Thursday, August 23, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Little Moments
I have probably four loads of laundry to fold.
I have some dishes that need washed.
The cat needs a bath.
My corners need scrubbing in the bathroom, I should weed my garden, and I REALLY need to put the clean sheets on the bed before we go to sleep tonight, since Monkey decided to explode a diaper on them this morning.
But those things will always, always need done.
Today, the most awesome thing in the world for my little man is to sit on Mommy's lap and play with a potato smasher. Today, he will snuggle with me on the couch and giggle when I blow raspberries on my neck. Today, in this in between stage between "I just took my first steps" and the full-out dash of toddlerhood, my baby will still let me hold him and love him to pieces.
My days are not always easy- babies scream and cry and throw tantrums and cut teeth and go from clean to dripping poop on the floor in .23 seconds. But there are only so many baby days left. Right now, with Monkey napping in a pile of his toys on the floor and my cold coffee in hand- this is a precious moment.
To hell with the laundry. I'm going to fold up some memories instead.
I have some dishes that need washed.
The cat needs a bath.
My corners need scrubbing in the bathroom, I should weed my garden, and I REALLY need to put the clean sheets on the bed before we go to sleep tonight, since Monkey decided to explode a diaper on them this morning.
But those things will always, always need done.
Today, the most awesome thing in the world for my little man is to sit on Mommy's lap and play with a potato smasher. Today, he will snuggle with me on the couch and giggle when I blow raspberries on my neck. Today, in this in between stage between "I just took my first steps" and the full-out dash of toddlerhood, my baby will still let me hold him and love him to pieces.
My days are not always easy- babies scream and cry and throw tantrums and cut teeth and go from clean to dripping poop on the floor in .23 seconds. But there are only so many baby days left. Right now, with Monkey napping in a pile of his toys on the floor and my cold coffee in hand- this is a precious moment.
To hell with the laundry. I'm going to fold up some memories instead.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
We survived!
Well, it took forever to update, but we did survive Spring Break. It was a great week with Monkey, Daredevil, Gollum, Doctor Doom and my stepson, who for now we'll call Sonic. Much fun was had, new foods were tried, and it was all in all, a success.
On other fronts- things are progressing rapidly. The baby is now REALLY crawling, chattering up a storm, and starting to try to sit up and do that funy spider-walking thing that they do. Hubby is working 4-10s, so he gets Friday off- which I love. We actually get to spend some time together without a mass of children overwhelming us.
And we finally got approved for SNAP. It's something I wish we didn't need, but the fact is, even if I went back to work today, I couldn't make enough to pay for child care and buy the amount of groceries we need every week with active, growing boys and a husband inn a hard, physical labor position. We actually were supposed to be approved back in February, and we've been scraping by on 100/month for groceries, my WIC benefits and a commodity box a week. We never went hungry, but we had some lean, navy-beans-in-the-pot weeks, and lots of dinners where second helpings were nonexistent.
It was a huge weight off of my shoulders to be able to go grocery shopping and actually stock up, and know that there's no chance of being unable to feed my family a big, healthy meal that they can have as much as they want of. It doesn't mean we shop stupid, but little things like being able to stock up on store-brand Gatorade for the husband to take to work, and veggies and fruit for snacks- that kind of thing makes me feel safer. Knowing that the bills are paid mostly on time, and the kids are fed- priceless.
And as a mini celebration, we're having smothered chicken, baked sweet potatoes and steamed veggies for dinner. This makes me a very, very happy Mommy.
On other fronts- things are progressing rapidly. The baby is now REALLY crawling, chattering up a storm, and starting to try to sit up and do that funy spider-walking thing that they do. Hubby is working 4-10s, so he gets Friday off- which I love. We actually get to spend some time together without a mass of children overwhelming us.
And we finally got approved for SNAP. It's something I wish we didn't need, but the fact is, even if I went back to work today, I couldn't make enough to pay for child care and buy the amount of groceries we need every week with active, growing boys and a husband inn a hard, physical labor position. We actually were supposed to be approved back in February, and we've been scraping by on 100/month for groceries, my WIC benefits and a commodity box a week. We never went hungry, but we had some lean, navy-beans-in-the-pot weeks, and lots of dinners where second helpings were nonexistent.
It was a huge weight off of my shoulders to be able to go grocery shopping and actually stock up, and know that there's no chance of being unable to feed my family a big, healthy meal that they can have as much as they want of. It doesn't mean we shop stupid, but little things like being able to stock up on store-brand Gatorade for the husband to take to work, and veggies and fruit for snacks- that kind of thing makes me feel safer. Knowing that the bills are paid mostly on time, and the kids are fed- priceless.
And as a mini celebration, we're having smothered chicken, baked sweet potatoes and steamed veggies for dinner. This makes me a very, very happy Mommy.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Dandelion Seeds
It's been a little bit crazy around here. Chaotic, really. Monkey, at 3 months and change, discovered he could roll over and scoot himself arounnd the floor all by himself. While screaming at the top of his lungs because he isn't allowed to crawl into the shelves of the coffeetable or eat the paper out of the printer.
Bless his heart.
He also has added two words to his vocabulary- he now says "hi," "good," "Daddy," (loudly, insistently, and with accompanying bounces and lurching trying to reach "Daddy") and his newest is "keeeeeeeee!" every time the kitty comes within reach. That poor cat has had so much slobber and tail-chewing... he probably thinks he lives with an oddly-shaped mastiff puppy.
But hands-down, the most adorable thing Monkey has learned to do is repopulate the dandelions in my yard. During one of our tours of the yard ("See this, Monkey? This is yellow. A yellow dandelion. And this is a purple violet. Pur- NO MONKEY!! Nonono, do not eat the BROWN EARTHWORM!"), the Monkey discovered that when Mommy picks a soft, fluffy ball of spent dandelions- he can smash them. Which he does, with great delight, and then crows triumphantly as the fluffy little seeds float away from his hands. He loves the blasted things. And now my yard is full of weeds.
Bless his little heart.
In other news- Daredevil once again tried to kill himself with a bike trick last weekend- right after Gollum had yet another close encounter with a car- which left him with assorted bumps, bruises and abrasions in a *ahem* sensitive area. And Dr. Doom is driving us ALL insane with Weird Al Yankovic earworms. The fiance has threatende to strangle him with an accordion if he sings "Rye or the Kaiser" one. more. time.
Next week is Spring Break- which means five boys and me, in one very small space. If we survive it, I'll update you with the madness and mayhem.
Bless his heart.
He also has added two words to his vocabulary- he now says "hi," "good," "Daddy," (loudly, insistently, and with accompanying bounces and lurching trying to reach "Daddy") and his newest is "keeeeeeeee!" every time the kitty comes within reach. That poor cat has had so much slobber and tail-chewing... he probably thinks he lives with an oddly-shaped mastiff puppy.
But hands-down, the most adorable thing Monkey has learned to do is repopulate the dandelions in my yard. During one of our tours of the yard ("See this, Monkey? This is yellow. A yellow dandelion. And this is a purple violet. Pur- NO MONKEY!! Nonono, do not eat the BROWN EARTHWORM!"), the Monkey discovered that when Mommy picks a soft, fluffy ball of spent dandelions- he can smash them. Which he does, with great delight, and then crows triumphantly as the fluffy little seeds float away from his hands. He loves the blasted things. And now my yard is full of weeds.
Bless his little heart.
In other news- Daredevil once again tried to kill himself with a bike trick last weekend- right after Gollum had yet another close encounter with a car- which left him with assorted bumps, bruises and abrasions in a *ahem* sensitive area. And Dr. Doom is driving us ALL insane with Weird Al Yankovic earworms. The fiance has threatende to strangle him with an accordion if he sings "Rye or the Kaiser" one. more. time.
Next week is Spring Break- which means five boys and me, in one very small space. If we survive it, I'll update you with the madness and mayhem.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Feeling Froggy
A quick note on the new look- in honor of Spring, St.Patrick's day, and my favorite slimy critters, we are now FROGALICIOUS!!! The picture is one I took a few years ago, and love lots. Look at the little guy closely- he's obviously posing for the camera!
If people only knew...
All joking aside- I have awesome kids. In fact, if people knew how awesome, they'd be camping out in the bushes trying to kidnap them and clone them.
I love my little demons, and I love how they see life, and react to the things around them. Like the Gollum currently coaxing our overweight cat into exercising by dragging my crochet yarn across the house. He's so thrilled to have a cat again, he cleans the litter box without complaining. Doctor Doom and the Daredevil are off bouncing around the new neighborhood, after they cleaned up the yard trash and took it to the curb. Tomorrow we'll bake bread- because they love it, and after learning how to make it for themselves last week, they're hooked.
And just to brag a bit here- report cards and letters of recommendations came home yesterday- all good. Doctor Doom got invited to participate in a special science seminar, along with the rest of his robotics club. Gollum pulled Honor Roll again. Daredevil has started dragging his grades back up to gold star standard after a rough few rounds.
But what I really love about my guys is that they LOVE. They love the cats. They love their new brother like a fat kid loves cake. They love our house, our yard, the food on the table, the new family we are meeting more of all the time. They snuggle and hug and cuddle (even my teenager!!) and they LOVE everything and everyone.
They really are great kids. They have their moments (and some of them are doozies), but overall, they are incredible human beings. So the Daredevil takes four showers a day and is obsessed with Halo Legos. Doctor Doom spouts random trivia off like lava from an angry volcano. And Gollum occasionally pouts so hard pigeons use his lower lip as a perch. None of that takes away from the fact that they are superheroes in my eyes.
I love my little demons, and I love how they see life, and react to the things around them. Like the Gollum currently coaxing our overweight cat into exercising by dragging my crochet yarn across the house. He's so thrilled to have a cat again, he cleans the litter box without complaining. Doctor Doom and the Daredevil are off bouncing around the new neighborhood, after they cleaned up the yard trash and took it to the curb. Tomorrow we'll bake bread- because they love it, and after learning how to make it for themselves last week, they're hooked.
And just to brag a bit here- report cards and letters of recommendations came home yesterday- all good. Doctor Doom got invited to participate in a special science seminar, along with the rest of his robotics club. Gollum pulled Honor Roll again. Daredevil has started dragging his grades back up to gold star standard after a rough few rounds.
But what I really love about my guys is that they LOVE. They love the cats. They love their new brother like a fat kid loves cake. They love our house, our yard, the food on the table, the new family we are meeting more of all the time. They snuggle and hug and cuddle (even my teenager!!) and they LOVE everything and everyone.
They really are great kids. They have their moments (and some of them are doozies), but overall, they are incredible human beings. So the Daredevil takes four showers a day and is obsessed with Halo Legos. Doctor Doom spouts random trivia off like lava from an angry volcano. And Gollum occasionally pouts so hard pigeons use his lower lip as a perch. None of that takes away from the fact that they are superheroes in my eyes.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Monkeys, Marriage and Mischief
So, we have a Monkey. Born December 13, 2011, the Monkey was 6lbs 3oz, 19 inches long. He's an adorable little goober, and already shaping up to be as much trouble as his older brothers. I bounced back pretty quick, and I'm no longer psychotically crazy- just normal crazy.
In addition to having a 2 month old, the BF has become the soon-to-be husband, and we've bought a house.
Or rather, it will BE a house, once we finish renovating it.
I'm sure there are Mommies out there who have renovated on a budget- so you'll understand when I say that we are going crazy. Our budget isn't even in the shoestring range- more like spider silk. With a combination of luck, barter and an amazingly generous family who donated time and skills, we've managed to remove all the nasty flooring, paint the entire house, scrub it clean, replace the back door knob and locks, put down KILZ and rugs on the subfloor we have to live with temporarily, snag some furniture and fix the furnace issues- all for about $200.
We have all the basic essentials of life, which makes us happy. We have an incredibly healthy and happy baby. We're blessed in having a relationship that weathered my temporary mental health issues, great kids, and a wonderful support network.
I'll be back to blogging on a regular basis now that we have a more stable home life, so look for more updates soon!
In addition to having a 2 month old, the BF has become the soon-to-be husband, and we've bought a house.
Or rather, it will BE a house, once we finish renovating it.
I'm sure there are Mommies out there who have renovated on a budget- so you'll understand when I say that we are going crazy. Our budget isn't even in the shoestring range- more like spider silk. With a combination of luck, barter and an amazingly generous family who donated time and skills, we've managed to remove all the nasty flooring, paint the entire house, scrub it clean, replace the back door knob and locks, put down KILZ and rugs on the subfloor we have to live with temporarily, snag some furniture and fix the furnace issues- all for about $200.
We have all the basic essentials of life, which makes us happy. We have an incredibly healthy and happy baby. We're blessed in having a relationship that weathered my temporary mental health issues, great kids, and a wonderful support network.
I'll be back to blogging on a regular basis now that we have a more stable home life, so look for more updates soon!
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