It's Shanna... like banana

Calling for ideas

2010-03-04T13:24:00.003-06:00

Squeaky is going to be 1 in just a month! I can't believe how fast this past year has gone.

I want to do a party for him with and Easter egg hunt to go along with it since I will most likely be having his party the Saturday before Easter. I need some cute ideas people! Some of you are VERY crafty (Connie) so help me out please. Not too elaborate, just cute, simple and fun. I was thinking about doing a brunch type meal with easy food to prepare ahead of time.

Also, with it just being the monkeys and me now, I need some new dinner recipes. I am a vegetarian and now I feel like I need/want to incorporate more meatless dinners in our meal plans. I will have to do it gradually since I have the pickiest eaters living with me. I am taking any and all suggestions for easy meals. I would especially love crock pot meals (meatless of course) that I can put on to cook in the morning and would make my evenings go a little bit smoother.

A funny one

2010-03-03T12:26:00.002-06:00

I opened my front door yesterday evening to find three cats waiting for me, we only have 2. I had managed to grab my neighbor's cat and throw him inside. I thought he was ours that had escaped during the mad morning rush to get out of the door. I am still laughing at it all, can only imagine the fun things that went on in my house during the 10 hours we were gone!

Saturday in the park

2010-02-22T12:56:00.003-06:00

We had a great Saturday afternoon at the park. Nothing like some 65 degree weather with the sun shining brightly to make everyone want to play!

Of course the ice cream truck was at the park (along with nearly the entire city) so we all got a snack.

Little monkey got the starburst popsicle. The orange stayed for several hours!

Ice cream sandwich anyone?

Cutest squeaky ever..

The monkeys had their turn at the camera!

Trying Times

2010-02-19T15:24:00.002-06:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks here. I like busy, mostly.

Ever since the weekend after I found out about my husband being in love with someone else (this is as much as I can really bring myself to type about his disgusting behavior right now), I have been in this weird trance where I just don't feel like doing anything. Not just anything, but my normal stuff. I don't have the urge to make my lists (shocking, I know), get my house in order, go shopping for bargains, clip coupons, you know extra stuff that I seem to have a "reputation" for doing. I can't stand feeling this way and I just keep thinking I have GOT to snap out of it soon. I am happy to report that I have had a couple of pretty productive days this week. I am sure this is not the end of my so called trance, but it could be the beginning of the end.

Big monkey and I have been going at it lately. I have the shortest fuse I have ever had and it does not go well with a little boy who is angry at the world because his daddy left the family and puts very little effort into seeing him. We had a great morning this morning though and I am trying very hard to breathe easy and let the small stuff go for now.

I had to put little monkey and squeaky in a daycare. I cried the first day like I did with the other two when they used to go. They are both doing wonderfully and I think little monkey is really going to benefit from being back in a daycare setting. He was getting bored with the babies at home and needed some sort of older kid time. He introduced me to his new bestest friend yesterday. I asked little monkey what his name was and he said he did not know but I needed to ask him! It was cute. Did I mention how crazy it is dropping three monkeys off at two different locations and getting to work on time? Then to pick them all up and make sure I have a snack for the bigger two and am ready for some ravenous nursing from squeaky?! It is all very new for me and them, but we are managing. Soon it will be our normal and we won't remember what it was like to have it any other way.

I was trying to check in on a few of my favorite blogs today and came across a really puzzling post on Anna's blog. I did some searching and it seems like she passed away after a routine tubal ligation leaving four children and a husband behind. So sad really. Another reason I am trying to put on a happy face, I really am very blessed and things could be so much worse even though they don't feel that way at times.

Bare Naked Gaga

2010-02-02T12:18:00.003-06:00

It is absolutely gorgeous out right now! I know, the dang groundhog saw his shadow today so the nice weather is more than likely short lived. I am going to make sure I enjoy it while it lasts though! I will be going to the park during my break this afternoon and using my lunch time to run a few laps and get some vitamin D. Have I mentioned the insane number of people who have those dog strollers at the park that I run? It is the most bizarre thing, in my opinion. I thought the whole point of taking your dog on a walk was to get the dog some exercise.. I could be wrong.

This week is a busy one. I had check ups for the younger monkeys yesterday, field trip with big monkey and Mardi Gras float load tomorrow, my doctor's appointment Thursday, and Mardi Gras parades all weekend. It is nice to be busy though. Keeps things in perspective. And I am a pretty great list maker.

I made the mistake of thinking it would be safe for the monkeys to watch the first half hour of the Grammys the other night. You know, it started at 7 pm our time so surely there would be nothing too risque! Joke was on me. Thanks to Lady Gaga, my kids now know what a thong looks like. Big monkey wanted to know why we could see that woman's butt. I quickly redirected that conversation.

2010-01-29T15:19:00.002-06:00

So there seems to be a new(ish) trend going around with the kids in this part of the world. Silly bandz. I have actually known a little about them because of my friend's daughter, but I always just figured the odd shaped bracelets were for girls. Well, I was WRONG.

Big monkey went to a birthday party last weekend and the goody bag was simply a container of these things. He picked the zoo animal pack and is so proud of them. So far he has managed to only lose one and I keep waiting for it to show up in Squeaky's diaper. Now little monkey wants some, and big monkey wants more, and I am having a hard time finding them!

I got lucky (hee hee) today and found some at the Walgreens by my office. They aren't actually called Silly Bandz though, they are Animal Bands. Can the kids tell the difference? I am really hoping my 4 and 5 year olds can't.

I am going to use these as bribes rewards. Hope they work!

2 Weeks Notice

2010-01-28T10:55:00.002-06:00

Today has been what I call a sad day so far. I just am feeling a bit overwhelmed and very sad. And very alone.

I think with all of the busyness going on around me, I sometimes forget that I have a broken heart. Then all of a sudden, the reality hits me and makes me sad. Sad that I don't have a partner at home. Sad that the person that promised to love me forever is gone. Sad that the vows taken in front of God and our family and friends, were broken. Sad that I am starting to wonder if maybe I was really that difficult to be with. Sad that little monkey thinks that all daddy has to do is apologize to make us a family again.

Angry days are much better. I can be funny on these days, well in my sarcastic-humor-like way!

Of course, it does not help that my nanny gave me 2 weeks notice on Monday! Yes, two weeks notice to find good quality childcare for my 10 month old and 4 year old! Absolutely freaking ridiculous. Yet another person abandoning me and the monkeys. I am having huge problems trying to figure this one out. I can not find anywhere without a 6 month or longer waiting list. Unless I want to drop the monkeys off at the ghetto daycare or the one around the corner where half the staff is out smoking at any given moment. And did I mention that I am going to end up getting a measly $860 a month in child support from my BFF (Big F***er from F***ville)?!? Sorry for the potty mouth, but I really think they should figure out some other term to call a husband once he cheats and has filed for divorce telling me that it is my fault he cheated because I should have been taking care of him at home. Yes folks, I am really considering using him as a human pinata at Squeaky's first birthday party.

Well that just did it for me, I am not sad now, just angry! This may turn out to be a good day anyway!

Hello World

2010-01-25T12:29:00.003-06:00

Here I am, back. At least I hope so. I don't know why, but today felt like a good day to visit my blog.

I have been avoiding it completely lately, and in doing so, I have missed reading my favorites. I just felt like everyone was moving on without me and I did not want to face the fact that life goes on even with all of the sadness, aggravation, and stress going on in my life. It was a much needed break, or so I thought. But I missed it, really.

I am going to keep this one short and simple.

1. It is Mardi Gras time you all! And this year I am NOT pregnant and plan on living it up and having a fantastic ride!

2. I love my parents and they are the best, have I mentioned that before!? HA

3. Squeaky (now called Squeakquel by the little monkey) is up and moving and trying so hard to walk already!

4. The other monkeys are doing as well as can be expected. Little monkey turned 4 this month and Big monkey is a regular smarty pants like his mommy.

5. I signed up to run a FULL marathon! Yes, I must be crazy. But on April 24th in Nashville, I will be running the Country City Marathon and I really am excited. It is a much needed goal for me right now.

6. The same day (a week before Christmas) that I signed up for the marathon, I found out my husband is madly in love with someone - and it is NOT me.

So there you go. I said it. Now if I can just get myself to push publish post. It has been a rough few weeks and I know it is not going to get any better for some time. I am very blessed to have a wonderful support system. My children are very blessed to have a wonderful support system. I am going to try not to let this blog get all doom and gloom. My emotions are all over the place right now so I can't promise happy Shanna all of the time. But I know that things will get better and there isn't anything I can't do!

Pumpkin Time

2009-10-21T10:13:00.003-05:00

My 5 year old

2009-10-19T15:02:00.003-05:00

Big monkey turned 5 on Saturday. I can't get over the fact that he is already 5 years old. Such a sweet boy. He really is, I mean sure we have our problems here and there but he is always the first to give his mommy a hug or just let me know how much he loves me out of the blue. I hope he stays this sweet. Some woman is going to be a VERY lucky woman one day in the VERY far off future if she snags him. He does still tell me often that he wants to marry me. Though last time he also mentioned marrying every girl he knows, but not the strangers!

Lately he has gotten very silly. Just like most little boys apparently do at this age (and maybe some stay that way forever!). He cracks up at his own jokes, which are not really jokes but more like "funny" words.

He is the best biggest brother ever. I love to watch him with his little brothers, it warms my heart.

We had a riding toy party for him at the local skating rink. It was so much fun. Huge place all to ourselves for the kids to ride and ride and ride. And for me to skate and show my lack of talent on 8 wheels and 2 stoppers!

Big monkey was pretty good on his skates, here he is dancing to Boom Boom Pow!

Pirate theme all around you scurvy dog! Great cake from Publix.

And here we are, my first born. 5 years old. He is just like his mommy, type A personality and all! Now where is that pause button?

6 months old

2009-10-15T06:49:00.004-05:00

Littlest monkey is just over 6 months old now. Wow has time FLOWN by! I just can't believe how fast it has gone. This, while I am planning a pirate skating party for Big monkey's 5th birthday this weekend!

Look at these monkeys..

Man, am I blessed.

Could they love each other any more?!

Littlest monkey is sitting up on his own now. We still have a tumble here and there when he reaches for something or just gets distracted. I really think his chunky legs help him prop up!

He is also getting up on all fours and rocking! I could not believe it when I saw it. The other two were around 7 months when they did this. I guess being the third he is just ready to get up and go chase those boys.

What a sweet little face. I could just reach in there and squeeze him, and I do often at home! He is eating his solids like a champ. I made prunes last night (really gross thing to try to make by the way) and he tasted them and did not even make his usual what the heck is that you just put in my mouth face, but I did!

I have not even tried to put him in his own room yet, and I promised myself to do it at 6 months. I am just having separation anxiety! I will work on it soon, maybe.

As I mentioned, big monkey is turning 5 on Saturday. We are having a riding toy party at the skating rink. I think it is going to be SO fun! We get the rink to ourselves for 2 hours and the kids can bring whatever riding toy they want to. DJ, strobe lights, disco ball, I mean what else could you ask for?!?! Oh, I found glow in the dark swords and masks for the kids. I think I may be more excited than big monkey!

2557 Days

2009-10-13T13:04:00.004-05:00

Okay everyone, only 2557 days until my 40th birthday (or exactly 7 years from today). So get ready for this...

And this..

And of course this..

Can't. Wait.

But until then, I am looking forward to my trip at the end of the month here..

Think Pink

2009-10-07T08:11:00.006-05:00

This past weekend I did the Atlanta 2 day breast cancer walk again. This year I only walked Sunday because of the baby. I still did 10 miles (Saturday is 20 miles) and it was so great to be a part of it all again. My mom and her friends have done this for 3 or 4 years now and it makes me so proud to be part of their group.

We really get to see some great parts of Atlanta. This year we ended up at the zoo and my dad met us there with the monkeys. We ended up spending part of the afternoon there and I decided to play hookie from work Monday since I was so tired by Sunday evening.

Here we are at the finish line holding on tightly to the monkeys (they were ready to go see the animals at the zoo!).

We sent the bigger monkeys off to the zoo with grandad while we rested with squeaky. Cutest baby ever!

It was obvious that the recession has hit in many places, and unfortunately it hit the walk too. Seemed there were less walkers this year, but we still managed to raise over a million dollars to go towards breast cancer research.

My dad had a great time with the monkeys. He did such a good job taking care of all three. I honestly was not worried about them, maybe him a little! I was glad littlest monkey took a bottle from him. He seems to be picky about who gives him his bottles, he prefers the nanny! If you notice the picture, he does have his onesie on backwards. No biggie! My dad thought for sure the buttons should go in the front. It was a good laugh.

Beautiful Noise

2009-09-30T12:07:00.002-05:00

This morning was a typical morning, although I did not manage to oversleep due to numerous snooze button pushes so maybe it was not so typical. I usually get up around 4:30 am or I am in bed with littlest monkey nursing him while half asleep and trying to make myself stay awake so I don't oversleep. I go about my business and get ready for work, last minute things ready for big monkey and school, or for the nanny and other two monkeys.

But this morning I woke up to three monkeys in the bed with me. It was quiet (other than the low hum of the cool mist humidifier we use as white noise) and it was a morning full of beauty and happiness and innocence.

After my shower I came back into the room and stopped when I noticed all three monkeys in the bed with some part of themselves touching the other, kind of like a reassurance that they were not alone in the world. It was beautiful. The only sound was a soft snoring from each one of them and sweet soft sighs coming from littlest monkey. It warmed my heart.

It was something much needed and I am glad I had the opportunity to not only witness it, but recognize it. I will take that with me on my run today to help push through the tough parts, and to my doctor's appointments this week where it will be much needed.

Eventually one by one they woke up and made it be known that they were awake. I had to fight with big monkey to put eye drops in his eyes (he does not have pink eye but one of his friends does at school and we tend to get it if the disease is even mentioned, so I gave it to him as a preventative measure). He is not easy to deal with when it comes to medicine. Little monkey's first words every morning are that he is hungry so I had to deter that until the nanny got there at a decent time for breakfast. I had to quickly nurse littlest monkey being as I was very near being late by this point. So things were back to normal, full swing and full of noise.

When putting littlest monkey back in his own bassinet, he made the best noise ever. You know, that baby babbling noise that sounds like angels singing. It made my heart warm and happy again. I wish there was some way to bottle that noise. I think it would be so wonderful to be able to share it with people in need of an extra push during a stressful time. To remind us of how simple things really need to be and how much love there is in the world. I would like to bottle it up and save it for when my babies are grown up and I am missing them.

Going Green

2009-09-28T12:52:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I am the first to admit that I am not the person that is known as the "nice girl". You know, everyone knows someone who is just labeled as the sweet, nice girl. And I am just not that person. Not that I think I am incredibly bitchy or mean (I do have my moments), I am just not overly nice 100% of the time. No big deal. Really.

There are a couple of people at work that really annoy me. I mean REALLY annoy me. I try to give everyone a fair share of chances before I just write you off as annoying. I know that sometimes quirky can come off as annoying at first.

One coworker in particular makes my stomach churn every time I hear his very loud breathing and shoe shuffling self come in the door (my office is near the front entrance). I tried to be nice to him. I work in a scientific field and realize that there are some pretty big nerdy type people in the science field. My good friend from graduate school and I used to marvel at how cool we were (really just compared to the goobers in our classes). Somehow we missed the nerdy memo when check marking "biology" as our majors. But I digress...

This guy drives me crazy because he is so insincere. At least I am sincere in my bitchiness. He is a jerky nerd. Not so nice. Another coworker is a guy that everyone knows as being quite the recycler hoarder and trash diver and he is a nice guy. But he just came in and offered me an "unused" set of disposable chopsticks. Yes. Really. The wooden ones you get for free from the chinese take out.

This is my Monday!

No cheeseburger in paradise

2009-09-23T10:57:00.005-05:00

Okay, so we had our costume showcase and here is my costume for this upcoming season..

We are gypsies. I am not impressed by this costume. I am afraid the headband is going to give me a migraine. I don't understand the random pieces of tulle tied onto the shirt. At least it is a two piece. It could have been so much cuter. It could be worse...

Why would another woman ever purposefully make another woman wear this much cow print?!?! Women can be so cruel to one another.

And yes, she is carrying a cheeseburger on a platter. Steak and Shake anyone?

Being as I am still nursing littlest monkey, these flowers would have made my boo-bees look like air balloons.

There are a couple more that are even worse but I did not get good pictures of them. A lot of unhappy women after our meeting. But in reality, they will have consumed so much liquor that it won't matter what they have on! The worst part is that the president has picked Jimmy Buffett songs for every single float during call outs. First, I can't stand the music and second, how can you dance to Jimmy Buffett music?!?! I know he is from around these parts but so what!!!

Now I need to find some cheep gold heels, but not too high or I might break my neck. Nothing like breaking your neck with Jimmy Buffett playing in the background!

I've got a feeling

2009-09-17T10:20:00.004-05:00

I belong to a Mardi Gras society here in the deep south. I think this is my 5th or 6th year doing and it is usually lots of fun. We ride in a parade the week before the actual Mardi Gras. Our season lasts several weeks beginning some time in January and running until midnight on Fat Tuesday. My favorite part is the ride. It is SO much fun throwing junk at people and it is amazing how excited they all get... even the adults!

After the parade we have a huge ball that takes up the civic center downtown. Lots of food, booze beverages, music, and revelry to be had that night. You may remember I was pretty far along in my pregnancy with littlest monkey last Mardi Gras and could not ride. And then had to endure being sober, swollen, tired, and cranky with a bunch of drunks around. I still had a resemblance of a good time but am looking forward to the ride this year.

So why am I talking about this so far out from the February ride? Because tonight is our costume showcase!! We get together and each float has a model show up dressed in the costume we will be wearing for this year's parade. Up until now, it is supposed to be a secret between our board members and ball chairmen. I have to admit the secret has been let out and I am a little nervous about the theme and costume.

Costume showcase usually starts up the exciting buzz about the big night. My good friend (she is also a member) will be coming into town and I am even more excited to see her. I will be taking pictures so I may let you all in on the sneak preview too!

Hello World

2009-09-14T11:35:00.004-05:00

Okay, seems I took a little break from blogging without realizing it. I did not mean to, I guess life just got in the way. Things have been pretty tense at the house of bananas and monkeys for several months and I guess it all just caught up with me and I had a couple of weeks of pity partying. Well as much of pity partying you can do with a 4 year old, 3 year old, and 5 month old! But I am working on getting my life back and it started with my voice and is continuing with my fitness (yes, still doing the shred). Part of me wants to shout out all my problems to the world, but I keep changing my mind, so just bear with me.

Let me give a brief update on all the monkeys. Big monkey is still loving school. He has a "girlfriend" and tells me all the time she just drives him nuts! Apparently she got into some trouble for kissing him on the cheek. The funniest is that when she did, he pretended to faint to the floor. I have no idea where he got this from - so dramatic.

Little monkey is more clingy than ever with me. Not sure why, but getting up every night with him is getting old fast. He has really been enjoying soccer this season, though he would rather just play soccer tag.

Littlest monkey is not so little. He has to weigh at least 20 pounds now! I normally wait until 6 months to start solids but he has been begging for them lately so we caved and I gave him some whole grain brown rice cereal last week. LOVED. IT. I could not spoon it fast enough. He has developed the cutest laugh and does it every time someone comes into the room, or I am doing the jumping jacks during my Shred time. I could just eat him up.

I have made an executive decision to go to Disney for Halloween. It may be just the monkeys and me meeting my parents and some other family down there, but that is okay it will be a blast. I needed something wonderful and fun to look forward to and this popped into my head. I have a cousin that lives near there that is like my big brother and we have not seen each other in years so I can not wait to see him and his family. My aunt and uncle live there and have never met the monkeys so I look forward to that too.

A Monday to look forward to

2009-08-31T06:39:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-28T13:43:00.002-05:00

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

2009-08-25T09:49:00.004-05:00

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

2009-08-20T15:44:00.005-05:00

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

2009-08-18T09:41:00.002-05:00

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

2009-08-13T10:08:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-12T08:36:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-10T09:16:00.002-05:00

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

2009-08-04T11:21:00.005-05:00

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

2009-08-03T15:01:00.004-05:00

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!!

Another EM:ME week down

2009-07-22T12:13:00.003-05:00

Here is my weekly Extreme Makeover : Me Edition post. Some of us need to take time for ourselves a little more often than we do and Amber has gathered a wonderful group of women to help support one another. Check it out!

Another week down and I just have not really gotten on the bandwagon as well as I had hoped. Sure, I am still doing, but not doing as much as I would like to be. I did get 3 miles in under 30 minutes last week and without any music since my ipod was stolen. I also ran again on Saturday morning, pushing the two oldest monkeys and it seemed like we ran further this time. We took the monkeys to practice some soccer afterward the run and did a LOT of running back and forth chasing them. These were the goals I set for last week and I did accomplish them.

I have been a slacker THIS week though, today will be the first day back at the gym. So I was VERY surprised when I (on a whim) decided to step on the scale yesterday morning and I was not in the 150 pound range anymore, barely, but still! I felt great and refuse to check again until next week. I try not to get on the scale much because I would much rather go by how fit I feel and what size pants I am wearing.

We are going to the beach next week and I am really looking forward to it. I need some relaxation time and time with my family. I plan on dragging my mom out for jogs, chasing the monkeys, swimming (eek - wear a swimsuit?!?!), and maybe playing some beach soccer with the monkeys and my cousins. I also plan on being happy, laughing, hugging, snuggling, and maybe even reading during the few days we are there. I want to simply sit back and watch the monkeys in all of their glory and take a million pictures to remember every moment. So these are my goals and I hope I can stick to them!

Good thing I have the mini van

2009-07-21T14:09:00.004-05:00

Big monkey started his first soccer camp this week. I got to take him yesterday. I brought him to work with me early and then we went to camp and then home after a stop for some good old fashioned bribery rewards.

It is amazing to me how much my stomach gets into knots when the monkeys are put into new situations like meeting new people in soccer camp. Big monkey is very outgoing and personable and will let the bread man at Target know our entire family history, but he still felt the nervousness on Monday morning and I really felt it for him. It took everything I had to sit on the bleachers and just watch him without going out and giving him further instructions on how to take the ball away from the little boy who kept kicking it away from big monkey, or yell for him to watch out for the older boy standing directly behind him waiting to snatch his "tail" once the coach yelled go. But all in all, he had a great time and really enjoyed playing the games. I suppose that nervousness I felt will never go away. Man am I going to need to invest in Tums with three monkeys playing sports!

I was very proud that that he was not sitting next to me the entire time or crying when someone stole his ball.. though he was visibly irate and I did say a quick "please God don't let him bite someone" prayer. He was so very excited to go today because it was going to be pirate day at soccer camp. He even practiced saying the word scurvy over and over again last night! My mother in law came into town to take him, which was very nice. I was sad not to be able to take him, but we are going to get some more quality time at the beach this weekend!

Watching Big Monkey play yesterday sort of slapped me in the face with the reality of how much he has grown up in the past year. I mean look at this face! Where did my baby go?!!?

Meet me in Atlanta

2009-07-16T11:15:00.003-05:00

Here we go again! I just registered for the Zooma half marathon for November 8th. This is the race I ran last November. I was training for this race when I found out I was pregnant with squeaky, and after consulting my doctor, decided to go ahead and run it. I am very excited to do it again this year. It is a tough race with a lot of hills - did not realize midtown Atlanta was so incredibly hilly!! I figured I should go ahead and register to get myself more motivated for the long runs outdoors. I am hoping to bring even more inspiring women with me this year!

Extreme Makeover Me Edition First full week

2009-07-15T10:19:00.004-05:00

This week Amber wants us to post about what inspires us. There are really several things that inspire me. Every morning on my way to work there is someone out there at 5:30 running or walking and I am completely in awe of these people. I wish I could make myself get up that early and just hop out of bed and go. It does make me more excited to get out later in the day though!

The monkeys also inspire me. I know that having 3 little boys takes A LOT of energy and I can't imagine sitting back and just watching. I have had the pleasure of running in kid races with them twice and I really can't wait till we can do a 5K together and they smoke me!

I have a necklace that I got for finishing my first (and only to date) half marathon. I actually put this on this morning because it inspires me. It is a small silver stick figure of a woman running with the race date and name on it. I love it and whenever I wear it, I am inspired to get back out there and keep logging miles.

This past week was a pretty good one for me. I have been running 3 mile stretches and am increasing my speed slowly. There were two times that I really did not want to be on that treadmill and I simply told myself to get on and go just 1 mile, then 2 miles, then just 5 more minutes and I ended up doing 3 miles each time. I went for my first road run since the baby on Saturday morning. It was really tough though. My running buddy came along and she pushed littlest monkey in his jogger while I pushed the two older monkeys in the double jogger. I kept getting frustrated because of how fast my heartrate was going up and how winded I kept getting. Later on I figured out I was being very hard on myself and should have been happy to run at all considering how much I was actually pushing. Each monkey is about 40 pounds, and the stroller is at least 15. So all in all I was pushing about 95 pounds!! I feel lucky to have not passed out from that one! It will get better, we plan on keeping it up and I feel like it will actually count as a strength training session for me. It was so nice to get out and run with someone too. We have some great conversations, did I mention my running buddy is a psychologist!?!

2009-07-13T08:06:00.005-05:00

Here are some pictures from our cow appreciation day at Chick-fil-a. We had a great time. The kids were mooing all over town and were so excited about the entire "field trip." And since we got our food free, I treated them to ice cream cones. I am not a big fan of vanilla ice cream, but if you have never had the ice dream cones from Chick-fil-a, you MUST!! Yes, big monkey is barefoot on the restaurant floor! So gross, I know. He was so excited that the cow was inside that he ran out from the play area without putting his shoes on. I have come a long way in my neurosis and I did not freak out when I saw this - of course he was ushered quickly into the play room as soon as I took the picture!

I put a fresh coat of paint on our dining room walls. Boy did it make a difference. After 5 years and two rambunctious monkeys, our walls were looking beat up. So I simply put a light coat of the same color on the walls and it looks brand new. I also bought the older monkeys a fish each. Just fancy looking goldfish but they are so excited. We welcome Frankie Frankie and Roddy Doddy to the family.

On a crappy note, our van was broken into Saturday night. They broke the side window and crawled in and out and took our portable tv's and my ipod. I was incredibly relieved to see that they somehow missed my camera that was inside my vera bradley diaper bag (that they overlooked as well). I am now starting to feel the anger about my ipod and the tv's and mostly having to replace the window. Some people just really suck. It has been a rough few weeks and this just really did not need to happen!

Chikin is mooey better than beef

2009-07-09T14:58:00.004-05:00

The monkeys, their buddy, his sister, the nanny, and I are going to Chick-fil-a tomorrow dressed like cows (well the kids are at least). They have been at home sponge painting white t-shirts and making cow visors to wear and are SO excited. I saw this and thought they might like it being that they LOVE going to Chick-fil-a. It is really the only fast food restaurant we go to (every once and a while we get milkshakes from Sonic) and they love the fact that they can get chicken, fruit cups, and play. I love the service. The people are super nice and usually help us to our table, get refills, take our trash, and I never feel rushed out. So, as our Friday field trip, we are going to take the "herd" to eat free chikin (side salad for mommy since I don't eat chicken!)! I will be sure to post pictures Monday.

Extreme Makeover Me Edition Beginning

2009-07-08T08:37:00.004-05:00

This will be my first week doing the Extreme Makeover Me Edition (EMME) that Amber hosts on her site. I am excited and hope that I will be able to keep it up each week. I really enjoy reading what other people doing this challenge have to write every week.

I would like to make this about more than just body image and getting back into shape. I want to get my psyche back into shape too. I am a happy person for the most part. I am a little high strung at times though and neurotic (as my mom likes to tease me about). I am trying to make it a priority to step back and smell the roses more often. I also need to do more for me, I know this would make me a better mommy.

My biggest goal physically is to get back to running like I was when I was not pregnant and at the beginning of this pregnancy. I am not in a huge rush to get the weight off (don't get me wrong, I DO want it gone) since I am breastfeeding and don't want to compromise that success with losing the weight too fast.

I will be running my second half marathon November 8th and really need to get into training for this. The first time I ran this was when I was 19 weeks pregnant and I was on top of the world when I crossed the finish line in under 2 1/2 hours. I am hoping to get into good enough shape to run it in 2 hours this time, we will see. I ran most of my pregnancy but then had about 9 weeks off due to having a c-section. Boy has it been hard to get back into the running. I could not believe how out of shape 9 weeks can make you! So I have been taking baby steps and am back to running on the treadmill. I ran 3 miles yesterday in just over 30 minutes. It was a great run and felt really good. Running is my time to be me and a time to actually hear my own thoughts. My goal this next week is to run 4 times on the treadmill and once outside. I would also like to get in a couple of strength training sessions, I am really lazy when it comes to this and I know how much I would benefit from doing these exercises

I am not one to really do well with dieting. I like carbs. No, I LOVE carbs. One thing I plan on getting under control this week is the candy eating that has gotten out of hand. I know that I get enough water when at work, but the weekends are a different story. I have to do better with drinking enough while running after the monkeys.

I have about 15 pounds to go till pre-pregnancy weight is achieved. I have sort of stalled for the past few weeks, but I do feel a difference in the way my pants fit.

This week's topic was to share vacation survival strategies. I can't say that I have any, other than packing snacks to take with us on our road trips. I have always just figured vacation meant I could take a vacation from everything, including healthy eating. I do try to make a conscious effort to eat plenty of fruits and veggies along with the junk, and I do make sure my kids are not overloading on sugar.

3 months old

2009-07-07T13:14:00.002-05:00

Squeaky is 3 months old today! Where does the time go!?! He is holding his head so well now and does really well with tummy time. He absolutely loves to get kisses and squeals with delight when he gets them. I have been watching his hemangioma very closely and it has grown some, but mostly it is just a bit more raised than before. The older monkeys are still in love with him as much as they were the day we brought him home. I love to watch them talk to him. I am getting some good rest at night since he likes to sleep for long stretches. The hair is just as crazy as ever and growing in blond.

We had a great time visiting friends on the 4th. The boys really had fun playing with the kids and their toys. My friend made a wonderful potato salad and homemade ice cream that was really yummy. I am not usually a big fan of potato salad, but I plan on making this one soon! We plan on making the ice cream for a summer treat at work, hopefully this week! I am happy to report that the ice cream did not seem to bother the littlest monkey (no, I did not directly feed him ice cream!!). So I am hoping the dairy issue has corrected itself and he will not end up lactose intolerant like my husband.

Where did June go

2009-07-02T12:36:00.004-05:00

This week really got away from me. There is nothing like a rough couple of weeks to really make you appreciate your closest friends and family. I have the most wonderful supporting people around me. I am truly blessed. A girl could not ask for more understanding friends and family. My parents are the kind of parents everyone would love to have, the kind I strive to be everyday with the monkeys. I know I have mentioned this before, but I really mean it! My best friends live in different cities, states, and even countries than I. But when we get together, or email, or talk on the phone, it feels like we are next door neighbors. I don't tell them nearly enough how thankful I am to have them all in my life.

I get to go visit one of these friends this weekend. The monkeys and I are going on a weekend trip to let mommy have some venting "girlfriend" time. The big monkeys are very excited because she has a daughter that they are both in love with and a son just a bit younger with fun toys. I am really looking forward to it.

I had a great run this afternoon. The kind where I could have kept going if time wasn't an issue. It is such a great time to clear my head and make plans and just be me. I am very much looking forward to running with my running buddy VERY soon.

I am thinking about doing the Extreme makeover me edition that Connie does each week. It might keep me accountable for things (like the half dozen pecan sandies I ate before my run). I feel like it might cause me to feel pressure to come up with things to better about myself which means I would have to really look at my life a bit closer. I am not sure if I am ready for that, but will think about it before next week's edition.

Agony on me

2009-06-25T09:21:00.004-05:00

For your viewing enjoyment (if I did this video thing correctly)! You will have to excuse their very dirty batman pj's - we did bath time while mommy was making dinner last night so they ate dinner in their pj's!! This is the song they sing to squeaky, they call it a lullabye (grandad taught them). Squeaky likes to be all crooked in his bumbo.. I swear!!

Follow the leader

2009-06-23T06:36:00.003-05:00

Yesterday the monkeys had their first ever day of vacation bible school. They had to walk the 1/2 mile there with the babies in the double stroller and water bottles in tow since it is about 150 degrees outside. The oldest boys hold onto a follow the leader rope pictured above from the Oriental Trading Company. Big monkey gets to be the leader at all times because he gets easily distracted on their walks and we are afraid he will just walk into the street while chatting away.
They all ended up in different classes for the bible school. I just figured they would be together and was happy with that because I could tell little monkey was a bit nervous. Apparently they were all a bit nervous at drop off time and asked the nanny to please stay with them. She of course could not with the two babies, so they were on their own. Big monkey and Little monkey did so well. Big monkey said he was a little bit nervous and worried but not too much because he was there to have fun! Their buddy that went with them cried and cried until the teachers put him in with Big monkey. They kept telling me they had to calm buddy down. I was so proud of them for being big boys and for helping their friend feel better.
I asked them what they did and the first thing they mentioned was watching a movie, go figure! It was about a squirrel and some mean crocodiles, not sure what the message was there.. they missed it. They also said they did not like the snack, it was vanilla pudding and they only like chocolate! I can just hear them now.
Big monkey said he was a very good listener and was not the one talking when the teacher had to raise her voice to be heard! I was floored by that one. He is a chatty little thing. He was convinced all night that he had been to kindergarten that day and liked it so much he was going to keep going. I was glad to hear this since he will be starting K4 in August.
Little monkey said he heard a story about Moses and a fire and that God asked Moses to take his shoes off. I am going to have to look that story up.

The way home was uneventful other than a skinned knee, but nothing some smarties could not take care of and make a little boy instantly feel better.

They are growing up so fast, in just a couple of months I will be dropping Big monkey off for his first day of big school!

TGIT

2009-06-18T14:05:00.003-05:00

Yay! I am so glad it is Thursday and my weekend will begin in about 2 hours! I am wiped out. I still have to get used to being back at work. I am going to get my hair done tomorrow morning. It is in desperate need for highlights and a good cut. I keep going back and forth as to whether I should cut it all off in anticipation of the great post-partum hair loss or leave it long enough to put up in a pony tail during our horrible summer heatwave. Guess I will decide tomorrow. I am dumping the older monkeys on the nanny and taking littlest monkey with me, hopefully he will take a nice nap during the whole process. He has his 2 month check up afterwards so he will probably be angry with me tomorrow evening.
It has been a stressful week and I am looking forward to taking it easy this weekend.
There were a couple of great posts I read this week that really got me thinking and hit a nerve. Check out Sarah's ideas on taking time for yourself and Jennifer's post.
Have a great weekend everyone!

Stick a banana in it

2009-06-17T10:45:00.003-05:00

Lately, big monkey has been getting into ALL kinds of trouble because of his mouth and attitude. It has been a constant struggle to figure out how to correct this before it gets completely out of hand. I swear he is a 13 year old girl trapped in a 4 1/2 year old boy's body. He has my attitude mixed with his dad's moodiness, lethal combination.
Last Friday he threw one heck of a tantrum. I have been lucky so far and both the older boys skipped the lay on the floor while kicking and screaming bloody murder tantrums. Well I got a taste of it Friday and I was not pleased one bit! Let's just say we were at a public place, nanny and other children in tow, and I ended up with sand down my shirt with a hungry baby in the van. I have never been so embarrassed or mad in my life with any of my children. So, he had to stay in his room the rest of the day, no movie night for him, and no swimming the entire weekend. I could not stop laying on the punishment. He was crushed and I nearly felt bad for him until I had to wipe the sand from myself to feed the baby.
The rest of the weekend he was a perfect angel. The sweet little boy he used to be. And then Monday he was yelling at the nanny and lost swim time again! I am at a loss. I really work with him on how to talk to people and when to shut his mouth, but I feel like we are going over the same things over and over again. I am tired of constantly getting on to him, we are not having fun anymore!! I am open to suggestions.

Working on it

2009-06-16T06:11:00.002-05:00

In case you are wondering, I am trying to get a new background, etc for the page! Hopefully I can finish it up today!

Taking a poll

2009-06-15T08:27:00.002-05:00

So I have to admit I have a facebook page. I don't have a lot of friends on it, and I like it that way. I really just use it to post pictures and keep up with some family members. My husband has a page as well, and we never arranged to be friends.. until this past weekend.

My husband was bugging me about inviting him to be my friend. I just really had no desire to do this. He uses his to keep up with his high school buddies and keep his youth (my interpretation). I did not like a single one of his highschool buddies and had no desire to see stupid comments made by them or him thinking they are still 17 and cool like that! But I had a moment of weakness kindness Friday and invited him... big mistake. Yes, there were stupid comments, mostly harmless. Then there was a post by him on Friday stating that his wife asked to be friends with him and he was taking a 24 hour poll to see if he should accept. Yes. Really.

So I took it in stride, as a joke at my expense. And I commented back. All I said was "I guess this is your feeble attempt at humor! Funny how you forgot to mention that you kept bugging me to invite you as my friend"

He has since removed me from his friend list. Apparently 30 is the new "terrible twos".

Prefontaine Classic

2009-06-08T15:16:00.006-05:00

Yesterday big monkey and I watched a bit of the Prefontaine Classic. It was amazing watching these magnificent runners doing what they do best. I was thrilled that big monkey had no desire to change the channel to a kid's show, he was really into watching the track and field events.

I was inspired and decided that today was going to be the day for me to get my sneakers back on and jump on the treadmill. I brought my gym clothes and ipod and low expectations. I was nervous. Mostly I knew I wanted to be at the fitness level I was when I ran my half marathon in the middle of my pregnancy and I knew I would be disappointed.

With no excuses left, I pumped some milk for littlest monkey so I could fit into my sports bra, and left for the gym with the girls from work. It was amazingly better than I thought. I wanted to just get some running in so I started off at a slow jog and ended up running 20 minutes at a slow pace. I am very excited and could feel the energy and excitement building during the run. I kept pushing the speed up a level every 2 minutes and felt great. I could feel the fatigue and strain on my muscles which was exhilarating and at the same time worrisome because I know how sore I am going to be tomorrow!

Smiley faces

2009-06-08T11:01:00.005-05:00

Look at this sweet baby boy! I had the best time taking some pictures of him yesterday (after complaining that I can never get any good smiley ones of him). He has so much personality already and I think I am going to be in trouble in a few months with his charming self! So far at two months we get some good nights where he only wakes up once or twice. This is so different than the other two. He is really vocal now and I think he realized that he was going to have to speak up to be heard. His favorite things are baths, being outside, eating, watching his big brothers, and swinging.

I am happy to show you that he has really started filling out those legs!

2 months old

2009-06-03T15:23:00.003-05:00

I got a few good shots of littlest monkey, aka squeaky, last night before he started screaming at me to get rid of the camera! I can't believe he is 2 months old this weekend already!

Doesn't it look like they are having a regular conversation!?

So sweet. Yes, he still has a mohawk. I don't even try to tame it anymore! It has started to curl over so I do believe he will be curly like big monkey.

This is as good as it gets with the smiling/laughing on camera. Every time he sees the camera he stops! Such a shame since he is usually smiling/laughing/talking most times.

And this is what I get when he gets really tired of the camera!

I plan on having more pictures of our time at home and in Indiana and Georgia next week when I am back to work full time.

Belly pic 8 weeks post partum

2009-06-01T10:22:00.005-05:00

Okay, this might be a little weird but I am planning on using this picture as part of my motivation now that I have the go ahead to start running again. I decided to talk about this new struggle/goal instead of the fact that I am back to work today. I will save the fact that I had the sweetest little baby sleeping in his bassinet this morning when I had to get in the van to cry myself to work for another post. He was even making those sweet little baby sighs. I won't go into how much using a pump sucks... plastic is not nice to bewbies... but I will continue to use it for the next year or so like I did with the other monkeys.

Nope, instead I will talk about how much baby weight I STILL have to lose!! I saw some people out running this morning and I was so torn. Part of me wants to get up and go and the other part is apprehensive about how I will feel when I can't just get up and do 7 miles without much thought! I can't even remember where I put my ipod! I am going back and forth about going at lunch today, simply because I want to get home as soon as possible to be with the monkeys. I was spoiled spending eight weeks at home with them all!

I did do Jillian Michaels 30 day shred over the weekend. It was a great workout. I was sore from just the level one session and I did not even put forth all of my effort. I think it will be great throughout my training for the ZOOMA run because it has so much strength training and I am lazy when it comes to doing that on my own!

Being back to work should help with my diet. I plan on stocking my office with healthy snacks and lunches and hope they don't give littlest monkey gas! So hopefully my next "belly pic" will be much better looking.

I plan on posting a recap of the fun things we did during my maternity leave soon. I forgot my camera cable so I can't get the pictures up today.

2009-05-08T06:56:00.004-05:00

Some new new photos. Littlest monkey is already a month old and I can not believe it!! We seem to finally be getting things going in a nice routine around here so I may be able to post more often. Of course we are going to visit relatives at the end of the week next week for several days so I will be out of commission again! I am excited about our trip but also a bit apprehensive about it, it will be interesting to travel with all three!

Love it

2009-04-27T10:31:00.002-05:00

This is pretty much my new position! Gotta love it! I am at work with squeaky today, we had an audit and I "volunteered" to make sure my position was well represented. We had a bad gas night last night so my sleep has been compromised, he also HATES these fluorescent lights. Mylicon drops seem to make things worse, any ideas? We are headed home soon!!

Squeaky

2009-04-23T15:29:00.002-05:00

I have a few minutes to post a little something since all three monkeys are asleep right now! I can hear the littlest monkey squeaking right now though so who knows how long I have!! He had taken on the nickname of Squeaky the Stinky. Or Squeaky for short! The most noise he makes are little squeaks or grunts at this point and the older monkeys love it. They run over every time he makes a squeak and check to see if his eyes are open. I think they would hold him all day long if I let them, or if they did not have colds at this point in time. We made it through most of the winter with very little sickness and now we all have a chest cold except for squeaky. I can't tell you how bad it sucks to have a horrible cough 2 weeks from having a c-section. Thank goodness I was very selective on when to take my pain medicine and I have some left for night time.

My parents went home Sunday and it was a very sad day for me. I thought I had complete control over my hormones but I have let several tears fall when thinking about how much I miss having my mom and dad here. I even had a short lapse of judgment and nearly called my mother in law to ask her to come stay for a couple of days. Of course I snapped out of that as soon as that percocet left my system. That would have been STUPID!! I already have to deal with a visit this Saturday. But we are doing the Autism walk we do every year and so there will be buffers.

We seem to be settling in well with our new "routine". Of course there is not really any routine at this point other than making sure everyone gets fed, bathed, and in bed at a decent hour. I am still sleeping on the couch because it is so much easier to get out of than my bed. On a miraculous note, the littlest monkey enjoys sleeping in his bassinet. The other two were co-sleeping by two weeks old and he is still sleeping in his bassinet. It seems it was not a total waste of money! He nurses well, not that I give him a chance not to! He is not quite as ravenous as little monkey was but much better than big monkey who gave me fits. I just wish he would poop when eating like the other two did. Then we could change a diaper and nurse the other side and go back to sleep. He likes to wait until back in the bassinet and then grunt and kick his legs out until it happens! Silly boy! We went for the two week check up and he is over his birth weight (which was much smaller than predicted) and grew 3/4 inch already. Everything looked good. Did you know that breech babies have different shaped heads?!?

I admit that I am probably doing too much already. But I can't see how anyone could really stand not to do ANY housework for 6 weeks. It was hard not to laugh when my doctor said this to me. I have been taking it easy, no cleaning sprees, and doing one or two things a day. No entire house vacuuming.. in fact the monkeys do most of the vacuuming... thank goodness for the Dyson!

Boy did bringing that baby home make the other two look like grown ups!

Quickie update

2009-04-13T18:17:00.004-05:00

The baby is here and we are all at home trying to get our new routine going! It is so wonderful to have a new baby back in the house. He is just beautiful and the monkeys are in love, as are the rest of us. My mom is still here helping out, a complete Godsend for sure!

I will get back into our new routine soon and get some updates on the delivery and specifics soon, I promise. For now, here are the basics..

Adrian Brady

Born 7:54 AM

7 lbs 7 oz

20 1/4 inches

Full head of gorgeous black hair!1

Frustrated and relieved

2009-04-04T10:13:00.003-05:00

Contractions for 3 1/2 days and abosolutely, positively no dilation at all!! My cervix was completely closed yesterday when I went in for my last check before the c-section Tuesday. I had to laugh, it was either that or cry. Part of me was relieved. Now I get to have a "relaxing" weekend before I have a beautiful new baby attached to me 24/7. The other part of me was frustrated for all of the time spent uncomfortable the past few nights! The monkeys and my hubby are outside doing yard work and having a blast. I have not done much this morning other than make a list of things I would like to get finished up today. Surprisingly enough, the list is pretty small. I keep trying to figure out more things to put on it, but can't!

So, I will keep trying to relax.

38 Weeks and 4 Days

2009-04-02T14:46:00.000-05:00

Wowser!!

Last day of work for awhile

2009-04-02T14:37:00.003-05:00

Well I am going to be leaving work in a few minutes. I am leaving a little early because of the bad weather we are about to have. Just want to run home so I don't have to drive in it. I can hear the rumbling thunder right now. They let schools go early in Mississippi because of the bad storms. I think they must have anticipated it coming through right at dismissal time, because honestly I think the kids would have been safer in their schools than at home in many cases. I know I am personally tired of all of the rain.

This is my last day before the littlest monkey makes his way into the world. I am so excited but it seems sort of surreal too. I have been steadily having contractions with no real pattern or added intensity since Tuesday night. My feet are so swollen that I will have to sneak out of here barefoot because I can not put my darn shoes back on! So I am ready to be home and REALLY ready to hold this baby boy! I am sure I will check in this weekend and the hopefully I can get pictures posted of the littlest monkey soon after he is born, or at least get my cousin Lacy to do so for me!!

Better run, the thunder is getting closer!

Not trying to be a jokester today

2009-04-01T06:43:00.004-05:00

Still here and still with baby in tow! I need to get things in order in my office since I have decided not to come to work next Monday and I have Fridays off anyway. So tomorrow will be the last day. That is, as long as I don't go into labor before then. I did have a couple of hours worth of contractions last night and have had a few this morning, but nothing to write home about. I think they are just braxton hicks that are a bit more often. I kept thinking last night that there was no way I was having a baby on April Fool's Day! I just know that no one would believe me when I called to say I was in labor!!

So anyway, the countdown is on for the monkeys. They ask me every night about when the baby gets to come out. I have decided to make Monday a day about them (and of course a few last minute things on my list) and let them pick what we will do since I will be a little out of commission after that day. Has anybody seen Monsters and Aliens yet (or whatever that new animated movie is called) ? I thought about taking them but I wanted to make sure it was not too scary. I don't really want to see the 3D version of it either - that tends to make me sick.

Well I guess I better get some stuff wrapped up here at work!

Next generation of runners

2009-03-30T09:00:00.004-05:00

We had another busy weekend. It started off as a bad weather weekend but turned out quite nice. I have scheduled my c-section for April 7th at 7:30 am! The baby is still big (of course) and sideways. I have not gained any weight in the past few weeks, but things look good and he is growing and getting ready to come into the world. I am still just as swollen (more so in the face even) but hanging in there.
There was the big 10K here this weekend. It went on despite the flooded streets and bad weather and turned out well. I opted out of the 10K and am glad I did. We did stand at the end of our street and cheer the racers on. I know it is always so motivating to have people cheering you on when you are doing something like that. I did the fun run with my mom and the monkeys and was sore in my pelvic area and back for the next 36 hours! I "ran" with little monkey and he really did make me run some. My mom took big monkey and she said he ran a good half mile before slowing. They decided to stop and rest and wait for us so the monkeys could sprint to the finish line with their Gigi while mommy waddled a bit behind! It was great. They were so excited. They saw the runners pouring water over their heads after the race and they had to join in of course. Everyone gets a ribbon at the end and that really made them happy. I am looking forward to next year when I can run the big one and the small one with the monkeys.. they may be faster than me by then though. We ended up in the Sunday newspaper with Big Monkey shining front and center. He is so proud about his picture in the paper, and I have a feeling it might be the first of many.

We went to an Easter Egg hunt Sunday afternoon and had a wonderful time in the sunshine. It was a beautiful spring day and the monkeys enjoyed hunting eggs and seeing the Easter Bunny.

Need paint color ideas

2009-03-26T07:25:00.004-05:00

Rainy days are here again! The clouds and gail force winds came in on Tuesday and the rain started yesterday and is expected until Sunday. Yuck. I know we need some of it, but can't we just spread it out some? Hopefully the rain will stop enough for the kids to get to go outside and play in the puddles. We have a pretty poor drainage system on our street which makes for great puddle playing (not actually in the street but by the sidewalk/curb). They love it and sometimes it is as deep as 1 1/2 feet! Nearly a pool.

I got to see the boys this morning before I left. They both woke up early and my husband would not let me go to work until the bad storm went through. Nice thought from him, but now I have to stay later this afternoon.. unless I skip out early.

I figured out that the swelling in my feet/legs/ankles is from sitting on my rear end all day long at work. I do much better on the weekend when I am up and moving around. Last night they did not even look like my feet. I got lucky and my husband rubbed them for me. What is more perfect than watching Lost and having your feet rubbed?!

We go to the doctor tomorrow afternoon and she and I will hash out a date. I don't know why I am having such a hard time picking a date. It just feels so unnatural to me. My brain is fighting with itself over it! My parents are coming in this weekend and I plan on putting them to work. My husband had a brain spasm Tuesday when he was doing touch up painting around the house (many perks of having a husband in job transition) and he painted the kitchen cabinets the creamy yellow color of the monkeys' bedroom ceiling!! I don't think it would look too bad if the walls were not already a bright yellow. So I have to get my mom to help me pick a new wall color since that will be a lot easier to paint over! And we will probably have to replace the white knobs. Silly man. I also want my dad to start up our garden, but if it is raining this may not be accomplished.

Another busy weekend, but I am looking forward to it!

PS. Lori had her beautiful baby girl Isabella this week.. go check her out.

Tick Tock

2009-03-23T07:05:00.005-05:00

What a busy weekend! But a good kind of busy. I did manage to prop my feet up and enjoy some beautiful spring weather and get a much needed pedicure.

Friday we had our ultrasound and my hopes for not having a c-section were sort of burst. I was 36 weeks and 4 days at the ultrasound, littlest monkey was measuring over 7 pounds already. So average growth rate by due date considered, he would be around 8 1/2 -9 pounds without considering the 20% error. Little monkey measured 8 pounds at his last ultrasound, two days later he came out at a whopping 8 lbs and 13 oz. We also saw that littlest monkey is still sideways (I think she called it transverse). Not even close to being ready to come out. That actually made me feel a bit better, maybe the position is God's way of letting me know it is just meant that I have another c-section. I do believe things happen for a reason. My doctor is going to call me today to schedule the delivery. I hope she can put it off until next week, my dad is in Puerto Rico this week on business.

He has a bunch of hair from what it looked like on the monitor. I hope so, my other two were mullet babies and I am hoping for one that looks like I did with a full head of hair!

So we kicked it into high gear this weekend. Nice to have my husband home to help get a bunch of stuff done and to occupy the monkeys while I scrubbed my fridge like a mad woman... I really just wanted to get the old food out and organize it a bit. I got the nursery set up as much as I could without the crib here yet. Everything is washed and sorted. It was very exciting. I am going to miss that extra weekend though if we deliver next week! Now I feel the need to get some major grocery shopping done. I am making lists and finding them everywhere!! I know, it is an illness though completely genetic and not my fault.

We are going to get our pictures taken this morning. I am always a bit nervous with maternity photos.. I hope they have a good touch up program!!

What to do

2009-03-19T09:18:00.002-05:00

The husband is officially unemployed as of yesterday! He has it in his head that the next couple of weeks are going to be a mini vacation for him. Well this just makes me jealous and irritable and not a fun person to be around. It's not fair!! I know, very juvenile of me. I am working on it. I am also working on a huge list of things for him to do while at home on "vacation".

He is taking the monkeys fishing tomorrow. They are SO excited. I have the day off so I have to figure out what I am going to do. I think I will get a pedicure since we have my maternity photos on Monday. Maybe, just maybe I will sleep past 6 am tomorrow too! We will see how noisy they are trying to get out of the door. Sleep would be great considering how poorly I have been sleeping at night lately. I am pretty sure I just fell asleep at my desk typing in some data... going to have to recheck those entries!

We are all going for my doctor's appointment tomorrow. Get to have another ultrasound and see how big the littlest monkey seems to be at this point. The monkeys are so excited to see him on tv again! I don't know how much they will be able to really see since I am so far along, but I know little monkey said he is going to be looking for his winkie to make sure he is still a brother. We all will, I am sure!

Couch Potato

2009-03-16T07:07:00.003-05:00

We had our yard sale, for a couple of hours anyway. I remembered how much I can't stand to have yard sales, seeing people go through your junk precious memories is not fun and I can't stand to haggle with people. Luckily my husband was able to be home for the morning and he did most of the work. It did start to rain on us and we had a low turn out, but did make some money and get rid of some of the stuff, so I am calling it successful. We simply put it in the bedroom and will drag it out one more Saturday. So I am hoping for good weather this Saturday. Then it is off to some sort of donation center.

My husband also got most of the nursery cleaned out. He moved the office into the spare room and hung shelves back up and now we just have to get the very cute bedding cleaned and furniture put back together.

I really tried to take it easy this weekend. The monkeys went with me Friday morning to get my hair done and they were fantastic. I was very proud of how well behaved they were - I still tipped more than usual just because I was happy not to have any crap about bringing a 3 and 4 year old to the salon!

I also took them with me to my doctor's appointment and they were really good despite waiting an extra hour in the waiting room because of the doctor being a bit behind. Everything looked good, even my blood pressure and I was shocked considering even my face is swelling now. She told me to take it easy and become a couch potato. I know I am strange, but that does not sound appealing to me at all. I struggled to take it easy this weekend, felt like a lump just sitting around. I don't want to watch tv all day. I think I would go nuts. At least it was a rainy weekend and my husband was there to get onto me when I was up and moving around too long.

Littlest monkey is not even close to coming, he is still flipping around like crazy. I felt the hiccups up top again this morning so I am pretty sure he is breech today. What is it with my babies just not cooperating?!!? So if this is the case, 4 weeks from today we will have our littlest monkey making his way into the world. I am very excited and anxious at the same time. You would think third time around would be blah, NOT AT ALL!!

Rain Rain Go Away

2009-03-12T15:46:00.003-05:00

I have been trying to have a yard sale for a month now. But for some reason mother nature has not been very cooperative. I am planning again for this weekend and yet again the rain seems to be looming over my ideas of making a little bit of money and getting rid of a lot of crap! I don't get it, I am just trying to get things organized!! Okay, enough whining. Just maybe say a little anti-rain prayer for my yard sale. I mean, I know we live in the rainiest city in the US and all (yes, we even beat out Seattle), but good grief I need to get rid of the piles of crap in the littlest monkey's room!!

2009-03-11T10:15:00.002-05:00

We met up with hubby's parents this weekend for his cousin's wedding at the beach. It was interesting to say the least! I have to say it was quite amusing in a "did that really just happen" sort of way.

The monkeys were adorable in their beach wedding/Easter outfits as you can see by the photos I have included. They were also very well behaved considering how bad they wanted to run in the sand and play. I let them run some of it off before the wedding and afterwards, even though they waited so late that it was pitch black during the ceremony and the only way we could see what was going on was by the light from the video camera. It was also quite chilly, and this is coming from a very pregnant woman who has a core temp around 200 degrees by now.

The first thing I noticed was that there were no chairs. I was going to have to stand on my steadily swelling (because of the car ride there) ankles. About 5 minutes into the Jonas brothers song that was played as the bride walked down the aisle (yes I am serious), big monkey and I sat down in the sand in the back. We had some loud commentary from my mother in law and were serenaded loudly by my father in law during one of the songs played during the ceremony. My mother in law decided to let my monkeys know that the groom was marrying a "ready made family". Great, had to try to explain that one quietly.

Someone, maybe several someones, lit up a cigarette during the ceremony. The father of the bride had been drinking since 1 pm and was overheard making threats to the groom. I think he was at least half joking. My father in law proceeded to walk around the back of the preacher to take up close and personal pictures during the ceremony... he was not the hired photographer.

Here is a quick run down of the reception, which I will have to say was nicely done..

caught my father in law eating meatballs off of the food tables with his pocket knife.
an older woman cut both the wedding cake and groom's cake before they had gotten to the regular bride/groom cutting with pictures. She and her husband really seemed to enjoy the cake.
big monkey was allowed by my father in law to "redecorate" the groom's cake. I was horrified and tried to whole heartedly fit my swollen self under the table.
punch was spilled on my mother in law during a wrestling of people onto the dance floor - big monkey was on the dance floor most of the time we were there and this was very cute.
the groom ended up in the pool, followed by many others.
we left around 8:45 to go upstairs and put two very tired and chocolate covered monkeys in bed, apparently it got better after we left.

All I know is that I better never hear another negative comment about my country family or how much fun we had at my wedding reception. I will have to say that the people there were very genuine. They were what they were and they weren't trying to act like they were anybody else, well except some outlaws of mine.

No shooting bambi here

2009-03-05T14:35:00.006-06:00

Here is the bedding I picked out for littlest monkey. It has been ordered and is on the way, way to wait till the last minute on my part! I just love the little deer, it just seemed to go with the way the two of us have bonded so far. Funny, it actually showed up in one of my baby magazines the other day because it is organic and they were doing a section on affordable organic bedding for babies. I can't wait to get it and decide what colors to paint the nursery. I still need to order the wall paintings and then we have everything.

Lady bug mommy

2009-03-05T08:28:00.005-06:00

Less than 40 days until this littlest monkey comes into the world! I have really gotten big these past few weeks. It is funny how I am always wondering how I could possibly get any bigger at the end! And yet, I do get bigger. This dress has a lot of pattern to it. I like it, but maybe too much for 8 months?

I am thinking about wearing it to a beach wedding this weekend. Did I tell you we get to go to a beach wedding with my outlaws this weekend?! Anyway. I think the dress does wonders for my awesome pregnancy cleavage is great but am not sure if I should wear it since I just found out that the bride's colors are black and red (at a beach wedding in March?!). What do you think? I have a couple of other back up dresses I might try on to see if they will still fit.

Oh, anyone watch LOST last night? I am still an emotional wreck from the last 5 minutes. Going to blame pregnancy hormones for that.

The musical fruit

2009-03-04T10:01:00.003-06:00

What a great weekend away with my parents! It turned out even more fun for the monkeys than normal. They got to see real snow falling from the sky and play in it! I was so excited for them all afternoon Sunday. I could not believe the amount of snow Atlanta got in March and the snowflakes were the biggest I have ever seen. It was really wet snow though so we spent just a few minutes out each time and then came in to dry off. We did go out several times to play and eat snow - this was the top priority for the monkeys.

Saturday we went to eat at a restaurant downtown that is at the top of a very tall building and it rotates so you can see the city. Big monkey was immensely impressed, he even spoke those exact words. It was very cloudy at first so they thought they were eating in the clouds. Finally it cleared up enough to see pretty much all of Atlanta. They were pretty well behaved considering how exciting it was for them. We also went to the children's museum so they could run off some energy. Man it was hot in there. I have finally reached the point in this pregnancy where my body temperature stays at about 150 degrees. I was sweating in that place with all of those people and kids running around. Not so much fun for mommy!

I was pretty swollen all weekend as well. I am sure it was from the ride there. I originally planned to stop often and even sit down somewhere for dinner. Then we hit the stormy weather (including tornado sirens in Montgomery) and I just wanted to get there and be safely tucked in my parents' house! So I pushed it too far. The trip home was much better and by the next day, with the cold weather back here, I was back to normal puffiness and not extreme puffiness.

I had a doctor's appointment right before we left for Atlanta. Everything looks pretty good. We talked a bit about the delivery and I am scheduled for an ultrasound in 3 weeks to see how big the littlest monkey seems. She said if he is as big as little monkey chances won't look good for a VBAC. So cross your fingers for a nice 7 pounder?! We also tentatively scheduled the 13th (April) for a c-section depending on how things look. I am going to sign up to walk/ jog a 10K at the end of March, hoping to walk the littlest guy out!

Seems crazy to only have 40 days left! I am now in full nesting mode and hope to get a bunch done Sunday while the monkeys and daddy are at the boat show. The doctor did say that my urine results showed I needed to eat more. I laughed. I really thought she was joking. Seems all I have been doing lately is stuffing my now chunky face. She thinks I am probably not getting enough protein. Funny since the last two pregnancies I was so worried about protein and ended up with very low iron. This time I have been so worried about iron levels and now have to worry about my protein.

Oh, and the business was sold as of Monday around noon! Now if we could just get that damn rental house sold!!

ATL here we come

2009-02-27T13:30:00.003-06:00

The monkeys and I are off to ATL this afternoon. I have to put in a few hours at work and then go to a doctor's appointment and then we are on our way to visit my parents. I am excited. This is my last get away before the littlest monkey's arrival. It is going to be a long trip and late but then we are not coming back until Monday so I will have a couple of days to rest while the monkeys entertain Grandad and Gigi. Hubby is staying home for a good reason. I have been hesitant to mention this because I fall prey to superstitions, but we are signing sales papers on the business Monday! He has finally sold it and as long as I don't jinx us by writing about it before it is over and finished with, the big yellow vans will be out of our drive way as of Monday afternoon. I am trying to not let my nerves get the best of me and my husband is very excited. So he has to stay home and work Saturday and then clean all of our carpets, tile floors, and upholstery before Monday afternoon! Plus he needs to do some finish work in the bathroom while we are gone.
So he will be a full time student until he graduates in December if all goes well. Of course with the economy this makes my stomach get into knots. But he is going to find some part time work and that will help!

Have a great weekend. Looks like we might see some snow in ATL this weekend. How exciting!

Chunky

2009-02-26T06:19:00.004-06:00

Has anybody seen Madagascar 2? I just saw it for the first time Friday night on our pizza and movie night. It was pretty funny, though not as good as the first one. There is a lot more adult humor and of course that is what the monkeys picked up on. Sometime early last week big monkey came up to me and said (imagine a 4 year old using his best Isaac Hayes voice here) "Moto Moto likes 'em chunky!". Yes, I did a double take and asked him to repeat this several times. I had no idea where he got this new punch line. Well I finally figured it out when I saw the movie and I laughed so hard I really thought I was going to pee myself! So now he goes around saying it all of the time. Of course he also said, "Girl - you huge!". And that was not too funny.

A coworker let me in on the fact that I have a really big belly now! Yes, he did. I did not actually run over and poke his eyes out. I just laughed in pity for his wife who is about 4 months pregnant with their first. I know my husband was pretty clueless with our first, but he had the common sense that told him to ask questions and learn stuff quickly. This guy is incredibly clueless about everything woman and even more so about everything baby. Should be interesting when September rolls around.

Can anyone tell me how to imbed a youtube video on this thing?

In need of a labotomy

2009-02-23T12:18:00.002-06:00

I have a horrible migraine and am trying desperately to keep on track at work today. It came yesterday afternoon and is still here. Tylenol and dr. pepper are not cutting it this time. Have to keep this post short!
Weekend highlights:
1. Big monkey came down with a fever Saturday evening, it reached 103 degrees on Sunday. I am hoping he does well today, our night went better last night. He called my dad yesterday because he said that his grandad knows a lot of stuff and healed his own broken leg, so he could take the fever away! Still so cute when sickly!
2. Outlaws were in town yesterday. Found out we are expected to stay the night with them when we go to the cousin's wedding at the beach (first weekend in March at 6 pm... um we don't live near the keys people... we are going to freeze).
3. My wonderful husband invited extra people to come to Mardi Gras day with us... yes, I think you can guess who.
4. Splitting headache started yesterday afternoon. Karma is a force not to be reckoned with. I am sure I deserve the headache after getting out of going anywhere since I had to stay home with big monkey yesterday.
5. Washed baby clothes and blankets. Fun time reminiscing the big and little monkeys' baby times. I realize I have the wrong season of clothes though. And that I had one baby that puked everywhere and one that pooped everywhere!

I will be sure to post more on our "visit" this weekend. It was pretty uneventful. I do not understand why the entire time is spent talking about when the monkeys are going to visit or spend the night with them. Ouch, this just made my head hurt even worse.

Say a prayer please

2009-02-21T14:25:00.003-06:00

On a more serious and less selfish note. My nanny's nephew, Isaac turned 2 today. He goes in for surgery to remove a brain tumor on Monday. Please keep him and his family in your prayers and hug your little ones a bit tighter this weekend.

I was wrong

2009-02-20T08:54:00.002-06:00

Why can't I just keep my mouth shut?! After 30 something odd years, you would think I would learn. So, after complaining about my inlaws (outlaws, whatever) not visiting, I get an email. Yes, they are coming this weekend. I don't have time for this. It won't be that bad, the worst thing is the mood it puts me in for several days before the visit. I am going to try to work on that. Sunday is Joe Cain Day here. We will be going to church and then downtown to picnic and wait for the Joe Cain parade. Usually I run in the 5K and the monkeys do the moon pie dash, but we have opted out of that this year because of a littlest monkey who is making it hard to breathe and lack of good running sneakers for the older monkeys! Well now we will be dragging two more people with us. Two people who are not going to have much fun. Well, really one who will not. The other will at least fake it enough because I do believe she really likes to spend time with the monkeys despite the infrequency of this occurrence. I may count how many times I am asked if I am okay, it is a favorite saying by some. I will let you know if I get any weight comments. I was told that I must have eaten a lot of candy bars with my second, since he was so much bigger than the first monkey. I am bad and I have already figured out a smart ass comment to say back.

Just wondering if anyone else has checked out www.stimuluswatch.org?

Interesting perspective

2009-02-17T12:19:00.003-06:00

Being that I am still incredibly tired, I am hoping this post makes some sort of sense!
Sunday night was my mardi gras ball and parade. This makes for a long day, as I have mentioned before. All in all, it was a successful evening. My good friend had a successful and fun ride and I think she had a great night even with surrounding stresses.
I got to see our parade and ball from a totally different angle, completely sober and well into my third trimester. Let's just say I would prefer not to have to do it that way again, ever. Parts were still so exciting. I was excited to be in the auditorium area with the really great high school band getting everyone pepped up and ready for the parade ride. That school is great and can really get things going. I am always in awe though with the attire and dance moves these teenage girls wear and do. I can't imagine being their mother!! They are great movers and shakers though. It is a bit amusing to watch the costumers trying to shake their bodies the same way as these teenagers!! (Yes, I am usually right down there with them!!) It was exciting and almost choked me up a bit when the ladies were on their way out the door to their floats. I was saddened I was not right there with them and so excited for them. It is something really hard to put into words, you just have to experience it.
I watched some of the float load and then booked it to where my monkeys and my parents were standing waiting for the parade. It was a great parade. The monkeys caught lots of trinkets and loved it. We had a bunch of great bands and pretty floats. Then I booked it back to the ball and put my costume back on and sat around in our party room eating and picking out music on the juke box. I even let my heinie wiggle a bit a few times!
We had to sit around for call outs (the most boring and buzz killing time of the entire day). This was a little bit more interesting as a marshall fell off of the back of the stage. He was unhurt, but spent most of the night in an argument with his wife! It is always interesting to see how people act under the influence. Usually quite comical. And then there are the stupid drunks. Unfortunately my husband was one of them this year. I will not get into that part of the evening, as it would take an entirely separate post. I did get to see several people bust their rumps, doing moves they probably have never done before, and many being supported by friends as they stumbled out the door.
I had some good food and even tried a few dance moves in the dj room. I would have to say that the littlest monkey did not care for that. Every time I tried to get my freaknasty on, he threw me an elbow in the ribs. I was also quite out of breath! I can't understand how I can run and the little booger is just fine, but dancing.. not so much. Maybe he could sense that my inhibited inner white girl was showing through. I don't know!!
I will try to post some pictures. Interesting enough, someone has gone through and erased any pictures showing how stupid drunk he/she was, and this left about 5 pictures on the camera... can't imagine why my husband someone would do that. I guess it was a good time had by all anyway!
I am still feeling tired from it all and am skipping the gym today to go home early and get to sleep early.. I hope.

It is time everyone

2009-02-12T09:57:00.004-06:00

Our Mardi Gras ball is this Sunday! How exciting. I am really ready for a fun night out. Of course it will be much tamer this year than in the past, but still a good time. I am really excited for my friend who gets to ride for the first time this year. I will be living vicariously through her since I will be on the sidelines at the parade this year. With the ball comes a very busy weekend. I am adding to that by having a yard sale Saturday morning. I need to get rid of some of the piles I have accumulated since clearing out space for the newest monkey (who may have a name at this point!!)
Hope everyone has a great weekend. I will leave you with a couple of pictures from past Mardi Gras balls/parades!

This is two years ago. A friend and I after the parade. I am sure we were on the dance floor getting our freaknasty on! (Best word ever - I heard it on the radio this morning).

This was last year. I always ride next to my friend on the float. She is hilarious. We had had several sports bottles full of happy juice by this point and the parade had not even started!

One of those people

2009-02-11T07:58:00.003-06:00

I have officially become one of those people. You know, the heavy breathers. It is going to drive me crazy. I can't stand to listen to people breathe, well except for the monkeys when they are fast asleep and I sneak in to watch them. There is a guy at work that is annoying to begin with, but even more so because I can hear him walk in the door due to his heavy breathing. Not out of breath, but just loud. Let me apologize if you are a heavy breather. I am not completely insensitive, sometimes it is something that is a medical problem. We all have our pet peeves and this is one of mine. So now I am a heavy breather. Karma is a bummer. I don't know if it is the pregnancy (all of a sudden this baby boy is taking up most of the space in my abdomen and stretching into my rib cage. I also have a bit of sinus congestion. The pollen was all over my van yesterday, so maybe I have finally developed allergies. Who knows. All I know is I can't stand to be in a silent room with myself because all I can hear is my breathing.

Another venting note, my mother in law is back in the country for good this time. She got back the first weekend of the month. She was gone for a year and a half with visits back every 3 months. I should tell you that we saw them more when she lived in the middle east versus 2 hours away (I am not complaining, just saying). So she has been back for nearly two weeks now. No attempt to see her grandsons or son - or wonderful daughter in law. And I am willing to bet we don't hear from them until the cousin's wedding the first weekend of March. Wanna bet? So pathetic.

If you are sick stay home

2009-02-09T13:33:00.003-06:00

I don't understand inconsiderate coworkers who come to work sick. A common cold is one thing, these can seem just pesky sometimes and I can understand not wanting to waste a sick day. How about bronchitis?! Don't you think maybe you should stay home if you have a raging case of bronchitis and a sinus infection!?!?! Especially if there are pregnant people who work with you - and I am not the only one. Is bronchitis contagious. The quick amount of research I did (via internet of course) said it came along with a virus. Well being that I do have some biology courses under my belt, I know that viruses can be contagious. Bronchitis causes coughing, coughing causes your germed up saliva to be spread, germed up saliva gets on things and gets people sick! So please do not go to the doctor in the morning and get your shot/antiobiotics/cough meds and then come to work directly after your appointment looking and sounding like crap. Go home and get some rest, you deserve it. Some of us really should not take anything for illness (mostly I prefer not to take anything except my doctor recommended tums or tylenol when needed). Have some common courtesy.
I can totally understand the dilemma of not wanting to take time off work. Some of us are saving our sick and vacation to spend at home with new babies.

So so tired

2009-02-05T06:38:00.003-06:00

Well third trimester exhaustion seems to have taken over my life. It has been bad this week. Partly because I have been staying up a little later than normal, which is by no means late. And part is not sleeping well. The baby has had a growth spurt and is taking up quite a lot of space now. He sits low and high and I am afraid he might end up as big as Little monkey was, or bigger! I was hoping for a nice average size baby, like big monkey was... though I do love those big chunky newborn cheeks!

We got good news yesterday, big monkey got into the preschool we wanted. That sounds sort of snobbish and like the school is some sort of elite school. In reality, it is a great school, but smaller than your average private school so it is a little harder to get in. I am not against public school, I went to many, MANY public schools and turned out fine! I just fell in love with this school and they can have their religion classes during the day instead of fitting it in on the weekends - so I am just lazy! HA HA We also live in Midtown and the public schools can be a challenge. His buddy also was accepted. We were a little worried since they are not from our parish and therefore were further down on the priority list. So now we wait till sometime this summer when we get the welcome packets and further instructions! A whole new mess of logistics to figure out.

It is really cold here this morning. It sort of puts a pep in my step though. It does make me miss college days, which cracks me up because I remember cursing the entire walk to class when the wind was cutting through my body and I was trying to avoid slipping on a bunch of ice on the sidewalk. Call it selective memory.

Did anyone see any signing day news last night? I saw one boy, I think he was the number one pick or something, and he held a press conference with hat exchanging and hoopla that I just thought was so INCREDIBLY ridiculous. I don't get how his mom could stand back and approve of that. He has not even shown how good he is with the "big" boys and he is already that cocky. I hope it does not come back and bite him in the rear end.

Another great LOST episode last night. This is part of my tiredness this morning. After watching the show I just can't seem to fall asleep right away. And now I must go read a few blogs about the show so I can see what I missed and what those french people were saying... so much for 2 years of french in college!

Weekend update

2009-02-02T09:33:00.003-06:00

Very busy weekend here. I had to come to work for a few hours Friday so I brought the monkeys. They loved it and were so good during the morning work time. I actually got a lot of work done while they watched a movie on my other computer. I took them to get their hair cut at lunch time and then to Chick fil a for lunch since they were so good and still for the haircut. They ate their chicken and fruit and played for a half hour or so.
It was so fun to hear them play, even though I hate the idea of those play places - they gross me out. The climbing structure was quite tall and the monkeys were a little afraid at first. They decided to climb up anyway and Little monkey got stuck at the top. I asked Big monkey to go up and help him so for about 10 minutes I kept hearing "you can do it Little monkey. Come on, you are strong and can get down like the big boys". It was very heartwarming and cute.
We had to come back to work to get my check and then off to SuperTarget for some grocery shopping we went. They were pretty good the entire day, other than a few moments at the end of the grocery trip. I was exhausted and went home, put the groceries away and then sat on my rump while they ate and watched yet another movie!!
Saturday was pretty busy too. I had a mess of a house to clean and then Mardi gras rehearsal that afternoon/evening. I was spent at the end of the day too. I got my costume, but have yet to put it on. I am going to make myself this afternoon. Sort of afraid of the reflection in the mirror! I was a bit sad when we stopped by the Mardi Gras store to pick up a boa. I started to get all excited for the parade and kept reminding myself I can't ride this year. But I did find out I can watch the parade instead of being stuck in the party room while everyone else is parading! Parades start this weekend and the monkeys are SO excited.
It is really hard to concentrate during this time of the year here!

Searching for creeps

2009-01-29T12:24:00.003-06:00

Go check out this link. I was visiting The Trenches and she posted the link to check out sexual predators in your area. I usually try to check this every month or so. We have a Salvation Army a few blocks down the road that apparently houses convicted sexual predators (this is a long story and the reason I choose to give to other charities instead of the Salvation Army) and we had one close at one time that liked to victimize young boys. So I am pretty vigilant about checking on our area. You should too. It takes just a few minutes and you can see all of these creeps (though hopefully you live in an area like us where there is only one and he is 80 years old now). Of course these are just the ones who are "honest" and register. It gives me the willies every time I check, but something that every parent should do.

Passed the test

2009-01-29T09:55:00.005-06:00

I just got back from my glucose test at the doctor. I passed with flying colors. The hardest part is drinking that orange crap when you have not had anything to eat yet!! I am now scarfing down an artichoke and spinach egg souffle thing from Panera bread. So. Yummy.

NEVER

2009-01-28T09:33:00.002-06:00

Never again will I shop at the good old neighborhood Walmart. I normally shop Target or the local grocery stores but I had a small amount of money on a walmart gift card so I thought I would give the nice new one down the street another try. Wrong decision. I never have any problem with coupons at the super friendly Target. This is not the case at Walmart. They refused to take my coupons because they were over the amount of the product cost and the cashier was appalled I was trying to get something for free. She could not understand that the store gets reimbursed for the coupon (they were manufacturer's coupons) plus 8 cents (read the fine print you twit). The manager was no better, he said you can not use two of the same coupons in a transaction. What a crock.
I actually kept my composure and simply said it was not a big deal, I would use the coupons at Target. She then gave me an attitude about wanting to take the items off of my ticket. So basically Walmart can kiss my heinie! I am done.
Have a good day.

Suggestions

2009-01-26T07:06:00.003-06:00

I am getting many great suggestions for names for this little bundle of joy due in 10-11 weeks!! Thanks so much. We still have yet to just sit down and hash it out. I guess because we are trying to avoid arguing about it. Part of it is because I have it in my head that his name is Adrian. The monkeys already call him that and are insistent upon calling him that. It aggravates my husband. It is not that I don't like others, I do and if I could talk the monkeys into changing their minds easily, it would be all solved by now I suppose.
I would love to use my maiden name as the middle name. Only thing is, my maiden name is not really one of those cool names that can be used for a first/middle name. It is just a last name, but I did love it.

Our Mardi Gras rehearsal is Saturday. I should be really excited but I guess since I don't get to ride I am not really that revved up. I am very curious to see how this costume is going to look...I may be exposing the littlest monkey due to a short shirt. Now is when I really wish I had some sewing skills. I also need to see if I can get away with flats or very low heels. We are supposed to be "Paris, the city of lights" so I would guess the higher the better. I am excited to start going to the other parades though. The monkeys have the best time catching all that junk. Big monkey cracked me up last year yelling "throw me something mister!!" We have a good time. You all should come visit for Mardi Gras.

I did some nesting/cooking this weekend. I have mentioned our extreme budget a few times (not really extreme, but any budget for us that really limits our spending is extreme!). Well, the food part has really been cut and it has caused me to do some extra cooking. So in order to actually do the cooking without exhausting myself during the week, I started bulk cooking. Well, as much as I can without owning a deep freezer. I made 3 meals worth of turkey meatloaf, turkey meatballs, banana muffins, and pizza dough on Saturday. I also made fresh green beans and 3 batches of waffles on Sunday to freeze. Anyone know a good way to freeze the cooked green beans? I have no canning abilities so that is out of the questions. It was great to get those made and frozen and I can add them to my list of possible dinners, etc. If I had a deep freeze, I would probably make more meals more often, especially with the new baby coming. It is so nice to just pull something healthy and not prepackaged out of the freezer.

We also started organizing the upstairs for the littlest monkey. It looks worse than it did right now, but we did get the entire storage closet cleaned out and put into the attic (space my husband thought was great for laying fishing poles flat HA HA). So now we have some more room to work with. We also added to the yard sale pile. I am trying to throw together a street wide yard sale so we get a lot of traffic and make a lot of money!

Lost Love it

2009-01-22T07:10:00.004-06:00

Again, it is on again!! And it has completely captured my mind, body and maybe soul!?!
I am talking about the show Lost on ABC. I love it. I started watching this show on a Saturday evening marathon catch up with the show deal when big monkey was just an itty bitty baby. I was hooked from the get go and have not missed an episode yet. I even put off meds after my c-section with little monkey so I would not drift in and out during the show. (I did a quick dose during the last 10 minutes!) This is really the only show I watch faithfully. It came back last night with a one hour recap show and then the 2 hour premiere and I was in heaven. I have not watched that much tv in a consecutive sitting in a LONG time. I just don't have time, but I made time last night. My husband was at class so I knew I was on my own with the monkeys and bedtime. I somehow managed to make us all dinner, bake banana muffins, make waffles to freeze for the rest of the week, clean up the kitchen, bathe my monkeys, and get them to bed in time without falling asleep with them in order to watch my show. I was a bad mommy for a few of those minutes, I let the monkeys watch a show while I watched the first 30 minutes of the recap show. I was lucky that they had yoga-nastics that day so they were worn out and missing a nap. That was great, since it took all of 6 minutes for them to fall soundly asleep.
It was a great episode. Things are so twisty and I love it. It is sort of weird considering I really am a scientist at heart and this show plays against this part of me. I do somewhat believe in destiny and fate, but I also tend to overanalyze and look for a logical answer for everything. Well, you don't get many logical answers with Lost. And so far, I am okay with that. So, 8 pm (CST) Wednesdays - you know where I will be!!
Anybody else watch? Who was hoping Sawyer would never find another shirt?! Love his nick names for people.

Name Game

2009-01-21T09:45:00.002-06:00

I am taking suggestions on names for this baby! I am 28 weeks and not even close to coming up with a name yet. The baby is a boy and we like the more traditional names, but are open to unique names at this point!!
Thanks!

Happy Work Day for me

2009-01-19T12:41:00.002-06:00

Little monkey had a great birthday weekend. He was spoiled rotten by all on Saturday (his actual birthday) and had a blast at his party on Sunday. He is not usually an attention hog or spotlight kind of guy, but he really enjoyed it on Sunday. I think it was a successful weekend.
My parents came this weekend and the monkeys thoroughly enjoyed their company. It melts my heart watching them all together and seeing how much they obviously love the monkeys and the monkeys love and adore them. They had to leave this morning to go back (some of you get the day off today, not me!!). I left before they woke up but called to make sure they got on the road this morning. I know the boys were sad to see them leave. Little monkey started worrying about it yesterday morning. My mom said they were standing in the window with sad little faces waving goodbye to them as they drove off. I have a feeling they will both be attached to me all night tonight.
Now I need a nap!! I think these birthday weekend marathons wear me out more than the monkeys. It was FANTASTIC not to have to worry about anything by having the party at a location other than my backyard or house. But I am still a bit tired and woke up with a stuffy nose/headache. It is probably the beginnings of a cold and I hope it stays minimal and goes quickly.

Funny story, and it further proves my theory that men are the way they are from birth. Big monkey picked up a long (think willow tree type branch) thin stick in the parking lot after the party yesterday. Somehow he managed to sneak it in the van and was poking us all with it while we were driving home. Then he said he was peeing on me (I was seated in front of him and the stick was shaped like the stream of pee would be for a little boy who was peeing outside). That was not too shocking. But then he said he was peeing on me with the biggest winkie in the whole world!!!! I just about died. And then he of course repeated it several times and the van full of adults was rolling with laughter. I just could not believe he came up with that one all on his own at 4 years old!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Little Monkey

2009-01-15T14:25:00.003-06:00

Our baby (at least until April) is turning 3 this Saturday. I just can't get over how big and grown up he has gotten the past several weeks. He has undergone that transformation from little boy to big boy in a matter of a couple of months. I find myself watching him in amazement quite often lately. I don't know if it is because this transformation was so sudden (unlike the gradual change in big monkey at that age) or if it is partly because I am going to be having another baby soon and it seems so foreign to me. Big monkey was booted from baby position very quickly as little monkey made his surprise/blessed appearance in our lives while big monkey was still a baby. He has held onto the baby position in our family for 3 years on Saturday. He is so excited about being 3 and having a party and I am so excited for him.

Little monkey was my very large monkey from the beginning! He was 8 lbs 13 oz at birth (nearly 2 lbs bigger than his big brother was at birth) and is the same size as his big brother now. He was an amazing baby from the start. So easy. He was happiest when being nursed, and he did this quite often and very well! He had gained several ounces (without losing any) before we left the hospital! I had no stress while nursing him (for nearly a year and a half) and found out how wonderfully peaceful and beautiful breastfeeding is. We found out that his blood type is completely different from mine, causing jaundice, but he was fine after a few nights on the lamps.

Little monkey is a mommy's boy. He loves to be near me if I am around and I love to have him near. He has always been easy to make smile and is the most ticklish person I have ever met. He can even tickle his own feet! He is a daredevil in his own right and is always trying to do what his big brother is doing. He took a lot longer to walk and to talk than big monkey. He has always been happy to just be who he is at the moment and not stress over getting to the next milestone.
Just lately, he has started talking everyone's ears off. It is wonderful to listen to him have conversations with others, after being concerned for so long about him not talking much. Little monkey is pretty laid back, like his daddy. But boy does he have a temper. He is not shy about letting you know he is mad at you and guilt has never worked on this child. I foresee many power struggles with him in the future.

Little monkey has taught me so much. I really believe that if he had not come along so soon after big monkey, I would not have enjoyed parenthood as much as I have so far. I am type A, little monkey is type B. He makes me more mellow and that is something I can always use help with. I did not know how in the world I would bond with another baby so soon after the first one. He made that easy for me. He makes me smile constantly and at the same time drives me crazy with his constantly being underfoot. He is less open with his emotions, and makes me feel incredibly special when he randomly tells me he loves me.

Little monkey has a thing for boobies and pooting. This can be funny and it can be embarrassing - like in church when he flashes my boobies or when he runs over to me just to make me feel special by pooting on me! He is all boy and I am sure is full of surprises in the future. He is so excited to be a big brother, after being quite apprehensive when we first told him. He has been eating his vegetables so he can stay strong to protect his new brother when he is born.

So happy birthday Little Monkey. Mommy loves you and you will always be my baby!

Yummy

2009-01-14T11:40:00.005-06:00

My wonderful husband put gift certificates to Jimmy John's in my stocking this year for Christmas. I am a sandwich type of person anyway, but in a big way this pregnancy. I crave white bread (which is abnormal since I usually love the grainy types of bread) and Jimmy John's has the yummiest white bread around - they also have whole grain bread. So I went there today to grab a sub. Of course I got the vegetarian which comes with cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, cucumbers, and avocado spread. It usually comes with sprouts but seems like I remember a warning about eating these while pregnant. I also got the jalapeno chips. I expect a full afternoon of burping and indigestion. I was so excited when we finally got these two wonderful sub shops in my city. It brought back some fond memories of college and going to get a sub after drinking dancing all night.

Speaking of fond memories, my cousin Lacy has put an interesting picture of me from way back when on her blog. Check it out. I expect much ridicule from the few of you that know me in real life!

90 Days

2009-01-13T13:16:00.003-06:00

Yes, it does. My ticker thing says 90 days until this littlest monkey's due date. Oh wow. I had a slight panic episode last night thinking about how I have put things off to the beginning of the year and now have done NOTHING to get ready for this baby!! That is not completely true, I have been stockpiling diapers, wipes, and breast pads. But we have not even cleaned out the room for him to call his own. Granted, he will sleep in the bassinet (or next to me) for the first 3 months. I still feel like he should have his room ready like the other two monkeys. I don't even have the newborn clothes here (they are at my parents' house still). AAAHHH! It is going to be here before I know it and I am a planner and can not stand not having things the way I feel they should be before due dates!

500 Miles

2009-01-12T10:06:00.003-06:00

Okay, I have signed up to join the looney bin. Well, not really. But I have signed to do CM's running and reading challenge for 2009. The challenge is to run 500 miles and read 50 books this year. I know I will probably not get the 50 books in. I just don't read that much and with a new baby in April, reading is going to be even more limited. But I will still record my books read just to see how many I do actually read.
The 500 miles is a bit of a challenge too considering my current condition. I do think that I could normally do it, especially if I set up races to run as goal points. I am going to cheat a little and add in my walking time. I have not been jogging as much since my half marathon. This is mostly due to the back pain I sometimes get after running. I know it is from the baby being so low and I do wear a support brace, which I guess I should consider wearing on days he is really low too. I do walk at least twice a week and usually at least 3 miles. Then I do some jogging and the elliptical twice a week.
There have been several people jump on board with different versions of this challenge so ANYONE can do it and EVERYONE should try.
I was really inspired and wanted to lace up my sneakers yesterday morning. There was a marathon threw my city and we went by several parts of the course and I just stared at them with admiration. The monkeys were in the van and I made sure to point the runners out to them. I wanted to stand out by the end of my street after church and cheer them on, but we had out of town plans so I had to settle with excitement as we drove on by. I am going to add the half marathon to my goal for 2010!

26 weeks

2009-01-07T15:00:00.003-06:00

So yesterday marked 26 weeks in this pregnancy. I got a new ticker thing on my side bar just to remind me!
I have had an incredibly uncomfortable day. I think it is mostly because this littlest monkey boy just won't hang out higher than my belly button. He likes to lay low and play drums on my bladder and back and kidneys! I don't mind sometimes but I really need to have him move up some. When he does move up it is such a relief. So I will be staying in my workout clothes the rest of the day. I went for a walk this afternoon for my lunch break and it helped relieve some of the discomfort. It was nice to get out and the sunshine was out finally. It has been several weeks since we have had a nice sunny day. Yesterday I went to the gym and ran a little over a mile. Wow, I missed running since I took it lazy easy over the holidays. I wanted to run more but had promised myself to take it easy my first day back so I did not mess up my back. I did get on the elliptical trainer afterwards and it was actually not too bad. I usually don't care for that machine but I had some great new music on my ipod and that helped.
I tried to post a picture of the belly but blogger is being difficult with me this afternoon so maybe later.

The new year

2009-01-06T10:18:00.001-06:00

Back to work this week and feeling the pain of having a lot of time off to enjoy life and being back at work with absolutely no desire to be here!
The monkeys had a wonderful Christmas, well we all did thanks to the monkeys and their pure innocent enjoyment of the holiday. I think that we all had a better Christmas because of how excited they were. One gift from my parents was a pack of new Cars sheets. Big monkey thought they were pull ups and went on and on about how excited he was and that he always wanted some more pull ups! So cute. We had a great time in Atlanta. It went quickly. I was spoiled by not really doing anything. I got everything I wanted, including egg salad sandwiches. My husband is enjoying his new chair as far as I can tell. Little monkey loves to sit in it too.

We had some great friends over for New Year's Eve. Kids and all, we had a good time. Some of us had a bit harder of a time staying up, but the kids seemed to run through the house the entire night! Of course we ate our cabbage cooked with silver coins in it on new year's day. It was yummy, we had to force/bribe the boys to eat it but they did and it made me happy.

I spent a lot of time going through my house and trying to get some more organization to it. Nesting has kicked in and I am throwing things out as fast as I can. I am in the process of looking for some sort of storage solution for the monkeys' toys. I should have thought about that before I started my new budget system. I am hoping my husband can really stick to the budget system in place. I have goals. When I look at the end result it makes me so excited! I just have to get us there. Well, WE have to get us there. And we will, eventually. I would like to even get the house paid off. That would be amazing. And it is very doable.

Hubby starts school again next week. I think he is taking two classes. I really hate to see the bill for the books. I just hope he appreciates all of our sacrifices (once again!!)!! I know he does and I am more than happy to suck it up for him to finally get his degree finished and hopefully get into something he likes. It will just be nice once that happens!

We are putting the rental house up for sale by owner in a couple of weeks. I will be praying very hard that the house sells, I cringe every time I think about that thing. We have an offer in for the business. I think we are supposed to hear back today on the counter offer we gave them last week. Cross your fingers that it goes through and it is decent enough and this guy can get financing. It makes me nervous, but it needs to be done.

On a lighter note, Mardi Gras season is pretty much just around the corner. I came back to a bunch of emails about our ball and parade and am so excited. I wish I could ride this year, and I could right now, but not in 6 weeks!! Littlest monkey, with no name yet, has become incredibly active in the past week. I am happy to report that he is mostly active during the day and I hope to keep it that way with hopes he will be a good sleeper! HA HA

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T08:21:00.003-06:00

I am enjoying the time off of work for sure! Unfortunately it is nearly over. I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday. I can't wait to get a few minutes and post some pictures. The monkeys were so much fun this Christmas.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-23T10:34:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas and New Year. I don't know how much I will be around until after the New Year begins, so I wanted to get one last post in and hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season. I plan on it and can't wait to have some egg salad sandwiches with spinach on them for Christmas. No this is not a tradition, a pregnancy craving and my mom makes the best egg salad sandwiches. I add the fresh spinach for health reason!!

Next to last

2008-12-22T07:31:00.003-06:00

Today is my next to last day to work this year!! I know, mouth full. I am just excited to have nearly 2 weeks off of work to spend with family and friends. I am really excited to go see my parents. I am just about over not being able to visit my family in Indiana. I figure we will be going after April and then everyone can see the newest littlest monkey in the family and it will be even better. I will make sure that works out!
I still have a few things on my desk that need to go out before I take off tomorrow afternoon. They are not nearly as bad as the horrible project I had last week.
Okay, so I have one little gripe about gifts this year. Why is it that I keep getting gifts to me to use for the baby?!!? Am I the only one who is selfish and would like my gifts to be FOR ME?!?! And NOT the sweet littlest monkey in my belly? Two people have done this so far. One was an office exchange and we pick the people we buy a gift for and it is a secret until the exchange. I put a lot of thought into my person's gifts. I received a Babies R Us gift certificate so "the baby won't only have hand me downs"!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nice thought, bad idea. I hope I don't sound ungrateful, I will put the card to good use. But DANG I would have like something for ME!!
Anyway, I guess I can buy some bra shields and that would technically be for me.

I am trying to figure out if I should still give the nanny a bonus for Christmas. We have a few small gifts for her and I had planned on giving her a bonus all along. But she is going to be getting paid for the 2 weeks she does not have my kids. Granted, she will be coming over to my house to check on my insane cats for the few days we are visiting my parents. Maybe I will just give a smaller bonus?! What do you think?

I have been reading the books by Dave Ramsey. I am hooked and have already started setting up my financial goals 2009. I hope to maybe post a generic version of them on my side bar to help keep motivated. I am going to try to get us completely out of debt without going insane trying. Of course all last week I was stressed about my financial goals! I know I need some help with my type A personality. I just need to relax and stick to the plan and if it all is successfully completed, great. If not, so be it. I will plan on for 2010! Anybody else follow Dave Ramsey?

The terrible 4's

2008-12-16T10:30:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I always heard that the two's were terrible. I had heard that in all actuality the three's were worse than the two's. Well nobody told me how horrible the four's would be!!
Big monkey has been giving me fits for a while now. His mouth is going to be the death of me. He has the same problem that I do, he thinks he has to get the last word in. It is not a good thing.
He thinks that when he is in trouble he needs to say something to hurt your feelings or tell you he is going to do something if you punish him. Like last night for instance, he told me if I did not let him watch a show, he was going to put me on fire! Well he did, and I put him in the corner. He said he was not going to stay in the corner and he was going to wipe the pasta sauce all over the walls. So I took him to the bathroom and washed his hands and face and then sent him to bed. I am finished arguing and listening to that mouth. He had a bad report from the nanny that day too. Apparently he told her he was going to bite her if she made him do circle time. I don't really understand where this is coming from. I am VERY strict with the tv. They don't get to watch any kind of transformer or super hero type shows yet. I get that they are boys and will instinctively know fighting. I just don't have to like it!
I have found a new way of "training" the little ones and am currently reading up on it and trying to put it to good use. We had an excellent week last week and I think it was because of the new no warning type of obedience. I am hoping he is testing me this week to see if I am going to get lazy again or stick with it. I have news for that monkey, mommy is sticking to it and will have two (soon three) monkeys that listen and obey first time go around and will do it nicely!

Needs and wants

2008-12-11T06:35:00.004-06:00

I read a post by Connie this morning and just had to copy. I went to google and searched "Shanna needs". Here is what popped up, thanks mostly to the moron Shanna Moakler (whom I might add says her name wrong)!

Shanna needs:
1. more time, it is running out - yeah the pre baby planning panic has started up already.
2. to kick Kim Kardashian's bootie.
3. to get over herself - I must say this is sometimes true.
4. to stay home with her kids - this made me a bit sad, I wish I could.
5. to spend less time gold digging - umm, maybe I could start this and stay home with my kids?!
6. to take the gum out of her mouth before posing for photos - funny considering I loathe gum with this pregnancy!

And now Shanna wants:
1. Ice cream - sure, who wouldn't?!
2. him. - who?!
3. to avoid Kim - only when I am chasing her darn dog out of my yard when the flea bag is pooping in it.
4. the last word - this is a necessity and something I most usually get.
5. more kids - absolutely.
6. her children to understand and appreciate diversity - this should be a breeze in ALABAMA HA HA HA!
7. to weigh her options on a c-section - eerily close to home.

That was fun, you should all try it. I was amazed at how many Shanna girls there are out there now. I did not meet my first Shanna until high school, and did not meet my first Shanna who pronounces it the same until Grad school.

Still running

2008-12-09T15:00:00.003-06:00

I just got back from a really nice run, even though it was on a treadmill staring at myself in the mirror. I kept wondering how long I will be able to keep this up. I wore my belly brace and felt no pain/discomfort in my belly. I felt some fatigue in my right leg and think it might be getting time for some new shoes, afterall these two pair got me through the half training and are well worn by now. I hope I can keep going for some time. Even if it is only a couple miles here and there, it keeps me sane and makes me happy. I really do feel my mood shift about a mile into the run and it seems to last the rest of the day.
I am hoping to get out on the road with my running buddy this weekend and get some "therapy" in before the holidays.
I really hope my great friend who just ran her first 5K is still on the C25K bandwagon. I would love to run/walk one with her in January.. hint hint.

Brotherly Love

2008-12-08T07:13:00.004-06:00

Just look at these two gorgeous monkeys! I did my best at taking some photos for my Christmas cards this weekend. We had some good ones, and some that make it obvious I don't know how to use my camera very well yet! But this one just makes my heart happy! I love it and I am now trying to find a card to do it justice!
Can you tell which one is the youngest?! He looks so grown up with his big boy haircut.

Motivation

2008-12-06T15:36:00.002-06:00

Okay, I need some motivation. I should be cleaning some of my house right now but just can't get myself in gear. I have sprayed the bathroom down and could easily get it finished in 20 minutes if I get my rear in gear. Instead, I found myself upstairs in the office checking out the blogs! Husband is at work, monkeys are in bed, Sammy kitty is keeping my left arm warm. I have the SEC football championship game on just hoping the Gators win. Not because I am a fan of theirs, but I sure do admire what Tim Tebow stands for.
I got to watch the second half of the Hoosiers getting beat by Gonzaga. I was not in the least bit angry, I was impressed by the hardwork this mostly freshman team put forth against a 5th ranked team. I look forward to future years of Hoosier basketball if they keep this attitude. I also really want a "B-Town" t-shirt. I should use this team as my hardworking motivation! HA HA. I think I might just need a nap. Afterall, I did take a 3 year old and two 4 year olds to a Christmas parade, bath and body works, and Santa's wonderland at the Bass Pro Shop (I will try to post pictures later). We ate lunch at the restaurant at the store and everyone was pretty darn good. I even got my regular compliments about how well the little monkeys were behaved.
Alright, time to get the bathroom done before the soap dries and I have to start over again!

Spoiled rotten

2008-12-05T08:24:00.003-06:00

I slept in this morning. I thought that if I was going to drag my happy self into work that I was going to sleep past 4:30 am and come in at the time everyone else does. It was great, only man does the traffic suck at that time! I am spoiled and am used to flashing lights in the morning. This morning I had to actually stop at the lights. And every mini van (I love mine by the way) was on its way to drop kids off at school.
I also decided that I was going to treat myself to an overly expensive hot chocolate from Starbucks. I have been craving hot chocolate this pregnancy (and spicy chips) and have actually been indulging in my cravings a bit. It was tasty.

I can feel the anticipation in the air over the possibility of getting our bonuses today. I am really excited to be getting one, especially after listening to Glen Beck this morning. He has nearly put me in a panic over the economy and his predictions for this time next year. I am trying so hard to get our budget/finances worked out so I can get that 6 months salary in savings and bills paid off. We have been doing pretty well considering I just started a couple of months ago. Of course my Starbucks trip this morning was not preplanned. I started using PearBudget and really like it so far. What was really great was using it for the first month free to see if I would stick to it. It is something I could easily set up on excel, but I found it worth my few dollars a month not to have to think, just enter and read.

I am going to meet the nanny at the monkeys' haircut place at noon and then bring them back to the office where I am hoping they will eat lunch and I can get another hour or so of work done. I may download a movie for them on one of my computers to keep them occupied. I wonder which one will spill the beans to my husband about the leather recliner sitting in my office?

Work, work, work

2008-12-04T11:53:00.003-06:00

This week has been really busy and I am probably going to be swamped until right before Christmas with actual work stuff. Of course Monday I get back from Thanksgiving and everybody is in my office (or inbox) letting me know they need something right away for their projects. I have a HUGE project on my desk right now and I don't have time for this other junk. My deadline is the week after next and it will probably take that long, or longer, to get it done. So I will be working tomorrow (my day off) just to try to get caught up. I thought it might suck, and it probably will anyway, but there is a rumor that we will be getting our holiday bonuses tomorrow (early). That will make the day look a bit brighter!

I did take time at lunch to go to Target. I made out like a bandit. I got 20 2-packs of batteries, 9 ham steaks, 2 yoplait kids yogurt packs, 16 oz american cheese, and some santa stocking chocolate for $3.19. It was fantastic. I made a beeline for the door, afraid I was going to be called back and made to give it all back! I really love getting good deals!

Disappointment sucks

2008-12-02T15:32:00.002-06:00

My husband called this afternoon to let me know that the guy who was trying to buy our business had an issue with financing and it is a no go. This is very disappointing. My husband pretty much hates his business (long story about being roped into it by my wonderful in laws) and wants to go back to school to get his degree finished. He has been taking night classes but was really hoping to get into it full time and over with in a year or so. We do have a back up offer on the business which is fantastic. Unfortunately it means more time running the business and no trip to Indiana to see family at Christmas time. I am pretty sad and think the monkeys will be too. We will still go to my parents' house for Christmas, that is great. It has been 2 years since we visited Indiana and I was really looking forward to it. I guess we can always try during my time off after having the baby. I hope this other offer goes through and everything works out. I am ready for the husband to start doing something he likes and not hating most of his day. Any positive thoughts would be much appreciated! I am thankful for the underlying results of this business, he has an immense amount of experience now and it brought us to a place we really enjoy living and raising our children. It has been a rough time though and we are ready to move forward.
I am going to try my best to shake this off and not let it make me sad.

An update on my dad, he broke his leg in 3 places. Two at ankle level and one about 3 inches below the knee. He has to stay in bed on his back until Friday to get the swelling down enough to put it in a cast. My mom has called twice wanting to send him down to me already!!