Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas

I cannot believe that it is Christmas. I swear this year has just flown by. I guess that is what happens when you are so busy.

Z Man had to Christmas program last week and he did amazing. He got a solo part where he had to name all the reindeer and he sang it perfectly. I was beyond proud of him. Now he is done with school for the next week or so, which it is kinda nice not having to rush out of the house in the morning.

We have no real plans for today, which is how we like it. Santa's Elves will be dropping off some Christmas jammies to the kids as soon as Z man and the Teacher wake up from their nap. We are just having a nice dinner at home and hoping that the kids go to bed at a decent hour since I have to still wrap presents for them. Bedtime has not gone very well the last couple of weeks, so I have been unable to do it.

Tomorrow, my in-laws typically come over, but The Teacher's stepfather is in the hospital with pneumonia so we are not sure what is going on yet. The kids will be disappointed if they don't see them, but obviosly we only want for everyone to be healty. We usually go to my grandparents for dinner on Christmas Day. This way we don't have as many presents to drag home with us, and it only means we have to travel to one place.

I can't wait until tomorrow morning when the kids wake up and see their presents. I know that are going to be so excited to see the presents under the tree. They have been asking for the past few weeks if it was the day Santa was coming. Now we can finally say, yes!

I am such a scrooge as well though because my Christmas tree and decorations will be down tomorrow. In my defense, the tree is in the kid's play area so with all the new toys, it is necessary for us to take it down. Plus, I am a person who needs structure and normalcy. I can only handle Christmas for so long.

So Merry Christmas to everyone!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Weekend

So my weekend recap is happening a few days after the weekend ended, but at least I am doing one.

On Saturday, Z Man had soccer practice again and The Teacher had to take him as I was working. Thankfully it worked out. Z Man had an okay practice I guess. He had issues with pushing and what not, but I guess that almost all the kids did so he fit right in! I think that the Teacher being there intimidates Z Man because The Teacher has a hard time separating his football players from his son. He wants him to be the greatest when it reality Z Man has never played before and is only 4 years old. He did pretty good yesterday when I took him and The Teacher showed up later. He has fun which is all that matters.

On Sunday, we got free tickets to see the Windy City Thunderbolts which is a baseball team that is a part of The Frontier League, so no affiliations with big league teams, but these guys get paid to play baseball. My parent went with us and the kids. Z Man had a blast. Although I think he was more excited about the Sno Cone. At least he was excited about the sno Cone right up until it fell out of the cone and landed on the ground. He was quite devastated then. Z Man pretty much sat there and watched most of it. Princess M really wasn't into it, which I didn't really think she would be. She wanted to get up quite a bit and walk around, which was fine.

I hate that we have to really reserve fun times for Sundays, but that is how it will be for the next several months. This Saturday, my parents are taking us (the kids and me and maybe the Teacher if he gets out of his game early enough) to the Museum of Science and Industry. It was supposed to be a Z Man and grandparents day out, but we know that Princess M would love it too. So we are tagging along.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Z Man's First Soccer Practice

Yesterday was Z Man's first day of soccer. He had been talking about going for a while, so we decided to sign him up through the Park District. He was quite excited when he learned he would be going. We bought him Shin Guards, Soccer socks, a jersey from the Park District, and his very own soccer ball. His practice is from 6-7 and it was kinda nice because The Teacher got out of his football practice earlier than we had thought so he was able to go to the practice. I did discover that The Teacher has a difficult time just letting Z Man just go with the flow. It is a non compete league so everything is just fun. The first few weeks is just teaching the kids the fundamentals about soccer. The Teacher wanted him to be great. I had to keep reminding him that they are kids and just learning. Nobody is expecting them to be awesome.

At one point, his team The Earthquakes were all standing in a line and were going to kick the ball. Z Man looks over at The Teacher and myself and whispered (mouthed) Thank you to us. It was too cute. He had an absolute blast which is all that matters.

We had some problems with trying to convince Princess M that she could not be standing next to Z man and that she had to stay near us. She eventually was content with taking the camera and pretending to take shots of Z Man and us. She was on her knees trying to get the perfect shot. I wish that she didn't have the camera so that I could have taken a picture of her doing this. It was so cute and absolutely hilarious.

Bedtime proved to be quite a issue because both kids were overtired. My Mom said that they did end up falling asleep when she was driving them home, but apparently that was no where near enough sleep for the two of them. Eventually they both did fall asleep. And eventually they both ended up in our bed last night.

On a different note, I blogged last about how my parents had to put their dog Holly down because she had been run over and there wasn't much they could do to guarantee her quality of life. Yesterday was the first day I had gone over to my parents house since it happened on Sunday. It was definitely weird not to hear Holly barking at me when I walked up the driveway or see her find your feet to sit on. I miss her a lot. Z Man still says every so often that he misses Holly but says that she is in Heaven. The other 3 dogs seem pretty unphased by it, but I think my other parents dog is seeking more attention and wants to be around everyone more.

Monday, August 16, 2010

RIP Holly

So yesterday was a sad day in our family. An accident happened and their one dog was run over. She was rushed to the Animal Hospital but it was determined that it would cost way too much money and make the poor dog endure way too much pain in an attempt to make her okay. It is devastating for my family. I feel horrible for my parents and brothers. It was my parents dog.

I was obviously upset and I had a hard time concealing this from my kids. Princess M kept asking me while I was crying and I knew that I was going to have to explain to the kids what happened. They spend a lot of time at my parents house since my mom watches them for me and even though they weren't going to there tomorrow, my mom was going to be watching them at my house. I struggled with the words to tell my 3 and 4 year old about this. The Teacher quickly volunteered not to explain (although in the end he helped). We have never dealt with this before. We have had a few family members pass away, but it was when the kids were really young and to people that they did not know. I dodged a few bullets there. This one though I knew I wasn't going to be able to dodge.

So we sat the kids down and tried to explain in the best way possible that Holly had an accident and that the animal doctor was unable to fix her up so she went up to doggy heaven. They are so sweet and innocent that they asked if she would be back at Grandma and Grandpa's tomorrow. We explained no, but it was a difficult conversation. Z man ran to his room and was crying so I was explaining to him again and just trying to comfort him. Princess M I think was more feeding off everyone else crying so she was crying as well.

I had a difficult time falling asleep last night because I was feeling horrible for my brother especially. The kids seem to be doing okay. I am more concerned about Tuesday when they go to my parents house and realize that Holly isn't there.

Death I understand is inevitable but it is the hardest thing to explain to children. I know that Holly is up in Doggie Heaven running around playing, but I do wish she was still here to pet and play with!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Our weekly Schedule

It is sad to say but summer is coming to an end. For us, the end of summer gives way to a hectic and chaotic fall. As if our fall wasn't already crazy enough, we decided to sign Z man up for soccer. He will be going 2 days a week Tuesdays and Saturdays. We know that he will love it. He is talking about it nonstop. He needs this structure for sure.

I am writing my schedule out so that I can feel I have a better handle on this. Our calendar on the fridge is filled up every day. There is always something going on. Not necessarily with me or the kids, but when The Teacher works/coaches, it means that we have a new routine/schedule.

So our Mondays: The Teacher leaves by 6:30 am, Z man starts school at 8:45 which means we have to leave our house by 8:20ish to ensure we make it there on time. Princess M will be starting dance class soon, so soon after dropping Z man off at school, we will rush over to the dance studio where Princess M will have an hour long dance class. After dance class, we will go and pick up Z man and rush so that I amy be able to drop the kids off at my friends house by 11:40ish and then rush to work. I work til 8 pm, The Teacher works until 7ish. I am really hoping my mom is able to talk to work and that she is able to get Mondays off so I can just drop the kids off at her house and not rush so much!a

Tuesdays: The Teacher leaves at 6:30am. We thankfully have nothing to do in the mornings! Realistically, it will be me doing laundry and changing sheets, etc. We will have to leave our house by 11 am so that I can drop the kids off at my friends house. My mom will pick the kids up and take them back to her house. I will then leave work at 4, run to my parents house, eat dinner, and get Z man ready for soccer. Soccer is from 6pm-7pm. After soccer, we will head home for baths and bedtime routine. Hopefully the same time we get home, The Teacher will be home as well and he can assist.

Wednesdays: The Teacher leaves at 6:30am. Z man has school, so off we go by 8:20am. After dropping Z man off at school, Princess M and I will probably either run errands or go back and hang at my parents house. Once school is over, we go to pick him up and then once again rush to get to my friends house to drop the kids off. I will work from 12-5pm and then go to my parents house for dinner. This day will be hopefully the day The Teacher gets out of work earlier (if they have a Thursday game)

Thursdays: Our day of absolute nothingness. I will cherish this day! The Teacher will have to work, but the kids and I will have absolutely no set plans. We will probably do stuff but at least we don't have to do anything. It may very well end up being my cleaning day. Who knows and who cares! I know I don't! If The Teacher has a game on Thursdays, we might go to the game and see him. He doesn't seem to have a lot of Thursday games though!

Fridays: I thankfully don't work, but Z man does have school again. The Teacher is nonexistant this day. He leaves at 6:30 in the morning and that is the last that the kids see of him. He typically does not get home until after 10 on this night (due to Varsitys schedule). It is a long day for me. The nights are lonely as I am home by myself, but I make due with movies and watching the Tivo'd shows I missed during the week. Plus one of my favorite shows has moved to Friday nights. We will have dinner at my parents or grandparents house so thankfully, I only cook dinner on Thursdays in my house! ha ha! Life is good. I dread Fridays though.

Saturdays: I work every other Saturday from 8-2. We have it I believe planned out so that someone will be able to take Z man to soccer practice on the days I am unable to, since he has practice from 10-11 am. The Teacher has either practice or games on these days. I am lucky to have great parents and in laws who will help out as needed.

Sundays: Our day of rest or family day. It's also grocery shopping day. At least we are all together and that is what matters.

I stress out right now over this schedule but I know that the first few days will be hard, but then it will get easier for us. We get by and that is all that matters!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

A Long Hiatus

I made a vow to myself that I would try and blog regularly but life happens and time gets away from me and it just never happens.



We have been enjoying our summer though. I am however ready for the fall to be here because it means we will have our routine back again. I very much enjoy our routines. The Teacher starts back to school well yesterday. He is a football coach and they had their first official practice yesterday. Today and tomorrow will be a long day in the miserable heat. Better him than me. Ha ha. Then starting next week, starts a treacherous long 3 months for us. I know that The Teacher loves coaching, so I try really hard not to complain and just do what needs to be done, but the stress eventually gets to us. I am tired because I work granted 3 days a week, but I still am doing the normal mom stuff, like feeding the children, cleaning the house, laundry, driving Z man to school, picking him up, taking Princess M to dance class, Zman to soccer, etc. You get the idea. Its a lot of running around and crazy hectic schedules and I feel like I am a single mom. Of course this year will be harder since right after football season is over with, The Teacher goes right into coaching Basketball, but at least based on what I have seen, it isn't quite as hectic as football. At least this is what I am hoping for. Plus the kids and I can venture out to see more of his games. Football is hard because the kids are obsessed with running up and down the bleachers!

Princess M turned 3 on Monday. I cannot believe that my baby girl is 3. She is thankfully almost completely potty trained. She has a little bit of an attitude at times and has accidents because she doesn't feel like going, but I am hoping that this attitude is due to the transitioning we are going through right now. I am tired of doing so laundry because of these little accidents. We had a Princess birthday party for her on Saturday and she had a blast seeing her friends and all our family. She of course got spoiled and it makes me happy to see her happy. On her actual birthday we took the kids to the Lincoln Park Zoo and it was nice. It wasn't very crowded and we were able to see and do something different. We almost always go to the Brookfield Zoo since we are members there and it is nice, but this was a change of scenery for us.

Z-man is doing great. He cannot wait until he goes back to school in a couple of weeks. He is happy to be going 3 days a week. He needs to go back because he really needs the structure that school provides for him. We are signing him up for soccer this fall. The Teacher wants to sign him up for Hockey as well, but I don't necessarily think that is a great idea. It's beyond expensive. The Teacher looked into and said that it was $70 for lessons, which I could handle. However, then they tack on the whole $150-$250 range for equipment. He's 4 1/2 years old and I am not spending that much. So he will do soccer this fall, and tball in the spring. Maddy is doing dance class this fall and then we will add gymnastics to the mix in the spring. To say that we are going to be busy is an understatement.

As for me, I am doing good. My birthday was on July 29th and we celebrated by going to North Beach with the kids and my mom. The kids had an absolute blast playing in the chilly water. It was fun for all involved. I have been stressed the last couple of weeks because I was trying to arrange for some additional childcare. My moms work schedule has her working a couple of days til 1 or 2 pm, and since I start work at 12, I needed someone to fill in the gap. Thankfully I have a great friend who has 2 little girls the same age as my kids who is going to help me out and fill in the times when my mom is still at work until she is able to go and pick them up for me. I think it will be nice for the kids as well because they love playing with their friends. I couldn't have asked for a better outcome. I am like I said earlier getting nervous about our crazy routine but we always manage to survive somehow. Thankfully I have a great support system in my friends and family who help me out. Plus when The Teacher is home, he is a big help and gives me a little break. I do have to say though I hate making dinner just for the kids and myself. I like eating dinner as a family.

I am sure that we did a lot more this summer ( I know we went away) but I just don't have the time to blog about it. Maybe I will in the future. Doubtful, but I can dream!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

A Mothers Day Tea

Today at Z man's preschool, it was the Mothers Day Tea. Z man was super excited for me to be at his school with him and I was so excited to see there and it just be us. He is a real daddy's boy so he would prefer to hang out with Daddy than Mommy. I get to his school and I walk up the stairs to his classroom. He greets me at the door and gives me a paper rose that I can pin on my shirt. I thought I was going to cry right there. He was so adorable giving it to me. At that point, I wanted to tell him that I am the only girl that he is ever allowed to give any kind of flower to, but I held myself back as I know that he will one day give flowers to someone else. We got to take our picture together which I assume that they are going to put in a little frame and give to us next week. Then, Z man led me to my seat where all the moms sat waiting for the kids to start their show. The kids all sang us several songs. I was so proud of him because he was singing (off key, but that's okay) and he was just beaming with pride. Oh how I love my little guy! After they were done singing, Z man came over and sat with me and his teachers had asked all the kids some basic questions about their mommies and we were going to try and figure out who's kid said what.

The questions were:
1) What is your Mommy's Name?
Z Man's response: Mom (He is correct, but he does actually know what my name is)
2) How old is she?
Z Man's response: Bigger than I am.
3) How much does she weigh?
Z Man's response: 8 ( If I only weighed 8 pounds, we would have a lot of issues, but it was at least better than some responses in which moms weighed a ton or 2000 pounds.)
4) What color is her hair?
Z Man's response: Black (Just for the record my hair is brown)
5) What is her favorite drink?
Z Man's response: Water (now I do like water, but I like Coke better than anything else)
6) What does she cook?
Z Man's Response: In her kitchen. She makes eggs. ( I do make other things as well, so my guess is that the day the questionaire was answered, I had made eggs for breakfast)
7) What is her favorite tv show?
Z Man's Response: American Idol (I hate this show, so since so many kids gave this response, I am going to guess that is why he said this)

You have to love some kids responses. They were quite humerous. After this, Z man got me my present. I had to send in a pair of shoes a month ago, so I knew it was going to be something involved with that. The shoes were bronzed and he apparently is growing something. I believe it is a plant of some kind. Let's just hopeI don't kill it before it grows. We had cookies and "tea" (read apple juice and lemonade). It was a great day and I am so glad that I got to spend the morning with him.

After preschool, we met my mom and Princess M at a nursery where the kids bought me a beautiful hanging basket and stepping stone kits so I can have their handprints in them. I don't need anything for Mothers Day. I just always want to spend the day with my children and make sure that they know that there is no one in this world who is more important to me than the two of them!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Oh my!

Yesterday, we took the kids to the zoo. They were opening a new exhibit, The Great Bear Wilderness and it was only going to be opened for Members Only. Let me tell you there are A LOT of members at the zoo. We knew that there would be limited number of tickets and we knew that it would be a little wait, but it was ridiculous. First, we followed the signs that the zoo put out telling us how to get there. Great it led us there, however since the line was very very long, we essentially walked all the way to the other side of the zoo (where we entered at). We waited in the line and line two families before us were the last ones allowed to get in the new exhibit at that time. We were going to receive ticketed times to come back. This was fine with us. However, as we are being stopped, people are lining up at a table (who were not in the same line as us and have not been waiting at ALL) and getting ticktets. They were getting the earlier ticketed times as well, which was frustrating. We have gone to so many things at the zoo and this has to be the worse orchestrated event they have ever done. One person would tell us one thing and another person would say something else. Nobody would say the same thing. Once we got our tickets, we did a couple of exhibits and then ate lunch since the kids were just SOOO HUNGRY.

Now, I love looking at the bears. They are probably one of my favorites animals, and while their exhibits are cool, I don't think it was really worth the wait. We should have just not waited and came back after it was officially opened and I would have been fine. But we of course promised the kids and they were excited to see them.

We think that Z man has problems with crowds and we are pretty sure he acts out in them because he hates them soo much. Once we got away from the crowds he was like a completely different kid. Princess M was defiant as ever! She is really set in her own ways and there is no reasoning with her.

We had fun at the zoo and that is all that really matters.

After the zoo, we had to go grocery shopping and thankfully the kids were wonderful at the store because my patience level was pretty much nonexistant at this point.

I was passed out by 7:30 and didn't wake up until this morning when The Teacher got up this morning for work.

Now back to reality of work and school. It's a good thing I work today because my children are all about finding those little things to do to each other that they know will bother them. I feel as though all I say all day, is No. Stop that. Leave him/her alone.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Holy Night Terrors

We moved Princess M to a big girl bed several months ago. She does pretty good with it. She will go to sleep in it, but most nights, we end up with a visitor in our bed. If we try and put her back in her bed, she just screams and kicks the door which we are afraid will result in waking the Z man up and I would rather not deal with that. So, she comes to our bed and sleeps between us. Most nights she is pretty good, but there are some nights where I really just want to kick her out of my bed.

Normally, she picks either The Teacher or myself to cuddle with. Most nights its me, but sometimes Daddy wins. I love those nights as I am not subjected to sleeping on a sliver of bed. If she sleeps on my side, she just keeps pushing and pushing until I have no bed yet. She has pushed The teacher to sleep at the foot of the bed a couple of times as well. In case, you couldn't figure it out, she is a restless sleeper and never stays in one spot.

Last night though, she was having some crazy night terrors. The Teacher and I were getting kicks and punches thrown at us. It was horrible. We both cried to calm her down but it didn't help. I have no idea what she was dreaming about, but I probably have bruises on my back from her. I feel bad because whatever she was dreaming about was scaring her. She was yelling, "No" a lot. Maybe she was dreaming about fighting with her brother. Finally though we were able to calm her down enough and she fell back into a deep sleep.

Z man never really had night terrors but Princess M has gotten them several times. I just wish that she were able to tell us what she was dreaming about.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Week 1 Complete

So I decided that I was going to do the Couch to 5K Challenge with the idea that I would run in my town's annual 5K Run. I am quite excited about running it. The Teacher wants to run one before then, but I think the one in September is the one I will be training for. The Teacher also wants to do a half marathon and then a full marathon and well, I am just not sure I want to do that. You never know though, I could change my mind. For now, I am just going to do the 5K.

So I started on Sunday and after my run, I was exhausted and kinda sore. I felt very out of shape. On Tuesday since we had dinner at my parents house, The Teacher and I ran together. (Normally, I run, then he runs so that one of us is with the kids) It was different to run with him. He takes longer strides and goes faster than me, but it was nice to have someone to talk to during the walking parts. On Tuesday, my calves were cramping and very much in pain. Then, I did my run today. Now, it is very very windy here today and it proved to be difficult to run into the wind. However, I felt really good after my run. Yes I was sweaty and gross, but I didn't feel downrighted exhausted like I did at the beginning of the week.

Now next week involves more running and less walking, so we will see how I fair there, but I am really going in there with the mindset that I can accomplish it.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Weekend Recap

This weekend, as most weekends, seems to fly by. On Friday, my younger brother who has been in Arizona for the past couple of months with my older brother finally came home. It was nice to have him home. I knew he was coming home, but my mom and grandparents had absolutely no idea. Every Friday, we see my grandparents, whether it be at their house or my parents house for dinner. It's a tradition we have had since my brothers and I were little. So the doorbell rang at my parents house and I go and answer it and say, "Hmmm, there's no one here," thinking my mom would catch on and come to the door. She didn't and finally I had to ask the kids who were at the door. They were excited to see my brother. They have missed him a lot.

So after visiting for a while, we had to go to a wake for my aunt's nephew who just turned 21 and had passed away. I had met him a couple of times in my life and his parents as well, but we went more for support of my aunt and cousin who were all very close to him. We waited for about an hour to view the body and give our condolences to the parents. It was incredibly sad. I cried because it is so heartbreaking to see this kid who had his whole life ahead of him laying in a casket. It is even harder to watch as his parent, brothers, grandparents, family member struggle to make sense of this.

On Saturday, it was our 6 year anniversary. I cannot believe that we have been married that long! It seems like just yesterday we got married. My in-laws watched the kids for us, as my parents decided that after the debacle from last year that they would no longer watch the kids on our anniversary. Last year, we went out for our anniversary and Princess M tripped over her pajama bottoms which were too long and ended up breaking her leg. So I spent the night in the hospital with Princess M. Anyways, we went to this place called Wildfire in Oak Brook for dinner. It was really good. When the Teacher and I were first dating, we went to this restaurant and this was the first place he told me he loved me. Realistically I would love to say that we went there because it was so nostalgic, but the reality is that we had a $50 gift card that was a couple of years old that we needed to use. In case you haven't been able to figure out, we don't often go out without our children. After dinner, we just walked around for a little bit. We actually went to Barnes and Noble and bought the kids each a book. So romantic I tell you!

On Sunday, I started the Couch to 5 K challenge and I have discovered I am so not in shape. I may not be overweight but I am definitely not in shape. My thighs are telling me that they are very sore today, but I think this is a good thing. So Week 1, Day 1 complete. I am really hoping to stay up with this training. To make it even more fun, The Teacher is doing it with me. Of course we have to do our runs at different times, but we are both doing it. We both are hoping to run in our town's 5K this September. They say it gets easier and that is really what I am hoping for.

Princess M had a rough day yesterday as she decided to forgo her nap and when she does that, she is a nightmare come dinnertime. So needless to say, she had an early bedtime which she was not happy with. She kicked and screamed at the door for a few before finally passing out. Of course she fell asleep against the door which meant we had to kinda push her to get in and get her in bed. She was whiny when we tried to move her, which meant I got some cuddle time, which I of course love!

Z man had a pretty good day. He was excited about picking out his snack for preschool when we were at the store. He wanted to go with the Cheese and Crackers route, but we have done that the past couple of times and thankfully they didn't have any on the shelf at the store, so we had him choose something different. So, Cheez-It's was the choice this time around. He gets excited about bringing snack to school because that means he gets to be line leader and help out his teachers. I love that he loves school much. He is probably going to go through withdrawl this summer with no school. I am also so proud of him because while he was on spring break, I taught him our address. So now, when we ask him where we live, he recites it back to us. We are now working on our phone number. Princess M of course gets part of the answers right. She is just trying to be a big smarty pants!

So back to our normal routine. Right now the kids are driving me nuts because they both know how to push the others buttons. It's moments when they are both screaming or fighting that makes me thankful that I have to go to work because I surely would lose my mind today!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Show us your Life: My Knight in Shining Armor

This week at Kelly's Korner, for Show us your Life, it is how you met your husband.

Disclosure: Now, when I first met the Teacher, I was dating someone, but this relationship was long over, however every time I thought about ending it, I would chicken out for some reason. I knew though in my heart that my ex boyfriend was not the person I wanted to spend my life with.

I met The Teacher when I was working as an Assistant Manager at a shoe store (hey, I was in college and working to pay for it) and The Teacher was actually a part time security guard. He was also a Teacher's Aide with hopes of teaching the next school year. I remember seeing him walking past the store front several times before I actually ever talked to him and thinking he was cute. I think it was the Mounty Hat that really made him cute. Ha ha!

On a Saturday evening, there was a couple of women who ended up stealing from us. I called Security to come and assist as these ladies were trying to leave. That whole you can't stop them until they actually leave the store with your merchandise is a load of crap because quite honestly if someone shoved shoes without the box into a shopping bag, they surely have no intention of buying them! I digress though. So anyways, security comes and my friend who I work with and The Teacher go after them. They eventually catch them and discover that they have stolen a lot of things throughout the mall. I was of course freaking out in the store because I just sent my friend out who weighs like nothing to go and stop a thief who was surely twice her size. Thankfully all ended well and it was the opening I guess the Teacher needed to start talking to me.

Now I apparently look a lot younger than I am. I constantly get comments when they find out how old I am or that I have two kids saying that they thought I was only 16 years old. So The Teacher had to feel me out to find out how old I was. He asked where I went to school to try and piece it together. He eventually asked me out and the rest is history.

Well not really I guess. I really liked him and knew he was the one right away. I of course had a little problem known as a boyfriend to deal with. So after our first date, I called up my now ex boyfriend and told him that we would need to talk after work. He figured out that we were going to be breaking up and it didn't end well at all.

The Teacher and I dated for 6 weeks before getting engaged (yes I know it was quick), but we were engaged for 16 months before actually saying "I do."

Tomorrow we will be celebrating our 6 year wedding anniversary. He is still my best friend and love of my life. He is a wonderful father to our children and always is trying to make our lives better.

So for all those people that thought we were nuts for getting engaged so fast, look how long we have lasted!




Show Us Your Life with Kelly's Korner

Thursday, April 22, 2010

A Rumble?!?!?

So this morning, I went to go and pick Z-man up from school. While waiting for him at the car door, his teacher walks him out and says, "Okay, so Z-man and 2 other boys were about to rumble. Z-man got a time out and had to talk to the principal. He wasn't the worse though. Another little boy actually threw a punch." That was it. Nothing more, no elaborations. I guess maybe I don't want to know more. So, I strap in the boy and drive away. I start to ask Z-man about it. His response to me, " I was bad, but I don't want to talk about it." That surely wasn't going to fly with me. I hate hate hate getting bad reports from school. So finally he starts to tell me what happened, but then Little Mom (Princess M) decides to constantly interject telling me Z-man was a bad boy.

Since I am only going off what my 4 year old is telling me, I can only assume based on knowing my son and having helped out several times in his class, that this is kinda how it went down. My guess is that the other 2 boys (who I have observed to be rather rough and down right mean at times to other kids) were going at it. Z-man was interested and dove right in. It's typical behavior for Z-man. I think he feels like he is missing something, but all that he missed out on was being able to stay with his class. I believe that my son should be punished because he obviously was misbehaving to some degree, whether or not it was playing,is still no excuse.

I am worried now though. I know my son is not the agressive type. Princess M is my agressor (she doesn't get her way, she bites, hits, kicks, screams, etc. We are working on this) He is just a curious boy. I am worried though that 4 year old are throwing punches and are "ready to rumble." We are only in preschool. Our first year of preschool. I have how many more years of schooling to now worry about. I am nervous now!

I did however really find it amusing that the teacher said "ready to rumble" I did call The Teacher and tell him about it and he repeated the words back like I was smoking something. I had to explain, those are not my words, but his teachers.

So now we have a day filled without some luxuries he is used to. No Leapster today and no playing his Nick Jr games. He was quite upset when I told him what his punishment was. I would tell him he has to stay inside but that's not fair to his sister, so that is what he is going to have to deal with. At least until Daddy gets home!

Cars are my nemesis!

Yesterday was not a good day in our house. Nothing horrible happened, but of course my car battery decided it was not going to work when I attempted to leave work yesterday evening. Now, I have known for a while that I needed a new battery, but haven't gotten in to get one. I am not mechanically inclined and I fully believe my husband should be the one to do the maintenance on it. I do take it to get my routine oil change (albeit always way past when I am do, but it does get changed.) When I say dead, I mean it clicked at that was it. My car radio was set to the wrong time and it did nothing! Very frustrating since I was hungry and wanted to eat and wanted to see the kids after working.
I call Jeremy but my car battery confuses him. When we had all his car issues earlier this year, he was trying to use my car to jump his the one day and couldn't figure out how to connect his to mine. Apparently mine is hidden and to change it you have to remove lots of the car. So since he isn't quite sure what to do, Dad comes to the rescue. So he gets to my work and jumps my car and voila it is running. I knew though that I was going to need a new battery. I have to take Z-man to school today and I would be worried I would be able to get him there but when it came time to pick him up, I wouldn't be able to get him and he would be stuck there. So needless to say, we called around to see how much it would cost to get it changed somewhere. The place that installs it for free doesn't do installs on my car because of course it is complicated to do. Just my luck! So off to the next place where I feel as though I spend our entire paycheck most of the time. $109 later I have a new battery.

Now, in our house the month of January and February are famously known as the time when the Teacher's car craps out on us and we have to do major repairs. Just this past year, we have had to get a new battery for his car as well as his a/c compressor went out so that was $500 worth of work that needed to be done. Plus add it two separate tows, it was expensive to repair, but since we owe on the car still, it was a necessary repair.

Now though I am a proud owner of a new battery that makes my car run! A big necessary when you live in the middle of nowhere!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Who am I?

Ha ha, wouldn't you all like to know?!?!? No, really though. I am a simple person. I live with my husband of almost 6 years, The Teacher in Illinois. We have two amazing kids who are 19 months apart in age. (Our daughter was a surprise baby) Z-man is our wonderful 4 year old son who is full of energy, smart, and adventurous. He absolutely loves preschool (despite some bad days) and adores his little sister. Princess M is our little miracle. She is 2 1/2 years old and crazy to say the least. She is our accident proned, loving, shy girl. When I say accident prone, I really mean accident prone. We have already sustained a broken leg (from tripping over her own two feet), some stitches (once again falling over her own two feet and landing on a toy), and some glue to cut a wound (once again falling over her own two feet) Yet, despite her uncoordination, she is adventurous and loves to try and keep up with her big brother.

The Teacher is a high school English Teacher and football coach. (I dread the months of June-November, only because it means I lose my husband much of the time) He recently got his masters degree and I couldn't be prouder. As for me, I am 27 years old. I work part time as an optician assistant and am a full time mom who cooks, cleans, does laundry, wipe tears, cuddles, and gives much love to my two children.

We also have two dogs who were our first babies, but since the addition of our children have taken a back seat in the attention department. They love bedtime because that means they gets lots of extra loving. Our Lab, Grace, is 7 years old and full of medical issues. She has a lot of ear infections and is amazing allergic to grass and pretty much the outside. Yet she loves to lay in the grass and play outside. Go figure. She is usually medicated with Benadryl to help. She is overweight but only because of her need to be protective of the kids. Our Beagle, Daisy, is the graduation gift that keeps on giving. She is our rowdy active dog. She is just full of energy. The kids love to chase her around the yard when it is nice out. She is our cuddler. The minute you sit down, she will find a way to get on your lap and curl up.

We love much about where we live, but long for a bigger house. Unfortunately with the housing market being crappy, we make the best with what we have. We have wonderful neighbors and a big yard and the house fits us for now. Hopefully by the time the kids enter grade school, things will be looking up.

So that is us. Simple people who cherish all that we have been given, but are always looking for ways to improve.

A 2 year old with an attitude

Raising a girl has been very different. Z-man was an easy baby, started his terrible 2's on his first birthday, but quickly outgrew them. He would test his limits, but when we told him no, he would move on. Granted we had to tell him no A LOT, but he would move on. Princess M on the other hand is a handful. From the day I found out I was pregnant, she has been very dramatic. She was a difficult baby, crying many nights for hours on end, never letting anyone other than me hold her for practically the first 6 months of her life, and now we have entered the terrible 2's. Thankfully, we have just recently started on her terrible 2's, however they have come in with avengence. When she is doing something she is not supposed to be doing and you tell her no, she yells and screams at you. She will hit, bite, kick whoever is disciplining her. We do the whole time out thing, but she's 2 1/2 and I am pretty sure it enters one ear and exits the other side and at no point gets processed. She is a kind, loving, gentle child when she wants to be.

If she has such an attitude now, I am fearful for the teenage years. I am pretty sure I am going to want to ship her off to boarding school. I kid of course, but ask me in a few years, I may no longer be kidding!