Photos of....well...not much

I said a while back that I would post some pictures of the kiddos, so here goes. I don't feel comfortable posting pictures of their faces...privacy reasons...all that...might be silly...but anyway, this is the best I can do. How exciting can shots of the backs and tops of kids' heads be? Well, the answer is not very, but here they are.


AR, SA, and SJ


AR...looks real safe playing like that, huh?


SA getting into trouble. BTW, those are MY Elmo slippers in the background. We had a problem with the kids all in a battle to get them off my feet, so they've been put away for awhile.


SJ - I think this was Christmas morning.

Thumbs Up

Because I can't think of anything else to say, here are a few movie reviews - some old, some new.

Walk the Line - Pretty good flick. The acting was amazing and the story very interesting. I had to go to the bathroom about ten minutes into the movie, but was sitting in the last seat of a long row with only one exit. There was no way I was stumbling over a long row of people unless I was about to lose my battle with my bladder, so I held it till the end. I guess it goes to show it's a good movie when I could go several scenes without thinking of how uncomfortable I was. And Joaquin Phoenix...mmm-mmmmm. I don't normally find him very attractive and never found Johnny Cash attractive, but Joaquin AS Johnny Cash...yummy. Out of a 10 I would give it a 9.

The Family Stone - I heard mixed reviews on this so I didn't know what to expect. It probably helped that I didn't go in expecting a great movie. Being a die-hard Sex in the City fan, I think I was hungry for some Sarah Jessica Parker. It was way predictable and had several roll-your-eyes-like-that-would-ever-happen moments, but all in all it was good. Out of a 10 I would give it a 7.

Taking Lives - Older movie, but new to me. Bleh. Way too predictable, but I was extremely bored and there was nothing else on, so I made it to the end. I was more focused on how gorgeous Angelina is and how huge her lips are more than the actual story. I really don't want to like her, but I got to hand it to her, she is beautiful. Out of a 10 I give it a 5.

War of the Worlds - Mmmmm...I liked it. Didn't love it, but thought it was pretty good overall. I can't stand Tom Cruise and I sometimes have a hard time getting past that when watching a movie, but I got over that about 30 minutes into the movie. *SPOILER ALERT* I did think there were a few ridiculous scenes, but what do you expect for a sci-fi movie? You can't exactly expect it to be anywhere near realistic. When the madness first started and Tom was rushing around watching the streets crumble, his kids were back in his house. No mother would leave her kids by themselves while she was outside checking out the aliens. Wouldn't happen. But this was a movie. And his son? Of course we all knew he would be alive and well waiting for them in Boston. How did we know that? Duh. And when they got to Boston, it looked like it hadn't been touched. His ex-in-laws looked like they were dressed in their Sunday best. But again, I know I'm overanalyzing. It's just a movie, right? Out of a 10 I give it a 7-1/2.

Husband's Say the Darndest Things

The other night my husband said, "I don't see why we can't have sex everyday."

Now, someone please tell me, how did he make it through four years of college, four years of med school, and four years of residency and come out saying something stupid like THAT?

Random Rubbish

First I want to thank all my friends here for all your thoughts and prayers for my Grandpa. I've really "met" a lot of great people out here in BlogLand.

Grandpa...well...it doesn't seem right to say he's better really. They said he'll probably make it two to three weeks as opposed to the original few days to a week prediction. The end result is still the same, so I guess all we can do is be thankful that we have a few more days with this wonderful man.

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I'm not wanting to make a big deal about it, because making a big deal of something has seemed to have set me up for failure in the past...but...I'm doing Weight Watchers again and so far I am pretty happy with the results. The scale isn't so impressive - in three weeks I have only lost two pounds, but my clothes are all fitting better. And...didn't I hear Oprah say once that you shouldn't go by the pounds lost but by how your clothes fit? And she also said you shouldn't weigh yourself the first two months of a diet. I'll go with what she said. :)

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I'm getting out two nights in a row...then again this Saturday. Stand back! This woman's wild! Tonight I'm going to a Pampered Chef party down the street. Yes, another one. I don't know that I could possibly fit another Pampered Chef product in my kitchen, but I'm excited to get out nonetheless. Then tomorrow night I'm going out for dinner and a movie with a few of my cousins. Saturday night RD and I are going out to dinner. I left a message with our regular sitter down the street, but haven't heard back from her. No worries though, my mom, crazy old bat that she is, was kind enough to offer to watch if our sitter can not. So we've got a date! Woo hoo!

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The kids? They're doing well. Cute as ever. Mischievous as ever. They're sitting around in a huddle eating Cheerios off the floor as I type. They're growing so fast. I do believe I owe y'all some pictures, don't I? I'm sure I have plenty of 'anonymous' shots of the kids I can post. I'll to see what I can dig up.

I might not be around for a few days

My grandpa is being moved to a hospice today and they don't expect him to last much longer than a week. I'm just not in the mood to gab on here right now.

I'll be back soon.

Five Weird Habits I Have

The first player of this game starts with the topic "five weird habits I have" and people who get tagged then write an entry about their five weird habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next five people to be tagged and link to their web journals. Don't forget to leave a comment in their blog or journal that says you have been tagged? (assuming they take comments) and tell them to read yours.

1. I type what people are saying 'in my head' as people are talking or while I'm watching something on television. Sometimes my fingers will be going through the motions while my hands are resting on my lap. It's very strange and I have no reason why, it's just a weird thing I started doing years ago. Maybe that's why people are always telling me what a great listener I am...little do they know I'm transcribing what they're saying in my head.
   
2. While I'm trying to get to sleep at night, I'll usually play out some event that's coming up in my head (e.g., holiday party, some random get-together, etc.). And usually, no always, in this play-by-play fantasy, I'm prettier, much thinner, and dressed to kill.
   
3. Now this I shouldn't share. It's gross and weird, but weird IS the point of this whole thing, right? I like the smell of my own gas. But...doesn't everybody? Not mine I mean, but their own.
   
4. I always salt my food before tasting it. I love salt. LOVE IT. This frustrates RD to no end that I won't at least taste it first, but I can't not do it.
   
5. When reading a book, before I get into it, I have to have a face for each character. It sometimes takes me awhile to get started because I'm trying to find the right face for the characters. I have to have a mental picture of each person. I usually use famous actors or actresses, but more recently I've used neighbors or friends.

I tag Christine , Mommy D, Girl, Terri, and Grace.

I married a good man

Just a little sweet something I want to throw RD's way. One thing I really love about him is that he doesn't hesitate to tell me he loves me while he has an audience.

When he calls me from work I can hear the hustle and bustle going on around him, but he always tells me he loves me. Not softly, not in a whisper, never holding back.

It may seem silly, but that little something really makes me smile.

Mommy's turn to say no...

...and why is it so hard?

Never in a million years would I guess this would be a hard thing for me to do. My whole life I've dreamed of being a stay-at-home mom. Now I'm living my dream and...on most days...enjoying it. So why do I get a pang of sadness when my old workplace calls and offers me a job and I have to say no?

I miss adult conversation. That's number one. I miss having a reason to get dressed in the morning. A reason to fix my hair. Getting out of the housePERIOD. And I really liked my job. I didn't like it right away. I came from a great workplace where I had great friends, but I was burned out - and my job performance showed it. I just didn't care anymore. I had no respect for my "bosses" and I wasn't challenged in the least. I looked at work as a place to gab with my girlfriends, not a place to climb the corporate ladder. I just didn't care anymore. So when I went to L, it was quite a change. I worked on my own. No bosses hovering over me to make sure I was doing my job. The first year was pretty blah. It was a new position, so when I asked for my job description, what was a typical day, they would look at each other and shrug. They didn't know. All they knew was that the big shots of the company wanted an assistant. What this assistant was to do, no one knew, but what they did know was that these guys wanted someone at their beck and call. That's where I came in. It took awhile for me to feel comfortable in this role, working for these men that everyone else in the company felt incredibly intimidated by, but it didn't take me too long to find my niche. These guys with the big bucks put their pants on the same way we do every morning, what's the big deal? By not showing fear, by not being a 'yes-person,' I earned their trust and respect. I grew to love my job and love the people I worked for.

So my old boss (HR-VP...the big wigs paid my salary out of their pockets, but didn't want to be my go-to person for all the little crap) called me this morning and said she wanted to offer me a job. They were looking for someone like me, a stay-at-home mom that would be interested in working 15-20 hours a week. It wouldn't be doing what I did before, I know that much, and we didn't get into details since I felt it was pointless. I knew I couldn't do it, so why bother. But now I feel a bit of sadness wishing I could have said yes. Why does that make me feel so guilty?

Silly, I know. I couldn't wait to "retire," and now I'm sad I can't go back? I would like to work part-time eventually. Maybe when the kids start kindergarten. I'll want to do something at that point, but right now it doesn't make sense. I'd have to find daycare for the kids for what? I don't need the paycheck. We're fine if I never went back to work again, but that's not the point. Ugh.

I'm rambling. Probably not making much sense, I just needed to vent. Thanks. GrumbleGrumbleArgh

Let me guess...

No?

Everything, and I mean everything out of our kids' mouths lately is no.

"Do you want your milk?"

"No."

"Cover your mouth when you cough."

"No."

"Come here."

"No."

"Lie down like a big boy."

"No."

"Do you want more?"

"No."

"Give mommy a kiss."

muh-wah!

Thanks for throwing mom a bone!

"Let's go upstairs."

"No."

"Give that back to your brother."

"No."

"(To AR) My goodness you are the cutest thing ever."

AR nods rapidly in agreement with big smile.

Damn I love my difficult, challenging, authority-phobic children.

Bathroom's Done!

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I'm really happy with how it turned out. It's really hard to tell what the color looks like in the picture, but you sort of get an idea. They plastered it first, so there's a nice texture to the wall. It looks khaki in the daylight, then at night you can see an olive tone to it.

I finally have my sanctuary back! The overall experience sucked so bad though that RD has sworn to never hire anyone else to do something for us again. We're big do-it-yourself people, but thought we'd hire out for this one. In hindsight, not the best decision. We are happy with the foyer, and in the end we are happy with the bathroom, but it was just not a pleasant experience.

First the bathroom turned out awful. I should've taken a picture to show you the yuck on our walls that he called Venetian plaster, but it made me sick to even bother. Then when he drops this girl off to apply the plaster (for the 'do over' job), she starts asking me if it looks okay because she's never done this before and isn't sure what it's supposed to look like. Mmmmm-kay, so you're telling me we're spending a totally unnecessary large chunk of money to have this so-called professional do something that we could've just as easy of done ourselves? Irk. Gack. Damn it. Hind sight...it's a bitchbitchbitch. Oh well. It's done. It's over. We're happy. So glad it's finished.

Week in Review

I know I've been MIA. Even though the holidays have passed, it's still been busy around here.

My birthday came and went. I swear as soon as I hit 30, birthdays went downhill for me. My 30th birthday I was in the hospital with the flu, pregnant, while RD was in Denver for a wedding. My 31st birthday RD worked and the kids and I were sick. This year RD worked AND didn't even remember it was my birthday until the day was half over. Nice. Real nice. He did bring me flowers when he got off work, but hating to be such a "girl," it really hurt that he forgot. He didn't seem to think it was a big deal, but then I'm the one that gets all crazy excited over birthdays and holidays; he could care less. But since I care so much, isn't that exactly why he should try harder? That's my theory anyway. He doesn't seem to agree. Boo hoo. Oh well. Moving on.

My birthday gift...LOVE IT. Before the hubster gets slack for what he got me, let me first say that he didn't ask me what I wanted, I told him what I wanted AND went out and bought it before Christmas because I just couldn't wait until December 27. And the 20% off coupon I had expired December 26, and who wants to go shopping then? Not me! I got the Dyson DC14 Animal vacuum. The first night I had it I vacuumed at 10 o'clock that night because I was so excited. What does that say about me? All I can say is...whoa. RD got off late that night and when he came to bed he said, "Our carpet's amazing. I didn't even turn the lights on and I could feel it all fluffy under my feet." Yea. We're both sick.

New Year's. Eh. RD had to work at 11 p.m., so nothing planned. We made prime rib for dinner. It was delicious. 6 pounds was the smallest size Sam's had, so we've been eating prime lib for lunch, snacks, breakfast, you name it. We just finished it up lastnight.

Christmas stuff is down. It was actually hard for me this year. I don't know if it's the new house, the kids, or what, but I hated doing it. Not the actual act of it, but hate it being gone. This is strange for me because in the past I was always one who wanted it all down, all sign of Christmas gone December 26. This year was different. It just seemed to come and go too fast this year.

One big thing...for me anyway...is I've been catching up with an old friend. Someone I hadn't seen or talked to since my wedding. It deserves a whole post in itself, so that will have to wait for another day.

Well the kids are screaming, so naptime's over. I hope everyone's week is going well!

Visions of Sugar Plums

Well Christmas is over, but wasn't it fun? Yesterday was the longest day ever, but that's not a bad thing. It was a lot of work, but it was priceless seeing the kids so happy. I had so much fun, I couldn't sleep lastnight. I just kept replaying the day's events in my mind.

We have lots and lots of pictures, but we need to download the new program that comes with our camera, so until we do that, I won't be able to download the pictures.

We got up at 7 a.m., took our showers, ate some breakfast, then got the kids up at 8 a.m. We took them straight to their presents. The first present they opened (all together!) was the two-set Elmo - Check-up Elmo and Potty Elmo. The second gift they opened was this thing called "Learn Through Music." It has a moving screen with Elmo singing about some scavenger hunt. Once the boys saw that, they were done. AR opened the rest of the presents herself. And she got the hang of it pretty quick!! She dug right in! We got her a Cabbage Patch baby that looks just like her, and she's been unable to part with it from the moment they met. :)

Then RD and I opened our gifts from the kids. The kids got him tickets to see George Strait in February and they got me a CD/Stereo to be mounted under our kitchen cabinets. Yeahhh! Win-wins for all!

We made hash brown casserole, then headed to his mom's around 10:30 a.m. for brunch. We ate, then once again dug into presents. Between our presents and the kids', RD and I were opening gifts for close to an hour. I can't complain...we got a lot of neat things!

We headed home around 12:45 p.m., put the kids down for a nap (yea right, they had other plans) and got the house, food, etc. ready for my family to come over at 3:30 p.m. It was my first turn at hosting and it was a lot of fun. Everyone always complained in year's past about how much work it is, but I didn't think it was so bad. Other than not a single person in my family helped me clean up after we ate...but that's a different story. Thank God I have such a wonderful MIL. She's the best!

The last guest left around 7:30 p.m. RD and I did a fast clean-up around the house, then plopped ourselves down on the couch by 8:30 p.m. to veg out in front of the t.v., then were in bed by 9:30 p.m. It was a great day.

I expected the kids to be bloody awful today. We had been running, running for two days straight, and they were allowed to go wild (within reason :)) and eat their weight in cookies during this time, so I thought today we would pay the price - but they've been pretty good. I've been assembling their new toys ALL DAY, so they've had plenty to keep them occupied.

Now it's time to go play. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!! I'll post some pictures soon!

Almost There

Can you believe it's only two days until Christmas? Given the 60-degree weather around here, I sure can't! This weather is amazing. Once I hit the streets to get my groceries for Sunday, the time of year couldn't be denied. The traffic was horrendous! But I got most everything I needed. I forgot only one thing, which really is a good thing. I always forget something. ALWAYS. This time it was the rye bread for the rye bread pizzas. And actually, I didn't forget it, I just bought the wrong thing. It looked like the little rye bread loaf, but it was honey wheat or something. So it looks like I'll be braving the crowds again before the day's over.

SA gave me quite a start to the day. I walk in the boys' room and nearly gagged at the heavy stench of poo. Not out of the ordinary. But what was a surprise was to look at SA, totally naked, standing in a pile of poo. Poo smeared all over his face, his mouth (which yes, means I think he was having a good ole' nasty time eating it), and hands. I was planning on letting RD sleep in this morning since he has to work tonight, but I quickly dragged him out of bed since I had to take SA straight to the bath. How nasty. Ugh. I can't wait to share this story with him someday. "Let me tell you about the day you ate your own poo." Just lovely.

And to top it off, the kids have been acting like wild animals. Why is it after kids are sick they feel the need to act like maniacs once they're well? Are they making up for lost time? Please tell me my sweet babies will be back for Christmas!!

I don't know that I'll have time to get on-line until after Christmas, so Merry Christmas everyone! Have a wonderful time enjoying your family and friends. I can't wait to hear how you spent your holiday!

STAY WELL STAY WELL STAY WELL

We've recovered. Now the goal is to stay well until Christmas. December 26, if the bugs must come, so be it, but please, please keep us well until then.

Tonight was Bunco night and a couple of the ladies were saying they could feel something coming on, so (since we're all handling the same dice of course) I would wash my hands each time before I went to the food table. Yes, I'm that paranoid. It's not just that I love Christmas THAT MUCH. I do, but since we're hosting, it's added pressure.

I've been eating like crazy, as I do every holiday season; and as much fun as it has been, I'm ready to get back to some healthy eating. It sounds strange to have this thought come out, but I'm sick of all this wonderful gooey butter cake, cookies, and ordering out left and right. There's always a little bit more of me to love each Christmas. The treadmill is waiting for me, but why rush? My birthday is two days after Christmas, so I'll start being good December 28. Sounds like a good plan to me!

The kids...as crazy and destructive as they have been, they are so much fun right now. The new words never stop. And they're so sweet and loving to each other. They hug each other. Kiss each other. Hold hands. It's the sweetest thing. If one of them is getting into something, all I have to say is, "Mommy needs a kiss," and they come running over. My babies. So precious!

Well, speaking of gooey butter cake, I think I better go have a piece. Yes, right before bed. Sometimes it's good to be bad...

Serves me right I suppose

Be careful what you wish for. Here I was bitching on here about how busy I am...and whattayaknow? Two of the kids and I get sick, so I cancel the sitter and RD goes to his work party alone.

He's only been at this job since July, so I was looking forward to meeting all his co-workers. There's always next year, right? *smirk* Hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow so I can go to A's party. RD said if I'm okay, he'd stay home with the kids if they're still not feeling well. I might do that anyway - I would feel awful getting someone else's kid(s) sick right before Christmas. I can be careful to wash my hands and not touch any of their things...but my kids? Well...try telling them hands off. I don't think so.

The Parents as Teachers lady came this morning. She did the Denver Screening with AR. She did above average on everything but the fine-motor skills. This was very frustrating to me because the kid stacks everything - her carrots, her Bologna, her crackers...EVERYTHING. But when she's getting "scored" for her actions, forget it. Oh well. No biggie. I know my girl rocks. :) She'll do one of the boys next month, then the other the next.

Other fun news, we bought a new camera! Our old camera finally went kapoot, so it was time to get a new one before the picture-taking frenzy starts next weekend. It's scheduled to arrive Tuesday. So be ready for a bunch of pictures of anything and everything!

Mini Vent

You're about to get a taste of just how crabby I am right now, so feel free to skip this post.

For the record, dear family and friends, I do not like e-cards...I do not like links to sites that show horses singing the twelve days of Christmas...I do not like PowerPoint presentations with kittens and puppies telling me how much I need to smile. I DON'T LIKE THEM! I usually just hit delete or skip, but every time they sucker me in, they boot me out of my e-mail or off the computer all together. For the love of God, just stop!

Wrap it up

Things are slowing down a bit...sort of. Well...maybe not. I got all our Christmas cards out last week. All our Christmas presents (w/the exception of one that RD is picking up tomorrow) are bought, wrapped, and under the tree. It's so nice not to have that last-minute rush of wrapping the days before Christmas. We're going to have so much going on from now until Christmas, I wanted to be sure to get as much done as I can.

The painter is coming over tomorrow to help us figure out what the next step is for our bathroom from hell, and we have a fence guy coming to give us an estimate on a fence. RD's going to some trivia-night thing tomorrow night, so again, he won't be home (he's been working all evenings/nights lately). Friday morning we have the Parents as Teachers lady coming to visit with us and the kids, then another fence guy in the afternoon, and RD's work Christmas party that night. Saturday morning my mom is coming over to watch the kids while I run RD's mom's gift to her house (coffee table/storage unit we want her to have before Christmas, since she's hosting), then we're going to A's Christmas party that evening. Sunday...ugh...Sunday. Now...I know we have something to do on Sunday, but I don't have my planner in front of me, so for the life of me I can't remember. Monday, another fence guy. And, again, I know we have something almost every day next week, but my brain's so fried, I'm drawing a blank. To make things crazier, my neighbor behind me called today and I told her I'd bring the kids over one day next week for a playdate. It adds to the craziness a bit, but at least it's something fun - something to look forward to.

I won't even get started on the day of and days surrounding Christmas. Besides...I know I'm preaching to the choir. Who isn't busy right now? So let's all take a deep breath and remind ourselves to enjoy this busy, crazy, stress-filled time of year. It's Christmas!

Blah Blah Blah

I'm just feeling blah. Down about my weight. Stressed over the bathroom. Tired.

How do you like the new look? I'm happy with it. I loved the other one, and I think this one will take some getting used to, but I was ready for a change.

I really need to finish up our Christmas shopping. RD doesn't go in until late tomorrow night, so he mentioned us going out to get the kids' stuff tomorrow. We'd have to take them with us, but they'll be clueless. We could probably get away with not getting them anything (they're young enough not to know, and they'll get lots of presents from family), but we didn't get them anything last year, so I'm really wanting to get them gifts this year. We need to do a complete overhaul in here anyway. They have so many "baby" toys - we need to clean a lot of this out and bring the new stuff in. Like last year, I think I'll be more excited over their new toys than they are. Even if they're not sick of these same 'ole toys, I am.

One of my neighbors brought her girls over to play today. E is four years old and M is 20 months old. The kids had a lot of fun playing with each other and I had a lot of fun chatting with someone my own age. I really like her a lot. I'm excited at the thought of having maybe met someone in the neighborhood I could be good friends with. There are a lot of friendly women in the neighborhood, but we seemed to really click. The next step is seeing if the husbands get along just as well. ha!

I know I've said this before, but damn I love Grey's Anatomy. I really enjoy that show. Unrealistic, sure, but it's pretty entertaining. RD and were both laughing out loud lastnight, and if he's laughing out loud at something, you know it's good. I love the Dr. Shephard (a.k.a Dr. McDreamy)/Addison/Meredith love triangle. As much as I wanted him to pick Meredith, going back to his wife was the right thing to do (a-hem...FOR NOW), because it sure adds to the drama watching the dynamics between the three. I couldn't stand Addison in the beginning, but I've found myself really feeling sorry for her, watching her in pain vying for Derek's love and forgiveness. Enough of my obsession with this show. But I just had to say again...love it!

Sample Unseen

Yet another lesson learned during this whole faux-finishing/painting ordeal. Number one priority...get a sample before letting the painter start, because what you have in mind and what he has in mind might be two different things.

One word.

UGLY

I'm talking hideously ugly. Nasty. Looks like you wiped your ass on the wall ugly. We were shooting for the plaster look...textured-sort-of-Tuscan look. What we got was a bunch of slop on the wall. Nasty stuff. So...now the painter is going to just paint over the whole mess. It is impossible to get our walls back to their original condition - they'll never be the same. Nothing we can do about that now. Ugh. Crap. I wish I could just hit rewind.

On a brighter note, my new template's ready. Mia said she's going to install it sometime tomorrow.

I'm off to mope now.

Christmas Party

The Christmas party was a lot of fun. We don't get together with our friends enough, so it's always a treat when we all get together. The last guest left around 12:30 a.m., then there was clean-up, so of course Sunday RD and I were both walking zombies. We spent the majority of the day lying on the floor with the kids crawling all over us, begging them to stop bouncing on us.

Here comes the "back in the day" speech...

I remember years ago I would go out until the bars closed, then be at work at 8 a.m. I was tired, but knew my bed would be waiting for me at the end of the day for my much-needed nap. I just can't handle missing out on sleep anymore. Ahhh...those were the days. But it was all worth it. It was great seeing everyone.

It's going to be a fun month. We've got a party to go to next Friday, then Friday and Saturday of the next weekend. Watch out, we're party animals! Then we'll need the whole month of January to recover. I joke...but there's a lot of truth in that statement!

It looks like the final changes have been made, so Mia will probably be installing the new template in the next day or two...I hope. Can't wait!