Are you a Grandma?

I was bathing the kids the other day, in a hurry, because I finally made myself an eye appointment. Why is it that no matter how much time you give yourself to leave the house, you are always rushing?! Just me?...maybe....

The kids were asking why we were in such a rush. I say I have to go to the doctor's to get glasses. Leah looked at me all weird asked, "Why do you need glasses, are you a grandma?"

Kids are so funny and how they make connections, since both of their grandma's have glasses.

Turns out I do need glasses to see far distances. This is annoying. I asked if I have to wear them all the time and the doctor said, "No, only when you want to see." Guess I'll go pick out my grandma glasses soon....

It's Your Love

I can't believe it has been ten years.....

I am so thrilled we got to go to Cabo for our anniversary. We had been planning on going back since we both visited there briefly. There is such a relaxing vibe. We stayed at a beautiful resort, slept in everyday, went swimming on the beach and in the pool, drank, drank, drank and talked about the next ten years.

We visited Wal-mart and Sam's club while there to stock our mini kitchen in our room. The shopping in Mexico is way different than in the states. There is only one choice to choose from. We are so spoiled here, with our choices and merchandising and marketing! We decided to find a bottle of wine from the year we were married, which turned out to be a pretty hard task. So we decided to place make a bet, as to who could find it first. Of course...I lost!

On the actual day, July 22ND, we took a water taxi to Lover's Beach, one of the prettiest beaches I have even been on. Then we walked through the marina. For dinner we made reservations to eat beach side at our hotel. The dinner was amazing!! To throw it back to our wedding day I decided to wear the top to my wedding dress. It was pretty tight, but def. took me back to that day!

The resort offered photo sessions for guests on the beach. It was so so enticing, I couldn't resist!! Here are a few of our shots:

All in all it was such a great experience. We haven't spent a week alone since we got married. I'm glad we still feel the same alone!

I didn't lose all the weight I wanted but gave it a good try! I still have 15/20 pounds to lose but I'm glad I had this trip to motivate me! I would point out a pretty girl and Bobby would say, "Well, I doubt she has had two kids!" Guys, I'm not sure this is the compliments, us "moms", are going for. I want to look like I haven't had two kids!! That's the point. I guess I have 10 more years to drop the rest, then it's tattoo time =) You have to have something to reach for!

Heart of Gold

Tonight was one of those nights, I couldn't help but get all emotional about Bryce. I am so proud and honestly a little in awe of his grasp and understanding of life. I know as parents, we all have these moments when you are just so proud of your kid, for getting "it," whatever that "it" is.

I decided to paint Leah's closet today. Leave me in my house long enough, with enough free time and the paint will come out. While I was preoccupied with this, my kids did whatever they pleased downstairs. Needless to say, I came down to several cookie packages open and just as many juices and fruit snacks. They basically had a feast. I was reprimanding them and that was that.

Leah picks out her story for tonight and gets Bernstein's Bears...Too Much Junk Food. I chuckled a little because she always picks this book after we discuss eating healthy. We are reading through this great book ,with many simple lessons about eating healthy. We get to the part where they show how the body works with cool illustrations of the nervous system and skeleton system, and whatever other systems we have. Bryce really likes this part and always asks a ton of questions about how our bodies work.

He asks, "Why do they even make junk food if it's bad for you?"

I tell him we always have a choice and teach him about moderation.

He says, "It tastes so good though!"

I tell him , I know and that I have a hard time picking the healthy thing every time because the bad food is addicting.

Then he starts asking about the blood in our bodies, how we make enough when we loose some, how the food goes through our body, why we have butts and privates and how we live if we don't have lungs.

I tell him we can't live without lungs.

He asks, "Then why do they make cigarettes, if they kill people and ruin their lungs?"

I tell them they didn't know when they made them, that they were so bad for us.

Logically he asks, "But now they know, so why do they still make them?"

I tell him people are addicted and pay a lot of money and the people that make cigarettes like money.

Here's the part where I am just amazed at how he interprets things.

He says:

"Well you know Mom, money isn't everything. And no amount of money is OK to kill people. These people that make cigarettes should have to face a judge and go to jail for killing people. And you know, sometimes, they even have to pay a fine. Like $1,000, probably, in one month, and that's a lot. So then they should have to loose the money they made anyway. Why isn't it like that Mom?"

He is very worked up about this whole situation and even has tears in his eyes. He is so passionate, I am so proud! I tell him I wish it was like that too....

This kid has a heart of gold and it is pumping pure innocence. Sometimes kids just have a way of seeing things the way they should be, more so then the grown-ups =)

Wrong Side of the Bed

The other night Bryce was complaining of a tummy ache right before bed. He went to the bathroom and said he felt better, but I knew, as most moms know, throw-up was going to be in the near future. So, we all go to bed and sure enough at 1:00am our little Bryceman comes crawling in our bed. We fall asleep and about 1 minute later he sits straight up out of our bed.

"Mom! I have to throw-up!"

I jump out of bed in time to lift him up out of our bed. In the process of the lift he throws up all over the carpet. I rush him into the bathroom. He throws up on the tile. Finally, he makes it to the toilet for the last bout. I HATE throw up more than anything. Once he is done, he crawls back into our bed and falls fast asleep. This leaves Bobby and I assessing the situation.

Perhaps the worst thing, is looking at it, smelling it and wondering where the hell you should even begin to clean this up.

We get the stuff on the tile with a large towel and a ton of antibacterial wipes. I spray the room with Lysol to kill whatever may be flying around and mask the smell. Then I ask Bobby to go and get the steam cleaner to clean the carpet. He does this as I finish up the tile.

When he arrives at the top of the stairs with the cleaner he says that the steam cleaner leaked and smells like crap. Rewind to last week.... OOH CRAP!! I forgot I left the water in the cleaner from a week ago when I steam cleaned the carpet. It smells like hell!

Now I have to dump this disgusting smelly water out and clean the steam cleaner before I can clean the puke! I dump the old stuff in the steaming hot shower and dump Pine sol all over the cleaner and shower.

Once the steam cleaner is back in business, I start with the throw up and get that cleaned. Then I have to steam clean every stair because the steam cleaner leaked all over the stairs and left a trail from the garage to our room. I get all this cleaned up within the hour and lay in bed to try and sleep.

The whole night I sleep horrible because every time Bryce would move I would sit up prepared with the bucket to catch whatever came out so I wouldn't have to clean the floor again. Glad to report he was fine the rest of the night.

We wake up exhausted but ready to face the day. Bobby gets in the shower. It starts clogging up. Rewind to last night. OOPS! By dumping the carpet cleaning in the shower with all the carpet fuzz, I completely clogged the drain. So poor Bobby has to undo the drain and pull out whatever it was. Basically, a huge mess of God knows what! He is dry heaving and the smell is awful. He tells me being a plumber may be the only job that would be too much for him.

We get that straightened out and come downstairs. Nothing else can go too wrong, right? WRONG! Our dog decided to pee on my freshly cleaned carpets. I am so pissed at him until I open the garage door to realize Bryce blocked his dog door with his bike.

So, no one is at fault, but everyone is in a bad mood and walking around in a bit of a frustrated huff. Bryce tells me right before he threw up he was having a horrible dream that something was stuck in his throat. Poor guy! Can you imagine what an awful dream and feeling that was?! This makes me feel worse for him than us for the morning we had. We can look back and laugh about it now, but talk about starting the morning on the wrong side of the bed.

Memorial Day

As we get to enjoy a three day weekend I wanted to be sure to post something saying, "THANK YOU!" to our soldiers that give so much to protect our way of life.

I really wanted to post a, "Thank you" after Mother's Day. I was watching Ellen DeGeneres for her special on mothers. Her audience included expecting wives of soldiers. Their gift on Mother's Day was a message form their husband serving across seas. I was brought to tears and gratitude! Missing the birth of their children!! What a sacrifice. The rest of us take this for granted. I was surely brought to my senses. When Bobby works long hours at the gym it is nothing I shouldn't be able to handle compared to these strong Army wives.

Bryce is still throwing the, "I want to stay home from school" bits, almost daily. I was excited to tell him about his extra day off this weekend. I told him ,"Guess what?!! You have three days off of school, so cool!"

He looked at me almost disgusted in my enthusiasm and lectured, "Mom! Do you even know why we have an extra day off?"

Knowing why, but wanting to hear his response I said, "No, why?"

He tells me, "It is to honor our soldiers who have fought for our country. That's why!!"

Very impressed by his patriotism and lack of excitement about missing school I asked him how he knows. He goes on to tell me that his class wrote messages to the soldiers thanking them. He said that the librarian's son is in Iraq and that they were sending them to him. What a sweet idea and great way to teach the kids about the importance of our military.

I was quite proud of Bryce and his understanding of why we get to swim and BBQ for an extra day this weekend!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How I Know Men have Selective Hearing

By my nature, I am a noise sensitive person. I like to mute commercials because the noise annoys me. I always try to play the silent game with my kids after hearing "Mom" for the hundredth time. Mellow music is my favorite. I can hear most noises in the background, which can get irritating. But not Bobby....

He can be watching TV and the kids will be asking him a question....doesn't hear a thing. Acts like no one is even talking to him. Doesn't break line of vision with the television at all. I ask, "Can you hear them talking to you?" He says, "No, what do they need?" Well, they needed it from you and I really was enjoying that.... but I guess I will just have to handle it. I think this is why being a Dad must be better. Selective hearing.

But the real reason I know men have selective hearing is because of ESPN. I HATE this network, and not because I don't like sports or because of the fact Bobby can tune us out whenever it is on. No, I HATE this network because of the completely unnecessary background music they play while reporting sports news. ''Dodo-dun, dodo dun!" And they keep playing it throughout the entire program. I don't know who they paid to make this music for them to play in the background, but I can guarantee it was a man. Never noticed it before? Consider yourself lucky to have selective hearing. Next time you are watching, listen for it, and then think about me, and how irritating this Network is to listen to non-stop during baseball highlight season!

Busy BEEEEE!

So has the whole month of April past without one blog post? What the heck have I been doing?!


Well lots actually....


Baseball:


Baseball season is in full swing and so much fun! Bryce is in coach pitch and had a great coach, if I do say so myself. He's pretty hot too! We have games almost every Saturday and practices every Thursday. We have had picture day, field clean-up day, basket making for fundraising, banner making and snack bar duty(I spilled hot chocolate all over me)! It is very involved but we are loving every minute of it. The skill level is so much different than last year. It's exciting to see how well Bryce and the other kids are doing




















Dance:




Leah has dance every Thursday. She has improved so much since the beginning. When she started she couldn't jump on one foot for two hops, now she can hop on one leg across the whole room. She had a recital at the Poppy Festival that was so adorable!


























School:


Bryce won a writing wizard award at school. He continues to ace every spelling test! He is doing great in math. He is still adjusting to being a first grader and wants to stay home, but he seems to be excelling in his education and I couldn't be prouder. He is reading his first novel of over 100 pages. Cute story: The other day we were at the mall and I let them toss a coin into the fountain and make a wish. Bryce was moving his lips but no sound was coming out. He was very serious and then threw it in. I asked what he wished for....He said he wished he could read more books than anyone in his entire school and be the best reader there is.












Leah is doing great in preschool. She loves going and has adjusted to the social aspect very well. Katie and I have been doing our craft days and volunteer time there. After watching the other kids, it is safe to say we seem to be raising them right. They listen, are nice and share. The teacher says they are well adjusted kids.



















PTA:

We have been jammed packed at the school. I am going for my third term as PTA president. I'm hoping after this year someone will have the courage to take over this position, because it is more intense than I thought! But it is rewarding and worthwhile, most days. We have opened a student store for the kids, arranged a movie night, organized teacher appreciation week, planned an assembly, had a coin drive and the list goes on and on. The student store was a whole week this month and it was hard being out of the house by 7 every morning. We are growing in numbers though and I am pretty proud of that.








Reunion:


Still working on my high school's 10 year reunion. We had the final payments due this month and have about 100 people paid and going. It's been my dream to have an event on a yacht and it is finally happening!!




















Anniversary planning:

Our 10 year wedding anniversary is quickly approaching and we have been hitting the gym! We finally booked the trip this week and got a great deal through Costco. We love that place. The parents are very concerned about us going into Mexico, so pray for our safe return because unless something goes down in CABO we will be there! I've been substitute teaching on days I'm not jammed packed to help pay for this trip.







Party Poppers:

I have taken the plunge and am starting party planning as a hobby/career! I have a blog linked to this one, if you wanna check it out and follow me! I ordered business cards and am buying tables and seating for 200, with the help of my awesome parents and in-laws. I'm excited to get serious about what I love to do. I am working on two weddings currently!




Exciting news:




So much great things have been happening to people we love. It is such an exciting time to be young and have things happening! Mostly it is fun to cheer everyone on, as they did for us. I am so HAPPY for all the exciting things that have been happening.




Bobby's brother moved into a new house with his girlfriend Jessie. She is great and I know there will be announcements from them to come!




Bobby's cousin Joey got married to Brittani, who is expecting a baby. They also moved into a new house!




Bobby's cousin Laura is getting married to Jerry in August. Their wedding is going to be so much fun and I'm excited I get to help with it!




My friend April had a baby boy named Emerson! We had a blast throwing her a shower. It's exciting to add a new baby to the group.

My best friend, Katie is getting married to the "dope" guy James. I'm so happy she has found someone so great to share her life with!


And...I'm going to be an aunt!! My brother Dane and his girlfriend Brittani are expecting their first. Everything happens for a reason and I believe this baby is such a blessing to all of us! Plus, did I mention I want to be the coolest Aunt EVER!! So excited to hold a baby I don't have to raise but can love to pieces.

Basically we are on the run a lot. By the end of the week we are tired, but happy!! Beats being bored!