I Love Being A Mom (In the Ninja Turtle Voice)

Today marked the first day or nice weather here in Northern Ohio. I would post some pictures, but haven't put them on the computer yet. It has been a productive day so far. 


But before I venture into all that we have done, I should mention my minor emotional breakdown earlier this week. I woke up Tuesday morning with my to-do list ready to go, which consisted of a staff meeting, other work for church, a ton of school work and of course the daily doings of having the two kiddos. Well half way through my first cup of coffee, my dry heaving spell began. And sadly, it didn't go away. I had to call out of my meeting and park myself on the couch with a temperamental infant and a demanding two-year old. Needless to say, I kind of lost it. I spent a lot of time crying and praying and came to a very difficult decision of withdrawing from school. Thankfully the director of the department was beyond understanding. I don't believe that I'm quitting, just rather post-poning. 


I wear a lot of hats and play many roles and sadly I think everything was suffering because of my anxiety over school. Right now, the most important thing I am is a wife and a mom and I'm totally ok with that. I know that even my work with the church was suffering and I just don't want that. There will be plenty of time for school. There's so much more I could say on this subject, but if you really want to know more, just ask :)


Because I really want to get into my day with the kids today. Klaeyton helped me clean the house. He wiped down walls and doors and even took stuff upstairs for me. We ran some errands and he was so good. We went to the park and tested out the sit-n-stand stroller I found at the resale....ummm totally awesome :) He talked my ear off the whole time and it was so nice to be outside. When we came back to the house I let him venture out back.  I busted out his power wheels jeep and attempted to pick up six months worth of dog poop, which was yeah uh totally disgusting. I wonder...can you hire someone to do that?


Anywho...it's been a fantastic day and a reminder to me of how much I absolutely love being a mom :)

A Leash?

Matt's in school for his STNA training all day during the week this month. Well yesterday I had errands to run and had to get Jules to the Dr. to be checked for thrush (yes we have it again) and I had to take both kids with me. This is the story of our day...


I was able to get lots done in the morning as far as getting my Bible read, I got to do some treadmill work and even got things done for church. It was a productive morning. Well I loaded up the kids...in the rain of course...and took off. We went to the bank drive through, then to the Dollar Store....Klaeyton was really good and helped pick out some things for Daddy's birthday bag, like a whoopie cushion :) He was even really good when we picked out the balloon and got it to the car. Next stop...Target...Once again K did awesome. We got birthday brownies and some other stuff for Matt and then took off to Burger King for lunch. I let Klaeyton play in the play place for a little while and he actually spent most of his time talking to his own reflection in the window. It was so funny even other people started to notice. 


Well then we left for the Dr's office. This was the part I was worried about. I packed all kinds of distractions and even reminded K of how we have to behave while there.  Of course K fell asleep on the way there, so he was cranky when I had to wake him up. He felt the need to run around the waiting room, talking to everyone he came in contact with. I kept trying to get him to go potty and he wouldn't. I could tell he needed to go, but I've found out that even if I take him to the potty, he's so stubborn on point that he still won't go until he wants to. So I just knew it was going to come at the worst possible moment. 


So of course they call us back and he does surprisingly well...until the doctor came in. While examining Jules, Klaeyton informs me that he needs to go potty...of course. Well the doctor tells me she's done and she'll write the scripts while I take them to the bathroom. I grab my naked baby (only in a diaper), a blanket and rush a toddler holding himself to the bathroom. In all the rush I don't even notice Klaeyton pull the emergency switch in the bathroom as I'm setting Jules on the changing table so I can help him onto the potty. The next thing I know a nurse is knocking on the door to check on us as this insistent buzzing keeps going off. I have to reassure her that we're fine and flip the switch back up. I'm trying to keep K away from the pull string and get his pants back up when Jules starts screaming. I then make our way back into the office so that I can get Jules dressed and ready to go. While doing so Klaeyton takes everything out of the diaper bag in search for his dinosaur that is under his leg. After shoving everything back in the bag, buckling Jules in her seat, we start to exit the exam room. Well...Klaeyton has done so well all day staying put and waiting for my hand (since I'm carrying a diaper bag and a huge baby carrier on one arm and I have to open the door with the other)...except for that moment. He just took off...running....at full speed....around the entire building. As soon as I say his name he runs faster. I drop the baby (not literally) by the reception desk and start briskly walking through the hallways to capture the blonde headed bullet racing through the buildings. I hear him laughing and even heard doctors and nurses laughing....I was so embarrassed. I'm pretty sure I turned beat red. A nurse blocked his way (after we made a complete circle around the building) and smiled as she gave me his hand. All I could say was that I'm sorry, he's never done that before. She just laughed and said it wasn't the first time she had to wrangle a toddler. She was commented on how fast he is...I know that will be a great compliment when he starts track :)


I think I'm going to invest in a leash. I never thought I'd say that...but after this...I can see why  they were invented. 




Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

A Weekend List

It's been a great weekend :)


1. I'm officially an Avon lady again :) well almost officially. Hopefully my contract will be done being processed tomorrow. Once I get my website link I'll post it :)


2. My sister came to stay with us. I love when she's here. 


3. We hit up some resales Saturday and I am sooooo stoked that I found a sit-n-stand stroller in fantastic condition for only $55. I know they retail starting at $140 so I was pretty darn excited. I wanted to post a picture but it's still in my trunk....


4.....because what do you know we got more snow last night. Oh Ohio how I'm beginning to loathe you. Wait...I do loathe you. 


5. We got K some wooden train tracks and trains and I think we have found his new obsession. 


6. We had an awesome Kidstuf Live service this morning at church. It was pretty much da bomb. 


7. We got our HDMI cable and adapter and are now watching netflix on the tv :)


8. We went out to Red Lobster for lunch today and I was able to see Molly...who I really do miss. 


Oh the joys of being an ordinary mom :)

Assembly Required

In this past week I've grown to have more appreciation for things that need to be put together before using.  But let me tell you, I think companies are awful about their assembly instructions. It makes me wonder if the people who write the manual actually ever put anything together. How does one get that job anyhow? Do you walk in and say excuse me I've put countless things together in my lifetime, can I write your assembly instruction manuals? Well that would mean that the manuals are helpful. These people are probably not  that experienced in putting things together. 


Between the treadmill and our new entertainment stand I could have pulled my hair out. Not to mention the couple blonde moments I had that resulted in needed assistance from Matt and me kicking myself in the behind. 


And on a side note I appreciate Matt so much more for putting the crib together...I know that thing is one giant huge pain in the butt. 


I just wanted to rant for a minute. I do believe that baby and children's things are the worst things to put together. But this week I experienced the terrors of putting other household things together. 


Oh the joy of being and ordinary mom.

My New Best Friend Bertha

Moms need friends too. And well thanks to Uncle Sam, this is my new one :) If you read my post on my Goals for 2011, you read that I was going to make myself start running. Now, I am by no means a runner. In fact I hated it...until this morning. 

Let me back up a bit. I made the decision to start running initially because of peer pressure. All my friends run and even my husband runs. I know it's good for your body and frankly I know that I need to exercise more. So that's how it made the goal list for this year. But I also know that I have two small children, a husband who works outside of the home, I work from home and we're both in school, oh and I live in the dreadful state of Ohio where one day we get 3 ft of snow and the next it's sunny and warm. So needless to say I knew it would be hard to run outside all the time, especially when I'm at home with the kids or even just in the winter. So I invested in Bertha up there and knew that if I paid money for something I would at least force myself to use it, even if I didn't like it. 

Well after much hassle and frustration getting the thing together and started last night, I actually looked forward to trying it out this morning. I downloaded this application for my iphone since like I said before, I am not a runner. I knew I'd have to start small and work my way up and this app came highly recommended. 

So I hopped on this morning with my app ready and my kindle where I could see it. I hear about people reading while they run all the time so I figured, hey it's worth a try. Umm so yeah I loved it. And I felt so good afterwards. The natural high of exercise is awesome and I know it's something I've been missing out on for awhile now. Sadly, according to the program I'm not supposed to run again until Friday, but I might just have to be a rebel and do it again tomorrow ;)

Oh the joys of being an ordinary mom.

10 Things Two-Year Olds Do

Two-year olds do some awfully funny things:


1. They enter this independent stage...I hear "Kayton do it!" at least a million times a day...before vacuuming, before meals, before getting dressed, before watching a movie oh and even when Jules is crying. I now know why it takes twice as long to do things with toddlers. 


2. They wear your name out. When Klaeyton wants my attention (mainly in the car), I hear "Mommy...mommy...mommy" about a gazillion times :)


3. They get obsessed with certain things. For instance...cheese. Klaeyton wants it on everything and literally picks the shredded or grated cheese off of things and eats it. 


4. They repeat everything they hear and tell you over and over again. Klaeyton's words of wisdom these days is "we don't kill dragons" since his new movie obsession is How to Train Your Dragon.

5. I don't think all two-year olds do this, but mine does...

He's kind of particular about his toys. 

6. They spill things. And they do it on purpose just to see what comes out :)

7. They pick up on your habits. When K makes a mess, I hear... "I made a mess" in this awe shucks kind of voice. 

8. Even two-year old boys are picky about which kind of underwear they wear. It would be awful to be caught in boring undies. It's gotta be cars or buzz and woody or dinosaurs or robots or something. 

9. They have likes and dislikes. Klaeyton loves when Daddy plays the guitar, however Mommy is never allowed to sing or dance :)

10. They still snuggle you...but only when they really want to.