the sweetest thing

1. i love to watch lifetime movies.  you know, those movies that are like after school specials on the lifetime channel.  i love them!

2. most of the time, i think that showers are a waste of time.  fixing my hair and putting on make-up beyond a little bit of powder also falls into the waste of time category.  but the shower thing especially.  i sometimes have to force myself to shower, which i have come to the realization lately is kind of weird and probably a little bit gross.  i can just think of so many things i would rather do than take a shower!  but i promise i don’t stink (i don’t, do i??)

3.  whenever i see an especially long funeral procession it makes me really sad because i think it was someone young who died.

5. remember that movie “never been kissed”? remember the part where josie thinks she is going to the prom with the most popular boy in school and he shows up and throws eggs at her?  that part makes me cry every single time i watch it.  every time.

6.  blue bell caramel kettle crunch ice cream is the best new flavor of ice cream ever.  so good.

7. i like to do laundry.  it’s the one chore that I am pretty good at.  98% of the time, I’m caught up.  I have even started overcoming my dislike of putting laundry away.   now mopping?  cleaning the shower?  i hate those jobs.  Anyone want to trade laundry duty for mopping/shower duty?

8. i sometimes think about having another baby.  in my daydreams, it’s always another girl who is just as sweet and spunky as camryn.

9. Whenever I see a trash bag on the side of the road, I have horribly morbid thoughts about what could be inside the bag.

10.  Obviously, I have some issues.  I mean, what kind of person thinks such horrible things?

11.  When I had children, I never imagined that lessons such as this would need to be taught:

I mean, I really thought that some things were just instinctive.  But judging by Monday afternoon’s drama, apparently they are not.  Being a mom is so much different than I thought it would be.

12.  Public tantrums do not phase me anymore.  I can still remember the embarrassment I felt as Connor threw public tantrums (and trust me….he threw some doozies.  He’s always been my most…shall I say volatile kid.)  As Camryn threw herself face down on the floor at the library this morning because she didn’t get her way, I was able to stay completely calm, totally ignore her, and continue my conversation with my friend.  Two minutes later she was up and we were checking out.  And when she refused to hold my hand through the parking lot and instead sat herself down with a resounding “NO!” which resulted in her being carried kicking and screaming to the car, my blood pressure didn’t even begin to rise.

13.  I’m confident in my parenting choices.  I will not reason with my 2 year old.  I will not give in to tantrums.  I don’t care if people stare; they can think what they want.  Ugly behavior will be ignored.  I am in charge, end of story.  I’m not your friend.  I’m your mom.

14.  I love school supply shopping so much that I don’t think I’ll ever buy them the easy way through the PTA.  I sort of complained about having to go to 3 different stores to find what we needed and even then had to have my mom mail me a few things from Arlington, but really deep in my heart of hearts, I didn’t mind it.

15.  I also love new calendars and planners.  I just got my new MomAgenda calendar in the mail.  Swoon.

16.  I love budgeting and sticking to it.  Nothing makes me happier than having cash for our groceries and entertainment and only spending that and not one dime more.  And don’t even get me started on how good it feels to make that extra car payment and save more.  I get positively giddy about it.

17.  I wish I was a good dancer.  I wish I had taken gymnastics as a kid.  I wish I had played volleyball in college. I wish Houston had weather like California.

18.  i really, really like blogging.  i wonder if i will do this forever?

Is it just my imagination, or do mine and Staci’s shirts…

Look a little bit like this gem of a dress that I wore in 1994?

They say that all styles will eventually come back around.  Looks like that’s a fact!

So I’m 30.   Inside I still feel like a teenager, but I guess I am a real life grown up now.  That sometimes still amazes me because I don’t feel like a grown up.  I wonder if I ever will.  You would think that having a husband and 3 kids and a house and all the responsibility that comes with adulthood would make me feel all grown up, but it doesn’t.  I’m still that same spazzy, hyper, happy, emotional girl that I was 15 years ago (and probably 20 years ago…and 25 years ago…I think I’ve always been this way!)

I had a really great 30th birthday.   There is just something fun about my birthday falling on a Saturday!  It feels like the sky is the limit for a birthday celebration.  I must have changed my mind 5 or 6 times about what I wanted to do for my special day.  I finally settled on what I think was the perfect mix of family time and Derek time.

I got to sleep in while Derek got up with the kiddos, and I managed to stay in bed all the way until 7:45.  Ha.  My body is so untrained to sleep in!  After a breakfast of my favorite donuts, I opened my presents.  I didn’t think there would be any because my iPhone was an early birthday present, but Derek took the kids shopping and they each picked me out something.  Logan wanted to get me a new kitchen (I wish!  I dream of new countertops, appliances, and cabinets!), but seeing as that would be a $10,ooo gift, he picked out a cute spoon rest instead.  I’ve been needing one of those, so it was the perfect gift.  Connor wanted to get me some scrapbook stuff, but then he decided that a better gift would be a big stapler, staples, and a staple remover.  So that’s exactly what they found.  Again, it’s really something we’ve been needing and a very thoughtful gift on his part.  The boys also picked out a wooden Welcome sign, which they decided was from Camryn.   I loved all my thoughtfully chosen presents!

By 10:30, we were heading out the door for some birthday fun.  The first stop was the grocery store to pick up food for a picnic.  D and I had sushi and the kids picked out lunchables.  We also picked up a birthday cake, although much to Logan’s dismay, it was not Hannah Montana.  At some point, Logan got it in his mind that I needed to have a “girl” birthday and that meant a Hannah Montana theme.

The next stop was the park.  We had a picnic, the kids played on the playground, rode bikes, and I followed them around and took pictures.  It was really fun…well, there were a few tears shed, but that’s not too unusual.

We got home just in time to put Camryn down for a nap, and about an hour later our baby sitter arrived so Derek and I could go out on a date.  We did a little mattress shopping (well, mattress browsing…picking the perfect mattress is no easy task!).  We went to see Up in the Air and went to eat at a delicious Italian restaurant.  It was the perfect date night, and the perfect end to a great birthday.

Lots of pictures from the day…

I wouldn’t let anyone eat cake until they took pictures.  Mean mommy, but it worked!

Then it was cake time.  The kids were adamant that there be 30 candles in the cake, but it was too windy to actually light them.

And finally…time to play.

She is trouble!  I wonder what she’s thinking about…

Everyone was tired by the time we headed home.  What’s funny is Logan wasn’t really the one struggling, but this picture pretty much sums up how everyone felt.

All in all, it was a really fabulous start to this new decade.  Bring on the 30s!  Can’t wait to see what they have in store.

With all my new found free time, I decided I needed to attempt a sewing project.  I found this super cute free pattern online, and I decided to go for it.  I’m just tickled fancy at how it turned out!

Anybody want one?  I over bought a bit on the fabric, and I could probably make one more size 2 (that’s what C has on) up to size 4.  It’s not perfect…my sewing skills aren’t the best and my sewing machine’s straight stitch is the tiniest bit wonky, but I’d love the practice if anyone is interested!

My friend Danielle just did a day in the life post, and I loved it.  It’s been awhile since I did one of these, so I figured the (almost) last day of summer would be a good day for this.

7:00-Someone little and snuggly climbs into my bed.  I feel like it can’t possibly be morning yet, but of course it is.  Logan and I snuggle in bed for another 20 minutes or so.

7:25-I hear Camryn talking to herself.  The talking quickly turns more urgent.  Time to get up.

7:30-We all say good-bye to Derek.  Connor has stumbled out of bed by this point.  Good-bye includes hugs and kisses for all, and all of us waving to him as he pulls out of the garage.

7:45-make my coffee, Logan’s bowl of cereal, and Camryn’s cinnamon toast.  Connor isn’t ready to eat quite yet.  I eat some cereal, read blogs and emails.  Finally make Connor and english muffin for breakfast.  Oh, and Logan also eats a pizza lunchable.  Choose your battles…

8:00-the boys watch Diego and Dora while I get myself and Camryn ready for the day.  I clean up the breakfast mess and take a moment to think about the day and make a to-do list and a shopping list.

8:55-Help the boys get dressed.  They can do this themselves, but they are having a bit of a helpless morning.

9:10-Leave to run our errands.  I need to go to Target, and then decide to go to Wal-Mart, too.  I was hoping to find a pool on clearance big enough for all 3, but no such luck.

11:15-Home again.  I only had to remind the kids 3 times to use inside voices, and only had to say no to 15 different “can I haves”.  Not too bad.  No tears, no tantrums, and I stuck to my list.  That’s a successful shopping trip in my book.

11:30-Feed everyone lunch.  Ham and green beans for Camryn, ham and cheetos for the boys, and a leftover meat cupcake for me.

12:00-Clean up lunch.  Start a load of laundry.  The boys alternate between playing a few computer games (Webkinz for C, Nick Jr. for L), and have motorcycle races complete with rock and card obstacles in the dining room.

12:30-Put Cami down for her nap.

12:35-Fold yesterday’s laundry, put away the last week’s laundry, make my bed, do a quick bathroom clean, and break up several fights between the boys.

2:00-sit here and start this blog, read other blogs, enjoy the (relative) peace and quiet.  Logan is watching Max and Ruby, Connor is playing a computer game.  (Sidenote…it sounds like we’ve done a lot of tv/computer time already…usually they are limited to 1 hour per day, but it’s the last day of summer, and I’m just letting them play.)

2:30-Camryn wakes up from her nap.  I make snickerdoodles, she walks around being cute, and the boys finish up their shows/computer games.

3:00-We all go out in the (hot as you know what) backyard.  I fill about 50 water balloons.  What takes me half an hour to accomplish is undone in less than 5 minutes.  But the boys are having fun, so it’s all good.

3:30-Camryn and I head inside.  The boys continue their water fight just using the hose.

3:40-Everyone is back inside.  Camryn and I take a little walk to the mailbox, and the boys spend about 15 minutes just running around the house naked, eating cookies, and cleaning up the cards from this morning’s obstacle course.

4:00-Finish making the snickerdoodles.  Eat too many of them.

4:10-Boys go back outside to play with our neighbor.  I have no idea exactly what they are doing, but it definitely involves dirt, the hose, some cars, some legos, and some sticks.

4:22-It starts to thunder.  I’m hope the storm holds off a little longer.  They are having a great time outside.  I play with Camryn, and start working on Connor’s official Morning and Nighttime Charts.

5:00-Outside time is over.  The thunder and lightening is close, and it’s going to rain any minute.  The boys run back to their room to play.  They play nicely together for the next 45 minutes, which is a rare thing these days.  I finish up the charts and sort of putter around, waiting for Derek to get home.

5:45-Derek is home.  Yay!  We eat leftovers for dinner (taco salad for me, meat cupcake for Connor, nachos for Logan, sausage and tortellini soup for Derek, and quesadilla and peaches for Cam.)

6:35-We all load up to go see the class lists at C’s school and to rent a movie.  I was definitely the most excited to see the class lists.  I loved that part of starting a new school year!

7:15-Home, with Shrek the Third and a Diego movie.  The boys get their jammies on, I give Cami a bath and get her ready for bed, and Derek finishes cleaning up the kitchen.

7:30-Camryn goes to bed and the boys start their movies.  I clean up a few things, and then get out Connor’s yearbook from last year to see his teacher and try to find the kids who are going to be in his class.  I’m such a dork!

9:00-movies over, time to brush teeth and head to bed.

9:10-Goodnight hugs and kisses all around, and boys are tucked in.

9:12-Logan is out of bed because his nightlight isn’t plugged in.

9:14-Connor is crying because he doesn’t want a nightlight.

9:20-silence all around.  All the crying was just a last ditch effort to stay awake.

10:00-finish up this blog, and I’m headed to bed!

(sorry for the lack of pictures.  This would have been way better with pics.  Oh well!)