And it's finally Friday

Whew! Anyone else feel that way. Sometimes I think we should hold an awards banquet on Friday nights for everyone who needs some sort of recognition for surviving the work week. Since my job as a stay at home mom has grown to include managing the renovations, runner of all errands, making and maintaining all appointments. This summer has been especially hectic.

However the kitchen is *almost* finished. I know I keep saying that, but I want in 100% complete before I show you the final product. So here is where I am........I am waiting for the painter to come back today to patch holes in the ceiling where the old, and very much off center, chandeliers were. By the way the new ones look fab-u-lous! I am also waiting for my new hardware to arrive, which should be in by next Monday and my new kitchen faucet, which should be here by Monday. Oh and the ceiling has to be repainted, once the a fore mentioned holes are patched. After that I promise to post pictures. The before and afters will be very dramatic and very beautiful. If I may say so myself. And if you don't think so, just lie okay. My sanity needs that white lie!

That being said, I am ready to take on the next project. In a year or so, you did not think it would be immediate, hell no. I need at least a year off.

On other news my little ballerina finished her week of dance camp. I survived week one of belonging to and going to the gym. By Thursday I had actually ran a short distance on the tread mill, it felt fabulous.

My little man was also evaluated for speech therapy today, however he did not qualify. Thanks to the speech therapy boot camp going on around here since I tested him 3 months ago! He is mildly delayed, by about 10%, and the therapist and I both feel the delay is from the fluid that was camped out in his ear canal the first 6 months of his life and by his 2nd birthday he should be caught up.

The tikes are growing so fast and this has also been an emotional week for me. The kids will both be starting some type of school this fall. Meredith will be attend 3 year old preschool, 3 half days a week and Noah will once again go to a 1 day a week Mother's day out program. I debated on two days for Noah, but since those two days were on opposite days of Meredith's three, I thought it was definitely more important that we have a day at home where the three of us could just snuggle in bed in our jammies all day. So they are both going to school and honestly this schedule is not so much different from last , so that is not what upsets me.

What upsets me is that this year gets me 1 year closer to next year. I know.....seriously this is what I worry about. And next year my baby girl, my first born, my mini Mandi, will be starting 4 year old preschool at her big girl school. The same school she will hopefully, baring any major unexpected changes in our life, graduate high school from. Saying that scares the complete crap out of me. When did she grow up and who let her?

I lay in bed each night thinking of how fast they are both growing up. Each day Noah changes, he is a little less baby and whole lot more big boy. I think about how life is finite. How each day passing is one day gone. This happens every now and then, I worry about the passing of time. I worry it is happening too fast and I am not savoring it enough. There is always so much on my plate. So many appointments to make and keep, so many errands to run, so many activities to schedule.....does it slow down?

Anyway it is Friday, the kitchen is almost finished, my brain is about to have two days off, I'm going out with the ladies tonight and might just have a martini. Have a great weekend internets!

Empowered

Last Friday, I posted about how I went to the gym and it really kicked my ass. I am out of shape. After a week I am still majorly out of shape, but it's getting easier and I am feeling 100% better. I love to work out. I mean that. Going to the gym and dropping the kids off for a quick step class or other class is not a chore to me. It is empowering. I feel great.

Setting time aside to work out each day alone, is the first thing I have done for myself and only myself in a long time......well aside from that new Gucci purse I picked up in NYC. Seriously, this is the first time I have set aside time each day to do something for just me. Something that makes me feel better, look better and overall just boost my self esteem and self confidence. I can't believe I let 4 years go by without working out.

Granted working out also benefits my family as well. I am happier, which means my kids and husband are happier. I am in better shape and able to be in better shape for my family. It also teaches my kids to stay in shape and remain active. Not that either of them have a problem with activity right now.

I encourage all of you to get in shape, don't wait until tomorrow life is way to precious to put things off. Do something for you today, it will feel good!

4 years too many

For the past few weeks I have been on a kick where I feel the need to get back in shape. I don't know what brought this on so suddenly or urgently, because I've been talking about getting back in shape since May of 2006. It just hasn't happened, until today.

And no I didn't all of a sudden get in shape, but I started on my way. Yesterday, I loaded up the tikes and headed to one of our local gyms. The one with the old people and arthritic pool because after working out for the first time in 4 years, I knew I would feel like I had arthritis and need to relax in it. Anyway yesterday, I went down there and signed us up. Dropped the kids off in the nursery to get them used to it and then took a tour. I tell ya, that really wore me out.

Today was a different animal though. I showed up to the 20/20/20 class. 20 minutes of step/cardio, 20 minutes of upper and lower body toning, and 20 minutes of abs. Holy Shit! I thought I was going to die and there the old lady next to me was hanging in there like a pro. I on the other hand gave it my all and honey I was wiped out. It was a damn good workout, I will definitely be at that class on Fridays from here on out.

The kids also did great, they cheered for me when I picked them up and told me they loved me. It's nice to have two adorable cheerleaders. Poor Noah also had to walk to the car because my arms hurt so bad I couldn't hold him.

It has been a little over 4 years since I have worked out like that and nothing has ever felt so good. Pre-baby body here I come!

Big happenings at the homestead

While the new tank we just purchased to drive around as our family vehicle may literally be the biggest change around here, the biggest news certainly is not about my brand, spanking new, shiny, gas guzzling SUV or the fact that the loser cruiser is gone. Nope the biggest news would be that my big girl has been pacifier free for a week now.

This miraculous change happened by her own doing. She went to bed one night without a pacifier. I didn't give it to her and she didn't ask for it and before I knew it she was sleeping. The next night I told her we were giving it to Cinderella and again she fell asleep without it. On the third day there were tears at nap time. Okay, let's be honest. There was a good 20+ minutes of full fledged screaming, but I didn't give in and we all survived....paci free. That night, no tears and no cries. Intermittently throughout the week, she would hint about getting it back and once I even found her laying in my bed with one she had found. I took it away with not a tear shed and the rest is what they call history.

A few days ago we packed them up in an envelope and sent them to Aurora, the pink princess, with a note asking her to please send us plane tickets and tickets to Disney World. Now that it has been a few days since we sent off the package and over a week of no pacifiers, guess what comes tomorrow? Tickets made by Sleeping Beauty herself. The tickets will be delivered to my mailbox. The trip is planned for September.

I am so proud of my big girl, I thought this was something that would not happen quite so easily. Let me be honest I was pretty sure she would take that damn pacifier with her to college. I was wrong and I am so proud of her.

Noah was also forced to give up his "uh ohs" at the same time. I know it was mean and unfair, he is after all still my baby. But I figured easier to kill two birds with one stone. Well again I was wrong. He now has his "uh-ohs" back. I need him to nap and sleep at night and taking the pacifier away ain't worth losing sleep, literally.

What he says.....the gym

So Noah has been in a gymnastics class for about 3 months now. He loves it, any excuse to run, jump, crawl through tunnels and climb.

The scene: 40 minutes into his 50 minute class

He gets up toddles across the gym passing up the cheerleaders who normally hold his attention for 10 second intervals, past the older boys running to the door. Opens it, turns around and waves to his class of toddlers and yells....

"BYE!" with his cutest Mississippi twang

Then he walks out the gym and to the front door to leave. When the boy is done, he is done.

What she says....during the nap

Repeat the following verbatim in your loudest wailing voice over and over for twenty minutes....

"WAAAA......MY MOMMA TOOK MY PACI.......I DID NOT LET HER.....WAAAAA......I WANT IT BACK..........BRING ME MY PACI BACK RIGHT NOW"

Meredith went to bed two nights ago without her paci with no problem, then yesterday she skipped a nap so there was no issue with the lack of a paci. I want to state for the record that she started Day 1 of operation take away the pacifier on her own.

Last night again to bed without a paci and no crying. Today at nap time she asked for it. I said no. She started with the sobs and tears. I walked out the room. She started yelling the closest thing to profanities she knew. It wasn't heart breaking, it was just plain old anger. She took all of my aggression towards the contractors out on me when I took the paci away. I felt much better after her episode. It was violent I tell you. Twenty minutes later she was out. No paci. Score one for the momma.

Tonight again to bed without a paci. Score two for momma.

And the beat goes on....

Sometime back in April, I wrote a big fat check for a kitchen renovation. A renovation that would take 2-3 weeks. Remember that post of excitement the day the brick arrived. Yes, it seems like just ages ago. Well now I feel like I've been through the ringer.

First it has taken nearly 2 1/2 months, which is a whole lot longer that three weeks. Then as they came to install the island, I noticed that it was a lot smaller than what we originally discussed. I refused to let them install it, since it wasn't what I originally discussed and agreed to pay for.

So my contractor comes out and we agree to disagree and then he chalks it up to a miscommunication. However no matter what he says, we miscommunicated I know damn well I didn't miscommunicate this......



In no way, shape or form would I have "miscommunicated" to replace my island with a new island that was a good 6 inches to short on each side. Nope, I am going to go ahead and say the contractor screwed up royally. However what I was saying earlier was not screwed up, but use your imagination and insert whatever word you think I would have used! And to prove it wasn't just on one side....

This my friends is why I have resorted to drinking heavily in the evenings! Today I get to deal with the geniuses again, think of me, pray for my sanity.

I am thinking by the time Meredith starts kindergarten next year it may be ready. What do you think?

The big apple

This weekend I took a quick trip to the Big Apple. I am a city girl at heart I tell ya, I was just born in the wrong place. Oh New York, how I would love to live there. But since I am a Southern girl, back home in the South is where you will find me. My trip was awesome. I would suggest that you grab a group of girls and head to the Big Apple as soon as you can. It is a trip you don't want to miss and something you just have to see and experience at least once in a lifetime, or in my case several times.


However this post is not going to be about the trip. This post is about what happened while I was away. While I was in Times Square taking in the sights, shopping on 5th Avenue, in Little Italy sipping wine, enjoying some shopping, dining and a street fair at the Seaport, watching the fireworks over the Hudson, drinking a beer in Hell's kitchen and at an Irish pub, having a beer at the boat house after walking through central park, having brunch at Tavern on the Green and perusing the shops in the Village.....my kids were home being taken care of by their dad.

I walked in this morning at 8am after spending the night at my sisters and going to bed at 2:30am then waking up to drive home 2 hours, due to a flight delay and I have to say I was happy and overjoyed to see the tikes and my husband and then I looked around and I was amazed.....astonished......in awe.

I was shocked to see how much my kids had changed in 4 days. Meredith was a little taller and her cheeks were slightly less rounded. She looked older. Noah was a little taller, his hair a little blonder and even more handsome than when I left to go. The kids were sharing and playing together and Josh reported not a fight happened while I was away. And then I looked around and the house.....the house was freaking meticulous. I want him to know that when I walked through the door I noticed and I thought to myself how the hell does he do it? Although honestly I ask myself that several times a day, because if you know Josh....you know he is a hell of a man, a hell of a dad, and a hell of husband.

Josh made what I do day in and day out look easy. He had no help, besides a babysitter Friday while he went to work. There was no one to take the kids for 5 minutes so he could have a moment to himself. For over 96 hours it was just him and them. He was responsible for preparing, serving and feeding the tikes 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, he gave 4 baths, brushed 2 sets of teeth 8 times, changed approximately 20 diapers, read numerous books, sang the goodnight song 4 times, did laundry, the dishes all on his own. He was the mom and the dad.

Not only did he do all of that, but when I walked in the house it was immaculate. The kitchen was clean, the living room and their bedrooms. He even did several batches of clothes and had them all folded and ready to put away. He took Meredith to get new shoes and weaned Noah from his nap time bottle.

He took the kids to the zoo, the donut shop, the bookstore, swimming, to target and for several walks around the block. He accomplished several things on my to do list that I never got done. He didn't stop and get fast food once, he not only managed to keep the kids healthy and thriving, but he made it look easy. He handled it like no other. I can't even do it all that well when he comes home everyday at 5. I know my husband is one of the many great dad's out there, but this weekend he proved that he is at the top of that list.

Thank you honey for an amazing weekend with the girls. I appreciate all you do and wanted to brag a little.....or a lot!