Maybe I Leave the Bathroom Door Open On Purpose?

Klaeyton.s Newest Favoritest Game :)

He dashes into the bathroom every chance he can get.

Which is normally when I forget to close the door.

He grabs up a handful of dog food (also known as "food balls").

He darts into the dining room, pulls back his arm and...

DINK! you hear the food hit the floor in at least 20 different places. 

All of a sudden we can hear Klaeyton laughing hysterically as Jasey darts around the room scouring for each morsel of food. 

If it weren't so darn funny, I'd be more careful to close the bathroom door ;)

Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

I Could Use A Visit From The Motivation Fairy

I started this post some days ago, but haven't had the concentration to sit down and finish it:


I've acquired a new obsession the last couple of days. I've found this blog http://moneysavingmom.com/ and I absolutely LOVE it! It has led to to me scouring some other blogs and stuff. I found some awesome coupons this week and when I went shopping yesterday I got some awesome deals. I didn't even spend that much time planning, but I figure as much time as I spend doing other stuff, I should take a little extra time to save us some money. It's not like we're millionaires or anything ;)


That's as far as I got. I'll elaborate some more :) I followed up this week with some more deal scouring. I didn't have any coupons that were of immediate use to me, but did shop at two different stores in order to stay within our grocery budget for the week and I have to say I did fantastic! I'm determined to start budgeting better so that we can start putting more into savings. 


Anywho, I still haven't acquired the needed motivation to get upstairs. And last night it took me forever to fall asleep due to the million things going through my head regarding what we still haven't done to prepare for the baby. I need to make a needs list so we don't end up buying everything at once and completely breaking the bank. I also need to find a sofa bed so we can get our stuff moved upstairs already. And (gulp) I need to start organizing the upstairs so that there will even be room for all that stuff. Oh how I need the motivation fairy. It doesn't help that we're still having these 95 degree days where all I want to do is sit in front of my air conditioner. I mean really? I think fall needs to hurry up and get here. 


I got so excited yesterday in the stores seeing all the fall stuff being brought out. This year...I am def ready. 


Matt bought Klaeyton Finding Nemo and he likes it! So for the last couple of days, we've been watching Nemo instead of Cars. I'm totally ok with that :) It's hard to believe that in little over a month K will be 2! It's going by so fast. I have to plan his birthday party yet too. I'm still deciding what we're going to do...and still trying to find the cheapest way to go...why do birthday parties always end up being so expensive?


oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

Our Morning Routine.

Klaeyton and I have gotten into a pretty regular morning routine. Before I got pregnant this time around, I'd be up at 530 so that I could have a couple hours to myself before anyone was up. However, I'm too tired for that now, even when I do make it to bed at nine. So, now I sleep till about 7 when Klaeyton gets up. Sometimes I have to wrangle him out of his crib because he wakes up cranky, but mostly the morning starts out well with a diaper change and some juice, then Klaeyton watches Cars for the millionth time. I try to encourage him to change it up with Shrek or Curious George, but ultimately, it's always Cars. Sometimes he'll sit in the big comfy chair with just his juice or he'll insist on a package of fruit snacks (this happens when he darts to the pantry before I can get the door closed). At some point, he'll be ready for breakfast and he'll pull his high chair over (so that he can still see Cars) and insist on getting up himself and doing the buckles. He loves to do the buckles now. He locks the tray himself and then grins a huge accomplished smile telling me he's ready to eat. Most mornings it's yogurt and fresh fruit or cereal with some bananas or raisins thrown in. I get him all settled and he eats away, every now and then yelling "Kachow!" from Cars. 


I used to feel guilty letting him watch tv with little or no interaction from me, but I've come to realize that if it gives me an hour in the morning to balance the checkbook, have my coffee and get my day straight, it's probably better for the both of us. Besides, I usually limit the tv time anyway and shove him outside when he's done eating :) 


When it's time to wake Matt up, Klaeyton has his own rituals. He normally waltzes in the bedroom yelling "Daddy-O"! He climbs up on the bed and immediately begins driving his "dump car" all over daddy till he wakes up. Sometimes, he even throws a wrestling move in there to change it up. I have to admit, I love to watch :)


Oy vey, what am I going to do when there's two of them? When one needs nursed while the other one is insisting on blueberry yogurt not strawberry? It's a whole new adventure I'll be tackling and let's face it, my time management skills can only get better :)


Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

Stickers and Mom Stuff.

I feel like this pregnancy is flying by. It's probably because I have Klaeyton around to keep me plenty busy and I can't complain. I really don't care for being pregnant. Some women apparently love it. Me? Not so much. At least, not with this little acrobat. When I carried Klaeyton, it was easy. My morning sickness was minimal, I didn't really get uncomfortable until the very end, and I could take all the time I wanted to myself to soak in the bath tub or snuggle up in front of the tv. This time? Hah. The sickness was so bad I was put on medication and was pretty much confined to the couch for at least a month. My face has broken out worse than it ever has in my life and now even at almost 6 months, I'm already super uncomfortable and having trouble sleeping. But no worries, I get my exercise chasing Klaeyton around ;) I shouldn't complain though. I can't even express my excitement about having a second child. Klaeyton's going to be a big brother and a big part of my anticipation is seeing them together. 


On that note. Bring on the fall. I didn't think I would ever say this and maybe it's all the pregnancy hormones speaking but I'm tired of summer. I'm ready for jeans, hoodies and flip flops. I'm ready for the days when I can keep my windows open and not run my ac or my heat and just throw on an extra blanket at night. I'm ready for changing leaves, cool breezes and pumpkin patches. I think this summer has just been a tad too hot for me. I'm ready. Now I know once we get that 8ft of snow in November I'll be complaining, but right now I'm ok with it :)

I can hardly believe K will be two in less than two months. He's becoming so independent. And he's so smart. His new thing is stickers. Oh how he loves stickers. And it keeps him occupied for awhile. I think I have found my new distraction for the grocery store and when we go out to eat. 

Klaeyton pointing at his sticker shoe :)

He's obsessed with cars. Both the movie and the matchbox kind. I think maybe he has gotten over his balloon phase because now he insists on taking his "dump car" to bed with him. Yeah, he won't say truck, he calls everything a car, complete with Boston accent. 


I'm still working on the house. I need more motivation to make it upstairs. I'm such a procrastinator I'll probably do it right before the baby arrives. I might just wait till it gets cooler so that I don't have to worry about hauling one of the ac units up there. 


So I'm completely addicted to Dexter. I finally broke down and started watching it after everyone kept telling me how awesome it is and now I'm totally hooked. It's such a weird show, but I can't help but get sucked it. Thank goodness for netflix. I love it!


I think I might bake something today. Granted it doesn't cause my kitchen to heat up to 400 degrees :)


Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

Nesting and Jumping on the Bed.

I think I've figured out the reason I can't keep up with blogging on a daily basis...well for starters I'm lazy. Not like lazy like I sit on my couch all day, but lazy like it takes effort to think about what I'm going to write and every time I start to click on that bookmark at the top of my screen, I talk myself out of it. But sitting here in my glider (thanks to Nana and Papa Harden) in Klaeyton's newly organized and extremely clean room, I can smell freshly cut grass (not ours, we're so terrible about mowing the grass regularly) and I just feel like it's a perfect time to write. 


Yesterday my nesting kicked in. I'm determined to get the house in order before Julyiet gets here. I started with K.s room. What a mess. This child has so much stuff. He doesn't need any more toys for like ever. Anywho... I went through everything, got some more bins to organize, and threw a bunch of stuff out. I even went through all his clothes and yanked stuff that's too small or that he never wears. I moved stuff around and put his new town rug on the floor. It looks so much better and I can actually walk through his room without stepping on toys. Bliss. 


My next project is to start the upstairs, which I can do once we get an ac unit up there. I've told myself not to expect to get it all done overnight. It's a process and it will get done :)


One of Klaeyton's new favorite activities is playing on our bed. He loves to jump on it and wrestle and roll around. He'll just laugh and laugh. I need to get a video of it. Sometimes I think he's disappointed if it's just me, because he can't jump all over me like he does Matt. But when I watch the two of them together my whole body smiles. You can just see how much they love each other. It's a feeling only a wife and mother can know. 


Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

A Basketball In My Shirt

So Matt and I had plans to go out with friends last night, you know for some well deserved adult time. Well...the last few days my pregnancy hormones have been a little out of whack and I've been secretly crying over how none of my clothes fit well and how when I wear my regular shirts I just feel fat. I def don't feel cute and pregnant. I don't remember having this much trouble when I was carrying Klaeyton. Probably because one, I didn't get big until close to the very end, and two, we had just moved here, had no close friends and I really didn't care what I looked like out in public. Why this time around is so much different, I'm not entirely sure, although I do have an inkling. But anyway, I decided to go on a mission to get a couple new things yesterday. A mission that well...just read on. 


I tried Walmart, Target and even Old Navy before realizing that I was going to have to break down and actually buy Maternity clothes in order to feel comfortable and look cute. So I dove into Motherhood Maternity. The great part, I found out I'm actually wearing a size small instead of the medium I was originally thinking. I found some things I really liked. However, the price paid for them...not so much.  On the way home I was thinking about returning a couple things, when I realized they only do in store credit and no cash refunds. So what did I do? I cried and thankfully I have a hubby who is both understanding and thoughtful. He returned from Target with a beautiful new centerpiece for my table and told me not to feel guilty. How did I get so lucky?


The moral of my story... one of the unfortunate side effects of being pregnant is having to spend a little more on clothes (unless you get lucky and find a sale or are lucky enough to inherit a whole new wardrobe, neither of which I was), anyway you spend a little more but you don't feel so awkward when out on the town with friends and instead of a fruity umbrella in your drink, you're sporting a basketball up your shirt.  :)


Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

Potties and Harsh Realities

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.


It's amazing how you can feel so accomplished yet so defeated at the same time. If you're ever feeling this way...read this verse...drink some herbal tea and woosah :) Trust me, it helps. 


Today Klaeyton walked up and told me that it was raining outside and by golly it was. How did my little man get to be so smart all of a sudden?


His new obsession (other than eating cheese with all his meals) is the potty. He talks about it all the time and he's even let me put him on it. He loves to flush it, and even insists on doing so after he tells me he needs his diaper changed. I'm skeptical as to whether he's really ready or not, considering he's not even two yet, but I figure we might as well buy him his own potty chair and give it a whirl. The worst that could happen is he loses interest and we wait a while and try again. Oh but how nice it would be to have him out of diapers before Julyiet arrives. 


This evening Klaeyton and I experienced a harsh reality. My belly is just getting too big for him to sit on top of me in the "big chair" when we snuggle before bed. Instead we sat on the couch and attempted to snuggle but it wasn't the same and at one point he got so frustrated he went and sat in the big chair without me and told me I couldn't sit with him. I think in that moment he broke my heart for the first time. I had to let him be and it was one of those moments when I realized that he won't always want me around, or better yet, he won't need me around. I know I know he's only a toddler but it's like a small glimpse into the later years of parenthood. Ones that I can already tell are going to be a lot tougher than taming tantrums and changing diapers. It didn't last long...he was back on the couch with me within minutes. But those few moments were enough time for me to realize that I better get all the snuggles in that I can. 


Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

Name Drop

Matt and I finally decided on the spelling of Baby Harden #2's name. She now has a name :) We decided on Julyiet Luella Harden. 


I must admit. I'm pretty stoked. :)


Probably the shortest blog ever but I wanted to share.


Currently Matt just told Klaeyton not to drive his car through his macaroni and K replied, "car eat noni." To which of course Matt replies, "No Klaeyton your car does not need to eat macaroni." I just smiled.


Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

A Pish-Posh of Stuff

Yay! It's grocery shopping day. But naturally I would wake up this morning remembering an expense that I haven't taken into account for the month that had to be paid today. Small damper but nothing unmanageable. I think if managing finances was easy my life would be just a little bit too great. :) 


It's amazing that it's almost nine and K is still asleep. It could be that I had him up late again last night. I feel like such a terrible mom sometimes, keeping my toddler out until 11 which is 3 hours well past his bedtime. But I do know this. Once Baby Harden #2 arrives I won't be able to do that. Taking one child to Applebees to enjoy some karaoke while Daddy's at work is one thing...but two? Yeah right. I don't even think I'm that brave. And lately finding a sitter has become a little bit more of a challenge. I already know it will be rough when there's two of them. 


Klaeyton's new thing is telling everything Bu-Bye. Bu-bye car, Bu-Bye dog, it's like everything we leave behind he has to make sure to give his farewells to. It's awfully cute. I wish I could peek into his brain on more than one occasion. I think he's really intelligent like Matt is and I wish there was a way I could see what's going on in there. 


Last night during Karaoke he was so well behaved. I can really only count the curl under a rock in public moments on one hand with K. As wonderful as that it, it makes me think, Oh No what will the next one be like? Complete opposite I'm sure. 


She's def a mover. I can feel her all the time now doing acrobatics in my belly. I can't wait till I'm just a little bit bigger so that Klaeyton can feel her too. I'm looking forward to the look on his face and seeing how he'll react. It's hard to believe I'm already half way there. Then again, we are def not ready yet. There's so much to do! I really should get hopping. 


Well anywho, I need to make my grocery list and enjoy my few moments of peace and quiet while everyone in the house is still sleeping. Despite my love for noise, it's def nice to have some time to myself in the mornings :)


Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

Everchanging

I am beyond overdue. And the interesting part is I've been itching to write for awhile now, but have been so busy that I haven't squeezed in the time to sit down and actually write. Well, today I decided to do just that. I've been extremely productive all morning and believe I am taking a well deserved break :) 


Let's see. Where should I even begin? Well... I'll start with a Thursday a couple weeks ago. It was a great day. Matt and I were having an ultrasound done at the imaging center and were leaving the house with K when we checked the mail and got an excellent surprise that enabled us to head to the Apple store that day and purchase our new Mac :) I'm sure you can imagine how extremely excited I was. So we drop K off with the grandparents and head to the imaging center. Now keep in mind we are pretty positive this baby's a boy. But not only were we wrong but the ultrasound lady was so great! "You see those three little lines...no boy parts...you're having a girl" The surprise was huge! Here I had accepted that I'd be in the house with all boys, when God throws me a curve ball :) I won't reveal the whole name yet because we haven't decided on a spelling yet :) You know us...it's gotta be a little unconventional. But yes Baby Harden is def a GIRL!


We were then off to Michigan, where I got to meet a lot of Matt's extended family for the first time. It was a fantastic couple of days! Klaeyton had an absolute blast and we were sad to leave. But now we know there are many more fun times to be had. 


We're making some changes. If you know Matt and I, you know we're always up for change. Matt's looking at new programs and possibly looking for a day job. I think I have finally found my calling and am now scouting Master's programs as well. It's exciting. 


Klaeyton grows by the day. (And some days he thinks he's so grown that he doesn't need a nap, but Mommy is working on negating that one) His vocabulary especially. Yesterday Matt taught him to call Mommy a fat fat. Which I have to admit was absolutely hysterical. He still won't repeat I love you, but he'll talk to you for hours if you'd let him. 


The other day he threw his shoe out the car window. Thankfully we were parked and I just happened to be looking in the rear view mirror at that moment. 


He broke a ceramic gum jar at this mexican restaurant we were at on Sunday. A tad embarrassing. 


He growls at every unknown female that attempts to talk to him. I still haven't quite figured this one out yet. 


One of the best yet though...one morning as Klaeyton and I are trying to wake Matt up in the bed, Klaeyton farts and then says, "Daddy, Shoo-ey" Yep. Hysterical. 


I want to start keeping more notes of all the memorable things he does. I know twenty years from now there will be a gazillion and some of them I just don't want to forget. 


Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom.