Retraining the kids is HARDER than I thought

Like most parents I am sure we all wish we could train out kids to be a little more cooperative and appreciative. I am attempting to get my children to realize that I am not their maid. So this weekend I launched a campaign or point system to get them reacquainted with cleaning after themselves. Chase started out strong and Andrew hasn't done a thing. So needless to say I am pretty discouraged. I haven't given up completely but I am seriously disappointed in two boys right now. I don't expect a miracle over night but I was hoping for a little more. School is out tomorrow and I am going to set them up a to do list and see what happens from there.

Now that Madelyn is cuddled up against me asleep I am going catch up on my show Alphas on Netflix.

Jaemor Farms

Every year I take the boys ,and now Madelyn, to a pumpkin farm to kick off the fall season. And to be honest... every year I am a little more disappointed. Prices are higher and the quality is not. I only took them this year so I could get some good fall pictures. But there wasn't anywhere to do it. I was not alone. Several other parents were having the same problems. The pumpkin patch was tiny and covered with red ants. I know this personally because both myself and Andrew got snacked on. Holy smokes my foot was on fire!!! But the day was not a total loss. The boys seemed to enjoy the corn maze and the hay ride even though Madelyn was too little so we couldn't do it as a family. She enjoyed just playing around and pushing her stroller around the field. I enjoyed the market and if it hadn't been so crowded I would have loved to get some fresh fruits and veggies. But we ended up with 5 pumpkins, including Madelyn's 1st pumpkin. So all and all it was a good day.

Here are some pics from our trip.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Wow, has this been one heck of a week. Not only am I completely exhausted from all the pre and post party preparations but I have had a series of strange things happening.

Madelyn has been sick with a stomach thing which lead to one of many sleepless nights this week! I am hoping she feels better soon! Mama needs some rest!

Then I ran over Chase's scooter in the garage and popped my tire!! I had to put the spare on myself... Which took me two tries, some serious language, and finally breaking out the owners manuel... But I finally did it!!! (they really make that look easier on TV!) YAY for me! 2 hours later and I was rocking the spare! Hahaha! I know... sad isn't it. I will not be asked to help NASCAR anytime soon. But I can live with that!

That little fiasco led to my having to get new tires because mine were long overdue. The sad thing is that Chase's scooter didn't even have a scratch... That lead to some more choice words....hehe!

It's just been a crazy crazy week!

But here's a new pic of my babies that make it all better! :-) love love love

THE PARTY

First birthday parties are in a word...MAGICAL.  As a momma I made the decision to go all out for my Madelyns's party. I wanted to turn my back yard into a whirlwind of pinks and greens and flowers and balloons!


The Birthday Girl

Birthday bash is almost here

That's right. Madelyn's first birthday party is tomorrow. She actually turned one on Wednesday the 13th but due to scheduling her party is tomorrow. I am excited for her. I hope she enjoys playing with all her little friends! Of course I am also nervous...did I make enough food...enough goodie bag... It goes on! Her cake was made by Life is Sweet Custom Cakes in Buford and it is perfect. It's exactly how I pictured it! Here is a little preview! More pics to follow!

Birthday Mania

I am gearing up for Madelyn's 1st birthday party! I am excited but also exhausted. The excited part can't wait to start setting everything up on Sunday for all our friends and family to enjoy. The exhausted part of me wishes I had kept this to a small family party. But it's too late for that and I have spent way too much money to have regrets now. Miss Madelyn is going to have the best first birthday party ever!! (ok keeping it real, it may not be the best ever but she's one, she won't know the difference! Ha!) but it will be a great party with great people. But I am telling you what.. Doing all this by yourself is HARD. I have to clean my house, cook all the food, make Madelyn's birthday outfit ( yea-I went there! But she will look fantabulous!), and finish the decorations all the while keeping my now walking one year old aka birthday girl...entertained. I know I know... Your all thinking what the heck were you thinking?!?!? Well... I never do anything half way so might as well go big or go home. So that being said...check back soon for pics of the birthday bash!

Has it really been a year already?

My little baby girl is turning a year old next week!  I am not ready! My little independant miss has started walking/running all over the place. As I am writing this she is standing inside her birthday gift waving at me with this huge smile of joy. How sweet is she? (see photo)

Its so strange to think that a year ago I was so uncertain about my future and how I could possibly do this single mommy thing but I could never imagine my life without this little miracle. Of course she is already spoiled by all of us and has already enjoyed the fun of her birthday gifts lol..of course it is hard to hide a play house. haha.. we are having a big backyard bash for her party and I am hoping it all comes together as I planned. I want it to be perfect (not that she will care or even notice) and I am loving all the planning. Party photos to follow!

 

 

 

 

A brand new start

As most of you know the month of June has brought many changes in my life. We have been running around crazy for the most part so finding a minute to breathe..let alone blog has been a challenge.

8 months old today

My baby girl is 8 months old today. I can't even describe how happy she makes my life. Milestones will be in the next post. Love my Madelyn Leigha!

Busy busy

I have totally been neglecting my blog lately, but my life has been pretty chaotic. So here is a quick catch up on the family.

Madelyn is 6 months old

I can not even believe my baby girl is already 6 months old. The time is flying by!! So here are some updates...

1) she can now roll off the bed! And we have the ER visit to prove it! She is now rolling all over the floor during her tummy time and nothing is safe... She has an extreme fondness of the boys homework papers..uh oh. :)

2) we have started tapering off the bottles and adding more cereal and baby food to her diet. This is both painful and hilarious to watch. My daughter is a total diva when it comes to eating and she expects you to follow her movements so she pretty much ends up wearing it.

3) she has decided she loves the bath! Finally. Although I wish her skin wasn't so sensitive because having to always buy Aveeno baby products is expensive and they smell horrible.

4) tooth watch is still under way with no visible progress.

5) she loves to watch Playhouse Disney!

There are just too many to write. We are loving this new adventure with her!

Summer is here!

That's right people...time to put away the long sleeves and the jackets and bring out the shorts and flip flops!! Madelyn looks so sweet showing off her chunky monkey legs in her little sundresses and rompers!!! I could just eat her up!!! Not to mention my boys look very handsome in their cargos and T's. (Now if Momma could drop a few pounds and tone back up we would all be set!)

Coming soon....

I have been neglecting my blog because I have been insanely busy these last few weeks! But I plan on updating it this week with some super cute new pics of the family! Stay tuned.....

The RECAP

We have been a little busy this past week so my posts have been a little... well.. nonexistent.

So I will attempt to "hit the high spots" on what we have been up to.

Valentines was a little bizarre for me this year. Mostly because I had been fighting a cold and had forgotten all about it! That left me at the mercy at CVS but the kids seemed to enjoy their goodies so THANK YOU CVS! :-)

My sister took Chase to the HIGH museum of Art and he LOVED it!!!

Andrew and I finally found a great restaurant for burgers in Buford : Teds Montana Grill, which my sister and I reconfirmed Monday night. YUMMY..ohh.... I almost forgot the homemade potato chips and dip... I could have licked the bowl.

School was out Friday, so the kids and I headed over to Cumming and kidnapped Auntie H and headed to the Avenues for some Mellow Mushroom Pizza and some shopping. FUN! Great deals at American Eagle!!

The boys headed to NC for the weekend and had a blast spending thr night with their Nana. Now if we can only talk her into coming for a visit. Hint Hint. Lol.

The boys talked Auntie H into taking them to the movies to see the new Journey movie in IMAX 3D. They loved it!!!

Fun and family filled days ahead. Can't wait for the weekend. Long to do lists. Happy Wednesday. :-)

Milestones of Baby M

Yesterday Madelyn turned 5 months old. I can not believe it has already been that long since I brought her home from the hospital. Here are some quick updates on her progress.

#1...She has officially out grown the Carter's 3 month clothes. She can still wear most 3-6 months but she can also wear 6 months even though they are a little big.

#2...In the last couple of days she has been full out laughing. She is always smiley and would laugh a bit out loud when you tickled her or made funny faces but now she is actually laughing repeatedly! The boys absolutely crack her up! It's the cutest thing ever!!!

#3....She has found her hands and has figured out how to use them! Haha! She is grasping and moving toys on her exersaucer and her rocker. She can hold her bottle (if she wants to otherwise she's a total diva). And she is very good at putting things in her mouth.

4...transitioning her to baby food is turning out to be difficult. She has not liked any of the Gerber baby foods except the apples and she doesn't really love the organic plum brand either. But tonight we tried the Sprout organic roasted butternut squash and she loved it!!! She still hates the carrots but I can live with that.

5...she can roll over (scary I know) and is really working hard to sit up on her own. She's very determined!

6...She is still sleeping through the night and I am thankful for that! I put her down around 9pm and she will sleep until at least 9:30 or 10 am. I have no complaints in that department at all!

7... We are currently in tooth watch mode. No visible signs but we have the river of drool and the runny nose and low grade fevers. I doubt it will be long before she cuts her first tooth!

So far she is right on target with where she should be and is growing up so fast that I am afraid to blink because I might miss something. I have a very blessed life with my Baby M and my two big boys!

Just another toy I wish I had never bought

I completely overdid the Christmas presents this year. I know this because some of the cashiers at toys r us and gamestop now know me personally. Yeah it's that bad. For the most part I bought the new games that were out for Xbox, PS3, and Nintendo DS. ( Its robbery how expensive some of these games cost. How these manufacturers can sleep at night is beyond me!) But what I am mad at myself for buying are the toy toys. The remote helicopter that was flown for a day and broken. The Mario Kart Racetrack by Knex that has never even been put all the way together but is now laying in a million pieces in the nursery floor. The countless legos and the train set and the art kit...do I need to go on? It's like I might has well have taken the money and threw it in the garbage. I am not going to do that this year. I have a general idea about a larger item that the kids want and I think I am going to buy it and nothing else but the accessories for it. It's not that they don't appreciate what they have. They just are almost past that age where toys just can't hold their attention when they have game systems and laptops and all that jazz. This technology age has spoiled them.

Family Day Out Part 2

After the bakery we headed to the Gwinnett Place Mall to exchange my bedding for the correct size at Macy's. Can I just how run down that mall is. And ghetto but not in the fabulous way. Even one of the employees at Gymboree commented on how a lot of the stores were empty. The funniest part was we ended up in the Mega Mart which we have never gone in before. It was an interesting experience that's for sure. The kids loved the fountain and Madelyn was being a great baby riding around in her new umbrella stroller. From there we headed to Discover Mills so the boys could have a few races at the slingshot speedway. They love that place and have launched a campaign to talk me into buying them their own race cars. I am not sold yet. Don't these kids realize Christmas was months ago?!? Sheesh. Lol. After the racing and shopping we headed over to Cracker Barrel for some breakfast for dinner and it was yummy!! Now we are home and getting ready to watch Breaking Dawn on DVD. (team Jacob! But that's a recent development, haha!!)

Family Day Out Part 1

Today was the boys pick on where to eat for lunch. Of course that means Mellow Mushroom Pizza. The good side to that (other than the pizza being fantabulous!) is that the closest one is in Suwannee Town Center and it's right beside my favorite place called Gimme Some Suga. So after pizza we are heading for cupcakes. Yummy!!

Reality Check

I have been a little bit stressed on the verge of needing medication for all the stress I have been under for the past few weeks. I was talking to my mother the other day and I was complaining about the boys and complaining about the new stress at work...I was just pretty much complaining about everything. I couldnt find one positive thing to talk about in the mix of all that anxiety. I have become the epitome of "Debbie Downer" and I couldnt seem to break out of the funk that came with it. I wasnt sleeping and I was eating everything in sight that was definitely not on my diet list! I was so run down that I caught yet another cold and spent most of the day yesterday in bed. Then I read this blog by a mother who has a son with EB. It was horrific and sad and humbling. I am a fighter and a worker but the way I have been complaining the last few weeks have made me feel like a brat. Yes my boys are not behaving and being disrespectful and my job is...lets not even go there....but you know what I have it easy compaired to this poor woman that can not even hold her child without causing him pain. Life has given me many blessings and I am not going to spend one more day taking them for granted. No more excuses..I am going to live each day and show how thankful I am for everything and everyone in my life.

Chase, Auntie H, Madelyn, and Andrew at Starbucks

Most of all I am just tired of being tired

I am TIRED of crying.
I am TIRED of yelling.
I am TIRED of being sad.
I am TIRED of pretending.
I am TIRED of being alone.
I am TIRED of being angry.
I am TIRED of feeling crazy.
I am TIRED of feeling stuck.
I am TIRED of needing help.
I am TIRED of remembering.
I am TIRED of missing things.
I am TIRED of being different.
I am TIRED of missing people.
I am TIRED of feeling worthless.
I am TIRED of feeling empty inside.
I am TIRED of not being able to just let go.
I am TIRED of wishing I could start all over.
I am TIRED of dreaming about a life I will never have.
But most of all.. I am just TIRED of being TIRED!

I didn't write this but it could not be more true sometimes.

Baby Proof

All you moms know how...um... ok...lets keep it real.. some things that come out of these babies are just down right nasty.... I mean sometimes I think I need a hazmat suit to feed a baby! Love you Madelyn!! Anyway... I have found an extremely awesome brand of work out wear at TARGET!!! I have bought yoga/workout clothes at American Eagle and Aeropostale and it does not hold a candle to the fleece light weight jacket I bought on clearance at Target. I paid $14 for this jacket that Baby M has... initiated at least a dozen times which means... It's been washed a dozen times and it still looks new! No shrinking, fading, or lint! It's a pewter color and I love it! I only wish they had more. I paid 3 times that for my aero ones and they look terrible! I am sold on this product! I love my Target!!!!

Its a moms world

In today's society it is very common that both parents have to work outside the home support their families. At my office the majority of us ( I work in a dental office in which all of my coworkers are women) have become the "bread winners" for our families due to various economic declines. With construction almost completely shut down these men are no longer pulling high salaries down assuming they have even been able to maintain employment at all. I am thankful that I have a dependable job that allows me to provide the necessities and a few luxuries for my family because let me tell you my government hasn't done anything to help me. Even with my maternity leave this year I am still going to end up paying state taxes because of being in a higher tax category. I have 3 children that I raise on my salary and I don't qualify for EIC. So the dreams of my new sectional sofa with matching oversized ottoman are circling the drain in leu of paying almost $700 to the lovely state of Georgia. Boo! Did I mention the sofa is grey? Yeah..... Lol.

Ok back to the working mother.... I often times feel like I am judged. Probably not really by anyone other than myself but the feeling of inadequacy is still there. I love to cook but on the days I work I rarely do it unless it is a baked spaghetti or something like that. The poor people at pizza hut delivery know me personally and that's just sad. I hope to change that now that my office is slowing down a bit and I can get home before 6. I have had people criticize me for that. Literally make smart comments about it but thats their issues because I am doing the best I can so moving on.

Laundry... OH EM GEE.... We're going to skip that one because I am still praying that the laundry fairy will come and catch me up from my weekend out of town. It has occurred to me that if I just stopped buying these children clothes then I wouldn't have to wash so much. Of course I am sure going to school naked would be frowned upon in my district. Hahaha.

My house needs a complete spring cleaning! (THANK GOD it's NOT SPRING yet!!!!) I think I am just overwhelmed right now. I was doing so well when I first started back from maternity leave then we got slammed at work and I was literally there 7 days a week. (ergo higher tax bracket...bye bye sofa) Its so hard because when I am home I want to spend it with the boys and Baby M. This is her bonding time and when she spends more waking hours with the nanny than with me it's extremely hard to just spend the whole weekend cleaning. I know it will work out but I am hoping to get super organized this weekend so that things can get back to normal.

And all those haters out there who judge us working mommas need to spend more time encouraging us because let's face it people. We are the current future of this economy.in fact I am going to be stimulating the economy a little today and possibly do a little shopping. Hahahaha. Like I need an excuse to shop.

Oh and I threw in this adorable new pic of Baby M! Enjoy!

Photo Diary

Madelyn is changing so much every day that I am constantly snapping pictures of her. I thought I would use this post to play catch up with some of my favorites. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

someone was NOT happy but I love this picture

Snuggle Bug

Tummy time

sleeping angel