it. What part of "til death do us part" includes "in the same bed?"
I hate that relationships have to fit this "mold"...the man should be the one responsible for the bills, a man should make more money, the wife should cook, clean, and pop out babies (okay that may be more of an anatomy issue than anything). But why can't things just be based more on a case-by-case situation? Why does everything have to be accepted based on traditions? Thank you "Unconventional Relationship" article, for reminding me that my single life is pretty gnarly!

Just a bunch of Flynn Rider's

I took the kids to see Disney's "Tangled" this weekend. It was an adorable movie, but it got me thinking....why, in life, do we always fall for Flynn Rider's? In the movie, Flynn not only has the most handsome eyes and sexy voice (can I say that about a Disney character?!), but he's also a rugged bandit, which makes him all the more appealing! There's always been that "good-girl-falls-for-bad-boy-syndrome" going around, but what happens when it becomes a way of life for some girls? Is this something that has been driven into our precious girl minds since we were toddlers?! (Think Aladin!)
I've been single for quite some time now (not complaining AT ALL). Of course there has been the occasional suitor, but more times than not, he is a messy ball of flaws that I can't be bothered with. But I have some friends who just continuously go for the troubled-Flynns and disregard their own warnings and those of their loved ones (me). Although I've had many failed relationships, I still consider myself an expert at relationship-advice-giving! I feel that I have this ability (a gift, if you will) at seeing a person's relationship, picking out the problems (usually they have been brought to my attention, of course!), and offering SIMPLE solutions to cure them. Here's the thing...you always have options. You can keep doing things the way you've been doing them (but please stop complaining to me about them!), or you can change it! Simple. So when someone complains about his soon-to-be-ex-wife and the ridiculous debt she's racked up for him, I say "Well, you have to pay it. There's no way around it. So pay it, and thank GOD that you never have to incur one more dollar of her debt." Or when a friend complains about her husband's lack of help around the home, even though he's currently unemployed, I say to her, "Well, you have two choices. Either let the mess settle for another week and keep bitching about it, or clean it up yourself." It's simple. I'm so tired of people saying, "yeah, but it's the principle." REALLY? You're willing to live miserably for another day just to prove a point to someone? Ugh! It's ridiculous!

Yes, I know my way of solving married-people's-junk is a little pitiless and unkind, not to mention out of my realm. I compare this much to dog-owners giving me parenting advice. Annoying. So I understand if this seems harsh to you married folks. But my point is, stop crying about it and CHANGE the way you're doing things, and if you CAN'T change it, change the way you think about it! ;)

Neighborhood Kris Kringle(s)

Many of you already know the heart-warming story of a little boy who wanted Christmas lights hung on his house in time for Christmas...but for those of you who aren't familiar with it-- it goes like this:

We drove through the neighboring housing additions, admiring the perfectly placed holiday decor. My kids sat in the backseat, wide-eyed, mouths-opened, just "ooing" and "aww-ing" at the bright, flashing lights. Their little eyes sparkled as I looked in the backseat at them, obsessing over how awesome these other houses were. My heart broke a little because I knew there was no way I'd hang lights on our house this year. The idea of propelling myself up on the rooftop in the snow and wind doesn't rank anywhere near the top hundred activities on my "fun list"--no, not even for my kids! It just wasn't going to happen for my little elves this year.
Anderson asked a hundred questions like, "Why can't daddy hang the lights for us?" to which I replied, "Daddy won't be here before Christmas and it'll be too late once he does get here." Then Anderson thought, "I'll ask Crampa to hang lights." "Anderson, Crampa can't do it either. He won't have a ladder tall enough." Then the best one yet, "I'm going to ask Santa if he'll just hang lights on my house before Christmas." The boy sure knows how to tug on my heart-strings! I was telling my neighbor Amanda about this adorable little story, thinking nothing of it...until I came home from shopping last Friday to a little blue note taped to my front door. It read "Santa asked us to fulfill a little boy's wish for Christmas lights this Christmas!" I looked up and there were lights all over the front of our house! At precisely 5:15 the house started glowing and my kids started screaming! They were SO excited!
THANK YOU SO MUCH JOSH AND AMANDA! You guys are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

They're More Mine...uh oh!

I'm realizing more and more how much my kids are like me. There are times when I push their less alluring traits on their dad, and proudly take the credit for their loving, adorable personalities. I've made a list of each of their personality traits and which parent those traits favor.

Lilly
-sassy (Me)
-dramatic (Me)
-sensitive (Me)
-loud (Me)
-mature (Me, for sure!)
-helpful (more Aaron!)
-fiesty (Me)
-stubborn (Aaron, for sure!)
-smart (Me)
-selfish (Aaron)
-perfectionist (Me)
-systematic (Me)

Anderson
-dramatic (Me)
-whiny (Me)
-passive (Aaron)
-hilarious (Me, haha!)
-loud (Me)
-ornery (Aaron)
-fearless (Aaron)
-loving (Me)
-cooperative (Me)
-flexible (Aaron)

Whether I like it or not, they have most of my traits, even my not-so-enchanting ones! Look out world, we're in trouble!!!! Hehehehee!

"We're HOME!"

As promised, I'm trying to keep up with my blogging. I left off with our dreadful hotel debacle. July 26th we closed on the house. I took two days off so I could clean, paint, and get things unpacked. I wanted to do everything, right away. Financially, that just wasn't feasible..so I have slowly made changes. Here are some pictures.



Of course there are a MILLION more things to do to the house, but those things will come with time! So far I've changed the flooring in the living room and dining room, painted almost every room in the house (or hired it done!), put new flooring in two of the bathrooms, and even bought all new living room furniture! I've loved transforming my house into my HOME! I sat here today watching the snow fall like CRAZY outside, and I just realized how insanely happy and content I am! I LOVE being a homeowner!!!

Home. Sweet. Hotel.

Since I took quite a long break from blogging, I should go back in time. 2010 has been AMAZING and I can't leave out the most exciting part of my year-- buying my first home!!!
I spoke with a mortgage company (the mortgage company from HELL, by the way!), got a realtor, and started looking at homes. I guess I never TRULY thought I'd buy a home, but I kept pushing through. I looked at probably twelve to fifteen homes before finding "my" house! Although my house didn't have the requirements that I thought were most important to me (fenced-in backyard and a 4th bedroom/second living area), the house fit the main requirements for the kids and me. I saw potential in the house, for sure.
From the time I put the offer on the home, May 20th, until the day I closed on the house, July 26th, things were less than perfect for me and the kids! At the end of June, the kids and I moved out of the home we had been renting. When my offer was accepted, the mortgage company assured me that we would be into the new home at the beginning of July. Clearly one thing after another caused us to be "homeless" for almost an entire month. We literally stayed for three weeks at the Hyatt Place (thanks to my DEAR FRIEND, CLIFF..who donated a TON of his points so we wouldn't have to pay for the hotel). The mortgage company ended up paying for a week and a half of the hotel, after trying to put us up at horrific hotels (Marriott, Comfort Suites). In the end, my complaining prevailed and we ended up back at the Hyatt Place!!

We ate meals on the couch, slept together in one bed, fought about who got to sleep on which side, etc. My crazy phobias were out in full force. I panicked about the kids touching the couch, I was grossed out when they walked on the carpet without shoes, I dry-heaved when Anderson touched the toilet with his bare little hands. Even though the Hyatt Place was beyond nice, I couldn't help but be a little crazy during those three weeks.
My anxiety, which I had never experienced to this magnitude, was causing me to have migraines. I was always upset, fighting with the mortgage company, and just questioning if this was all a sign that I wasn't supposed to get my house. My stress level got so out of control that I spent the better half of a workday in the ER, with stroke-like symptoms. It was TERRIBLE, to say the least.
Everyone kept telling me that once I got into my new house, I would forget all this bad stuff. Truth is, I haven't forgotten one detail of those three weeks...but I'd go through it all again if it meant having my own home in the end. I LOVE my house and I LOVE that it's all MINE!!!!!!!!

86'ing Dining Out

Traditionally New Years resolutions come on January 1st, but my resolution is beginning today. With the change of the month comes the ban on dining out for me and the kids. Not only is it insanely unhealthy (and stressful with two small kids), but my budget just won't allow it anymore. I get paid once a month. After paying this month's bills (and alloting extra money for Christmas gifts), we cannot afford the normal weekly trips to our favorite local mexican restaraunt. Booo!!! I am also nixing my lunchtime trips to McDonalds and other nearby establishments. In an attempt to assure the success of this veto, I have enlisted the help of my co-workers.
I have noticed that I've started to put on some extra poundage. Although I'd like to consider it resourceful, ya know extra layering for the cold temperatures, I realize that I'm very unhappy with my body right now as I feel myself ballooning into a near-pregnancy weight! (Wow, I really just put that all out there, huh?!) I realized I had two choices...either the wine or the burgers! Buh bye burgers, CHEERS!

Wish me luck as I embark on this dine-at-home journey...who knows, maybe I'll actually learn to cook?! BAHAHAHAHA! Let's not go that far!!!