Little Man

The whole family is in the car off to some wild and crazy family weekend adventure (read: Home Depot or Nana's) and Martin and I are talking about how we can save the world. Conversation that follows:

A: Momma, Momma, Momma...
Me: YES Allie, Mommy is talking to Daddy, can you please wait a minute?
A: Yes Momma
A: Momma, Momma, Momma...
Me: Yes A
A: Look, little man.
Me: What, baby?
A: My little man.
Her pointer finger and thumb are pinched together and she's looking really hard at this "little man" she's holding and she's singing about him. OOO I'm going to be the role model mom and help foster my daughter's creativity....
Me: What's his name?
I'm thinking, oh look how cute my daughter is. She pretending she has a little man in between her fingers. Imagination play. Original. Advanced.....She's a genius!!!
A: Booger, momma!



Genius I tell you! A and her Little Man are going to take over the world!!!!

Rest in peace

I'm brain dead, dontcha know?? Well that's what most people assume when they find out that I stay home and invest my time in the future of our world, by raising bright, outgoing, creative and productive children. I MUST be bored since I have blocks of time in my day when I have ABSOLUTELY nothing to do. I should probably just pack up the rest of my brain cells and donate them to someone who will actually use them, right??

Ha! Every mom who stays home is either steaming or laughing their butt of reading this crap! I had a "real" job at one time in my life and yes it was filled with projects, papers, and dressy clothes, but it also had crappy bosses, deadlines, and a lot of STRESS! The stress hasn't completely left my life, but it's a different kind of stress. Stress to make every moment count, stress to make the right decisions to teach my children a life lesson, not the kind of stress that raises your blood pressure or makes you hate life.

I'm not brain dead, I'm just using a different part of my brain now. Life is slower. I'm more patient even though some days when I lose my patience it makes up for all the days I am patient. I have time now. Time to pay attention to things and not half ass things. I have the time and creativity to do all those really fun projects I always wanted to be able to do. I'm enjoying my life, brain dead and all! So without further adu, here are my little projects for this past month.

A's secret hide-away

Bib clips

Art display

The Money Pit

Dear Lord the freakin' AC is out. Lord help me have patience for stuff like this. It's so damn hot here in the summer that when the AC goes out you want to die. REALLY DIE!! And yes it's summer here already. High of 85 today. Lay down and die....
Ok so I'm usually the optimist in our family. My husband is the "prepare for the worst" person and I'm the "hope for the best" part of the equation. I'm running out of my part. We are just barely keeping up, because it's always something. Car $1200, water heater $500, stickers and inspection $200, and now the damn AC.
OK suck it up Crisa, because when you husband gets home you're going to hear about how the whole world has plotted to suck us dry and you're going to have to convince him that we aren't Anna and Walter in the "Money Pit."

Sick day

I woke up Monday morning after dancing all night with what felt like death and told my husband I was calling in sick today. The imaginary audience in our sitcom of a life, stood up and belly laughed in unison. SICK DAY!!!! haaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaa My husband just looked a little confused, kissed me on the forehead and was out the door. Damn can't a woman die alone in peace. I somehow managed to drag myself back to the sofa, when the door opened. Rays of heavenly light, fell on the head of my six foot, three knight and shining armor. He came back to save me. The angels flanked the doorway as my husband floated into the room on a cloud. Hallelujah.

He called his doctor (yes his because Lord knows that I would never take the time out to find my own doctor much less actually go) and made an appointment for me. A few hours later, I was sitting in the weirdest doctor's office I'd seen. Either that or my fever was so high I was hallucinating. Seriously it was like something out of an 80's movie about the future 2008. The walls were all bare and painted in these bright modern colors that were the furthest thing from warm and comforting. The receptionist desk was more like a fast food chain's ordering counter and I guess it was fitting, because there was a coffee shop IN THE OFFICE. Oh yeah and a shoe store display too! Commercialism at it's best; Get'em when they're too sick to know better. The nurse walked faster than any sick person could keep up with, the examination room was absent of any sign of personalization as well. I was left with my copy of Essence in what looked like a crazy person room to regret even coming to a doctor's office after what had been a really good six year drought.

Just when I thought I couldn't have regretted my decision any more, the doctor who had apparently just left the Mr. Universe competition, enters with his laptop. After being poked and prodded by Mr. Universe I was off with my prescription and hopefully on the road to recovery.

My knight and shining armor had to turn back into a pumpkin and go to work and then I was all alone with death and kids to care for. I somehow managed to muddle through the week without losing anyone, poisoning anyone or running away! woohoo. I did have to take a few shortcuts to be able to keep up this week, so here's a list of how I managed to keep on keepin' on!

Dishes - Didn't use them. Ate out or out of the containers. If I HAD to use a dish I actually hand washed it instead of unloading the dishwasher.

Floors - If I saw a really noticeable spot I cleaned it with the sock on my foot. I also let my two year old "play" with the Swiffer.

Laundry - Wash, dry, tell husband to fold, clothes get too wrinkled, rewash, re-dry.....

Cleaning - Of course I shoved, threw and stuffed things in to hiding places, but another little trick I picked up from a fellow mom. Spray some cleaner near the doors or wax a table with lemon scented cleaner so that if someone comes over the house smells clean!

Cooking - beep,beep,beep,beep,beep,beep,beep.... hello, I'd like to place an order for pickup.

My sweet boy

When I hold you in my arms and kiss your chubby checks I try desperately to hold on to the smell of your hair, and coolness of your wet kisses. You are my baby and you're one already. The year since you made your miraculous entrance has passed quicker than I could have ever imagined. Sometimes I pause in the middle of my day and close my eyes, trying hard to remember every detail of our morning naps when you were only weeks old. My heart almost races out of my chest when I can feel you snuggled up in a little ball around my neck. I can still feel you breath on my neck and you fuzzy black hair tickling my cheek. I stop the world for moments throughout my life so that keep these memories in pristine condition. On this day, when you fit so snugly on my hip and your sticky hands cling to me while you are deciding if this scene is something you want to explore, I stop time to savor every detail. You are on the cusp of toddler independence and I don't want to let go. I know I need to, but I hold on tight trying to convince you to stay, but alas the inevitable. You want down. And the world begins to move again.

Sometimes I look at my husband when he's busy reading or doing some mundane task and I think about how much our relationship has changed. I'm a practical person and when I fell in love with my husband I contemplated all aspects of our future together, not just love. Is he a decent person? Do we have the same morals? Would he protect me if aliens landed and tried to take over the world? Would he choose work over family? Will he love me forever? ... You know the run of the mill marriage interview questions. Now I look at him and I'm so glad that I chose him.

A few days ago my husband came home and Allie ran straight into his arms. She wrapped her little hands so tightly around his neck that you could see her little muscles flex without her shirt on. For the next 45 minutes she didn't let go. We have no idea what happened that day, or what she dreamt of during her nap that made her feel the need to cling to her daddy that afternoon. When she finally let go at dinner time, she looked happy and the world was right again.

Every day that passes I have the joy of witnessing my husband's relationship with his daughter. It brings back so many memories of my childhood and my relationship with my Dad. To a little girl, daddy is the bravest, strongest and smartest man that ever existed. His hugs heal your hurt, his smile dries your tears, his stern voice steers you in the right direction, and his hands can magically lift you higher than any bird could fly.

So to all the fathers of daughters out there, know this... YOU are the center of this little girl's world. You will shape her relationship with men for the rest of her life. You are responsible for the self-esteem and confidence she will bring to her relationships with boys. You are in charge of showing her how she deserves to be treated by other men, and what is and isn't acceptable. You are the only one in your family that knows how to protect and prepare your daughter for the years of love, and heartache she will encounter.

So the battle continues

Weight battle that is...Spring is here, well summer in our neck of the woods and it's HOT! Which means I'm suddenly aware of how out of shape I am and how hard it is to tote two kids and all their crap around in this heat with my OWN extra luggage. I've got a million excuses as to how I've gotten this overweight, having two kids in two years just being one of them, but I've got to get passed it and get in shape. So I'm on week three of weight watchers and I'm loving it. Mostly because I'm losing and devoting some time to just ME! Every day when I go to the gym I get to spend 40 whole minutes watching a show I want to watch and listen to MY music. All the while my kids are playing under the supervised eye of the fantastic women at the YMCA. Seriously they are my new best friends and I feel no guilt since my babies are well taken care of and having fun! Ok so it's not all peaches and cream as my grandmother would say, I'm hungry, real hungry. I don't think I ever stopped eating like I was pregnant and or nursing in the last three years, so it's like my stomach is begging, loudly for food. ahhhhhhhh the only solution, besides gnawing on my shoe strings, since I can't even eat more carrots without going over on points, is to go to bed...and dream of food. That's zero points right?


Ok I'll leave you with my before and motivation picture. Now normally I'd delete this pic, but look at my baby boy's face. I couldn't erase that memory. Why not crop you ask, well I hate that I'm cropped out of pics because of a few rolls. I was there too damnit, rolls and all!!