A Monday to look forward to

Oh, another weekend gone.  But, the best part of today is that it is PAYDAY!  We only get paid once a month so there is one day that I REALLY look forward to at work each month.. PAYDAY! (Of course I also like birthdays because we get cake and ice cream)  

We had a great weekend at home.  Very busy.  Went for a run Saturday morning, then soccer team pictures, then errands, then birthday party.  I was exhausted, but in a good healthy way.

So my voice is wavering.  I figured it would take some practice using it to keep all of the BS going on down to a minimum.  I did not figure it would start to waver already.  Apparently it will be a constant struggle.

One of my best friends in the world has started a blog.  Go check out Trish, she is so cool.. really!!

Stuck at work

I have to complain about being stuck at work on a Friday.  I don't usually work on Fridays so this is like torture for me.  I have been staring at ALL of the crap/clutter in my office and it is making me anxious.  So I have been getting up every few minutes and throwing stuff away.  I can't even tell I have done anything.  I don't understand where all of the crap came from!

The nanny brought the boys by to see me, so it was nice.  I love showing the monkeys off to people.  

Last night I found my voice again (figuratively speaking of course).  I seem to have lost it some time ago between diapers and work and whatever else going on at the time.  But I have found it and I think my friends in real life will be happy to hear that.  I know I am.  I was loud, I was stern, I was angry, I was heard.  It is a good thing.  I feel empowered again.  I feel like Shanna again.  I am going to fight to keep my voice heard, and I will fight hard.  I have the best support system and they are the reason I found my voice.  And I will use it to shout how thankful I am!

On another note, I am already having "why in heck did you do that" conversations with myself over signing on to do Sarah's shred challenge in September.  That starts Tuesday.  I am already coming up with excuses to get out of it.  Don't worry, I will at least give it the old college try.  You all should too!

Finally first day pictures

Okay, so finally I have the pictures from big monkey's first day of school.  He was so handsome if I do say so myself!

He took this toy as his first show and tell!

What a little poser... we have about 20 "posing" pictures.

Little monkey looks like he is about to hurt someone!

And just for good measure!  Littlest monkey gets up on all fours for a very short period of time.  He was worn out by the time I pulled out the camera.

I was home  yesterday watching all four in the last picture.   Four under 4 and 3 of them under 2!  It was not too bad really, the babies were hungry and tired at the same time though.  I hope the nanny gets out of jury duty today or I may be repeating this scenario tomorrow.

Important announcement

I have made the executive decision to go to the Greek Isles for my 40th birthday, any of you want to come?  I will be 33 in October so we have PLENTY of time to save up for an over the top experience.  I am sure that by the time I am 40 I will be ready to leave the monkeys for more than an overnight experience (sort of a joke, sort of).  So I am thinking 10 glorious days traveling around Greece.  Imagine the food, the scenery young and hot greek men , the culture tan bodies , the drinks, the fun times to be had!  Oh, this is what is going to get me through life's difficult times for sure.  So, sign up!  I am not sure if husbands are invited at this point or not, but I will get back to you on that one.

Hello catholic school

Today was the first day of school for big monkey.  Well officially it was his half day evaluation day, but still, I had to drop him off and leave somewhere new.  I will have to say I held it together in front of him.  I was really surprised by the fact that I had to bite the inside of my cheek really hard to keep from bawling tearing up. This started in the van on the ride to school, continued while walking to the classroom, in the classroom, saying goodbye, in the van ride home. I finally called my mom and I lost control (plus my cheek was hurting pretty badly by this point)!  He, on the other hand, was so excited to go to school.  All morning while getting ready he kept asking if it was time to go.  I am so proud to be his mommy!  I hope Friday is not as difficult for me him since it is his actual first full day.

Littlest monkey had his 4 month check up yesterday (just a week or so late).  He is a whopping 16 lbs 11 oz and 26 inches tall.  BIG BOY!!  He has moved up into the 80-90th percentiles for growth.  She said he looked good and his hemangioma on his lip is looking good still.  He got so angry when she looked at his eyes with the little light.  I think he was more angry with that than his vaccinations!  I had to hold him pretty much all night, and no I did not mind one bit!

Little monkey is being  the big boy at home this morning for the first time.  I have noticed that he has been a bit clingy lately and I think part of it has been his anticipation for the big boys being gone and part of it is he is getting closer to 4 and they seem to turn into royal turds at age 4!  I think he will have a good time with his nanny though and really look forward to seeing him grow on his own without big boys to monkey after!!

I like me

Okay, this took a LOT longer than it should have but here is my list of things I like about myself.  I got this idea from Amber and the Extreme Makeover : Me Edition that I seem to have dropped out of for the time being.  I am doing this to look back on when I am having a bad day.  It seems I have let my self confidence slide and am in need of a major makeover in this area.  

1.  I am a good mom.  I love my boys and I think that is something people can see right away about me.  I am constantly thinking about them and have their happiness in mind.

2.  I am a good friend.  I may not always call when I should, or send cards on birthdays, but I do think about my friends quite often and would drop everything if they needed me. 

3.  My legs are quite nice looking.  I especially like their form since I started running again a couple of years ago. 

4.  My teeth are pretty.

5.  Organization skills.  I am a pretty great list maker!

6.  I am a pretty smart person.  I have some good brains up there and usually can use them pretty well!

7.  I am a good person.  Yes, I may gossip at times, but I do genuinely care about people.

So, lucky 7 I guess!  I will probably be visiting this post quite often to remind myself why I should like myself.

Bald is beautiful

I have finally reached that point post partum when my hair starts falling out, and I mean REALLY falling out.  I know that it happens to all moms, but it does not make it any less annoying.  I run my fingers through my hair (bad habit I have) and there is a huge wad of hair.  Wash my hair and there is a hairball the size of a small rodent in the bathtub.  Comb my hair after getting out of the shower and cleaning up the small rodent of hair, and there is a mass in my comb.  My hair is EVERYWHERE!  I have it all over my clothes, van, office, house, kids, I mean EVERYWHERE.  Thank God I have a Dyson!

School Shopping

Friday, the monkeys and I went school supply shopping for big monkey.  Our first school shopping experience.  I think overall, it went quite well.  We ventured out on Tax Free weekend, but got out pretty early Friday morning trying unsuccessfully to beat the crowds.  I did not do my usual bargain hunting.  We simply went to target and got everything we could off of the list.  I let big monkey pick out his backpack and lunch box/bag to help get him excited about the whole idea.  He picked G.I. Joe even though he has never heard of G.I. Joe before.  He wanted the soldier one, sort of made me proud considering I am an ARMY brat and all!  I am going to have to pull out some pictures of my dad in uniform so I can really impress the monkeys.  

I did manage to get some pretty good bargains at Gymboree, using gift cards earned on my Gymboree Visa, coupons, and the big sale.  I love coming home with a bag full of clothes for barely over ten dollars.  

Saturday morning I had to go to a soccer coach training session/breakfast.  The first 20 minutes or so were spent listening to church propaganda, which is how this usually goes down.  The program is so good though, it is worth the time... besides who doesn't benefit from some extra time with God?!  I did however, realize that Tuesdays are about to get incredibly hectic around here.  I also found out that our head coach (I am just the assistant) is a woman again this year and I am happy for that.  Why do I let the men intimidate me so much?!  We are the wolverines.  Big monkey was excited about that while little monkey said he was not going to be a wolverine... great start to the season!

What I did on my summer vacation

We all had a great time at the beach last week and I wish it could have been longer.  Why is it that vacations go so quickly?!  The monkeys had a blast.  Lots of playing in the water and digging in the sand and all of us being spoiled rotten by grandad and gigi!! Big monkey tried to convince me to buy a house at the beach the entire trip home Wednesday.  I will have to say I would in a heartbeat if it was feasible.  There were many firsts that came with our vacation.  Littlest monkey had his first trip to the white sandy beaches, first swim in a big pool, first nap on a lounge chair at the beach, and first laugh (score another one for grandad).  Both big and little monkey jumped into the pool without anyone catching them for the first time, had their first go cart ride, had their first "surfing" experience (ask big monkey and he says he is a GREAT surfer), fed an alligator for the first time, and big monkey even ate alligator for the first time.  I can't say enough how great the trip was and how much it was needed.  

We enjoyed spending time with my uncle, aunt, and cousins.  Big monkey was quite the entertainer, it was confirmed even more so how much little monkey looks like that side of the family, and littlest monkey was in heaven being held the entire time!  We were all very sad to leave for home, but looking forward to going back soon.  Here are some great pictures of our fun times.

Big monkey buried in the sand - they love to do this!

Little monkey covered in sand - he may be eating it here!

Cousins in their hole to China.

Squeaky slept like this for a long time!

This past weekend we went and had pictures taken of all three monkeys.  They turned out pretty good.  I will have to say I was dripping in sweat trying to get the stinkers to all cooperate at the same time - thank goodness I was not in them!  Big monkey tried to take the background down, little monkey refused to pose the way the photographer wanted him to (apparently he had his own way), and little monkey was on the verge of nap time.  It was a bit hectic, but we made it and here are a few of the results.

Big monkey.

I could not get this to stay rotated correctly, oh well.

Little monkey.

Squeaky.

Quick update

Things have been a bit crazy around here and I have mostly been reading everyone's updates and not posting anything.  Partly I have been busy(ish) and party because of a few things going on that I don't even want to think about nevermind blog about.  But I will say that very soon I plan on posting a few pictures from our beach vacation (was a much needed escape) and some really cute pictures of the monkeys I had professionally done over the weekend.

And I will tell you I am incredibly excited about my new ipod touch and nike vapor headphones that I used while running this afternoon.  August is a new month and I am ready to hit the ground running!!