Hello, Hello... Is Anybody Out There???

     Hello, is anybody still there??? Sorry all, but I fell off of my blogging horse, and for the longest time, I didn't know if I wanted to get back on. I've had so many posts run through my mind, but for some reason or another, they never made their way to here. It started with a couple months of no internet. We were deciding whether to keep the cable, and tried to prove to ourselves that we were not totally dependent on this wonderful world wide web. We failed miserably!!! When we finally caved, I was so excited to have the world at my fingertips again, but in the meantime, my world had changed. My mom spoiled me with a fancy new phone this year for Christmas/birthday, and going over my data plan each month is how I survived not having the internet... I told you we failed miserably! 

     The only thing my galaxy doesn't make easier than my laptop is blogging. Something about the click of the keys is so necessary for me to do this. Their sound is so therapeutic, and without it, blogging just isn't the same. Before I was doing everything just from my laptop so while I was waiting for something exciting to happen on Facebook, I would come here and pour my heart and soul out. As much as I love my phone, I finally realized how much I needed this release. So here I am, and boy does this feel good!!!

     When I first thought I really needed to get back to blogging, I thought maybe I should start a new blog. After all, it's been almost a year, and a lot has been going on here for us. Then I remembered why I picked this name anyways. We are always going to be changing! That's life, and to be completely honest I don't have anything more figured out than I did the last time I blogged so the name still totally applies! I guess until I become "person who's got it all together" this blog couldn't have a better name. I don't know if I will ever be that person so I hope you all are comfortable here with me while we figure out this crazy thing called life together! 

     It was reconnecting with the name of this blog that made me pull the laptop out tonight, and I'm so happy I did. Suddenly, the laptop doesn't seem like such a gigantic burden, and my soul feels lighter than it has in quite a while. I'm going to keep this post short and sweet, but I'm ready to get back up in the saddle! Thanks for being patient, thanks for hanging around, and cheers to figuring it out as we grow! 

     What have you figured out while I've been away???

Mamaversary

     Today is my Mamaversary!!! Every year when we celebrate JJ's birthday, I silently celebrate my mamaversary. It was a day that forever changed my life so I feel it needs to be celebrated, but like most things in a mom's life, I do it quietly in the background while I'm shouting from the rooftops about my first baby's birthday.

     Five years ago today, I was laying in a hospital bed trying to "relax" and "get some rest" while I was being induced with JJ. The Pitocin and the Dilaudid were in the middle of a raging battle, that, in case you were wondering, the Pitocin totally won : ) After a sleepless night, I called in the big guns, and the epidural won the war!!!

     I couldn't believe anyone was telling me to relax and get some rest!!! Did they not know I was in labor??? How could anyone get some rest when my whole world was about to change??? By the time baby number 2 came, I realized that people do this every day, and Fat Dad and I both got some rest. Too bad her whole delivery took a quarter of the time that her brother's did : )

     Instead of getting some rest that night, I laid there contemplating the major turn my life was about to take. In between contractions, I couldn't help but be scared to death about what my future had in store. Neither of my kids were planned, that's why I call them my favorite mistakes, but with AL, I was already a mom. One more kid wasn't going to change anything.

     With JJ, oh man, everything was changing! I was a MAJOR party girl. I was selfish and proud of it. I lived for today without ever thinking of where that would leave me tomorrow. Then I found out I was pregnant, and that whole lifestyle came to a halt. For the first time in a long time I had to really figure out who I was and who I wanted to be.

    I'm still not 100% sure I know the answer to that question, but one thing was for sure, that baby deserved a mom who put him before everything else, and whether I was ready to do this or not, he was coming, and there wasn't anything I could do to stop it, and the non stop contractions were a great reminder that this was really happening!

     One really strong epidural and two and a half hours of pushing later, and my already stubborn little bundle of joy was here, and I have never been more in awe of something! I think I spent the first 3 months of his life just starting at him... and crying... and to this day I could just sit and stare at him. It's much harder to do now because he moves, and talks, and usually asks me why I'm looking at him like that, not to mention the never ending mountain of housework that came with him that is always screaming for my attention.

     I remember panicking when they said I could leave the hospital. You have to take a test to drive a car. I work at the Olive Garden and in order to serve someone noodles, I had to take a 7 page test to make sure I was capable of such a task. There are even directions on a bottle of shampoo, but they were just going to let me take a human being home and wing it!!! No directions, no test nothing. Just here's your baby, here's your bill, have a nice life.

     Ok, it wasn't quite that bad, and after I freaked out to the nurse she went over all of the papers and books they were sending home with me, that at the end of the day, I didn't even use! You can read all the books you want, but nothing prepares you for being a mother. You know who taught me how to be a mother... my son. Every stage he goes through is a new stage of being a mom that I am learning how to deal with.

     Five years ago today, I checked out of that hospital and into my new life. I came in all dressed up in my party shoes, and left with dirty hair and yoga pants, and I couldn't be any happier!

     So Happy 5th Birthday to my growing way too fast little man. I will be spending the whole day telling anyone who will listen that it is HIS special day, while I smile and silently wish myself a happy mamaversary because it's my special day too. I love that I have this blog to celebrate my mamaversary out loud with all of you! Cheers : )

Bieber fever...

     Lately, I've been feeling like I failed as a mother. Since both of my babies were still in the womb, I have tried to expose them to good music, and regardless of how hard I tried, it happened... my son caught Bieber Fever!!!

     There we were driving to Thanksgiving dinner, when the song "Beauty and the Beat" came on. As if it wasn't bad enough that this is a Justin Bieber song, it's featured musical guest is Nicki Minaj, the fakest barbie in the dream house. My kids love to dance so I told myself that was the reason for the attraction, and that they would forget about it as soon as the song was over. 

     Like the musical Gods in the sky could sense my stomach turning, and the fact that my aunt lives in the middle of nowhere, the station went out, and we went back to having a Bieber free holiday. One of the many things I was thankful for this Thanksgiving : )

     Fast forward a couple of days, and we are riding in the car, and out of the back seat, I hear JJ say "Mom, can we listen to that 'Beauty and the Beat' song again?"

     NOOOOOO..... my insides screamed in fear. He's not even 5 years old. Shouldn't there be an age limit to when you can contract Bieber fever??? How could I have let this happen??? Where did I go wrong???

    "Well, baby, this is the radio so we can't pick the song we want to listen to" was my best supporting mother response. 

     This morning on the way to school, I was flipping through the stations. I was still half asleep so I'm not sure what I was hoping to find, but still I was cycling through my presets half listening to what was playing. I was brought back to reality to JJ saying go back mom. I went back, and he excitedly said, "Yeah, Mom, this is Rock and Roll!" 

     As my ears caught up to the Led Zeppelin that was playing, my eyes swelled with tears...ok, not really, but for dramatic effect : ) "Yes, baby. This is Rock and Roll." Classic Rock and Roll. Suddenly, I was feeling much less like a failure!

     I realized that while I may not be able to protect him from Bieber fever, I have given him a massive supply of antibodies to help fight it off as fast as possible : ) 

     I also realized that whether it's Bieber fever or whatever the next new craze is, I will support his love for it. My parents had to go through my grunge phase, so I'm sure my mother's curse of ten times worse will apply to this as well! 

    

      

     

Bloggers Block...

     Lately, I've been in a bit of a rut. A blogging rut, a working rut, a big life rut. I don't know if it's the weather or what, but I've had no ambition lately. I've had plenty of things to write about, but a couple of lines in, I just fizzle out. Maybe bloggers block, I don't know.
 
     I don't think it's the weather because this is my favorite time of year. I love fall! There is something about a big pile of leaves that always makes me feel like a kid again : ) Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love that for one day of the year it's OK to be whoever you want to be, and let your imagination run wild.

<3 My little monsters <3

     One of the problems I've been having is that every post I want to write would go better with a picture, and guess who lost her camera... that's right, this girl. I think my house ate it, or somewhere there is a ghost taking some super sweet shots of his other ghost friends.

     Like the other day when I tried to make pancakes only to see that we had no syrup. So I thought chocolate chip pancakes instead... scratch that idea, we also had no chocolate chips. So I got a little inventive, and mixed some brownie mix in my pancake batter, and just like that we have a new family favorite. They are delicious, and I wanted to share their chocolaty goodness with you, but I've never seen a recipe post without pictures... or at least not a very good one.

     Then it was Fat Dad's birthday this week so I was going to dedicate a loving post to him, and the 12 wonderful years we've sent together. Then he decided to be a big grouch this week, and it's hard to write about how much you love your significant other when they are making it very hard to even say that you like them at this particular moment.
   
     I guess that was part of the post was loving each other even at our worst, and we don't spend everyday as in love as the first day we met, and we don't expect too. I think part of a real relationship is realizing you aren't going to agree on every aspect of life all the time, and there will be times when the other drives you nuts... like he felt through both of my pregnancies, I'm sure : ) ... but we still stand by each other, and that's what's kept us together for so long.

    So, I'm still here, even though I've been a little quiet lately. What's been going on in your world lately???

   

Songs I Love Sunday #2

    This morning while I was cooking breakfast, Pandora's playlist was so good I almost added another course just to keep listening. Here were some of the gems of the day...

Perfect since it was Sunday morning, and it's a bonus that it's one of my favorite songs by them

Always been one of my favorites : )

I sang this song to AL as a lullaby. The line "Cause I've never had so much to lose" would usually make me cry. Kids are the most humbling things in the whole world, and until them, I had never known a love as moving and as deep as I have for them : )

These guys are my new obsession!!! I've been very disappointed in music lately, and these guys were like a breath of fresh air : )

This was the theme of my weekend, but instead I fell asleep snuggling with the babes. Tonight, I enjoyed a glass with dinner...at 4:57... I'm going to blame day light saving time : )

Hope you're all having a great weekend : )

Nobody Likes a Bully...

     As I was flipping through Facebook today, I came across something that really broke my heart. I don't know if you've seen or heard about it, but a girl named Amanda Todd recently committed suicide due to bullying/harassment, and unfortunately this seems to be an increasing trend. Since it's anti bullying month, I felt like I should reflect on this a little on here.

     First, it sent me back to my teenage days, and how cruel kids really can be. Overall, I was lucky enough to have friends who loved me, and I also have thick skin. I knew it would get better, and it did. However, I could not even imagine what it would be like to be bullied in this day and age. I'm not a dinosaur yet, but technology has come a long way since I was a teenager.
   
     When I was a kid, you got picked on at school, and went home to a safe haven. You had a land line phone that the whole family shared, and if someone was crazy enough to call your house and be mean, my daddy would have taken over from there... he didn't even like my actual friends so I can only imagine how he would have responded to people who weren't!

     Now there is Facebook, and Twitter, and texting, and email, and I'm sure even more places that only kids are aware of, and you can't turn them off. This girl made a mistake, and then that mistake took over her life. Thanks to the ease of the internet, this girl lost herself... her childhood, her integrity, her self respect, and eventually, her life.

     My last post was about making moments, and enjoying your kids, and to be completely honest, I am scared to death of them growing up!!! Not just because they are my babies, and they grow up so fast, but because I want to protect them from this cruel world for as long as possible! I am scared to death of the middle/high school years. I can handle the attitude they will get, the fact that I will never be right, the independence. All that I'm ready for, but not being able to do anything about what other kids say and do freaks me out a little bit... a lot actually.

     We had a little situation on our little block this summer. JJ is one of the youngest kids on the block, and some of the older kids were being kind of mean to him. He is young enough that we could intervene, and all is good. One of the moms didn't think it was a big deal that her son...who is twice as old as JJ... was bullying JJ until Fat Dad threatened to go get one of JJ's older cousins to help him defend himself. Then the mom came out and got all upset that we were threatening her child and called the cops.

     I told the cops that her son had been bullying our son all summer, and my boyfriend was more than a little fed up. They said we should get them involved and not take things into our own hands in the future. She had told the cops that she knew they were fighting but kids will be kids. I love how it wasn't a problem until her son wouldn't have been the biggest kid involved.! I told the cops that if the mother had bothered to come out and talk to her son about bullying my son before we had to even think of getting someone to be his body guard it wouldn't have gotten this far.

     Needless to say, they agreed, went back and talked to the little boy, and all is good in the neighborhood again. This is the stuff I can handle. It was easy for me to get involved... it was happening in my front yard. I could do something to stop it from happening again. I can't stop the internet!!!

     I am not one to judge another's parenting, but I do wonder where her parents were in all of this. She tried to kill herself a couple of times. After the first attempt, I would have cut her off from the outside world for a little while. Whether it was something so simple as a new phone number to something more drastic like no more Facebook, no more internet, or even home schooling. I don't know all of the details, but I do feel like there had to be a better solution to this poor girls problems, and it's a shame that someone couldn't do more to help her.

     As for now, I'm just going to continue to build my kids houses as strong as I can, and work on building an open relationship with them so if...God forbid... anything like this happens to them, we can work on a solution together. At the end of the video she said I have nobody, I need someone. I know when you are that age, your parents are not really considered someone, but I hope that if taking their life were in the equation, I would equal someone to them.

     Further more, if my kids think that they will be allowed to have any kind of Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, even Disney Jr. account without me being one of their friends... and stalking them, and their activity on said account, they are sadly mistaken!!! Internet, you might be large, and in charge, but you should be warned that this mother will not go down with out a fight : ) I swore to protect these little people to the best of my abilities, and nothing tests a mothers ability quite like an injustice done to one of her children!

     On a karma is a bitch note, I will end with a story of karma biting my bullying self right in the behind. Our class was never physically abusive, but we were not always kind with our words... something I still struggle with sometimes. Anyways, there was a kid, we'll call him Mr. Hicks, in the class below us who we all used to pick on. I cannot remember a time when I personally picked, but I do remember being around my guy friends while they picked and not doing anything to stop them... which is just as bad in my opinion.

     Anyways, fast forward 5 years, and who does my cousin bring home for Christmas... you guessed it, Mr. Hicks!!! She eventually married that boy my classmates used to tease so badly, and you know what, he's a really nice guy! Had I taken the time to get to know him in high school, I would have seen that back then. Karma, you've just got to love it : )

Making Moments...

     It's not a secret how fast little ones grow up, but every once in a while, it hits me so hard it takes my breath away. It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and while my babes are little, I am trying so hard to soak in every moment with them.

     This realization always hits me a little harder when my lady time of the month comes around. The week before the visit, I am usually an emotional mess. I flash back to the newborn days when just looking at your new baby can bring tears to your eyes. Suddenly, nothing that my more than terrible two year old does seems quite as naughty. 

     Last night we were laying in bed... Fat Dad has been working second shift so she is my new snuggle buddy (don't judge me, I like to snuggle)... Anyways, it had been one of those days. I was so ready for bed, and she was fighting her sleep. I finally got her to quit wiggling, and was saying my nightly thank yous, and BAM, it hits me that while I'm rushing her to sleep, my days of her being my snuggle bug are flying by.

     Before I could stop it, I was sobbing and asking whoever is up there listening to me blabber about all the things I'm thankful for to please just make the time stop, or at least just slow down. Then I realized that while I was crying like a baby for something that is not even possible, my baby was laying right there next to me. I scooped her up, and held her as close as I could, and realized it's these little moments that normally pass us by that are the answer to my prayer.

     The best part about my lady time is the crazy mood swings...insert sarcasm font here! So while I was a sobbing mess about my babies last night, tonight I really just wanted to be left alone... an almost impossible feat in this house. When JJ decided at 8ish that he was ready for bed, I was more than excited! I put a movie on Netflix for AL, and thought a night full of Mom time was in full swing. I was more than ready for a date night with my DVR. 

     Fifteen minutes later, both of my sweet little angels were bouncing on my lap. AL making elephant noises in my ear, and JJ mad that his sister "pushed" him off of the chair that he was already falling off of.  Then he was going on about something I just didn't have it in me to care about. I told him that he was supposed sleeping and mommy was actually trying to watch a show that she liked. Then he turned into the cutest statue that could only come to life by being tickled...of course I tickled : )

     I don't know why but both of them headed upstairs, and my lap went from being overflowing to empty. I sat for a minute, and while I should have been thrilled to be able to turn my attention back to my much neglected DVR, instead, my words from last night were ringing in my ears. 

     I paused my show and went up to find both of them in my bed. I jumped right in the middle, and snuggled both of them until they drifted off. Even the cat joined in on our snuggle action! I could have been the happiest mom in the whole wide world! 

     There will be many Saturday nights where all I have left is my DVR, and instead of them being on my lap, or snuggling in my bed, they will be off making their own bad decisions... of course I hope that they will make all the right decisions, but let's face it, part of growing up is making mistakes. I will be left with an empty lap, and a house full of empty beds, but I will have these memories to make me not quite so lonely... or mad when they come home past curfew : )

   

         

Best That I Can...

     Lately, there have been some pretty big changes in the Figuring it Out as we Grow household. When JJ started preschool this year, I changed my entire work schedule around so I could become our family's personal chauffeur. I am working about half of the hours, but still feel like I have less time than I used to.

     We are a one car family right now, so we wake up at 7 to run Fat Dad to work, come home, eat breakfast, take JJ to school, come home, try to clean/spend quality time with AL for about an hour, then I run her to Grandma's, run myself to work, work, pick up JJ, pick up AL, pick up Fat Dad, dinner, clean, bedtime. I am usually falling asleep with the kids if not before.

     We have been struggling a little bit financially since the adjustment, and I have been struggling with the fact that for the first time in 12 years, I NEED Fat Dad. I love him to death, but I've always been stubbornly independent. It's always been comforting to me that should anything happen to him or us, I could handle it by myself. Yes, it would be tough, but I could do it, and now, I could not. As for him, I think he's excited that for the first time in 12 years, he has the upper hand : )

     The other day I told him that if he would take care of the kids, I could always pick up a shift on the weekends to make a little more money, but he said he's rather have me home. He said he needs me to be here, more than he needs a hundred dollars. Even as my heart was melting, I protested. I explained to him that I don't feel like I am contributing enough to our finances because I am used to being able to provide more. He said keeping the house clean, and being home to take care of our kids is more than enough of a contribution... Did I mention yet how much I love him???

    Fast forward a few days to our still dirty house, and he starts questioning what I do with my day. I spew off the routine that I mentioned earlier, and he still thinks I have all this spare time. I think he thinks I've found a way to transport myself Star Trek style, and I am spending my free time eating bon bons, and watching the real housewives of whatever county they are in now.

     Fat Dad always thinks he has a better way to do everything so when he was working second shift this weekend, he didn't waste a minute in critiquing our every move. First on his agenda was that I wait too long to get the kids dressed. If I got them dressed right away, it would save me so much time. I was in a play along mood so I got them both dressed for the day. Then watched as JJ spilled his breakfast all down the front of his shirt. With a smart ass smile I said wow, Fat Dad, I saved so much time getting him dressed the first time, that now I can do it all over again : )

     Fat Dad is persistent so he kept on going. Next I should drop AL off at Grandma's right after I take JJ to school so I can spend that hour cleaning. This is where I put my foot down. I love the quality time that she and I share in the morning, and while we are lucky enough to have free daycare, I am not going to abuse Grandma's generosity... I'm sure she enjoys her alone time in the morning as much as I enjoy our together time.

     I feel like the whole morning was spent with me doing nothing the way he would have done it, but you know what, JJ made it to school on time, I made it to work on time, and AL got to have her mom all to herself for a whole hour. I call that a success, and I think after seeing just how our morning went, he did too.

     We are both majorly stubborn know-it-all's. I'm pretty sure we've been together for this long because we are too stubborn to admit that we can't make it work. I'm sure the love and the two kids thing helps, but I think it's the stubbornness that keeps us glued together.

     I am a know it all, but only on stuff I actually know about. I am not one of those people who will argue with you about something that I really know nothing about. I am a researcher and a learner so if it has to do with something I am not familiar with, I shut up and learn, or Google it to death later.

     One thing I think I am pretty well versed in is my kids. Not your kids, or your sister's kids, or anyone else's kids, just mine. I will never tell you what you should do for your kids, just what has worked... and what hasn't worked...for mine.

     I think after a day of being a critic, he realized that I know what works for our family, and that even though our house is not spotless, we are fed, clothed, and happy! I will be the first to admit I work much harder on the happy than the clean, but I'm pretty sure when we look back at our life we will remember the laughter much more than the mess. I'm also very sure that once the kids leave, the mess will follow : )
 
     After a day of being critiqued I realized that while our schedule may not be perfect, I am doing the best that I can, and that is all anyone can do.

   
   

Songs I Love Sunday…

     We have been a house full of sickness this month! You've just got to love seasons! Every time they change, we get sick. So, while I am busy wiping snotty noses, here are some songs that have been going through my head lately... Enjoy...

Time Marches On… The only thing that stays the same is everything changes… Never been a truer lyric!

Kid friendly Bob Marley, makes my heart sing : )

I’ve been really missing hip hop music that wasn’t auto tuned, repetitive garbage! I used to listen to this album on repeat over and over again, and recently a friend of mine reminded me of it’s greatness, and it’s been on repeat again : )

     Music speaks to my heart and soul. I have always been able to express what I am feeling through a song way better than I ever could through words. I have always wished life came with it’s own soundtrack. Since it doesn’t, I’ve made mine up as I go! I am going to try to add some music to the blog at least once a week. This blog is me on a ccomputer screen, and since I am always singing, now I will let my blog sing to you, too. My blog will be a much better singer than me so you are welcome : )

     What kind of music do you love??? Did you ever make a mix tape…oh geez, I’m old… for someone that said everything you wished you could say??? What song has helped you get through a certain time in your life???

   ***This is your blog too so post a song in the comments and you can sing to me too : )***

Ninja College

     Last week as we were getting ready to leave for school, Fat Dad told JJ he'd be going to school for the next 13 years so he better get used to it. On our way out the door, I corrected Fat Dad and said, actually it will be more like 17- 21 years depending on what you go to college for.

     JJ said he wasn't going to go to college then. In the van, I explained to him that college is where you go to learn the skills to become whatever you want to be when you grow up. I gave some examples of doctors, lawyers, musicians, build rockets... Hold up... I can build rockets, mom???

     Just like that, he was sold. I didn't even need my "yes, baby, you can be whatever you want to be when you grow up, college just helps you do it." line... I gave it too him anyways, but it wasn't necessary. Just the thought of building rockets was enough to make college a part of our life plan.

     Fast forward to our ride home from school/work tonight. We are still a single car family so I clock in as my second job of taxi driver twice a day. I get paid in funny antics and an occasional backseat breakdown. The best part is that little bit of family time we get before we start our day, and again before we get home and split off into our own busyness.

     Anyways, the conversation on tonight's ride home was a classic! One I will cherish forever, and because I can blog about it, the memory will never fade or blur.

JJ... Dad, I'm going to go to college to learn what I'm going to be when I grow up.

Fat Dad... Oh yeah? What are you going to be when you grow up??? 

JJ... I'm going to go to college to be a ninja : )

Fat Dad... A ninja, huh? What do you need to learn to be a ninja?

JJ... I'm going to have to get a master... he's going to look like Master Splinter, but with a human face, not a rat face : )

     Yep, that's my boy! I fought back giggles the whole time : ) I love listening to my boys talk about life, and it makes my heart overflow that they are building a bond that will only get better with time. A bond that one day, when the time comes to really talk about what he wants to be when he grows up, he will know he can tell his dad anything because he has listened to and supported everything along the way. 

     I read somewhere that one of the best things you can do for your son is nurture and support their relationship with their father because someday that's the only way you will know what's going on in his life. JJ is a total mama's boy... now, but I know there will be a time in his life where it will be his dad he turns to for manly advice that I just can't offer or relate to. I may think that mom always knows best, but even I can admit that someday, I might not. 

     I will definitely be reminding him of this life goal when he is graduating from college for whatever it is he decides to be when he grows up. It's so refreshing to see that the sky is the limit in his eyes, and I hope that light never goes out. And if when the time comes, he still wants to be ninja when he grows up, then we will find the best ninja college out there. I just wonder what extra curricular we should get into to look good on his application : )


     

     

Dinner Almost Disaster!

     One thing you probably won't see me post too much of on here is recipes. Not because I don't like to cook, but because I never follow a recipe. I learned to cook from my grandma so every measurement is eyed, and a pinch is literally a pinch. Even now when I call her to get a recipe, she tells me it's a little bit of this, and a little bit of that : )

     We all had a nasty virus/cold this weekend, and yesterday was not a big cooking day for me! We had leftover pizza for lunch, and since Fat Dad had a benefit to go to, we had elbow noodles with butter and dry ranch dressing. The kids and I could eat this for every meal, and it's usually our go to whenever Fat Dad isn't going to be joining us for dinner. You can ask my mom, the only thing I've ever wanted to eat is noodles with butter so I guess at 30, I am a little more sophisticated by adding some kind of seasoning to it!

     Fat Dad is the total opposite. He wants every meal to have at least 3 courses and he would prefer two of them to be meat! Ok, maybe not quite that bad, but you get the point.

     So today, after the grilled cheeses we had for lunch, I knew dinner would have to be a little more impressive. We were all snuggled up around the Bears game, and I also did not want to miss the opening Sunday of Football either. We are big football fans in this house so today was a pretty big day for us. Especially for me since I've had to work 9-5ish every Sunday for the past at least 5 years. Last year, I totally gave up, and didn't even watch Sports Center to try to pretend like I knew what was happening.

     Since tacos were on my meal plan for last night, but obviously didn't happen I figured we could have them tonight instead, but I didn't really want to slave away in the kitchen and miss all the NFL action. Then the light bulb went off... you have a slow cooker... use it!!! I cut up my onion, seasoned my beef, and returned to snuggling on the couch.

     After the Bears huge win, I went back to my tacos. I was out of my store bought seasoning, but remembered a pin I had seen on Pinterest to make your own taco seasoning. I didn't pin it because I didn't think I would need it, and it called for Mexican oregano, and maybe a couple other seasonings not already in my arsenal, but I did remember the main ingredients, since I was too lazy to go to the store, I thought I would give it a try.

     Everything was going great! I was shaking away, chili powder, some paprika, pepper, some Worcestershire sauce, cumin, and what I thought was going to be a little shake of crushed red pepper. I have wondered before why there is a spoon side to the crushed red pepper. I remember thinking who would ever need that much??? To avoid the mistake, I usually leave the shaking side open a little. Well, for some reason I closed both sides, and after two shakes, realized my mistake!

     All of my "work" wasted. I tried pinching some off, but there was A LOT of crushed red pepper. My only other solution was to try to rinse it off. I really hated to do this because all of the flavor that had been simmering into my meat would be washed down the drain, but I couldn't waste the meat either. Rinsing worked alright but there was still so much of it. I was seeing that the pepper floated so I put a bowl under my colander my meat sunk while all of the pepper washed right down the drain.

     Dinner was saved! I would have taken pictures, but I was in panic mode! On a side note, I really liked the homemade taco seasoning, and now I am wishing I would have actually pinned that recipe. Oh, well!

     What's your biggest dinner disaster??? What sport rules your family's heart, and what colors do you bleed???
   

Rainy Days...

     We had some extra time before I had to take JJ to school this morning, so I sat in our big, comfy chair, and closed my eyes for some pretend mom sleep. You know the kind where your eyes are shut, but your mind is going full speed.

     As I pretended to sleep, I also pretended there weren't any toys on the floor. Once the toys were gone, I thought back to what rainy days consisted of before we had kids. REAL SLEEP!!! There is no better sleep than rainy day sleep! When you sleep way too late, roll over, look at the clock, and doze back off. Fat Dad and I would usually wake up and "sleep" ; ) and then go back to sleep again. We'd finally wake up because one of us was hungry... usually Fat Dad, and then move our laziness to the couch. Where we would be awake, but not entirely.

     Oh, those were the days!  I love my babies, but days like today make me miss our life before all the hustle and bustle that comes with having little ones. AL will clearly follow in our sleep all day in the rain footsteps. It's almost 10:00 and I still haven't heard a peep : ) Fat Dad worked third shift last night, and now it is her who has my spot in bed next to him. I'm slightly jealous!

     Just in time for me to head to work, here comes the sun! I guess at least I got to day dream in the rain. That is more than good enough for now : )

     What do you like most about rainy days??? What makes you miss your life before kids???

School Daze…

     I started this post last week, but things have been a little crazy around here lately! My oldest started preschool this week, and it has been a rollercoaster of emotions! How can my baby be this big already???
   
     I have been preparing myself since registration so I didn’t shed too many tears. I actually cried the night before because it was the last time I would ever kiss my baby while he wasn’t in school! I know, there’s summer vacation, but that was the last night of him being all mine. Before I had to start sharing him with a whole new world.

     Now he will start making his own friends, and girlfriends, and enemies, and I don’t get a front row seat to the action. Instead, I’m at a different movie, and he just gets to tell me about the highlights on the drive home.

     Luckily, JJ is full of comic relief! He has been cracking me up all week. Where the kid gets some of this stuff, I have no idea. So I am going to leave you this week with some of the best to and from school conversations with my not so little anymore man…

     One our way to the first full day…

JJ… Mom, I think I’m having a heart attack
Me… (in a slightly worried tone) Why do you think you’re having a heart attack baby???
JJ… Well mom, it hurts when I breath in and out.
Me… Is it happening now???
JJ… No, now my ear hurts.
Me… (In a much less worried tone) Your ear hurts???
JJ… Yeah, mom. It sucks getting old
Me… Hysterical laughter… It sure does dude : )

He thinks he is a model so he is always trying to pose : )  

   Picking JJ up from his first full day of school…

Me… How did your day go??? Did you make any friends???
JJ… Lots of them mom.
Me… What are there names???
JJ… I don’t know, just everybody.
JJ… I know what I’m going to do this year…
Me… Oh yeah? What is that???
JJ… I’m going to get a girlfriend!
Me… (chuckling a little) I thought you were going to school to get an education
JJ… No, mom. I’m just going to get a girlfriend.
Me… Ok, well, do you have any girls in mind
JJ… No, I like them, all… There’s Emily, and Mia…
Me… Well, what are you going to do to get them to be your girlfriend???
JJ… I don’t know mom, they all just like me.
Me… Oh, what are you going to do with your girlfriend?
JJ… I might have her over to our house for dinner.

     I’m sooo glad those are his only plans for a girlfriend. I can handle dinner! That night we had the talk about how I’m his mom, and no matter how many girlfriends he decides to get, I better always be his favorite girl in the whole wide world… at least for now : ) I will move over only for his future wife, and daughter(s). I’m sure Emily and Mia aren’t going to make it that long so for now, I will stand my ground!

We started a first day of school tradition...
Sprinkle pancakes with whip cream... yum : )

      Picking him up from his second day, JJ gets in the car so excited, he’s blabbering to me before he can even get buckled.

JJ… Mom, I did it!!!
Me… Get buckled please, we’re holding up the line. Then we can talk.
JJ… But mom, I did it!!! Remember what we talked about yesterday??? I did it!!!
Me… (clearly remembering our conversation, but playing dumb) You did what?
JJ… You don’t remember???
Me… I remember baby : ) So who is it Emily or Mia?
JJ… No mom, it’s Kiley : )
Me… Kiley huh? What happened to Emily and Mia???
JJ… No, just Kiley.
Me… What does Kiley look like???
JJ… Oh mom, she just looks nice. Nice shirt, nice backpack, just nice.
Me… Well what color hair does she have?
JJ… It’s like mine…no wait, it’s golden…

     All of this was in his most smitten voice. Next day, I dropped him off and I asked if he was going to sit by his girlfriend at lunch, and he said mom, we are just friends : )

     So I apologize to anyone who’s daughter is going to preschool with my son. I didn’t realize I would have the boy who tried to pimp out the pre K! As much as I loved having him all to myself, I love watching him become his own little man, and seeing how he interacts with his new world. He loves school, and hasn’t shed one tear. 

I said put your arm around your sister...
 Not quite what I meant : )

     AL on the other hand is having a hard time with her big brother going to school. She has spent most of the week in tears. She even cried when Fat Dad went to work, and she has never once cried cause he was leaving. She has been repeating “JJ gone, JJ gone” all week. It’s the cutest most pitiful thing I’ve ever seen! I took her into his classroom on Thursday when we were picking him up so she could see where he goes all day, and Friday was much smoother. I don’t think she cried at all : )

    We are all adjusting to this whole school thing, but I think we are ready for this new chapter in our lives. After all, we are Figuring it Out as we Grow : ) By Friday, JJ was in bed asleep for the night before he ate dinner... Maybe school does have some perks : )

*** Come Like me on Facebook or Follow me on Twitter and see what antics JJ comes up with next : )***

Mudroom Makeover…

     I wrote a post a while back about my Resolutions, and getting organized has been a big focus of mine this year. I want to be one of those moms who makes it look easy, and not the one who sends her kid to school with mismatched shoes!

     Just in the nick of time, I finished our command center/mudroom. School starts tomorrow so of course I waited until the last minute, and finished it all up today : ) I started about a month ago, but just wasn’t loving it. Now, I love it! I just need to add some color, but that will come in time.

     I started thinking how badly we needed some kind of mudroom when I was late for work more times than I would like to admit because I couldn’t find one of the kids’ shoes. One day AL wore dress shoes to Grandma’s because I could only find one of all of her shoes.

     Naturally, I went to Pinterest for some inspiration. Instead, I left Pinterest with depression : ( I definitely found some inspiration, but none that would fit my budget… of about zero dollars : )

This year I am trying really hard to look at my carbon footprint, and have been revisiting the three R’s I learned in school, and then ignored up until now. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Not that hard of a concept, yet still so many of us don’t do any of them. Now that I have kids, I guess I look at the world beyond my time in it. Kids will do what they see their parents do, so we are trying to implement the R’s into our lives.

     I started looking at things around my house that I could use in a different way, and all of the sudden, operation mudroom was back in action. When Fat Dad and I moved into our first house, like most people, we had no furniture. I think we moved into that house with a bed, a broken futon, and maybe a lamp. Luckily, my grandma is amazing, and had almost everything we needed to make our house look a little bit more like a home.

     My grandfather is one of those guys who could build anything with his hands. I know Fat Dad gets irritated with me sometimes cause I’m always asking can’t you just fix that, can’t you just build this??? If I were talking about an electronic, his answer would be yes, but as far as house repairs, and building me the closet of my dreams, his answer is I’m not from the country : )

     So my handy dandy Grandpa built me some night stands to put in that first apartment, and I have hauled them around with us to every place we have lived since even though we actually have grown up furniture now. I couldn’t throw away something that had that much meaning. These weren’t something I could just go to Walmart and replace, these were made with my grandpa’s hands, and some day when he isn’t here, I will always have a piece of him in my house.

    I set them up on our porch with the hopes of adding some organization for mail and such, but instead they were just a cluttered mess all of the time. Then it hit me, if I laid them down, I could use it as a place to put shoes. Then I got excited! If I found something to put on top, I could make a bench, and the shoes could go under it! I could even be a Pinterest inspiration for someone.

     After I tipped them over, I started looking around the porch for other things to repurpose, and, as if by some miracle, I found one of the shelves to our armoire, and it fit perfectly on top of the nightstand. We have our TV in the armoire… I know, no media in the bedroom, but that’s just not us! We were using one of the shelves for the PlayStation along with some games, movies and other random clutter. So I rearranged and took the other shelf out, and now I had a bench, and a place to put our shoes…for free!

     I started the command center at the beginning of the year in the kitchen. I hated it. I never updated the calendar and it’s location wasn’t helpful. Our kitchen is at the back of our house so if you were leaving yourself a note to check while you walked out the door, you forgot it!

Here’s the mostly finished product!

   1.)  The calendar was what I was using in the kitchen before. I love the calendar, but I hated the location. Now, It’s perfect. I can look at it right before we head out the door while I’m grabbing the diaper bag, purse, coats, whatever. It’s got a place on the bottom to pin stuff and the top is magnetic. Perfect to hang things that need to go out the door. In the future, when my budget is more than zero dollars, I want to add some of those sorting bins for the mail next to this. I think I have another Pinterest project : )

   2.) The lady who lived here before us ran her own daycare so there was a wall of hooks under a shelf. Perfect for a lot kids in daycare, not so much for a family of four. I moved them to be right by the door so they were easier to get to because for my kids if it’s not slap you in the face close, they won’t use it!

  3.) These are the shelves to my armoire. I want to get some hinges so they will be a little more stable, but for now, on my zero dollar budget, this will work just fine : )

  4.) These are my grandpa’s shelves. He will be so proud of my creative way to give them a new life!

  5.) I bought this years ago… I think when we bought our first house, and never hung it up. I still need to add some of our pictures to it, and the clothes are only there because it’s JJ’s back to school outfit. Otherwise, it’s a great place to put our keys. I think I’m going to put one of those hooks under there for my coat and purse.

     There you have it, my zero dollar mudroom/command center!!!

What have you done to give something in your house a new purpose??? Do you practice the three R’s??? How do you stay organized???

*** Like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter to see if this can keep us organized, and to school on time : ) ***

Heather’s Story… My First Guest Blogger : )

     Being a mom is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me, and I know I’m not alone in this! Before I had kids, I will be the first to admit, I was very selfish. I was pretty convinced the world revolved around me, and I think I even had a shirt that said so : )

     One of the powerful things about being a mom is what we will do for our children. A couple of weeks ago, I told you all about my fear of my kids living without me. Luckily, I am relatively healthy, and this is just a random fear that goes through my mom brain every once and again. Not everyone is so lucky…

     Heather contacted me the other day, and asked if she could share her story on my blog. I’m still blown away that any of you are actually reading what I have to say here, and the fact that someone wanted to use me and my blog to share their story really melted my heart : )

     Heather had to face this fear head on. She is a living example of what a mother will go through and over come to be there for her child, and I am so honored that she is letting me share her story with you.

Finding out You Have Cancer

Hearing the words "you have cancer" causes a deep fear to wreak havoc in your heart. It rushes through entire being, shaking you to the core. No matter how happy you are in life today, hearing about your cancer can ruin your hopes for tomorrow. When I heard these words, it was at a time when everything in my life should have been perfect.

For me, the news couldn't have come at a worse point than it did. My new infant was only 3 1/2 months old at the time and now I was learning the most devastating thing I had ever heard in my life. They told me that my cancer was a specific variety called Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. I learned that this type of cancer is caused mainly by asbestos exposure.

I know what you're thinking. Asbestos is banned isn't it? Sure it is, but it wasn't always banned, and to answer your next question, you don't have to be in direct contact to be exposed to this harmful carcinogen.

My father worked around asbestos, and that was enough to expose me sufficiently. He did various construction jobs involving drywall, like taping, mudding and sanding. In the process he was exposed to asbestos-containing dust, which also made its way onto his clothes. From there it traveled to his jacket, his car and into our home, untold millions of microscopic asbestos fibers making their way right into the air we eventually breathed.

I was only 36 years old when I got my diagnosis. At that time, even the famed Mayo clinic had only heard of a single other case in such a young person. Most patients are older males who worked in various trades, like plumbers, electricians, heating specialists, auto mechanics and military service members who were exposed to asbestos on ships.

Of course, their wives also got exposed, hundreds of women all getting sick from doing routine tasks like shaking dust out of clothes before they ran them through the laundry. Others worked as secretaries in public buildings like schools, where asbestos building materials were commonly installed. As a result of the numerous places asbestos were once used, we're just now starting to see an entire new generation of mesothelioma sufferers.

I soon found out that I was just the beginning of a horrifically alarming new medical trend. Now, younger and younger are the people being diagnosed with mesothelioma. Some did nothing other than attend schools where there were crumbling asbestos ceiling tiles present. Others simply played in the attics of millions of American homes where asbestos contamination was present in vermiculite insulation. Many, like me, were guilty of no other crime than jumping into their daddies' arms after they came home from work, or in my case, wearing his dusty jacket outside.

As I began to get involved with the mesothelioma community, I realized that there were young patients everywhere. I got to know their stories, learning that many other job circumstances caused exposure as well. These men and women are in their late 20s and early 30s, far too young to have cancer. They're just beginning their lives, really, getting married, having babies and striking out on their own for the first time. Now they have to combat a seriously fatal cancer.

Of course, there's a good side to all this. I, for one am still here, and so are a lot of the other suffering people I have met. Mesothelioma treatments are getting better for patients of all ages and from all walks of life.

You may wonder why I've shared this with you, but the answer is simple. I hope to bring awareness to people, to let them know that there are survivors out there, ready and willing to support each other and share the emotional ups and downs. If my small contribution can help even one person who's just found out they have mesothelioma then all the effort and suffering I went through was worth it.

     If you have any questions or comments for Heather, please leave them below. You can also visit Heather at her blog…www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/heather

Please Shop While I Escape Reality…

     I am escaping my life this weekend, and there is no better place to do that than my mama's! The kids and I will be avoiding reality until Sunday night. Until then, why don't you do some shopping...

     These products truly change lives. They are great for you, safe for your kids, and safe for the environment. If you aren’t completely blown away, there is a 30 day money back guarantee. I know I love them, and I can’t wait to hear how much you love them, too : )

...First Star I See Tonight...

     After the kids were all tucked in, I snuck outside to try to see some of the meteor shower that is supposed to be happening tonight. Instead I just realized I hate living in this city, and I really wish I still lived in my little old home town. Where the grand total population is 1500 people, but sometimes I think they count people twice, or forget to take off people that have died.

     Anyways, most days, I love living in a city. More jobs, more shopping opportunities, more eating opportunities, 24 hour gas stations, you know, the finer things in life. Then fall comes, and I always get super home sick! I don't know why, but every year, as soon as there is a chill in the night air, I want to go running back home, and it usually takes me a month or two to get out of my funk. Probably because besides my job, there isn't much to keep me here. 

     Sure, Fat Dad's family is here, and he would soooo not join me on my escape. He is frightened of Lanark. He thinks he is the darkest skin toned person to ever set foot within the "city" limits. I try to tell him he's not the first black person a white girl from Lanark has ever dated, but after 11 years, he still refuses to believe me!

     This year, my son got into the school of my dreams, so I have more keeping me here than ever before. I love my small town school, but, like JJ, I was always too smart for my own good. When I was telling my daddy about the school JJ will be going to he curled his lip to something unconventional, and he asked me if I was sure he would be OK there. I assured him he would be better than OK, and then I put it in terms he could understand. I told him how I was the smart kid in class who had to learn at the same pace as the kid who drooled on himself... We are 30, and he still drools! As soon as I said that, my dad smiled, and remembered that I was the daughter who he has always come to for advice, and I could see it set in that he knew I made the right, educated choice. 

     I love my daddy. He is my step dad, but has always been my daddy. When I was going through my teenage angst, he was my voice of reason. It was always the two of us having an intelligent conversation while the rest of our family did I don't even know what in the background. The only time we haven't totally seen eye to eye was Fat Dad. I was so disappointed that he couldn't see past the color of his skin. It took him probably 5 years to see things through my eyes. It took him until his brother died to realize he didn't want to miss any more of my life. It took my cousins saying horrible things about Fat Dad for my daddy to come to my rescue.

     Tonight as I sat outside trying to see any stars in the sky let alone a shower, this is what I was supposed to see... this is what I would have seen in Lanark. I remembered trying to find constellations in the sky when I was younger, and being able to see so many stars there was no way to count them. Tonight, I could count them : ( There might have been 15!!! 

     One of my biggest dreams for our family right now, is to find a house still in the city, but far enough out of town that we can see more than 15 stars! Close enough for pizza delivery, but far enough to see a corn field. I am thankful to have a roof over our heads, and for everything we have inside of this roof, but I would love for my kids to get at least a little version of the way their mom grew up. We take plenty of trips to grandmas where they get to sleep in the house I grew up in, but weekend trips and everyday life are totally different! Every time we talk about going to Grandma Deb's AL says piggy stinky, and crinkles her little nose as if she can smell them already : ) She really is too cute for her own good! 

     Funny part is is when I lived in my small town, for the most part, I hated it! I always wished I lived in a city. Chicago was where I wanted to live. Then California, but I think that one was brought on by a boy I was in love with. That one still has a piece of my soul... not the boy, California...well, maybe the boy too : ) One of my old roommates was from there, and we went to visit her grandma, and I have never felt more at home! The lifestyle fit the stage of life I was in so perfectly. If I went today, it might not feel the same, but then, it was a dream come true. 

     I guess what I'm trying to say is that the grass is always greener, and if I lived in my small town again, I might go outside, and long for my city life. Now that I'm a mom, my home is wherever my family is, and right now, that is here, and I will make the best of it. 

     Where is your dream living location??? Are you a small town girl or a city diva??? Did you get to see the meteor shower??? 

***Come like me on Facebook or Follow me on Twitter***

No More Allergies...

     Ever since I was a kid, I have had the worst allergies. Not food allergies... thank God, just weather/air allergies. I am allergic to the dust, but I'm allergic to the mold in the air when it rains. The first of many times in my life where I was damned if I do and damned if I don't. I remember times in highschool... long before my pothead days actually began... people would ask me/accuse me of being stoned. Thanks to my allergies, my eyes have always had that special shade of stoner red... which was surprisingly beneficial during my stoner days : )

     Even though my pothead days are long gone, my allergies, and my bloodshot eyes, stayed : ( I have tried a million different allergy medications, and the one I found that I actually liked, they discontinued because it had ephedrine. All the other medications out there make me feel like my head and my body are no longer connected! I would really rather just sneeze and look stoned all day. 

     Then my Shaklee Gold member kit came in the mail. I had signed up to sell Shaklee because of it's amazing eco and wallet friendly cleaners, but my kit came with a couple different vitamins and a box of Cinch weight loss shake mixes. At first I was going to use the vitamins to sell or sample to other people, but I knew if I was going to sell these products, I needed to try these products first. 

     Even though I love all that Shaklee stands for, and they have done countless hours of their own reseach, I am not one to put anything in my body without researching it first. After reading some of the testimonials for the Nutriferon, I knew I had to try it. At first, I couldn't really tell a difference, but since it's to boost your immune system, I kept taking it. Then one week, I stopped, and immediately started getting sinus headaches, and all of my allergy symptoms back. Needless to say, I haven't stopped taking them since! Now I can't wait until my kids are old enough to take them too : )

     I was telling a friend of mine at work about them who's problems with her allergies make mine look minuscule, and she was skeptical. I finally talked her into trying it, but still couldn't get her to order. I knew they would help her so I just ordered some for her. She had helped me get to and from work for a couple of weeks after I had my car accident, so when she told me she didn't have any money I told her not to worry, they were a thank you present for being my personal chauffeur. 

     After a couple of weeks I asked her if she had seen a difference. At first she said no. Then she said "but, I haven't had any sinus pressure, and I haven't been sneezing as much, and my eyes still itch, but not nearly as bad." I laughed and said "so they're working, huh???" She just looked at me and giggled, and said "yeah, I guess so" : )

     I have changed my schedule around drastically at work so I don't get to see her anymore : ( She works all nights and now I am working all days : ( When my phone rang today, and it was her, I thought maybe she needed me to work for her. I answered and after crying that she missed me and begging me to come back to working nights with her, the real reason for her call came out. She was out of her Nutriferon, and after trying her allergy medicine and 3 others, she was miserable! She asked me when the soonest possible date I could get her more would be! 

     I love that I am selling products that sell themselves! I am even more happy that after three months of talking non stop about Shaklee, when I needed to sell them the most, people are ordering them from me! God works in mysterious ways! I have been so nervous to cut back my hours at work, and have been sick to my stomach about how we were going to make ends meet, but I knew my family needed me to be here more than I was, and if I just did it, everything would work out. We will still be struggling for a while, and I will still be spending many nights on my fellow mommy bloggers pages to learn their tips and tricks on how to save money and live on a budget, but today was my sign that everything will be alright... 

     Allergy season is coming right around the corner so if you or anyone you know if looking for an all natural way to eliminate you allergy symptoms, and help you make it through cold and flu season without a sick day, get yours here today!

     

     

A Mustang in the House...

Such a rough life they had : )

     I want to be a work from home mom sooooo bad. It's all I've wanted to do since I became a mother. About 5 months after JJ was born, Fat Dad got laid off from his job, and was a stay at home dad for a good 6 months before he really started looking for a job. I remember being mad at him for wanting to find a job. No we were not rich, but I was making ends meet, and I was so jealous of the opportunity he was being given that I couldn't understand why he would want to go back to work.

     Unfortunately, being a stay at home parent is my dream not Fat Dad's. For him, while he loved staying home with his son, he wasn't fulfilling his role as "man of the house". After many fights about him wanting to get a job, he finally made me see that while he was living my dream, he was miserable. I realized I was being a more than a little selfish, and the job search began.

     Fast forward, 4 years and another baby later, and being able to stay at home with my babes is still a dream of mine. Only now, as they are getting older, I have also realized that this dream came with a major time frame : ( They really do grow up in the blink of an eye, and I refuse to let this dream slip away from me!

     I will get there! I have cut my hours at the OG in half, and have spent countless nights awake, scrolling through the best data base I know for tips on how to live on less. That data base is, of course, my other mommy bloggers. Mom's are amazing creatures, and what we will do, and do without to be with our babies, and make our family run is truly awesome. Making the impossible possible is just part of being a mother. I will link up some of these amazing moms in another post, but like I said, I've been searching during my insomnia, so right now, I can hardly remember my own blog name : )

     One of the main reasons I cut back my work hours is because at the school JJ is going to, you register yourself as well as your child. You commit to volunteering at least 5 hours back into the school. Parents help with everything there, and I couldn't be happier to know that I can have a hands on spot in my child's education.

     Today was registration day for JJ to go to preschool. I thought I would be a mess, but instead I am so incredibly excited to be a part of this school! I was so worried that my big city schools wouldn't have my small town school spirit. People in the town I'm from bleed blue and orange, and I wanted my kids to know that sense of pride. Today, while I will always be an Eastland Cougar, I will be proud to add Montessori Mustang to my title!

First of many Mustangs to be gracing this blog I'm sure : )

     Without ever even going to the school JJ is proud of it. When people ask him if he's going to kindergarten he says no, I'm going to Montessori : ) I love it! Even though today was only registration, I couldn't get him to leave. He was playing with the legos, and when it was time to go told me no mom, I'm making new friends!

     After registration we went to Walmart, where by the end of the trip, I was re-thinking putting them both up for adoption :) All in all, it was a great day, and even though they are rotten as can be, they are mine, and I love every fantastically rotten second of it!

***Don't Forget to***

  *** Like me on Facebook, and/or follow me on Twitter***

***Please and Thank You***

     .