Happy Memorial Day

I hope you are all able to spend time with your loved ones today! We will be cooking out and playing games all day and then watching some fireworks and playing with sparklers tonight.

Don't forget to have a thankful heart today for all of the women and men who risk their lives for us. I know that I am grateful for all of my friends and family that has joined in protecting without pause. I do not support the war that we are involved in over seas but I do recognize the importance of supporting our armed forces and I hope all of you do to. War or no, they have chosen to protect my family and for that I am grateful.  

Binkie baby

K is obsessed. He loves his binkie in a way we never saw with D. He is fine without it until he is tired... or bored.. but as soon as he is, you better have one handy. Any hang time with his bink is like a day at Disney with his bestie and you tell me what kid wouldn't want that all the time. Sometimes its the simple things I guess. Here is the thing though. When does a simple thing become a not simple thing anymore? When do you, as a parent, break the cycle?

With D it was easy. He only wanted his binkie at bedtime, even at this age. He wasn't obsessed. One night, at 18 months, he just didn't want it anymore. I went to put him in his bed, and he took it out of his mouth and handed it to me. We left one in his bed with him for a few weeks after that but he never even so much as looked at it again.

Something tells me K isn't going to be that easy. Thing is, I don't mind him having a pacifier. He is a baby. It helps this otherwise needy little man soothe himself when he is unsettled. Not that he doesn't find comfort in me or his daddy and not that I would ever use it to hold off a feeding or comfort of any sort. When he is hungry, he wants nothing to do with his bink. Sometimes babies just need to suck. I get that.

I guess I am just looking to the future. Maybe he will prove me wrong and give it up easy like D did. Or maybe not. Either way, who could resist this cuteness?

Music Monday

 Music is a huge part of Tommy and I's relationship. Its something we bonded over in the beginning and still connect with now.  I will be posting the lyrics to a song and what it means to me every Monday (hopefully). At least until I run out of interesting things to say (Or I forget). Make sense? Feel free to do your own but please link back to me and add your site to the MckLinky below!

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Somewhere Out There by James Horner, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil

Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight
Someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight

Somewhere out there someone's saying a prayer
That we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there

And even though I know how very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star

And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky

Somewhere out there if love can see us through
Then we'll be together somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true

And even though I know how very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star

And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky

Somewhere out there if love can see us through
Then we'll be together somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true

This is the most basic of Music Monday posts to date. If you are confused, look here. The end.

Domestication or lack thereof.

It eludes me. Ever since T and I have been together I have struggled with it. I want to be a good wife and keep up with the house and everything else. The thing is, I just can't. Call it a mental block or what you will but I just can't seem to get things done around the house! I have tried making lists and daily chore charts and everything I can think of to get stuff done but it just never seems to happen. Thank goodness Tommy helps me out or it would be a REAL mess. Now, don't get me wrong, it never crossed the gross boundary. Just cluttered and dusty. People tell me all the time that I should be easy on my self because I have two small kids but I also don't have a "job" outside the house either. I should be able to do this right?

Last weekend we did a thorough cleaning. I'm talking down to the nitty gritty house cleaning here. Hands and knees floor scrubbing, etc. I started off the week determined to keep it clean too. We were going to have a fifteen minute straighten and clean session every night before bed to keep things tidy. Clean as we go. Actually put the laundry away out of the dryer and not just get the clothes out as we wear them. Yeah, its not working that way though. So far we have done the 15 minutes thing once and the dryer is full of unstuffed cloth diapers. I am just so frustrated with myself.

So, this is where I need help. Anyone have any good suggestions on staying motivated to keep the house clean?? Or at least easing my guilt of not being Suzy Homemaker all the time?

Music Monday

 Music is a huge part of Tommy and I's relationship. Its something we bonded over in the beginning and still connect with now.  I will be posting the lyrics to a song and what it means to me every Monday (hopefully). At least until I run out of interesting things to say (Or I forget). Make sense? Feel free to do your own but please link back to me and add your site to the MckLinky below!

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Life is a Highway By Tom Cochrane

Life's like a road that you travel on
When there's ne day here and the next day gone
Somethimes you bend and sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your head to the wind
There's a world outside ev'ry darkened door
Where blues won't haunt you anymore
Where brave are free and lovers soar
Come ride with me to the distant shore
We won't hesitate
Break down the garden's gate
There's not much time left today

Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long

Through all these cities and all these towns
It's in my blood and it's all around
I love you now like I loved you then
This is the road and these are the hands
From Mozambique to those Memphis nights
The khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights

Knock me down get back up again
You're in my blood
I'm not a lonely man
There's no load I can't hold
Road so rough this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors

Gimme gimme gimme gimme yeah
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long
There was a distance between you and I
A misunderstanding once
But now we look in the eye

There ain't no load that I can't hold
Road so rough this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors

Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long 


Another nostalgia song here. This song came out in 1991. I was ten. We had this on cassette tape and listened to it over and over. When T and I got married, I made sure he knew this song. Almost as a condition of matrimony. It has been made over by lots of bands throughout the years but no one has ever quite hit the mark. Its a passionate song to me about living life to its fullest. Never getting stuck in one spot. Never settling. Something that drives me and something I want to be surrounded by.

Broken Hearted

My sister and I are very close. I know I have mentioned it before. We were close when we were very young, took a break when we hit puberty, then have been close since. We have always had our own friends and our own "things" that we did but always close. We can talk and laugh for hours on end. She was the Maid of Honor at my wedding and I was hers. She was there when D made his extravagant entrance into the world and here when K made his. She was one of two people that bothered to come and sit with me in the NICU with K. She has always been there.

Last spring, shortly after I found out I was expecting K, she got the opportunity to move to NYC for a job that she was super excited about. It was the opportunity of a lifetime for her to move to a city she already loved and take a job doing what she wanted. It broke my heart but I was excited for her. Then things went sour. She came back home and was here for K's birth but then had to go back and face the music. A.k.a her now ex-boss. She was able to to get on unemployment but we all know that is always less than ideal. After over six months of no work, she ended up getting a new job early this spring and just recently started a different new job doing something I know she will love.

I am so proud of her. She has shown incredible strength and determination in the last year. She has gone through tough times and good times and maintained an almost seamless grace all the while. I think I would have just crawled under a rock and cried.

Heres the thing though, when she was here for Christmas I secretly hoped she would just stay. I haven't been able to see her since. With her unemployment and then new job and our finances, we just haven't been able to get to each other. In my own selfish way, I want her to come "home". Meaning back to me and my babies. It breaks my heart that she isn't here to see K grow like she did with D. He is so freaking cute and I feel like she is missing out. It breaks my heart that she can't be here to teach D how to be a little hell raiser like she had planned to since I told her I was pregnant. I miss going and sitting at a coffee house and talking for hours about everything and nothing. With every holiday that passes I miss her a little more.

Its totally selfish and unreasonable, I know. I want her to be happy. Wherever that may be. She needs her space and place. All that jazz. I wish I didn't feel this way but then I also guess that maybe part of it is having said so many goodbyes when we were young. I don't know. It doesn't matter I suppose, just a little piece of me I figured I would share.

Music Monday

 Music is a huge part of Tommy and I's relationship. Its something we bonded over in the beginning and still connect with now.  I will be posting the lyrics to a song and what it means to me every Monday (hopefully). At least until I run out of interesting things to say (Or I forget). Make sense? Feel free to do your own but please link back to me and add your site to the MckLinky below!

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Straight Up By Paula Abdul



Straight Up - Paula Abdul

Lost in a dream
I don't know which way to go
A-let me say, if you are all that you seem
Then, baby, I'm movin' way too slow
I've been fooled before
Wouldn't like to get my love
Caught in the slammin' door
How about some information, please?

(Chorus:)
Straight up, now tell me
Do you really wanna love me forever
Oh, oh, oh
Or am I caught in a hit-and-run?
Straight up, now tell me
Is it gonna be you and me together
Oh, oh, oh
Or are you just havin' fun?

Time's standing still
Waiting for some small clue
A-let me tell you now, I keep getting chills
When I think your love is true
I've been fooled before
Wouldn't like to get my love
Caught in the slammin' door
How about some information, please?

(Repeat chorus)

(Bridge 1:)
You are so hard to read
You play hide-and-seek
With your true intentions
If you're only playin' games
I'll just have to say
A b-b-b-bye, b-b-b-bye

(Bridge 2:)
Do, do you love me?
(Do, do you love me, baby?)
Do, do you love me?
(Do, do you love me? A-hey, baby)
Do, do you love me?
(Do, do you love me, baby?)
Do, do you love me?
(Do, do you love me?)
A-tell me, baby

I've been a fool before
Wouldn't like to get my love
Caught in the slammin' door
Are you more than hot for me
Or am I a page in your history book?
I don't mean to make demands
But the word and the deed
Go hand in hand
How about some information, please?

(Repeat chorus until fade)


Ok, stop laughing. No really... Ok, fine, its kind of funny. This song was off my very first CD. I was 7. Of course, I had no idea what any of the songs off this album actually meant but I listened to it over and over and over. I literally wore it out and had to re- buy it a few years (ok, maybe decades) later. I still know all of the words by heart and still can be caught grooving to it occasionally. Shut up, I'm awesome. I think...

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you all had a great one! I am a little late to the Mother's Day bloggy party I think, but I'm here nonetheless. Being a Mom is awesome isn't it?? I am so lucky. I have two awesome boys that I just adore and they adore me right back. I could not ask for better kids.

Today, we all slept in since we were still tired from the week. First thing when D woke up he came running into our room, jumped on the bed, gave me a huge hug and kiss and yelled "Happy Day, Mama!". He may or may not have been coached by T but either way, it made my heart melt. Then he gave me the present he had made for me at preschool. It was a super sweet card with his handprint and a mom frame with a picture of him, K and me in it. It was absolutely the most perfect gift ever.

When we finally got out of bed, we went and picked up my mother and we all went to Starbucks for some yummies. I have been craving a mocha frappuccino all week and we couldn't find a stupid Starbucks. So, today, I got my wish. After that we debated on where to go for lunch for a bit and ended up deciding on Joe's Crab Shack because they had a play ground that D (and I) could play on until we got a table. Plus, they have a deck and the weather was gorgeous. They ended up not have a very long wait though so we didn't get to play for long. We did sit out on the deck though and it was so nice. K ended up wanting to nurse as soon as we sat down and then fell asleep in my arms. Totally made me melt again. After an awesome crab lunch, D and I went back to the playground for a few and we came home for naptime and my mom went home.

After nap, T showed me what he had made for me. It was a super sweet slide show of pictures of the boys as they have grown. It started with pictures of both of them and me right after their births and they "grew" from there. It was so sweet. Totally makes me misty even thinking about it. I would share it with you all but it probably wouldn't mean the same to you all. After that we went and grabbed some sushi at our favorite little place close by and then to the Coldstone down the street. Quite a tasty dinner if I do say so myself.

Tonight, I got to snuggle both my boys off to sleep. The perfect ending to the perfect day.  Now, I am working on finishing up the laundry and such so we will have a clean house to start the week. Back to the same old grind this week after a week of family time but its okay. Sometimes there is comfort in the familiar too.

#1

Here they are! The pictures from the #1 thing on the 2010 list! There are a ton that I wanted to share so I ended up with a slide show. There are a ton that didn't make the list too but you will have to be my friend on Facebook to see those. Enjoy!




A huge thanks to the Myrtle Beach CVB for all their help!

Home again, home again.

We made it! We took it very slow yesterday. We didn't really stop that often but when we did, we stopped for a long while. It was a pretty peaceful drive too. We sang and played games for awhile in the car and would snuggle and wrestle the boys at our stops. Repeat. Pretty uneventful.

We stopped at our favorite little Mexican restaurant last night to make up for the Cinco de Mayo fiasco and then came home for bedtime.

I have to say, we needed this week. It was nice to be able to regroup as a family. Just the four of us and the beach. I love these boys a little too much I think, if its possible. This week has only strengthened that. Now its back to the daily grind but now it will be just a little bit easier. At least after D stops insisting we go to the beach every five minutes...

Day Four

I know you guys are probably tired of hearing about our vacation but.. tough. Just kidding. If you are though, you will be glad to hear that we are headed home tomorrow. So only one more fun filled day update.

Due to T's sunburn, we shook it up a little today. This morning after breakfast we went to the outlet mall and did a little retail therapy. We didn't buy much though so it was just a little. We also had some Ben & Jerry's ice cream for a snack. So. Freaking. Good.

After lunch we had naptime. Surprised? I'm guessing not. After that though, we went out to the beach. We had more fun tonight than the rest of the trip on the beach. We flew kites. Well, T flew his kite. I couldn't get mine off the ground so I took pictures. Anyway, T flew his kite, I took pictures, K ate sand, and D ran in circles screaming with no one to interupt. After a bit, D and I went down to the water line and jumped over the incoming waves for awhile. You would have though the child was at Disneyland. He had so much fun standing ankle deep in the ocean, jumping like a frog.

Once he got tired of that, we went up to the pool and played. K had more fun there than a seven month old should. We bought a little $3 floaty for him earlier today and he thought that was just way too cool. He enjoyed playing in the running water too. He actually kind of liked being splashed in the face. Silly boy.

Mr. D was the surprise of the day though. We put his arm floaties on him and he literally took to the water like a fish. Apparently the floaties were just the confidence he needed. He was jumping in and swimming around like a big boy. He even remembered to hold his breath when he went under. When did he get so big?

Eventually it started getting cold though so we headed upstairs to shower and go to dinner. After an excellent seafood dinner overlooking the beach, its time for bed. Tomorrow we head home. Its bittersweet though. I will be glad to have our stuff back but I will definitely miss the ocean. We talk about moving here every time we visit. Maybe someday we will do just that.

Day Three

Beach, beach, beach! Thats what we did this morning. Then pool, pool, pool. I'm not sure I have ever been more tired than I was after that either. I had forgotten how tired swimming makes you and underestimated how much more tired you are after doing it with two kids.

So we all took one heck of a nap. And it was good. D was the first one up and he just came and curled up in bed with me. We laid there and snuggled for a long time, drifting in and out of sleep. It was so wonderful. I didn't want to move. We had to though when it was getting late. We finally had to wake K up at 7:30 so we could go for a walk.

We went back to the beach and walked for awhile. It was right at dusk so it was totally awesome. The sky and ocean were perfect. So peaceful.

Dinner.. was a fiasco. We decided to try to find a mexican restaurant for Cinco de Mayo. In a beach town. Yeah, didn't happen. After driving around for over an hour, we ended up at Cracker Barrel. Its never tasted so good either.

Now I am sitting here in the dark, typing away on my phone and wide awake. I won't regret that nap though. It was sooo good. We have no plans for tomorrow yet. Probably more beach or pool. Gotta make the most of it.

Day two

We made it! Last night we went to the beach, dinner and bed so you didn't hear from me. We made it safe and sound though and all is well. Our suite is so nice. Way better than I expected for the price. We have a kitchen! I might be a little too excited about that. Two bedrooms too so we can seperate the boys and they won't wake each other.  The boys slept great but I'm not surprised. They were tired from the car ride. I, however, hardly slept at all. Figures, right?

Today, D and me got up, got breakfast for everyone and brought it back for the other two sleeping goobers. Then we went to the Ripley's Aquarium here. T and I had been before but D was soo excited about the fish. It was way smaller than I remembered it being too. Maybe we are comparing it to the Georgia Aquarium. Oh well. Still fun.

We ate lunch and went back to the hotel for naps and such. I slept like a rock. I hope I can still sleep tonight. Anyway, woke up to a double rainbow over the beach and the most beautiful sky I've seen in awhile. We sat and watched it for a long time on the deck and now we are headed to a late dinner.

Tomorrow is going to be a big beach day I think. It rained all day today (hence the rainbows) but its supposed to be nice tomorrow. I know D will be excited. He has been wanting to go to the "big water" on the "bitch" all day. I'll try to remember to let you know how it goes! You have to wait until we get home for pictures here but you can also check out my Twitter page. I am posting pics there as we go!

We're on our way!

We are off! I know I said I wouldn't be posting from vacation but here I am. Bored in the car. Found a new bloggy posting app too. (Don't worry, T is driving.)

We are headed to the beautiful Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and still about 250 miles out from our destination but so far we are having lots of fun. I drove first and T had kid entertaining duty. He ended up with the job of drawing assorted animals and inanimate objects on D's little magnet board. At first he didn't want to because he insisted he "can't draw". After much convincing he tried his hand at it and D was thrilled with the dino that he had drawn. T spent the next hour drawing every dinosaur either one could think of. The stegosaurus was my favorite.

Ok, I'm off again! Just so you know, on case you didn't figure it out, Music Monday is off for the week! It will be back next week though so stay tuned!

20 Random Things About Me

1. I am a little over six feet tall. And I hate every second of it. Every time someone pulls an "I wish I were your height" I want to strangle them. Seriously, I have a lifetime of special order $70 jeans and buying shirts three times too big to get the length I need ahead of me here people. Plus, the loveliness of being gawked at and commented on every where I go. Yeah, I can reach shit on high shelves but honestly is that worth it? Not to me.

2. I am not ticklish. It actually just kind of pisses me off when people try to tickle me. T says I am just good at hiding it but I really don't find any enjoyment in being aggressively poked in the ribs. Call me crazy.

3. I love the show America's Next Top Model. Its like that train wreck you can't look away from. T and I are usually pretty good at picking out who will win early on in the season too so we have to watch to make sure we were right. Right? Whats funny is that the boys seem to like it too. D did when he was a baby and K does now. Maybe its the high pitched screaming of the "models" or maybe its the pretty colors or whatnot but either way, its pretty funny. They will watch that longer than anything else.

4. I prefer natural sugars like fruit over things like chocolate. Seriously. I could eat a whole watermelon in one sitting but give me a cuppy cake and I can't eat the whole thing.

5. I'm a total sucker for babies. I'm that crazy lady in the grocery store that talks to all the babies whether mom is looking or not. Don't worry, I won't touch but I can't resist looking and awwwww-ing. I joke with friends that I could be one of those crazy people you hear about on the news that stole a baby.. but its a joke. Honest. Unless you know someone who has a baby they would loan me for a day... or so.

6. I don't take compliments well. I never know what to say. So if you say something nice to me and I don't respond or I give an excuse as to why its not true, thats why.

7. I had a 99 average in Advanced Chemistry in school. However, ask me to do simple math and I'm lost. Seriously can't divide in half even. Is there a word for that?

8. I eat my hamburgers upside down. Like, top bun to tongue. I have NO idea why or when that started but I have done it as long as I can remember.

9. For the most part, I would rather watch a kids movie than an adult one. I really prefer the cartoon variety too. Kids movies are usually just so easy to watch. They are cutesy, funny and have next to no plot. No thinking required. Adult movies get all heavy and make you think. Who has time for that? Not that I don't occasionally enjoy having to think about movies but usually I'm too tired to really care. (This may actually be tied to #3...)

10. Every time any one says the word "waffle" in my presence, I always smell maple syrup. I think it has to be some kind of mental thing but it happens every time. I guess it could be tied to something worse...

11. I type looking at the computer screen but I have to unfocus my eyes to do it. If I focus on the keys or the screen, I type slower and make a ton more typos. I credit this to my high school typing teacher in Houston that used to put covers over our keys and the screen so we would learn where the keys are by touch. Thanks lady. Now, if I ever go blind, I can still type.

12. My eyes are a different color depending on what color I am wearing. They range from a light gray to dark navy blue to grass green. Someone once told me I had "pretty hazel eyes" too. Weirdness. 

13. I dropped out of  my water aerobics class in college because it was too hard. It was the hardest class I had that semester. Who knew? (My sister did, thats who. She reminded me.)

14. I have never tasted SPAM. Gross. Just gross.

15. Usually, I'm fairly "green" about things but I'm weird about used clothes. I very rarely buy used clothes for the kids. What if the kid that wore them before had some weird disease? What if they poo'ed in them? Eww. Remember the Lewinsky dress?? Also, if they get stained, I have a hard time letting them wear them again. I have no idea where that comes from. I am way less than a neat freak but I am so twitchy about this. I usually end up taking the stained item to a sale shop or Goodwill so it can be worn again though. I guess that makes me feel a little less crazy.

16. I will not eat anything that I don't know what it is. If someone hands me something to eat but won't tell me what it is, I won't eat it. I was very picky as a child with the things I ate and this is pretty much the only remaining trace of it. Other wise I like to eat too much to turn things down.

17. If you ask how I am doing I almost always say "Tired". Even if I'm not. I don't know why I do it even. Its like verbal diarrhea. Just comes out before I think about it.

18. I am not a fruity drink kind of girl. I prefer beer or red wine to a margarita any day. Also, straight liquor usually makes me gag unless I have already been drinking for awhile.

19. I am a total chicken shit when it comes to roller coasters. I have panic attacks waiting in line to ride them. IF I actually make it to the line. T has managed to trick me onto two of them. One, I screamed till I ran out of breath on. The other, the guy sitting next to me was seriously worried about me, while T was laughing his ass off. Never again will I get on anything he suggests again.

20.  I hate doing dishes. Like, a LOT. All that leftover goo on the dishes? Bleck. I don't even like thinking about it. That is T's job here at the house. I take care of the laundry and he does dishes. Most of the time...

I'm back!

Hello there bloggy friends! I am back online! For a few days. Sorry to have disappeared so weirdly this week. My laptop got a virus late Monday night. T of course says I did it somehow but he is the one that had downloaded some random game site with out scanning it. Again. So not the first time its happened but now its gone so it doesn't really matter. I do feel like I missed out on some fun this week though. I totally missed out on the rest of Grumbles & Grunts Kindness and Karma week that I was excited about. Totally bummed. Plus, I came back to about a million new posts and now I can't catch up. Alas, its fixed and now I am back to you.

Until Monday. When we leave for five days to go on vacation. I am, for the most part going to be shutting down the computer when we leave and not turning it back on until we get home. I will probably still be updating my Twitter account though and the link is in my side bar or click here if you would like to keep up with me. I just got a few samples in from Ecomom today too and we will be taking them with us to try out. When I get back there will be a giveaway, so keep an eye out.

Things have been crazy busy around here trying to get ready for our trip though. So I am logging out and heading to bed for now. Hopefully much will get accomplished tomorrow and I can relax on Sunday!