I'm Back....

So, I started this blog 8 years ago when I was a full time working mom and my boys were in preschool.  Then I retired from my job at the bank and became a stay at home mom which clearly took up more time, because I haven't written anything in so long.  I've had deep thoughts that I sometimes shared on Facebook, or just kept to myself, but lately I've been feeling like I should start to document my family's life in a better way.

I figure I should provide a few updates with what has happened in the last 8 years.

1.  We are not in that house that was getting remodeled anymore.  We moved 7/10 of a mile 3 years ago to our dream forever house.

2.  We got a dog.  A black lab named Maggie Mae, seen in the above picture.  She is the sweetest most rotten dog and we love her!

3.  I did fall again in December 2009 and broke my other foot and had to have surgery on it as well.  So, I now have plates and pins in both ankles.  I would like to say that I learned a lot and grew a lot during that 12 week recovery process but I don't think I did.  I just felt sorry for myself and got annoyed with my situation.

4.  We have traveled to Hawaii in 2008, Cabo San Lucas in 2009, the Gulf Coast many times, Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas, New Orleans with lots of places in between.

In addition to all of the above, we've just been busy living life.  The boys start 3rd and 5th grade in a couple of weeks.  Hopefully I can be a more consistent blogger going forward.

55 Inches of LOUD & A great buy

Well, our home improvement project is still coming along. Our basement is finished. We refinished part of our basement to make a playroom for daddy and the kids. We built a closet under the stairs to store all the kids toys so they can pull them out easy and I can shove them in easy for quick cleanup. Daddy's toy is easily stored in the new tv entertainment center. DirecTV is coming tomorrow to hookup all the tv goodness that now comes with our 55 inch HD television. My husband assures me that tv watching will never be the same. Right now, as I type this, my son is watching Star Wars on the big screen. Paired with our surround speakers, we never need to go to the movie theatre again. Which is a good thing, considering our movie going has greatly decreased in the last 4 years since we started having kids.

On another note, I just ran to Pier One to browse after having lunch with a friend. Apparently, the Pier One Kids store is closing, so all their stuff is half off. I got a round table with a shelf under it, for $49 and to matching chairs for $44. The same looking table and chairs is at least $400 at Pottery Barn Kids. I love a good deal and this one has sent me over the top!
I'll post some pix when I get it put together.

Slacker

I'm really a slacker with this blog thing. I love reading them, but posting my own has been a bit of a challenge. Back when I was about to quit work (retire), I thought I would post like all the time. But then life as a stay at home mom started happening and I just couldn't find the time. Now we are in the midst of a major home renovation, which is going to be just wonderful when it's finished. But in the meantime, we have been pretty much living with my parents. Which has been a challenge in and of itself. I really like my parents, but you know what they say about you can never go home again? Well, we are about to end week number 4 and I have to say that I'm starting to twitch a little. My mom is very high maintenance, but likes people to think that she is easygoing. I'm more easygoing, so you can see where some problems may arise. For example, I don't like being a mooch. So, I threw in a load of her laundry last week. She came home and saw it folded and ready to put away and was like, 'oh, you did the laundry.." I said yeah, I just wanted to help you out. She said, "I usually only do laundry on Sundays and Wednesdays." Silly me, it was a Tuesday. She tried to shake it off like it was no big deal, but I could tell she was about to start twitching herself. Did I mention I'm also dealing with 2 boys who are going to need some serious detox once we move back into our house?

So hopefully, the house will be done in the next week or so. But, then our builder just gave us a bid on the master bathroom and my husband gave him the go-ahead to start on it asap while he's still there. So, we won't be getting totally back to normal for a few more weeks. Here's some pictures of what my kitchen looked like last week. I haven't taken any this week, but the new cabinets have been put in, so it's looking a little better.

It's 6:43 p.m. There is so much must see tv for me tonight, that it's all I've been thinking about. I know I need to get a life. But if you care, here's my lineup for this evening.
1. Amazing Race
2. The Apprentice
3. Desperate Housewives
4. And my guilty pleasure.....The season premiere of The Girls Next Door on E!

Thank goodness for Tivo!!!!

So to prepare for this major television event, I gave my youngest son some cough medicine and just put him to bed. (He does have a cough and went to bed late last night and was up early this a.m. and from his nap). I'm debating whether to give my older son some benedryl for the runny nose he had 5 days ago. Yes, I know....Mother of the Year. I'd like to thank the academy er...DHR....

It's now 6:47. I have 13 minutes to convince the 3 year old it's time for bed. Wish me luck!!

Happy New Year!

I thought I had escaped my curse. You see, every year starting in 2003, something happens to me in the late summer/early fall. In September 2003, I had my first child. Now, this is not a curse, but a blessing. But it was a traumatic experience that changed everything. ....eventually for the better. In late August 2004, I fell, broke my right ankle and had to have surgery. This was the worst experience of my life. My marraige aged like 7 years in 8 weeks. I realize why it happened... I had become obessessed with being in complete control of my child and my husband and our life. My husband had also come to rely on me doing everything from changing diapers, to bathing the baby, feeding the baby ....EVERYTHING. So me breaking my foot, was God's way of teaching me the invaluable lesson that I cannot be in control. It also taught me to rely on my husband more and that even though he didn't do things my way, he still got them done. It was a very hard lesson to learn, but looking back, I'm so glad God used that experience to teach me that he's in charge and that it's okay to ask for help every now and then from friends and family. In mid-August 2005, I was 38 weeks pregnant and had a massive hemorage that resulted in having a c-section to have my 2nd child...also a boy. And while we were both fine...a blessing....recovering from a c-section was much harder than that of a normal delivery. August/September of 2006 went by without event. I breathed a sigh of relief. However, on Friday 12/29/06, I fell going down my basement stairs. Pain shot up what I refer to as my "bad ankle". I immediately pleaded with God, "Please no...Not again" over and over again. I was eventually able to get up and get upstairs to the couch, finding comfort that it wasn't nearly as painful as the accident 2 years ago, but then getting discouraged that it was still hurting at all. My orthopedic was able to squeeze me in later that afternoon and I was relieved to find out that nothing was broken. My plate and pins were still intact from the surgery. I had, however, torn some tendons and ligaments. So they put me in a brace that fits into my sneaker to wear for a few weeks. This was not how I wanted to start my New Year. I have been making all sorts of schedules and routines now that I was going to be a stayathome mom. Then it hit me, in the hustle and bustle of Christmas and my scheduling, etc., I had once again taken the wheel and put God in the passenger seat. As we all know, He doesn't care for that role very much. So, rather than let me keep driving down that path, He nipped it in the bud and got my attention. I'm taking the sprained ankle as a warning, that if I keep neglecting Him, He'll put me out of comission altogether like last time. The thought of not being able to drive, walk w/o crutches, and depend on someone for everything except going to the bathroom, terrifies me. So, I'm off to pray and thank God for sparing me that experience again and letting me off with just a warning.

Save the date

I love putting stuff in my calendar. I love scheduling, organizing, juggling, etc. When I was pregnant, I would put in every Monday what week I was on. After each appointment, I would write down the date of the next one. When I start a new planner each September, I go through and put in all birthdays and important dates. My husband has offered to buy a cool blackberry like his to receive emails, text message as well as calendar. But I refuse. There is something about writing it down that I love.

Today, I wrote down a very important date in my calendar. It marks the end of much frustration, stress, and spinning for control. I have been a working mom for 3 years now. I never had any idea that working with small children would be so hard. Actually, motherhood is hard, but working fulltime away from the home makes it all the more challenging. Today, I wrote the words "Last Day" on November 30th. I resigned on Friday 10/27. I have a little over a month left to finish up a couple of projects, train my replacement or a temp, basically get things in order. I am excited and terrified to see what life as a stay at home mom is like. But then I go back and read my journals from the last 3 years and can remember the struggles like it was yesterday and then I'm confident that staying home is the best thing for my family. Just as me working the last 3 years has been the best thing for the family. I'm so grateful to my husband for putting up with me as there were days that he could just look at me wrong and I would start crying. It's been a long way to get to this point, but the lessons I've learned are priceless and will no doubt help me as I encounter future struggles.

So, Save the Date! November 30th! I'm sure I'll call on my old friend Margarita to help me celebrate it. She's always comforted me in the past...who better to celebrate with?

Here's a picture of the 2 most precious babies that I'll get to stay home and love.

Guilty Pleasure

I have a guilty pleasure. Actually my husband and I share it together. Now, get your minds out of the gutter it is absolutely NOT sexual. It may be hard to believe this, but it's a television show. I've come to look forward to it, make sure the tivo is set to record in case something else comes up, don't want the phone to ring or the kids to wake up and interrupt. I wish I could say it was Desparate Housewives or a cool new show premiering for Fall 2006. But, alas, it isn't. My guilty pleasure is . . . . . .(drum roll please) . . . . ."The Girls Next Door" on E! featuring Hugh Hefner and his 3, count them 3 live in girlfriends. I know, I know, it really goes against everything I'm learning in my Beth Moore Bible study, in Sunday School and generally everything I've ever read in the bible. But, God help me, I can't walk away from it.

For those of you that know nothing about it, the show is 30 minutes long and centers around the 3 girls that Hef has chosen to spend his golden years with... Before I get to the girlfriends, let me just say that I'm worried about Hef. He tries to stay hip and happening and keep up with these young girls. But, he looks like a dirty old man coppin one last feel. There's Holly, the main girlfriend. And then Bridget and Kendra the back-up girlfriends. Now, I don't care too much for Kendra. She's annoying and immature and her laugh makes me want to slap her across the face. Holly is somewhat delusional and actually believes that Hef will marry again and at 80 will be capable of producing more offspring with her. But Bridget......Bridget is my favorite. Bridget is everyone's friend. She never says anything mean about anyone. She listens to people and what they have to say. She's very upbeat and positive about everything. From her cat's dental hygiene to her carefully planned and thought out striptease busting out of a cake for Hef's 80th b'day, she takes pride in everything she does. And in a very limited way, I would like to be more like her.

Since there are only like 2 people reading this blog, I'm not too concerned that my sanity will be questioned across the masses. If you haven't checked it out, stear clear. It will suck you in as it has done me. There's nothing like 3 girls in a mansion, with anything they desire at their fingertips, trying discover their meaning of life to make me appreciate my real world so much more.