Happy Fall, Ya'll!

Today I was almost trampled by a herd of stampeding children. I wish I could say I was kidding, but I can't. Due to my stellar balance(okay, more like luck. Balance and I have never gotten along) I was able to remain upright and ride it out. It was close though. Who would have thought that the hay pyramid at the pumpkin patch could be so dangerous?

Rabid children aside, it was an awesome day. For the first time ever I felt comfortable just letting Caden run amok and trusting that he wouldn't wander off so far that we couldn't find him. And guess what? He didn't! He picked out a cute little pumpkin, played nicely, oohhhed and aaahhhed at the tractors and(IF you can believe this) came quietly when we said it was time to go. Kyle was content to sit in my arms, play in the hay and he tolerated the adorable puppy hat I made him wear. I know, I know, sounds a little "out there" but I swear it's all true! Ask my husband! He'll back me up! Because it's trruuueee! I'm flying here, folks.

After we came home I found a recipe (that turned out to be awesome) for pumpkin black bean soup. Like I said before, it was awesome. It was the perfect way to ring in autumn! I can't imagine anything better than sitting at my pumpkin adorned table(because I got a few, too) eating hot soup, and listening to the wind howl. Bliss.

To sleep or...?

When I first started this blog I had every intention of blogging at least five times a week. I wanted one post a day, Monday through Friday, and then on the weekend I would rest. Unfortunately, I didn't factor in my children. See, the only time I have to myself is late at night, after my kids have gone to bed. And every night I ask myself this question, "To sleep, or not to sleep...?" I think every parent knows that THAT is the question. Shakespeare didn't know what he was talking about, clearly. So, I end up reading, or watching TV, or on the rare occasion, going to bed early. I don't know about you, but I do my best writing late at night. Some of my best blogs have been written while laying in bed only to be forgotten by morning. It's almost a tragedy. So what do I do? I think I need to be content with posting when I have the energy and only then. Because let's face it, blogging is pretty low on my list of priorities. So, to make a long story a little less long, I'm sorry for the half assed blog. Goodnight.

Happy Sunday All!

May your day be filled with brunches, naps, and uninterrupted newspaper reading time! May you get to spend some real quality time with my main squeeze of main squeezes(I have a few) Jesus.

I plan to have a big breakfast, visit the REAL happiest place on earth, Costco, nap, and have a nice dinner out with my husband and rug-rats.

Happy Sunday to all and to all a Happy Sunday!

How did I end up Here?

Occasionally I look around and I ask myself, how did I end up here? How did I end up so far away from where I wanted to be? When the baby is crying, and Caden is spazzing out. When Pete is late getting home, when dinner goes horribly wrong. When I hear about my friends graduating and partying all the time, I always think, how?

I always imagined my life so different from how it actually turned out. I was going to move to a big city, live in a fabulous apartment, eat out all the time, read whenever I wanted...the list goes on and on and yet here I am. Here I am with two kids, a husband, bills, ONE friend in town and a lot of neighbors who are TOO damn close!

Last night my kids took a bath together for the first time. As I sat and watched them laugh and splash I was filled with true joy. I laughed with them. And not for the first time it hit me. I love my life. It is perfect for me. Nothing, absolutely nothing makes me happier than watching my kids have fun, together. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the screen door open and knowing that my husband is home. And even when dinner does go wrong, there's a certain satisfaction in knowing that I'm taking care of my family.

I oftentimes forget that when I was in college I had no idea what I wanted to do. The painful knowledge that I was wasting a lot of time, and a lot of money. One week I thought I'd like to be a journalist, the next a nurse. But when I had Caden God showed me that what I was meant to be was a mom. In the face of all the chaos this knowledge is easily forgotten. Easily replaced with the misconception of how great I had it in college.

It's a good thing I have bath time to remind me just how lucky I really am.

Apples and Oranges

Like apples and oranges, black and white, cheese and noodles, puking and pooping just go together, and if you're my children they go together explosively. We have had no shortage of either in my house this week. And do you know what I need right about now? After a week of changing 8-10 dirty diapers a day, oftentimes accompanied with having to clean the carpet because said diapers failed to do their jobs? After having to change and wash my sons crib sheets no less than three times? Do you know what I could use? That's right, a break.

So, tonight when my husband gets home I will point to the fridge and say, "Help yourself to some delicious left-overs honey!" And I will promptly walk out the door, get into my car and drive. Drive across town to Burger King so I can sit in the relatively empty parking lot of Target(so as to be free of people staring at me and thinking about the poor, pathetic, wild eyed and bushey-haired woman eating alone in her car. And you thought insecurity disappeared with the ending of highschool. ha.) and eat my dinner. Eat my deliciously disgusting fat soaked burger and fries in silence. Sounds blissful, doesn't it? No? Well, yeah, but I take what I can get. Forgot the Pill, THIS is birth control.

Happy 4th of July!

I guess I can't really call this a "parenting blog" until I've had a true blue puking post. I'm going to tell you ahead of time that it probably won't be funny, and if it is, it was completely unintentional and only funny to you, the reader. This whole puking episode is just too fresh in my mind, not enough time has passed for me to be able to "look back and laugh". I'm sure you understand.

The trouble started around nine on Wednesday night. Pete was getting ready to leave for some guy time and I was looking forward to having some alone time as well. Kyle had woken up on the wrong side of the crib and wanted some attention. Not a whole minute had passed before he threw up all over me, my hair, and the kitchen floor. When I started calling for Pete Caden came running into the kitchen, and right into the puke. He was freaking out because he heard the panic in my voice. The panic that was there not because my child had just thrown up, but because my child had just thrown up all over me. I gave Kyle to Pete,cleaned up the mess, hopped in the shower and came out to try to feed Kyle while Pete continued to get ready. Up to this point I was sure that he had thrown up because I had given him some actual food and failed to burp him. I was quickly proven wrong when after nursing, Kyle threw up all over me, my hair, and the couch. After Kyle had thrown up a few more times I loaded both the boys up in the car and headed to the ER, sans Pete. Pete had gone out with the guys, remember? He eventually met me at the ER, listened to my panicky complaints, and whisked Caden off to bed time.

To make a long story short, we got home from the ER around 2:30 after which the doctor told me that he was sure that it was something he had eaten and Kyle would be brand new in the morning. Except he wasn't. Well, he was until about three in the afternoon when he started to thrown up again(yeah, thanks Doc!) Thankfully we had been sent home with some awesome medicine and we quickly shoved that down Kyle's throat. Disaster averted. Oh, I'm sorry, let me finish that last sentence. Disaster averted until Caden started throwing up a couple of hours later. Are you jealous, yet? No, well let me add that all of this took place over the holiday weekend.

We all ended up getting sick and I truly believe that I not only survived the flu, but Hell as well. Needless to say, we didn't do much all weekend except think about how I really needed to clean the toilet more often, although that could have just been me, and stared mindlessly at the TV.

Yeah, Happy 4th Of July to you, too.

Are you kidding me, Google?

Google informed me that Napa was foggy. Google was wrong. Are you kidding me, Google? Would it kill you to open up a newspaper, Google? Would it kill you to climb out from under the rock you've been under, or fly down from Mars for a visit, Google? Because if you did, you might realize that Napa isn't, in fact, foggy. Napa and all of northern California is on fire, you see. So common sense, Google, would say that Napa is smoky. But you wouldn't know that, Google because you are sadly misinformed. You apparently can't bother yourself with accurate reporting, can you Google? The air here has been categorized as "extremely unhealthy." Can you imagine keeping your kids inside for a WEEK, Google? No, I'm sure you can't. I'm sure you have no idea what it's like having a toddler bouncing(literally) off the walls. I'm sure you've never heard your three old come to you and say in a pathetic voice, "Can't go outside today, it's too smoky." You're very insensitive, Google. Next time, I think it would be wise to do your homework, Google. Next time, I won't be so kind.

Update: Napa is now smoke free, thank goodness. This blog should have actually been written last week, but I didn't have the time what with a manic toddler running around the house. Oh well, what can you do?