Just one minute please!!!!

On Saturday we took the kids to the park. It was a beautiful day and we were out of the house bright and early for Burke's (our godchild's baptism rehearsal - I have been wanting to say that!) Anyway we were all dressed and out and about so we thought it would be a lovely day to go to the zoo and it was.....although when Meredith got out the car and saw the slides and the wee's (swings) I knew we would never make it to the zoo.

Then we tried to torture her by getting a picture of her and her brother together BEFORE she went on the "sides and wee's." If I waited until after she would of had 10lbs of dirt on her. Looking at the pictures it is hard to tell who is being tortured more....our disinterested toddler who is only focused on the slides.....or the poor defenseless baby she is throwing about! Never mind the mom who is begging and pleading and finally bribing with..... just one minute and we will go play....just one minute so we can take a picture...... - can you sit for one minute?.....please hold bubby for just one minute..... FOR GOD'S SAKE JUST ONE MINUTE.....see where it got me!

pouting she wants to "side!" In this one she is kind of looking, the photographer on the other hand sucks! that and she is about to have poor Noah in a headlock!
Crying....saying "sides sides! sides mama!"
thinking in just one minute I am getting up and hauling ass! I will NOT look at the camera!
I gave up! I surrendered...Noah is done, Meredith is clearly done and yet I am still smiling!
Just o ne minute later....she was grinning from ear to ear!

occasinally....

No-wee gets to hold Woddy and Jesse too! Not often though!

sweet & tender moments

This evening, I was holding Noah on the sofa watching TV. Josh was doing the dishes and Meredith was in her playroom. As I was enjoying the peace and quiet while holding my sleeping baby boy, this is what I heard....

Meredith's pitter patter into the kitchen

Josh is standing at the sink rinsing dishes

"daddy.....daddy" in the quietest little voice

"daddy....mizit need juice."

"Okay let's get some juice"

I hear them both walk to the water cooler and refill her cup

"tank you daddy"

"your welcome mizit"

"uv you daddy!"

"love you mizit"

Let's go walking....

Yeah if you are from the great state of Mississippi you can probably finish the sentence above by singing it....if not....let me fill you in.

There is a wonderful commercial here in Mississippi that is so damn annoying it is catchy. It involves a woman who I *think* is the governor's wife, Duece McAllister (my favorite NFL player), and other random people here in our Magnolia State.

Anyway the woman walks up to Duece and says, "Hey Duece, Let's go walking!" in the most exuberant voice ever. Then Duece gets up and goes walking and so does everyone else. The commercial wants me to get up and walk to the TV and turn it off, I see all those state tax dollars wasted. I know so cynnical I am.

Anyway the other day....little Mizit gets on her microphone in the playroom and I here...

"Ey Doo, Es go walkin......Es go walkin....Miiiis-siii-sip- ee! Es go walkin...Miiiis-siii-sip-ee!"

And on and on and on. It is her new favorite song. When we walk to the mailbox I here, "es go walkin momma!" followed by "Ey Doo, es go walkin...Miiiis-siii-sip-ee!" and so on and on and on.

Getting my acceptance speech ready!

I know at any minute someone is going to knock on my door to give me a huge medal or trophy of some sort. Heck a piece of paper with a sticker on it will do. Why? I went to the mall....alone...with my two tikes. We went in...we had lunch...we shopped....I even tried on clothes and still had time to venture over the checkout counter to purchase them! And no meltdowns...well at least not until we got in the van. I am amazed myself....and like my friend Olivia said...any mom with 2 little kids can really get a feel of the accomplishment. Doing anything by yourself with 2 tikes under 2 is a victory! And yes folks...today I did it. Tomorrow I will tackle the world!

Poor little Noah...did I say little?

My little guy went for his 4 month well baby visit yesterday. Or at least it was supposed to be a well baby visit. My poor guy STILL has bilateral ear infections. He received his 3rd round of antibiotics to help cure those pesky ears that are still red and pussy and full of fluid. I feel awful for him. We go back in two weeks to check it all out again, keep your fingers crossed.

I say my little Noah, but my big boy weighed in right under 16lbs. Way to grow Noah. He is in the 50%tile for height and he has a big head 75%tile, which is not surprising given that everyone in our family has a big head (oh yes we do....big brains!)

He also got 3 shots and a dose of the Rota Teq vaccine. This all happened about 10am and by 2pm we were having loads of fun. He was in so much pain and wailing at the top of his poor little lungs. Poor thing was crying so hard he was shaking and could not catch a breath....and this went on for hours. It was the most heart-breaking cry ever. Anytime you moved him, touched him or looked at him he let out a scream so loud Brownie and Meredith were looking at him funny. I wound up calling the on call nurse who gave me wonderful advice....ride it out. And that is exactly what we did....my eardrums are still ringing.

By 10pm he had settled down, he had screamed himself into and exhaustive coma. He woke up bright and early at 5am to pass loads of gas and fill up his size 3 diaper. You could see the word relief written on his face. Thank you Rota Teq! I am pretty sure that was the culprit yesterday, but with ear infections and injections who knows.

Today we are much better....smiling and cooing as usual. Mean shots, I am not going to tell him we have to go back in 2 more months for more fun!

Can't do it all

My house may always be messy, but at least I can make a damn mean veal picatta!

I must brag, it was that good. Sorry to all you vegans or vegetarians or anyone else who thinks eating a baby cow is mean....it was good, damn good.

I never thought I could do something that sophisticated...I mean veal picatta. That is definitely something you order at a restaurant...not make in your kitchen. I used a South Beach Cookbook as my jumping off point. Unfortunately I did not have all the ingredients so I substituted and made up things and went along with my own plan like I knew what the hell I was doing. And guess what it tasted fabulous and we have yet to die from food poisoning.

It does not matter that I served this veal picatta with a box macaroni and cheese. Hey I have a 23 month old what do you expect? I also paired it with a $2 bag of frozen veggies. I mean veal picatta for 2 people under $10....that is unheard of!

If you need my recipe just ask...I will be waiting by the phone for a call from the Food network...I imagine they will be calling me about hosting my own show when they hear how good this veal picatta was!

Meet the new Jesse & Woody!

This is seriously how this child naps!

It only takes a minute...

for a toddler to make a mess!

This morning I was rushing as usual to get out the house. I had a board meeting for the organization that they made me the treasurer of.....dumb, dumb move! Anyway I am halfway dressed, Meredith has eaten breakfast and Noah has eaten and is dressed. I am now sitting down in my room to pump some liquid gold for Noah to bring to his Mimi's to eat during my meeting.

So I am listening to Meredith, who has free roam of downstairs while I pump. I cannot exactly chase after her while hooked up to my stylish pump. This is what I hear coming from the playroom....

"Hi Woody, Hi Jesse!"

"Jesse want milk?"

"No, no Woo-day!"

"Sit! Sit down woody!"

"Jesse want some....otay....otay!"

"Mmmmm, yummy!"

"Woody want more....say pease!"

I then hear her grocery cart being pushed into the kitchen...maybe she is going shopping in the pantry again? Then I hear her pulling out a barstool and climbing up. This is what I hear from the kitchen....

"Mizit get it! Mizit get it!"

"Wait, wait Mizit get it"

"Want some Jesse?"

"Mmmm, Mmmm!"

So I unhook my utters and run into the kitchen to see exactly what Woody and Jesse were having to eat?

Salt!

She had emptied the whole bottle. It was all over the kitchen island and all over the floor. Which would only make sense, since Woody and Jesse were laying on the ground next to her stool. How else were they going to eat the salt?

Like I said it only takes a minute for a toddler to make a mess.

Aren't they gorgeous!?!?!?

My friend Amy who is a fabulous photographer in New Orleans, did some more shots of my 2 tikes! I love the sneak peak that she posted on her blog!

Take a look here!!!

If you are in the Nola area and need a photographer I HIGHLY recommend her!

the night from hell....

I spoke to soon in my last post when I said the weekend was over. I hate it when I do that. Last night Noah and Meredith were up all night long and when one was sleeping, the other crying and vice versus. Not to mention my husband who was on call spent the night in the ICU. At some point my kids have to sleep right? How long can they last without sleep?

I promise we are still around....

We are! We are!

We had lots of fun plans this weekend....Lots!

Dying Easter eggs Friday, an Easter egg hunt with friends Saturday, the bunny Sunday morning and then cousin Connor's baptism! It was going to be a really fun, busy weekend.....but.....

Yes, you knew there was a but coming!

Meredith got a fever and Noah got double ear infections! And Josh spent the weekend at the hospital...why must people get sick on Easter?

Instead of dying eggs Friday with Adalyn and Burke, we went to Target with fever (hides in shame!) and then home for a long nap, lots of Tylenol and a countdown to when dad got home from work. Then at 4pm when Josh got home...the fever was 103.5 so we had a fun filled Friday night at the pediatric clinic during their after hours. We had an appointment for Meredith at 6:30pm, we tried to make one for Noah and they just said the doc would check him out with Meredith.

Meredith went in looking grim and came out with no meds, no real diagnosis, and a take some Tylenol and call me in the morning if the fever spikes up again.

Noah went in with a smile and came out with bilateral ear infections, a new round of new antibiotics and me feeling like an awful mommy for not knowing. Although I did have a feeling, which is why I tried to make a smiling baby who had no fever an appointment.

So in a nutshell we spent the weekend holed up in our house. We did have an egg hunt in our backyard Saturday morning and we did dye eggs Saturday night. The bunny did come with lots of toys (like we needed more) and he did bring they beloved Woody and Jess. He also brought Noah a really neat train that Meredith just loves too pieces!

Thankfully the weekend is over and my kids are hopefully on the mend!

Pay da lady....take 2

So tonight we went window shopping at ToysRus! I know what a dumb, dumb parenting decision. Josh and I learned two very valuable lessons on this window shopping adventure.

1. You CANNOT reason with a 2 year old.

2. I CANNOT window shop.

So we went browsing, to see what great things the Easter bunny may bring. He has not done his shopping yet....slacker. So we walk in and Josh walks right past the buggies, uhmmmm hello ....get one please. So he does, and says ...

"I thought we were just browsing?"

Yeah okay!

So we walk in I get some egg dye stuff for tomorrow, an Easter basket for No-wee and then head to the coveted Woody and Jesse doll. These are a little bit bigger than the other's she carries around. Mimi had previously scoped them out and told me about them so after dinner I decided we all needed a trip out the house and were going to see Woody and Jesse. We were not going to buy them tonight. The bunny was not going to buy them tonight. We were only window shopping. My almost 2 year old would get this right? Right? Come on...right? Yeah I do not know what the hell I was thinking either.

So we walk up to them, it takes a minute for her little brain to process what it is she actually sees sitting on the shelf in front of her. She rushes up to the shelf grabs one off, wraps her chubby little arms around it and looks at me with the sweetest brown eyes and says....

"Pay da lady momma!"

And that folks was that! The really fun and exciting part was when we had to take them away and tell her the Easter bunny may bring them by this weekend if she was a good little girl. Yeah we were smoking crack alright. I do not know what we were thinking, but we were in agreement that it was a bad, very bad parenting decision. Two year olds cannot windo shop, do not expect them to.

So we left with our egg dye, Noah's easter basket, two fisher price items since they were on sale by one get one free and NO woody and Jesse doll.

Yes the Easter bunny is running by tomorrow on his lunch break to pick up the dolls, we are not that mean!

This post was brought to you today by....

the letter P.

the number 50.

and the word Angry!

Did you watch your Sesame Street today? I did. And the word of the day was definitely angry and that is how I am feeling about today. It started last year when someone from the other organization I belong to called to ask me to host a meeting at my house this year for around 50 women on a Thursday morning.

"ugh...I guess so....I mean I don't have one of those fanchy-smanchy houses it is just you know my house."

"that's fine, which date do you want....october 16th, november 20th or march 20th?"

"uhmmm March 20th, I am due to have my baby at the end of november, so definitely march, that should give me sometime to get back to normal....right?"

"wow you are having a baby, well thanks for doing this, see you march 20th!"

"yeah your welcome....so I had a choice" it was then I realized I was on the phone by myself.

Fast forward to March...

"honey, that meeting is this month and you HAVE TO....clean the flower beds, pressure wash the driveway and porches, we need new this and new that and can we just move to a fancier smancier house?"

I don't remember exactly what his response was but it was along the lines of...."what the hell is wrong with you woman?"

"Gosh we can't!....Okay then do the stuff on the list, and we need Easter decorations for the tables, and new plants for the planters and new thises and thats! and yeah and we might need those silver cups that everyone in the town has for parties....what are they....oh mint julep cups....right, can we get 100 or so of those?"

again see the above response

"Okay well then we will deal with what we got, I will stress and re-stress out over this for months and weeks, I will drive you bananas the weeks before to the point you are slamming pots of plants across the back patio and wishing it were tiny old me and then we will use some choice words with one another and not talk....how does that sound! great! maybe I should volunteer to host again next year."

Fast forward to monday the week of the said meeting...

"So hi I am Mandi, the meeting is at my house this week (I am a dreading this like there is no tomorrow) and I was wondering if you had plans for plates and cups and what not, because I don't have china for 50 nor do I have those silver mint julep cups!"

blahblahblah

"uhmmm....... no the meeting is this week, March 20th, I have it written in red and circled about 15 times and have been stressing and dreading this day for over 6 months! and that is what it says in the book that was printed out months ago and that is the day I agreed to" (okay I didn't say the last part but wanted to!)

blahblahblah

"no I haven't been to a meeting since October, remember I had a baby and yeah I just didn't make any meetings after october."

blahblahblah

"Nope, no one called to tell me they were moving the meeting until next week. Not one person called to see if that would be okay. And really I can't have it next week because I have prior commitments for next Thursday morning that I can't break." and I do, I really really do!

"alrighty then -- just let me know what you guys decide to do!"

and that was that! I am not real sure what I was thinking.

Fast forward to Monday evening....

"Hi mandi, it's so and so. I spoke with so and so and she decided to just have it next week at her house since we announced it at the last two meetings, so now you don't have to worry or stress out about it. Sorry about the confusion. So and So said she announced it at the last two meeting and I told her you haven't been because you had just had a baby and all. This is probably works out better for you anyway. Sorry about that!"

"Thanks for letting me know."

UGH! Yeah works out for the best .....after hundreds of dollars worth of decorations and plants and such I probably would not have bought otherwise. And after my husband taking the morning off work to drop Meredith off at MDO and after months and months of undue stress. Sure no problem....yes today I am feeling angry!

I promise I'm not going mad.....

I really am not a mad woman, I just had a crazy morning. Let me just tell you about a small part of my day....about 20 minutes actually. I had to run to the bank to deposit a rather large check....a check from a local hospital made out to the organization that I am the treasurer of. And did I mention it was a rather large check.

So I pull into the drive-thru teller at the bank. I pull up to the window of the building, not even one of those electronic "shoot the money to you" things. I go to the actual person so I can give this check to her and feel a tiny bit relieved that it is finally out of my hands. I rolled down my window and said hello and explained that I did not have a deposit slip because the check book is out and I forgot to grab a new one and yadayadayada. Then I put the check in the slot and as soon as I did a big gust of wind came through and took the check right out of the slot and into the air. Seriously. I am so not making this up.

So I yell "OH SHIT!" and everyone in the bank, tellers included are looking at me. To add more fun to the chaos my daughter in the back seat is now screaming....

"Oh Shit! Oh Shit Mama! Oh Shit" and laughing hysterically.

"Yeah baby....Oh Shit is right!"

I pull up about 10 feet, throw the car in park, jump out and start chasing my check that is still in the air. It travels all the way to the next parking lot, which happens to be a Krispy Kreme. The bank tellers are now outside, one standing guard at my minivan as I chase a check and the other helping me chase the check.

Yeah me in my sweats and the teller in 4 inch heels and a mini-skirt. Can you picture it? As I am chasing this check, I can still hear my toddler screaming "Oh shit! Mamaaaa Ohhhhh SHIT" Apparently she got even louder to make sure I could hear her since I was no longer in the car acknowledging her new word.

The check finally settles under a car, we just are not sure which one. So bank teller in the mini and heels and myself are on our hands and knees in the parking lot looking under various cars. I politely tell her in a very demanding voice, that we have to find it....it was for X amount of dollars and I need that check. I would not even know who or where to call and try and explain what happened to this one. And like they would believe me anyway.

Eventually the teller found the check under a tire. Thank goodness!!! Really can you see me explaining this one to anybody? And then asking to issue me another check? So now with the check in the teller's hand, I jump back in my mini-van and drive back around to the teller. Meredith is still saying....

"Oh shit mama! Oh shit!"

"Yep sweetie, that was definitely an Oh shit moment! Honestly it was more like a Oh fuck! moment but you are way too young for that!"

"huh?"

"nothing baby...Oh shit is right!"

And that is how I ended my morning....deposit slip in hand. I happily drove away from the bank, with Meredith singing her new "oh shit" song.

This week in pics...

Because I have not posted pictures in forever....here are a few or a lot!

Enjoy...they also follow in the posts below.....

Is he not the most gorgeous little man!
Seriously could he be any more beautiful! and check out those keds!
Okay for once I* think* she looks like me! This is such a Mandi pose.
Always smiling and always happy!
Like father like son!
We proudly support polo....thanks Nanny!And guess who we saw a few weekends ago.....Ian or "E" as Mizit calls him!
They spent the day being silly!

And here is Ian.....thinking put the camera away lady!

Roll Over! Roll Over!

He did it today my sweet happy baby boy rolled over! I of course did not have a camera handy and have been waiting all day for him to repeat it! I left him on his playmat, and then started rounding up Meredith to dress her and when I came back he was on his belly! he rolled over this morning and I missed it, he thought about doing it again for the camera but...
he decided not to since I did NOT take any pictures of him at the Irish-Italian festival (see below)
he is still happy though

and now he has gas!

Going on an egg hunt!

Hunting for eggs! She was not really into this at first, but gathered some with lots of encouragment. Seeing what is in them!
She then quit hunting for eggs and started eating. Cany you see the other kids still hunting for eggs!
When we got home she was adament about carrying the basket. So I gave it to her and she stopped and set it down, grabbed the candy out and left it. It sat right there in the garage until I fetched it.
Do you see all the open...empty eggs!

not winning any mom of the year awards this week!

We went to the Irish-Italian festival at our church this past weekend. It was a ball. And while I got some cute pictures of Meredith - I got none of Noah. Zero..Zilch...nada...Nothing...None! I know....I am not proud of myself right now....sorry noah!

meredith on a pizza picnic meredith playing with sand
meredith jumping on the bouncy thing that kids were going crazy on!
merdith after a green cupcake...see the mustache

I am sorry I have none of noah to show you! he was dressed so cute too!

so sweet!

The other night Mizit was being really sweet to No-wee! here they are in a rare snuggling session!

Mizit playing Peekaboo and not sharing the blankie!Am I am ham or what?
Sharing the blankie but obviously not happy about it!
Getting over it with the threat of bedtime!

Daddy loves us too!

Ballet and gymnastics

I call it gymnastics and she calls it ballet! Either way she looks damn cute in the tights and leotard. That makes it worth the money I forked over for the outfit and the classes each month!!!!

Ready to go to ballet....notice who is in her hands.....they go everywhere I tell ya!

And because the outfit is even cuter from the back!
Jumping on the trampoline.
Walking on the balance beam.
Waiting her turn. This is such a hard concept for a 23 month old, but this class is really great at helping her to learn those skills. She has a green circle she carries around and has to sit on and wait her turn. They have numbers and they take turns in that order.
Her and her friend Grace after class, Grace is in her MDO class too!

After ballet we went to mimi's where she got a prize. Fairy wings, a wand and a crown, they make the leotard and tights complete. Now we just need our tu-tu!

And from the back because it is so cute!Being a fairy and playing with Mimi and Poppa's flowers!

Sounds from meredith's room this morning

"Woody, Woody!"

"Woody, Woody where are you!"

"Woody, I can find you!"

"Woody! Woody!"

"Jesse where Woody?"

"I no know"

"Dare you are! Dare you are woody!"

"it otay woody!, it otay!

"woody be tareful"

and I hear some smooching going on, not sure who is kissing who!

Woody, Jesse & the Roundup Crew...

See Woody waving to you and sassy little Jesse with her hands on her hips! Yes then next to Woody is Bullseye, then Bo Peep, next to her is the little alien (who we call baby shrek), then Buzz Lightyear, then over in the corner is Zurg (who we always tell to Be Nice Zurg!), then next to Jesse is dinosaur. She carries all 8 of these guys around everywhere. They often sleep in my bedroom armoire, or hide in her little tikes fridge, or get pushed around in their stroller (her little tikes shopping cart). They all go outside to play, not at the same time she often pics and chooses. Zurg goes to time out more than he cares to! And little Shrek is often left sleeping in his bed, she leaves a blanket down for him. She also bathes with these guys and carries them to restaurants in her purse (a clear plastic bag that is way to big.) I will get action pics of all of this for you visualize.

Do you know where woody is?..... I do!

Today Meredith woke up bright and early and read to Woody and Jesse in her bed for a good 45 minutes. Finally she was ready to get out of bed and join me in mine to snuggle. Woody and Jesse also came to snuggle with us. They go everywhere remember. This morning we were in a bit of a hurry since we had to get ready for Mommy and Me and the Easter Party and Egg hunt. So Woody and Jesse did not get breakfast this morning, like they usually do. As we were leaving I noticed that Jesse was lying alone on the sofa. I asked Meredith where Woody was and she said "I no know". But she did not seem worried or yell "find him" like she normally does, so I left it be. When we got home, only Jesse went down for a nap with her. Again she did not ask for Woody to join them as she normally does. I started getting worried, but not too worried since we do have a back up set. Did I mention these little suckers are only about 2 inches tall and easy to lose.

When Meredith woke up from her nap Jesse came down with her and had a snack. Still no Woody to be found. Bedtime came around and Jesse went up to bed with Meredith and she finally asked for Woody. I had no idea where he was. I had been looking since we got home today. I was not scrounging the house for him, but keeping an eye open if you know what I mean. No Woody. As I tucked her in I told her I would find him and bring him up. On the way downstairs with Josh, I told him I had no clue where he was. She normally knows exactly where he is and I was a little panicked and would have to "really" look for him.

When I got downstairs, Noah and I grabbed a snack and headed to my bed. I got some delicious Laughing Cow Swiss and my wheat thins and Noah got a little breast milk. I nursed Noah, gave him to Josh and then dove into my wheat thins and cheese. As I stuck my hand in the box of wheat thins.....I realized what I had just did.....I had found him. Apparently his lack of a nutritious breakfast had left Woody very hungry and he dove into some wheat thins when I was not looking. I am sure Meredith dove right in with him.

I had found him just like I said I would and now I will bring him up to bed with her, just like I said I would.

sign me up please....

Do they offer classes in diapering children? Or better yet, do they offer classes in diapering baby boys? If so....sign me up. Today I woke up as usual, to the sweet wailing sounds of Noah....which translated into "give me the damn boob woman....no you cannot have a minute to wake up....I don't care if it is 5am....I want boob!" I know that is what he is saying when he wakes up. I can already tell he like his big sister has inherited my patience.

Back to the story...I woke up at 5am and changed my first diaper of the day. At 8am I changed it again....from there on out it all went down hill. Noah has pooped all over not 1, not 2, but 3 outfits today and it isn't even 5pm! Now do you know why my laundry is taking over my house. And better yet, he has pooped all over not 1, but 2 of my outfits as well. I guess that is what I get for holding a baby who has explosive poops after he eats. Gotta love breast fed babies and how breast milk is a natural laxative.

So yes for my birthday I will take lessons on diapering little boys....I can honestly count the number of times this has happened with Meredith on one hand.

Finally getting around to it....

Remember how I told you about Mr. Clean, Swiffer and Febreeze teaming up. Well I finally got around to using some of those products. I know. I probably should have asked Ms. Jennifer what she thought of them, because honestly I do not clean my own house. If you want to see a spotless house then come by on Thursday afternoon. My house is always "clean" it is not always picked up and fortunately I am not the one to clean it, and sometimes forget to pick it up! The one area I am anal about and do clean on a daily basis, sometimes even more is the kitchen. I will not lie though, I do not mop it! I just wipe counters with harsh chemicals about 10,000 times a day. I know that some products have gone green and lots of people are going green, but honestly I like my harsh chemicals. Why? I want those chemicals to attack the germs. Perhaps I am ass backwards, but bring on the bleach, Mr. Clean, or anything that says anti-bacterial and that will kill like 99.999999% of my germs which probably only means 50%. Hell if they made one that said 110% of germs they would be the ones to get my husband's hard earned dollar.

Back to the story, I have used about half of my Mr. Clean multi-purpose cleaner with Febreeze(does this tell you how many times I wipe down counters). Too many! But I have two grimy little hands that go from one end of my kitchen to the other. And normally those hands have remnants of bananas, pudding, Oreos, peanut butter, skettie-O's and everything else in the pantry on them. So I have to clean it 10,000 times a day. And the cleaner is pretty good. It wipes away the germs like most of the cleaners I have used in the past, and I am brand name type of girl. However the Febreeze that is now teamed up with Mr. Clean gives my cleaner a fresh scent or so the bottle says. That fresh scent that came out of the bottle with every squirt really irritated me at first, it is very strong. But after I wiped down the counter, it wasn't as strong and the smell lasted all day. Now whether that is from cleaning it once and it truly lasting or my obsession with cleaning it 10,000 times I am not sure. But I am betting that you too, wipe your counters down more than once a day.

And the best part is the paper towels that I used to wipe it down, inevitably wind up in my trash and so do the dirty diapers in this house. I hate those diaper things, they all smell bad. Go figure! But the Febreeze that is in the cleaner that winds up on the paper towel, that makes its way to my trash....keeps the garbage smelling good all day! That is the best part. My garbage used to wreak, therefore making my kitchen wreak and so on, but now when you lift the lid it has a nice fresh smell. I kid you not!!!! And to get that smell in the garbage, I only have to buy one product that also cleans my counters. And the smell is not at all overpowering once it is wiped down and tossed.

So overall I would buy these cleaning products again! I have not used the magic eraser yet or Swiffer duster, Miss Jennifer did, but not I. So I will do that next week and report back. Toodles internet, I am off to clean my kitchen again!!!!

she is so right...

The other day I was emailing back and forth with a customer who ordered some adorable train invitations and thank you notes for her son's birthday. She knew that we were out of town last weekend for a wedding so she emailed to ask me how it went. My response was short and sweet. It was fun, but so exhausting and I was glad the weekend was over. She is also the mother of two children and responded by saying how it was funny that the most simple of things pre-children were now so much work and so exhausting. I thought about that for a minute and realized how true it was.

Take the wedding for instance. I used to love going to weddings. Hell what is not to love, free food, free booze, free band and you get to see lots of new friends or old friends or no one you even know. Josh and I have always had a great time at weddings. I love to get dressed up and go. Okay really I will not even try to lie, I really love the party food. Now with kids, it is a hassle. I have never brought my kids to a wedding, but have been to one without them and backed out of going to two because of them. Granted being from New Orleans originally and now living in Mississippi all of the weddings have been out of town, which adds even more stress to attending weddings post kids. Not only do you have to find sitters, go over bed time routines, make schedules, and fear them never going to sleep or crying all night, but you also have to pack for those kids too. Pack and plays, bottles, clothes, toys, blankets, and the list goes on and on and on.

Then there is going out to eat. We still do this one a lot, but it is a hassle. Not a big enough hassle to stay home and cook though. But dinner pre-kids was wonderful. You could go anywhere you wanted without giving a second thought to kids menus or if there was something in the restaurant that looked remotely close to noonles and cheese! I did not have to load a bag full of distractions or ask for colors and cups with lids either. Those were the days. Granted we have dined with Meredith and Noah since they were wee babies. Long before the nice pediatrician recommended we bring them in public, so I like to say my kiddos know how to behave in restaurants. Meredith knows she cannot for any circumstances get out of the high chair until we leave. But it can still be a hassle.

Then the grocery store. Do I even need to go there? Any mom who has kids, especially 2 under 2, knows the hassles of the grocery store and the damn buggies that have no room for your groceries once you have both kids in the buggy! Besides I did not like the grocery very much before I had kids....why would I like it after?

The mall...one of my favorite places now. Why? I know that no matter what time I go, or who is with me, or how quick I am in the mall, we are sure to put one tantrum on display for all to see. It NEVER fails. It is just the way it is and I have learned to accept it. I am really not a mall person I only go when I have to get something and most of the time I never find it or as Josh said buyers remorse kicks in and I return it. But now I avoid that place like the plague. I save all my mall needs up for one day and run quickly with someone else in tow, normally Mimi, go quickly and leave.

Dinner time....Oh how I love dinner time. I love to eat. Dinner time has always been one of my favorite times of the day. However now I dread it. I still like to eat, but since kids have arrived it is my least favorite. I do lunch and breakfast solo with two kids and do not make half the mess that occurs during dinner. I guess it is all Josh's fault. For some reason after dinnertime my kitchen is worse than destroyed. Especially if said husband cooks. Which is not often. I clean as I go, but it never fails that it looks like a bomb went off as soon as the meal is over. My daughter who eats lunch and breakfast with no problem, thinks dinnertime is the perfect time to throw all the inedible items (broccoli, carrots, green peas, anything healthy or meat) off of her plate and onto the chair, floor, brownie, the wall or really wherever it lands. Then Brownie, who takes on the job of a Hoover, licks and eats most of the inedible items leaving a trail of drool and slobber from one end of the house to the other. Okay I am moving on now, because it is almost dinner time and I am starting to get queasy.

And really the list could go on, so tell me.....what has become more difficult in your house since having kids???

Wow look what he can do!

That was so my response at dinner tonight. Noah is not quite 4 months old yet, he will be soon though. How time flies! So tonight at dinner we put Noah in his new highchair and he did great. So then I threw a few toys on the tray for good measure....and HE PLAYED WITH THEM! Oh my! Is it that time already. I have left this poor little guy in the bouncy seat doing dinner and did not even give a second thought that...maybe he is ready to sit up and join us. He laughed, cooed and smiled like he always does. My happy-go-lucky little guy! In the last week he also started majorly swatting at his toys on the play mat and he is getting better and better with holding his head up and definitely on the verge of being able to roll over. He did it once, but that proved to be a fluke! Perhaps we will put his exercauser up soon. He is growing up way to fast. I want him to stay my baby for a little longer, slow down mommy's boy. I just love this little guy to pieces, I could just gobble him up some days.

say what?

Last night we were outside on the big ass play structure and Meredith brought Woody and Jesse along to play. Woody and Jesse stand about 2 inches tall and are her best friends. They go everywhere. It is amazing we have not lost them, since most days I can barely find my head. Meredith always knows right where they are though. Anyway they went outside to slide with us and we were all having a good ole time. About 2o minutes into playing I noticed her bestest pals were not in her hands.

"Meredith where are Woody and Jesse?"

"I no no......mommy, find them, find them!"

And she continued to play. She knew right where they were though and we all made it safely inside.

...............................

Ms. Jennifer our housekeeper loves her some Meredith Grace, as she says. And Meredith loves Ms. Jennifer here is why...

"I want dat" pointing to a picture on the fridge

"What do you want sweetie?" she then picks her up to grab the picture off the fridge

"tank you"

"Your welcome sweetheart"

"Mommy says.....NO, NO....No Touch!"

Jennifer then looked at me and apologized profusely, I just laughed.

................................

We were outside playing and it was getting dark and time for a bath.

"Come on Miz it is time to go in."

"No no mommy!"

"Yeah baby time for a bath."

"No mommy"

"Okay Mommy is going in to bathe bubby then."

"Tops! Tops Mommy...no bats.....Mizit play!" (stop! stop mommy, no bath, Meredith play)

"No time to go in!"

"Fweeze mommy.....NO IN.........OUT!"

"Come on we will get some pudding before take a bath!"

"Otay es go....poods"

This one is for you Jaimie!

Meredith recently started learning about different feelings, thanks to "The Pigeon has Feelings too" by Mo Willems. I love the pigeon books. Anyway here is Meredith doing her best impressions of happy, sad and angry in action. By the way the shout out at the end was completely un-rehearsed.

tales of a little momma...

Here are some tales of Meredith and her baby dolls.....

pushing her baby in the stroller:
she rams it into the wall and the baby falls out
"is otay, is otay.....baby otay.....no, no wall! NO, NO WALL!"
How dare you wall to jump out in front like that!

carrying her baby around the house:
She drops her as she walks in the bathroom
"is otay, is otay!" "no cwry baby momma dot you!"

feeding her baby:
"uhmmm dood! o'en o'en!....bid bite" (smacking her lips)

changing her baby's diaper:
"baby does pee-u! baby die-per! heiny cake med-a-sin!"
she never forgets to put the diaper rash cream.

Putting her baby in time out:
"no, no baby! not niiiiice! time out....two, tree, for, fi, sick, sevin, ate, tin!"
our counting is getting much better!

The crying baby:
"no cwry baby, no crwy!.....babyHUSH!"

Getting her baby to sleep:
"wock a baby, wock a baby.....doe seep"
gently swaying her baby from side to side

Noah Says

Our first video debut!

Breastfeeding and the bridesmaid

This weekend I was indeed a bridesmaid, and by chance I was also nursing. I learned a very important lesson this weekend......if ever asked to be a bridesmaid while you are nursing a baby....politely decline. I mean really, it just does not work well. Over a year ago, I was asked to be in a wedding. I was mildly pregnant, if there is such a thing. You know pretty early on and not really thinking about having a baby, finding a sitter, pumping milk, praying he took a bottle and so on. I was just looking at the present and said sure. After all I was really happy for Mary and Matt.

Fast forward to ordering the dress and then reordering the dress in a different (bigger) size to fit my 3 month post baby body or better yet 3 month post baby boobs...the wedding weekend was finally here. I had made arrangements for a babysitter for my tikes, I had given Noah a bottle each week to prepare him for being away from my boobs all day, I had pumped enough milk to feed a small NICU for a month and I was preparing myself for being away from my baby for a whole day and night. I was going to miss my little guy and miss feeding him, you know it is not often that someone else gets to feed him. But I really was ready for a day off.... a day for hanging out with the girls...a day to not feel like a 24 hour milk bar...a night alone with my hubby to relax and enjoy myself. Or so I thought....

My day started out at 5:30am waking up to nurse Noah and then start getting ready. I then helped my husband to pack all the bottles we would need and all the frozen milk and the pump and the pump accessories and so on. Not to mention all the stuff I had to pack for the wedding and me and the kids. So we headed to Nola at 9:30am with kids, clothing, wedding accessories and the Pump in Style in tow. And really what is stylish about a pump? It comes in a big, bulky black bag that has two cone-shaped suction cups that attach it to you via long cords of clear tubing and makes the most hideous suction noise ever! Pump in style, I didn't realize there was such a thing.

We arrived in Nola just in time to drop my kids off at the babysitter, eat a quick sandwich and then get back in the car with Noah to bring me and my stylish pump downtown to the hotel where we would be getting dressed. I brought Noah so that I could nurse him one last time for the day. He normally nurses about every 2 hours, but I was going to try and go every 3 hours to pump. It would be easy, I would just bring my pump with me and nurse at the hotel and reception every 3 hours, not a problem. Yeah right! I was so stressing out about this.

So I nurse my babe and he and Josh leave me and honestly my heart broke a little. I mean I was looking forward to a day off, and here I am longing to stay near him. Looking forward to a day of not being a milk bar, and then I looked at my stylish pump and thought bring me my babe back! So 2.5 hours after nursing my littlest tike, my pumping adventure began. I went into the bathroom of our hotel room and sat on the toilet as I pumped, I know how sanitary!

After pumping I put on my lovely bridesmaid dress that did a wonderful job of accentuating my chest. At 5pm when I put my dress on, I looked like Calista Flockhart - really small, flat boobs...I had pumped those babies dry. At 6:30 when we left for the church it still fit, just a little tighter across the chest, I guess I looked like me... pre-baby, nice full c-cups! At 8:30pm I had not pumped in a good 4 hours and my milk had come in twice, I was dying. I left the church looking like Dolly freakin' Parton! I was obnoxious, my dress was about to tear. The sweet young bridesmaid, who did not have children, that was standing next to me almost died when she looked over and viewed my boobs! I was triple X rated baby! I still had to walk back down the aisle in front of the whole church. And I was secretly hoping and praying that there were not any big wet spots on the front of my dress. I didn't even look....I didn't want to know. It has been known to happen, I make enough milk to feed a small country! And to think silly old me was worried about supply issues.

Fast forward to the reception, I ran in with my very stylish pump, hoping to run in and suck those babies dry real quick before I had to take pictures. Then I thought....hmmm...just wait a few minutes take the pictures and then pump. 8:45 and I still have not pumped or taken the required bridal party pictures...I was dying people. I was now hosting two very hard watermelons on the front of my chest in this very small bridesmaid dress. So I asked the photographer if we were taking pictures soon...." yes in a second sweetheart." Okay now it is 9pm, still have not pumped or taken a damn picture. So I run to the bridal room, get the pump ready, hook them up to my utters and turn it on....RELIEF at last. And then my sister (also a bridesmaid) knocks on the door to tell me it was time for pictures. SHIT!!!! where are the pumping gods and why are they not working in my favor right now????? I mean I bought the big expensive stylish pump dammit! I unhook my suctions and drip a little milk on the dress that is now fitting a little bit looser on the top and run out to take the pictures. 9:20 the pictures are over and I am now in heaven as I am hooked up to a pumping machine that makes me feel like a heifer and being milked, but hey it is stylish right?

We're going to the Chapel and we're going....

No silly, I am not getting married. I am already married, with kids, remember???? My cousin Matt is marrying my sister's best friend from high school and roommate in college and beyond...Mary! And I get to be a bridesmaid, yay! The kiddos are staying home with their Aunt and having a sleepover, of course we will be sleeping there after the wedding too. Like I would stick my Aunt with two kids that are not sleeping through the night! I would never do that.....the thought did cross my mind for one millisecond. Anyway we leave today for a fun filled weekend of wedding activities. Brownie's babysitter will be here late, hopefully she is on her best behavior too.

So I am off I will try to blog when I get a chance, but I cannot promise too much!

You know you are a mom when...

- Wal-mart by yourself is Mom's day out and a lot of fun!

- when you are at Wal-Mart by yourself you notice you are still carrying a diaper bag sans kids.

- Fine dining is now Chuck-E-Cheese

- You got out to eat with other adults who do not have young children and you scarf down you food before they have even taken a second bite.

- You got to write out a check and all you have in your diaper bag to write with is a crayon.

- A mini-van is what you drive and secretly you love it!

- All of the movies you watch lately are PG.

- You seriously have gone a whole day without brushing your teeth, I know disgusting!

- Showers are luxuries, showers without someone pounding on the shower door to get in is pretty much unheard of!

- You begin to wonder if Elmo's voice is real or if it really hurts the man who is behind the voice to sound that irritating all day.

- Your hear other moms on the playground talking about which Wiggle they think is the cutest and you agree it is definitely Greg.

- The only songs in your head lately come from Sesame Street, Wiggles, Barney or some other irritating group.

- You can wrestle a toddler into a car seat while holding a baby.

- You love every bit of being a mommy!

tumbling, shaking and all that jazz

Today Meredith started a little tumbling class at a local gymnastics gym. It is a little dance with a little tumbling. There are five little girls in the class and really what cute be cuter than 5 toddlers in little tights and leotards. I was a little nervous about how the day would go, and so was Meredith. As we walked in she started with her MDO routine, crying, wanting to be held and the repeating "mommy be back! mommy be back!"

So I explained we were both going to stay and Noah would too and she would dance with the other little girls. We took off her shoes and my shoes and we joined the other moms on the mat. Noah came too in his bucket seat. She went and sat in a circle and I left Noah on the sidelines with the other moms about 15 feet away and joined Meredith. They did a little introductions, a little circle time and stretching and then they started shaking their little booties. At this point she was having too much fun to see if I was still there. She would do the activity, stand up and say "Yay!" and then run around to sit back in her spot and right up against the young teacher. After about 15 minutes she turned to me put her hand up and said "back, back, back mommy." So I obliged and went back to Noah and the other mothers. Ten minutes later she noticed all the other girls had on ballet shoes or were barefoot, she pulled off her socks, brought them to me and said "feet" and then ran back to her circle. She then finished the class by herself and was so proud.

After class we ran out and got ballet shoes, leotards and tights like the other girls, we will go back again next week. The damn outfits were more than the classes! What a sucker I am.

half assed

That is how I feel today. My kids are not sleeping, my house is a mess, my head is pounding.....Ever have a day where you just do not feel like doing anything. In fact it is a struggle to get up in the morning. A day where you just want to lay around and watch the mess around you multiply, yep it is one of those days.

I imagine when I had these days and I was working full time, pre tikes, I just went in and did what I had to do to get by and done with my day. I imagine I did therapy with the kids and made sure they worked on something remotely close to their speech goals, but it was not the best I could do. Yeah I remember having a few of those days. And there were even some days I called in sick....a mental health day. Then some days I was on top of my game and squeezed in language and articulation exercises every second they were in the room with me. On those days I was a top notch therapist.

Well at home things are different, there are no sicks days, no mental health days, no one cares if I do the job at all, much less how well I do it. I am my own boss. I guess my husband may care, but since I am the CEO of this household and he is only the VP my business decisions trump his. Seriously I can lay around and do nothing and I will not get fired. I mean I do have to change diapers and feed kids and make sure they do not harm themselves or one another. But I do not have to be the world's greatest mom today. I can let her watch a little too much Elmo or let him swing in the swing a little too long (as long as he is content) and I can do an easy lunch and snack compared to a more healthy one that requires a little more out of me.

I can let the laundry pile up and the dishes in the sink. I can pretend not to see the mess that I have walked over all day and I can ignore the clothes that are falling off of dressers and need desperately to be put away. Yeah I can do all those things, only thing is it will all be here for me tomorrow. So blog, I am leaving now to get to work. I have a lot to do and really I want to play with my kids.....the laundry and dishes may wait....right now Meredith asked to "nuggle". Productivity after all!

still around....

Hi everyone, we are still here. I think I was buried alive by the overwhelming laundry piles. That seems to be my life these days. Laundy....laundry....laundry....fix a meal....clean a meal....laundry.....laundry...fix a meal....clean a meal....and so on and so on. I guess you get it. Seriously sometimes the day in and day out of laundry and cooking and cleaning and bedtime routines really get me down, so my husband seeing this decided to help me out of the funk that I sometimes get into....he took me to Target. Awww what a man! Of course we only bought exciting things like baby lotion, breast milk storage bags, pacifiers, a teeny tiny nail clipper since my littlest tike looks like he was in a fight with a bobcat and some candy. The joy of parenthood. Still Target is Target, dumb return policy in all.

Now for a funny, today I got a neatly bundled up little package from Swiffer and Mr. Clean. They have teamed up with Febreeze and sent me a few products to try and blog about. One of my favorites in the box is a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser! I am hoping it helps me out with my walls that are now a lovely shade of bright orange, thanks to Meredith and her markers! When I opened the box and showed my husband, who was holding our daughter....she looked at the box of Magic Erasers with Mr. Clean on the box and said...."daddy!" I laughed and said yep he kind of looks like daddy. And Meredith said...."No daddy.....daddy hair!" while rubbing Josh's going bald head. The honesty of children!